Mitsugirly had a JOYful cruise

[mitsugirly]

Hi, sorry I've been working on the review and had to work today. Those 12 hour shifts are L-O-N-G! 

 

For those wondering about Day 2 of the review (and linking to a past review), I'm not finished with Day 2 and just forgot to take the link off and make it blank until that day is completed. So, if you've read the beginning and Day 1, you're all caught up for now. 😘

 

Sorry for the confusion. 

[nhtravels]

Ahhh mystery solved!  Thanks @mitsugirly!  (I spent the day reading about your Isla Mujeres trip.  Sounds like a great land trip!)

[pirate4me2]

Ah, I love your reviews!!! You are part of why I’m FINALLY branching out and trying NCL! I can’t wait to read this one 🙂

[mitsugirly]

On 4/20/2023 at 7:36 AM, ColeThornton said:

 

 

Sorry, you lost me when I saw those duck things.   lol     😉

 

 

 Come on, be up for some adventure and new things...LOL

 

On 4/20/2023 at 7:45 AM, vacation44 said:

Long time reader of your reviews and looking forward to reading about this adventure.    

 

Thanks, I appreciate it.

 

On 4/20/2023 at 2:02 PM, dltvermont said:

Glad to see you back!

 

Looking forward to your review!

 

Thank you, glad to be back. I hope you enjoy it.

 

On 4/20/2023 at 4:14 PM, Moonglo said:

Looking forward to your review. I hope your husband is feeling better. 

 

He's doing much better now but still can't open his eye all the way and it is still super red. Thanks for reading. 

 

On 4/20/2023 at 4:24 PM, Destaw71835 said:

I’ve always loved your reviews and this one is timely since I’m set to sail NCL Joy on May 1st. 

 

Oh awesome! I hope you enjoy your cruise! It should be much better since it will no longer be spring break. 

 

On 4/20/2023 at 4:49 PM, nhtravels said:

Welcome back!  We are looking forward to making some Joyful noise ourselves on 5/21!  

 

I've loved your past reviews and I'm sure this one will be just as enJoyable as the others!  (BTW Sakari is growing into a beautiful young lady!  I'll miss the mermaid tail this trip.)

 

 

 

Nice! Enjoy your cruise!

 

Yes, she is growing up so fast now. I was really hoping she would make an appearance with the mermaid tail this time. 

 

On 4/20/2023 at 5:39 PM, Samstress said:

Welcome back!  I'm looking forward to reading your latest review.  I don't see why you shouldn't post your review here....that's what CC is for.

 

 

Thanks so much! I hope you enjoy it. 

 

On 4/20/2023 at 6:57 PM, gotscrapz said:

I am excited to read about your cruise and hope you had a wonderful time! I had been reading your reviews for years on other cruise lines, not sure if you remember me - there are a lot of us lol. I guess I feel like I know you since we both have girls who are definite mermaids- full tails with monofins and matching swimsuits lol. 

Well, mine is 20 now, and my boys are older, but we still reminisce and she jokes about needing one again. Maybe in several years, we will have little mermaids again 🙂

Sorry to hijack, but I had to - off to read your review!

 

Thanks and any cruise is a wonderful time. Just to be back and giving it another try was awesome in itself. 

 

Yep, the mermaid club! I miss it so. They do make them for adults so there's still hope. 😉 

 

I hope you enjoy the review. 

 

On 4/20/2023 at 7:02 PM, justhappy said:

Yay! Glad you’re back on CC and back to cruising! 
 

 

Thank you so much

 

On 4/20/2023 at 9:28 PM, AKR2011 said:

Welcome back! Your website is fabulous, but wherever you choose to post is great. I will read it at either place. I'm just so thankful that you take so much time to do them. I've also loved watching Sakari grow up through your stories ❤️⚓️

 

Thanks for the comment. I've put a lot of time, blood, sweat and tears into that website and still trying to improve it all the time. It's so weird for me to look back, at what seems like yesterday, when she started cruising and how much Sakari has grown. It really don't seem like that long ago. You should see my grandson now...he's SO TALL. Almost 6' tall. Some day they'll cruise with us again.

