If you have been on the SKY and another NCL ship...

Was 1st time on NCL Sky

- vs. HAL / Carnival cruises

I will not go into detail - because I got deleted somehow- guess I posted toooo many examples.

No flaming please - I did see a similar posting or two so I am inquiring.

2 worst things = Teen boys could barely find anything to eat

and When I went to Turkey carving station, asked for dark meat - instead of carving it - came back with a pre-pressed cheapo turkey roast and sliced some of that off - like a TV dinner turkey taste --

I want to try NCL perhaps in the future -- but if bigger ship, higher price is the same food quality - I just can't. Even French dining was bleh

I did lose one lb. !!!!! :eek:

You don't have to be a food critic to help me

- carnival seems to have food consistent on ships good and bad

- Just want to know if other NCL ships have same culinary quality - or if Sky is different because it runs back and forth to bahamas only?

Thanks!!! :)

Food is subjective. I enjoyed the food on the Sky both trips I made on it. I loved Le Bistro as well. I found the food on the Dawn was good as well.

Never been on another cruise line yet so can't compare that way.

we've found the food to be the same on several ncl ships, but had no real complaints with the food

I think the difference between the Sky and some other ships is that the itinerary is the Bahamas and the duration of the cruise is just 3 or 4 days. I was on the Sky about 2 years ago and felt the experience was underwhelming. After being on 7 day and transatlantic sailings, I have determined that the type of passengers and large family groups of locals somehow affect the crews' perception of who they are serving. There were small, but noticable differences in how the crew downscaled fine dining to a "trip to Dennys' experience. Just one example: they left any bread crumbs on the table, no little knife and plate scraping to make the table clean. I think some of the crew determined that their own manners and behaviors were superior to those who they were serving and so they just lowered the bar.

Overall, NCL probably has recognized that these short trips are a great value for locals who just pay for the cruise and no flights and so the quality of service and food goes down. I have learned to NOT advise people to take these shorter trips to try out cruising. It just isn't the same experience.

I've been on four NCL ships and the Sky was by far the worst for MDR food. Temperature and texture issues were very common.

As for the turkey, I finally tried it on my most recent cruise because I'd heard so many good things and nothing else was appealing to me (normally we'd have selected a specialty restaurant that night, but we were traveling with a group and it was our night we'd planned to eat together in the MDR). I found the turkey to be decent. They appear to wrap the dark meat pieces together for cooking and slicing. It's a common restaurant prep I've experienced before on land. Not my favorite way of experiencing turkey, but it's not a cheap chopped and formed turkey loaf. The whipped sweet potatoes with it were DELICIOUS.

I think the difference between the Sky and some other ships is that the itinerary is the Bahamas and the duration of the cruise is just 3 or 4 days. I was on the Sky about 2 years ago and felt the experience was underwhelming. After being on 7 day and transatlantic sailings, I have determined that the type of passengers and large family groups of locals somehow affect the crews' perception of who they are serving. There were small, but noticable differences in how the crew downscaled fine dining to a "trip to Dennys' experience. Just one example: they left any bread crumbs on the table, no little knife and plate scraping to make the table clean. I think some of the crew determined that their own manners and behaviors were superior to those who they were serving and so they just lowered the bar.

 

Overall, NCL probably has recognized that these short trips are a great value for locals who just pay for the cruise and no flights and so the quality of service and food goes down. I have learned to NOT advise people to take these shorter trips to try out cruising. It just isn't the same experience.

This has been my experience as well. I was underwhelmed by the sky, but it was also a weekend trip. Ive found that the longer the cruise, the more people (both staff and pax) put effort into making it worth the money. Also, longer cruises tend to equal fewer kids, while shorter ones equal more. I dont blame them, its a good value for a family. Im just saying..

Having said all that, Id try the sky again, but only if it was 7 days+

I guess my only frame of reference is our one other short bahamas cruise - on Carnival Sensation

The food did not seem any different on 8 day Miracle or 7 day Glory ships--all good enough to gain weight each time! And HAL food even better.

Not ruling NCL out -- it will be a while before we can even think about planning a cruise -

I just wanted to know if this seemed a common occurance with NCL.

Thanks!

I think the difference between the Sky and some other ships is that the itinerary is the Bahamas and the duration of the cruise is just 3 or 4 days. I was on the Sky about 2 years ago and felt the experience was underwhelming. After being on 7 day and transatlantic sailings, I have determined that the type of passengers and large family groups of locals somehow affect the crews' perception of who they are serving. There were small, but noticable differences in how the crew downscaled fine dining to a "trip to Dennys' experience. Just one example: they left any bread crumbs on the table, no little knife and plate scraping to make the table clean. I think some of the crew determined that their own manners and behaviors were superior to those who they were serving and so they just lowered the bar.

