The Sky Falls Short - Report On Our 7/21 4 Day Cruise

[freewoman]

We are just about midship on 9th deck port side 9037. Was the mildew smell that bad or just somewhat noticeable. Have a 5yr old with a little breathing issues.

 

Hi there,

I was in 9031 on the first sailing....we didn't notice the smell in our cabin. We noticed it as we were walking the halls in certain spots.

Hope you have a great cruise. We did!

[sunshinestyles]

Here's some photos, you can see we had fun despite the ship's issues!

This is my first time adding photos, hope I did it right!

 

http://flickr.com/photos/24481774@N00/sets/72157606723317470/

[*Wink*]

Great pics, Sunshine. I loved the ones with the dolphins. Your kids are cute!

[Cher]

Wondering if anyone has the menus for the special restaurants on the SKY

Also somewhat concerned about the air conditioning issue, sure hope it is OK on our trip!

If anyone has the menus please post them or email them to me

Thanks.

[eroller]

I enjoyed your review, and I experienced a lot of the same issues on my 3-day sailing in July (especially the a/c). I did a little write-up myself but only posted it to another cruise board I frequent. After reading your, perhaps some CC members will find my useful as well.

 

Ernie

 

 

================================

 

 

One of my cardinal rules of cruising is to avoid short mass-market sailings during the Summer vacation months. I adopted this practice after experiencing ships overrun with unruly kids and teenagers, and the ship operating at 110% capacity. In addition, the weather tends to be very hot and the prices are more expensive. Overall I have just found it not to be a relaxing experience or a good value.

 

Against my better judgement I took advantage of a deal NCL was offering on a 3-night Bahamas cruise on NORWEGIAN SKY. The SKY is not a ship I've been especially interested in, but I have not sailed on her so that held some appeal. I always enjoy experiencing new ships. As many of you know, she once sailed as PRIDE OF ALOHA in Hawaii.

 

We opted for an aft facing balcony cabin and decided to eat in specialty restaurants each night. This increased the overall cost of the cruise but I think it was worth it. For a relatively smaller ship, NORWEGIAN SKY offers a great deal of alternative dining venues.

 

Unfortunately all my concerns about these short Summer sailings were spot-on with SKY. I think the ship was at capacity, around 2400 "guests". The ship was crowded and loaded with kids and teenagers. They basically took over the pool area and ran all over the ship day and night (elevators, stairs, corridors ... you name it). Really my cabin was about the only relaxing place on the ship. Even so it wasn't especially pleasant except for the balcony which was wonderful. Out by the pool they had a DJ spinning hip-hop music almost all day. Not a very relaxing atmosphere and there was no other "quiet" pool to escape noise.

 

Our cabin left a lot to be desired. I realize the ship is one of the oldest in the NCL fleet, but some basic upkeep just wasn't there. There were tons of stains all over the carpets, sofa, and chair. The drawers in the closet had hair and lint in them from who knows how many previous occupants. The bathroom reeked of mold when we walked in and I asked that the nasty shower curtain be replaced (and it was). When taking a shower I accidentally knocked over the liquid soap container and it was literally covered in mold. Gross! The sheets were not crisp and clean, but more threadbare and almost damp feeling. The worst part was the air conditioning could not keep the temperature below 75 degrees at the coldest, and the cabin often felt damp and humid. If we kept the drapes open, the temperature would reach 80 degrees. So basically we had to keep the drapes closed all the time which defeated the purpose of the balcony cabin. I reported this a/c issue but was told it was working fine and that we just needed to keep the drapes closed. Overall the cabin just felt dirty.

