Norwegian Gem Reviews

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I cruised with my husband (both new cruisers, single age 30 daughter (new cruiser); married, age 28 and pregnant, daughter and her husband (one prior cruise); and one other couple (our friends)(several cruises). What a wonderful time we had on the Gem. This is despite a week of pretty lousy weather. Three of us were in the Haven area, two were in an inside room on the 11th deck and two had a mini-suite on the 11th deck. Kids in the inside and friends in the mini-suite had no complaints about the rooms. Both couples thought their rooms and stewards were very acceptable. Daughter #1, husband and I, however, really lived the good life in the Haven area. What a great room (actually 2 rooms)! We had a good-sized bedroom with king bed (most comfortable bed I have EVER slept in!) separated by curtains from an amazing bath with tub, separate shower and separate toilet. Tub and shower had windows - what a view on sea days! Adjacent to the bedroom was an equal sized room that held a living area with couch/bed (slightly smaller than a twin when made up), 2 chairs, dining table with 4 chairs, plus a bar area with fridge, counter, glassware and dishes. There was also a smallish balcony with 2 upscale chairs and a small table. The two room were separated by a solid sliding door. Storage was everywhere and plentiful. A fresh flower arrangement, bottle of champagne and bowl of fruit were in the room on our arrival, compliments of NCL. Very nice! Our staff included Roel, our butler, Florentina, our concierge, and Michael, our steward. I can't say enough about all of them. We used their services many times each day and their willingness to help never diminished! Wonderful people. The Haven area itself is very nice, with cushy lounges, sofas and tables and chairs. There was a continental breakfast there every day at 6 a.m. with coffee, juice and pastries; and snacks later in the day. We also had a Haven cocktail party on day 2 with passed appetizers, champagne, wine and soda. The captain and several top crew were present to talk with passengers. Elegant start to the cruise. The Haven pool is very small - really just a plunge pool and heated a little too warm. There is also a hot tub, steam room, bathroom and small gym in the area. Plus a private sun deck with double-sized hammocks and double-sized lounges. Very quiet and private. Of course, there's also a butler just for this area in case you want a meal or beverage! Overall, I would sail the Gem again just to stay in the Haven. Embarkation and debarkation: a breeze if you stay in the Haven. Priorty all the way. It took a little longer for everyone else, but it wasn't too bad I'm told. In NYC, before we left, we were kept waiting a short time in a special VIP room with coffee, juice, and breakfast items and snacks. I couldn't complain! Got on the boat at noon, had our bags in our room by 2. Entertainment on the ship: Did not get to see it all (lots of options), but I must say any and all the musical entertainment was excellent - a lot of very talented musicians on that boat! Heard everything from reggae, show tunes, sock-hop, jazz, blues, singer-songwriter stuff, etc. - something for everyone. Sinan was our cruise director - hysterically funny man! Always looked for a show he was in! Restaurants: Food on the Gem is incredibly varied, sometimes you just have to search for just the right venue for your craving of the moment. Food is general is good - not great or memorable, but good. We ate at Cagney's (fee - elegant, but not worth the $25) and Tepanyaki (fee - too small and very loud);Magenta (most popular I think because it's midship); Grand Pacific (lovely, but not good on stormy days unless you have an iron stomach!); the Great Outdoors (our favorite place for breakfast - what a few from the back of the ship - and never crowded); and the buffet (great for desserts); plus a few other smaller venues, some of which are great places to get away from the crowds. The four main entertainment venues: casino, Stardust theater, Spinaker Lounge and Bliss Nightclub are at the very front or back of the ship. I couldn't stay in these on the 1st rough sea days. Bars/lounges: lots of them, most are right next to each other in the atrium - not really separate spaces. Bartenders were great. I gave one a slightly larger tip than usual - he remembered me by name the next day when I saw him at a different bar! Overall service was superior everywhere on the ship. Pool area: very nice - a little crowded close to the pool, but there are tables/lounge chairs EVERYWHERE on the pool deck and two decks overlooking the pool. Live music every afternoon. Never had to look far or wait long for food or beverage service. Port reviews are below. Overall - a very nice time on the Gem. Would love to sail on her again! p.s. Should mention that I was only one in my party bothered by sea-sickness. I chewed a lot of ginger gum and wore acupressure bracelets the first 2 days; then I was fine until the last day when I chewed the gum again. Never got nauseous, but was a little lightheaded. Just ate carefully and kept alcohol to a minimum. I was fine. Actually felt the best in my room (center of ship).

