Norwegian Sky 1/7 - 1/11 Bahamas Cruise review

[cliffd64]

Review of Norwegian Sky - 1/7/2019 - 1/11/2019 - Orion Suite - 8001

Just returned from the Norwegian Sky 4 night cruise to the Bahamas.  The itinerary was as follows:  Miami - Freeport - Nassau - Great Stirrup Cay.

There were 4 of us in the Owners suite cabin number 8001.

Cabin :  This cabin is fantastic.  Being one of the largest on the ship we had absolutely no complaints.  The cabin consists of sleeping arrangements to hold up to 6.  The master bedroom holds two people in a very comfortable king size bed.  For other guests, there is a very comfortable murphy bed tastefully hidden within the wall in the living room area.  My wife and I used this while we gave the master to her brother and wife...  I was very comfortable.  There is a dining table and sofa as well in the living area, aong with a TV and stereo system that can accomodate DVDs and CDs..  The balcony is alomost as large as the living room area, and also contains a 6 person private hot tub...  very enjoyable.  Two large chaise longes are here as well as chairs and a table for 4 for dining. The master bath contains a giant tub, as well as a standing shower.  The other bathroom only contained a sink and commode.  The only inconvenient thing was not having two showers... sometimes this caused a log jam when getting ready for dinner etc... Hint:  If you are looking for the hair dryer, its in a desk drawer in the master bedroom.

Ship:  The ship seemed to be in good condition in public areas...  In two weeks it will be going into dry dock, so it will be even better vwery soon. Seemed to be plenty of chairs poolside, and not really hard to find one on any given day.  It was definitely strange traversing the entire ship from our cabin to Cagneys for breakfast and lunch every day... it's a long walk on deck 8 all the way across, zand then up three flights or so. 

Activities:  The avaerage age on this cruise was listed at 39...  which is on the younger side of any I have been on.  Activies were geared towards this age level.  Shows were very good!  Karaoke was extremely popular and was scheduled from 10 - 12 midnite every night.  Always plenty to do and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves.  

Food:  Being in a suite we had the priviledge of breakfast and lunch in Cagneys, which was awesome.  Dinners were split between specialty restaurants ( Le Bistro - and Cagneys) and the main dining rooms.  Food seemed to be very good in all cases.  It's been three years since our last NCL cruise on the Star, and portions seem to be larger as it was rare for us to be able to finish an entire meal. This also was out first experience with the a la carte pricing in the specialty restaurants. One comment about the new a la carte pricing in Le Bistro and Cagneys (1 appetizer - soup or salad - 1 entree - 1 dessert):  it sucks.  We spent on average 65 dollars more for 4 people per meal than we would have under the older single price format, and some of the choices were not all that great or worth their price...  For example, the lobster bisque in Cagneys is horrible ( I note that I have been spoiled with fantastic lobster bisque in my lifetime, so I may be jaded, but this was genuinely bad by comparison). I don't think the extra cost is reflected in the quality, it seems like a money grab.  Beyond our Platinum and Platinum-plus benefits, and any packages we get as free-at-sea perks, we may not do too many specialty restaurants in the future as a result of this pricing scheme.  Service was excellent across the board in all venues.

Embarkation/Disembarkation:  We were in a suite, so this was very very painless and expedited.  

Ports of call:  Well, as seems to be the case 50 percent of the time, we missed GSC..  but no big deal...  had a great sea day.  Many new activities very added with a revised Freestyle Daily insert. 

Crew:  The crew was fantastic, and the concierge Armando (now home in the Phillipines) and Rosvy, the butler were amazing.  Jasper the cruise director was great, as were several of his assistants in the cruise director's staff.  Seemed like it was easy to get a drink by the pool wth bar servers.

Lattitudes:  Apparently since this is a 4 night cruise there are no lattitudes perks of any sort. 

Summary: Overall, it was a fantastic cruise.  Seemed like it was too short and we wanted to stay.  I like the ship and staff, and would not hesitate to go on her again.

[limeyalchemist]

Thanks for the review.  We are sailing on the Sky to Key West and Bahamas on Wednesday this week, so this was read with much interest!

 

Chances are the cruise director will be Jasper still.  Glad ot hear that the lines weren't too long at the bar.  Major concern on a ship where 100% of passengers have the UBP!

 

Any other thoughts about which were the best restaurants to visit and what times were quieter would be good.  Also, how was the entertainment on board?

 

Again, thanks for taking the time to share...

[cliffd64]

2 hours ago, limeyalchemist said:

Thanks for the review.  We are sailing on the Sky to Key West and Bahamas on Wednesday this week, so this was read with much interest!

 

Chances are the cruise director will be Jasper still.  Glad ot hear that the lines weren't too long at the bar.  Major concern on a ship where 100% of passengers have the UBP!

 

Any other thoughts about which were the best restaurants to visit and what times were quieter would be good.  Also, how was the entertainment on board?

 

Again, thanks for taking the time to share...

Shows were really good..  Showdown is entertaining and you get to influence the result.  Rock You Tonight is also great - good music and singing.  Comedian was ok... The welcome aboard show is like a preview show...

 

Crossings and Palace were fine when we went between 5:30 - 6:30...  Can't go wrong at Le Bistro if you can stomach the a la carte pricing.  Expect a two person meal to be 75 dollars or so...

Edited January 14, 2019 by cliffd64

[Smokey596]

Thanks for this review! I will be taking this route on the Sky at the end of February! Good to know some details!

[Pauser]

Thanks for taking the time to write your review!

