Lengthy Sky Review 7/25-7/28

[vtroper]

Background: My wife and I are both 29 years old. This was our third cruise overall and first with NCL after two previous 7 day cruises with Royal Caribbean.

 

The good news is that had I not read reviews of previous cruisers, I would of had no idea the ship was experiencing any issues with their AC or their toilets. Our room (#8329) had a working toilet and air conditioning the entire time and we didn't hear or see anyone else complaining about issues of either variety.

 

Embarkation went well as we were able to get processed quickly and be on the boat within minutes. I had read in one place where the Port of Miami was rated as the worst port in the US based on customer service, but at least in our few minutes passing through, the people we encountered were nothing but professional.

 

There was champagne being handed out as we came on the ship, so my wife got a glass as we then spent some time checking out our room (to see if we had AC and working plumbing) and touring the rest of the ship.

 

Our only "premium" dining experience was Friday night at Cagney's which we were both a little disappointed by. I understand the extra surcharge is for the service, but for a place that was described to me as "Morton's or Ruth's Chris type quality" I felt the food was a bit of a let down. While nothing was bad, there wasn't any one thing that really blew us away. We had tried Chops, RCI's Cagney's equivalent on our previous cruises and were very impressed with both the quality and quantity of their food. We agreed on that trip that everything we had could of been served at a high end steakhouse and we would of been pleased. Cagney's on the other hand just wasn't a memorable meal. While the quality of food was noticeably better then the food that was available the rest of the trip, if they opened a Cagney's on land charging Ruth's Chris prices for their food, they'd be out of business within 6 months. While I emphasize, nothing we had was inedible (Shrimp cocktail, Lobster Bisque, Caesar Salad, Prime Rib, Crab Legs (which had another $10 surcharge) chocolate molten cake and banana's foster flambe) there wasn't anything good enough to ever make us consider coming back another night on the ship.

 

Food in particular remained our biggest area of disappointment on the trip. A big part of the reason we chose the Norwegian Sky for our vacation was our interest in trying out Norwegian's Freestyle dining as we had only known the traditional style from our first two cruises. However, after a 4 day cruise with NCL, aside from the fact that you're not locked into dining room times, the free style thing seems to be a bit over blown. I know the larger ships have more restaurant options, but as sad as it is to say, having "only" 7 restaurants on this ship didn't seem to be enough. Of the 7 you have 2 buffets that serve the exact same thing (one with out side seating, the other inside), 2 sit down restaurants with the same menu (one more fancy in dress then the other) and then three other restaurants (Cagney's, Le Bistro and Il Adagio) all with extra surcharges. So when it really comes down to it, we had the same options with NCL's free style that we did with our RCI experiences. Our choices were to eat at the buffet, the dining room or pay to go somewhere else. While I have no issue with paying a surcharge once or twice for a significantly better meal, I'm not looking to go on an all inclusive cruise and then pay an extra $40 for dinner every night. We ended up eating at Crossings (the more formal dining room) Saturday night and then the buffet Sunday night. Both seem to suffer from the same issue. Most of the items on the menu are very "fancy" for lack of a better word and we saw many people standing outside looking at the menus and then walking somewhere else. I could see how some people who are or were traveling with picky eaters would have a hard time finding something to eat. Our issue with them however was the fancy items they did offer, just weren't great. Continuing with the decent but not great theme, everything we had was edible but a little on the bland side. Things like duck consumee and Sweet and Sour duck soup were just a touch off. I guess the end issue was, at both the sit down restaurants and the buffet they offered the menu of a high class restaurant, but the actual recipes disappointed.

