Seas2mountains

Pulse fitness center The last photo shows the soft serve ice cream dispensers near the pool and next to Garden Cafe.

Spinnaker Observation lounge on deck 11 with a forward outside deck.

Bliss Lounge. It was fairly crowded last night with a band and game. The last photo is of the ice cream machines by the pool and outside of the Garden Cafe.

It’s a beautiful morning in Nassau. We loved how deck 6 has a deck that wraps all around the ship for walking or running. This morning the whole deck was in the shade.

Breakfast at the Palace Dining Room. We were seated at the same table we had at lunch which was next to a window.

We really enjoyed listening to Leah sing and play guitar in Sugarcane which is the former Captain Cook’s bar. We love the wood beams on the ceiling. We really enjoy the ‘66 Gin by Norwegian. It’s on the P+ menu. We were able to drink Decoy Cab in Sugarcane but the server had to go to another bar to get it. We slept really well and the seas were really calm.

Dinner last night was at Cagney’s just as we were sailing away from Miami. The service was excellent and the food was delicious.

Here is the premium plus wine list in the Atrium. The Decoy Cab is available in the atrium.

Room photos. This is our 4th time on the Sky but the three previous cruises were in ollcean view rooms. Here is our balcony cabin. It’s much smaller than the club balcony suites on Jewel, Breakaway and Breakaway Plus ships. There are USB ports by the bed on each side. it’s the dreaded circular shower and shower curtain. I hope it doesn’t stick to my skin. when trying to shower.

We had lunch in the Palace Main Dining Room We thought we would get 2 hush puppies per order and were a little surprised to get so many each. Why didn’t we share??? The spinach Caesar is always a favorite. My husband had the cheeseburger and I had the pork chop. Both were really good. We enjoyed one glass of Santa Margarita Pinot Grigio with lunch. Our table faced the cruise port so we could see how people arriving at 1pm or later had no lines at all and easily walked on the ship without crowds. The service was excellent. One of the servers asked us how many NCL cruises we have been on. My husband answered with the exact number - a lot. The server was so sweet and he said his family appreciates all the people who cruise and support his family. He mentioned that the shut down was difficult for his family but they are doing well now. Aww. I don’T always think of the impact we have on families when we cruise. Sorry. Forgot to take photos and started eating before photos.

Here are some atrium photos. The refurbishments look really nice. The crew has been amazing as usual.

Drink #2 for me - Flow water. I know, I know. Kind of boring. Needed some hydration as I wasn’t drinking as much water as usual. My husband had the margarita.

A wedding party maybe mixed with suite passengers boarded a little after 11. That caused the masses to crowd the boarding area. An announcement was made to ask guests to be seated as boarding would begin about 11:30 or 12. We saw action at the boarding area again just after 11:15 and they called for passengers needing assistance. We knew this was our cue to move close to the boarding area so we could be ready when they announced it was time for priority boarding groups at about 11:20. it’s so easy to go to Muster stations on the Sky as they are ALL outside. Our muster station cards were scanned quickly and we were off to the atrium to change our specialty dining reservations. Next, we went to a restroom to change into bathing suits as we were on a mission to use the hot tub before everyone else got on. We headed up to the pool area to see the four hit tubs had ropes over them. I asked the lifeguard when they would open and she called someone and reported they would open between 12:30-1:00. I asked if the forward hot tub by the kid’s pool was open and was told it was. My husband ordered our first customary drinks of Rebellious Fish for me and a margarita for him. We relocated to the forward hot tub where it was like the Haven for us until others finally discovered it.

This is the first time we have been in the new beautiful NCL cruise terminal in Miami. The walls of windows and seating areas are gorgeous. I like how they had the security area designed as it looks like it should move people through quickly. Now for the whiny complaints. 1. Is the carpet stained in so many areas especially on the gray carpet or is it because no one is cleaning it or both? Why not choose better flooring for such high traffic areas. I could add photos but it’s quite nasty in some spots. 2. Could not get the soap dispensers to work in the women’s restroom but the Purell dispensers did work. We should be boarding soon.

A few more photos from the hotel.

Here are some pool photos. This Hampton Inn did have a bar that is open until 11pm.

Breakfast at the hotel was the standard free breakfast with cheese omelets, sausages, make your own waffles, etc. The cheese and deli meat area was different from what I’ve seen at other hotels.

Here are some hotel photos. We would recommend this hotel, Hampton Inn-Miami Brickell. It was clean. The staff we encountered were friendly and it was close to the cruise port for a short drive this morning. There was a safe and two robes in the closet, a refrigerator and microwave with a bar sink and Nespresso machine.

We had an uneventful Uber ride from our hotel, Hampton Inn - Miami Brickell. We dropped our bags with the porter outside. There was no line for security. We initially waited in the priority check-in for Platinum and above but the line for the general check-in had no wait. The couple standing behind us said they paid for priority boarding and how funny it was that the priority check-in line was longer than the general boarding line. We went to general boarding and it was fast and efficient to check-in. And there is the Sky behind the glass.

Thank you! There may also be an option to take the Brightline train as we saw signs for it in the airport. We did not want to try it so late at night. I have not ever seen so many people waiting for an Uber or Lyft at any airport. We love the Jewel. It does have more to offer than the Sky.

Thanks. Yes, it’s been awhile since we have been to the FLL airport. There were no direct flights to Miami for the time we wanted to leave. We did pay by credit card and the driver did not ask for cash like we are used to hearing from other taxi drivers. You are right about them asking for cash or finding that their credit card machine doesn’t connect to the internet.

Lyft price was $55 but no one seemed to have luck getting a Lyft to show up. It kept getting canceled. Uber was $88 but again there were so many people waiting and few rides arriving. The taxi cost $76 before tip. The driver was a safe driver and was really polite. We appreciated that he had the air conditioning on high and the radio was on low and he helped put bags in and out of the trunk. Next time we will go directly to the taxi.

We arrived into FLL before midnight and have all carry on bags. There were a lot more people in the airport than I expected for the time of night. We initially requested a Lyft and the app said it would be 9 minutes. It finally got down to a 7 minute estimated arrival and stayed at 7 minutes for what seemed like 10 minutes and then it said it was looking for a new driver. The woman standing next to us said the same thing happened to her. There were over 100 people waiting in the ride share area. We decided to give up on Lyft as while it was slightly less than Uber, people standing around us were having no luck with Lyft. We tried Uber but the estimated time was stuck at 10 minutes and didn’t seem to move. We gave up, canceled the ride and went to the taxi stand where only one taxi was waiting but others were pulling up. We lost about 30-40 minutes trying to use Lyft/Uber. We are now in the taxi heading to our hotel in the Miami Brickell area. I’ll update the price later to see if the Taxi cost more than Lyft and Uber or not.

And we are on the plane! We’ll arrive pretty late but oh well, we will be on the cruise tomorrow.