Dorhead1230

12 hours ago, laudergayle said:

I thought I would try playing on our cruise last fall…but then I realized I was way too cheap to play a min $5 per hand.  

Which ship had $5 blackjack?! I’d kill for $5 blackjack lol! I think the minimums were always $15 when I was on the Joy a few weeks ago (that’s pretty much what it is in AC and at Mohegan Sun on land too, these days). Unless it was cheaper during the daytime, when I wasn’t in the casino because I was doing stuff with my son.

@cruiseny4life so happy to see you guys got something booked! Can’t wait for the live! Thanksgiving cruising is one of those experiences I’ll be putting on the to-do list for after I’m retired ☺️

@bkrickles1 glad you ended up having a great time! Thanks for the report!

@Hmmcminn if you didn’t leave yet (I think you meant you’re leaving this coming Sunday), this is a link to my semi-live from a few weeks ago. It’s a pretty long thread, but if you keep scrolling through you’ll see a couple posts where I posted photos of the Dailies. Have a great cruise!

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2947619-bringing-the-joy-with-as-live-ish-a-review-as-the-lousy-wi-fi-will-allow-bermuda-79-716/

On 7/17/2023 at 9:29 AM, Sthrngary said:

Thanks to all for the comments here and on YouTube.  The most comments I have received was to provide my Excel Calendar which I have sent to everyone who asked.  The second most requested item is very difficult for me to send.  It is my detailed Journey Document.  The reason why it is difficult is because it is so personal.  Everything from copies of my Passport, Drivers License, Covid Card and the list goes on. 

 

The purpose of this document is twofold.  First, for me to have an idea of what to expect from the cruise and ports.  Second, to answer the most commonly asked questions by my wife and this cruise my guests.  They tend to make fun of all my preparations so early. Yet about 5 days before the cruise, they start asking questions and challenging "WHY" we are doing things a specific way.  That "Arm Chair Quarterbacking" used to get to me.  Now, I give them this multi-page journey document and say,

 

"I gave you all the opportunity to research, plan and do due diligence.  You made fun of me.  This is the work down over months without any of your help.  If you want to change something, Call Your Congressmen."

 

In my heart of hearts I know they all appreciate just going on a great vacation with all the pitfalls proactively thought out.  Yet, wanting to change something as simple as a popular "Specialty Restaurants" on board on board a ship that is sold out, is almost impossible.  I just let them try and enjoy their frustration.  When they go to a port and immediately want to take a cab to the city center and I explain, the cab will be $140.00 and the train which is just as fast is $10.00 gets a challenge like, "Why are you being such a Know-It-ALL". "Do you know that for sure."  My answer is "YES, it is on page 27, mid-page.  I have a YouTube video to support it.  But feel free to find out for yourself.  I will be going to the train station.  See you later."  Funny how the follow me and won't talk to me for an hour because of my attitude.    

 

Now am I exaggerating, SURE. But not by much.  Sometimes luxury for me is knowing the facts and taking pro-active action on them.  What I know is I would rather take a train, leave when I want and come back when I want than to take a Cruise Line bus, waiting an hour to fill up before leaving with a specific time to catch that bus to come back to the ship.  Same walking tour.  Cruise line $179.00 per person.  Train to city center, $10.00 per person.  You choose.  All it took was some research and my now famous Journey Document.  Hope you like my story.

 

Cruise well and enjoy every moment. 

On 7/17/2023 at 10:10 AM, CDR Benson said:

I am more fortunate, in one sense, than you are, my friend.  The Good Mrs. Benson no longer questions my actions in preparing our cruises.  She knows I love the planning of them, down to the last detail.  She's witnessed how my arrangements have circumvented most problems and minimised the impacts of difficulties that couldn't be foreseen.  And she's grateful for my work.

 

The GMB acknowledges that I am the "cruisemaster" for us, and it's nice to be appreciated.

 

At the same time, though, it puts me under the gun not to screw up somewhere, heh.

 

 

You are…my people 🥲. I research so much before vacations (not multiple-chapter documents @Sthrngary, but I will when I retire 😜) and for the most part, DH and my mom just sit back and let me figure everything out. But I do, on multiple occasions before any trip, ask about a dozen times, “do you have an opinion on X?” “Is there anything specific you want to do as far as Y?” “Do you care which night is which specialty?” Etc. Because then when I get shrugs, I tell them that’s fine, but I better not hear a word of complaint about how I planned everything. Sometimes I do think it’s their sinister plan to just be able to complain that I messed something up when things go wrong though @CDR Benson, lol.

The week after our Joy cruise a couple weeks ago, DH’s sister, BIL, our nieces and nephew, his mom, and his grandma boarded. It didn’t work out for his vacation for us to go with them that week. They had a great time, but the things that he said they were complaining they didn’t like or had issues with (example—not knowing men needed long pants for LB and OB), I just kept saying “but that info is all over the Internet! It’s ON the NCL site!” And his answer is always, “Not everyone researches things like you do.” I mean, fine, not everyone is going to obsessively pore over CC to the point that we know exactly when and what liquor brands are changing or the dates of show closings and stuff, but I’ll never understand when people don’t even Google the basics or neglect to read the FAQs, and then complain 🤷🏻‍♀️. I’m far too anxious to leave much to chance with planning, and then have things be a mess or lose lots of precious time on vacation straightening out issues that can be avoided with advance planning. All that being said, traveling with a little kid can still throw wrenches into even the best-laid plans lol!

