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onebzyldy

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    Just off the Joy – 7/30 to 8/6 – All is well

    in Norwegian Cruise Line

    Posted

    On 8/7/2023 at 11:24 AM, NewPennCruiser said:

     

    There have been a few great reviews and threads recently about the Joy and its Bermuda run, especially those from Dorhead1230 and T Byrd.  Thank you both for some great advice before we sailed!   In any case I thought I would also put a quick review out there that might help some folks who are similar to us. We have cruised a lot but NCL is usually not our first cruise line of choice.  We also prefer smaller ships and tend to cruise off season.  So why did we decide to cruise with a full mega ship with 4,000+ passengers in the middle of summer vacation season?  Call us adventuresome I suppose.  Plus things have just settled after a long period of elder care activity and I just needed to get away.

     

    We last cruised in February of 2020 and it’s our first time back on NCL in 10 years.  And as I previously mentioned we have never been on a ship this large and usually don’t cruise in the middle of summer.  And if you look at my cruise history you’ll see I’ve cruised more with the Del Boca Vista crowd than with a ship full of kids.

     

    Embarkation was a breeze.  We usually fly in 1 to 2 days before a cruise but chose to just fly in early morning on Sunday since it was a short direct flight in July.  What could go wrong?  Well there is always a chance that something could go wrong but everything was fine.  No smoke, no storms, flight was actually 20 minutes early.  We were using the NCL airport transfer so we got our luggage around 10:30, met the NCL rep and transferred to the pier by about Noon. We never feel like we need to be the first person on the ship and maybe missed the early crowd, but we were checked in and walked right on the ship in 20 minutes.  We immediately completed our emuster checkin, dropped our hand bags off at luggage hold in “Q” and wandered off to lunch.  We didn’t feel like dragging our bags around all afternoon so thanks to others for giving us a heads up that you could drop off luggage.  NCL really doesn’t advertise that.  At least we didn’t see anything.  We were having a relaxing lunch in Taste at 12:45.  Nice way to start a vacation.  After lunch we just relaxed in the OL with a few drinks and the “all rooms are ready” message finally came at about 3:45.  Some floors were ready before that..  

     

    Food can be very subjective so I’ll just say we were very happy with everything.  We had FAS so dined in Q and Le Bistro as far as specialty restaurants and ate most of our other meals in Taste, Savor or Local.  We really loved all the options for breakfast and the fact that there are various complementary dining rooms available for dinner.  A lot of the time lunch for us was spent in the Observation Lounge when they put out snacks at 2:30.  We for the most part didn’t eat in the Garden Café and I had seen a lot of comments before our cruise about the operating hours.  Breakfast was available there until 10:30 every day and I had seen comments on the boards here previously that it was only open until 9:30.  Most complaints I heard from others walking around were about the buffet lunch hours.  People complained that it closed at 3:00 for lunch.  We typically had lunch in Taste or the OL so it didn’t affect us.  We did notice the OL would get really crowded after 3:00 with folks looking for food.  As far as complimentary dining vs specialty?  We enjoyed our dinners in Q and Le Bistro, Le Bistro probably our best meal of the week, but dining in Taste and Savoy were all very good and we didn’t feel like we were missing anything.  Yes they repeated some things on the menu, but we always found something that sounded interesting on any given day.  I do have a hard time figuring out what NCL should do with the American Diner.  We did eat breakfast there once, but they charge for lunch and not open for dinner?   It’s wasted space.  Offering breakfast was nice but they really should just turn this into a complimentary burger joint, the kids would love it.  Plus it is for the most part an outdoor dining venue and when we had breakfast there it was really hot and humid.  The food was ok, but we couldn’t wait to get out of there.  We had breakfast in Taste or Local all other mornings.   It was also nice that you could have a sit down breakfast on the morning of disembarkation.  Taste and Savoy were both open and it was a pleasant way to end the cruise.

