Sky review 1/22-25 (very short)

[karena1]

This was our first NCL cruise. i will give you the good/bad

 

Good

 

very reasonable-we got it before it was "always free booze but included a pkg)

free booze pkg

Staff was great-very friendly

Shows were good

Pool BBQ was good

Cruise director was good

 

Bad (or not so good)

 

Free booze pkg - for me it was fine as I drink beer-they cannot do anything to that. But for alcohol - it is all watered down 40 proof. My husband talked to a number of the bartenders and they said the same. you could not even upgrade to a better pkg. if you wanted REAL booze it was full price! So hubby felt like he was drinking flavored soda all weekend

 

We have been on Majesty/Monarch/Sovereign many times so we know what an older ship offers. but Sky had zero pizzaz. Blue carpet on the grand staircase, white peeling walls when you go up the glass elevators, wood instead of brass. Just nothing exciting at all

 

Food - we don't expect much on a 3 night cruise, but the food was just bad. And I am not a foody at all! Very little selection and tasteless

 

Then you have a MAJOR playoff football game going on and you show it in only one place - the tiny tiny sports bar! Wall to wall people. How about showing it in Dazzles or the theater! Really !!!!!!

 

Bathrooms - I was in a least 3 bathrooms the first day that had no paper. Never all weekend did I see a crew member cleaning the bathroom. the bathroom by the buffet Sunday was so disgusting I finally found a officer and told them about it. Then it was cleaned. Sorry but absolutely no excuse for that. I don't care how old the ship is, you can keep the bathrooms clean

 

Hallways - for a small ship we thought there was tons of hallways/walkways to get anywhere. Between the pool and buffet, and many other places.

 

So overall, we tried it, winds stopped us from getting into the private island which we really wanted to see. But now probably never will as for sure we won't do Sky again. The watered down bev pkg is not worth the increased prices they are now charging.

 

I would rather pay more for Enchantment and know I am getting a ship I love and just pay for the pkg. Then hubby can get real drinks instead of watered down soda.

 

I am sure NCL has amazing ships, but for us Sky is for sure not one of them

[cincicruisers]

Thanks for taking the time to post your review.

[Obx_1974]

Bartenders confirmed that free booze is watered down and you had to pay extra for no water added booze?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Moby0215]

I'm assuming you are saying "watered down" as just a way to describe the package as surely you are not insinuating that they actually add water to the liquor bottles? And 40 proof? Where do you get that? Most liquor is 80 proof (40%). Doesn't matter if it is of lower quality it is still 80 proof. For example if you were to order a rum and Coke it would be 1 shot of rum, ice, and Coke. Now if you are used to bartenders heavy pouring drinks then I can see where you might erroneously call this "watered down". All you would need to do in that case would be to ask for less mixer or even just ask for the liquor or the rocks and get a soda separate and add the amount to your taste.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Keith1010]

Thanks for your review.

Keith

[janpo]

I'm sorry that your first NCL cruise was on the Sky. I agree with all you said about the Sky. She was our least favorite NCL ship and we also will never sail her again.

 

We sailed her in January 2015 and things were broken and worn out then also. A lot of the public bathrooms had no towels in them nor did the locks work. Our cabin was worn out and the door would not stay shut in the bathroom. Ours was a 4 day cruise. We met an older couple on that cruise who also never sailed NCL before and the Sky was their first cruise. I told them not to base NCL on the Sky but they said they'd never sail NCL again.

 

But..the rest of the ships i sailed with NCL have been great.

[david_sobe]

So the "free" booze is not really free and not so much booze after all ?

:eek:

[Amanda/Tom]

I think that would be a good idea to ask for the liquor separate to your drink, then you could tell if its "watered down" or not. Thankfully, I drink mostly wine, I just hope thats okay and not like a wine cooler!! Sailing in 18 days. Thanks for the tips. Im going in with a good attitude, not expecting much on the food from what Ive read. How was the weather while you sailed?

[karena1]

I'm assuming you are saying "watered down" as just a way to describe the package as surely you are not insinuating that they actually add water to the liquor bottles? And 40 proof? Where do you get that? Most liquor is 80 proof (40%). Doesn't matter if it is of lower quality it is still 80 proof. For example if you were to order a rum and Coke it would be 1 shot of rum, ice, and Coke. Now if you are used to bartenders heavy pouring drinks then I can see where you might erroneously call this "watered down". All you would need to do in that case would be to ask for less mixer or even just ask for the liquor or the rocks and get a soda separate and add the amount to your taste.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

nope, bartender actually showed my husband 3 or 4 bottles and they were all 40 proof. We saw the same things years ago at Sandals in Jamaica. So his Jim Beam was 40 proof not 80 proof. Bartenders told him all the booze in the package was like this.

