Joy 4/2 Haven Review

[Rpeter]

 

I would have written this review earlier but I came down with a terrible cold once off the ship.  My first cold in more than 2 years.  I tested myself several times just to make sure it was not Covid.  Thankfully I tested negative.  Between the 4 leftover eMed tests, the 4 original free tests sent by the USPS and just last week we were able to get another 4 free tests from USPS, we had plenty of spares.

 

This was our 12^th cruise since 2003 (all with NCL) and our 6^th time in a Haven suite, so we are a bit seasoned in our cruising experiences but much more seasoned in our ages – mid 70s.  We love NCL.  Before 2003 I thought of cruising as ball gowns and steamer trunks and that is just not me.  A friend told us about the new Freestyle Cruising on NCL – eat when you want, with whom you want, etc.  We were hooked and have no desire to cruise on any other line.

Because we are only 2 ½ ours away from Miami we were obviously driving to the port, as we always do.  I was concerned in the days coming up to Saturday because “they” were calling for rain.  I would check the weather for Vero Beach, West Palm Beach and Miami constantly, hoping for a break.  Our plan was to leave at 7:30 am because it would take us 2 ½ hours.  We were ready at 6:45 so we left then.  No rain, but dense FOG!!!  In my opinion, much worse than rain!  It did not clear until West Palm Beach.  We got there around 9:30. 

 

The signs at Port of Miami are not as clear as in the past.  You need to know that you are going to Terminal B as there is no signage for Norwegian that we could see.  It was not clear where to turn to get to the terminal without having to go all the way down to the Royal Caribbean terminal and come all the way back.  We did make a left closer to the terminal and asked two guards how to get to the NCL buildings and they were very accommodating.  Just to the left of the terminal you turn right between the garage and the left side of the terminal.  There you can let your passengers off and/or drop off your luggage.  We did this and proceeded to the garage.  On level 3 of the garage there is a sign for VIP luggage drop-off and a skybridge that will take you directly to the Haven check-in area.  It was not open and we were told later that was because of Covid.  It will be very convenient once in use.

 

Getting into the terminal turned out to be easier than we expected.  We walked out of the garage toward the terminal and were a bit confused as to where to go.  Then a guard directed us to a Haven booth right outside the entrance where everybody was going in.  They checked our paperwork and escorted us to the elevators up to the Haven area where we had our own security check-in and where we received our key cards.  Up another level was the Haven waiting area with comfy seating, snacks and beverages (water and juice, etc).  Eventually the concierge, Efran, came around to introduce himself and check our room number.  Boarding was delayed a bit but when ready the Haven guests were escorted onboard and directed to our muster stations.  After that, we were escorted into the Haven lounge.  We were immediately able to drop off our luggage in our room, where we met our Room Steward, Michael, who was the best room steward ever!  Our tradition is to have our first meal in the Haven Restaurant.  The food was great!

 

I don’t know how many guests were aboard, but the Haven was sold out and we had some guests from the cancelled Escape for that week.  The Haven on the Joy has 118 rooms throughout the ship that have access, but we never felt it was too crowded.  The restaurant, especially, was never crowded and we ate inside and outside.  We ate all of our meals there, except on one sea day when we went to Food Republic for lunch.  I don’t know why it was so empty, except that maybe everyone chose to be by the pool.  The food was very good.  We used just one of our Dining package meals and could order 4 plates to share and it was plenty.

We really liked the Joy.  We were on the Escape in November and liked it but we much prefer the Joy because of the Horizon Lounge.  Also, Deck 17 rooms have the larger balconies and that is what we booked.  Our room was on the starboard side almost at the back end of the hallway.  It was under the restaurant, which was great because the restaurant was carpeted and you never had any noise from above.  Another plus was, because it was at the end of the hallway, we could just go directly out to the stairs and elevators without going through the concierge/bar lounge.  In addition to the Horizon Lounge, the Observation Lounge on Deck 15 was a wonderful area.  Could not believe how huge it was and it seemed very peaceful.  We toured it on day one when there were not many people there yet and really enjoyed it.  Too bad that the Horizon Lounge does not have a bar also.  We enjoyed sitting up there in the Horizon relaxing in the comfy chairs.  Easy to fall asleep! 

 

We asked for two 2 loungers for our balcony because it was so large.  It was great to have them out there to just relax and read – except when the band was playing by the pool or someone was REALLY enjoying themselves in a game of Ping-Pong.  If that happened we would just go inside. 

 

We asked our Butler, Teresa, not to bring any meat products because we don’t eat meat, but we do eat fish.  She was so sweet and one day brought us the salmon pinwheels and the next day brought us Tuna sandwiches (2 days).  This would happen at 3:00 and because we like to eat early we just could not finish them, so we put them in the refrigerator (where, unfortunately, the bread got soggy).  Next cruise we will just ask the butler not to bring us any afternoon snacks, except chocolate chip cookies, of course!  Teresa was a very good butler and would do anything that we would ask of her.  The best!

