Brief Review of the Sky with pics

I sailed this past weekend, aug 22 -25th. Overall a good cruise. My biggest complaint was the buffet. I normally eat at the buffet when I cruise but the Sky buffet was not that great. The upside is that I ate at the main restaurants and found the food to be very good.

I had an inside cabin( my first on a Norwegian) which was quite small and the beds were uncomfortable.

My biggest concern before sailing was the weather. When we arrived at the port, we received an itinerary update indicating the days were swapped for GSC and Nassau. Later on the Captain stated the decision was made due to high winds which would make it difficult to tender.

Great Stirrup Cay was great. The tendering process was very easy, no tickets required. When I sailed from NYC on the Gem in 2010 it was chaos. I took the tram to Lagoon beach and I literally had the beach to myself. A few people stopped by to explore and then left. Later on I walked over to main beach for lunch and saw a few other little beaches with one or two people. Lunch was very good. There was corn, jerk chicken, ribs, pasta, and fruit.

In Nassau, I booked the Blue Lagoon Beach Day. The ferry to the island was about 45 minutes. The island is very nice.There was plenty of beach chairs and hammocks on the beach. The beach is good for small children because the water is very shallow. Lunch was served around 11:30 which included hamburgers, grilled chicken and bbq chicken. The ferry departed from the island at 1pm and 2pm for cruise passengers.

Overall a good cruise. GSC was the highlight for me.

NCL Breakaway Weekend 1/14

NCL Gem CTN 11/13

Disney Dream 8/2013

NCL Jewel 2 day CTN 1/2013

NCL Gem CTN 1/2012

Carnival Sensation Bahamas 3/12

Disney Magic NYC CTN 8/12

NCL Gem CTN 2/11

NCL Gem Bahamas 11/10

NCL Gem CTN 1/10

Carnival Sensation Bahamas 5 /09

NCL Spirit CTN 10/07

Carnival Fascination Bahamas 11/02

I uploaded the pics from my Ipad so the order of the pics are off.

NCL Breakaway Weekend 1/14

NCL Gem CTN 11/13

Disney Dream 8/2013

NCL Jewel 2 day CTN 1/2013

NCL Gem CTN 1/2012

Carnival Sensation Bahamas 3/12

Disney Magic NYC CTN 8/12

NCL Gem CTN 2/11

NCL Gem Bahamas 11/10

NCL Gem CTN 1/10

Carnival Sensation Bahamas 5 /09

NCL Spirit CTN 10/07

Carnival Fascination Bahamas 11/02

Thanks for your review! Going on the Sky in April. Did you go to any specialty restaurants?

I only ate at the complimentary restaurants but I did hear a few people say that they enjoyed dining at Cagneys and Il adagio.

NCL Breakaway Weekend 1/14

NCL Gem CTN 11/13

Disney Dream 8/2013

NCL Jewel 2 day CTN 1/2013

NCL Gem CTN 1/2012

Carnival Sensation Bahamas 3/12

Disney Magic NYC CTN 8/12

NCL Gem CTN 2/11

NCL Gem Bahamas 11/10

NCL Gem CTN 1/10

Carnival Sensation Bahamas 5 /09

NCL Spirit CTN 10/07

Carnival Fascination Bahamas 11/02

Welcome home. Glad you had a nice time on the Sky, we sail next week. I am wondering if you can remember if they had any of the clam shells at the Lagoon on GSC?? I need to be out of the sun and like the idea of the less populated lagoon area but need either shade or a clam shell.

Also, how far a walk is it to the lunch pavilion? I understand they have a shuttle type of golf cart to take people. Did you see that as an option?

Appreciate you giving the future Sky cruisers an update.

I took the golf cart to the lagoon. It stops near the tender area.

I didn't see any clam shells and there is some shade under the palm trees but not a lot.

There is a path that takes you to the main beach to the lagoon. It took me about 30 minutes to get to the lunch pavilion but I was stopping to take pics. I'd say its about a 10 or 15 minute walk.

I was on the first tender to

so I was probably at the lagoon by 9 am. I was the first person there and I saw about five other people that stayed long enough to fish and take pics.

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I enjoyed your review. It's nice to see a review from somebody who sails in normal cabins. I tend to skip over the penthouse/Haven reviews, since they're so outside the realm of my experience. Thanks!

