coffeebean

On 1/3/2022 at 5:20 AM, craig01020 said:

I was on the Gem in October with no masks and it was wonderful...it felt like 2019!

 

I booked a Jan. 9 cruise on the Bliss back when NCL was promoting "no masks required". That policy wasn't changed until after final payment date, or I would've cancelled. I don't want FCC, so I'll just suck it up and wear a mask when I need to.   😷

 

I was on the Joy for a week, just before the mask requirement went into effect. When we disembarked, the next cruise had a mask mandate. Whew! We got that cruise in just under the wire. It was a great cruise (once we get our cabin issue straightened out). It did feel like cruising in 2019 with the exception of having to wear a mask in every port we visited and masks were required for outdoors too. We did not get off the ship. Been there. Done that. No masking needed to stay on the ship.

On 1/2/2022 at 8:59 PM, UKstages said:

i hope they don't lift the mask requirement.

 

covid, schmovid... i haven't had a cold in nearly two years!

I haven't had a cold in ..........I can't remember the last time I had a cold. Maybe 20 or 25 years ago but not sure. I don't need to wear a mask to keep me free of the common cold. My strong immune system takes care of it.

On 1/2/2022 at 7:34 PM, aubreyc1988 said:

 It's best to be respectful and follow the rules the cruiseline has in place. I would just plan on having a mask rule in place for your sail date. If that isn't something you can or want to follow, just cancel 🙂

I agree. This is why hubby and I will not be sailing on a cruise ship again until the mask requirement has been lifted. We are fully vaxxed and boosted and prefer not to wear a mask anywhere on the ships. Oh well......just may have to wait another year or two to cruise again.

On 1/2/2022 at 7:31 PM, DwayneG said:

If NCL rules say masks are required many on the cruise have chosen that cruise specifically because they expect those around them to be doing just that.  Since the rules are clearly spelled out and cancellations are offered it's probably best to choose another time if you don't want to wear one so that you don't offend others.  Kind of like the no smoking rule: lots of folks would RATHER smoke on their balconies or by the pool, but the rules say you can't do it so they don't (hopefully).  I personally feel pretty safe with my vaccine and booster because I'm pretty healthy, but I'll follow the rules to help protect those who might be more vulnerable.  Maybe some day this will all be over!

Those who are more vulnerable should wear only N95 or KN95 masks and wear them covering the nose and mouth. That is 95% protection. You can't ask for anything better than that. What I wear or don't wear should have no bearing on the protection people achieve if they wear those highly effective masks PROPERLY.

On 1/2/2022 at 7:18 PM, aubreyc1988 said:

Assume they will be strict and you will be fine. Think about the safety of our beloved crew members and fellow passengers ❤️  Happy Cruising! 

The crew wear KN95 masks and every one of them covers their nose and mouth with the mask. From what I saw on NCL Joy, there was 100% compliance with crew wearing their masks correctly. That should be enough protection for the crew.

False advertising? Is that the point the OP is trying to make?

8 hours ago, vacation44 said:

My 23 year old daughter got me off the should I or shouldn't I ledge this morning. She reminded me that I have a great Haven cabin with a double extended balcony that will be able to fit two loungers easily.   Then informed me I will be worried about it for the next five weeks and will then most likely stay awake during the cruise wondering if and when the vibration/noise will start.   

The vibration/noise started from the moment the ship left the dock We figured it would "simmer down" once we got underway. No such luck and the vibration/noise intensified when we tried to go to sleep.

On 1/6/2022 at 3:46 PM, Two Wheels Only said:

 

Even after seeing the video? Yes. I'm guessing that the vibrations are sporadic and not constant.

 

Ship movement doesn't bother me. I've stayed all the way forward, all the way up and forward, all the way aft, etc. and been able to sleep without a problem (PBP, thanks).

 

Knowing that some movement is normal also helps whereas someone not accustomed to movement/shimmy might be bothered more.