 

On 4/21/2023 at 8:48 AM, georgiacat said:

I am so glad to see that you are back to cruising.  I was beginning to worry if anything had happened to you.  I will enjoy your reviews and tales/tails.

 

Thanks so much. Nope, after COVID hit, we just started doing land vacations. You can catch up with them on the website if you have extra time. 

 

On 4/21/2023 at 9:17 AM, dcipjr said:

Welcome back!

 

I was reading the review, but after your arrival day in Miami, the "Day 2" link goes to an older Escape review. 

 

Can you update the link? Would be great to read the rest!

 

Thanks! Good to be back. Yes, link will be updated today. 

 

On 4/21/2023 at 9:40 AM, fethiyeden said:

Looking forward to another mitsugirly review. Either here or on your website.

 

Thank you and I hope you enjoy it. 

 

22 hours ago, sid_9169 said:

@mitsugirlyWow, Sakari is really growing up now, and has for sure changed her "style" like all teenagers do... Glad to see you back to cruising again!...

 

@sid_9169 I know right? She is constantly changing her style and look. Teens...

 

22 hours ago, quillwercruisers said:

I had the same thing happen. Thought it was just me...

 

Will be updated today.

 

22 hours ago, goldmom said:

Me too

 Link coming soon.

20 hours ago, vacation44 said:

Me three......................

 

Haha

20 hours ago, TravelGirlinDallas said:

Yay, so excited that you are cruising again!

 

Thanks!

 

18 hours ago, evanskl4 said:

I've been reading your site for awhile, after I went down a rabbit hole learning about Little French Key Resort. Very curious to see if you decided to go back there and why or why not!

 

We did not go back there but it was on my list. Sakari wanted to do something more exciting than a beach. But, I definitely would have went back if it wasn't for that. I know the whole story about the place and what's going on and I wouldn't hesitate to go back for sure.

 

18 hours ago, Always Cruising said:

Me, four!

 

 

Oops!

 

17 hours ago, starfish the second said:

Me Five! goes to Dec 2019

 

Link coming...

 

15 hours ago, Travelling2Some said:

At the risk of accidentally joining some kind of movement . . . me too!

 

This cracked me up. LOL

 

14 hours ago, donnar78 said:

I went to the travel blog, but after the day in Miami the next page is a prior trip on the Escape??  My first clue was the Xmas decorations!  

 

Thanks...new page will be up shortly

[mitsugirly]

14 hours ago, nhtravels said:

Ahhh mystery solved!  Thanks @mitsugirly!  (I spent the day reading about your Isla Mujeres trip.  Sounds like a great land trip!)

 

Haha, I had totally forgot to remove it. Isla Mujeres was an AMAZING trip. We had the best time, especially with the whale sharks. They are so beautiful. 

 

13 hours ago, pirate4me2 said:

Ah, I love your reviews!!! You are part of why I’m FINALLY branching out and trying NCL! I can’t wait to read this one 🙂

 

Thanks so much. I hope you enjoy NCL as much as we have and that you have a good experience. We love any cruise line that fits the budget, has good options on the ship and goes to amazing ports. 

[mitsugirly]

OK, the next day is up and live. (I made sure not to have the link at the bottom of that page go anywhere hehe). 

 

I will work on the next page and post here when it's ready.

[sid_9169]

Uber drivers in Miami are the absolute WORST... You're lucky if they understand five words in English... I've had a problem about 50% of the time when taking Uber to the port. I'm literally screaming "the ship is RIGHT THERE!"... Once, I just had the driver pull over, and I walked 1/4 mile all the way to the terminal...

[mitsugirly]

1 minute ago, sid_9169 said:

Uber drivers in Miami are the absolute WORST... You're lucky if they understand five words in English... I've had a problem about 50% of the time when taking Uber to the port. I'm literally screaming "the ship is RIGHT THERE!"... Once, I just had the driver pull over, and I walked 1/4 mile all the way to the terminal...

 

I was so ready to do that trust me! I even tried and he pulled away. Ugh!

