Norwegian Cruise Line Private Island Great Stirrup Cay; Costa Luminosa

Norwegian Cruise Line's private island Great Stirrup Cay has been undergoing a dramatic transformation. Located in the Bahamas, GSC was the first island to be purchased by a cruise line.

Over the years, Norwegian did not do very much to develop the property. As a result, a call at GSC was something of a castaway experience. Guests landed on the island's only beach on landing craft military-style. There were a few wooden huts that housed a bar and a dining pavilion. There wasn't much there but it was usually a fun day.

Since 2010, Norwegian has invested more than $30 million in GSC. There is now a harbor where the tenders land. The original beach has been significantly improved and there are now three more new beaches with fluffy white sand. New concrete buildings contain bars, a snorkel shop, and a Bahamian market. Another building houses the dining facility and several neighboring pavilions are equipped with picnic tables for having lunch. There is also a pavilion where guests can wait out of the sun before boarding tenders back to the ship. The developed area has been landscaped with palm trees and lawn.

The transformation continues. Construction work is taking place on the other side of the island and at the edge of the developed area. Indeed, it is difficult to keep up with all of the improvements, the island changes so fast.

Our updated and expanded photo tour of Great Stirrup Cay begins at http://beyondships.com/NCL-GreatStirrupCay.html

Also, this week, we have added a new mini-profile of Costa Cruises' Costa Luminosa. http://www.beyondships2.com/costa-luminosa-mini-profile.html This goes along with a photo essay showing Costa Luminosa in various ports. http://www.beyondships2.com/costa-luminosa-photos.html

Great Stirrup Cay, St Kitts and Cunard's Queen Elizabeth

Norwegian Cruise Line's private island, Great Stirrup Cay, keeps changing. Despite a hurricane last fall, Norwegian continues to make noticeable progress on its ambitious plans to develop this Bahamian island into a vacation paradise. New beaches have been created and landscaping has been done to the finished sections.

More is to come but the changes that have been made already call for an update of our profile of Great Stirrup Cay. Indeed, we have added another page to this section of Beyondships. The tour of GSC begins at http://beyondships.com/NCL-GreatStirrupCay.html

We have also updated and expanded our coverage of another island - - St. Kitts. We have added some additional places of interest and taken a look at the Frigate Bay area. We have also re-arranged material in order to make it more reader-friendly and more consistent with our recent cruise destination profiles. The St. Kitts section begins at http://beyondships.com/Ports-StKitts-1.html

Finally, we have updated our profile of Cunard Line's Queen Elizabeth with anew menus page http://www.beyondships2.com/queen-elizabeth-menus.html and a new daily programs page. http://www.beyondships2.com/queen-elizabeth-daily-programmes.html

Looking at Princess Cays and Great Stirrup Cay

            This week, we take a new look at two cruise line private islands - - Princess Cays and Great Stirrup Cay.   Private islands are ports of call that are owned and operated by a cruise line and only that cruise line’s ships (and those of affiliated companies) can call there.  Essentially, they are beach resorts where passengers can relax in the sun or participate in the water sports and activities available on the island.  Both Princess Cays and Great Stirrup Cay are located in the Bahamas.  

            Princess Cays is Princess Cruises’ private island although ships from some of Princess’ affiliates such as Cunard also occasionally call there.

            Ships calling at Princess Cays anchor offshore and usually use their lifeboats to ferry guests to the island.  You arrive at a dedicated marina that serves also to divide the resort complex in two.  There are more facilities north of the marina but the south side is rather pretty with its palms and carpet of sand.

            The island itself is long and narrow.   All of the beaches are on the western side of the island and all of the facilities face the beaches.  On the other side of the island is Paradise Lagoon, which has been left in its natural state.

            The complex reflects its owner’s style.  It is sophisticated but at the same time relaxed.  Princess Cays is big enough to accommodate everyone but not so big as to be overwhelming.

