NOT SUCH A "JOY"OUS CRUISE

[vadersprincess12]

DH and I just got off the Norwegian Joy out of New York on the June 11 sailing.  This was a 7 day Bermuda (overnight) cruise.  We had just been there last month on the Prima.  Apparently it’s been pretty rainy there so once again, we did not get to the other side of the island to visit St. Georges.  We did have one day when we were able to stroll around the Dockyard.  Mostly it was very cloudy with intermittent rain, and very windy!

 

Even before the sailing, the first port of call, Norfolk, was canceled (about a week after we booked).  I was excited because this ship is performing Footloose and I’m a musical geek.  About two weeks before sailing, it was noted under the entertainment area that Footloose would not be performed “on our sailing only.”  Apparently they were having a change of cast which I realize happens but that was extremely disappointing.

 

Embarkation at New York was relatively painless, things moved along very well.  What was disturbing is that we couldn’t get into our staterooms until 3:30 p.m.  That’s the latest we have ever had to wait.  The public areas were packed like sardines which was very uncomfortable.  The only good point is that the luggage was already waiting for us.

 

We had a forward facing ocean view stateroom which was pretty cool with the slanted window.  They could have made a bit better use of the very wide ledge under the window.  There was storage in the bottom of it, but we think cushions would be nice since you can sit and look out the window.

 

We seemed to have a language barrier with our stateroom attendant; he did bring us ice each day as asked but we like to have extra towels each day, which we requested but they were not always given and for the first two days we had no wash cloths.  He never refilled the bath products and by the end of the cruise the containers were down to about ¼ of an inch of product.

 

We were very disappointed in the food on this sailing.  We only ate in the dining room one night; most of the menus were not to our liking.  Seems like they try too hard and turn regular dishes into “designer” food, if you will.  We prefer simple, well prepared meals.

 

They served prime rib three of the four nights in the Garden Cafe but it was totally bloody; and sirloin strip steak was served two nights.  There just wasn’t much of a variety.  Seemed like the Asian station and the Indian station had pretty much the same stuff all the time.  We sailed the Prima in May and they had different food themes each night with a very nice variety.  Even the desserts were pretty much the same all the time.  The meats were tough, dry, and fatty.  Most of the “hot” dishes were lukewarm, at best!

 

We ate breakfast several days in the main dining room and the service was very slow.  As I’ve noted in previous reviews, our past experiences with the specialty restaurants have not been good food-wise, so we again opted not to partake.

 

Internet was horrible and kept going out.  We had to visit the Internet Cafe 5 times during the sailing.  

 

Because of the weather we watched several movies they were showing on the tv stations (over and over), but unlike the Prima last month, there were no free movies to watch.  Asking $9.95 per movie is just another nickel and dime gimmick.

 

We were on this ship through Casinos at Sea and have been on several of these cruises.  As those who know about the program understand, the certificates are offered through land-based casinos.  We are finding the experience very unappealing.  The payouts are very poor.  There is nothing to entice us to continue to spend money.  We do much better at our land-based casinos.

 

We paid for the Speedway but were grouped with young people who could not operate the vehicles properly or follow the rules which diminished our experience.  

 

Elevators are hit and miss; the waits are long sometimes and as crowds build people barge in without concern for those who were already waiting.  

 

As always the photographers are all over the place interrupting the flow of traffic and closing off stairways which is annoying.

 

The comedians from Levity Live were great.  We saw Dean Edwards previously on the Prima.

 

The highlight of the cruise was Beatlestory.  We saw all of their performances showcasing the different time periods of the Beatles.  They were excellent and we had the opportunity to interact with the performers a few times during the cruise.  

 

Overall, we’d give this cruise a 3 out of 5.

 

I hate to rant because I know most of these things are not controlled by the cruise line, but hopefully someone reading this will see themselves and realize their horrible behavior.

 

• Elevators ~ barging on instead of being courteous to those who were waiting before you or trying to jam them full, or barging on before letting those already on, get off on their floor.

 

• Food ~ using your hands to get bread, etc. when there are tongs readily available.  Putting something on your plate and then putting it back.  

 

• Parents/Children ~ parents who let their children run wild throughout the ship with absolutely no supervision; and I mean “run”.  Parents who don’t supervise their children in the buffet lines.  Parents who won’t remove their screaming children from public areas where they are disturbing everyone else (this brings to mind the saying “the need of the many outweigh the needs of the few”)

 

• People who just stand in the middle of the traffic areas and seem oblivious to the fact that they are blocking others from walking through.

