nimbex1970

I booked the BOGO airfare for a cruise in April. As we have only one room for the two of us, I didn't realize this was a policy. I see your point that with this many days out, surely they can make an accommodation. It does seem to be a reasonable request. I have no knowledge of how the fights are booked though and all you can do is try again and go up the chain. PS, get a new hobby as you wait on hold, it's going to take some time. Know that a policy exists that NCL can stand behind and you may still not get what you are requesting.

Help me understand, why is a room upgrade going to change the FAS offer the OP had with the initial booking? It seems like the booking was canceled and rebooked without the prior offers. I think I'm missing something here

Well hello NCL friends. Wow, what a new experience with NCL. Wish to share some RCL comparisons and opinions on NCL and its smallest ship, the Sky. My husband is 62, I’m 53 and this is my 20th sailing. We have three more cruises booked with NCL. One was cancelled but will book the 2025 French Polynesian back-to-back when it comes out. We sailed November 9th. I chose the small ship after sailing RCL Wonder of the Seas in May. It was everything I wanted for the grandkids, but for two older folks, we were missing the small ship experience, didn’t need the bells and whistles, and wanted the port-intensive 9-night Caribbean experience. Embarkation. Well, we were late, missed our early arrival time of 10am (didn’t get there until after noon), and were handed a #14 ticket. So we sat on the benches in the port about 25 minutes before our number was called. My photo also didn’t go through somehow, so that was another line to re-do it, but that happens, maybe 10 minutes at the most to do this. Everything was organized, I simply misunderstood that our early boarding time would be honored. We were excited to board. Equal boarding time for NCL and WOS. Woot, on board, and went right to the muster station, two minutes, checked in and time to explore. I had watched many videos on YouTube about the ship before sailing, which helped me with the layout. Know that we are smokers, so we chose deck 12 for a smoke and a much needed adult beverage to start the party! Great bar service, and a small smoking area. Here we met many wonderful folks who throughout the cruise shared tables and stories with us as well as having a riot with our gambling buddies from California. With wind/rain, they open a temporary smoking area directly below the bar on deck 11. Everyone says skip the buffet lines on day one, and I say this as well. but it wasn’t that bad of a wait as we wanted to eat out back on deck 11. What’s different from RCL is that there are two lines, and each has different offerings. Yes, the buffet is smaller, but it’s enough choices to find something. What’s great? ICE CREAM at the inside and outside buffet. The food was mediocre, but it was lunch/pre-dinner and was “fine”. It was on par with RCL. Room We did an inside room 10021 as It was port intensive and we only slept in the room. The room steward was amazing. We need very little, like only want service every three days and he was begging us to get in the room, lol. We reused towels and didn’t need him more than that. I can make my own bed. The room was great as it’s not under the pool, but it was a fair walk to the elevator, which I chose and am not complaining about. It’s small… I knew there was only one plug going into this.. and I made it work as I didn’t do my hair as much as I expected, We simply rotated the phone charging… forgot the multi-prong plug-in. Temperature control on point. To compare RCCL’s oldest ship isn’t situated much better than this for electronics, space, or showering, so equal there. Casino We hit the casino as it opened, this is our thing. The casino staff was excellent, helped set up my card and account, cleaned machines, chatted, and helped. They were simply excellent. Bar service if you were not at a table could be slower, but they did their best and we were pleased with them. My husband hit enough to “win”, cough.. spent enough for a free cruise and I was close. We play craps, three card poker and I play slots. We both also play slot poker. Total together put in $15k, lost a total of $4k, but had a blast. So those wondering about free cruises, yeah… $4k down, but we allotted for this, had no intentions to work for a free cruise, it’s our gambling budget. The casino is smoky, for non-smokers, I don’t know how you put up with it. If there was a non-smoking section, I never came across it. Entertainment. For such a small ship there was always something to do. We didn’t care for the piano/singer Jamison at the atrium as he couldn’t hit the notes. His tribute to Billy Joel should be scrapped. In comparison, Leo at the atrium lounge was excellent! There was trivia every day at Sugarcane Lounge (Mojitos!) They only use half the lounge for the screen setup so get there early. The casino held several tournaments and raffles, didn’t win. Music at night was excellent, the band Sonata played everything from easy listening to Led Zepplin, what a treat!. Latin music with mango