Beware of hidden fees!!!!

Norwegian Sky Cruise Review to Caribbean - Bahamas

Cruises: 1 cruise (first)
Review: 1
Helpful Votes: 28

Overall rating:

1 out of 5
Verified Review
Norwegian Sky

Sail date: June 20, 2016

Ship: Norwegian Sky

Cabin type: Inside

Cabin number: 6110

Traveled as: Family (older children)

Reviewed: 8 years ago

Review summary

The food on the cruise was terrible! The only thing I kept going back for was the fries. The food may have tasted better if the cooks had better attitudes and actually looked like they wanted to serve. There was barely a variety because they had the same food in the buffet everyday. The alcohol is free but the bartenders had some of the NASTIEST attitudes that I have ever experienced. The drinks were watered down but I probably would have had a better experience if the bartenders had customer service skills. Out of the hundreds of employees that work for the ship the ONLY bartender that had customer service skills was MICHAEL. He was so nice and he actually looked like he enjoyed his job. Everyone else seemed as if they HATED THEIR JOB and HATED EVERYONE on the ship. That is the vibe I received. There is a $13.50 service charge PER PERSON in your party that you are charged EVERYDAY that no ones tells you about, but they need your credit card on file so they can charge away! I probably wouldn't have been as upset if 1)They told me at the time of booking and 2)IF I ACTUALLY RECIEVED customer service. The only thing I enjoyed was looking at the pretty water because it took me away from the harsh reality of the bad experience I received on the ship. This was by far the WORST EXPERIENCE EVER. I actually appreciated the fact that they had people that clean up vomit right away and they have hand sanitizer everywhere. All of the destinations seemed pointless because the beaches were far away except for the last island that Norweigan owns. I was annoyed by the cranes and construction everywhere. My advice is SAVE YOUR MONEY or just take your money and fly to the carribean. 

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

1 out of 5

Onboard Activities

1 out of 5

Entertainment

3 out of 5

Children's Programs

3 out of 5

Service and Staff

1 out of 5
Micheal, the filipino bartender was great! Everyone else receives -100.

Ship Quality

3 out of 5

Cabin / Stateroom

1 out of 5
The bathroom smelled like a port a potty.

Ship tip

Don't do it!!!!!!!! My mom, dad, and sister shared a room across the hall that was NOT MADE FOR THREE ADULTS. They were charged a hidden fee of $450 for service charges. NEVER AGAIN!!!!!

Ports of call

Miami, Florida

5 out of 5

Freeport, Grand Bahama Island

1 out of 5

Nassau, Bahamas

1 out of 5

Great Stirrup Cay (Cruise Line Private Island), Bahamas

3 out of 5
Swimming with the fish was the best part. Bartenders of course had nasty attitudes like always.
Was this review helpful? 28

18 Comments

BAK1061    8 years ago

Originally posted by: Jazrenee92

@BAK1061 your comment was irrelevant and did not make sense until the second to last sentence. I said the cruise SUCKED AND IT DID! Get over it! And I prefer IHOP btw! (Don't really care for Denny's) ;)

Just curious if this was your first cruise experience.

oh,btw, if you think my post didn't make sense, then I understand how you thought the daily charges were hidden.     Just sayin

BAK1061    8 years ago

All I asked was how often you've cruised with NCL .  Was it a one time bad experience ? Or did you try it a couple of times and have bad experiences each time ?  In 9 cruises with them I have had maybe one or two bad meals.  My one experience with Royal was a disaster.  Would I give them another shot ? Maybe, if that's what my group decided to do.   My last Carnival cruise was mediocre at best food wise.   I do agree however with your views regarding Celebrity.  Excellent line, a little pricey, but I can live with it.   We all have our favourites , but if we all kept giving our opinions on the lines we dislike, no one would ever cruise.

 

damn quote didn't come over, but you know what I mean

cruisincouple06    8 years ago

How about u go to your local state park....be careful there might be squirrels running around with bad attitudes....cracks me up how nobody does anything for them selves ....hello do a Lil homework cause the grutility is charged on all cruise lines...how about being a Lil responsible for your self rather than blaming all others....was the ice cream to cold also?? U are on vacation enjoy it and not focus on every Lil knit picking issue u can come up with....been on 7 cruises with ncl and 2 more coming up in next few months....can't find anything worth while complain about

Jazrenee92    8 years ago

@BAK1061 your comment was irrelevant and did not make sense until the second to last sentence. I said the cruise SUCKED AND IT DID! Get over it! And I prefer IHOP btw! (Don't really care for Denny's) ;)

JusMe    8 years ago

Originally posted by: BAK1061

 

How many times have you been on NCL ?  I mean, the way you keep complaining about their food and service.  If you think NCL is bad, what do you think of Carnival ?

 

Read my post..........I did not complain,  I gave my opinion... I even said "in my opinion"  after your rant about a  year ago that I need to state that my comments are only my opinion..... so that is just for you.

 

How many times are you going to complain when I state my opinion ?  Or am I not allowed to give an opinion that is not your opinion ?  I simply gave MY OPINION and suggest that since they did not like NCL that they try a better cruise line.

 

Sorry if your feelings were hurt.  

JusMe    8 years ago

@Jazrenee92,  Cruise lines depends on your demographic and what your looking for in a  cruise.  The higher end lines tend to cost more and cater to an older demographic.  In my current point in life I prefer Celebrity for the high quality of food and service, the lecture series, elegant ships,   upscale atmosphere and not a lot of kids or teens running around.  If I was in my 20's or 30's I would find Celebrity to sedate for me.  

