NLC Joy Panama Canal - LA to Miami 2/24/23

[Sailing12Away]

Happy to report that they are indeed allowing shots at the bar. And although they stop serving at midnight, they let us be loud and rowdy until we were too tired to stay awake any longer.

 

Behind the scenes tour tomorrow morning in about 6hrs.

[HBCcruiser]

5 hours ago, Sailing12Away said:

Happy to report that they are indeed allowing shots at the bar. And although they stop serving at midnight, they let us be loud and rowdy until we were too tired to stay awake any longer.

 

Behind the scenes tour tomorrow morning in about 6hrs.

I love how they do those rainbow shots! All in one pour too! Glad you are having fun😀.

[CDR Benson]

Yours is one of the more interesting trip reports from Norwegian Joy.  Thank you for the photos of the Haven spaces---they recall fond memories of our cruise on Joy last September.  And your note of how quiet and minimally occupied the Horizon Observation Lounge iterated our experience.  It was one of the qualities the Good Mrs. Benson and I appreciated about it the most.  Even when the observation lounge was fairly occupied, there were still nooks where we could spend a quiet moment to ourselves.  (And the waiters always found us readily enough, so we weren't without libation.)

 

I always note embarkation horror stories like yours with concern---because one never knows when it will happen to oneself.  Embarkation is more under the control of the terminal staff, rather than the cruise line employees, and therein lies the rub.  Fortunately for us, our embarkation last year, at the Manhattan terminal, was smooth, quick, and efficient, but I'm not satisfied that wasn't a fluke.

 

With regard to your butler's failure to supply you with pitchers of apple juice and lemonade in a timely fashion, I'll inform you of what we did.

 

In our butler letter, we requested our mini-fridge be stocked with pitchers of iced tea and orange juice daily, along with bowls of potato chips and peanut M & M's, also daily.  We gave our butler the letter the first day, shortly after the ship was underway.

 

In our letter, I had enclosed half the total amount I intended to tip him for the cruise.  As I put it in the letter, "As a token of our confidence in your service, we've enclosed part of your well-deserved tip, in advance."

 

(As it developed, that wasn't just flummery---our butler had already performed a critical service for me, even before the ship had sailed.)

 

Now, on another thread, the topic of tipping the butler in advance is debated.  There are those who feel that one should not tip until the quality of service has been exhibited (i.e., at the end of the cruise).  Others view tipping in advance as a bribe.

 

I'm not recommending or suggesting.  How you handle tipping is your province.  I'm simply relating what we did and how it worked for us.  I didn't expect, or require, our requests for the pitchers of beverage or the bowls of snacks to appear until the next day.  But, within half an hour after he left our suite, around 1830 hrs., our butler reäppeared with the pitchers and several bowls of chips and M & M's.  And he kept us re-supplied in a timely manner throughout the cruise.

 

I certainly understand the reasons for not tipping the butler in advance, and in any circumstance, there's no excuse for his not fulfilling your requests for juice and lemonaide the next day, let alone not for three days.  A word to the Haven concierge---the butlers are under his auspice---would be in order.

 

I appreciate your providing such a detailed account of your venture.  It's enjoyable and informative.

 

 

 

Edited February 27, 2023 by CDR Benson

[cruiseny4life]

22 hours ago, Sailing12Away said:

When the pandemic hit, there was a group of us who became friends here on CC as we talked about cruising, planning our next trips, commiserating with each other as those trips got cancelled and rebooked, then cancelled again…. Eventually when cruising started back up, some of us were able to align our plans and travel together in person rather than just being internet friends. We consider ourselves lucky to have met some wonderful people, and as vacation days and interests align, we’ll continue to try and sail with folks from our little pack as often as we can afford to.

 

Having said that, the leader of our pack unfortunately passed away in October. By far the kindest, warm hearted man I’ve ever met or had the pleasure of traveling with. He was a merchant mariner, grew up with ships his whole life, and now that he was retired was cruising non-stop during the winter months as his “retirement activity of choice”. He was doing what he loved, and we loved hearing all the tidbits and trivia he would share during our travels with him (it’s a ship, not a boat). So now to honor his memory, whenever we sail we toast a Blue Moon to him as that was his favorite drink.

 

Marty, these beers were for you my friend. 🐀🧀

 

 

I didn't know Marty, but what a great way of keeping his memory alive. I wish I had known him and had been around during the pandemic to get to know the group keeping each other sane during such a crazy time. Thanks for sharing the memories. I appreciate being able to take a moment to reflect. 

 

22 hours ago, Sailing12Away said:

 

 

I'm afraid I might be one of those really annoying people on your live. Asking questions constantly. Mainly because I'm cruising on March 18th, Joy, in the Haven. Your experience is going to make mine even better. So first of all, thank you for sharing your time with us! 

