Photo of the Week - January 16

Le Bistro aboard Norwegian Sky is shown

in this 1999 press photograph.

Photo courtesy of Norwegian Cruise Line.

Normally, I like to select one of my own photos as a Photo of the Week, but this time I wanted to showcase some of the truly excellent photographs that have been taken by the lines themselves.  Typically, the best photos will immediately give you a sense that you are there; the feeling that you could walk down a particular hallway, public room or deck just by looking at it.  

One photo in particular has always fascinated me since I first saw it in an issue of Cruise Travel eleven years ago.  It was of the then-new Norwegian Sky, which at the time was NCL's first newbuild since the Norwegian Wind in 1993.  It showcased the line's specialty Le Bistro restaraunt - a long, narrow room situated between the aft dining room and the midship staircase.  Running along the starboard side of the ship, its dark wood paneling, curved accents, and high-back rounded booths resembled a trendy club from the 1930's.  Indeed, it wouldn't take much of a stretch to imagine this room aboard the SS Normandie.

But for me, what really hit home was how fantastic this photo was.  It was obviously taken at night, and showcases how elegant this room appears during the evening.  We dined in this same room aboard sister ship Norwegian Sun in 2005, and it is every bit as pleasant as the photographs would lead you to believe.  In fact, it's still one of my favorite public areas on any of the over twenty ships I've sailed on.

More recently, NCL has photographed an alternate angle of this room aboard Norwegian Sky. 

Le Bistro aboard Norwegian Sky, and Il Adagio

aboard Norwegian Sun, are seen in this more recent

press photograph.

Photo courtesy of NCL.

While the image is also representative of sister-ship Norwegian Sun, it is clearly Norwegian Sky in the photo.  While the chairs have been re-upholstered since 1999, the big giveaway here is the carpet.  The bright yellow-and-green carpet with a purple flower in the middle is a holdover from Norwegian Sky\s brief stint as Pride of Aloha for Norwegian America, sailing roundtrips from Honolulu, Hawaii between 2004 and 2008.  

Hawaiian influence or not, this is still one of the nicest spaces NCL has ever placed on any of their ships.  For more information on Norwegian Sky and her near-sister Norwegian Sun, why not pay a visit to the Norwegian Cruise Line website?