So I took this cruise with my Boyfriend over Thanksgiving. This is the same cruise we took Christmas 2011. It is a 'short' cruise of 5 days/4 nights to the Bahamas out of Miami. We found that the number of children on board during both of these cruises was unexpectedly high based on previous cruises with NCL. Being one of the older ships in the fleet, the Sky is not 'over-the-top' as far as activities on board and the number of extra restaurants. But the ship is well laid out and the staff is fantastic. I am always amazed how the room steward remembers our names immediately. The purpose of this trip was pure relaxation, so we booked no excursions, however, as with the Sky previously, getting on and off the ship during embarkation, each port, and disembarkation were smooth and stress free.

Our stateroom was smaller than we expected, but I think it was something about the location. We were travelling with a friend and her room was three doors down. Her room was much deeper than ours. We basically had a narrow walk between each side of the bed and the walls. Of course, we book interior rooms because we like very dark rooms and are only there to sleep, so the size was not an issue. We usually book one extra-tariff dining night and for this cruise it was Cagney's. The steak was excellent as was the Austrian wine. The Oysters Rockefeller, however, were a different matter. Ours were not cleaned well and had an excessive amount of shell in them.

So basically our only disappointment on this cruise was the behavior of the children. I suppose since this is a public forum, I need to start by saying I have no issues with families and children on a cruise. If I did, I would choose lines that were more geared for adults. That said, we felt as though we were in a constant siege of children. And found ourselves frustrated at the lack of the staff to address the situation. It seemed we had four days of teenagers running throughout the ship without regard for any other passengers and completely overtaking the pool and hot tubs. Do not misunderstand me, I am not referring to two or three high-energy kids...I'm talking over 30 at each of the late night parties (you know...the ones that start after midnight)...adults would drift in and leave almost instantly. So...no more cruises while school is out for us. Read more