Pride of Aloha, nay "Norwegian Sky"

[coaster]

Five weeks is a long time. Could be that they need more time to fill the ship. Not worth having a close to empty ship when fuel prices are high. It is an interesting turn of events as NCL said they didn't want to invest money in her. I am glad that NCL is going back to it's roots with the 3 and 4 day cruises though.

[electricron]

You learn something new everyday. I noticed last night that Sky and Sun weren't identical twins when I looked at the deck plans. Sky has one less deck of balcony staterooms than Sun. I do agree though that she is the perfect fit for the 3/4 day market. I noticed her interior rooms appeared to be much smaller just looking at the diagram compared to Sun's rooms.

 

Either way.. I hope they keep the hull art the same and the Hawaiian theme onboard but there's no clue what would take such a long wet dock to do? How hard is it to yank out a cultural center and throw in a casino? At the same time they could switch the buffet to action stations. The rest the crew could handle the F2.0 upgrades (such as placing new mattresses). I wouldn't think it would take any more than 2 full weeks at round the clock schedules to get this accomplished. I do wonder what's in store for Sky?? :confused:

 

You're correct, the Sky and Sun aren't identical twins, but they are sisters of one another. The Costa Victoria is also a sister to them.

 

In the spaces below decks, they have identical engines, propellers, stabilisers, and hull shapes. NCL sisters have the Oslo Deck, the deck between Decks 6 and 7. So does the Costa Victoria, although having a different name. There are many features all three sister ships share.

 

As an aside; up until 2005 NCL had an option to build another sister ship of this design, which would have been almost identical to the Sun. But NCL never ordered it, and eventually had to pick up the Spirit (ex Superstar Leo) instead.

 

Some photos of all three sisters:

Costa Victoria

 

Norwegian Sky (Pride of Aloha)

 

Norwegian Sun

 

Note how similar they appear without any hull art.

[electricron]

By the way, here's a photo of the Costa Victoria before most of the balconies were added.

 

 

This class shows very well how balconies and mini-suites became more popular during the 1990s.

 

The Costa Victoria initially had few balcony cabins (aft facing only), and entered service in 1996.

The Norwegian Sky had two decks of balcony cabins on its starboard and port sides, but no mini-suites. It entered service in 1998.

The Norwegian Sun had three decks of balcony cabins on its starboard and port sides, plus a half deck of mini-suites above the bridge. It entered service in 2001.

 

NCL's new F3 class will have a balcony on every outside cabin.

[dougnewmanatsea]

The Costa Victoria initially had few balcony cabins (aft facing only), and entered service in 1996.

As built she had no balconies at all. The only balconies she has are the ones that were added in 2003-2004. There still are no aft-facing cabins or balconies. She also hasn't got the forward-facing balconies the NCL ships have, as that space is taken up by something called the Piazza Concorde, which is kind of like a combination atrium/observation lounge.

[electricron]

As built she had no balconies at all. The only balconies she has are the ones that were added in 2003-2004. There still are no aft-facing cabins or balconies. She also hasn't got the forward-facing balconies the NCL ships have, as that space is taken up by something called the Piazza Concorde, which is kind of like a combination atrium/observation lounge.

 

Thanks for the clarification. I only assumed the Victoria had some aft facing cabins from photos, and didn't check the deck plans.

 

Which in effect places more emphasis on the trend for more and more balconies over time. From zero for the Victoria, to 257 for the Sky, to 432 for the Sun. From 1996 to 2001 there were many changes in cruise ship designs.

[dougnewmanatsea]

Thanks for the clarification. I only assumed the Victoria had some aft facing cabins from photos, and didn't check the deck plans.

Frankly, until you wrote that I never thought about whether she had aft-facing cabins or not... I just knew she had no balconies when built. Then I went and checked the deck plans to see if there were any aft-facing cabins.

 

NCL made very extensive changes to Costa's design, among others the forward- and aft-facing cabins, the observation lounge (which required moving the bridge down a deck), Horizons (the long, narrow restaurant between the two main ones), etc. Not to mention totally different interior decor - though interestingly, SKY's interior designer, Tillberg Design was one of the firms hired by Costa (the other was Gregotti Associati) and the main dining rooms on all three ships look strikingly similar as a result. A lot of people assume it was mostly a case of swapping out the funnel and clipping on some balconies, but it was a lot more than that. The ship was only 35% complete when NCL bought her, so there was a lot of room for things to be modified.

