NCL Sky vs. Empress OTS?

[sharse]

Considering one of those two ships to Cuba in October. Has anyone here been on both and could comment on how they stack up? I've been on Carnival (Sunshine) and Royal (Grandeur and Brilliance). Never been on NCL.

 

Would love your thoughts as to why you chose one vs. the other as well. Thanks!

[hannibal54]

I have been on both ships, for a cruise to Cuba I picked the Sky. The Sky is a bigger ship, which has bigger cabins, it also comes with a free drink package. The Empress is still a great ship, just a lot smaller.

[EatonDoolittle]

Planning the Empress soon, but had originally booked the Sky for the Havana overnight (before the Empress scheduled it).

I have also never sailed NCL (D+on RCCL), but if it were not for the Miami departure, I would have kept that NCL booking. Tampa or Pt Everglades are preferable for me to Miami as a departure port.

 

As stated, the NCL price includes the drinks. Cabins include refrigerators (none on Empress), and the balcony cabin was affordable (not so much on Empress). RCCL made the decision on this ship to label all balconies as suites, thus charging an extra premium. Both ships seem to have an relaxed dress code. RCCL will allow you to bring on wine, soda, and bottled water, not so on NCL. Just no fridge to keep stuff cold (!)

 

I felt that the ships were comparable in size, age, and much else, so take a look at the departure port and cabin amenities to help your decision. Frankly, I don't know if loyalty level matters on this small ship, it doesn't appear that they have the facilities to offer any associated perks. Not a problem, it's all about the destination this time!

 

Good luck with your decision. If not for a personal aversion to Miami traffic, I would have stayed with the Sky. Maybe someone who has done both will comment on the ship experience.

[sharonax3]

I was also going back and forth between the two ships. NCL being a little cheaper considering the alcohol package was free. I decided on Empress as the time in port for Cuba was much longer. I love NCL, but have only been on their newer and bigger ships. I'm a little nervous going on such a small ship, but have heard only good thing about Empress, not so much for the sky.

[adjensen]

My wife and I are doing the 9 October Norwegian Sky sailing. We were dedicated Carnival cruisers (lots of friends who only do Carnival) but tried Norwegian last year and, after two great cruises, they will be our "go to" cruise line. Decent fares, great food, free drinks package with our balcony cabin (everyone gets it on the Sky, unique to that ship) and outstanding entertainment -- none of which likely applies to the Sky, lol. I debated taking the Cuba cruise on Carnival out of Tampa, because they have Cozumel as a port, which is waaaaaay more interesting than NCL's private island in the Bahamas, but opted for NCL because it puts us in Havana on my birthday. We will likely skip the private island -- it's tendered, there's really nothing to do there, and the food sucked the last time we were there.

 

As for Miami, we don't mind sailing out of there, because we just drive down from Daytona the day of the cruise. There is a "limited access" tollway into Miami on I-95 (not the Florida Expressway, it's a single lane in the middle of the highway) that costs $2 and saves a ton of time.

[hannibal54]

Planning the Empress soon, but had originally booked the Sky for the Havana overnight (before the Empress scheduled it).

I have also never sailed NCL (D+on RCCL), but if it were not for the Miami departure, I would have kept that NCL booking. Tampa or Pt Everglades are preferable for me to Miami as a departure port.

 

As stated, the NCL price includes the drinks. Cabins include refrigerators (none on Empress), and the balcony cabin was affordable (not so much on Empress). RCCL made the decision on this ship to label all balconies as suites, thus charging an extra premium. Both ships seem to have an relaxed dress code. RCCL will allow you to bring on wine, soda, and bottled water, not so on NCL. Just no fridge to keep stuff cold (!)

 

I felt that the ships were comparable in size, age, and much else, so take a look at the departure port and cabin amenities to help your decision. Frankly, I don't know if loyalty level matters on this small ship, it doesn't appear that they have the facilities to offer any associated perks. Not a problem, it's all about the destination this time!

 

Good luck with your decision. If not for a personal aversion to Miami traffic, I would have stayed with the Sky. Maybe someone who has done both will comment on the ship experience.

 

I am also a D+ on Royal. The ships are not comparable in size, the Empress is small. When I was on the Empress I knew quite a few of the staff which made it nice. Sailing out of Miami isn't bad for us, we prefer it over Ft. Lauderdale. We will be in Tampa in September to watch the Cubs and the Rays play, so as long as we are there, I booked a Carnival ship to Cuba. Originally it was going to Cozumel but the changed the itinerary.

[Ronni G]

Cancelled out my SKY reservation once they changed the time in port on Day 2 in Havana. Originally ship was to be in port until 5 PM...that was changed to noon time so a lot less time for sightseeing. If you are going on the NCL SKY please note that the change in port time was not shown on their website. I found out quite by accident and then cancelled out and booked Empress of the Seas. If you are interested in more time in Havana then the RCC ship is the right choice.

[herdingdogmom]

Cancelled out my SKY reservation once they changed the time in port on Day 2 in Havana. If you are interested in more time in Havana then the RCC ship is the right choice.

Just a clarification about the Sky departure time from Havana on day 2 - only some sailings leave earlier. Our July 31 sailing leaves at 5:00. NCL's website shows the correct times now but you have to look for it. I almost booked the week before and it leaves at noon.

[_drdesigns]

We're booked on the Sky for April 2018 and I checked a similar RCC cruise this week and it was cheaper for a comparable cabin (checking again tonight a lot cheaper if we sail in January) + it's a 5 day cruise as opposed to the 4 day NCL.

 

We're grandfathered in on the NCL cruise, booked the first of June. To book a new cruise we may lose any benefits of having made a deposit before the Trump Cuba news conference. Not sure that will even matter once the dust settles and regulations are in place.

 

My main interest is being in Havana for two days and hiring who I want to as a tour guide. I don't want to commit to cruise tours only.

 

My husband and I are 60ish. NCL may fit our demographic better. I think RCC is a younger crowd?

[mooline]

Just returned from Empress' first Havana overnight trip. We LOVED Empress, though she is the smallest ship we have ever sailed. The staff was awesome and the food was great!

 

Note that there are very few balconies on this ship, which may be your determining factor. We've sailed many NCL ships but not Sky, but I know that Sky has many balconies.

 

We sprung for a suite on Empress, and enjoyed a huge balcony (forward). We used the balcony extensively on the trip; the ship's speed was fairly slow (9-12 kts, mostly) so we did not have the strong winds that can sometimes keep one off a forward balcony. Although there is no Concierge Lounge on Empress, suite and elite loyalty passengers do receive 3 drinks per person per day loaded on to the SeaPass card; these can be used in any bar from 5:00 - 8:30 pm. There are other perks too, such as hors d'oeuvres, robes, priority boarding, etc.

 

Tampa is a super easy port and certainly has a much more traveler-friendly airport than Miami, for any who are flying in for the cruise.

 

Enjoy your trip, no matter which ship you choose!