Norwegian Sky Review - Travel Trail Sail

I recently sailed on the Norwegian Sky on a three night cruise in the Bahamas. Large ship cruises can be a relaxing vacation. You wake up each day in a new and interesting place but each night you have all the great food and entertainment of a resort.

This was my fifth cruise; two on Norwegian and one each on Carnival, Princess, and Disney. Each has its advantages. I thought I would share a little about this short trip on the Sky.

According to NCL, the Sky was launched in 1999 as the largest, most expensive cruise ship ever built. Today, about twelve years later, she is dwarfed by the latest mega ships like the Norwegian Epic. For me, the Sky was just the right size.

The Sky runs three and four night Bahamas trips. The itinerary is the same except on the four night Freeport is added to Nassau and Great Stirrup Cay. I did the three night. In Nassau, I just stayed on the ship. It was nice to be able to use the hot tub and pool area while everyone else was in port. Great Stirrup Cay is the NCL private island. It is right next to the Royal Caribbean private island. I had a great time – found a quiet area and spent the day listening to the waves rolling in. Their beach chairs are the softer, more comfortable kind. For people wanting more activity, there was volleyball, a huge slide, snorkeling and some other fun things to do.

The Sky has two main dining rooms, three specialty restaurants; Italian, French, and Steakhouse, and a group of buffets. Food was generally very good. I tried Le Bistro, the French restaurant. The food and presentation was excellent. However, for an extra service fee, you are also supposed to have great service. In this case, the server was unable to help with a wine choice – and there was no wine steward available. The other area that could use some help is lunch – the focus seemed mostly on hamburgers and hot dogs.

On NCL, you can dine whenever you want rather than at a set time. This is a great concept and gives you a lot of flexibility. Having the variety of eating choices is nice, especially on cruises longer than a week. On a short cruise like the three night Bahamas trip, you really don’t need to go beyond the main dining rooms.

Entertainment on the Sky is pretty standard for a cruise ship. One night there was a comedian and a ‘newlywed and not so newlywed’ game. The theater on the Sky is more like a two level lounge with comfortable chairs. This worked really well for these shows. The comedian is often in a smaller lounge where there isn’t enough room for everyone. There was also a band, a piano singer, and a guitar singer at different bars around the ship. The Sky was also having a ‘white hot dance party’ – a DJ playing music poolside – one night.

I had an ocean view room. About the size you would expect for a cruise ship – not big. Some might complain about the size of the shower or bathroom. After spending last summer in a camper, it didn’t bother me at all.

Overall, this was a great trip. A nice break from the Winter cold. But, the Sky is starting to show her age. While generally in good shape, some new carpet would go a long way toward keeping her looking nice. Two of the four hot tubs were down for repairs. And, the art is still mostly Hawaiian from when she was the Pride of Hawaii.

Have you cruised on the Sky? What was your favorite part? Share your thoughts by leaving a comment. Oh, and Dan, if that was you I saw on board, drop a note and tell me what you thought of the cruise – would love to hear your trip report.