Duo had folks out dancing and was very enjoyable. We never made bingo, as we were always running late. There is a library with limited posted hours, but it was open much longer than advertised. There are main production shows, which fellow travelers raved about, but that’s not our thing. To compare (aside from production shows), the NCL Sky held its own to RCL Wonder of the Seas! Ports 1. Dominican Republic had a private excursion to take us to two beaches for 6 hours which included water, chairs/umbrellas but not lunch. This was $90pp private vehicle as we prefer to manage our own time. It was slightly drizzling on and off but a beautiful day. 2. San Juan we’ve been here many times and just enjoy walking around town. The ship arrived on the weekend so there were many vendors set up on the walkway to the fort along the waterline. We sampled local foods, walked for about two hours, and returned to the ship for a nap. (It was very hot for us as we came from Alaska). 3. Saint Marteen we booked a ship tour for the sailboat regatta. This was so much fun helping to work a replica of the grand sailboats while racing. No prior experience was needed and we were racing for over an hour, lovely. High on safety and a great time. Drinks are included. Ends up at their “store” for free rum punch and items to buy, no high pressure, we never went in. We returned to the water taxi spot. 4. St. Thomas We have been here and did a land vacay for 2 weeks in the past, so we just caught a taxi to coki beach and did some sun and snorkeling. This was a brief port from about 7am to 1pm, so not much time was allotted. 5. Antiqua Our favorite spot never re-opened at Loves beach after covid. So Husband booked a beach escape with lunch through the cruise ship and this one tanked. The beach they brought us to had a steep decline into the water and umbrellas were an extra $10. No problem. The building, however, was dilapidated and dirty. The bathroom was the worst I have encountered in the Caribbean, the water trickled, no soap to clean your hands before eating. A toilet had overflowed, and a man was in the next stall trying to unclog it as I was doing my business. The food was buffet style which included chicken, pork, mac-n-cheese, veggies, and slaw with no dressing on it. It was average. The ladies running the excursion didn’t seem to know what to do and argued loudly amongst themselves. For example, some folks didn’t have their wrist bands marked for the buffet and the tour ladies were arguing with people that they couldn’t go to the buffet twice when some poor person was stating they hadn’t gone through yet. Transfer back had a mix-up with vehicles and it became so frustrating that a fellow passenger started yelling at the ladies to get it straightened out. This resulted in more excursion leaders yelling at each other. Not a great time. NCL needs to vet this excursion and see if there is an alternative to this group. 6. Private Island The ship missed it as it does on occasion, we had sea swells that made it unsafe. Plus it was going to rain and the Sky was rocking, so hard pass on a tender. AN announcement from the captain had us heading to the Bahamas instead. The next day the weather was worse, so that was cancelled as well. 7. Cancelled port day. Well for having little time to plan, a new daily was provided to us. The cruise director did her best to have things to do for passengers, but nothing to our liking though. We just took a nap hit the casino and packed. Food Always subjective and here I have issues. I was NOT pleased with the food changes in RCCL, so decided to try another line. Our issues with the declining quality of the buffet and dining room of RCCL were similar to the SKY. So we bought upscale dining for three nights. Cagneys was incredible. I had blue cheese ravioli with a filet, yummy. The head chef went table by table to obtain feedback and I politely gave mine. LaCucina for Italian was my favorite and we ate there twice. No three times, as on our last night we couldn’t get reservations for any of them, my husband went to Cagneys and they wouldn’t do take away but LaCucina would! So we enjoyed our last meal in our rooms which was fine by us!. We thought we would love the freestyle dining, the theory worked as we don’t like to live by a clock. The food though seemed to take forever (we did tell the waitress we wished for a “speedy diner”), and 90 minutes later.. no different in timing than RCL, plus not a fan of the food, it was ok and we never left hungry. So I guess we are upcharge dining folks and will book them for our NCL repo cruise in April. Service Yet another area where NCL wins. I can’t say enough praise to everyone we came across on this lovely ship. Not a single moment where we were not spoiled, smiled at, or cared for. Our room steward was always present practically begging to make up our room each day. Closing To finish up, we LOVED our first NCL experience. If we didn’t have a family to visit during the holiday, we would have added on a back-to-back so we could have stayed for another sail. Excited to sail with NCL again in April for 19 nights and yes we have a RCCL booked as well.

