debenson0723

Thursday - Ensenada Not much to report for today. This was a spring break town for me back in my past life so never get off the ship. It was also raining but cleared up enough for some to do their excursions. Lunch at the Local...both of us had the Cobb salad and Wrangler Burger. I really like that salad as it is not too large and makes me believe I am eating healthy. There was a cocktail on tap there, a passion fruit lemon limey thing with vodka that was refreshing. Already posted above about my wonderful experience at Le Bistro. Made my last donation to the casino (should have stopped while I was ahead) but TC did well at poker and did stop. Headed back to the cabin to pack and prepare for that jolt back to reality 5am alarm. Now sitting at LAX waiting for my flight home. Will post about disembarkation once there so I can use my laptop.

We got off at 7, arrived at LAX just after 8 via NCL shuttle. Super easy and organized.

Double post

There are outlets on each lamp by the bed.

I use those same 2 cards when traveling. The Cap1 360 card to get fee free cash from an ATM and Chase for my credit card purchases.

I am sitting at LAX having just gotten off the Joy. The rain stopped just long enough to disembark and get on the bus. Great crew on board...wish I was still there. Will be following along. Have a wonderful cruise.

Before I finish this review, probably tomorrow, I have to share the experience I just had. We had dinner tonight in Le Bistro. The food was top notch, as usual. Its a little too fancy for TCs taste but we both enjoyed the filet. He had the Strawberry diplomat dessert (fancy strawberry shortcake) but again I was too full and asked if I could take the Chocolate Marquise back to my room. I was told of course and to let them know when I was ready to leave. So a few minutes later I told the waiter I was ready to go. Next thing I know, this cutest little busboy comes with my dessert and says he will escort me back to my cabin with it! I told him I appreciated the gesture but it was totally unnecessary. They both insisted so off we went to deck 12, TC trailing behind (insert huge eye roll from him here). I really felt uncomfortable getting in the elevator with someone else carrying my dessert. The busboy is on his first contract, first time away from home. He is enjoying it but misses his family in Peru. I just couldn't get over this kind gesture. We got to my cabin and he set down my dessert. I gave him a tip and his face lit up with a big smile, his new braces gleaming. I just can't get over how thoughtful this was and so unnecessary. But a wonderful gesture that I will remember for a long time.

Thanks for sharing your experience. I have sailed in and out of this port multiple times (including after a PC cruise on the Bliss) and its always a crap shoot. I usually get a porter and we head out on the very far left side of the terminal. They do have facial recognition there. Worth a few bucks just to get out of that mess quickly. I know with the transfer I won't be able to do that tomorrow. But there are hourly flights from LAX to Phoenix and I don't have to be at work until Monday so have some flexibility. And thanks for the Buffalo tip. Maybe it will be good to me tonight.

7:30...typically 30 minutes before sailing.

Yes, he can get on board with you.

Wednesday - sea day (part 2) First off, let me say these reviews are a lot more work than I thought (and I am not even adding attachments). I love reading them and have an even greater appreciation going forward. After dinner we had reservations for the Elements show at 9:30. The theater was full but we had gotten there about 25 minutes early so had good seats. I don't mind sitting and people watching. I have seen many of the Cirque shows and enjoy this type of entertainment but for some reason, this just didn't do it for me. I think I was expecting more singing and more of a plot. But I appreciate the time and effort the entertainers put into the performance. Some of them were amazing. TC really enjoyed it and couldn't understand why I didn't but to each their own. I love Choir of Man and know some people don't. It is what makes us all unique. Just prior to the show I noticed that the barf bags had been put out around the ship. It was definitely rocky but I didn't think that bad. I went to my cabin around 11:30 and the wind was really howling and the ship creaking. It was more of a front to back, than side to side rolling. The most motion I have felt in a long time...but I still slept like a log all night. Rewind back (I really should have kept notes): on Monday evening we went to Guest Services and bought transfers to LAX for Friday. We departed from Port 92 (usual port) but are disembarking at Pier 50 (no idea where this is). Though we usually take private transportation, to alleviate any stress we decided to go this route. $25 each, meet on deck 7 tomorrow at 8:15...gonna be a rude awakening back to reality. Weather prediction is rain and for the first time ever, I did not pack a umbrella. Let's see...Friday morning, LA traffic, rain...what could possibly go wrong?

