Striking Out to New Turf – A Joy(ful) Live – 3/18 – 3/25, Western Caribbean

[Dorhead1230]

I’m so glad you’re going to report on the Joy, because we’re thinking about it for this summer to Bermuda. Congratulations to your husband on his impending citizenship! 🎉

[cruiseny4life]

On 3/3/2023 at 10:48 AM, bkrickles1 said:

Before the refurb there was something like 15 karaoke rooms too that have since been replaced.

I've heard stories that a few of the karaoke rooms might still be on Joy. I'm going to search around. I'd enjoy doing private karaoke where only my husband's ears would bleed. I'm a terrible singer and only know like one or two verses in a song, so that TV with lyrics is super helpful.

 

20 hours ago, vacation44 said:

 

We will be on the Epic while you are reporting live on the Joy so I will have to catch up when we return.    But, I am really looking forward to reading your comments on the Joy especially what you think of the Joy Haven sundeck compared to the Getaway Haven sundeck.   And most importantly.....if you received your water!  Have a fantastic trip.

Oh, I'm absolutely going to give some feedback on the sundeck. I'm hoping I get to see that elusive Haven snack menu. I've never attained enough status on the pool deck to be given a copy. Without a thermal suite to sweat in, I will probably spend a few more hours topside in the sun.

 

I don't think I've got water in my cards. We booked outside that window, but maybe my room attendant will take pity on us...if not, we'll have the pitcher of water in our fridge.

 

20 hours ago, dcgrumpy said:

Looking forward to your report. I'm on the same cruise.  One of the people we're traveling with is also waiting for a passport and was told the same thing about the 6th. Maybe you'll see them at the NYC passport office. 

Ooooooo! Now I'm going to have to look out for another grump on the cruise! Hehe this makes me happy. I'll wave to you. 🙂

 

19 hours ago, dcipjr said:

If you're worried about the passports, do try reaching out to your US congressperson's office. They were able to help us get visas expedited, and I know they do passports too.

I think we're in good shape. Maybe. Possibly. After Monday we'll know more, then we would definitely go this route. Ahh, gotta love having a freshman Congressman.

[cruiseny4life]

20 hours ago, Dorhead1230 said:

I’m so glad you’re going to report on the Joy, because we’re thinking about it for this summer to Bermuda. Congratulations to your husband on his impending citizenship! 🎉

Bermuda! Yes! Sounds great. 🙂 And thank you!!

[cruiseny4life]

Others enjoying this cruise with us:

Given others have been shamed for chiming in on other's lives, with their own reports of the same cruise, I wanted to be sure to state this clearly, and from the beginning.

 

I’d like to invite anyone else on this sailing to feel free to post here. I have no pride in ownership/authorship of this thread and invite all sorts of different viewpoints. There will be no argument from me if you’d like to post your thoughts, opinions, and experiences here. But I’ll disagree where I see fit and tell you my opinion is always right (kidding, really, I’m just joshin’ ya).

Source: https://knowyourmeme.com/photos/602337

[bkrickles1]

30 minutes ago, cruiseny4life said:

I've heard stories that a few of the karaoke rooms might still be on Joy. I'm going to search around. I'd enjoy doing private karaoke where only my husband's ears would bleed. I'm a terrible singer and only know like one or two verses in a song, so that TV with lyrics is super helpful.

 

🙂

 

I scoped out pretty much every inch of Joy in June and there weren't any of the karaoke rooms that were originally on her. I wasn't specifically looking for them, so I could be wrong.

Let us know everything. Lmao 🤣

[Dorhead1230]

1 hour ago, cruiseny4life said:

Others enjoying this cruise with us:

 

 

Given others have been shamed for chiming in on other's lives, with their own reports of the same cruise, I wanted to be sure to state this clearly, and from the beginning.

 

I’d like to invite anyone else on this sailing to feel free to post here. I have no pride in ownership/authorship of this thread and invite all sorts of different viewpoints. There will be no argument from me if you’d like to post your thoughts, opinions, and experiences here. But I’ll disagree where I see fit and tell you my opinion is always right (kidding, really, I’m just joshin’ ya).

 

 

Source: https://knowyourmeme.com/photos/602337

Yes, I felt awful that someone else saw fit to chide another person on my thread for posting while I was off of it with lousy internet access. By the time I got back on to say it was fine, I think my fellow passenger had already been scared off by the thread police 🤦🏻‍♀️

 

And yes, Bermuda is our absolute favorite destination! You and your husband should try to get back there on a cruise that’s just to Bermuda so you get a couple days there!

