GA Dave

2 hours ago, F27TW said:

That they should have sections for smoking-permitted on balconies.    I completely understand nonsmokers not wanting to smell smoke coming from the balcony next to them, but if they just had one section of cabins together, say, on the rear of the ship that allowed balcony smoking, that  would be a nice thing. 

 

 

The ban on smoking is not really about bothering other cruisers, it is a safety rule put in place by SOLIS.   

I go to the pool at sunrise when it's empty (see photo).

I never attend the ship's sail away party, usually held at the main pool.  I always find a place at the aft or forward end of the ship for this (see second photo).

11 hours ago, negn said:

Noticed your balcony had a port hole and door but not a sliding door.   Is this the usual set up for the Sky?   Never saw anything like that before

Yes, it is.  The only balcony cabins are on decks 9 and 10, and the balconies were added after the ship was built and floated in 1999.  It originally started construction as the Costa Olympia, but the shipbuilder went bankrupt, and Costa walked away from the partially built ship.  NCL bought the partial and had it completed as the Sky.

12 hours ago, CruisinMaterial said:

I think COVID was the death blow to Cruise Critic. Before COVID a lot of people were setting up ones on other social media sites. I have always enjoyed a lively roll call but it seems social media has killed this site quite well. It still has it's regulars (me being one of them) but not as many new people or it's a question answered and to never be seen again. Sad because this used to be a fun place to check daily...

100% agree.  For several years I virtually lived here on CC and never joined any cruise related groups on That Other Site.  But, due to too many people being openly hostile to people expressing their opinions, and never having anything done about it when reporting it to the Site Administrators, I dropped off of here right before the pandemic hit.  I am slowing starting to come back to CC, but the bulk of my cruise discussions are now on That Other Site.

8 hours ago, QuattroRomeo said:

Thanks for the review and great photos! We haven't been on the Sky yet or to GSC so it was nice to see them. The ship looks like the kind we like: not too big, and the Great Outdoors area looks wonderful.

 

Was there a shelf under the sink in the bathroom?

Was your lunch in the Cabana specific to the Cabana service or could you get it at a kiosk? ( looked pretty yummy).

 

Strange to see such empty beaches and restaurants! But all of the food and drinks looked good; must have been fun to be spoiled in this odd time of  cruising with everything half empty!

There are a few small shelves on each side of the vanity mirror in the bathroom, as well as one or two small shelves below the vanity countertop.

There was a food truck located right next to the cabana area that contained the foods noted on the menu pictured (post #14 above, photos 2 & 3).  There was a large "picnic" pavilion located at the first large beach near the island entrance that had a more diverse menu, plus several more of the food trucks located around the island.  I found the food to be very good.  The Bahamian Rum Cake was excellent!

My son was with me on Divina last month and we had the internet package included with the Yacht Club, which I believe is just the basic, except we could each log in two devices.  He was able to Facetime with his girlfriend in KC later in the evening.  As with all publicly used systems, during busy times the speed slowed down quite a bit, but early in the day and after 9:00 PMish, it seemed pretty solid. 

Just a word of warning.  My disembarkation yesterday in Miami on another cruise line did not happen until well after 8:00 AM.  I was the very first person in line to disembark around 7:00 AM.  A man and his teenage daughter walked up at 7:15 and asked the Security person handling the line when they could leave.  She told them she had no idea, as we had just tied up to the pier and now it was up to CBP.  He seemed a bit upset so I asked "early flight?" and he said "yeah, 9:15".  As I said, I was the first one off the ship and I was pulling out of the garage in my car at 8:17. 

I don't think he made his flight.

12 minutes ago, SeaShark said:

 

There is nothing wrong with what you are doing...UNLESS...you are using CC and/or CC's connections to set up your M&G and then inviting people outside CC to attend. However, if you contact NCL and tell them you want to set up a Facebook (yes, you can say the name on CC...you just can't provide links to, or direct people to join your group there) M&G and they agree to do so, there is nothing wrong with doing that.

My M&G's have all been completely independent of the ship and CC.  We just pick a nice spot with a bar and tell everyone to meet at a specific time.  It's worked out great.

I may have wiped them out of Pina Coloda mix this past weekend on the Sky!  Kept tipping and received bigger and bigger floats of dark rum!  😛

And the Rebellious Fish ingredients are probably a little light too!