 

Which in effect places more emphasis on the trend for more and more balconies over time. From zero for the Victoria, to 257 for the Sky, to 432 for the Sun. From 1996 to 2001 there were many changes in cruise ship designs.

Indeed. Though to be fair, other large ships built in 1996 all had at least some balconies... CARNIVAL DESTINY, DAWN PRINCESS, GALAXY and SPLENDOUR OF THE SEAS all did. Costa was really behind the curve on the balcony thing. Oddly, its four previous new ships all had (a very few) balconies, so what it was thinking when it omitted them completely from VICTORIA is beyond me. Even today the best suites on VICTORIA are sans balcony, thanks to a design that didn't allow them to be added on in that area.

 

I think COSTA VICTORIA has always been considered a bit of an odd ship in the industry. I know people that love her and others that loathe her. The one thing she will be remembered for is being the last "real" Costa ship, built when the company was still run by the Costa family. But I have always gotten the impression that a lot of people thought she wasn't everything she could have been - and that NCL proved it with SKY.

 

Of course SUN is the final evolution of this class and to me (having never been on any of them, yet that is!) she looks like the best of the bunch, but it would be interesting to try all three and compare. I think VICTORIA is still more or less as built except for those added-on balconies. I remember the first time I saw her, in Port Everglades when she was brand new... CENTURY and SUN PRINCESS were also there and also new... They all seemed like giants. Today they are just "mid-sized"!

 

I was reading SKY's inaugural book recently and I couldn't believe she was the sixth-largest cruise ship in the world when built. I don't think she's even 56th now. Not to mention that she was only the seventh new ship NCL ever built... That was over a period of 33 years. Since then (nine years ago) there have been eight new NCL ships built. Times sure have changed!

[electricron]

Frankly, until you wrote that I never thought about whether she had aft-facing cabins or not... I just knew she had no balconies when built. Then I went and checked the deck plans to see if there were any aft-facing cabins.

 

NCL made very extensive changes to Costa's design, among others the forward- and aft-facing cabins, the observation lounge (which required moving the bridge down a deck), Horizons (the long, narrow restaurant between the two main ones), etc. Not to mention totally different interior decor - though interestingly, SKY's interior designer, Tillberg Design was one of the firms hired by Costa (the other was Gregotti Associati) and the main dining rooms on all three ships look strikingly similar as a result. A lot of people assume it was mostly a case of swapping out the funnel and clipping on some balconies, but it was a lot more than that. The ship was only 35% complete when NCL bought her, so there was a lot of room for things to be modified.

 

Indeed. Though to be fair, other large ships built in 1996 all had at least some balconies... CARNIVAL DESTINY, DAWN PRINCESS, GALAXY and SPLENDOUR OF THE SEAS all did. Costa was really behind the curve on the balcony thing. Oddly, its four previous new ships all had (a very few) balconies, so what it was thinking when it omitted them completely from VICTORIA is beyond me. Even today the best suites on VICTORIA are sans balcony, thanks to a design that didn't allow them to be added on in that area.

 

I think COSTA VICTORIA has always been considered a bit of an odd ship in the industry. I know people that love her and others that loathe her. The one thing she will be remembered for is being the last "real" Costa ship, built when the company was still run by the Costa family. But I have always gotten the impression that a lot of people thought she wasn't everything she could have been - and that NCL proved it with SKY.

 

Of course SUN is the final evolution of this class and to me (having never been on any of them, yet that is!) she looks like the best of the bunch, but it would be interesting to try all three and compare. I think VICTORIA is still more or less as built except for those added-on balconies. I remember the first time I saw her, in Port Everglades when she was brand new... CENTURY and SUN PRINCESS were also there and also new... They all seemed like giants. Today they are just "mid-sized"!

 

I was reading SKY's inaugural book recently and I couldn't believe she was the sixth-largest cruise ship in the world when built. I don't think she's even 56th now. Not to mention that she was only the seventh new ship NCL ever built... That was over a period of 33 years. Since then (nine years ago) there have been eight new NCL ships built. Times sure have changed!

 

Even the Sea, Sun, and Dawn Princess didn't have aft or forward facing balcony cabins, but they did have balconies on the port and starboard sides. Cruise ships design was changing in the mid 1990s. Some ships weren't built to make maximum revenues. With the popularity of aft facing balcony cabins today, it's hard to believe they were making cruise ships without them slightly more than a decade ago.

 

Costa did fix the lacked of balcony cabins on the Victoria by installing almost as many as there are on the Sky. Apparently the reason the Sky has more is because it does have aft and forward facing cabins and suites with balconies.

