Exactly how awful is the Sky?

[CruisinCrow]

Balcony,

Egads, I've never seen such concentrated selfishness and bad behavior! Given a choice of sailing with a boatload of noisy, badly behaved children, a boatload of drunken, horny college kids, a pack of rabid hyenas, or the Bluehair Badasses ... well, bring on the hyenas. I'll take my chances.

 

Oh my gosh, you had me cracking up. Hopefully the spring breakers on our trip will be more polite. Really looking forward to checking out Sky's charms!

[cruizinrican]

Balcony,

 

We did a family reunion on the Sky in August and we had a great time. In fact, we had SUCH a great time that we immediately booked a second cruise on her - and just off the boat yesterday.

 

While we DID have a couple minor grumbles (no more champagne at embarkation and the food quality and variety seemed to have dropped a BIT since August), we have nothing but great praise for the Sky's crew (save the one bus boy who was found WEARING the exact jacket my husband reported as missing on day one ... and who argued the point about it being a crew jacket that it CLEARLY was not. After a bit more fuss than should have been required, he did eventually give the jacket back). They are FRIENDLY and ENTHUSIASTIC and PROFESSIONAL.

 

The ship is in great shape for her age, folks. And those who want to obsess about tiny cosmetic details need to well, get the heII over it. If I was asked for a one-word review of the Sky, "charming" tops the list. There is something quietly elegant about her. Unlike the newer ships which are tricked out with every gadget and gizmo and diversion on the high seas, and decorated with miles of neon and chrome, the Sky's older decor is comforting. She's beautiful in the way an old family beach resort is. She ain't splashy, but she's very welcoming and warm. Yes, the omnipresent Hawai'ian artwork and murals are a bit confusing (unless you know of her original service in the islands), but it's pretty enough. Yeah, her carpets are a bit faded, but they're clean. Yeah, the cabin decor is a bit "Love Boat" for my personal taste, but it's clean and it's appropriate.

 

The entertainment is on par with most cruise line / amusement park fare, and while I find the music choices and arrangements a bit tedious by nature, and the choreography to be a bit sophomoric and obvious, I cannot fault the PERFORMANCE of same. These dancers gave it their all, and I have to give them some love for that. (I'm also a theater reviewer, so I have a bit of a trained eye for these things.) The material is a bit boring to my taste, but the performers are eager to please. If you like that sort of thing, you'll be very happy! Just order a fruity drink or two, sit back, and enjoy the show!

 

So if you have the ability to appreciate a CLASSIC, you'll probably fall for her charms as we did. But if you NEED the glitz and glamor and high-tech shenanigans of the uber-liners, the sweet little Sky MAY disappoint. But for her size and her age, she's a lovely home for a few days.

 

My biggest complaint had NOTHING to do with the Sky or her crew. The biggest irritant we faced last week was the invasion of the crochety, whiney, pushy, demanding, cheap, RUDE, and classless seniors. Good GOD, folks. Surely, in the 147 years you've apparently been on this planet, you MUST have learned SOME manners - what happened to them? I lost track of the number of time I was pushed out of the way at buffet lines, rudely denied access to something I wanted by some old codger who flatly REFUSED to move three inches to let ME take a roll or something, barked at in elevators, yelled at for infractions known only to the bellowing senior I apparently offended, and the like. One of them even reached ACROSS my lunch plate, while I was eating and seated at a table in the main buffet area, to TAKE three setups from our bin. She didn't ASK if I was expecting other diners (I was) or if she could have them. She didn't ASK if I could pass them - she just shoved her stupid arm across my plate to TAKE them without a word of apology, and then glared at me when I dared react. One of the crew said that they DREAD February because that's when all the cheapskate snowbirds take advantage of uber-cheap fares and invade the boats to terrorize the crew and passengers. And the very vocal and non-ending complaints about the weather were a ton of fun to endure, too. ("Do you REALLY believe that the 19-year-old Korean deck hand actually has the power to make the rain stop, ma'am? No? Then stop yelling at him, Mildred!") And you think a drunken frat boy is annoying? Try the stupid drunken old hag (and that's being generous) who came STAGGERING onto our elevator, drunk off her stupid butt by around 2:30 pm. I politely asked her where she was going. She did her best to focus on me before blurting out her reply. "There's only one of me." I politely repeated the question, and her savage reply isn't fit for publication here. At that point, I ended our friendly little exchange. She staggered off a couple floors later, grumbling about me under her breath. Egads, I've never seen such concentrated selfishness and bad behavior! Given a choice of sailing with a boatload of noisy, badly behaved children, a boatload of drunken, horny college kids, a pack of rabid hyenas, or the Bluehair Badasses ... well, bring on the hyenas. I'll take my chances.

 

And for the record, kids, I'm 47. My parents raised me to be a POLITE member of society. Clearly, this generation forgot ALL about that.

 

But I digress: I LOVE the Sky and look forward to sailing her again. The martini bar is GREAT - two for one martinis between 6 and 8:30! I think if your expectations are realistic and you know exactly what sort of ship she is, you'll be very happy. To say that you "get what you pay for" has the connotation that the Sky is a cheap ship, which is untrue. She's a great value, no question, but I wouldn't defame her by calling her an "economy" or "value" ship by any means. She is what she is, and for me, that's charming.

 

And yes, we DID put down a deposit for our next Sky cruise while we were there. If that's not a vote of confidence, I don't know what is!

 

Happy sailing!

 

 

Or how about that pack of rabid hyenas?! I would never sail on the Sky in February! Thanks for the warning! We sailed in late March last year and we didn't get bit! TG;)