Cruising575

I was on the Joy a few weeks ago. They had breakfast available in the Observation Lounge (smaller selection of things like fruit and pastries) and the American Diner, which included some warm options. The OL still had wonderful snacks every afternoon.

Spice H20 on the Joy is completely nonsmoking since the drydock. The updated deck plan showing the (mostly) enclosed smoking area near the pool is also correct. Some smell does get out of course if you walk nearby, but it really reduced the amount of smoke in the area.

Just off the Joy - I had a M4 CBS on deck 9 that had a bathtub instead of the nicer shower. My PCC had assured me when I booked that it did not have a tub, so I'm not sure how to reliably find out unless you can find a review on that particular cabin. I was previously on the Joy in a MB CBS on deck 10 that had a shower. As for the Jewel - I read that most of the tubs were removed in the last dry dock.

Ship - Joy Deck - 9 Stateroom # - 9832 and 9836 Stateroom Category – M4 Club Balcony Starboard or Port Side - Starboard Quiet Stateroom? (With comments on problems) – Yes, mostly. We heard chairs being dragged around as late as 11pm and as early as 6:30am. The rooms are located above The Cellars/Ocean Blue, so we weren't expecting much noise. Was stateroom a connecting stateroom? - Yes Balcony View - Give comments on view, noting if location of any obstructions was an issue. – There is a solid overhang covering the waterfront on deck 8 that you will see when looking down, but I wouldn't call it an obstruction. It does prevent anyone from being able to look into your balcony from below. Balcony Size? Normal or oversized for class? - Normal Was wind a problem? - No If an aft cabin, was soot a problem? - N/A Any specific problems with this cabin? - No Any other comments? - Both rooms have the beds near the balcony and have tub showers. Ship - Joy Deck - 10 Stateroom # - 10220 Stateroom Category – MB Club Balcony Starboard or Port Side - Port Quiet Stateroom? (With comments on problems) – Yes Was stateroom a connecting stateroom? - No Balcony View - Give comments on view, noting if location of any obstructions was an issue. – Great view. Balcony Size? Normal or oversized for class? - Normal Was wind a problem? - No If an aft cabin, was soot a problem? - No Any specific problems with this cabin? - No Any other comments? - The couch was by the balcony and this had a nice walk-in shower.

Here’s the schedule for the main theater for this week: Beatles on Saturday and Tuesday, 7:30 and 9:30 Magic show on Sunday, 7:30 and 9:30 Comedy on Monday and Friday, 7:30 and 9:30 Elements on Wednesday and Thursday, 7:00 and 9:30 Elements can be booked when you complete check in (our dates changed when we boarded). All other main theater shows are no reservations. Beatles have another show in Cavern Club on Sunday and Wednesday, 7:30 and 9:30.

True, but the Joy is currently following MDR menus 1-7 in the same order that all the other ships seem to follow. If you search for those menus it is reliable. They only post a paper version of the menu by the restaurants after lunch service and never in the app. I really wish they would post menus ahead of time for planning purposes.

On the Joy out of Miami right now. We turned clocks back an hour on the first night.

Norwegian Jewel does actually sail on the east side of Vancouver Island, but I believe the rest of their ships sail on the west side. I was on the Jewel Aug 21-28. One of the people in my group is prone to motion sickness and was shockingly fine on our cruise without taking anything for it. That being said, we could definitely feel the boat moving on the last day once we left Hubbard Glacier.

I stayed at the Breeze Inn last week. We booked 2 rooms - didn't realize until check in that one was in the main building and the other was in their annex building, which is across the parking lot (uncovered walk and it was pouring rain our whole time in Seward). You may want to stay in the same building if you stick with it. The location was great, and they did have a shuttle to a couple places. I did notice frequent shuttles from Windsong in the area.

Recently off the Jewel. We had a group of 5 people using 4 SDP meals twice. We told our servers when we were seated, and they had no issues bringing us an extra plate to share. We were prepared to order a la carte, but the portion sizes were so large that there was no reason to order extra food.

Just went to the Mendenhall Glacier last week. We used a taxi and were dropped off right at the visitor center. They say cell coverage can be spotty at the glacier (though we had decent coverage on AT&T and Verizon), so the taxi driver had us text him when we were ready to leave. It cost about $45 each way for the taxi and an extra $17 per person park entrance fee. Other people in our group had originally booked the Glacier and Tram excursion through NCL, but cancelled onboard once they found out that excursion wasn't allowed at the glacier.

Just wanted to second this. I just got off the Jewel a few days ago and I was able to use my $100 non-refundable shareholder OBC to purchase my 2 cruise next. Final bill to the card was $150 for the $500 value of cruise next certificates, and they were already applied to my existing cruise reservation by the time I got off the ship.