[Seas2mountains]

I look forward to your live review! We have not been on the Joy but definitely want to try it out especially if we can get in the Haven. Like you, we also love being in the thermal spa and we intentionally did not book it because of it not having a spa. I think the itinerary you have will be just fine without it. 

 

We will be on the Gem which departs this Friday, March 10th until Tuesday, March 21st so while I may do a live review of it, I may not see some of your posts until getting back.

 

Have a wonderful cruise! Congratulations to your husband on his citizenship! The passport thing would cause me some stress but I bet it will all work out for you!

[KP@Sea]

I’m late to the party… 2 pages already and I just found this thread.

Looking forward to following along. Have a great trip ⚓️

[cruiseny4life]

Well, it's confirmed. I'm on a fully booked cruise. I'm not surprised given the number of cruises sailing at more than 100% capacity and the fact I'm probably going to be cruising during college spring break season. I guess I'll be able to see how Joy compares to Getaway when fully booked! Today, I'm a wee bit more thankful to be in the Haven than yesterday given this news. 

 

 

For those who have sailed Joy, I'd love to hear any tips/tricks you have to retain your sanity when the ship is at full capacity. There's no thermal suite so my normal escape is out of the question. Vibe is fully booked and I don't really like being out in the open like that, although I'm thinking the Haven sundeck will get quite a lot of use out of me. 

[cruiseny4life]

A word about price. You can absolutely find deals on the Haven. We’re not out there spending $10,000 or more on a one-week sailing to get ourselves into the Haven. We actually are spending just a little bit more than someone in a balcony on this sailing. I understand the price of a balcony versus the Haven can be insurmountable for some, but many more folks could book it if you have flexible dates and are alright flying to an embarkation port. Let’s look at our cruise.  

 

Our fare (just the fare and taxes, fees, port expenses) is $3,786.91. That’s $1,893.46 per person, or $270.50 per person, per day. This doesn’t include prepaid service charges, Free at Sea gratuities, airfare, or travel protection. But you read that number correctly. We’re paying well below $300 per person, per day. What a deal! For transparency’s sake, there is a 10% coupon cooked into the fare price. I don’t remember how we received the coupon, it just appeared one day and we decided to take advantage of it.  

 

Here's our all-in summary, including airfare, travel protection, fees, taxes, fare, and shore excursions: we’re paying $6,355.91 or $3,177.96. Another way of expressing this is that this cruise is costing us $454 per person, per day. Ok, that’s a lot over $300 per day, but includes everything, including a two person specialty dining upgrade. 

 

One item we may not be upgrading is our WiFi package. If we do, it’ll be on the first full day of the cruise to save a miniscule amount of money. This review may not be as lively as others, because of this, but I promise there will be a few updates. I did get the type in an app first, then copy/paste to Cruise Critic formula down on the last cruise, even though we had unlimited WiFi. I’m not working and this is the first cruise my husband won’t be working so it’s not necessary for us to access the internet. Anything else can wait until we get home…except for Cruise Critic! Gotta keep feeding y’all content.  

 

[cruiseny4life]

On 3/4/2023 at 11:41 AM, bkrickles1 said:

I scoped out pretty much every inch of Joy in June and there weren't any of the karaoke rooms that were originally on her. I wasn't specifically looking for them, so I could be wrong.

Let us know everything. Lmao 🤣

Thanks! Probably no luck for me, but I'll take a look/ask around. Everything is quite the tall ask! But, I'll try. 🙂 

 

On 3/4/2023 at 12:22 PM, Dorhead1230 said:

And yes, Bermuda is our absolute favorite destination! You and your husband should try to get back there on a cruise that’s just to Bermuda so you get a couple days there!

Bermuda is a wonderful island! I've heard some not-so-great things about the government's treatment of the alphabet soup community, but we were welcomed by all the locals we met. They were really quite kind and shared a lot of information with us that made our stay wonderful. Definitely on our list of places to get back to! 

 

On 3/4/2023 at 12:54 PM, Seas2mountains said:

We will be on the Gem which departs this Friday, March 10th until Tuesday, March 21st so while I may do a live review of it, I may not see some of your posts until getting back.

 

Have a wonderful cruise! Congratulations to your husband on his citizenship! The passport thing would cause me some stress but I bet it will all work out for you!

