Leaving from Dominican Republic on the Sky

[ron57nie]

Been looking at the cruises leaving from Dominica Republic on the Sky and wondering if anyone has done this, how it was  and what was the passenger mix. Did the cruise cater to Spanish speakers or was it similar to cruises leaving from Miami or FLL?  I know its an older ship but the last reviews are horrible...was your Sky cruise really that bad?

 

Thank you

[ron57nie]

no one has done this?

[cruiseny4life]

Patience my child. Patience...it's only been five hours since you asked your question. 

[ron57nie]

not my strong suit...but thanks

[The Traveling Man]

5 hours ago, ron57nie said:

Been looking at the cruises leaving from Dominica Republic on the Sky and wondering if anyone has done this, how it was  and what was the passenger mix. Did the cruise cater to Spanish speakers or was it similar to cruises leaving from Miami or FLL?  I know its an older ship but the last reviews are horrible...was your Sky cruise really that bad?

 

Thank you

We sailed on the Sky round trip from Miami to Panama with a port stop in the DR a few months ago.  There were some Spanish speaking guests on board, but it did not seem that NCL did anything out of the ordinary to accommodate any language issues.  The ship is rather old, but we liked it.  It seemed to be laid out very well, with plenty of space in restaurants, bars, and other public areas.  We did have some issues with the quality of service, but nothing that we couldn't tolerate.

[ron57nie]

Thank you . This cruise actually starts in the DR and never gets to the US so I expect that the crowd may be different.

[BirdTravels]

1 hour ago, ron57nie said:

Thank you . This cruise actually starts in the DR and never gets to the US so I expect that the crowd may be different.

I would still expect the predominant demographic to be US passengers. There is not a large population in the DR that will fill a ship every 2 weeks. And NCL does not normally change a lot of there are a lot of Spanish speakers onboard other than making some announcements in Spanish. 
 

The Sky is fine. We have sailed on her a half dozen times. Yup, no go karts or free fall water slides. People who expect a theme park or big Broadway shows will grumble. Just traditional sailing in the southern Caribbean. 
 

They are great 14 day itineraries. Enjoy!

[ron57nie]

40 minutes ago, BirdTravels said:

I would still expect the predominant demographic to be US passengers. There is not a large population in the DR that will fill a ship every 2 weeks. And NCL does not normally change a lot of there are a lot of Spanish speakers onboard other than making some announcements in Spanish. 
 

The Sky is fine. We have sailed on her a half dozen times. Yup, no go karts or free fall water slides. People who expect a theme park or big Broadway shows will grumble. Just traditional sailing in the southern Caribbean. 
 

They are great 14 day itineraries. Enjoy!

Surprisingly low fares from the US plus low cruise price makes it tempting. Was a bit worried about the entertainment being different, but I think your right.   Thanks

[ron57nie]

well we booked it, hopefully we'll be ok...very very few cabins sold, strange

[njhorseman]

On 6/27/2023 at 3:51 PM, ron57nie said:

no one has done this?

AFAIK NCL has never sailed from the DR before, so no NCL passenger has done this itinerary. In fact you'd be hard pressed to find any US-based cruise line that offers cruises from the DR. A couple of European lines cruise from there .

[njhorseman]

3 hours ago, ron57nie said:

very very few cabins sold, strange

Probably not an attractive itinerary to most US passengers. At the very least not an itinerary that's familiar to US passengers because  US-based cruise lines don't  sail from the DR.

[ron57nie]

The cruise has virtually a port every day and several ports are seldom visited ones like, Grenada, St Vincent, and Guadeloupe. the when looking for a room I saw over several categories almost all the room were vacant. Maybe we'll have the ship to ourselves. 

[dexddd]

Hey, you can snag an OS for $18,000 on a 14 day.

[suech1970]

Wish I’d have spotted this itinerary sooner, it’s great! Already booked for Jan 2024 but gonna be keeping an eye on the prices, which are pretty good, in case I can sneak this one in.

Sailed twice on Sky and found her the perfect size for us. Just returned in May and I can honestly say the food and service was excellent, IMO. 
Flying from UK into the DR would be a bonus for us as Miami immigrations is a nightmare for us after a long haul flight.

