Norwegian Sky July 22 - 25

[GA Dave]

I had posted a kind of daily blog on the major social media site about my cruise to help out newer cruisers and figured I would copy it to here if anyone is interested:

 

NCL Sky

Check in piece of cake @ 9:20 AM.  About a dozen people here.

Did not board until 11:20.  Given group numbers like Southwest Air. 

Do muster immediately.  Very easy.

Lunch @ Great Outdoor Cafe, deck 11 aft.  They have buffet stations and a bar back here.  I found the food choices to be plentiful and everything I had was good to very good.

Pool deck was basically empty @12:00 PM

Cabins ready right around 1:00 PM.

Balcony cabin is smaller than I am used to but plenty big enough.  Enough hangers for a three or four day, but would need to bring more for a seven day or two people.   Bathroom is very small.  Would be a challenge for two people.  Balcony is adequate.

Internet is not available until approx 1:30.  It is a bit different in than other lines, but Internet cafe on deck 7 in the Atrium was very helpful

Cabana envelope was in cabin, but still had to go to Excursions desk to actual ticket, which is also the tender ticket.

Staff has been awesome.  Very attentive.  Very easy to book La Cucina for the last night’s dinner.  It was right next to the Excursion desk.

Shocking to me how few people are actually tipping servers.

Quite a few tweens and teens onboard, but very well behaved so far.

The Great Outdoor Cafe will be my hang out spot!  Such a great people watching spot!  Excellent staff.

[GA Dave]

Sailaway:  The spot is the Great Outdoor Cafe.  Although they will push you to the pool deck, you cannot actually see anything from there.

Dinner at Palace Main Dining Room.  Shocked at how empty it was at 6:00 PM.  Literally two tables totally three passengers, including me.  Most seemed to be eating at the buffet.  I had the French Onion Soup and the Beef Medallions.  Soup was good except for a lack of a cheese layer on top (it was on the bread).  Beef medallions were good and came with steak fries and broccoli.  For those that eat normal “American” size dinners, they may want to add a dessert.  But for me, the soup and dinner were more than enough.

Waitstaff told me that there are only 1,165 passengers onboard this weekend!

So, my 5:00 AM wake up caught up with me this evening and I fell asleep until 8:00 PM.  Wandered up to the Spinnaker Lounge.  Had a good Pina Coloda and a nice chat with the server.  It was very quiet in there.

I talk a walk from the front to the back of the ship on deck 11 and was surprised by the lack of people out and about at 9:00 PM.  Definitely a different crowd from my last four MSC cruises, where the nightlife seems to go much later.
More tomorrow from Great Styrrup Cay.

[GA Dave]

Great Styrrup Cay Day

I was up early today (as usual) and hit the buffet at 7:00 AM.  Very empty and there was plenty of food and hot coffee.  The tenders started loading around 8:15 and I was on the island by 8:30ish.  I found the excursion hut and was then escorted to the shuttle to my cabana.

It was a very relaxing, refreshing day for me.  The service from both the food and beverage staffs was outstanding and the beach was virtually empty most of the day (pictures to follow).  I stayed until 2:30 and even had a nice 30 minute nap in my cabana!  😂

Back on the ship now, sitting at Champs Bar, overlooking the pool deck which is maybe 20% of capacity and listening to some music and nursing another Pina Coloda.  I have a 6:30 reservation at Cagney’s tonight that I am very much looking forward to.  More later. 

[cruiselova67]

Thanks for the review. We will be on the Sky in two weeks.

[GA Dave]

Balance of Day 2

Sorry, kind of fell behind on my trip report.

After hanging out at the pool for a bit yesterday, went back to the cabin to shower and dress for dinner.  I brought all-white clothes for the Glow Party but figured that was a disaster looking to happen, so I just wore my khaki jeans and a red, collared polo to dinner at Cagney’s.  No issues at all and I saw others dressed less formal than me.  I went to the Pinnacle Lounge for a pre-dinner cocktail and talked with the wonderful family that had been in the cabana next to mine on GSC.

