Just Back from the JOY 5/18 sailing - AMA

[alexgtp]

Deck 8 Waterfront - you are not able to walk around the front of the ship. If I remember correctly Food Republic and District Brewhouse are in the way. I remember walking around deck 8 on the waterfront but around the back of the ship without any issues. The little cabanas in waterfront were only crowded during the trek to Dawes Glacier, other days is was the perfect spot to read a book and take in the beauty of Alaska.

 

ProTip - Go to the pool area and get a blanket for those chilly days you want to hang out outside! you can exchange them often like a pool towel.

 

I wore a lanyard that has a sleeve you can slide card into. I did not try to hole punch.

[surfone]

We figured the elevators were going to be the same as the Bliss (as far as the long wait) we were on Bliss in January,  so we booked deck 12 on Joy in July.  Glad to hear about the nice selection of beer,  my DH and I enjoyed the District Brew House on Bliss. Nice they also have the enclosed smoking room in casino as they do on Bliss. 

[smithop]

2 hours ago, alexgtp said:

Deck 8 Waterfront - you are not able to walk around the front of the ship. If I remember correctly Food Republic and District Brewhouse are in the way. I remember walking around deck 8 on the waterfront but around the back of the ship without any issues. The little cabanas in waterfront were only crowded during the trek to Dawes Glacier, other days is was the perfect spot to read a book and take in the beauty of Alaska.

 

ProTip - Go to the pool area and get a blanket for those chilly days you want to hang out outside! you can exchange them often like a pool towel.

 

I wore a lanyard that has a sleeve you can slide card into. I did not try to hole punch.

 

Thanks, we are booked Mexico out of LA for Thanksgiving so don’t think I’ll need the blankets, nice to know it will my free hangout in one of the little cabanas.  We have an inside Deck 5 so won’t spend much time up on the top decks.  I plan on checking them out on port days since I plan on staying on the ship.  This is first time on the bigger ship, have only cruised the smaller jewel class, a little apprehensive about crowding.

[alexgtp]

40 minutes ago, smithop said:

 

Thanks, we are booked Mexico out of LA for Thanksgiving so don’t think I’ll need the blankets, nice to know it will my free hangout in one of the little cabanas.  We have an inside Deck 5 so won’t spend much time up on the top decks.  I plan on checking them out on port days since I plan on staying on the ship.  This is first time on the bigger ship, have only cruised the smaller jewel class, a little apprehensive about crowding.

You will love it! I have also sailed Jewel,  This ship is just a larger version ..LOL

 

Are you doing Mexican Riviera? Great itinerary, we did that on the Jewel.

[alexgtp]

Hi guys just wanted to share my video of our Whale Watching excursion with Gastineau Guiding. 

Unfortunately this video does not do this experience any justice! 

 

Edited June 5, 2019 by alexgtp
spelling

[GenghisQuan]

How did you find the wait times for things like the waterslides, entertainment, or dining? Did you find that reservations were always necessary? Was there seating generally available for buffet/theater, or did you need to show up in advance of normal hours? In general, did you find that there was enough stuff on the ship, or was there a lot of waiting?

 

Also, do you have any menu photos?

[alexgtp]

1 hour ago, GenghisQuan said:

How did you find the wait times for things like the waterslides, entertainment, or dining? Did you find that reservations were always necessary? Was there seating generally available for buffet/theater, or did you need to show up in advance of normal hours? In general, did you find that there was enough stuff on the ship, or was there a lot of waiting?

 

Also, do you have any menu photos?

Breakfast buffet is a nightmare, but you can ways go outside and find adequate seating, even when it is a bit colder outside, they turn on the overhead gas heaters, quite cozy.

 

Lines for the slides were minimal as they were open very infrequently and I think everyone was enjoying the scenic views.

For the Theater if you made reservations and get there early you can pick out any spot you like (we arrived about 30 min prior for both shows and always find a good spot) If you are on standby the line if very long, we arrived 30 min prior and saw a good amount of guests waiting maybe 30 ppl?

 

-your basic trivia, bingo, deal or no deal, demonstrations, tastings, art auctions, shore excursion presentations, specialty presentations about nature , they had a presentation we attended on the use of Binoculars which ended up as a sales pitch to buy a pair , but i found it very informative.

 

We dined at the Manhattan Room and Savor. We never waited to be seated (we never dined during peak times) Dining at the  specialty restaurants we never waited either.  We ate one day at Food Republic and it was us and another couple.

 

Sorry I did not take any pictures of the food menu's as they are pretty much the same on every NCL cruise we have taken. I did notice more seafood based dishes on this trip.

[Weluv2cruise2gether]

Thanks for sharing your video! Can't wait till my July cruise and your video added to my anticipated excitement! 😄

[elwood_98034]

We have a Joy trip coming up, and I have a question based on our last trip on the Jewel. Both to Alaska.

 

We found that on sailing days people would stake out a lot of the window tables in the cafe from very early in the morning, and pretty much not leave them for the rest of the day. That made it very hard to find somewhere to sit at meal times as many of the tables were tied up with people who weren't really eating, just sitting for the day. Has anyone else noticed this going on the current cruises?

[alexgtp]

14 hours ago, elwood_98034 said:

We have a Joy trip coming up, and I have a question based on our last trip on the Jewel. Both to Alaska.

 

We found that on sailing days people would stake out a lot of the window tables in the cafe from very early in the morning, and pretty much not leave them for the rest of the day. That made it very hard to find somewhere to sit at meal times as many of the tables were tied up with people who weren't really eating, just sitting for the day. Has anyone else noticed this going on the current cruises?

Didn't really notice this on this ship.

There are so many places you can go to watch the scenery on this ship. 

 

If you want to eat and watch the scenery and don't mind paying for dinner check out Food Republic, awesome seats for scenic viewing, and the place was always empty, or go to the District Brew house for a cocktail also always some nice seating for scenic viewing.

[elwood_98034]

22 hours ago, alexgtp said:

Didn't really notice this on this ship.

There are so many places you can go to watch the scenery on this ship. 

 

If you want to eat and watch the scenery and don't mind paying for dinner check out Food Republic, awesome seats for scenic viewing, and the place was always empty, or go to the District Brew house for a cocktail also always some nice seating for scenic viewing.

Thank you for your reply. I wasn't really worried about the view, more just being able to find somewhere to have breakfast or lunch. One of the other posts above said that getting a table was a problem, and it brought back memories of our last trip.