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A bit of history: I am in my late thirties and I was travelling with my 18 year old daughter. I booked this cruise last summer after her high school graduation as a gift. Now she has completed her 1st year of University and this cruise was a wonderful way to reconnect after she has been away at school for the past year. We live in eastern Ontario, 1 hour from Montreal and just across the river from NY State. Pre Cruise: Rather than drive to NYC, we decided to take an overnight Greyhound out of Montreal. The bus left Montreal at 11:00pm on Friday night and arrived at the Port Authority Bus Terminal at 6:30ish Saturday morning. There were a few stops along the route, the first being the US border. This process took about 45 minutes. Shortly after the border crossing we had a brief rest stop. Next was Albany where we had to disembark again and wait inside while the bus was re-fueled. This was around 3 am. We were sitting in the very front of the bus so we had a very nice view, but no leg room. Why I ever thought that I would be able to sleep on this overnight trip, I don't know. Once we arrived in NYC we had to wait until 7:00am for the baggage storage counter to open. As soon as we could, we stored our luggage, I got my coffee fix and then we set out to explore Manhattan. Surprisingly (considering we had just spent the night on a bus and had not slept) we had a fantastic morning. We walked to the Empire State Building, Bryant Park, The New York Public Library, Rockefeller, and finally Central Park. After exploring around Central Park for a bit we hopped on a subway from Columbus Circle to Port Authority, collected our luggage and cabbed it to the pier. I love NY! Day 1: Embarkation: We arrived at the Pier around 11:30 am. We had a bit of a scare as the Taxi driver started driving away with our luggage still in his trunk! I had to chase him and bang on his window. Luckily there was enough traffic in the area that he was not speeding away. He seemed a little annoyed that he had to wait for us to collect our luggage...how rude of us! The adrenaline rush this little expedition provided was just what the doctor ordered and woke me right up! We were finally here! HOORAY! The Gem was looking beautiful and we were ready to start our vacation!! Embarkation was quick and painless and we were sitting in The Grand Pacific ordering lunch by noon. The first thing I noticed was the friendly crew. Every crew member you see whether they be an officer, a waiter, or a room steward will look you in the eye, smile and say hello. Very welcoming! The second thing I noticed when I walked on board the ship was the smell. It made me nostalgic of my first cruise. Who knew that all ships smelled the same? I love that ship smell! Sail away: Sail away was a lot of fun. The weather was kind of dreary and gloomy but the atmosphere on the pool deck was not! The music was pumping and everyone was in great mood. We didn't partake in the BBQ food being served because we had eaten not too long before, but it did look delicious. You'd think by now that we'd be passing out from sleep deprivation, but we had a blast. After sail away we went back to our room and had showers and got dressed for dinner. We dined at the Grand Pacific and we both had the lobster. It was not as bad as I had anticipated based on what I have read on these boards. In fact, together with the Snapper and rice and veggies it was quite a tasty dish. After dinner we went to the Welcome Aboard Show. It was a lot of fun and a great taste of what the entertainment would be like. Finally, we went back to our room passed out. Oh what a glorious sleep in crisp, clean, ship smelling sheets while being gently rocked by the sway of the ocean. I love the ocean! Day two 1st day at Sea: We slept in. It was awesome. When I finally did roll out of bed around 10:00 I went straight outside to sit on the balcony. I was sitting there all blissed out because the sun was shining, the sky was blue and the ocean was well, the OCEAN, when I heard someone from the Promenade deck shout "Look! Look! Dolphins!" So I jumped out of my seat and sure enough there were 10 or more dolphins right there jumping and playing. I opened the door and yelled "Come see! Come see! Dolphins! Dolphins!" My daughter staggered outside still half asleep and blinded by the bright sun so she missed them. ? . After a little breakfast we headed to our Cruise Critic Meet and Greet. What an excellent turn out! I think there were close to 40 of us and all of the senior officers attended including the captain. It was great to put a face to all of the wonderful people that I've been speaking to for several months. After the meet and greet we ventured over to the Casino for the slot pull. I think there were 30 of us taking part. Emily (my daughter) was the last one to have her turn, and on her last pull she doubled our money!! How exciting!! Everyone was cheering for her, it was pretty cool. We spent the remainder of the day exploring around the ship and relaxing. This was the "Norwegians Night Out" which is the new name for "Dress up or not night". Free champagne and photos with the captain in the atrium. We ate at the Grand Pacific again and went to the show (this would be routine for us most every night except for 1 when we ate at