T BYRD

She is a ray of sunshine 🌸

As Interior Family Suite guests, we received some of the haven perks.

“Priority embarkation/disembarkation”Upon entering Pier 88 All guests must go through the same first security check point, then we were greeted to separate check-in lines and a roped off pre-board seating area.  Then two hours later….
After those needing assistance, and the upper tier latitude members, we were called to board. Kinda sweet 😁

For disembarkation, we received Yellow luggage tags in our room the day before with instructions to leave our bags outside the door that night and we would be the first group called (8:45am) to get off the ship the next morning as our bags would be the first ones available in the claim area. 
 

We chose “Self disembarkation” instead and were instructed to be in line down on deck 7 by 8:00am. 
We got down to the Local Cafe early, had maybe 30-40 guests in front of us, and were off the ship (through to theatre) in no time. Easy peasy 👍
 

I’ll definitely do that again!!

It was relatively quick and zero stress.

Now… If I wanted to relax, have breakfast, and enjoy every minute that I could on that amazing ship… I’d arrange to be the last guest to walk off 😊

No matter what color tags and time slot you are given, you can always go to the Guest Service desk and choose a later time to disembark 😉

We were in an Interior family suite. 
Yellow was the first color called after the self disembarking passengers. 
I believe that happened at 8:45am. 

I didn’t see them…

Also, our Elements show got cancelled due to a cast member’s injury. 
 

They had a magician instead and he was pretty amazing 👍

2 minutes ago, living at the beach said:

This is a question about a previous post, but I couldn’t find a way to get there. In regards to the Dockyards mini bus, where do you go to get it? I never knew about it in the past and therefore used to take the regular bus that let me out at the top of the hill. Thanks

The mini-buses stage with the taxis right on the main turn around in the center of the pier. 
Just ask if they bring you right down to the beach before getting in 😉

1 minute ago, Laszlo said:

Interesting, must be a new thing. Been parking there for 12 years and never had an issue with getting a spot. 90% of the time I get a spot within a 100ft of the elevator 

I will always make reservations if they are available…

It’s a looong walk from pier 90 to 88!

This is 88 hours before throwing lines out of NY. 
 

With bigger ships, comes more cars needing to park. 

I works for me 🤷‍♂️

2 hours ago, maketime4cruisin said:

It seems like they limit it up to 2 weeks out. I kept trying to reserve for my cruise, and just a little under 2 weeks out i was able to book 

I just checked the nycruise parking site and reservations are available for every ship that is scheduled until the end of the year 👍

2 hours ago, josephine678 said:

Ahh the pier just opened up parking reservations for my cruise. NY Cruise says 12pm?? Just to confirm you can arrive earlier?

I think my reservation was for 8am…

I did see a few cars parked along the side of upper deck where the entrances to the lots are located. 
Not sure if the were waiting for their time slot 🧐

You can call the number on your reservation and ask. 
The guy I talked to was wicked nice. 

9 hours ago, Railfan30 said:

 

Can you comment on how long your meal took, reservation time, entertainment start time?  We have an early 5:30pm reservation and I believe entertainment may be 6:30-7:15.  Thanks! 

We had a 5:30pm reservation as well. 
Table service was what I consider normal… drinks in 5 minutes… apps in 20…. Entrees in 30-40. 
 

Julia came out onto the stage at 6:10. 
We stayed for the whole set which ended @ 7:15. 

Not sure if it’s frowned upon to post external links on this forum but…

NYCRUISE dot COM is the site to reserve a spot at the actual cruise terminal lot.  Other sites only direct you to close-by lots. 

That depends…. 
The pier is as long as the ship, so if you park waaaaay down on the end then it’ll be over 1000ft to the elevator!!

That would be a bad way to start your cruise if it was pouring rain 🫤

I took my time and waited for a spot next to the entrance. 

Pier 90 and 88 both have parking on the top that are accessed from the same “LEVEL 3” service road. Just follow the signs. 