@Sthrngary, will definitely be checking out your videos! Thanks for posting!

20 hours ago, umpisoccer said:

Thank you.

Besides The Social, you can also book onboard at the Box Office outside the theater. Hours will be listed in the Daily.

On 7/24/2023 at 12:06 PM, swimmer9 said:

You are a doll!  Thank you so much for all of your answers - super helpful!

I didn't realize our sailing is a random 10 day after all of the week-long trips, I just assumed you guys hit Bahamas too 🤪

No problem! Happy to help! Yes, you’re lucky and get 10 days on Joy 😊. Have a great cruise!

On 7/24/2023 at 5:18 PM, quack2 said:

So I got the pork belly on my recent cruise on the Spirit.  Never had it before.  Are you supposed to eat the whole thing, or just carve the meaty part from the fat?

You do eat the crispy skin part too. However, on the Joy a couple weeks ago I just took one or two bites of the crispy skin and left the rest and then just ate the rest of the meat, just to not ingest even more fat than I already was all week lol.

On 7/25/2023 at 1:39 PM, laudergayle said:

Yeah, in looking at others pics…I don’t think mine was cooked properly and,as you stated, too large.  

That definitely didn’t look as good as what I had on the Getaway and the Joy. It was good both times I had it!

11 hours ago, Zippeedee said:

Is it just me or is anyone else uncomfortable with a spa employee inserting an IV? Yikes! “Other additions include a new Biostation with IV Drip Therapy; four-senses loungers for for deep relaxation; and Kneipp haptic foot therapy, which massages feet as guests walk across the pebbled moving stream that alternates between hot and cold foot baths”

The only way they’re getting near me with an IV on a cruise ship is if it’s providing a steady drip of Malibu. 😜

Just another heads up as far as this goes regarding Tortola. That’s the only location in the VI where we rented a car several years ago. DH is a big car guy…there’s no car and no location he won’t drive lol. In Tortola, they drive on the left, but the cars they were renting out were still left-side drive like American cars, rather than right-side drive like British cars. So you’d not only need to be okay with driving on the left, but with driving an American car on the left side of the road. It is a little confusing.

It only took me almost the whole week, but…

Day 7, final sea day:

We had our final The Local breakfast to start the day. We had begun our cruise with the most delightful server from South Africa, Sanelle, and were fortunate enough to have him again for this meal. If you visit The Local on Joy and encounter him, you’re lucky indeed! Two random comments about breakfast—first, whoever was cutting the fruit for The Local fruit salads is an absolute machine. It would always be in these very small cubes and so completely uniform lol. Second, each time we ordered toast, they brought marmalade, strawberry preserves, and apple jelly. I finally tried the apple jelly on Day 7 and it’s not half bad. Is that a European or British thing? Because I’ve never had it before. Traveling to PA often enough in my life, I’ve had apple butter plenty of times, but never jelly. Anyway, let me tell you my life is not exciting without saying my life is not exciting.

posted previously, but, the fruit salad and toast with accompaniments at The Local:

We only did a couple activities that day, as we were gradually getting organized and packing over the course of the day. Prior to breakfast, I made a final attempt to win LM a giant glitter duck from a crane game in The Local’s arcade area. I finally emerged victorious. I can’t imagine what DH and I spent over the course of the cruise on a duck that probably costs a buck lol. But you’d think the kid never had a toy before, he was so excited.

First after breakfast was mini golf. I enjoy this feature on the ships that have it. While there are no big bells and whistles, it’s a perfectly nice, occasionally challenging mini golf course with the best view you could hope for. LM had never played before and he enjoyed himself. We then took him for his final arcade visit (except for DH taking him back later to cash in his ticket receipts for prizes).

part of the mini golf course

beautiful views from the mini golf

watched this crazy slide for a few minutes; I probably would have done it when I was younger and more fun…now it just looks like plastic tube to bake in lol. If you’re thinking of doing it, be aware that the crew member there does not play—she was checking everyone for metal on bathing suits, any jewelry whatsoever, and having people weigh themselves (for both minimum and maximum weight).

I already covered our MDR lunch in a post above.

I had really wanted to see a Beatles show all week, but had not managed to squeeze one in. I did not intend to try to watch from inside the Cavern Club. I knew I wouldn’t get there early enough for that and I don’t like being packed in, as I knew I would be if I tried to stay inside. I ended up missing probably about the first 20 minutes of the show (which was 45-50 minutes long). I walked straight through the inside part of the Cavern Club and right out to the Waterfront. I could tell it was super crowded inside even though I didn’t really look around. I didn’t even bother to try to sit at the outside bar to see the TV monitor (they’re not actually The Beatles and I don’t feel compelled to pretend lol); I just wanted to hear the good music. So, I relaxed at a table on the waterfront where a nice server brought me a Bahama Mama (I try not to OD on the sugary drinks the whole cruise, but this was so good!) and listened to the very talented band for the rest of their show. This was the Abbey Road show, which are some of my favorite Beatles songs, anyway, so I was very happy! If you don’t need the “full” experience of being inside the venue, I highly recommend sitting outside. You can hear perfectly (see, too, if you watch at the bar) with no crowd and the ocean going by, and it’s so easy to get a drink out there!

