wilmingtech

Got back from the Joy a little over a week ago.  The Balcony in 17732 was 17'2" long and 8'5" deep.

Pretty huge balcony for sure.  Nice trade off for a small room.

3 hours ago, parmus said:

Thank you for your experiences.  We were able to select our arrival time on our check in information.   Not sure what that means exactly but maybe it will help us get through any lines more easily if there isnt a handicap assistance line for security or check in since we selected an early time.  

The check in time is for NCL to try and manage peoples arrival time only.  It has nothing to do with when you can and cannot board.

My recommendation is to arrive by 10-1030 and on a good day you will be on the ship by 1230-1pm.  And go straight to the MDR for lunch it will be mostly empty.

The Buffet was a nut house completely full of people with their bags waiting for rooms to become available.

4 hours ago, parmus said:

It appears that there is a smaller public sundeck with hot tub on the 19th deck (with the Haven and Vibe Beach Club). Can anyone confirm how crowded it was and if it was just a small area?

We were in the Haven.  There were 2 Hot (warm) Tubs, and plenty of space up there to hang out.  On the busiest days it was half full.  I believe vibe was slightly larger than half the size of the Haven area (Only one side of the ship instead of two and I believe one hot tub) but hardly anyone in the vibe from what I could tell on the port day (You could see the entire vibe area from above)

It was too chilly on Sea Days to lay out for most which is what kept it empty most of the week.  We used this Haven area at the end of the Port days as well as sea days and there may have been 10 people total on the port days on this space.

16 hours ago, Canbylancer said:

Thank you for your post, I have been looking for info on the Mexican Rivera cruise on the Joy.  I am going on the Joy in March.  Do you or anyone have any MDR and Local dining menus for each night?  I did see the theme or special at the Local in the dailies.  

We did not eat any meals in the MDR so I did not get any pictures of the Menu.

Bird Travels has 2 great reviews though that have this info.  One here on the Joy - 

The other is more recent from Bird Travels on the Encore that has most of the menus. 

Each sailing will be slightly different.  They will have specials in the MDR and The Local each day (They were different in each venue) and this will change cruise to cruise dependent on inventory and what the chef decides.

On 4/22/2019 at 4:13 PM, Action Dave said:

booked the norwegian joy for August 31, 2019.  Sad to hear no thermal spa passes but still not a deal breaker, with so much to do on this ship. We'll just have to make the best of it. lol.

We made the best of our recent trip but the activities are limited on this ship.

Go Carts (15$ for 10 min)

VR Games (7$ each/20$ for 4, about 4-5 min each)

Drop Water Slide (free)

Kids Water Slide (free)

Pool

Gym

Atrium Activities

And at night add -

Cavern Club - Same Band every night and packed

The Social Comedy  and karaoke/dance

Main Theater

And misc musicians around the ship.

Lots and lots of places to lounge and hang out.

We had a great time but it was one of those cruises where we played games, got into great conversations with others and spent more time lounging than doing activities.

6 hours ago, YngRetiredCruiser said:

What is your report?  Does the Joy have free separate saunas on board for men and women?

Just off the Joy.  In the Spa (Mandara Spa not Thermal)  they have a small Sauna.  You cannot use it use it unless you pay for Spa services.  I did ask about this and the Spa manager said if you want to pay 20$ for single access or 99$ for a week then you could go sit in the Ssuna.

No where else on the ship has a sauna.  Nothing in the Gym (No locker room in the gym) nor in the Haven.

54 minutes ago, kenzie said:

Is it possible for someone to advise what plug points are in the balconies, are they all American or do they also have European plug holes, the Getaway and Escape had both. Also is there a UK outlet. 

We were in a Haven Penthouse and had a US plug on one side of the bed, A Euro plug on the other and a US plug on the desk along with a second Euro plug.  Best practice is to bring a Euro plug to US converter and use it in the Euro plug to charge all your devices (Make sure they are rated 110/220v.  It's highly unlikely a battery charged device will not be compatible with 220v but sometimes...

I'll let someone else answer about plugs in the standard balcony rooms.

Some other notes about the Joy -  

1. The Local - This place was insane on Sea Days.  Going down to Mexico and the last Sea Day coming back was chilly outside and everyone was in here for lunch.  You do have to check in at the hostess stand if you want to order food.  Even if you sit at the bar to eat.  Wings and Fish and Chips fit the bill here.  Limited beer selection at the bar.