 

Even Carnival was still in the midst of building eight Fantasy class ships, the only balconies on them are suites, and they face port and starboard.

[loveysbydesign]

Just wondering if the Sky would be a good choice for a 1st time NCL cruiser? We've only cruised once before on RCCL's Sovereign and are looking to try out an inexpensive NCL cruise...our kids will be 9, 6 and 1 y.o. !

[dougnewmanatsea]

Even the Sea, Sun, and Dawn Princess didn't have aft or forward facing balcony cabins, but they did have balconies on the port and starboard sides.

Those have a handful of aft-facing balconies (all suites and mini-suites).

 

With the popularity of aft facing balcony cabins today, it's hard to believe they were making cruise ships without them slightly more than a decade ago.

Even more recently than that... The last big ship I can think of that was built without them is MSC OPERA, built 2004. The layout of her aft decks is very similar to COSTA VICTORIA's.

 

I think the first ship to be built with aft balconies must have been NORDIC EMPRESS in 1990. She was also the first ship I had a balcony on, but it wasn't an aft-facing one.

[Markandrews]

I was reading SKY's inaugural book recently and I couldn't believe she was the sixth-largest cruise ship in the world when built. I don't think she's even 56th now. Not to mention that she was only the seventh new ship NCL ever built... That was over a period of 33 years. Since then (nine years ago) there have been eight new NCL ships built. Times sure have changed!

 

I had a friend that was working for NCL at the time. She transferred to the Sky and was just amazed at how "elegant" she was.

 

Did the inaugural book mention the hard grounding in NY? It put a damper on all the NEW ship fun.

 

Would the Sky be the last ship built for Kloster's NCL? I know the Sun and Star were introduced together and the company was by then owned by Star Cruises.

[electricron]

I had a friend that was working for NCL at the time. She transferred to the Sky and was just amazed at how "elegant" she was.

 

Did the inaugural book mention the hard grounding in NY? It put a damper on all the NEW ship fun.

 

Would the Sky be the last ship built for Kloster's NCL? I know the Sun and Star were introduced together and the company was by then owned by Star Cruises.

 

Yes, the Sky was the last ship built for Kloster's NCL. But, since it takes two to three years to build a new cruise ship, I believe the Sun was the last ship ordered by Kloster's NCL.

 

Both the Sun and Star were christened at a joint ceremony in Miami.

 

The Star was initially ordered by Star cruises to be the Superstar Libra. It was decided 6 months before delivery to transfer her to the NCL fleet, for use on services from Honolulu in Hawaii. She was the first of a series of 93,000 grt ships delivered to NCL/Star by Meyer Werft, from Papenburg, Germany. Subsequent deliveries of sisters are:- Norwegian Dawn (2002), Norwegian Jewel (2005), Pride of Hawaii (2006) and Norwegian Gem (2007).

 

Additionally, the Norwegian Dawn was initially ordered by Star Cruises to be the Superstar Scorpio. Both the Star and Dawn have zero number 4's aboard the ship, except for cabins on Deck 4 and in the casino, a similiar feature seen aboard the Spirit, which did sail for Star Cruises for several years as the Superstar Leo. The number 4 is considered unlucky in China.

 

If the Dawn was ordered by Star for Star, it's not too much to assume the Sun was ordered by Kloster's NCL.

[VoyageVirgin]

I agree, it will take time to upgrade the Sky and for NCL to get the word out to start the booking. Also, they will have to get the "International" crew from where ever - new crew, new training - and so on

it takes time and they may as well take what they need now that they've had no preparation/notice until the sale fell through.

[electricron]

I agree, it will take time to upgrade the Sky and for NCL to get the word out to start the booking. Also, they will have to get the "International" crew from where ever - new crew, new training - and so on

it takes time and they may as well take what they need now that they've had no preparation/notice until the sale fell through.

 

The last thing NCL needs is to repeat the Pride of Aloha initial poor service reputation. The crew needs to be ready right from the start to provide "great" service.

 

I wonder where NCL's top hotel director Klaus may be in mid July?

[14ersco]

Just wondering if the Sky would be a good choice for a 1st time NCL cruiser? We've only cruised once before on RCCL's Sovereign and are looking to try out an inexpensive NCL cruise...our kids will be 9, 6 and 1 y.o. !