We still had one Platinum voucher for 2 and when we went to Cagney’s, we did not cash in a FAS meal for LM because he doesn’t eat anything on that menu. So, we still had a specialty dinner for 3 to use up. We decided to wait until a little on the later side to see if La Cucina had any no-shows, as obviously everything was showing up fully booked for the night. I think perhaps people make reservations on different nights for more meals than they actually have. Because everything was pretty much booked solid shortly after embarking, but there were empty tables everywhere each night (except when we were at Cagney’s, which was quite full the whole time we were there). If La Cucina didn’t work out, we were just going to return to Food Republic. We didn’t plan to try at Ocean Blue or Le Bistro without knowing if we could get in. It sounds dumb, but unless he’s really in the mood to wear pants, I don’t want to force DH to wear pants on vacation because he has to wear a uniform every other day of his life. If we had planned to go there, it would be different, but without knowing, I didn’t want to make him bother.

We were able to be seated at La Cucina, but it just needed to be in the section that’s closer to the corridor outside the restaurant proper. Fine by me, as it was quieter and fewer people! I ordered a completely different meal this time to change it up, but I did end up eating the gnocchi again as my mom ordered it and then didn’t care for the pesto, so I gave her my carbonara instead. Interestingly, this time the gnocchi had some toasted pine nuts sprinkled on top. I’m not sure if this was an oversight last time, or if it was that the first server informed the kitchen of DH’s pine nut allergy and this one didn’t (he has to ingest them to have a reaction, so it’s no big deal if they’re on someone else’s plate). DH had the fettuccine Alfredo appetizer portion. All the pastas were pretty good. We had started with salads that were also fresh and tasty. I’m normally not a pear person, but I tried the salad with the pear, Gorgonzola and walnuts and it was very good. I think everyone enjoyed their entrees more the first visit than this one. There was nothing wrong with any of them, just personal preferences were all more in favor of what we got the first time. DM ordered the margarita pizza, which wasn’t bad but they were a little heavy-handed on the oregano, which she doesn’t much care for. DH had the beef tenderloin and while there was nothing wrong with the meat, he said there was “too much going on,” and he felt the beef was getting a little overwhelmed by the peppercorn sauce and the blue cheese, which for him was not a super enjoyable combination. I tried the pork scallopine (it doesn’t say on the menu, but it comes with roasted potatoes and sautéed spinach). Oh my, was it salty. I’m a little sensitive to salt so sometimes I’m not the best judge, but I truly believe most people would have found this over-salted. Also, there was too much coarse-ground pepper as well, so it was kind of killing what would otherwise have been a tasty Marsala sauce. LM wanted pizza with a side of mac and cheese. I asked for a small portion of the mac and cheese and it was maybe a tad smaller, but still a lot. He put a decent dent in all of it, though. (Pointless aside: yesterday, I had to bribe the kid to finish about 1/3 slice of pizza and a single garlic knot, so he really was getting his cruise eating on for the week lol.) Dessert was cannolis all around, brownies for LM. DH tried to order the chocolate tart, but the waiter came and said it wasn’t “stable,” so I assume the tart filling hadn’t set. Nice of them to say instead of serving something subpar, though. The cannoli taste completely fine there, but the filling should be thicker. Cannoli filling shouldn’t leak out when you bite the cannoli!

pear and Gorgonzola saladgnocchi pesto, this time with pine nuts 

carbonarabeef tenderloin with blue cheese ravioli

pork scaloppine

margarita pizza

cannoli trio

kids’ brownies

After LM went to bed, DH and I had our last hurrah in the casino, and wrapped it up when they gave the 30-minute warning for closing as we approached American waters.

Final Thoughts:

I already discussed disembarkation, which was smooth, easy, and ahead of schedule. If you have nowhere to be and don’t have a long trip home, I think it’s nice not to rush off the ship, let the lines die down a bit, let a lot of bags be collected/claimed, etc. We were far from the last people off, but waiting a while worked out well!

I would definitely do this cruise (or probably almost any itinerary on the Joy) again in a heartbeat. DH has another vacation next month, but it doesn’t include another Sunday-Sunday week as it starts on a Wednesday and ends the following Friday (annoying NYPD schedules). If the days would have worked out, I think I could have talked him into us calling CAS to see what they’d have given us for next month to go again. The ship is beautiful (yes, there are spots where you can tell she’s a little worn, but people are inconsiderate and gross and mess things up over time) and kept so clean by the crew. I walked out of the cabin one morning to Joel washing the walls in the hallway and doorways. The walls! I was constantly running into the housekeeping ladies with the carts going in and out of the public restrooms. The few times we were in the buffet, the servers were so on top of clearing stuff you practically had to smack their hands if you weren’t done 😝.