 

We did attend most of the shows at night. The Welcome aboard and comedy show Friday night, their musical revue and Newlywed game on Saturday night and then new material from the same comedian and "The Quest" on Sunday night. Our biggest surprise was how identical the Newlywed Game and The Quest were to our experiences on our previous cruises. Granted, I understand part of the appeal of the Newlywed game is finding out the weirdest place the couples have ever made Whoopie, but I think something like 6 of the 8 questions were the exact same as they were on our ship with a different company 5 years ago. Which of these movies best describes your love life, A)Superman B) Free Wily C) Mission Impossible D) Gone in 60 seconds. Really? the same question with the exact same answers? Has there not been a movie in the last 5 years whose title could be used as a new option? Someone get these people a suggestion box. Honestly, it's not that big a deal other then the fact were amazed at how similar the shows were considering they were different companies. It's like RCI and NCL just bought the same "Newlywed game for cruise ships" package and put it in the program. We even joked during the Newlywed game as we were predicting the future questions "So I guess tomorrow night will be the Quest." Needless to say, we both almost died we they announced that at the end of the show. And again, it's funny, search for the same things, but you can't come up with a new name? I don't know how had it first, but call it the Norwegian Scavenger Hunt or something. My wife is now convinced that all cruises are actually owned by the same company.

 

Let's see, what else? Our two ports in Nassau and NCL's Private Island went well. In Nassau my wife and I did the Deep Water Swim with the Dolphins in Atlantis. We had done a previous Dolphin experience in Discovery Cove in Orlando, but this Atlantis package offered some new things so we wanted to do that and had a good time. We had planned on doing Aquaventure afterwards, but it started raining while we were in the water with the Dolphins and never stopped, so we ended up getting our day at Atlantis short.

 

Thanks to reading these boards, we knew to get off the ship as early as possible at the private island if we had any hope of getting a lounge chair. I would estimate there were maybe 150-200 lounge chairs there and then plenty of little 4 legged chairs that people were using to sit in the water. We were on the second tender boat and we were among the last to get lounge chairs. And as mentioned in other threads, there are no umbrellas so bring your own protection of face the wrath of the Caribbean sun. We brought our own snorkel gear as to not have to rent anything there, only to be told you still had to rent a vest ($5) to snorkel. So whatever...

 

Lastly, the service was fine but not outstanding. I know I'd read some others on the boards that some believed that the fact that gratuities were automatically deducted rather then awarded meant that the crew doesn't have to work as hard. While, I'm not sure if that was the reason or not, I would agree that that was the conclusion. Once again, while we didn't experience anyone rude, we just didn't have the encounters that we did on our Royal Caribbean cruises. Our steward introduced himself to us our first day on our RCI cruise, whereas we still have no idea who it was that was in our room after 4 days on the Sky. My wife mentioned a couple times where she was walking down one of the narrow halls and in playing step aside chicken needed to duck in to one of the doors ways for some of the crew to get by. Again, not a huge deal, but just a step down in service from what we were used to. The best explanation we came up with is it's almost like NCL handed out the brochure about how to be a crew member and everyone read it and says and does all the things they're supposed to do but they really don't go above and beyond. Honestly, had we not sailed on RCI, I probably wouldn't even mention it but based on our experiences, it just seemed like our two RCI crews were a little happier to be there.

 

In conclusion, we had a good vacation. The food was disappointing, but 4 days without having to cook and clean up is still better then the alternative. Although we had higher expectations for our first NCL Cruise, I do understand that comparing a 3 night cruise to another companies 7 day cruise is apples and oranges. Because of that, I would at some point be willing to try a 7 day cruise with NCL in a couple years if the price was right. That having been said, if we ever go on another 3-4 night cruise, we'll be looking at RCI or one of the more upscale liners.

 

I think that's about it, although if anyone else has any specific questions, I'll do my best to answer them.

[ecclectic-eccentric]

Thanks for the review! I especially appreciated your review of Cagney's. As first time cruisers, we've been trying to decide whether we want to splurge on one of specialty restaurants. I'm starting to lean toward just seeing what the included fare does for us...

 

I'm especially glad to hear that you had no (and heard no one else complaining of) toilet or ac issues.

