First cruise ever

Norwegian Sky Cruise Review

Cruises: 1 cruise (first)
Review: 1
Helpful Votes: 22

Overall rating:

4.6 out of 5
Norwegian Sky

9 Night Caribbean: Dominican Republic & Antigua (Miami Roundtrip)

Sail date: August 10, 2023

Ship: Norwegian Sky

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 0253

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 1 year ago

Review summary

This was my first cruise, my husbands second and our 2 year anniversary trip. Because the boat is small we made tons of friends and hung out with them a lot. The staff onboard was amazing. They served us hand and foot. However, the food on the ship was okay. The buffet was terrible and we only went once cause of that reason. The dining rooms were all good but some nights the dinners were terrible. Cagney’s was good but the food was very very salty. I wouldn’t pay to go there. The ship is too small for a 10 day cruise because the entertainment is very limited. They need more of a variety. The comedian was hilarious and he should’ve had more shows. The couples game was awesome but should’ve done more couples games. People brought their kids to the adult shows which wasn’t cool and teenagers were in the adult karaoke each night and the staff never kicked them out so kids on the cruise were out of control. Overall it was an amazing cruise but we wouldn’t go on this ship again.

Embarkation

5 out of 5

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

4 out of 5
The main dining rooms were good, some meals were great. The buffet was terrible, only ate a few times. We only did one specialty dining and the food was way to salty so we were glad we didn’t pay for it. They don’t have a 24 hour food option which sucks and in the afternoon there isn’t any good food available, even like quesadillas, French fries, chicken nuggets would’ve been good as a snack before dinner but it wasn’t an option. There’s only one ice cream station which was okay. The bars were all really good

Onboard Activities

4 out of 5
They need more activities. For a small ship and 10 days we wouldn’t do this ship again. The shows, live music, games were fun but the pool is too small, there isn’t enough hot tubs and it rained a lot with the same entertainment inside which got repetitive.

Entertainment

4 out of 5
Couples Game show, amazing. Comedian, hilarious. Carlos the cruise director, amazing. Deal or no deal was fun. Didn’t go bingo cause it’s expensive. The live bands were great. The card magic show was so stupid and repetitive. The adult karaoke was fun but teenagers would come in and no one kicked them out

Service and Staff

5 out of 5
All the staff was amazing, everyone single server, bar tender served us hand and foot

Ship Quality

4 out of 5

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5
We upgraded before the cruise to a port hole, 8247 and had no A.C. for 3 days. Guest services gave us a different room to sleep in. They couldn’t fix the A.C. and one of the guest service staff said they realized they had many complaints beforehand that the room had no A.C., it smelled moldy and was muggy when we showered. Gross. The guest service assistant manager, supervisor came to the room to check it out and on day 3 they upgraded us to a balcony which was amazing but it was definitely a hassle and not a great start to our anniversary trip.

Ship tip

Definitely plan what you want do at each port or else the locals will try to get you to pay money everyone and scam you. The staff is amazing but the food is good not great. They play the same movies so bring your own movies or download Netflix on your phone. The entertainment is great but limited

Ports of call

Great Stirrup Cay (Cruise Line Private Island), Bahamas

5 out of 5
Their private island was beautiful and everything was included which was amazing however the daiquiri they make their was super strong or we got alcohol poisoning cause 6 of us got sick after 1 drink…

Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas

4 out of 5
We got off the boat planning to go snorkeling but we needed to take a taxi and it was $60 round trip for both of us which is expensive and they were rude and in our face so instead we took a $6 taxi downtown and went shopping

St. John's, Antigua

5 out of 5
We booked horse back riding through this app and it was an amazing experience but when we got back to the port the locals want to take your money and have you go everywhere so be careful

Philipsburg, St. Maarten

5 out of 5
We took a taxi $40 round trip to the Sampson Bay resort and did a couples massage spa day cause it was our anniversary and it was amazing. Beautiful country

Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic

5 out of 5
We did the buggy escape excursion through Norwegian and it was amazing start to finish. 10/10 recommend

San Juan, Puerto Rico

5 out of 5
We walked around the fort and all old San Juan and ate at Raices and it was amazing

Miami, Florida

5 out of 5

Disembarkation

4 out of 5
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6 Comments

24MyLuckyDragon    1 year ago

Wow! Great review. Happy anniversary! Glad they were able to resolve your issue w/ a deserved upgrade. The NCL/Sky is such a small & old ship, not sure why they haven’t already replaced it w/ a more modern cruise ship, especially in that busy port & such busy itineraries. NCL/Sky it’s time to go! Glad you still managed to have what sounds like a great cruise time. Happy cruising 🤩⚓️😎❣️‼️

dbric36    1 year ago

It's funny, not to long ago that was considered a large cruise ship.

Gwbigdog    1 year ago

Thanks for sharing

cruising2004    1 year ago

Welcome to cruise life and happy anniversary! Great detailed review! Glad you enjoyed your cruise and thank you for sharing your experience. Enjoy your future cruises as well.

javawoody    1 year ago

Thanks for sharing your first cruise experience

AuntPinkie    1 year ago

Welcome to the wonderful world of cruising. Glad you mostly enjoyed your first cruise. Hopefully you’ll have many more and they’ll get even better. Happy anniversary.

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