Joy / Live / Solo / *Not...

[sid_9169]

 

 

 

It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen… We’d been dealing with this pandemic for nearly a year and a half now, and the cruise lines ``pause in operations' ' was still pausing. There hadn’t been a sailing from US ports in over a year, and I was dreaming of the day that I would finally get back to sea… This is the tale of The Cruise That Wasn’t… 

 

 

 

Edited May 29, 2021 by sid_9169

[sid_9169]

 

When I woke up on April 6th 2021, it was like any other Tuesday morning… Wake up, make coffee, get ready for work, ect… While doing a little web surfing, later that morning, I saw that NCL had followed Royal Caribbean & Celebritys’ lead, and planned to circumvent the CDC by sailing out of foreign ports, in this case, Jamaica and the Dominican Republic. Within minutes, I had done a mock booking, and placed a 24 hour courtesy hold on the very first sailing of the Joy out of Montego Bay. When lunch break came around, I placed a call to NCL to ask a few questions, and a few minutes later, my hold became an actual booking. It was a strange feeling, as I’ve been cancelled by various cruise lines about 6 or 7 times in the last year or so… Finally, it looked like I may be booked on a cruise that would actually sail! 

 

    The price was quite a bit steeper than what I normally pay, but just the thought of being “on board” again superseded any notion of “budget” or “rational thought process”... All that I could think about was finally returning to the sea, as well as the food, beverages, and fun that go along with it. It’ll also knock a few “firsts' ' for me, as well. First sailing originating from a port outside of the US… In fact, the first time getting my passport stamped, as the only thing mine has ever been used for is cruising. Also, I would at last conquer the only one of NCLs’ Away and Away Plus Class ships that I had yet to sail: the Joy… This ship differs slightly from the others in this class, as it has no solo cabin area, which is where I normally reside. It was originally designed and built for the Asian market, but was re-fitted for the US market a couple of years after its debut. I went and did a bit of research into the ship in its original form, and was surprised to find out that it originally had grass covering the pool deck. There was also a noodle bar where Teppanyaki is located. The District Brew House was formerly a tea room, which was replaced during the fifty million dollar renovation, prior to being deployed in the states. The ship also features several large inside cabins with 2 bedrooms, as well as a large number of connecting cabins, as the Chinese often travel with extended family...

 

Here are a few pictures from the Joy prior to her transformation for the US market...

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited May 29, 2021 by sid_9169

[sid_9169]

 

 In my excitement to book, I had completely overlooked some of the new protocols required to sail. First, everyone on board would have to be fully vaccinated prior to sailing. Second, masks would be required on board in all indoor spaces, except while seated in a restaurant, or sitting at the bar. Also, the only excursions allowed would be through NCL, and masks would have to be worn for them, as well. Suddenly, this started to look like no other cruise I had ever taken… This pandemic that we’ve been enduring now for over a year and a half, has affected all of our lives, for better or worse. (Mostly worse) What would cruising in this strange new World even look like? That’s the question that I was bound and determined to find the answer to…

 

    Personally, I have an inherent distrust of our “leadership”, and the government and CDC in general. I live only a few miles from the CDC headquarters here in Atlanta, and in my opinion, it’s basically a huge, bungling bureaucracy… I don’t want to get too far into the weeds of political discussion, but I believe that the “powers that be” have prolonged this pandemic for political gain, and for the purpose of exerting control over the American people. It also seems as if the CDC has demonized the cruising industry in specific, while all other forms of transportation have been “allowed”: to continue on with business as usual…

 

    But, back to the matter at hand… In a way, it appears that these sailings originating in the Caribbean are the “test cruises” and we’ll all be the “guinea pigs” in this grand experiment of the return to the sea. Would there be an outbreak of corona virus on board? And, if so, would it end up being another “quarantine cruise”?... And, if so, where would the industry go from here? Those are the questions that I’m seeking to find the answers to… That, as well as what this “return to the sea” would look like compared to what we’ve all experienced in the past. Cruising “AC” (after covid) vs cruising “BC” (before covid)...

[sid_9169]

 

 A few days after  booking this cruise, I was feeling so excited that I went ahead and made my hotel arrangements for Jamaica… I hadn’t had this sort of optimism in awhile that it was actually going to happen. It ended up being a bit more expensive than I had planned on, at $331 for one night, but this was going to be a very special occasion… The S Hotel in Montego Bay is Tripadvisor’s #1 rated hotel, and I opted for their Deluxe Ocean View accommodation. It said that breakfast and dinner were included, and from the photos, it appeared to be situated on a beautiful beach. The rate also claimed to include BOGO drinks, so I hoped that I could squeeze all the value out of it as possible…

 

    I was feeling good, so I logged into my NCL account, to begin my online check in… Turns out, it was 119 days prior to sailing, and I was able to book some specialty dining, as well. Even though the cruise was still 4 months away, things were starting to “get real”... In the spirit of moving forward, the next day I decided to go ahead and book my flights… I had a flight credit with Delta Airlines from a past cancelled cruise, so it helped take the sting out of the $573 price tag for the flight. This vacation was beginning to add up quickly. $2,427 for the cruise, including travel insurance and port fees... $331 for the hotel… $573 for the flights, and I’m at $3,331… Tack on $243 to upgrade to the Premium Plus beverage package, $89 to upgrade to the Premium Unlimited internet package, and $209 for Vibe, and I’m approaching four grand… For an inside cabin…

[BirdTravels]

We are ready to sail on one of the First Back to Sea. 
 

