Andrew treated us a seven day "spring break" cruise to Havana with his family. The Norwegian Sky took us from Miami to Great Stirrup Cay in Bahamas and Key West before the final destination Havana, Cuba. We stayed overnight in Havana and had a wonderful two days visiting this exotic port of call.
All of us, especially Carter and Sawyer were very excited about their spring break cruise. They love cruising and look forward to group activities on board with other kids of their age. However, there were not many children or young adults on this cruise. We think destination "Cuba" has something to do with it. The young adults rather had fun on the ships and on Caribbean islands for their spring break instead of two days in an old city. Besides, there are extra costs for entry visa and certain guideline restrictions that US citizens must comply when off the ship.
For us, this cruise was a good treat. We had more time spent in the city and to explore more of Havana including the city night life. We often miss out the night life at port because cruise ships sail away before sunset.
KEY WEST : Our first stop, the Great Stirrup Cay in Bahamas, a NCL's private island was a good, fun, sun and relaxed day! The next port of call was Key West. We had a beautiful Caribbean afternoon to walk around from port terminal to the lighthouse and Hemingway residence. After watching a spectacular sunset, talented street performers and a nice dinner, we got back to the ship.
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Port Miami
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Our ship - The NCL Sky
 | Andrew and Co. @ Stirrup Cay
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 | P & T
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 | Overlooking the Sky
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Key West port
 | Exploring old town Key West
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 | Popular restaurant in Key West
 | Hemingway Residence
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 | Lighthouse - Key West
 | Key West night
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HAVANA : Good to have two full days in Havana. Our port terminal is conveniently located across from the historic old town. To comply with first time Cuban tourist guideline, we booked a "people to people" (education/culture tour) through the ship. It's a bus trip with lots of walking to visit most of Havana popular tourist attractions. After a nice traditional Cuban lunch in the old town, we returned to the ship. Upon completion of the "people to people" tour, we could travel on our own throughout Cuba for the next five years.
The Old Havana has the best example of a remarkable and well preserved colonial Spanish architecture. The historic old town, an old world's charm along with its fortification is an UNESCO world heritage site. From the stately colonial buildings, the beautiful cobblestone streets lined with coloful vintage cars to a stroll on Malecon Boulevard and the local people we met make Havana a fond memorable visit!
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Havana sunrise
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Ready for the first day in Havana
 | Christ of Havana statue on hilltop overlooking the bay in Havana. The Cubans say he has a Mojito in one hand, a cigar in the other.
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Havana Cruise Port Terminal
 | The Sky @ dock
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A Havana street
 | Sampling at the rum distillery
 | Colon Cemetery - Havana
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Colon Cemetery
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Approaching El Morro and the Historic Forts of Havana for a tour and museum visit
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Old fortress in Parque Morro, an UNESCO world heritage site
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Castillo de la Real Fuerza - western side of the harbor built by the Spanish- considerred to be the oldest stone fort in Americas
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Inside the Fort
 | Changing of the Guard
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Harbour view from the fort
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Carter, Grandma and Grandpa
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Overlooking the harbor from the forts
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Sawyer touring the fort and museum
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Floridita Bar- Ernest Hemingway's favorite bar
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Floridita Bar at night
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Museum of the Revolution
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Che Guevara's building - Ministry of the Interior building at Revolution Square
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The US Embassy
The Capitol building
Hotel Inglaterra-The oldest hotel in Old Havana
The Great Theater
Great Theater of Havana
Great Theater at night
Plaza San Francisco de Asis
Historic old town Havana
 | Plaza de Armas
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The Cathedral of the Virgin Mary of the Immaculate Conception - Havana Cathedral
The Havana Cathedral
Plaza de Armas-historic old town
Cars for hire in Parque Central
Which one? Pink or Turquoise 😊
. And many more ....
 | Lunch at Restaurant Van Van with live music and Mojito for all
 | The band playing at the Restaurant Van Van
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Historic Old Town Havana
Our Lady of Kazan Orthodox Cathedral in Havana
💚💙💛💗
The second day in Havana, we had Carter and Sawyer with us in the morning. According to plan, we first visited the artisan market by the pier, about a mile from the port terminal. This market is government certified and can trade with tourists freely. We had fun browsing the stalls and shops, and practicing our bargaining skill. Carter bought two color paintings for souvenir while Sawyer decided on a wooden chess set. We left the market to go on our own tour of Havana...again. It's very much the same part of Old Havana that our bus tour went the day before. This time, we chose to explore more from Malecon Boulervard as it was a beautiful morning to enjoy the coastal scenery. After weighing some transportation options for our sightseeing adventure, the boys decided to try "Coco" taxi for a two hour ride.
Ready to hail a "Coco" cab
Coco taxi - fun way to see Havana
Cozy in a Coco taxi
View of National Hotel from Malecon
The brothers with Grandpa
Purple taxi for hire
Anti-Imperialist Platform on Malecon
Malecon- the famous boulevard wrapping around the city's coast in Old Havana
A Casual dinner on the ship |
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Our last evening on the Sky.
A wonderful cruise and a lovely family time together! |
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Goodbye El Morro Fortres Lighthouse - Goodbye Havana
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~~~~~~💨😌 💨 ~~~~~~
Our Havana cruise ship, the Sky will be decommissioned from the NCL fleet in late 2020. We cruised at least three times with Sky in the past. Sky will be missed!. Not only we cruised with the NCL Sky for the last time, but Sky was also the last cruise ship that had to leave the bay of Havana at dawn on June 5, 2019. Trump's administration suddenly banned all cruises to Cuba on that day. We were fortunate to have a smooth sailing cruise and a wonderful visit to Havana, Cuba. We look forward to cruise other Cuban ports once the US lifts embargo to Cuba!
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