 

We did not go on any excursions as we are not beach people and have been to these ports many times.  In Roatan we did something weird.  From the ship we could see a cemetery right behind the port buildings.  In this part of the world, the deceased are not buried underground but put in “tombs” above ground.  It was interesting to see that some were higher than others so we wanted to get a closer look.  We found our way outside of the port where there were lots of guys that wanted to take us somewhere on the island.  We said we only wanted to get a closer look at the cemetery across the street to take some pictures.  A nice young man actually took us inside the cemetery and told us all about it, while I took some pictures.  He never said anything about a cost but he did such a nice job that we gave him a generous tip.  Those guys outside of the port area were very nice and anxious to make a few dollars taxing people around.  Next time you are in Roatan consider giving them a try.

 

This was our first time at Harvest Cay.  It was very hot and humid that day.  We just walked around the shops looking for a T-shirt.  Also, went into the butterfly area.  We came back to have lunch on the ship.  Glad that they have those people carriers on these ports with the long docks.  I have a bad knee and was very appreciative of the ride.

 

Coast Maya was cancelled because of the strong winds making it impossible to dock.  Another sea day. 

 

Cozumel is, well, Cozumel.  Last time we were there we did a tequila tasting excursion which was very enjoyable.  This time we just walked around the “mall” looking for that elusive T-shirt.  No luck.  Maybe we are too picky.

 

Another sea day before getting back to Miami.  All in all, the weather was perfect.  The seas were very manageable and we had a terrific time – mostly just relaxing and reading and getting pampered.  This is what we like to do on a cruise so we were very happy.

 

Disembarkation was a bit slow.  We chose to self-disembark and I think there was a delay in getting the process started, but we were in our car and leaving the garage at 8:10.  Oh, if you are driving to the port, just keep in mind that the parking is $22 per day.  Yikes, that was a shock!  Back in November on the Escape out of Port Canaveral it was just $17. 

 

We had some FCC from this cruise because of a price drop after final payment.  It was already available on Monday after the cruise so we booked the Encore for Jan. 2023.  We want to try the Encore because if has fewer Haven rooms (I think 80 as compared to 118 on the Joy).

 

Fun fact:  When I was researching what room to get in the Haven on the Encore, I was surprised that #17730 was not on the Encore as it was on the Joy.  Could not figure it out.  They had the same number of rooms so I started looking at the room numbers from forward on Deck 17 to aft.  17700, 17702, 17706, 17708, 17710, 17712, 17716, etc.  Wait – no rooms ending in 4.  Did a little google search and found that the number 4 is considered unlucky in China.  Because the Joy was originally made for the Asian market rooms ending in number 4 were omitted.  Interesting.

 

Long review and I don’t usually do reviews.  Hope there was some information that will prove useful to someone.

 

Thanks for reading.

[karmamule]

We'll be on the Joy for the 1st time in 21 days, just finished check-in, and it was fun to read your review and build anticipation further. Happy that you had such an enjoyable time, thanks for posting!

[mafig]

We were on the cruise after your's.  I agree about the Observation Lounge.  I really liked it better than our Horizon Lounge.  It was quieter.  (There was no "look at me do cartwheels and headstands teenage girl there), and it was easier to get a drink, in a glass, not plastic.

 

 

[mafig]

Parking in Miami is now $ 25 a day.  Yikes! is right.😒

[Two Wheels Only]

33 minutes ago, mafig said:

There was no "look at me do cartwheels and headstands teenage girl there

 

Were you and "Shoppie124" on the same cruise?😉

[cruising sister]

We sailed in the Joy Haven the  end of November first of December and it was one of our favorite cruises. The service was excellent and so was the food. We have sailed on most of the major cruise lines and I look forward to sailing the Haven again. Unfortunately my DH has since passed away but I always have that memory of him enjoying the cruise. My only complaint was the sun deck needing more chairs and better bar service. 

[worktocruise610]

Thank you so much for the review! Going on Joy in a few weeks and happy to hear your experience.

[RunBikeCruiseDC]

Thank you!  We're on the Joy sailing out to NYC on 4/26 - bidding on Haven cabins.  

[Sailing12Away]

We'll be on the Joy in September. Do you recall the days/times of the major shows? Trying to get a ballpark idea of when to shuffle dining reservations for.

[mafig]

7 and 10 for the major shows.

 

[WAHMto5]

We had Teresa as our butler in February on the Joy and loved her!

[lastingtouch]

Could anyone tell me who the Concierge is on the Joy? We'll be on in 

September.