mking8288

Okay, I'm going to resume and return to regular "programming" - that I promised to do, post-cruise, including an overview, review of being onboard the Joy, first time sailing this ship ... which is very similar, not carbon copy of the *Away/+ class ships (the layout are largely familiar but also a little different, i.e. the Observation Lounge, Deck 15 Fwd and the Garden Cafe, Deck 16 Fwd and the open air / sun deck with the "pool". LeBistro moved up to Deck 8 AFT (instead of Moderno) Tappenyaki expanded & moved across to Port Side on Deck 6. "The Local" replaced O'Sheehan's and has a modern, sleek look to it, cool but **** District Brew House & Food Republic at their usual locations on similar mega ships. **** Comment: The Local has a lot of elevated tables & high stools, great for bar drinks with a young crowd as audience, but not "accessible" friendly if you got seniors in the group. The host/ess need to use their thinking head & no excuse to not be familiar with their seating charts and table setup - do you really expect mature adults aged 70+ to be happy or comfortable being able to lift their legs and sit high up while overlooking the atrium for a comfort meal ??? 🧐 🙄 😳 especially when there are plenty of tables & it's not full, nor was there ever a line to wait of more than 4 or 5 parties from different staterooms. Or, at least "ask" if some of us in the group of 6, mind or not - maybe, we like a regular (height) table or one of the booths that seat 6 - duh !! Training, customer care & being attentive, and not really asking to go above & beyond - just common sense, hello - and seas were calm then. (Okay, maybe good old Henry is in a grumpy mood tonight - but "they" wanted this message and words to be put out here as FYI) Let's talk about my thoughts about specific cabin locations to avoid / book - if considering one of the bareboned SC Suites - specific to the Joy. Recounted the total - 31 of these and for an upcoming Joy sailing, almost at final payment & cancellation penalty-free deadline, only 4 of them booked ... I wonder why. Deck 15 Fwd - there are only 2 of these, they are pretty forward - good if you are in one of the Haven suites nearby, or have one of the balcony or club nearby, and ... Convenient access to the Spa, Lounge and Observation Deck, etc. - then, consider booking it. Otherwise, I would book nothing higher than 14, if we're to stay in these again. The 6 "jurors" are still out in conference. Deck 14 - there are 3 in Fwd, quite a walk from the front elevators & stairs ... not really desirable to us, and if your sailing run into another storm at sea like we did or simply worried about motion-sickness ... don't book it. There are 4 behind the front elevators, more MIDship in locations, those should be fine, convenient (it is above the Medical Center ... not an issue, I think) Deck 12 - Deck 11 - both have 8 SC on each floor - avoid 12531 and 12537, avoid 11527 and 11531 layout is fine, roomier living room - see below for why. Deck 10 - avoid 10537 and 10453 - like Deck 11 & 12 above, these are port side ones, we took plenty of photos ... the problem is the white space next door - it's crew space used for storage & supplies, a huge room with double doors, also a place where several of them (crew) sometimes come & go during their extended work hours - doors closing & opening, we can heard them in the main bedroom (10453) - if you desire peace & extra quiet, like to sleep late, etc. - book a different one instead, plenty of vacant ones still available. These suites used to come with extra perks, privileges and "benefits" - most of them discontinued, dropped and no longer included or available - the pro's being the extra space to share. But, that pullout sofa is, when fully setup, IMHO - very tight to sleep 2 adults comfortably (didn't have a tape measure with us) - more of a full size bed together than being a queen bed ... fine for children & maybe teens only, good for one grown-up to sleep on. Unless they have a rollaway bed/foam mattress to pair up, I just didn't find or see any hidden slide-out, too "cozy" for comfort. The smaller bedroom has a single bed, and an hidden upper bunk that most seasoned CC'er that sailed NCL are familiar with. Can you imagine older adults using the top bunk ... no way, period. Thus, these suites are good for really 4 adults (or, seniors) at most - an extra one (sleep 5) if a family is booking this with children/youth. The other issues we had, was the height of the bathtub in the main bedroom, similar to the ones in the (formerly mini-suites) or Club Balcony "Suite" with bathtub - truly had to lift your leg up & high to climb over to get into & out of the tub. All 3 seniors in the other suite ended up using the walk-in shower, more "accessible by design & friendly" - nothing can be done about these, maybe at a future dry dock ... The soft-touch sliding clear doors made a lot of noise, banging & closing / opening throughout stormy weather when we've rocking & rolling with 30+ feet rough seas, had to improvise with towels & clips to stop them from moving around. Minor / misc. details (not a deal-breaker "thing" that I've noticed) Someone help explain what these holes were once used to anchor what ?? - inside the bathtub ?? and there's another hole behind the toilet area on the wall ?? Strange & odds, obviously no longer used or needed - it's not difficult to seal it up with a dab of flexible, water-proof & moisture-proof silicone, I think. Hint - it looks better too and very easily done ... unless it is just our "suite" (wait, who is allowed to bring a cordless onboard) That's called attention to details, especially if NCL is (continuing to) market these as "suites" - but, not so sure we can buy into it again - let our 6 jurors continue to deliberate further, for now.

