Pros and Cons of the Joy

[romalley99]

11 hours ago, don't-use-real-name said:

 

 

Out somewhere in the north Pacific Ocean ?

Left San Pedro 5/22 - destination Honolulu

Change course 5/25 - destination Osaka

Marine tracking - NCL JOY is out of range - - -

I don't know the number of days to cruise from the US mainland to Japan

But the JOY is now 10 days at sea

 

Latest CC report destination is now Busan - ETA ? 

 

It's now not even going to Osaka. Heading to Busan, South Korea now. 

[don't-use-real-name]

ETA June 10th 0800 hours - LINK:

JOY still out of range of reporting position

 

 

https://www.marinetraffic.com/en/ais/details/ships/shipid:4856320/mmsi:311000599/imo:9703796/vessel:NORWEGIAN_JOY

 

 

 

 

[romalley99]

40 minutes ago, don't-use-real-name said:

ETA June 10th 0800 hours - LINK:

JOY still out of range of reporting position

 

 

https://www.marinetraffic.com/en/ais/details/ships/shipid:4856320/mmsi:311000599/imo:9703796/vessel:NORWEGIAN_JOY

 

 

 

 

 

Yes, but it's no longer going going to Osaka... It's heading to Busan.

[barb65]

Was all set to book a cruise on the Joy until I discovered it didn't have a spa thermal suite. That's a deal breaker for me. Booked the Encore instead.

[BirdTravels]

On 6/2/2020 at 1:47 PM, don't-use-real-name said:

JOY still out of range of reporting position

 

[BirdTravels]

While everyone seems to make a big deal about the lack of a Thermal Suite on the Joy, a very, very small number of people actually pay for spa access on ships. 

 

That being said, we always pay for spa access and know how many people actually use the facilities. 

[maui traveler]

I enjoy the Brewhouse and Boardwalk


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[kodos]

Normally no thermal Spa would be a deal breaker. The one on the Bliss & Encore are amazing. I did however book a Haven cabin on the Joy because it didn't have a spa. For my one and only trip in the Haven (if it happens in December) I wanted to spend all my time there and have zero temptation to leave.

[buckeye rob]

Did I miss somewhere why Joy, built in 2017 for the Asian specific market,  was removed and refurbished after only 2 years ?  Was there not enough volume or a smaller or newer ship replacing that market ?  We have a Bermuda cruise in August on Encore however with things the way they are we might cancel if Norwegian does not and do Bermuda next August. We see the Joy is doing that venue then.  Regards, Gerry.

Edited June 4, 2020 by buckeye rob

[Pcardad]

On 6/2/2020 at 2:28 PM, romalley99 said:

 

Yes, but it's no longer going going to Osaka... It's heading to Busan.

 

Manilla for June 15.....

[romalley99]

4 minutes ago, Pcardad said:

 

Manilla for June 15.....

 

Right... sometime after it arrives in Busan on June 10th

[Pcardad]

Yep, because June 15 is after June 10. 

[romalley99]

1 minute ago, Pcardad said:

Yep, because June 15 is after June 10. 

 

Well yes, 15 does come after 10...... but my point is that could change 10 more times before that date actually gets here.... as it has multiple times already.

[Pcardad]

I agree...I think they were told this quite recently though, didn't see it here and wanted to share.

[BirdTravels]

8 hours ago, buckeye rob said:

Did I miss somewhere why Joy, built in 2017 for the Asian specific market,  was removed and refurbished after only 2 years ?  Was there not enough volume or a smaller or newer ship replacing that market ?  

The market did not support the ship running short cruises between China and Japan. 

 

The refurbishment was because Americans would not appreciate the Asian restaurants and facilities. And they wanted to configure the ship similar to the Bliss and Encore with a large observation lounge and outside heaters for the Alaskan market. So they cut open the hull, pulled out a bunch of pre-fab rooms, threw them away, and build the Observation lounge. They ripped out sea food buffet and replaced it with Le Bistro. They tore out the high limit casinos and build the Social and other facilities on Deck 6. They tore out the casino in the Haven and put in a library. They tore out the garden and put in a pool deck. (Can you imagine the U.S. people going on a cruise without a proper pool deck...). So $50M later, they have an Americanized ship that looks like the others. It is a shame that they did that.... 

[BirdTravels]

The Joy is almost back home. She spent the first year of her life doing China to Japan cruises multiple times a week. She continues to chug along at 8 kn. Not sure if she’s taking her time hoping to be allowed to dock at other ports (she was originally heading to Japan) but changed her destination to Korea. 
 

[romalley99]

The ship was extremely successful in the Asian market, to the point where the people were actually protesting that the ship stay, and caused an uproar onboard and refused to disembark. They took it out of that market as they knew it would be a bigger asset in the US market after seeing how successful the Bliss was. 

