The Traveling Man

You may want to look into the Hilton. There is an enclosed walkway from the hotel to the River Walk Mall, and the Norwegian cruise terminal is also connected to the mall. You wan walk all the way from your hotel room to the ship without ever having to go outdoors. Well, actually, there is a short portion where you have a roof over your head but it is an open air passage. It's a little more than a quarter-mile walk through the mall.

It may not be long enough for a dry dock, but two weeks sounds like just the right amount of time for a refurbishment. It may include a change of furniture in restaurants and public areas, new decor in hallways, significant upgrades in the theater, or some combination of these or other renovations.

Thank you for your insight on this issue. Like many who post on CC, I'm of a generation whose vocabulary of slang expressions predates the frequent use of the word "not" at the end of a sentence to negate the meaning of the words which precede it. That old fogeyism on my part, together with the absence of punctuation by the OP to separate the "not" from the "new to CC" led me to think that the intent was that the OP was not new to CC. Sorry for the misunderstanding. One of these days, I suppose, my lexicon will need to be dragged, kicking and screaming, into the 20th century. No that wasn't a typo, but rather an attempt at self effacing humor.

Assuming you actually can get off the ship by 7:30 or so, that gives you about 1-1/2 hours to be at Fiumicino airport by 9:00, which is about as late as you should plan to arrive for an 11:50 departure. Agreed. Stuff happens. We have encountered a highway accident which held up traffic for almost an hour, a transit strike which resulted in the few available taxis being overwhelmed by the additional passengers who had planned to take a bus or train, a prearranged car service never showing up at the port which forced us to find a taxi at the last minute, and a bomb scare at the airport which meant our bus dropped us off about a half mile from the terminal, leaving us to walk with our luggage the rest of the way after the police gave us the "all clear". Lots of stuff can happen. I would much prefer to sit in an airport departure lounge for a couple of extra hours than be even one minute late getting to the departure gate. YMMV.

I'm confused. Your CC ID lists you as having made only four posts, all of which are on this thread. It certainly appears that you ARE new to CC. Anyway, welcome to CC. Could you tell us a bit more about what information about NCL or the Joy would be helpful to you? Your original post is quite broad and not very specific. As @schmoopie17 has suggested, browsing the CC forum for NCL might lead you to a number of previous threads on the Joy.

It won't be dead. The Cruise Director likely will find lots of activities to keep you busy, but it also is likely that there will be many empty cabins. That may be owing to the timing. It really is rather early in the year for a westbound TA, so there may not be a lot of folks looking for that itinerary at that time of year. Another reason that it may not be crowded is the possibility of a refurbishment immediately before this cruise and the chance that there may still be workers on board completing their work assignments while your cruise is ongoing.

I really hope that is not their plan. One of the strongest selling points for traveling on one of the -Away class ships rather than another is if the ship still has its observation lounge or not. The Bliss has been my favorite of NCL's large ships, in large part because of the lounge. NCL obviously needs to make money, but squeezing every last dime by adding more cabins simply diminishes the cruise experience for everyone.

You may want to look more closely at this cruise before you book. February is an unusual month for NCL to be sailing westbound across the Atlantic. According to the posted schedule, the Bliss sails from Miami on 4 January, arriving at Southampton on 17 January. There are no listed cruises for the Bliss from then until your cruise departing Southampton on 2 February. It is quite possible that the Bliss is scheduled for a dry dock, refitting, or refurbishment during that gap of just over two weeks. Many experienced cruisers will advise you to avoid any cruise just before or just after a dry dock. Frequently the repairs that have been scheduled cannot be completed during the time allotted. Some cruises have been cut short to allow extra days to complete the work. This means the possibility of missing planned ports of call. In a few cases the workers remained on board the ship and continued with their hammering, sandblasting, painting, etc. while passengers were denied access to parts of the ship that were still undergoing repair. The noise, fumes, and inconvenience of sailing on a work in progress certainly are not what they expected when they paid for their cruise. There may be some other explanation for the timing of the cruise or the gap in sailing dates. Without further information from NCL, though, I would recommend choosing a different cruise.