Good to know. Haven't seen him yet but hope to catch him tonight.

Possibly if you are getting a regular manicure. But in my case I get a dip manicure, which is higher. Sorry I didn't make that clear.

Wow...where do you live? I get both mani-pedi for $90 where I am. $25-30 if just getting a pedicure.

Wednesday - sea day Another lazy sea day. TC went to Boot Camp at the gym while I got my workout going to the MDR. This was by far the most people I have seen on any sailing waiting to eat breakfast. I cannot even imagine what the buffet must have looked like! I received a pager (first time ever) and proceeded to Mixx for a mimosa. There were 4 bartenders making cocktails plus an Officer and two waiters delivering them to the 2 MDRs. Even with all that going on, I waited less than a minute to get my drink. Soon after that my pager went off and I was seated so about a 7 minute wait all together. Breakfast was a disappointment. All I wanted was an open face bagel with salmon and cream cheese and that's what I received but the cream cheese was non existent. I was picturing what you see in the commercials, with an inch of fluffy whiteness on the bottom layer. Instead it looked like a schmear of what is left over on my knife after I apply it at home. But that didn't stop me from eating it...I know not to order that again. I did get my requisite bacon and hash browns and they were both delish. Next up was my required Frappuccino from Starbucks. Just an FYI, on the Joy you can only get Frapps at the deck 6 Atrium location...the Observation Lounge location does not make them Stopped by to make a quick donation to the casino. I have to say this casino has never been busy, no matter what time of day I have been there. Not sure if it's the demographics of this sailing or what but I find this very unusual. And just for reference, this ship has a separate enclosed smoking section, which is much appreciated. Came back to my cabin to start this review. Switching gears a moment, I know that the once a day service is a hot topic but for me personally it is not an issue. Maybe if I were messy or had kids with me I would feel differently. My steward, Jordan, is great. I met him on embarkation day after dinner. He knocked on my door to introduce himself and said he was worried I had missed the ship because he never saw any luggage outside my door and I didn't show up until after sailaway (so he was told by another steward). I assured him everything was fine but my mini fridge was locked for some reason. He apologized, unlocked it and we had a brief conversation about the changes. He wanted to make sure I knew it was only once a day. I told him that might be even too much for me and not to worry about it. I typically use my towels more than once, just like at home. I consider myself pretty low maintenance, though some would disagree. Ok, back to the sea day. TC went to grab a "snack" at Food Republic then we met up at The Local for lunch. The wait was 45 minutes and he would starve before then (enter an eye roll from me here) so we went to the Buffet. He grabbed an assortment of food but I have hit that 'nothing looks good and I don't need to eat just to eat' mode. Does anyone else get that way after a few days? But I did need a cocktail so got one from the bar to enjoy. He then went back to work and I wandered a bit. But it was SO crowded. Dinner was at 6:30 in La Cucina. If anyone is wondering, we each had 1 FAS specialty voucher and are both Platinum so 2 vouchers each to share. So that is 5 specialty restaurants on a 5 day cruise. I mentioned before that La Cucina is not my favorite but always willing to give it a try. With our voucher we could get one item from the left side of the menu (apps/pasta) and one item from the right side (pizza/entree). We also received a basket of bread, which was hot and crusty. I chose both from the left...burrata appetizer and an entree size lasagna. TC got the Carbanara from the left and Chicken Caccatori from the right. My burrata was huge and I could not finish it. The tomatoes in the dish were very fresh and seasoned just as I like them. TCs carbanara was good sized and he ate it all (he is always a member of the clean plate club...I eat until I am full and have no issue leaving a few bites on my plate). My lasagna was also hot and flavorful...no complaints and again, I could not eat it all. TC received his chicken and stated he was having Deja Vu. Apparently on our Escape cruise last year he ordered the same 2 items and thought both were different things. He thought the pasta was supposed to have a red sauce (nope) and the chicken was more like chicken parm (nope again). But he declared it good and ate it all. Side note: I had some leftover free bottle of wine from my Monday night dinner at Cagneys (TC doesn't drink). They held the bottle for me and brought it to La Cucina. I still couldn't finish it and asked if I wanted to take the rest to my room...so I did. We topped off the meal with dessert...he had Tiramesu, which was huge, and I had the cannolis. One pistachio, one chocolate and one gummy bear. Ok maybe the weren't chopped up gummies but tasted like it. That one stayed on the plate to feed to the fishes. The end of the night to come...

