Maleficent's Dad

The review is great, but this had me genuinely laughing out loud!

Great post, thanks!

Great stuff so far! Loving this report!

Pistol Pete, From a fellow NY'er, I'm right with you about NCL out of NYC. Really interested in hearing about MSC!

We had Vibe passes this past July (on the Joy). There were 6 of us on a Saturday - Sunday (9 days, theoretically) cruise with several sea days. The Vibe, quite literally, made our trip. My family has stated that they won't cruise again without Vibe passes. Our friends stated the same. By the second day, the bartenders knew all of us by name. We knew all about them and their homes/families. My kids (in their 20's) are now "friends" with the bar staff on FB. The personalized service, private (never crowded) bar, ice water carafes, frozen fruit skewers, finger sandwiches, cookies... it was a fabulous experience and worth every cent. Our cruise was: 1. Sold out and very crowded, we witnessed the 6:30 A.M. chair hogs during morning walks. So the Vibe was a haven (no pun intended). 2. In warm weather the entire time - great private sun deck. 3. Not port intensive (4 sea days, I believe). Yes, everyone has opinions on such things. And opinions are personal, not wrong. Ours is that the Vibe is completely and totally worth it, and will do it again moving forward.

Thanks for clarifying. things have changed as most of those were in effect when we did sail them. I own the drink package mistake, so apologies.

We love NCL for the freestyle that so many have already mentioned. It’s definitely more chill. Add in Spice H2O and/or a vibe pass, thermal spa, and we’re sold. NCL’s drink package, imo, can’t really be beat - and I’m speaking about the basic package. It’s basically included in your fare. Entertainment on NCL has always been one of its strengths, but we’ll see what happens once they disband some of the B’way shows they currently have… Of the four you mention, we’ve sailed on RCCL. While I understand they’re slowly adjusting to a more relaxed atmosphere, my family couldn’t be paid to sail them again. Dress up for dinner, set dining times, eat with strangers…. Yeah, not for us. Additionally, their drink package is a significant cost to your cruise fare if that matters - and they limit the number you can order in a day! My family loves Disney Cruise Line, but it is expensive, and I don’t love their itineraries. Plus, they still stick to many of the formalities . NCL checks a lot of boxes for us. It’s not perfect, but is any vacay? Give me the waterfront for a sunset or after dinner drink. That’s an area where almost all other lines are lacking.

Glad you had a great time! Sounds a lot like us a month ago, including balconies on deck 13. Love the Joy! Dis you have Chris or Jo in the Vibe? Amazing crew members who made our trip in July!

We saw people doing this on the Joy last month: The buffet has self service Starbucks machines (for a fee). Directly next to the machines are paper cups with plastic lids. Obviously these are for purchasing Starbucks at the machine. People were taking a cup & lid and then going to the “free” coffee dispensers. There were plenty of crew around and no one said anything. However, I’m not sure if this is really against the rules. I’m sure there will be some comments about this. I’m not condoning the behavior, just telling you my observations.

In any restaurant you can ask for milk… Not sure about cream or half and half.

Not a huge fan of traditional Sicilian cuisine. Horse meat and donkey meat are prevalent and considered a delicacy. Pasta is served differently than mainland Italy. I don’t love eggplant and that’s a staple… I do love, however, their use of local seafood. Anchovies, tuna, and sardines are commonplace.

That makes sense. We arrived at 12 noon on day 1

We sailed the Joy on the July 1 cruise. Go to the Social. That’s where entertainment is booked.

Just know, it’s about a 50 minute ride each way.

There’s a very specific schedule. Trying to attach a pic from 2 weeks ago here:

And so many of us love reading your reports!

Two weeks ago, as you were boarding the crew asked, “Norwegian Joy?” Literally that was it… The ferry is supposed to be for NCL passengers only, though that was not being enforced. From St. George, they didn’t even ask, people just boarded.

They did exactly that when we were north and took the Kenai Fjords tour. Granted it’s a tourist boat and not a ship, but it was very cool. This was pre-Covid…

Love your reporting! Love reading about your adventures with dad and his hysterical comments! Thank you!

We looked for the hash browns everywhere - got off the day you got on - and they were no where to be found, Interesting about the lava cake - DS ordered this twice. First time at Manhattan room, and this came out like cake - NO lava - nothing moist and runny inside. The second time, again, Manhattan room was perfection. Nice molten chocolate lava!

I got off of the Joy one week ago. We were taxed in NY (departure port) and then again in Port Canaveral, the second port. So it wasn't only the departure port for us.

I’ve read this time and again, but last week on the Joy, I could not get CC to work on the free Wi-Fi. I guess I should’ve asked my more tech savvy kids to help, but alas, it was good to be disconnected for a while!

Please see post #12.

The only issue we saw was a young man being told he could not enter Ocean Blue in shorts. This was last week on the Joy.

You can use the ship’s free Wi-Fi - meaning you don’t log in - and iPhone to iPhone works great. At least it did for us on the Joy last week. Same as if texting from home. No pics or vids though.