On the Joy now- need help

[bkrickles1]

I don't agree that ncl did anything wrong concerning the bed situation.

Many cabins for 4 just have a bed, which can be separated, and a sofa bed that sleeps 2.

As I said earlier, I'm booked in 10700 on the Joy. We were going to be 4 in the cabin with my daughter and niece sleeping together on the sofa bed, but my niece is not coming so it'll be just 3 of us. I knew from the plans that there was no pullman bed.

An experienced ncl cruiser like the op should have looked at the deck plans more closely and realized what was up in that cabin.

[The Traveling Man]

10 minutes ago, bkrickles1 said:

An experienced ncl cruiser like the op should have looked at the deck plans more closely and realized what was up in that cabin.

How are you able to tell from the deck plans whether the stateroom has a Pullman bed or not?  The room diagram shows a plus sign, which indicates that it is designed for 4 persons.  The sofas in NCL staterooms are small, barely big enough for two SMALL children, and definitely too small for two adults.  It would seem more reasonable to assume that a room designated for 4 persons WOULD feature at least one, and perhaps two Pullman beds.

[pcakes122]

14 minutes ago, farjar said:

At this point in time, if you are booking a cruise on the JOY - I would avoid at least the last 10 aft cabins on the ship on all decks - Also know that if you plan on going to the specialty restaurants in the aft of the ship it will potentially be uncomfortable due to vibration

This is good info for folks to know about Joy Aft cabins, but the Family Oceanview in question is Forward. 

[The Traveling Man]

3 minutes ago, pcakes122 said:

This is good info for folks to know about Joy Aft cabins, but the Family Oceanview in question is Forward. 

We sailed on the Joy in June 2019 in Balcony 11918, Starboard side near the rear elevators.  The only time we noticed undue vibration in our stateroom was when the ship was maneuvering into or out of port.  We also didn't notice the vibration when in the theater on Deck 6 Forward.  Trying to enjoy dinner in one of the aft restaurants, however, was an entirely different experience.  Whether we were in Le Bistro on Deck 8 or The Manhattan Room on Deck 7, the dishes and silverware rattled constantly because of the vibration.  It was difficult to carry on a normal conversation because of the noise.  Not a particularly pleasant experience.

[gmkgks]

OP here to report on the solution plus lots of good information we got from the assistant hotel manager and the guest he was speaking to prior to us.  

While in hour two of our wait for a manager I started hovering over the conversation he was having with another guest. He went to make a quick call before he spoke to us and I spoke to the prior complaining guest. Peggy from Windermere, Florida, if you are on here, THANK YOU for sharing your experience with me.  Talking with you was the best part of my cruise so far. It really helped to know we weren’t the only ones having these issues!!!

 

She too had an issue where she was not getting AC in her room.  I heard the manager tell her, and she confirmed he told her, not to push the down buttons on the register, as it makes the AC lock up.  ???  That’s crazy.  
 

She also said that she booked a massage and it was so loud under the gym that they comped her massage.  I did let her know that the nail part of the spa was quiet. It sounds like this is also a known problem.  I’m happy to know this as I was planning to do a massage but I won’t. 
 

She also mentioned that she was told she could use the beach club for free, but later told she’d need to pay for it and when she asked to have it charged to her room she was told she could not and would have to go to guest services to pay for it.  They eventually comped this for her as well.  
 

I assume that they also changed her room. I did not specifically ask this.  
 

I do know on day 2 they offered to let us use the inside cabin across the hall (both directly across from us were available) as a sleeping room and we declined because we all wanted to be together and they had promised to fix the AC and banging, plus I wanted to make sure my daughter was with me.  I was willing to live with the rollaway bed.  
 

Today we agreed to take that but it was no longer available. Both were full of people that were moved.  Luckily the ship isn’t at full capacity but it’s very concerning that that many people felt they needed to move. These cabins were small insides so I doubt anyone moving into them felt like they got a better cabin. I assumed they moved for a functional cabin. 
 

