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With embarkation still in full swing, we wonder what the rest of Norwegian Sky holds in store for us. We start our voyage of discovery where we ended it half an hour ago. Aft on deck 5,

Atlantic Deck, the Seven Seas Dining Room is reached from an impressive three-deck high secondary atrium. Neptune’s Court is a very befitting lobby area for the Seven Seas Dining Room with its huge sculpture of Neptune and two beautiful grand staircases leading up to Promenade Deck. It’s a little Romanesque with its huge expanses of marble, with the illuminated stained glass panel above the entrance to the Seven Seas Dining Room as the eye catcher.

True to its name, the Promenade Deck (deck 6) features a full wrap-around walking and jogging deck. All the way aft is the Stardust Lounge, the ship’s two-deck high main showroom. You cannot help being struck by the sheer amount of swivel chairs that they have managed to place in this room – it’s unbelievable! The sight lines are quite good though, with sloping floors on both "ground floor" and "first floor". Too bad the railings on the balcony level are of intricate ironwork, which when seen from the orchestra level creates the illusion that the guests on balcony level are sentenced to imprisonment and could only see the show if they promised they would stay behind bars. Carpeting here is purple with off-white "confetti" in it, and chairs and couches are off-white, too. The result is somewhat doubtful…

A wide and long Photo Gallery leads from the aft stairwell to the amidships area. Right next to the photographer’s desk is a door leading to a small but pretty library with games, books and African artifacts. Walking past the library, one enters the Victoria Conference Center with three rooms that are equipped with all audiovisual aids. Called The River, The Lake and The Falls, they have an African theme, with lots of masks and spears lining the upper walls. The three rooms can be combined to form one large meeting room. At the forward end of the Photo Gallery is the exquisite Windjammer Bar.

It’s dark in here, which enhances the maritime atmo-sphere of the room. Glass cases full of nautical memorabilia line the walls and a large and very inviting bar serves up a lot of specials.

Yes, NCL has entered the Martini age, too! In a corner of the Windjammer Bar is Churchill’s Cigar Club, reminiscent of an Olde English gentlemen’s club with overstuffed green leather chairs and lots of dark wood paneling. Very nice! After the cozy and intimate Windjammer Bar, the change to the "sizzling" Checker’s Cabaret could not be more abrupt. It’s like stepping onto another ship. Colors are black (lots of it), gray and headache-red. Huge oversized portholes look over the promenade deck, and the bar is reputedly the longest afloat.

You guessed it: we’ve reached the Norwegian Sky’s nightclub, which like most land based clubs does not work at all during daytime but is throbbing with pulsating beats at night. I thought the decor of the room looked rather tacky, with paintings of clowns in black frames, and two huge ugly statues of harlequins guarding the forward entrance.

But at night when the house lights are dimmed and the spotlights are on I must admit the room works extremely well. Party Time!!Leaving Checkers Cabaret, we stumble back into the atrium, where some beautiful seating areas line the floor-to-ceiling windows. Whicker furniture and oversized terracotta pots together with the wood-and-green-carpet flooring turns this area into an elegant Mediterranean piazza with a magnificent view over the sea (on one side) and the hustle and bustle in the atrium (on the other side). People watchers take note! Reserve seats early!

Originally published on July 30, 2000. This version published on July 14, 2007

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