This is not "ship movement" we experienced on deck 14 in our aft facing balcony. It was CONSTANT teeth chattering body jolting vibration. We have cruised just over 50 times and many of our earlier cruises were in aft facing balconies. Some ships did have some vibration but nothing that would prevent us from sleeping. Joy, on the other hand, was vibrating so strongly, neither one of could not sleep and we did try for two hours before going to customer service for a cabin change.

On 1/6/2022 at 9:43 AM, aubreyc1988 said:

found this video, thanks to the creator. 

We took a video of our aft facing balcony cabin on Joy. We also filmed the shaking bottles on the counter top. I shudder to think how bad that experience was. We gave up that gorgeous aft facing view but it was worth it to be able to sleep.

On 1/5/2022 at 8:21 AM, vacation44 said:

Last month there were a lot of complaints regarding the Joy aft cabins with vibration issues.  Wondering if anyone has any recent experience with these cabins.   With the newest price drop for our sailing, I can upgrade our Haven Penthouse to an Aft for $200. 

I would not do it if I were you. This vibration in the aft is a known issue on Joy. We were moved to a cabin forward of the forward elevators and the ride there was smooth as silk. We took a walk to the back of the ship a few days after we were moved and the vibration was still very prominent. Walked back to our cabin and it was smooth as silk.

Don't do it.

As an aside........we were in an aft facing balcony three weeks prior on Serenade OTS. That cabin had absolutely no vibration and was quiet. NO COMPARISON to the vibration and creaking that was CONSTANT in the aft facing balcony on Joy on deck 14. We were told by customer service that there have been many complaints from passengers in the aft who demanded cabin changes on Joy.

On 12/25/2021 at 8:46 AM, Plum Happy said:

Is that why you are cruising?  The shows?  Not the get away from everything at home and chill?  No beds to be made, no food to prepare or the cleanup?  Tropical sun hitting your face or body?  Time away to read that book you always wanted?

 

The full production shows is why you chose to cruise?

There are two main reasons hubby and I cruise and they are #1 the food and #2 the entertainment, including the production shows. Being at sea is a huge bonus while enjoying the two main reasons we cruise.

We have completed two cruises post Covid, one on Serenade OTS and the second one on NCL Joy (last cruise before mask mandate was put in place) Whew!!!. We will not be cruising again until this pandemic is in our rear view mirror. We do not wish to have a diminished experience and that includes having to mask up indoors, missing ports and all the other issues cruise lines are dealing with right now.

3 hours ago, bkrickles1 said:

Thanks.

Now, I was just told that Footloose was cancelled.

Is that true? Were any other shows cancelled?

TIA

Oh, that is too bad about "Footloose" being cancelled. The show was great when we saw it on Joy the week of December 11th. There is a "Broadway Cabaret" show in one of the smaller venues which stars eight cast members (singers) from "Footloose". I believe it was in The Social Club. THAT show is fantastic. Hopefully, "Broadway Cabaret" will still be an option for you.

11 hours ago, Old & Retired said:

OP, for serious issues while you are on the ship, you don't need cruise critic.  You just need to contact the General Manager, formerly named Hotel Director.  The GM is where the buck stops.  If they can't or won't fix your issue, you are SOOL.

 

What he/she said.

8 hours ago, gmkgks said:

I agree with everything @Captain_Morgan said.  Currently on the Joy.  We just did RC Symphony a month ago.  Night and day difference. Everyone on NCL seems put-out.  We are calling it to the ship of “no” because that’s always the answer.  The ship is beautiful to look at but nothing runs smoothly (except my nail technician Tobey- she was awesome) and none of the cruise seem happy to be here. And don’t go on the Joy if you want to dance.  It’s like the Footloose of cruise ships. The ironic thing is that we are platinum, almost to the next level, on NCL and we are lower levels on RC, Celebrity, and Princess.  But we won’t cruise NCL again.  

