Sky! Feb 8-15 Trip Report & Review

[MaryBethV]

24 minutes ago, AF-1 said:

Your pictures of the island and beaches were great.  Love the pictures with just the sand and water.  Thanks.  Did you enjoy your cruise director Corey?

I think Corey did a great job. He seemed quite laid back and fun. The interactions between him and Captain Tuvo were 😂!

[AF-1]

4 minutes ago, MaryBethV said:

I think Corey did a great job. He seemed quite laid back and fun. The interactions between him and Captain Tuvo were 😂!

I asked because he was on our Alaska cruise two years ago.  Did a wonderful job and  and he's a  funny person

[FM]

Very nice review layout - appreciate the photos of the menus and the Princess Patter (which we haven't seen in a very long time as we've been cruising other lines).  Surprised to hear about line-ups that early in the AM when boarding … when is the earliest one can board? Appreciate your culinary reviews …   

[MaryBethV]

50 minutes ago, FM said:

Very nice review layout - appreciate the photos of the menus and the Princess Patter (which we haven't seen in a very long time as we've been cruising other lines).  Surprised to hear about line-ups that early in the AM when boarding … when is the earliest one can board? Appreciate your culinary reviews …   

There weren't any line-ups for boarding at all. We literally walked right on the ship!

The line in the photo I think you are referring to was for those wanting to reserve a spot in the Sanctuary on deck 18 (an adults-only, by-reservation area). Hope that helps!

[MaryBethV]

Tuesday | February 11, 2020 | St. Thomas

 

The approach to the Virgin Islands is my absolute favorite and something I love to watch from our balcony, so we got up early and grabbed a quick bite (ok, a lot of bites) in the buffet. We love to eat at the tables outside - aft, near the wake pool.

 

 

These little drink menus were on the tables.  I have never ordered a drink for breakfast, but I think it is going on my list to try something next cruise. Any recommendations which one I should order?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As we got closer, we ran into clouds, haze, and a downpour or two. It is so fun how the view changes every couple of minutes. I was alternating cameras - so I'll try to put these in some orderly fashion...

 

 

 

 

 

 

I find the pilot boats that zoom up to a massive moving ship fascinating. This one had to take a little detour and ward off a sailboat.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The weather started to clear up a bit and by the time we were entering the harbor it was just perfect!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I found Zach & Cody's yacht! (if you don't get the reference, ask any teenager 😉)

 

And the #1 reason for booking a port side balcony cabin on this itinerary is...

 

Next up - the best excursion ever!

 

 

 

[jwattle]

Our recommendation for morning drinks: Try a different one each day 😄

 

[Rangitane]

Your photos are fabulous MaryBeth, especially loving your extensive food shots.

[shellgirl61]

I will be on the Sky in May in The Baltic. thanks for sharing and taking all the pictures. It looks like such a beautiful ship. So excited about sailing her.

[hllwdcruiser]

Can't wait for the best excursion ever - you have us on tenterhooks!

[stacy1231]

Wow - We are on the Enchanted in September, now I wish it were sooner.  I am ready to go.  

We are also booked for Alaska Summer of 2021, hopefully you will be on our cruise then.

I am looking forward to your next installment!  Beautiful pictures.  Thank you for sharing!

[Waterluv]

Your review is awesome. Thanks for sharing. We will be sailing on Sky for my birthday in April we have M108 I can’t wait for breakfast on the balcony every morning and our Ultimate Balcony dinner on my birthday. Safe sailing 🎉😊😁

[cococruiser]

Fantastic review! Not a morning drinker but could be tempted by that breakfast drinks menu ha ha. We are in Sky in November. Looking forward to the rest of the review. 

[susancruzs]

Enjoying your review!  Don't want to wish my Spring/Summer away, can't wait for Aug. Baltic/TA cruise on the Sky, pictures you've posted are awesome!

[MaryBethV]

12 hours ago, hllwdcruiser said:

Can't wait for the best excursion ever - you have us on tenterhooks!

So sorry - have been going through photos. So. Many. Photos. Posting soon...

 

7 hours ago, Waterluv said:

Your review is awesome. Thanks for sharing. We will be sailing on Sky for my birthday in April we have M108 I can’t wait for breakfast on the balcony every morning and our Ultimate Balcony dinner on my birthday. Safe sailing 🎉😊😁

Please report back on the Ultimate Balcony Dinner - it sounds incredible! Happy Birthday in advance! 🙂 

[MaryBethV]

St. Thomas, cont...