            Princess Cays continues to quietly evolve.  In the last few years, they have added a Sanctuary area.  As on the Princess ships, this area is adults-only and designed for pampering.  Also, the southern beach area has grown since the last time I was there.

            Beyondships new and expanded photo tour of Princess Cays begins at http://beyondships.com/Princess-PrincessCays.html      

            Like seemingly everything else at Norwegian Cruise Line, Great Stirrup Cay (GSC) is on the move.  The island is being transformed by a $25 million improvement project that began in 2010.

            It used to be that GSC was a quaint beachcomber-type of experience.  You were tendered ashore on former landing craft which would run up onto the beach, drop their front gate and you walked out onto the island’s one and only beach.  While this meant that you were close to the beach from the moment you landed, it also meant that part of the beach was the exclusive province of the tenders and off limits for recreational purposes.  In addition, the few buildings on the island - - bars and dining facilities - - were rather flimsy looking wooden structures that were not very impressive.

            Still, it made for a fun day at the beach.  The lack of sophistication helped to underscore that you were hundreds of miles from civilization with its work days and petty annoyances.

            While still an escape from the everyday, GSC is an altogether different experience today.  It is truly a private beach resort.  The tenders now arrive in their own marina.  You enter through a gate into the resort complex.  On the way to the beaches, you pass a new Bahamian market.  On the hill, there are the new dining facilities consisting of the kitchen/serving building and covered dining pavilions.  Like the rest of the new buildings at GSC, these are substantial concrete structures.

            The main beach is now dedicated to recreation, which means much more room.   In addition, there is now a second beach that rises up from the water to a ridge where luxury cabanas are under construction.

            Norwegian has also spread tons of sand throughout the complex.  In the old days, it was mostly rock away from the beach.  Now there is seemingly sand everywhere, which with the giant palm trees makes for a much more picturesque scene.

            But there is more to come.  Norwegian is busy building more facilities on the other side of the island.  These are to include an aqua park and a sting ray experience.

            Beyondships’ photo tour of Great Stirrup Cay is at http://www.beyondships.com/NCL-GreatStirrupCay.html    

Norwegian Sky - - Profile and Photo Tour

What impressed me the most about Norwegian Sky was how nicely NCL has blended the elements of its Freestyle Cruising into the more traditional passenger ship décor of the ship. I tend to associate Freestyle with the contemporary décor of NCL’s more recent ships. However, the idea of having a number of alternative venues for dining, libations and activities fits well with the more classic design. As proof, the Sky has six restaurants, nine bars and lounges a theater, two swimming pools, five hot tubs, basketball and volleyball, golf driving nets, a library, shopping and more.




For people who really like ships and the traditions of the sea, there are some quite nice rooms including Captain Cook’s Bar and the wood-panels Mark Twain Library. The French specialty restaurant Le Bistro is done in a pretty Second Empire/art nouveau style.



This is not to say that Norwegian Sky is old or old fashioned. Her lines are sleek and her mural-painted white hull glitters in the bright sun. The ship entered service in 1999 and is the newest ship competing in the short cruises from Florida to the Bahamas market. For awhile, NCL assigned her to its NCL America subsidiary where she did cruises around Hawaii under the name Pride of Aloha. Before returning her to the main fleet in 2009, the ship received a multi-million dollar refurbishment. As a result, the public areas look new.



The short Bahamas cruise itinerary is a popular one. It attracts young people and young families interested in trying cruising for the first time, visitors to Florida who want to add a trip to the Bahamas to their holiday, and people who want a short break.



The Sky offers alternating three and four day cruises from Miami. The three day itinerary goes to Nassau and to NCL’s private island Great Stirrup Cay. The four day cruise adds a stop in Freeport.