I live in Alaska. April is a rough month, hence it will be cheapest, as Alaska is a very expensive cruise, let alone the excursion prices. It is foggy, rains and still snows. So it's damp, wet AND cold all in one. Nothing wrong with this, if you know this, don't expect the sun and know that the fog will limit several excursion viewings. The ice in the water can be an issue for excursions as well. Personally, I don't think the season here really starts until May, I would choose may rather than July because of the lack of bugs.

We are waiting to book this, the NCL BOGO is much cheaper for us, than to book flights by ourselves. Tahiti is an expensive flight for us, from Alaska. So price them out and consider waiting for a BOGO. Also request the 2 day variance.

It's $12pp each way, have fun!

We were there this past may with the grandchildren. There were police officers present. Wink Wink, nod nod from our server, "If I can get you anything off the menu, let me know". Other than that, there was a "DJ", who was high as a kite, but not bothering anyone. I'm going back next week, so it was the usual coki for me.

I know, watching the news tonight and thought about this. An announcement should be made soon.

I had thought it would be fixed by now!

Thats a decent price! Thanks for updating me on this!

It's been a bit since I have been, but there are several vendors at the pier for this excursion. It's been too long to remember pricing. I can't imagine they are no longer there as many folks like to go here.

thank you bird!!! Can I request this any day, or just keep my eye out?

Last sail on WOS, I found the beef on kimoweck to be chewy on some days and tossed it up to being random. I hope they didn't move to lower-quality proteins for cost-cutting. THis is so disappointing to hear. I know I recommended the park cafe to you. ugh.

Sorry all, I tried the search and everything came up for all ships. First time on NCL, are there laundry bags like RCCL where the steward will take your items and wash them for you? If so, can I request them any day of the 9 night sail, along with multiple bags? For info we are spending a month in the lower 48 states, will be traveling from Florida up to NY and want to not have to do laundry in a hotel. TY all in advance. If anyone knows the fee, that would be really appreciated!

Thank you so much. I checked the email and indeed there are no specific flights mentioned, just tentative. This is my first round with the BOGO process. I need to pay closer attention!

It's usually available mid week for a 7 night sail. As others suggested, ask the steward for the bags any night. There could be a 2 day turn around, so ask and plan ahead. Also note the items it specifies that are included. For example, you would want your dress shirt cleaned and pressed. The laundry goes through a hot soup process and I would never put anything other than casual day wear in this process. I wear inexpensive day dresses, not meant for hot water and they faded. Not the crews fault, mine for forgetting the "hot soup" processing, lol! Food for thought. You can also do more than one bag, just ask for as many as you need, of course there is a charge per bag.

I goto facebook groups and search for the ship and the sail date. More pop up than you would expect. I choose the one with the most folks/most active posts per day.

They have to rotate for freshness. Less spoilage.

NCL bogo, we received our april 2024 and the 2025 on the same day. I thought it was way too far out to book flights for 2025

Strange, I received my flight info for our 2025 repo cruise two days ago. Is this unusual?

Bring a sitter/care giver you trust with you. They can share the cabin with the kiddos. Be with them when you hit Paris, stay with them at night so you can experience the shows and night life. We did this when the kids were younger. Everyone had a great time. We spent all day with the kids, and had this person to be with them when it was bed-time so we could go out at night! The sitter had the day to herself to enjoy. It worked out for everyone.

Hmn, I would just call and ask so you know when to look out to book. We have a 2025 repo booked, but were not looking at the Tahiti one for this time. Something to consider, the airfare price is nuts from Tahiti, assuming you are looking at the one way from Hawaii. It was cheaper when we priced it out in 2024 to go back to back... just an option.

Thank you for the great review! Our first NCL is on the sky in NOV, we were looking for a small ship with many ports and she fit the bill. I'm more excited now after reading your review. There are many negative comments about the SKY, but small ships are not for everyone. Thank you again!

Not sure if you are looking for more information. We have three NCL booked after 20 cruises RCL and CCL. We did not use a TA, we called an NCL rep to ask questions prior to booking. She was excellent, patient with our basic questions, and had us sold! We booked a TA. We were so pleased with her, that even prior to sailing NCL, we booked two more cruises through her. So for us, pre-sail, the customer service has been excellent!

HA! I live in Alaska in the bush, we are only allowed single ply paper for the tushie. I look forward to double ply sandpaper wipes on the ship!