2. Speaking of Bars - We spent most of our time at the Haven Bar which was amazing.  The Haven Bartenders informed us that they are in the process of changing over the Liquor selection and in that Stoli flavored Vodkas were going away.  They couldnt tell us any more than that (Because they were low on Stoli which we were drinking and they were not replacing it)

3. The Hot Tubs (errr...  rather Warm Tubs) were not hot at all.  I am pretty sure they were between 85-90 degrees and NCL informed all of us in the Haven (as we all complained about it) that the Hot Tubs cannot be hotter than 37° and they cannot change that as its company wide regulation at this point.

4.  There are 2 big crew turnovers coming up on the Joy.  The first is January 12th and the next is March 15th.   Just a heads up for those cruising those weeks as service can tend to be a little off when they have large turnovers of crew at the end of their contracts.

5.  WIFI - If you use ship wifi, save your minutes and remember these two sites - 

www.logon.com

www.logoff.com

These are the 2 websites you need to bring up on your browser and if you dont go to  logoff.com your minutes will continue to wind down (even if your wifi is turned off).  I am assuming this is company wide with NCL.

6.  The Joy sails through 3 timezones.  Pacific, Mountain and Central.  But the only time change they make is one hour ahead on the way down to the Mountain Timezone.  So when you are In port in Mazatlan and Puerto Vallarta the Ships time will be 1 hour behind the local time.  You get the hour coming back on the 3rd sea day.

7. Most IMPORTANT - In Puerto Vallarta the all aboard time was 3:30pm Ship time.  On the NCL Itinerary and on the NCL app the time is listed as 5pm.  Many people did not get the all aboard memo coming out of Puerto Vallarta.  It was a scramble for some and there was chatter on board of at least one family that did not make the ship.  So make a note and check the All Aboard time before you walk off in Puerto Vallarta.

That's all I had for quick notes.  I'll post some more later when I unwind a little.  Overall we had a great cruise and met some wonderful people on our trip. 

The Haven Bartenders Lester and Ritesh were amazing.  They have some skills.  And we had a great server up in the Haven restaurant that we requested over and over (Agnes) who took great care of us for the week. 

More personal feedback to come later...

And another quick video of the cigarettes and chocolates available in the Liquor store.

Shopping on the ship (for us anyways) was slightly disappointing.   The largest stores were all watches and jewelry which we were not at all interested in.  The 10$ sales of all the cheap made in China/Taiwan stuff was not even interesting.  I thought I would be able to find a cheap pair of sunglasses but they were all stamped plastic and not one pair I tried on fit straight.

They did have a closeout on some neat NCL tshirts for 10$ each but they were all too small for me to wear.

21 hours ago, wilmingtech said:

I took some videos of some of the shops (I thought selections were awful but you may see something that appeals to you) and I walked through and videoed the casino.  It's very small with minimum slots and table games were all 10$ minimum except for craps which was 25$ minimum and was empty all week.  Stupid.  I even asked the pit boss if they would reduce the minimum to 15 or 10 and he said no.  I came back a few hours later, it was still empty and I looked at the pit boss and said still no takers eh?  Suprised?

 

I'll upload when we get off tomorrow and share them here.

Here is a walkthrough of the Casino.  It's pretty small with limited machines.  Sorry for the poor quality and vertical orientation.

Here is a walk through of the "Variety" style shop.  Very limited.  No real snacks or drinks for purchase and the NCL clothing selection was small.  

On 12/22/2019 at 10:25 PM, parmus said:

Would be curious to know about handicap boarding at the port. Are there separate lines for people needing assistance?

They did have porters with Wheelchair assistance from the parking lot side that we saw as we left.  I do not know how that works though.  I am sure there is a security line seperate for wheelchair access.  Other than being crowded inside the building the seating aisles were easily 10-12' apart to get from one side to the other from what I remember.

Those were all the menus I took pictures of.  They do have some different mixed drinks in the brewhouse and Food Republic as well.  I have a picture from the digital menu from FR.  

These next 2 menus were found in Atrium and Mixx.  Same menu at both bars.  If there is suppose to be a different menu we did not see one. 

Maltings Drink Menu -

Grass Clippings was interesting.  We asked Lester up in the Haven to make us one and it was night and day from what we got in Maltings.  Lester muddled fresh cucumbers and Cilantro whereas our Maltings bartender used all syrups.  