 

Some other issues were with the specialty restaurants. The food and service were good, but not excellent. At $25 a pop for a couple of these restaurants I expected better. The Broadway production show was literally a bad joke. My partner compared the production quality to that of a high school. NCL apparently let the Jean Ann Ryan Production Company go, and have taken the shows in house. Not a good move judging from this show. The CD was rather humorous in that every announcement he proclaimed the "beautiful" this, and the "beautiful" that, almost trying too hard to convince passengers that everything about the ship was beautiful. It reminded me of the CD on the NORWAY in her final years, where on every announcement he would proclaim "the classic" this, and "classic" that, I suppose in an attempt to cover up the fact that this "classic" liner was falling apart at the seams. LOL

 

Ok, so not all was bad. Embarkation and disembarkation were a breeze. Getting on and off the ship in Nassau and Great Stirrup Cay was well organized. Many of the crew were very friendly and eager to please, but several were also indifferent and just seemed to be going through the motions. The drink prices were reasonable and they were well poured. Great Stirrup Cay is still charming. I like the beach landings and the fact it's not so built up. It hasn't changed much since when I used to call there on SS NORWAY. It was interesting to see MONARCH OF THE SEAS anchored so close to us at Coco Cay. I don't recall these islands being right next to each other, but they are.

 

So we still had a nice time, after all we were cruising and I love being at sea. This being said, I'm not in a huge rush to sail on NCL again. I still like NCL and don't think this cruise was their finest performance, but none the less it left me disappointed overall. The entire product just lacked finesse and polish. Even Carnival has a certain degree of finesse in the way they operate, but I just don't get that from NCL. It always seems as if they are just scraping by with the bare minimum. A little more attention to detail could do wonders for the product. I wanted to express some of the opportunities on the comment form, but these are no longer distributed onboard. Instead, only 30% of passengers are "randomly" selected to receive an internet survey if an email address was provided. Thankfully a survey was waiting in my inbox when I got home. My intent is not to rip NCL to shreds, but hopefully present some opportunities for improvement

 

Attached is a link to pictures from the cruise, and a few preview pics are attached here as well.

 

Ernie

 

ps - I'm sorry to say the pictures actually make the ship look better than in person. Some look a little foggy as I didn't realize the camera lens was fogged up from the humidity. Sorry about that.

 

NORWEGIAN SKY Pictures Link

 

 

This pic is a good example of why to avoid short Summer sailings. The pool was literally packed day and night.

 

Little Norway II. I loved seeing a small part of SS NORWAY still in active service.

 

This was one of the elevator foyers. It reminded me of a European boutique hotel for some reason.

 

Contestant for the worst promenade deck!

 

Ships in Nassau. Always a great port for "ship spotting"!

[kitty1]

We were on the 4 night Sky last week. We did not have any issue with the AC in our cabin. It is an older ship, but given it's age we thought it was in good shape. Have you been on RCI Majesty of the Seas? The Sky is in much better condition than the Majesty and the cabins are larger. Read my post on the Majesty vs. Sky discussion.

 

The only complaint that we had was that we thought the service in the MDR for dinner was sub par. It was slow and it took forever to get drinks. The water glasses were empty and not refilled. There is no excuse for that. The food in the MDR was ok. Not great, but it was ok, but comparable to the food on other cruiselines. There was no variety in the Garden cafe for lunch. Seemed like the same things every day for lunch (hamburgs , hot dogs and BBQ chicken). We did not do any ship excursions. We did our own thing in Freeport and Nassau and just sat at the beach on GSC.

 

For the price we paid, we really can't complain. It was a cheap getaway and we had a great time. We overlooked the bad service in the MDR and still had a good time. The only time we noticed that the pools were closed were the last night of the cruise. Both pools were empty and covered, but the hot tubs were still open. The pools were open when we embarked the ship in Miami. Embarkation and disembarkation was a breeze (probably the easiest of any cruise we've taken).

 

Yes, there was lobster (if you call it that... Being from NE we don't call that lobster). It was disguised as Lobster and grouper on the menu in the MDR and was just lobster tail. We ordered another dish and asked for lobster tails only on the side. They brought everyone at our table their regular entree and then a lobster tail on the side.

[eroller]

We were on the 4 night Sky last week. We did not have any issue with the AC in our cabin. It is an older ship, but given it's age we thought it was in good shape. Have you been on RCI Majesty of the Seas? The Sky is in much better condition than the Majesty and the cabins are larger. Read my post on the Majesty vs. Sky discussion.