     

    As far as the ship goes, we loved it and maybe surprised ourselves.  We really thought it was designed well so that you can go off into different areas and separate yourself from the masses if you want to.  We’re not pool deck people and just ventured out there once to see the wall to wall loungers on a sunny day and we quickly retreated to the Waterfront area, H2O or various bars or the Observation Lounge.   The ship is beautiful and I can only imagine its sister ships are just as nice or nicer.   We have cruised Princess more than any other line and are not fans of their new ship builds.  They are still smaller than the Joy but they are more inward designed ships vs outward like the Joy (ie: Waterfront) and they just feel crowded.  Other than embarkation day we did not feel crowded all week.

     

    We enjoy musical acts more than big production shows and really liked that there were various venues featuring live music throughout the week.  Everyone was very good and we especially enjoyed the Beatles shows.  Thanks to previous advice we watched all the Cavern Club shows from the Waterfront bar with the TV monitor above the bar.  A relaxing way to enjoy good music without being cramped inside.

     

    The only annoyance we had was with the forward bank of elevators.  They were usually in a state of chaos and despite the fact that we had a forward balcony on deck 12, we found ourselves walking to the aft elevators when we needed to go somewhere.  They were always less crowded.  With the OL, Haven, buffet, theater, etc all forward, the forward elevators are just naturally the most used.  And don’t get me started on elevator etiquette.  Wow, I thought maybe the groups of kids would be the most annoying, playing around on the elevators but we didn’t see that.  It was the adults.  And this was certainly not everyone but there was a fair share of people who would get on the elevators and not move back.  So when the door opened they would just scowl at you and not move even though there was room behind them.  We laughed when we got on an elevator with a group of 12-13 year olds toward the end of the cruise and they were even complaining about that.  I really felt sorry for folks who had walkers and scooters.  We often held elevators for those folks so they could get places and then we would wait for the next one.  That said there were a lot of funny moments with people who seemed to like the challenge to see how many people could actually get on the elevator and then we’d all laugh about it after the door closed.  The elevators are actually quite large and even though some folks have elevator phobias or maybe even are claustrophobic, it would be nice if folks would just relax, get a grip and be kind about it. 

     

    And finally I have to shout out to the crew.  It was probably the most engaging and friendly crew we have ever had the pleasure of sailing with.  They were all amazing and so many of them really seemed like they were having fun despite the hard work and long days.  I came away remembering more names than I ever have, Joanna, Maribel, Santan, Nelda, Oliver, James, Chris, Mervin, Eddie, to just name a few.   Note to T Byrd if you read this, Joanna was promoted to bartender and starts working in the Atrium Bar this week.

     

    Anyway I guess that’s about it.  Disembarkation was easy and trouble free.  I wish other ports were this easy!   If you read this all the way through I hope I helped in some way.  Despite some reservations and wondering if we really should have booked this cruise, we loved it and booked a future cruise on the same ship.  If you have any questions, feel free to ask and I’ll try to answer them.

     

    Happy Sailing everyone.    Dave

    Thank you for a great review. Cruising on JOY in September, Canada/New England out of Quebec City. Just a quick question. What is the “Q” and what does FAS stand for?

     

    Live from the Seaside April 7, 2018

    in MSC Cruises

    Posted · Edited by onebzyldy

    Just booked this cruise for September. Thank you for the fabulous review so far and wonderful photos!! We have the Drinks On Us package included with our booking and we're happy about that :) since we are pop, juice & water drinkers. LOL Thank you so much for all the laughs, look forward to more smiles as the week goes on. Have fun!

    PS. Hubby has a couple questions. Any idea what is on deck 4? We are booked in OV on Deck 5 so we are curious if it is the crew cabins

    ? Also, any idea how many slots machines are in the casino and is it a busy place? Thanx a bunch ;)

    Smooth Sailing,

    DonnaF :D

    Need NCL upper management names/phone#s

    in Norwegian Cruise Line

    Posted

    THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU ALL!!!

    I really appreciate all your responses.

    We are considering sending a letter in the 'mail'

    Issue is simply that we were told that we could use 2 of our next cruise credits when we purchased them

    and now when I am booking I am told we cannot.