[eileeshb]

Delighted to see you are sailing again and Sakari looks all grown up now. 
I work in a surf shop so I’m used to seeing the same kids back year after year to get wetsuits as they grown out of their old ones. Every so often a few of them go on a major growth spurt and jump 2 or 3 sizes up. 
I just read the story of your foot and you have my deepest sympathies, I’ve had chronic Achilles tendinitis for over 20years and my podiatrist told me the only way to eliminate the pain would be to fuse my ankle. Thankfully I’ve never had the extreme pain you suffered but the stiffness and underlying ache is  permanent fixture for me, at this point I only notice it first thing in the morning or if I’ve been sitting for too long.  

[LatinaInTexas]

Happy to see a new cruise review from you. Because of your amazing pics I tried and fell in love with snorkeling, too chicken to try scuba though lol. Will be on my first NCL cruise in 19 days!

[genma803]

Wow great posts about your trip so far! Can't wait to read about Day 2 on the Joy. We will be sailing on her for the first time in 3 weeks, also in an inside cabin. 

 

I also checked out your posts about your poor foot! Oh my gosh. I'm in medicine and I got queasy seeing it. You poor thing! It is so nice to know you are feeling better after that long road to recovery.

[ckmedsec]

Welcome back!  looking forward to your review. 

[SenatorsFan]

It's nice to see you back on a cruise, Kim. I'm looking forward to this review! 🥰

[mitsugirly]

On 4/22/2023 at 5:16 PM, eileeshb said:

Delighted to see you are sailing again and Sakari looks all grown up now. 
I work in a surf shop so I’m used to seeing the same kids back year after year to get wetsuits as they grown out of their old ones. Every so often a few of them go on a major growth spurt and jump 2 or 3 sizes up. 
I just read the story of your foot and you have my deepest sympathies, I’ve had chronic Achilles tendinitis for over 20years and my podiatrist told me the only way to eliminate the pain would be to fuse my ankle. Thankfully I’ve never had the extreme pain you suffered but the stiffness and underlying ache is  permanent fixture for me, at this point I only notice it first thing in the morning or if I’ve been sitting for too long.  

 

On 4/22/2023 at 6:40 PM, LatinaInTexas said:

Happy to see a new cruise review from you. Because of your amazing pics I tried and fell in love with snorkeling, too chicken to try scuba though lol. Will be on my first NCL cruise in 19 days!

 

Ahh, that's awesome! Glad you are enjoying it. Maybe some day you'll give scuba a try. Maybe try doing snuba so that it's easier and no tank strapped to your back and not going down as far. It's amazing being under the water and being able to breathe and right next to everything under there. 🙂

 

On 4/23/2023 at 8:07 AM, genma803 said:

Wow great posts about your trip so far! Can't wait to read about Day 2 on the Joy. We will be sailing on her for the first time in 3 weeks, also in an inside cabin. 

 

I also checked out your posts about your poor foot! Oh my gosh. I'm in medicine and I got queasy seeing it. You poor thing! It is so nice to know you are feeling better after that long road to recovery.

 

Thanks and sorry for the delay. Work seems to be getting in the way. How dare it~ hehe

 

I hope you have a wonderful cruise on the Joy. 

 

Yea, my foot has been quite the journey and a very painful one. I just hope it continues to improve. Life is getting back to somewhat normal. 

 

On 4/23/2023 at 7:10 PM, ckmedsec said:

Welcome back!  looking forward to your review. 

 

Thank you!

 

On 4/23/2023 at 7:55 PM, SenatorsFan said:

It's nice to see you back on a cruise, Kim. I'm looking forward to this review! 🥰

 

Thanks so much. I hope you enjoy it. Good to hear from you! 🙂 

[mitsugirly]

Ok, it's been hectic lately with working 12 hour shifts several days in a row and I finally get a day off today and I use that term lightly because on my days off, I still work for my other company. So....I have managed to get my ship pictures up now (link at the bottom of Day 2 will take you there). See, getting up at 5:15am does have some benefits.

 

After work today, I will try to start working on our second day on the ship, which is a sea day (but considered Day 3 of my review).

 

I'll post here when it's up and running...so don't forget, the link at the bottom of the ship pictures will not go anywhere until I'm done with the next segment and I'll let you all know. 🙂 

[dltvermont]

Was this cruise around March 11 by chance? We actually boarded the CCL Spirit that day in Miami and the Joy was right there with us. Your mention of the time change made me wonder as we had time change on our cruise as well.

 

Loving the review!

[TravelGirlinDallas]

@mitsugirly How are Kendra and your other kids and grandkids doing? It's been a while since you've traveled with the whole crew.

[bkrickles1]

1 hour ago, mitsugirly said:

Ok, it's been hectic lately with working 12 hour shifts several days in a row and I finally get a day off today and I use that term lightly because on my days off, I still work for my other company. So....I have managed to get my ship pictures up now (link at the bottom of Day 2 will take you there). See, getting up at 5:15am does have some benefits.

 

After work today, I will try to start working on our second day on the ship, which is a sea day (but considered Day 3 of my review).

 

I'll post here when it's up and running...so don't forget, the link at the bottom of the ship pictures will not go anywhere until I'm done with the next segment and I'll let you all know. 🙂 

I see you were in cabin 13525. My wife and I are booked in 13555 for a July sailing on Joy. This is our 3rd vacation this year, so we're trying to save a little. I did put in an upgrade bid though.

We sailed Joy last summer too, in a club balcony, and had heard about breakfast at American Diner, but never actually went over to see what was up. Is it anything like the limited buffet they had at Margaritaville on Escape?

Also, I read on someone's review of Joy that there was no more Beatles tribute band? I must have read that wrong, but can you confirm? TIA

BTW, your comments on the pool area and Spice, can mostly be explained by the fact that the ship was built for the Asian market. I've seen video on youtube from before the refurb and it's actually pretty amazing the changes that were made. And, half our group from last summer really loved the overhangs on deck 17. We had a few chairs under and a few outside. My only gripe with deck 17 was how narrow it was with no whirlpools.

Thanks for the review and I look forward to the rest!

[smileyone]

While reading your review I laughed out loud when you talked about the way the closet door blocked the TV. My husband would keep saying will you close the door.  I said “I’m busy trying to get ready and digging behind our hung clothes to see what’s on these stupid tucked away shelves.”  It’s such a weird design.  Thanks for another great review. 

[mitsugirly]

11 hours ago, dltvermont said:

Was this cruise around March 11 by chance? We actually boarded the CCL Spirit that day in Miami and the Joy was right there with us. Your mention of the time change made me wonder as we had time change on our cruise as well.

 

Loving the review!

 

No, this cruise was April 8-15th. 

 

11 hours ago, TravelGirlinDallas said:

@mitsugirly How are Kendra and your other kids and grandkids doing? It's been a while since you've traveled with the whole crew.

 

They are doing good. Grandkids are getting really big now, especially Brayden who is about 6' tall now. He towers over all of us. Kendra is super busy all the time with Kambriah in competitive cheerleading and hip hop so she's traveling everywhere with her most of the time. She did say she's wanting to cruise again but finding the time...whew

 

9 hours ago, bkrickles1 said:

I see you were in cabin 13525. My wife and I are booked in 13555 for a July sailing on Joy. This is our 3rd vacation this year, so we're trying to save a little. I did put in an upgrade bid though.

We sailed Joy last summer too, in a club balcony, and had heard about breakfast at American Diner, but never actually went over to see what was up. Is it anything like the limited buffet they had at Margaritaville on Escape?

Also, I read on someone's review of Joy that there was no more Beatles tribute band? I must have read that wrong, but can you confirm? TIA

BTW, your comments on the pool area and Spice, can mostly be explained by the fact that the ship was built for the Asian market. I've seen video on youtube from before the refurb and it's actually pretty amazing the changes that were made. And, half our group from last summer really loved the overhangs on deck 17. We had a few chairs under and a few outside. My only gripe with deck 17 was how narrow it was with no whirlpools.

Thanks for the review and I look forward to the rest!

 

Hopefully you'll get your upgrade since it's not really during a holiday. There was just no hope for me. lol  But it was worth a shot. 

