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Sky Dry Dock - Early 2019

Alegeeter

By Alegeeter,
in Norwegian Cruise Line

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Alegeeter

Alegeeter

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It looks like the Sky will be in dry dock from Jan 22 to Feb 8, 2019. Any news or rumors on how big a face lift she's getting?

The Sun looks beautiful after her Edge enhancements, I wonder if Sky will be getting something similar or just run-of-the-mill refreshments.

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ev98

ev98

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I've been following this with a fair bit of interest as we're sailing on the 5-night February 13-18 Bahamas route, so the second trip after the scheduled dry dock. In that thread I posted a few of the key dry dock changes for other ships in the NCL fleet from the past year. 

 

While I initially thought that the Sun's dry dock was a bit longer (quoted as 3 weeks), this seems to have been rounded up for promotional effect and is listed in a few places as the same 2.5 weeks as Sky is scheduled for. Given this timeframe and what seems like NCL's desire for more consistency across the fleet, I'd expect the same Edge enhancements as on Sun.

 

Other common changes in recent dry docks have been stateroom refreshes (USB ports in bedrooms), new carpeting and flooring (from the photos, Sky needs it especially in the common areas and dining rooms), bar and lounge rebranding, and occasionally another specialty restaurant gets added.

 

The real problem here is that construction on Sun was a complete disaster on the sailing just prior to the dry dock in Victoria, BC. According to news sources (CTV, HuffPo), power tools (including jackhammers) were in heavy use, dust and vapors permeated the ship, and many areas were roped off. NCL initially offered a 1-year-valid 25% future cruise credit for the issues, but continued negative social media and mainstream news attention forced them to offer a 5-year 100% credit. 

 

I'm less concerned for my personal trip. I expect that by the second sailing post dry dock, they will have a majority of these things worked out. I'm also hopeful that the negative attention from the Sun will result in a more organized refurbishment, perhaps with not as many paying passengers impacted.

 

For anyone sailing either immediately before Jan 22 or after Feb 8, I'd suggest adjusting your expectations - some venues might not be open and there may be additional noise. It would also be wise to connect with fellow passengers on these trips in terms of roll calls. Then, having good documentation will be key if things are substandard - think high quality videos, photos, written statements and quotes from staff. 

 

With all that said - I am very much looking forward to our cruise post-refresh, and I wish everyone with surrounding sailings the best!

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cnjones1

cnjones1

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12 hours ago, ev98 said:

I've been following this with a fair bit of interest as we're sailing on the 5-night February 13-18 Bahamas route, so the second trip after the scheduled dry dock. In that thread I posted a few of the key dry dock changes for other ships in the NCL fleet from the past year. 

 

While I initially thought that the Sun's dry dock was a bit longer (quoted as 3 weeks), this seems to have been rounded up for promotional effect and is listed in a few places as the same 2.5 weeks as Sky is scheduled for. Given this timeframe and what seems like NCL's desire for more consistency across the fleet, I'd expect the same Edge enhancements as on Sun.

 

Other common changes in recent dry docks have been stateroom refreshes (USB ports in bedrooms), new carpeting and flooring (from the photos, Sky needs it especially in the common areas and dining rooms), bar and lounge rebranding, and occasionally another specialty restaurant gets added.

 

The real problem here is that construction on Sun was a complete disaster on the sailing just prior to the dry dock in Victoria, BC. According to news sources (CTV, HuffPo), power tools (including jackhammers) were in heavy use, dust and vapors permeated the ship, and many areas were roped off. NCL initially offered a 1-year-valid 25% future cruise credit for the issues, but continued negative social media and mainstream news attention forced them to offer a 5-year 100% credit. 

 

I'm less concerned for my personal trip. I expect that by the second sailing post dry dock, they will have a majority of these things worked out. I'm also hopeful that the negative attention from the Sun will result in a more organized refurbishment, perhaps with not as many paying passengers impacted.