The crew as a whole was friendly, efficient, accommodating, helpful, and kind. After LM got his T-Rex from the arcade claw machine, he was walking around with it constantly for at least a day. At least 4 separate random crew members all pretended to be scared at different times when he held it up and made little dinosaur roars. That’s how sweet these people are.

Although food is incredibly subjective, overall I was happy with it. I have been sailing NCL long enough to be fully aware of the cutbacks and ways of penny-pinching on the food offerings. And yet, I don’t have to plan it, shop for it, cook it, or clean up after it, so it’s all good. For the most part, there was decent variety, the food was fresh, and a majority of what I ate tasted good. You can go anywhere and order something that turns out to not be great; the wonderful thing on a cruise is that if that happens, they’ll happily bring you something else, so I can’t complain! Here’s a random picky beverage service gripe…we’re talking serious first-world problem here. As I mentioned, I try not to drink too much sugar, but I’ll generally let myself do one frozen or fruity drink per day. My favorite is a Miami Vice. When I would get them, it didn’t matter from which bar, they just weren’t frozen enough. Is it because the piña colada part is coming out of machines premade now? I don’t know, but they were so liquidy. If I’m getting a frozen drink, I better need to suck hard enough for my cheeks to hurt lol. The one frozen drink that was better was when I asked at the OL bar for a strawberry daiquiri made with Malibu. That one was nice and thick. Maybe I’m just a crazy person and most people prefer frozen drinks less thick and frosty 🤷🏻‍♀️.

As far as entertainment, there were more options than I could possibly have fit in. There were multiple very good musical acts around the ship every night, plus the theater entertainment, Cavern Club, and comedy shows. I did skip all the comedy shows. If something has to give, for me it’s that. I usually get a few good chuckles out of them, but never quite find them hilarious, so I’m okay with skipping them.

Most likely, it’s going to be next summer before we’ll cruise again. We will never make the mistake of doing February break again, and I’m not sure my April vacation dates would work out with DH’s vacation options and the cruise schedules. Planning will be fun, though, as next summer I’m going to push for either two cruises, a back to back, or a longer itinerary. So, thanks so much for following along with the continuing adventures of Little Man and crew! I’m happy to try to answer any remaining questions anyone has!

To sign off, probably my favorite of the many versions of this chandelier:

6 hours ago, KKB said:

@Dorhead1230 Thanks for this review!

And thanks for the Vibe pic--it was MUCH nicer on the Getaway & loungers spaced out nicely. This looks no better than regular decks (OK...they are padded & I'm assuming no problem getting a lounger).

We booked it for Nov but with 4 port days & poker to play, we plan to cancel since we won't get $500 use out of it. (plus if we stay onboard on a port day, that is a great day to hang by the pool!)

Someone on another social media site’s group for this cruise was complaining about Vibe after we got back. I think saying there weren’t enough umbrellas. I find it hard to believe they wouldn’t have come up with an umbrella for someone who paid for Vibe and asked for one, but who knows? Maybe they didn’t ask. Other people in the group raved about it. I guess everything is subjective!

However, I completely agree that on a sailing with 4 port days and you planning to play poker, it’s probably a waste. I bet the ship won’t be as crowded in November anyway, and I’m 100% sure there will be a fraction of the children onboard that there were now. And if there’s a port you’ve seen before/don’t like/don’t have big plans for, that is a perfect time to hang on the ship! I love Bermuda so so much, but even I was tempted to just not get off at all one day because the empty ship was absolutely blissful lol.

4 hours ago, Sand and Seas said:

On our recent 11 day  April cruise on Joy, I think there were three different lunch menus.  Sorry, I didn't take photos.   

That’s interesting! That would actually be a nice change if there’s a bit of a lunch rotation now with a little more variety.

1 hour ago, brookie848 said:

When we sailed back in February, we definitely had a different MDR lunch menu (we were only there the one time). I got chicken parm and my husband got some sort of roasted chicken, which he really liked.

 

We had the hashbrown coins on our cruise. I don't always eat them, but I would miss having them as an option.

Yes, it also appears they got rid of the bay scallops gratin, which I know people liked. In February on Getaway, I had potato skins topped with chili that were very good and also chicken taquitos—those are also gone. Plus several other items I know used to be on there. So I guess they did overhaul the lunch menu quite a bit. Unless there is actually a rotation now? We usually only do 1 or 2 lunches there each cruise as well, so I wouldn’t know if it rotated.

12 hours ago, mking8288 said:

We'll "miss" those crispy hash browns but not going to hassle the crew and F&B manager, etc. - but ... maybe it's just a one-time logistical issue.  Disappointed, not going to sweat it, not until it reach a thousand cuts. 

Yes, at the end of the day, they were tasty, but not at all needed when you’re already eating more fat, sugar, and salt than usual onboard. I can accomplish nice, crispy hash brown patties in my air fryer with no oil, so no biggie. Based on a few threads I’ve seen on here in the past, though, I’m sure there will be some pounding of chests and gnashing of teeth. 😂 I’m really not an NCL apologist or cheerleader, but I think maybe I am more forgiving of a lot of these minor issues because service in everything and everywhere has declined since Covid. No reason to expect cruising to be any different than everything else. And, if anything, I found the crew to still be working so hard, especially this time but even in February which was probably the worst cruise we’ve had, that cruising still beats pretty much any other vacation we might do!
 

