Cruise Overview
In October 2025 we took a Mediterranean cruise on the Norwegian Sky.
10-Day Mediterranean: Rome to Lisbon
October 2025, during the now infamous US Government shutdown, we drove from San Antonio TX to DFW, then we flew overnight from DFW -> ATL -> FCO Rome airport. We toured Rome for a day on our own, and then we took the local train from Rome to the seaside town of Ladispoli, Italy where we stayed the night in a VRBO rental home. The next day we took the local train from Ladispoli to the port town of Civitavecchia Italy where we boarded the NCL Sky cruise ship. The cruise route was Civitavecchia, Italy -> Livorno, Italy (Florence/Pisa)-> Cannes, France -> Barcelona, Spain -> Palma Mallorca, Spain -> Alicante, Spain -> Motril, Spain -> and then due to an impending Portuguese dock workers strike we skipped the port of Cadiz/Seville, Spain and we did an extra sea day -> arriving 12 hours early in Lisbon, Portugal. Then we flew overnight back from LIS -> BOS -> DFW, and finally drove back to San Antonio TX the next day.
One of the most exciting and most exotic cruises we have ever been on!
We went on this cruise as a group of 4 couples and 1 solo (9 people). My wife and I, my wife’s cousin and his wife, my wife’s cousin solo, and two other couples from our church. It was just such an exciting vaction we had to share the fun!
The itinerary and ordering of the ports for this cruise was just wonderful! (Itinerary Rating: 9/10) We were always on the go with 9 ports in 10 days on this exciting cruise! We had a change in itinerary during the cruise and had to skip the port of Cadiz/Seville Spain, which we were really looking forward to, for a Sea Day due to an impending Portugal dock workers strike. The ship was rushing because we had to arrive 12 hours earlier in Lisbon to avoid the strike. We also had some miscommunications involving the airport transfer for our solo traveler in the group who ended up having to take a taxi last minute to the airport after being denied entry onto the bus.
Departure day lunch with my wife Elie, her “baby” Miles that she used to be a nanny for 28 years ago, and his son Mills.
NCL Sky Activities and Entertainment Review
The NCL Sky has a good variety of entertainment options available. We generally enjoyed the variety in the evening shows in the Stardust Lounge theater. Due to the exciting itinerary of this cruise, we really did not have much time to explore the rest of the entertainment options on the ship. For us this cruise was all about the exciting Mediterranean ports to explore every day and then getting back on the ship to dinner and bed. (Entertainment Rating: 8/10)
Due to the itinerary of this cruise, we did not participate much in any shipboard activities during the day. The white party night was a neat idea and made for a different unique type of fun activity that we have not seen on any other cruise line who usually did themed parties like 70s or 80s nights. The evening of the white party, we were so tired after our miles long walking excursion that day, that we did not get to participate in it much. The Deck 11 local bar and grill pub was one of our favorite places on the ship for evening time family time discussions and late-night snacks. My wife generally enjoyed the casino, and she did well in her wins/losses for a couple of evenings. (Activities Rating: 7/10, Casino Rating: 7/10)
Norwegian Sky Review
Launched in 1999, refurbished in 2024. A smaller ship with a crew of 899, and 1944 passengers. We loved the smaller more elegant feel of this ship! (Ship Staff Rating 8/10). Excellent free dining options and a few extra cost dining options are available. We were on this cruise with a family/friend’s group of 9 people (4 coupes and 1 solo) together on our cruise and we all made it a point to dine together the first and the last evening of the cruise at a large table in the main dining room even though each couple was diverse in how they liked to dine. My wife and I dined in the MDR most nights as a couple of couples, with the exception of 2 nights we dined at the buffet, and 1 night we tried the La Cucina Italian specialty dining venue. Our package included 3 specialty dining vouchers, but we could only use 1 due to the overbooked status of all the venues. What good are the vouchers if you can’t use them? We generally enjoyed the menu options and food taste in the MDR although a few in our group did not and there were some service issues that occurred with a few in our group. (MDR Food Rating 8/10, MDR Service Rating 7/10). A couple of the couples in our group loved the deck 11 Garden Cafe and The Great Outdoors buffets and ate there nearly the whole cruise. Personally, we found the deck 11 buffet a little better than average, but we only used it for daily breakfasts and a couple of evenings when the MDR menu did not appeal to us. (Buffet Food Rating: 8/10)
Interior State Room 4144
- Port Side, Deck 4 Aft
- Bathroom has a bathtub which is unheard of on a cruise ship
- Near to Aft elevators and stairs
- Above the deck 3 aft MDR Kitchen area, but not noisey at all
- (Cabin Rating 9/10, Steward Rating 9/10)
Norwegian Sky Overall Cruise Rating: 8.3 / 10