Magenta). I love an excuse to dress up! Day three 2nd day at Sea: Another beautiful day! Sun shine and blue skies. We had breakfast at the Great Outdoors. The view of the wake is beautiful! We explored around the ship some more, attended a circus workshop, did some shopping, listened to music, watched Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows in the Atrium while eating a brownie sundae from The Blue Lagoon, layed out by the pool and read, read some more on our balcony. Day Four Nassau : We did the Blue Lagoon Beach Day excursion. We loved it. Such a beautiful little island! If you are looking for a "resort experience" this isn't it. But if you want to see some lovely unspoiled beauty and swim in a crystal clear blue lagoon, then this is the place for you. My advice is don't stop at the first beach area you come to. Keep going to the end of the beach area and then keep going some more. We found a section of beach at the very end of the lagoon past what seems like the end of the beach and we had it to ourselves for most of the day. There were loungers and plenty of shade. Even further past this was a section of ocean front beach which was truly heavenly with a little cove that you could swim in. There were other sections of beach around the island, but this was the only ocean front beach that did not have a "no swimming allowed sign". The lunch provided was basic but tasty. There are hammocks all over this island. We really enjoyed this excursion. I love turquoise water! Day five Great Stirrup Cay -- Pretty Island. Beach was a little crowded, but still a good beach day. Buffet lunch was very good. The island is clean and nice. The highlight of this stop was our parasailing excursion. What an experience!! I'm so glad that I decided to do this! I highly recommend it. What a peaceful, wonderful experience! I love being on top of the world! Day six Port Canaveral -- This was the port that I was most worried about because of the itinerary change. We were originally supposed to be there on Monday from 12:00pm-10:00pm. Instead, we were there from 6:00am-4:00 pm on Thursday. It turned out for the best. We did the Universal Islands of Adventure excursion. We had to meet at the Stardust theatre at 6:15 am. Because Port Canaveral was our port of re-entry to the U.S. we had to clear customs before leaving for our excursion. It was pretty quick and before we knew it we were on a bus headed to the park. We arrived around 8:30. The gates opened at 9:00 and we walked straight to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. We resisted the temptation to stop and take pictures of all the shops in Hogsmeade and instead went directly to the Forbidden Journey ride because this was the one ride that we couldn't use our Express Passes for. We walked right on. Zero wait. The remainder of the day there was HUGE line for this ride. We then walked around Hogsmeade and visited all of the fabulous shops and took loads of pictures. It was still pretty quiet so I took advantage and did my souvenir shopping right away. They have a fantastic FREE service that allows you to have your purchases sent to the front of the park to be picked up when you leave. I was glad that I did my shopping early because later in the day the shops were crazy busy! So again, this early morning excursion was proving to be a really good thing. After we were done our shopping we stopped for breakfast at the Three Broomsticks, again with no wait. We walked around for the remainder of our time and rode all of the rides that we wanted without waiting, gotta love Express Pass! We saw the entire park with time to spare. We headed back to WWHOP for one last look and a cup of Butterbeer before leaving. It was a terrific day! I love Butterbeer! Day seven Last day at Sea -- This was a sad day, knowing that it was all coming to an end. It was a little cooler and a bit windy. We spent a lot of this day just lounging and reading. For a while we lounged in the cushioned window seats near the Orchid Garden and read. I spent a lot of time on the balcony this day taking in as much ocean as I could, while I could. Farewell show was fun. I love fountains! Observations: Accommodations - We were in room 8544 which is a hull balcony, and we loved it. The balcony was great. No wind, very private and still lot's of sun and beautiful views. The room was tiny but sufficient for us. There was plenty of storage and the shower was nice. My room steward was a cute, shy man who I barely saw, but he did a good job. I love my balcony! SINAN ULUCAY (Cruise Director) -- Wacky, hilarious, AWESOME. He is everywhere and he is a ball of energy. If you are lucky enough to have him as your cruise director, then you will have a great time. I love Sinan! Food -- We ate dinner in the MDR's every night. I thought about The Bistro, but my daughter was happy with the Grand Pacific, so we stuck with that. We were always able to get a window seat at the Grand Pacific which was beautiful. Nothing I read about the long waits or the terrible service was true. We never waited, and service was good. I do have to say that it was faster at The Magenta. Almost too fast, I felt rushed that night. I enjoyed a nice glass of red every night with dinner and they stored my bottle for me at the dining room. The waiters were efficient and courteous. The food was