 

 

 

 

I've sailed on SOVEREIGN OF THE SEAS and MONARCH OF THE SEAS, which are sister ships to MAJESTY. Personally, I much prefer them over SKY.

 

Although similarly priced, I choose SKY over MAJESTY because it is a newer ship, had more dining options, and of course the balconies. Unfortunately the experience did not live up to my expectations and I will absolutely choose MAJESTY over SKY for my next short cruise. I really didn't like the overall atmosphere on SKY, hated the rap music played by the pool most of the day, and had cleanliness issues with my cabin. Unfortunately the aft facing balcony didn't make up for the issues, although I enjoyed it. We also had a/c issues which made things worse. Our cabin could not get cool enough, and I noticed a lot of warm areas around the ship, especially the buffet which was always hot, and areas around the aft staircase.

 

For me personally, I just find that Royal Caribbean offers an overall better quality product and seems more professional, even though the ship is older and doesn't have the balconies or dining options. Again, just me.

 

Ernie

[Hunwolf]

I have been on the Monarch a couple of times...and for a ship of its age the overall condition is excellent.

[C Cruise Dude]

We were on the 4 night Sky last week. We did not have any issue with the AC in our cabin. It is an older ship, but given it's age we thought it was in good shape. Have you been on RCI Majesty of the Seas? The Sky is in much better condition than the Majesty and the cabins are larger. Read my post on the Majesty vs. Sky discussion.

 

The only complaint that we had was that we thought the service in the MDR for dinner was sub par. It was slow and it took forever to get drinks. The water glasses were empty and not refilled. There is no excuse for that. The food in the MDR was ok. Not great, but it was ok, but comparable to the food on other cruiselines. There was no variety in the Garden cafe for lunch. Seemed like the same things every day for lunch (hamburgs , hot dogs and BBQ chicken). We did not do any ship excursions. We did our own thing in Freeport and Nassau and just sat at the beach on GSC.

 

For the price we paid, we really can't complain. It was a cheap getaway and we had a great time. We overlooked the bad service in the MDR and still had a good time. The only time we noticed that the pools were closed were the last night of the cruise. Both pools were empty and covered, but the hot tubs were still open. The pools were open when we embarked the ship in Miami. Embarkation and disembarkation was a breeze (probably the easiest of any cruise we've taken).

 

Yes, there was lobster (if you call it that... Being from NE we don't call that lobster). It was disguised as Lobster and grouper on the menu in the MDR and was just lobster tail. We ordered another dish and asked for lobster tails only on the side. They brought everyone at our table their regular entree and then a lobster tail on the side.

 

Hi Kitty, sorry we never met last week. I agree that the service in the MDR was slow depending on which dining room and table. On one night they were slow with the water but I understand that it was just the waiter and he did not seem to have the help that they normally have. The menu was limited but I had some good meals. A few picture:

 

Menu MDR (don't remember which but they tend to be the same) Water on the way Nice dish Scene from MDR Cafeteria Love that bacon (No Bacon Police)

[MariaMax]

Hi Kitty, sorry we never met last week. I agree that the service in the MDR was slow depending on which dining room and table. On one night they were slow with the water but I understand that it was just the waiter and he did not seem to have the help that they normally have. The menu was limited but I had some good meals. A few picture:

 

Hi CruiseDude and Kitty -

 

I was also on this cruise -- 4 day Bahamas, right?

 

I never cruised NCL before - just once on Royal Caribbean and once on Princess.

 

Considering the price we paid, it was definitely a good value -- and we sure had fun -- but I must say, I was underwhelmed by the food & service.

 

The food at Il Adagio was good, but not great, but at least the service was better than at Crossings. I found dinner to be nice, but I thought breakfast and lunch to be totally lacking.