 

For anyone sailing either immediately before Jan 22 or after Feb 8, I'd suggest adjusting your expectations - some venues might not be open and there may be additional noise. It would also be wise to connect with fellow passengers on these trips in terms of roll calls. Then, having good documentation will be key if things are substandard - think high quality videos, photos, written statements and quotes from staff. 

 

With all that said - I am very much looking forward to our cruise post-refresh, and I wish everyone with surrounding sailings the best!

 

 

Thanks for the detailed info and suggestions!

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Alegeeter

Alegeeter

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From NCL (from Twitter message):

 

"She will be undergoing a several week dry dock beginning 1/21. All information and details about her transformation will be communicated after the dry dock"

*"several week" = two weeks and two days

 

 

Looks like that's all we will be getting until next month

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BirdTravels "Live from...." Rare

BirdTravels

Posted
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33 minutes ago, Alegeeter said:

What additions do you hope to see on the new Sky?

If you look at the deck plans, they have the new venues identified (don’t look at the words, look at the pictures). You see things like Starbucks, La Cucina and The Local (and more). 

 

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ev98

ev98

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26 minutes ago, BirdTravels said:

If you look at the deck plans, they have the new venues identified (don’t look at the words, look at the pictures). You see things like Starbucks, La Cucina and The Local (and more). 

 

Thanks for the heads up! 

 

Seems like the following changes, based on the venue descriptions vs. pictures, and comparing the images with older deck plans from https://www.travelweekly.com/Cruise/Norwegian-Cruise-Line/Norwegian-Sky/Deck-Plans:
 

  • Deck 4 and Deck 5 remain unchanged, the names of the main dining rooms are still the same.
  • Deck 6: Dazzles Nightclub replaced with Bliss Ultra Lounge. Stardust Lounge remains the same. Captain Cook's Bar becomes Mojito Sugarcane Bar. Hawaii names dropped from meeting rooms, as expected.
  • Deck 7: Starbucks replaces "The Coffee Bar" (upcharge!). 
  • Decks 8-10 don't have any visible changes (passenger cabins).
  • Deck 11 (pool deck): Spinnaker Lounge replaces Outrigger Lounge. Longboards Bar becomes The Local. La Cucina replaces Il Adagio. Breakers Bar is replaced with Topsiders Bar. Body Waves Fitness Center becomes Pulse Fitness Center.
  • Deck 12: Pinnacle Lounge and Sushi Bar replaces Plantation Club. Champs Bar remains the same. Cagney's still in the same location.

I'm not super thrilled about the mojito bar - Captain Cook's seemed like it would have been neat. Everything else seems like it's just syncing up the NCL venue branding across ships. Oh, and I guess adding sushi as a specialty dining option. 

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tokidoki

tokidoki

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6 hours ago, ev98 said:

Thanks for the heads up! 

 

Seems like the following changes, based on the venue descriptions vs. pictures, and comparing the images with older deck plans from https://www.travelweekly.com/Cruise/Norwegian-Cruise-Line/Norwegian-Sky/Deck-Plans:
 

  • Deck 4 and Deck 5 remain unchanged, the names of the main dining rooms are still the same.
  • Deck 6: Dazzles Nightclub replaced with Bliss Ultra Lounge. Stardust Lounge remains the same. Captain Cook's Bar becomes Mojito Sugarcane Bar. Hawaii names dropped from meeting rooms, as expected.
  • Deck 7: Starbucks replaces "The Coffee Bar" (upcharge!). 
  • Decks 8-10 don't have any visible changes (passenger cabins).
  • Deck 11 (pool deck): Spinnaker Lounge replaces Outrigger Lounge. Longboards Bar becomes The Local. La Cucina replaces Il Adagio. Breakers Bar is replaced with Topsiders Bar. Body Waves Fitness Center becomes Pulse Fitness Center.
  • Deck 12: Pinnacle Lounge and Sushi Bar replaces Plantation Club. Champs Bar remains the same. Cagney's still in the same location.