Jojo Chen is the beverage manager.

Probably 2 to 3 times what you would pay on land.

Tuesday - Cabo Have been here many times so didn't really plan anything. Our arrival time was 11am. Had a nice breakfast in the MDR around 8:30 (yay for the little round hash browns being back!). No wait, Mixx bar not busy. While TC went to do a little work, I headed to the Waterfont to watch us sail in. It was a stunning morning, made even better by the playful whales. There were so many people on their port side balconies, clapping and laughing at the whales, that I am surprised we didn't list a little bit. We had priority disembarkation at noon so headed to the Social, where the wonderful Bruno escorted us to the tender. Now I have only gotten queasy on a ship once or twice but the worse was on a Cabo tender. So I took my Bonine prior to getting on and was so happy I did. That little boat was bouncing and bopping all over the waves...it was like Splash Mountain! Luckily it is a quick crossing and we were back on dry land in no time. TC has not done a lot of traveling and gets nervous in unfamiliar (and foreign) countries. OTOH, I have been all over the world by myself and am not easily intimidated. We walked around downtown looking for a place to eat lunch, past all the massage vendors and fish that want to eat the dead skin off your feet. I was looking for a particular taco food truck (afterall, it was Taco Tuesday) but couldn't find it. So we settled on the Giggling Marlin, which was in TCs comfort zone. I have to say the food and service were very good and the restroom very clean. They have a place in the back where they will hang you upside down, just like a freshly caught Marlin. If only I had seen it prior to a belly full of shrimp tacos! Not much else we wanted to do so headed back to the tender for the ride home. Much smoother this time. Once back onboard, I sat on my balcony and ate cookies I had gotten from the buffet the day before (no baggie needed...I used a plate). I also have yogurt, milk and a banana, just in case they run out of provisions. We had a reservation at 6 for Teppanyaki and got there at 5:45. We were whisked in and sat at a table where 6 other people were sitting, orders quickly taken, edemame, soup and salad brought out. It was like we were late or something. Soon our chef arrived and the 'show' began. We had 2 darling, well behaved boys at our table and they were really enjoying the chef. Fried rice is always my favorite but could have used a touch more soy sauce (unusual, I know). Shrimp and chicken were both great. TC had the chicken and NYStrip, which he said was tender. There was extra shrimp so he got a few and I took the extra veggies. Overall a pleasant meal but what's not to like? With our meal over by 6:50, we had time to get to the theater to see Beatles Revolution again. This time it was through the years, which I enjoy. Theater was fairly full and there was a section of women up front who seemed to believe they were seeing the original Beatles. No underwear thrown, but some flowers. Where did they get those? It was fun to watch. Stopped by the casino and watched a couple of highrollers play blackjack, who were beating the house pretty handely...that was fun! Threw some more money away myself and was done for the night. My objective for this cruise was to eat, drink and sleep and I have been accomplishing this in spades. That brings me up to today, which I will try and post later tonight. We managed to get a reservation this morning for La Cucina tonight at 6:30...probably my least favorite restaurant but we'll see how it goes. I always go in with an open mind and positive attitude. Hey, at least I am not cooking!

Assistant GM is Trevor Swart. F&B is Ricardo Pinheiro Sr. I didn't see just beverage manager...I will look again when I go to dinner.

Monday - sea day Before I forget, Captain Morgan is alive and well on the ship, as are mixed shots. After 12 hours of sleep (did I mention I was really tired?), I went downstairs to grab a Starbucks (using my app). Currently on this ship, they are doing an Officers Chat at 10am on sea days. The officers are mingling with guests in the atrium, just in front of Guest Services. Rohn flagged me down and we chatted for a few minutes. It's a great opportunity for passengers to have some face to face time with them. Not sure if this is fleet wide. After freshening up, I headed to the cruise next desk to get the number of passengers on board. I must say, this is the nicest group of CN employees I have seen in a long time. No hard sell of certificates or the credit card...just conversations about where I have sailed, what ships I have been on and suggestions of where to go next. I have been sailing about every 4 months since the restart and always looking for ideas. Up next was meeting TC in Food Republic for lunch. This is probably our favorite food venue on the ships that have them and we paid out of pocket for lunch. I had the chicken teriyaki skewers and gyoza while he had the pad Thai, with chicken substituted for shrimp, and the spicy chicken somethings (I don't do spicy so can't remember the exact name). All was hot and favorable. Next was a trip to the casino. TC likes to temp the fates much more than I do...I just play gamble. But I did very well (for me) on our Prima cruise in October so I still had those winnings as my seed money. Unfortunately I did not see any slot machines calling my name. I like pirates and buffalos...most of these are dancing drums and other relics from the Joy's past life in Asia. After losing half my money I was finished for the afternoon and went home. My cabin is a balcony on deck 12. I was going to book an inside but at 21 days out on a full ship, the only ones available were on deck 5, under the theater...no thanks. So I took a chance on a guaranteed balcony and am quite happy with my location. Just before 6 I headed to the Haven for the Captain's cocktail party. We have Captain Dan from Sweden and I asked him to just keep doing what he was doing because this has been one smooth sailing. Spoke to Rohn a bit and his fabulous assistant. Then I saw Bruno from the CN desk and we chatted and laughed for a while. If you are on the Joy soon, stop by and see him...he is charming! We had managed to snag a 7pm reservation at Cagneys (keep trying...there are always cancellations). I never realized the Cagneys menu is almost the same as the Ocean Blue menu. I had the crab cake (good but could have been hotter in the middle), wedge salad, 5 oz filet which was cooked to a perfect medium rare, truffled mashed potatoes and zucchini (I received 4 slices instead of 3 because I am special like that...IYKYN). TC had almost the same but the Caesar salad, 8 oz filet, broccoli and onion rings...so I guess not the same at all! Service was good, not great, and took only about a hour. I was stuffed again and ordered the 7 layer chocolate cake...to go! Yes, they plated it up for me and I carried it back to my room. Just before dinner we heard that Footloose was canceled for that evening due to a cast member injury. Should have gone last night! But that was ok, because it meant we could now go see the Beatles in the Cavern Club at 9:30! TC got in line at 8:40 (maybe 20 people ahead of him) while I went to the cabin to change. He sent me a text at 8:50 that he was inside and had a table. So that was perfect! This incarnation is Beatles Revolution and they were pretty good. They did the early years, which is TCs favorite, so he was thrilled. It was definitely SRO but the crowd really got into it so a lot of fun. There is lots of music and entertainment on board. There are 2 comedians and at least 1 magician (neither are my thing) and the following music: djs all day at the pool, The Wanted 3 times a night in Q, various piano players in the Observation Lounge starting late afternoon, even a piano player in Mixx bar outside the MDRs (never seen that). Then Arvin and Emily several times in the Atrium, Ryan North in the DBH, plus Latin fusion in the Sugarcane bar and rock music in the Cavern Club. And lastly a theme party every night in the Socal. So I am not seeing any entertainment cut backs.

