Joy 5/26 - 6/2 Short Review

[joestein514]

Just got home today from Joy 7-night sailing to Bermuda.

 

Overall, a relaxing enjoyable cruise.

 

Some highpoints.... Staff is excellent. Food is generally good.  Bartenders are also very good.   Ship is very clean and pretty.  Love the observation lounge.

 

The big low point is the Entertainment.  There is very little.   I personally am bored by Elements - that is 2 nights of the cruise.  A third night is the magician from Elements (who is boring IMHO).  3 other nights were the comedians from the Social Comedy Club doing the same act in the Main Theatre.    One night was the Beatles who perform in the Cavern Club other nights during the cruise.   One of the comedians even joked how many people were in the theatre show because there is nothing else to do on the boat other than gamble.    

 

The District (beer bar) has a piano entertainer who is quite good.  He was getting complaints that that the crowd was too noisy - so he had to tone it down so much - he was no longer any good.  Social and Cavern Club are small venues and you have to wait in line like 30 minutes prior to get in.  Many can't get in.  There is just very little to do in the evenings.

 

 

 

[ChiefMateJRK]

15 minutes ago, joestein514 said:

The District (beer bar) has a piano entertainer who is quite good.  He was getting complaints that that the crowd was too noisy - so he had to tone it down so much - he was no longer any good. 

Why would the piano player have to "tone it down" if the crowd was noisy?  Who was complaining to him. The last time I was on the Joy, we had a great piano player (Ryan North) in the Brewhouse.  Many gathered to enjoy him, but one group of idiots congregated and had a shouting contest to see who could talk louder.  Many in the crowd were looking around with disappointed looks on their faces wondering "who are these clowns, why don't they shut up and enjoy a very talented entertainer?"  I just mentioned it to the bar staff and they fixed it.  I believe the group left in a huff.  Oh well.  The rest of the evening was again quite enjoyable. 

 

Do you remember the piano player's name?

Edited June 2 by ChiefMateJRK

[Cruising Lynne]

2 hours ago, joestein514 said:

Just got home today from Joy 7-night sailing to Bermuda.

 

Overall, a relaxing enjoyable cruise.

 

Some highpoints.... Staff is excellent. Food is generally good.  Bartenders are also very good.   Ship is very clean and pretty.  Love the observation lounge.

 

The big low point is the Entertainment.  There is very little.   I personally am bored by Elements - that is 2 nights of the cruise.  A third night is the magician from Elements (who is boring IMHO).  3 other nights were the comedians from the Social Comedy Club doing the same act in the Main Theatre.    One night was the Beatles who perform in the Cavern Club other nights during the cruise.   One of the comedians even joked how many people were in the theatre show because there is nothing else to do on the boat other than gamble.    

 

The District (beer bar) has a piano entertainer who is quite good.  He was getting complaints that that the crowd was too noisy - so he had to tone it down so much - he was no longer any good.  Social and Cavern Club are small venues and you have to wait in line like 30 minutes prior to get in.  Many can't get in.  There is just very little to do in the evenings.

 

 

 

Thanks for the review. Sounds like you had a mostly good time.

 

NCL needs to step up the entertainment. The entertainment was what always drew me to book NCL cruises (besides the Freestyle dining) They really should go back to having two major shows per cruise. Not just adding the Beatles shows and game shows to the ship's theaters. They could still put games and Beatles in the theater, but at other times of day from when a major show would be there.

 

I just came off the MSC Meraviglia, and the entertainment was quite good. Many great shows and lots of solo acts, duos and bands through out the ship to keep things interesting. So much happening every where. From Karaoke to silent disco, to theme parties, to dance classes taught by two dance professionals, to the dome shows in the Galleria. The only things I missed from NCL were Freestyle Dining, but MSC does have a package you can book to get that, and The Local/O'Sheehan's. NCL needs to pay a bit of attention to the competition.

[Calvin]

6 hours ago, joestein514 said:

The big low point is the Entertainment.  There is very little.   I personally am bored by Elements - that is 2 nights of the cruise.  A third night is the magician from Elements (who is boring IMHO).  3 other nights were the comedians from the Social Comedy Club doing the same act in the Main Theatre.    One night was the Beatles who perform in the Cavern Club other nights during the cruise.   One of the comedians even joked how many people were in the theatre show because there is nothing else to do on the boat other than gamble.    

Wow, sorry you had such bad entertainment.  It almost sounds like a covid cruise the way you spoke of how acts were the same as those in the smaller venues.  NCL usually had top notch entertainment, and that's one of the reasons I sailed them.  I hope they get their act together.  It seems there are many cost-cutting procedures on many cruiselines.

[DRGrammy]

13 hours ago, joestein514 said:

Just got home today from Joy 7-night sailing to Bermuda.

 

Overall, a relaxing enjoyable cruise.

 

Some highpoints.... Staff is excellent. Food is generally good.  Bartenders are also very good.   Ship is very clean and pretty.  Love the observation lounge.

