Norwegian Cruise Line Aqua arrived in Port Miami on Friday, April 11, 2025. This is the next ship in the Prima Class. She can carry 3,571 passengers so not one of the huge mega ships. She’s the Goldilocks size. Not too big, Not too small.

Photographing her as she left port that Friday was very challenging. I set up my Sirui ST-224 Tripod at South Pointe Park. The sun was right in my face and the day was super hazy. I snapped some photos using the 100-400 f5.6-8 at first. Then switched to the 28-70 f2. It was very rough. The 28mm was too much lens. I wanted to switch to the 16mm f2.8 but that ship moves surprisingly fast! I did what I could and it wasn’t great. Luckily Lightroom came to the rescue and I was able to salvage some of the photos.

The next day, I had the opportunity to sail on an overnight cruise enjoying a sample of what she had to offer. Dining was amazing. I ate at the Local, Indulge Food Hall, Hudsons, and Shoreside.

My accommodations were amazing. NCL assigned me to a balcony room. The bed was really comfy. And the bathroom and shower had plenty of room for me.

I took my trusty Canon EOS R6 Mark II along with me to document what caught my eye on board. I paired it with the Canon 28mm to 70mm f2 lens to capture almost all of the photos. When the 70mm wasn’t enough, I switched to the 100mm to 400mm f5.6-8. The f2 of course is amazing but definitely too heavy at 3.5 pounds to lug around all day.

Please enjoy my photos. You’ll see I didn’t take the photos everyone else takes. Instead I tried to focus on the other. Those other details you may not catch. The odd angles, the signs, the sun peaking behind the clear slide, or the figures in the mini-golf course.