Oooo, you have a lovely cruise! I'll be reading your posts when I get back too. I don't review a lot of Cruise Critic when I'm sailing. It makes for a fun day or two once I get back to the office. It's probably the only thing that makes me not lose my mind at having very little work to do which is so different from the job I had last year! 

 

And thank you, thank you! It's been a long time coming.

 

On 3/4/2023 at 5:53 PM, Winky7650 said:

I’m late to the party… 2 pages already and I just found this thread.

Looking forward to following along. Have a great trip ⚓️

You're here just as it gets exciting! We're almost at T-10 days to go. Almost, but not quite. I'm way too excited for the next 12 days. 

 

[cruiseny4life]

On 3/3/2023 at 2:49 PM, dcgrumpy said:

Looking forward to your report. I'm on the same cruise.  One of the people we're traveling with is also waiting for a passport and was told the same thing about the 6th. Maybe you'll see them at the NYC passport office. 

Welp, we won't see you in NYC. He called and made an appointment for next Wednesday in Buffalo. It's almost equidistant, but parking shouldn't be an issue in that old rust bucket of a town. 

 

Might I just add that March 15th is way too close for comfort. Why couldn't it have been this week? Ugh! My husband isn't the type to stress about these kind of things. I am though. So stress away I shall! And I don't even have any balls to squeeze to ease myself!

[laudergayle]

On 3/4/2023 at 5:53 PM, Winky7650 said:

I’m late to the party… 2 pages already and I just found this thread.

Looking forward to following along. Have a great trip ⚓️

Ditto.  Not sure how I missed it earlier.  

[vacation44]

On 3/4/2023 at 11:06 AM, cruiseny4life said:

 

 

Oh, I'm absolutely going to give some feedback on the sundeck. I'm hoping I get to see that elusive Haven snack menu. I've never attained enough status on the pool deck to be given a copy. Without a thermal suite to sweat in, I will probably spend a few more hours topside in the sun.

 

Well, I can confirm the Haven snack menu was on the Joy last year.    I asked for it while on the haven sundeck, took a while to receive it, then took a longer while to receive our order.   If memory serves me correct, the order was wrong but we ate what we were given.   

 

Funny thing is we ordered from it and had a much better experience when we were on the Escape in 2019 and not staying in the Haven.   We were in the Vibe and they had the menu there and all vibe attendees where allowed to order from it.  We took advantage of this all week.

[evanskl4]

I'm on the same cruise, but Nov. 18-25 instead of March! I wish the Haven was as cheap for that week! Probably something to due with that pesky Thanksgiving holiday...
Anyway, can't wait to follow along on your journey and hope all the last-minute paperwork goes smoothly!

[Christina231955]

3 hours ago, cruiseny4life said:

A word about price. You can absolutely find deals on the Haven. We’re not out there spending $10,000 or more on a one-week sailing to get ourselves into the Haven. We actually are spending just a little bit more than someone in a balcony on this sailing. I understand the price of a balcony versus the Haven can be insurmountable for some, but many more folks could book it if you have flexible dates and are alright flying to an embarkation port. Let’s look at our cruise.  

 

Our fare (just the fare and taxes, fees, port expenses) is $3,786.91. That’s $1,893.46 per person, or $270.50 per person, per day. This doesn’t include prepaid service charges, Free at Sea gratuities, airfare, or travel protection. But you read that number correctly. We’re paying well below $300 per person, per day. What a deal! For transparency’s sake, there is a 10% coupon cooked into the fare price. I don’t remember how we received the coupon, it just appeared one day and we decided to take advantage of it.  

 

Here's our all-in summary, including airfare, travel protection, fees, taxes, fare, and shore excursions: we’re paying $6,355.91 or $3,177.96. Another way of expressing this is that this cruise is costing us $454 per person, per day. Ok, that’s a lot over $300 per day, but includes everything, including a two person specialty dining upgrade. 

 

One item we may not be upgrading is our WiFi package. If we do, it’ll be on the first full day of the cruise to save a miniscule amount of money. This review may not be as lively as others, because of this, but I promise there will be a few updates. I did get the type in an app first, then copy/paste to Cruise Critic formula down on the last cruise, even though we had unlimited WiFi. I’m not working and this is the first cruise my husband won’t be working so it’s not necessary for us to access the internet. Anything else can wait until we get home…except for Cruise Critic! Gotta keep feeding y’all content.  

