Short…and windy. Not the best but not the worst cruise
Embarkation
5 out of 5
We had priority boarding so we’re literally on the ship within 20 minutes of arriving at the port. The agent checking us in did not give us our Priority passes but we came to gate and showed them and they let us in no problem.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
3 out of 5
Let’s start with the good….Le Bistro (as always) was amazing!! Great staff and amazing food. We ate at both MDRs and they were both solid…no the best but not the worst. Buffet was awful. I guess being a smaller ship you need to expect a smaller buffet but we did not enjoy it at all, especially for the price of the cruise, which wasn’t cheap for a weekender.
The bars were overcrowded and understaffed. It seems like there were less people working on board and there was no one walking around the Lido like on every other NCL we have been on. Bar staff seemed a little standoffish too…until you drop a couple of cash tips then they brightened up a bit
Onboard Activities
2 out of 5
There was really nothing to do onboard for kids. Our daughter enjoyed the Splash Academy but being it was a weekend cruise most of the people onboard were adults and not many kids….lesson learned in our part. Unfortunately we were in some weather for the first two days and missed GSC and Freeport but we made the best of it and still had fun despite the rain wind and 18 ft swells. The Cruise staff didn’t really make up for this so there was a lot of just sitting around.
Entertainment
2 out of 5
Again not much to do except sit around and drink….lol
Children's Programs
4 out of 5
Our daughter had a great time with the couple of kids she met at Splash Academy but being an older, smaller ship there are not slides or kid’s activities.
Service and Staff
3 out of 5
This is a split….the staff in MDRs and Le Bistro were great!! The bar staff was good after you dropped a couple of tips but they didn’t seem to be into it. They appeared to be tired, pissed off or just blah. I get it, every day is Groundhog Day for them and it definitely seems like NCL has cut back on help so they are certainly over worked and underpaid. This is more of a critique of the line rather than the employees.
Ship Quality
3 out of 5
Very strange design…you have to go up or down a floor and across to get to some areas and it is VERY small. Ship was clean and well maintained though.
Cabin / Stateroom
4 out of 5
Small inside cabin and it wasn’t bad. It was the first inside cabin we have tried and would definitely do inside again on these shorter cruises. Our cabin steward was great, the room was comfy and only complaint would be it was very warm. We did bring our own small fan so that helped out quite a bit
Ship tip
Lower your expectations!! It is an older and smaller ship and looks like it is mostly weekend jumps to Bahamas. I would not recommend for a longer cruise. It isn’t really kid friendly and there isn’t much to do compared to some of the newer ships. Food wasn’t bad and I would stress people go to the MDRs instead of the buffet. If you can book a specialty dining….DO IT!! Overall we had a great time but wouldn’t cruise on Sky again unless it was a really good deal. I feel we paid premium NCL prices and didn’t get that premium service and experience you would expect. I have heard the rumors about them cutting back and it was evident on this cruise
Nightmare….we talked to many folks who it was their first cruise or their first NCL cruise and they were pissed off. I tried to explain that missed ports are going to happen, especially in February in the Atlantic and the company can’t help that but I think people were just angry and then we were stuck for about two hours trying to get off the ship and people were losing their minds and screaming and fighting. Our family recently lost our home in Hurricane Ian and we all have a new perspective on life and it’s ups and downs and honestly a bad day at sea is better than the best day on land so with that in mind we just rolled with the punches and had fun
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