I will go check for you. I did not go to the M&G, which is a first for me. GM is Rohn, who I have sailed with 2 prior times.

This ship is packed. 4500 on board, way more than any sailing I have been on since the restart. It is a school holiday week in California but I knew that going in. I was told there are more 1st time NCL cruisers than ever before on this ship. Tons of teens. TC says I dislike kids and that is not true...they just annoy me when they run down the halls, scream or cry uncontrollably. But as long as they don't knock me down or eat all the desserts, I am fine with them. There was a letter in the cabin with information about drinking and gambling ages plus a curfew for teens...I had never seen that before. Muster drill - I posted in another thread about our drill. It was really a non-issue for me. Arrived to the theater 10 minutes prior for a seat. Started promptly at 3:30, over at 3:41. They have tried to streamline it as much as possible. If passengers show up on time, are quiet and respectful to the crew, then it can go very fast. Internet - I have the unlimited internet package without streaming. TC has it with streaming because he owns his own business and has to work a few hours everyday. I have had zero issues connecting and posting every day. I use a Samsung Galaxy 22 Ultra. TC streamed a live hockey game on Sunday on his IPhone 14 with just a little buffering. He actually had a more difficult time connecting to a cell tower in Cabo, while I had cell service while on the ship. We have the same carrier so can't explain that one. Dinner at Ocean Blue - this is only the 2nd time I have eaten here and it was outstanding. I had the Jumbo Shrimp Trio, clam chowder, grilled salmon with white wine lemon sauce (this was amazing) and the raspberry cheesecake in a jar. TC had the crab cake, gumbo, filet and same dessert. I don't understand how people can complain about the 1/1/1/1 limit on the coupons because this was way more food than I could comfortably eat. Our servers were fantastic and we really had a lovely time there. After dinner I was running out of steam after a 4am start to my day. We walked around the Waterfront a few times and I knew I would never make it to Footloose. So we checked the app and were able to book it for Monday night. There are 4 things I only consume on a cruise ship...bacon, bread, red meat and coffee. I managed to have them all within 12 hours of boarding. For me, that's the way to start my vacation!

Better late than never. I wasn't sure if I would have time to devote to this but it's a quiet sea day so giving it a shot. No dailies, maybe photos, but mostly my experience so far and happy to answer questions. Background - sailed most of the big lines but come back to NCL because they are the most solo friendly. I sometimes have a Travel Companion (TC) and he is on this voyage. Just for reference, he is extremely laid back (sometimes I have to check to see if he has a pulse) and if he says something is "fine" that means he really liked it and if it is "OK" that means it is ok. I am much more social and, according to him, more opinionated. So you will get 2 perspectives. I booked this cruise 3 weeks out so did check in immediately after booking with an 11am ship check in time. Was able to book Ocean Blue at 6pm for embarkation day, Teppanyaki at 6pm on day 3 and Le Bistro on day 5. Also booked Elements for 9pm on day 4. Would figure out the rest on board. Embarkation - it could not have gone smoother. My flight landed in Long Beach at 9:40 and TC landed 10 minutes later. His bag was first off the plane so we hopped in a cab ($47 flat rate) and were at the port 20 minutes later at 10:30. Breezed thru security, into the port check in where no one was in line and were on the ship by 11am! So not sure what time boarding started but it was early. The MDR didn't open until 11:30 so I grabbed my typical first cocktail, a Rebellious Fish, while TC went to book Footloose. He came back about 20 minutes later with a 9pm reservation for that night. We headed into Taste for lunch. Food was hot and tasty so no complaints there. More to come...

On the Joy now. MDRs still have the rotating menus.

The muster drill on the Joy today was organized and quick. Mine was held in the theater...started promptly at 3:30 and was completed at 3:41. The passengers were quiet and respectful to the crew and everything could be seen and heard. Such a non issue for all this drama and bickering.