Had a great and relaxing time on our Caribbean Cruise

Norwegian Sky Cruise Review to Caribbean - Eastern

Cruises: 7+ cruises
Review: 1
Helpful Votes: 13

Overall rating:

3.9 out of 5
Verified Review
Norwegian Sky

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

Sail date: October 16, 2023

Ship: Norwegian Sky

Cabin type: Inside

Cabin number: 9307

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 6 months ago

Review summary

Overall very happy, but with all things when you pay a lot of money you have some expectations. Some of our expectations were not met. It does not mean I wouldn't cruise with NCL again but I would pay close attention to the packages and definitely look into another cruise line.

Embarkation

5 out of 5
No issues, fast process, faster than we expected.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

3 out of 5
Main dining rooms were excellent. Not impressed in the layout of the buffet lines. There were two sides, which meant two separate lines. Rarely were the two the same, which was confusing. Layout is small causing a back up due to people trying to figure out what they want. I like Carnival as it is bigger and longer making the flow more rapid and consistent. This caused us to have cold food by the time you get to a table. Buffet food in general was good but not really great. Often times the eggs were really watery, which drives me nuts. Often the food looked and tasted as if it had sat a while either on the line or in the back. Not freshly served.

Onboard Activities

3 out of 5
Pool area was nice but most of the time the water was very chilly often so cold it was hard to get in and remain in. Hot tubs I thought were small only allowing for 3 to 4 persons depending on their size. Often the hot tubs were crowded and you had to wait a turn. In general I thought there wasn't enough activities, especially at sea days. Shows were short in duration but quality was good. Magician was great and comedy was laughable.

Entertainment

5 out of 5
Happy with one band and DJ. Stage shows were great but short in time. We were very happy there was a variety and Reggae. Last cruise we were on was mostly country music, which didn't meet the Caribbean vibe. Thank you for having reggae, we very much enjoyed that.

Children's Programs

Did not have kids with us.

Service and Staff

3 out of 5
This is my 7th cruise and first with Norwegian. It was difficult to give just an okay because in general staff overall were great. That being said it was 50/50. Some staff were downright not personable, not really friendly appeared to be overall tired. Several occasions I had staff not even greet, say hi or acknowledge me as I past. I have not had that experience on the other cruises. Starbucks crew was really great, we loved our bartender Anna.

Ship Quality

4 out of 5
For the most part layout and design was easy. Elevators were slow but we typically used the stairs anyways. Areas were clean and well maintained for the age of the ship.

Cabin / Stateroom

4 out of 5
Bed seemed used, somewhat uncomfortable. Shower head hose had a major leak but was quickly repaired once we reported it. Overall cleanliness was great.

Ship tip

Worth the trip. We had a great time, even though we were diverted due to Hurricane activity.

Ports of call

Miami, Florida

4 out of 5
We just did embarkment and we were happy.

Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic

4 out of 5
Did a waterfall excursion and we were happy. It was hot and hike was great. Would not suggest it for older and vulnerable people.

San Juan, Puerto Rico

5 out of 5
Loved Puerto Rico, we did walking tour of Old San Juan that included eateries, drink tasting and history. It was well worth the time and expenses for excursion. It was hot though!!!

Philipsburg, St. Maarten Did not visit port

Hurricane diversion

St. John's, Antigua Did not visit port

Hurricane diversion

Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas Did not visit port

Hurricane Diversion

Great Stirrup Cay (Cruise Line Private Island), Bahamas Did not visit port

Weather diversion

Disembarkation

4 out of 5
All good until we got to the line for our purchased bus ride to Miami International Airport. I would not recommend this option at all from the experience we had. We waited for over an hour with no one having any information and being lied to by every employee associated to this process. NCL Employee Daisy was of no help and very shady about why there were no buses to get us out of the line and on the road towards the airport. In the end I had to take and pay for a cab in order to not be late for our flight. Daisy told me if I kept my receipt NCL would reimburse me. I haven't yet endured that process but I am not looking forward to it. Do not do the option of booking their ride to the airport from the terminal.
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