Cruising Lynne

Hope you have a great trip. I have not followed the whole12 pages of pre-cruise excitement, but I had to go back and see what was up with the vest. I like the idea of the neck pillow better for some items. Plus it will help with comfort on the long flight. May have to go back and see if there is any other useful info in the 12 pages. 😉

I just remembered another change that I believe is a result of having once a day room cleaning and fewer room stewards. If you put your bags out of your room the night before disembarkation, they have to be out by 9pm on this ship. It used to be much later. We put ours out right after we had dinner. They were taken away quickly which I like. When we got my bag the first day, our room steward was in the hall and asked if we had more. We told her my husbands bag was not there yet. She immediately left to go find it. Just a few minutes later she knocked on the door and had my husbands bag. She asked if we had anymore. I appreciated her efforts since I do not like to have any of our bags lingering in the hall. She was an excellent steward. I left a note for her the first sea day requesting a coffee maker. It was there in the afternoon after she had cleaned our room. She kept us stocked up with coffee and creamers each day of the trip. Next time I will also request extra bath towels.

First time on Joy and we really enjoyed it. Not sure where to start but wanted to share some info. Embarkation day was fine. Drove in from central Massachusetts. Took about 3 1/2 hours including one rest stop. Arrived at 10 am. Had reserved and prepaid for parking at the pier. The line for security moved right along. Being Sapphire, we boarded right after the handicapped group. Went to our muster station and were at The Local for lunch shortly after 11:30. After lunch we explored the ship a little and spent some time at the Observation Lounge. Rooms started to become available at around 2:30 starting with decks 5 and 8. I think 14 and 15 were next, and all rooms were ready by 3:10. We were in a balcony room on deck 12. We unpacked our carry on items and went for a swim. The water was warm. When we got back from swimming my suitcase arrived. I was able to get mostly unpacked before my husbands suitcase came. Good to be in front of the closet one at a time. I did save half the hangars for him, but used up most of the shelf space. He had the shelves in the cabinet under the TV. and the top shelf in the closet. Plenty of space for everything to be put away. We watched sail away from our balcony. Great views of the Stature of Liberty from our starboard side room. Next was our only dinner in the Manhattan Room MDR. Being only a five night trip we only ended up in the MDR once. Food was good and the service was great. After dinner we went to the show. I do not have the dailies so I am not quite sure what the show was. I think it was one of the comedians. The rest of the review will not be an exact day by day. Vincent was our cruise director. He did a good job. My husband went to the 70's party up on the pool deck one night, and we both went to the Glow party. We had fun jumping and dancing with the crowd (my hip did not appreciate it the next day though LOL ). Both of these parties had a large crowd, and I think that the way the pool deck is laid out gave a good space for everyone to dance. The main pool is not in the middle, but off to one side. We saw Footloose and Elements. Both shows were great. We had seen Elements before so my favorite of the two was Footloose. All the lead singers of Footloose had incredible voices. The young man who played the lead was very talented and had good energy. We saw these singers again later in the week at Q for a Broadway Cabaret show featuring songs from Broadway shows of the 80's. This show was done twice in the afternoon of the sea day coming home from Bermuda. Other entertainment we enjoyed was Po, a magician/illusionist. He did a separate show one night and performed in the Elements show. The ship also had a lot of good entertainment in the lounges. We were happy to see that Arvin and Emily were on board. Beatles Revolution, The Julia Hatfield Band, Tropical Four, ADDA band, Beau Tahana, Inna and Gold River. We saw a little of all except for Gold River. Also saw two comedians. The one we thought was funnier was Mike Burton. There were all the usual game shows, and trivia, but we did not go to any of these events. Food on the ship was better than expected. Le Bistro was good. I really liked the Mediterranean sea bass and my husband said his lamb was excellent. La Cucina had better service, and my food was hotter. I ordered the salmon at La Cucina and was asked how I wanted it cooked. Never was asked that before when ordering fish. I asked for and received medium well. This meal and my wings and dip from The Local were the only food that I remember being really hot. American diner is a good option for a quick breakfast if the buffet is too crazy. The Local is also a good breakfast spot. Lunches were at The Local or buffet. I really enjoyed the Observation Lounge for a quiet late lunch or afternoon snack. It was never crowded and the bar service there was great. There is food on both sides. We have been to Bermuda several times so the first day there we had a leisurely breakfast and enjoyed the hot tub and pool on board with out the crowds. My husband tried the waterslide where you sit on a tube. He said it was really fun. Later we walked around the dockyard and went to the Clocktower Mall. We also saw Meraviglia sail away. I was excited to see this since we will be trying it in the spring. Plus this meant we were the only ship there the rest of the time. This made everything on shore less busy. The second day we went to Horseshoe Bay. There were a lot of waves at the main part of the beach. Husband played in the waves for a little while then we both enjoyed the calm cove area that is to the right if you are facing the water. I had an excellent pina colada from the bar at the beach. Plenty of rum in it and husband had a beer. Over all this was one of our favorite cruises. There were a couple of minor inconveniences. Something went wrong when we got scanned at the muster station, and we had to redo it at Taste the second day. The first day my husband used the internet he lost the internet before he could log out. This resulted in us losing all our minutes. He got the minutes back after waiting in a long line at the internet desk. I did not enjoy the H2O area on this ship. There was a low ceiling over the bar and the hot tub which made it smell like cigarette smoke. The casino had some slot machines that were so close together it was difficult to get in the seats. I am happy to report that after a week of losses I won enough the last day to come out ahead a hundred dollars for the week! I know most people do not mind once a day room cleaning, but I do wish they still came by in the evening to replace towels and empty any trash or dishes. I also miss late night snack. Planned ahead one day, and brought banana bread back to the room from the lunch buffet to have later that night. We bought two Cruise Next deposits. I look forward to booking more NCL cruises (this was our nineteenth NCL cruise). Unless I am blown away by my upcoming trips on Holland America Line, and MSC I will stick with NCL. I know what to expect from them and am feeling a little nervous about the unknowns of the other cruise lines. I do not think that NCL nickel and dimes any more than the others. Also, to get everything that is included in Free at Sea on the other lines really adds up. Other than NCL, I have also sailed with Royal Caribbean and Celebrity. Sorry I did not include any photos. They are all in my husbands phone, and I wanted to post something before I forgot everything. Thanks to all the other reviewers out there who do such great live and semi-live reviews with photos. Mking and Bird to name a couple. Happy cruising! 🙂🍹🛳️