better than I was expecting based on what I had read. Definitely not 5 star, but better than Applebee's. Standout items for me were the cream soups, the pumpkin and sage gnocchi, the prime rib and the lamb. The one thing I do have to agree on is that the desserts aren't great. The pies are especially atrocious. The desserts that were better were: the cheesecake, the chocolate decadence and the tiramisu and the brownie sundae at The Blue Lagoon. BUT -- the crepe station in the buffet at night makes up for the mediocre desserts in the MDR. YUMMY! I love crepes! Entertainment -- All in all it was quite good. The Gem singers and dancers were a fresh new troupe (this was their first week on The Gem) and I thought they were excellent. I was really looking forward to The Second City, but it was a bit of a letdown. Rich Purpura the comedian/magician on the other hand was great! I really enjoyed his show. The world famous juggler was impressive but he lacked in personality. I think I enjoyed the Gem Cast productions and Rich Purpura the most, oh and anytime that Sinan was on stage was entertaining. Have I mentioned that I love Sinan??

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Although I am unable to give this cruise an excellent rating, we did have one of the best times we have had in years. The entertainment, Food, and the last minute change of itinerary made me rate them very good but not excellent. We were on this itinerary last year with the Norwegian Jewel and loved the ports so we figured we would try it again on a different ship. We are really glad we did. We arrived at the port of NY Pier 86 at 10:45 am and had boarded the ship by 11:45am. After the check in we purchased a spa pass at a reduced rate at a table located right before you board in the terminal building, more on that later. After that we sat in the waiting area for maybe 20 minutes until our number was called. After we boarded, We decided to go to one of the restaurants instead of the buffet. We wanted to do something different this time around. We always go to the buffet. The fish and chips was not so good, it couldn't have been cod, but I'm not sure what it was but it was not good. I hoped this wasn't the start of bad food, it wasn't. After lunch we walked the ship to get a good feel of the decks. The ship is very easy to get around on. One important thing to note, there are more than enough chairs and loungers all over the ship, you don't need to reserve or chair hog as they call it. The pool area was very busy every day but that is the way it is on every ship. If you didn't care about being seen, there are many private areas. There is also a private deck located high enough so no one can see you. We think it was for topless sunbathing, can't be sure on this though, wife wouldn't let me look. We had heard that 2 cruises before this one had a bad case of Norovirus, I must say they were constantly cleaning and cleaning and cleaning. There are more than enough of the hand sanitizers located all over the ship. We were allowed to enter our rooms by 1:30pm We had a mini-suite located on deck 11. More than enough room and closet space and drawers. The bathroom has a bathtub which gives you extra room in the square footage of the bathroom. It's good for me, I'm 6'5". The balcony is larger and we do spend time on it. The next two days were at sea and the waters were calm. The sun did finally come out and we had a very relaxing time all the way to Nassau. The cruise director Sinan, is always present and his staff were just great. The first day was our Meet and Greet and we had a very good turnout, and met the entire cruise staff. We also had a slot pull and on the last pull we hit, not a large amount but a nice win just the same. As I said before, we purchased a spa package. It was being sold in the terminal at a reduced rate, normally $199 a person we got it for $119 a person and it gave us unlimited use of the spa. Both of us are very fair skinned and don't spend much time in the Sun. So we were in the spa a lot. They have a chair made of ceramic tile that is heated, it is fantastic. You just sit and look out at nothing but blue sky and blue water, yes blue water, much different from NY water. We booked massages and accupuncture for the week ahead. They also give you a key for the locker and a robe. Whirlpools, steam rooms, saunas, juice, water anything you need. It was just what we needed. We had our first needle treatment. Our first port was Nassau. This was our third time here and we basically just walked, shopped and shopped and shopped some more. We did make a nice donation to the Bahamas economy. We went back to the ship and you guessed it, went to the spa. Had the ship to ourselves. Next stop was Great Stirrup Cay their private island. Guess what we did this day. Yep, we stayed on board and had a massage. I had a 50 minute hot bamboo rub. DW had a 25 minute back, neck and scalp massage. After that we were both like rubber and stayed in the spa till noon. Then it was time for the second needle treatment. We went to the buffet after and had the ship to ourselves. So we went in the pool and sat in the sun for a while. We had to come home with some color. Our last port was Cape Canaveral, Florida. Our itinerary was changed at the last minute for some reason we were not told. It was supposed