bkrickles1

My favorite show on NCL! We saw it first in the supper club on Escape on my wife's birthday in 2018 and she was the one called up on stage and serenaded to. Just an awesome night and show! We've seen it on Encore too in the theater and while it loses a little intimacy, it's still a fun show. It surprises me when someone doesn't like it because it's very rare.

Savor/Taste

It's listed currently in the dailies on Joy. Live reviewer posted pics this week.

Thanks! I rarely do any late night eating anymore as I'm getting old and can barely keep my eyes open past 11pm. When I sail in 9 days, I'll be with my niece and nephew plus a couple of other 35 year olds, so maybe I'll get drawn into some late night drinking and eating. Lmao!! It's good to know that even though the buffet is closing at 9:30pm, there is still a very viable option that is not getting overwhelmed with people. Thanks again!

I've always gotten it at the Social/Headliners immediately after boarding.

I'm so embarrassed with my math! Lmao 😂 We are 13 in 2 vans and I was just informed that it's $85 per person round-trip and includes gratuity. 4 of the 13 are children 5 and younger so I don't know if they're part of the total. I'm guessing it's 9 x $85 = $765. My nephew arranged it so I don't know the company but it's someone he does business with. And, we're all meeting in Deer Park.

Not 7 days in a row! That's $305 for the week. My wife and I paid $60 less than that for door to door to and from Smithtown, LI with a car service last summer and we're sharing a van with our nieces and nephews in 10 days and it'll cost my wife and I $170 roundtrip. And, there's at least 3 places within "walking" distance of pier that charge less.

There's never been an issue when we've sailed out of MCT. I'd imagine less people than ever park there now, with the price being a little crazy. There are less expensive alternatives near by and car services are typically way less too. You'll be fine!

While I'm also concerned with these entertainment cutbacks, I'm going to reserve judgement until my sailing on Joy in 10 days. I know Footloose is due to be cut in October, so it'll still be on board, but I'll be skipping it this time as I saw it last summer and it's just an "ok" show. I will say that I've been following someone on these forums who's currently sailing on Joy and posting dailies, and there appears to be as much entertainment on board as there has ever been on my 3 previous NCL cruises. So, while I can't speak for any of the other ships, Joy appears to have a full deck of entertainment.

Thank you, thank you, thank you for posting all of this while you're busy enjoying your cruise on Joy!! We sail Joy in 10 days and your posts have us super excited! Referencing another thread, I'm happy to see that there is some form of breakfast available every day from 5am until 11:30am. The buffet closing at 9:30pm seems to have a few people upset too, so is the Local jammed after that time? Just wondering, as I never saw it crowded after 10pm on any of my 3 prior NCL sailings, including Joy last summer. It looks like there is just as much entertainment as we've always experienced, so that's a good thing too. I love all of the music options as that's my go to in the evenings. Continued enjoyment for you and yours and I look forward to anything else you post!!

Will do.

Doing White Hot Catamaran in exactly 14 days! Can't wait!

In my opinion, Le Bistro beats Cagney's but my wife doesn't really like any of the entrees at Le Bistro so we do Cagney's which has always been good to very good for us. And, I mentioned earlier, we loved Los Lobos!

I sailed Encore in January, 2020 and only wore shorts at dinner. As you said, dress shorts with a collared shirt. We ate in all 3 mdr's without issue, although I've read on here that men are supposed to wear pants in the Manhattan mdr. I did not and many others did not either. As far as specialty dining, we ate in Q, Los Lobos and Teppenyaki and I wore shorts and it was fine. My understanding is that shorts are frowned upon in Le Bistro and Onda, but I don't know that for sure. Last summer, on Joy, I wore shorts to Cagney's too. I'm sailing Joy again in 11 days and will bring a couple of pairs of pants as I'm getting older and sometimes get a little cold in the evenings. Lmao! Enjoy your cruise!

We loved Los Lobos on Encore and I love Food Republic for lunch and the table side guacamole is included! Sailing on Joy in 12 days (no Los Lobos) and we'll be doing Cagney's and Teppenyaki for dinner and I have 2 extra dining credits that I'll use for FR and TBD.

I didn't try it on Joy last summer, but I definitely will when I go again in 12 days! If it's like Escape, it's a great alternative and is never crowded. We really enjoyed Joy, which is why we're sailing her again, but there are some oddities that can only be explained by the fact that the ship was built for Asia. Crew was outstanding and my cabin was very clean! Enjoy your sailing!!

Since your cabin won't be ready until day 3, you'll need to get one by guest services or utilize the NCL app. Lmao!! And, my daughter told me that they do, in fact, deliver dailies to the cabins every evening. She sailed Escape at the beginning of June.

I was just reminded in another thread that on ships that have American Diner, like Joy, which I sailed last year and I'm sailing again in 12 days, there is complimentary breakfast available from around 8am until 11 or 11:30am. It's limited but I remember it being pretty good on Escape and it had an omelet station too. So, at least on Joy and similar ships, you have the buffet until 10:30 or 11am, American Diner until 11 or 11:30am, the Local, Observation Lounge and mdr's. I would think breakfast is covered for everyone. Perhaps it's the smaller ships that are more limited. Late night snacks are a different story, but that affects way fewer people.

That's a great find with American Diner for breakfast. I totally forgot they set up a limited, complimentary breakfast there. And I believe it was always available until 11 or 11:30am. I never personally went last year on Joy but I imagine it's similar to what they did on Escape in the old Margaritaville. Please let us know what it is and how it is. I believe there was even an omelet station. Anyway, have a great day and thanks again for all the info. 12 days for us!

Yep! So much fun, especially in the Cavern Club.

And it should be for hurling insults at people.

I really do love to hear how great the crew is. They were great last summer too. I saw Footloose last year and it was pretty good. As you said, it is long but nobody in my party left early and generally thought it was ok. With that being said, I won't be attending again this year. Elements, on the other hand, I'll check out again. We also enjoyed most of the food, so I'm glad to hear that is the same. Thanks again for the blow by blow.

I love FR but only go for lunch there. I actually bought the extra 2 meal deal just for myself, so I can take my niece for sushi one sea day. Using the 2nd extra meal to share with my wife at Q before our sunset catamaran excursion in Bermuda. 13 days till Joy! Have a wonderful time!!

I sincerely mean no disrespect with regards to your needs and valuables, but a couple of things come to mind. Can't you just use a tote bag or something similar to hold your meds/valuables and leave your suitcase with a porter? And if you must carry on your suitcase, for whatever reason, can't you roll your case with you into the bathroom? I believe every bathroom on board has a handicap stall which would easily accommodate you and the largest suitcase in the world.

I am sooooooo happy to read your review! We sail Joy in 13 days, after sailing on her last summer. My group of 13 will be at the terminal by 8:30am too. This is the way we always roll! Unfortunately for me, and this is almost always the case, since many in our group either have kids or don't want to pay, I don't get to do the Vibe.........But I will not only survive but I'll thrive and have fun! Thanks for the positive review! We loved Joy last summer and expect to have that same experience this year!!