*LIVE* NCL Joy 3/9 - 3/16

[SliderNc]

2 hours ago, princevaliantus said:

Is this the UNLIMITED WI-FI PACKAGE or the UNLIMITED PREMIUM WI-FI PACKAGE??

I have the unlimited non-streaming  package.  I only need emails and some chat capabilities while I’m away.  If I find someone with the streaming package I’ll see if I can get them to give me a screen grab.  

[SliderNc]

13 hours ago, Pitzel said:

We will be sailing in an HI cabin on our next cruise. Would it be possible for you to snap a pic of what the second bed looks like when it is all made up? I am also curious to hear what your daughter thinks of that bed. Is it comfy? Is it big enough?

Thanks!

Here you go.  My daughter who is 11 and a terrible sleeper said it was fine.  I don’t think the mattress is that thick but she said she slept well.  

[SliderNc]

Been a long day.  I ate something that really threw my stomach off and spent most of the day in the room minus a few minutes with the fam at the go-kart track.  Finally felt good enough to eat some dinner.  Sorry for the lack of live reporting today but I didn’t think you wanted to hear about the movies I watched.  
 

 

[detroitlions]

18 hours ago, SliderNc said:

Here you go.  My daughter who is 11 and a terrible sleeper said it was fine.  I don’t think the mattress is that thick but she said she slept well.  

 

8 hours ago, SliderNc said:

Been a long day.  I ate something that really threw my stomach off and spent most of the day in the room minus a few minutes with the fam at the go-kart track.  Finally felt good enough to eat some dinner.  Sorry for the lack of live reporting today but I didn’t think you wanted to hear about the movies I watched.  
 

 

 

18 hours ago, SliderNc said:

Here you go.  My daughter who is 11 and a terrible sleeper said it was fine.  I don’t think the mattress is that thick but she said she slept well.  

 

[detroitlions]

I think folks hope the second bed can fit a adult in them. And I know I would not be getting much sleep in the couch bed or those beds that come down from the wall.

[cruiseny4life]

On 3/9/2024 at 10:51 AM, SliderNc said:

Ooooooo....did fake security not scream at you and wave their arms at you for taking this photo? I just laughed and gave them a thumbs up when I did. Like I care what they think. 

[detroitlions]

1 hour ago, cruiseny4life said:

Ooooooo....did fake security not scream at you and wave their arms at you for taking this photo? I just laughed and gave them a thumbs up when I did. Like I care what they think. 

Never understood why they would care if you took a photo.

And I am sure some smart arse on here will chime in and give some squeeze bag reason.

[SliderNc]

10 hours ago, detroitlions said:

I think folks hope the second bed can fit an adult in them. And I know I would not be getting much sleep in the couch bed or those beds that come down from the wall.

For the record my daughter is 5’2” and about 110 lbs and fits okay.  I don’t think I would make it on there at 6’2” and 300 lbs.  We would probably get a different room next time even though she likes this bed. 

[SliderNc]

Back to normal and had a great day in Roatan.  Let’s go back to last night and talk about what we did.  
 

So I finally felt better last night after a nap and some advil.  I don’t know what it was but it came and went quickly.   We got dressed for the Captain’s cocktail party at 6pm and headed to the Horizon lounge. It was nice and we said hi to everyone and then headed to the concierge for our Elements at 7PM. 
 

We got escorted down and got some good seats for the show.  Since they removed Footloose this is the only true production on the ship now.  Overall it was good but I wouldn’t go back and see it again.  I think the best part was the acrobatic couple and they were amazing.  
 

After that we headed up to the Haven restaurant for dinner and called it a night as we had a big day in Roatan.  

 

[Pitzel]

1 hour ago, SliderNc said:

For the record my daughter is 5’2” and about 110 lbs and fits okay.  I don’t think I would make it on there at 6’2” and 300 lbs.  We would probably get a different room next time even though she likes this bed. 