 

Yes, I would imagine the breakfast is about the same. I should have taken a picture of it. We didn't end up eating up there this time but I did stroll past it one morning and they had your normal eggs, bacon and so on. 

 

I did hear of a Beatles tribute and also heard it was not on there anymore. Do you know where they had it at? Was it nightly? I could look at the daily to see if I see it on there (which I'll be posting in each days review). 

 

I'm going to have to look up what the ship was like prior to the refurb. That would be interesting. Yes, I agree about the deck being pretty narrow and some people on both sides would lay their chairs down flat and it would make it next to impossible to get by with that many people. 

 

1 hour ago, smileyone said:

While reading your review I laughed out loud when you talked about the way the closet door blocked the TV. My husband would keep saying will you close the door.  I said “I’m busy trying to get ready and digging behind our hung clothes to see what’s on these stupid tucked away shelves.”  It’s such a weird design.  Thanks for another great review. 

 

Haha, I'm glad I wasn't the only one struggling with the placement of the tv and closet door. It was a constant battle for sure. The other gripe I had about the closet was there's no light in there! You can't even see what you are digging for on those shelves. I had to use my phone light several times to find anything and other times I actually  grabbed everything on the shelf at once and pulled it all out onto the bed to pick out clothes then put them back. LOL  

[mitsugirly]

Well, I have the next segment done...Day 3 (or day 2 on the ship) but still have to proof read it and then I'll make it live. 

 

I just received a notice from Wix saying that my storage is full and I've used up my 20 GB and will now have to purchase more. UGH! I wish they had just a pick how much you want and pay but nooooo they have a monthly fee. I never realized they did this and you were limited when I signed up. Well, I guess I got a few years use out of it. It says I have 3 days left to decide and then after that I won't be able to upload any more pictures. Couldn't it have waited until I was done with this review? Geesh! Way to throw a curve ball at me. They are constantly wanting money for everything on that site these days. I feel like maybe I should look for another provider but not sure if all of my information can be transferred over somehow. I would hate to lose it all. Any suggestions on a website? Or do I just suck it up at this point. 😭

[bkrickles1]

35 minutes ago, mitsugirly said:

 

 

I did hear of a Beatles tribute and also heard it was not on there anymore. Do you know where they had it at? Was it nightly? I could look at the daily to see if I see it on there (which I'll be posting in each days review). 

 

I'm going to have to look up what the ship was like prior to the refurb. That would be interesting. Yes, I agree about the deck being pretty narrow and some people on both sides would lay their chairs down flat and it would make it next to impossible to get by with that many people. 

The Beatles Tribute band played, at least a couple of nights in the Cavern Club and in the main theater too. 

It would be a blow to the entertainment if it was no longer. 

[Beav1279]

Welcome back! I've always enjoyed your reviews. Glad to see you're back at cruising and your ankle has continued to heal. 

[curlstravel]

I hope the Beatles are still playing in the cavern club. Our last cruise on the joy in January we went there almost every night. We sat at the outdoor cavern club bar and sang along and watched it on the TV. We also saw them in the main theater one night.  We are going back on the joy in November, I would be really disappointed if they aren’t playing anymore.

[mitsugirly]

9 hours ago, bkrickles1 said:

The Beatles Tribute band played, at least a couple of nights in the Cavern Club and in the main theater too. 

It would be a blow to the entertainment if it was no longer. 

According to the Freestyle Daily, they are still there. I'm looking at Day 2 on the ship (which I'm getting ready to post) and it's on there at 7:30pm "Beatles Revolution Early Years" in the Cavern. 🙂

 

 

8 hours ago, Beav1279 said:

Welcome back! I've always enjoyed your reviews. Glad to see you're back at cruising and your ankle has continued to heal. 

 

Thanks so much!

 

8 hours ago, curlstravel said:

I hope the Beatles are still playing in the cavern club. Our last cruise on the joy in January we went there almost every night. We sat at the outdoor cavern club bar and sang along and watched it on the TV. We also saw them in the main theater one night.  We are going back on the joy in November, I would be really disappointed if they aren’t playing anymore.

 

Yep, looks like it's still there according to the Freestyle Daily.