Norwegian Getaway - Eastern Caribbean from Miami

Where this cruise calls, day by day

9 ports and 2 sea days over 10 Nights.

1. Day 1

   Miami, FL

   United StatesDepart

   PortMiami is the busiest cruise port on earth and behaves like it: a lettered row of terminals strung along Dodge Island - A for Royal Caribbean, B for Norwegian, C for MSC, D through F for the Carnival brands, V for Virgin. Traffic funnels in over the Port Boulevard causeway or through the tunnel under Government Cut, and on a Saturday with six ships turning around, both back up.

   • Ocean Drive and the Art Deco district in South Beach, 20 minutes across the causeway
   • Wynwood Walls and the warehouse murals around it
   • Calle Ocho in Little Havana - a cortadito and the domino tables at Maximo Gomez Park
   • Vizcaya Museum and Gardens, a 1916 bayfront villa in Coconut Grove

   Getting ashore

   Terminals A-G and V sit on Dodge Island, reached by the Port Boulevard causeway or the PortMiami Tunnel; Miami International is about 8 miles west, usually 20-30 minutes but longer on a heavy turnaround morning.

   Best months

   Nov-Apr (Aug-Oct is peak hurricane season and August ashore is punishing)

2. Day 2 · At sea

3. Day 3

   Puerto Plata

   Dominican RepublicPort

   Two purpose-built cruise terminals serve the same north-coast town: Carnival's Amber Cove, a self-contained resort compound east of the city, and Taino Bay, which opened in 2021 much closer in. Both are designed to keep you inside them, and many passengers never leave. Puerto Plata itself — Fort San Felipe, the gingerbread houses around Parque Central — takes a taxi and some initiative.

   • Mount Isabel de Torres cable car to the Christ statue and botanical gardens
   • Fortaleza San Felipe on the waterfront
   • 27 Charcos de Damajagua, a canyoning route of waterfall jumps
   • Playa Dorada or the beach at Sosúa

   Getting ashore

   Both are docked berths but neither is in town — Amber Cove is roughly 20-25 minutes by taxi from Puerto Plata, Taino Bay about 10.

   Best months

   Dec-Apr; the north coast is wetter than the south year-round and Aug-Oct carries hurricane risk

4. Day 4

   Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas

   U.S. Virgin IslandsPort

   The busiest shopping port in the Caribbean, and it feels like it — four to six ships on a peak day and duty-free jewelry stores stacked end to end along Main Street. What saves a call here is everything outside town: Magens Bay's long sheltered crescent, and the ferry to St. John, where about two-thirds of the island is national park.

   • Magens Bay
   • Ferry to St. John for Trunk Bay and Virgin Islands National Park
   • Coki Beach and Coral World Ocean Park
   • Skyride to Paradise Point above the harbor

   Getting ashore

   Most ships dock at Havensight, about a mile east of town — a mall at the pier, a cheap open-air taxi, or a 20-minute waterfront walk; Crown Bay is a similar distance west.

   Best months

   Dec-Apr dry season; Aug-Oct is hurricane season

5. Day 5

   St. John's

   Antigua and BarbudaPort

   Antigua sells itself on beaches — the local line is 365 of them — and St. John's is a working town with two restored quays of shops right at the dock. The thing genuinely worth the day is Nelson's Dockyard at English Harbour, a Georgian naval yard from the age of sail that still operates as a marina, with the Shirley Heights lookout on the ridge above it.

   • Nelson's Dockyard and Shirley Heights
   • Dickenson Bay
   • Valley Church Beach on the west coast
   • Stingray City Antigua

   Getting ashore

   Docked at Heritage Quay in the middle of town; English Harbour is about 40 minutes by taxi across the island.

   Best months

   Dec-Apr; Antigua is drier than most of its neighbors. Aug-Oct is hurricane season

6. Day 6

   Philipsburg

   St. MaartenPort

   A one-street town on Great Bay: Front Street for duty-free liquor and jewelry, Back Street behind it, and a boardwalk of bars on the sand. The island's real draw is elsewhere — Maho Beach at the end of the Princess Juliana runway, where arriving jets pass a few dozen feet overhead, and the French side at Marigot and Grand Case for lunch.