to be Florida, Stirrup Cay, and Nassau. They reversed it which proved a mistake for people going on an excursion in Florida. We were supposed to be there from 11am until 10pm, instead we were there from 7am to 4pm. People who were going to Disney had an hour ride both ways and 3 hours to do things. We were going to Kennedy Space Center and only had a short time there to. I missed the Shuttle simulator and couldn't do the IMAX show. Very disappointed. The last day was a sea day and we were doing about 26 knots all the way home. Thank God the seas were calm or we would have felt more that we did. Guess what we did that day?? Nope!! we went to the spa, just kidding. We had our last accupuncture treatment. I highly recommend accupuncture for your aches and pains. You know how the mood usually is on the last sea day but we had such a great and relaxing trip that we were ready to come home. We did the self debarkation as always. Prior to leaving there wasn't much communication as to were to go but after people started to arrive they did the best they could to get us off. We were in the car by 8:30am and on our way. They need to organize this better. The shows, comedian, comic juggler were good. The second city comedy sketch was lame. They do the same skits you see on other cruises. We did eat in the added restaurants for a small fee. Le Bistro the French one was our favorite. La Cachina the Italian was good to. Orchid the Chinese food was good also. Every other time we ate in the buffet. Breakfast was our favorite meal of the day, so many choices, you were never disappointed. My DW is a vegetarian and we were disappointed with the selections at certain times of the day. Our overall rating of this ship is 9 out of 10. The food was good not great but what ship is 100%. The shows were good and entertaining but not Broadway, but what is. We did love the ship, the staff, especially our cabin steward Rolly. He was always there with a smile and we were never for want of anything. We loved this cruise so much we booked the 9 day to the eastern caribbean for next April in the same room.

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Embarkment: It was very easy, lines clearly marked, wonderful people directing. We arrived about 11:30 were showed to the VIP line, and we were eating lunch at Cagney's before noon. We met our special waitress Josephine on the first day, and had a wonderful week, seeing her smiling face, and cheerful spirit. She spoiled us, I wanted to take her home in my suitcase. They had a wheelchair to help my mom who is almost blind and has trouble walking to help her get up to the ship. We ate dinner at Magenta, and enjoyed lobster, visiting with friends and a wonderful start to the cruise. Enjoyed the show, and was looking forward to the week. Most of my dinners for the rest of the cruise was in the Grand Pacific with our favorite waitress Rezchel, she was great. Every Night she exceeded our needs and made wonderful suggestions. Don't miss the lemon ginger custard, it was the best dessert I ever tried. We ate in the Asia restaurant, and of course teppanyaki and enjoyed it very much. The shows were amazing the show around the world and the comedian was so much fun, lots of energy and laughs. Also enjoyed the piano player and music around the ship. Deal or no deal, might have been more fun if I won, the winners were happy. OUR MEET AND GREET: Met Cherry the group event coordinator on my last meet and greet I organized on the Gem. She was still there and it was wonderful to see her again. We had many staff members come to our meet and greet and they were very happy to meet us, we had a wonderful turn out, almost everyone made it. They gave us an organized card with their numbers on it. It is wonderful to see how NCL treats their employees. It is wonderful to see great workers rise in the ranks. For example I met Jenny the first time when she worked at the reception desk, now, not that many years later, she was the hotel director. It was wonderful to see her again, have a cup of coffee and talk. I told her about a wonderful room service worker who went beyond the call of duty, he set up a standing order every night for tea and pitcher of water. He called and confirmed it. She made sure to recognize him and even the Captain called him. This reminds me, fill out the style cards when someone does something for you special. They get recognized and get raises based on them. Great waitresses can go from main to specialty rest. so write those cards. I also got to see my favorite concierge Florentina, she is wonderful, not only does she do a great job, she goes beyond to make your cruise special. She will be leaving to do the most important job, a full time mom. She will be missed. We had an amazing room steward Abdul, he really was amazing, our room was spotless, he always greeted us with a smile and made our day special. He helped my mom with some special needs and I appreciated it. Bermuda was amazing. We took a tour with a taxi driver recommended on CC boards and it was excellent. Wed. it rained a little but it was OK we just shopped at the Wharf. Unfortunately all cruises must end, this was too short, missed a day. We took the last tag of the morning as we like to let the crowd get off, and take our time with breakfast and stuff. It was a wonderful cruise.

