iluvthe-c

Can anyone tell me if there are doors to go to and from the cabin area from the pool area on Deck 11? In the picture, are the green circled areas doors or walls?

On the Joy the bartenders would make the classic cocktail that was not on their menu (cosmo, greyhound, etc) but would not go off-menu. I was told I needed to go to another bar if I wanted a drink from another menu. When the bartender finally agreed to make a Mr. Worldwide, he told me not to tell on him.

@JamieLogical I know you love your Mr. Worldwide. It is no longer on any of the Joy cocktail menus. In November the bartenders were adamant about sticking to that particular bar's menu which was the same in many of the bars. I finally was able to score a Mr. Worldwide toward the end of the cruise after many asks. I wish I could remember which bar, but I do not.

We were on the Joy Nov. 11th to Dec. 5th, 2023 and were allowed cocktails while sitting on the benches surrounding the four sides of the pool. That was our meet-up & hang-out spot so spent quite a bit of time there. Servers picked up our empties and brought us more - all in plastic cups.

We have been to that region of the Caribbean in January a few times and have had perfect beach weather each time. Clear skies, warm temps, calm waters. But then again... Mother Nature. Nothing you can do about it. Hope for the best but have a Plan B in the event of inclement weather.

Just off the Joy. Had to try several different bars before I finally got a bartender to make me a Mr. Worldwide. It is not on any of their menus. He made it for me and made the comment "don't tell my boss". We visited every bar except the District, Social, and Haven. All other bartenders stuck very tightly to their menu. And I could not mix & match, like get a menu drink from Maltings at Mixx. I found the bar menus repetitive and a bit boring after 18 days on the ship. They would go off menu for simple things like a screwdriver or tequila sunrise. But do not expect them to make you a mango martini. We did have good bartenders at A List that made the 8 of us a few different shots that were fun (and delicious). We had no specific requests; they made them at their discretion. We liked visiting the Sail & Sustain bar on the Waterfront every night to see what their drink of the day was. I liked all the drinks that I tried. I think my favorite pre-dinner cocktail was the Getaway from Maltings, but all of the mojitos I had from Sugarcanes were excellent too.

Great news! Thanks for the information.

Do you have any idea how soon we will know if we are a go for our NCL Joy Nov 25th panama canal transit? Cutting from the already reduced number of ships allowed per day from 31 to 25 due to the drought. Assuming cruise ships will be on the cutting block ahead of cargo ships. I looked at the Panama Canal Authority site and did not see named ships, only number of ships.

I remember the slides being short and smooth. I worried about what it would do to my swimsuit bottoms and it was fine. No damage to the clothes or me.

Does anyone know if there is a place in or near San Juan that hosts a Salsa & Salsa event? Learn to Salsa dance and make your own Salsa - with the option to have cocktails? We are arriving in San Juan in late November on NCL Joy.

I am really enjoying you photo collages. Trying not to let them send me into a mini panic attack. 😀 I am afraid I will have to click all photos that have a flower bud or cloud or whatever in them to continue on with your awesome posts!

Just found this thread by searching for info on Copa flights from Panama. There are non-stop flights to Denver departing at 12:12 p.m. and 4:40 p.m. for our upcoming Nov cruise. Would be so happy if we got the 12:12 as we have a 3 hour drive home from the airport. Really hoping NCL does not see 12:12 as being too early. Especially since we are in Panama overnight the night before disembarkation. Do you happen to remember when your departure times were?

We are looking forward to the Q most, of all the dining venues on our next Joy cruise. We have eaten there twice. Their cornbread is delicious. My favorite dessert is the pecan pie and DH's is Bread Pudding. Don't let the tiny serving size of sides that come with the main course disappoint you. They are all good but you'd have to be rolled out of there if they gave you more. Two of us shared 1 specialty dining credit and were still unable to finish the meal. The vibe is fun - especially if you are country music fans! And the smoked peach margarita is delicious.

Same thing happened to us on Royal. Once on board, we realized just how terrible the location and the room was. We had to traipse through the grey cement floored medical area to get to our cabin. We pleaded our case at guest services and they found a very nice ocean view room for us at no additional cost. The cruise was sold out but there was a no-show, so we were told. We had to wait until we sailed to know if there was anything available. Like in the previous post, I am advising you to ask at guest services once you board if you do not find a resolution (that won't cost a ton more money) prior to your trip. This was a live & learn moment for me. I was in a hurry when I placed my Royal Up bid. I should have waited until I had the time to research the bid options. Good luck to you.

Yes! I didn't have my days straight. We do get a full day in Panama after the transit. The visitor center and the HOHO Bus will be my suggestion for the day to the other couples with us. If there is something we want to go do/see in the late afternoon & evening we will look into hiring a driver. I will be keeping a close eye on the progress of the FA Terminal completion. Thanks for all the help in planning our time at the PC!

What time frames are we looking at? If we start the passage around 5:30 a.m., when will we be able to disembark? Not sure if we will dock or tender. Visitor's center is not open in the evenings. Nor does the Hop on Hop Off Bus run in the evening. Have no idea what time our flights are as we booked through NCL, so trying to do as much as possible the day/night of the transit.

Thank you. I am now rethinking the ferry. Since the Joy will do a full transit (from Colon to Panama City) and we only have one day in Panama I wonder if our time would be better spent going to the Visitor Center to watch ships go through the locks from there. Also wondering if we can hire a driver for 6 of us for the rest of the day. Very seldom do we get to spend evenings in port so looking forward to that. Something else for me to research!

Thanks @Turtles06. Can you tell me how to plan for the ferry ride back through the locks? Is it something that has to be booked ahead of time?

Details, please. How horrible was it? 🙂 We are at their mercy in early December. The price was too good to ignore.

We (6 adults) will end our 11 night cruise on the NCL Joy with an overnight stay in Panama. We stop at several Caribbean islands on our way from Miami so we want this stop to be all about the Canal. I am reading Path Between the Seas now. Any recommendations for what we should do for those 24 hours to make the most of maybe the once-in-a-lifetime visit? Monday, December 4 Panama Canal (Full Transit) (Cruising) Tuesday, December 5 Fuerte Amador, Panama7:00am Wednesday,December 6 Fuerte Amador, Panama Disembark

I've not heard this before. Am I asking my TA to "cheat" or do anything "under the table" if I mention it?

I have travel insurance through my credit card. I should probably call Chase bank and ask them if buying gift cards with my credit card will cancel travel insurance coverage. Does anyone have experience with this?

If I understand the question correctly: If you are all going to dine together it is an option to share a specialty dinner at the ala carte restaurants (I believe Teppenyaki is the only one that is not). We did this at Cagneys and Q. Portions were huge. It was our experience that there was enough food for two. We shared the app, main entree, and dessert and couldn't eat it all. So. Much. Food. If you have bigger appetites you can always order and pay for another app, main, or dessert. So if you all are seated together, just tell them you are using 2 dining credits rather than 4. It shouldn't matter whose name the credit it is.

Toss up between the Pecan Pie and the Bread Pudding at Q.

Bummer that it was so disruptive to you. We were on Joy's deck 12 in an aft facing cabin #12358 last month. Any vibrations heard or felt were no bother. We were on a 170,000 ton beast plowing across the ocean to get us to our next destination. If I could find a "white noise" with the sounds of that I would play it every night.