 

Dinner itself was excellent.  I had the shrimp cocktail, wedge salad, and the prime rib.  Everything was spot on and I had a great conversation with a wonderful couple from Miami Beach who were celebrating their 50th anniversary.  Service was just the right pace.  Being that I usually only eat around 1400-1500 calories per day, dessert was just not going to happen.

After dinner, I wandered down to the shop and bought myself a refrigerator magnet of the Sky.  My refrigerator is getting quite full with all the different ships I am going on.  I also watched people lose money in the casino for a bit and walked most of the decks to burn off some dinner.  As usual, I found my way to the Great Outdoor Cafe on deck 11 aft.  Great bartenders and great views there.

This is where I made a mistake.  Went back to the cabin with all intentions of changing into my white clothes, noticed it was still an hour until the Glow Party, and lay down on the bed to watch some television.  BOOM!  The day caught up with me and I was gone.  Woke at 11:00 PM, changed and went back to sleep!  😴😴😴😴.

Day 3 to follow.

[GA Dave]

Day 3.  Woke up just as we were passing the lighthouse at the entrance to Port of Nassau.  A very restful night for me.  Freedom and Independence of the Seas were already here and Carnival Sunrise, Carnival Conquest and Carnival Freedom were tailgating us into port.  Very glad I decided to stay on the ship today.

After my morning routine, I dressed in my swimsuit and tee shirt and went down to the buffet for an omelet, some sausage, and coffee.  Then I wandered out to an empty pool deck.  So nice this early in the morning.  Set up shop for a while and enjoyed the early morning sun and quiet.  Had a couple of very brief sprinkle showers, but otherwise the weather was fine.

Around 10:30, I went back, took a shower and headed up to Great Outdoor.  This has become my spot and all the bartenders know me.  It helps to tip.  The floaters on my Pina Colodas just keep getting bigger and bigger!  😂

Had lunch at Great Outdoor (cheeseburger, cheesedog, cheese fries).  Going to diet severely when I get home!

Next I went to the Spa for my deep tissue massage.  The therapist was excellent and worked out two major knots in my shoulder muscles that have been bothering me for weeks!  I know people say massages on cruise ships are expensive, etc, but being on a cruise is my only real relaxation time I have due to my work schedule and I figure I’m worth it.

 

After the massage I went to the pool deck and just kept walking.  It was getting really crowded and there were a ton of loungers with towels on them but very few people in the pools/hot tubs.  Not into playing those games anymore, so back to the Great Outdoor I went!

After a few drinks here, I went exploring a bit.  Visited The Local, Sugarcane Mojito Bar (Raspberry Guava Mojito!!), and the Spinnaker Lounge (Rebellious Fish!).  The Spinnaker kind of reminds me of the Yacht Club Topsail Lounge on Divina and Meraviglia, with the big, slanted windows, the “mood” music, etc.  The only thing it is lacking is the finger foods!  Met two wonderful families from Texas and had a great conversation.

Finally found my way back to the cabin to change into dinner clothes and chill for my 6:30 La Cucina reservation.

At La Cucina, I had the salad with strawberries, etc and the Osso Bucca.  It was good, with no complaints from me.  I did hear other people complaining of food being bland throughout the cruise.  I have to wonder how many people have had Covid in the last two years, not even realized it or it’s effects on their palettes.

The rest of tonight will be one more trip to the Great Outdoor and maybe the show in the theater, Rock You Tonight.  My bags are mostly packed already and I plan to be online for the early self debark tomorrow so I can hit the road early.

Thanks for following along with my rambling.  I hope it helped one or two people better plan for their Sky cruise.

[GA Dave]

One more quick update.  Woke up early (again), showered and packed the last of my things, and was at the buffet with my luggage by 6:30.  Had an oat muffin, some fruit and two cups of coffee.  Walked past the pools one more time 😢 and took the panoramic elevator down to the deck 6 atrium area.  Asked a crew member where we would be disembarking and she pointed toward the forward staircase.  When I went there, a very nice female Security crew member told me we were still in the process of docking but if I wanted to start the line I was welcome to.  I found a cozy piece of floor at the corner and settled in to wait.

