A (Mostly) Joy Filled Review - Norwegian Joy - 2/5 - 2/12

[Cruising Lynne]

On 2/21/2023 at 4:56 PM, tripleboom said:

After our afternoon activities, we had decided to have dinner at Savor on this evening. The Manhattan Room opens for dinner service at 5pm and wraps up by 9pm, whereas Taste and Savor open at 5:30 and go until 9:30 each night. We decided to be at Savor a little before 5:30 so we could be seated immediately after opening. We had plans to see Footloose this evening, so we let the staff know at the time we were seated and again when our waiter greeted us.

 

Now, I'm well aware of the slower, formal pace of dining in the MDRs. I'm aware that on some evenings one might be able to expect a 1.5 hour dining experience or perhaps even a bit more.  But we've had no issues with the MDRs being accommodating with our requests to be mindful of our evening entertainment reservations on past sailings. We've been in, out, and on our way in 45 minutes to an hour on those occasions with no issue. Unfortunately, on this night, this is where we ran into some trouble again.

 

After being seated we had a bit of a wait before the waiter came and took drink orders, so we took a couple of pics while waiting. We clean up pretty well! 😊

 

You can hardly tell that these two are related. 😉 

 

 

 

After a not insubstantial wait, which was probably made to feel longer by the fellow guest noisily, plhlegmily (yup, I'm making up words now) clearing his throat over and over again, our starter course arrived.

 

I opted for the shrimp cake:

 

 

While Stacy went for the spicy crab meat wontons. These were very good!

 

 

Unfortunately, this would be the last of the food we received at Savor this night. According to the meta data on my pictures, the starters arrived at around 6:02, about 30 minutes after we were sat. Not the end of the world, so long as the entrées weren't far behind. We spent the next 30 minutes waiting and watching the surrounding tables, including a couple of very large parties seated after us, be served their starters, entrées, and desserts. We only saw our waiter once after the starters arrived, and I asked then how much longer the food would be, reminding him of our evening schedule, and he assured us it would be out shortly. 

 

Having resigned ourselves to skipping dessert on this night, we continued to wait patiently for the entrées to arrive. A restaurant manager came to check on us, and I let her know what the situation was. She agreed to check on this, but after another 7-10 minutes had passed I called it. We actually stood up and left without further ado as we were afraid we were going to have our reservations released for Footloose. 

 

I'm not going to stand on a soap box and lament the service, scream "never again, NCL," etc. It simply seemed as though we were once again the victims of a comedy of errors which had become not so funny. So with growling stomachs, we headed off to Footloose.

 

 

The show was VERY good. Having seen a couple other big Broadway style NCL shows I was most impressed with the set design for this one. Scene changes sent us from dance halls, to high school hallways, to church, to diners, and more. To be able to execute that many set changes, all while at sea? Very impressive! The lead actors and supporting cast played their parts very well, but there did seem to be some fluff scenes that could be cut for time. It's pretty close to two hours with no intermission, so the late night showings may prove a challenge to stay awake for. If you've liked other NCL Broadway-style shows, you'll certainly enjoy Footloose too!

 

After we emerged from the theater we were good and hungry, so we headed to The Local for a late dinner. The food arrived quickly, and the restaurant manager here actually stopped by our table to check up on us. Apparently our issues from Savor, including our having left early, were noted, and the manager at The Local offered his apologies for our experience.

 

It may have been that I was rubbed the wrong way from our experience earlier in the night, but the encounter with the manager felt like we were being chided a bit. He reminded us that the service in the MDR is traditionally slower paced (which I assured him we understood from past experience, and had alerted the staff to our needs on this evening, as well as the observation that others had been seated after us and gone before us with all three courses having been served). He also said something to the effect of, "you could just come here for the rest of the cruise, and avoid the MDR all together, we'll take good care of you!"  Again, it may be that I was irritable from the past couple days of issues, but it almost felt like he was telling us we weren't welcome back in the MDR and to just come to The Local instead.