 

The big low point is the Entertainment.  There is very little.   I personally am bored by Elements - that is 2 nights of the cruise.  A third night is the magician from Elements (who is boring IMHO).  3 other nights were the comedians from the Social Comedy Club doing the same act in the Main Theatre.    One night was the Beatles who perform in the Cavern Club other nights during the cruise.   One of the comedians even joked how many people were in the theatre show because there is nothing else to do on the boat other than gamble.    

 

The District (beer bar) has a piano entertainer who is quite good.  He was getting complaints that that the crowd was too noisy - so he had to tone it down so much - he was no longer any good.  Social and Cavern Club are small venues and you have to wait in line like 30 minutes prior to get in.  Many can't get in.  There is just very little to do in the evenings.

 

 

 

I was on this cruise and agree about the entertainment.  NCL always had the best entertainment and I’m not sure I would have booked if I had known about the changes in advance.  We’ve never found the food on NCL as good as some other lines, but considered the quality entertainment a fair trade off.  We still had fun, it’s Bermuda and the weather was great, but I’d have to think hard before booking again.

[schmoopie17]

Oh, Joy...

 

We're booked on the Joy next year for 15 days/nights. Sounds like it may be rather ho-hum, entertainment-wise. Sounds like we'll have to make our own fun...although, at our age, fun ain't what it used to be.

 

This has the potential to be our last NCL cruise. We're finally Platinum, but it's feeling more and more like we need to spread our wings and fly the NCL coop and try another cruise line. MSC maybe? We shall see...

[joestein514]

16 hours ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

Why would the piano player have to "tone it down" if the crowd was noisy?  Who was complaining to him. The last time I was on the Joy, we had a great piano player (Ryan North) in the Brewhouse.  Many gathered to enjoy him, but one group of idiots congregated and had a shouting contest to see who could talk louder.  Many in the crowd were looking around with disappointed looks on their faces wondering "who are these clowns, why don't they shut up and enjoy a very talented entertainer?"  I just mentioned it to the bar staff and they fixed it.  I believe the group left in a huff.  Oh well.  The rest of the evening was again quite enjoyable. 

 

Do you remember the piano player's name?

 

The Complaints were from the room(s?) above the District.    Apparently, the cruise was fully booked and they couldn't move anybody.     The performed was Beau Tahana who I had seen before and is excellent when the crowd gets into it.       The performances were very low key after the complaints, and he seemed kind of depressed and was explaining it a few times over the cruise.

[figment9999]

We were on the Joy’s previous sailing; it was great. The ship, staff and weather were all tops. Bermuda and it’s people are a joy to visit for a few days. 
 

We agree w the OP on entertainment; shifting to games shows was a terrible idea and takes away from the whole experience. 
 

our experience in the District was great though. The artist was great   The beer list improved from prevous cruises; broadened to include more than just IPAs. 

[Sheffben79]

We were on this cruise too, I thought it was great, but agree the main entertainment was  repetitive.  I did think there was plenty happening around the ship to keep you entertained though, you just had to explore a little further than the main theatre.  Adda band were great and Beau in the District was amazing.  The glow party was a load of fun although I was just about ready for bed by the time it had started.

Having sailed with Princess and Celebrity recently I think that the entertainment is on a par with these other companies and the food in my opinion is better on NCL - its one of the reasons we booked again and were not disappointed.  

We didn't like the main pool deck area at all, too few pools/hot tubs for our liking.  Our previous NCL cruise was Prima and we loved the wraparound outside space on that ship.

We were very disappointed with how much space was dedicated to Vibe and Haven on the upper decks, we couldn't find anywhere to chill so thank god for our balcony.

 

I guess it all comes down to money at the minute, these companies racked up a tonne of debt during Covid, I'm hoping things improve again once they find their footings again and borrowing rates start to reduce.

[DrUrsula]

1 hour ago, joestein514 said:

 

The Complaints were from the room(s?) above the District.    Apparently, the cruise was fully booked and they couldn't move anybody.     The performed was Beau Tahana who I had seen before and is excellent when the crowd gets into it.       The performances were very low key after the complaints, and he seemed kind of depressed and was explaining it a few times over the cruise.

We were in one of the former mini -suites ( my brain is toast right now can't remember the name) that was down a strange hallway . We were pretty far away from District. There are cabins ,however , that sort of abut the District. I can see how it might get loud in those rooms.

we were on Joy in March and the pianist was an Aussie gal who really loved Fleetwood Mac.

She had quite a happy following!!

 

[Cruising Lynne]

3 hours ago, schmoopie17 said:

Oh, Joy...

 

We're booked on the Joy next year for 15 days/nights. Sounds like it may be rather ho-hum, entertainment-wise. Sounds like we'll have to make our own fun...although, at our age, fun ain't what it used to be.

 

This has the potential to be our last NCL cruise. We're finally Platinum, but it's feeling more and more like we need to spread our wings and fly the NCL coop and try another cruise line. MSC maybe? We shall see...

I enjoyed being on Joy right before they refurbished it. I hope they have the entertainment figured out before your trip. We are cruising on Jade in September. This will be after having tried out HAL, MSC, and Princess. Have previously also sailed with RCCL and Celebrity, but mostly with NCL. I am hoping to feel like coming home again. I have always felt at home and enjoyed the Freestyle vibe on NCL.

[ChiefMateJRK]

4 hours ago, joestein514 said:

 

The Complaints were from the room(s?) above the District.    Apparently, the cruise was fully booked and they couldn't move anybody.     The performed was Beau Tahana who I had seen before and is excellent when the crowd gets into it.       The performances were very low key after the complaints, and he seemed kind of depressed and was explaining it a few times over the cruise.

Thanks.  Now it all makes sense!😎  

[craig01020]

10 hours ago, schmoopie17 said:

Oh, Joy...

 

We're booked on the Joy next year for 15 days/nights. Sounds like it may be rather ho-hum, entertainment-wise. Sounds like we'll have to make our own fun...although, at our age, fun ain't what it used to be.

 

This has the potential to be our last NCL cruise. We're finally Platinum, but it's feeling more and more like we need to spread our wings and fly the NCL coop and try another cruise line. MSC maybe? We shall see...

I'm booked on the Joy for September, which will be my last NCL cruise (for awhile). I just saw Elements on the Jade so I guess we'll also have to resort to making our own fun as well. I have two MSC cruises booked for 2025...we'll see.

[JCDCA]

For anyone recently onboard, curious how the WiFi was and if working remotely might be feasible.  
 

As to entertainment comments, I’m sadly not surprised.  They are clearly in cost-cutting mode and entertainment seems like a focus.  I recall when multiple big shows were cancelled across the fleet, and NCL fans said it was just a revamping of shows.  Not so much.  

[DRGrammy]

7 hours ago, JCDCA said:

For anyone recently onboard, curious how the WiFi was and if working remotely might be feasible.  
 

As to entertainment comments, I’m sadly not surprised.  They are clearly in cost-cutting mode and entertainment seems like a focus.  I recall when multiple big shows were cancelled across the fleet, and NCL fans said it was just a revamping of shows.  Not so much.  

We didn’t have the premium internet, but my husband was still able to read and answer emails.  He did have difficulty accessing some of the other corporate site functions occasionally, but he would just try later.   It was very slow, but useable.  It might depend on what your needs are and how flexible you can be.  Also, we only used it in the cabin and on the balcony, it’s possible that the signal is better elsewhere on the ship.

[Panhandle Couple]

The problem is that the "Beatles" show includes both the club and theater. 4 guys from Argentina just don't cut it. 

We only found them just guys, (sometimes playing from sheet music) going through the motions.

That was on Bliss. But I expect the same on Joy.

 

They need to move on to other acts instead.

 

[joestein514]

Internet was VERY slow.  Took forever to load a page from facebook.    We bought the NCL messenger that is supposed to allow you to text and call passengers - the text worked, but the calls never did.

[figment9999]

Our experience w Starlink wifi was great. Might be different based on your location.

[Crazy planning mom]

On 6/3/2024 at 1:16 AM, Calvin said:

Wow, sorry you had such bad entertainment.  It almost sounds like a covid cruise the way you spoke of how acts were the same as those in the smaller venues.  NCL usually had top notch entertainment, and that's one of the reasons I sailed them.  I hope they get their act together.  It seems there are many cost-cutting procedures on many cruiselines.

NCL chose to do their cost cutting on entertainment.  To me that wasn't a good choice.  The quality of their previous entertainment was something that set them apart.

[megan400]

Hi! I'm heading out on the Joy from NYC on 6/30 for the 7 night cruise to Bermuda. I haven't been on a cruise for around 3 years and wanted to ask a few questions...

Do they still have the key cards that you carry with you all the time? Used to need for the bars/etc. 

Are they enforcing the 'no saving chairs' rule at all?

Any idea if you can link individual credit cards per person versus per room?

How was the check-in?

Thanks!

Megan

[tmgrry]

8 minutes ago, megan400 said:

I was on the 5/19 sailing out of NYC to Bermuda.

 

Do they still have the key cards that you carry with you all the time? Used to need for the bars/etc. Yes

Are they enforcing the 'no saving chairs' rule at all? Not really. They do mark unattended chairs after a certain time frame, but we're talking several hours, not 30 minutes. 

Any idea if you can link individual credit cards per person versus per room? 

How was the check-in? Check in was an absolute breeze. Parked the car at 945am, had cleared security and had room cards in hand by 1015am. Boarding started just prior to 11am.

 

 

[megan400]

Thanks! Another question on the boarding: it sails at 6pm, what activities/pools/shops/etc are open if you board as early as noon. And if not open yet, when do things start opening? We'll have a child with us who will want to be on the race track of the slides.

 

 

[tmgrry]

On the 5/19 sailing, everything except the race track was open at noon.  I don't believe the race track opened until the morning of the first sea day.  

[figment9999]

Boarding and disembarking were the best ever (9th Bermuda sailing). NCL improved their signage, CBP used facial recognition; we are Platinum and the NCL desk was just great.

 

Chair hogs are a chronic condition but it seemed less seemed less; Joy has a huge deck area. We used the Spice area, which is 18 and over, always found a spot. Noticed they did enforce the age and no food rules mostly.

[megan400]

thanks. I'm the type of person that will remove the towels from chairs if i don't see them showing signs of being used.