You all gave me the best advice.  Once I got ahold of the assistant hotel manager (white uniform with stripes on the shoulders) he suddenly found another cabin that fit the three of us and allowed us to keep the other cabin for the adult male.  It’s not a perfect solution, as we all wanted to be together, but I get think it’s very fair.  I’m happy to also keep the original room so I’m not spending the entire day moving all of our stuff. The second room is a large inside and already I can tell the AC works and no banging.  It’s not in a great location, traffic wise, and I worry about there being noise from people walking by, but I’m going to try to be positive and hopeful (even though I’m exhausted by this whole process.)  In the end I think now they’ve done the best that they could. I just wish they’d done the right thing originally since it sounds like both my main complainants were things they were aware of for those rooms.  Next time I need help I’ll turn to Cruise Critic sooner. Thank you.  
 

Also, since someone asked, there was no Pullman in the original cabin. I’m also

happy to answer any other questions people  have. 

[mking8288]

OP, sorry to read about your issues.  Hoping to hear that you have an acceptable outcome / compromise after meeting with the HD in person.  Since 1 of the 4 guest is an adult male, perhaps, you can (counter) propose to them, see if they can move him into an Inside cabin (nearby, if available) - would get him the room plus his private bath, instead of 4 of you sharing one.  Ship sailing at reduced capacity, ask them what is available if they say no.  Looking at the deck plan, there are only 5 of these / identical Forward Family OV that sleeps 4, odds are that the other 4 are occupied and they can't bump the other guests easily.  Just about anything else (as another poster wrote), OV or even most club suites available will be smaller in size & footprint, although the ones that sleep 4 should have an upper pullman that drop down from the ceiling - take a peek & walk over to see if before you accept such a move.  

 

If you can live with the noise and they can fix the air conditioning/HVAC issues (maybe asking for a fan ?? might help, just a thought) - is it practical to lay down a (doubled up for extra height) foam mattress to sleep on, camping style ... not a good solution for the rest of the cruise.  Might need to slide the queen bed (movable) away from the window ??  Just trying to see if going outside the boxed solutions might be possible.  Good luck.  

 

P.S.  I see that a compromised solutions has been reached, sounds fair & reasonable under the circumstance.  Just going to leave my thoughts & comments for consideration and reference to others.  

Edited December 28, 2021 by mking8288

[gmkgks]

8 minutes ago, mking8288 said:

OP, sorry to read about your issues.  Hoping to hear that you have an acceptable outcome / compromise after meeting with the HD in person.  Since 1 of the 4 guest is an adult male, perhaps, you can (counter) propose to them, see if they can move him into an Inside cabin (nearby, if available) - would get him the room plus his private bath, instead of 4 of you sharing one.  Ship sailing at reduced capacity, ask them what is available if they say no.  Looking at the deck plan, there are only 5 of these / identical Forward Family OV that sleeps 4, odds are that the other 4 are occupied and they can't bump the other guests easily.  Just about anything else (as another poster wrote), OV or even most club suites available will be smaller in size & footprint, although the ones that sleep 4 should have an upper pullman that drop down from the ceiling - take a peek & walk over to see if before you accept such a move.  

 

If you can live with the noise and they can fix the air conditioning/HVAC issues (maybe asking for a fan ?? might help, just a thought) - is it practical to lay down a (doubled up for extra height) foam mattress to sleep on, camping style ... not a good solution for the rest of the cruise.  Might need to slide the queen bed (movable) away from the window ??  Just trying to see if going outside the boxed solutions might be possible.  Good luck.  

 

P.S.  I see that a compromised solutions has been reached, sounds fair & reasonable under the circumstance.  Just going to leave my thoughts & comments for consideration and reference to others.  

Thanks for your advice. Just so others know, we did ask for a fan, repeatedly but one was never provided. I don’t know if they don’t have any or it’s a safety issue for some reason but I would have thought that would be something easy to try.  