At about 7:15 with just a few of us on line, a gentleman and his teenage daughter came along and asked to leave.  The Security person explained that the ship had just docked and needed to be cleared by CBP.  I asked the guy if they had an early flight and he said, “yeah, 9:15”.  All I could think to say was Good Luck.  This became the perfect example of why you never book early flights.

By the time CBP cleared us, the line was halfway down the length of the ship.  I was the third person off the ship and didn’t leave the parking garage until 8:17.

I don’t think that guy and his daughter made their flight.

[GA Dave]

A few photos.  The NCL terminal and my balcony cabin 9042.

[GA Dave]

The Atrium and Sugarcane Mojito Bar.

[GA Dave]

From boarding.  My lunch at the buffet and the empty pool deck.

[GA Dave]

The theater and sailaway from Miami.

[GA Dave]

My MDR dinner, the empty MDR, entry onto GSC.

[GA Dave]

My cabana, the empty beach and beautiful waters of GSC, and me trying to look relaxed.  😂

[GA Dave]

My lunch at the cabana and other sites in the area.

[GA Dave]

The current ugliness of the Port of Nassau.

[GA Dave]

Empty pool deck on Nassau morning and a variety of beverages.  My favorites are the Rebellious Fish and the Pina Coloda with the dark rum float.

[GA Dave]

The Great Outdoor Cafe, The Local, and a beautiful wake shot taken from the Outdoor.

[eulyrox]

On 7/25/2022 at 7:23 PM, GA Dave said:

Day 3.  Woke up just as we were passing the lighthouse at the entrance to Port of Nassau.  A very restful night for me.  Freedom and Independence of the Seas were already here and Carnival Sunrise, Carnival Conquest and Carnival Freedom were tailgating us into port.  Very glad I decided to stay on the ship today.

After my morning routine, I dressed in my swimsuit and tee shirt and went down to the buffet for an omelet, some sausage, and coffee.  Then I wandered out to an empty pool deck.  So nice this early in the morning.  Set up shop for a while and enjoyed the early morning sun and quiet.  Had a couple of very brief sprinkle showers, but otherwise the weather was fine.

Around 10:30, I went back, took a shower and headed up to Great Outdoor.  This has become my spot and all the bartenders know me.  It helps to tip.  The floaters on my Pina Colodas just keep getting bigger and bigger!  😂

Had lunch at Great Outdoor (cheeseburger, cheesedog, cheese fries).  Going to diet severely when I get home!

Next I went to the Spa for my deep tissue massage.  The therapist was excellent and worked out two major knots in my shoulder muscles that have been bothering me for weeks!  I know people say massages on cruise ships are expensive, etc, but being on a cruise is my only real relaxation time I have due to my work schedule and I figure I’m worth it.

 

After the massage I went to the pool deck and just kept walking.  It was getting really crowded and there were a ton of loungers with towels on them but very few people in the pools/hot tubs.  Not into playing those games anymore, so back to the Great Outdoor I went!

After a few drinks here, I went exploring a bit.  Visited The Local, Sugarcane Mojito Bar (Raspberry Guava Mojito!!), and the Spinnaker Lounge (Rebellious Fish!).  The Spinnaker kind of reminds me of the Yacht Club Topsail Lounge on Divina and Meraviglia, with the big, slanted windows, the “mood” music, etc.  The only thing it is lacking is the finger foods!  Met two wonderful families from Texas and had a great conversation.

Finally found my way back to the cabin to change into dinner clothes and chill for my 6:30 La Cucina reservation.

At La Cucina, I had the salad with strawberries, etc and the Osso Bucca.  It was good, with no complaints from me.  I did hear other people complaining of food being bland throughout the cruise.  I have to wonder how many people have had Covid in the last two years, not even realized it or it’s effects on their palettes.

