Real-Time Pre, During and Post Review of the NCL Joy, November 27, 2021 Sailing in the Haven

[dolfan1980]

5 hours ago, TheFenz said:

Happen to notice if they were showing any NFL games on your Sunday?

My last cruise The Local definitely had football on.  I'm hoping for college tomorrow when I board.

[dobiemom]

7 hours ago, Sthrngary said:

My wife won the slot Tournament. Won $465.00. Also got an entry into the $100,000 slot tournament for December 2022. I get another cruise.. there is a God.

Cha-Ching! 😄

[a1betpr]

Thanks for all the great info over the past couple of weeks, Gary!  We board the Joy tomorrow for our first ever stint in the Haven and couldn’t be more excited.  Hopefully you left some tequila and red meat on the ship for us!

 

Now, based on the number of emails I got from NCL today, I need to go watch the safety video 18 times.  Woot!

[Sthrngary]

2 hours ago, Juncti said:

Thanks for all the updates. Definitely helping a lot of us as we plan to go.

 

Was this special tequila part of your plus package or is this like a plus plus plus type deal lol

 

Cheers and hopefully about 48 hours from now I'll be having some shots of my own in the Haven bar. Till then this Warsteiner beer will have to suffice 

Part of the plus

[debnjoe1438]

18 minutes ago, Sthrngary said:

Part of the plus

Enjoyed reading your post. Have a safe trip home.

[Njbosoxgirl]

On 11/28/2021 at 6:30 PM, mjh2w1 said:

Love the tip on the having the money visible when turning over the luggage to the porters!!!  I always do the trick of putting folded up money in my hand and greeting the bartender I plan on frequenting and shake his hand with the money in tow, and telling them "I know you're going to take good care of us this week."  It goes a long way!  We were on the Escape in 2017, and I never had to wait in line for a drink on the first day!  

Great review … unfortunate we did not have same experience in haven from check in - check out 

mishap after mishap ! Very disappointed.. 

[Sthrngary]

23 minutes ago, Njbosoxgirl said:

Great review … unfortunate we did not have same experience in haven from check in - check out 

mishap after mishap ! Very disappointed.. 

I also had an issue with key cards day one. They did not have my family’s beverage program listed. I got upset then got over it quick. I checked my bill every day, had to have two major corrections. Fixed, I am chalking it up to second time out. No cruise is ever perfect for sure. 

[Sthrngary]

Saturday, December 4, 2021:

 

Just like every other cruise ever taken, you never get sleep the last night.  You tend to overindulge in food, drink and gambling.  You postpone the packing until the very last second.  If you follow my posts, you know I plan what to do on the last day.  I skipped breakfast on Friday morning, and secretly packed.  No one knew what I was doing BUT it was clearly listed in my “Family Journal Document”.  When my family noticed I was all done, they were not happy with me.  They all like to be the leader and I faked them all out.  It was one of my pleasures of this trip, LOL.

 

My lovely bride won the Slot Tournament which earned her $465.00.  More importantly, she was entered in the $100,000.00 winner take all Final Slot tournament on the NCL Escape, out of New Orleans, December 2, 2022.  My plan is to get as many of our friends to join us because New Orleans is a 5-hour drive from where we live.  That is my plan anyway.

 

Now during the next week, I will write my review for Cruise Critic.  For this blog I will just give everyone the high hard ones. 

 

Food:  All the food was great, yet the Haven Restaurant is still my favorite.  I was most impressed with the Local especially the burgers and chicken wings.  That was a nice surprise.  The specialty dining was good but not great in my opinion.  The Teppanyaki Restaurant was my favorite for both the show and food.  The French Restaurant was my least favorite.  Funny thing, I ate far less on this cruise than any previous cruise.  I guess two years of a Keto diet worked. 

 

Activities: The racetrack was fun but a one-time thing.  The same holds true for the Laser Tag and Galaxy P.  Glad I did it but been there and done that.  I loved the pink pong, both waterslides and the mini golf.  The gambling is always fun but having the availability of using your suite key for cash is dangerous.  I was good but not good enough.

 

Entertainment:  The best on cruise ships and the reason why one should go on NCL.  Elements was the best but hard to rate.  Do not miss Footloose and the Beatles. Go to the Sugar Cane at night for some over the top live music and meet “Bong” the bartender.  Ask him to show you his mouse and magic tricks.  He is awesome. Don’t miss the “Men’s Sexy Legs Contest” by the pool, so funny.