4 hours ago, cruiseny4life said:

Hash brown riots? I'll pout to my server for about five seconds....I'm an entitled Haven cruiser after all! One must act in such a way when cruising Haven. Then I'll be over it, but not really. It's at least ten of the 1,000 cuts @mking8288 referenced. 🦀

Maybe they’ll still have a secret stash for the Haven denizens 😜. Definitely not worth a riot in my book, but with the way people on here get riled up about stuff, if this is a fleetwide/permanent change, I’ll expect a lot of “I’m done with NCL forever” proclamations soon lol.

Here’s the link to the NCL page with how many days out, depending on your stateroom type and/or Latitudes status (or none of these factors):

https://www.ncl.com/ca/en/cruise-faq/when-can-i-book-dining-entertainment

edited to add: I just realized it doesn’t mention Latitudes status there. Platinum and higher also can book 125 days before the cruise.

28 minutes ago, Maleficent's Dad said:

We looked for the hash browns everywhere - got off the day you got on - and they were no where to be found,

 

Interesting about the lava cake - DS ordered this twice.  First time at Manhattan room, and this came out like cake - NO lava - nothing moist and runny inside.  The second time, again, Manhattan room was perfection.  Nice molten chocolate lava!

So it does still exist! I just missed it, I guess. We ended up with 5 out of 7 nights in specialties this time, which has never happened before, so I must have missed it. Not sure why I care. Like you said, sometimes they do come out not melty at all—when I buy Trader Joe’s or ShopRite ones and microwave them, that doesn’t happen lol. I think there are going to be hash brown riots soon, though!

4 hours ago, cruiseny4life said:

No more NCL if that is the case for this one! Don't worry, I'll forget this in five minutes....but really? Say it ain't so NCL! I went through withdrawal back in September when hash browns disappeared. I need my yummy fried potato goodness. Raise that sugar to astronomical levels, please! 

 

Anyway...I'm hoping for some fake news from you regarding this! (For real, I will actually be disappointed if there aren't hash browns anymore, but I definitely want to see about 1,000,000 more people say this before I believe it). 

Trust me, I hope I’m wrong, too! I liked the layout of the Joy buffet because it was so spread out, but because it was so spread out, maybe we missed something. I tend to walk around the buffet with blinders on because ick…people. Lol. However, I did kind of notice that I didn’t see them and looked for them briefly. Also, DH said something to me about it, and I think he did walk around and look more. Maybe it was just Joy, maybe it was just this sailing? But the absence of a hash brown option on the printed menus definitely gave me pause. I actually said to myself onboard, though—wouldn’t this be all over CC if the hash browns disappeared?

As far as the lava cakes, I was already miffed when they moved them from every night at dinner to lunch (and I think they had them Day 1 at dinner in February). If they got rid of them completely now, then that’s just 😤

A brief, sad interlude:

I'm sorry to report that I think hash browns and lava cakes may be a thing of the past. Obviously, it’s possible that it was just this sailing and items did not make it to the ship. But the thing is, they were not on the printed menus 😭. I never got a chance to ask about the hash browns. They were not at the buffet, and on both The Local breakfast menu and the MDR breakfast menu, they’re not listed as an option anywhere. The menus just say “breakfast potatoes,” which are the cut up potato pieces with onions.

I waited all week to have lunch in the MDR since we missed it Day 1, because they had previously moved my

beloved lava cake to the lunch menu. DH, LM, and I finally went for lunch on Day 7 and no lava cake. This menu was also not the same as the February lunch menu, so I’m not sure if they overhauled it again or if they are rotating lunch menus now? I know I can get lava cakes at the grocery store, but I want my NCL one with the stracciatella ice cream and strawberry sauce, dammit!

I will finish writing up Day 7 later, but here’s the lunch report. Aside from ruining my life with lack of lava cake 😜, lunch was very nice. The manager on duty was oddly attentive. She must have checked on us 3-4 times while we were there.

The chicken quesadilla is listed under “handhelds,” which may lead you to believe it is an adequate entree. It is not lol. I ordered it as an app, assuming it would be small, and I was correct. DH ordered it as his entree and he had eaten more at breakfast so he didn’t really mind, but he was surprised it didn’t come with anything.

fish and chips; very good and, when I asked, the server did bring me malt vinegar 😋

kids’ chicken fingers—massive fingers, like cutlet-sized

DH also had the orange-chocolate mousse, which I didn’t take a picture of. The orange component is Jello, just so you’re aware. None of these desserts appeal to me, so LM and I both just had chocolate ice cream.