 

We never made it to Crossings for breakfast -- was the food different than the buffet? Is it normal for the dining rooms on ships to only serve breakfast til 9:30? I hated having to elbow my way through the masses of people at the buffet...but it was a vacation, and I wanted to sleep in a little, KWIM?

 

Dod you guys go to the Quest game show? I thought it was HILARIOUS! I really enjoyed that the most out of the various entertainments, although we also really liked the piano player at Captain Cook's Bar - he was very talented.

[jjb415]

Thanks OP for the report !! :) It was good to hear the positive and shortfalls.

[klingoncruiser]

Thanks for the honest review.:)

[alwalaska]

Thank you so much for your review, which I think reads pretty positive!! We are due to go on our first NCL cruise at the end of August and I was beginning to panic!! I'm a pretty laid back person and tend to take things as I find, but some of the reviews were unnerving (although I do like people to be honest!).

 

We are mid ship in a balcony cabin - 9059 - I hope our AC is working! But then again I will just open the balcony door!!

 

A couple of questions if I may??

 

I fancied the dolphin swim at Nassau but Im a non-swimmer - would I still be able to do it - ie: do they supply floaty type jackets??!!

 

Also, was there lobster in Crossings?

 

Debs

 

We were on the Sky in March and there was an evening with the Lobster/grouper extravaganza while had a small lobster tail on it. You can see pics of some food and the menus here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/alwweb/sets/

 

Here is the "lobster"

[alwalaska]

Hi Kitty, sorry we never met last week. I agree that the service in the MDR was slow depending on which dining room and table. On one night they were slow with the water but I understand that it was just the waiter and he did not seem to have the help that they normally have. The menu was limited but I had some good meals. A few picture:

 

 

Wow, this menu doesn't look like any of the ones we saw in March of this year. I wonder if they recently changed them, or was this from a 3 night? We went on the 4 night. Maybe they use different menus so people who are doing a back-to-back don't get bored.

 

There are several items on here I would have enjoyed trying.

[alwalaska]

OP,

 

Our first cruise was on Disney and it is definetly hard to find entertainment and service the same as Disney.

 

I'm curious when you say your two cruises were about the same price. Were you in a similar category of cabin? We only paid $349 per person for our 4 day cruise during Spring break which is pretty high season, and I don't think I have ever seen even a 3 day Disney cruise to the Bahamas for that price. Maybe I need to do some better searches for sales on Disney cruises.

 

For me though, the one thing that makes me nervous about going back to Disney is the fixed dining times. I so love Freestyle.

[C Cruise Dude]

Hi CruiseDude and Kitty -

 

I was also on this cruise -- 4 day Bahamas, right?

 

I never cruised NCL before - just once on Royal Caribbean and once on Princess.

 

Considering the price we paid, it was definitely a good value -- and we sure had fun -- but I must say, I was underwhelmed by the food & service.

 

The food at Il Adagio was good, but not great, but at least the service was better than at Crossings. I found dinner to be nice, but I thought breakfast and lunch to be totally lacking.

 

We never made it to Crossings for breakfast -- was the food different than the buffet? Is it normal for the dining rooms on ships to only serve breakfast til 9:30? I hated having to elbow my way through the masses of people at the buffet...but it was a vacation, and I wanted to sleep in a little, KWIM?

 

Dod you guys go to the Quest game show? I thought it was HILARIOUS! I really enjoyed that the most out of the various entertainments, although we also really liked the piano player at Captain Cook's Bar - he was very talented.

 

Hi MariaMax, I was on the four night the week of the 16th. I ate in the Crossings and the Palace on alternating nights. Both were very good. One was a little better than the other but they look so much the same that It would be difficult to tell you which was better. I missed the Quest Game. I didn't know that there was one until I found it on youtube after the cruise.

 

"Wow, this menu doesn't look like any of the ones we saw in March of this year. I wonder if they recently changed them, or was this from a 3 night? We went on the 4 night. Maybe they use different menus so people who are doing a back-to-back don't get bored.

 

There are several items on here I would have enjoyed trying. __________________

Ann"

 

Ann, It was the four night cruise. :cool:

[BABYJOSIE98]

Thanks for the review..