 

Now, on to be that annoying guy. Are these photos from the Haven (is it Horizon Lounge)? Or, are these from the main Observation Lounge? 

 

22 hours ago, Sailing12Away said:

 

I think this is the Vibe area, I was peeking through the door between that private area and the Haven area.

 

Thanks @HBCcruiser for asking about that drink. It looks absolutely delightful! Definitely going to try it out in a few weeks. 

 

Ahh, the Vibe. Apparently my husband is really interested to see what it looks like on the inside. He's going to find out if the concierge will give him a tour of it when we're onboard. He just wants to look and see if it would be a good place for us in the future...especially if we sail non-Haven in the future. 

 

20 hours ago, cruisebeachgirl703 said:

Following along. We are sailing Haven March 18th. Don't really want to deal with pushback from bartenders, etc. Is there a 3rd bartender or jus the two? Keep us posted on good/bad.

Ooooo, we'll have to wave to each other! I'm jumping on Joy on March 18th too. I'll be starting a "live" soon. Feel free to jump in if it appeals to you. Otherwise, see you onboard!

 

19 hours ago, JGmf said:

 

Wow, that was a true horror.  Makes you miss the NYC pier, which, even when it's bad, it's really never really bad.

Haha except for Easter week, 2022 when it took eight hours for some folks to board. It was only a three hour process for us and we were thankful! What a welcome to cruising that was. 🙂 

19 hours ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

Thanks for the great thread.  You've got me really looking forward to our next cruise (on the Bliss).😎

She's got me looking forward to mine as well! 

 

15 hours ago, Sailing12Away said:

Drunk as a skunk in Cabo. Between the brewery and margaritas over at The Office, living large, enjoying life. Life is good my friends.

 

Drunk as a skunk and letting fried potatoes soak up the booze. Perfect! I'm so glad your cruise is shaping up to be a great time after your not-so-fun embarkation!

 

Another annoying question. Are those really the hash browns? No larger rounds of yummy carbohydrate goodness? I'm not sure if I'll be sad or not if they're gone. These look good, but gosh that other variety is yummy too! Or, maybe they'll be back to what "I" consider normal when they provision from the east coast for my cruise.

[Smitheroo]

On 2/24/2023 at 1:44 PM, debenson0723 said:

I am sitting at LAX having just gotten off the Joy. The rain stopped just long enough to disembark and get on the bus. Great crew on board...wish I was still there. Will be following along. Have a wonderful cruise. 

I was on that same cruise!  Enjoyed it very much.  A repeat is definitely on my list!

[Sailing12Away]

We haven't stepped foot in the observation lounge on deck 15 yet, even though our room is 2 doors away from it. So the snacks in the lounge are the Haven lounge snacks.

 

As for hash browns, I've had both so far. The standard circle ones and the more potato puff variety. Both are good and tasty, and so long as I can one or the other I'm fine. Happy to report my 2 pitchers of non alcoholic fluids are now in the fridge.

 

I found my old photo from September on the Joy when I had food from Food Republic. The shishito peppers have definitely changed, and overall food there was much spicier this time (good for us, less good for folks adverse to spice). The penis looking ones were from September, this trip they weren't coated in tempura and just blistered.

[Sailing12Away]

We paid $35 with T-Mobile for a 10 day international pass, scheduled to start today. So Internet should be faster on land now, and we can continue to make calls for free for the rest of our journey. Mexico is free for us, but as we continue on it wouldn't be. For $35 total it's worth it to us so we can check in back home (they got snow apparently).

 

Yesterday was a sea day and our behind the scenes tour. Definitely recommend everyone do it at least once for an understanding of the ninjas behind the scenes.

 

That was an early 8am start (they have other times... If they try and put you on an ass crack of dawn time, ask for later options if you like to sleep), and again last night was closing down the bar till 1am. 

 

Our room (starboard) was near the dock here in Acapulco so at 7am I was greeted with a full band playing the theme song to Rocky. *****. Hubby is still sleeping, I'm catching up on life/work back home, and we're planning on meeting some new Haven friends around 11am to walk off together and wander around town.

 

Footloose tonight (also ran last night but we had dinner at LA Cucina), but otherwise no official plans. Having a sea day in between each port helps with those late nights.

[Sailing12Away]

More photos, out of order probably, Not sure why it always upload one upside down...

Edited February 28, 2023 by Sailing12Away
Helps if I add the photos

[Sailing12Away]

Let's see if the muster drill video goes through...

[Sailing12Away]

One of my favorites views while sailing

[Sailing12Away]

Videos from Cabo...

[Sailing12Away]

And videos of cocktails, our other favorite part of cruising 

[Sailing12Away]

Day 3 – Cabo San Lucas

We have T-Mobile for our cell phone carrier, so when we’re on land we have unlimited text and data. So on port days I’m able to check in back home and upload some photos/updates here as we go. We had booked the Lands End Boat Tour through NCL, which was a short 1hr boat ride along the coast to see the famous arch and rock formations near the sea of Cortez. It was a perfect little trip as it helped us get off the ship and onto one of the first tenders of the day, but was short so we had plenty of time to do our own thing as well.

 

There are a lot of seals hanging out near the tender drop off points, so our tender actually had to relocate to another one as they weren’t budging and jumping off. If you wanted to walk and wander on your own you could, there’s lots to see/do right there. Tons of people offering private boat tours or water taxis too, all very easy to find.

 

We took the long walk around to the other side in search of the Baja Brewery. It was about a 25-30 min walk with one part towards the end up hill. A water taxi (or a swim) would have been 5 mins. But figured get some exercise in and walk there, then drunken boat ride back. When we got near the beach on the other side where the brewery was supposed to be, a hotel worker saw us looking confused and helped us find the elevator to take us up to the 7^th floor where the brewery was. Gorgeous views of the water where we could both our ship and the RCC one, decent beer, decent food, and a good place to sit and veg for a bit. We did a tasting flight of all they had to offer, 2 full pints each, and a platter of food each for ~$60.

 

Then we walked about 2 mins from there to a bar recommended to us by @HBCruiser called The Office. Had about 4 margaritas (the frozen fruity ones were our favorites) and then started the walk back. On the way over every other person was offering a water taxi, but on the way back they were silent. Eventually found one and for $20 total they took us across to the other side and saved me ~20 mins of walking after a long hot tiring day.

 

On the line for the tender I saw that magical Haven guest placard and we were able to skip to the front of the line (sorry, not sorry) and get on the next tender back. Took a shower, relaxed in the room with more excessive snacks from the butler (still no pitchers of juice though…. *****), and headed to Food Republic for dinner with friends. We used a single dining credit and shared 4 items between the 2 of us, and it was more than enough food. Some of the food has changed since the last time we ordered items in September. Still good, but different. My shishito peppers weren’t breaded in tempura, they were just dusted with a tempura flake on top. Food that wasn’t advertised as being spicy was too spicy for our friends to eat so it had to go back for something else.

 

I had heard some folks here say the hypnotist was worth watching, so we headed there after dinner. We walked out halfway through… just not for us. The woman’s voice was not soothing at all, so not sure how anyone up there could be lulled into a peaceful state with that sound. But yeah, not for us so we left and headed to the Haven bar where we spent the next 3+ hrs chatting with folks from all over the world and getting Rodney to make all sorts of crazy concoctions and shots for us to try. For us, that’s one of the most enjoyable parts of the trip – making new friends and chatting and drinking the night away.

 

For folks with the premium plus beverage plan – more grumblings from folks that have it. They’re limiting what you can get with regards to champagne. The Vuvee is free by the glass, but you can’t get it by the bottle (no change there I think). But for folks who don’t like the taste and prefer Moet – they’re being told it’s not included in their package at all and being charged for it. So lots of grumblings, fighting, and the concierge is ‘looking into it’ as the passengers have photos from here on the ship advertising the package specifically saying it IS included, so why are they changing it mid-trip and saying it’s not. Lots of confusion regarding that package…

 

Clocks went ahead another hour that night, and we had the behind the scenes tour at 8:40am. Before leaving the Haven area that night we saw the night butler and asked him for a pitcher of apple juice in the room at 8am the next morning. Well…. It’s still not here. So not sure if they don’t provide pitchers, just don’t have that particular juice, or what the deal is… but it’s my 3^rd time asking and still not here so one of those annoying things. Not a deal breaker, but more of a head scratcher. (Typing this and uploading it at different times… so happy to report by the afternoon of day 4 we did finally get our juice).

[Sailing12Away]

Photos from the tender boat ride over. Someone on our tour complained 'why did I pay for this when I could see everything from our ship'.... well sir, if you feel the experience was the same as that short choppy tender ride from far away, then ask for your $30 back. My goodness.... some folks just need to flip that glass over and start calling it half full once in a while. 

[Sailing12Away]

I took a lot more photos with my regular camera during our tour and wanderings, but easier to just put the phone ones up for now.

 

[Sailing12Away]

More photos back on the ship...

[Sailing12Away]

Day 4 – Sea day

Up early for our behind the scenes tour. They run them apparently on different days/times, so if the one they give you isn’t ideal just ask for the other options. We started with behind the theater in the backstage areas with the manager there. Learned a lot about the shows and how they get put on which gives a new level of appreciation for the performers. I forget which one he said, but either Priscilla or Kinky Boots has ended and they’re on the search for a new show to replace it. Contracts for performers last ~6-9 months, contracts for the shows themselves last 7 – 10 years. Yikes, I thought it was a few years, but not THAT long.

 

Biggest issue he said they have is the costumes and shoes – they’re fitted for that first cast, and so unfortunately the replacement cast needs to be similar sized/shaped to get the role, depending on the costume. The Kinky Boots are all handmade and start at 3K per pair…. So if you’re not the same shoe size, forget about getting a new set of custom heels for yourself. Even though we saw Footloose in September, this is a new cast that just came on in November so we’re going to catch it the night we’re in Acapulco.

 

From there we headed to the laundry…. Yeah, wow. Only a total crew of 25 people for 10hr shifts throughout the cruise. 4K napkins a day get washed and folded, mostly everything is automatic with conveyor belts…. Really need and eye opening.

 

Then we headed to the kitchen, got to step in the walk-in freezer which was refreshing coming from the hot laundry area. The other interesting thing they pointed out here was that they plan the food supply 6 months in advance of each sailing and alter it based on the demographics of the passengers. If it’s an Asia itinerary with a large population of Asian travelers, they double the amount of rice they have on board. So based on the passenger count and demographic of where we’re from, they stock up extra on the things they presume we like and will go through more of when we’re on board. Which reminds me, we still need to talk to the concierge and see if they can do a custom Indian night for us in the restaurant one of these nights. Mmmmhm, massaman curry and coconut rice…..

 

After the tour we grabbed a board game from the room and headed to the observation lounge for drinks and relaxing for a bit. Saw they had an escape room happening down in Q at 1:30 and headed there. We didn’t do so good, but it wasn’t our fault. We had the right codes, but our locks just wouldn’t open even when the staff did it. So that delayed us and threw us off track, but they gave us all consolation prizes of a clear zip up tote (like for your travel bathroom stuff on the plane for TSA). It was a decent way to pass some time.

 

Had dinner at La Cucina that night, and I went with my standard order of the mozzarella, pest gnocchi, and a pizza that was big enough to share with the table as well as take some back to the room for breakfast the next day. After dinner the 4 of us had some port wine at the Cellar bar…. You have to ask them for what you want. They only advertise one single option for port – but they have more not on the menu. Not sure why they do that, but going forward we’re going to head there and grab a bottle of wine with our friends PP plan, and bring it to dinner with us. Lots more options there than they have at the restaurants and they were easier to understand with what is/isn’t included with the package.

 

Then once again closed down the Haven bar with all sorts of crazy concoctions. I headed up to deck 19 to try and look at the stars, but there was too much light out there. We chatted with our new friends from the UK just outside of the elevators until 1am and finally called it a night. No plans for Acapulco so a few of us will try to meet in the Haven lounge at 11 and walk and wander together. Sometimes the best plans are those not made where you let your feet take you where they want to go.

[Sailing12Away]

Breakfast and behind the scenes tour...

[Sailing12Away]

Dinner at La Cucina last night. Observation lounge has been mostly empty, but I imagine when we go through the canal it will be packed.

[HBCcruiser]

1 hour ago, Sailing12Away said:

The Vuvee is free by the glass, but you can’t get it by the bottle (no change there I think). But for folks who don’t like the taste and prefer Moet – they’re being told it’s not included in their package at all and being charged for it.

Well that is downright stupid on NCL's part. Veuve is MUCH more expensive than Moet.😂

[CptBoatface]

Especially with the note re Marty. Having y'all around was a huge help as our state was under severe restrictions and having challenges to supporting/visiting a terminal elderly relative out of state put me in a bad way.  He welcomed me and I'm a prickly one and it really helped dealing with the stupidity, as did the rest of the pack.  Lost the best friend that I never met.  Hope the cruise is great! 

[www3traveler]

When you can, could you please post a listing of the current Officers-- both Bridge and Hotel?

THANK YOU

I hope you have a wonderful cruise.

 

[HBCcruiser]

@Sailing12Away Inquiring minds want to know - Did they ever find the lost suitcases??

 

[Maleficent's Dad]

On 2/27/2023 at 2:58 AM, Sailing12Away said:

Happy to report that they are indeed allowing shots at the bar. And although they stop serving at midnight, they let us be loud and rowdy until we were too tired to stay awake any longer.

 

Behind the scenes tour tomorrow morning in about 6hrs.

 

Is this in the Haven Bar?

[victory2020]

On 2/24/2023 at 5:01 PM, HBCcruiser said:

I am not sure you can blame it all on the port, although I totally agree that it needs major upgrading! We sail out of there quite a bit on the new Discovery Princess which holds 3660+. We never had an issue boarding or disembarking. 

Exactly. I was on the 5 day right before you & the only hiccup we had is that we had to drive to berth 48 & park there since that is where we disembarked. Didn't have to wait in long line & proceeded right onto the ship after checking in.- arrived in terminal about noon.