Semi-Live Norwegian Joy to Bermuda - Norfolk, VA - May 8, 2022

[mking8288]

Lunch in Taste, it's the Everyday Menu 

... Chicken Noodles Soup or Creamy Tomato Soup. Choices do vary a little daily but it's closed on port days. Nothing worth writing home about, probably one of the least favorite menu option onboard, and, just about everything being very heavy handed with sodium - we would consider it too salty but no bad enough to sent it back ... nor feel we must order special meals all week. Dessert is the best part, sugar-free ice cream is available.

 

Anyway, comments left in the GM's mailbox, wondering if the executive chef team sample & do a QA check daily, understood it's not easy to prepare 10,000 meals daily. 

 

 

Edited May 14, 2022 by mking8288

[mking8288]

Deck 6 AFT by the elevators & between the stairs, good place to take photos, NCL photograpers used to claim this space for studio-like portraits.

 

[mking8288]

Outlets - limited in the living room & master BR, more usable one in the smaller BR - who designed & signed off the layout.

 

 

[mking8288]

Photos of the smaller bedroom, pretty spacious closer but fairly simple, nothing upscale about it, for those looking a little extra at the prevailing "family suite" rate that I discussed with the GS manager this morning. 

 

It can squeeze in 2 double beds to make it a Queen bed, but space will be tight in front of the dresser/desk. The night stands or tables in the rooms are bigger than the slim ones in the fleet's balcony, oceanview, etc.

[mking8288]

Living room's sofabed, it'll pull out but its wooden base is very heavy, and even when setup to sleep 2, pretty tight except 2 cozy adults.  I put a pillow down on the foam mattress for better visual. 

 

The virtual balcony is now back again 🤞🤫

 

[Arzeena]

Henry.

Lot of excercise for the last sea day moving beds! Please don't forget to put your feet up and relax with a cup of tea.😁

Pictures are excellent! So much detail. Appreciated always.

Edited May 14, 2022 by Arzeena

[mking8288]

K9

 

@Arzeena 😆 Enjoying another cup of Nespresso, one of the few remaining "perks" left for these exclusive suites on the Joy only.  We have some serious considerations to look at, afterward ... as to whether we should cross these from our list & go with other options.  

 

I further inforned the GS manager that the priority setup at Pier 88/90 is not acceptable and they need to discuss & work with the terminal staff to recognize, train & manage, and find a way to fast track guests booked in 1 (or 2) of these suites ... not expecting Haven-like boarding escorts. If it wasn't for our Sapphire & Platinum status, good grief as to where we sit in the terminal waiting to board as Zone/Group 15 when we arrived promptly at 10 am for our scheduled time to check-in and all docs in order. 

 

I wish those sailing this month better success & moving along inside Pier 88. There's probably more questions, which I will address post-cruise ... 

 

Time to get our bags ready & a quick afternoon nap. 

Edited May 14, 2022 by mking8288

[vacation44]

36 minutes ago, mking8288 said:

K9

 

@Arzeena 😆 

I further inforned the GS manager that the priority setup at Pier 88/90 is not acceptable and they need to discuss & work with the terminal staff to recognize, train & manage, and find a way to fast track guests booked in 1 (or 2) of these suites ... not expecting Haven-like boarding escorts. If it wasn't for our Sapphire & Platinum status, good grief as to where we sit in the terminal waiting to board as Zone/Group 15 when we arrived promptly at 10 am for our scheduled time to check-in and all docs in order. 

 

Do you feel he understands the issue and will look to have it corrected? 

 

[bluesea777]

2 hours ago, mking8288 said:

Photos of the smaller bedroom, pretty spacious closer but fairly simple, nothing upscale about it, for those looking a little extra at the prevailing "family suite" rate that I discussed with the GS manager this morning. 

 

It can squeeze in 2 double beds to make it a Queen bed, but space will be tight in front of the dresser/desk. The night stands or tables in the rooms are bigger than the slim ones in the fleet's balcony, oceanview, etc.

 

If you look at the ceiling in upper left of photo, it’s an outline of a drop down Pullman bed from the ceiling. 
 

[mking8288]

1 hour ago, vacation44 said:

Do you feel he understands the issue and will look to have it corrected? 

 

Etienne is the GS Manager onboard, ext #28802 - he seemed to got the message, but how far up the chains of command will this need to go to a corrective plan with positive outcomes, remains to be seen in the coming weeks & months. I sure hope and wanted to see it addressed affirmatively. 

 

As for other former perks associated with the concierge Joy cabins that was catering to the China market, I am afraid 😟 we lost to this round.  It doesn't meant to toss the towels in, but will take a strategically focus effort to push the envelop.  For 2 or 3 adults, I can see clearly sticking with a balcony or club mini - and an inside nearby, just won't be connecting. 

 

More on this topic post-cruise.

[peg013]

Thank you for taking time out of your vacation to takes us along with you. I really appreciate it and all on our roll call and elsewhere appreciate it also. 🤩

[mking8288]

1 hour ago, vacation44 said:

Do you feel he understands the issue and will look to have it corrected? 

 

Etienne is the GS Manager onboard, ext #28802 - he seemed to got the message, but how far up the chains of command will this need to go to a corrective plan with positive outcomes, remains to be seen in the coming weeks & months. I sure hope and wanted to see it addressed affirmatively. 

 

As for other former perks associated with the concierge Joy cabins that was catering to the China market, I am afraid 😟 we lost to this round.  It doesn't meant to toss the towels in, but will take a strategically focus effort to push the envelop.  For 2 or 3 adults, I can see clearly sticking with a balcony or club mini - and an inside nearby, just won't be connecting. 

 

More on this topic post-cruise.

