Joy Review: 8/14 9-night cruise

[MsK64]

I'm a first-timer on NCL, and folks on this site were so helpful, I thought I'd pay it forward with a review of the pros and cons of my 9-day Joy cruise. Overall, it was a wonderful experience, but I'll break it down by category. Just for some background, I was traveling with a friend of many years and age-wise, let’s just say we are both old enough to be able to compare the Beatles tribute band to the real thing, whom we saw together at Shea Stadium---so no comments of any things specifically geared towards kids.

Ship: My friend and I both enjoy larger ships more than smaller, as we feel they offer more to do and there’s always somewhere new to explore. The Joy ticked off that box, but it is also a beautiful, elegant-looking ship. Most striking is the Observation Lounge on deck 15; I have never seen anything like this on any ship of any cruise line I’ve traveled with. Nearly an entire deck is dedicated to creating a large, airy, comfortable space to sit and relax or read or play board games (provided for you if you don’t have your own) or get a bite to eat (complimentary nibbles throughout much of the day) or to simply sit and watch the ocean go by. There are floor to ceiling windows and comfortable couches, chairs, and even loungers to do it in. Even if you have a balcony room, as we did, it is easy to be drawn to the views from this part of the ship.

Cabin: we booked a 'regular' balcony room: 11788. (a bit forward of mid-ship, a few cabins away from the elevator--something we both wanted. There was never a problem with noise, either from people getting off and on the elevator, or the 'bings' announcing its arrival. 

    Pros: the room was modern-looking, and had a lot of interesting amenities, like a bedside lamp with a USB port so that you could charge your phone/iPad while reading in bed. Also, in addition to the normal light, there was also a little 'pen-light', great if one person needs a bit of light while the other is sleeping. We both found the beds comfortable and the pillows even more so. The bathroom was reasonably sized for room of this type and the shower had a glass door--so no playing peek-a-boo with the shower curtains. And there was a good amount of shelf space with all our separate toiletries and makeup. There was also plenty of shelf space in the cabin for 2 women to tuck away all their clothes and shoes. (assuming you use the shelves under the desk too) The couch was next to the balcony door--which I prefer--and while the balcony itself was not huge, it was certainly big enough for 2 people to sit out there comfortably. (NOTE: when standing at the railing, the view looking straight down to the ocean is a little bit obstructed, as that part of the deck looks down on the top of one of the restaurants 2 or 3 decks below. But it’s not really a problem as you can certainly see the water, and when sitting, you see only ocean; it’s definitely not a big deal)   

Cons: the cabin was VERY tight, both in length and width. With the beds separated into twins, there is literally 3 inches of space between one of the beds and the closet. In order to access much of the closet, my friend had to stand or kneel on her bed, because no human legs could fit between the bed and the closet. (If you are a couple and the beds are joined together, this problem will be solved—but it will still be tight) Width-wise, there is maybe a foot or so between the end of the beds and the wall. My suitcase would not fit through without turning it sideways, and for those that need them, there’s no way a wheelchair or even a walker would get through that space; you would have to fold them up to get them past the beds. Once you’re past the bed(s), there is a reasonable amount of space between the couch on one side and the desk/shelving along the wall on the other. All that said, after the first shock about the size, we did get used to it and were relatively comfortable in the room. We both agreed that if the price was right, we’d both book that type of cabin again.

 

Food: My friend generally slept in and hit the buffet for breakfast when she woke up. I’m an earlier riser and I generally went to the dining room. (both Taste and Savor) We both went to ‘The Limited’ a couple of times. Lunch was always at the buffet and dinner was in the Manhattan Dining Room every night except the 2 specialty dinners we booked. Overall, we found the food to be quite good in all those places, although obviously better in the dining room and best in the specialty restaurants.

     Buffet: Lots of choices, lots of variety, whether it was the salads, the main dishes, or the desserts. Some things were much better than other things, which could be a product of personal taste as well as general quality. Basically, it was the equivalent of a nice, upscale buffet (a oxymoron, I know—but such things do exist) and I can’t imagine not being able to find something you will like—and plenty of it. We were happy with the choices and quality of the food there.

    Taste/Savor: same menu in both places. I only went here for breakfast, simply because I usually ate that meal alone and it was easier to do it here rather than the buffet, where there’s always the problem of what to leave on the table so that no one else takes it. I went here primarily for the bagel, cream cheese and smoked salmon platter, because it’s my favorite breakfast and at $40 a pound here in NYC, I needed to get my ‘lox fix’ while on the ship. And it was really good.

