Live from NCL Sky-May 5-8, 2023 - a little cruise therapy - Miami to Bahamas

[Seas2mountains]

45 minutes ago, The Traveling Man said:

We were on the Sky in February.  This looks like an almost complete turnover in senior staff.  I don't recognize any of these officers as having been on our cruise.

I don’t know the rotation frequency of the senior staff.  I thought the Captain on the Gem said he was on for 3 months and off for 3 months. Maybe @www3traveler knows? 

[www3traveler]

50 minutes ago, Seas2mountains said:

I don’t know the rotation frequency of the senior staff.  I thought the Captain on the Gem said he was on for 3 months and off for 3 months. Maybe @www3traveler knows? 

Captains, Staff Captains, Chief Engineers:  10 weeks on 10 weeks off

General Managers, Assistant General Mangers, Cruise Directors, Food and Beverage Managers, Restaurant Managers, Executive Chef's, Executive Housekeepers and some others: 4 months on 2 off.

Middle Managers: 6 months on 2 months off

Waiters, Bartenders, Housekeepers: 8 months on 2 off.

 

On any given ship almost every "turnaround day" some staff are leaving and others coming on board.

As new ships come into the system (Viva this Fall), it gets a little more complicated as staff is selected and trained for the new ship, staff has to be found and trained to replace those "Opening" the new ship.  Never ending battle.

[Jerseygich]

Was wondering if you could advise what size beer they serve? 12 or 16 oz. cans? Need to figure what size coozie to bring.

[Seas2mountains]

We had NO problem at all getting Veuve Cliquot by the glass at Le Bistro using P+.   While it was not listed on the wine menu, it was on the food menu at Le Bistro. 
 

My husband had no problem getting Hennessy XO in the Atrium and in Bliss Lounge. 
 

Here are photos from our dinner at Le Bistro last night. It was really good. All the two top tables are next to a window. 
 

Escargot, French Onion Soup, Mushroom soup, Dover Sole, Sea Bass, and chocolate and strawberry ice cream. 

[Seas2mountains]

We wish we could take the entertainment on this ship to our next cruise. They are all that good!!!

 

In hindsight, I’d say the entertainment on our last cruise on the Gem was a 5 out of 10 when comparing to this cruise where it is a 9.5 out of 10.  
 

Alexa, Leoh and especially the amazing band, Sonata, are the reason. I know a lot of people seem to love  the Latin band.  

[Seas2mountains]

We had to skip GSC today due to wind and waves.  

1 hour ago, Jerseygich said:

Was wondering if you could advise what size beer they serve? 12 or 16 oz. cans? Need to figure what size coozie to bring.

We see 12 oz. Cans. 

[ChiefMateJRK]

On 5/3/2023 at 8:24 PM, Seas2mountains said:

We think a pianist and singer named Alexa may be on the ship and hear she is good. 

I see from your later posts that you did have a chance to listen to Alexa.  She is fantastic.  Unfortunately, she was not yet on the Sky when we sailed her in January.  DD tracks her facebook.  I would change cruise plans if I knew Alexa would be on a ship.

[Jerseygich]

2 hours ago, Seas2mountains said:

We had to skip GSC today due to wind and waves.  

We see 12 oz. Cans. 

Thank you

[Seas2mountains]

Here is the daily that assumed we could tender at Great Stirrup Cay and the updated one when the weather decision was made to skip this stop. 

[Seas2mountains]

Here is the  updated one when the weather decision was made to skip this stop. 
 

We each got a $25 refundable on board credit for skipping Great Stirrup Cay which was really nice.  We know it’s a 50-50 chance of stopping or not. 

[Seas2mountains]

19 hours ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

I see from your later posts that you did have a chance to listen to Alexa.  She is fantastic.  Unfortunately, she was not yet on the Sky when we sailed her in January.  DD tracks her facebook.  I would change cruise plans if I knew Alexa would be on a ship.

Yes, Alexa has a beautiful voice and she is so talented! We did enjoy listening to her on one of the evenings. I do also follow her on Facebook. 
 

We also really liked listening to Leoh in Sugarcane on two evenings. He played some country music along with some Bruno Mars, Coldplay, John Mayer, and Ed Sheeran type of songs. 
 

The Sonata band is also very talented. I was amazed at how quickly they transitioned from song to song with no breaks between songs. 
 

Anyone getting on the Sky will be blessed with wonderful musicians. We did not go to any shows in the theater. 

[Seas2mountains]

We are off the ship waiting in an airline lounge at the FLL airport for an early afternoon flight. We had a wonderful cruise and are excited to get on the Escape with three other family members in 20 days. 
 