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With this being our 5th cruise I do not consider us newbies anymore. Before going on the cruise I did some research of the NCL Sky only to find some very unfavorable reviews and comments. This is the oldest ship that we had ever been on, most of the other ships have been 2-3 years old. However, last year we sailed on the RCL's Serenade of the Seas which is an older ship and it was wonderful, you could not tell that it was an older ship as it was well maintained and updated. Embarkation- We arrived in Miami around 2:30pm and parked our rental car in a parking lot not far from the Port of Miami. We took a taxi from the parking lot to the NCL building - the cost was $10 for 2 people. I was very surprised how nice the NCL building was inside compared to other cruise lines which often have an old warehouse feel. The building was airconditioned and decorated nicely. We checked in and were on our way aboard the ship in less than 5 minutes which was the fastest check-in we have ever had. We definitely liked the red carpet once you got aboard the ship as it made you feel important and welcome. The ship was to leave Miami at 5pm so we went to our cabin and then explored the ship. Day 1- We arrived at our cabin around 3pm and it was ready. Our suitcases were not there yet, but we had noticed that others in our group had their suitcases already waiting outside their doors. We headed up to the upper pool deck to meet the rest of our group and have drinks. The service at the upper deck bar was horrible. There were 4 bartendars working, but they seemed confused and moved around the whole bar instead of staying in one place and taking care of guests in that section. I stood and waited for soda and beer for over 15 minutes... finally I told the bartendar in front of me that I had been waiting a long time and wished to be served. The problem that kept happening was that since the bartendars didn't stay in one place, they didn't know who was next and served out of order or sequence. One odd thing that I noticed on the NCL Sky was that they served Pepsi products out of 2 liter soda bottles... most ships use the bar service guns. We bought the soda card which was $21 for the 3 days which entitled us to unlimited soda and a refillable cup. The soda that was available was- pepsi, diet pepsi, mountain dew, orange crush, and sierra mist. The ship finally sailed at 5:30pm right before the clouds started rolling into the Miami area. We made a visit to the spa and took a tour. I signed up for my first mani, pedi, and teeth whitening. I had never done this before and thought it was worth a shot doing now on the cruise since I had the time. After the tour, we went down to the Garden Cafe Buffet but it was already closed and we had to use the Great Outdoor Buffet on the back of the ship. The buffet here was very limited. I did like the outdoor seating on the back of the ship near the buffet that was covered with a big white canopy. We went back to our cabin and changed to get ready for drinks with our group and then dinner at the Palace Dining Room. Service at the Atrium Bar was much better than it was at the upper pool deck bar. "Matty" our server was quick, friendly, and asked and remembered our names. We headed down to the Palace Dining Room and were seated immediately. The dinner service itself was very poor. The waiter could not remember who got what appetizer, entree, or dessert. Some of the items we ordered never came or other items came that we never ordered. From appetizer to dessert we were there for 3 hours. It took 25 minutes to get a cup of coffee. One of the people in our group talked about our dining experience with the dining room manager. The next thing we know is the waiter comes back to us and makes excuses telling us that he was new and has only been with NCL for 8 months and that the first night in the dining room is always long due to confusion... AWKWARD!! We could not believe this was happening. This waiter should have never come to us to try to redeem himself... plus 8 months is not new as an employee. After dinner we went to the casino which was nice, but very smoky. Later that night I went to the Longboard Cafe at 2am for a late night snack. I ordered chicken fingers and salad which took 45 minutes to receive. People came and left who had come in after me. I wanted a soda and could not find anyone to get me one... finally a server was handing out waters and I got her to get me a soda. Service here was poor and extremely slow! Day 2- Due to heavy rain, we never got off the ship at NCL's private island. We had lunch at the Garden Cafe buffet. This has to be the worst designed buffet ever on a