Norwegian Sky 3 Day Cruise Review

[goldencruiser]

We were on a three day cruise onboard the Norwegian Sky from January 5 - 8 2018, and overall had a great time. We flew in the night before and stayed at the Fairfield Inn and Suites South in Miami which was a good hotel to stay at pre cruise, and had a shuttle to the port and airport. While the shuttle to the airport was free, the shuttle to the port cost $15 per person and needed to be reserved the day before. To get to the port, we took an uber around 10:30, and our ride showed up within a few minutes. The ride was good with little traffic to the Port of Miami, and the cost was around $12, so for the two of us it worked out cheaper than a cab or the hotel shuttle.

 

When we arrived at the port, we were met by a porter, but we did not need their services since we planned to just carry our two carry on bags onboard the ship ourselves. Before we entered the terminal there was a passport and document check which took a little while, and then was security. One thing unique about Norwegian compared to other cruise lines we have been on is that Norwegian has you fill out the health questionnaire at the port, instead of before getting there. Also, with carnival for example, you enter your credit card information online during the pre cruise check in, but with norwegian that was taken care of at the check in desk. The person who checked us in was friendly, and quickly got us processed. To get through check in from the time we entered the terminal was probably only around 10 minutes. We next were guided up stairs where we did have to wait for around 20 minutes for the ship to be ready, and our group, 4, to be called. During our wait, they had water set up in the terminal, and they played a game where one of the workers stood up in the middle of the terminal and screamed asking for different objects, and the winner would get priority boarding. Once our group was called we made our way onboard, and after a short line to scan our cards we were finally onboard! One unique thing about Norwegian compared to other cruise lines was that in Captain Cook’s bar they were allowing people to leave their carry on bags there until 1:30, when the cabins were ready. We then made our way up to deck 11, and got lunch from the great outdoor where there was no line, compared to the long line inside in the garden cafe. We would have eaten outside, but because it was quite chilly that day in Miami we dined in longboards bar, which was nice and quiet during lunch that day.

 

We were thinking that it would be challenging to get drinks from the bars due to everyone having a drink package, but we were pleasantly surprised how most of the bars we encountered had prompt, and friendly service. We especially found the outrigger bar to have friendly bartenders, and the lounge was often empty in our experience.

 

Around 1:30 we were able to go their room, and for this cruise we had an ocean view cabin on deck 8 forward, and while there was some debris on the carpet, the room was otherwise clean. A surprising thing that we encountered compared to our other cruises on other lines was that we never actually met our cabin steward. While the room did get clean during the day, it typically was not clean until after we had lunch some days. The bathroom did look dated, and the toilet did smell some the entire time, and also the sink had some cracks on the bottom of the basin. The shower had a fabric curtain instead of a door which isn’t the greatest in our view, but it got the job done.

 

We had dinner that night in crossings and the hostesses, and our waitress that night were very attentive to our requests. We got to the dining room around 6:00 and it was still very quiet at that time, so we were seated at a table on the back window. After dinner we walked around some and eventually made our way to the theatre for the welcome aboard show at 9:30. Another difference we saw with Norwegian compared to other lines we have been on was there was only one show each night instead of two. I don’t know if that was just because of the shorter cruises, or that is how things are like across the fleet. The welcome aboard show consisted of the cruise director and senior officers introducing themselves, a latin group playing a few songs, a comedian doing a short set, and then finished with the production cast performing a song.

 

One comment about the cast was that when we saw them around the ship, they seemed to always be rude to the guests, and even at one point when we were walking on the promenade deck they passed us in a rude manner, and even though the deck was wide open monopolized the entire span of it while walking, blocking us and a few other guests walking around. The rest of the crew we encountered we found to be friendly though.

 

We were supposed to be at Great Stirrup Cay the second day of the cruise, but due to high winds they were unable to safely conduct the tender operation. We were fortunate enough that the captain was able to get us into our next port, Nassau, early thanks to a dock being available. We were not supposed to dock until the next day at 8, but got in the previous day at around 4 pm. It was good that we got in early because it probably would have been rough that night at sea with how strong the winds were that night.

 

That night at dinner the waiter spilled an entire glass of wine on me, and the assistant Maitre’d, Denis, came over to our table and handled the situation well, dry cleaning the clothes that was all soaked from the glass of wine, and sent a bottle of champagne, and chocolate covered strawberries to the room.

 

The show that night was showdown, and while a little different than other shows we have seen the past, it was enjoyable.

 

The next day we were still in Nassau and after having breakfast in the dining room, which each day always seemed to be uncoordinated for that meal especially, we made our way ashore. In Nassau, we walked around for a bit and then came across a business called Jetline Simulation Bahamas, where they have a full 737 cockpit simulator that you can fly along with their instructor assisting you along the way. That was a great experience, and I would recommend it to anyone who has ever wondered what it is like to fly a plane, as that is about as close as you can get to flying an actual plane. I would recommend making a reservation beforehand, as they were able to sneak us into their busy schedule that day, but otherwise have a fairly full schedule.