There isn't any reason. As long as cabins are available, it makes sense for NCL to receive the greatest amount of revenue possible. Haven staterooms cost more than Insides. If there is a vacant Haven room on a particular cruise and someone booked in an Inside is willing to pay the price difference to change rooms, why wouldn't NCL simply say "Thank you" and take their money?

The rules regarding rebooking are different in the US than they are in some other countries. Many previous posts on CC have noted that in England, for example, it is not possible to rebook after final payment. That may also be true in Sweden, where @Asawi lives. In the US, as many like @ChiefMateJRK have pointed out, it is quite common to take advantage of last minute price drops. Usually it means that you must simply pay the difference between the amount you already have paid for one type of cabin (at the older, higher price) and the cost of a higher category cabin (at the newer, lower price). As long as the total cost is a bit more, meaning you have to pay NCL a bit more, it usually has not been a problem in the past. My wife and I have done it several times. The best deal we got was going from a Balcony to the Haven for just an extra $75 pp on a 14 day cruise. We haven't done it since the restart after COVID, but I certainly hope that the process is still available. As others have noted, rebooking a better room for a small additional amount after the final payment is very different from bidding on an upgrade.

Thanks for the info. As I said, I never have traveled solo, so all I had to go on was what was listed on the website. Your explanation makes a lot of sense, but it means that if two Platinum members decide to travel in two Studio rooms instead of one Balcony, they get twice as many specialty dinners as they would if they traveled together. Hardly seems fair, but then, it is NCL.

I agree. A platinum member traveling alone would receive one coupon which is good for a dinner for two persons. If you ask a friend to join you for dinner, whether they are a Platinum member or not, the two of you each get one dinner in a specialty restaurant. You cannot split the coupon over two days, having one meal by yourself, then reusing the coupon for a second solo dinner. If your guest is also a Platinum member, they can dine with you on your coupon one night, while you can dine as their guest on a different night. At least that's the way I understand it. I never have cruised solo, so I have no personal experience with this. I only know what I have read in the Terms and Conditions on the website and what I have heard Cruise Next Managers tell others who asked about this.

No the benefit is per stateroom whether one or all persons are Platinum members.

That's not what the Latitudes Terms and Conditions seem to indicate. Benefit is available on sailings 5 days or longer, and entitles each guest to an appetizer, one entrée and dessert of choice. Upcharges apply to certain premium menu items; Raw Bar Seafood Platter is not included. Bottle of Wine offered in all venues offering Complimentary Wine list, Palomar not included. In à la carte restaurants, coupon can be redeemed for 4 menu items per person (Sushi, Wasabi, Nama, Teppanyaki, Hasuki, Food Republic, Pincho Tapas Bar or Raw Bar). Additional entrées will incur supplemental charges. Dinner coupons are non-transferrable. Solo guests cannot claim two dinners. Coupons can’t be used for the same venue twice. 2 guests maximum. Dining options vary by ship.

The US military services used to require a middle name or middle initial. Maybe they still do. Middle names are much more common today than they were decades ago, so many men inducted during WWII had no middle name. The recruiter would sometimes type "NONE" in the middle name field. Sometimes they would type "NMI" or "NMN" for "no middle initial" or "no middle name". Many, perhaps most, of the service men during WWII managed to acquire nicknames, usually given to them by their buddies. My dad told me of one unfortunate fellow who lacked a middle name. His papers listed his name as "NONE" . His nickname, of course was "Nun" or sometimes "Sister."

I can't speak for all cases on all ships, but I can say that on several occasions I have heard someone ask this question of the Cruise Next Manager. Their response was invariably "Sorry, but no."

Don't feel like the Lone Ranger. I've been on more than three dozen NCL cruises and I can't recall that notice in fine print ever catching my eyeballs, either.