Make a reservation! Free cancellation up to the scheduled time of arrival 👍

On their website, you choose your Ship and date and it will tell you what pier to park at. (The parking attendants will direct you also)
 

We chose a 9:30 check-in time slot. 
Entering the Cruise terminal access road off of The Hudson River Greenway

(Rt. 9A)@ 8:45am, I dropped my fellow cruisers and baggage off on LEVEL 2 then exiting the access road, made the reverse direction loop back onto the Greenway (Rt. 9A),

re-entered the access road, then took the ramp up to the parking area on top of Pier 88 (LEVEL 3)
 

The attendant up there was directing traffic onto pier 90 first, then around the lot, and back out onto the service road to get to pier 88.  I believe this was done to control the flow of traffic better. 

There were plenty of open spots 👍
 

Hope this helps 😊

We went to one 18+ show.

We had a blast! 
Joe was great! 

Our concierge got us reservations. 

I would definitely recommend that you plan ahead. 
The “stand-by” line was wicked long!!

Made it home safe and sound 👍

Self disembarking was a breeze!

We got our luggage packed last night,

Ship tied up to Pier 88 at 6am,

We got inline(Deck 7 at the Local)with our bags in tow at @ 6:45,

Walked off the ship at 8:10,

Exit is kinda strange as you walk through the baggage pick-up/forklift loading area,

Headed up the elevator to level 3,

Stuffed our bags in the car and were driving out of Manhattan by 8:30. 
 

I’d honestly be fine with sailing on the JOY back and forth to Bermuda all Summer long. 
But it’s good to be home ❤️

If anyone has any questions….

Fire away 😉

Last special dining dinner tonight…

we decided on The Q.  
The food was great!!  We all got different stuff off of the menu and shared it. 
The smoked peach ‘Rita was good. 

The only spot I found Shiner Bock, 

Live acoustic Country tunes by Julia Hatfield were really amazing!   Check her out next time on the Joy 😎

You want an awesome Swizzle?

Tell Joana up in the Observation Lounge that Mr Todd sent you 😉

21 hours ago, mitsugirly said:

@T BYRD can you check in the gift shop and see if they have the Joy ship ornaments back out again? When we went they said they didn't have any but might have some in the future. 

The only Christmas ornaments I found are in the Photo Gallery. 
 

5 hours ago, DMP609 said:

What time is the first shuttle to Horseshoe Bay? When you left at noon, was the shuttle full?

We took the first mini-bus at 6:45am and we were the only passengers. 

We took a taxi van back at noon for the same price and again, only us onboard. 
There were many options available for the return trip waiting in the parking lot at Noon. 

19 hours ago, NewPennCruiser said:

Thanks for sharing your trip with us and safe travels home once you get back.  Enjoy the last sea day.  I had a quick question.  You shared a picture of a run swizzle from a bar in Bermuda earlier.  I'm curious, since the Joy right now is pretty much exclusively sailing to Bermuda for the summer, can you get a rum swizzle anywhere on the ship?

You can get a Swizzle at most bars although everyone makes them a little different…. The OL has the best 😉

Headed through the outbound channel…

Bye Bermuda. 
See ya next time ❤️

Last day in Bermuda 🫤
 

We got up early and took the first mini-bus to Horseshoe Bay this morning 😴

$7pp both ways. (Sit in the front seat of the bus next to the driver!!

(it is like a scary amusement park ride!)
 We were there before they even started setting up the umbrellas and chairs… maybe less than 20 people walking around. 

Chairs and Umbrellas are $10ea for the day. 
It really is an absolutely beautiful beach!

Very fine, soft, white sand… only pink if you dig down a little
We saw some crazy big Parrot fish way out by the rocks while snorkeling. 
A nice young lady was walking around taking a snack bar food and drink orders!

We had chicken fingers and fries that were delivered hot and delicious 👍

We left around noon and it was packed!!

Got to the ship with no lines to get back onboard, showered up and hit the Garden buffet and it was just mildly busy. 
Looking down at the pier now there is an easy half hour line shuffling in while we’re sittin fat and happy on the corner leather sofa up in the Observation Lounge. Sunburnt, tired, and lovin’ it 😎

17 hours ago, js said:

Love your review. Thank you! Can anyone just take the NCL ferry to St Georges?
Do I need to purchase something to get on?

Thank you. 

The NCL ferry is exclusively for NCL passengers.
It only goes from the dock to St George’s and back…. No other stops.
It’s located directly to the right after leaving the ship. Get there 20-30 min early if you want an outside top-deck seat 😉

We are going to Elements after sail away tomorrow 🤗