NCL Joy, 7 day Mexican Riviera, December 23-30

[OttawaJohn]

This was our first NCL cruise in six years, and our first ever time away like this at Christmas.  Below is some thoughts but the TL:DR, a lot of fun and a great ship.

 

The Good, the Bad and the Christmas

 

The Good

 

We loved the ship.  It's so new, despite being 5+ years old.  Lots of little things we loved, such as

*The hand sensors to open the doors on decks

*The Waterfront, even if it was too windy the one night we tried to sit there

*The shining chrome banisters, the gorgeous stairwells, the displays everywhere

*The interactive displays to do things

*All the storage space and plugs in our stateroom

*Strong shower, great pressure and hot water

*Buffet very nice, elevated almost, loved the seating everywhere

*The observation area on deck 15

 

And despite all the people on board, the most of any ship we've been on, it never felt crowded.  Never had to wait for an elevator or pass on it as too many people already in it.

 

The ship just worked well.

 

On a personal level, I loved the Mitel phones everywhere.  I work with those phones every day, so every time one rang though, I thought I was back in the office 🙂

 

The food was delicious for the most part.  The buffet was a buffet but generally tasty.  MDR dining was great in all three rooms, so was Local, and Cagney’s and Ocean Blue were great.  And the Christmas dinner was amazing.

 

American Diner was a really cool design, but we found the food very greasy though.  And the milkshakes looked FAR better than they taste.

 

Saw a whale come up for air at one point and thought that was an amazing scene, but it paled compared to breakfast the next morning.  Sitting in Taste, we saw, I don't know, 30+ dolphins leaping into the waves from the ship for over a minute.  It was the most jaw dropping experience ever.

 

Weather was great, a bit cooler on certain days but being Canadian, I loved it.  One night was really rocky but that just helps us sleep.

 

The staff were amazing, except for our cabin steward.  Everyone else always had a smile, a wave, a laugh and a desire to help make our vacation better.

 

It's been 6 years since our last NCL cruise and it felt like coming home.  We're meh on Celebrity.  We liked Princess. And Disney is its own thing. But NCL is just great.

 

The Bad

 

Boarding was a mess.  We arrived at 1030 as our assigned time but didn't get aboard till after 1230.  I think we were at a less then optimal berth.  Everyone just crammed into a tent, no social distancing at all, hundreds of people sitting on top of each other. 

 

They had shuttles to go from the tent to the ship, but there was a bad cycle to it.  Priority and Haven people went first, but due to the delays, more kept coming.  So for over 40 minutes, they kept calling for more Haven and Priority people to board shuttles, and never bothered calling any other groups.

 

Finally our group was called and it was just a chaotic mess, no order to the lines.  We got sent out en-masse into a parking area with cars driving by, and directed towards shuttle buses.  But despite there being specific ones it seems, were not told what buses to go towards. 

 

Later in the day, from our balcony, we watched literally hundreds of people stream from the tent areas to the ship to board, not sure what happened to the shuttles by that point.

 

The WiFi wasn't great.  I found the app had refresh issues.  I lost 20 minutes at one point as I logged out but it didn't catch it I guess?  So it counted it till I went to connect and noticed I still was.  So I started to close and reopen the app each time and noticed a few other times it didn't register my logout.

 

Also timer rounds down, so log out with 10 mins and 59 seconds and it goes to 10 mins even, costing you a minute

 

We only had WiFi on one other time, and that was unlimited.  Watching minutes sucks 🙂

 

Also, the app crashed on Christmas morning.  Thankfully, I knew how to get online around it.  Still, for those wanting to FaceTime home, that had to suck.

 

Our cabin steward wasn't the friendliest.  He never introduced himself, even when I gave my wife and I's names to him.  Never said hi when we saw him in the corridors, and was very slow at getting to our room.  Still, did his job eventually, so all good.  Just a standout though, since literally everyone else we dealt with in the crew was great.

 

Also, not sure if it was just him, but we never got a towel animal or chocolates on our pillows.  Again, 6 years since last NCL cruise so maybe it's changed?

 

As much as we loved the ship, one complaint, the walls seemed super thin.  It felt like we could hear everything around us, from deck chairs two decks up, to phones ringing in other cabins and our neighbour snoring.  And when everyone got up early for Mazatlán, we heard them all moving around us and talking.

 

The soap and shampoo were really bad.  We heard others complaining about it as well.  Just seemed very low quality.

 

99% of everything we had on board was delicious, but Q smokehouse sucked. The food was bland, no flavor at all.  It was cold and sad.  Very disappointed, especially as it was our last dinner.

 

Disembark last day was as bad as coming aboard.  Very long lines, and in the same bad berth again.  We had to go outside in the pouring rain, standing around in rain for shuttles to take us over to get our luggage, and then get out into the rain again to try and get a taxi.  Just not well put together.

 

The Christmas

 

This was our first Christmas away.  And it was very relaxing, none of the usual Christmas stresses. This may become a new tradition.  We are already doing one next year anyway.  We'll see what the future brings.

 

Christmas day was really neat on the ship.  Santa in the Atrium was adorable.  All the excited kids.  People in their PJ's.  It was just like Christmas at home, just with 4000 strangers 🙂

 

I was curious when they'd take the decorations down. I was thinking maybe the 27th but they stayed up the duration.  It was a Christmas cruise, so maybe that's why.  I wonder if those who boarded on the 30th after we got off found, like the residents of Whoville, not a scrap of Christmas cheer left?

 

I did hear a woman in the hall complaining on the 26th about still hearing Christmas music.  I wonder how she was doing come the 30th? 🙂

 

Speaking of the 26th, had a funny encounter.  On the elevator with a few others, and as a woman got off, the couple next to us wished her a Happy Boxing Day.  We turned to them and said "Aha, fellow Canadians!"  They asked how we knew and we told them only Commonwealth people typically knew about Boxing Day, and their accents narrowed it down.  They were surprised to hear that the US didn't celebrate the holiday, and had been wishing people it all day.  I wonder how many people were googling it after to find out what it was 🙂

 

As someone who is a bit Grinchy, I was surprised how much I loved it.  It truly didn't bother me at all.  It was fun and festive, but not in your face.  I really enjoyed it.

 

Final Thoughts

 

We love NCL and look forward to future sailings with them.  Though our next few cruises are booked with other lines, we'll be back.  And we're already looking forward to it.

[dwr777]

Many thanks for your review. I’m on the Joy in March, reading about your positive experiences was great!

[debenson0723]

Thank you for the wonderful review of the Joy.  I am hoping to sail on her next month for the first time, as I really enjoy the Bliss and Encore. I like seeing the subtle differences in the Breakaway+ ships, 

Port of Los Angeles has always been a mess, 2nd only to New Orleans. Doesn't matter which line you sail from there...NCL, RCL or Princess...it has been a struggle. But the gift of the ship is waiting at the end.

You are correct...no chocolates on the pillows for years and towel animals were starting to disappear just prior to the pandemic (but you can request one if you really want it...I have no need for them).

After reading your review, I might have to add a Christmas cruise to my list, 

[OttawaJohn]

14 hours ago, debenson0723 said:

Port of Los Angeles has always been a mess, 2nd only to New Orleans.

 

Funny you should say that, my wife and I were talking about how the only other boarding experience as bad as this one was our one cruise out of New Orleans.  Waited in line for hours in the heat to board, just a mass of people. 

 

We didn't know if that was a one time issue or just status quo for them.

[Barb Nahoumi]

Thank you for your positive review of the Joy. We  look forwarding to being aboard for a 10 day cruise in August.  

 

The Joy has been featured on the Smithsonian Channel's "Mighty Cruise Ships<" so we got a nice glimpse of her and her crew.  We have cruised with NCL many times, and are platinum members, but only on the Jewel class ships.

[mafruc]

We were on the same ship. It was our first cruise, so the things that bothered you with embarkation and disembarkation didn’t phase us since we didn’t have anything to compare it to. We were on the ship by 12:15 enjoying a nice lunch at Taste which was not crowded at all even though we heard the buffet was a madhouse. We enjoyed all of the Christmas decorations and walking around in our Christmas PJ’s on Christmas Eve and Christmas morning. It was fun seeing a large family open their gifts that they had placed under a Christmas tree in the observation lounge. We had Christmas Eve dinner at Teppanyaki and a lovely Christmas dinner in the Manhattan Room. We only ate at the buffet for breakfast a few times and had a couple of salads for lunch.
 

We bought the WiFi upgrade which was well worth it, although the internet was sketchy at times. Not as bad as I was expecting though considering the ship was very full. We never heard a peep from the cabins next to us. The floor shook quite a bit though. It was like driving on a rumble strip which made it more difficult to sleep. Next time we’ll pick our own cabin location so that we are in the middle of the ship and not so close to the back where the engine is located. 
 

We were on a private whale watching tour in Cabo on Christmas Day and were treated with seeing 15 whales and 10 bottle-nosed dolphins. It was spectacular and the highlight of our trip! The weather was sunny and warm in Cabo! 
 

On our last morning (12/30), our color to disembark was called rather early, but we ignored it and went to the buffet to have breakfast instead. By the time we disembarked, the line was not terrible at all and we didn’t get rained on. Traveling home was a a different story though as our flight was delayed, and then we were put on a different flight because we’d have missed our connection. This made our day very long. It took 10 hours to get home instead of 4. Our travel companions had a direct flight and were home while we sat in airports all day and night. Our checked luggage didn’t make it home, but we retrieved it from the airport the following day. Other than the long day getting home, we had a great time and enjoyed our cruise on the beautiful Norwegian Joy. 

 

 

 

[phillygwm]

I was on the Joy in October (Canada) and on the Bliss Mex Riviera cruise last December, so I've done both separately 🙂

 

They no longer do the towel animals, except on request.  I usually request but my animals were pretty weak last time.  I guess it's a skill newer stewards don't really know?  They also did away with chocolates some years ago.  Per another thread here, they're doing away with turndown service so perhaps a moot point. 

 

On NCL, my room stewards are usually exceptional but I've run into a couple who were mediocre.  You can't train personality but as long as they keep my room clean and handle my (few) requests, I'm good.  I ask for the towel animals, for the fridge to be cleaned out, and I always seem to have to request distilled water, even though I always do a special request form.

 

I agree with the San Pedro boarding process but I was doing it shortly after cruises resumed so there was an added testing component which added to the chaos (but at least I expected it!) I don't recall disembarking to be bad on the Bliss -- or the Joy but that was NY.  People do queue up early so if you want to be off early, plan accordingly.

[sacteach]

I was on the cruise right before yours (18th to 23rd) and we also had a delay in embarkation, even with the ship right there. But, we were luckily super early, so we were in boarding group 1. Later, when we were on the ship, we saw the huge line outside on the sidewalk so even though we had to wait a couple hours in the big tent, we were glad we weren't in that line. For disembarkation, we docked at one pier, had to take a shuttle to another to get our luggage (even though it was just across the big parking lot), then take another shuttle back to pier 92 where we started the cruise in order to get a Lyft to the airport.

 

I enjoyed the cruise, but don't think I'd travel on the Joy again as it didn't have a Thermal Spa and I've learned that it's a "must" for me. There were so many times when I just wanted to sit in a hot tub or sauna and it wasn't an option. 

 

[OttawaJohn]

2 hours ago, mafruc said:

We never heard a peep from the cabins next to us. The floor shook quite a bit though. It was like driving on a rumble strip which made it more difficult to sleep. Next time we’ll pick our own cabin location so that we are in the middle of the ship and not so close to the back where the engine is located. 

 

Interesting, which deck were you on?  We were on 14, wonder if there is some differences?

 

And yes, in general, we always try to shoot for midship.  Less rocking and noise typically.

[SuzieQ521]

2 hours ago, sacteach said:

I was on the cruise right before yours (18th to 23rd) and we also had a delay in embarkation, even with the ship right there. But, we were luckily super early, so we were in boarding group 1. Later, when we were on the ship, we saw the huge line outside on the sidewalk so even though we had to wait a couple hours in the big tent, we were glad we weren't in that line. For disembarkation, we docked at one pier, had to take a shuttle to another to get our luggage (even though it was just across the big parking lot), then take another shuttle back to pier 92 where we started the cruise in order to get a Lyft to the airport.

 

I enjoyed the cruise, but don't think I'd travel on the Joy again as it didn't have a Thermal Spa and I've learned that it's a "must" for me. There were so many times when I just wanted to sit in a hot tub or sauna and it wasn't an option. 

 

 

Were you in boarding group 9-9:30 a.m.? Did you get there right at 9 or before? That's the group we have our our cruise on the Bliss in a couple weeks in San Pedro. We have a 4 year old in tow so hoping that with the first group, we won't have to wait in horrible lines (although I understand boarding likely won't begin until 11 am. at the earliest).

 

Thanks!

[SuzieQ521]

20 hours ago, OttawaJohn said:

This was our first NCL cruise in six years, and our first ever time away like this at Christmas.  Below is some thoughts but the TL:DR, a lot of fun and a great ship.

 

 

 

The Good, the Bad and the Christmas

 

 

 

The Good

 

 

 

We loved the ship.  It's so new, despite being 5+ years old.  Lots of little things we loved, such as

 

*The hand sensors to open the doors on decks

 

*The Waterfront, even if it was too windy the one night we tried to sit there

 

*The shining chrome banisters, the gorgeous stairwells, the displays everywhere

 

*The interactive displays to do things

 

*All the storage space and plugs in our stateroom

 

*Strong shower, great pressure and hot water

 

*Buffet very nice, elevated almost, loved the seating everywhere

 

*The observation area on deck 15

 

 

 

And despite all the people on board, the most of any ship we've been on, it never felt crowded.  Never had to wait for an elevator or pass on it as too many people already in it.

 

 

 

The ship just worked well.

 

 

 

On a personal level, I loved the Mitel phones everywhere.  I work with those phones every day, so every time one rang though, I thought I was back in the office 🙂

 

 

 

The food was delicious for the most part.  The buffet was a buffet but generally tasty.  MDR dining was great in all three rooms, so was Local, and Cagney’s and Ocean Blue were great.  And the Christmas dinner was amazing.

 

 

 

American Diner was a really cool design, but we found the food very greasy though.  And the milkshakes looked FAR better than they taste.

 

 

 

Saw a whale come up for air at one point and thought that was an amazing scene, but it paled compared to breakfast the next morning.  Sitting in Taste, we saw, I don't know, 30+ dolphins leaping into the waves from the ship for over a minute.  It was the most jaw dropping experience ever.

 

 

 

Weather was great, a bit cooler on certain days but being Canadian, I loved it.  One night was really rocky but that just helps us sleep.

 

 

 

The staff were amazing, except for our cabin steward.  Everyone else always had a smile, a wave, a laugh and a desire to help make our vacation better.

 

 

 

It's been 6 years since our last NCL cruise and it felt like coming home.  We're meh on Celebrity.  We liked Princess. And Disney is its own thing. But NCL is just great.

 

 

 

The Bad

 

 

 

Boarding was a mess.  We arrived at 1030 as our assigned time but didn't get aboard till after 1230.  I think we were at a less then optimal berth.  Everyone just crammed into a tent, no social distancing at all, hundreds of people sitting on top of each other. 

 

 

 

They had shuttles to go from the tent to the ship, but there was a bad cycle to it.  Priority and Haven people went first, but due to the delays, more kept coming.  So for over 40 minutes, they kept calling for more Haven and Priority people to board shuttles, and never bothered calling any other groups.

 

 

 

Finally our group was called and it was just a chaotic mess, no order to the lines.  We got sent out en-masse into a parking area with cars driving by, and directed towards shuttle buses.  But despite there being specific ones it seems, were not told what buses to go towards. 

 

 

 

Later in the day, from our balcony, we watched literally hundreds of people stream from the tent areas to the ship to board, not sure what happened to the shuttles by that point.

 

 

 

The WiFi wasn't great.  I found the app had refresh issues.  I lost 20 minutes at one point as I logged out but it didn't catch it I guess?  So it counted it till I went to connect and noticed I still was.  So I started to close and reopen the app each time and noticed a few other times it didn't register my logout.

 

 

 

Also timer rounds down, so log out with 10 mins and 59 seconds and it goes to 10 mins even, costing you a minute

 

 

 

We only had WiFi on one other time, and that was unlimited.  Watching minutes sucks 🙂

 

 

 

Also, the app crashed on Christmas morning.  Thankfully, I knew how to get online around it.  Still, for those wanting to FaceTime home, that had to suck.

 

 

 

Our cabin steward wasn't the friendliest.  He never introduced himself, even when I gave my wife and I's names to him.  Never said hi when we saw him in the corridors, and was very slow at getting to our room.  Still, did his job eventually, so all good.  Just a standout though, since literally everyone else we dealt with in the crew was great.

 

 

 

Also, not sure if it was just him, but we never got a towel animal or chocolates on our pillows.  Again, 6 years since last NCL cruise so maybe it's changed?

 

 

 

As much as we loved the ship, one complaint, the walls seemed super thin.  It felt like we could hear everything around us, from deck chairs two decks up, to phones ringing in other cabins and our neighbour snoring.  And when everyone got up early for Mazatlán, we heard them all moving around us and talking.

 

 

 

The soap and shampoo were really bad.  We heard others complaining about it as well.  Just seemed very low quality.

 

 

 

99% of everything we had on board was delicious, but Q smokehouse sucked. The food was bland, no flavor at all.  It was cold and sad.  Very disappointed, especially as it was our last dinner.

 

 

 

Disembark last day was as bad as coming aboard.  Very long lines, and in the same bad berth again.  We had to go outside in the pouring rain, standing around in rain for shuttles to take us over to get our luggage, and then get out into the rain again to try and get a taxi.  Just not well put together.

 

 

 

The Christmas

 

 

 

This was our first Christmas away.  And it was very relaxing, none of the usual Christmas stresses. This may become a new tradition.  We are already doing one next year anyway.  We'll see what the future brings.

 

 

 

Christmas day was really neat on the ship.  Santa in the Atrium was adorable.  All the excited kids.  People in their PJ's.  It was just like Christmas at home, just with 4000 strangers 🙂

 

 

 

I was curious when they'd take the decorations down. I was thinking maybe the 27th but they stayed up the duration.  It was a Christmas cruise, so maybe that's why.  I wonder if those who boarded on the 30th after we got off found, like the residents of Whoville, not a scrap of Christmas cheer left?

 

 

 

I did hear a woman in the hall complaining on the 26th about still hearing Christmas music.  I wonder how she was doing come the 30th? 🙂

 

 

 

Speaking of the 26th, had a funny encounter.  On the elevator with a few others, and as a woman got off, the couple next to us wished her a Happy Boxing Day.  We turned to them and said "Aha, fellow Canadians!"  They asked how we knew and we told them only Commonwealth people typically knew about Boxing Day, and their accents narrowed it down.  They were surprised to hear that the US didn't celebrate the holiday, and had been wishing people it all day.  I wonder how many people were googling it after to find out what it was 🙂

 

 

 

As someone who is a bit Grinchy, I was surprised how much I loved it.  It truly didn't bother me at all.  It was fun and festive, but not in your face.  I really enjoyed it.

 

 

 

Final Thoughts

 

 

 

We love NCL and look forward to future sailings with them.  Though our next few cruises are booked with other lines, we'll be back.  And we're already looking forward to it.

 

 

Thanks for the review...we are doing the Mexican Rivera (5 day) on the Bliss in a couple weeks. 

Hopefully embarkation won't be so bad for us fingers crossed (we're in the first boarding group).

 

May I ask what you did in Cabo? Debating on whether to book the NCL deluxe coastal cruise tour...hoping to see some whales on there too. Thanks!

[sacteach]

2 hours ago, SuzieQ521 said:

 

Were you in boarding group 9-9:30 a.m.? Did you get there right at 9 or before? That's the group we have our our cruise on the Bliss in a couple weeks in San Pedro. We have a 4 year old in tow so hoping that with the first group, we won't have to wait in horrible lines (although I understand boarding likely won't begin until 11 am. at the earliest).

 

Thanks!

 

Our "check-in" time was 11-11:30am (you don't pick a boarding time). But, our flight landed at 8:15am, so we were at the pier before 9am. We just got into the line in the small tent which was pretty small at that time after dropping our luggage off with the porter. I think they started letting us go through security around 10am. Then when we walked in, we were given a tag for Boarding Group 1, then went to check-in and get our room keys. Then we sat for two hours in the big room because passengers were still getting off the ship until about 11:20 I think. Around 11:45 they started calling the priority groups and then the number groups, so we got on around noon I think. Our check-in time was never a factor. 

[OttawaJohn]

3 hours ago, SuzieQ521 said:

 

Thanks for the review...we are doing the Mexican Rivera (5 day) on the Bliss in a couple weeks. 

Hopefully embarkation won't be so bad for us fingers crossed (we're in the first boarding group).

 

May I ask what you did in Cabo? Debating on whether to book the NCL deluxe coastal cruise tour...hoping to see some whales on there too. Thanks!

 

We didn't do anything in Cabo, we didn't feel like tendering.  I heard mixed reviews from other guests, as it was Christmas Day that day, so it seemed not everything worked out great.  That said, one guy who did a fishing excursion said he saw dozens of whales during the time, so it seemed pretty good for that.

[wally4ever]

I was on that same cruise!  We had the cabin right next to the Brewhouse.  No complaints about noise.  I loved the ship and the experience.  My only gripes...

 

1) The Cavern needs more seating, especially for the BeatleStory events

 

2) The Shampoo and body wash were atrocious.  

 

3) The whole doing check-in at berth 50, boarding the ship at berth 46 thing?  Ugh.  We had flown in from Virginia (where it was below freezing) and then had to wait out where it was hot for over an hour and a half.  Not ideal.  

[mafruc]

6 hours ago, OttawaJohn said:

Interesting, which deck were you on?  We were on 14, wonder if there is some differences?

 

And yes, in general, we always try to shoot for midship.  Less rocking and noise typically.

 We were on Deck 12 just a few cabins from aft/stern. It was a guaranteed balcony, so we didn’t get to choose the actual cabin. We felt the vibrations from the engine. My head felt like it was bouncing up and down at night. The faster the ship went, the worse the vibrations got. Seems like the ship went faster at night. 

[OttawaJohn]

12 hours ago, wally4ever said:

I was on that same cruise!  We had the cabin right next to the Brewhouse.  No complaints about noise.  I loved the ship and the experience.  My only gripes...

 

1) The Cavern needs more seating, especially for the BeatleStory events

 

Agreed, the Cavern is way to small for what turns out to be a really popular spot.  Thankfully, we were able to see the one they did in the theater one night, which was a lot of fun to watch.

[OttawaJohn]

11 hours ago, mafruc said:

 We were on Deck 12 just a few cabins from aft/stern. It was a guaranteed balcony, so we didn’t get to choose the actual cabin. We felt the vibrations from the engine. My head felt like it was bouncing up and down at night. The faster the ship went, the worse the vibrations got. Seems like the ship went faster at night. 

Interesting.  Yes, they often speed up after hours and my wife commented on it as well.  She could feel it in the back of her head when lying in bed against the headrest.  I didn't notice it but she did, and we were deck 14 Mid.  Can only imagine what it was like aft lower down.

