I recently had the opportunity to sail aboard the Norwegian Sky for a quick three night Bahamas sailing. It was my second time on the ship and I thoroughly enjoyed my time on board. I would like to touch on a few points that will hopefully help those of you thinking about taking the Sky in the near future. I should mention that this sailing usually has a stop at Great Stirrup Cay, but due to delayed renovations on the island we did not visit and had an extended overnight stay in Nassau.
The Ship
The Sky is one of the youngest ships doing 3 & 4 day Bahamas sailings. She is in great shape and I can’t say I ever came across anything that I thought could use some updating. The pool deck is a great size for the number of passengers on board. There are 4 covered hot tubs in the middle of the deck with a pool on each side.
The Food
The Sky is pretty limited when it comes to specialty restaurants as compared to the rest of the NCL fleet, however I think it has enough considering it is only doing 3 and 4 day sailings. On the 3 night sailing, I had dinner in the main dining room twice and Cagney’s Steakhouse once. Even though Cagney’s is now a la carte versus a fixed fee, I would still suggest visiting at least once on your voyage. The Sky also has Le Bistro which is French cuisine and Il Adagio which is Italian fare. I did not dine in either of those on this trip but I have on other NCL ships and enjoyed both.
The “All Inclusive”
The Sky is the only mass market ship to offer all-inclusive alcohol on every sailing. While most lines now have alcohol beverage packages you can purchase, the Sky’s is built into the price of your sailing. This was a great value for me and it is a major selling point for me to return to the Sky. While I expected the bars to be crazy and packed all the time, this was not the case. Instead of the usual bartenders working up and down the bar, the Sky has instituted queues or lines to ensure everyone gets served in order. They also do not require the swiping of cruise cards or signing of receipts since everyone on the ship has drinks included, this helps the line go really fast. It was a much better process than I anticipated.
Nassau
I really enjoyed the overnight in Nassau as it allowed to check out some places that you wouldn’t be able to on a normal stop during the day. I was able to visit a local night club that I have been wanting to go to for some time so I was appreciative of the opportunity even though it was a result of missing Great Stirrup Cay. We also visited some of my other favorite venue’s in Nassau including Pirate Republic Brewery and Senor Frogs.
The Trip
Overall it was a great cruise. Being 3 days it went by in the blink of an eye, but I could do this sailing over and over again and never get tired of it. I know there are some concerns about the ship having a spring break feel since it is all-inclusive but this was not the case at all on my sailing. If you are thinking about trying the Sky I would say definitely try it and form your own opinion. If you have sailed the Sky what did you think of her? If you are sailing the Sky soon be sure to report back!
Written by Matt Theriault.
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I love the Sky. It’s ideal for quick getaways. I always book the 4 day in an inside cabin. Only book balcony or suite on 7 or more day sailings. Last September paid 149 pp. What a deal! InJanuary paid 349 for the same trip. Missed Great Stirrup Cay in September due to renovations and in January because of rough waters. In spite of this I had an awesome time. On both cruises I had VIP status which afforded me the opportunity to have breakfast and lunch in Cagney’s and Le Bistro. What a nice perk. I will definitely continue to show my allegiance to NCL. Booked on the Spirit April 12TH for 12 days, round trip Venice and Celebrity in August and next January. Happy cruising.
My wife and I cruised on the Sky the weekend after Thanksgiving, 2016. The only disappointment we had was that we didn’t get to visit Great Stirrup Cay due to weather conditions. The weather seemed ok to me, but I’m sure the safety people know what they are doing. A big factor that amplified the disappointment was that the last cruise we took (January, 2016) also resulted in a missed stop to Great Stirrup Cay due to weather. In two weeks, we are scheduled to give it another try. If it doesn’t pan-out this time, I guess we’ll just handle it like we did last time, (which is to joke about whether the island actually exists or not). The Sky is nice, and the crew was great, as usual. Going forward, I think we will do minimum 5 day cruises, as 3 just seemed a little short.