Norwegian Sky Review

3.5 / 5.0
2,156 reviews

Buy the Specialty Dining Package in Advance!

Review for the Bahamas Cruise on Norwegian Sky
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NWW
2-5 Cruises • Age 60s

Rating by category

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Value for Money
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Dining
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Additional details

Sail Date: Mar 2017
Cabin: Aft-Facing Balcony

This cruise was the perfect amount of time--four nights--and what made it really special was that we bought the Specialty Dining package for three nights. That meant we ate in the Palace Main Dining Room only one night which I must admit was just okay...not anything great but not awful either. However, the Specialty restaurants are a great deal if you purchase the package in advanced. We went to Cagney's Steakhouse twice because it was so good! The italian restaurant was also good. We didn't try the French restaurant because we wanted to return to the steakhouse, but we heard from another couple that Le Bistro was great. We ate breakfast twice at the Crossings with was the alternative dining room and really liked it...had great meals there. The indoor Garden Cafe buffet is pretty impressive in my opinion for both breakfast and lunch but we never had dinner there...we did try the outdoor buffet a few times and it is much smaller but okay in a pinch. Bottom line is I don't understand the reviews about the food being bad because there are plenty of choices rather than just the outdoor buffet! Also, this was an open bar cruise (think well drink level liquor) so really it seemed more than adequate and then you can always purchase higher level drinks if you want.

For accommodations,oOur aft-facing balcony cabin was fantastic. My only complaint is that I wasn't overly impressed with the choice of shore excursions so we didn't even use them. In Freeport, we paid $5 apiece to take a taxi (long ride--about 30 minutes) to the Lucayan Marketplace. Not that much there unless you want to buy jewelry or liquor...but it was okay and we bought a few trinkets and had some conch fritters plus a local beer. Otherwise, I don't think Freeport is that great. Maybe the beaches are nice but we didn't go there. In Nassau, I got a Viator sightseeing tour for $20 apiece in an air-conditioned minibus and it was great....much cheaper than the Sky excursions advertised. It was a last minute arrangement too and there were only four of us so it was pretty much tailored to our desires. We saw alot of Nassau and Paradise Island, stopped at Atlantis to check it out, went to the Rum Factory, stopped at the Queen's Staircase and Fort Chartlotte...all that was needed. On the last day, we had the private island Great Stirrup Cay. It was well organized and nice beach with many amenities. The buffet was not great but, considering it's the beach, it was adequate. It doesn't hurt you to eat a hot dog one day on the beach if you make sure that you're not doing that on the ship on the other days! All in all, we had a great time and I felt the service was fantastic. The waiters, the steward, the bar staff...everyone that I encountered was very friendly and helpful.

Cabin Review

Aft-Facing Balcony

Cabin B1

Our cabin was great! It was clean, everything was in working order, and having a balcony that held two chairs and a lounge chair was amazing! We spent every time in and out of port there. I will never take another cruise without paying extra for a balcony, and the aft-facing ones seem to be larger with even better views. My daughter and her boyfriend where four cabins down from us in 0265 and had the same type of cabin but complained of some mildew smell. Once they told the steward, he did something and it seemed to help.

Port Reviews

Miami

We arrived in Miami several days before leaving on our cruise. We stayed at the Hampton Inn in South Beach (great location!) and took the Big Bus to see South Beach, the Art District, and Little Havana. Perfect!

Freeport

We paid $5 to take a taxi to the Lucayan Marketplace...what a waste! It was a hot, 30 minute taxi ride in a packet bus. Since we weren't buying jewelry or liquor, we could have just bought our trinkets right there on the pier were there are multiple shops rather than going to the marketplace. Freeport is an industrial port...not really for tourists...and there big hotel/casino was devastated in the hurricane last October. We considered one of the Sky excursions to the beach or taking a taxi on our own but didn't so I can't speak to whether the beaches are any good or not. I think the best thing would have been to get off the boat, buy some trinkets there by the pier, and then spend the rest of the day on the boat enjoying the facilities since this was the first day. I would also encourage Norwegian to consider another port...maybe Andros or Exeuma would be better???

Nassau

We took a Viator sightseeing tour for $20 that I arranged quickly on my phone that morning and it was perfect! Much cheaper than the Sky excursions and really did everything we wanted. Air-conditioned mini bus would have held 20 people but there were only 4 of us so it really was personalized. We went to Atlantis, saw Paradise Island, saw many historical sights, rum factory, etc. Had conch fritters too! Loved it! Nassau is great and you should definitely get off the ship at this location because there is much to do!

Great Stirrup Cay

We just went to the beach, swam, and ate the buffet. It was great! Plenty of water sports available but we didn't do any of those. Just enjoyed the beach and water. Buffet is nothing that great but it was certainly adequate and there were drink waiters who would bring free drinks to your lounge chair. What's not to like?

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