 

• People using scooters who don’t need them.  I realize that some people have afflictions that are not obvious, but there was a woman racing around the ship the entire week on a scooter with no regard for anyone and suddenly she was able to do “self assist” walk off on debarkation morning with her luggage!

 

These things won’t stop us from cruising but the experience would be much better if people would only realize their actions affect everyone on the ship.

[sansroof]

Is there a way to convert fonts into something readable? 

[Bonobochick]

13 minutes ago, vadersprincess12 said:

Seemed like the Asian station and the Indian station had pretty much the same stuff all the time. 

I was on this sailing too and i was VERY disappointed here. I don't eat in the buffet much but the Asian station is usually my go-to when I do. the options were extremely limited and unimpressive unlike in the past. 

 

13 minutes ago, vadersprincess12 said:

What was disturbing is that we couldn’t get into our staterooms until 3:30 p.m.  That’s the latest we have ever had to wait. 

 

I didn't board til around 3p yet I did notice more folks than usual with luggage around the ship even then. I was around for a few of the rooms on this deck are ready announcements. My initial keycard didn't work on my door so I was also delayed in getting new one. 

 

I enjoyed the cruise... more positives then negatives. I will say disembarkation was a mess, though. I did easy walk-off and it still an hour due to questionable logistics. 

Edited June 19, 2023 by Bonobochick
added something.

[vadersprincess12]

9 minutes ago, Bonobochick said:

I was on this sailing too and i was VERY disappointed here. I don't eat in the buffet much but the Asian station is usually my go-to when I do. the options were extremely limited and unimpressive unlike in the past. 

 

 

I didn't board til around 3p yet I did notice more folks than usual with luggage around the ship even then. I was around for a few of the rooms on this deck are ready announcements. My initial keycard didn't work on my door so I was also delayed in getting new one. 

 

I enjoyed the cruise... more positives then negatives. I will say disembarkation was a mess, though. I did easy walk-off and it still an hour due to questionable logistics. 

We boarded around 12 which was our scheduled time. We did grab some lunch but even that didn't take too long so we ended up standing around.  We finally went to our deck and just sat in a corner and it isn't easy for a 65 year old with a knee replacement to get down on the floor.  🤣  We have NEVER waited that long to get into a stateroom on any of the cruise lines we have sailed. 

 

The Asian station on the Prima had different stuff each day; some great sweet and sour shrimp on day!

 

We were in the line for express walk off and were near the smoking area of the casino waiting.  A crew member was trying to direct people to other areas because it got so crowded.  When we finally started moving we ended up walking all the way through the casino, around the 678 open area, back through the casino and then to the far end of the ship before we got off.  It was a total cluster!!!!!

[vadersprincess12]

24 minutes ago, sansroof said:

Is there a way to convert fonts into something readable? 

I'm not sure how to go in and edit, so I did a copy and past with a different font.  Hope this is better.

 

DH and I just got off the Norwegian Joy out of New York on the June 11 sailing.  This was a 7 day Bermuda (overnight) cruise.  We had just been there last month on the Prima.  Apparently it’s been pretty rainy there so once again, we did not get to the other side of the island to visit St. Georges.  We did have one day when we were able to stroll around the Dockyard.  Mostly it was very cloudy with intermittent rain, and very windy!

 

Even before the sailing, the first port of call, Norfolk, was canceled (about a week after we booked).  I was excited because this ship is performing Footloose and I’m a musical geek.  About two weeks before sailing, it was noted under the entertainment area that Footloose would not be performed “on our sailing only.”  Apparently they were having a change of cast which I realize happens but that was extremely disappointing.

 

Embarkation at New York was relatively painless, things moved along very well.  What was disturbing is that we couldn’t get into our staterooms until 3:30 p.m.  That’s the latest we have ever had to wait.  The public areas were packed like sardines which was very uncomfortable.  The only good point is that the luggage was already waiting for us.

 

We had a forward facing ocean view stateroom which was pretty cool with the slanted window.  They could have made a bit better use of the very wide ledge under the window.  There was storage in the bottom of it, but we think cushions would be nice since you can sit and look out the window.

 

We seemed to have a language barrier with our stateroom attendant; he did bring us ice each day as asked but we like to have extra towels each day, which we requested but they were not always given and for the first two days we had no wash cloths.  He never refilled the bath products and by the end of the cruise the containers were down to about ¼ of an inch of product.