I have been on CC for quite a while.  Met some really nice people from here on cruises prior to the pandemic.  Noticed the changes happening during the shutdown and started researching chat pages about cruising on That Other Site.  Once I starting cruising after the restart, I noticed significantly more activity on That Other Site vs CC for specific sailings.  I actually have held a few M&G's from both CC roll calls and specific pages on That Other Site the last few cruises.  98% of the people who attended were from That Other Site.  Most I spoke with had never heard of CC.  The last M&G I held was a rousing success, with 70-80 people participating and lasting well past sail away.  Another I did not host but attended that was only advertised on That Other Site had a great M&G, slot pull, and cabin crawl.  I will continue to promote anything I host on both sites, but just expect the majority of people to come from That Other Site.

The Great Outdoor Cafe, The Local, and a beautiful wake shot taken from the Outdoor.

Empty pool deck on Nassau morning and a variety of beverages.  My favorites are the Rebellious Fish and the Pina Coloda with the dark rum float.

The current ugliness of the Port of Nassau.

My lunch at the cabana and other sites in the area.

My cabana, the empty beach and beautiful waters of GSC, and me trying to look relaxed.  😂

My MDR dinner, the empty MDR, entry onto GSC.

The theater and sailaway from Miami.

From boarding.  My lunch at the buffet and the empty pool deck.

The Atrium and Sugarcane Mojito Bar.

A few photos.  The NCL terminal and my balcony cabin 9042.

One more quick update.  Woke up early (again), showered and packed the last of my things, and was at the buffet with my luggage by 6:30.  Had an oat muffin, some fruit and two cups of coffee.  Walked past the pools one more time 😢 and took the panoramic elevator down to the deck 6 atrium area.  Asked a crew member where we would be disembarking and she pointed toward the forward staircase.  When I went there, a very nice female Security crew member told me we were still in the process of docking but if I wanted to start the line I was welcome to.  I found a cozy piece of floor at the corner and settled in to wait.

At about 7:15 with just a few of us on line, a gentleman and his teenage daughter came along and asked to leave.  The Security person explained that the ship had just docked and needed to be cleared by CBP.  I asked the guy if they had an early flight and he said, “yeah, 9:15”.  All I could think to say was Good Luck.  This became the perfect example of why you never book early flights.

By the time CBP cleared us, the line was halfway down the length of the ship.  I was the third person off the ship and didn’t leave the parking garage until 8:17.

I don’t think that guy and his daughter made their flight.

Day 3.  Woke up just as we were passing the lighthouse at the entrance to Port of Nassau.  A very restful night for me.  Freedom and Independence of the Seas were already here and Carnival Sunrise, Carnival Conquest and Carnival Freedom were tailgating us into port.  Very glad I decided to stay on the ship today.

After my morning routine, I dressed in my swimsuit and tee shirt and went down to the buffet for an omelet, some sausage, and coffee.  Then I wandered out to an empty pool deck.  So nice this early in the morning.  Set up shop for a while and enjoyed the early morning sun and quiet.  Had a couple of very brief sprinkle showers, but otherwise the weather was fine.

Around 10:30, I went back, took a shower and headed up to Great Outdoor.  This has become my spot and all the bartenders know me.  It helps to tip.  The floaters on my Pina Colodas just keep getting bigger and bigger!  😂

Had lunch at Great Outdoor (cheeseburger, cheesedog, cheese fries).  Going to diet severely when I get home!

Next I went to the Spa for my deep tissue massage.  The therapist was excellent and worked out two major knots in my shoulder muscles that have been bothering me for weeks!  I know people say massages on cruise ships are expensive, etc, but being on a cruise is my only real relaxation time I have due to my work schedule and I figure I’m worth it.

After the massage I went to the pool deck and just kept walking.  It was getting really crowded and there were a ton of loungers with towels on them but very few people in the pools/hot tubs.  Not into playing those games anymore, so back to the Great Outdoor I went!

After a few drinks here, I went exploring a bit.  Visited The Local, Sugarcane Mojito Bar (Raspberry Guava Mojito!!), and the Spinnaker Lounge (Rebellious Fish!).  The Spinnaker kind of reminds me of the Yacht Club Topsail Lounge on Divina and Meraviglia, with the big, slanted windows, the “mood” music, etc.  The only thing it is lacking is the finger foods!  Met two wonderful families from Texas and had a great conversation.

