Norwegian Sky 9-Day Caribbean Cruise Review: Day 2 – July 17, 2024

After a fantastic first day on the Norwegian Sky, Day 2 proved to be equally impressive. Today, I’ll share a few highlights and a short list of minor gripes. The day was spent cruising towards our first port of call, Puerto Plata in the Dominican Republic.

Given that the Sky is a smaller ship, my initial concern for a Sea Day was how crowded the outside decks might be. Frequent cruisers, like myself, often witness the early morning ritual of people reserving poolside deck chairs with towels.

I enjoy turning on the television first thing in the morning and, if available, checking the Lido Cam to count the number of chairs that have been “claimed” before the pool even opens. Without a pool deck cam, I couldn’t indulge this curiosity. So, before settling into my chosen spot for the day, I decided to take a walk around.

To my surprise, at 9 am, there were still plenty of loungers available around the pool, under the shade, and up on the ship’s top deck. Throughout the day, even during the peak afternoon sun, there were always lounge chairs available, whether you preferred sun or shade. This ship is at full capacity with 2,000 passengers, yet chair-hogging was not an issue.

After my pool deck reconnaissance, I wandered through the compact buffet to check out the breakfast offerings. The selection was typical breakfast fare, but the buffet area was crowded, especially when people stopped in narrow walkways to gawk. Breakfast was available at both the indoor and outdoor buffets, and there was a good amount of seating, particularly outside.

Before diving into the evening activities, let’s discuss the package offered for this booking. Besides a great rate for a solo oceanview stateroom, it included the Open Bar beverage package, covering standard bar drinks and soda up to $15. You can see the differences between the Open Bar and the upgraded Premium Package in the chart below. The Premium Package upgrade costs an additional $29 per day, but I didn’t find it necessary.

Regarding drinks, as I mentioned yesterday, the San Pellegrino I ordered at dinner wasn’t included in the Open Bar package, which seemed odd. I had to pay full price for it. If you want a drink above $15, you pay the difference plus an 18% service charge on the difference.

Some of the Premium spirits, like bourbon and whisky, are priced very high if you’re not on the upgraded package. For instance, Whistle Pig 10 Rye, which is excellent, is priced at a staggering $35 a glass. A bottle sells for around $80 at your local liquor store. I ordered an Old Fashioned with it and paid $24.90. So, if you plan on drinking a lot of premium spirits, upgrading might be worth it.

The package also included WiFi, but I missed the fine print. The included WiFi was the basic, non-streaming version with just 150 minutes of usage. To get unlimited access with streaming, I upgraded for $259 for all nine days.

When it comes to shore excursions, the package includes a $50 credit for each one. While this sounds good, shore excursions are generally marked up by cruise lines and aren’t cheap to begin with. I feel like they just increased the cost of the excursions by $50 to add this offer.

Booking shore excursions through the cruise line is always best. If a cruise line-arranged tour is delayed, the ship will wait for those passengers. However, if you’re on your own and arrive after the all-aboard time, the ship won’t wait.

Finally, the package included one specialty dining credit, usable in the ship’s steakhouse, Italian, or French restaurants. I also purchased an additional three dining credits onboard to experience all the ship’s dining options. Specialty restaurant menus are à la carte, priced like fine dining at home, so the dining package is a better deal.

Now on to some plusses. First, the ship. At 25 years old, the Norwegian Sky is beautifully maintained with elegant interiors. My stateroom has a slight 90s feel, but the public spaces are fresh, and the outdoor decks have new flooring and fresh paint from a recent dry dock.

Evening entertainment is abundant for a small ship. The bars and lounges feature musical acts, and there’s a show in the main theater each evening. No deck party yet, but I’m hopeful.

The headliner tonight was hypnotist Kellie Karl. Billed as “high voltage, head spinning, and fun,” her bio mentioned years of entertaining in Vegas. I attended the 7:30 pm show, but from the moment she started selecting “random” audience members, it was clear the performance was staged. After 30 minutes of amateurish antics, I walked out.

Cruise ship entertainment can be hit or miss, and this was definitely a miss.

Another plus has been the food. I’m only two days in, but the main dining room has exceeded my expectations. The food and service are comparable to Holland America, which I always rate highly. Typically, I avoid the main dining room on Carnival or MSC, preferring a Whopper at a sketchy Burger King. But so far, the MDR on the Norwegian Sky has been impressive.

In addition to specialty restaurants, there’s a bar serving pub food until 3 am at no charge, and a sushi bar with à la carte pricing. The dining options are plentiful for a small ship.

It’s hard for me to find any negatives so far, and the ones I have found have been minor. The first being my bathroom.  My bathroom has a shower curtain, which I dislike as it can touch you after many others have used it. I tried to keep the curtain outside the shower lip, not realizing there was no floor drain. I ended up with an inch of water on the floor and used all the towels to clean up. Minor inconvenience, but noteworthy.

Another nitpick is the Promenade Deck. It wraps around the ship and is great for walking or jogging, but it would be nice to have some lounge chairs to relax and watch the ocean.

After the hypnotist, I dined in the main dining room. Seated immediately, my server brought fresh bread, took my drink order, and chatted. I started with a Cobb Salad, minus the egg, which was heavy on red cabbage.

When it arrived, I joked with the server that this salad was going to fulfill my dietary requirement for red cabbage for the next three years, as the “greens” were all red cabbage.

The main course was a bacon and bourbon glazed chicken breast with corn and mashed sweet potatoes. The chicken was tender and flavorful, though the mashed potatoes were clearly from a mix. Dessert was a fantastic apple strudel.

Overall, tonight’s meal scores an 8.5.

Post-dinner, I tried my luck in the casino again, with predictable results.

Bonus: Tour the Casino on Norwegian Sky