NCL Sky Review

Hi there. This will be my first ever review of a cruise. I have actually been on a few. First introduced to cruising on the Disney Magic. My husband (ex now) and I took two shorter cruises after that, RCL Enchantment & Majesty. After the big 'D' I went on a Carnival with some of my friends. It was the Destiny, and then following that I went with my adult kids on Carnival's Fantasy & a 7 night on Carnival's Dream. Loved the Dream! I had the best time with my kids. That is my cruise history.

Now, I was looking for a good deal on a shorter trip due to school and work schedules, and came across this deal on the Sky. Just me and my daughter, who is 22. We both went through all of the reviews. Spent a couple of month on cruise critic, because that's what we do, lol. We originally had an oceanview cabin booked with the promo for the Ultimate Beverage Package. I kept checking prices and about 2 weeks before the cruise, the prices dropped on a balcony cabin. We've never had a balcony and jumped at the opportunity, so we upgraded and LOVED it! How will I ever go back ;) ???

We flew into MIA from Detroit on Monday. I had prepaid for a shuttle through Express Shuttle. I do not recommend. We waited an hour for the pick up, and when it came time for the ride back to the airport from the port, they wouldn't answer their phone. We ended up paying for a cab.

Embarkation was very simple and painless. I think we waited in line for about 15 minutes tops. We also got the UBP sticker at check in. We boarded at about 12:30. We had lunch at Il Adagio. Yummy pasta! Cabins were ready at about 1:30. We explored the ship after dropping off our things. Of course Muster, which was in the Stardust, so that was cool. Dinner the 1st night we went to Crossings. My daughter and I are not picky. We have read so many positive and negatives regarding cruise food, and cruises in general, but because of different tastes and experiences we take it all with a grain of salt. We enjoyed the food in the MDR.

Freeport***rain rain and more rain. We were originally going to get a day pass at Grand Lucaya and then shop around after, but instead we shopped by the port which had the usual things. We've been there before and just picked up a few gifts for the family. We had Sushi for inner. It was very good. It was an up-charge, but worth it. That evening we bought 2 cards for Deal or No Deal. Very fun. My daughter was chosen to play the first game on stage. She wound up winning $50!!! We also won some instant pull cards.

Great Stirrup Cay****Loved!! Beautiful island. Great staff. Beautiful beach. The BBQ lunch was good and satisfying. We were very fortunate to go because we were told the 2 previous cruises weren't able to go there because of the weather. We knew the weather was going to be iffy, and had planned to make the best of the situation, but Wednesday turned out to be beautiful! For dinner we had reservations at Le Bistro. We both had escargot!! It was fabulous. My daughter had the Lamb which was great and I had the Lobster tail. They did NOT charge me the extra $10...not sure why. Highly recommend Le Bistro. That night was the family friendly comedian, Troy. We were very entertained. He was quite funny. We were looking forward to the adult show the following night. We also participated in Friendly Feud. That was fun as well. It was also the night of the White Hot Party.

Nassau***We've been to Nassau several times, so we did some shopping, had lunch at Senor Frogs, and then went back to the ship and spent some time poolside. The water was very refreshing because it was HOT yesterday in Nassau. For dinner we went to the Palace. Another great meal. The comedian, Troy, didn't fail! He was very funny. We did NOT win a cruise for two, so that was disappointing, lol! We watched the Quest game, which was very entertaining. My daughter won $$ in the casino as well.

Staff***I think the Sky has a wonderful staff. They were always so happy. Robert was our room steward and he was always nice and pleasant. we read the bar service was slow. Not so much for us. We never had issues getting our drink on in a good amount of time. All very friendly. The poolside waiters were great that last day. They came around with Aquafina squirt bottles and cooled everyone off with those...AND brought you many drinks, lol!

Disembarkation was another breeze. We had an 11:30 flight so we walked our luggage off and were off the ship by 7:45.

We loved the Sky! Our only snag was our shuttle service, but nothing with NCL!!

Nice review!! I'm glad you had a good time and hope you enjoy more NCL cruises!

It definitely sounds like a great time. I'm glad you guys got to Great Stirrup Cay. We were the cruise before yours, we got off the ship on Monday...it was too windy for us to tender to GSC.

We also had a fantastic time on the ship and bounced around Nassau gathering trinkets for the kids.

Sounds like a great time, we will be on the Sky soon. Where is the best place to pick up t shirts? Last cruise we were on was 8 years ago, I'm sure things have changed in the ports.

Love the Sky! You can't beat it for a quick getaway!

Carol, there are tons of places to buy t shirts on Nassau. We got some of the color changing shirts at Del Sol. They don't look quite as decorated until they get out into the sun and then they fill in with color. They're pretty cool

I Like Del Sol too, and they have a free beach bag with the purchase of two shirts. The shirts are quite pricey, IMO, but very cool. In Freeport I thought the tshirts were stupid pricey, but Nassau had much better deals. GSC had some too. Reasonably priced as well.

Did you have a cabana on GSC?

So glad you had a wonderful time. We did that cruise last september and it was fantastic

I've sailed on the Sky three times....hands down my favorite ship!! :D

Glad you had a great time!!

Did you have a cabana on GSC?

No..it was just the two of us, plus when we started considering it, they were already sold out online before the cruise.

