My looooong review of the SKY 1/26

[ChristinaMarie]

Embarktion was a breeze. We get on the boat and this gentleman took us around the ship to show us everything. We really didn't need him to do this because it seemed to take FOREVER but I suppose it was nice. We got champagne (actually 2 glasses because after we went around the ship it brought us back to the entrance and were offered another glass). There were samples from the specialty restaurants at all of their entrances. We decided to only eat at the specialty restaurants for dinner since this cruise was so cheap. We were able to make reservations for 3 nights right away.

 

After being shown around it was lunch time, so we ate at Palace. The service was good however slow. The menu seemed almost too fancy and heavy for lunch however the portions were the perfect size for lunch and the food was good.

 

After lunch our rooms were ready. We had balcony cabin # 9234. Small but efficient. No storage space for clothes except a small set of drawers in the closet that looked really beat up and was broken. The balcony was bigger than I expected and had the new blue chairs. The bathroom was small but OK.

 

We had ordered a bottle of Barcardi through the bar set up. It was delivered as promised.

 

The first night we ate in LeBisro. The food was amazing and the service was awesome. I don't remember the cover charge. It was a really great experience.

 

The 2nd and 3rd nights we ate at Cagneys. Their cover charge is $25. The first night we ordered the surf and turf for an additional $10. This was not worth it in my opinion. I found the lobster tough and rubbery and DH was not impressed with his lobster either (maybe we just aren't lobster people lol). The filet mignon was amazing though. The 2nd night we ate there I ordered the filet again, the same way, however it did not taste the same. It seemed to have more spices and was cooked more. Maybe it was a different cook? It was still wonderful though.

 

The 4th night we ate at the italian restaurant. The cover here was $10 which surprised me because I thought all the restaurants went up in prices. I ordered the calamari appetizer and that was great. I ordered some sort of chicken dish... similar to chicken parm but made with mozzerella... it was OK. Dessert, Tirramisu was wonderful. The service here was not as good as the other restaurants in my opinion.

 

We had breakfast the first 3 mornings at the Palace restuarant. I kinda felt bad for the people that were turned away because the restaurant was for balcony and suite guests only. All 3 mornings were good. The last morning we had breakfast at Crossings since Palace was closed. That morning was the worst service we had on the whole trip but I guess they were busy trying to prepare for the next guests.

 

We booked a shore excursion for Freeport. The Sea Safari Snorkel. It was cancelled due to rough seas. So we just walked around the straw market and made our way back to the ship (I wanted to grab a cab to Lucaya but no one wanted to come with me). It was difficult to find something for lunch on the ship. The buffet was chaotic and kinda hard to navigate. They offer pizza and pasta made to order in the italian resturant, but the line was slow and long. We went to palace for lunch and the menu was much better this time around offering things like grilled ham and cheese and fish and chips. Really good lunch and service.

 

When docked in Nassau I made my way to the British Colonial Hilton and paid $20 for a day pass and plopped myself on the beach with my book. My DH and inlaws went to Greycliff Cigar Co., The Queen's staircase, and just walked around.

 

I did not have high hopes for Great Stirrup Cay given the reviews. The worst part was the line to get on the tender. The elevator opens and the line stretched way back and people didn't hesitate to tell us the line ended "way back there". On the left side of the beach people were packed in like sardines. I almost had a panic attack just looking at them. The right side of the beach was more rocky, but a lot more quiet and less crowded. The downside is this side is so much further from the bathrooms! The lunch they provided on the island was good. It was a great day actually. My husband and inlaws snorkeled a bit and saw some interesting fish.

 

We didn't see the shows, after dinner we were so tired we went straight to bed or just meandered around the ship for a bit. I donated $10 to the casino on their quarter pusher machine.

 

We used their laundry service. They didn't offer the "stuff a bag for $20" special. The special they offered us was 50% off of pressing. We had a pair of jeans, 3 pair of boxers, 2 t-shirts washed for around $24.

 

I had a 50 minute sweedish massage. It was overpriced in my opinion but very nice.

 

Overall we had a great time. I think it was a great "starter cruise". My only gripe would be the elevator wait times during the busy times such as getting out to the ports or debarking. It was kinda frustrating to wait for an elevator forever only to have it open and be too full to fit anymore people. We used the stairs as much as possible.

 

I am sure I am missing something, so feel free to ask if you have any questions!

[asand5554]

Embarktion was a breeze. We get on the boat and this gentleman took us around the ship to show us everything. We really didn't need him to do this because it seemed to take FOREVER but I suppose it was nice. We got champagne (actually 2 glasses because after we went around the ship it brought us back to the entrance and were offered another glass). There were samples from the specialty restaurants at all of their entrances. We decided to only eat at the specialty restaurants for dinner since this cruise was so cheap. We were able to make reservations for 3 nights right away.

 

After being shown around it was lunch time, so we ate at Palace. The service was good however slow. The menu seemed almost too fancy and heavy for lunch however the portions were the perfect size for lunch and the food was good.

 

After lunch our rooms were ready. We had balcony cabin # 9234. Small but efficient. No storage space for clothes except a small set of drawers in the closet that looked really beat up and was broken. The balcony was bigger than I expected and had the new blue chairs. The bathroom was small but OK.

