Review of Sky 3/2-2/6

[geoffandval]

Well, our first cruise and while we had a great time, we were unimpressed by this cruiseline. All I ever heard was how much food there was and you could eat anytime anywhere on cruises, with great service and entertainment etc... etc.

Lets start with the main dining rooms. Breakfast one AM, lunch 2 days, and dinner 1 night and not once did we see or have a pleasant water/waitress. Talk about miserable. If your that bummed out to be at work then quit! Another quick point, why are jeans ok to wear for dinner but nice khaki shorts with a tucked in collared shirt is not?? "Free to whatever" not exactly!

The Buffet...really??? hamburgers, hotdogs, french fries, salad, fruit, and mystery stew in various forms with a title attached that was laughable, with more unhappy workers caring less about customer service, or replenishment of said dishes, and not a piece of chocolate cake to be had on the whole ship?? I thought surely we could hit at least a "midnight buffet" late after a few cocktails and entertainment for a quick snack (see choices above) before bed. (make an x with your arms and make that "eehhhh" sound) WRONG!! buttoned up tight at 1145pm. "free to whatever" Not this late I guess!

The specialty restaurants il Addagio, and Cagneys were fabulous and the staff there was outstanding as well.

The weather pretty much sucked, windy, cloudy with peaks of sun for the majority of the cruise but hey you can't win 'em all and that is certainly not NCL's fault.

Room stewards name escapes me but she was great, and we tipped her well for the services she provided. Towel animals and mints every night etc.. This was what I thought we were going to experience by way of customer service, everywhere on the ship.

Now to the entertainment. The comedian Tim Kaminski was terrific!!! all his shows and everything he was involved with was entertaining, and funny. The shows, however, I had a hard time with, and wasn't entertained or impressed at all. The game show stuff was funny though and not to be missed if youfind yourself trapped on this boat.

NCL should have hired the spring breakers on board for the entertainment, because watching them get cocked and sing karaoke (with a disinterested host BTW) was far more entertaining than the shows and far better than the "band" that played by the pool for the 2nd sea day!!(they were terrible!)at least learn the words to the songs for god sake.

I know I have gone long enough now but wanted to throw a few of those things that I was thoroughly disapointed in.

Many many friends who are cruisers who have the same tastes, temperaments, etc etc as my wife and I have lead us to believe that it is not cruising we were disapointed in but the cruiseline itself, as we did have a great time with each other and a lot of laughs at the spring breakers, and miserable staff.

We will try again at some point but NCL blew the chance to "hook us" into cruising with them forever.

I know I know. We are snobs and nit pickers etc etc. NOT TRUE! We expect value and good service for our dollar, and thought we were "free to whatever" Think what you want as I'm sure opinions vary but this is MY opinion, and that is that!!!

[Ladder55]

Well, our first cruise and while we had a great time, we were unimpressed by this cruiseline. All I ever heard was how much food there was and you could eat anytime anywhere on cruises, with great service and entertainment etc... etc.

Lets start with the main dining rooms. Breakfast one AM, lunch 2 days, and dinner 1 night and not once did we see or have a pleasant water/waitress. Talk about miserable. If your that bummed out to be at work then quit! Another quick point, why are jeans ok to wear for dinner but nice khaki shorts with a tucked in collared shirt is not?? "Free to whatever" not exactly!

The Buffet...really??? hamburgers, hotdogs, french fries, salad, fruit, and mystery stew in various forms with a title attached that was laughable, with more unhappy workers caring less about customer service, or replenishment of said dishes, and not a piece of chocolate cake to be had on the whole ship?? I thought surely we could hit at least a "midnight buffet" late after a few cocktails and entertainment for a quick snack (see choices above) before bed. (make an x with your arms and make that "eehhhh" sound) WRONG!! buttoned up tight at 1145pm. "free to whatever" Not this late I guess!

The specialty restaurants il Addagio, and Cagneys were fabulous and the staff there was outstanding as well.

The weather pretty much sucked, windy, cloudy with peaks of sun for the majority of the cruise but hey you can't win 'em all and that is certainly not NCL's fault.

Room stewards name escapes me but she was great, and we tipped her well for the services she provided. Towel animals and mints every night etc.. This was what I thought we were going to experience by way of customer service, everywhere on the ship.

Now to the entertainment. The comedian Tim Kaminski was terrific!!! all his shows and everything he was involved with was entertaining, and funny. The shows, however, I had a hard time with, and wasn't entertained or impressed at all. The game show stuff was funny though and not to be missed if youfind yourself trapped on this boat.

NCL should have hired the spring breakers on board for the entertainment, because watching them get cocked and sing karaoke (with a disinterested host BTW) was far more entertaining than the shows and far better than the "band" that played by the pool for the 2nd sea day!!(they were terrible!)at least learn the words to the songs for god sake.

I know I have gone long enough now but wanted to throw a few of those things that I was thoroughly disapointed in.

Many many friends who are cruisers who have the same tastes, temperaments, etc etc as my wife and I have lead us to believe that it is not cruising we were disapointed in but the cruiseline itself, as we did have a great time with each other and a lot of laughs at the spring breakers, and miserable staff.

