BVIArabella

British Colonial Hilton Nassau is closing February 15th 2022.

Glad we dud not book a Day Pass!

I also do not know where to look for Cruise Critic posts on the Liberty Fleet of Tall Ships

I am sailing on the Liberty Star (December 4, 2016) and really looking forward to the sailing.

It would be nice to know if there is a forum for this type of Cruise.

It does really depend on your expectations for the Sky. It is an older, smaller ship with a great deal less amenities than the Getaway. I wrote a short review last week from a cruise my wife, her sister, and I took form Feb 8 to 12. We had a good time and enjoyed the Sky. We have been on 14 cruises on various companies and it does depend on your past experiences that impact your expectations. Have good time.

Thanks for your review! I'll be sailing again on the Sky this August in an aft Penthouse. I wish I could find out what updates they did with her brief "dry dock" recently. All I can find is a picture of the ship with the aft cabins covered in a blue tarp!

I had every intention of asking what was done but alas old age and memory conflicts and I forgot.

Our concierge was a very pretty Lady from the Dominican Republic. I will look through our "stuff" for her name.

GSC was sunny but cool (68 F) That was best day of the 4.

Disembarked the Sky on Friday, Feb 12 and except for the weather had a great cruise. I had read a number of negative reviews on the Sky so I was a bit worried. My wife and I have been on 14 cruises both big and small from Royal Caribbean, Princess, Celebrity, Carnival and Windstar so we have a good idea of what we like in a cruise.

After the research I did on the Sky, my expectations were based on what I knew of the ship and I decided to ignore the negative reviews on CC.

The Sky is older, it is smaller so I geared my expectations on that. I was not disappointed in the Sky at all.

There was three of us together for this cruise. We had an accessible cabin

(0201) on deck 10. My sister-in-law is in a wheel chair so we needed a roll in shower. This cabin met our needs. It was large enough for us. It was clean and the Stewart was great. We also had a Butler and a concierge. The concierge was a real help especially getting a wheelchair on to the tender to Great Stirrup Cay.

Since the Sky is an older ship, the buffet area was tight and busy but manageable. Contrary to some past posts about the Sky, I found the quality of the food on the buffet as good as any I have had. The size limits their ability to offer a larger selection.

We were able to have breakfast at Cagney's (comes with a suite I guess) and it was excellent.

We ate our dinner in Crossings. The selection was good and an exceptional prime Rib on the last night.

The "All Inclusive" drinks do not include all brands but the selection was wide.

I asked a bar tender about the claim that the drinks were watered down and he laughed and said that did not happen. The bottles are all sealed and I watched different bar tenders pour drinks around the ship and I now believe that that rumour is simply not true. I had several shots of Southern Comfort and staggered back to my cabin just to prove it.

The entertainment was good and again, the size of the ship dictates the entertainment options. The main theatre singers and dancers were good. They did two performances and were "entertaining".

The weather did not cooperate so we didn't do much in Freeport but we did make it to Atlantis in Nassau and toured the aquarium there. $46.00 per person seemed a bit high.

The highlight for us was getting to the private island on the tender. There were conflicting reports about the ability of the tenders to take wheelchairs to the island but the crew were exceptional and helped my sister-in-law to get ashore. For those of you that have a disability, they can get the wheelchair onto the tender but you must be able to walk down two flights of steps (7 steps each). There are railings on both sides and a crew member met us with a beach wheelchair right on the gang blank. It was a great moral booster for my sister-in-law.

Overall, the Sky is perfect for a short cruise. Just remember that it is an older ship with limited amenities and will need some refurbishment in the near future.

Yea but how was the cruise?

Hope that doesn't happen February 8TH! Thanks for the information.

Thanks for the information.

I see Crown Royal, Southern Comfort and Miller lite is included. I'm all set!

I wonder if they will make me a Painkiller?

Thanks very much! The stairs may be too much for her. We'll have a nice day on the ship!

WildcatRock:

Could you please let me know if you saw any wheelchairs or even walkers on the tender ship to GSC?

My sister-in-law is in a wheelchair but we would really like to go to GSC on our Sky cruise in February. We do not have any information on accessibility on the tenders.

Thanks

The tendering to GSC is entirely weather related. We went ashore around 11 am. It was a little bumpy, but not bad at all. Do to the on and off rain and increasing wind, we returned to the ship around 2 pm. The ride back was fairly bumpy, but not alarming. They were using the thrusters to keep the ship broadside to the wind, and it was fairly calm on the lee side of the ship for the tender to tie up. But they were not taking anymore people to the island. Just bringing them back. I think if the weather was as rough in the am as it was later in the day, we probably would not have been allowed to go to GSC. But the wind came up after we were on the island. Even on the lee side of the ship, the tender was bouncing around pretty good.