I have no doubt you’ll have a blast, great ship great itinerary, very jealous🙄

[sopranocorry]

18 hours ago, suech1970 said:

Wish I’d have spotted this itinerary sooner, it’s great! Already booked for Jan 2024 but gonna be keeping an eye on the prices, which are pretty good, in case I can sneak this one in.

Sailed twice on Sky and found her the perfect size for us. Just returned in May and I can honestly say the food and service was excellent, IMO. 
Flying from UK into the DR would be a bonus for us as Miami immigrations is a nightmare for us after a long haul flight.

I have no doubt you’ll have a blast, great ship great itinerary, very jealous🙄

We have also booked the Sky from DR, 11 days. Wondering if anyone can recommend a good flight at reasonable price (return FortLauderdale to Punta Cana) April 5-April 20

Cannot see NCL arranging any flights or do they? We are arriving in FL after cruising around Sth America

 

cheers from Corry x Guido

australia

[mugtech]

Looks like a great cruise, too bad the winter baseball league ends in December.

[ron57nie]

7 hours ago, sopranocorry said:

We have also booked the Sky from DR, 11 days. Wondering if anyone can recommend a good flight at reasonable price (return FortLauderdale to Punta Cana) April 5-April 20

Cannot see NCL arranging any flights or do they? We are arriving in FL after cruising around Sth America

 

cheers from Corry x Guido

australia

check out Jet blue, it often doesn't show up on big websites and you have to go directly to their website. remember you need to add bags to the flight. also extra if you want a special seat but i see nonstops from $439 USD. that is FLL to PUJ

[sopranocorry]

5 hours ago, ron57nie said:

check out Jet blue, it often doesn't show up on big websites and you have to go directly to their website. remember you need to add bags to the flight. also extra if you want a special seat but i see nonstops from $439 USD. that is FLL to PUJ

Thanks for your response Had actually searched Jet Blue. 
$750 USD for a 2 hr return flight even without luggage/bag that’s outrageous… that’s $1300 AU for which I can (almost) fly half way around the world What’s happened to a fair deal for a short flight? 
mare there options to get to PC you think? Does everyone just pay that sort of money for a short flight? I was expecting $60-$100 usd for a return flight

[ron57nie]

1 hour ago, sopranocorry said:

Thanks for your response Had actually searched Jet Blue. 
$750 USD for a 2 hr return flight even without luggage/bag that’s outrageous… that’s $1300 AU for which I can (almost) fly half way around the world What’s happened to a fair deal for a short flight? 
mare there options to get to PC you think? Does everyone just pay that sort of money for a short flight? I was expecting $60-$100 usd for a return flight

Well there are not many cheap flights anywhere in the US, especially when leaving the country.  Did see the $439 flight from FLL to PUJ. Leaving on the 12th from FLL returning to FLL on 26th.  For us that's not a bad price, we don't have the competition like Europe or Australia. Our airports are at max capacity and its a suppliers market.

[suech1970]

The NCL flash sale was too tempting and booked Sky out of the DR on 20th April 23 ystrday🥳🥳🥳. 
Wanted the earlier sailing on 10th but like you, flights from UK too expensive, in our Easter hols£££🙄
 

[mispi]

Very interesting itinerary. For us from Europe, the airfare to USA and to DR are more or less the same, so this can be good option

[Ericaleighjackson]

Ron57nie - any chance you went on this cruise? I'm looking at it now and wondering how it was? Thanks!

[njhorseman]

19 minutes ago, Ericaleighjackson said:

Ron57nie - any chance you went on this cruise? I'm looking at it now and wondering how it was? Thanks!

NCL's first cruise from the DR doesn't sail until late January 2024.

[Ericaleighjackson]

8 minutes ago, njhorseman said:

NCL's first cruise from the DR doesn't sail until late January 2024.

Good to know. I was checking out the itinerary for February and was (also) wondering if anyone had been on it yet. So ron57nie - did you book it? njhorseman - did you? If so, any luck on the airfare? I'm debating between the two FEB dates, but the itinerary looks incredible! Thank you for the input and advice!

[njhorseman]

45 minutes ago, Ericaleighjackson said:

njhorseman - did you?

No. I'm not interested in the itinerary or sailing on the ship.