Day 6, Bermuda Day 3:

We never leave the Dockyard area on the final day. You’ll never see us among the pier runners! After visiting The Local for breakfast (we really did like this option; the menu isn’t super extensive but it does the trick. It’s calmer than the buffets and open late for breakfast for those of us who can’t make it to the MDR 🤭), we decided to take it easy and just do a little shopping. We passed through Makin’ Waves, but didn’t buy anything there. We walked around Clocktower Mall, where we bought a few things at Davison’s (this is where we usually end up making purchases in Bermuda), and then I bought LM a small pink Bermuda bus that he wanted to display in his room (I can’t remember which store that was; it’s the one that’s absolutely crammed with fun junk that I go in every time). My mom also bought herself a fabric purse/bag with a nice beachy/nautical pattern on it. We stopped at Dockyard Pharmacy on the way back to the ship so I could get my Cadbury chocolate bars that are almost impossible to find at home (Flake and Crunchie).

Inside the Clocktower Mall; sorry for the weird angles—I always try to avoid getting clear shots of unsuspecting strangers.

There are usually some chickens wandering the Dockyard. LM was pretty psyched to see the baby chickens.

When we reboarded the ship, we went to the Atrium for origami. We took LM to origami on Getaway and he loved it. This one was not run well. When we went on Getaway, there were printouts of the instructions, plus the CD crew member had it step by step on slides on the screen, and she demonstrated each step. This time, the CD crew member just stood up front and showed the folds (way too fast). I ended up logging in to the internet, finding origami butterfly instructions, screenshooting them, and logging out, after which DH figured out how to do it lol. LM doesn’t really know the difference—he just wanted to fold paper, but they really did a crummy job giving instructions for it. I took LM to the bathroom at one point and when we returned, I noticed that everyone who was there trying to do the origami was then gathered around the table with the crew member showing them up-close again how to do it.

After this, we returned to The Local because it was far too late for a MDR lunch and we did try to avoid the buffet whenever possible (we were mostly successful with this). This was the only time things got kind of messed up. The server was nice, but I guess she just misunderstood some of the order or made mistakes because it was busy. I asked for a completely plain hot dog and fries for LM. A little while later, a runner came by with wings and fries. We all said it wasn’t ours; then a minute later the server came and said it was our plain wings. She had misunderstood that I asked for a hot dog. DM and I also both ordered spinach dip and only one came. This ended up being fine on two levels—one, DM didn’t like it (it’s actually delicious, just not for her), so DH and I ate that one; and two, we ended up with surprise chicken wings so I ate a few of those. Maybe they’re better plain because these weren’t too squishy and icky like they’ve been lately. DH and I also waited a long time before asking a second time for margaritas we had ordered and, when they came, mine had salt although I asked for none. None of these things are huge problems; this was just the only server we had this cruise who wasn’t totally on the ball, so it made it stand out even more that she made all these mistakes. Items that we ordered this meal that were new to us: the carbonara (DM ordered it; said it was fine but blah), I had the blue cheese burger which was good (I was a little worried that the tomato chutney would be unpleasant because I don’t care for chunky tomatoes, but I took a chance and it was a tasty, smooth spread), and DH and DM tried the brownie-raspberry cheesecake, which they were both very surprised they enjoyed. The brownie base is super hard to cut through, though—I think it gets too dense/hard in the fridge.

We made LM take a short nap because we had signed up for Laser Tag at 6PM. LM had been so disappointed that he is far too small for the go karts and was begging to do laser tag ever since we stupidly brought it up several weeks before the cruise. We figured we’d let him try, because the only restriction is being able to hold the laser gun. He was more or less able to do it. It got heavy for him after a while. And he’s kind of big for his age—he’s already nearly 43 inches tall—so I think for more average or smaller-sized 4 or even 5-year-olds it might not work out. The crew member was very sweet, though. She showed him how to hold up the laser gun so he could support it and she adjusted the strap for him to help him hold it up. I’m also very grateful that we played with really nice people who didn’t get impatient or frustrated that they had to play with a little guy. On our team was a very kind couple; the lady told LM he had to protect her in there lol. The other team was a family of 6 and the 4 kids were all older teens. DH was a little nervous about that, but no one has more faith in teenagers than a HS teacher, so I knew it would be fine. They were careful to avoid trampling LM the whole time, even if they were taking lots of shots at the easy target 😂. The only downside is you lose the life in your laser gun very quickly (maybe after getting shot only 1-2 times?) so you have to go back to the base a lot to regenerate…at least if you suck as badly as LM and me! He had so much fun, though, and I’m glad he got to do one of the “extras” on the ship.

a couple shots of Vibe I got from the laser tag area

a place I’ll probably never go 🤣

Dinner was at the MDR (I think Savor this time). The service was once again great, and I felt bad because usually LM likes fettuccine alfredo, so I ordered it for him plain off the regular menu (without the shrimp and mushrooms). They doused it in chopped parsley though. I tried to push a lot of it off and bury the rest, but he was saying he did not like it and I think that was why. So, I had to ask the server to get him a kids’ pizza instead. I wasn’t super enthusiastic about that evening’s entree choices, so I had the classic fettuccine alfredo with the shrimp and mushrooms. It was fine, nothing special; I definitely make it better 🤗, and I’m a mushroom person, but it was overkill. With the shrimp, I think broccoli, asparagus, or peas would go better anyway. The cream of asparagus soup was really good, though, and had a little chopped hazelnuts in it that gave it some texture. The Caesar was fine as usual.  DH also tried the matzo ball soup. He ate it, but said it was very salty (coming from him, that means it was SALTY) and the matzo balls were pretty dense. He had the lamb shank for his entree. He doesn’t even normally like lamb that much so I have no idea why he ordered it, but he said it was quite good, so it must have been great. DM got the chicken again, this time with roasted carrots that she said were very good. DH had the éclairs for dessert and said they were fine, nothing special. DM had the no sugar added lemon cream cake (not because it was no sugar added, just because it was the only thing she liked); she said it wasn’t bad. I had the hot mess of deliciousness called Snickers pound cake. I’ve always though that although a lot of NCL desserts are lousy, they do make good pound cakes. This was really good, even though there was a lot going on. There was a lot of Snickers in the cake, and even though it seems weird to put strawberries on it, it worked—like chocolate PB&J.

matzo ball soup

asparagus soup 

caesar salad 

fettuccine Alfredo with shrimp and mushrooms 

lamb shank—smart-ass DH took a bad photo and then got distracted and forgot to fix it

eclairs

no sugar added lemon cake

Snickers pound cake

We had gotten to dinner a little late because of laser tag, and it took a little extra time because of LM needing a replacement entree, so we were way late for the 9:30 Elements. It was standing room only at the back. We spent maybe 10-15 minutes passing LM back and forth so he could see a little, but it was getting to be too much, so DH took him to the mini arcade by The Local for a few minutes while I watched the grand finale of the show and waited for the crew members to walk in during the “You are Norwegian Now” thing (always gets me right in the feels). The little bit of Elements we saw was great. I’ll definitely go again if I have the opportunity on a future cruise. Just the whole thing was cool—the sets, the lighting, the use of projection on the walls, the costumes, the acrobats—all were engaging and interesting to watch.

After LM went to bed, DH and I passed the rest of the night in our usual location.

1 hour ago, bkrickles1 said:

Did you guys take off from Manhattan at 6pm?

Others have mentioned leaving at that time and my itinerary for this Sunday just changed to a 6pm departure.

Not really a big deal, although I'd prefer to leave at 4pm like we always have in the past.

Yes, that’s when we left, but our itinerary did say that from the beginning.

8 hours ago, KXZ1498 said:

 

I was a high roller at the tables, making about 21k points this trip. They did nothing except give me money at the end. This is weird cause they are around 4-5 hosts from what I see. Maybe they did something for the high-limit bacc group. 

That’s crazy! There couldn’t be many people playing like you…I mean, what do they do?! Lol. I’m sure you’re treated excellently at your land casinos, too. I hope the dealers and servers onboard were kind to you, at least. We found that staff great!

They did also wipe all non-DSC, non-gaming, non-Cruise Next charges from the bill on DH’s cabin (but it was less than $200).

@swimmer9 here’s the kids’ menu! They can get this stuff at any restaurant, including the specialties. In the MDRs and The Local, they could also get whatever they want off the regular menus if they’re more adventurous eaters.

4 hours ago, swimmer9 said:

@Dorhead1230 we're going on our first cruise with our kids (3 yr old twins!) and in my planning, I came across your post!  so i've been sitting here for the last 2 hours 😆 reading all 9 pages, and I'm sure I'll go back and pore through it again, but I have some questions for you if you have a chance!  (we don't sail until aug 20)

So, I got to your post because I was looking for things to do in Bermuda with kids.  We've only been to Bermuda once before pre-kids (a day at church bay park, an NCL sunset cruise, took the ferry to st george's and walked to fort st catherine).  They will probably love the aquarium, museum, and zoo (BAMZ). It’s not huge, which is probably better with littles, but it’s nice. It may be a little bit of a schlep with two 3yos, but it isn’t difficult. You just take the ferry to Hamilton and then the bus to BAMZ. It’s maybe a 10-minute walk to the main bus stop from the ferry and some is uphill, so depending on what you think your girls can handle, you could also probably get a taxi from the ferry to the bus stop. Hog Penny was a nice place to eat with the LM. They had a kids’ menu that was reasonably priced ($9.95 for his food and drink) and they were really nice to him. Obviously beach days are great, too! One thing I wouldn’t do with littles are the caves. They’re awesome, but I won’t take LM until he’s a little bigger—it’s a lot of pretty steep steps and I’d be nervous about him falling. Also, you never know what will scare them at this age and I wouldn’t want him to freak out down there.