Finally found my way back to the cabin to change into dinner clothes and chill for my 6:30 La Cucina reservation.

At La Cucina, I had the salad with strawberries, etc and the Osso Bucca.  It was good, with no complaints from me.  I did hear other people complaining of food being bland throughout the cruise.  I have to wonder how many people have had Covid in the last two years, not even realized it or it’s effects on their palettes.

The rest of tonight will be one more trip to the Great Outdoor and maybe the show in the theater, Rock You Tonight.  My bags are mostly packed already and I plan to be online for the early self debark tomorrow so I can hit the road early.

Thanks for following along with my rambling.  I hope it helped one or two people better plan for their Sky cruise.

Balance of Day 2

Sorry, kind of fell behind on my trip report.

After hanging out at the pool for a bit yesterday, went back to the cabin to shower and dress for dinner.  I brought all-white clothes for the Glow Party but figured that was a disaster looking to happen, so I just wore my khaki jeans and a red, collared polo to dinner at Cagney’s.  No issues at all and I saw others dressed less formal than me.  I went to the Pinnacle Lounge for a pre-dinner cocktail and talked with the wonderful family that had been in the cabana next to mine on GSC.

Dinner itself was excellent.  I had the shrimp cocktail, wedge salad, and the prime rib.  Everything was spot on and I had a great conversation with a wonderful couple from Miami Beach who were celebrating their 50th anniversary.  Service was just the right pace.  Being that I usually only eat around 1400-1500 calories per day, dessert was just not going to happen.

After dinner, I wandered down to the shop and bought myself a refrigerator magnet of the Sky.  My refrigerator is getting quite full with all the different ships I am going on.  I also watched people lose money in the casino for a bit and walked most of the decks to burn off some dinner.  As usual, I found my way to the Great Outdoor Cafe on deck 11 aft.  Great bartenders and great views there.

This is where I made a mistake.  Went back to the cabin with all intentions of changing into my white clothes, noticed it was still an hour until the Glow Party, and lay down on the bed to watch some television.  BOOM!  The day caught up with me and I was gone.  Woke at 11:00 PM, changed and went back to sleep!  😴😴😴😴.

Day 3 to follow.

Great Styrrup Cay Day

I was up early today (as usual) and hit the buffet at 7:00 AM.  Very empty and there was plenty of food and hot coffee.  The tenders started loading around 8:15 and I was on the island by 8:30ish.  I found the excursion hut and was then escorted to the shuttle to my cabana.

It was a very relaxing, refreshing day for me.  The service from both the food and beverage staffs was outstanding and the beach was virtually empty most of the day (pictures to follow).  I stayed until 2:30 and even had a nice 30 minute nap in my cabana!  😂

Back on the ship now, sitting at Champs Bar, overlooking the pool deck which is maybe 20% of capacity and listening to some music and nursing another Pina Coloda.  I have a 6:30 reservation at Cagney’s tonight that I am very much looking forward to.  More later. 

Sailaway:  The spot is the Great Outdoor Cafe.  Although they will push you to the pool deck, you cannot actually see anything from there.

Dinner at Palace Main Dining Room.  Shocked at how empty it was at 6:00 PM.  Literally two tables totally three passengers, including me.  Most seemed to be eating at the buffet.  I had the French Onion Soup and the Beef Medallions.  Soup was good except for a lack of a cheese layer on top (it was on the bread).  Beef medallions were good and came with steak fries and broccoli.  For those that eat normal “American” size dinners, they may want to add a dessert.  But for me, the soup and dinner were more than enough.

Waitstaff told me that there are only 1,165 passengers onboard this weekend!

So, my 5:00 AM wake up caught up with me this evening and I fell asleep until 8:00 PM.  Wandered up to the Spinnaker Lounge.  Had a good Pina Coloda and a nice chat with the server.  It was very quiet in there.

I talk a walk from the front to the back of the ship on deck 11 and was surprised by the lack of people out and about at 9:00 PM.  Definitely a different crowd from my last four MSC cruises, where the nightlife seems to go much later.
More tomorrow from Great Styrrup Cay.