 

The planning for our excursion actually started WAY back in early 2017. DH and I were planning our very first cruise on the Norwegian Escape and were looking forward to visiting St. Thomas and Tortolla. Our cruise was booked for February of 2018 and I was pouring over options for excursions -- which led us to Captain Ocean Peterson and his sailing yacht, the Catania. You really do need to visit Catania's Website to read the story of this remarkable captain and the sailboat he was born on. Yes, born on. It is difficult to reserve a sailing date with him during the busy months, but we were booking almost a year in advance and were able to get our day on the calendar. Yay!

 

Then hurricane Irma came through the Caribbean in the fall of 2017 and left so much devastation in it's wake. 😢 Soon afterward, Norwegian changed our itinerary entirely and we had to email Captain Ocean to cancel. We didn't receive a reply, which worried me - but I knew they may not have the ability to communicate either. (For the record, Captain Ocean has always been extremely prompt in replying to any emails!)

Fast forward to March-or-so of 2019 and we were once again planning to visit St. Thomas with my in-laws. I sent an email off - and learned that the Catania was again accepting day-sail reservations. And our date was available!

 

So, here we go...

 

First off, here are the set taxi prices in St. Thomas. 

 

The four of us got a taxi and headed off to the Red Hook Marina. We had reserved a private 6-hour day sail, which included beverages and lunch. Captain Ocean met us at our taxi and ushered us to the dinghy which we took out to the Catania that was moored in the harbor.

 

 

I was a little worried about my MIL getting in and out of the dinghy and the sailboat - but Ocean and the rest of us all helped and she was soon settled in. It was a wee-bit choppy heading towards St. John! Thankfully, Ocean had our total attention with his stories of the area and growing up on the Catania. At one particularly choppy area, he even took the time to explain the basics of how the sailboat works and how it was not going to tip over! 😉

The views were breathtaking!

 

 

 

 

 

We moored close to a remote beach on St. John and took the dinghy to shore. Ocean showed us where to snorkel and then left us to explore on our own for about an hour while he went back to the Catania to start preparing our lunch.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Will continue later - I have to run help *someone* shop for a car so he can quit using mine!

Next up, more sailing and an incredibly yummy, organic lunch with a view like no other...

[MaryBethV]

We headed over to Honeymoon Beach and moored there for lunch. Then we sailed along the coast of St. John, saw Cruz Bay and headed back. Incredible experience & we are so happy that we are going back with our kids in just a couple of months.

 

 

Marinated, grilled-on-the-boat chicken, couscous, salads. I'm sure the view helped, but it was delicious. Not to mention another round of Captain Ocean's painkiller drinks. 😋

 

 

 

He is quite the storyteller --

 

 

 

 

 

This photo pretty much captures the whole feeling of the day for me.

 

Still a lot of destruction evident in many areas. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[getaway101]

Am loving your review and pictures.  Do you know if the Sky offers a wine package in the dining room?

[MaryBethV]

24 minutes ago, getaway101 said:

Am loving your review and pictures.  Do you know if the Sky offers a wine package in the dining room?

I don't think that they offer wine packages on 7-day cruises. Someone else would know better than I would though. We did purchase a bottle of wine at a few dinners and we also brought on a couple of bottles to enjoy in our rooms (you can bring 1 per adult without paying a corkage fee).

[MaryBethV]

Back on the ship we all washed up, then enjoyed the gorgeous sunset over the harbor.

 

 

 

 

As lovely as a nice dinner sounded - dinners in the Main Dining Room had been taking an average of 1.5-2 hours and we just weren't up to that. My MIL was in the mood for pizza, so we opted for Alfredo's.

I did snag the MDR dinner menu for you though. What would you have had?

 

 

Again - since I don't have the Alfredo's menu from this trip - this is the one from the Regal in 2019.

 

 

My favorite Antipasto Assortito di Magro -

 

DH and I shared the Regal Princess pizza.

 

We also tried the Rollata di Melanzane (rolled eggplant stuffed with angel hair pasta, mozzarella, and sauce) - I'd been wanting to try this and it was very good!