Cruiser Rich: Did you see any wheelchairs on the tender boat? My wife and I want to take her sister (who uses a wheelchair and sometimes a walker) to GSC (weather permitting) but no one seems to know if wheelchairs can access the tenders.

Thanks

Just got off the Sky this morning. Our room steward introduced himself, and kept the room well taken care of. The new drink policy is great. No drunks were seen. Plenty of bartenders at each bar. But there was a wait for drinks at the pool bars, due to the fact that so many people were in that area. I just went inside to one of the "quiet" bars and no waiting. If you just wanted beer, there were several bartenders just doing beer, from large ice filled tubs side of the pool. Some of the bartenders seemed new to the job, probably due to the increased demand for drinks. I ordered Mai Tais from several different bars over three days, and no two were alike. I was a bit disappointed that they dropped the Las Vegas review. But the show Sunday night was good and the comedian Saturday night was funny. The skit that followed the comedian Saturday night, with five people in Togas spitting water on each other was just stupid, and not funny. GSK is a work in progress, and much progress has been made since last year. It rained off and on, and the tender ride back to the ship was a bit bumpy, but nothing serious. I noticed they kept the ship sideways to the wind, blocking it, so the tender could tie up on the lee side, out of the wind. I've been on the Sky before, and it is what it is. I enjoyed it, and the crew was very friendly, and seemed to enjoy their jobs. A nice little three day getaway.

Nassau is mostly high end jewelry shopping. A few blocks from the cruise ship area is really run down, and filled with vacant, crumbling stores and buildings. I blame Atlantis for sucking the lifeblood out of Nassau, like a Walmart does to a small town! And I refuse to set foot in Atlantis for that reason. There are a lot of locals pushing their wares around the cruise terminals, but that is about the only commerce in Nassau. Not a lot of jobs there. Just trying to be fair. The cruise business is about all they have there. The harbor area, straw market, and Senor Frogs are interesting.

Did you see anyone in a wheelchair or walker attempt to take the tender to the private island? Thanks

What are they changing/updating?

Cruisemapper has it as "Penthouse Suites redecoration". I can't find any other information.

Norwegian Sky just moved to a different birth in Miami. Port Miami Web Cam showed it's move so safe to say it is in for the 4 day refurbishment.

A site I look at called Cruise Timetables still lists the Sky as cruising today to the 4 day Bahamas itinerary.

We are on the Sky for February 8 so they do a great refurb on my suite!

We took the transfer bus from the ship to the airport, checked our luggage and took the bus at the airport to Miami Beach for several hours. The bus driver told us where to catch the bus back to airport from Miami Beach and we made it safe and sound.

Google the Miami city tours and email them how to catch their "Hop-on hop-off" buses from the airport.

Have fun!

Shannon: please post your pictures. It is nice to read an honest review. The past negative reviews I have read must be from some very picky cruisers.

Could you share your cabin location please.

Kingmaker: Do you mind sharing your cabin number from your cruise on Sky?

We will be in 0201.

Thanks

I tried to book January 11 to 15th 2016 on the NCL website for the Sky and could not.

So from January 11th when Sky returns to Miami, until Friday January 15th 2016 the Sky is not available.

There is a 3 day cruise for January 15th 2016.

I wonder how much "reno" NCL can do in 4 days at Port?

I booked for February 8th and really looking forward to a short cruise.

The recent negative reviews don't concern me.

Jay Sam:

How about a short review of the trip?

I have read several lately and some are good some are not so good.

My wife and I are cruising on the Sky in February so I would be interested in your overall impression.

Thanks

I would like to thank everyone for taking the time to respond to my questions about the Tenders accessibility to Great Stirrup Cay. We will probably stay on the Sky for the day.

Thanks again.

Has anyone in a wheelchair tried to use the tender to Great Stirrup Cay from the NCL Sky?

There is so much conflicting information about accessible tenders that I was hoping that someone with a wheelchair would describe the process on using the tender to GSC.

i.e. Do you have to be able to climb down 10 or so steps out of the tender at GSC?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks for helping. The bathroom picture does really help.

Did you have three people in the room? I was wondering if anyone slept on the couch.

Thanks again.

Thanks for the picture of 0201. My wife, her sister (who is in a wheelchair) and I are cruising on the Sky February 8, 2016.

For some reason only one of your Pictures came through when I called your posting.

Is there a chance you could repost any more pictures you have of 0201?

We are looking at the bathroom but can not find anything on the actual cabin.

I wish Norwegian would post newer pictures on their web page.

Thanks