[coffeebean]

2 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

Skip the guest services and go directly to the General Manager for resolution. 

That is exactly what hubby and I did when we had an extremely bad vibration issue in an aft facing balcony cabin on Joy. The Joy has issues as we were also told the severe vibration was a "known issue". Our cabin was changed to a mini suite far forward but we gave up that gorgeous aft facing view. Worth it to be able to sleep at night.

[cruising sister]

We were on the Joy in November and the vibrations were horrible when walking on deck 8 Aft. We commented that we could not imagine having a cabin in that location. If it has not been fixed wouldn’t it be better to reach out proactively and offer other cabins to the affected groups rather than frustration and unhappiness on what should be a great trip. 

[bkrickles1]

2 hours ago, gmkgks said:

 

I just heard from someone that Costa Maya was being skipped. 

Do you know anything about this? 

TIA 

[gmkgks]

2 minutes ago, bkrickles1 said:

I just heard from someone that Costa Maya was being skipped. 

Do you know anything about this? 

TIA 

No but we were just told at shore excursions that St Lucia is closed to all except your groups.  I asked how long they’ve known and he said they were told on 12/23.  That might have been useful to know more than the day before we arrive. My daughter and I got the last two tickets on a tour. Our other two will need to stay on the ship.  

[coffeebean]

3 hours ago, gmkgks said:

OP here to report on the solution plus lots of good information we got from the assistant hotel manager and the guest he was speaking to prior to us.  

While in hour two of our wait for a manager I started hovering over the conversation he was having with another guest. He went to make a quick call before he spoke to us and I spoke to the prior complaining guest. Peggy from Windermere, Florida, if you are on here, THANK YOU for sharing your experience with me.  Talking with you was the best part of my cruise so far. It really helped to know we weren’t the only ones having these issues!!!

 

She too had an issue where she was not getting AC in her room.  I heard the manager tell her, and she confirmed he told her, not to push the down buttons on the register, as it makes the AC lock up.  ???  That’s crazy.  
 

She also said that she booked a massage and it was so loud under the gym that they comped her massage.  I did let her know that the nail part of the spa was quiet. It sounds like this is also a known problem.  I’m happy to know this as I was planning to do a massage but I won’t. 
 

She also mentioned that she was told she could use the beach club for free, but later told she’d need to pay for it and when she asked to have it charged to her room she was told she could not and would have to go to guest services to pay for it.  They eventually comped this for her as well.  
 

I assume that they also changed her room. I did not specifically ask this.  
 

I do know on day 2 they offered to let us use the inside cabin across the hall (both directly across from us were available) as a sleeping room and we declined because we all wanted to be together and they had promised to fix the AC and banging, plus I wanted to make sure my daughter was with me.  I was willing to live with the rollaway bed.  
 

Today we agreed to take that but it was no longer available. Both were full of people that were moved.  Luckily the ship isn’t at full capacity but it’s very concerning that that many people felt they needed to move. These cabins were small insides so I doubt anyone moving into them felt like they got a better cabin. I assumed they moved for a functional cabin. 
 

You all gave me the best advice.  Once I got ahold of the assistant hotel manager (white uniform with stripes on the shoulders) he suddenly found another cabin that fit the three of us and allowed us to keep the other cabin for the adult male.  It’s not a perfect solution, as we all wanted to be together, but I get think it’s very fair.  I’m happy to also keep the original room so I’m not spending the entire day moving all of our stuff. The second room is a large inside and already I can tell the AC works and no banging.  It’s not in a great location, traffic wise, and I worry about there being noise from people walking by, but I’m going to try to be positive and hopeful (even though I’m exhausted by this whole process.)  In the end I think now they’ve done the best that they could. I just wish they’d done the right thing originally since it sounds like both my main complainants were things they were aware of for those rooms.  Next time I need help I’ll turn to Cruise Critic sooner. Thank you.  
 

Also, since someone asked, there was no Pullman in the original cabin. I’m also

happy to answer any other questions people  have. 