cruise ship. You wait in a long line which takes forever. It is a small buffet in a small space which means items are packed tight together and makes it difficult to get to the food. The offerings were limited and not very exciting at all. Overall, the food here was the same as going to an Old Country Buffet. Many of the offerings were the same as the day before with maybe only 15 new items for day 2. Seating in the buffet area is very limited and the ceilings are very low which makes you feel like you are in a cave. After lunch, I headed to the spa for my mani, pedi, and teeth whitening. Being a guy, I was very hesitant about having this done, but I decided- what the heck! The mani and pedi were actually quite relaxing and fun. The teeth whitening was more of a pain in the butt as it seemed like it took forever, but when it was done my teeth were whiter. The overall time for all three services was 2 hours and cost $317... was it worth it?... it was pricey, but since we didn't get off of the boat and spend money I thought I would treat myself for once. After the spa I went back to the room and showered and changed for drinks with our group and then dinner. Before dinner, we went to Captain Cooks bar for drinks and to play trivia. The trivia contest was fun and our team won... the prize was a bit cheesy though compared to other cruise lines - everyone got a deck of NCL playing cards. After the trivia we headed up to the Atrium Bar for drinks with our group. Once again, service here was good with "Matty" being the star. Tonight our group decided to go to Cagney's for dinner. We had 8:30pm reservations and headed up to the restaurant. We were a bit early so we went to the Plantation Club bar which is across from Cagney's. The bar (this bar only) was having 2 for 1 drink specials so everyone ordered drinks. This bar was nice, but the service once again was slow. Finally at 9pm, Cagney's was ready for our group. The service at Cagney's was excellent!! The service at Cagney's was like it was on Princess... excellent! We ordered several bottles of wine and had a great dinner. The staff at Palace Dining Room from the night before told us that Cagney's served escargot. When we asked about it, the server said that Cagney's did not serve it... only the French restaurant did. However, she asked her supervisor and they sent up escargot for everyone at our table from the French restaurant... that was good service right there. Dinner at Cagney's took 2 hours, but it was because we were enjoying our dinner and the company of our group. The service and food at Cagney's was excellent... it is well worth the extra price. After dinner we changed our clothes and got ready for the white party. The white party was fun with great music. When we got back to the cabin, we ordered a pizza to be delivered to our room. 90 minutes later it arrived!!!!... and cold! This is totally unacceptable! All over the ship they advertise about NCL's famous pizza and delivery. 90 minutes is just too long to wait! ... plus the pizza was cold and very bland. Day 3- Early lunch at Garden Cafe again. Once again the food offerings were the same as day 1 and seemed limited and boring. I probably ate the least on this cruise at the buffets than any other cruise we have been on. NCL needs to ramp up the food offerings and variety on this ship. The design of the buffet is really terrible, but that cannot be changed. There were only 6 dessert offerings at the buffet and they reminded me of something you would find at a school or hospital cafeteria, or low cost buffet. It rained heavy this day as well so we did not get off of the ship to go into Nassau. We stayed on the ship and relaxed. After the ship left Nassau, we went to the casino and played for awhile. Then we went to the coffee bar which had above average service and great coffee. Then we headed back to change and get ready for dinner. Before dinner, we met at the Atrium Bar which now had become our favorite hangout on the ship. We had some drinks and enjoyed the guitar music from Dave. Dave even left his designated area to come over to our group to play us a song. Tonight dinner was to be at The Crossings Dining Room. The service at the Crossings Dining Room was a complete 360 degrees from what it was the first night at the Palace Dining Room. The servers (who were twins) were on top of it and our drinks were replenished without asking, our food came out hot and to the right people, and the overall dinner experience was quite wonderful. After dinner we headed to the Atrium to get a group photo. We asked one of the ship's photographers if he could take our photo and then we would buy the copies from them. The photographer told us that he