Norwegian Sky Review
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NOT FAMILY FRIENDLY during spring break - Feb 29 thru Mar 25. I took this cruise with other adult family members and booked it about 3 weeks or so from date of sailing - it was a last minute cruise. We arrived in Miami the night before and stayed at the Hilton Garden airport and took the shuttle arranged by the hotel ($15 each) to the port on the day of cruising. Getting on board was really pretty simple, no hang-ups. When we cruised on this ship it was in 2014 but when recently searching for a 4 night cruise, the NCL Sky came up and I really was compelled to let people know that this year, from Feb 29, 2016 thru March 25, 2016, this ship is marketed to colleges and is a SPRING BREAK BOOZE CRUISE. This is what we ran into in 2014, and I was unaware at that time it is marketed directly to college students. NCL DOES NOT TELL YOU THIS WHEN BOOKING WITH THEM, there is no mention of it on their website.
I booked this cruise because I had taken it before (late May) and it was just a great cruise, with great food, good crowd, a lot of fun. I'm far from a prude, I like to have a few drinks, carry on and have a good time and blow off steam, but the spring break crowd was obnoxious with apparently limitless alcohol and for sure much underage drinking. The f-bomb filled your ears at every turn, you couldn't get near the pool, the drinks were being spilled, the morons were falling down drunk, vomiting everywhere, there were fights in the hallways at 3am - it was ridiculous and I don't know why 1) NCL even entertains it (oh wait, the money), and 2) why they do not advise customers when booking that this is a spring break cruise marketed specifically as the biggest spring break party.
The ship is "small" relative to some of the monsters out there now, but it felt plenty big and was bright and clean. Activities on the ship were pretty lively due to the spring break crowd. Some activities I had expected based on previous same cruise were not offered because of the spring break crowd (for instance, a pub crawl one evening, and two-for-one martinis at a specific bar up top).
Cabin Review
Mid-Ship Balcony
The cabin was very nice, very clean and comfortable, it was my sanctuary as I could sit on my balcony and not be disturbed by the idiot spring-breakers. Exception being when they'd come crashing down the hallway, screaming at each other, starting fights, etc at 2, 3 or 4am.
Port Reviews
Nassau
The boat you take to go snorkeling is conveniently located to the ship and is a quick walk. It was nothing fancy but was perfectly adequate, the captain and crew were very nice. The reef we went to was a fairly short ride so you get to the water pretty quickly. There are large, wide steps that are lowered from the back of the boat into the water which makes it easy to get in the water and fairly easy to get out. I'm not in great shape but not bad shape either, and had a bum shoulder at the time but was able to manage OK. It was kind of cloudy skies while snorkeling but the water was still crystal clear, and plenty of fish to see, very cool, it would've been spectacular if sunny.
Great Stirrup Cay
It's a beautiful private island and has areas where you can snorkel from the beach. Go early, like on one of the first few tenders from the ship and you're certain to get your best selection of beach chairs. There's a nice little tiki bar, good lunch, a few little shops and is just a very chill time at the beach.