     The Limited: I ate here twice for breakfast, and it was also good. I had a cheese omelet once and the French toast another time. Both were good, diner-level food. (and I mean that as a compliment) Also, if you’re in a hurry, this is the best place to get served quickly. We didn’t eat lunch or dinner here, but the menus looked interesting.

     Manhattan Dining Room: We ate dinner here all but two of the nights, and thought it was wonderful. There were 5 or 6 entrees that were different every night, and 5 or 6 ‘classics’ that were repeated nightly. Everything we ordered there was very well-prepared and yummy. We did miss the one night of lobster tails that NCL has eliminated, but there was plenty of other seafood dishes, and lots of other tasty things as well. Eating here was more of an ‘experience’ than the other free dining venues; lots of attention from the waitstaff, multiple courses, and the offering were generally a bit more elegant. And it also takes more time to eat dinner here. These were all things my friend and I were looking for, but I can certainly understand that there are many people on board for whom this type of meal is not what they want. (I should note, given the constant ‘dress code wars’ on CruiseCritic boards that you can eat here in pants, shorts, or anything else, except bathing suit attire. But there were people here who got dressed up—as we did one night, simply because we wanted to)

 

Specialty Restaurants; FYI: there has been some controversy on board about just how much you can order in these restaurants. I can only say that both times, the first thing our wait person said when giving us the menu was “you get 1 appetizer (and 1 soup or salad in Cagney’s), 2 sides, an entrée, and a dessert. No unlimited anything. That said, it was still SO MUCH FOOD. The portions in both places were very generous and frankly, we left food on our plates in both places because it was just too much. (it really hurt not be able to take home leftovers in a doggie bag!) Others may have had a different experience, but either way, you are not going to leave hungry.

     Q Texas BBQ: we chose this because BBQ is the one kind of food that isn’t as prevalent in NYC as the other choices, and we thought it would be a nice change. We were very happy with the choice. The food was really good, and the service was as well—and there was a live band too!

     Cagney’s: Steakhouses are something we’re very familiar with in NYC, but so many posters on CC raved about this place, we had to try it—and we were not disappointed. Our steaks were cooked to perfection and all the components of the meal were fabulous. Again, great service and there was a sophisticated ambiance; having a meal with Frank Sinatra singing in the background seemed perfect. We would definitely recommend eating here.

 

Pool: I hit the pool every morning at 7:00 AM, so that I could swim laps and do some water aerobics, which would have been impossible any later in the day. My friend liked to go in the afternoon, when it was the most crowded.

      Pros: For me, there were no cons. I had the pool (and seemingly the entire pool deck) to myself, and it was quiet and peaceful; my only companions were towels on chaises—and the occasional passersby leaving their towels. Every once in a while, someone would sit down in one of the deck chairs and as I was finishing up my workout, sometimes someone else arrived to begin their workout in the pool. It was an absolutely lovely way to start my day.

     Cons: the pool deck was mostly that—deck and not pool. There is the ‘main’ pool, just off the buffet entrance, and another pool on the other side of the deck, next to the kids’ aqua park. In fact, for most of the cruise, I thought that was the ‘kiddy pool’, not only because it was next to the aqua park, but because it had a lifeguard stationed there. Both pools are relatively small and become so crowded, they are impossible to actually swim in later in the day. And very oddly, there is no ‘shallow end’ in the pool I swam in: it’s 6’10” from end to end and I was told that the other pool is about 5’10” from end to end. There are also a couple of smallish hot tubs, which were as packed as the pools as the day went on. And unlike most other ships I’ve been on, there’s no complementary ‘adults only’ pool. And yes, the chair hogs were out in force. And no, the rule was never enforced. When I arrived at 7:00 AM, there were already dozens of chairs and chaises with towels on them. The upshot of this, is that when my friend came down in the afternoon to hit the pool and sit for a while, it was almost impossible to find a free chaise. As I said, for me it was no problem, but for others, be warned: until or unless NCL (or any cruise line) is willing to enforce their own rules, if you’re not willing to get up early in the morning and ‘save’ a seat, you’re probably not going to get one later in the day—and certainly not a group of chairs together for a family. (obviously, on port days, it was much less crowded than on sea days)

 

Entertainment: We saw both featured shows (Footloose and Elements), also a husband/wife aerialist act, a comedian, a magician, a cabaret act by some of the Footloose cast, and of course—the Beatles tribute shows. (Footloose, Elements, and the comedian required reservations (for his ‘family-friendly’ show) that could only be made once on board; the rest were just show up and enjoy)