The rest of tonight will be one more trip to the Great Outdoor and maybe the show in the theater, Rock You Tonight.  My bags are mostly packed already and I plan to be online for the early self debark tomorrow so I can hit the road early.

Thanks for following along with my rambling.  I hope it helped one or two people better plan for their Sky cruise.

Thank you so much for the review, very helpful! Looking forward even more to our cruise next week!

Edited July 27, 2022 by eulyrox

[QuattroRomeo]

Thanks for the review and great photos! We haven't been on the Sky yet or to GSC so it was nice to see them. The ship looks like the kind we like: not too big, and the Great Outdoors area looks wonderful.

 

Was there a shelf under the sink in the bathroom?

Was your lunch in the Cabana specific to the Cabana service or could you get it at a kiosk? ( looked pretty yummy).

 

Strange to see such empty beaches and restaurants! But all of the food and drinks looked good; must have been fun to be spoiled in this odd time of  cruising with everything half empty!

[GA Dave]

8 hours ago, QuattroRomeo said:

Thanks for the review and great photos! We haven't been on the Sky yet or to GSC so it was nice to see them. The ship looks like the kind we like: not too big, and the Great Outdoors area looks wonderful.

 

Was there a shelf under the sink in the bathroom?

Was your lunch in the Cabana specific to the Cabana service or could you get it at a kiosk? ( looked pretty yummy).

 

Strange to see such empty beaches and restaurants! But all of the food and drinks looked good; must have been fun to be spoiled in this odd time of  cruising with everything half empty!

There are a few small shelves on each side of the vanity mirror in the bathroom, as well as one or two small shelves below the vanity countertop.

There was a food truck located right next to the cabana area that contained the foods noted on the menu pictured (post #14 above, photos 2 & 3).  There was a large "picnic" pavilion located at the first large beach near the island entrance that had a more diverse menu, plus several more of the food trucks located around the island.  I found the food to be very good.  The Bahamian Rum Cake was excellent!

[negn]

Noticed your balcony had a port hole and door but not a sliding door.   Is this the usual set up for the Sky?   Never saw anything like that before

[GA Dave]

11 hours ago, negn said:

Noticed your balcony had a port hole and door but not a sliding door.   Is this the usual set up for the Sky?   Never saw anything like that before

Yes, it is.  The only balcony cabins are on decks 9 and 10, and the balconies were added after the ship was built and floated in 1999.  It originally started construction as the Costa Olympia, but the shipbuilder went bankrupt, and Costa walked away from the partially built ship.  NCL bought the partial and had it completed as the Sky.

 

[Jennsails]

This is super, thank you for sharing so much detail! We sail on the Sky for 5 days on Tuesday and I hope it’s as quiet as you described.

 

I am curious about the porthole + door set up on the balcony cabin as well. We typically like to sleep with the patio slider door open when we cruise to hear the ocean and enjoy the fresh air. Can this door stay open while underway? 

[GALSews]

20 minutes ago, Jennsails said:

This is super, thank you for sharing so much detail! We sail on the Sky for 5 days on Tuesday and I hope it’s as quiet as you described.

 

I am curious about the porthole + door set up on the balcony cabin as well. We typically like to sleep with the patio slider door open when we cruise to hear the ocean and enjoy the fresh air. Can this door stay open while underway? 

There is a former merchant mariner who often posts and he will tell you that your neighbors will not appreciate you leaving the sliding door open as it affects the temperature in a whole block of rooms in your area. Here is a whole discussion on the matter. In the middle of the page is a quote from Chengkp75, the merchant mariner noting that others have learned from him: 

 

[Jennsails]

16 minutes ago, GALSews said:

There is a former merchant mariner who often posts and he will tell you that your neighbors will not appreciate you leaving the sliding door open as it affects the temperature in a whole block of rooms in your area. Here is a whole discussion on the matter. In the middle of the page is a quote from Chengkp75, the merchant mariner noting that others have learned from him: 

 

Interesting. I had no idea that open door effected other cabins. Learn something new every day!