    Very frustrating since when we purchased on board the GEM last year this fact seemed to be a selling feature.

    You know the old saying, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is :(

    We are still going to look into this further and keep our fingers crossed.

    Customer service on all NCL ships in our opinion has always been outstanding, not so much at the call centre IMO

    We love to cruise on NCL and are platinum status with them.

    Smooth sailing everyone ☼

    DonnaF :D

    Need NCL upper management names/phone#s

    in Norwegian Cruise Line

    Posted

    You do understand that every email/mail item sent to C-Suite staff that is not expected is just bounced back to customer service, right?

     

    Depending on the issue, your better approach is to identify a specific department head related to the issue and attempt to contact them.

     

    But how do I get a specific department heads name and contact info?

    Need NCL upper management names/phone#s

    in Norwegian Cruise Line

    Posted

    We are having an issue with some Future Cruise Credits that we have with NCL and would like to correspond or speak to someone higher than our PCC regarding this situation. We have spoken with customer service and cruise next department with no satisfaction :(

    Does anyone have names, phone #s or emails we could use?

    Thanx in advance!

    DonnaF :D

    Upgrade offer, first Oceania cruise

    in Oceania Cruises

    Posted

    We have received an offer today for an upgrade to a Conceirge Veranda Stateroom [presently booked in a Veranda Stateoom B3 with a larger balcony on deck 7]

    They are offering an upgrade to A3 for $100pp A2 for $150pp or A1 for $200pp

    Can anyone tell me if this is a fabulous deal and if it is worth us changing?

    We will be first time cruisers with Oceania. Although we have cruised 24 times.

    We've cruised on Princess, NCL, RCCL, Hal, Costa and Carnival.

    Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

    Thank you in advance.

    DonnaF :)

     

    We've decided to keep our original B3 cabin.

    Appreciate all the input. We agree that this offer is not an *upgrade* but an upsell.

    We don't want to give up our extended balcony 😎

    Thank you again to all that responded to my post.

    DonnaF 😁

    Upgrade offer, first Oceania cruise

    in Oceania Cruises

    Posted

    We have received an offer today for an upgrade to a Conceirge Veranda Stateroom [presently booked in a Veranda Stateoom B3 with a larger balcony on deck 7]

    They are offering an upgrade to A3 for $100pp A2 for $150pp or A1 for $200pp

    Can anyone tell me if this is a fabulous deal and if it is worth us changing?

    We will be first time cruisers with Oceania. Although we have cruised 24 times.

    We've cruised on Princess, NCL, RCCL, Hal, Costa and Carnival.

    Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

    Thank you in advance.

    DonnaF :)

    Riviera Review ~ 2/22 to 3/3/2016

    in Oceania Cruises

    Posted

    Heather, were the shows at a standard time every evening? Just wondering what time to book reservations in the specialty restaurants so we don't miss the evening entertainment.

    Also thank you for a great review, interesting read and great info shared. Loved your positive attitude ;) We are first timers on Oceania and are really looking forward to this cruise!

    DonnaF :)

    Hotel in Boston

    in East Coast Departures

    Posted

    Thanx again, I will check out Hotwire.

    So downtown wb easily accessible from any of these locations?

    What would you recommend that we 'tourists' do for half a day in Boston ?

     

    Happy cruising.....

     

    DonnaF 😀

    Hotel in Boston

    in East Coast Departures

    Posted

    Thanx for that info

    I have checked all of those locations, couldn't find one less than $200? Where did you get this quote? Still checking. Not sure what we will do. Will do a bit more research.

    Thanx again!!

    Happy Cruising.......

    DonnaF :D

    Hotel in Boston

    in East Coast Departures

    Posted

    We are also considering a cruise out of Boston, Aug 8. Maybe flying in Aug 6th and spending 2 nights in Boston. We are still undecided wanting to learn about hotel costs,things to do and see, cab costs, distance to port from hotel, where to stay - downtown or ? etc etc.

    Any help would be greatly appreciated :)

     

    Happy Cruising.

     

    DonnaF :D

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