NewPennCruiser

I think the one constant since covid is that all mainstream cruise lines have changed. As someone else mentioned, if you go to some of the other boards for Celebrity, RC and NCL you'll read the same thing; complaints of food choices, more nickel and diming, less services, etc. We have cruised twice recently and those trips were with Celebrity and NCL. While some of the changes were noticeable we still had a great time. We will be cruising with Princess in June for the first time in 6 years so for us there will be a lot of noticeable differences because we've never cruised with medallions, Princess Plus, "casual dining" options, etc. Our biggest decision in the past was whether we wanted to trade in our mini bar setup for coffee cards, lol. We realize times have changed and are looking forward to stepping on a Princess ship again, as for us cruising with Princess always felt like we were returning home even though we enjoy cruising with other lines. Our last cruise was on Celebrity and we had many conversations with people who were going to be trying Princess, so I really think it is up to each individual to figure out which cruise line best suits them and I guess it always was that way. Happy sailing everyone no matter who you choose to cruise with; it's still a great way to travel.    Dave

7 hours ago, Dr H said:

I've never heard of "future cruise credits", HOWEVER: When you are on board, Azamara permits, in fact encourages, booking a future cruise with a $550. deposit. A single, penalty free change of cruise is permitted. As is a return of your deposit for an almost full cancellation ($75 pp penalty?). The credit perks, discounts, etc will also transfer over to the new cruise. If final price drops before your final payment, both the perks you booked and the price change will be honored. We've done it, and have not had a problem. Future cruises are usually announced a good year and a half in advance. Just be aware that there is the risk of the cruise line going belly up in the future, and you've got money "invested" in them that could be lost. So far, there have been no overt issues with Azamara. If you like the line, and like the itineraries they offer, put a deposit down.

I was just wondering if you have used one of these future deposits recently?  We last cruised with Azamara in 2019 when they were still under the RCI umbrella and we purchased one of the future cruise deposits as you mention.  We didn't see a particular cruise that we liked at the time so my account online would always show the deposit as an "Open Passage" future cruise.  Of course the new system doesn't show you anything.  Our TA has a record of the deposit as do we so we're hoping the "new" Azamara will accept it.  We are looking to possibly cruise with Azamara again toward end of 2024 so I guess we will find out.   Dave 

We were recently on a 10 day in Aqua and as noted Lobster was on the second chic night.  Filet Mignon was also on the menu in Blu and most people around us either did "Surf n Turf" or ordered 2 lobster tails.  There were no extra charges.

OP, we will be joining you today on the Silhouette. We also have not cruised with Celebrity in quite a while but unlike you only have positive memories of our past experiences with Celebrity so it will be interesting to see how things have changed. Our last cruise with Celebrity was also on the Silhouette about 1 month before everything shut down in 2020 and it has been one of our favorite ships. We’ve only cruised once since the pandemic and it was with NCL. It was a great cruise. Anyway, we are looking forward to warm weather and some relaxation.  Happy Sailing!   Dave

Given the fact that Bermuda has been under Tropical Storm Warnings for over 24 hours I was surprised to look at the Bermuda Port Webcam this morning and see the Joy was still in port.  Wave action coming out of the north in the dockyards is intense and crashing over the docks.  I'm wondering if anyone on board can report back as to what things are like on the ship at the moment.  It would not be safe to leave the ship and I imagine the Joy couldn't leave now if it wanted to.

I apologize if this was discussed but will honestly say I have not read every comment in this thread.  A question for seasoned Haven cruisers....  Do you think there is a difference in service booking a Haven cabin that is not actually in the Haven space like the OP had on deck 10?  We recently cruised on the Joy in a standard balcony and put a bid in for a Haven upgrade but we only put a bid in for a couple of Haven categories that were actually located in the Haven.  I suspect they are more popular and our bid was not accepted.  We did cruise in a suite on NCL in 2013 and had a tremendous cruise but that pre dated Haven so we have not experienced NCL's current suite offerings.  By the way we had a great cruise in our non Haven room and enjoyed spaces like the Observation Lounge, the Waterfront, etc and didn't feel like we were missing anything.  Ignorance is bliss.  We didn't know what we were missing and after reading this thread I'm not sure if we would have enjoyed the cruise anymore than we already did if our bids had been accepted.

Personally I think most of the mainstream cruise lines are more alike than different anymore.  We have mostly cruised Princess with a few cruises each on NCL, Celebrity and Azamara and I agree with another comment that NCL is more laid back.  I also think the passengers skew a little younger although that will probably depend on length of cruise and port of departure.  Entertainment and food can be very subjective but again I think each cruise line sort of does some things better than others but honestly to me, they are all very similar.  Our most recent cruise was out of New York on the Joy and it was by far the most casual and laid back cruise we have ever taken.  We loved it!  As I get older I'm done dressing up and just want to relax and to be honest most cruise lines are getting more casual.  I know a lot of people don't like that but we have adjusted just fine.   Dave

3 minutes ago, jack300s said:

Next month we'll be on the Escape out of the Manhatten Cruise Terminal. Has anyone taken the Ship's Transfer to JFK after the cruise? If so, what time do you board the bus and about what time does the bus leave for the Airport? 

We recently cruised on the Joy through the Manhattan Cruise Terminal and had a transfer to LGA.  All airport transfers were scheduled for 9:00 disembarkation with Brown tags.  They actually called us early, closer to 8:30.  Once we collected our bags and exited the terminal we were directed toward buses that were clearly marked for JFK, LGA or EWR.  I remember seeing at least 2 buses for LGA and I'm not sure how many were heading to JFK although I remember seeing one.  There was a representative there crossing names off a list.  Our bus for LGA left first at about 9:30.  The JFK bus was still there but there were people boarding. I imagine the Escape disembarkation will be similar.  If you have a late flight in the afternoon or evening, NCL was offering a sightseeing excursion with drop off at the various airports if you had flights scheduled after 2:30.

6 hours ago, Always Cruising said:

Loved the music in the Q!  Just returned from Aug 6 Joy cruise, and wish I were still on the ship.  Did you have the couple from New Zealand and Australia doing American country at Q?  I thought they were great, and spoke with them a few times - very personable.  They got the  southern accent of the songs perfectly!

 

Yes, they were really good.  The night we had dinner in Q we listened to Julia Hatfield.  She was good too and often performed in the Observation Lounge.

2 hours ago, onebzyldy said:

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?

 

FAS is short for the Free At Sea program they are promoting and Q is the Texas Smokehouse specialty dining room on the ship.  They serve various options of BBQ meats, etc. and have live music.  The food was ok but the desserts were killer.  If I went back I would probably go to just order dessert and listen to some music.

17 hours ago, barb in ga said:

Thanks for such a positive review!  So often posters feel the need to critique everything in a negative way, overlooking the positive aspects of the cruise. This our first time on NCL; we chose Joy for the itinerary and for the age and condition of the ship. We most frequently cruise Royal on the Oasis class ships. We're fans of the opportunities for a variety of food and entertainment venues.

 

We are looking forward to this cruise; only 4 weeks from today we sail from New York to Quebec City, long a location on our bucket list. When we debark QC after an overnight on the ship, we are going to spend another day and night before taking the train to Montreal, where we'll stay 3 nights, then fly home to Atlanta. I booked our airfare and hotels last week, just need to reserve train tickets and make a list of highlights for the cruise ports and Quebec stays. All ideas welcome. I'm looking today at ship tours as well, but we frequently prefer to make our way around on our own.

 

If you have a schedule that shows the main entertainments, I would love for you to post it.

Thanks,

Barb in GA

 

We are looking at possibly doing the same itinerary as you next year but starting in QC and ending in NY.  Your plans sound nice, especially the train going onto Montreal.  I didn't keep any paper or schedules from the trip but if you look back for Dorhead1230's live thread a few weeks ago she posted the daily's and they were pretty much the same as when we just cruised.   Your itinerary is different so the schedules might not be the same but I can tell you there was at least 1 thing going on in the theater each night.  Footloose played the theater on Days 2 and 3.  Then an aerial act played the theater on Day 4, BeatlesStory Tribute Day 5 and then the big production show Elements on Days 6 and 7.  If you're interested in Footloose and Elements it is best to reserve those online before your cruise.  Generally I think you can do that 21 days out.  On those same nights there is usually comedy in Social and singers performing all over the ship in Q, the Atrium, Observation Lounge, Sugarcane, Mixx, etc.

17 hours ago, barb in ga said:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

t

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

On 7/22/2023 at 3:31 PM, T BYRD said:

You want an awesome Swizzle?

Tell Joana up in the Observation Lounge that Mr Todd sent you 😉

We’re sitting in the OL as we sail away and we told Joanna that Mr Todd said hello.  She laughed and had a big smile on her face.  🙂

I believe Dorhead1230 just posted them on her recent Live review a couple of weeks ago.  Look about half way through her review and you should find them.  She posted them in a few separate posts.

That happened to me too.   I played with it a bit and found if I unchecked the box that said "print header and footer", it corrected itself to 1 page.

Thanks for sharing your trip with us and safe travels home once you get back.  Enjoy the last sea day.  I had a quick question.  You shared a picture of a run swizzle from a bar in Bermuda earlier.  I'm curious, since the Joy right now is pretty much exclusively sailing to Bermuda for the summer, can you get a rum swizzle anywhere on the ship?

We will be boarding the Joy in a few weeks so we're excited to read about your trip and will be following along. Our last cruise was in 2020 just as covid was starting to rage so I'm serious when I say we are just over the moon excited to get back out to sea again. We love Bermuda and this will be our first cruise on one of NCLs newer ships. (last cruised on NCL about 10 years ago)   Wishing safe travels to everyone.   Dave

Thanks for sharing.  After our ice storm last night, I could really use a pick me up and the video reminded me of why we have come to love Azamara so much.  It's been kind of depressing this week as it was this week last year we were on the Celebrity Silhouette for our last cruise right before things shut down.  I guess we were lucky to get that in right before things got bad in the States,  but wow we miss being at sea.  But I guess there is that proverbial light at the end of the tunnel ahead and I can't wait to get back out there, especially looking forward to what Azamara might turn into, or just continue to be, as they break away from the RC family.  We haven't booked anything yet, probably looking for something in 2022 at this point.  Here's to smooth sailing ahead and I hope you all stay safe.  

The Captain from the Edge on Sunday was showing video of some of their crew disembarking in Port Everglades to head home so as of yesterday crew members were still leaving.   I knew someone on Silhouette and they were sent home when it came into Port Everglades on 4/1.  At first they thought they were going to have to stay on but at the last minute got new orders and flight info and they were on their way home.  I saw the Silhouette was in Miami (I think) over the weekend, so was surprised to see it back in port so quickly but I'm only guessing they may have released some more crew when they could.  (again I'm just guessing)

I thought it was a great idea what RCCL and Celebrity are doing to get crew home from Australia.  Maybe they will have to resort to something similar here near North America because I can't imagine the ships are going to just hang out for months off Florida.  

It's very surreal to watch a Princess ship come into the Port of Miami.  Hoping for a smooth disembarkation for everyone.

After I saw them in port this morning I looked at the port schedule and it looks like various ships are going to be coming in and out of port now for the foreseeable future.  As previously stated they need to get supplies and I've been following a Royal Caribbean crew member who is doing a daily vlog and he is stating that they are starting to send some of the crew home so they will need to dock somewhere to do that.   I think Adventure of the Seas which has been anchored right off Fort Lauderdale Beach is coming in tomorrow.

We got off the Silhouette in February as this was just starting to escalate and we met so many nice crew.  I've been thinking of them ever since.  We also keep in touch with many people we have met on Celebrity, Princess and Azamara through the years and I've been spending a lot of time in the last week reaching out to make sure they are ok.  To everyone, please stay safe and I'm really happy to see the cruise lines finally temporarily shutting down.  They really need to.  I've stopped reading most of the other threads at this point because I'm tired of the petty complaining and yelling going on now.  People really need to take a deep breath, step back and calm down.  The crew needs all our positive vibes right now.  They are truly the reason we keep coming back and I really hope the cruise lines do right by everyone during this work stoppage.

We experienced Craft Social recently on the Silhouette and loved it.   Think of it as a sports pub vibe with a lot of good beer options.   We loved it and it seemed very popular, especially when there were some Premier League football games on the flat screens.  They also showed hockey and basketball.   Most beers were included in the premium package level and quite a few in the classic level, but some were pricier.  The also have some pub bites you can order and pay for.  We tried the fish and chips one day to just try something different and we really didn't think it was worth the price.  But still loved the space.  I don't have any experience in how busy wine cellars would be but I know if the space was still wine cellars on our cruise, we probably would not have gone in.  Based on how busy they seemed, I'm sure it was a good change.

On 2/25/2020 at 7:31 AM, ipeeinthepool said:

Last Sunday we were on the Silhouette that arrived in Port Everglades with 7 other ships.  We were on a B2B so I had the chance to watch the pier operations and the disembarkation process.  We were one of the last ships to arrive at 7:00 am and self assist walk-offs did not start until around 7:30.   They did not start calling bag numbers in the terminal until 9:00.

 

i watched the taxi line for the Edge at terminal 25 and the line stretched across the road because and no taxis were in sight.  It appears that no taxis would drive this far into the port.  Every now and then a block of about 20 taxis would arrive.

 

Our departure was delayed by nearly two hours because they were still loading supplies and bags.  

 

It it seems like there are not enough taxis and pier support staff to handle 8 ships.  I can’t begin to imagine the lines at the airport.  Long taxi lines and long waits for baggage certainly aren’t the way to end a cruise.

 

I'm glad there are only 2 ships in port, when we return.

We disembarked the Silhouette on Sunday too and wow, what a mess.  This was not the first time we were in port with 8 ships but it certainly was the worst.  It started out with what seemed like half the ship doing self walk off and they were lining up in the lobby at 6:30 to get off first.  Waiting in public areas on the ship became uncomfortable because people just weren't going anywhere.  The taxi line was crazy long and I do agree with your point that I don't think taxi drivers want to face the mess of driving all the way over to Terminals 21 and 25 because there were times we would go 10-15 minutes waiting for just 1 taxi to come by.  The last time we were in port with this many ships we were cruising on Princess and disembarked Term 2 and the taxis were lined up constantly ready to take someone.   We were not in a hurry because we were staying an extra day in Ft Lauderdale before flying north, but still it made for a long tiring morning.  

We just disembarked Silhouette on Sunday 2/23 and Edge was in port the same day.   The Edge was at Terminal 25 and we were at Terminal 21.