 

ee

[ilmsg]

Thanks for the review. I am going in sept - first cruise ever. I am a picky eater and someone whos been on past cruises suggested the kids menu for not so gourmet food. Any idea what's on there?

[vtroper]

EE - Yeah, it's a tough call. Cause on our previous cruise, the specality restaurant was well worth the $20 per person, so I'd be hesitant to say don't try them. Afterall, we only tried one of the three so others may have better to say about Le Bistro or Il Adagio. My only recomendation is to make your reservations when you get on the ship. Sunday night after looking at the menus at both the dining rooms and the buffet and seeing nothing that we wanted to try, we looked in to getting reservations at Il Adagio and they only had avalability at 5:30. Considering we had just eaten lunch on the private island at 2:30, that wasn't going to work.

 

ilmsg - I'll be honest, I could see why picky eaters would have a tough time on this ship. We didn't have any kids with us so I don't know about the kids menu, however I can offer two minor suggestions. The buffet will make hamburgers anytime if there isn't anything that appeals to you avalable. And #2, the room service menu was made up of almost entirely traditional foods. BLT's, Chicken Fingers, etc. Granted, I wouldn't want to spend my entire trip eating in my room, but it is the one place that I saw foods that anyone would be able to eat.

[burrellch]

Background: My wife and I are both 29 years old. This was our third cruise overall and first with NCL after two previous 7 day cruises with Royal Caribbean.

 

The good news is that had I not read reviews of previous cruisers, I would of had no idea the ship was experiencing any issues with their AC or their toilets. Our room (#8329) had a working toilet and air conditioning the entire time and we didn't hear or see anyone else complaining about issues of either variety.

 

Embarkation went well as we were able to get processed quickly and be on the boat within minutes. I had read in one place where the Port of Miami was rated as the worst port in the US based on customer service, but at least in our few minutes passing through, the people we encountered were nothing but professional.

 

 

 

"The good news is that had I not read reviews of previous cruisers"

 

"Thanks to reading these boards, we knew to get off the ship as early as possible at the private island "

 

Do you work for NCL?

[BuckeyePat]

Do all included dining rooms have kids menus? That would be great for me! Hubby can eat his gourmet and I can eat a burger:D ! I, too, am worried about 'too gourmet' and am afraid we will have to eat in separate venues:eek: !!!!!

[TITISSA]

Thank you for your review. Did you notice if the commom areas on the ship were hot and/or had a sewage smell? Thanks.

[cruisewiththekids]

Do you have to get tickets for the tender to GSC? If so, how would you accomplish getting on the first tender?

[vtroper]

Titissa - The only area of the ship that was rediculously hot was the bar at the very front of the ship. Everything else seemed a normal temperature.

 

We did notice a smell on our floor as we walked to the back of the ship to the stairs or elevator, but we were always passing through it in route to somewhere else.

 

If however, I had a room back there (8th floor, maybe the 5-10 rooms up from the back elevator bank on the right side of the ship) I might not be so happy if my room smelled like that the whole time

[vtroper]

Cruisewkids - no tickets needed. Just an alarm clock (they start tendering around 8:00 usually) and to be one of the first maybe 250 people in line. (I'm just guessing, I'm not sure how many the tender boats have.) If anyone else is a better estimater, I'd go with them.

[sarahvch]

Background: My wife and I are both 29 years old. This was our third cruise overall and first with NCL after two previous 7 day cruises with Royal Caribbean.

 

The good news is that had I not read reviews of previous cruisers, I would of had no idea the ship was experiencing any issues with their AC or their toilets. Our room (#8329) had a working toilet and air conditioning the entire time and we didn't hear or see anyone else complaining about issues of either variety.

 

Embarkation went well as we were able to get processed quickly and be on the boat within minutes. I had read in one place where the Port of Miami was rated as the worst port in the US based on customer service, but at least in our few minutes passing through, the people we encountered were nothing but professional.