My 14 yo is on the smaller side, so the bed should be just fine. I am curious -- what room would you want to get next time instead of the HI? 

[ChiefMateJRK]

Have you had a chance to visit the (recently butchered) OL?  If so, please snap us a photo or two of anything left of the Port side.  Thanks.

[dcu]

Wondering if there is a comedian in the main theater and if yes - which nights? Thanks! 

[SliderNc]

13 hours ago, Pitzel said:

My 14 yo is on the smaller side, so the bed should be just fine. I am curious -- what room would you want to get next time instead of the HI? 

Forward or Aft facing Haven Suite so my wife and I can have some privacy and so can she.  

[Pitzel]

2 hours ago, SliderNc said:

Forward or Aft facing Haven Suite so my wife and I can have some privacy and so can she.  

We have stayed in the Forward Suite on the Bliss, but never the Aft suites. Having two separate spaces and a door definitely helps!

[joestein514]

Can you tell me who is performing in the District in the evenings?

 

Also.. could you please post a copy of a daily.

[SliderNc]

I’ll post dailies when I get home.  I’ll see if I can find out who is performing in the district as well.   
 

I suck as a live poster.   Couple of posts coming up shortly as we just got back from our day in Costa Maya.  

[cruiseny4life]

YAY! You're still with us! 

[SliderNc]

So having way too much fun with my daughter on her first real cruise and having a hard time keeping up here.  

Let us start with day two in Roatan.  
 

This is our second time doing this itinerary but first time on Joy.  Last time we booked with Daniel Johnson for our excursion and had a blast.   We decided to do that same but a different excursion with snorkeling and a beach break added in.  Early breakfast in the Haven and my daughter is being well taken care of by the staff.  They know her by name and her order for breakfast.   My wife and I are just amazed at how well they are taking care of us.  Head out via the Haven priority elevators and we are off the ship by 10am.  I think we also arrived and were tied up early.  
 

If you book with NCL excursions you don’t really leave the port except by your bus or van.  For independently booked ones you need to leave the port following your way out past all the vendors and other tour companies.  It’s not a long walk from the ship at all and once out most vendors have a sign.  What I like about Daniel Johnson’s is that for families of 3 or 4 they get you a private car.  Trent was our driver and he took great care of us.

 

First stop was the sanctuary where we got to hang out with sloths, monkeys and macaws.  Then we snorkeled off Little French Key for about an hour.  Then we had a beach break. 
 

Overall I would do this excursion again as it was priced well and the staff was great.  
 

Back to the ship and we did a little shopping in port and my daughter got her hair braided.  Priority embarkation was awesome because there was quite a line waiting to get back onto the ship. 
 

Dinner at Cagney’s was good overall.  My wife had the lamb chops, my daughter had the filet and I had the ribeye.  All were cooked well to our liking and we are picky about our meat temps.  I enjoyed the shrimp cocktail but they were definitely smaller than the one I had in 2017.  
 

We hit the bed early for our next day in Harvest Caye.  
 

[SliderNc]

Before rumors start flying as to why we aren’t moving the captain said they need to recalibrate our positioning system for when they are stationary without an anchor.  The process takes five hours and we will be in Cozumel on time.  
 

[Travelicious]

Love the photo of the monkey leaping onto your wife's head!

[cincicruisers]

Following ..  thanks for sharing

[SliderNc]

Tuesday at Harvest Caye was nice and we had a good time.  My wife and daughter did the zip line tour and had a great time going over the beach in the prone position.  They said it was very well done and would do it again

 

 

Breakfast was in the Haven Restaurant and dinner was at Ocean Blue.   While people rave about it I found it to be okay.   There was nothing really special about the menu and while my wife’s lobster looked good ($25 up charge) my cod was okay and my daughter’s chicken was over cooked and tough.   I don’t think we’d go back there again.  
 

A couple of notes for those who have asked:

 

The District didn’t have any music posted but there are some in the dailies which I will post when we get back home.