Beyondship’s profile of Norwegian Sky is at http://www.beyondships.com/NCLSky.html and the multi-page photo tour and commentary begins at http://www.beyondships.com/NCLSky-Tour-1.html For those interest in the ship’s itinerary, we also have a photo tour of Great Stirrup Cay http://www.beyondships.com/NCL-GreatStirrupCay.html

NCL's Great Stirrup Cay - - Photo tour

That competition in the cruise industry is alive and well can be seen not only in the fact that the cruise companies are continuing to invest millions in new ships with new features but also in the fact that the lines are also investing millions in upgrading their private destinations. For example, Royal Caribbean has recently upgraded both its private island at Coco Cay in the Bahamas and its private resort peninsula at Labadee, Haiti. Not to be out done, NCL is in the process of a radical transformation of its private island Great Stirrup Cay or GSC as it is sometimes called. NCL was the first cruise line to create a private destination.

In 1977, it purchased GSC, a small uninhabited island in The Bahamas atoll, in order to be another port of call for its ships doing Bahamas and Caribbean cruises. The idea made a great deal of sense for several reasons. First, the prevailing wisdom in the cruise industry is that most people will choose the cruise with the most ports of call all else being equal. GSC would provide an additional port of call. Second, the cost of going to this port would be much less than going to a port where the ship would have to use pilots and pay to dock. Third, almost all of the money spent by the passengers at this destination would go to the cruise line.

At first, these private islands were little more than beaches that were accessed by the ship’s boats. However, over time, bars and dining facilities were constructed, sports facilities added and facilities for various types of shore excursions constructed. Now, the private destinations are essentially private resorts.

Last year, NCL began a $20 million dollar transformation of GSC. The first step was to build a marina where the tenders that bring the passengers to the shore could dock. Heretofore, passengers came ashore in landing craft, which lowered their ramps onto the beach itself. This was inconvenient for less fit passengers and it also meant that a large part of the beach could not be used for swimming or sunbathing.

Another part of the transformation is the new dining facilities. Gone are the old wooden structures and in their place are more substantial and more spacious places where the food is prepared and where it is consumed.

The sports facilities have also been expanded and NCL now offers jet ski and kayak tours of the area around the island. The transformation process is ongoing. Standing on the deck of a cruise ship anchored offshore one can see that other areas of the island are under construction. These will result in new beach areas and facilities such as a sting ray experience.

Beyondships’ updated and expanded photo tour of Great Stirrup Cay is at http://www.beyondships.com/NCL-GreatStirrupCay.html I have also included a page to show what the island looked like before the current transformation.

NCL's Great Stirrup Cay Photo Tour

Great Stirrup Cay is Norwegian Cruise Line’s private island in the Bahamas. It acts as a port of call for NCL ships on Caribbean and Bahamas itineraries.

This island was one of the first private islands developed by the major cruise lines and it has a unique atmosphere. One gets the feeling that this is what it must be like to be on an island that someone owns rather than being at a Bahamian resort. It is more of a beachcomber style.

A day at Grand Stirrup begins with a ride from the ship to the island in a landing craft that once served as a tender for the legendary SS Norway. Upon arriving at the island, the front ramp drop down and one steps onto the beach as in a John Wayne movie.

Of course, there are no enemy bullets flying. Rather, there is the friendly crew to greet you. They have come over from the ship earlier to set up the beach barbeque and the various bars.

Not far away is the beach area and many passengers dash there to secure a deck chair in a prime location. The beach is sandy and the water is sheltered by a rocky spit of land.

Sitting by the beach is not the only thing to do. There are some hammocks in amongst the palm trees and some deck chairs in the shade. For the more active, there is snorkeling, parasailing and a giant inflatable water slide. One can also get away from the crowd by following the nature trail into some of the undeveloped parts of the island. (Be careful, the rocks can be slippery). There is also an eco-boat tour during which naturalists talk about the island’s environment and point out examples of the wildlife.