 

How did you get these prices. Was it last minute?, direct with NCL? or some other option?

[wolft927]

We are on the joy for the April 8th sailing staying in the aft facing haven suite

[cruiseny4life]

1 hour ago, Christina231955 said:

How did you get these prices. Was it last minute?, direct with NCL? or some other option?

Oh boy! That's quite the story. Originally we booked this spring'ish cruise on Escape with a sail date of May, 2023. We booked back in July, I believe? Something like that! Well, after booking (and, thankfully, before final payment), NCL changed the entire cruise. Instead of heading to the western Caribbean, we would be going to the Dominican Republic, British Virgin Islands, and St. Thomas. Not knowing when my husband would get his citizenship, we opted to change our cruise as the British Virgin Islands are tricky for Russian passport holders. 

 

We did have a 10% coupon we booked the original cruise with, which thankfully stayed with us when we booked this cruise. We scoured the different itineraries and dates to find a cruise that was affordable. I know Frankie boy claims NCL does not discount to fill, however all of our cruises (except April) were purchased at quite a discount! This one was no different. We have continued watching prices through today when the cruise sold out. Every time, the fare went higher and higher. 

 

I think we honestly just got super lucky and found a cheap sailing that was selling back in July/August, whenever we changed cruises. This cruise has got to be during a few college spring break weeks so I'm surprised NCL discounted it. Of course, we are in the lowest category Haven room - The Haven Suite. We might be cruising in luxury, but just barely! The photos make the room look decent size, but I know I'll be missing that aft-facing balcony suite we had on Getaway twice! 

 

We're still going to have an amazing cruise. My best advice to you: just keep looking for deals. They're out there. You just have to be diligent about checking constantly. It helps I'm super bored at work and have plenty of time to be online seeking deals out....now, I just need more vacation days! 

 

Edit: just realized I didn't answer one of your questions. We booked the original Escape cruise, then rebooked that cruise, with my husband's PCC, so directly through NCL. 

Edited March 6, 2023 by cruiseny4life

[cruiseny4life]

3 hours ago, vacation44 said:

Well, I can confirm the Haven snack menu was on the Joy last year.    I asked for it while on the haven sundeck, took a while to receive it, then took a longer while to receive our order.   If memory serves me correct, the order was wrong but we ate what we were given.   

 

Funny thing is we ordered from it and had a much better experience when we were on the Escape in 2019 and not staying in the Haven.   We were in the Vibe and they had the menu there and all vibe attendees where allowed to order from it.  We took advantage of this all week.

Interesting! Perhaps I need to be more inquisitive. I kind of thought the menus would just be laying around. I guess I'll have to ask the poor server where the heck the menu is so I can try some of those treats. I'm thinking the chicken Caesar wrap, for one. It sounds yummy and deliciously light.

 

 

2 hours ago, evanskl4 said:

I'm on the same cruise, but Nov. 18-25 instead of March! I wish the Haven was as cheap for that week! Probably something to due with that pesky Thanksgiving holiday...
Anyway, can't wait to follow along on your journey and hope all the last-minute paperwork goes smoothly!

Haha look at those dates! That's fun! 

 

I'm sure that celebration of turkey does get in the way of some cheaper prices. Thanks for the kind words on the paperwork!! 

 

1 hour ago, wolft927 said:

We are on the joy for the April 8th sailing staying in the aft facing haven suite

Not gonna lie, I'm so jealous! Aft-facing Haven suites are phenomenal! I've cruised in the same one on Getaway twice. I love it! 

 

[vacation44]

4 hours ago, cruiseny4life said:

Interesting! Perhaps I need to be more inquisitive. I kind of thought the menus would just be laying around. I guess I'll have to ask the poor server where the heck the menu is so I can try some of those treats. I'm thinking the chicken Caesar wrap, for one. It sounds yummy and deliciously 

 

No, they were not laying around.   My daughter was a fan of the chicken Caesar wrap but do not forget to order the ice cream treat!  

[cruiseny4life]

13 hours ago, vacation44 said:

No, they were not laying around.   My daughter was a fan of the chicken Caesar wrap but do not forget to order the ice cream treat!  

Yes, yes, yes!!! The ice cream treat. That's what I really want! I'm guessing it's like an chocolate chip ice cream sandwich? I don't know what a Sable cookie is so I'm excited to try that too. 

