Sky review: Vacationing with a 9 month old

[hippie7love]

I want to start this review with a little background. I am 22 years old, my fiance is 28, and my son is a week shy of 9 months. This is my 6th cruise, 4th time on NCL Sky. That being said, The Sky is not a stranger to us. We thought to start out our son a with a familiar ship, before going on to longer cruises with him.

 

We live in Fort Lauderdale, so we did not have to worry about flying out with him. We had pre purchased our parking at Premier Parking USA as we usually do. We have always been pleased with their services. This time, i cannot say it was the same. They have upgraded from the vans into buses. They have also instituted leaving your car key with them.

 

The part about leaving the key, I can understand, but others might (and have) found it a problem. Secondly, where they upgraded into buses, the line to get into the buses are enormous. Before, with the vans coming and going, we never had to wait more than 5 minutes to get into a van. Even in pouring rain. This time we were in line for at least 35 minutes waiting for a bus for our ship. While carrying luggage, this is very bothersome. Not to mention they stuff those buses with a lot of people. Some ended up standing the whole way.

 

At about half price compared to the parking garage, for a cruise on a budget, it works!

 

Where normally, we arrive to the pier at around 10-11 am, this time we were running behind and got there around 1pm. May i say, long lines!! Maybe my fiance now understands why i like being early ;) . The lines moved swiftly and we were on the ship in no time.

 

We normally head to the main dining room to eat lunch on embarkation, but since we were late, it was closed. We headed to our cabin.

 

Note: We brought a bag of disposable bibs. This made great since it has a pouch to catch food that slips from their hands. Aiden feeds himself he drops a lot of food. We made sure to tip the the dining room staff extra for the after mess, even though we picked most of it up.

 

After dinner, we headed to our meet and greet. We were early, so i stepped next door to Dazzles and watched the brave souls learn the Michael Jackson Thriller moves. Always fun to watch. Hubby went downstairs to the cabin to make Aiden a formula before the meet and greet.

 

The meet and greet was great! Met a few friendly people and some senior officers came to introduce themselves.

 

We ended the night at Longboards. Our favorite snack location. LOVE LOVE LOVE the wings and chicken tenders there. Although i do have to say the chicken tenders have become dramatically smaller lol.

[hippie7love]

We ordered the room service breakfast as a wake up call as we normally do. Orange juice, coffee and some fruit to wake us up. We are NOT morning people. Aiden woke up happily!

 

 

Aiden was a little timid. I think it was because the noise of the waves than the water itself. After a few minutes he warmed up to it...

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[hippie7love]

We headed to the buffet area after the water got us hungry. Between the three of us, we got a burger, hot dog, corn, fruit, and some chicken. Aiden, favored the corn. Hubby and I found the food lacking.

 

 

We found a little shaded area with picnic tables and some lounge chairs. We decided to pick up our stuff from and park there.

 

 

Aiden heard the music from the beach next to us and started dancing. After a while we went back to the water. This time the waves were a little stronger and it scared him. We dried up and decided to head back to the ship. Aiden fell asleep as soon as i put him in the carrier.

 

 

We saw on the freestyle daily that there was an activity for Aiden's age group at 5pm, so we went to check out the room half hr early. Aiden made his first friend and enjoyed playing with all the new toys.

 

[hippie7love]

Then it was time to play with some Jell-o. He absolutely loved it! And got himself really messy :D

 

 

We headed back to the room to clean up and dress for dinner. Tonight we also went to Crossings.

The size of the menu compared to Aiden made me giggle :o

 

The staff took a little while to bring the high chair, so i let Aiden play with my phone for a bit. Shortly after they brought the highchair, Aiden fell asleep.

 

 

We then went to see a few shows. I do not recall what they were. I think i had one too many margaritas :rolleyes:

JK We went to a salsa dance class done by the cruise director Joel. Very good CD. We remembered him from our last cruise when he was Richard's assistant cruise director. I did not want to see the main show this night. It did not grab my attention. We did go to the comedy shows though.

[hippie7love]

We wanted to go to the buffet for breakfast and found a high chair hidden underneath a stairwell. Got aiden some fruit

 

We decided to stay on the ship at Nassau. We've been there three times and decided to take it easy today. We did arts and crafts. Went to the pool.

NOTE: I'm not sure about other NCL ships, but the Sky does not allow pool diapers in the pool. We knew this ahead of time so we brought an inflatable tub. The tub was used for its purpose and even floated in the kiddie pool with Aiden in it! (he is 20 pounds!)

 

We got some water out of the kiddie pool on Deck 12 forward. This is our spot. Its secluded and usually very empty. Quiet place to relax as no one really goes here... We dried up and went to Il idagio for lunch. Pizza and Pasta!!

 

 

Love the view from up here...

 

 

We took Aiden back to the guppie play room so he could play while we relaxed in there...

 

And Aiden took his first "steps." Not that he started walking! What i mean is, it is the first time he lifted up his feet and moved forward...

 

 

We then headed back to the room. Aiden was exhausted ;)

 

[hippie7love]

But his sleep did not last long!!

 

We then changed into our Le Bistro clothes and took those professional pictures on the way there. Aiden and daddy looked so cute matching!

 

 

And of course, since Aiden's nap was short, he fell asleep as soon as we got to Le Bistro...

 

 

I have to say. The food was lacking in the Main dining rooms. Le Bistro is always worth the surcharge. The food there is spectacular! I had the muscles and beef tenderloin. Ended with creme brulee. Hubby had the mushroom soup and the beef tenderloin. Le bistro is our NCL tradition!

 

I think this is the night they had Dancing with the sky stars. This is my absolute favorite show!! Always histerical... During the show Aiden decided to try to learn to clap his hands!!

I do have to say that they cut this show down. A lot. There used to be more songs.

 

After the show we went to get some nibbles at Longboards <3 and then headed to the room to sleep.

[Sauer-kraut]

Delightful review! :D

[hippie7love]

This day i woke up a little earlier than anticipated. :( It's alright though. Aiden had to wake daddy up instead of I

 

 

We went to the pool most of the morning. By this time i had a sunburn and any clothes i put on were hurting me :cool:

 

After the pool we went to eat.... At Crossings. And Aiden of course fell asleep yet again. This time in the high chair!!!

 

 

This was by far the best food we had in the dining rooms. The Calimari was too good!!!! I also had the shrimp ceaser salad. Aiden enjoyed the steak more than i did (after he woke up)

 

 

We rushed out of there as we wanted to talk to the cruise consultant before the 5pm guppies activities... Yup. This cruise with Aiden had gone so smoothly that we decided to do a longer one next time. (haven't decided which just yet)

[hippie7love]

Then came the guppies playroom. Spaghetti with edible paint....

 

 

Another BIG mess.... But he enjoyed it :)

We headed back to the room to change as we wanted Aiden to get some professional pictures done in his Miami Heat outfit...

 

 

The rest of the night consited of a dinner where Aiden had a tumy ache so we wrapped it up and headed to the room. They seated us in a dark area and i think that also played a part in Aidens grumpy mood. Hubby headed to the casino with aiden in the back carrie, and i headed to the internet hub to look at future cruises.

Edited November 3, 2013 by hippie7love

[hippie7love]

I headed to the buffet to get a crepe since i hadn't had one the whole cruise... Then hubby and i found our way to the Showdown show. (The show was just Ok- nothing stood out)

 

We left the show early and headed to check out Aiden's picture and chose our cruise momento... We could not decide which picture to buy so we just chose one at random. Aiden had so many cute ones in his little HEAT outfit!

 

I do not understand why they don't allow you to buy these after the cruise. For example, on a website you can go check them out and buy a jpg version. I'm sure they have their reasons. We just would buy more this way.

 

We then hurried to the Adult Comedy Show. Best comedy show i have seen on any cruise so far. It takes skill to use the audience in your show the way he did.

 

We then headed to Longboards to order some wings and chicken tenders and took it to the room. We ate as we packed.

