NCL Joy Transatlantic from Southampton to Miami, Feb. 13-24 -- a few questions

[Dods1903]

On 1/6/2024 at 12:49 PM, Mojedis62 said:

I've done a number of TA cruises in either direction but never done one with no ports of call or with NCL.

Does that worry me, not at all! I love being on the ship just relaxing either on my balcony, or up on deck watching the world go by.  Pottering about doing classes I'd never get  to do at home. Like beginners bridge,  Black Jack or poker in the casino (I  wouldn't dare play at the tables for real as I've no idea how to play seriously)

I'll be looking out for dancing of any kind and partaking in anything culinary based.

I take a stack of books (might read all or none of them depending on the company of fellow cruisers I meet)

 I like being a bar fly at night time ( I've occasionally been spotted embibing  earlier in the day too!) Maybe either side of dinner or a show, but on NCL Dawn recently I found the entertainers in the bars were really good too.

I'm not one for hot tubs or spas but I do Try to walk 4 or 5 miles around the prom deck each morning.

As for sea  sickness  I'm very lucky, even on a fairly brutal 9 day crossing over the Behrens sea from Vladivostok to Anchorage I was fine, well, until I stood on dry land where my head and feet seemed to lose co-ordination for a while which made me a teeny bit nauseous.

Weather will  initially be cold to very cold in February depending on wind direction. Here in UK we've had an unusually wet and stormy winter so hope we've seen the back of that.

I'm guessing the Captain on NCL Joy will try to set a course that gets us South as quickly as possible into warmer weather hopefully by about day 3. Don't bank on that and pack lots of layers  and a woolly hat, scarf and gloves just in case!

As for the refurbishment, NCL have already announced that the thermal spa won't be  ready to open on our sailing, the normal spa will still be there along with hot tubs and pools on upper Decks. On the plus side the  American diner has been made complimentary and if you are lucky enough to be a Haven club passenger then I believe life on the "ship within a ship " is fabulous.

I am travelling on my own so will be heading for the solo travellers club on day 1.  On my inaugural solo cruise on NCL Dawn in October I loved meeting some wonderful people, even though we were a relatively small group we looked out for each other and had a lot of fun together.

So if other solo travellers are reading this I look forward to meeting you all there.

It'll  soon be time to check in and I must remember to reapply for my ESTA, it's a shame they are no longer renewable my current one expires 31st January 😥

Amanda

Yes, we got the email about the thermal spa not being ready. A pity but hopefully we'll get enough decent days for the Haven hot tubs :)
Did not really explore the Joy last time we were on as we were 'hiding' ourselves in the Haven to help avoid Covid before spending a week on Exuma with friends that side of the pond
Why this cruise? No ports. Do we expect 'weather', of course but will improve. Some unexpected issues post dry doc? Probably some minor issues.
This is our fifth time in the Haven with NCL and certainly the most economical as TA.

[cruiseny4life]

You got me thinking about this cruise. I went ahead and priced out a Haven Suite....I could be cruising on Joy for 11 days with my husband for just under $6k. Air to London for an extra $1,100 total for both of us. Now if only I could get away from my masters at work. 

 

I hope you have an absolutely fantastic time onboard Joy! She's really a lovely ship and I think even after the changes will be a delight to cruise on. 

[lanceholt]

We were on the Joy last year and loved it.  IF you can possibly afford the Haven it will make this cruise unforgettable!!  We saw the Beatles cover band and in our opinion it was awful....we left half way through it!!   I agree with Birdtravels as a transatlantic is the most relaxing cruise ever.  You should have in mind to bring reading material, puzzles, or if you knit/crochet/needlework/quilt that would be great too.  It was interesting to see what people brought to do onboard.  IF you have no amusements for yourself, you may find things boring though.

 

[ludalex]

15 hours ago, cruiseny4life said:

You got me thinking about this cruise. I went ahead and priced out a Haven Suite....I could be cruising on Joy for 11 days with my husband for just under $6k. Air to London for an extra $1,100 total for both of us. Now if only I could get away from my masters at work. 

 

I hope you have an absolutely fantastic time onboard Joy! She's really a lovely ship and I think even after the changes will be a delight to cruise on. 