Thanks, everyone - please don't get too worried (or else, I wouldn't be banging away on the keyboard now - although, will probably call it an early night to get some extra sleep). My symptoms onset was maybe half a day ahead of hers and milder, I'm doing okay & felt improving where Mrs. still running a fever, taking OTC after calling her PCP for a tele-consult, as she has a bit more risk factor than me. I've debated to call up to the ship's MC earlier yesterday after doing a DIY rapid test but figured that, at the end of the cruise - they aren't going to do much for us anyway, unless / except ... We just started isolating & mask up when we stepped out of our suite - onboard shopping was done mid-week (thankfully, or else, the NR OBC would've gone to waste) Some of the random thoughts & comments about our two "SC" suites (Family Insides w Virtual Balconies) specific/unique to the Joy - trying to keep this thread on topic & not go off-topic or sidelined ... I tossed in my two cents about them as reflections / post-cruise "opinions" in another thread started recently by another CC'er - link is here if you wish to read my subjective impressions. It doesn't affect most and only of interest when cruising on the Joy & booking (or planning to / already booked) one of the suites (or, maybe - possibly upgrade bid for one) https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2850595-20-service-fee-for-a-suite-that-has-no-suite-perks/#comment-63214876

Affirmatively. As of lately on the Joy, we just disembarked this morning - had two SC on Deck 10 (Family Inside Suites - 2 bedrooms with 2 baths) and paid the prevailing rates when we booked it last month, wasn't upgrade bidded into them. There're no special dining area for guests in these 32 SC cabins - I cannot speak, definitively about SP suites. $20 per person per day as the DSC and aside from the coffee machine, restocked daily, there're no other perks that I can think of. Room Steward was fine, but didn't even offer or ask whether we wish to have an ice bucket filled / refilled, of course - we didn't get any soda or "cartons" of water either, except for 4 "cartons" due to our Latitudes tier status (Sapphire) - the other SC suite got 2. We're charged for $10 Room Service delivery for a "hot breakfast" - privileges being the same as someone in a Studio, Inside or Balcony. We had to ask for 1 "extra" pair of white bath robes & disposable slippers (none that are oversized) - only 2 in the closet, when it's clear & obvious - as they have a manifest with headcounts, etc. - there're 3 staying in each of our 2 suites ... can't speak for the other 30 or 31 SC. The $10 room service charge offset or covered by our NR OBC, however, not everyone gets or receive OBC. To us, it's not a big deal and not that it is unaffordable, or else, we would NOT book them - perhaps, call it a matter of curiosity to burn a little more money than usual (and, we own NCLH stocks for years ...) The real answers that we are looking for, still puzzled, is what exactly did we get for being in these "suites" when half of the virtual balcony screen gone offline 3 times this week, each requiring a call to Guest Services ... since I wasn't sure the steward would check, report & get someone to fix it, STAT. Rebooting ourselves didn't restore connectivity. Had we stayed with the Insides, Oceanviews or Balconies, our Latitudes status would get us "priority check-in / embarkation as well as disembarkation" and special color / mailed luggage tags or delivered onboard. We wouldn't need to pay or stay in one of these SC to get "priorities". NY (Manhattan) Cruise Terminal's check-in lately, especially when Bermuda bound is consistently unpredictable, unreliable and chaotic, disorganized - unlike the Florida/GSC/Nassau runs on the Getaway - I am being careful to not confuse some of the suites-related issues inside the building, which is handled by shore-based outsourced contractor for NCL. I detailed a list of issues to the newly onboard GM mid-week, got a follow-up message the next day from one of his delegated manager, head of Guest Services - and, we had a long chat ... he is aware & I reiterated the concerns are from a "concerned" group on CC. It isn't and didn't ruin our vacation onboard, although there are subtle issues with not really seeing things being done to go "above & beyond" Case in point - with 2 Platinum in the other suite and 2 Sapphire in ours, we had zero paper laundry bag or slip in their closet and a single (one) small (downsized) paper bag in ours - no laundry slip either. When asked, received (surprise) 2 old/originally sized paper laundry bag (used for last 2 decades) plus 2 slips to use - nylon laundry bags (or is it cotton, reusable ones) to save us the hassle of skipping a liner. Marriott's laundry bags to be rescue as liners, fit inside those paper bags. Perks - explain to us, how. Not bad enough to ***** onboard & demand another conversation with the care team or escalate to the asst. housekeeping manager, or should I. I did speak to him about an unrelated matter and knew who to call, as a "complaint" - not worth my / our time. Don't get me started about those "treats" delivered twice during the week - it was really a joke, I'm not going to repeat it here, photo-documented in "Semi-Live" - no further need to say anything. Sister of one of my two sister-in-law said it well, we could've gone upstair to the buffet & bring better varieties down in a small bowl or plate ... except that the rectangular covered tray fit better inside the refrigerator, and it's more roomy & empty except for 3 bottles there, for our convenience, with a charge ... of course. We didn't and never reduced that DSC but what we cash tipped (extras) this week, was, in fact, less than what we gave to our steward on the Getaway last month - staying in a balcony. He was smart, helpful, proactive and truly make us feel at home in the cabin then. These past 7 nights, not too sure about it and that's based on Mrs M's vote. Let's see what changes can and will be made in the coming weeks, as the Roll Calls have been following along - not just on suite-related Joy issues but "generic" ones that are mostly off-topics & not related to this thread.

Dan - guest what, Susan and I hit the (unlucky) jackpot this afternoon, you and I were out on the Waterfront Friday afternoon and on the back of Deck 8 chatting about things, including this subject ... with the wind & breeze, I don't think you should worry about catching it from us. But - I just added a bit of details on Semi-Live. It's clear that the current measures aren't catching it all. Henry / mking8288

Important (Health) Update - well, a 2nd. round of Antigen Rapid test this afternoon confirmed my/our worst "fear" - and, that is NOT to set off panic and start the blame game, just to inform and strongly urge, recommend and advise any & all with plans to sail the Joy, to exercise due diligence. Mask up correctly, especially when indoors & in crowded places - I don't think we can pinpoint precisely when & how or where we're exposed. We're masked up this morning as we disembark the ship, thru the cruise terminal and in our car service ride home - we worn our masks last night in the Joy Theater & were otherwise mostly in our suite yesterday - a slim chance of spreading the risks to others. Luckily, symptoms are mild - we are fully vaxxed (Pfizer) and boosted - our BIL/SIL & her sister in the other suite were double boosted, tested negative after we alerted them. The other SIL that're in "our" suite but in the smaller bedroom & bath by herself, boosted - tested also negative. All 4 of them will doing the self test again in 48 to 72 hours just to be sure, sooner if they begin to experience symptoms - Susan had a fever of 100.6 earlier (it's down now), her SPO2 is fine at 96%, other basic vitals are fine - yours truly, I believe, has milder symptoms that can be easily mistaken for catching a cold or the flu. For the next 5 to 7 days, we are going to self-isolate, test again and stay put, I'm sleeping in the library/guest room's sofabed & going to follow CDC guidance. We had tried to be as careful as we should but it's a challenge with the latest & highly contagious sub/variants prevalent in the NY area now. I had a hunch all week that something is being spread onboard & crew is trying to go above and beyond, thinking it's possibly norovirus. I was wrong on that, it turned out to be C-19 & we caught it ourselves, unfortunately ... Well, we knew the risks involved and took it, it was fine in late March on the Getaway, but - boo, just going to accept and take personal responsibilities for it. If warranted, we can use tele-health, etc. Plentiful provisions in the freeze & on pantry shelves to get us thru and get food delivered, etc. We should be fine - count our blessings over the last 2 years - after a few days of home/bed rest - more time to hangout on CC 👴 Just think for a moment, if these were the results last Friday - would've ended up with denied boarding and ... Somehow & somewhere, between Sunday and yesterday, while on this cruise - we became unlucky.