My understanding of the "compromise" by NCL is the adult male is still having A/C issues and banging in the original cabin. How is that acceptable?

 

When we were moved to a more "livable cabin" on Joy, all our belongings were moved by a cabin steward, including taking all the hanging clothes in the closet and transporting them hanging up on a transport cart. I did pack up all the folded clothing and all of our other belongings but the luggage was transported on this large cart by the cabin steward. It only took about an hour out of our day to move and settle in the new and improved cabin.

[phillygwm]

5 hours ago, gmkgks said:

I’m not expecting anything better or bigger. I just want my room to be functional.  Since it’s not, I’d happily take the same room in another location. 
If it was just the rollaway bed issue I could deal with it.  But the heat and the banging is intolerable.  I’m not sleeping. It’s not a vacation if you can’t sleep.  

That might be the issue.  Since you're already in one of the larger staterooms, moving you a deck above or below probably wouldn't resolve your banging issues.  If you were below a nightclub etc. that would be a different issue.

 

If it's not offered, perhaps suggest two smaller staterooms as an equivalent?  You're all the way forward and I read comments in another thread about the aft cabins having their own issues so be sure to check out any replacement before you accept it.

 

[BennyBrun]

3 hours ago, gmkgks said:

OP here to report on the solution plus lots of good information we got from the assistant hotel manager and the guest he was speaking to prior to us.  

While in hour two of our wait for a manager I started hovering over the conversation he was having with another guest. He went to make a quick call before he spoke to us and I spoke to the prior complaining guest. Peggy from Windermere, Florida, if you are on here, THANK YOU for sharing your experience with me.  Talking with you was the best part of my cruise so far. It really helped to know we weren’t the only ones having these issues!!!

 

She too had an issue where she was not getting AC in her room.  I heard the manager tell her, and she confirmed he told her, not to push the down buttons on the register, as it makes the AC lock up.  ???  That’s crazy.  
 

She also said that she booked a massage and it was so loud under the gym that they comped her massage.  I did let her know that the nail part of the spa was quiet. It sounds like this is also a known problem.  I’m happy to know this as I was planning to do a massage but I won’t. 
 

She also mentioned that she was told she could use the beach club for free, but later told she’d need to pay for it and when she asked to have it charged to her room she was told she could not and would have to go to guest services to pay for it.  They eventually comped this for her as well.  
 

I assume that they also changed her room. I did not specifically ask this.  
 

I do know on day 2 they offered to let us use the inside cabin across the hall (both directly across from us were available) as a sleeping room and we declined because we all wanted to be together and they had promised to fix the AC and banging, plus I wanted to make sure my daughter was with me.  I was willing to live with the rollaway bed.  
 

Today we agreed to take that but it was no longer available. Both were full of people that were moved.  Luckily the ship isn’t at full capacity but it’s very concerning that that many people felt they needed to move. These cabins were small insides so I doubt anyone moving into them felt like they got a better cabin. I assumed they moved for a functional cabin. 
 

You all gave me the best advice.  Once I got ahold of the assistant hotel manager (white uniform with stripes on the shoulders) he suddenly found another cabin that fit the three of us and allowed us to keep the other cabin for the adult male.  It’s not a perfect solution, as we all wanted to be together, but I get think it’s very fair.  I’m happy to also keep the original room so I’m not spending the entire day moving all of our stuff. The second room is a large inside and already I can tell the AC works and no banging.  It’s not in a great location, traffic wise, and I worry about there being noise from people walking by, but I’m going to try to be positive and hopeful (even though I’m exhausted by this whole process.)  In the end I think now they’ve done the best that they could. I just wish they’d done the right thing originally since it sounds like both my main complainants were things they were aware of for those rooms.  Next time I need help I’ll turn to Cruise Critic sooner. Thank you.  
 

Also, since someone asked, there was no Pullman in the original cabin. I’m also

happy to answer any other questions people  have. 