We just returned from Joy on 9/25. We went to see Footloose on the 21st, second show at 10 pm. It was really a fantastic show. All the singers had great voices. I was surprised how big the cast was when they did the curtain call. During the show it did not seem like it, but when they all came out at the end, the line of people went across the whole front of the stage. The young man who played Ren was so talented. He had good energy the entire time, and was very entertaining. I hope NCL finds an appropriate replacement. The shows and lounge entertainment on Joy were among the best I have seen since the restart. I will post a short review of our experience later today.

I hope they redesign The Local on future builds. The bar area has some interesting seating and some swing chairs. It didn't really bother me. What I did not like was the dining area. The tables were too close together. One time we were seated near the door to the waterfront, and it was really annoying any time the door opened. The other time we had a table further in, but it was very close to the next table. I don't know how the staff managed to get through with the food when it was busy in there. I think that you would like the bar set up on Prima. They have the bar with the unique sustainable drinks, and another bar that made special bottled drinks. The bottled drinks were made fresh and put into small glass bottles. They weren't premade sealed bottles from a factory. I did not discover them until late in our trip. Many bars to try on Prima. There is even one up by the speedway that I liked. No problem with the service except at the atrium bar. It is too small as it also services the casino. Another thing that I hope they fix on future builds. I hope that NCL does not cut out all the Broadway shows. The shows were always something that I liked about NCL. Entertainment on board is a big reason why I choose cruising over other types of vacations. They best not screw that up!

The manager may have been a little confused at first. Try to remember that they are often dealing with people who are trying to get away with getting something they aren't entitled to. I feel that they could have handled it better, but I would consider myself lucky that I got the water, yummy strawberries, and one free specialty meal. I would just let it go.

Great that you are able to dock in Halifax today. Sounds like you are starting the day off right. Have some poutine for me!

Thank you for the update. Are you on board? Hope the seas are not too rough, and that you have Bonine or some other seasick medicine just in case. Sorry that you are missing ports, but that is part of the adventure. I will be packing for Bermuda for the trip leaving NYC Wednesday, but bringing rain jacket and hoodie just in case.