 

My Suite: Nothing to say but WOW.  It was the Owners Suite, and it will never happen again.  This was a postponed 40^th wedding anniversary with my adult children.  The ship was 30% capacity.  THIS WAS A ONCE IN A LIFETIME EXPERIENCE!!!!!  “Until the next cruise of course, LOL”

 

Staff/Cruise:  Over the top outstanding and not just in the Haven. Every single crew member.  Well done, NCL.

 

Spa:  My daughter got three treatments.  My recommendation is to check your ship account every single day.  I had two huge corrections which is always a hassle to deal with on the last day. 

 

Premium Plus Beverage Package:  If you can afford it, if you like to go all the way for one week a year, if you want to do $40.00 shots of tequila; I highly recommend it. If you have questions, there are many blogs on CruiseCritic on this subject.

 

Well, there you have it.  I hoped I helped everyone soon to be cruising.

 

Cruise Well Everyone, see you next time.

[mjcatlvr]

On 11/28/2021 at 10:22 AM, Sthrngary said:

Armando The picture below is Armando’s assistant.

There is the lovely Lyster. If you need anything in the Haven, he is the guy to go to.

Gary, it was nice to finally meet you and put a face behind all of the helpful posts.

[Niffernay]

51 minutes ago, Sthrngary said:

$40.00 shots of tequila

I know you told us before, but what is your favorite tequila onboard?

 

Looks like you had a great trip!  So happy for you and it makes me even more excited for our cruise in January.

[Sthrngary]

11 minutes ago, mjcatlvr said:

There is the lovely Lyster. If you need anything in the Haven, he is the guy to go to.

Gary, it was nice to finally meet you and put a face behind all of the helpful posts.

Same, enjoyed meeting you both. Bravo to Lyster!!!!!!

[Sthrngary]

2 minutes ago, Niffernay said:

I know you told us before, but what is your favorite tequila onboard?

 

Looks like you had a great trip!  So happy for you and it makes me even more excited for our cruise in January.

1942, GREAT. 

[Niffernay]

4 minutes ago, Sthrngary said:

1942, GREAT. 

It's on my list now.  Thanks!!

[rmandmm]

Thanks so much for sharing your time with us, on top of what you already do for all of us here—what a great community. I’m 8 days from boarding Epic in the once-in-a-lifetime suite and basically am beside myself with excitement! Congrats to your wife (and you!) for the slot pull and cruise! Happy birthday to your daughter! Safe travels!!

[FFlowers]

Thank you so much for your amazing cruise report and all of the information you shared.  I am a heavy traveler but a relative cruise newbie.  I'm taking off the first 3 months of next year and will be on THREE cruises (casino promotions -- I love Vegas 🙂), the first one of which will be on the Joy 7 weeks from today, then the Encore 8 weeks from tomorrow and then a 20-day cruise on the Enchanted Princess starting in late February.

 

I'll be cruising solo -- I love solo travel -- and would love to get your recommendations as I seek to get a Haven upgrade from a regular balcony room.  I would love to have the Haven experience -- on both the Joy and Encore -- but as a solo cruiser I don't want to overspend in the bidding process.  

 

Thank you again for taking the time to share and, most important, I'm very happy that you had such an extraordinary experience with your family.

[Sailing12Away]

On 12/2/2021 at 2:04 PM, justhappy said:

I agree completely. I’ve stayed in the Haven proper and in an aft Haven stateroom. The walk to the Haven is nothing when you have that amazing balcony.

 

On 12/2/2021 at 3:26 PM, kitty-sail said:

I usually stay outside of Haven as I find inside too busy. I prefer the quiet of being outside and still enjoy all the benefits.

Interesting views from both of you, and that's why it's great that everyone has options. It all depends on how you like to spend your time on your trip. We tried an Aft Haven room on the Encore recently, and the views from the balcony were amazing but we feel like we missed out on a lot of the Haven experience.  We just booked the Joy for 2023 in a mid-ship Haven room outside of the courtyard to see if that's a happy compromise between being close enough, without hurting our wallets too much.

 

@Sthrngary - glad to hear you sing the praises of The Local. No, it's not 5 star dining - it's comfort bar food. But sometimes you don't want a 5 course meal and to be pampered - sometimes you just want wings and nachos. We missed that option dearly on our RCC cruise.

