I have given up on the Sky.

[vols159]

david_sobe: Thank you so very much for your quick reply and insight. I think I made the right choice. I am not sure she would like a cruise. This will be a "test".:)

 

ive been on the sky in 2010 this thread was started in 2008.. some dummy brought.it back to life today.

[LadyShiva]

For my correction I forgot one word

 

The NCL Sky is the youngest cruise ship from the port of Miami sailing to the Bahamas.

 

There :)

 

*smile* Please lemme add "..and you don't have to mortgage the Queen's jewels to sail on!" too. ;)

 

Somehow you and I seem to have misplaced our regal jewels... *grin*

[gofigyawhy]

Wow, I just left the Sky yesterday. It was my first cruise so I have nothing else to compare it to but my stateroom was clean (9023). The ship does show some wear but nothing that took away from my enjoyment. Would I sail on the Sky again? YES, without any hesitation!

[cdninterliner]

Just to clarifry, the alcohol being confiscated was the least of my problems with this ship, as I am not a drinker, but I do drink on vacation. In normal everyday life you would be lucky to catch me having even 1 drink a week. However, during vacation I like to have a few drinks. 32 oz over 4 days is an average of 8 drinks a day. Say drinking that over 12 hrs a day (12 noon - midnight), is like 1 drink every hour and a half. I know people who would consume 8 drinks in just a few hours. Being in port each day, we simply decided to have our drinks off ship. To the person who suggested that I was stealing from NCL by smuggling my alcohol on board, I think you need a reality check. Stealing only occurs when you take something that you didn't pay for, such as if I had drank the ships alcohol and then refused to pay for it. The reason I choose to update a 4+ year old thread, was to emphasize the fact that the mould issue has been going on for years, and apparently NCL's response has been to have staff around the ship forcing hand sanitizer on everyone to provide an illusion that they are concerned about your health, instead of actually attempting to resolve the mould issue by removing it.

[JohnIreland]

What problems did you have with all the staff that caused you to remove their wages ?

[debnjoe1438]

8 drinks a day and you're not a drinker??:eek:

[Beaver1975]

Wow, I am with sdmike. But, I do have to comment on someone who goes from nary a drink a week to 8 a day, is not someone I would not want to be around on a cruise. Just sayin'!

 

John

[cdninterliner]

JohnIreland "What problems did you have with all the staff that caused you to remove their wages?"

 

I removed the "discretionary" service charges, as I felt the staff did not provide professional service. Those we felt did, we're tipped.

 

Also, I hate how people assume they are entitled to Tips. Both my spouse and I work in the travel and hospitality industries, and provide customer service through an air line and hotel, and neither of us expect to/or receive tips. When you eat at a self serve buffet, are you really expected to TIP? Do you TIP the staff at McDonalds?

 

Furthermore, wages are paid by NCL though your fare.

[gofigyawhy]

Not to mention what happens when the alcohol mixes with all of the nacho cheese sauce from the buffet 3 times a day for 4 days. Wouldn't want to sit in the row ahead of OP in the theater! :D

[cdninterliner]

"8 drinks a day and you're not a drinker??"

 

Don't recall saying that I would drinks 8 in a day, just making a point that 8 drinks over 12 hours is not going to get you drunk.

 

We bought our alcohol at duty-free before leaving Canada. The bottles are only 1 litre (33 ounces). So that's the size we took.

[Starry Eyes]

thanks for the laugh.

 

OP, if you are happy with Carnival, go smuggle your liquor onto a fun ship...Between the smuggling attempt, the attitude, the removal of the DSC, and the threat of legal action, I doubt NCL and crew will be sad to see you go.

[cdninterliner]

thanks for the laugh.

 

OP, if you are happy with Carnival, go smuggle your liquor onto a fun ship...Between the smuggling attempt, the attitude, the removal of the DSC, and the threat of legal action, I doubt NCL and crew will be sad to see you go.

 

 

Here, I'll make it simple for you to find the thousands of other people who refuse to be overcharged and underserved....

 

http://www.google.com/search?q=rum+runners%2C+-repeat+site%3Aboards.cruisecritic.com

 

Enjoy belittling them too!