We embarked on NCL Joy December 11 and disembarked on December 18. Just about everyone of the crew greeted us just about every time. I don't want to say every single time because no one would actually believe that but (honestly) it seemed to me like they gave us a big smile and a hello every single time we encountered them. So much that I began to think their jobs are on the line if they don't give everyone a big greeting. The Joy crew was one of the most friendly crew we have encountered on our 45 cruises.

As for dancing.......there was dancing in the atrium and other venues every night.

Seems like we are referencing different ships.

On 12/27/2021 at 12:25 PM, Captain_Morgan said:

I agree completely that other lines are fairing worse than NCL when it comes to masks, etc as evidenced by outbreaks across several RCCL ships!

 

The food overall was better than Princess, I absolutely agree there but it did seem a bit repetitive even on a short trip.  Presentation was much better but the ‘nickel and dimeing’ with so many ala carte restaurants was a bit off putting.  Moderna was alright but as mentioned the crew didn’t seem to want to be there which puts a damper on what should have been an enjoyable experience.  We ate in Moderna, the buffet, Ocean Blue, and had snacks in O’Sheahans (sp?).  We wanted to try Teppanyaki but couldn’t get a good time and the idea of sitting near nose to nose with someone in the noodle bar was not appealing.  
 

As for the security guard, the issue was less with their presence and more about the way they ‘greeted’ us after being sent to the wrong door in the first place and an obvious lack of visible signage.  I know it’s a thankless job at the best of times but barking at people who are about to start a vacation isn’t necessary. 

After reading Moderna several times by more than one poster I feel it necessary to offer the correct name for the specialty restaurant......

Moderna is a Covid vaccine.

Moderno is the Brazilian Steakhouse specialty restaurant on NCL ships.

Thank you.

3 hours ago, gmkgks said:

OP here to report on the solution plus lots of good information we got from the assistant hotel manager and the guest he was speaking to prior to us.  

While in hour two of our wait for a manager I started hovering over the conversation he was having with another guest. He went to make a quick call before he spoke to us and I spoke to the prior complaining guest. Peggy from Windermere, Florida, if you are on here, THANK YOU for sharing your experience with me.  Talking with you was the best part of my cruise so far. It really helped to know we weren’t the only ones having these issues!!!

 

She too had an issue where she was not getting AC in her room.  I heard the manager tell her, and she confirmed he told her, not to push the down buttons on the register, as it makes the AC lock up.  ???  That’s crazy.  
 

She also said that she booked a massage and it was so loud under the gym that they comped her massage.  I did let her know that the nail part of the spa was quiet. It sounds like this is also a known problem.  I’m happy to know this as I was planning to do a massage but I won’t. 
 

She also mentioned that she was told she could use the beach club for free, but later told she’d need to pay for it and when she asked to have it charged to her room she was told she could not and would have to go to guest services to pay for it.  They eventually comped this for her as well.  
 

I assume that they also changed her room. I did not specifically ask this.  
 

I do know on day 2 they offered to let us use the inside cabin across the hall (both directly across from us were available) as a sleeping room and we declined because we all wanted to be together and they had promised to fix the AC and banging, plus I wanted to make sure my daughter was with me.  I was willing to live with the rollaway bed.  
 

Today we agreed to take that but it was no longer available. Both were full of people that were moved.  Luckily the ship isn’t at full capacity but it’s very concerning that that many people felt they needed to move. These cabins were small insides so I doubt anyone moving into them felt like they got a better cabin. I assumed they moved for a functional cabin. 
 

You all gave me the best advice.  Once I got ahold of the assistant hotel manager (white uniform with stripes on the shoulders) he suddenly found another cabin that fit the three of us and allowed us to keep the other cabin for the adult male.  It’s not a perfect solution, as we all wanted to be together, but I get think it’s very fair.  I’m happy to also keep the original room so I’m not spending the entire day moving all of our stuff. The second room is a large inside and already I can tell the AC works and no banging.  It’s not in a great location, traffic wise, and I worry about there being noise from people walking by, but I’m going to try to be positive and hopeful (even though I’m exhausted by this whole process.)  In the end I think now they’ve done the best that they could. I just wish they’d done the right thing originally since it sounds like both my main complainants were things they were aware of for those rooms.  Next time I need help I’ll turn to Cruise Critic sooner. Thank you.  
 

Also, since someone asked, there was no Pullman in the original cabin. I’m also

happy to answer any other questions people  have. 

My understanding of the "compromise" by NCL is the adult male is still having A/C issues and banging in the original cabin. How is that acceptable?

When we were moved to a more "livable cabin" on Joy, all our belongings were moved by a cabin steward, including taking all the hanging clothes in the closet and transporting them hanging up on a transport cart. I did pack up all the folded clothing and all of our other belongings but the luggage was transported on this large cart by the cabin steward. It only took about an hour out of our day to move and settle in the new and improved cabin.

2 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

Skip the guest services and go directly to the General Manager for resolution. 

That is exactly what hubby and I did when we had an extremely bad vibration issue in an aft facing balcony cabin on Joy. The Joy has issues as we were also told the severe vibration was a "known issue". Our cabin was changed to a mini suite far forward but we gave up that gorgeous aft facing view. Worth it to be able to sleep at night.

18 hours ago, jeremybe said:

THE STRONG NEGATIVE: VIBRATION IN AFT OF SHIP - I had a Haven Aft balcony cabin -  After leaving Miami on the first night we were woken up to the most intense vibration I have ever felt in my life  - The room was unusable - Between the vibration, the noise from everything rattling etc it was the worst cruise experience of my life (I've been on 30 or more cruises) - 3:30 in the morning I was at Guest Services were I was given a second "sleeping room" - On day 2 we complained to the Concierge about the tiny room we were given and we were then moved to a Haven Balcony room to sleep in - SO we had two rooms for the cruise - Unfortunately the 2 bathroom 1 1/2 Bedroom suite we paid for was unusable - Speaking to our Cabin Steward, she told us that most passengers in the aft of the ship had moved out of the aft - She also mentioned that this had been going on with ALL cruises since the Joy entered service. In addition, she said that in all of her years of cruising she has never felt anything like this.

 

At this point in time, if you are booking a cruise on the JOY - I would avoid at least the last 10 aft cabins on the ship on all decks - Also know that if you plan on going to the specialty restaurants in the aft of the ship it will potentially be uncomfortable due to vibration
 

I plan on contacting NCL on Monday to discuss the issues I had - The cabins on the aft of this ship should not be sold - The JOY has an issue - A Bad propeller, stabilizer - Who knows - But it definitely ruined what would have been a great vacation

Your experience in an aft cabin is exactly what we experienced. Hubby and I had an aft facing balcony cabin on deck 14, embarked December 11, 2021. That gorgeous view was not worth the amount of vibration, shuttering and creaking we experienced in the cabin. Just as you did, we wound up at customer service at 1:00 in the morning requesting a cabin just to sleep in for the night. We had tried to sleep for two hours but to no avail.

As an aside......three weeks prior to our NCL Joy cruise, we cruised on Royal's Serenade OTS in an aft facing balcony cabin. That entire four day cruise was smooth as silk so we were gob smacked with what we experienced on the Joy.

Back to customer service...........we were given a balcony cabin on deck 14 just forward of the aft elevators. There was still a considerable vibration in that cabin so.......off to customer service we went. We did, however, walk deck 14 all the way forward to see if there was vibration there. The further forward we walked, the vibration was less and less. We requested a cabin as far forward as possible and we were given a cabin several cabins forward of the forward elevators. Needless to say, that cabin was smooth as silk. So.....by 3:00 am we were settled for the night and got some sleep

The next morning, we took a walk from our smooth as silk cabin to the vibrating aft facing cabin we had all our belongings in. I told my husband I will not spend one more night in that aft facing cabin. So........... we spoke to a manager about changing our cabin permanently. We were given a mini suite on a lower deck but very far forward which was fine with us. It was a "wash" that our cabin was upgraded but we lost the aft facing view. We were happy campers with what NCL did for us.