I am so glad that it worked out!  If you are not getting the response you want always escalate to an officer.  Please just remember that the nicer your are to them, and remain calm, the better the response.  I can tell you that when you start saying “never cruise again” or “ I have so many nights” it won’t help your case.  It most likely will get them to tune out.  They already have your history when they speak to you and each interaction you have with them is noted on the system.

[FLcruisergrl]

Separate the queen bed into 2 twins, give that to the kids. You and spouse sleep on the sofa bed.

[PTC DAWG]

From reading. Proper operation of the thermostat is crucial..

[MsTabbyKats]

Glad I read this thread........

We were thinking of the Joy to Canada in Sept....possibly the 0700 rooms...as adult son may join us.  Nope.

And if he didn't....DH and I generally book "sail-away".  Nope...too much chance of getting a noisy vibrating room.

Back to the drawing board...........

[BoughtMyPoints]

Just throwing it out there that the Joy has 3 room, 2 bathroom inside family suites  that are sold cheaply and which are very quiet.  Has a fake balcony with live floor to ceiling video of the ocean in the middle room.

[travelwide]

My question is not regarding a room but the waterfront bar areas. Does the sugarcane bar or any other bar have an area to sit outside on couches or at the bar like on the Escape? Deck 8.  It is not very clear on the schematic of the Joy. It is very clearly shown on the Escape. Love being outside close to the sea. 🚢🍷🥂

 

 

[gmkgks]

15 minutes ago, travelwide said:

My question is not regarding a room but the waterfront bar areas. Does the sugarcane bar or any other bar have an area to sit outside on couches or at the bar like on the Escape? Deck 8.  It is not very clear on the schematic of the Joy. It is very clearly shown on the Escape. Love being outside close to the sea. 🚢🍷🥂

 

 

1:05am, sitting on the couch’s outside of the sugarcane bar. My favorite, late night place.  

[Old & Retired]

OP, for serious issues while you are on the ship, you don't need cruise critic.  You just need to contact the General Manager, formerly named Hotel Director.  The GM is where the buck stops.  If they can't or won't fix your issue, you are SOOL.

 

[20165]

we were on Joy last week and had a somewhat similar issue.  Our sons had a Forward facing penthouse (HG) and the king sized bed could not be split into 2 twins like other cabins.  So one son slept in the king, the other slept on the couch in the other room. Luckily their room steward was able to put a mattress on it so it was pretty much like sleeping on a twin bed.  So in reality, even though those rooms say the accommodate 3 people, really, i would consider that to be a 2 person room that are ok sleeping in the same bed.

[mjkacmom]

3 minutes ago, 20165 said:

we were on Joy last week and had a somewhat similar issue.  Our sons had a Forward facing penthouse (HG) and the king sized bed could not be split into 2 twins like other cabins.  So one son slept in the king, the other slept on the couch in the other room. Luckily their room steward was able to put a mattress on it so it was pretty much like sleeping on a twin bed.  So in reality, even though those rooms say the accommodate 3 people, really, i would consider that to be a 2 person room that are ok sleeping in the same bed.

Really? Hotels that sleep 4 can have 2 full beds. I’ve seen very creative numbers on VRBO and Airbnb which count sofa beds in living rooms as sleeping 2 counting towards the amount the property sleeps. Once 2 camping cots we’re part of the number. My 23 and 18 year old sons could share a king, my 18, 20 and 25 year old daughters just shared a full Christmas Eve.

[travelwide]

8 hours ago, gmkgks said:

1:05am, sitting on the couch’s outside of the sugarcane bar. My favorite, late night place.  

Thank you for replying. Enjoy the area. Are there other bars that have that outside area along the side of the ship?

[bkrickles1]

26 minutes ago, travelwide said:

Thank you for replying. Enjoy the area. Are there other bars that have that outside area along the side of the ship?

The Cavern Club also has an outside bar on the Waterfront. Opposite side of the ship, I believe. That's my favorite around 5pm.