My First Time Experience

[19BlueMamaBear72]

This was my first cruise. While I do not have any comparisons, the crew impressed me the most. They were ALWAYS intentional about giving the best of themselves. They all work long hours and deal with many demands from the guests and supervisors. Even in the face of difficult passengers they maintain the spirit of giving the best service. They always greet you with a smile, or a good morning, and close with have a good night. KUDOS to all of the food service and housekeeping teams. These people are under-appreciated for their efforts and energy. I don't think that this ship is ideal for children and teens. They do have designated areas for them, but I often heard the kids/teens complain about boredom, as the initial excitement wears off quickly. Moreover, the food choices are vast, but they repeat and I personally watched children refusing to eat...as there aren't many choices for their tastes.

 

[hallux]

Your experience was the same as mine has been on NCL in the past.

 

14 minutes ago, 19BlueMamaBear72 said:

I don't think that this ship is ideal for children and teens. They do have designated areas for them, but I often heard the kids/teens complain about boredom, as the initial excitement wears off quickly

It might help to mention the ship, NCL has 20 of them in the fleet.

[Pookie2u]

11 hours ago, 19BlueMamaBear72 said:

This was my first cruise. 

 

Welcome to Cruise Critic - it's so nice to have you onboard! 😁

I would love to hear more about your cruise.  Which ship were you on?  What itinerary?  Did you have a favorite activity?
I agree the staff does a LOT to make your cruise really enjoyable.  
It only took one cruise to have me hooked.  Will you be cruising again soon?

[puppycanducruise]

Welcome to Cruise Critic.  I hope you cruise again soon.

[19BlueMamaBear72]

It was NCL SKY. I was on the ten day cruise.  Which I purposely chose, just in case I didn't like cruising, at least I would have visited multiple places.  I absolutely loved St. Maarten  I did the double decker tour, lots of sites and quite a bit of history learned.  The excursions are never long enough to take in the culture, but it was one of the best. 

 

I absolutely loathed Antigua. There was nothing but extreme poverty upon entering through the port. The theme that I picked up on after this stop, is that all the places we paid thousands of dollars to visit DO NOT benefit its people. Everything was overpriced and each vendor is selling exactly the same thing, MANUFACTURED GOODS IN CHINA...only changing the destinations name. Very disappointed. I wanted to feel and experience unique things at each place. If you don't purchase anything, they ask for donations. The average pay in St. Maarten is 5.00, and the rent is 900.00 per month. That is their entire months pay.  Culture wise, I found this to be the most valuable stop. The people are well versed and are proud citizens. I WOULD LOVE TO VISIT AGAIN.

 

The private island was cancelled due to weather. While that may be true this trip, I did some online research as well as learned from seasoned cruisers on the ship and online that this is normal with NCL and even crew echoed what previous cruisers have stated. 

 

Dining and entertainment was always just mediocre.  I filled my days walking around, eating and occasionally watching Wheel of Fortune, Bingo or Deal or No Deal. They charge you to participate, but I chose to be a spectator. They recently added an Illusionist...they were decent, and they have a comedian and a soloist. I seen the singer... she was above average. I heard that the comedian was good as well. 

 

I may cruise again... and I believe that by far it is better to take longer cruises. Do your homework. I mean really INVEST in your investment to get the most valuable experience for your money. I am not wealthy, and I sacrificed a lot to afford this trip. I wasn't blown away by the cruise, but I wasn't terribly disappointed either. I will say that after seeing other ships dwarf SKY I do believe that I would go a little larger if I go again but not SUPER SIZED.  I would find something in the middle.

 

Below are the stops...USVI was the last. We arrived at 6:30am. We lost valuable time because nothing was opened. I ended up paying for an additional tour to fill the space until my excursion opened. I wish our time was extended to offset us not going to Stirrup Cay. 

 

 

MIAMI, FLORIDA

AT SEA 

AMBER COVE, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC  - Ok

SAN JUAN -OK

ST JOHNS ANTIGUA - Stay on the ship

PHILIPSBURG ST MAARTEN,  NETHERLANDA NTILLES - 5 STAR

BASSETERRE, SAINT KITTS - NEVIS - Very Good 

ST THOMAS - Not enough time, but nice 

AT SEA  

GREAT STIRRUP CAY, BAHAMAS  - N/A

MIAMI, FLORIDA

[puppycanducruise]

Maybe you should try another cruise line, there are lots to chose from.  Or, cruise somewhere other than the Caribbean, we love the Mediterranean. 

