bkrickles1

That's good to hear some first hand experience. We're sailing Joy 6/26 and are really getting excited. Thanks for the response.

A quick follow up. Someone in my party lost there original cdc card and just has one that shows the booster (he was double vaccinated with pfizer, lost his card, and then went for the booster). We live in NY and will be cruising out of NYC. Are you saying he'll be good to go with his Excelsior Pass Plus that shows all 3 shots on it? Should he print it or just show the app at the terminal? TIA

If you want a really easy time embarking, show up at 2pm or later. You'll have a drink in hand within 30 minutes of arrival at the pier. I have a 9am slot and plan on being there with my group of 4 at 8:30am or earlier. I'll deal with a little crowding to be on the ship with the first group after the priority groups. That usually gets me on board by around 11am and no later than 11:30am. This is the way we've done it for years at all the various ports. It's a tradition that everyone in my family appreciates, except for my wife. Lol. She'll complain the whole time we're waiting to board, but will be so happy once we do. Our sailing on Joy is in 18 days!!!

Saw "Choir of Man" in the Supper Club on Escape in 2018 and it was the best show I've seen on a cruise ship. We subsequently saw Choir of Man again on Encore in the theater and, while it was still great, it was better in the smaller venue.

It's all about the bathroom. Lmao We're sailing Joy 6/26 and upgraded from balcony after final payment for like $75 and we're very excited about the bathroom. Extra space and the shower looks awesome.

That's the thing about this virus, it's different for everyone. For the vast majority of people I know that have contracted the virus, it was like a cold. I, for the first time that I'm aware, tested positive last Monday with mild symptoms. A headache and a cough. I'm pretty sure I brought it home to my wife after a concert. She tested positive 3 days after me, also with mild symptoms. Our headaches and coughs progressed to head colds, with my symptoms dissipating beginning on the 4th day and almost entirely gone by today. My wife seems to be following the same way with her symptoms. We are all triple vaxxed. For us, covid has been just like a cold, although we do sympathize with those that are having a harder time. We're sailing Joy 6/26 and hopefully our small battle with covid now helps to keep it away from us during our sailing. Feel better soon!

I'm voting for Horseshoe Bay. I know it's the most popular with the biggest crowds, but it's the most beautiful and you can avoid the crowd if you're smart about it. I've been to some of the others mentioned here, but amenities do become an issue and I always come back to and enjoy Horseshoe Bay the best. Horseshoe has all the amenities and if you go all the way down to the left as you enter the beach, you'll find some wide open space. If you go even further to the left, you'll find some small coves to hang out. There's at least one to the right too. And, if you rent chairs and umbrellas, the guys who set them up for you will bring them where you want and you can pick the most secluded spot that you desire. Of course a tip will go a long way if you choose to go all the way down to the left. I'm on the 6/26 Joy sailing to Bermuda and this is my plan for 2 of the 3 days we're there. Just my 2 cents.

There are so many variables and different priorities that people have when searching for a cruise/cruise ship so it's difficult to place a "best value" tag on any one cruise line. We have sailed on Celebrity, Royal and NCL. For many years it was exclusively Royal and we loved every one of our sailings. We've never booked Haven or any other ship within a ship area. We are truly value shoppers when searching for a vacation. Our cabin is not a top priority either. We've stayed in everything from inside to suites and I just don't stay in the room that much for it to make a difference. Also, my research of each ship (most is done right here on cc), allows us to avoid many common pitfalls and we are typically very efficient in our planning. Little secrets like deck 19 on Escape, right outside Vibe. Quiet with a bar and whirlpool. It took at least 3 days for many to discover this area and we loved it! Our last 2 trips were on the Escape and Encore and we have Joy booked for 6/26/22. So, as you can see, we've switched it up a little and have found NCL to provide me and my crew the best value. When we select a cruise, we start with a sailing date, then choose a ship. Itinerary has never been the driving force in choosing a sailing. Doing it this way kept us on Royal for quite a few cruises but recently it has led us more to NCL. And, NCL has been the best value when choosing this way. If food was our #1 priority, we'd probably stick with Celebrity, but that's no longer the case for us. It used to be more important to us but now we prefer to be flexible and casual. That gives NCL an edge. I didn't even bring a pair of pants for my sailings on Escape and Encore and I liked it. Nice shorts with a button down shirt and I was good to go (we didn't dine in Le Bistro or Cagneys), even in the Manhattan room and the Specialties we dined at. Our #1 priority has become the entertainment and NCL has been outstanding for our last 2 sailings and we expect that to continue with Joy in June. The variety of musical acts is always great and then they have some unique to NCL acts like Choir of Man and Beatles tribute. We loved Howl at the Moon on Escape too. There's always something to do and we enjoyed it even more than what Royal has to offer. Obviously price has to be there for it to be considered a good value and, for us, NCL has been the least expensive too, especially when you combine the free at sea perks. For us, they are valuable. On vacation, I drink. I start at 9am and pretty much continue through bedtime. That's a huge value for me. A bonus, for us, is that now that my daughter is 22 and is still the 3rd person in our cabin, she gets the drink package too. We enjoy the 2 specialty meals and always upgrade our internet, so that's good value also. The included airfare can be of enormous value too, if you hit it right. We did for our Encore sailing and it would have been for our cancelled Joy sailing in January of this year too. So, bottom line, NCL has provided the most (for us) for the least amount of $$ and that does include our upcoming sailing on Joy. 47 Days! YMMV

Excellent memory! And not a good memory for me. Lol. Was scheduled for 1/15/22 sailing on Joy and it was cancelled mere days before we were to leave for Miami. And, in hindsight, it was cancelled for no good reason. But I digress. Lmao!! The only good thing that came out of the cancellation/rebook was that now we're leaving from NYC so no flying for us and we'll take a car service to the pier from out on the island. Anyway, I'm glad to hear that those coffee stations exist on Joy too. We're 51 days out and are getting excited, again.

Just a little something that I enjoyed on Escape and Encore and I assume it'll be the same on Joy. I go to the gym almost every morning on a cruise between 5:30 and 6am. On Escape and Encore I would go down to the Waterfront after I was done and before I showered (thankfully there's rarely anyone around at that hour to smell me). They had 2 coffee stations set up on the Waterfront. I'd go to the one by the Cavern Club/Five Oclock Somewhere bar and enjoy a cup while watching the world go by. Very beautiful, soothing and comfortable. I'm sailing Joy at the end of June and hopefully they do the same.

I find this a little odd actually.