Thoughts on the Joy, 8/11 to Bermuda

[dcipjr]

Hello CruiseCritic!

 

We just got off the Joy's Bermuda run, from August 11th-18th.

 

We're a family of 3: my wife and I are both 39, and our daughter is 6.

 

I figured I'd share some thoughts on the experience.

 

Booking

 

We had such a great time on the Joy last year in 2023 going to Bermuda that we decided to do it again. Bermuda is full of happy memories for us; we went there for our 1st Anniversary, and 12 years later, we're still going as often as we can.

 

The Joy is also one of our favorite ships in the NCL fleet. We sailed on her for a 16-day Panama Canal transit in 2020 (yes, 2020) right before the pandemic, and have enjoyed her again several times since then, so this vacation was a bit of a no-brainer.

 

Well, it's usually a no-brainer. This time cost quite a bit more than the last time we went, as prices have increased: we paid about $500 more than we did for this cruise last year.

 

Somewhat to be expected these days, but did the experience live up to the price?

 

Read on!

 

Embarkation

 

We actually spent a few days in New York before the cruise, doing touristy stuff that we somehow had never done (despite being from Philadelphia).

 

We had a blast, but all the museum exploring and Empire State Building climbing sort of meant we were tired when it was time to board the Joy.

 

Luckily, we got aboard with a minimum of hassle. We visited the Intrepid Museum on Embarkation Day, and then just waited until the crowds died down to board the Joy.

 

The later 6 PM departure meant that we had more New York time during the day, but honestly I'd still rather sail at 4 PM.

 

It looks like next year, the Getaway is sailing at 4 PM again, so hooray for a return to earlier sailings and more time aboard ship.

 

Bermuda, Truncated

 

Unfortunately, our trip to Bermuda coincided with both a stalled cold front over the island and the impending arrival of Hurricane Ernesto.

 

Captain Hakan kept us well-informed of the developments with the hurricane.

 

It turned out that our visit would be cut short: we'd arrive on Tuesday evening at 6 PM, and depart on Thursday at 1 PM.

 

It's a hurricane, and you don't mess with hurricanes. I was fine with this, albeit disappointed to miss the time in Bermuda.

 

The weather in Bermuda wasn't as good as normal, but we did get some sunny spots amid the showers, so it wasn't a total loss.

 

We had a good, full beach day on Wednesday, and visited the National Museum of Bermuda on Thursday (which, despite having been to Bermuda 10 other times, we somehow had never been to).

 

I wish we had more time, but we've been there before, and will be there again.

 

It was the right decision to leave early, and we were rewarded with great weather on our last 2 sea days heading back to New York.

 

I expected a bit of a bumpy ride, since a hurricane was in the vicinity, but the seas were as smooth as I've ever seen them on the Atlantic -- they were like glass on Saturday. We spotted a dolphin because we heard it splashing a couple hundred yards away.

 

The Joy Itself

 

The Joy is still a fine ship. We love the Observation Lounge, though the decrease in size is disappointing.

 

The lounge was pretty crowded on Tuesday because it was drizzling, and we could have used that extra space. But I don't think NCL is going to bring it back.

 

One of our favorite parts of the Joy was the Taste of India station on the buffet. We ate there several times, finding it to be some of the best food on the ship.

 

Really? The buffet? The best food on the ship?

 

Read on.

 

Cutbacks

 

We had a good time on this cruise, but the value for money was not as good as in years past.

 

I'll break this down according to sections.

 

Food

 

The food quality has taken a dip, across the board.

 

The MDR dinners we had were good -- if a little salty -- but breakfast was decidedly meh. The breakfast potatoes were mid (as the kids say these days), and old favorites like eggs benedict just weren't as good this time around -- missing little details like the sprinkled parsley.

 

Lunch was OK, but everything just didn't taste quite as good.

 

Even the specialty restaurants (which are still good) are missing menu items and weren't quite as good as in years past. I think they're using lower-quality ingredients to save money.

 

The Indian Buffet, as mentioned earlier, was the best part. The food from those stations was so good.

 

I will caveat this by saying that this was our 18th cruise with NCL, and honestly we've just tried everything at this point, so maybe this is a little bit more of a Me Problem than an NCL Problem.

 

Entertainment

 

NCL has taken a huge step back here.

 

Elements was good, but honestly it's the same as it always has been. Our 6-year old daughter loved it, but for my wife and I, seeing it for the 5th time just didn't have the

same impact as it did before.

 

There's also just not that much entertainment in the theater that's worth going to anymore. The Broadway shows are gone, and though I didn't really want to see Footloose again, the 80s musical cabaret was really boring.

 

The comedians were good, but it was hard to get in there, because so many people wanted to see them (since there wasn't much else to see).

 

The Beatles Revolution was great as always. The Beatles can still pack a house 60 years later -- and it's not even the real Beatles.

 

I skipped Wheel of Fortune. It was dreadful on the Getaway this past spring; a bunch of people that didn't even know how to play (had they even seen the show? or maybe they were just too drunk?). Maybe the Joy was better, but honestly, I don't need to see a spinning video wheel and listen to the Cruise Director mistaking volume for enthusiasm.

 

The music acts were still good, though I really missed Howl at the Moon from our Getaway cruise.