We were not successful  with check in for the next cruise using the ship wifi as it got stuck on the photo and would not load the safety video.  We were able finish check-in this morning when back on our cell carrier. 
 

This cruise had many more younger passengers as is common with 3 day cruises. But I had not previously been on a ship with so many bachelor and bachelorette parties. It was fun to watch how some had coordinated dress codes for the weekend with the bride wearing only white in the evening and for bathing suits and the others wearing black for most of the weekend to include bathing suits. That’s a huge commitment to have the cruise cost and all the time and clothing purchases.  We would say at least one was acting like a Bridezilla. My husband said it was like having little gangs all over the ship. When the bride or bachelor got up to go to the next venue, they had 6-12 people following. 
 

When we were going to Cagney’s and we’re going to walk across the pool deck, my husband said, “I hope I don’t have to see any more exposed butts.”  I still don’t get the shear cover ups that don’t cover any thing.  I think our theme was that we saw more exposed body parts than we care to see. 
 

We like the Alaska cruises with the older crowds. 

[eborg]

Hi there! Thanks for this, I’m taking my 2 daughters on the Sky for a nine day on July 5.  I saw they have trivia; lots of times and games or just a few a day. Also, is there a piano bar on this ship? I’ve been on cruises with other cruise lines and that is my favorite late-night activity. 

[Seas2mountains]

1 hour ago, eborg said:

Hi there! Thanks for this, I’m taking my 2 daughters on the Sky for a nine day on July 5.  I saw they have trivia; lots of times and games or just a few a day. Also, is there a piano bar on this ship? I’ve been on cruises with other cruise lines and that is my favorite late-night activity. 

They had morning trivia and different options in the early and late afternoon.  Yes, lots of games, too!  If you look at one of the posted dailies, it should give you a good idea of what to expect.  
 

Alexa is on the Sky and she is an amazing pianist and singer.  She plays in the atrium or in Spinnaker.  We loved the entertainment options on this cruise. 
 

Have a wonderful cruise!!!

[mugtech]

Jumping on Sky in Baltimore, 9/1/23, headed to Quebec.  Wondering if there were any vegan items on the main dining room menu.  Hope the entertainment is still as great as you saw.

[Muckyduckway]

Was the room you had in the Hampton Inn a standard room?

Did you venture out from the hotel - to shop or dine? Wondering about shops and restaurants close to the hotel?

[Seas2mountains]

7 hours ago, mugtech said:

Jumping on Sky in Baltimore, 9/1/23, headed to Quebec.  Wondering if there were any vegan items on the main dining room menu.  Hope the entertainment is still as great as you saw.

I’m not an expert in vegan menus but know there was always a limited vegan option. I recommend going to guest services as soon as you board to inquire about how to order in advance in case the option in the main dining room isn’t appealing to you. I hear the vegan Indian food in the buffet is excellent when you choose to eat in the buffet. 

[Seas2mountains]

5 hours ago, Muckyduckway said:

Was the room you had in the Hampton Inn a standard room?

Did you venture out from the hotel - to shop or dine? Wondering about shops and restaurants close to the hotel?

It was a standard king room and even though we are Hilton Diamond status, we did not get an upgrade.  It is a really nice hotel and we wished we had an earlier flight arrival time to use the pool and explore the area.  We arrived close to midnight and left for the cruise port before 10am. We understated there are many good restaurants close to the hotel and a Publix grocery store, too. 

[Muckyduckway]

That was a very short stay; you did well to get so many photos, which is veery useful and much appreciated.

 

[Lanierain]

Thanks for sharing! Getting on the sky in December 23 for honeymoon.  Very helpful! 

[thedoc29ca]

On 6/15/2023 at 5:32 PM, Muckyduckway said:

Was the room you had in the Hampton Inn a standard room?

Did you venture out from the hotel - to shop or dine? Wondering about shops and restaurants close to the hotel?

We stayed at this Hampton almost a year ago pre-anniversary cruise as well.  One of our best pre-cruise Miami experiences.  We flew in a day early into Miami.  Loved the location with convenient light rail from airport downtown, lots of restaurants and bars, Brickell City Centre mall nearby, lots of patios to people watch from.  

[thedoc29ca]

Thanks for sharing your review and pictures.  We did a four day Sky for our anniversary about a year ago.  Stayed at the same Hampton, first time in the new terminal as well.  Brought back lots of fond memories.   
 

You mentioned you prefer Alaska and we are leaving next week for our 25th anniversary on the Encore.  

[ckmedsec]

Thank you so much for this review.  We are sailing on a the Sky in December.  Cannot wait after seeing your photos and reading your review.