I was thinking the same thing. It would be a fun way to avoid the storm.

Hoping to squeeze in between storms for the NYC to Bermuda run on the 20th. I wonder if Joy will sit tight near Quebec for a few days before heading to NY?

LOL I really enjoy Broadway shows, and I like cats, but I agree that the show Cats is terrible. Star never had actual Broadway shows, but it did have good quality NCL production shows. Hopefully any entertainment cutbacks are temporary. I am very happy that I will be seeing Footloose before it is gone and hope they replace it with something good.

I totally agree with you. The dining on NCL is a unique feature which keeps me coming back. I have been on a Celebrity cruise and several Royal cruises, but I prefer NCL because of the Freestyle dining. (and the beverage package 😉)

That's a lot of speculating. LOL. I have never made a reservation for the MDR on NCL. Usually it is just my husband and I, and we have never had a problem getting a table. More dining times should be available once you are on board. That does sound strange though.

This is true. You should receive a new confirmation email. I have had to call before to have them resend one. For some reason they forgot to send one or the email just didn't come through.

I am really enjoying your review. Glad that you are happy with the laundry service, but the clothes look clean and folded, but not pressed. I think getting things pressed on NCL costs extra? Your review has inspired me to look into this type of back to back for next year. It looks like a great combination, and I would not mind going to Bar Harbor twice. I have wanted to go to PEI to see the Anne of Green Gables home. I loved the books as a young girl. Read them almost fifty years ago!

No way NCL would switch back to fixed dining. The Freestyle dining is the big draw for many people who cruise with NCL. We sailed on Prima with the fixed menu. The only thing I didn't like was the limited dessert choices. Otherwise, I thought it was a great menu for a week long cruise. May get boring on a longer trip.

Disregarding numerous emails about the safety video is still better than the whole ship doing in person muster at the same time.

What a difference between the two boats. NCL should have reimbursed you a percentage of your cost for the excursion. They should also adjust the description of the excursion.

To AstoriaPreppy. Thank you for posting your review. I am glad that overall you enjoyed your trip. I agree that a movie in the main theater at showtime does not count as a show. Movie screenings should be in addition to live shows. Maybe a matinee or shown before or after the main stage show. I have also been on excursions where one bus or boat is packed, and the other has plenty of room. Very disappointing. NCL excursions should contact the tour operators to remedy this. Last year we had a nature tour on a boat in Bar Harbor Maine. They would not let the people booked through NCL on the until tourists from a local hotel were on. Of course they got all the good seats outside in the front and back of the boat. We were stuck inside with limited visibility. It was not the kind of boat that let you walk around. It is something that I try not to let annoy me, but we had purposely gotten there early to get good seats. So I was annoyed. Luckily we were seated at a table with some really nice people which made me feel a little better.

I do not understand this complaint either. They have to make the portion large enough so that larger men and teenage boys also get enough to eat. Smaller people or older people that can not eat as much do not need to clean their plate. I know it can be wasteful, but they try to make a portion that accommodates most people. It is hard for them to make special orders when they are making so many meals at once.

You can just fold it and wrap it in some TP or a tissue. If you know you will be needing pads on your trip you could bring some plastic shopping bags to line the bin with. If I am in a hotel or ship cabin, and have any bags from shopping I use them for the bins and wastebasket. The steward will remove them when they clean the room. Of course, where I live, only certain towns I shop in have plastic bags anymore.

Hope so. Not sure about the water in other restaurants or a bar. But still not as convenient as having ice brought to your room by your steward. We do sometimes drink ice bucket water in the room. I prefer to use the bottled water in the room, but if I get up at night and am thirsty and am out of bottled water I will drink the ice bucket water.

Made me look up Fujiwhara effect. Learn something new every day. We were on a ship in Bermuda during hurricane Wilma. I believe it was Jewel of the Seas. We could not go through the channel until the wind was below 30 mph.

I found that the Flow water is much better if you pour it into a clean glass. It tastes awful if you drink it straight out of the carton. I also grew up drinking from the garden hose on hot summer days, so am not too much of a water snob.

I think/hope that the ice maker has a filter.