Norwegian Cruise Line Welcomes Its Newest Ship, “Aqua”

Norwegian Cruise Lines has a lot to celebrate this year as it welcomes family travelers to yet another new ship to its fleet. Aqua, the latest addition to NCL’s Prima Class of ships, recently arrived in America, and I had the opportunity to join her as she set sail on her christening voyage from Miami April 13.

The sailing was short but sweet, with a daytrip to the cruise line’s private island in the Bahamas, Great Stirrup Cay. NCL was the first in the industry to obtain its very own island, and president David Herrera took advantage of the christening to announce some major upgrades coming very soon to the island.

© Eugenia Lazaris

Hernandez announced plans to add a multi-ship pier to give guests easier access to the island (read no more waiting for tenders to shuttle you back and forth from shore!); an adult-only Vibe Beach Club; an outdoor recreation area known as Horizon Park; and a 28,476-square-foot heated pool complete with two swim-up bars, 33 cabanas and a family-friendly zone. The island’s upgrades will also include a dedicated splash pad and play zone for kids, a new arrivals area with covered spaces and restrooms, along with a brand-new tram system to help visitors get around the island.

Aqua itself also has some pretty groundbreaking reasons to book a cruise, namely an industry-first and world-first hybrid water slide-slash-roller coaster, Aqua Slidecoaster. The coaster slide, which has you sit in a raft, pulls you up an incline, then launches you at high speeds into one of two water slides that twist and turn their way around the ship. The ride is just the right combination of adrenaline rush roller coaster and lazy river water slide, and was one of my personal favorites. You can ride solo or with a partner, and while you’ll have to try both slides out for yourself, I found the one on the left a faster ride.

The ship has also introduced a number of other upgrades, which fall perfectly in line with NCL’s approach of offering More at Sea. This passenger-forward campaign delivers with more ways to dine (the ship has an all-new Thai restaurant, Sukhothai, which replaced the Food Republic dining option from previous Prima Class ships) and has added more options, specifically a plant-based menu section, to its Indulge Food Hall, a unique dining concept that allows guests to order from a variety of menus directly from an iPad located at each table.

There’s also expanded pool and outdoor areas, as well as an all-new Glow Court (an immersive high-tech LED game court), and upgraded Game Zone, which removed the escape rooms its predecessors offer and replaced them with a wider variety of games. There are old school games like Ms. Pac-Man and Donkey Kong alongside exciting VR games and an indoor bowling zone. Skip the selfies while you pack the family into the photo booth, and if mom and dad or grandma and grandpa want to simply sit down and watch the little ones having fun, there is plenty of seating space.

Aqua will sail out of Cape Canaveral on seven-day cruises of the Eastern Caribbean through August, with ports of call like Puerto Plata in the Dominican Republic, St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands, Tortola in the British Virgin Islands, and Great Stirrup Cay. Following this run, she will head to New York where she will embark on cruises to Bermuda until October, when she returns to Miami for more Eastern Caribbean cruises through April of next year.