I've sailed on the Sky three times....hands down my favorite ship!! :D

Glad you had a great time!!

We loved the Sky. The size is just right for me. My daughter liked it too, but I think she prefers a little larger ship. The Carnival Dream was her favorite so far. We would like to try a bigger NCL ship....maybe someday :)

The Sky was sooo easy to navigate around tho. I like being able to find my way around :)

Glad to hear it! I'm back on the Sky next weekend and looking forward to it :)

We have a small cabana on GSC booked, I've never seen them, though I've had the big ones a couple of times.

Looking forward to fun in the sun!

Thanks for your review!!! :) We are booked on the Sky in November. Glad to hear you and your daughter had a great time!

Thanks for your review!!! :) We are booked on the Sky in November. Glad to hear you and your daughter had a great time!

You'll have a great time! Happy cruising :)

Glad to hear it! I'm back on the Sky next weekend and looking forward to it :)

 

We have a small cabana on GSC booked, I've never seen them, though I've had the big ones a couple of times.

 

Looking forward to fun in the sun!

Can't wait to hear how you liked the cabana :) Have a great time!!

Thanks for your review, glad you had a great time! Our family loved the Carnival Dream too. We are trying NCL for the first time in October, super excited:)!

That is a great review on the Sky. Thank you. I will be taking the Sky in January and I found this very helpful, would you recommend this cruise for teenagers and mom :)

That is a great review on the Sky. Thank you. I will be taking the Sky in January and I found this very helpful, would you recommend this cruise for teenagers and mom :)

I know they probably have a teen group for them. When my son was younger he really really enjoyed the teen groups. He is now in that in between stage...too old for the teen group, but too young to hang out in the clubs, which is why he passed on this cruise, along with his school and work schedule didn't allow for it. I think you'll have a great time. :)

Can't wait to hear how you liked the cabana :) Have a great time!!

Thanks so much, I will report on the cabana :)

My sister and I were on this cruise also!! It was wonderful start to finish!! Private island was the best (but wow did I get burnt!!) we found the lagoon area and that was the best part!! This was our 2nd cruise on the Sky and we would definitely do it again! Glad that you and your daughter enjoyed it too!

My sister and I were on this cruise also!! It was wonderful start to finish!! Private island was the best (but wow did I get burnt!!) we found the lagoon area and that was the best part!! This was our 2nd cruise on the Sky and we would definitely do it again! Glad that you and your daughter enjoyed it too!

I just read your review, and I felt the same way. Wonderful from start to finish. Now I'm back to work :( and back to reality, lol! Glad you and your sister enjoyed too. I tried getting my sister to come along but she wasn't able to get away...

I've been wondering if anyone from our cruise was going to post a review and somehow missed this until now! I absolutely loved our cruise and am thinking about doing the weekend one later this year that goes to GSC and Nassau. We loved GSC and loved our excursion at blue lagoon island from Nassau. The beach was gorgeous and had every activity we could have wanted. We did the dolphin encounter though and only had about 45 minutes to enjoy the island because we were the last group to go for the dolphins. We want to go back just to do the blue lagoon beach day next time! The UBP was definitely nice. I really hope they do that promo again before the end of the year.

Curious what other cruises have you been on that went to Nassau and how did they compare to this one? The only complaint I had was my husband and I weren't a big fan of the food (we ate at crossings once and the buffet the rest of the time). It probably mostly has to do with the fact that we aren't super experimental when it comes to food and it seemed they had more foods from other countries than typical american food. We don't really go for the food though so it wouldn't stop me from going again.

I've been wondering if anyone from our cruise was going to post a review and somehow missed this until now! I absolutely loved our cruise and am thinking about doing the weekend one later this year that goes to GSC and Nassau. We loved GSC and loved our excursion at blue lagoon island from Nassau. The beach was gorgeous and had every activity we could have wanted. We did the dolphin encounter though and only had about 45 minutes to enjoy the island because we were the last group to go for the dolphins. We want to go back just to do the blue lagoon beach day next time! The UBP was definitely nice. I really hope they do that promo again before the end of the year.

 

Curious what other cruises have you been on that went to Nassau and how did they compare to this one? The only complaint I had was my husband and I weren't a big fan of the food (we ate at crossings once and the buffet the rest of the time). It probably mostly has to do with the fact that we aren't super experimental when it comes to food and it seemed they had more foods from other countries than typical american food. We don't really go for the food though so it wouldn't stop me from going again.

Both RCL & Carnival cruises that went to Nassau. One time we did the aquarium at Atlantis. It was ok. Not overly impressed, but we didn't want to spend the extra $$ for the full day pass.

Food wise, on the Sky, we went to the dining room 2x's and both times had beef. Once was like a New York Strip steak and the other was sliced beef that was sooo tender and yummy. The other two nights, one was the sushi bar and the other was Le Bistro, which we highly recommend. But my daughter and I like trying different types of food, so that worked out for us. We didn't care for the buffet, so we only did that once for lunch, and there wasn't much there that we wanted, so we never returned to it. I have a bunch of food porn photos, but I'm not sure how to download them, lol.

Hi - do you happen to have the daily sheet from Freeport day? I think we may stay on board and sleep in late; want to see what venues are open and if anything is going on anywhere for early afternoon.