 

Definitely missing the broadway style shows.  We were a big fan of them on previous cruises.  
 

My daughter has been on the go carts a number of times and really enjoys them.  There has never been a wait and there is a separate line for Haven guests.   I don’t know if that is why but I’m okay with it.  The staff there has been great and to be honest I’m scared at how good my daughter has gotten in the few times she’s driven them.  Her only other driving experience has been the Tomorrowland Speedway at Disney.  

 

 

[SliderNc]

I’m going to bring something up that my wife and I have been debating the past few days about the Haven and the pool area.   Having a generally well behaved kid who is respectful and polite most of the time (she knows the fear of my wife and myself if she isn’t) there has been a lot of tension and issues with kids in the Haven.

 

On our first sea day I apparently missed an altercation between an older couple and a family with some kids.  It carried on through parts of the day even into the evening when they were going at it in the lounge.  To be honest both sides of this were making themselves look bad in public in my opinion and it was a shame.  We have all paid good money to be in here and all should try to get along.  I don’t how to fix the amount of kids who were doing things or rough housing to make everyone happy here but you can tell some folks without kids were  definitely not amused with the amount of rough housing or ball throwing going on.  
 

Interestingly enough a member of the cruise staff and hotel staff came by while we were having pre-dinner cocktails to ask us about our cruise so far (this was Sunday night) which was a bit abnormal and I think in response to what had happened.  The only thing we said was maybe have some quiet hours in the Haven so that adults could use the hot tub in the Haven instead of boiling up on deck. 
 

I think this will be a problem for future cruises with lots of kids or during Spring Break.  It didn’t bother us at all but I could see a lot of people who were. 

[cruiseny4life]

I think the older couple needs to find themselves to a different cruise line, like Viking where kids aren't allowed. Have I seen kids misbehave in the Haven? A couple times. Have I whined about crying kids in the Haven Restaurant? Yep! But, at the end of the day, the Haven is a family-friendly luxury cruise area. 

 

I've seen far more adults misbehave, treat crew poorly, and whine about stupid things, like the length of time it took a hostess to retrieve milk from the kitchen (it was less than two minutes, btw). 

 

And, I've seen plenty of kids enjoying a hot tub. They've even joined me when I was already in the hot tub. They were polite. Held decent conversation, and seemed to be enjoying their cruise. Entitled people that dislike/don't want kids "ruining" their cruise need to go elsewhere. They are the problem. Not the kids. 

[joestein514]

35 minutes ago, cruiseny4life said:

I think the older couple needs to find themselves to a different cruise line, like Viking where kids aren't allowed. Have I seen kids misbehave in the Haven? A couple times. Have I whined about crying kids in the Haven Restaurant? Yep! But, at the end of the day, the Haven is a family-friendly luxury cruise area. 

 

I've seen far more adults misbehave, treat crew poorly, and whine about stupid things, like the length of time it took a hostess to retrieve milk from the kitchen (it was less than two minutes, btw). 

 

And, I've seen plenty of kids enjoying a hot tub. They've even joined me when I was already in the hot tub. They were polite. Held decent conversation, and seemed to be enjoying their cruise. Entitled people that dislike/don't want kids "ruining" their cruise need to go elsewhere. They are the problem. Not the kids. 

 

I dont think that is fair, unless you are there and see what is going on.   Some kids can be well behaved and some kids are a real disturbance.

 

The Haven is a premium upscale area, first class really, and I would expect anyone there, including children, to behave.  Doesn't mean they can't have fun, but they can't disturb the others that are there.  If they want to be wild, that is what the kids clubs or the kids pool are for.    No different than going out to eat at a nice place and someone lets their kids run around.    My kids are now 21, but rest assure, I put the fear of god into them about their public behavior. 

 

This does not mean that Adults have an excuse to behave poorly or rudely.   People who treat others like servants, rather than people who are serving them are horrible.  I would never speak down to a crew member, as I try to treat others with the same respect I would like to be treated with.