     Pros: we loved everything we choose to see. All of the performers were really talented and the productions very professionally done. Our personal favorites were the cabaret show (45 minutes of Broadway show tunes sung by really talented people, up close and personal—yes, please) and the Beatles show. There are 3 separate segments to this: the Beatlemania years, the Sgt. Pepper years, and the Abbey Road years—all done in the ‘Cavern Club’, a mock-up of the real one in Liverpool. But there are also 2 shows in the theater, which combine the music and costumes from all the eras, and thus repeat what was done in the Cavern shows. Be warned—if you want to go to the Cavern shows, get there EARLY—it’s a small venue and fills to standing room very quickly. But it really fun.  There’s also a thousand things going on during the day and night; trivia games, line-dancing lessons, contests, music by the pool, etc. And of course, the casino and the shops for those interested in that. There’s something for everyone, all the time.

     Cons: there really are none; we enjoyed everything we saw.

 

Service: Generally, the staff on all cruise ships are helpful and nice; after all, they want your repeat business. But I have to say that NCL seemed to be a cut above other cruise line I’ve been on. From our cabin steward whom we saw every day, to staff members we saw just once on the entire cruise, everyone was incredibly friendly and solicitous. If you stopped for more than a moment to think about where you were headed next, there was a staff member there asking if they could help. The Guest Services desk was wonderful in solving a couple of problems for us, and when my friend developed an allergic reaction to her seasickness patch and couldn’t go on our snorkeling trip because of it, the Excursions Desk staff person returned her money without any hesitation, even though it was way beyond the 48-hour deadline to cancel. Waitstaff in every restaurant were so kind and professional. In short, there wasn’t a staff member on the Joy that didn’t model this behavior.

 

Overall, we both had a very positive experience on the Joy and would cruise with NCL again if the opportunity allowed. I’m sure I forgot some things, so if anyone has any questions, don’t hesitate to ask.

[Two Wheels Only]

Thanks for the review. I'm glad that you enjoyed your first NCL cruise. 

[hallux]

24 minutes ago, MsK64 said:

The Limited

Just for clarification - didn't you mean The Local?  I was on this ship in March and don't recall a venue by the name of "The Limited", and don't see one on the deck plans...

 

Otherwise, I'm glad you enjoyed your first NCL cruise, your experience seems to mirror what mine have been.

Edited August 25, 2022 by hallux

[Turtles06]

Thanks for taking the time to post your thoughtful review!  I’m glad you enjoyed your cruise. We are NCL veterans but will be cruising on the Joy this fall for the first time, and I found your review very helpful. Thanks again. 

[cruiseny4life]

Thanks! When I returned from my first NCL cruise in April, I knew I had to write a review to pay it back to the community as well. Your review is great, and I appreciate you letting us know your thoughts about a ship I've considered sailing.

[Diane67B]

Thank you for the wonderful review! My sister and I are sailing in 3 weeks. Your review just makes me more excited. 

[MsK64]

6 hours ago, hallux said:

Just for clarification - didn't you mean The Local?  I was on this ship in March and don't recall a venue by the name of "The Limited", and don't see one on the deck plans...

 

Otherwise, I'm glad you enjoyed your first NCL cruise, your experience seems to mirror what mine have been.

 
Yes— I did mean ‘The Local’. There was a local joint called ‘The Limited’ that my friend and I went to in high school, and as a joke, I kept calling the the food place on the Joy by that name. I guess it was just still stuck in my brain when I wrote the review. Sorry for any confusion.

[dumbth]

7 hours ago, MsK64 said:

I hit the pool every morning at 7:00 AM, so that I could swim laps and do some water aerobics, which would have been impossible any later in the day.

 

What a great idea; I never thought of that. Wonder if there is a no-go time for maintenance or whatever.

[Woodholme Cruiser]

Thanks for this wonderful review.  We are headed on the Canada/New England cruise in less than two weeks and looking forward to it.  Our first cruise in  2 1/2 years.  Not certain it will be warm enough to swim or do water aerobics, my favorite, but I do it in 4 ft of water.

[Turtles06]

12 hours ago, dumbth said:

 

What a great idea; I never thought of that. Wonder if there is a no-go time for maintenance or whatever.

 

Never had an issue around the 7am hour; once the nets are off, you are good to go!