I'm not super thrilled about the mojito bar - Captain Cook's seemed like it would have been neat. Everything else seems like it's just syncing up the NCL venue branding across ships. Oh, and I guess adding sushi as a specialty dining option. 

 

6 hours ago, ev98 said:

Thanks for the heads up! 

 

Seems like the following changes, based on the venue descriptions vs. pictures, and comparing the images with older deck plans from https://www.travelweekly.com/Cruise/Norwegian-Cruise-Line/Norwegian-Sky/Deck-Plans:
 

  • Deck 4 and Deck 5 remain unchanged, the names of the main dining rooms are still the same.
  • Deck 6: Dazzles Nightclub replaced with Bliss Ultra Lounge. Stardust Lounge remains the same. Captain Cook's Bar becomes Mojito Sugarcane Bar. Hawaii names dropped from meeting rooms, as expected.
  • Deck 7: Starbucks replaces "The Coffee Bar" (upcharge!). 
  • Decks 8-10 don't have any visible changes (passenger cabins).
  • Deck 11 (pool deck): Spinnaker Lounge replaces Outrigger Lounge. Longboards Bar becomes The Local. La Cucina replaces Il Adagio. Breakers Bar is replaced with Topsiders Bar. Body Waves Fitness Center becomes Pulse Fitness Center.
  • Deck 12: Pinnacle Lounge and Sushi Bar replaces Plantation Club. Champs Bar remains the same. Cagney's still in the same location.

I'm not super thrilled about the mojito bar - Captain Cook's seemed like it would have been neat. Everything else seems like it's just syncing up the NCL venue branding across ships. Oh, and I guess adding sushi as a specialty dining option. 

What am I missing? I c the crew center pics, but where the info about new venues are, I just don't c? Please help, thx

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ev98

ev98

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10 hours ago, tokidoki said:

 

What am I missing? I c the crew center pics, but where the info about new venues are, I just don't c? Please help, thx

 

You have to compare the pictures of the new decks on the NCL website (https://www.ncl.com/ca/en/cruise-ship/sky/deck-plans) with a site that has the old deck plans (eg: https://www.travelweekly.com/Cruise/Norwegian-Cruise-Line/Norwegian-Sky/Deck-Plans). 

 

I've constructed an image that highlights the major differences from Deck 6 - I might go on to do the other decks as well. Click here to view the larger version.

 

sky_deck6_plans.png

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ev98

ev98

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9 minutes ago, tokidoki said:

thx!!!!   With a new Starbucks,  would the NCL card have to be used,  as I assume?

 

I can't be certain about how Sky will operate, but on Bliss in December, my wife was able to use a reloadable Starbucks gift card (one of the gold ones) after about 2pm on the first day. Not sure about "star" collection or redemption though. It was also a Canadian-issued card, but still worked without a problem. We didn't try the mobile app as we didn't buy wifi.

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tokidoki

tokidoki

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23 minutes ago, ev98 said:

 

I can't be certain about how Sky will operate, but on Bliss in December, my wife was able to use a reloadable Starbucks gift card (one of the gold ones) after about 2pm on the first day. Not sure about "star" collection or redemption though. It was also a Canadian-issued card, but still worked without a problem. We didn't try the mobile app as we didn't buy wifi.

thx, again!   really looking forward to my cruise❤️

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Alegeeter

Alegeeter

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The Ship section in My Vacation Summary now says:

 

"Refurbished from bow to stern in 2019, Norwegian Sky offers the most inclusive contemporary cruise vacation at sea. From the moment you step aboard, you’ll see that Norwegian Sky offers something for everyone: 11 dining options, 8 bars and lounges, an onboard spa and a casino that has all of your favorite games and slots. The popular Norwegian Sky offers 3- and 4-day cruises year round to the Bahamas from Miami. If you're looking for a vacation like no other take a 4-Day Cuba & Bahamas cruise from Miami. And, if you decide to bring the kids, we'll keep them entertained all day, while you lounge by the pool, play in the casino, or enjoy dinner at one of many restaurants."

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