DrUrsula

Please don't listen to those saying there won't be passes. Joy is a special situation as she recently came out of a refurb. There will be many available passes. Joy only pre-sold passes based on the old capacity. They have doubled the capacity and did not pre-sell any of the new passes. One the March 2 cruise 75- 100 or so passes were available on the day of sailing. once they start preselling them again it will be a different story.

It was amazing. It's like having your own condo right on the beach and a pool just for villa guests. Bar service They will drive you to lunch if you like ( it's a short walk) TV with free movies in case it rains. Totally worth it! we had a blast

YES! We just did this itinerary in December. In Tortola, take the Rebel\Yell excursion to Jost Van Dyke. We snorkeled with sea turtles, rays, a vast assortment of amazing fish of all sizes. Most go to this venue to drink . We went for the water and it was all ours. There is another member somewhere here on CC describing what we also experienced. We are SCUBA divers and the proximity and assortment of sea life here was some of the best we have seen in years. There were three other people in the water and no one near us!!! YOU HAVE TO SIGN UP FOR JOST ASAP as it sells out fast! St Thomas has terrific snorkeling as well. We took a small group private-ish tour through Viator. We had 3 stops and loved them all. Our NCL tour to ST John was cancelled and we did much better scheduling last minute . I dont like DR so I have nothing to add. YOu may see a fish or two at GSC. But Jost Van Dyke at Tortola and St Thomas /St John had great snorkeling but no sharks. As for time- We left the ship before 7am and took a 20 minute ride from the dock to Jost . We had breakfast and hit the water. We snorkeled until "last Call". The sea turtles were absolutely stunning. Its a short day but the BEST excursion we have taken in the CAribbean in ages. (If you want sharks- GO to Bimini! Shark snorkeling galore!!)

No shorts; men in nice jeans or slacks and a collared shirt.

So disappointing.

NCL Joy turned back on Wednesday, February 28. A CArnival passenger posted some video from her vantage point and the waves were crashing over the NCL berth and dock. We have missed 2 of our last 4 attempts. Both failures to dock were NCL.

I send a DM on the social media sight that cant be named to "Mayahual Red Shirts GOlf Carts. Tell them your date and ship and he will send back all the info to you.

YEs! We were the only sober couple on the way back and had a lovely convo.

We were on in December and there were 3 bartenders and 2 waiters; ship was full full full. service was amazing.

We were on Rebel Yell with captain -dang-Megan? Connie? she was brutal to the inebriated masses in the trip back. They just didn't know it!!

I honestly cant remember! I know they offered a huge range of coffees. It was either Soggy Dollar or to the left of Soggy Dollar. You cant miss it. We split a gigantic burrito. Really good snorkeling if you travel off to the right ( facing the ocean) We also encountered the delightful sea turtles. Such grace and beauty.

We have taken 6 NCL cruises in the past 18 months. Until about a year ago we cruised exclusively in the Haven. It is in the Haven that we have seen a very noticeable decrease in quality of service and overall "product". Not only have the prices become ridiculous; the service has really taken a dive. From snotty concierges to the pool area becoming a playground for the young and the intoxicated; complete with dirty diapers in the spa and cookies tossed in the pool; butlers who never introduced themselves before ignoring us ; exhausted suite stewards...we were becoming disillusioned with NCL. While RCL has no suite pool area, their service at the suite level did not change from what we were used to. Last year we had a chance to make a late reservation on an NCL cruise and no Haven suites were available. As it was just the two of us and not the whole family , we decided to give them another try and booked a club balcony and the Vibe. The cost was less than half of what we pay in the Haven. We also added the thermal suite once onboard. NCL won us back. This cruise happened to be on the very day that housekeeping services were reduced to once a day . There was a certain amount of general panic among some guests. We did not really care. We found the service very good, the Vibe blows away the Haven pool area- and Vibe doesn't even have a pool! We have completed 5 additional cruises with the same set up since then. With a few exceptions, food has stayed at about the same level of quality as in the past. On our December Encore cruise, for example, Cagney's was awful. almost inedible. The barbeque place was vile. But our other meals were terrific. Getaway in Europe several months prior , we had terrific meals with the exception of the Brazilian steak house. We do not like the changes to booking for the Comedy Cellar/Social. Previously, our Haven status or Sapphire status allowed us early access to prebooking. As there is no prebooking now for anyone, we were unable to see a show in the club on Encore. Each of the 10 or so shows was SRO within minutes of opening the doors as families would place one person in line and 15 other close friends and uncles would show up just before door opening. We were offered a standing space behind a pillar but opted out. When we saw the comedians later that week in the theater, we were quite happy not to have stood behind the pillar as they were awful!!! But Choir of Man made up for the meh comedy. We have only had a few minor itinerary changes so no issues there. They were Caribbean and not of consequence. We did get a 100 dollar OBC when they forgot to tell us that Cozumel was cancelled. That was a nice surprise ! SO- we are not down on NCL in whole. We ARE getting a little bored of all the ships having the same personality, so to speak. Its been close to a year since we have been on a Royal Mega and we miss Central Park and the Boardwalk and the suite lounge happy hour. Celebrity is our favorite cruise line but our schedules and Celebrity's haven't meshed as of late. We have 2 NCL cruises booked this year and that will most likely be it for a while. It is not due to a decrease in service or quality - we solved our Haven disappointment - we simply need a change in ship scenery for Caribbean cruises. For European cruises we don't care which ship we are on as they are so port intensive. We have had bad meals and an occasional nasty waiter on RCL and NCL (Never on Celebrity) . RCL has better aesthetics than NCL and we get 6 free drinks and suite happy hour; their suite restaurant and the Haven restaurant are comparable. NCL has a great premium drink package and the other little perks ; we also get latitudes meals and laundry. Six of one, half dozen of another. Granted, NCL in non-suites is much more affordable. Probably going to downgrade on RCL as well . We don't see the great overall decline that some do except in the Haven. We have been cruising again since the industry reopened; we were on Symphony of the Seas at 25% capacity and have stuck in there as ships filled up to 50,70,110% capacity. (We have a spring break cruise coming up in 10 days . That MAY change our minds!!LOL!) )

Encore goes to Tortola from 7am-1pm. Excursions meet 6:30-6:45 am . Totally worth it.

Its not typical but we did do it recently for Jost Van Dyke on the 5 hour, abbreviated Tortola stop. We skipped breakfast; had a Starbucks - which Is open at 6- and ate breakfast at the beach. We did our research and read about the amazing breakfast on Jost and opted to eat there. It was a good choice.

Getaway 2023 Northern Europe Sitting in the audience of Choir of Man ,minding my own business and got dragged onto stage for the "500 Miles" rendition. I had a blast, a few pina coladas and was "recognized" in the casino later that night. "Super Star" LOL! But the absolute best part was being able to hear my husband's distinctive laughter over the rest of the packed theater. What a terrific show and awesome memory.