 

Was on the Pride of Aloha last fall (1st cruise) and if NCL doesn't relocate or expand the kid's club when she returns as the Sky then this wouldn't be a good comparison to RCCL in regards to children's facilities. The kid's club is just a large room in the bow on the 7th deck divided into thirds by movable partitions. The women who worked there were great and DS had fun, but looking at just other NCL ships there are better choices. That is why we are booked on the Dawn and Spirit in 2009. Those ships and the Star have large kid's clubs in the aft with their own pool & play area. Aloha has just a tiny waterfall splash area. I mention location of the facilities because with heavy seas a number of the kids did get seasick and had to be relocated to a conference room in the center of the ship.

 

In regards to using 5 weeks for refurbishment one major item that NCL needs to fix is the HVAC and plumbing. Quite a number of oceanview cabins in our hallway had to be abandoned during the cruise due to unknown fluids running out of the vents and flooding the cabins. We had an inside and didn't have those problems. She became quite a smelly ship after 11 days.

[dougnewmanatsea]

Did the inaugural book mention the hard grounding in NY? It put a damper on all the NEW ship fun.

Inaugural books are written and published before the ship enters service. So all that happened after the book went to press.

 

Would the Sky be the last ship built for Kloster's NCL? I know the Sun and Star were introduced together and the company was by then owned by Star Cruises.

I don't think Kloster had anything to do with NCL by the time it acquired the unfinished COSTA OLYMPIA in December 1997.

 

I can't find an exact date but as I recall, Kloster's involvement with NCL ended in 1996, when the company went through a major restructuring. It closed down Royal Cruise Line and emerged under the control of Norwegian investors who owned the company until it was acquired by Star Cruises in 2000. The parent company was then called NCL Holding ASA, based in Oslo. (I think this still exists in a dormant form as I have occasionally seen reference to it. It is was the publicly-traded company that Star Cruises and various affiliated companies - including, very briefly, Carnival - acquired.) The CEO of the NCL at the time was Geir Aune.

 

I am trying to find more details on all this as my memory is a bit fuzzy but I have not had much luck finding any details on the exact circumstances by which Kloster lost control of NCL. But I think the last Kloster NCL ship was WINDWARD. She entered service in rather memorable circumstances as Kloster (at the time the company was still called Kloster Cruise Ltd, which included NCL, Royal Cruise Line and Royal Viking Line) nearly couldn't take delivery of her because it didn't have the money!

 

It is certainly an interesting story... The late 1980s and (especially) early 1990s were very, very dark years for NCL.

[loveysbydesign]

Was on the Pride of Aloha last fall (1st cruise) and if NCL doesn't relocate or expand the kid's club when she returns as the Sky then this wouldn't be a good comparison to RCCL in regards to children's facilities. The kid's club is just a large room in the bow on the 7th deck divided into thirds by movable partitions. The women who worked there were great and DS had fun, but looking at just other NCL ships there are better choices. That is why we are booked on the Dawn and Spirit in 2009. Those ships and the Star have large kid's clubs in the aft with their own pool & play area. Aloha has just a tiny waterfall splash area. I mention location of the facilities because with heavy seas a number of the kids did get seasick and had to be relocated to a conference room in the center of the ship.

 

In regards to using 5 weeks for refurbishment one major item that NCL needs to fix is the HVAC and plumbing. Quite a number of oceanview cabins in our hallway had to be abandoned during the cruise due to unknown fluids running out of the vents and flooding the cabins. We had an inside and didn't have those problems. She became quite a smelly ship after 11 days.

 

 

HMmmmmm....the aft location is beginning to scare me as that's where our cabin is...they only have a few that sleep 5 and that's what we booked and it is in the Aft!!!! We've only cruised once before and it was on the Sovereign in the middle of the ship on the bottom! I certainly don't want anyone to get seasick....especially my kiddos for that matter.

[NJBill]

Just wondering if the Sky would be a good choice for a 1st time NCL cruiser? We've only cruised once before on RCCL's Sovereign and are looking to try out an inexpensive NCL cruise...our kids will be 9, 6 and 1 y.o. !

 

We just booked..HAd 4 night with RCL Majesty..We upgraded to Ocenview and we saved $600 by switching to Sky with the Kids Sail Free Program!!:D :D

 

To welcome the ship to Miami, NCL is offering a "Kids Sail Free Summer Vacation" promotion for reservations on Norwegian Sky made from May 6, 2008 to May 31, 2008 for sailings taking place July 14, 2008 to September 26, 2008. Children ages six months to 17 are eligible to sail free (government taxes and fees and fuel supplement apply).