[angalyse]

Great Review   Going on Joy October 22 (Bermuda)  any chance you or anyone else have the "Daily"  trying to figure out the times of the main shoes and what day of the sailing. Thanks  Andy

[MsK64]

1 hour ago, angalyse said:

Great Review   Going on Joy October 22 (Bermuda)  any chance you or anyone else have the "Daily"  trying to figure out the times of the main shoes and what day of the sailing. Thanks  Andy

Footloose was on the second and third nights at 7 PM and 10 PM and Elements on nights 8 and 9 at 7 PM and 9:30 PM. But this was on a nine night cruise; if your cruise is a different length, then these dates will be completely off.

 

[Holly g]

Great review. Thanks 

 

[FlGoodShips]

Have been on Joy couple of times. Agree with everything you said. Love the shows, food, and especially the crew. Sooo friendly and helpful. So glad you enjoyed your cruise. Thank you for your thoughts.

[johnrich]

Great review!  Thanks so much! We love NCL but haven’t been on the Joy yet, although we do have a cruise booked on her for next May. 

[FlGoodShips]

44 minutes ago, johnrich said:

Great review!  Thanks so much! We love NCL but haven’t been on the Joy yet, although we do have a cruise booked on her for next May. 

You will love the Joy.

 Absolutely stunning ship. Happy cruising.

[mking8288]

On 8/25/2022 at 3:25 PM, MsK64 said:

 ... Overall, we both had a very positive experience on the Joy and would cruise with NCL again if the opportunity allowed. I’m sure I forgot some things, so if anyone has any questions, don’t hesitate to ask.

 

This ... bravo, much obliged for sharing your most recent cruise onboard the Joy and I see that at least 4 other roll call members on an upcoming sailing for this ship already read it.  How would you describe the embarkation and disembarkation process this month.  

 

Was there an onboard Meet & Greet/Mingle and if you attended, the names of the some of the senior/junior officers in attendance, the CD and even the CruiseNext team, etc. (bonus points if you or someone else on the Joy sailing, knows the name of the concierge & butler since there are a # of folks staying in Haven ...)  A good # of them are long-term CC'ers and it's their first return to safer cruising in this post-Covid transitional time.  Again, thanks and much appreciated.  

[MsK64]

11 hours ago, mking8288 said:

 

This ... bravo, much obliged for sharing your most recent cruise onboard the Joy and I see that at least 4 other roll call members on an upcoming sailing for this ship already read it.  How would you describe the embarkation and disembarkation process this month.  

 

Was there an onboard Meet & Greet/Mingle and if you attended, the names of the some of the senior/junior officers in attendance, the CD and even the CruiseNext team, etc. (bonus points if you or someone else on the Joy sailing, knows the name of the concierge & butler since there are a # of folks staying in Haven ...)  A good # of them are long-term CC'ers and it's their first return to safer cruising in this post-Covid transitional time.  Again, thanks and much appreciated.  

I had read some horror stories on this site about how difficult it was to embark from the Manhattan Cruise Terminal, but I have to say that my experience was fairly easy. The terminal was pretty crowded when I got there (10:40) but I went from curbside to standing in the Social  to make my show reservations, in a little over an hour. And I should note that I didn’t have any kind of special priority boarding access; I was just one of the “regular folk“. There were several different lines you had to wait on to show your documentation and then some sitting in a different part of the terminal waiting for your ‘group’ to be called, but everything seemed organized and moved relatively quickly. My friend arrived later, around 12:45 PM, and her experience was pretty similar to mine, perhaps even a bit quicker.

 

As far as disembarking goes, since we are both live locally, we had a last breakfast, and then waited in one of the lounges for a while for our ‘ exit color’ to be called, and then got on on a line that snaked all the way down one end of deck seven and then back to the other end before we got to the ramp that took us out to the terminal where our luggage was. it wasn’t the most fun way to end a great vacation, but I’m not sure I can see any other way to have done it and it was certainly no slower than any other cruise that I’ve been on.

 

As to your other questions, there was a mix and mingle, but unfortunately my friend and I got caught up with a different activity and weren’t able to make it, so I can’t tell you how it went. And as I didn’t save my daily updates, I don’t remember the name of the Cruise Director, but I can tell you that she seemed to be everywhere, all the time.  Which I would say, is the definition of a really good Cruise Director. As I said previously, I wasn’t in the Haven, so I can’t give you any information having to do with people there, and as far as the officers are concerned, I really didn’t pay much attention to their names—just that they were all doing the jobs they were supposed to be doing. I’m sorry I couldn’t be more helpful on that score. 

[MsK64]

On 8/26/2022 at 10:54 AM, Woodholme Cruiser said:

Thanks for this wonderful review.  We are headed on the Canada/New England cruise in less than two weeks and looking forward to it.  Our first cruise in  2 1/2 years.  Not certain it will be warm enough to swim or do water aerobics, my favorite, but I do it in 4 ft of water.

This was my first real vacation in 2 1/2 years as well, so I know exactly how you feel. As far as the pool is concerned, doing my laps went fine, but I had to adapt the aerobic part of my water workout, because the pool was so deep. I did some of it holding on to the edge of the pool and some of it on the ladder. It wasn’t optimal, but it was still a whole lot more fun than jumping around in my living room to a workout video on YouTube.

 

Enjoy your cruise; I’m sure you’re going to have a fabulous time!

[CDR Benson]

14 hours ago, MsK64 said:

As far as disembarking goes, since we are both live locally, we had a last breakfast, and then waited in one of the lounges for a while for our ‘ exit color’ to be called, and then got on on a line that snaked all the way down one end of deck seven and then back to the other end before we got to the ramp that took us out to the terminal where our luggage was. it wasn’t the most fun way to end a great vacation, but I’m not sure I can see any other way to have done it and it was certainly no slower than any other cruise that I’ve been on.

 

Thank you for this item of information.  It supports our decision to have Luggage Forward deliver our bags home after the cruise (as well as delivering them to the ship at the start).  It relieves us of this hurry-up-and-wait hassle of collecting our bags at the terminal that you describe.

 

Aye, I've read occasional horror stories of folks who had things go south when they used luggage-delivery services.  But nearly all of those accounts involved shipping the luggage to an intercontinental destination.  So, I think the risk here is minimal, but the benefit is huge.

 

Your account makes me feel even better about our choice.  Much obliged!

 

 

[MsK64]

9 hours ago, CDR Benson said:

 

Thank you for this item of information.  It supports our decision to have Luggage Forward deliver our bags home after the cruise (as well as delivering them to the ship at the start).  It relieves us of this hurry-up-and-wait hassle of collecting our bags at the terminal that you describe.

 

Aye, I've read occasional horror stories of folks who had things go south when they used luggage-delivery services.  But nearly all of those accounts involved shipping the luggage to an intercontinental destination.  So, I think the risk here is minimal, but the benefit is huge.

 

Your account makes me feel even better about our choice.  Much obliged!

 

 

 You are very welcome; happy to be of help. To be completely honest, I should say that my luggage happened to be right on the edge of where we walked by and I was able to retrieve it within 30 seconds of getting to the luggage area. I didn’t even have to enter the space where all the luggage was; I was just able to just reach in and pull it out. That said, there were lots of people wandering around that really big space looking for their bags, so perhaps you’ve made the right decision after all.

[CDR Benson]

10 hours ago, MsK64 said:

That said, there were lots of people wandering around that really big space looking for their bags, so perhaps you’ve made the right decision after all.

 

That's what happened with us on our last cruise.  It was the first pleasure cruise we had ever taken, and we weren't quite sure what to expect when we disembarked.  However, I'd presumed it would be more orderly.

 

We got off the ship rightly enough, but locating our bags among the warehouse-full throng was a major pain.  Then, there was the constant pick-them-up-put-them-down of waiting in line for the arranged ground transportation.

 

But your account of the horrendous line you experienced just to get off the ship cinched my decision to let someone else do it.

 

 

[Holly g]

On 8/26/2022 at 10:54 AM, Woodholme Cruiser said:

Thanks for this wonderful review.  We are headed on the Canada/New England cruise in less than two weeks and looking forward to it.  Our first cruise in  2 1/2 years.  Not certain it will be warm enough to swim or do water aerobics, my favorite, but I do it in 4 ft of water.

Hope you will come back and give us your thoughts on the cruise. We will be sailing on the same itinerary in October so would appreciate your thoughts on the ship and ports.

[phillygwm]

14 hours ago, CDR Benson said:

But your account of the horrendous line you experienced just to get off the ship cinched my decision to let someone else do it.

I'm not sure of how much baggage you have but I usually just carry my stuff off the ship.  At most, I have a large bag and a carry-on size.  It can be slightly unwieldy, particularly if you have mobility issues, but I've found it only mildly inconvenient and being among the first off the ship is also worthwhile.

[Woodholme Cruiser]

On 8/29/2022 at 7:57 PM, Holly g said:

Hope you will come back and give us your thoughts on the cruise. We will be sailing on the same itinerary in October so would appreciate your thoughts on the ship and ports.

My pleasure to add my experiences