 

I have sailed Disney 3 times and am booked on the Dream for May 2011...I have also cruise RCl and Carnival...I try too never compare any of my other cruises too DCL...I am a huge Disney fan so they are my hands down favorite and I know the Dream is going too blow me away....

 

I am not a critical person either...I can pretty much have fun anywhere....

 

I am trying too decide about this particular cruise for my Aunt's first Cruise next October. It will be my Aunt Shirley, DD (13) and I sailing. I plan too book a Balcony for more room.

 

Do you think this would be good choice too take my Aunt for her first time. She loves too eat and I figure we will have plenty of dining choices on this ship.

 

We are looking at the 3 night since we are attending Food and wine at Epcot before sailing. I hate Freeport...don't want too go there...If the 4 night had a day at sea I would consider it.

 

Sounds like the food is good and that you enjoyed the Island..>That is what is most important too me..I love Castaway Cay!!!

 

Michelle

[newmexicoNita]

Hi CruiseDude and Kitty -

 

I was also on this cruise -- 4 day Bahamas, right?

 

I never cruised NCL before - just once on Royal Caribbean and once on Princess.

 

Considering the price we paid, it was definitely a good value -- and we sure had fun -- but I must say, I was underwhelmed by the food & service.

 

The food at Il Adagio was good, but not great, but at least the service was better than at Crossings. I found dinner to be nice, but I thought breakfast and lunch to be totally lacking.

 

We never made it to Crossings for breakfast -- was the food different than the buffet? Is it normal for the dining rooms on ships to only serve breakfast til 9:30? I hated having to elbow my way through the masses of people at the buffet...but it was a vacation, and I wanted to sleep in a little, KWIM?

 

Dod you guys go to the Quest game show? I thought it was HILARIOUS! I really enjoyed that the most out of the various entertainments, although we also really liked the piano player at Captain Cook's Bar - he was very talented.

 

This isn't meant for you necessarily, but I have to wonder why this thread was dug up 2 plus years since the original posting. Again, this certainly isn't directed at you.. I am glad you found it a good value. Anyone that would compare a mass marketed line with

Disney needs to re-think their cruising preferances and 2-short cruises are not meant to be like a 7 day or longer cruise. It looiks like you were able to accept this and enjoy the cruse for what it was supposed to be.

 

Nita

[BABYJOSIE98]

This isn't meant for you necessarily, but I have to wonder why this thread was dug up 2 plus years since the original posting. Again, this certainly isn't directed at you.. I am glad you found it a good value. Anyone that would compare a mass marketed line with

Disney needs to re-think their cruising preferances and 2-short cruises are not meant to be like a 7 day or longer cruise. It looiks like you were able to accept this and enjoy the cruse for what it was supposed to be.

 

Nita

 

WOW...I did not realize it was that old...I just assumed since it was on the first page of NCL board that it was recent?? Wierd???

 

I never compare any of my cruises too Disney...I just look at them as a new experience...So I find out too that this ship will be in Miami and not in Cape Canaveral...

 

Thanks for pointing this out!

[alwalaska]

This isn't meant for you necessarily, but I have to wonder why this thread was dug up 2 plus years since the original posting. Again, this certainly isn't directed at you.. I am glad you found it a good value. Anyone that would compare a mass marketed line with

Disney needs to re-think their cruising preferances and 2-short cruises are not meant to be like a 7 day or longer cruise. It looiks like you were able to accept this and enjoy the cruse for what it was supposed to be.

 

Nita

 

I am one who is guilty of rarely looking at the dates on threads. I posted on one asking about someone's plans then felt really stupid when I looked at the date and realized they were back for over 2 years and probably not even on CC any more. :eek:

 

I think what happens (and this is where I ran into my problem above) is that someone does a search and the results come back. If it is somewhere near the top of the results, we don't think about looking at the dates. I find this especially true on the less active areas like some of the ports of calls. :rolleyes: