Cruise newbie has lots of questions…

[planefring1]

Hello,  we are taking our first NCL Joy cruise in a few weeks time. We are a group of 11. Three families sharing 2 inside family suites. Please humor me in answering my questions.

1) In the included dining rooms,  do they accommodate a party of 11, or will they split us up?

2) do we all have to checkin at the NY port at the same time or not?

3) is there self service laundry onboard 

4) is parking at NYC cruise terminal the most convenient?

5) better port for snorkeling Harvest Cay or Bermuda?

6) we just got our priority luggage tags in the mail along with a letter about contacting the concierge with any requests. Is their anything we should be requesting that I don't know about, but should?

7) does the priority luggage tags also mean we can board early as well?

 

[mjkacmom]

3. No

4. Yes

[hallux]

14 minutes ago, planefring1 said:

1) In the included dining rooms,  do they accommodate a party of 11, or will they split us up?

I think they should be able to accommodate that, you might want to visit the reservations desk or one of the MDRs on embarkation day to make arrangements though.  Specialty dining might be more of an issue as I don't think the standard setups have tables for more than 8.  Larger tables in the Manhattan Room might be rectangular so conversation from one end to the other might be difficult.

14 minutes ago, planefring1 said:

3) is there self service laundry onboard 

No

14 minutes ago, planefring1 said:

5) better port for snorkeling Harvest Cay or Bermuda?

I had to look this up, you're going to Great Stirrup Cay, not Harvest Cay.  GSC is near Nassau, Harvest Cay is much farther West.  Keep in mind that GSC is a tender port and actually visiting the island is VERY weather-dependent.

Edited July 24, 2022 by hallux

[CruiseFanatic223]

They should be able to accommodate you all in the MDR. However, you should visit one of the MDRs and speak with the maître d' and they might be able to have a table ready for you at the time you'd like to eat. Otherwise your group could have a lengthy wait for enough table space to open up.

I've never cruise with a group that large (just 6), so I'm not the best person to answer, just speaking on what I've heard that they might do.

[JourneyDS]

Included dining rooms-make a reservation and they will create space for large droup.

You do not have to check in all at the same time.

No self service laundry.

Yes to parking at cruise terminal.

Snorkel in Bermuda.  Bermuda is gorgeous!  For added fun, grab a box of Cheerios from the buffet to feed the fish!  They all come swimming for them.  You can even do this right at the pier.  

Concierge usually contacted if you have special needs when it comes to boarding or anything else.

Priority boarding has a seperate shorter line if you are staying in certain suites, pay extra or have high latitudes status.

[JourneyDS]

Suggestions in Bermuda.  National Bermuda Museum is right by the dock.  Neat place to tour, low cost and walking distance. It is the fort with the big house you will see.  

[hallux]

3 minutes ago, JourneyDS said:

Suggestions in Bermuda.  National Bermuda Museum is right by the dock.  Neat place to tour, low cost and walking distance. It is the fort with the big house you will see.  

I toured this in 2014, I agree.  In 2014 the entrance fee was for the entire day, you could exit and return later.  We did that and went to grab lunch at the pub right near the entrance then went back in to see the rest of the place.

[JourneyDS]

We love Bermuda!  Been twice and will go back again.

Don't know what you have planned but Horseshoe Beach is gorgeous.  Beach busses to get you there and back right at the pier (don't need an excursion).  Also taxis and water taxi at pier.  Crystal Cave worth the trip and visit Swizzle Inn while there within walking distance.  Take water taxi over to Hamilton.  

Edited July 24, 2022 by JourneyDS

[BirdTravels]

21 minutes ago, planefring1 said:

Hello,  we are taking our first NCL Joy cruise in a few weeks time. We are a group of 11. Three families sharing 2 inside family suites. Please humor me in answering my questions.

1) In the included dining rooms,  do they accommodate a party of 11, or will they split us up?

2) do we all have to checkin at the NY port at the same time or not?

3) is there self service laundry onboard 

4) is parking at NYC cruise terminal the most convenient?

5) better port for snorkeling Harvest Cay or Bermuda?

6) we just got our priority luggage tags in the mail along with a letter about contacting the concierge with any requests. Is their anything we should be requesting that I don't know about, but should?

7) does the priority luggage tags also mean we can board early as well?

 

1. You can ask. Most tables are 10 tops. You can squeeze 11 on the table. That being said, there is so many restaurants and entertainment, most people do not want to eat together every night. And many will resent being forced into group dinners (that’s 1970’s cruising). Set up one or two group meals and see what people want. 
 

2. Check in separately. 
 

3. no self serve. There will be one day (day 4ish) where you will be offered to fill a laundry bag for $30. With laundry returned on Day 6. You can always pay by the piece any day. 
 

4. There is parking at the terminal. 
 

5.. Harvest cay has a good snorkeling excursion. Snorkeling from the beach isn’t great. Bermuda has a few snorkeling excursions over ship wrecks - just ok. 
 

6. there is no need to talk to the pre-concierge. They do not have any capability to do something you can’t do yourself. 
 

7. Recent reports say that suites where not afforded priority boarding. You need to ask around at the port. And just board as soon as ambassador and Diamond Diamond starts. 
 

you should be able to go to the suites restaurant for lunch on embarkation day. It was La Cucina last we were on. 

 

[JourneyDS]

3 minutes ago, hallux said:

I toured this in 2014, I agree.  In 2014 the entrance fee was for the entire day, you could exit and return later.  We did that and went to grab lunch at the pub right near the entrance then went back in to see the rest of the place.

Frog and Onion Pub!   Love it!  Bermuda Fisherman's Stew is signature dish.  

[cruiserbear55]

1 hour ago, JourneyDS said:

Frog and Onion Pub!   Love it!  Bermuda Fisherman's Stew is signature dish.  

   Agree!! Bermuda fish chowder and red onion rings at Frog and Onion. It’s worth the trip!!

[weltek]

As someone mentioned, Great Stirrup Cay is often cancelled at the last minute, due to weather. I think this bears highlighting, as it's important not to rely on that stop for your only beach day, only snorkel, etc. if that's something that is very important to you or your families to do.  For me, it's been cancelled 2 out of 4 times it was scheduled.

[PTC DAWG]

On 7/24/2022 at 3:16 PM, BirdTravels said:

1. You can ask. Most tables are 10 tops. You can squeeze 11 on the table. That being said, there is so many restaurants and entertainment, most people do not want to eat together every night. And many will resent being forced into group dinners (that’s 1970’s cruising). Set up one or two group meals and see what people want. 
 

2. Check in separately. 
 

3. no self serve. There will be one day (day 4ish) where you will be offered to fill a laundry bag for $30. With laundry returned on Day 6. You can always pay by the piece any day. 
 

4. There is parking at the terminal. 
 

5.. Harvest cay has a good snorkeling excursion. Snorkeling from the beach isn’t great. Bermuda has a few snorkeling excursions over ship wrecks - just ok. 
 

6. there is no need to talk to the pre-concierge. They do not have any capability to do something you can’t do yourself. 
 

7. Recent reports say that suites where not afforded priority boarding. You need to ask around at the port. And just board as soon as ambassador and Diamond Diamond starts. 
 

you should be able to go to the suites restaurant for lunch on embarkation day. It was La Cucina last we were on. 

 

Totally agree on #1. 

[Dannirose]

We were a group of 24 and even with reservations were split into several smaller tables when eating together for meals. Only once were we given 2 long rectangular tables in a sort of "L" shape set-up. The others they kept us all in the same part of the dining room but it was very scattered and some people were at a table for 4 and others a table for 6, etc. The maître d said it had to do with the times we were eating and even the group reservation cannot control if some people seated before you arrive take longer than others to finish eating so they have to seat you as they can. 

[Sue Do-Over]

Sounds like your listed questions all got answered.   My sister had an inside family suite on the Joy in November 2021.   It was FANTASTIC.

 

The living area was very spacious, with plenty of storage for guest(s) sleeping on the fold-out couch.  When open, that bed didn't take up all the floor space, there was still plenty of room around the small table/ coffee nook.  That is, you don't have to crawl over the sofa-bed to cross from one bedroom to the other.  (we didn't use it, but were curious)

 

Bedroom #1 was gigantic.  Loads of space all around and a huge bathroom.  Pile of plush pillows made it feel very luxurious.

Bedroom #2 was ... much more cramped.   On our trip, it was set up with a single bed, plus a chair and an ottoman.  There did not appear to be a drop-down bed from the ceiling or wall, so we assume that other configurations have a second single squeezed in there.  It's bathroom felt like the standard for interiors elsewhere on the ship.

 

In the living area, two giant TV screens live-feed from exterior cameras.   There are curtains, a railing and plexiglass on the bottom half, to mimic a real balcony, which we found kind of funny - but if it protects the TV, fine!   Pull the curtains closed to turn off the TVs.

 

Hope you find this helpful.