 

We were very disappointed in the food on this sailing.  We only ate in the dining room one night; most of the menus were not to our liking.  Seems like they try too hard and turn regular dishes into “designer” food, if you will.  We prefer simple, well prepared meals.

 

They served prime rib three of the four nights in the Garden Cafe but it was totally bloody; and sirloin strip steak was served two nights.  There just wasn’t much of a variety.  Seemed like the Asian station and the Indian station had pretty much the same stuff all the time.  We sailed the Prima in May and they had different food themes each night with a very nice variety.  Even the desserts were pretty much the same all the time.  The meats were tough, dry, and fatty.  Most of the “hot” dishes were lukewarm, at best!

 

We ate breakfast several days in the main dining room and the service was very slow.  As I’ve noted in previous reviews, our past experiences with the specialty restaurants have not been good food-wise, so we again opted not to partake.

 

Internet was horrible and kept going out.  We had to visit the Internet Cafe 5 times during the sailing.  

 

Because of the weather we watched several movies they were showing on the tv stations (over and over), but unlike the Prima last month, there were no free movies to watch.  Asking $9.95 per movie is just another nickel and dime gimmick.

 

We were on this ship through Casinos at Sea and have been on several of these cruises.  As those who know about the program understand, the certificates are offered through land-based casinos.  We are finding the experience very unappealing.  The payouts are very poor.  There is nothing to entice us to continue to spend money.  We do much better at our land-based casinos.

 

We paid for the Speedway but were grouped with young people who could not operate the vehicles properly or follow the rules which diminished our experience.  

 

Elevators are hit and miss; the waits are long sometimes and as crowds build people barge in without concern for those who were already waiting.  

 

As always the photographers are all over the place interrupting the flow of traffic and closing off stairways which is annoying.

 

The comedians from Levity Live were great.  We saw Dean Edwards previously on the Prima.

 

The highlight of the cruise was Beatlestory.  We saw all of their performances showcasing the different time periods of the Beatles.  They were excellent and we had the opportunity to interact with the performers a few times during the cruise.  

 

Overall, we’d give this cruise a 3 out of 5.

 

I hate to rant because I know most of these things are not controlled by the cruise line, but hopefully someone reading this will see themselves and realize their horrible behavior.

 

• Elevators ~ barging on instead of being courteous to those who were waiting before you or trying to jam them full, or barging on before letting those already on, get off on their floor.

 

• Food ~ using your hands to get bread, etc. when there are tongs readily available.  Putting something on your plate and then putting it back.  

 

• Parents/Children ~ parents who let their children run wild throughout the ship with absolutely no supervision; and I mean “run”.  Parents who don’t supervise their children in the buffet lines.  Parents who won’t remove their screaming children from public areas where they are disturbing everyone else (this brings to mind the saying “the need of the many outweigh the needs of the few”)

 

• People who just stand in the middle of the traffic areas and seem oblivious to the fact that they are blocking others from walking through.

 

• People using scooters who don’t need them.  I realize that some people have afflictions that are not obvious, but there was a woman racing around the ship the entire week on a scooter with no regard for anyone and suddenly she was able to do “self assist” walk off on debarkation morning with her luggage!

 

These things won’t stop us from cruising but the experience would be much better if people would only realize their actions affect everyone on the ship.

[UKstages]

3 minutes ago, vadersprincess12 said:

I'm not sure how to go in and edit, so I did a copy and past with a different font. 

 

the first post was completely readable!

[sansroof]

Thank you for reposting! My vision is not what it used to be.  

[vadersprincess12]

50 minutes ago, sansroof said:

Thank you for reposting! My vision is not what it used to be.  

You're welcome

[DMH15]

1 hour ago, UKstages said:

 

the first post was completely readable!

A lot of us read on our phones.  It was more difficult to read cursive.   Thank you OP for the adjustment.  
 

i am sorry OP it wasn’t better.  You expressed yourself well while still pointing out negatives.   Case in point, it did not become a rant, I hope your mext cruise ranks higher. 

[mugtech]

The Prima crowd will be happy you found it better than the Joy.  If you gonna book 6/11 cruise out of NYC expect plenty of out of control kids, goes with the time and territory.   Only took one cruise leaving 6/1, nothing in July or August.  And you best check ahead of time on certain January cruises, some fun groups cruise during a school break.  The Beatles stuff sounds worthwhile, glad you had good comedians, I get really tired of the cruise humor about eating constantly, not having to worry about drunken driving etc. 

