It’s Cruising Day – The Norwegian SKY!

NCL’s Norwegian Sky? OH MY!

Our sailing day finally arrived! It was time to load our bags into the trunk and head to the Port of Miami. And this old cruise specialist was raring to go!

Instead of heading to the death trap known as I-95 we decided to take the SLOW road (a.k.a. Highway 1) from Fort Lauderdale to Miami. (We HATE that freeway and we avoid it like the plague!) And what’s a hundred stoplights to navigate when a gorgeous ship is waiting at the end of that leisurely drive? That’s the beauty of retirement. We’re rarely need to rush to go anywhere!

The old highway between Fort Lauderdale and Miami is lined with many tiny art deco Mom and Pop motels. 

South Florida was filled with those sleepy little relics years ago. Seeing them is like stepping back in time…a time I fondly remember. Those were the types of motels my parents took us to on our American vacations beginning in the 1950’s.

It wasn’t long before we were crossing that magic bridge in Miami that would take us to the port!

Norwegian Cruise Terminal

Lori (our amazing NCL Personal Cruise Consultant) had recommended that we spend the extra dollars and park in the parking ramp directly across from the cruise terminal. As with all of her suggestions it was absolutely the right decision. 

Parking right at the pier was $22 per day, and it was worth every penny! Our other choice would have been to park in a remote location and wait for a shuttle to take us to and from the ship. And the few dollars we would have saved would NOT have been worth the added hassle. (Nobody wants to drag luggage and stand outside in the heat and humidity to wait an hour for a shuttle.) 

We simply pulled into the ramp, grabbed our bags from the trunk and wheeled them across the street to the Norwegian Sky boarding area.

Before we left our condo I had attached the baggage tags to our luggage even though we planned to wheel them onboard ourselves. And THAT turned out to be a good decision too. (More about that later.)

Our early 11:30 a.m. assigned check-in time allowed us to beat any passengers who were foolish enough to fly in the day of sailing. (I used to insist that my passengers fly to the port city the day before sailing. I wanted to insure they wouldn’t miss the boat-literally!)

Security

Security is obviously more stringent than it used to be, and with good reason. I snapped this photo right before I was warned not to take photos in that area. (Oops! Sorry!) 

Norwegian Cruise Line has definitely streamlined the boarding process immensely since my old cruise days. Because guests are now given a window of time in which to board there was very little congestion.  That’s an awesome change. This line is a fraction of the length that I used to endure!

Checking In

Since we were cruising to Cuba there was more paperwork involved than on a typical Caribbean sailing. We completed those forms before getting in line. The only drawback? There weren’t any pens or pencils on that shelf so we all shared the pens we women dug out of our purses!

The line moved quickly, and we presented our passports to the staff. We were given our Cuban Visas and our boarding cards. The boarding card works like a credit card for any onboard purchases. It’s also part of the ID needed to disembark and reboard the vessel. It even shows what muster station to go to for the mandatory life boat drill. (More about that later.)

Next we were directed to an air conditioned waiting area where we were given a boarding number. This grouping system allowed the passengers to avoid a jam on the gangway by boarding in small batches.

I am no pro at selfies but I talked Peepaw into one to pass the time while we waited. (And yes…Peepaw needed a shave but he was apparently going for the rugged, swashbuckling pirate look that day!)  🙂

It wasn’t long before our boarding number was called, and we wheeled our bags onto the gangway.

And there she was! The Norwegian Sky. Our floating “home-away-from-home” for the next four days!! I could barely contain my excitement since it felt like a homecoming of sorts for me. Cruising again…

Now…Let the FUN begin!