BeachCruiserNJ

3 hours ago, Charles4515 said:

That is the boat I saw on the web cam. The owner posted on social media that they moved it back to the Dockyard are getting it into shape and will open in June. I guess that is too late for your dates. 

Which social media site did you see this? Can you post a link to it? I'm interested in following along since we will be there first few days of June. Thanks.

4 hours ago, prbffd28 said:

Thank you very much!! I really appreciate the information and I will forward it to the rest of our group. This would certainly makes things much easier for everyone considering we all have different preferences.

Could I ask one more question, where do we sign up to add this feature? Can it be done through the app or somewhere on the ship?

Thanks again,

Perry

Hi Perry. You do it right through the app. Make sure everyone downloads the app before getting onboard. Once onboard, set your phone to airplane mode then connect to the NCL network (no login required/no internet minutes used from your plan if you have one). Open the app and you will see the option to add the chat. It's very simple. Your shipboard account will be charged $9.95 (for a 7 day cruise) if you turn the chat/talk feature on. Good luck and happy cruising 🙂

13 hours ago, Sthrngary said:

Since we are both used to the Haven, a few little hints.  You don't have to take them but I thought I would share.

1. A Place Away from the Crowds: One of the main reasons I ever started to do the Haven was a place to retreat to from the crowds.  My last trip I was not in the Haven.  I created this area with the Vibe beach Club.  If the Joy had a Thermal Spa which they don't, I might have done that instead. This was a huge Vibe, never ever crowded.
2. Specialty Restaurants: Free at sea gives you two specialty meals.  American Express platinum gives you dinner for two in the French Restaurant. I got a two meal package which was $70.00 per person.  
3. Main Dining Room/Buffet: Not bad, really especially for breakfast.  I ate Breakfast in the Main Dining room mostly and loved it.  Two days in the Buffet and simply had the omelet station cook me some over easy eggs. 
4. Observation Lounge: Every morning I got a Starbucks here.  Best view on the ship including the Haven Horizon Lounge. Some mornings I just had granola here with coffee and even skipped lunch.  
5. Premium Plus Beverage Package: I treated myself as I normally do.  To each his own.  I did high end spirits, bottles water at every meal, two Starbucks a day and yes French champagne at dinners.  I lived it up for seven days. 
6. Don't Miss Any Shows:  Don't miss the Beatles revolution on the first night.  I think they only do one show and it is really good.  See the Beatles in the Cavern Club during the week also.  Footloose and Elements are outstanding and you have options for the show times.  

I did all this to make a similar experience as the Haven for much less of an investment.  Your suite had early embarkment.  Use that option and if you want the Vibe, get to the Japanize restaurant quick because the sell out the Vibe week passes quick.  

 

Below I attached a document showing all the amenities for the Joy based on cabin time.  Hope it helps.

 

Cruise well.

Thank you. So helpful. I appreciate you sharing.

Just now, Sthrngary said:

What I am saying is the vibe beach club goes on both sides of deck 19. It has two hot tubs.  No hot tubs on deck 19 other than vibe and haven. 

Thanks and am loving your review. Still working through it but appreciate all your insight as we are goin in May on the Joy for the first time. We usually stay in the Haven as well but booked a suite outside the Haven only to find they took the "Suite Perks" away so that makes your reporting even more helpful. Thank you.

On 3/21/2022 at 8:05 AM, Sthrngary said:

There is no public space. The vibe takes both sides of the middle of the ship. So the vibe has two hot tubs whereas the escape had one hot tub and one for public. This vibe is bigger. I hope I answered your questionThere is no public space. The vibe takes both sides of the middle of the ship. So the vibe has two hot tubs whereas the escape had one hot tub and one for public. This vibe is bigger. I hope I answered your question

So you are saying the deck plans they are showing on the ncl.com site, which show public sun deck and hot tub, are incorrect and misleading? That's unfortunate. We were looking forward to utilizing that space on our cruise in May since we also will not be staying in the Haven this time. 

On 3/19/2022 at 10:55 AM, prbffd28 said:

Gary, thanks for taking the time out of your vacation to keep us up to date on all your travels, you are a wealth of information. We have a group of ten going to Bermuda May 29 on Joy and I am looking forward to following along to get an idea of what to expect. You have already answered one of my questions, which was where we needed to go to purchase Vibe passes, so thank you again!! The other question is regarding communicating with our group onboard. Do you know if there is a "chat" feature through the NCL app where we can message each other without having to purchase an internet package? Most of our friends in the group are in their 70's with a couple 80's so it would be very helpful to be able to communicate by chat with them instead of having to chase each other all around the ship. Have a great cruise !!

Perry

Since I don't see that anyone responded to your question I will answer. Yes, there is a chat feature on the app that works great. It costs $9.95/pp for the week. You can also use it to make calls to one another as well. We find it very handy when we are aboard any of the NCL ships.

incUGH we JUST booked one of these Suites on the Joy yesterday for a sailing coming up in a month so cannot cancel. This removal of the amenities makes no sense. I never even thought to check because we were just on the Gem in December outside the Haven and had full suite amenities as usual.

This in addition to yet another email from NCL noting an increase in gratuities, our service and food on the Getaway in the Haven last week being subpar has us wondering what's going on at NCL.

Since there will no longer be a butler or breakfast/lunch included, does anyone know if the room service charge is still waived?  This is what I see on the NCL website today:

Room Service

Available 24 hours a day, simply pick up the phone and order breakfast, lunch, dinner or late-night munchies. A room service fee of $9.95 will be added to your check (Except Continental Breakfast until 10am and Suite Guests at all times). A 20% gratuity and beverage service charge will be added to your check.

• Price Per Person: Room Service Fee of $9.95 USD may apply.

Does anyone know if Alain Magnier (had been Hotel Director on the Dawn) is still sailing and if so, is he still on the Dawn or some other ship?

On 12/3/2021 at 8:39 AM, Seanair said:

When we were on the Gem this past August, Virginia was the Concierge.  She is amazing.  She told us she was moving to the Breakaway in the summer of 2022.  I hope she is there for you in January. She will take great care of you.

Just came off the Gem after the Christmas cruise. The Concierge was Alex. He was fantastic and took care of all our needs starting with a problem we had in the terminal. There's a great crew on the Gem right now from the Captain on down. Enjoy your trip! Happy New Year!

On 11/23/2021 at 3:00 PM, NJLVW said:

I am hoping to hear who will be on the Dawn come April. I know it is a ways away. I am hoping that Alain HD is still on her. He is fabulous!! Also would hope to find out who the concierge will be. I know Patrick is on now but he will not be there in April. 😞

 

Any luck finding out if Alain Magnier is still on the Dawn (or still sailing at all)?

I hope this info is helpful to someone. I've had problems in the past trying to find current info.

 

I just booked 2 cruises with our free certificates.

 

The first one on Carnival. Hubby and I each had a certificate for a balcony room, so we got connecting rooms and are bringing our daughters. We had to pay $499 for the extra person and $98.42pp port fees/taxes. 2 balcony rooms, 5 people came to $991.

 

The second one is on NCL. This certificate was for a balcony, we booked a large balcony with no upgrade charge. It came with the unlimited drink package and dining package (3 nights in specialty restaurants) and $100 on board credit. We were charged an admin fee of $280, taxes/ port fees $309.34, insurance $62, beverage package service charge $199.08, and dining package service charge $24.84. Grand total $875.26

Just curious who you booked the NCL cruise with. I always have to pay $200 per person to use a free certificate, NEVER get on-board credit (unless they messed something up then sometimes they will give me $25 - $50) and we pay a boatload to upgrade to a Suite AND we gamble $1000s during the week. We were recently on a 19 day trip where we gambled double what it would have cost for us to book the Suite outright. THEN CAS had the nerve to tell me I didn't gamble enough when I went to book our next cruise so they really couldn't comp me. Needless to say I didn't book the next cruise and after the cruise we have booked in November, we will probably explore other lines. Loyalty to NCL doesn't seem to matter anymore. That's why I'm wondering if you used a travel agent outside of NCL?

Let me know if these come through large enough to see. Haven Dinner Menu.

PERFECT! Thank you. After looking at them I realized I had seen them before but it was on the Escape in January so they must have distributed the menu throughout the fleet. Leaving on Sunday - can't wait. Thanks again.

My friend had the Sea Bass. Loved it!

The other day I posted a picture from my computer and was able to see it. I clicked the paper clip, selected the file from my computer and then closed the window and it appeared just fine. Do you have the option of posting a link here to where the file resides on flickr? I would love to see the menu as we are headed out this Sunday for b2b cruises on the Breakaway and will be in the Haven. We haven't been on the BA since last November so I'm sure the menu has changed. Thanks.

So interesting twist. We are on back-2-back cruises Nov. 6th & Nov. 13th on the Breakaway. We just received an e-mail for each cruise regarding GSC being closed and therefore no stop there. Both cruises we will spend the night in Nassau BUT on the Nov. 6th cruise we will leave at 10:00 AM the next morning. On the Nov. 13th cruise we will leave at 6:00 PM the next evening. I am very curious why they are different since they we arrive in Nassau the same day of the week each week. We don't care one way or the other but as I said, just curious.

NCL can operate in Bermuda because they have paid for a gaming license for their ships. Probably not going do do that for a couple of one-off stops in Nassau.

 

Atlantis is fine, but its kinda expensive. Cheap dinner it is not.

For some reason I do remember being on the Breakaway last year and we had to skip GSC and spent the overnight in Nassau. I believe the casino did open that night from 9:00 pm - 4:00 am (might have the hours wrong). Maybe they'll do the same this time around.

While overnighting in Nassau sounds like a an ok alternative, Nassau is not the safest port to be walking around at night. I would prefer to be at sea with the shops and casino open.

I agree with you BirdTravels. 8 hours in Nassau is quite long enough. A night & day at sea would be much more appreciated. There' so much to do on the ship that I think most people would find it a better alternative. We are on back-to-back cruises Nov 6th & Nov 13th so will need to endure this overnight situation twice :eek:

Would be nice if NCL would take a poll.

Thanks!

We are also sailing on the Dawn on 4/19 for a 19 day cruise. I would be very interested in knowing who the Hotel Director, Captain and the rest of the top brass where that we will be spending 3 weeks with :-)

Leaving for NOLA in 2 days. Can't wait!

Here's the direct link to Manhattan Cruiser Terminal:

http://www.nycruise.com/manhattan-terminal/parking/

The coupon can be found over on the right under the "Save a boatload ...". Maybe they will replace the August one at the end of the month for September.

According to the website, you pay when you enter, so the coupon should be good for those of us sailing on August 30th. :)

Just wondering if we can use this coupon if we are sailing on the Gem Saturday, August 30th, returning Saturday, Sept. 6th. Anyone know?