[Sand and Seas]

Congrats to your DH as our soon to be newest citizen😊

 

Looking forward to your review.  Hope all of your passport & document name-changing goes as smoothly as possible🤞

[cruiseny4life]

There has been a lot of talk on the boards today about NCL airfare. As I've alluded to, we did select the NCL buy one get one free airfare offer as part of our booking. The cost for this was $707, plus transfers. It looks like we about broke even as we could purchase airfare for roughly $350 per person. And, we'd be able to use my number one choice of airlines: United.

 

 

So, in our case, we're not really saving money. Since our flight is going to Fort Lauderdale we might even be losing money as we have to get an Uber from FLL to our Miami hotel. The Miami tickets are slightly more expensive, but also more convenient (except I hate American Airlines):

 

 

We were lucky when receiving our flights. NCL sent us our flight information sixty days ahead of traveling. We have a noon'ish departure on 3/17 (day before the cruise) and on 3/25 (debarkation day). Both flights have us landing at our destination at around 6:30 - 7 PM, so NCL booked us virtually perfect tickets (if you forget the FLL vs. Miami thing). Here's the itinerary:

 

 

As soon as we received the ticket information in our inbox, I went to Delta to select our seats. I was able to select seats next to each other at no additional charge. I could have upgraded us to first class or Delta Comfort, but we chose to stay in the Main Cabin. We might be Haven cruisers, but we're frugal. What's the difference in first class for three hours? Not a whole lot. If we did purchase an upgrade to first class, it would only cost us about $500 each, so not insurmountable, but we'd like to save the cash. 

 

My current mood toward the NCL BOGO Airfare offer is that I am very happy with it. Even though I'm happy, I won't count my chickens until our butts are on the ground in Ft. Lauderdale. I don't really care about getting home. I'll be the first to take $1,000 travel voucher to be bumped from my seat. We've got a Hawaii trip coming up next year and I'd really like to not use my United miles. I'll take Delta for a free flight to/from Hawaii! 

 

So, anyway, while I'm still somewhat reserving judgment, count me as one of the currently happy NCL BOGO Airfare customers. 

 

Source: https://bestlifeonline.com/happy-tuesday-memes/

[cruiseny4life]

Well, this is cool! A friend of mine is currently sailing the Panama Canal (like, today). Yesterday he was in Cartagena, Colombia. What ship was docked next to his Holland America ship? Yep! That's Norwegian Joy next door. Whooooooooooooo! It's so fun to see this. 

 

 

 

Also, I have issues with this friend of mine. He was originally booked on Joy. Then, his boyfriend canceled, so he canceled, essentially dumping us for this cruise he's going on. Such shade!! And to top it off, the sailing he is on will still be underway when we get onboard. I need that kind of vacation time from work!!

 

Ok, but really, I am jealous he's able to be on this long sailing. I'm not actually upset with him though. Plans change, I get it! Also, I'm not too upset about not being on his sailing. This friend of mine is slightly north of sixty and is among the youngest of passengers. I love older people. I hope I'm one, one day! But, I'm not sure I want to be on a floating retirement home...yet. Give me thirty or forty years, then I'll be onboard cussing at the young whipper snappers all day!

 

 

[cruiseny4life]

Today was an inspiring day. My husband participated in a Naturalization Ceremony as he became one of the fifty newest United States citizens! Several times throughout the ceremony, I wanted to cry. I didn't. I held it in! It was just inspiring and obviously exciting to see five years of work (and lots of fees) pay off. It was especially hell'ish for a LGBT couple who were hearing heated rhetoric about us gays and immigration. There were a lot of nerve wracking days until 2021. 

 

There were fifty new citizens representing 27 countries around the world. Did you know the United States still calls Burma, Burma? Not Myanmar? Me either!

 

But, now, in a courtroom where the judge quoted his hero, the late Robert F. Kennedy, the process became complete. While others were still receiving their certificates of naturalization, I was combing through my husband's certificate and court order to ensure his name was spelled correctly everywhere. I'm happy to report that everything was perfect! 

 

On to Norwegian Cruise Lines. I just confirmed my husband's phone call to NCL was successful. His name is changed on our cruise. Yay! And only for the mere sum of $150. I know NCL. That they're money grubbers, so expected the fee. He, however, did not expect it and I believe his words when he found out were something along the lines of "smother truckers." So thank you Norwegian for making a wonderful day feel not quite so wonderful. But, at least it's done!