 

After our time in Nassau we made our way back to the ship and got lunch from the Great Outdoors (buffet outside in the back of the ship) and had a nice lunch with a great view of Atlantis and Paradise Island.

 

Docked next to us was the Norwegian Epic, which was chartered that cruise by Holy Ship!, a music charter cruise and it looked like they were having quite the party! We could loudly hear the bass from their music on our ship, to the degree that talking outside on our ship was a little challenging due to their loud music! We saw multiple people on the epic smoking on their balconies, and people also had numerous hammocks strung up on balconies. We also saw a drug sniffing dog board the ship shortly before it sailed, so we assumed the dog sailed with the ship.

 

For dinner that night we were again in crossings, and seated in the same waitresses section from the first night, Agnis, who was a wonderful waitress, very attentive, and promptly took care of any requests we had. All of our food we had we felt was served warm, had good plating, and most importantly tasted delicious! Compared to food on Carnival, and even Celebrity, the food we had in the dining room and buffet was top notch.

 

The next day the cruise was over, and after a troubled breakfast in the dining room due to extremely slow service, we made our way off the ship around 8:50 and were in the rental car bus by 9:00. Debarking the ship was quite easy, with the only line to scan off the ship. There was only two people in front of us at customs, and that process went smoothly.

 

We would not hesitate to cruise again on the Norwegian Sky, and thought all the public areas were in great shape. The cabins and corridors could use some work, but the great lounges and overall excellent crew made up for those areas.

 

If anyone has any additional questions, please ask and I will do my best to answer them. Thanks for reading and hopefully this information was somewhat helpful.

[jdvmd]

Thanks for your review!

Curious about the "playing a game" thing you mentioned above for people to get priority boarding. Never have heard of this before. What kinds of things did they look for?

[goldencruiser]

Thanks for your review!

Curious about the "playing a game" thing you mentioned above for people to get priority boarding. Never have heard of this before. What kinds of things did they look for?

 

 

 

They asked for 4 items, but they seemed to change each cruise from what we heard. People basically had to have the item in hand, because within ten seconds of asking for each item someone brought it up. The items if I remember correctly were a Norwegian Cruise credit card, winter gloves, bathing suit, and tweezers.

 

The priority boarding really wouldn’t have been all that beneficial as they boarded maybe 10 minutes before us.

[Clarea]

Excellent feedback, thanks!

[Keith1010]

Terrific review/report.

 

Keith

[HollyRF]

I was on the sky in December 2017, and I very much agree with this post. It’s the oldest ship (or one of the oldest) ships in the fleet but seems to be holding up well. You can definitely tell it’s older, but it’s not something I’d dwell on. As for age ranges, they were across the board. I was on the dec 15-18 trip and I saw very few children, as my guess is they were not on Christmas break yet. If I had to guess, I’d say there were just about an even mix of younger 20-somethings and 50-and above on board. Overall, everyone mixed well and I honestly never thought about who was what age. For a gauge, I’m 40 and my friend I traveled with was 33.

I agree with the shows. They were a little cheesy. The performers were very talented, but again, the shows themselves just seemed hokey. But, the free drinks helped me get past that and just go with the flow. ;-)

As for food. The main dining restaurants that were included were OK Nothing amazing, but I didn’t expect much since this is par for the course when you are preparing large volume meals. Same goes for the buffets. We did not eat at any of the speciality restaurants, so I can’t speak for them. Overall, I could tolerate the quality for a 3 day cruise. However, my husband and I are planning a longer cruise on the Getaway this year, and I’m hoping the food quality will be better. We are also planning to upgrade to the Haven, so hoping the haven food is also better.

 

 

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[Miller200]

One question, on the sky, would it have drinking fountains or water bottle filling stations as I know they charge for water. On other cruises we just brought a yeti tumbler and filled it at the bars.

[HollyRF]

They have water stations to refill your tumblers

 

 

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[jdvmd]

One question, on the sky, would it have drinking fountains or water bottle filling stations as I know they charge for water. On other cruises we just brought a yeti tumbler and filled it at the bars.

You can still do that. They ask you to take a tumbler and fill the bottle that way to prevent spreading germs.

[kathiewe]

HI!

 

We love the Sky and have been doing a getaway weekend on her at least once a year for the last few years. Your tripreport is very much in keeping with our experiences. The only difference for us is, as foodies, we prefer to upgrade to Le Bistro, Cagney's, and Il Adagio for our dinners.

 

Thanks for the report!