Thanks so much for the review! I'll be sailing on the Sky for the 4 night deal in late October and don't seem to see a lot of reviews. The pictures were great to see! Getting excited! Nancy

Thanks for the review. The Sky was our first NCL ship and I have fond memories of that ship.

Thanks for the review, especially GSC, I've heard about storm damage but things seem to be ok. I'll be on her for the 3rd time in November. She's my favorite quick getaway

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I am glad my review was helpful.

I forgot to mention that I was unable to get WiFi in my stateroom. I tried on my phone and iPad.

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Thanks for the review and pictures. Glad you enjoyed your cruise. We're sailing in November on a 4 night cruise. It will be our first time on the Sky and our first cruise ever.

Did you have any preferences between the two main dining rooms?

Did you use the pool at all? Some videos I have seen it looks so crowded in the pool and around the pool area.

How was the entertainment on board?

Shade on GSC is a big deal for us too. DH can't be in the sun very long. We have one excursion booked for about an hour but other than that he needs to be under a tree or at the pavilion or have the option to go back and forth. We might rent the clam shell, but I also read it's very hot underneath them since no air circulates. :eek:

I was also on this sailing as part of a bachelorette group. This was the smallest and oldest ship I have sailed on and was concerned about this impacting my overall impression but my entire group really loved the Sky. We found the food to be good to great in the MDRs but I agree that I was overall dissatisfied with the buffet. I was thankful for the beautiful weather we experienced at both GSC and Nassau and I think the captain definitely made the right choice in the itinerary swap. We stayed in connecting balcony rooms and also found the staterooms to be small in comparison to other similar categories rooms on the rest of the ships I've been on. Overall it was a great weekend getaway and we had a ton of fun, especially at the white hot party dancing the night away!

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The first pic is near the main beach. There are a few clam shells there.

In the second pic behind the statue is the main beach. You can see some of the clam shells have mesh. The palm trees do not provide a lot of shade.

As far as entertainment, the white hot party was ok. The adult comedian( don't remember his name) was entertaining and Quest was good as well.

I ate at Crossings. I attempted Palace restaurant once and it was way too crowded.

The service at Crossings was good. First night the service was ok. There was a minor hiccup with my order. Second night the service sucked and the last night the service was glorious lol. Jade was a wonderful server. She had so much energy and she was very attentive. She made up for the other nights.

NCL Breakaway Weekend 1/14

NCL Gem CTN 11/13

Disney Dream 8/2013

NCL Jewel 2 day CTN 1/2013

NCL Gem CTN 1/2012

Carnival Sensation Bahamas 3/12

Disney Magic NYC CTN 8/12

NCL Gem CTN 2/11

NCL Gem Bahamas 11/10

NCL Gem CTN 1/10

Carnival Sensation Bahamas 5 /09

NCL Spirit CTN 10/07

Carnival Fascination Bahamas 11/02

The pool was not crowded during port days and there were plenty of chairs available.

NCL Breakaway Weekend 1/14

NCL Gem CTN 11/13

Disney Dream 8/2013

NCL Jewel 2 day CTN 1/2013

NCL Gem CTN 1/2012

Carnival Sensation Bahamas 3/12

Disney Magic NYC CTN 8/12

NCL Gem CTN 2/11

NCL Gem Bahamas 11/10

NCL Gem CTN 1/10

Carnival Sensation Bahamas 5 /09

NCL Spirit CTN 10/07

Carnival Fascination Bahamas 11/02

I was also on this sailing as part of a bachelorette group. This was the smallest and oldest ship I have sailed on and was concerned about this impacting my overall impression but my entire group really loved the Sky. We found the food to be good to great in the MDRs but I agree that I was overall dissatisfied with the buffet. I was thankful for the beautiful weather we experienced at both GSC and Nassau and I think the captain definitely made the right choice in the itinerary swap. We stayed in connecting balcony rooms and also found the staterooms to be small in comparison to other similar categories rooms on the rest of the ships I've been on. Overall it was a great weekend getaway and we had a ton of fun, especially at the white hot party dancing the night away!

 

 

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Hey were you guys on stage during the white hot party?

Probably after 2-3 hours we set sail we had to return to Miami because of a sick passenger.

A lot of passengers were annoyed because we were initially told that we were returning to pick up passengers but later the captain informed us it was a medical emergency.

We were on stage most of the night :-). What can I say except we really did have a blast!

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Probably after 2-3 hours we set sail we had to return to Miami because of a sick passenger.

