Been a while since on NCL

[jornj]

Its been quite a while since I was last on NCL and friends invited us to go on a Bermuda cruise on the Joy next month.
They have a balcony room and we have a club balcony with larger balcony option. 

Questions:

*What reservations do we need to make in advance, which have to be done as soon as you board.

*I am assuming the specialty restaurants need reservations since we have two included. Last time we were not overjoyed with Le Bistro or Cagney's but its been a while. Was thinking Teppanyaki for one, the other?

*Do shows need reservations? If yes, when are they made pre boarding or once onboard?

*What is new in the last 8 years that we need to be aware of.

We do have the Free at Sea option and I have read the rules and inclusions / exclusions. 
I do like my pool time and am assuming summer out of NYC pools will be crowded. Any tips / hints here other than getting out there early?

 

Adding that we have sailed quite a bit in the last 8 years, just not with NCL.

Thanks for any help provided.

 

Edited June 17 by jornj

[cruiseny4life]

You just need to read this review. Folks are onboard, steaming away to Bermuda, on Joy, as we speak. Commas, Batman! Lots of pre-cruise thoughts, lots of inside jokes, but still it's going to give you an excellent expectation setting review of a trip to Bermuda onboard the "beautiful Norwegian Joy."

 

Question - why does NCL insist on calling all of their ships "beautiful?" Couldn't they come up with other words? Jinxyl Joy. Gallopin' Getaway. Bountiful Bliss. Sublime Star.'

 

Anyway, go here and read! 

 

 

[CCJack]

We were on the Joy about 6 months ago for Canada /NE.   Same as you this was our 2nd time on NCL but the 1st time was many moons ago, and we have been on several lines since then.  

 

My first impression of the Joy is that the food was excellent.... better than our other recent lines (Cunard, Celebrity).   We ate at Cagney's, Ocean Blue, Teppanyaki, MDR and Buffet.  My favorite was Ocean Blue, one night I had seafood, the 2nd night in OB I had steak.   Both excellent.  Teppanyaki was very good, except we have a favorite local hibachi place and I actually like our local place better, but anyone that does not do Hibachi often would really enjoy Teppanyaki.  I thought the buffet was also better than other lines we have been on. 

 

As a club balcony room, note you can make dinner reservations 5 days before those in regular balcony.

 

Yes, we reserved the production show ahead of time, but you can also make entertainment reservations while on board.   Overall, I thought entertainment had the feel of "budget cuts"!   The production show (singular) was good, but the other nights were a Beatles band which played 3 nights, each with a different song list, and that was the main entertainment for those 3 nights.   Other nights were nothing or a comedian. All the performers were really good, it is just  that it seemed they are trying to put on 1 show for a week cruise instead of 7 shows as in the past. 

 

Our club balcony was great (deck eight with only a small amount of theater noise.  Nothing that bothered us. )

 

The Joy is beautiful my only complaint is there is a lot of outdoor real estate that is used for kid's activities (go carts, etc.)   Thus the outdoor deck area (pool and loungers) seems to be about half the size of what a similar sized ship would have.  So for non-Haven people, yes, I think it may be crowded in the pool area.

 

Have fun!

 

 

Edited June 17 by CCJack

[graphicguy]

1 hour ago, cruiseny4life said:

You just need to read this review. Folks are onboard, steaming away to Bermuda, on Joy, as we speak. Commas, Batman! Lots of pre-cruise thoughts, lots of inside jokes, but still it's going to give you an excellent expectation setting review of a trip to Bermuda onboard the "beautiful Norwegian Joy."

 

Question - why does NCL insist on calling all of their ships "beautiful?" Couldn't they come up with other words? Jinxyl Joy. Gallopin' Getaway. Bountiful Bliss. Sublime Star.'

 

Anyway, go here and read! 

 

 

Jumpin’ Jehosaphat Joy!

[stellarose33]

following this thread . doing NCL getaway to Bermuda next summer. newbie to NCL and very nervous about the dining, reservations, etc.

 

 

[cruiseny4life]

5 minutes ago, graphicguy said:

Jumpin’ Jehosaphat Joy!

YESSSSSSS!!!! Now there's some imagination!!!!

[BirdTravels]

2 hours ago, jornj said:

Its been quite a while since I was last on NCL and friends invited us to go on a Bermuda cruise on the Joy next month. They have a balcony room and we have a club balcony with larger balcony option. 

 

Adding that we have sailed quite a bit in the last 8 years, just not with NCL.

Thanks for any help provided.

 

 

*What reservations do we need to make in advance, which have to be done as soon as you board.

You need to do online check-in at exactly 21 days prior to departure, midnight eastern time. At that time you select the time you will arrive at the port to check in and you can reserve the Elements show. 

 

*I am assuming the specialty restaurants need reservations since we have two included. Last time we were not overjoyed with Le Bistro or Cagney's but its been a while. Was thinking Teppanyaki for one, the other?

Restaurant reservations opened back in March and many popular dates and times are probably sold out by now. You waited too long. If you can't make a reservation online, go to Teppanyaki, Deck 6 Mid-ship as soon as you embark to make reservations. Teppanyaki is good. La Cucina is o.k. 

 

*Do shows need reservations? If yes, when are they made pre boarding or once onboard?

Exactly 21 days prior to departure, midnight eastern time, you can reserve the Elements show. 

 

*What is new in the last 8 years that we need to be aware of.

The Free at Sea beverage package covers the first $15 of drinks, two at a time, as much as you can drink from morning 'til night. Most drinks are under $15 unless you are reaching for top shelf stuff.  

 

We do have the Free at Sea option and I have read the rules and inclusions / exclusions. 
I do like my pool time and am assuming summer out of NYC pools will be crowded. Any tips / hints here other than getting out there early?

The Joy pool and hot tubs were afterthoughts and added after the ship was built. It is a small pool. We hang out in the big hot tub in Spice H20. 

 

Here's a live review from a few weeks back with menus and dailies

 

[hallux]

1 hour ago, stellarose33 said:

following this thread . doing NCL getaway to Bermuda next summer. newbie to NCL and very nervous about the dining, reservations, etc.

 

 

Just need to scroll through threads in this forum, most of these questions are asked and answered at least once a week.

[jornj]

Thanks everyone.
BirdTravels thanks for the link to your report. As to waiting to look to book specialty. We just booked the cruise today. I will check what is available now and then check onboard if we need to. Appreciate all the info.

[CroozeNoob]

On 6/17/2024 at 5:19 PM, BirdTravels said:

 

*What reservations do we need to make in advance, which have to be done as soon as you board.

You need to do online check-in at exactly 21 days prior to departure, midnight eastern time. At that time you select the time you will arrive at the port to check in and you can reserve the Elements show. 

 

 

 

I know I am likely beating a dead horse, but if my cruise leaves the 21st of July, would I need to stay up late on the 30th of June? or the 29th?

[Distinctive-Destinations]

33 minutes ago, CroozeNoob said:

I know I am likely beating a dead horse, but if my cruise leaves the 21st of July, would I need to stay up late on the 30th of June? or the 29th?

You don’t “need” to do either. The midnight bit is ridiculous.

 

Just check in like a normal person sometime that day or the day after or the day after that, at your convenience. 

[zqvol]

2 hours ago, CroozeNoob said:

I know I am likely beating a dead horse, but if my cruise leaves the 21st of July, would I need to stay up late on the 30th of June? or the 29th?

Ignore what she said. Check in between 21 and 3 days before sailing. The only reason to stay up and check in at midnight is to get the first check in time at the pier. You also might make show reservations but they are not going to be gone the next morning at a reasonable hour. 

[CroozeNoob]

14 hours ago, zqvol said:

Ignore what she said. Check in between 21 and 3 days before sailing. The only reason to stay up and check in at midnight is to get the first check in time at the pier. You also might make show reservations but they are not going to be gone the next morning at a reasonable hour. 

Would that mean for a sailing on the 21st at 4pm, check in opens overnight on the 30th of June?

[ggTexasGal]

2 minutes ago, CroozeNoob said:

Would that mean for a sailing on the 21st at 4pm, check in opens overnight on the 30th of June?

Correct!

[PelicanBill]

On 6/17/2024 at 4:17 PM, stellarose33 said:

following this thread . doing NCL getaway to Bermuda next summer. newbie to NCL and very nervous about the dining, reservations, etc.

 

 

We'll de-nervous you. Lots of time to get your questions answered!