[Beaver1975]

Here, I'll make it simple for you to find the thousands of other people who refuse to be overcharged and underserved....

 

http://www.google.com/search?q=rum+runners%2C+-repeat+site%3Aboards.cruisecritic.com

 

Enjoy belittling them too!

 

Thousands may be a bit of exaggeration. But when it compares to the millions that cruise it is a small minority. Sort of the like the Occutards that say they represent the 99%.

 

John

[Starry Eyes]

Here, I'll make it simple for you to find the thousands of other people who refuse to be overcharged and underserved....

 

http://www.google.com/search?q=rum+runners%2C+-repeat+site%3Aboards.cruisecritic.com

 

Enjoy belittling them too!

 

I know there are threads about smuggling. Plenty of people try. everybody using rumrunners knows it is against the rules, else they would not use rum runners. some succeed and some fail. You failed and seem to have had a chip on your shoulder from that moment until the very end of your cruise. Drinking at home is obviously cheaper than going out. personally, I do not find the drinks overpriced compared to bars in other vacation destinations. I have never felt underserved. still, I am sorry if you feel belittled. You expressed your preference for Carnival, and I think is great that you know a line that suits you. That is beauty of multiple lines....Any passenger with a chip on his shoulder at boarding is not a prize for NCL (or any other line). I hope you have many happy sailings on Carnival.

[nursemommy7578]

oh boy. Since I know the poster in real life, I can vouch he is not a troll....however, I myself am having an incredibly hard time believing his onboard account. I agree with others in saying loss of alcohol= chip on shoulder.

 

Only hamburgers and nachos?? Of all the restaurants and choices on board this is all you could find to eat??!! ok, you dont like cheese and sauce...ask for items without!!

 

Mold everywhere?? Did you report this to anyone? How about your cabin steward? Did you ask him/her to re-clean your room/washroom?

 

I"m sorry. I just dont buy it.

 

Onboard drink prices are comparable to those at a bar, and I factor that into my total cost of vacation. And just because you havent been caught *yet* on carnival, doesnt mean you wont be! How will you react when you get caught with them??

 

And I would *never* remove the tips either. If others deserved more, tip above and beyond but NEVER remove them as you are cheating others out of hard earned money!! I do not like assumed tips either, but again, I just factor that into total cost of cruise as we know we will be using services in some form or another. If I have a service issue, I bring it up right away...I wont sit and stew about it!!

 

I'm so sorry you didnt enjoy the cruise. I am going bananas waiting for my NCL cruise!!!

[jg1007]

Just returned home from our 3rd Cruise. This time we got, what we at first thought was a great deal, for the Norwegian Sky. Unfortunately, this ship was a very bad experience for us.

 

Starting with the confiscation of our alcohol, which we each had a brand new 32oz Traveller (www.rumrunnerflasks.com) in our carry-on. Apparently they use Airport grade security scanners. Instead of taking us to a semi-private area to go though our carry-on, the security staff took us to a table in plain view of the public going though security, searched our carry-on, found the Travellers and then proceeded to attempt to embarrass us by holding up the Flasks and bragging loudly to their co-workers "Hey, look what I found!" While waiting in line for check-in, we decided not to spend a single penny aboard this ship.

 

Finally we got onto the ship and head to our stateroom. Upon entering the stateroom, we immediately noticed that the room was nowhere near what was shown on Norwegian's Web-site. Both the picture of the room and the floor plan shown on the web-site for our fare class, did not come anywhere close to the actual stateroom we received. There was a mildew and urine smell in the bathroom and the stateroom also had a musty mildew odour.

 

After putting our stuff in the stateroom, we went to the Garden Café for lunch, where we were again disappointed by the lack of variety. Hamburgers and Nocho chips 3 times a day for 4 days was getting really boring.

 

After lunch we took a self tour of the ship. For dinner we went to the Crossings dining room. As a person who is not fond of cheese and sauces, I found the menu to be very limited. The wait staff seemed like they were just there to do a job and get you out the door. Unlike the fun environment we have experienced on other cruises.

