I chose this NCL cruise because I had such an excellent experience on NCL Escape in 2016, and wanted to visit Cuba. This cruise, versus the NCL Escape cruise, was as different as night and day. This was my thirty-fourth (34) cruise and I primarily sail Solo.

Getting There: Booking this cruise through NCL's website and talking with staff at NCL Customer Support was a mini nightmare. Staff could not answer some of the questions about visiting Cuba. There is a $75 additional fee for a Tourist Visa to visit Havana, but this information was not put up front when booking the cruise. Only after completing the booking did you receive information about the $75 fee, where to find and how to complete the appropriate form, and NCL's notification that they were increasing gratuities to $20.00 per day per person, YIKES! Additionally, I learned 2 days into sailing that NCL Sky is a drinking ship where drinks are included, hence the high cost of my ticket. I DO NOT drink. All of this information should have been UP FRONT. To add insult to injury, NCL did not offer me a Solo Rate for this cruise although they do have Solo Rates. I was talking to another cruiser only to learn he was given a Solo Rate, paying $800 less for his ticket than I paid for mine. I was not happy.

The Ship: Excellent job by staff keeping the ship clean. I had an Porthole Cabin on Deck 8 which I found to be quite small, but functional. TV reception was not as good as it should have been though. I did not eat in the main dining room but took all my meals in the Buffet restaurant. Food there was mediocre at best - nothing like the wonderful, high quality food in the both the complimentary and Speciality Restaurants I ate in on the Escape. I had planned to eat in at least one Speciality Restaurant but decided not to primarily because of the cost of my cruise ticket. From time to time NCL Sky did run out of some foods. Service, however, was good. Activities were par for the course, and entertainment was varied and enjoyable. Read more