[mking8288]

It's seafood for the final night in the Garden Cafe - pretty empty (where's everyone - specialty dining ??? ) stopping there for dessert first before, as it is almost showtime.  Elements at 7 pm and 9:30 pm - a one hour show.  Do book these onboard with the app or via iTV's remote control.  Going to dinner afterward.

 

[mking8288]

14 minutes ago, peg013 said:

Thank you for taking time out of your vacation to takes us along with you. I really appreciate it and all on our roll call and elsewhere appreciate it also. 🤩

NP, it's been fun & I've enjoyed doing them, just feeling great to be at seas again. This is what CC is about and we share the passion and spirit, and bond to help the community.  Your 5/22 roll call should be able to count on cruise veterans like silverc* "Charlie" to navigate choppy waters. We wish you all calm seas, smooth sailings and happiness onboard. Most importantly, the terminal check-in gets streamlined & priorities recognized & honored. 

 

We are going to be back on the Joy in the Fall with more cabins to be booked, what we learn onboard are highly useful & valuable, maybe recalibrating our plans & bookings. 

[peg013]

38 minutes ago, mking8288 said:

cruise veterans like silverc* "Charlie"

 

Charlie is a great help but I'm guessing you don't remember me. Hubby and I are both Diamond on NCL (35 cruises on NCL alone) so we have "some" experience....but things change all the time so we all need to know what is happening now. Our Gem cruise in January 2022 was awesome. Only 601 passengers thanks to the Nor'easter. I'm sure this one will be fantastic too! Thanks again.

 

PS Are you sure he is on our cruise? I know he is on the week before and the week after us, but I haven't seen him here or elsewhere or our week. He did our M&G on the Gem in Jan.

 

Edited May 14, 2022 by peg013
Add PS

[Arzeena]

6 minutes ago, peg013 said:

 

Charlie is a great help but I'm guessing you don't remember me. Hubby and I are both Diamond on NCL (35 cruises on NCL alone) so we have "some" experience....but things change all the time so we all need to know what is happening now. Our Gem cruise in January 2022 was awesome. Only 601 passengers thanks to the Nor'easter. I'm sure this one will be fantastic too! Thanks again.

I remember you from a Gem cruise, some years ago.

[peg013]

2 minutes ago, Arzeena said:

I remember you from a Gem cruise, some years ago.

 

We are on the Gem a lot in January/February. We try to be on a ship for the Superbowl each year. Your screen name is familiar too. We were on the Gem for 6 weeks in Jan/Feb 2020.

[njhorseman]

44 minutes ago, peg013 said:

 

We are on the Gem a lot in January/February.

I would have never known had you not said that...🤣

[njhorseman]

45 minutes ago, peg013 said:

We were on the Gem for 6 weeks in Jan/Feb 2020.

Just a long weekend...😉

[peg013]

16 minutes ago, njhorseman said:

Just a long weekend...😉

 

I know, we've been joking this 7 night cruise is going to feel like a weekend it's been so long since we did one this short. 🙃

[mking8288]

2 hours ago, peg013 said:

 

Charlie is a great help but I'm guessing you don't remember me. Hubby and I are both Diamond on NCL (35 cruises on NCL alone) so we have "some" experience....but things change all the time so we all need to know what is happening now.

 

PS Are you sure he is on our cruise?

Of course, I recognize your name on CC - can't remember whether we've met or sailed on the same cruise in the past ... perhaps in future ones. With ship's satellite WiFi, it's miserable to stay connected but pre-cruise, I browse ahead & also cruise following to see who's who. I can tell you are running a great CC roll call, unlike ours but I attended anyway.  Blah, horrible. 

 

Charlie seems to be popping up on almost every NCL cruise that sail from NY, I saw his posts just about everywhere toasting with his beer in hand, LOL. Things are in good hands under you 😎 👌

Edited May 15, 2022 by mking8288

[mking8288]

Elements, the show was excellent - don't miss it.

 

Afterward, we went downstairs to Taste for a late dinner - expecting a line to wait & get seated, nada. Walked right in, again. Prime ribs on tonight's menu, along with Veal & other goodies, key lime cheesecake, etc.  Again, subjectively, very heavy handed with sodium - too salty for the seniors. If sailing on the Joy soon and you agreed, time to have a conversation with the chef's team and/or F&B manager about it.

 

[peg013]

13 minutes ago, mking8288 said:

I can tell you are running a great CC roll call, unlike ours but I attended anyway.

 

Thank you! It's getting tougher and tougher these days. It seemed like someone else was going to coordinate the M&G and then nothing but crickets....so I finally took over. We have many signed up, I just hope half of them show up! NCL is expecting 40 and right now we are up to 79 signed up for the M&G. Unusual for a 7 night cruise but the whole TA thing is easier when everyone is keeping each other straight on what is expected. 

 

[mking8288]

Bags tagged as Priority color yellow, on the way for morning disembarkation.

 

Tonight's satellite being the fastest all week, a few stats & screenshots - self explanatory ...

 

The WiFi upgrade for 7 nights cost $110 onboard using NR OBC after the credit of $100 for 150 minutes. DW can still use or share her 150 minutes. 

 

Post-cruise debriefing to follow after we get back home - dense fog advisory for Queens in the morning, maybe we'll stay onboard as late as possible 😆😆😆

 

Some of the crew are going home in the morning, vacation for them while some are granted time off to go ashore, back on the ship by 2 pm. Excited, they are heading to Times Square to take photos & shop for personal items, then back to duty ... Ask the Taste Dining hostess how was her morning sleep, she will be on duty in the afternoon. 

 

Edited May 15, 2022 by mking8288

[The P]

Welcome home, Henry!