 

Now it's time for the evening show in the Stardust Theatre, upon walking into the theatre, you notice the very strong smell of musty mildew and mould. We take our seats underneath the sound booth area, and look up to find black mould everywhere. We stayed to enjoy the show, but I sure wish we hadn't.

 

Time for sleep, we head to the stateroom for the night. I found the room to be very dry and woke up with a sore throat. Each night got worse, as I am an asthmatic, allergic to dust, mould and pollens. By day 5, both my spouse and myself were very sick.

 

The next evening we received a notice insisting that we go to guest services to open our on board spending account. So, I went and insisted that I was not giving them either my credit card or cash. And kindly asked them to remove the service charges as we would give tips to those we thought deserved them.

 

Come debarkation day, the account statement arrived at our stateroom door, and I again went down to Guest Services to have the service charges removed and after a lengthy conversation, and completing some forms, they finally did. Now we proceed to leave the ship, but are stopped at check-out and asked to return to guest services to settle our accounts. I explained that we just came from guest services and that the accounts should have already been settled. They insisted that we return, so I advised them that by not letting us leave the ship, they were illegally withholding us. They than called down to guest services and 5 mins later we were told we were cleared to leave.

 

In all, we loved the Bahamas and the islands were great, but we just wished we had stuck with Carnival as we had great experiences with them on our 2 previous cruises.

 

 

I was just on the Sky May 4th. Most of what this person says is just untrue. Hamburgers and nachos? really? I was there, and while the buffet is not as good as the dining rooms and specialty restaurants, they food was quite varied and tasty. This looks to me like someone trying to get over on the cruise line, and is now mad they got caught. So they try to get their revenge by stiffing the staff of their hard earned tips and wages. If I were the Captain of the Sky I would ban you from the ship.

 

Please, folks, the sky is a very good ship to spend a short cruise on. We are booked again in November.

[shelly11]

This thread is from 2008!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[halos]

. Don't forget most of this thread was written a few years ago.

Thank goodness I noticed that by the end of the first page. I'd have hated to waste more time on a 4 year old thread for goodness sake.

I was SO confused...LOL. :p

It seems the cc member that resurrected this thread did not enjoy his experience...sad to hear that. I hope he's happy back on CCL.

Different strokes for different folks.

It's all good, there are plenty of cruise lines and ships out there for everyone.

[floridacruisegirl]

JohnIreland "What problems did you have with all the staff that caused you to remove their wages?"

 

I removed the "discretionary" service charges, as I felt the staff did not provide professional service. Those we felt did, we're tipped.

 

Also, I hate how people assume they are entitled to Tips. Both my spouse and I work in the travel and hospitality industries, and provide customer service through an air line and hotel, and neither of us expect to/or receive tips. When you eat at a self serve buffet, are you really expected to TIP? Do you TIP the staff at McDonalds?

 

Furthermore, wages are paid by NCL though your fare.

 

Cruiseline staff depend on the service charges for their livelihood. Staff on mainstream cruise lines (NCL, RCCL, Celebrity, Carnival, Holland America, etc.) receive a very low base wage, based on Western standards. All mainstream cruiselines implement such a charge (whether automatically charged to your onboard account or handed in person on lines like RCCL) and to me, they aren't really discretionary. The service charge includes money for your stateroom attendant, waiters, and other behind-the-scenes-staff...not just those you come in contact with. By removing the service charge, it is unjust to the hardworking staff who work sometimes more than 12 hours a day to make our cruise wonderful for us.

 

For those looking for an all-inclusive cruise, the more upscale, luxury lines like Crystal, Regent, etc offer a no tipping policy because cruiseline staff wages are built into the fares. This is not the case with mainstream lines like NCL, RCCL, Celebrity, Carnival, Holland America, etc.

 

The main point here: when you book on a mainstream cruiseline, add the daily service charge to your cruise fare to determine your actual cruise cost (because your cruise fare does not include staff wages). If you want a cruise with a no tipping policy, where the staff wages are already built into your cruise fare, opt for a luxury line where the cruise cost already includes staff wages. Want more, then look into luxury cruising where the price reflects all upscale expectations. Pay more and get more. I believe mainstream lines happen to be a great value, even with the service charge added and am more than happy to pay the service charge to all of the hardworking crew onboard.

[LadyShiva]

3 year old thread.

[my_crib_too]

You got caught smuggling and knew this was a possibility. Instead of just accepting that you were caught and moving on, you decided to find fault with everything else NCL related for the rest of your vacation. Great plan!!! What a waste of vacation time and money.

 

After getting caught, you should have purchased a few NCL drinks, tried to forget about getting caught, and had a few laughs about it.

 

Good luck with future Carnival cruises.

[shelly11]

3 year old thread.

 

 

Yes! Please someone lock this thread!!!!

[RuthlessBoss]

Yes, LOCK IT!!! I just started reading, heard Sky was great. Then I read 1st page of this STUFF! I jumped to page 7 to find this current post.

[my_crib_too]

Just returned home from our 3rd Cruise. This time we got, what we at first thought was a great deal, for the Norwegian Sky. Unfortunately, this ship was a very bad experience for us.

 

Starting with the confiscation of our alcohol, which we each had a brand new 32oz Traveller (www.rumrunnerflasks.com) in our carry-on. Apparently they use Airport grade security scanners. Instead of taking us to a semi-private area to go though our carry-on, the security staff took us to a table in plain view of the public going though security, searched our carry-on, found the Travellers and then proceeded to attempt to embarrass us by holding up the Flasks and bragging loudly to their co-workers "Hey, look what I found!" While waiting in line for check-in, we decided not to spend a single penny aboard this ship.

 

Finally we got onto the ship and head to our stateroom. Upon entering the stateroom, we immediately noticed that the room was nowhere near what was shown on Norwegian's Web-site. Both the picture of the room and the floor plan shown on the web-site for our fare class, did not come anywhere close to the actual stateroom we received. There was a mildew and urine smell in the bathroom and the stateroom also had a musty mildew odour.

 

After putting our stuff in the stateroom, we went to the Garden Café for lunch, where we were again disappointed by the lack of variety. Hamburgers and Nocho chips 3 times a day for 4 days was getting really boring.

 

After lunch we took a self tour of the ship. For dinner we went to the Crossings dining room. As a person who is not fond of cheese and sauces, I found the menu to be very limited. The wait staff seemed like they were just there to do a job and get you out the door. Unlike the fun environment we have experienced on other cruises.

 

Now it's time for the evening show in the Stardust Theatre, upon walking into the theatre, you notice the very strong smell of musty mildew and mould. We take our seats underneath the sound booth area, and look up to find black mould everywhere. We stayed to enjoy the show, but I sure wish we hadn't.

 

Time for sleep, we head to the stateroom for the night. I found the room to be very dry and woke up with a sore throat. Each night got worse, as I am an asthmatic, allergic to dust, mould and pollens. By day 5, both my spouse and myself were very sick.

 

The next evening we received a notice insisting that we go to guest services to open our on board spending account. So, I went and insisted that I was not giving them either my credit card or cash. And kindly asked them to remove the service charges as we would give tips to those we thought deserved them.

 

Come debarkation day, the account statement arrived at our stateroom door, and I again went down to Guest Services to have the service charges removed and after a lengthy conversation, and completing some forms, they finally did. Now we proceed to leave the ship, but are stopped at check-out and asked to return to guest services to settle our accounts. I explained that we just came from guest services and that the accounts should have already been settled. They insisted that we return, so I advised them that by not letting us leave the ship, they were illegally withholding us. They than called down to guest services and 5 mins later we were told we were cleared to leave.

 

In all, we loved the Bahamas and the islands were great, but we just wished we had stuck with Carnival as we had great experiences with them on our 2 previous cruises.

 

---

 

Carnival Imagination - January 2011 - Thumbs UP! :)

Carnival Valor - February 2012 - Thumbs UP! :)

Norwegian Sky - May 2012 - Thumbs DOWN! :(

 

This part was posted on June 2nd and is not 3 or 4 years old. It is an old thread though.

[RuthlessBoss]

This part was posted on June 2nd and is not 3 or 4 years old. It is an old thread though.

Yes, there are recent posts, but why not just start a new review. Most of us start reading on page 1 like a normal person would, read all that initial crap about problems that don't exist 3 years later.