 

Overall, NCL probably has recognized that these short trips are a great value for locals who just pay for the cruise and no flights and so the quality of service and food goes down. I have learned to NOT advise people to take these shorter trips to try out cruising. It just isn't the same experience.

Completely agree with you. The Sky is for people that love to be on a ship even if they can't get away for longer than a long weekend. Food always seems to be much better on 7 day or longer cruises.

 

2 worst things = Teen boys could barely find anything to eat

 

:eek:

Wow...That's pretty amazing (in a bad way).

I sailed on the Sky once quite a few years back and don't recall the food being bad. I can tell you that the last NCL cruise I took on the Dawn, the food was probably the best we've ever had and that was our third time on that ship...so I can't say if it's the ship, the supplies they happen to have that week, the chef or any combination of those things that makes the difference in food.

I will say that we USED to prefer Carnival's mdr food a lot more, but over the past 4 years or so, NCL seems to be totally on par with them, with only a few items in exception (CCL can totally rock the lobster tail where NCL kills it and CCL also does better desserts). Other than those things, we feel they are on equal footing.

I did REALLY miss the chocolate melting cake :(

Teen boys cant find anything to eat on a cruise ship? I thought all teen boys loved pizza, hamburgers, hot dogs, french fries, steaks, pancakes, waffles, etc.

I could see other reasons why teen boys would not like the sky (very limited entertainment esp for teens) but the food would not be one of them.

I would think teens would love the Epic with the slides, rock walls, bowling, teen club, etc

The Sky was the first ship I ever cruised on - AK in 2002 and again in 03. This was back in Freestyle 1.0 - there were no speciality restraunts etc. The chef for NCL was a former White House chef and the cusine was all based on his book and experiences there - the result was a fantastic MDR experience. On the 03 trip we had our two teens who had no problem finding something to eat - yes it was mostly from the buffet or room service pizza.

Our third cruise was in 06 on the POA - MDR food was not as good as the Sky and it was the beginning of FS 2.0 so there were the extra cost restraunts - we tried the Italian one and loved it. We also enjoyed many meals in the Cadilac Diner.

Our last cruise was on the Pearl to AK in 12 - ate alot in the MDR and had great meals every time. Being in a suite we also enjoyed BK and Lunch in Cagney's. I was dissapointed in the Blue Lagoon - both in service and food quality. The buffet was also very good - but again I did not try turkey. BTW I rarely by a full turkey and get only the breast as they are much easier to cook - as light and dark meats need to cook to different final temps.

I am not sure how much leaway the chefs onboard have when it comes to the food they get to work with. I can't imagine that NCL would be able to have the exact same provisions in every port - it could be that they were shorted for that week - or that because of the short cruise cycle NCL puts their newer galley crews here to break them in before letting them go to the bigger ships. All is speculation of course.;)

I've been on four NCL ships and the Sky was by far the worst for MDR food. Temperature and texture issues were very common.

 

I'd agree with this. We thought the Gem had great food in the MDR, and the Spirit had best MDR food of any of our cruises. The Sky was fun for a weekend, but I'd agree that the Sky was a notch below the other NCL ships we have been on.

Teen boys cant find anything to eat on a cruise ship? I thought all teen boys loved pizza, hamburgers, hot dogs, french fries, steaks, pancakes, waffles, etc.

 

I could see other reasons why teen boys would not like the sky (very limited entertainment esp for teens) but the food would not be one of them.

 

I would think teens would love the Epic with the slides, rock walls, bowling, teen club, etc

No they were never bored - ages 17-21 all of them danced each night away till 2 am with us - they played basketball and enjoyed their grandpa's Owner Suite Perks -- They also lovvved the comedian and the Juggler.... But When they would pile their plates up - 50% always seemed leftover, pizza, burgers - even the longboards food was not edible at 1 am--we left it for the server - except one kid ate alll the wings LOL...It was just odd that most of 15 of us never enjoyed the "free food" maybe a 3 on a scale of 1-10 .... I was embarased since I set it up.

So far it seems a few have backed up my hypothesis but not all--so I rest my case and will re-consider NCL someday. :)

I just got off the Sky. Was on the Pride of America one year prior. Gained 10 lbs on both cruises. So definitely didn't lack anything to eat on either cruise.

We did notice a difference between the Sky and the Pride of America, but I think most of it was in the passengers onboard. The MDRs on the Sky never seemed like they were full during main meal times. The few times we wandered by the buffet, it was packed. We never ate there except for the late night snack buffet because it seemed like the entire ship was there the rest of the time.