 

[YVRteacher]

It’s interesting because this is what happened on the Bliss as well. People sat on the floors at the entrances to each passenger deck waiting for rooms to be ready.  NCL is providing secure luggage drop off on each cruise so passengers with any carry on luggage can drop it off for the afternoon and explore the ship unencumbered.  No need for floor sitting! Your drink card (I mean room key) works right away… 

Edited June 20, 2023 by YVRteacher

[Sinbadssailors]

1 hour ago, carohs said:

 

Yeah I don't really understand this mentality of having a diminished experience just because rooms aren't ready yet. 

 

It's likely because few plan for this very long delay in accessing the cabins.

 

On the Bliss, we were told that all-aboard was 3:00 in Seattle - and yet the cabins weren't available until 3:30.

Doors were closed to passenger areas so no quick drop of the carry-on possible. 

 

So we were in the buffet with bags and, once we read the Daily, faced with carrying said bags to luggage storage on 6 (or waiting for a slow elevator on embarkation day), then make our way back to 6 to get our bags(by a certain time and likely a line)when cabins finally opened, and trudging to our cabin on 14. Carrying bags up 7 floors or again wasting time at aforementioned slow elevator. 

 

We just didn't expect this on the first day. And that's how we ended up hogging a buffet table for hours.  Nearly 50 cruises on 6 different lines over 20 years and we've never been kept from the cabins for so long. Never a half hour after all-aboard. 

 

This isn't passenger friendly. It's not normal practice, and it never occurred to me that it would be so different on NCL. The fact that their passengers think it's normal means it's rarely mentioned here.

 

It does make for a disappointing start. Our cruise got better and we ended up having a great time and we'll know for next time.

 

But why annoy people on the first day? 

 

 

 

 

 

[hallux]

3 hours ago, Sinbadssailors said:

It's likely because few plan for this very long delay in accessing the cabins.

At this point, when you consider the reduced staff for cabin turn-over I feel like it's going to become the norm.  The last of the cabins weren't ready until 3 PM when I sailed the Escape in March.

[MsTabbyKats]

7 hours ago, YVRteacher said:

It’s interesting because this is what happened on the Bliss as well. People sat on the floors at the entrances to each passenger deck waiting for rooms to be ready.  NCL is providing secure luggage drop off on each cruise so passengers with any carry on luggage can drop it off for the afternoon and explore the ship unencumbered.  No need for floor sitting! Your drink card (I mean room key) works right away… 

Where is there the "secure luggage dropoff"?

[MsTabbyKats]

I can see how "that kind of weather" could put a damper on any cruise.

 

We cruise a lot; a friend just commented that "why don't you ever cruise during the summer".

 

School's out.....that's why!

[vadersprincess12]

11 hours ago, DMH15 said:

A lot of us read on our phones.  It was more difficult to read cursive.   Thank you OP for the adjustment.  
 

i am sorry OP it wasn’t better.  You expressed yourself well while still pointing out negatives.   Case in point, it did not become a rant, I hope your mext cruise ranks higher. 

Thank you.  I’ve been wanting to state those things for some time now as it seems it happens on every cruise 😄.  Feels better to get it out!!

 

There are so many more positives about cruising in general; each voyage is a little different.  

 

 

[UKstages]

just so y’all know… posts can display differently on different devices in different fonts. when i viewed this thread for the first time on my computer, the OP’s post looked perfectly normal and was completely readable. hence my comment.

 

when i viewed it this morning on my ipad, it appeared in a highly stylized font that was indeed very hard to read. i suspect that I don’t have that font - whatever it is - installed on my computer, so a default font was used.

 

my comment was not meant as a snide retort... it was an accurate comment on my personal user experience. walk a mile in another man’s moccasins, folks… not everything is always as it first appears… two different things can simultaneously be true.

[psuboater]

I was also on this cruise and sorry to hear you didn't have a good time. We were also on the Joy out of LA in Feb and had the same long wait for rooms day of so we were better prepared. We ended up seeking refuge at the outdoor bar on 8 to avoid the crowd. We also booked Ocean Blue on embarkation day to avoid the max crush of people trying to figure out dinner. We got to eat al fresco waving good bye to Lady Liberty which was a treat! My only major gripe of this cruise was disembarkation- which was highly disorganized (which makes sense of why rooms are so delayed). 