was no longer on duty and could not take our photo. Luckily, there was a cleaning person in the Atrium and we asked her if she would take our photos using our own cameras. She was very friendly and did it for us. After the group photo, we headed back to the Atrium bar to relax and have drinks. Some of the group headed to the gift shop area to buy souvenirs, liquor, and cologne. Later we headed down to Dazzles where the Wacky Adult Contest was going on. All of the ships that we have been on have had this contest where they put people in teams and make you do stuff like- make men dress up like a woman, make two women kiss... and they give out prizes for the winning teams. It is a fun contest that was very crowded. At 2am, I headed back to the Longboard Cafe for a late night snack. I ordered chicken fingers and fish and chips. Once again it took long to get my order... 35 minutes! I asked for 2 sodas when I placed my order, but never got them. Finally I flagged down a server and asked for my sodas. When he came back, he only brought 1 soda. The service at the Longboard Cafe is terrible!... FAIL! Day 4- Disembarkation We got dressed and left the ship at 9am with our suitcases. It was quite confusing as to where to get off of the ship since there were no signs anywhere. It was a pain in the butt having to cart our suitcases off of the ship, but it made the whole process fast. We were off the ship and through US Customs in less than 10 minutes. The taxi line at the NCL building was long... it took 20 minutes to get a taxi. Finally we got a taxi and it took us to our car at the parking lot. "LIKES" about the NCL Sky- - outdoor showers were convenient and we had never seen those on other ships - the idea of pizza delivery anywhere on the ship is a good concept "DISLIKES" about the NCL Sky- - cabins are very small and do not look like the pictures on the NCL website - no "real" soap or shampoo are given in the cabins... they give you liquid soap and shampoo in pumps. Our cabin had dispensers which were not marked so we had no clue which was which. I ended up washing my hair with soap by mistake! - the bar service and dining service (except Cagney's) was VERY POOR! - the Garden Cafe Buffet is poorly designed, congested, and has very limited and unappealing offerings. - the ship being built in 1999, does not offer many of the amenities that newer ships now have such as an adults only area, pool area covered by a roof - the ship was worn, furniture, carpets, etc. need to be replaced - the ship has an identity crisis- it was once a ship that served the Hawaiian islands and had a Hawaiian theme. They took many of the Hawaiian elements out like in the lobby/atrium area which made it bland or sterile and in other areas you wonder why there is Hawaiian theming... it is confusing. - there is no self serve ice cream 24/7 like on Princess - The pizza delivery concept is good, but waiting 90 minutes was not. - overall food on the NCL Sky was average. Nothing was over the top or super good like on RCL or Princess - the crew was not very friendly as other cruise lines - they don't stop to say hello. I don't even know our cabin stewards name as he never introduced himself and he never asked us what our names were - NCL needs to offer a pool and hottub open 24/7 like RCL does - Dazzles, which is the disco, is very small with low ceilings and does not feel like a dance club - the casino was very smoky - The passengers on the ship were a younger crowd which often got rowdy or acted like they were on a high school field trip or at the prom. Our cabin- was small (smallest cabin we have ever had), the carpet was worn and dirty, the room could have been cleaned better, the edges of the carpet near the walls were very dirty and dusty, the room did have a refrigerator with beverages for purchase, the hairdryer was very old and provided very little heat and power, the tv in the cabin was very old (probably from 1999), our porthole window was quite large and gave us a good view, storage is very limited in the cabin with a very small closet area and not much storage drawers for clothes, the bathroom was small, BUT the water pressure for the sink and shower were the best we ever had on any ship, the shower is somewhat small and in a circular shape, the cabin only offers one power outlet, the lounge chair in the cabin was very low and worn, the bed felt lumpy and uncomfortable and the pillows were quite flat. Overall, I would NEVER sail the NCL Sky again ever!... nor would I recommend it to anyone. We might give NCL another chance and sail on the Epic next spring... this will be the last chance for NCL to keep our business.

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