We will try again at some point but NCL blew the chance to "hook us" into cruising with them forever.

I know I know. We are snobs and nit pickers etc etc. NOT TRUE! We expect value and good service for our dollar, and thought we were "free to whatever" Think what you want as I'm sure opinions vary but this is MY opinion, and that is that!!!

 

 

laughing out loudd !!!!!

:Dthis is hysterical and said in so many ways that I feel, I love it!! thank you for your way with words!!!!! ^^5555555:D

LAD:D

[BIG_Steve]

Thanks for taking the time to write your review.

 

Question about the khaki shorts..... Were you actually turned away? Which dining room was it?

 

Hope your next cruise is better!

[geoffandval]

I was turned away at Crossings on Thursday night!! Told to go to the Palace because its "the same menu" but I could where shorts there. I'm glad I changed and went back to see the hoodies and jeans that were far nicer than my shorts!! Now I know what to where to church on Sunday! How about sweat pants and a "wife beater" It was like bizzaro world!

[geoffandval]

I guess I walked into that one!! hahaha Where? I am a Firefighter here in Massachusetts. Thanks for your comments. Stay safe brother!

[Newbie cruiser going solo]

The original poster was not talking about NCL in general, he was talking about this cruise in particular and the impression that NCL created for him on this cruise. So it seems to me that posting links to people's reviews of other cruises is irrelevant.

 

I was on the same cruise, and for the most part I agree with the OP's assessment. I had a good time, the main reason I went was just to relax, and it was very relaxing. My general feeling about the NCL staff is not that they were "bad," but that they did nothing to make me think they were particularly good. There was nothing outstanding about anything. That's not a complaint, it's a simple statement of fact. Maybe the way everyone tends to rave about everything on these boards just ends up setting people up for disappointment.

 

The food, on the other hand, bears complaining about. It was not good. Maybe not actively bad for the most part, but definitely not good. They could do a lot better with minimal effort and cost; I can only conclude that they don't care to. The cakes, in particular, really were actively bad. I'm big on sweets, and I bake, so if I literally cannot swallow a piece of cake, there's something very wrong with it. And yes, the coffee sucked, big time. There's really no excuse for this sort of thing. Except apathy.

 

I didn't go to much of the entertainment, but I did enjoy the things I went to. The first show (the Broadway one) was good, and I think the cast puts a lot of effort into what they do. I liked the second show (the rock 'n' roll show) less, but still give a lot of credit to the cast. Tim Kaminkski's comedy was on the night in between these two shows, and I thought he was just okay. I was bored with the Wizard of Oz thing, but the audience seemed to love it, so I guess it's just me. I did catch a few minutes of Tim Kaminski during the "To Tell the Truth" segment, where he and two others were given a word and asked to make up a definition. He was funnier there.

 

I was very annoyed that there was nowhere on the ship where I could sit quietly and read. There was always muzak playing. The library was quiet (it's a nice library, by the way, but it's inside; I'm on a ship on the sea, I want to sit outside, quitely please), but it was small and VERY crowded. I think a lot of people just want a bit of quiet now and then. The ship offers very little of that, mostly (IMO) because in that sort of setting there's little option for them to SELL anything. They were very, very aggressive about trying to get people to part with more and more money.

 

This was my first cruise. My overall impression of NCL is that they don't really care too much about anything. They get the job done, which is good. But I see no reason to expect otherwise. I don't see any reason to rave about them just because they get the job done. I'm not going to rave about my steward just because he put a piece of chocolate on my bed and folded a towel to look like an animal. Very nice, but really, good coffee in the morning is much more important to me. Food that actually tastes good is much more important to me. I don't need individual attention. But I think the overall level of attention they pay to their passengers can definitely be kicked up a notch.

[rugbyhooker2]

if you want a quiet cruise, I recommend not going during spring break. Best tip, get a balcony next time and read there. But it my opinion, why waste money to read at sea. Might as well go to a beach and read. Sorry if that offends, just my opinion. Plus, I hate reading, so boring.

[ictcruiser]

Maybe the staff was miserable and it was due to the spring breakers?

 

JMHO, but shorter cruises (shorter = cheaper) and school holidays combine to make a less than stellar vacation for the traveler seeking a romantic relaxing vacation.

 

Its the same reason I hate the mall on Black Friday.

[Ladder55]

I guess I walked into that one!! hahaha Where? I am a Firefighter here in Massachusetts. Thanks for your comments. Stay safe brother!

Thanks Geoff ,im currently in ct

looking to get into the nyfd soon, few of my buddies down there ,they love it

[Newbie cruiser going solo]

if you want a quiet cruise, I recommend not going during spring break. Best tip, get a balcony next time and read there. But it my opinion, why waste money to read at sea. Might as well go to a beach and read. Sorry if that offends, just my opinion. Plus, I hate reading, so boring.

 

Spring breakers didn't bother me in the least. As to your opinions on reading, let's just say there are many different types of people in this world.