[sid_9169]

[sid_9169]

 

 Around mid April, there was a pause in the use of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, due to possible blood clots… I was already hesitant about receiving any of them, and this didn’t help to ease my mind. Of course, the only way that I would be allowed on board would be to “take the jab”, but I decided to wait a bit longer, and see what happens with others. It was also around this time that I was bored, and decided to go online and see how much of a price increase there was on these newly released sailings… To my surprise, there was a $259 price drop on the exact same cabin category, so I did an online chat with NCL, and minutes later, I was able to secure the lower rate… This ended up being almost enough to cover my hotel room in Jamaica, and every penny counts at this point...

 

    On the last weekend of April, I went ahead and completed my online check-in… It’d been awhile since I’ve been this far into the process in almost a year and a half… I also booked another couple of specialty restaurant reservations, making it 4 in total: Le Bistro, Cagney’s, Ocean Blue, and La Cucina… All of these would be “free to me”, since I had two “Free at Sea” promo meals, plus my two Platinum dinners. I also plan to visit Food Republic at least once, and I still need to try out American Diner, which I completely forgot about while on my last cruise on the Encore.

[sid_9169]

 

 Even though I wasn’t excited about booking my excursions through NCL, this would be the only way that I’d be allowed off the ship, other than Harvest Caye. The idea of going all the way to the Caribbean without getting my feet in the sand seemed crazy, so I reluctantly went for a couple. Passion Island in Cozumel, and Tabayana Beach in Roatan. I’ve been to Tabayana a few times already, but Passion Island would be completely new to me, and hopefully worth it… I would much rather be able to just explore on my own, but since that wouldn’t be an option, this was the next best thing. The $50 per port excursion discount made these bookings a bit easier to swallow, as I would never consider spending that kind of money just for a ride to the beach. 

 

    The week after I booked the NCL excursions, they announced that passengers on the vaccinated sailings would be able to go out into port on their own… Some people thought that was a bad idea, as the plan for these initial sailings was to keep passengers in a “vaccinated bubble”... For me, it meant that I could go and do something completely of my choosing, rather than picking from the list of NCL sponsored offerings. I contacted my usual driver in Cozumel, and got the ball rolling on my adventure to the “Wild Side”, as well as planning to visit some “new to me” drinking and dining establishments. I also contacted a private tour provider in Roatan, and arranged for a driver there… I had no problem cancelling the tours that I had already booked through NCL, and I felt a sense of freedom and excitement, being able to explore out on my own.

 

    It was also around this same time that the CDC announced that the cruise lines may be able to continue operations from the US, if they were willing to meet certain conditions, including vaccinations of passengers and crew. Now that I had gone out and booked a sailing from Jamaica, including flights and hotel, would other passengers end up beating me to the punch on being the first to sail?... Of course, I welcomed the return of cruises in whatever form they take, but desperately wanted to be among the first… I figured that no matter what happened, there was only a possibility of beating me by a couple of weeks at the most. 

[sid_9169]

[graphicguy]

Love it.  Sad and funny at the same time.  Best of luck going forward with your NEXT booking.  

[sid_9169]

3 minutes ago, graphicguy said:

Love it.  Sad and funny at the same time.  Best of luck going forward with your NEXT booking.  

Thanks... I had put too much work into it to let it all go to waste... 

[Sunseeker810]

Sid, you just made my day!  You have said what so many of us went through.  Only, your way with words was truly amazing.

[Summerstravel]

Thanks for that Sid I was so shocked the cruises out of Jamaica were cancelled. I spent hours and hours planning my trip. Thanks for making me laugh about it. My goal is to go on a cruise by the end of year now. lol ( all I want for Christmas) 

I hope you get to cruise soon don't give up! 

Tracie 

 

[All-ready2cruise]

45 minutes ago, sid_9169 said:

Sid, I can't help you with tequila right now, I only have wine... but I'll share it with you if you think it will help.  🤣 🥂

[Stevanb]

Do you not do anything but cruise ?  Believe or not there are other vacations you could  have done  last year and this , We do cruise once or twice a year  but we also do adult all inclusive twice a year . We where  Cancun last Sept  height of the covid and  in Punta Cuna Dec over the holidays  . This year last month Riviera Cancun . Sept another one . Dec we will see what happens on the cruise ship as it is not worth going with a lot of restrictions .