We've done Bermuda 4 times- twice in June and twice in May and crazily enough it's been better in May. Honestly the weather reports leading up to the week were so bad I didn't have an expectation of any sun. We skipped the beaches this time but had a lovely catamaran Day 2 and actually got into the water for a long amount of time (a first for us!). The very dark tan I am rocking in a very rainy very cold Seattle back home right now says to me we didn't do too terribly. 

 

NCL can be great--- with the right research. We had a much better time on this cruise learning from our quick cruise in February. However, as they promote "do what you want when you want" it can be disappointing for many. 

 

Edited June 20, 2023 by psuboater

[knscruiser322]

How is the weather normally around July? I have a cruise scheduled in July and years ago I went around the same time and it was great. Hopefully it will be the same.

[Bonobochick]

40 minutes ago, psuboater said:

We've done Bermuda 4 times- twice in June and twice in May and crazily enough it's been better in May.

 

Co-sign. I had one year where I went in early May, mid-June, and early September. Mid-June had the most inconsistent + rainy weather of the three cruises. 

 

I will say last week was the windiest I recall it ever being with any of my Bermuda trips. Friday was definitely the overall best weather day although I did get some beach time in on Thursday before the rain. 

 

40 minutes ago, psuboater said:

My only major gripe of this cruise was disembarkation- which was highly disorganized (which makes sense of why rooms are so delayed). 

 

That was an absolute mess. I was off the Getaway in January in like 15 minutes as I always do easy walk-off disembarkation. The Joy disembarkation, there were barely employees helping with the aft exit line (there was one employee, I think Megg, who I saw bouncing around but it was chaotic with no clear organization) nor once we were off the ship in the long line to get in to the terminal to go through customs. 😐

Edited June 20, 2023 by Bonobochick
fixed something.

[Sand and Seas]

2 hours ago, MsTabbyKats said:

Where is there the "secure luggage dropoff"?

We saw them holding luggage in the casino.  They had a roped off area.

[ChiefMateJRK]

10 hours ago, carohs said:

For us, the only thing we need our room for is to unpack and sleep. It doesn't matter if we accomplish this at 1pm or 7pm, we go about the day enjoying the ships amenities

Hear! Hear!

[carohs]

8 hours ago, Sinbadssailors said:

But why annoy people on the first day?

What's annoying? Trudging your bags all day? That's what porters are for. We selectively keep what we need and can easily carry around the ship; everything else goes to the porters. I really have yet to hear on here anyone experience theft or loss. At worst, some luggage has fallen into the ocean and subsequently retrieved. 

I'm not sure on NCL, but even if doors are closed they're not locked. I've had success too at getting into the hallway and at least getting my room key even if rooms aren't quite ready. Could you have left your bags just outside of the stateroom?

8 hours ago, Sinbadssailors said:

So we were in the buffet with bags and, once we read the Daily, faced with carrying said bags to luggage storage on 6 (or waiting for a slow elevator on embarkation day), then make our way back to 6 to get our bags(by a certain time and likely a line)when cabins finally opened, and trudging to our cabin on 14. Carrying bags up 7 floors or again wasting time at aforementioned slow elevator. 

So what I'm hearing is carrying your bags around was too much of an inconvenience to be able to enjoy the ship. Instead you chose to inconvenience your fellow passengers who would have liked to use your table to eat a late lunch. And chilling on the Sun Deck isn't an option because???

 

8 hours ago, Sinbadssailors said:

the cabins weren't available until 3:30.

Land hotels often don't have check in until 4:00. So 3:30 seems more than reasonable to me. 

 

You do you, but none of these arguments is enough for me to decide not to have a good time on the ship and waste my first day of vacation just waiting around. 

[Sinbadssailors]

It's still annoying. 

And doesn't happen on other lines.

 

 Also, land hotels don't require you to check in before your room is ready.

Edited June 20, 2023 by Sinbadssailors

[scooter6139]

From my experience, part of the embarkation and disembarkation problem can also be the fault of the guest who doesn't follow the guidance or posts on when and where.  Everyone wants to be first on and, for some odd reason, first or second off.  All cruise lines try to time groups so it is easier to get 3-5k people on and off the ship.  

 

Late rooms?   Less staff to do a complete turn-a-round.  Cutbacks suck.