I was on the same trip and heard it was because of a fight near the pool as confirmed by some eye witnesses. Whether the reason they were returned to Miami because of a medical emergency resulting from the fight or they just got kicked off, I don't know.

Thanks for the review. The Sky was our first NCL ship and I have fond memories of that ship.

Same thing for us the Sky got us to love cruising will never forget her.

TBA November 2014

Golden Princess & Grand Princess Sep2014

Cunard Queen Elisabeth Jun2014

Golden Princess May2014

Royal Princess Jan 2014

Caribbean Princess Feb 2013

Carnival Liberty Nov2012

Hal Westerdam March2012

Ruby Princess Nov2010

Sapphire Princess Sep2010

Rccl Adventure Of The Seas April 2010

Carnival Miracle Feb2010

Rccl Oassis of the Seas Feb2010

Rccl Majesty of the Seas Nov2009

Rccl Navigator of Seas Sep2009

Hal Westerdam Nov&Dec2008

Caribbean Princess Nov2007

Sea Princess Nov&Dec 2006

Diamond Princess Apr2005

Rccl Navigator Dec2004

NCL SUN Nov2004

Visit of QM2 Oct2004

Carnival Victory Nov2003

Golden Princess Apr2003

Celebrity Mercury Nov2002

Carnival Elation Nov2001

NCL SKY Nov2000

Do you think since the buffet seems to be lacking and the MDR's are so-so

that for our 4 night Sky cruise we should consider the UDP?

Thanks for the review and pictures. Glad you enjoyed your cruise. We're sailing in November on a 4 night cruise. It will be our first time on the Sky and our first cruise ever.

 

Did you have any preferences between the two main dining rooms?

 

Did you use the pool at all? Some videos I have seen it looks so crowded in the pool and around the pool area.

 

How was the entertainment on board?

 

Shade on GSC is a big deal for us too. DH can't be in the sun very long. We have one excursion booked for about an hour but other than that he needs to be under a tree or at the pavilion or have the option to go back and forth. We might rent the clam shell, but I also read it's very hot underneath them since no air circulates. :eek:

If it's possible for you, I would rent a small cabana. We did that this last trip and it was amazing. SO worth it. Shade, ceiling fan, water, snacks, and a private shower. If not, there is shade to be had under palm trees but you would want to be on some of the first tenders.

Thanks for your report, great photo's.

I sailed this past weekend, aug 22 -25th. Overall a good cruise. My biggest complaint was the buffet. I normally eat at the buffet when I cruise but the Sky buffet was not that great. The upside is that I ate at the main restaurants and found the food to be very good.

 

I had an inside cabin( my first on a Norwegian) which was quite small and the beds were uncomfortable.

 

My biggest concern before sailing was the weather. When we arrived at the port, we received an itinerary update indicating the days were swapped for GSC and Nassau. [ATTACH]323435[/ATTACH] Later on the Captain stated the decision was made due to high winds which would make it difficult to tender.

 

Great Stirrup Cay was great. The tendering process was very easy, no tickets required. When I sailed from NYC on the Gem in 2010 it was chaos. I took the tram to Lagoon beach and I literally had the beach to myself. A few people stopped by to explore and then left. Later on I walked over to main beach for lunch and saw a few other little beaches with one or two people. Lunch was very good. There was corn, jerk chicken, ribs, pasta, and fruit.

 

In Nassau, I booked the Blue Lagoon Beach Day. The ferry to the island was about 45 minutes. The island is very nice.There was plenty of beach chairs and hammocks on the beach. The beach is good for small children because the water is very shallow. Lunch was served around 11:30 which included hamburgers, grilled chicken and bbq chicken. The ferry departed from the island at 1pm and 2pm for cruise passengers.

 

 

Overall a good cruise. GSC was the highlight for me.[ATTACH]323415[/ATTACH][ATTACH]323416[/ATTACH]

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NCL Breakaway Weekend 1/14

NCL Gem CTN 11/13

Disney Dream 8/2013

NCL Jewel 2 day CTN 1/2013

NCL Gem CTN 1/2012

Carnival Sensation Bahamas 3/12

Disney Magic NYC CTN 8/12

NCL Gem CTN 2/11

NCL Gem Bahamas 11/10

NCL Gem CTN 1/10

Carnival Sensation Bahamas 5 /09

NCL Spirit CTN 10/07

Carnival Fascination Bahamas 11/02

Asavnr

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