[RaftingJeremy]

I feel this.  I travel

for a living so cruising is my true vacation.  I booked the gem on the second day it was available For sale.  After seeing what royal did, I started to wonder what ncl would do.  When they took the joy cruises off the website, I called and jumped over to the bliss Alaska cruise.  I’m not really sure Alaska is gonna be for me, but if it’s too cold for me then I have the ship for entertainment hahah 

[DCGuy64]

We did an all inclusive in Cancún last year. It was fun, but let’s be real: an all-inclusive resort IS NOT THE SAME AS A CRUISE. At a resort, it’s the same place every day, and nothing changes. I have nothing against AI’s, but they’re not the same. On a cruise, you actually GO somewhere every day. It’s like a floating city. An all inclusive is just a hotel. Oh, a fine hotel, don’t get me wrong. But it’s just a hotel. A cruise ship is so much more. We will definitely consider an AI again, but it ain’t no cruise. 

[sid_9169]

Thanks so much to all of you who are reading and commenting... I had REALLY thought it was going to happen this time. When NCL pulled the plug, I was crestfallen to say the least. I actually "believed" that this was was the one way that I would be able to return to the sea until the CDC allowed it here... Of course, like everything else going on for the past year and a half, you never really know until it happens...

[sid_9169]

 

 The first week of May, NCL had a promotion that would award 2 additional Latitudes points per night on sailings longer than 3 nights… I wanted to take advantage of this, as it would put me that much closer to reaching Platinum Plus. I gave them a call, and found out that it would require “cancelling and rebooking”, but as long as the price hadn’t increased, my out of pocket costs would be exactly the same. Luckily, the base price and promotions for my inside cabin were the same, and I would end up getting 21 Latitude points for a 7 night cruise…

 

    There was only one thing left for me to do now: get vaccinated… I had been bandying about the idea of just getting the Johnson & Johnson “one and done” jab, but it had already experienced a good bit of bad publicity. A couple of the people I work with had bad reactions to the Moderna vaccine, so I decided that the one remaining choice, Pfizer, was the lesser of 3 evils… In mid May, Pfizer was approved for children 12 years and up, so I figured that if it was good enough for them, then it was good enough for me. In the state of Georgia, it had gotten to the point where you could pretty much choose whichever one you wanted, so I sought out places offering the Pfizer shot… There was a Walgreens near my apartment that was taking appointments, but for whatever reason, it wouldn’t allow me to “select” that particular store in the online registration process… I decided to just walk down there, and ask in person, when I might be able to get in. When I arrived, I told the person behind the counter that IO tried making an appointment, and she said “well, what about right now?”... Alrighty then, that escalated quickly… I filled out a simple form, and a couple of minutes later, they called me back. I rolled up my sleeve as the guy was getting the needle ready. I looked away for a second, and before I knew what happened, he said “okay, you’re done”... I swear to you, I didn’t feel anything… I had even debated with the guy if he had even given me the shot. He assured me that he had, and I was on my way… Fifteen minutes from when I had first walked in, I was on my way 50% vaccinated. By the time I woke up the next morning, my upper arm did hurt just a bit, so at least I knew for sure that I had gotten the shot.

[sid_9169]

If you're an avid Cruise Critic reader, then you all know where the story goes from here... I had considered switching to the Gem from the Dominican Republic, but then it ended up getting the kibosh as well. I also looked into Royal Caribbean out of Nassau, but I still haven't made up my mind on that one. This morning, I even checked out the Celebrity Edge, but it costs wayyy more than my budget allows. I believe that my strategy going forward is to just try and have hope that my Virgin Voyages Scarlet Lady cruise at the end of September actually happens. I've been working on the Review for that since January of last year, and have been cancelled on and rebooked on it 5 different times now. If it does, then it'll be my first "Birthday cruise" since 2019, and I guess my first cruise at all since the World fell apart at the beginning of 2020... After that, my long awaited Carnival Mardi Gras cruise will hopefully happen... Until then, thank you all again for reading about my "little journey" that never actually occurred... 

[sid_9169]

[sid_9169]

[meatball_nyc]

Bravo, Sid.

 

Fingers and toes crossed for your Scarlet Lady and Mardi Gras Cruises. 

 

I also believe we ALL deserve a bunch of Margaritas on the beach this year!!!

 

Cheers. 

 

 

[Nclgetawaymenhoney]

Thank you for sharing your story.  I truly appreciate it, I so miss having a cruise to look forward to but until we see a few actually sail, I just won’t even book another one.  Too many canceled cruises already under my belt.  Here is hopping the Scarlet Lady cruise in September actually sails.  Cheers!!

[david_sobe]

I am so sorry your cruise did not happen.  We were all looking forward to another live review.  Just one question.  Who's job is it now to wake the sleepers up in the Observation Lounge?