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Back from the Sky July 17 - 20

gail-s

By gail-s,
in Norwegian Cruise Line

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gail-s

gail-s

Posted
Posted

We just got back from the Sky's 3 night trip to the Bahamas and I have to say we were thrilled with the entire trip. I booked last minute (on the 8th) and got the last balcony room available. I was nervous because it was on Floor 10, Room 0201 which is the last room in the hall before the bridge. On the floor maps it appears to be an oceanview room and not a balcony. The reservationist I was working with on the phone assured me that it was a balcony and actually had been renovated to be wheelchair accessible. She mentioned it only sleeps 3 people and if they had someone with a wheelchair who needed a balcony they would have to upgrade us. I was nervous, but we went with it. Let me tell you, if I could book that room again I would. It was HUGE. Probably twice the size of a normal balcony room (we poked our heads in to other rooms to compare walking by on the way out) The balcony is the length of two balconies and there is SO much room to move around. The bathroom is in the left corner as you walk in the door. There is no tub but a handicap accessible shower. There is tons of room between everything. DH and I could go in to brush our teeth and not trip over each other. Along with the balcony door there was a normal porthole window, a small pull out couch (twin size) a desk and chair, side table and a smallish pedistal table. The closet was small, but, all closets on ships are. Anyways, just wanted to assure anyone booking 0201 on the Sky it's a fabulous room. We actually waved to the men on the bridge as we were pulling out of Miami because they really weren't that far away. It was great.

 

The ship was wonderful. They said that there were over 2000 people on board and we never felt crowded. Most of the time the areas we were in looked deserted. We ate around 8pm every night and never waited. We had 2 reservations, one for Cagneys and one for the French restaurant through the anniversary package. Both had excellent food and service. The deserts were to die for. I mentioned in another post Cagney's was very warm the night we were there and DH was uncomfortable. It's way up on the 12th level so that might have had something to do with the heat. The one other dinner we had was at the Palace. We were always seated at a window and the service was superb. We did visit the buffets during breakfast, lunch and latenight and each time there were great options. On the first morning I was surprised to see no one in the Italian restaurant for omlets and waffles. I realized later that they serve omlets and waffles in the buffet, but, it was more relaxing to get them in the Italian restaurant that we basically had to ourselves.

 

The entertainment we saw was good. I thought the comedian was hysterical, but, he had a good group to play off of and I don't mind sophomoric humor. The bands and singers were all good. We made friend with "Eric" at the poolside bar our first day and he was always attentive and took care of us when we made it up there. Which brings to mind the staff, they were fabulous. I've been on cruises where the staff looks put out to be doing things for you, on this ship everyone was so nice and jumped to do things. It made for a great time.

 

The casino is small, but, the staff was friendly and accomodating. There was only one jerk (passenger) that we ran into at the roulette table on the whole trip. Thankfully, the 3 card poker table opened up and we left him to his fun. If you've never played 3 card poker, do it. We paid most of our room tab off with DH's winnings from that table. Can't complain about that.

 

Getting on and off the boat was easier than any other cruise I've ever taken. We didn't have prearranged transportation from Ft Lauderdale to the port but we ran into the NCL rep while getting our bags and were able to go with them on the bus. There were 8 people on the whole bus going there. Check in went smooth. They had a separate line for Balconies and higher, so, we moved right through with only 1 person in front of us. Disembarking we carried our own luggage, so, we got off around 8am. We walked right off the boat and through customs with only a brief stop or two. We took the bus again back to Ft Lauderdale without any issues. I know we could have saved $40 total by taking SAS, but, I liked the fact that we didn't stop between the port and the airport. To me that was worth the extra $$.

 

As someone said there is no cigar bar on the boat anymore, which DH was bummed out about. Their prices on cigars weren't very good either. He ended up not buying any this trip, not a big loss.

 

The photographers were really nice and very funny. If you're ever coming into the Atrium around dinner and see the photographer taking pictures on the stairs, do him a favor and take a different route down. You wouldn't believe how many rude people walked right in front of the poor guy while he was photographing couples. We joked with him that he has more patience than we do. They took tons of pictures and were not pushy about it, something I appreciate.

 

We didn't do any tours with the ship this time around. We'd both been to Nassau before so we walked off the ship and rented a scooter and drove around the island for a few hours. It was neat to see different areas at our own pace. Don't be pushed into renting one for the whole day. 3 hours is more than enough. We did take it over to Paradise Island which I don't know if I recommend. PI is great, but, those bridges are scary on a moped. We drove around Atlantis (actually drove in a few driveways we weren't supposed to be in) and sat by one of the marinas and drooled over the yachts. Once we returned the scooter we did some poking around looking for soveniers for the kid. I was not impressed with the stores in Nassau. Nothing was a deal. The straw market made me feel clostraphobic. I ended up getting her a small straw bag at the port and then gifts on the boat.

 

I took the advice of someone on this board and when we got to the private Island after walking around the market there we went off to the right (as you were getting off the tender) There were only a few people over there and the water was not crowded at all. To the left, where the kayaks etc were in front of the First Aid area was very crowded. The water was beautiful and we just relaxed.

 

If anyone has any specific questions, I'd be glad to answer them. Of the cruises we've been on, this was our favorite.

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gail-s

gail-s

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We landed at 10 and got to the port very early. People were still disembarking and going through customs. I don't think they let us on until around 1. They were still finishing up the rooms (funny how I forgot this) and we had to bring our carry-on luggage up to the pool/bar with us. That's when we made friends w/ Eric. We ate lunch and had a bucket of Caronas and after that went to our room to drop off the bags and then explore the ship.

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asylum575

asylum575

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Posted

Any chance you saved the Compasses for posting? We are doing a three day on 8/21 and would like to get an idea what is offered each day.

Was there a lobster night in the MDR? Which night?

We booked the anniversary package, so I'd like to get a feel for which night is lobster night and then pick the Le Bistro night.

 

Great positive review. It's funny how some people have a great time and some people let a bad experience ruin their cruise. That's not to say they're picky, but I really try to enjoy the time with my family and make the best of it.

 

Thanks

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gail-s

gail-s

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I've got the papers somewhere at home, I'll try to find them. There was definitely alot to do every day if you wanted to stay busy. I don't remember specifically seeing a lobster night, but, we only ate at the Palace the first night so I could have easily missed it. Cagney's does offer lobster and a surf and turf but it is an extra $10 on top of the $25 you're already paying.

 

It's funny, like you said, how some people let one little thing ruin their whole experience for them. We were waiting on the bus for the transfer to the airport and the jerk behind us was having a hissy fit that it was after 9 and we were waiting for 1 passenger and that there was "an implied contract that this bus has to leave at 9am. I'm never going to make my 11:40 flight". Well, besides the fact that he was being a jerk, we had listened to him make his flight plans on his cell phone while sitting on the bus around 8:30ish. I was specifically told by the rep from NCL to make my reservations for at least 2pm so that they would guarantee we would not miss the flight. 11:40am is before 2pm on my clock, but, I guess on his he thought he was correct. Anyways, he was one of the few jerks we ran into on the ship. The only others I can think of were the loud, obnoxious jerk who wouldn't leave the roulette table and the staff had to constantly tell him not to do something or that he was doing something wrong. The other one was the teenager who nearly killed me walking up the stairs from muster because I was infront of him. He pushed me 2 times "accidentally" and repeatedly stepped on my flip flop. I made sure to comment loudly about people pushing and stepping on people trying to get ahead were silly because I couldn't be pushed through the people in front of me. The people in front of me...yeah...they were his parents ;)

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myfunz2

myfunz2

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We were on from the 13th thru 17th and I have to say had the same wonderful experience. It was our first NCL cruise but it definitely won't be our last. We had cruised Royal Caribbean and Princess previously.:)

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lawton54

lawton54

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DW and I were on the July 10th - 3 night sailing and had a great time. If you are planning an upcoming sailing and like oldies music (60's 70's 80's) don't miss a chance to catch Leo in the Capt. Cook Lounge. He has a great range of songs and engages the crowd with tunes that relate to their home town, personal requests, and sing alongs. He helped to make this a wonderful trip!

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Macy2

Macy2

Posted
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Any chance you saved the Compasses for posting? We are doing a three day on 8/21 and would like to get an idea what is offered each day.

Was there a lobster night in the MDR? Which night?

We booked the anniversary package, so I'd like to get a feel for which night is lobster night and then pick the Le Bistro night.

 

We were on this same cruise, Lobster was served the 2nd night, Saturday, in the MDR. It was on a combination platter, I think it was served with grouper. We also did the anniversary package & loved Le Bistro. Lobster was also served there, for an upcharge. The wait staff will sing to you "Let me call you sweetheart" & bring a cake. The hostess sells single roses.

 

Gail-S, I also booked a balcony at the last minute and was told it was one of only 2 available. Our cabin was also on deck 10, room #0033 which happened to be right under the dance floor used for all the late night parties by the pool. It sounds like you got the better of the 2!;) We did have a great time on this cruise, and also found the staff very friendly.

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  • 2 months later...
MAJORJohnsonsGirl

MAJORJohnsonsGirl

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Gail-s, we were on Royal Caribbean's Independence of the Seas in March and rented a scooter in Cozumel and LOVED it! We loved exploring the entire island on our own time and experiencing the "real" Cozumel (not to mention we saved so much money not booking directly through the cruise line). We are leaving on the Sky this Friday for a three-day to Nassau and Great Stirrup Cay. We haven't planned an exucursion in Nassau yet, however, we have discussed renting a scooter again. Can you tell me how much it cost to rent the scooter in Nassau and were scooter rental agents readily accessible once you're in port? Any insight you could provide would be greatly appreciated. Thanks so much.

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  • 9 months later...
Beth Heff

Beth Heff

Posted
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Hello! Thanks for all of the great information about this room. We found a great deal on it and took a chance, not knowing all of the details. For those who have been in this room, I would appreciate any answers to my questions:

1. Do you have pictures of the room you can post?

2. What is in the front part of the boat next to the room?

3. Is there a private bedroom?

4. Do you get any special privileges (priority embarkation/disembarkation, etc.)?

5. What do the butler/concierge do for you? I've never had this service and would like to know what to expect. :)

Thanks!

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sept2405

sept2405

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Thanks for such a great review. My DH and I are going 10/4 for birthday/anniversary. Was the anniversary package worth the $ and do you get anything in your room when you arrive, or is that extra?

We are in an aft balcony room 0266. Really looking forward to it, I too have read some bad reviews but I think it has more to do with the person's attitude than something really being wrong with the ship etc.

It's my DH first cruise so I want to make it special for him....

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irish cailin

irish cailin

Posted
Posted
Hello! Thanks for all of the great information about this room. We found a great deal on it and took a chance, not knowing all of the details. For those who have been in this room, I would appreciate any answers to my questions:

1. Do you have pictures of the room you can post?

2. What is in the front part of the boat next to the room?

3. Is there a private bedroom?

4. Do you get any special privileges (priority embarkation/disembarkation, etc.)?

5. What do the butler/concierge do for you? I've never had this service and would like to know what to expect. :)

Thanks!

 

would love to know this too as we are travelling on 2/20/11 and this is one of the suites our TA has booked for us! He has assured us its a AD suite (with suite privileges), booking AC next door to it too. We are hoping price goes down before next February so we can upgrade to either AB or AA!

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  • 1 year later...

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