Great trip on Joy September 20 -25

[Cruising Lynne]

 First time on Joy and we really enjoyed it. Not sure where to start but wanted to share some info.

 

Embarkation day was fine. Drove in from central Massachusetts. Took about 3 1/2 hours including one rest stop. Arrived at 10 am. Had reserved and prepaid for parking at the pier. The line for security moved right along. Being Sapphire, we boarded right after the handicapped group. Went to our muster station and were at The Local for lunch shortly after 11:30.  After lunch we explored the ship a little and spent some time at the Observation Lounge. 

 

Rooms started to become available at around 2:30 starting with decks 5 and 8. I think 14 and 15 were next, and all rooms were ready by 3:10. We were in a balcony room on deck 12. We unpacked our carry on items and went for a swim. The water was warm. When we got back from swimming my suitcase arrived. I was able to get mostly unpacked before my husbands suitcase came. Good to be in front of the closet one at a time. I did save half the hangars for him, but used up most of the shelf space. He had the shelves in the cabinet under the TV. and the top shelf in the closet. Plenty of space for everything to be put away. We watched sail away from our balcony. Great views of the Stature of Liberty from our starboard side room. Next was our only dinner in the Manhattan Room MDR. Being only a five night trip we only ended up in the MDR once. Food was good and the service was great. After dinner we went to the show. I do not have the dailies so I am not quite sure what the show was. I think it was one of the comedians. 

 

The rest of the review will not be an exact day by day.

 

Vincent was our cruise director. He did a good job. My husband went to the 70's party up on the pool deck one night, and we both went to the Glow party.  We had fun jumping and dancing with the crowd (my hip did not appreciate it the next day though LOL ). Both of these parties had a large crowd, and I think that the way the pool deck is laid out gave a good space for everyone to dance. The main pool is not in the middle, but off to one side.

 

We saw Footloose and Elements. Both shows were great. We had seen Elements before so my favorite of the two was Footloose. All the lead singers of Footloose had incredible voices. The young man who played the lead was very talented and had good energy. We saw these singers again later in the week at Q for a Broadway Cabaret show featuring songs from Broadway shows of the 80's. This show was done twice in the afternoon of the sea day coming home from Bermuda. Other entertainment we enjoyed was Po, a magician/illusionist. He did a separate show one night and performed in the Elements show. The ship also had a lot of good entertainment in the lounges. We were happy to see that Arvin and Emily were on board. Beatles Revolution, The Julia Hatfield Band, Tropical Four, ADDA band, Beau Tahana, Inna and Gold River. We saw a little of all except for Gold River. Also saw two comedians. The one we thought was funnier was Mike Burton. There were all the usual game shows, and trivia, but we did not go to any of these events.

 

Food on the ship was better than expected. Le Bistro was good. I really liked the Mediterranean sea bass and my husband said his lamb was excellent. La Cucina had better service, and my food was hotter. I ordered the salmon at La Cucina and was asked how I wanted it cooked. Never was asked that before when ordering fish. I asked for and received medium well. This meal and my wings and dip from The Local were the only food that I remember being really hot. American diner is a good option for a quick breakfast if the buffet is too crazy. The Local is also a good breakfast spot. Lunches were at The Local or buffet. I really enjoyed the Observation Lounge for a quiet late lunch or afternoon snack. It was never crowded and the bar service there was great. There is food on both sides.

 

We have been to Bermuda several times so the first day there we had a leisurely breakfast and enjoyed the hot tub and pool on board with out the crowds. My husband tried the waterslide where you sit on a tube. He said it was really fun. Later we walked around the dockyard and went to the Clocktower Mall. We also saw Meraviglia sail away. I was excited to see this since we will be trying it in the spring. Plus this meant we were the only ship there the rest of the time. This made everything on shore less busy. The second day we went to Horseshoe Bay. There were a lot of waves at the main part of the beach. Husband played in the waves for a little while then we both enjoyed the calm cove area that is to the right if you are facing the water. I had an excellent pina colada from the bar at the beach. Plenty of rum in it and husband had a beer.

 

Over all this was one of our favorite cruises. There were a couple of minor inconveniences. Something went wrong when we got scanned at the muster station, and we had to redo it at Taste the second day. The first day my husband used the internet he lost the internet before he could log out. This resulted in us losing all our minutes. He got the minutes back after waiting in a long line at the internet desk. I did not enjoy the H2O area on this ship. There was a low ceiling over the bar and the hot tub which made it smell like cigarette smoke. The casino had some slot machines that were so close together it was difficult to get in the seats. I am happy to report that after a week of losses I won enough the last day to come out ahead a hundred dollars for the week! I know most people do not mind once a day room cleaning, but I do wish they still came by in the evening to replace towels and empty any trash or dishes. I also miss late night snack. Planned ahead one day, and brought banana bread back to the room from the lunch buffet to have later that night.

 

We bought two Cruise Next deposits. I look forward to booking more NCL cruises (this was our nineteenth NCL cruise). Unless I am blown away by my upcoming trips on Holland America Line, and MSC I will stick with NCL. I know what to expect from them and am feeling a little nervous about the unknowns of the other cruise lines. I do not think that NCL nickel and dimes any more than the others. Also, to get everything that is included in Free at Sea on the other lines really adds up. Other than NCL, I have also sailed with Royal Caribbean and Celebrity.

 

Sorry I did not include any photos. They are all in my husbands phone, and I wanted to post something before I forgot everything. Thanks to all the other reviewers out there who do such great live and semi-live reviews with photos. Mking and Bird to name a couple. Happy cruising! 🙂🍹🛳️

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[BirdTravels]

Thanks for the wonderful review. We will be on this cruise in a couple of weeks. Very excited! 

[nhtravels]

Thanks for sharing your review!  My mom, 2 sisters and I are heading out on the Joy in a few short weeks!  

[Cruising Lynne]

I just remembered another change that I believe is a result of having once a day room cleaning and fewer room stewards. If you put your bags out of your room the night before disembarkation, they have to be out by 9pm on this ship. It used to be much later. We put ours out right after we had dinner. They were taken away quickly which I like. 

 

When we got my bag the first day, our room steward was in the hall and asked if we had more. We told her my husbands bag was not there yet. She immediately left to go find it. Just a few minutes later she knocked on the door and had my husbands bag. She asked if we had anymore. I appreciated her efforts since I do not like to have any of our bags lingering in the hall. She was an excellent steward. I left a note for her the first sea day requesting a coffee maker. It was there in the afternoon after she had cleaned our room. She kept us stocked up with coffee and creamers each day of the trip. Next time I will also request extra bath towels. 

[akebog]

Is there a mini fridge in the cabin & is shampoo & conditioner available?

[tampadee]

Thanks for posting!

[AKR2011]

Thank you for your review! The Joy is on my list of potential ships for my next cruise, and your review definitely solidifies that thought. What did you do or evening entertainment on the other nights when there were no shows in the theater for you? We are mot into the deck parties but love live music, game shows, and comedians.

[Cruising Lynne]

10 hours ago, akebog said:

Is there a mini fridge in the cabin & is shampoo & conditioner available?

Yes, there is a mini fridge. It is stocked with three large bottles of water. We took them out to make room for the water that we received as a Latitudes perk. 

 

There are dispensers in the shower with shampoo and body wash. There is no conditioner so make sure you bring some unless your hair is okay with just conditioning shampoo. I need separate conditioner and anti-frizz cream when I cruise. I also bring my own bar soap which I prefer over body wash. Bring a poof if you want to use the body wash.

[Cruising Lynne]

5 hours ago, AKR2011 said:

Thank you for your review! The Joy is on my list of potential ships for my next cruise, and your review definitely solidifies that thought. What did you do or evening entertainment on the other nights when there were no shows in the theater for you? We are mot into the deck parties but love live music, game shows, and comedians.

When we were not at shows or deck parties, we liked to listen to live music in the various lounges around the ship. We saw the band play in Q the barbecue restaurant. You can sit in the bar area to watch the band even if you are not eating there. Country music isn't my first choice, but the Julia Hatfield Band was really good. We listened to Arvin and Emily one night at Sugarcane the Mojito Bar. I also spent some time in the casino. There were games shows, comedians in The Social and I noticed movies on the screen by the pool some evenings, but we did not attend any of these events. There was plenty of entertainment to keep people busy.

[akebog]

Thank you, Cruising Lynne, for your response to the mini fridge on the Joy. Will bring my own hair conditioner & anti-frizz lotion too!  Looking forward to cruising on10/16 because we haven't cruised since Covid. 

Thanks again.