Norwegian Sky (Jan 2013)

Norwegian Sky

3-Night Bahamas

1/11/13: Miami, Florida

1/12/13: Great Stirrup, Bahamas (Cruise Line Private Island)

1/13/13: Nassau, Bahamas

1/14/13: Miami, Florida

"Well, the food was at least good!"

This was our first time on Norwegian Cruise Lines. It did leave a sour taste in our mouths. However the question is will we ever sail NCL again? We say “Yes”, only next time do a lot more research on the ship along with the shows being shown. We did have some hiccups along the way, but we made the best out of it and ended up having a nice time on and off the ship. The really great part to the trip was Great Stirrup Cay, which is NCL’s private island in the Bahamas. The huge downfall was the customer service and some staff. Horrible attitudes. Well enjoy reading the reviews and checking out all of the pictures we took.

Pros
- Room Steward Jose, he was really nice and also made us a Giraffe towel animal.

- Longboards was a really great place to eat, when they actually had servers.

- Cleanliness of the ship is a main factor on any line. NCL actually had people next to the doors of the buffets as well as some areas around the ship spraying sanitizer on everyone’s hands. That would be their job, which really made us certain of the procedures they follow on being clean and avoiding illness.

- Pizzeria during the day was amazing, the pizza and pasta are a must try.

- Great Stirrup Cay, maybe the best thing about the cruise. This really brought up and made the trip just a little bit better. Really enjoyed our time here.

- Casino on this ship was really good. Walked out with more than we spent on the cruise.

- Lots of activities during the day and night everywhere on the ship.

- BBQ on the pool deck.

 
Cons
- Casino not being able to pull anything less than $100 off your account at one time. Also the attitude of the casino staff was not friendly.

- Guest Services much like the casino was extremely rude and un-friendly.

- Beware of the onboard account if you plan to gamble. We have put it into detail under the Casino area below.

- Entertainment was a joke, walked out of every show they had.

Arcade

The arcade is next to the Kid’s Korner, it is a normal size arcade and away from the busy areas of the ship.

Atrium & Atrium Bar

The Atrium is nothing really eye catching at all. It is very basic and seems to be too narrow and not open enough.

 

Breakers Bar

Located on the Pool Deck, we always saw people here. Unlike the other ships we been on there is only one bar on this deck and it is always a great place to grab a drink and watch the game.

Cagney’s Steakhouse

Here are some pictures of the steakhouse on board the Norwegian Sky.

Captain Cook’s Bar

Always something entertaining going on here. Lots of music and games throughout the day and night.

Crossings Main Dining Room

This is one of two main dining rooms on board. Here you have breakfast, lunch & dinner served here. Both of the dining rooms are one level unlike a lot of other ships. A nice décor throughout along with great food. Both dining rooms are never really packed since it is “Free Style Dining”, which is basically anytime dining on some other lines. Not really a difference to us since we eat at dinner time anyways.

Dazzles Nightclub

This is more like a lounge then a nightclub. It is open and walkways on both sides. They do a lot of games and parties here. Always something going on here. It is a good idea with having it open, especially with the walkways. You’re able to just wonder in and out as you please.

Galleria Shops

There are a couple of levels with shops on it. Mostly on the Promenade area off the casino. Your basic watch, liquor and souvenir shops are here.

Garden Café

The Garden Café is the buffet on board. Open all different hours of the day. They don’t have a massive selection of food. We usually did not eat here too often. Usually stuck to the dining room or one of the other sit down areas to eat.

Great Outdoor Café

Much like the Garden Café, not too much variety. They are however open later until late at night. Serving burgers and hotdogs and some other fixing. We mostly enjoyed Longboards which was right around the corner.

Great Stirrup Cay (Port of Call)

This was our first stop. We debated wither or not to get off the ship. We choose to get off and take the 15 minute tender ride over to the Island. It paid off. Next to Great Stirrup Cay is Cococay which is Royal Caribbean’s private island. The waters were a bit choppy on the ride over, once we got into the bay everything calmed down and the turquoise water was becoming very beautiful and relaxing. They do recommend you take cash on, there are no ATM’s or Card transactions available on the island. We walked around for a bit and took some pictures, then found a spot near the water to put down our stuff and go into the water. It was a bit chilly in the water, but after a while we warmed up. There is a lot of people around, but never felt too crowded. Also the people were very friendly all over the place. Lunch time they have a big buffet BBQ (which is FREE), with burger, hotdogs and desserts. It was really enjoyable. After all that we took some more pictures and headed back to the ship. This was really a great port. Similar to Grand Turk. We are lovers of the private islands.

Il Adagio Restaurant

This is the Italian Restaurant on board. During the nighttime there is a fee to dine here, however during the day you can get pizza and pasta. The pasta they make right in front of you, kind of like a wok station on some ships you find. The pasta is not that bad actually, maybe some of the best food we had on board. The pizza on the other hand was just a bit better. Really delicious and so good. They have pepperoni, cheese and a special pie of the day. Just a tip, go during the day, the pizza everywhere else is alright just not cooked this good.