In the end, we actually decided to take a different TA -- April 7-19 on the Epic (again).  The weather should be better, so the balcony will be of more use.  And there are some ports along the way -- that appeals more.  One of these days, we'll try the Joy.  Thanks!

[ludalex]

15 hours ago, lanceholt said:

We were on the Joy last year and loved it.  IF you can possibly afford the Haven it will make this cruise unforgettable!!  We saw the Beatles cover band and in our opinion it was awful....we left half way through it!!   I agree with Birdtravels as a transatlantic is the most relaxing cruise ever.  You should have in mind to bring reading material, puzzles, or if you knit/crochet/needlework/quilt that would be great too.  It was interesting to see what people brought to do onboard.  IF you have no amusements for yourself, you may find things boring though.

 

Interesting you said that about the Beatles cover band.  I thought the one on the Epic was terrific.  And in the end, we are going back on it:  April 7-19 from Orlando to Rome.  The main reason is that the weather should be better in April, especially with this more southern itinerary.  We want to make use of the balcony.  And the price was excellent.  But I agree:  either way, you need to bring bring stuff to entertain yourself.  Nothing wrong with books.

[UKstages]

a lot of folks rave about the beatles on NCL, but i've never thought any of the iterations i've seen have been very good. there is always at least one beatle who's awful. last year, on the joy, "paul" couldn't sing. seriously. any random person from the audience would have done a better job. but he looked a lot like him, which is why he was cast, i suppose. "john" had a terrific voice and was a good mimic, but looked nothing like him. and so it goes, ship after ship.

[ludalex]

3 hours ago, UKstages said:

a lot of folks rave about the beatles on NCL, but i've never thought any of the iterations i've seen have been very good. there is always at least one beatle who's awful. last year, on the joy, "paul" couldn't sing. seriously. any random person from the audience would have done a better job. but he looked a lot like him, which is why he was cast, i suppose. "john" had a terrific voice and was a good mimic, but looked nothing like him. and so it goes, ship after ship.

 

[ludalex]

Can’t speak about those other cover bands, but I know the Beatles material well, and these guys are good.  They don’t look like them much, but they can all sing, the music sounds right, and while there are false notes from time to time, they do well as a group.  I have attached an example — I hope it gets through.

[MKandA]

On 1/15/2024 at 8:57 PM, bottsjw said:

 

@ludalex The General Manager of the Joy confirmed that Starlink will be installed during the dry dock. In fact, most ships in the NCL fleet will have Starlink by end of 2024 and "all" by end of 2025.
The Starlink team is traveling with us and make prep work to have the system online for the return.

Also, access points for on-ship WiFi are being upgrade to improve coverage. Not aware of any additional cost once the link is upgraded. That's TBD.

 

As for the package, you will need the premium for VPN and streaming services. However, premium is NOT faster than basic, it simply unlocks those capabilities. I suggest using your free 150 mins for the first day, or as long as you can. The Internet package will drop progressively by $30 per day through day four. So long as you still have minutes in the free package you can then get the upgrade for unlimited access for the rest of the trip. DM me if you have questions.

 

Elements show,  Magician, Aerialists and Comedians will be with us on the return trip. They're all pretty good thus far.

Thank you for looking into this!  Do you feel confident that the install will be completed based on what the GM said?  We had a horrible experience on a TA on the Getaway with no internet for about half of the journey.  We work remotely, so not having internet was a big miss and we are hoping we don't have that issue this journey!  Thank you again for the information. 

[beachme26]

Is Meetup scheduled for Cruise critic on the Norwegian Joy leaving February 13 at of Southampton? my name is Sandie. Looking forward to meeting everyone 🌸🌸

[jsn55]

You want your Roll Call.  Scroll thru the CC home page to find the section for NCL Joy and you can join the group.  Great means of communicating and getting to know people before you start your cruise.  

[Turtles06]

3 hours ago, beachme26 said:

Is Meetup scheduled for Cruise critic on the Norwegian Joy leaving February 13 at of Southampton? my name is Sandie. Looking forward to meeting everyone 🌸🌸

As noted above, you need to post your question on the Roll Call for your cruise. Here’s it is: