Barb Nahoumi

If they come too late in the day, we can straighten the bed ourselves. What we really want them to do is the bathroom, leave clean towels, and the Daily.

On NCL, you have the option to dine in the Main dining room for lunch on embarkation day, which eliminates the need for going to the crowded buffet with your carry-on, and hunting for a vacant table. I didn't notice that option on RCCL. I thought that our Oceanview cabin on RCCL was a bit larger on Explorer, and they had a designated movie venue onboard along with a skating rink. My husband and I enjoyed the movies and the ice show. On most NCL ships, movies are shown in the atrium, and noise from passersby is distracting. The food on NCL is very good.

Madeira is a beautiful island. My husband and I went there by plane and spent 10 days. Very much worth a visit.

Me too. I don't want to bother with my phone.

When I was in High School, I worked part-time for a local department store. They paid us in cash, and we'd find $2.00 bills in our pay envelopes.

We received an email telling us that our port stop in Virginia was canceled and we will have a sea day instead. This is for a cruise on the Joy in August.

Those beds may be open for your entire cruise.

Wow!!!!! Cunard is less than NCL.

I forgot to add that the free breakfasts and coffee were still included.

We stayed in a local hotel this summer, while work was being done on our home. There was no housekeeping services in our room, so we asked the front desk for a supply of fresh towels which they gave us to carry upstairs. When our wastebaskets were full, we were told to put them in the hall, and someone will take care of it. They did empty them. We made our own bed, but we do that at home anyway.

Thank you for your positive review of the Joy. We look forwarding to being aboard for a 10 day cruise in August. The Joy has been featured on the Smithsonian Channel's "Mighty Cruise Ships<" so we got a nice glimpse of her and her crew. We have cruised with NCL many times, and are platinum members, but only on the Jewel class ships.

I don't care about the elimination of the PM Turn-down service. We can turn down our own bed, but I am upset that NCL announced a hike in the DSC, followed by a service cut. We prepaid our DSC, so the up-charge won't affect us now. People will be lined up at Guest Services, asking to reduce their DSC payment.

That can happen. We stayed in a hotel recently, and when our basket needed emptying, we were told to put it in the hall. Eventually, a housekeeping person came to take care of it.

Does anyone know if Project Runway will come back? I hope that it does.

Check with your cruise line, but NCL allows jeans in the MDR now, while they didn't in the past.

I wear dressy sandals or flats in the evening. Never with heels. If I wear a dress, which is not to often, I'll wear pantyhose.

Thank you. We'll be on the Joy next summer, for our first cruise on a mega ship. Our other cruises were always on the Jewel class mid sized ships.

When you enter the MDR or any other restaurant, they ask for your cabin number and enter it in a computer. So they do have a tally of how many people are in that restaurant along with table numbers. NCL probably has an idea of how many people the waiter served.

I'm glad that we prepaid.

I wonder how close the Marriot Marquis is to Penn Station and the Piers.

Whichever hotel you choose, be sure to inquire about extra "Resort Fees." You don't want to get unwanted surprises at checkout.

Thank you.

Late August of 2023. Thank You.

Hi We will be traveling into New York by Amtrak, one day before our cruise on the Joy. Can anyone recommend a reasonably priced hotel not far from the pier? Thank you.

They may be available in the ship's gift shop.