Internet Café

Located off of the shops and coffee bar. It is an exposed open area to check your status updates and emails.

KAUA’I Room

Located inside the Mark Twain Library, here are some pictures.

Kid’s Korner

This is an area designed for kids. It is located at the front of the ship and it is very colorful and perfect for little ones.

Le Bistro

Another specialty restaurant on board the Norwegian Sky.

Longboard Bar

This is more than your average bar. Here it is open during the day until 5:30am. Yes that is right, all night long. They offer a sit down (complementary) menu including wings, burgers, dips & hot dogs. The bartenders one night we went took forever because they were all at the bar talking. Then we finally saw a crew member walking in from the other buffet with food and giving it to the guest. Which at the time we thought was from the buffet. That is not the case; we ended up going again the last night of the cruise and having some food. The food here is pretty good and not from the buffet. It is really tasty, especially the buffalo wings. Also great place to be during the big games.

Mark Twain Library

Here are some pictures of the Mark Twain Library on board the Norwegian Sky.

 

MAUI Room

Located inside the Mark Twain Library, here are some photos.

 

Menus & Food

Here are just a few items served throughout the ship along with Great Stirrup Cay

Nassau, The Bahamas (Port of Call)

Since we have been here already numerous times in the past year we really didn’t want to get off. Or even look forward to coming here. Only reason we do so often is because this is where shorter cruises go. We did however get off and try to get pictures on one of the largest cruise ships ever built, Royal Caribbean’s Oasis of the Seas. The ship is massive, compared to a ship of only 77,000 ton to a ship 200,000 ton, there really is no comparison. So we got off and took some pictures of the ships and also took a stroll into the welcome center. We did have plans to get pictures of the inside of Oasis of the Seas, but did not due to missing them leaving the port.

Outrigger Lounge

This had to be the best lounge we ever had been to. It is located right about the bridge. It covers from side to side and you have a bar as well as views from outside above the bridge. Really great place, also mostly quiet a lot of the time.

Palace Main Dining Room

Here is the second Main Dining Room on board the Norwegian Sky. This is where we had most of our dinner. The menus are nothing great, a lot of the food we just go to try. We heard and now witnessed for ourselves that NCL does try and push you to go to the specialty restaurants vs. the buffet or main dining rooms. Which our thoughts are why are we going to pay to eat somewhere else when the food here isn’t that great to begin with.

Photo Gallery

The Photo Gallery is very long and wide. Not cramped like other lines we been on. Very nice and easy to find your pictures that were taken by the NCL Photographers.

Plantation Club

We do not know too much of what goes on here. Looks like a game room with a bar. Located on the sports deck, it is a great place during the day to relax and play a game or read a book.

Pool Deck & Entertainment

The pool deck was really nice, very open. A lot of people are here relaxing and enjoying their time. They often have a lunch BBQ or taco bar set up outside on the deck. The entertainment was nothing to brag about. Carnival BY-FAR has them beat in this area.

Port of Miami (Homeport)

Here are some of the ships and pictures from the Port of Miami. Also this terminal was not like the terminal Carnival has, it is much smaller. We got to the port around 12pm and got right on, maybe from parking to ship about 20 minutes.

Ship Photos

Here are some pictures on board the Norwegian Sky.

Sky Club Casino

Anyone who wants to gamble on board this ship or any in the fleet of NCL please read this. Unlike Carnival, NCL does things a little bit different when it comes to gambling on their ships. DO NOT; put the money you intend to use at the Casino on your main account (Sail and Sign). You are not allowed to take off money once on there; they only allow you to take off in increments of $100 with a $3 processing fee. We did complain to guest services, who game us attitude from hell about that along with other issues we had. Also for the points at the casino, you have to fill out a form and then you get another casino card. So to make life simple for everyone, treat this casino like any casino that you would go to at home. Meaning, take only cash for the casino and what you put into the machine you can take out at any time and retrieve it at the machine that cashes the tickets. Honestly it is a better way that the casino is not linked to your on board account.

Spa & Fitness Center

There are numerous classes going on daily along with going whenever you want (when it is open) to break a sweat.

Sports Deck

One thing we noticed at the basketball court was a water machine. Which is a really important thing to have out on the open deck during a hot Caribbean afternoon of playing basketball or volleyball. Also the basketballs are available inside the court to use. On the side you will find a batting net and a driving net for golfing. Not sure how all that works, you might want to Google it if interested.

Stardust Theater & Entertainment

The entertainment just was not there at all. The shows on board are more of a Miami vibe vs. a Caribbean feel. We did not enjoy any of the shows at all. Carnival once again has got them beat. Other guests do tell us the longer the cruise and bigger the ship the better the entertainment on board. Our thought is this is supposed to be a teaser with a 3 or 4 night cruise to test out and make us want to come back again. One show that we caught the end of was Deal or No Deal, just like the one on tv. It looked really fun and maybe next time try it out.

The Coffee Bar

Just a normal coffee bar located near the shops and casino.

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