[Sthrngary]

10 hours ago, FFlowers said:

Thank you so much for your amazing cruise report and all of the information you shared.  I am a heavy traveler but a relative cruise newbie.  I'm taking off the first 3 months of next year and will be on THREE cruises (casino promotions -- I love Vegas 🙂), the first one of which will be on the Joy 7 weeks from today, then the Encore 8 weeks from tomorrow and then a 20-day cruise on the Enchanted Princess starting in late February.

 

I'll be cruising solo -- I love solo travel -- and would love to get your recommendations as I seek to get a Haven upgrade from a regular balcony room.  I would love to have the Haven experience -- on both the Joy and Encore -- but as a solo cruiser I don't want to overspend in the bidding process.  

 

Thank you again for taking the time to share and, most important, I'm very happy that you had such an extraordinary experience with your family.

Just go to the lower end of the Haven bid.  The ships are all running now at low capacity.  Even if you don’t get the haven, you will still have a great time.

[FFlowers]

1 hour ago, Sthrngary said:

Just go to the lower end of the Haven bid.  The ships are all running now at low capacity.  Even if you don’t get the haven, you will still have a great time.

Thanks!

[Sthrngary]

May daughter did a TicTock of me.  I don't do social media except CruiseCritic.com.  I thought you all would appreciated this.  Enjoy.

 

 

[vacation44]

1 hour ago, Sthrngary said:

May daughter did a TicTock of me.  I don't do social media except CruiseCritic.com.  I thought you all would appreciated this.  Enjoy.

 

 

Love  it!!!  Thanks for sharing it.

[Sthrngary]

OK my CruiseCritic.com Buddies.  Free free to watch some of my YouTube video's on cruising on my YouTube Channel.  I have a "PlayList" for Cruising Called "The Cranky Old Man Series"  The link is: 

 

If you are on the Joy in the future and have any questions, please feel free to ask me anything.  I will do my best to be a good member of CruiseCritic.com.  My pleasure to have done this blog.  

 

Cruise Well and Enjoy Every Minute Everyone.

[worktocruise610]

54 minutes ago, Sthrngary said:

OK my CruiseCritic.com Buddies.  Free free to watch some of my YouTube video's on cruising on my YouTube Channel.  I have a "PlayList" for Cruising Called "The Cranky Old Man Series"  The link is: 

 

If you are on the Joy in the future and have any questions, please feel free to ask me anything.  I will do my best to be a good member of CruiseCritic.com.  My pleasure to have done this blog.  

 

Cruise Well and Enjoy Every Minute Everyone.

Thank you @Sthrngary for everything - your Haven secrets helped me on my first Haven experience last October on the Breakaway, and your Joy review has gotten me excited for my next, on the Joy, in May. Your video is great, can’t wait to watch the series. Not only are you a great writer, you’re very good at video also! 
Thanks again for everything, look forward to more of your stories, thoughts and life experiences.

Stay well

[bmwnurse]

Thank you for your thorough report. This has been such a blast to read. I am also the super planner of my family, so I relate to your perspective. We’re counting down the days to our February Getaway in the Haven. You convinced us to upgrade to Premium Plus. Cheers. 

[washdcguy]

Thanks for the awesome review.  We'll be trying out Haven and NCL for the first time before Christmas and are excited to experience it (and praying Omicron doesn't get in the way).  Both this thread and your other thread on the Haven have been invaluable, and the planner is just next level!

 

So we're traveling with our fully vaxed (2 shots + 2 weeks) 8 year old.  I didn't see it in any of your posts, but do you know if the kids clubs were open or were there just too few kids to warrant them being open.  

 

... she's not one of those that will spoil the Haven for others.  

[Sthrngary]

1 minute ago, washdcguy said:

Thanks for the awesome review.  We'll be trying out Haven and NCL for the first time before Christmas and are excited to experience it (and praying Omicron doesn't get in the way).  Both this thread and your other thread on the Haven have been invaluable, and the planner is just next level!

 

So we're traveling with our fully vaxed (2 shots + 2 weeks) 8 year old.  I didn't see it in any of your posts, but do you know if the kids clubs were open or were there just too few kids to warrant them being open.  

 

... she's not one of those that will spoil the Haven for others.  

I can not answer the question.  Please contact NCL directly.  They should be opening soon.