Edited December 23, 2023 by puppycanducruise

[PhillyTravelBug]

Appreciate your review and welcome aboard! I would encourage you to give cruising another shot. You may not for your next getaway, but at least in the near future.  Some of the newer ships within the past decade have lots of onboard activities to keep you occupied.  I have done Caribbean sailings, but would take almost anywhere else over the Caribbean.  Bermuda is wonderful, New England, and Alaska for destinations that sail from the US.  Glad you gave it a shot in the first place.  

[dexddd]

Welcome to CC. Sky one of the oldest in fleet.  Must have been lots of Hero cards completed.

[schmoopie17]

25 minutes ago, puppycanducruise said:

Maybe you should try another cruise line, there are lots to chose from. 

Or a larger font. My old eyes ain't what they used to be...like pretty much everything else on me.

[dexddd]

25 minutes ago, schmoopie17 said:

Or a larger font. My old eyes ain't what they used to be...like pretty much everything else on me.

Maybe you can get the much younger Mrs. Schmoopie to read for you.

[schmoopie17]

1 minute ago, dexddd said:

Maybe you can get the much younger Mrs. Schmoopie to read for you.

Actually...and don't tell her I told you...she's six months older than I am. Cradle robber...

[hallux]

22 hours ago, 19BlueMamaBear72 said:

I wish our time was extended to offset us not going to Stirrup Cay. 

There's no way they can possibly know that they need to do this if the GSC stop is after that one.  They sometimes won't know until they drop anchor that the tendering process just isn't going to happen.  Knowing two days in advance so they can extend another port?  lol, no.

 

It seems that they're making GSC more often than not recently, I haven't seen too many complaints here recently.

[david_sobe]

Thanks for sharing.  The Sky is a small ship for such a long cruise.  My first cruise was meh.  There were many things I did not like mostly the lack of chairs by the pool and crowds.  It was not until my second cruise that I got the cruise bug.  The first one you don't have expectations and you also miss out on some things.  For example, my first cruise we went to the buffet during embarkation day.  Big mistake.  Go to the MDR instead.  There were other silly stuff that I was dumb about that I did not learn until joining this board and taking my second cruise.  I think you will be wowed if you cruise again on a modern ship.

[hallux]

53 minutes ago, david_sobe said:

The first one you don't have expectations and you also miss out on some things.

My first cruise I was with a bunch of people that were 'vets' and some hadn't sailed the line too much.  They kept on complaining about how the line was different from what they were used to on their preferred line.  Between that and the weather it's a surprise I ever stepped foot on a ship again...

[laudergayle]

1 hour ago, david_sobe said:

The Sky is a small ship for such a long cruise

The Sky.  We booked a 9-day cruise in late 2025.  Lisbon, Fungal, 3) Canary Islands, Tenirefe, Casablanca, Lisbon.  I was really hesitant because of the small ship, but we couldn’t pass up the itinerary.  We’re really hoping The Sky doesn’t disappoint.  

[david_sobe]

10 minutes ago, laudergayle said:

The Sky.  We booked a 9-day cruise in late 2025.  Lisbon, Fungal, 3) Canary Islands, Tenirefe, Casablanca, Lisbon.  I was really hesitant because of the small ship, but we couldn’t pass up the itinerary.  We’re really hoping The Sky doesn’t disappoint.  

I am not ragging on the Sky.  She's a great ship and I've sailed her twice.  Smaller ships definitely have their perks.   

[cruiser2015]

On 12/24/2023 at 6:18 PM, laudergayle said:

The Sky.  We booked a 9-day cruise in late 2025.  Lisbon, Fungal, 3) Canary Islands, Tenirefe, Casablanca, Lisbon.  I was really hesitant because of the small ship, but we couldn’t pass up the itinerary.  We’re really hoping The Sky doesn’t disappoint.  

There have been m any positive posts about the Sky on these threads.

I sailed a 7 night Caribbean on her over 20 years ago. She was a mere maiden back them (but not a first cruise, LOL).

Known even back then for her small cabin sizes, I found it (balcony) adequate. I don't know if any of that changed with refurbs, but probably not.

Personally, I prefer larger vessels for the expanded amenities and options.

On the other hand, something may be said about the quicker transit times getting around.