On a post-cruise related "observation" - the Joy is just backing out of Pier 88 now (at 5:00 pm or 17:00 hours) - when I last checked 15+ minutes ago, she was still docked - hopefully it's not that Bermuda TA again with more passengers this week, as we left on schedule & the provisional passes, maybe, made it possible. Marinetraffic has the next port/destination listed now as heading for Norfolk, VA. BTW, as expected & confirmed by others on earlier Joy sailings with a stop planned for Norfolk, VA - absolutely no refund, adjustments or non-refundable OBC issued to us from last Monday (okay, blame it on mother nature & that freak storm with 30+ feet large wave and rough seas) It is clear that the Joy's live shipcam is working just fine for us, accessible from home - it was offline for the entire week, initially had an error message about connection issues (Ch. 12 - Ch. 11 being the navigational info) Ch 12 (shipcam) disappeared entirely from Tuesdy or Wednesday onward - the workaround to see or check on how rough things were plowing thru those large waves & sea states, had to use satellite WiFi to connect. Not very good, IMHO, for a ship built & launch in 2018 - the Cisco hardware, routers & other systems on the Joy appeared fine & inTRAnet speed is quite fast (5 Ghz WiFi)

Great to get feedback that this review is well received and details helpful, which I figured to be the case with the ship moving to the East Coast as home base (seasonally ?? - haven't look at her detailed deployment schedule, been too busy w everything else). The way things looked, we'll be waiting to board as you disembark on the 2nd B2B. Correct, aside from the welcome letter in the suites signed off by Patrick & Ricardo, the GM until the ship reached Bermuda - never got the chance to meet, contact nor felt the need to reach out to him/his assistant or the team ... we managed just about everything quite well on our own. I posted his internal / ship extension - the officer's card gave out by the Group Services Coordinators only had different department head's names and extensions, no email addresses for any of them. Maybe, the leaders for the next 2 or 3 roll calls embarking later this month can find out for you. Messaging functions remained blocked & disabled by CC's admin since they made major changes several years ago. Regardless, if I manage to find out privately from other sources, I will forward to you directly if the source prefer not to post it here.

AR & RJ - yes, we are going to keep in touch for sure. Here's that Getaway Semi-Live from March 2022 - https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2840868-getaway-semi-live-limited-ny-florida-pc-gsc-nassau-3272022/ Just in case you are thinking about using those NCL certs (ours "were" extended from 2023 to 2025 by NCL automatically earlier this year, although we just used them all up ... so, picked up more this past week, in case there's another DoubeUp promo soon/again) - we decided to break our own rules & "early" book on the GA next January to the Carib's for 12 days (out of NY) These are new ports to us (aside from PR & USVI) - should be a good one - despite the uncertainly with warnings of another surge, etc.) First, we got some tough choices & decisions to make for September "Joy" ... now that we've experienced non-H Joy suite lives, kinda missed the real balcony - will write up a bit more shortly. There're some B2B on the Joy this week, saw room stewards moving luggage down the corridor as we made our way AFT for a quicker priority "exit" to the gangway - he's on almost every other cruise, if not B2B and with some of the NCL promos & deals, he's definitely doing good scoring his way to being honorary Master of the Vessel or equivalent.