These are the drinks from A-List

These 1st Two menus are from Skyline.  Skyline is the bar in the casino.  They have machines taking up most of the bar top and it is right across from the glassed in area for the smokers.  Wasnt really smokey but someone who is sensitive to smoke might think so.  Didnt seem like a place condusive to hanging out unless you were playing the machines on the bar top.  Note that all the menus in the bars look exactly the same.

Day 7 - 

Day 6- 

Day 5 - 

17 hours ago, wilmingtech said:

10$ on 3 card, 25$ min on Craps.  Forgot to look at the 2/12 field .  I'll take a look after lunch.

Here are some of the payouts...  

Field Pays Double 2/12

Hard ways pay 9/1 and 7/1

On 12/22/2019 at 7:58 AM, kenzie said:

Thank you for your time, hope you have a wonderful cruise. I wondered if you could see the usual minimum bet on 3 Card poke and Craps. Also what are they paying on 2 & 12 Field bets - is it double. 

10$ on 3 card, 25$ min on Craps.  Forgot to look at the 2/12 field .  I'll take a look after lunch.

On 12/21/2019 at 5:30 PM, Sand and Seas said:

If you have been on The Bliss or Escape or Getaway/Breakaway, please let us know what you find that differs from those ships.

 

I would love to see pictures of the casino.....spend a lot of time there!   

Also, would love to see pictures of the shops to see what they carry.....also spend too much time there😉

 

Have a great cruise!

 

I took some videos of some of the shops (I thought selections were awful but you may see something that appeals to you) and I walked through and videoed the casino.  It's very small with minimum slots and table games were all 10$ minimum except for craps which was 25$ minimum and was empty all week.  Stupid.  I even asked the pit boss if they would reduce the minimum to 15 or 10 and he said no.  I came back a few hours later, it was still empty and I looked at the pit boss and said still no takers eh?  Suprised?

I'll upload when we get off tomorrow and share them here.

On 12/21/2019 at 6:03 PM, 2+2 said:

Let me know if you happen to run into a place to get a complimentary  latte or cappuccino. I am not in Haven. I have no problem going to Starbucks, but if there is a good alternative secret , why not.

No go.  Only place to get a Latte or Cappuccino that we have seen is either at one of the 2 Starbucks.

Inside the Haven its Nespresso in the room and a Cappuccino machine in the Observation Lounge in the Haven.  

Bring a big 16oz mug if you like to walk around with your coffee.  The 8oz mugs are good for a few sips.  We bought a Mug from Starbucks onboard.

On 12/21/2019 at 5:03 PM, 3kidsncats said:

If you get to any non Haven bars, and think to photograph the menu, that would be awesome.  Mostly interested in the bar specific cocktails, not the spirits and wine part of the menu.  The two bars I’m having the most trouble finding are the Skyline, and A-List, although I’ll very happily peruse any you happen to get, since I’ll know it is current.  I want to include the “special to this bar” drinks on the pub crawl schedule I’m doing 🙂

I got pics from about 4 bars including Skyline and Alist.  Takes forever to upload on the ship, will upload when back on land.

18 hours ago, 2+2 said:

It appears that you can go to Teppenyaki on the day you board to get reservations for speciality restaurants. Is that correct? What is your secret for getting speciality restaurants reservations on the Joy.  

    How are the elevator crowds? Any tips. 

17 hours ago, hallux said:

Yes, but as is said in MANY other threads you can also use the interactive touchscreen TVs near the elevators, there are two at each elevator bank on each deck. Going that route bypasses the line at Teppanyaki.

14 hours ago, MrsK said:

 

When we were on the Joy for the November 8 Panama Canal cruise we used our Platinum Certificate at Q for one of our meals.

14 hours ago, 2+2 said:

Yes, but are the touch screens like the website, and only show limited amout? Or is it actually showing the true amount  like the person at Teppenyaki must be able to see.

58 minutes ago, hallux said:

ALL reservation slots are available on embarkation day, regardless of how you're trying to book one (well, maybe not through the website).

You have many options.  Touchscreen, Stand in line, NCL App allows you to make reservations as well.  If you are Platinum or Concierge level you can use the concierge. 

In the Haven upon early embarkation we got a sheet to fill out (See attached). There was a line at the Haven concierge desk until 6 or 7pm that first night. 

All reservations are available on the ship in all locations on embarkation day.

I encourage you, unless you are Haven to make your reservations that first day as alot of restaurants and shows fill up on a full ship.

That being said, I would guess other than the busiest times for dinner between 6 and 730 that many people dont show up for their reservations and standby isnt guaranteed but it doesnt hurt to ask.