As others have said, the Cruise Next Manager introduces some of the senior officers, then spends ten minutes or so on a sales pitch to encourage Latitudes members to purchase Cruise Next Deposits and to book a future cruise. The band plays, the waiters serve cocktails and hors d'oeuvres, you can chat with other Latitude members (if the music isn't too loud), and maybe one of the senior officers may hang around to greet some of the guests. If you are fairly new to NCL, you may find the party a useful way to pick up some tips from more seasoned travelers. We have learned from other passengers at the party about how to book a cruise to get extra Latitudes points, purchasing NCLH stock to get free OBC, the most effective way to use World Points earned on our NCL Bank of America Master Card, techniques for successfully biding on stateroom upgrades, plus insights on a wide variety of itineraries we may never have considered if not for speaking with others who had been there, done that.

I suppose it had to come to this. If they can't convince anyone to pay for a meal there, they might as well give it away. We have eaten there perhaps four times in total over a span of ten or so cruises on ships which have one. Almost every time we either were the only customer or maybe there were one or two others. We never have paid for lunch there. Usually Haven guests can eat there for free on embarkation day because the Haven restaurant usually is not open at that time. On another occasion when we were not in the Haven, the GM took a shine to us and gave us a coupon for a free meal there. I would say that the food is quite good, perhaps a cut above O'Sheehan's for burgers and hot dogs. On at least one occasion we enjoyed lobster rolls there, not available anywhere else on the ship.

We usually attend. Like @ChiefMateJRK said, in the olden days before everyone seemed to have a beverage package, it was an opportunity to get a free mixed drink. They also used to give away door prizes. Most of those were pretty lame, but on one cruise we did win a free bottle of wine, complimentary laundry service, and a couple of bingo cards. Those days are long gone, though. The attraction for us now is the receiving line and a chance to get to know some of the senior officers. I have to confess to having held up the line for several minutes more than once while I schmoozed with the Captain, GM, or other ranking officers. As a result, almost every time I sail with NCL now, one or more of the senior officers will greet my wife and me by name as we are boarding. Some folks may say "so what," but we really enjoy getting to know the ship's officers and spending time with them. We have shared dinner with 30 different NCL officers over the years, and still remain in touch with many of them.

I agree with much of what you say. We have been on more than three dozen NCL cruises, covering all but a couple of their ships. We only have three cruises on X, all on Edge class ships. I'm not sure how things shake out on other X ships, but the Edge class ships are a cut above. NCL may have more specialty restaurants, but the Edge ships have four MDRs, each with a different theme and slightly different menus. There also are several other dining venues on the pool deck which add variety to the standard buffet fare. The theatre on Edge ships is state of the art. NCL may have won the entertainment comparison hands down a few years ago, but currently the offerings on X, especially those in the Edge class theatres, are outstanding.

I agree, plus it seems to me that leaving the key cards outside the door is a safety and security issue. If some nefarious soul wanted to do so, they could enter your room before you arrive and do who knows what in your room.

Charlottetown and Saguenay may prove to be "one and done" ports, but Sydney offers some variety. I would recommend the Fortress of Louisbourg on one stop and the Sydney walking tour on the other. We have done them both and found them quite interesting.

We have done both itineraries and enjoyed them both. In fact, we have done the week long trip from Boston to Halifax and back as well as one way NYC to Quebec, followed by a B2B cruise Quebec to NYC. The only downside of that itinerary is that you repeat several of the same ports on the southbound journey that you just visited on the northbound trip. Not all the ports are same, there is some variety, but there is a lot of repetition as well. On another occasion when we traveled just one way from NYC to Quebec, we chose to extend our stay a couple of additional days in Quebec, then take the train to Montreal for a few days there. The trains are fast, efficient, and relatively inexpensive. Also, the rail stations are right in the heart of the cities, so getting from our hotel to the train was easy. Flights out of Montreal are plentiful and the airport is easy to reach by shuttle or taxi from a downtown hotel.

It has been a couple of years since we sailed on a ship that has an Onda restaurant, so the rules and regulations may have changed since then. We each were allowed to select an Antipasto (appetizer), a Primi (usually a pasta dish or a salad), a Secondi (main course), plus a Dolci (dessert). The portion sizes can be quite large in Onda, so be sure to take a hearty appetite with you when you dine there.