 

I can also get onto a Carnival ship and have a blast.  I know what to expect with each line so I'm not upset or feel that I'm not getting what I want.  I know that a 3 night cruise is a party ship with lots of drinking and young guest (fun to people watch).

 

Cruising is a learning curve,  you need to try different lines and see what you like.   The cruise line that you like today may not be a good fit in 20 years.

 

A cruise line that I do not like may be the favorite of other cruisers,  you need to find the one that you like.

 

I would need to know a lot more about you before I could recommend a line that you may enjoy.

 

BAK1061    8 years ago

Originally posted by: JusMe

Sorry you did not enjoy your cruise. ‚‚  A couple things I would keep in mind is that you did a short cruise and did it on NCL. ‚‚  In my opinion NCL is bottom of the bucket of the major lines for food and service. ‚‚ Any short cruise is more of a party cruise and may not have the best food. ‚‚  On NCL you have to go to the extra fee dining fr a good meal like the Steak house or the French restaurant.

‚‚ 

Over all it sounds like cruising is not your thing. ‚‚  If you ever try it again I would suggest a better cruise line but you will still have about the same size cabin and most cruises do not give free drinks (then you will complain about drink prices).‚‚ 

 

How many times have you been on NCL ?  I mean, the way you keep complaining about their food and service.  If you think NCL is bad, what do you think of Carnival ?

BAK1061    8 years ago

Daily charges, everyone knows about them. Except people that don't do ANY research about cruising, or don't read any part of their cruise contract.

Same food EVERY DAY at the buffet ? ƒ‚‚ That's a downright lie. ƒ‚‚ Some things may be served daily, but there is a daily theme that changes. ƒ‚‚ Look beyond the pizza and burgers.

Drinks were free ? Never. It's their largest money maker. ƒ‚‚ And by " their ", I mean every cruise line.

Perhaps the staff attitude reflected your own. ƒ‚‚ But I doubt it. ƒ‚‚ NCL staff has always been very nice to us and our friends.

Are you sure they were cranes, and not flamingos?

 

ok, I see you had the drink package, so drinks were free.  Sort of.   Restaurants had no taste ?  LeBistro and Cagneys are excellent.  But, to each his own. Try Denny's.

Jazrenee92    8 years ago

@Kream36: Awww thanks buddy I get that a lot. But I did mention in my initial review that "Michael was great" awesome personality! They were great with sanitization as well! But everything else (thumbs down)

kream36    8 years ago

@Jazzernee...I'm sure you are the nicest most caring person in the world and these cruise employees are just horrible. They sign up for it because it's better than any opportunity they have in their own country. You don't find it odd that you literally complain about all aspects of your cruise and every employee you interacted with?

Jazrenee92    8 years ago

@kream36: I treat people the way they treat me and they are NOT volunteers. They are getting paid for a job that they are SUPPOSED to be doing. They signed up for it. 

kream36    8 years ago

Nope...do not work for a cruise line but have seen many people who treat the crew like crap and it's not right, they bust their busts week in and week out and deserve to be treated right by the passangwra

Jazrenee92    8 years ago

@CruisinTim: the alcohol package was included with the particular trip because no one on the ship paid for alcohol unless a person ordered top shelf. I went to eat at two other restaurants on the ship and the food had no flavor, I was not impressed at all. No one informed me of the service charge, but I wouldn't mind paying a service charge if the service was actually good:) 

 

@meghad23: I read the fine print and nothing was mentioned. I was informed in fine print after my trip.

 

@Jusme: what cruise line do you suggest? 

 

@Kream36: You must work for the cruise line and feel unappreciated. Lol just know that a smile goes a long way as well. THANK YOU for your response :)

kream36    8 years ago

The sky actually has an open bar since it only does short cruises to the bahamas..3 and 4 day cruises. As for the auto gratuity, it's pretty well explained everywhere on the site and during boomking, so you either didn't read or want something else to complain about. Maybe the employees were not nice to you because you were bossy and demanding. Please and thank you go a long way. I have been on 8 NCL cruises and never once had a bed experience or interaction with a crew member..treat them like humans and they will bend over backwards for you.

Johngold    8 years ago

Please try using NCL and even another cruise line on your next cruise. One bad experience should not deter you from cruising.

JusMe    8 years ago

Sorry you did not enjoy your cruise.   A couple things I would keep in mind is that you did a short cruise and did it on NCL.   In my opinion NCL is bottom of the bucket of the major lines for food and service.  Any short cruise is more of a party cruise and may not have the best food.   On NCL you have to go to the extra fee dining fr a good meal like the Steak house or the French restaurant.

 

Over all it sounds like cruising is not your thing.   If you ever try it again I would suggest a better cruise line but you will still have about the same size cabin and most cruises do not give free drinks (then you will complain about drink prices). 

meghad23    8 years ago

Are you talking about the gentleman at the buffet with the top hats? They generally are not the main cooks. Like Tim said, every ship has daily gratuities but i have a feeling $450 was more than the gratuities. General rule of thumb is some research is helpful. A bunch of stuff will come up if you are making the reservation so just read the fine print!

CrusinTim    8 years ago

You say the food was terrible but it sounds as though you only went to the buffet. There ARE other dining venues on the ship. Cooks that serve? In 12 cruises, NEVER had a cook bring me a meal. That was done by the waiter or waitress. As for the gratuity charge ($13.50pp/pd), that is on EVERY cruise line and a little pre-cruise research would have informed you of it. Not sure who you booked your cruise with but they should have advised you of the gratuity charges. Sounds to me like you just felt you could book & board. You posted " The alcohol is free". Did you buy a beverage package because alcohol is not "FREE".

Other reviews of this sailing