Then, as mentioned earlier, one can enjoy a barbeque lunch - - hamburgers, hot dos, pizza, salads, desserts etc. - - at a picnic table under the palms. Or one can sit on the deck of the main bar and watch the sea lap onto the rocky shore. .

Recently, NCL has announced plans to revitalize Great Stirrup. Several of these new improvement projects are already underway and some have even been completed. At the end of the project the island will be more resort-like and have more facilities for passengers. For example, there will be a new marina with boats and jet skis as well as a place for tenders to dock.

Beyondships’ multi-page photo tour of Great Stirrup Cay begins at: http://www.beyondships.com/NCL-GreatStirrupCay.html

Photo Tour of Norwegian Pearl and other cruise news

This week the focus is on Norwegian Cruise Line’s (NCL) Norwegian Pearl. The Pearl is a large cruise ship (93,000 tons) that has been in service for a little over three years now. She spends the winter months in the Caribbean and the summer months cruising to Alaska.

By the luck of the draw, my cruise on the Pearl came just after my cruise on Oasis of the Seas, which is a phenomenal ship (more about this in April) and so I thought that the Pearl would suffer by comparison. However, I greatly enjoyed my cruise on Pearl. The reasons are straightforward.

First, there is the ship itself. Built by Meyer Werft, Pearl is well-engineered and nicely designed. She has the ability to do 25 knots and a relatively deep draft that helps to keep her stable. Perhaps more importantly, the public spaces are laid out well so that the ship is easy to get around and has good passenger flow. In addition, NCL has provided the ship with numerous dining and entertainment options that give one a great deal of choice as to what to do during the cruise.

Second, the ship is very well-maintained. The facilities look more like those on a ship just out of the yard than those of a popular ship that sees nearly 2,400 passengers a week. Everything in the cabin worked. I was also impressed by how clean everything was.

Third, there was the friendliness of the crew. Everyone had a hello or a good day. I had the opportunity to go behind the scenes in order to obtain material for my articles and I was impressed by how happy the crew members seemed.

As an NCL ship, Pearl follows the Freestyle style of cruising. This is an unstructured approach that provides the passenger with the building blocks to design their own cruise. The passenger decides whether they want the luxury of a Garden Villa, the economy of an inside cabin or something in between. He or she decides whether to join in organized activities or to utilize the ship’s facilities on their own. Of course, there is the choice of which of the ship’s dining venues to eat in and when to do so.

There are practical limitations. Not everyone can dine in the French specialty restaurant at the same time. Not every venue or facility is open 24 hours. However, there are enough options so that it all works out. This has led the other major lines to introduce elements of the Freestyle approach to their ships.

Beyondships’ profile of Norwegian Pearl is at http://www.beyondships.com/NCLPearl.html and the photo tour and commentary begins at http://www.beyondships.com/NCLPearl-Tour-1.html

Turning to items in the news . . . .

NCL has announced that its new ship Norwegian Epic, due out this summer, will have the largest spa at sea. It will be 31,000 square feet and include amongst other things: 24 treatment rooms, 2 private couples villas, a hydrotherapy and thermal suite, steam rooms, a salon, a fitness center and a barber shop. Along the same lines, NCL revealed that 11 of the 21 dining venues on the Epic will be complimentary.

Sticking with NCL, the line also announced that it will be making $20 million of improvements to its private island Great Stirrup Cay in the Bahamas. Beyondships will be presenting a photo tour and commentary on Great Stirrup Cay in April.

Meanwhile, Princess Cruises has named Copenhagen as its “Port of the Year” for 2009 based upon passenger satisfaction surveys. This is the first time that Princess passengers have so named a port outside of the United States. The cruise port in the Danish capital is located in the heart of the city with most ships tying up at berths that are within walking distance of some of the city’s major attractions including the Little Mermaid statue and the Royal Palace thus making it a good port of call during a cruise.. However, Princess’ award honors the port as a turnaround port - - one where a cruise begins or ends - - and thus recognizes the port’s service and efficiency.