Perry - Thanks, we didn't really invoke Priority disembarkation this morning, LOL. Room steward was waiting impatiently for us to clear out of our 2 suites so we vacated, hit the gangway at 8:35 am and flew past CBP by 8:50, porter walking our baggage & got home by 9:45 am. Hopefully, my discussion with the Guest Service Manager onboard will help ease some of the check-in issues with priorities sooner than later. Do keep us posted later on your experience. Wishing you & your Roll Call a great cruise week ahead. Henry - a/k/a "mking8288"

Hey there - you surely got home quick & safely to Phila this morning, huh. Rooftop parking is so easy & simple, a bit expensive, perhaps but unbeatable for convenience & safety while away for a week or whatever length. It's too bad that we didn't have a good M&G, never mind mingle at the District Brew House with the mixed group. Oh well - that's over. Car service dropped us off by 9:45 am and now, Susan is going to resume her usual Sunday morning nap and I'm off shortly to provisioning (grocery shopping, haha) and going to figure out what's for lunch, definitely closing our kitchen (gallery) today - refused to cook or clean. The seniors in the other suite also got home safely - this one will be talked about for a long time, especially with that roller coaster ride Sunday night into Monday afternoon ... that's part of the Bermuda experience. Until we get the chance to meet onboard again on another cruise ... take care & wish you and family a great week ahead. Feel free to add comments, thoughts & observations, etc. to this thread; and, or - to start your own mini review, short & concise or whatever format you are comfortable with. Best regards.

8:35 am out past security to gangway. All luggage colors called by now - they want us out 😸😸😸 8:45 luggage collected, fast track w porter thru CBP👌 8:55 cars ordered, crossing 12th Ave at 9 am 😁 9:15, upgrade minivan by Carmel ... heading home. Buckle up for ride safety. 👍

The line on the pier with the Express Self Asst, Yellow + 1 color has been called. Lots of folks in the atrium plus crews with approved shore leaves. Virtual farewell instead of the theater traditional goodbye.

Hi, Sharon ... we are docked at Pier 88, foggy outside. Traditional Disembarkation Breakfast at Savor now. Very busy MDR, not everyone in a hurry, we can head for the gangway anytime between 8:15 to 9 am with priority. They are taking the accessible guests down the elevators already. Express walk off hasn't been called, waiting for the ship to be cleared (updated - called at 7:30 am) We are heading home shortly. It's waiting for you, have a great week onboard the Joy. Bon Voyage for this week's you and all CC'ers on the Roll Call.

Bags tagged as Priority color yellow, on the way for morning disembarkation. Tonight's satellite being the fastest all week, a few stats & screenshots - self explanatory ... The WiFi upgrade for 7 nights cost $110 onboard using NR OBC after the credit of $100 for 150 minutes. DW can still use or share her 150 minutes. Post-cruise debriefing to follow after we get back home - dense fog advisory for Queens in the morning, maybe we'll stay onboard as late as possible 😆😆😆 Some of the crew are going home in the morning, vacation for them while some are granted time off to go ashore, back on the ship by 2 pm. Excited, they are heading to Times Square to take photos & shop for personal items, then back to duty ... Ask the Taste Dining hostess how was her morning sleep, she will be on duty in the afternoon.

Elements, the show was excellent - don't miss it. Afterward, we went downstairs to Taste for a late dinner - expecting a line to wait & get seated, nada. Walked right in, again. Prime ribs on tonight's menu, along with Veal & other goodies, key lime cheesecake, etc. Again, subjectively, very heavy handed with sodium - too salty for the seniors. If sailing on the Joy soon and you agreed, time to have a conversation with the chef's team and/or F&B manager about it.