[OttawaJohn]

For those wondering how much we liked it, well we just booked it again.  We loved it so much we are cancelling our May cruise with RCC and booking on the Joy again for Bermuda.

[moonjelly]

Hello and thank you for the info.

A question: while waiting 2 ish hours in the tent, are there chairs available for those who cannot stand that long? If so, do you have to be some of the first there to get one? One of my cruise mates has leg issues. Thank you.

Edited January 14, 2023 by moonjelly
Typo

[wally4ever]

59 minutes ago, moonjelly said:

Hello and thank you for the info.

A question: while waiting 2 ish hours in the tent, are there chairs available for those who cannot stand that long? If so, do you have to be some of the first there to get one? One of my cruise mates has leg issues. Thank you.

Oh yes there were plenty of chairs.  The only people standing seemed to be doing so by choice.  Now they weren't particularly comfortable chairs... they were standard metal folding chairs... but sitting while you wait shouldn't be a problem.

[sassycruiser]

We did the Joy to Bermuda in May from NYC.  Embarkation was an absolute disaster.

 

We loved the ship.  Spent a lot of time in the Observation Lounge.  
 

‘’we had an aft cabin and it was lovely.  

[PTC DAWG]

Good thing I don’t care about being online..the rest sounds fine.  Boarding can be chaotic at times on any line due to unforeseen complications.  
 

Thanks for the review..sailing Joy April 1 out of Miami. 

[mking8288]

@OttawaJohn and also to @wally4ever 

 

Thank you for the review & comments, we're on the Joy twice in 2022 and surely can identify with many of the comments & feedback.  WiFi was bad and documented in our Semi-Live report with benchmarked #'s - thankfully, our upgraded basic limited didn't really cost us & DW was happy she can go to her iPad most of the time ... once I'm disconnected, the priciest among all the mass lines while the slowest.  Fell in love with the Fwd Observation Lounge & also in the Haven O.L. - same view out front, really - save a bundle, LOL.  

 

Cruise pier/terminal check-in and boarding issues, not unique to San Pedro and New York, NCL tossed the bucks to shore-based, outsourced contractors but they still wear the NCL-branded ID tags and can't entirely evade their obligations & making ongoing efforts to address some of the issues ... well, up to a certain point, labor & CBP staffing issues on land among matters they can't directly engage it.  

 

"The soap and shampoo were really bad.  We heard others complaining about it as well.  Just seemed very low quality "  these points raised, by itself, aren't deal breakers but suggest trending that's been commented upon here on CC lately with regards to NCL (and, other lines also put measures in place to trim costs)   The bottle dispened body wash, shampoo & hand wash isn't anything new - even Haven are switching over to wall dispensing (haha, well to the new Sail & Sustain) ... same as when we checked into our Marriott studio & suite these days, except they aren't using Johnson & Johnson, yet.   Others have also "reported" - to each her/his own as some are indifferent - of similar feedback and lead one to suspect, lower quality products are being substituted, as we didn't noticed any difference last September onboard the Joy.  Things do happened, often quickly & without notice, hoping that most will not feel & smell the difference ... a few of us do pay attention to details.  

 

Will just pack more items ourselves to bring along, 2 or 3 travel sized bottle products of our own choice isn't difficult as we aren't flying (sailing next weekend) ... perhaps, TSA will move faster to get rid of those silly 3-1-1 rules, as other countries are done with it, using newer & better technologies to mitigate "threats".  

 

Our balcony on Deck 15 Mid/Aft near the elevator was quiet, didn't feel vibrations when ship ran at full speed but we heard others on the lower decks, AFT balconies with noise issues - not much we can do with the design ... avoid booking those cabins next time.   

 

Thanks for sharing & the time writing to post here.  Much obliged and Cheers.  

[UnbridledEnthusiasm]

Anyone have any of the dailies that you wouldn't mind posting from any of the last few sailings?

[Inscrutable]

We did Joy out of LA in ‘19 … LA is always LA … generally a PITA … whether by land, sea, or air.

 

But the cruise was great.