7 Nights Great Stirrup Cay & Dominican Republic from Orland Cruise

Aqua June 2025

Ship Overall: It was very nice, clean, and new. Many beautiful spaces including the Ocean Walk on Deck 8 which was one of my favorite places. The observation room on 17 was also really nice and a great places for morning coffee and just relaxing watching the ocean go by. The pool areas did get crowded on sea days but I (as a solo) never had issues finding at least one chair. The water coaster had a fun launch but kinda slowed down once you were in the slide part. I was able to ride a couple times in Port days without waiting but on sea days the wait, I heard, was over an hour. The biggest negative I had was the layout of some of the decks. Especially 17. In order to go from the pool to the water slide (or the sports areas) you needed to pass through the buffet which required you to put on shoes and a shirt. There was no alternative route (unless you walked downstairs and walked through the cabin halls on 16). This also added more crowds to the already crowded buffet. Also with more than half of the top deck dedicated to premium space (Vibe and Haven) it felt like us "lower class" folks were squeezed into a small space. Then on the lower decks all the various venues were spread all over the place. There were different layouts on each level (some had halls in the middle, some on only one side) with it feeling like everything was around a corner or down a long empty hallway. Honestly it felt like a ship that had gone through a major overhaul to rearrange things instead of a new build with a coherent plan. Room: I had an inside cabin. It was large with plenty of space for me and my stuff. The bathroom was also large for a cruise ship. I was on 16 directly below the pool but it was pretty quiet and I could only sometimes hear the music from above (and it always ended by 11:30 at the latest). Food: It was good. Being on 16 I always went to the buffet for breakfast and while it was crowded you could usually grab a seat and I never had issues asking to hop onto an empty place. Food quality was good there too. Lunch and Dinner they had some great options like whole roasted turkey, pork, steaks, and lots of other options. The highlight of the free food was the Indulge Food Hall. It also got crowded at lunch but there is also lots of seats. The food there was amazing and flavorful. My personal favorite was the rotisserie chicken and the Indonesian soup. I ate at 4 specialty restaurants. I think I enjoyed Sukothai the most as the food was the best Thai I ever had. The view was great too. French and Habachi was also great. I thought that Palomar was only so so. Apps and desserts were good but entrees lacked variety. Currently reservations cannot be done in advance or on the app. I got the earliest boarding time and was able to head to the theater first thing. I had no issues getting times since I was so early (and as a solo). But with the exception of the Steakhouse you could probably get a reservation for anything and even do walk ins. The Thai restaurant was mostly empty when I was there and I did a walk in early at Habachi with no wait. Main Dining Room I only ate at twice. It was fine. Nothing special except the view which was amazing from the wrap around glass windows. Another issue was the lack of late options. After the buffet closed at 9:30 there were no grab and go items. The only place open all night was "The Local" which was a sit down restaurant that you needed to order from a waiter and all they had at night were burgers, hot dogs, and chicken wings. There was nothing sweet or even just a piece of fruit to be had at night. Bars: The Whiskey Bar was tops. The bartender Alex really knows his stuff and makes a great Old Fashioned. The Luna bar on the back of deck 8 had a great view but the bar itself only had limited offerings (although the most draft beer options on the ship) and it could be hot in the day. Every other bar was pretty similar with almost identical menus and felt like generic hotel bars. Entertainment: Prince was amazing. I was right up at the front of the stage and the energy was incredible. The Syd Norman shows were a lot of fun and the singers and band were all really talented. Some people waited an hour for a table at their venue but if you don't mind standing you can just walk in at showtime. The Piano Bar player was also very good and he did multiple tribute shows throughout the week as well as taking requests. The Price is Right was OK. Elements was fine but not everyone might enjoy it as it's a pretty generic acrobat / magic cruise ship show. Ports: It's the low season so we were the only ship at every port which was good. Puerto Plata I did the waterfall experience which was beautiful and fun but a lot of hiking. If you don't care for excursions the port itself is a very Disney-fied tourist zone. In USVI I did a catamaran to St Johns for snorkeling which was the highlight of the trip for me. Weather was mostly cloudy which was great for the sail over but wasn't as good for the snorkeling. However when the sun did come out it was amazing. I saw sharks, turtles, stingrays, barracuda, octopus, urchins, coral, tons of fish and even donkeys. BVI was a very early day but I went to the Baths which was also beautiful but again a lot of hiking and climbing through the rocks. The ship left at 12:30 so it was also like an extra sea day (if you didn't need a nap after the 6am excursions). Great Stirrup Cay is NCL's private island. It had some nice beaches but not much else to do. It also requires a tender boat trip which was annoying. I was able to snag a very early tender group but it still was a lot of waiting. You can reserve your tender from the touchscreens around the ship. I don't know exactly when they activate but I got mine around noon on the day at BVI. The daily planner mentioned getting times at the Shore desk too but I got mine before they opened so I think that helped.