Of course, I recognize your name on CC - can't remember whether we've met or sailed on the same cruise in the past ... perhaps in future ones. With ship's satellite WiFi, it's miserable to stay connected but pre-cruise, I browse ahead & also cruise following to see who's who. I can tell you are running a great CC roll call, unlike ours but I attended anyway. Blah, horrible. Charlie seems to be popping up on almost every NCL cruise that sail from NY, I saw his posts just about everywhere toasting with his beer in hand, LOL. Things are in good hands under you 😎 👌

NP, it's been fun & I've enjoyed doing them, just feeling great to be at seas again. This is what CC is about and we share the passion and spirit, and bond to help the community. Your 5/22 roll call should be able to count on cruise veterans like silverc* "Charlie" to navigate choppy waters. We wish you all calm seas, smooth sailings and happiness onboard. Most importantly, the terminal check-in gets streamlined & priorities recognized & honored. We are going to be back on the Joy in the Fall with more cabins to be booked, what we learn onboard are highly useful & valuable, maybe recalibrating our plans & bookings.

It's seafood for the final night in the Garden Cafe - pretty empty (where's everyone - specialty dining ??? ) stopping there for dessert first before, as it is almost showtime. Elements at 7 pm and 9:30 pm - a one hour show. Do book these onboard with the app or via iTV's remote control. Going to dinner afterward.

Etienne is the GS Manager onboard, ext #28802 - he seemed to got the message, but how far up the chains of command will this need to go to a corrective plan with positive outcomes, remains to be seen in the coming weeks & months. I sure hope and wanted to see it addressed affirmatively. As for other former perks associated with the concierge Joy cabins that was catering to the China market, I am afraid 😟 we lost to this round. It doesn't meant to toss the towels in, but will take a strategically focus effort to push the envelop. For 2 or 3 adults, I can see clearly sticking with a balcony or club mini - and an inside nearby, just won't be connecting. More on this topic post-cruise.

Etienne is the GS Manager onboard, ext #28802 - he seemed to got the message, but how far up the chains of command will this need to go to a corrective plan with positive outcomes, remains to be seen in the coming weeks & months. I sure hope and wanted to see it addressed affirmatively. As for other former perks associated with the concierge Joy cabins that was catering to the China market, I am afraid 😟 we lost to this round. It doesn't meant to toss the towels in, but will take a strategically focus effort to push the envelop. For 2 or 3 adults, I can see clearly sticking with a balcony or club mini - and an inside nearby, just won't be connecting. More on this topic post-cruise.

K9 @Arzeena 😆 Enjoying another cup of Nespresso, one of the few remaining "perks" left for these exclusive suites on the Joy only. We have some serious considerations to look at, afterward ... as to whether we should cross these from our list & go with other options. I further inforned the GS manager that the priority setup at Pier 88/90 is not acceptable and they need to discuss & work with the terminal staff to recognize, train & manage, and find a way to fast track guests booked in 1 (or 2) of these suites ... not expecting Haven-like boarding escorts. If it wasn't for our Sapphire & Platinum status, good grief as to where we sit in the terminal waiting to board as Zone/Group 15 when we arrived promptly at 10 am for our scheduled time to check-in and all docs in order. I wish those sailing this month better success & moving along inside Pier 88. There's probably more questions, which I will address post-cruise ... Time to get our bags ready & a quick afternoon nap.

Living room's sofabed, it'll pull out but its wooden base is very heavy, and even when setup to sleep 2, pretty tight except 2 cozy adults. I put a pillow down on the foam mattress for better visual. The virtual balcony is now back again 🤞🤫

Photos of the smaller bedroom, pretty spacious closer but fairly simple, nothing upscale about it, for those looking a little extra at the prevailing "family suite" rate that I discussed with the GS manager this morning. It can squeeze in 2 double beds to make it a Queen bed, but space will be tight in front of the dresser/desk. The night stands or tables in the rooms are bigger than the slim ones in the fleet's balcony, oceanview, etc.

Outlets - limited in the living room & master BR, more usable one in the smaller BR - who designed & signed off the layout.

Deck 6 AFT by the elevators & between the stairs, good place to take photos, NCL photograpers used to claim this space for studio-like portraits.