The White Hot party is now called the Glow party. That was on Wednesday Haven has their own, but there are actually two main pools. One is adults only and the other is family friendly and located by the kids aqua park. Both were at least 5 feet deep and felt large compared to our last cruise on the Joy, which only had 1 tiny pool. The adult pool also has large shallow areas with seats which was really nice. Both elevator banks felt equally slow. I believe the $9.95 room service charge applies.

Legacy was a four man group and I remember them singing some Beatles, Jackson 5, and Bruno Mars. They were really good, but we only went to the first show.

Just got off the Escape 1/21-1/28. We were told about the 1-1-1-1 rule, but at Cagney's when I asked for the vegetarian entrée our server half-jokingly said I could have as many sides as I wanted because of that and I had zero issues getting a salad and 3 sides instead of a seafood starter.

For main theater: nights 1 and 5 were Legacy in Concert with two different music shows, nights 2 and 7 were a magician with two different shows, nights 3 and 6 were Choir of Man, and night 4 was the two comedians. The comedians were also in the comedy club on four other nights.

WhatsApp does not work without using your minutes.

Just got off the Escape 1/21-1/28 and wanted to post some information and answer any questions. This was our third NCL cruise (previously on the Sky and Joy) and overall we really enjoyed it. We stayed in a club balcony suite 10800. Embarkation was a breeze. We arrived to the pier around 9:15 and walked onto the ship by 11. Disembarkation was a lot slower. We carried our luggage off and left around 9:30, but it took 40 minutes to make it through the line of people picking up their luggage and actually get to our shuttle. Haven't had that problem on other cruises, so not sure if it was a Port Canaveral problem, but we would have left earlier in the morning had we known. The ship itself was great. The ropes course and waterslides were a ton of fun. There was actually a lot of space on the sun decks and there were several hot tubs and two decent sized pools. This was a full cruise and the interior spaces were always crowded. Didn't use the elevators much since they were so slow and busy. Muster was unfortunately back to an in-person gathering. The only complaint I have about the ship is the smoking casino - the beautiful 678 Ocean Place atrium absolutely stunk of smoke and I couldn't spend any time in the surrounding venues because of it. Food: we tend to eat lunch in the buffet and dinners in MDR. I'm vegetarian and always found plenty of options. The food and service were always good. The buffet shut down early compared to past cruises, so no more late night snacks. The appetizers in MDR seemed smaller than in the past, but the entrees and desserts are huge. We order 1 app, entree and dessert and couldn't finish our plates most nights. We used our specialty dining at Cagney's and La Cucina and that food was some of the best food we've ever eaten. They even let us take dessert back to our rooms. Ports/Excursions: Puerto Plata: We stoped at Taino Bay, not Amber Cove, and even got a bit of a refund on our port fees because of it. The port area was absolutely beautiful and has a large complimentary pool and loungers. Damajagua waterfalls: This was about a 45 minute bus ride from the pier. At the falls there are restrooms and lockers (for an extra $8), and they provide lifejackets, helmets, and a water bottle. It’s advertised as the full waterfall experience, but we only did the first 7 falls. You do have to jump the first one (about 12 feet). The other falls all had a slide option. You should be in decent physical shape to book this excursion as it is an uphill hike with lots of stairs. The area was beautiful but since it is such a popular destination they rushed us through the excursion and we didn't have any time to stop and look around and enjoy the scenery. St. Thomas: We did the Drake’s Seat, Magen’s Bay, and Skyride excursion. We spent 5-10 minutes on the scenic overlook for pictures and two hours at the beach. They leave you at the skyride (about a mile from the pier?), so you can spend as much time there as you want. We were happy with the excursion, but would skip the ship tour and just take a taxi next time. We had AT&T and Verizon coverage throughout the island which was a pleasant surprise. We didn't do an excursion in Tortola since there was so little time there and GSC was unfortunately cancelled due to winds. We did get a refund for missing GSC. Entertainment: reservations were highly recommended and most shows were booked quickly. We got into plenty of shows on standby, but almost all the shows were standing room only. There was a magician, two comedians, Legacy in Concert and Choir of Man in the main theater, and we also enjoyed Howl at the Moon and some of the smaller bands in the other venues. Supper Club also has some smaller shows - there's a complimentary dinner or you can sit in back for just the show. We also enjoyed Bamboozled, an escape room styled game.

Just got off the Escape (she was sold out this last week). You can’t make reservations through the app or tv until 1pm. I got in line for show reservations at noon and was able to get my limit of two comedy reservations, but most shows were already booked up. We got into more shows on standby, but it was standing room only. I heard complaints that people couldn’t get reservations at Cagney’s by the early afternoon.