Another Just Off Sky 3 day review

[niborHS]

I know the most recent "Just Off Sky" review, was also one that was positive, and I think that everyone has to keep in mind that Cruise Critic doesn't mean that you have to be critical. I read too many reviews that were very critical, so I was expecting the worst. I was on the Sky the first year it was in service, which was 1999. We had an Owner's Suite, so joked with the travel agent that the bathroom was about the size of what this room was, but it was really quite serviceable.

 

I booked this cruise after some friends did, so was in a cabin by myself. NCL upgraded me from an inside cabin to an outside when the price dropped, so was glad about that. First, let's start with the cabin. No doubt about it, it is small, but was fine. People complain about things like chips in the bathroom, paint scrapes on the door, whatever, but the room was immaculately clean, the bed comfortable, the shower water hot, and certainly enough space for storage for 3 days, so it all worked out.

 

We took the specialty dining package, so ate at the 3 specialty restaurants for dinner. The food was quite good, as was the service. We had lunch in the buffet on departure day, and breakfast 2 of the mornings. The assortment was varied, it wasn't overly crowded, and there were lots of choices. The buffet lunch served at Great Stirrup Cay was also good, although hot food could have been hotter. We had breakfast one morning in Crossings, and that was a problem. 2 of my friends ordered omelets, and they took forever to bring us our food. Although the server came out and apologized for the delay, it was obvious that people who arrived after us got their food before. I can only assume it was because of those omelets. I ordered Eggs Benedict, and asked for hash browns with it. I never got the hash browns, and with the long delay I wasn't going to ask.

 

As far as the entertainment goes, we did not go to the show the first night because we had an 8:30 dinner in Cagneys. Dinner was great, but there is no way to make the show and have dinner. The atrium bar had a salsa band that night, so there was nothing good to do before dinner. There was supposed to be some sort of music at 8:00 by the pool, but we went up there and there was none.

 

We went to the shows the 2nd and 3rd nights. I found the comedienne, Julie Barr, to be great. I thought she was very funny, but I can see if you are not somewhere near her age (58), you might not think so. The cruise director and a few of his staff did a slapstick routine where they were dressed in toga type garb, and were supposed to be a water fountain. It was funny at first, but really went on too long. The 3rd night the show was a Las Vegas review. The dancing was better than the singing, but overall quite good.

 

The cruise director Tyler Gray was great. The most enthusiastic cruise director, with the greatest visibility, of any cruise director in all 19 cruises I have been on.

 

Most things that you can complain about are typical for cruises, and are not for everyone. The pool deck can get loud, the chairs around the pool get filled, the tables close to the buffet are often filled, the bars can get crowded, but when you pay so little for a cruise, what do you honestly expect? At a Ritz Carelton you get a nicer experience than you do at a Holiday Inn, and that's what you expect. If you pay the price for a Crystal Cruise, you are going to have a better experience than you do on NCL. That doesn't mean that you can't have fun on an NCL cruise. Your expectations have to match reality, then you can have a great time without complaining.

[niborHS]

A few other things - Embarkation and Debarkation. Both went rather smoothly. We arrived at the port after 11:30. We went through initial security screening after a short wait, then got on line to register, give our credit cards, and get our ship cards. There were separate lines for Lattitudes members and general boarding. After a relatively short wait, maybe 15 minutes, we went up to the counter, had our pictures taken for our ship card, were given our cards, and were able to board. No waiting in a holding area. I would say we were on the ship by 12:15 at the latest. One of my friends had come down on an early flight, so was hungry. We went up to the buffet, and had no problem finding a table. All was good, except it was a little rainy, but that's not a fault of NCL.

 

For debarkation, you have a few choices. Walk off can leave any time until 9:30. Walk-off are for those carrying their own luggage off. Otherwise, you choose your time. We had later flights, so chose 9:15. Once our time was called, we waited about 10 minutes, because the customs area was crowded. Once we were let down, they scanned our cards out, we walked down to where the luggage was, found our bags immediately, had virtually no wait for customs, and walked out with our bags. Outside, we decided to take the bus transfer to the airport. There were 3 of us, and they told us we could pay for 2, and the 3rd person would be free. Not sure if that is always offered, but the price was the same as if you pay for the transfers up front, but saved us money. They dropped us at the Miami airport, which was empty on a Monday.

 

Another thing, I had been in Great Stirrup Cay quite a number of years ago, and it has really been improved. The beach is beautiful, the buffet area nice and clean with plenty of seating, and the only thing I wish is that I would have paid the $30 for the small shade that covers 2 loungers, as it was too hot for me. Others have complained about the rocky beach, but that isn't always the case. It depends on the time of year and what the weather has been like.

 

I am not a big fan of Nassau. We went shopping in town, but really should have taken the glass bottom boat. When going back to the ship, one of my friends wanted to take the ferry to Paradise Island. I didn't go, but they loved it, it wasn't just a ferry, it was a narration of lots of things pertaining to Nassau and Paradise Island. When it comes to these ports, some of better than others, but these are both short distances from Miami, so perfect for a 3 night cruise.

[curly28]

Thanks for your review! I was mostly curious about the weather this time of year. "Hot" at GSC was all I needed to know. Glad you had a good time!

[niborHS]

If you have a sunny day, temps in the mid-to-high 80's, it is going to be hot. Water was beautiful, even a little cold when you first get in. It was a perfect day when we were there, but for anyone who can't take too much sun, if you don't get a spot that will get some shade, it will be hard without the sun shade. We let our friend who has been on a number of NCL cruises recently pick the spot, but she picked wrong. We were never going to get shade!

[WyomingCruiser]

Do you recall when trivia was?

[Kingmaker_inc]

Thanks for the review. We're on the Sky next week and can't wait.