OrlandoSquirrel

Just got word I’ve been upgraded from inside to balcony for my upcoming Dec 23 sailing on the Joy. 

I bid 225/pp and it will be worth every penny. 

Of the places I’ve been to so far my rankings would be:

1. Ocean Blue - like to eat here twice a cruise, always find multiple dishes I’m interested in as someone who prefers seafood for my protein.

2. Cagney’s - will usually eat here twice on a longer cruise but usually the slowest service. I’ve largely given up red meat since my last cruise so I’m interested to try out their seafood options and maybe just steal a bite of my husbands steak. 

3. Le Bistro - always feels like the most special restaurant but I just prefer the lighter options at  Ocean Blue 

4. Food Republic - like the variety here, we’ve tried multiple dishes from here and enjoy them all. This is a great place to try something new or sample lots of dishes at once. 

5. La Cucina - I’m Italian originally from NYC - I’m hard to please when it comes to Italian. The food is fine, but not the best. I think they have some of the better desserts. 

6. Moderno - been to substantially better Brazilian steakhouses on land. I like their grilled pineapple A LOT but I’ve found the meats salty and not as good quality as other options on the ship. Would skip this restaurant likely unless my party was adamant about going 🤷🏻‍♀️ 

7. Teppanyaki - we have lots of similiar options at home - my husband and I find it too salty for our taste. We’ll still go once on our 11 day cruise next week because the show is fun and sometimes the people you sit with can be fun. But I don’t really go for the food and the dessert is the worst here. 

8. Margaritaville - waste of money, just go to The Local or O’Sheehans 

I’ll be trying Q on my sailing next week and also eating at all the other speciality restaurants while on the Joy. Except prob the American Diner - although might stop to share their lobster roll app on a sea day if they’re open for lunch. 

3 hours ago, cruiseblues2013 said:

It's been pretty quiet here the last couple days.  Anyone with upgrades for the next 2 weeks?  Waiting patiently for bids to be given.

Still waiting for our cruise that sails Dec 23. 
 

Some people in our Facebook group were sent an email about being outbid and given the option to up their bid. I didn’t get one of those emails so either I’m a sucker for paying more than needed or I’m about to be outbid by a bunch of people who were just tipped off that their bids were too low 🤷🏻‍♀️ 

Hoping I find something out this weekend but not holding my breath. 

10 days till my husband and I enjoy 11 days on the Joy for Christmas and New Years! 

haven’t cruised since Christmas 2018 so very excited for this trip! 

We are sailing the Joy over the holidays so this is great to see! I’m not much of beer drinker but my husband enjoys a cold one so I’m glad to see there are several options I think he’ll thoroughly enjoy! 

I live in Florida and no way would you find me in the ocean in January or February. But YMMV. 

I find the main dining room food to be meh but have enjoyed speciality dining. We always buy enough speciality dining to cover all our nights on boards. Haven’t sailed in the haven but have heard their restaurant has the best food on board. 
 

I’ve never had an issue with overcooked steaks and have sailed with NCL 3 times on different ships.
 

They’ve always been very accommodating if a dish we’ve ordered was not to our taste to allow us to select something different or remake the dish to our liking. If memory serves correct once my moms steak was too rare for her at Cagney and they remade it it and my husband ordered a new to him dish at Le Bistro that was too salty for him and they replaced with a different dish no problem. 
 

I wouldn’t call the food Michelin star quality but I would say speciality dining is similar enough to Disney.

I’ve made all my speciality dining reservations for my upcoming Christmas / NYE cruise on the Joy. So I would also recommend calling or chatting with NCL. 
 

We are eating at Ocean Blue for Christmas Eve and Cagney’s on Christmas Day. NYE we’ll be at La Cucina. 
 

We tend to eat almost all our meals at speciality restaurants because I find the MDR to be very hit or miss.

Our vacation time is very precious to my husband and I (and I know all others who vacation). To have my meal ruined because of a bad match is not my idea of a relaxing evening.  We are both introverts and find meeting new people to be stressful. 
 

Chatting up at the bar or an event where I can easily leave is fine but I don’t want to be stuck with people I don’t know for two+ hours. I’d much rather hit it off with people and then plan to grab dinner together.
 

I agree with previous posters where it’s similar to a first date. You grab a coffee or a drink for a first encounter. You don’t typically set yourself up for a four course meal.