[VoyageVirgin]

The last thing NCL needs is to repeat the Pride of Aloha initial poor service reputation. The crew needs to be ready right from the start to provide "great" service.

 

I wonder where NCL's top hotel director Klaus may be in mid July?

 

Hopefully it will be a much smoother transition of crew than the POH to Jade was - seemed to be a bit of confusion with fitting the right person in the proper "niche" - Crew seemed to be shifted from one area to another during our TA - more noticably between the main restaurants to buffet. But that could also be put down to less crew as well. As much as we loved the ship and most crew we came across there seemed to be that certain "spark" missing in a few places. Some were not happy with the itinery changes imposed by NCL the day we sailed (staying in Europe as opposed to coming back to NYC winter/spring 08) All I can say to anyone booking the Sky is have some patience it takes awhile for the crew to meld into that efficiently run machine we normally experience with NCL crew.

 

As for Klaus - I'm not sure where he is - but not a bad idea - for start up at least.

[loveysbydesign]

We just booked..HAd 4 night with RCL Majesty..We upgraded to Ocenview and we saved $600 by switching to Sky with the Kids Sail Free Program!!:D :D

 

To welcome the ship to Miami, NCL is offering a "Kids Sail Free Summer Vacation" promotion for reservations on Norwegian Sky made from May 6, 2008 to May 31, 2008 for sailings taking place July 14, 2008 to September 26, 2008. Children ages six months to 17 are eligible to sail free (government taxes and fees and fuel supplement apply).

 

Did you like the Majesty??? We're also checking that out to Bermuda! Did your kids like it????

[NJBill]

Did you like the Majesty??? We're also checking that out to Bermuda! Did your kids like it????

 

We have never sailed the Majesty.We went to Bermuda on the Explorer of The Seas and My kids loved Horseshoe Bay in Bermuda..

[14ersco]

"HMmmmmm....the aft location is beginning to scare me as that's where our cabin is...they only have a few that sleep 5 and that's what we booked and it is in the Aft!!!! We've only cruised once before and it was on the Sovereign in the middle of the ship on the bottom! I certainly don't want anyone to get seasick....especially my kiddos for that matter."

 

The kid's club on Aloha/Sky is farther aft than the cabins; the area is so far forward that the ceiling is sloped. Also we had winter seas; actually closed the promenade on the 7th deck (kid's club deck) a few nights due to waves. Wouldn't expect that in the Bahamas. From reading CC we knew that the Aloha/Sky didn't have the best kid's facilities for NCL, but we wanted to do an 11 day Hawaii before they were stopped.

 

For a short 2 day on one of the newest NCL ships the Pearl is going out Miami on Oct. 10. I would not say don't go on the Sky just because of a smaller kid's club (free child deal is super); just realize that if you do go on the Sky it is not a fair comparison of NCL to RCCL for children's facilities. With Freestyle 2.0 the kid's club is supposed to be open on sea days from 9 AM to 10:30 PM and you choose when to take your children to meals.

[Markandrews]

Inaugural books are written and published before the ship enters service. So all that happened after the book went to press.

 

I don't think Kloster had anything to do with NCL by the time it acquired the unfinished COSTA OLYMPIA in December 1997.

 

I can't find an exact date but as I recall, Kloster's involvement with NCL ended in 1996, when the company went through a major restructuring. It closed down Royal Cruise Line and emerged under the control of Norwegian investors who owned the company until it was acquired by Star Cruises in 2000. The parent company was then called NCL Holding ASA, based in Oslo. (I think this still exists in a dormant form as I have occasionally seen reference to it. It is was the publicly-traded company that Star Cruises and various affiliated companies - including, very briefly, Carnival - acquired.) The CEO of the NCL at the time was Geir Aune.

 

I am trying to find more details on all this as my memory is a bit fuzzy but I have not had much luck finding any details on the exact circumstances by which Kloster lost control of NCL. But I think the last Kloster NCL ship was WINDWARD. She entered service in rather memorable circumstances as Kloster (at the time the company was still called Kloster Cruise Ltd, which included NCL, Royal Cruise Line and Royal Viking Line) nearly couldn't take delivery of her because it didn't have the money!

 

It is certainly an interesting story... The late 1980s and (especially) early 1990s were very, very dark years for NCL.

 

That is interesting. I thought NCL went from Kloster to Star Cruises.

 

I do know that times were tough in the early 90's. My friend that was a C/D at the time was literally concerned about her paycheck clearing the bank.

 

I always thought that the Norway drained a lot of NCL's cash.