 

I agree with you BirdTravels. I much prefer the Asian version of the ship. The Serenity Park (now pool deck) was beautiful and peaceful. Would have been awesome to see it still there. Neptunes (now LeBistro) although I never ate there, I heard it was a huge success as it was the only, as you mentioned, seafood buffet onboard. 

 

So many things that set this ship apart, but now it's just one of the others. Bittersweet. 

[omarchs]

Not sure what category cabin you are interested in, but NCL removed the concierge-level cabins which were unique to Joy. Most were reclassified to the new club balcony (old min-suite). There were some larger concierge that were reclassified to suite or Haven rooms.
 

Never saw a full breakdown of the changes, but some people may have liked the old concierge rooms with their perks. Some people may not like the Haven as much now that more rooms have Haven access, but that is really dependent on how many were reclassified into the Haven.

[mking8288]

Update - early Monday morning, June 15th (local time) - Norwegian Joy is presently in the South China Sea, NW of Philippines, off Laoag City at 13 knots, approximately 350 to 400 nm. from Manila - putting the ship and its repatriated crew's arrival time (as calculated) in the Bay for anchorage to queue up around late Tuesday evening or early Wednesday morning ... joining the floatia of 22+ cruise ships, including the Queen Elizabeth & many others.  

 

It's satellite position can be seen on MarineTraffic site but not displayed unless you are a paid subscriber (as only AIS data is shown) - home to many of the NCL crew.  Message to crew ... hang in there, it's been a long journey!  Many of you are almost home.  

 

Edited June 14, 2020 by mking8288

[BirdTravels]

On 6/5/2020 at 9:30 AM, omarchs said:

Not sure what category cabin you are interested in, but NCL removed the concierge-level cabins which were unique to Joy. Most were reclassified to the new club balcony (old min-suite). There were some larger concierge that were reclassified to suite or Haven rooms.
 

Never saw a full breakdown of the changes, but some people may have liked the old concierge rooms with their perks. Some people may not like the Haven as much now that more rooms have Haven access, but that is really dependent on how many were reclassified into the Haven.

There were about 80 concierge cabins. And there were about 80 Haven cabins. 

 

It would be bad if many of the concierge cabins where reclassified Haven because the Haven facilities were sized for the 80 Haven cabins onboard. Adding another 20+ cabins would really degrade the service and facilities of the Haven. 

[romalley99]

Yes ... All previously cabins marked as CA and CB are now considered Haven cabins.... CA went to HI and CB went to HJ. CC is now SC, which is basically the same. 

[Lady President]

13 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

There were about 80 concierge cabins. And there were about 80 Haven cabins. 

 

It would be bad if many of the concierge cabins where reclassified Haven because the Haven facilities were sized for the 80 Haven cabins onboard. Adding another 20+ cabins would really degrade the service and facilities of the Haven. 

Our concierge cabin was upgraded, if we get to take our 12/2020 cruise.

 

I don't know how many cabins are in each class, but here is the general information that we received:

CA Concierge Family Suites are now HI Haven

CB Concierge Penthouse with Balcony are now HJ Haven

CA Concierge Villa Suites were not upgraded

 

 

[boeckli]

She's now making her way into Manila Bay

 

 

[cementhands]

On 5/16/2020 at 11:26 AM, Royals Carol said:

My husband and I are hopefully, going on the Joy in November to celebrate our 25th Anniversary. We have never cruised on the Joy. Can I get information from those of you who have gone on the Joy? Is it handicapped accessible? I am thinking about making reservations at LeBistro. Would that be the best place?  Thank you

We loved the bliss a sister ship. Tons of fun. Dancing in sugar cane mojitos bar was  a blast every night. Many theme parties on pool deck and in h2o bar area in back of ship. Great chicken wings in pub place. Comedian 2 each week in dedicated bar area. Beatles band in cavern. Excellent activities staff. Also activities in atrium area.
If you’re into the activities nightly are happening in decks 6,7 and 8 plus pool and h2o outdoors. Elevators are tight fit seemed small but we took stairs a lot. Excellent shows and singers and bands. If you’re active it’s wonderful. Enjoyed the steak and Italian food at specialty dining. Buffet was crowded and we only went once. Observation lounge area was avoided as people were sleeping in many chairs.

[Royals Carol]

On ‎6‎/‎4‎/‎2020 at 12:50 AM, BirdTravels said:

While everyone seems to make a big deal about the lack of a Thermal Suite on the Joy, a very, very small number of people actually pay for spa access on ships. 

 

That being said, we always pay for spa access and know how many people actually use the facilities. 

The thermal spa is not a huge deal to us due to my husband having a spinal cord injury. He is not able to walk very well nor can he do stairs/steps. This ship sounds perfect for us. You don't know how fortunate you are to be able to get up and walk until it's taken away. Thank you for all your post.. I'm just praying that everything will get back to normal soon, whatever normal may be at the time..