   • Maho Beach plane spotting
   • Great Bay boardwalk and Front Street
   • Orient Bay on the French side
   • Loterie Farm zip line and hiking on Pic Paradis

   Getting ashore

   Docked at the A.C. Wathey pier; town is a 20-25 minute walk around the bay or a few dollars each way by water taxi.

   Best months

   Dec-Apr; Sep-Oct is the hurricane peak, and damage from Irma in 2017 is still visible in places

7. Day 7

   Basseterre

   St. Kitts and NevisPort

   The pier lands you at Port Zante in the middle of Basseterre, a working Caribbean capital rather than a mall. What sets St. Kitts apart is the scenic railway: a narrow-gauge line built to haul sugar cane, now running double-decker cars around the north of the island for about three hours. Expect firm sales pressure from photo vendors with vervet monkeys at the scenic overlooks.

   • St. Kitts Scenic Railway
   • Brimstone Hill Fortress National Park (UNESCO)
   • Timothy Hill overlook across the Narrows
   • South Friars Bay and Cockleshell Bay on the southeast peninsula

   Getting ashore

   Docked at Port Zante with Basseterre at the gate; the southeast peninsula beaches are 20-30 minutes by taxi and the Nevis ferry takes about 45 minutes.

   Best months

   Dec-Apr; Aug-Oct is hurricane season

8. Day 8

   San Juan

   Puerto RicoPort

   The piers sit directly under the walls of Old San Juan, which makes this one of the few Caribbean calls where you step off and are already somewhere worth being. Blue cobblestones, 16th-century Spanish fortifications, and a working city rather than a shopping arcade. It is also a major homeport, so a call often lands in the middle of turnaround traffic.

   • Castillo San Felipe del Morro on the headland
   • Castillo San Cristóbal and the city walls
   • Casa Bacardí distillery, reached by the Cataño ferry
   • El Yunque National Forest, about an hour east

   Getting ashore

   Most ships dock at Piers 1-4 in Old San Juan and you walk straight into the historic district; the largest ships use the Pan American piers on Isla Grande, a short shuttle or taxi ride out.

   Best months

   Dec-Apr is driest and busiest; Aug-Oct is peak hurricane season

9. Day 9 · At sea

10. Day 10

    Great Stirrup Cay

    BahamasPort

    Norwegian's Berry Islands beach is the oldest of the private-island calls - the line has used it since 1977. It was a tender operation for decades, which made short calls miserable, until a two-ship pier opened at the end of 2025 and ships began tying up. Bertram's Cove is the main swimming beach. The buffet lunch is included; cabanas, the Silver Cove villas, watersports rentals and the spa are not.

    • Bertram's Cove, the main beach
    • The included beach barbecue buffet
    • Snorkel gear, kayaks and floats for rent (extra cost)
    • Private cabanas and the Silver Cove lagoon villas (extra cost)

    Getting ashore

    Ships dock at the pier that opened in December 2025 - older trip reports describing a tender ride no longer apply.

    Best months

    Nov-Apr for calm seas and reliable calls; summer is hotter with afternoon storms

11. Day 11

    Miami, FL

    United StatesArrive

    PortMiami is the busiest cruise port on earth and behaves like it: a lettered row of terminals strung along Dodge Island - A for Royal Caribbean, B for Norwegian, C for MSC, D through F for the Carnival brands, V for Virgin. Traffic funnels in over the Port Boulevard causeway or through the tunnel under Government Cut, and on a Saturday with six ships turning around, both back up.

    • Ocean Drive and the Art Deco district in South Beach, 20 minutes across the causeway
    • Wynwood Walls and the warehouse murals around it
    • Calle Ocho in Little Havana - a cortadito and the domino tables at Maximo Gomez Park
    • Vizcaya Museum and Gardens, a 1916 bayfront villa in Coconut Grove

    Getting ashore

    Terminals A-G and V sit on Dodge Island, reached by the Port Boulevard causeway or the PortMiami Tunnel; Miami International is about 8 miles west, usually 20-30 minutes but longer on a heavy turnaround morning.

    Best months

    Nov-Apr (Aug-Oct is peak hurricane season and August ashore is punishing)