 

 

 

"The good news is that had I not read reviews of previous cruisers"

 

"Thanks to reading these boards, we knew to get off the ship as early as possible at the private island "

 

Do you work for NCL?

If you read his whole first sentence I think he forgot to put in an "IF"

I think he meant ...

The good news is that IF I had not read reviews of previous cruisers I would of had no idea the ship was experiencing any issues with their AC or their toilets.

[vtroper]

Yup, that's correct. If I hadn't read....

[jt1120]

Thanks for the review. We are sailing the Sky in October, and have been alarmed at some of the earlier reviews.

 

Though it might be a bit froo froo for you, Le Bistro is usually VERY good, and one of the destinations we book first on an NCL cruise. An absolute must.

[cruisewiththekids]

1. How was the pool area?

 

2. Do you remember what time it was that you were able to get on the second tender to GSC?

 

3. What time did embarkation start in Miami?

[vtroper]

Pool area was OK, but smaller then what we were used to. Granted, our previous cruises were on ships almost 1/3 bigger then the Sky. There are two pools on the main pool deck and then a cool kiddie pool in the very front of the ship with a waterfall and a hottub.

 

We got on the second tender close to 10:00 on Sunday, however that was not a normal day. It was pouring rain in the morning, so we slept in, ate breakfast, played darts and then went and got ready once it finally lightened up.

 

Can't help you with embarkation. We didn't fly in until 2:00 on Friday, so we went right to the ship and were on by 3:00.

[aloha16]

It sounds as if they are getting better as times goes on. By sept. hopefully we will be golden:)

 

Food to me is no biggie....bland I do not mind. I did not care for Costa's food and I sailed their line 3x and did not starve.

 

Just a good toilet and a/c and i am good to go. Oh - a slot that pays out would be nice too:D

[gatorsub]

Just my $0.02 here.

 

I had filet at Ruth's last week and filet at Cagney's (on the Sky) Friday night. IMO, Cagney's was better.

[cruisewiththekids]

Is it hard to get a reservation?

 

What is the dress code?

 

Thanks.

[salty dingo]

Just my $0.02 here.

 

I had filet at Ruth's last week and filet at Cagney's (on the Sky) Friday night. IMO, Cagney's was better.

Steaks on land or at sea can be hit or miss.

[Schplinky]

I'm wondering if you had any trouble in getting your desired dining time for the reservation?

[Catz4001]

Thank you for your detailed trip report. Just a couple questions

Did they have free lemonade to drink at the buffet all day? or just ice tea

did they have a chocolate buffet?

Do you take towel with you on private island?

do they have free pizza available most hours?

thanks for any help

[fmira001]

vtroper,

 

You might want to add this review to the main area under ship reviews. I think it would healp to show that things are improving on the Sky. (At least, I hope they are...as a future Sky cruiser!)

[ucmom3]

I read on another thread about a Pub Crawl. Do you happen to know if they offer this on the Sky? It sounds like a blast!:D

[CanadianTwosome]

To the poster wondering whether to try a specialty restaurant, I recommend checking out the menus. Someone else's opinion of food anywhere is going to be different from yours - even if you're sitting beside them having a bite of their steak. :)

 

To the poster who is a picky eater and wondering about the kid's menu, I think it's pretty basic with things like chicken fingers, mac and cheese, and burgers, but in the main dining rooms you can always order a chicken breast or a steak, among other 'always available' options.

 

To the OP, I think you probably hit the nail on the head when you said that the crew on your RCI cruises just seemed happier to be there. With the problems that the Sky has had recently, and a no doubt unending stream of complaining passengers, I'm sure it's going to take a while before that crew can really feel comfortable and happy to be there. I believe the crew is also new to this ship, so while they're getting over all the issues, they're also having to learn to work as a team. It's too bad that you didn't get them at their potential best, but I'm very glad to hear that you didn't experience any of the issues that were recently discussed here (plumbing, ac, etc.). :)