[tokidoki]

thx for the review   Sail to Cuba in May and look forward to all the refreshments being done!    Do u have any idea what NCL will be doing starting next week?  Too bad theres few platinum perks, but   I

4 hours ago, cliffd64 said:

Review of Norwegian Sky - 1/7/2019 - 1/11/2019 - Orion Suite - 8001

Just returned from the Norwegian Sky 4 night cruise to the Bahamas.  The itinerary was as follows:  Miami - Freeport - Nassau - Great Stirrup Cay.

There were 4 of us in the Owners suite cabin number 8001.

Cabin :  This cabin is fantastic.  Being one of the largest on the ship we had absolutely no complaints.  The cabin consists of sleeping arrangements to hold up to 6.  The master bedroom holds two people in a very comfortable king size bed.  For other guests, there is a very comfortable murphy bed tastefully hidden within the wall in the living room area.  My wife and I used this while we gave the master to her brother and wife...  I was very comfortable.  There is a dining table and sofa as well in the living area, aong with a TV and stereo system that can accomodate DVDs and CDs..  The balcony is alomost as large as the living room area, and also contains a 6 person private hot tub...  very enjoyable.  Two large chaise longes are here as well as chairs and a table for 4 for dining. The master bath contains a giant tub, as well as a standing shower.  The other bathroom only contained a sink and commode.  The only inconvenient thing was not having two showers... sometimes this caused a log jam when getting ready for dinner etc... Hint:  If you are looking for the hair dryer, its in a desk drawer in the master bedroom.

Ship:  The ship seemed to be in good condition in public areas...  In two weeks it will be going into dry dock, so it will be even better vwery soon. Seemed to be plenty of chairs poolside, and not really hard to find one on any given day.  It was definitely strange traversing the entire ship from our cabin to Cagneys for breakfast and lunch every day... it's a long walk on deck 8 all the way across, zand then up three flights or so. 

Activities:  The avaerage age on this cruise was listed at 39...  which is on the younger side of any I have been on.  Activies were geared towards this age level.  Shows were very good!  Karaoke was extremely popular and was scheduled from 10 - 12 midnite every night.  Always plenty to do and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves.  

Food:  Being in a suite we had the priviledge of breakfast and lunch in Cagneys, which was awesome.  Dinners were split between specialty restaurants ( Le Bistro - and Cagneys) and the main dining rooms.  Food seemed to be very good in all cases.  It's been three years since our last NCL cruise on the Star, and portions seem to be larger as it was rare for us to be able to finish an entire meal. This also was out first experience with the a la carte pricing in the specialty restaurants. One comment about the new a la carte pricing in Le Bistro and Cagneys (1 appetizer - soup or salad - 1 entree - 1 dessert):  it sucks.  We spent on average 65 dollars more for 4 people per meal than we would have under the older single price format, and some of the choices were not all that great or worth their price...  For example, the lobster bisque in Cagneys is horrible ( I note that I have been spoiled with fantastic lobster bisque in my lifetime, so I may be jaded, but this was genuinely bad by comparison). I don't think the extra cost is reflected in the quality, it seems like a money grab.  Beyond our Platinum and Platinum-plus benefits, and any packages we get as free-at-sea perks, we may not do too many specialty restaurants in the future as a result of this pricing scheme.  Service was excellent across the board in all venues.

Embarkation/Disembarkation:  We were in a suite, so this was very very painless and expedited.  

Ports of call:  Well, as seems to be the case 50 percent of the time, we missed GSC..  but no big deal...  had a great sea day.  Many new activities very added with a revised Freestyle Daily insert. 

Crew:  The crew was fantastic, and the concierge Armando (now home in the Phillipines) and Rosvy, the butler were amazing.  Jasper the cruise director was great, as were several of his assistants in the cruise director's staff.  Seemed like it was easy to get a drink by the pool wth bar servers.

Lattitudes:  Apparently since this is a 4 night cruise there are no lattitudes perks of any sort. 

Summary: Overall, it was a fantastic cruise.  Seemed like it was too short and we wanted to stay.  I like the ship and staff, and would not hesitate to go on her again.

think I still get my 10% on shore ex's?,  hopefully?

[NayRN]

My favorite ship and favorite suite! Love the OS on deck 8 but nothing listed for her yet! 

[cliffd64]

15 hours ago, tokidoki said:

thx for the review   Sail to Cuba in May and look forward to all the refreshments being done!    Do u have any idea what NCL will be doing starting next week?  Too bad theres few platinum perks, but   I

think I still get my 10% on shore ex's?,  hopefully?

No idea on what's changing...  Yes,you still get 10 percent on store and shore excursions...  

[CruisinChandler]

Thank you for your review! Do you have pictures of any drink menus? I’m curious if prices changed due to the addition of the premium plus beverage package that started this month. 

[Roce48]

On 1/14/2019 at 11:03 AM, cliffd64 said:

Can you tell me what time the shows were? I am trying to make dinner reservations.

 

[cliffd64]

32 minutes ago, Roce48 said:

 

9:00 PM usually...

[cliffd64]

19 hours ago, CruisinChandler said:

Thank you for your review! Do you have pictures of any drink menus? I’m curious if prices changed due to the addition of the premium plus beverage package that started this month. 

I did not take any pictures of drink menus unfortunately...

[tokidoki]

31 minutes ago, cliffd64 said:

9:00 PM usually...

thought its 9:30,  according to past dallies?

[cliffd64]

4 minutes ago, tokidoki said:

thought its 9:30,  according to past dallies?

Im pretty sure it was 9 PM on Jan 7 - 11....