 

MIL enjoyed her Pizza Hawaiiana and FIL enjoyed his Calzone. Sorry - no photos of those.

 

FIL did order the Apple Torte with Vanilla Sauce and my MIL proceeded to scoop off all the vanilla sauce "You've Got Mail - caviar style". 😂

 

DH and I opted for Tiramisu and Blueberry Pudding from the International Cafe. So good.

 

The parrots were in the Piazza again (as they were last year). Love this. They are so beautiful!

 

 

After a walk around the top decks (and the most amazing made-to-order french fries from the Salty Dog Grill - shhh!), we hung out on our balconies for a moonlit sail away.

 

 

 

 

 

Here is the Patter and the St. Thomas info. - 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[jeeper2]

Absolutely loving this review!  Your concise writing style and photos are amazing!  It may be time for an upgrade from my iPhone 6+ to an 11 Pro, if that is what you said you have!  (About time, anyway!) I’m looking forward to more of your review, and wishing it was for more than a seven day cruise! 😊

[CruzeQueen2]

Wow and Wowee! Love the the grin on FIL.Your excursion with Captain Ocean looks amazing.Thank you for sharing St Thomas with us. And everything else too. 😄

Edited February 23, 2020 by CruzeQueen2

[Astro Flyer]

2 hours ago, getaway101 said:

Do you know if the Sky offers a wine package in the dining room?

 

2 hours ago, MaryBethV said:

I don't think that they offer wine packages on 7-day cruises. Someone else would know better than I would though. We did purchase a bottle of wine at a few dinners and we also brought on a couple of bottles to enjoy in our rooms (you can bring 1 per adult without paying a corkage fee).

Based on my experiences & posts by others it’s rarely available on 7-day itineraries.

 

On the Sky in November for 28-days the wine package was unavailable.  No explanation was given but they left the impression that it had been eliminated on the Sky.

[MaryBethV]

Wednesday | February 12, 2020 | St. Maarten

 

I woke up early and slipped quietly out onto the balcony to watch our arrival. So beautiful!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Captain Tuvo swung us right around and backed us in. I can't park a car that well!

 

 

After a quick bite to eat at the International Cafe, we headed off the ship around 8:30am.

 

Custard filled donut (yum), Egg/ham muffin sandwich (actually hot - SO much better than the same via room service!), and some cinnamon/hazelnut pastry (making me crave one as I type this!) --

 

The plan was to grab a taxi and head to Orient Beach to the Bikini Beach Bar which is in the middle of Orient Beach. Even though the weather looked iffy, we decided to go for it. (The Harmony of the Seas was our new neighbor for the day - that is one MASSIVE ship!)

 

 

 

We were able to catch a little shuttle from the ship to the cab area which saved my MIL some steps. 🙂Then we got a cab/van without any air. Yaaaay. There was a road closed, which took us on a detour through some really rough areas. The remaining devastation of people's homes from the hurricane is simply heartbreaking. We finally arrived at our destination around 9:20am.

 

The Bikini Beach Bar is absolutely beautiful! Thanks to h-sar's Live from the Sky Christmas/New Yrs thread, I contacted the Bikini Beach Bar a couple of weeks in advance to reserve chairs/umbrellas right on the water. Good news - that worked! Bad news - it wasn't at all necessary due to the weather. Oh well!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Menus for those that are interested. We each had a drink & I had my first Guavaberry Coloda. It was very sweet - to be honest, it kind-of reminded me of a McDonald's strawberry milk shake. 😂

 

They have a great lunch menu which you can order right to your loungers. Unfortunately the weather didn't cooperate long enough for us to have lunch before we called it quits and headed back to the ship.

 

 

 

 

A few glorious brief moments of sun!

 

It was very windy - my MIL put her cover-up dress to good use! 😉

 

 

Back at the cruise port, we did a little shopping - buying some spices & gifts at the Spice Shack (I HIGHLY recommend the blackening spice mix!) and browsing linens at Mr. Table Too.

 

 

Time to head back to the ship for some lunch!

Edited February 24, 2020 by MaryBethV

[AF-1]

Look how wide Harmony of the Seas is

[MaryBethV]

49 minutes ago, AF-1 said:

Look how wide Harmony of the Seas is

I know!!! And the Sky is no small ship next to it - really something to see close-up.