Knowing the exact dates everything opens up for reservations is tricky, but, only a few are really time sensitive. Like vibe and spa passes if you want them.  For now, do your research and decide what dining you will want to reserve, and reserve the main show on a night that you are not in port when it is available (and don't schedule dinner on top of that)

[TeeLee530]

18 hours ago, zqvol said:

Ignore what she said. Check in between 21 and 3 days before sailing. The only reason to stay up and check in at midnight is to get the first check in time at the pier. You also might make show reservations but they are not going to be gone the next morning at a reasonable hour. 

We intentionally chose to check in at the last check in time- it let us have more time to explore the departure port. And we had basically 0 lines or waiting to check in. I think we did the whole process, including badges and security, in under 10 minutes. 

[stellarose33]

worried about shows.  do they sell out fast?

[mking8288]

Just to add, Manhattan Cruise Terminal (MCT) - whether it's Pier 88 or 90, has been modernized "somewhat" and now has free, unsecured WiFi access inside the terminal as cellular reception remained poor to unusable.  Daily parking fees have gone up ... it's now $45 a day, all inclusive / no surcharges for Hummers, etc. (as long as it's below the max. height allowed) & reservations are accepted (not really needed except on extra busy days with 3 to 4 ships docking.  

 

Don't worry about not being able to book specialty restaurants before embarkation day - on your "Day 1" use the ship's free WiFi inTRAnet to log in and book them all, good choice of days & times on Day 1 before they are snatched slowly by those standing in lines at the onboard reservation desk or DIY kiosk (Joy & Breakaway being the 2 ships this summer) 

 

Pier arrival time to go thru security and check-in has been a "guided" time to arrive and a problem if the inbound ship is seriously delayed and not expected to dock until 9 or 10 AM and they are rushing to turnaround & sail by 6 PM once they load enough provisions to sound the horn & release the lines.  

 

Check in with your CC roll call and browse thru the 2 or 3 roll calls before yours, as some of the best insider's tips and late breaking alerts / news are shared over there ... generalized info & posts from 6 months and/or even from 2023 can be misleading, or even those from just 2 or 3 months ago, i.e. both MDR and SD menus have been "revised" and streamlined for "the" convenience to sail & sustain (that's one of the corporate tag lines these days)   And, yes, NCLH stockholders OBC are still awarded ... more restrictive than before and the CAS (casino) players program has ben changed too.   

I'm sure others will chime in as I surely missed a few, guaranteed. 

[zqvol]

1 hour ago, stellarose33 said:

worried about shows.  do they sell out fast?

Wish I could give you better info, but I don’t go to the shows. It seems to me that you won’t have a problem getting a reservation if you do it a couple of days after they open up. 

[debenson0723]

1 hour ago, stellarose33 said:

worried about shows.  do they sell out fast?

No. We booked when when we got on board with no problem. First was muster drill check in, restaurant reservation (everything we wanted at the times we wanted) then the show. I sometimes think this board causes a lot of unnecessary angst. 

[schmoopie17]

43 minutes ago, debenson0723 said:

No. We booked when when we got on board with no problem. First was muster drill check in, restaurant reservation (everything we wanted at the times we wanted) then the show. I sometimes think this board causes a lot of unnecessary angst. 

Not necessarily. On our Prima cruise in January of last year, we boarded early and immediately went to the shiny boards by the elevators to book the Donna Summer show. Guess what? If you guessed "sold out", you win. 

 

Since then, we have read extremely mixed reviews of that show, so maybe we didn't miss much.

I don't want to take the same chance with "Choir of Man" in September, so will try to book online at 21 days out (although I recently read that may no longer be an option).

[stellarose33]

still find it odd that you can't put in your passport stuff until 20 days before you cruise. 

[RocketMan275]

2 hours ago, TeeLee530 said:

We intentionally chose to check in at the last check in time- it let us have more time to explore the departure port. And we had basically 0 lines or waiting to check in. I think we did the whole process, including badges and security, in under 10 minutes. 

like yourself, we see no need to stay up till midnight to snag a very early checkin time.  It's been our experience that an early checkin time only guarantees a long time sitting in plastic chairs waiting for boarding.  We like to show up between 1130 and 1200 .   We avoid the long lines and can walk right on board.