 

I will say, from this point forward in the cruise, we didn't experience any additional issues that rose to the level of noteworthy/complaint worthy (aside from the Cavern Club noise issue obviously). I really hope that this manager was just very proud of The Local and was issuing a warm invitation to his restaurant, and that it just came off as a bit patronizing or condescending to my ears after a trying couple of days.

 

With a good meal in our bellies, we headed back to the room, which blissfully had been stocked with towels, made up for the night, and came complete with a fully functional tub drain. 🙂 

We have experienced a long wait for our meal at Taste or Savor at lunch time before, and at one of the similar restaurants on one of the smaller ships at dinner time. Since then, if I want to do MDR for dinner, we stick with the larger aft main dining room. We have always had good service there. I feel bad that this happened to you, especially with hungry young men with you! Usually they try harder when you let them know you are going to a show. So far the rest of your trip seems to be going well.

 

Other notes: I am also someone who needs the separate towel for her hair. I forgot that I have a small hair turban towel that I can pack for the next trip.

 

I am shocked that your son can get his learners permit at 14. In my state (Massachusetts) you have to be 16. 

 

Love the whale watching videos and the boys big jumps. I would have been terrified going over the suspension bridge in the ATV!

Edited February 27, 2023 by Cruising Lynne
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[AKR2011]

I'm so happy I caught your review. Yours are always a favorite of mine. I love your kids' expressions and excitement for everything. Thank you so much for giving us another great story ❤️⚓️

[tripleboom]

After a short drive we arrived at a scenic overlook pit stop. Breathtaking!

 

 

 

They had a number of refreshments available, including tequila for those needing liquid courage to cross the continent's longest suspended bridge. 😱

 

 

Our chariots were looking a little dirtier from their day's work!

 

 

The boys were absolutely living their best life today.

 

 

After a bit, some of the folks that were present when we arrived started their crossing of the bridge! If you squint you can just make out their ATVs crossing!

 

 

 

After a few more pictures...

 

 

 

...It was our turn to go next! 

[tripleboom]

Here we go!!!

 

 

 

 

 

Incredible!! Our tour ended just on the other side of the bridge as we arrived back at the hacienda.

 

We had the opportunity to review and purchase photos the tour provider had taken throughout the day, as well as have a bite to eat at their restaurant. We took the opportunity to connect to WiFi and check in at home with family as well as take in the beautiful scenery one last time!

 

Not my music, just what they had pumping as I was recording. 😄

 

 

 

After that we were loaded back up in the trucks, made our trek back down the mountains, and the truck dropped us off just outside of Puerto Magico again, making the return to the ship seamless.

 

 

 

[sherrihall128]

What an awesome excursion! 

[tripleboom]

Once we were back aboard we hightailed it to our room to get cleaned up. When we arrived we found our room nicely made up, including another towel animal friend!

 

 

After everyone had made a thorough trip through the shower and the dust covered clothes had been safely packed away in the "dirty" suitcase, the boys headed out for an evening with their friends at the buffet and the arcade, while Stacy and I prepared to head to Q Smokehouse to redeem one of our specialty dining credits. We worked our way down to Deck 6, forward, and prepared to dig in!

 

 

 

We were greeted with a "Howdy, y'all," and were shown to our seats. This same space on other ships had been used for the dinner theater shows, and I must say I much prefer what they've done with the space on this ship. The large dining room arced in front of a stage where The Wanted and other bands played throughout the cruise. Folks were welcome to come in and have a seat at the back of the restaurant and could order drinks from the bar too if all they wanted to do was enjoy the music, but as we'd soon find out, the meal is worth spending a specialty dining credit!

 

We both started our meal with one of the recommended cocktails on the menu, the smoked peach margarita, which was delicious!

 

 

Of the many tempting options available on the starter menu:

 

Stacy went with the Lone Star Chili

 

 

While I opted for the Texan Crab Cakes

 

 

These were both great! The food arrived at a relaxed pace that allowed us to enjoy each item until we were ready for the next batch to arrive.

 

For no upcharge, I was able to order the pitmaster platter, which included 1/4 lb. each of beef brisket, pork spare ribs, smoked chicken, and jalapeño and cheese sausage links. It also included coleslaw potato salad, pickles, BBQ beans, and jalapeño cheese cornbread, though I subbed some of the jalapeno cheese grits in for the coleslaw. This was SOOOOO much more than I should have eaten, but I don't back down from a challenge (or delicious food) easily!

 

 

Stacy was a bit more reserved with her choices, opting for the beef brisket platter which she found to be outstanding, adding a loaded sweet potato as a side.

 

 

 

There were three house bbq sauces on the table including a run of the mill smoky sauce, a tangy/spicy option, and a Carolina style bbq sauce for the mustard based fans out there. I sampled all three and found the spicy/tangy sauce to be the winner, though I don't think anyone would be left out in the cold without a sauce they would like.

 

Having stuffed ourselves and then some, dessert seemed like a folly, but I knew I'd be sad if I walked out without trying the warm skillet brownie. We would actually return on a different night just to have the brownie again for dessert! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

 

 

Honest, we hadn't decided which restaurants to try for this trip until the last possible minute. As I said before, there's some great BBQ spots to be found here in the Midwest (we're only a couple of hours from K.C.'s plethora of BBQ options and Omaha has its fair share too), so I was expecting the distinct possibility of disappointment. Nope!! I've read reviews complaining about the food here being dry, but that was not our experience in the least. Everything we tried was delicious and could go toe to toe with some of our favorite spots around home. A++ grub and a fun atmosphere!

 

After supper Stacy and I headed back to the room to digest and recover, but on the way we saw this gem magnetically held up on a cabin door.

 

 

Yup. That's a novelty pair of comically large women's underwear.  It's a bit tough to read, but the note says, "Eric,  Thank you 4 Last night!! For You, Honey. XOXO"

 

Eric, if you're out there, your friends gave us a pretty good laugh. 🤣

 

And on that note, we called it an early night. Mazatlán was going to be an EARLY wakeup call!

[johnrich]

Loving your review. Thank you so much. We are on the Joy in May and then again over Thanksgiving so it is great learning some of the ins and outs of the ship. Glad you liked Q. We booked it but we’re worried after reading some other reviews. Now we feel much better that you enjoyed it. 

[tripleboom]

On 2/26/2023 at 6:50 PM, Cruising Lynne said:

We have experienced a long wait for our meal at Taste or Savor at lunch time before, and at one of the similar restaurants on one of the smaller ships at dinner time. Since then, if I want to do MDR for dinner, we stick with the larger aft main dining room. We have always had good service there. I feel bad that this happened to you, especially with hungry young men with you! Usually they try harder when you let them know you are going to a show. So far the rest of your trip seems to be going well.

 

I am shocked that your son can get his learners permit at 14. In my state (Massachusetts) you have to be 16. 

 

On the issue of the MDR, it just felt like an odd confluence of events that led to such a poor night. We've never experienced something quite like that during our previous cruises, so it just stood out so starkly as an ordeal. Things only got better from there the rest of the cruise, but at the time there had just been so many little things that had begun to pile up that it was cumulative frustration more than anything else. Grateful that things gott better from there!

 

As for the young age for learner's permits, it's been that way since I was a kid. My wife was actually a fully licensed driver without restrictions at 14 years old up in South Dakota! I think particularly in the agricultural midwest, there are some driving laws loosened up so that kids can chip in on the farm at a younger age. Heck, while I was an in-town kid, probably 20% of my high school class was driving a tractor for years before they were driving a car! 🤠

 

On 2/26/2023 at 8:45 PM, AKR2011 said:

I'm so happy I caught your review. Yours are always a favorite of mine. I love your kids' expressions and excitement for everything. Thank you so much for giving us another great story ❤️⚓️

 

I recognize your username from some of my previous reviews, so thanks for stumbling back onto my latest review! 🙂

 

1 hour ago, johnrich said:

Loving your review. Thank you so much. We are on the Joy in May and then again over Thanksgiving so it is great learning some of the ins and outs of the ship. Glad you liked Q. We booked it but we’re worried after reading some other reviews. Now we feel much better that you enjoyed it. 

 

Maybe it won't be perfect every night, but we really were very pleased. If you're thinking about Food Republic, stay tuned. 😉

[drumming cruisers]

Loving your review, you are brave driving over that bridge. 

[Alexv500]

Your review has been amazing! I love all the detail and photos you’ve been sharing with us. Bummer you had a bad cabin location, I would’ve been really upset with all the noise lol. Funny enough, we were actually supposed to be on that same sailing as you but ended up cancelling for an 11 night Caribbean sailing out of Miami in May on the Joy as well! 
 

The Joy is a beautiful ship, she was my first NCL ship and I since have sailed the Bliss twice after that. I am so excited to be back on the Joy again soon. Can’t wait for the rest of your trip! Happy cruising to you and your family! 

[tripleboom]

2 minutes ago, drumming cruisers said:

Loving your review, you are brave driving over that bridge. 

 

Fortunately guys and/or gals better at math and physics than me were likely involved in this bridge's construction. I assume that's the case since I'm still breathing! 🤣

[tripleboom]

Day 5 - Mazatlán

 

Ok. I fancy myself an excellent planner, and pride myself on being the capable, competent leader of our family when we cruise. But on this morning, the good Lord decided I could stand to be taken down a peg or two. 🤣

 

We put out a room service card the night before so that we could have breakfast delivered to the room since we had such an early call for our NCL-booked excursion. We also received the usual NCL Daily in the room the night before. In what can only be described as a not-so senior moment I read the Daily for Day 5, and read the portion that reminded us to set our clocks back. So... like an idiot... I set my clock and watch back an hour on the Puerto Vallarta night. NOT the Mazatlán night that hadn't yet arrived. 😬 So our food arrived at the expected time, but I, still fighting off the early morning cobwebs in my head, thought they had delivered it a full hour early. Great!! 

 

It wasn't until Stacy looked at the ALWAYS CORRECT time on the cabin's phone that we realized that we were about 15 minutes away from needing to be to our excursion meeting spot in the theater!

 

 

Fortunately we largely had gotten everything packed last night that we needed for today, so we scurried, scarfed, and skedaddled out of the cabin and to the theater, arriving about 20 seconds before they called for our group to head down to the gangway.

 

Three out of the four ports on this itinerary were arriving in port at 11am or later, so the 7am arrival time for Mazatlán was cruel enough without the late night rendition of Sweet Caroline from 8-shots in Sarah from Schenectady below our beds the night before. So to say we were dragging tail a bit would be an understatement.

 

But we made our way off the ship, grabbed the pool towels from the stations set up on the pier, and then followed the leader just down the pier to a waiting ferry that would take us across the harbor to Stone Island.

 

 

 

There weren't a ton of NCL offered options in Mazatlán that looked tempting, but after two days in a row of very active excursions, we were ready to chill on the beach for a day, so the "Stone Island Beach Getaway" excursion is what we chose. Once the ferry was loaded up, we were told the stories of Mazatlán's history as we puttered to the other side. Once we arrived there we were loaded onto tractor pulled carts for the short drive down to the beach itself. We were then deposited at 

Restaurante Casa Cardon for our day at the beach.  I found this beautiful drone shot from Jose Antonio Hernandez Morales on Google Maps! The arrow shows where the cruise ships dock with the restaurant/beach club we arrived at shown circled in red.

 

 

While others took their time on the beach waiting for the sun to warm up the water a bit, the boys escaping a cold, snowy Iowa would not wait another minute!

 

 

 

 

I managed to take a decent picture with Stacy and I, but the boys couldn't be pulled from the water to participate. 🤣

 

 

But that's fine. The Magic Eraser feature on my Pixel phone made short work of them. You can still see their reflections in the water though even after they were erased. 😏

 

[tripleboom]

8 hours ago, sherrihall128 said:

What an awesome excursion! 

 

Highly recommended! I think the same or similar excursion was offered through NCL, but it would have set us back $750 as a family. I booked it for under $400, plus I got a Rakuten rebate that paid us back another $30+ after we got home. Great deal for a family of four for an incredible experience!