In one of your dinner pics, I noticed LM had a tablet (no judgement for us, both my girls have one!) did he need it during dinner every night?  Other times?  Did you pack crayons, books, snacks? We have a designated travel Fire tablet that has its entire storage devoted to 2 puzzle games he likes plus as much stuff as I can download for him before we go on vacation. At home, no devices and no TV during dinner. But then, he can only terrorize us if he’s being difficult, loud, wandering around the kitchen, etc. lol. I won’t take the chance that he ruins other people’s dinners, and he sits really well if he just watches a show or two at dinner. Actually, the nicest lady approached us at Cagney’s and said she never saw a little boy so well-behaved in a restaurant. We all started laughing hysterically without meaning to (this was the evening of the day when we delayed the beach because he was being nuts all morning lol). He didn’t really look for it other times, except right before bed because he usually gets a few minutes at home to watch a show before bed, but other meals were faster than dinner. I didn’t pack crayons this time (he packed toys he wanted for the cabin) but I kept a couple of the ones they gave him at restaurants in my bag so he’d have extra colors (they only keep 4 colors on the ship and they give them 2 with the kids’ menu they can color on). I did also pack a couple card games he likes (matching and I spy) and a $ Tree Colorforms Candyland), but those weren’t for restaurants obviously. I brought a few individual bags of Goldfish, a few Chewy bars, and a tiny bag each of Kisses and PB cups. The first full day I also grabbed a few of the small cereal boxes they put out at breakfast for the cabin. He’s usually perfectly happy snacking on dry cereal. The food was much easier this time because he eats so much more variety now that he’s a little bit bigger. I didn’t take a picture of the kids’ menu on the ship but LM insisted I keep some that he colored lol, so I’ll post a pic for you later.

We're from northern NJ so we drive into the city - how late did you guys get there?  I won't be platinum until I get off this cruise (booo) so we'll have to wait in the long lines.  In the past, I'd say we usually get there by 10:30 (we also like to eat in the MDR for lunch!)  Becoming a mom has also made me paranoid and I just keep thinking, what if the parking lot at the pier is full before we get there?? I think 10-10:30 should be good to avoid waiting too long inside. It’s hard to keep them contained if you have to sit in the terminal for hours. I want to say we got there more like 11-11:15 and we got one of the last spots available at Pier 88. After that, they just direct you to the pier next door. That’s what happened to us in February. The elevator to the entrance level was broken at the other pier in February so we had to hoof it with all our stuff along the road to Pier 88. It was horrible. This time DH insisted we drop the checked bags with a porter and then circle back around to park and take only our carry-ons with us. It added maybe 5-10 minutes to exit the terminal and circle back around, but I was cool with it. It was zero stress, plus we had to use the escalator, not the elevator, and so we didn’t need to try to grab a porter on the parking level, etc. Most people probably wouldn’t do what we did, but for the few minutes and a trip around the block, it worked. You shouldn’t encounter lines like there were for our cruise. While there can be lines, this was crazy because of the terminal wi-fi going down. I certainly hope that wouldn’t happen to you next month!

I want to go to horsehoe bay, but not sure which day... the Joy is the only ship in bermuda the first day, but we don't get there til noon - not sure if it'll already be crowded, or if that's a good day for other stuff (aquarium, sight-seeing).  RCCL will be there the next day at 1pm, possibly late enough that we could go for the morning and do something else in the afternoon? I’m not sure how long you guys are capable of surviving at the beach, but in that heat we don’t make it more than a few hours 🥵. If RCCL arrives 1PM, I’d say those cruisers won’t make it to the beach until 1:30-2. If you headed to the beach in the morning, my guess is you’d be done and ready to head back by then, anyway!
Not specifically a *you* question, but not being a first time cruiser, I haven't done a lot of planning for this, but I'm seeing people make reservations for the MDR now??  What was your experience getting in?  We usually do savor or taste, and part of the reason I love NCL is the freestyle cruising! This cruise, we only did MDR two times, but we had no wait either time (I think 5 minutes one of the times). I feel like the only reservation times I’ve seen for the MDR are 5:30 or 8:30 (maybe I’ve just never looked when other times are available?) and neither of those work for us (we’re usually 7ish dinner people on vacation). But our last two cruises were very full and we had no issues with Savor or Taste! We never try Manhattan, which I do think can get longer waits, but it’s too big, loud, and crowded for me anyway.

This is one of the things I'll go back and look at your posts again, but what do you do for Bahamas with your son?  We usually hit the local beach down from the pier, probably planning to do the same with our girls? We only had a Bahamas stop with him in February, and it was just to GSC, which is amazing and fun and I love it. DH and I have been to Nassau before we had LM and we really don’t like it. The second time we stopped there, we stayed onboard and enjoyed the empty ship. I think the beach that’s right there would be a good option, though, as I’m not sure there’s much there worth traveling farther away with littles! Unless you wanted to pick a ship excursion (but they’re so expensive!).

I realize I'm probably just talking to an echo chamber for this, but I'm not a crazy person for bringing 2 3-yr olds on a 10 day cruise, right?? lol No, not at all! We’re lucky my mom comes with us so we have a nighttime babysitter, but even if she didn’t want to come on one, we’d still take him and just adjust how we do things at night. You’ll have so much fun!

Answers to your questions are above in red 😊

28 minutes ago, Cruiseguy14 said:

I’ve been sailing with my daughter . She is 2 and we have 74 points. It never occurred to me that she gets the points too. Is this true ? 

Yes; they just don’t actually give them their status until they’re 18. It’s supposed to all catch up and they will then be at whatever level they’re supposed to be.

I was just grocery shopping and “Footloose” started playing. They found me rocking back and forth in the dairy aisle, muttering that I’ll be a good girl from now on if they make it stop. I’ve recovered now.

😜

1 hour ago, Susandt said:

What free restaurants are open the 1st day for lunch?

Garden Cafe (buffet), The Local, and Taste/Savor (only seat from 12-1:30).