Mike A

We did the Jewel the 1st week in January in 2012. On the day we sailed it hit 72 degrees and the CD set up an impromptu sail away party. The warm weather continued all the way to Port Canaveral. On the way back to NY it was warm until 3:00 PM the last sea day when the temperature dropped by 30+ degrees. The morning we returned to NY it was 25 degrees. Our car had 6 inches of snow on it and the Pier 88 Roof Top Parking Lot was like an ice rink. Therefore, be prepared for everything🙂

I became hooked on cruising when I was 9 years old when I sailed for the 1st time on the beautiful Flagship of the Norwegian America Line MS Bergensfjord on June 4, 1965. We sailed Transatlantic from New York to Norway. The ship went to Bergen, Stavanger, Copenhagen and Oslo. We disembarked in Stavanger as we were traveling to see my grandparents for the one and only time in my life. We traveled in Tourist Class and did not have a shower. On the return trip we sailed on NAL's sister ship MS Oslofjord on July 29, 1965. The itinerary was the same in reverse. While the ship was older and a little smaller it too was beautiful. We sailed in Tourist Class and this time did not have a bathroom. On this trip we had to pick up a wounded sailor who was stabbed in a fight from a Cargo Ship and rush back to NY. As a result we arrived in NY harbor a day early and sat at anchor just north of the brand new Verrazzano Narrows Bridge. Well, my buddy and I who became friends with some of the crew and went down to the bow of the ship where we snuck off and started to climb down the anchor chain. We certainly scared the !@#$ out of the crew and they made us climb back up and then they chastised us and took us to our parents. (Yes, this is a true story) Since then, I introduced my wife to cruising on our honeymoon and the rest is history 🙂 Mike A

Either ship you cannot go wrong. We were on the 5/29 Memorial Day weekend sailing of the Joy to Bermuda in Club Balcony. Great Ship. Weather was beautiful. High 70’s/Low 80’s every day. Warm water at Horseshoe Bay beach. Given the fact the Schools do not close until late June here in the North East /NY Metro area, you should not have a problem being over run by kids. We had maybe 100 children on the ship this sailing all young. My 13 and 8 YO grandchildren were on the ship with us and only found 1 child to hang out with. No issue with pools, hot tubs or slides. Mike A

Thats exactly what I did on the Joy in May 😎

Depending on the currents it takes between 45 minutes and an hour. On the 5/29 sailing of the Joy it took 60 minutes. Left Pier 88 at 4:00 sharp and we went under the bridge at 5:00. I have been on sailings that were quicker. FYI, you can watch sail away every Sunday from NY on the PTV Webcams. 1st Port of New York and then when the Joy gets closer to the bridge change to the NY Harbor webcam. You can also see the Celebrity Summit on Sundays as well as Oasis of the Seas, Adventure of the Seas from Bayonne and Carnival Magic from Port of NY Pier 88 during the week.

The initial line starts on the second floor of Pier 88 just inside the entrance doors once you give your luggage to porters. There are snakes there leading to security/metal detectors which start processing passengers at 9:30. Once you get past there you get on a Covid-19 paperwork line. Once you finish there you get on line for check in to get your room keys etc ... Priority/Latitude on left, general on right. Following, If you are Priority/Latitude you will be escorted to a special holding area to wait until boarding starts at which time you will board following special needs. If you check in after boarding starts you should be allowed to board immediately after final check in. Bear in mind this is how it worked for the 5/29 sailing. I can’t speak for upcoming sailings I hope this helps. Mike A

We were on the 5/29 sailing of the Joy. Following Covid-19 check, there were 2 lines Lattitudes/Priority on the left and General Check-in on the right. We reached that point at about 10:00. We had no one in front of us while the general check in had at least 50 people on it. Following final Check-In we were escorted to a special holding area until 10:45 when boarding started. Special Needs went first and we followed. We were on the ship prior to 11:00. Please note we arrived at 9:00 but they do not open security until 9:30 Sharp. We had approximately 150 in front of us in snakes by that time. Once the doors opened it took about 10 minutes to get past security and another 20 minutes for the Covid-19 paperwork review.

The key here is the Priority line is AFTER the Metal Detector and Covid-19 paperwork lines. If they tried at the initial entrance it was Haven only and would be turned away. Following the Covid-19 check in is where the Priority line is to the left of general check in. There is a representative to look at your boarding pass against the master list and should let you through. The key here is DONOT take no for an answer. Have the representative speak to a supervisor if necessary.

We had purchased Priority Access which came with Priority Embarkation and Debarkation. The key here is the boarding pass needs to say “Priority” on it. Yours should also. The other is once you get to the Latitudes/Priority line the gatekeeper will cross reference your party with their list which you should be on. Do not take no for an answer. Make the representative speak to a supervisor if you have an issue.

We were on the May 29th sailing of the Joy. The Lattitudes/Priority Line was following the Covid-19 paperwork check. There were 2 snakes with the entrance to snakes in center. Lattitudes/Priority, with sign on left. There was a rep checking boarding passes with a list of eligible passengers and they let us through. If not, you went right for normal check in. Make sure your Boarding Pass says Priority. We were then directed to the Lattitudes/Priority holding section and were second on the ship at 11:00 following special needs even though we were given #28 on the Covid-19 line.

At LeBistro they use French Press for the free regular coffee. At least they did on the 3 NCL cruises I have been on.

We were on the Joy on 5/29. Yes they had 2 person karts. That was the only way my 8 year old grand daughter could ride as they would not let her on the single.

We were on the Joy 5/29. We had a pre printed card in the slot. The room steward only placed it in half way into the slot. We had to insert it all the way in for the lights and outlets to work. He did this when ever he made up the room. We had a small clock plugged in that we had to reset whenever the room was made up which was no big deal. Was never unplugged. FWIW the Joy had a number of USB outlets in the room. Therefore never had a charging issue. Can’t speak for Escape.

Hi Gootie... Sorry again for late reply. Not on everyday LOL If you have an iPhone that is where you will go to turn on/off Airplane Mode which has to be on while at Sea. Once you are in sight of land you just have to turn off Airplane Mode and turn on cellular service. If Service is in area, you will get service bars on the phone. Within 1 minute oy my turning on I received a text from AT&T telling my they recognized I was in a Foreign Country and that since I had International Day Pass I was good to go. I was off the coast and withing eyesight of St George Bermuda at that time Hope this helps. Mike A

We were the 5/29 sailing and Priority Access used the same check-in line as Latitudes and Casino at Sea

Hi Gootie…sorry for just answering now. To confirm what Turtles06 posted, I used ATT International Day Pass service from my balcony as we approached St George at least an hour before we docked at Heritage Wharf I even received a text from ATT within 1 minute of turning on cellular telling me I had the International Day pass and that I was good to go. Mike A

We used Wi-Fi calling while at sea on the Joy and ATT International unlimited plan for the 3 days in Bermuda. It was $10 per day 1st line and $5 each additional line. This plan provided me with the same unlimited service I have in US. No issues with Wi-Fi calling and service in Bermuda was great.

Just came off the Joy 5/29. They had Veuve at Cellars , A List and the Dining rooms which had to go to A List to get it. As soon as I walked into Cellars, Tony had a glass for me without asking🙂. I went though a number of bottles by the glass and introduced a number of people at the bar to Veuve for the 1st time. As they let me get 2 glasses at a time. As stated above Veuve is only available by the glass. You can get Moët by the bottle in the dining rooms.

Hi Gary... I too love your posts. We just got off the Joy (May 29th sailing). Based on your suggestions, we did Haven Lite. We did a family cruise for my Retirement and 40th Anniversary. We were originally going to do the 2 Bedroom Haven Villa like we did on the Jewel in 2012. However, we were able to get 2 Club Balcony Suites, my wife and I in one stateroom, my daughter and 2 granddaughters in the other, along with Priority Access (we are only Silver), Free at Sea, Premium Plus Beverage Package and Unlimited Premium Internet as well as the AMEX Platinum On Board Credit and French Restaurant for both cabins. While we missed the Haven itself, Butler and restaurant our savings was more than $4,000. Well worth the savings. In addition, I would like to add the P+ beverage package more than paid for itself with Veve, Mimosas w/Fresh Squeezed OJ and Starbucks. Needless to say, I got to know Anthony at Cellars very well🙂. BTW, Anthony is now on vacation until August when he will return to the Joy. I also felt that the Priority Access was worth it for us as we did receive Priority Embarkation (on ship at 11:00 after special needs) and Debarkation (Gold Baggage Tags), $50 spa credit per person per cabin and Canapes on second day. The Club Suites provided the great shower, bathrobes, bag of laundry and another set of canapes. Gary...All I can say is many thanks to you and your design of Haven Lite for helping make our family vacation one to remember.

I am an early bird so I would recommend getting there at 8:30 to be at front of security line. This should allow you to get a good boarding number at the document line. Once you finish check in you should be one of the first after priority and special needs about 11:00.

First off, I am very sorry that you had such a hassle getting on the ship. The place where there the Latitudes/Priority sign was immediately after the Covid-19/Bermuda TA Documents check in. Could not miss it. It was the line with ropes on the left. However, there were no Latitudes/Priority lines for Security or Documents (Haven Only). Compounding the problem for you was you needed to have the Covid-19 test for your 2 year old. Following the test they should have directed you to the Priority Line and unfortunately they did not. Also if you only said Suite to them not Latitudes or Priority to the employee they probably had no idea what you were talking about. This is where MCT continues to drop the ball. Regarding boarding, you boarded after embarkation started. Therefore, if you had been able to use the Priority check-in you would have been directed to gangway and walked on. We finished early so we were directed to an unmarked roped in area which was opened to allow boarding after special needs.

Just got off the Joy this AM. It appears they got their act together. Arrived 5/29 at 9:00. The line at security was not bad. They opened security at exactly 9:30. Once through security, waited on line for 15 minutes to verify Covid-19 and Bermuda TA paperwork. Next was check-in. YES, there was a separate Lattitudes Priority check-in section. We had 2 cabins. When finished we had a separate Lattitudes Priorty section to wait next to gangway. Special Needs and Haven started boarding at about 10:45. As soon as the special needs boarded we boarded and we stepped onto the ship at exactly 11:00AM. No Delays and Ropes were dropped at exactly 4:00. Easy Peasy !!! Mike A

Just got off the Joy this AM. Luggage Tag is GREEN🙂 Did not receive peel and stick.

Princess has a "Dining Under the Stars" promotion where you will be served a full romantic dinner by a butler on your Balcony. They bring a small folding table and there is just enough room to serve 2 and get around the table. It is tight. We did it for our wedding anniversary on the Caribbean Princess sailing out of Boston. Whether NCL would do it is anyone's guess.

Back in May 2017 the Gem had all Stanley Cup Playoff games on Sport 24. They also had NBA playoffs. Watched in both the cabin and O’Sheehans.