NCL Aqua - review from a veteran cruiser.

Veteran NCL cruiser here, 8 cruises or so on NCL, 5 on Carnival. I love NCL in general so this is a positive review but calls out the things I didn't like as much for those veteran NCL cruisers out there. Traveled with a group of 12 that included 6 new to cruising on NCL, so that brought its own challenges revolving around planning dinners. Dining downsides but corresponding Upsides: all of the specialty dining spots sold out after we had boarded the ship. Usually we would book early, but with 12 people and some newbies to cruising, it didn't work out to play it by ear. Specialty restaurants filled and my dad and stepmom missed out on one of their dinners (Sapphire status) because all the restaurants were full. My sister booked Cagney's for us well before the cruise, but when we were seated it was at two tables of 6, which kind of spoiled the family get together a bit. THAT SAID.... the main dining room options were great, we didn't ever book a reservation and always got right in. (I usually do FOUR specialty dining nights, this cruise I only did two, but I have to say that they were great.) The Local is way underused on the ship. Wow, what a great option. It's basically a reverse buffet - all the stations are there but they bring you the food instead of you grabbing it in line. If you sit in a generic area, you can get all the things. If you sit at one of the "food trucks", just those things. Sit at a table and order whatever you want. TIP - The Local is a way better place to get buffet food for breakfast than the buffet which is way overcrowded. Favorite bar was The Belvedere on deck 8. You can see all the way down to deck 6 where activities happen. Like O'Sheehan's on Breakaway where you can look down to deck 7, but with TWO decks down. It was comfortable. If you go, tell Jason from Columbia that we said hello. Loved the infinity pools and the deck 8 concept outside. We were always able to get seats. The back of the ship seemed underused. We were always able to get into the infinity pools even on the at sea days. Eventually. Beer - I'm a beer fan. The only place to get good draft beer is the back of the ship, yet again, at The Local. That bar at the back of the ship on the inside has only 10 seats or so. Casino - craps was $10 limit the entire cruise. Roulette was $10 minimum with $2 chips. The Fleetwood Mac cover band show was the highlight of the cruise. Make sure to go. The Prince show is pretty good also. We didn't get tickets or seats - we got into the "pit" with no problem during the 930 show, enjoyed watching both. Got to watch a rocket launch from Port Canaveral from the observation lounge on the first day of the cruise. It's a nice spot. The game room has some free video games of the older variety - ms. pac man, etc. The bowling alley is $7 a game. They have crazy air hockey and other stuff too. I paid $300/person for the spa package. It feels smaller than Breakaway which has that supernice hot tub. Hard to explain, but this has a zig/zag layout for the hot tub that it's hard to get around in. I didn't like it, won't do it again, but would do it again on the Breakaway. We only used it twice, big waste of money there. Was able to get my stepson a one day pass for $100. maybe that was worth it to try it out. I don't know. Overall loved the cruise, bought some more cruisenext certificates, and have two cruises booked, including another on the Aqua.

AQUA WAS A-OK

Sailed on the Aqua May 17-24. Wonderful experience. Obviously, there were a lot of wrinkles that need to be ironed out in such a new ship but the good far outweigh the bad in this ship. With larger spaces designated for sitting, relaxing, ocean viewing and such we never found the ship to be crowded except for in the Surfside Grill (buffet) which was smaller than other ships' but for a good reason. Breakfast was served at numerous locations on the ship and crowded conditions were caused mostly by veteran cruisers who didn't try the alternative locations for breakfast and lunch. The "Indulge" eating area is a nice change of pace. You walk into a food-court with several different varieties of food. Once you've decided what you like you go to a table and order from an on-table computer. Nice. Yes, it was impossible to get a table at Cagney's, but we were successful in getting two other dinner reservations and the food and presentation were nice. Unlike other big ships, the Aqua is not nearly as noisy, but the pool side partying, games and contests were not just at poolside. They were all over so it would be hard to complain that there was nothing to do. The upper floors of the aqua are a veritable amusement park with all sorts of games and amusements. Service was good. The room (we had a balcony) was roomier and so was the bathroom. The room designers did a good job of making use of space. Daily freestyles were on in-room monitors but suffered sporadic glitches. The entertainment staff was delightful. We booked under the old "Free at Sea" package, so the drinks were free flowing and there were plenty of bars so no complaints there. Only big negative I have is that the premier show "Prince - The Revolution" was cancelled both nights due to an injury to a performer. That was the premier show, and its cancellation left the ship with some comedian fill-ins and a Magician, who was quite good but not the high-powered act that was advertised. I thought that Norwegian would have offered some kind of compensation for the cancellation.