[Cruising Lynne]

What great memories you are creating for your family! Your boys are very lucky, and seem to really enjoy and appreciate the time spent having these amazing adventures together. 

 

Glad to hear that you enjoyed your meal at Q. Nice to have a date night to unwind after such a busy day.

 

Your review is getting me excited about my cruise that is coming up in about a month. We will be on Pearl to Bermuda. Nothing like Joy, but still a fun ship for us. 

 

 

[fethiyeden]

Hope you find time to finish your review. I really appreciate you sharing your memories with us.

[tripleboom]

On 3/9/2023 at 12:38 AM, fethiyeden said:

Hope you find time to finish your review. I really appreciate you sharing your memories with us.

 

I'm back and hoping I can grind this thing out over the next few days! Sorry for the delay. Apparently if I don't keep working, they'll stop paying me, and then I can't take cruises. It's really a vicious circle. 😉

[tripleboom]

The boys were quick to make some friends on the beach and spent a good chunk of the morning playing out in the waves.

 

 

These aren't your gentle Bahamian beaches lapping at the shore. These are some big Pacific waves tossing you around pretty good! Stacy and I eventually wandered out into the water as well to have some fun with the boys too. It was none too warm yet as you can hear from our voices, but wouldn't miss it for the world!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[tripleboom]

After getting pounded by the waves for a bit, Stacy and I retreated to the beachfront for a bit.

 

 

When we first arrived, the tour guides let us know that we could hang out in the restaurant all day where they had plenty of seating available. Alternatively, we could rent a table with an umbrella and four chairs right on the beachfront for the day for an additional $12. Worth it! It was a bit of a hike through the soft sand back to the bar, but you can't beat the sights and sounds right here!

 

 

Before too long, the staff of the restaurant made their rounds and collected the paper slips we were issued earlier in the day which was good for one lunch per person.

 

While we waited, the boys got busy with their friends doing.. well.. I don't know what they were aiming to accomplish, but digging holes and getting muddy seems like a very appropriate activity for a bunch of boys hanging out. 🤣

 

 

 

About 30-40 minutes later they started delivering the food. The combination platter wasn't terribly flavorful, but  it was enough to sate us for the day before our return to the ship, so you won't hear me complain. The meal included a small quesadilla, chicken leg, fried fish, rice, beans, and a small lettuce salad along with some tortillas, chips, and salsa for the four of us.

 

 

I made myself a makeshift taco that was pretty good!

 

 

While we were eating, the vendors on the beach were plenty active. I know this is an annoyance for some, but again, a polite "no, gracias" was enough for them to move on each time without any further pressure. But there was one vendor that made the boys hit me with some puppy dog eyes and convinced me to pull out the wallet. Stacy was NOT interested in this particular photo op!

 

 

 

 

[tripleboom]

Of course once the food showed up, the beach dogs started showing up too. Plenty friendly, and Landon was quick to make friends with them.

 

 

 

This guy enjoyed having the shade of the umbrella almost as much as we did.

 

 

After lunch, the boys cashed in their activity tickets. I'm not sure what all the options were, but the boys snagged a couple of boogie boards and headed back out into the surf. They have an awesome time!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Though some runs went better than others. 😄

 

[tripleboom]

We wrapped up our day with a couple more drinks (note the bobby pin used to mark the more... ummm... mature drinks 😁).

 

 

 

 

 

With our day on the beach near its close, we packed up and trudged our way back to the restaurant entrance to load back onto the tractor drawn trailers for our return trip to the pier.

 

 

 

On our way back onto the ferry, Landon managed to misstep and kick his flip flop off into the water. 🤦‍♂️ I had chalked it up for being a goner, but the crew managed to somehow retrieve it and return it to us before we pushed off!  The boys headed to the back of the ferry to squeeze in a few more minutes with their friends as well as make plans to meet back up that evening.

 

 

Before long we were back at the cruise pier and headed back on board.

 

 

[tripleboom]

Once we got back to the ship and cleaned up for the evening (washing a LOT of sand down the drains in the process. I swear we tried to get it off before we got back aboard! 😬), the boys high tailed it out of there to raid the buffet with their newfound friends while Stacy and I prepared for specialty dining night #2.

 

Just as we prepared to walk out of the cabin we started to pull out of port, so we watched Mazatlán shrink away from the comfort of the balcony.

 

 

Having some time to kill before our reservation time, Stacy and I headed to The Waterfront to do a little reading and soak up some of the last rays of the day.

 

 

It began to get a bit cooler, and since it was mid-afternoon, we decided to go to the Observation Lounge and grab a couple of snacks to tide us over until dinner.

 

 

Before long it was time to head to the restaurant, but not before catching one last glimpse of the sun for the night.

 

 

[tripleboom]

Tonight we decided to cash in just one of our two remaining SDP credits by stopping in at Food Republic. Because one SDP credit can be redeemed for four menu items, we felt like we both could be more than satisfied with splitting four items between the two of us, and thus stretch our specialty dining an extra night! So we were able to return again on another evening of the cruise.

 

If you take anything away from this review, it's that you should DEFINITELY do this. Tonight's dinner was outstanding! We arrived fairly early in the dinner service window, so I was able to request and be granted a window seat for our meal. Such a gorgeous view! And the sun and ocean were pretty too. 😉

 

 

Soon after being seated the waiver came over, confirmed that we were redeeming a single SDP credit, and activated the tablet for ordering. I LOVE this ordering system as it gave a detailed description of each item AND showed its picture so you knew what you were getting.

 

 

While the drink menu was displayed on the tablet, the waiter did have to place those drinks orders for us.

 

 

Stacy opted for the Thai Rum Tonic

 

 

While I went with the Sancho Panza, a deliciously spicy margarita style drink.

 

 

Before long our food order began to arrive. It was nice that the food didn't arrive all at once, allowing us to clear some plates from the table. Otherwise I'm not sure we could have fit our drinks and all the food on the small table all at once!

 

These firecracker shrimp were basically glorified taquitos, but they were plenty tasty!

 

 

However, the chicken teriyaki skewers were a little meh. The glaze was almost syrupy, so it wasn't our favorite. 

 

 

However, the rock shrimp roll was a slam dunk! Avocado, mango, spicy tuna, spicy aioli, and spicy shrimp plopped right on top! This was our favorite of the night!

 

 

The crispy salmon roll was a close second. That spicy aioli on top provided just the right amount of kick.
 

[tripleboom]

After dinner we wandered the ship a bit and then checked in at The Local to grab some dessert. The options at Food Republic were pretty good, but rather than use one of our four items on dessert, we were able to just snag dessert at The Local instead. Stacy's carrot cake looked great!

 

 

We each had a Buena Vista Irish Coffee as well, though it unfortunately arrived pretty lukewarm. I definitely prefer it piping hot!

 

 

After dessert we headed to the theater to catch Lord Nil. His illusion and escape show were incredible! Definitely don't miss if it's on your sailing!

 

 

When we got back to the room for night we discovered an amphibian invader. We turned in and rested up for our day at sea the next day!
 

[tripleboom]

Day 6 - Day at Sea #2

 

After getting a good night's rest, we woke up to a beautiful, sunny day at sea!

 

 

Landon actually pointed this out to me. Turns out the Aqua Racer slide's clear section was directly above our balcony!

 

 

Landon was actually up before any of us. He had set an alarm even so he could be on the hunt for cruise ducks first thing in the morning! He'd been on the lookout for them this entire cruise, but finally tracked one down in the Observation Lounge on this morning!

 

 

While the boys got up and headed out for a day with their newfound friends, Stacy and I headed down to The Waterfront once again to enjoy one of our favorite views at sea.

 

 

There's nothing better than seeing the wake spread out into the wide open sea!

 

 

They even have these large glass sections you can stand on to see the water under your feet. Apparently one of those pieces required some maintenance? Yikes. I'd hate to have been the guy that found that out. 😬

 

[drumming cruisers]

Great review.