Agree, there is certainly something wrong with Joy for the aft to have such severe vibration. Yes, we did experience the vibration in Cagney's and Le Bistro but we didn't have to sleep there. LOL.

17 hours ago, billslowsky said:

 

This is what you said, and it's rubbish:

"The Omicron variant, from what has been reported in all news outlets is that it is extremely transmissible but does not produce illness and people are not being hospitalized."

 

People are not being hospitalized?  FALSE

Does not produce illness?  FALSE

What has been reported in all news outlets?  FALSE

I revised what posted about Omicron. Did you not see that post?

5 hours ago, bkrickles1 said:

Please keep my thread on topic. 

TIA

OK....I'll revise what I said.

The Omicron variant is more transmissible but is not nearly as deadly as previous variants and does cause nearly as many hospitalizations.

EDIT:  I just realized I quoted the wrong post. I didn't mean to reply to this post. I meant to reply to the poster who said I posted "rubbish" regarding the Omicron variant. Sorry about that.

6 hours ago, billslowsky said:

I guess those numerous articles about hospitalizations are just someone else's opinion too.

 

 

I'm hearing just the opposite actually, I have yet to hear that Omicron is causing hospitals to be overwhelmed. That was the Delta variant that most recently overwhelmed hospitals. This Omicron variant is highly transmissible but not getting people sick as a general rule. This is being reported by MSM. There is no need to be super concerned with this variant, IMHO. Actually, I'm glad this Covid virus is mutating to keep itself alive and also to keep its hosts alive too.

14 hours ago, Reese15233 said:

The only time we really worried about masks on a Jade cruise last month was while interacting with others. Norwegian obviously has a vested interest in keeping their crew (and passengers) healthy. We would definitely put our masks up anytime we were speaking with staff, ordering etc. We also put them up when walking around indoors, if others were around but given the low capacity it wasn't always necessary.

We were boosted 2 weeks before the cruise and given the lack of social distancing on excursions, tenders etc. it was a comfort particularly as news of omicron broke. Even if the cruise lines weren't requiring them at this point I would mask for my own benefit. Unfortunately, I think they are just a part of our reality for the foreseeable future.

The Omicron variant, from what has been reported in all news outlets is that it is extremely transmissible but does not produce illness and people are not being hospitalized. I know this is very premature with more data to come about this variant, but I'm going out on a limb here to say I think Omicron is the best thing that has happened since the beginning of this pandemic. This variant is no more than a common cold and is stamping out Delta in the US.

Just today Omicron is 73% of cases and Delta is the balance. In another two or three weeks, Delta will probably be non existent. Let Omicron sweep the nation and we will certainly be able to achieve herd immunity and not overwhelm our health care system like other variants have done.

Hopefully, (fingers, toes and eyes crossed), Omicron turns out to be the big "nothing burger" that I have heard it is. All my opinion.

2 hours ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

I hate the port testing.  When I get on the plane, I want to know that I'm getting on the ship.

We did an at home test just for peace of mind and we drove to the port on our recent Joy cruise.

8 hours ago, quillwercruisers said:

Unfortunately times keep changing.  As of right now the mask policy was only for sailings through 12/19.  Don't know what the future is going to be or what the policy will be.  Just have to relax and enjoy it even if masks have to be worn.  We cruise in 1/8, and there is the possibility that it will be extended, but I'm not going to let it ruin my cruise.

We embarked on Joy December 11 and disembarked on December 18. There was no requirement of masking anywhere on the ship that week. The masking requirement started with the cruise that embarked when we got off the ship. We just missed that new protocol and I'm sooooooo glad we did.

Just off Joy 12/ 18. The process of testing at the pier was genius. CVS and NCL did a fantastic job of getting the job done efficiently and in a very timely manner. I was very impressed.