[karena1]

I think that would be a good idea to ask for the liquor separate to your drink, then you could tell if its "watered down" or not. Thankfully, I drink mostly wine, I just hope thats okay and not like a wine cooler!! Sailing in 18 days. Thanks for the tips. Im going in with a good attitude, not expecting much on the food from what Ive read. How was the weather while you sailed?

 

Did not matter if you ordered liquor separate or not. Still 40 proof. And they would not give you shots, it had to be on ice.

 

We had for the most part really bad weather which is why we did not get into the private islands. Winds were really bad both Sat/Sun. At least Sat we found a place on the pool deck in the sun that was not so windy so we were able to get some rays.

[Amanda/Tom]

Were you able to swim? I heard once the pools werent heated. Or for that fact, were the pools even opened? Was it warm enough during the day to wear a swimsuit? Im leaving in 18 days, the high right now is only 77 degrees but hear the nights are cooler. Ugh, what to pack

[SuiteCruiser]

We were on the same cruise and were happy with the wines that they had on offer by the glass, another thing that can't be messed with. My Riesling was a german one, the Moscato was Lindeman's for instance.

 

We had bloody mary's which were good and I had a bunch of margaritas, which seemed the same as usual. Those were in the casino, though, so not sure if it's different.

 

Don't drink hard liquor, but that sucks if their giving you a version at half strength.

[Leavethekidswithmom]

I can't find any 40 proof whiskey, I can find 40%, or 80 proof but no 40 proof. Are you sure OP they served 40 proof?

[Moby0215]

nope, bartender actually showed my husband 3 or 4 bottles and they were all 40 proof. We saw the same things years ago at Sandals in Jamaica. So his Jim Beam was 40 proof not 80 proof. Bartenders told him all the booze in the package was like this.

 

 

You are absolutely incorrect. Jim beam does not make a 40 proof. It is 40% which equals 80 proof. But even if they did make a 40 proof version that does not make it watered down. When you say watered down you are insinuating that NCL actually adds water to the bottles, which would be highly illegal.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[stormynow]

Off the Sky 4 day 1/29 and the alcohol was the same as our Dec '15 sailing. Also got great pours. BT's too good to me.

[vicocala]

My Sky cruise in December wasn't perfect, but I haven't had one that was. That said, the Sky crew did everything in their power to make it one. The drinks at that time were actually pretty strong as were they on the Getaway last June. They aren't skimping on the booze.

 

It seems a disproportionate number of bad reviews occur when people miss the cruise lines island, no matter which island or line it is. The Sky beat Carnival and RCCL hands down for the Bahama runs I have taken, admittedly only one of each.

[sparks1093]

You are absolutely incorrect. Jim beam does not make a 40 proof. It is 40% which equals 80 proof. But even if they did make a 40 proof version that does not make it watered down. When you say watered down you are insinuating that NCL actually adds water to the bottles, which would be highly illegal.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

"Watered down" is a generic term and if they are indeed using 40 proof that is a term that could be applied to the practice. Unfortunately I find it easy to believe that NCL would do this on an all-inclusive ship in order to save money and to cut down on inebriates. I wasn't aware that international maritime law governs the mixing of drinks on the high seas;). Still, the OP's husband saw the labels and it's rather easy to tell the difference between "80" and "40" (unless of course he is just making it up).

[Moby0215]

"Watered down" is a generic term and if they are indeed using 40 proof that is a term that could be applied to the practice. Unfortunately I find it easy to believe that NCL would do this on an all-inclusive ship in order to save money and to cut down on inebriates. I wasn't aware that international maritime law governs the mixing of drinks on the high seas;). Still, the OP's husband saw the labels and it's rather easy to tell the difference between "80" and "40" (unless of course he is just making it up).

 

 

I do not agree with your logic of how to apply the term "watered down". However that is beside the point as I am Fairly certain that Jim Beam does not make a 40 proof. I have googled and tried to find it with no success.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[sparks1093]

I do not agree with your logic of how to apply the term "watered down". However that is beside the point as I am Fairly certain that Jim Beam does not make a 40 proof. I have googled and tried to find it with no success.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Just because it's not available to the public doesn't mean they don't make it for sale to companies like NCL. (And I'm not saying that I would use the term "watered down" in that fashion but I can certainly see how someone else might. People do not always use the best terminology when discussing things.)

[KirkNC]

Thanks for the report!