 

This is usually the saddest part of the cruise. But this is also the first cruise where we already have the next cruise in plans....

 

We were very about cruising with a baby. But compared to all our other cruises, this has been by far the best! We cannot imagine vacationing with kids any other way.

 

Tips:

overpack! Yes hubby hates that i do, but you never know when you can get into an emergency.

Split all you overpack between all the bags. You never know what u will need and if your bags will be late to the room.

We use the carrier on a regular basis at home but it was extra helpful on the cruise. he could nap whenever he wanted to.

Bring something from home that they will recognize.

We had no problems staying on the ship at the ports, but if you want to off, make sure it is do able with your kids.

 

 

We have been the first time cruisers, the cruising just for fun, the birthday people, the pregnant couple, the just engaged couple... Now we were the couple with the baby...

 

In the end every cruise is a great cruise... This by far has been our best.

 

I cannot think of one thing we should have done differently. The only thing i could think of that would have improved was having a family member to help us with Aiden to have some alone time... but even though we didn't, it was still our best cruise thus far.

[hippie7love]

Delightful review! :D

 

Thank you there Sauer-Kraut

[crusinmama06]

Awesome review! And I loved seeing all of Aiden's adorable pics! That Jello one is a classic! I had no idea that the babies got to paint with Jello and spaghetti - so thank you for that!

 

And to answer your one question wondering if Sky was like other ships, not allowing babies in diapers - yep all Norwegian ships are the same. So you did a great thing for the little guy :)

 

You look like you have a wonderful little sailor there. Thanks for sharing!

[3DBeach]

Great review!!! Thanks for sharing!

 

 

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[Barb Nahoumi]

It looks like Aiden has taken to cruising, like a fish to water. He is adorable.

[Chuck2810]

Great review - and family!:) My (now 15 year old) was a lot like him as a baby. Got spoiled going to all the nice restaurants and usually ended on a chair or the floor in short order. But we fed the same way - No 'baby food'. I think that is a racket.:mad: In four and a half months we take her (and her 9 year old sister) on their first cruise. If we still lived in WPB we'd do the Sky some more, but now since it is a 13+ hr drive, we save up for the 7 day ones.

[lisakoivu]

You know, I can tell by your review that you're a very positive and probably laid back person, and so of course, you had a great cruise. You expected your baby to behave like a baby, so when he did, it didn't ruin your cruise. It seems like you very much went with the flow, which is why you had a great time, I am sure. Congratulations for proving it can be done. It seems like you had a very relaxing cruise.

[russianmom]

Aiden is adorable! The jello and spaghetti are hilarious!

[hippie7love]

thank you everyone.

Right now we are in the middle of planning our next cruise. We will be taking my little brother along.

We are stuck between the pearl, getaway, and the epic

[Chuck2810]

I would say pearl but lately there have been a lot of charters. I think you will have fun wherever you are.

[bearette]

Congrats on a great first cruise with baby! I have 19 month old twins who will be doing their third cruise later this month. We took ours around the same age for their first for a week. Everyone says how hard they are but I thought it was easy. Especially for you since you don't have to fly.

 

I highly recommend for your next trip you take a small stroller as the carrier doesn't work so well when they are bigger or when you are in port since they are heavy! Also it is not up to the cruise lines with the diapers in ute pool. None of the kids are allowed even in swim diapers on any cruise line. I believe RCCL and Disney has a baby pool area on some of their ships that allow them, but none of the regular pools. Have fun on your next longer cruise!

[tawaik]

Love your review! I love to see babies that are eating real food:). Adorable pictures of him enjoying his meals.

[WaldosPepper]

I enjoyed reading your review very much... but not half as much as I enjoyed the photos of your adorable child! Oh, what a cutie pie. :)

[Sparkygirl]

I second the previous poster about a small stroller for future cruises, the get heavy, they wake more when moved/transferred. We take a quinny zapp with us on on travel it's small, 360 degree turning, I found it for a great price from craigslist.

 

 

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[francina]

Love your review an Aiden is just adorable.

 

 

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