 

We had ordered a bottle of Barcardi through the bar set up. It was delivered as promised.

 

The first night we ate in LeBisro. The food was amazing and the service was awesome. I don't remember the cover charge. It was a really great experience.

 

The 2nd and 3rd nights we ate at Cagneys. Their cover charge is $25. The first night we ordered the surf and turf for an additional $10. This was not worth it in my opinion. I found the lobster tough and rubbery and DH was not impressed with his lobster either (maybe we just aren't lobster people lol). The filet mignon was amazing though. The 2nd night we ate there I ordered the filet again, the same way, however it did not taste the same. It seemed to have more spices and was cooked more. Maybe it was a different cook? It was still wonderful though.

 

The 4th night we ate at the italian restaurant. The cover here was $10 which surprised me because I thought all the restaurants went up in prices. I ordered the calamari appetizer and that was great. I ordered some sort of chicken dish... similar to chicken parm but made with mozzerella... it was OK. Dessert, Tirramisu was wonderful. The service here was not as good as the other restaurants in my opinion.

 

We had breakfast the first 3 mornings at the Palace restuarant. I kinda felt bad for the people that were turned away because the restaurant was for balcony and suite guests only. All 3 mornings were good. The last morning we had breakfast at Crossings since Palace was closed. That morning was the worst service we had on the whole trip but I guess they were busy trying to prepare for the next guests.

 

We booked a shore excursion for Freeport. The Sea Safari Snorkel. It was cancelled due to rough seas. So we just walked around the straw market and made our way back to the ship (I wanted to grab a cab to Lucaya but no one wanted to come with me). It was difficult to find something for lunch on the ship. The buffet was chaotic and kinda hard to navigate. They offer pizza and pasta made to order in the italian resturant, but the line was slow and long. We went to palace for lunch and the menu was much better this time around offering things like grilled ham and cheese and fish and chips. Really good lunch and service.

 

When docked in Nassau I made my way to the British Colonial Hilton and paid $20 for a day pass and plopped myself on the beach with my book. My DH and inlaws went to Greycliff Cigar Co., The Queen's staircase, and just walked around.

 

I did not have high hopes for Great Stirrup Cay given the reviews. The worst part was the line to get on the tender. The elevator opens and the line stretched way back and people didn't hesitate to tell us the line ended "way back there". On the left side of the beach people were packed in like sardines. I almost had a panic attack just looking at them. The right side of the beach was more rocky, but a lot more quiet and less crowded. The downside is this side is so much further from the bathrooms! The lunch they provided on the island was good. It was a great day actually. My husband and inlaws snorkeled a bit and saw some interesting fish.

 

We didn't see the shows, after dinner we were so tired we went straight to bed or just meandered around the ship for a bit. I donated $10 to the casino on their quarter pusher machine.

 

We used their laundry service. They didn't offer the "stuff a bag for $20" special. The special they offered us was 50% off of pressing. We had a pair of jeans, 3 pair of boxers, 2 t-shirts washed for around $24.

 

I had a 50 minute sweedish massage. It was overpriced in my opinion but very nice.

 

Overall we had a great time. I think it was a great "starter cruise". My only gripe would be the elevator wait times during the busy times such as getting out to the ports or debarking. It was kinda frustrating to wait for an elevator forever only to have it open and be too full to fit anymore people. We used the stairs as much as possible.

 

I am sure I am missing something, so feel free to ask if you have any questions!

 

 

Thanks for the review, very accurate. We were on the same sailing. The buffet on the Sky is much smaller than on other NCL ships - we have been on both the Spirit and the Jewel and this was about 1/4 the size, with no seperate stations, making for very long lines (especially when you get behind someone trying to pick through the salad for that one "perfect" leaf of lettuce :rolleyes:

[BIG_Steve]

"We had breakfast the first 3 mornings at the Palace restuarant. I kinda felt bad for the people that were turned away because the restaurant was for balcony and suite guests only."

 

We'll be in a balcony. Questions:

 

Is there an extra charge to eat breakfast there?

 

Is it any faster eating breakfast there then in the other dinig areas?

 

Thanks for taking time out to share your review.

[ChristinaMarie]

"We had breakfast the first 3 mornings at the Palace restuarant. I kinda felt bad for the people that were turned away because the restaurant was for balcony and suite guests only."

 

We'll be in a balcony. Questions:

 

Is there an extra charge to eat breakfast there?

 

Is it any faster eating breakfast there then in the other dinig areas?

 

Thanks for taking time out to share your review.

 

No extra charge. I don't know if its any faster than the other restaurants. I do know it was faster there than at Crossings on the last day. There was also more choice on the menu at Palace than Crossings. However, I do not know if the menu was limited because it was the last day when we ate at Crossings. Palace offered both a buffet and a cook to order breakfast.

 

Also, Palace doesn't open until 8. There was a buffet that opened I think at 5:30. A couple of days I actually went down to the buffet to bring coffee and a muffin back to our room to have on our balcony while we watched the ship pulling into port to hold us over until Palace opened.