 

Onboard Activities

 

My daughter loved the kids club, so that was still good. The lines weren't bad to get in, either -- I think August, despite being a busy season, is better than Spring Break (which was just too crowded for us).

 

We didn't really feel the crowds too much, though the pool deck was packed on sea days. We went to the pools and hot tubs and slides later in the afternoon, when people were tired and getting washed up for dinner, and enjoyed them.

 

The Joy Speedway was great fun -- my daughter and I really enjoyed it.

 

Service

 

Service was excellent overall -- the GM (Rohinton) runs a good operation.

 

Our cabin attendant was one of the best we ever had.

 

He made some truly inspired towel animals for my daughter, which he didn't have to do, especially considering the number of cabins he had to clean.

 

I never had even seen an alligator towel animal, but he nailed it. And we seldom get the monkey anymore, but we got the monkey. He was great.

 

But it's not all great news.

 

I ran into one of the cabin attendants that I had met on a previous cruise, and he said that NCL's penny-pinching has reached the employees.

 

According to him, NCL laid off about half the cabin workers, roughly doubled the amount of cabins that the attendants had to service, and then cut the pay of the remaining attendants.

 

It's only a once-per-day makeup now, sure, but everyone knows that the morning make-up is the one that's the biggest job: the evening turn-down service was usually just a minor touch-up.

 

He said -- and this is coming from him, I'm just passing it on -- that the cabin attendants get very little of the DSC.

 

He said his brother (who worked on Disney) makes way more than he does, but he can't quit because he needs the money, and he's a 19-year veteran on NCL, so going elsewhere would mean starting from scratch.

 

This wasn't great to hear.

 

I was aware that the number of rooms was increased. Heck, I even was aware NCL cut a lot of the attendants to save on headcount.

 

But I wasn't aware that they cut the pay of the existing attendants, and I also had never heard from a NCL employee that the cabin attendant's share of the DSC is minimal.

 

I asked him what we should do -- he said "well, you need a vacation, we all do -- don't feel bad about taking one".

 

I get that, but it's hard to ignore something that's staring me in the face: the cabin attendants are very overworked, even more than before.

 

I gave ours a generous tip. But honestly, with $20/day service charges, it's bothersome that NCL is cutting pay of their employees.

 

This is all hearsay, I know, but it put a damper on my impressions of today's NCL. According to employees I've talked to, it's not the same NCL as it once was.

 

Overall Thoughts

 

We had a good time, but we'll be taking a break from NCL after next year. We've already made plans to go to Bermuda with my in-laws, so we're taking that trip, but after that, I think it's time to try another line.

 

Part of this is just us being a bit bored of NCL's offerings. I've eaten nearly everything on the MDR menus at this point -- it's just time for something new.

 

We'll probably try the Prima class at some point, but we haven't seen many sailings out of NYC, which is the most convenient cruise port for us.

 

We'll be doing HAL for Alaska next summer, and I am super interested to compare and contrast the two lines.

 

NCL's value for money has always been strong, but has taken a sizeable dip as NCL presumably tries to recover from debt run up during the pandemic. I get it, but at the same time, I don't like hearing from NCL employees that they're exhausted.

 

Let me know if you have any questions, etc. Happy to answer.

[dcipjr]

@mking8288, I noticed that the Joy's Navigation Channel has switched to the newer, fancier, not-1997 edition.

 

They've also got StarLink aboard.

 

I remember you asking me about both on my earlier Getaway cruise.

 

Sometime we'll have to sync up on a future cruise! We did have a good Joy-ride back in 2022, even if we maybe gave each other COVID. 🤣

 

Also, I noticed you're on Cunard soon! Have a great time -- we're planning on trying them for a transatlantic crossing in 2026.

Edited August 19 by dcipjr

[zqvol]

 Nothing surprising about the DSC. NCL never claimed it actually went to any specific crew member. They are all salaried and part of the salary comes from the DSC but no one knows how much. Other parts of it fund crew parties and other such things. As OP did, if you truly appreciate your stewards then tip them generously.  Plus it certainly doesn’t hurt to give your waiters a small gratuity nightly. 

[mking8288]

@dcipjr   Welcome home !  You know, NCL is bring a (an older) ship to Philadelphia in 2026, keep your options open. 

 

Great and concise trip report, short and on points - maybe I should adapt my style on the next report too.  The good, the not so great and the unspeakable & unthinkable, 100% valid as you were onboard and majority of us weren't ... You know pretty much what's likely mine impression, and I am keeping that private.  Actions speaking loudly than shouting things here, to each her/his own.  Go with the flow and a good vacation, a great cruise and time-off from everyday stresses and demands from work & family etc. is how and what we make out of it. 

 

That was a hell of a Joy ride to Bermuda on the first 36 hours heading out, wasn't it - serious rocking-and-rolling and even I felt the motion & a little seasick ...  Don't really know who got the bugs and circulated it around, but we're vax'd and felt comfortable enough to cruise, etc. - those booster shots made a difference.  

 

Rob the GM is still in command, impressed & surprised that he isn't moving around as others often do, his assistant was great - a tight ship run his wings.  Sadly, your description reflecting corporate choices and policies, raining down the chains.  Talking with CC friends off the grids that sail NCL often, the onboard "synergy" has been sloping off and not what it used to be.  

 

We are heading west next week with an early start, come along later to check things out ... then, we are going to take a spin out of Cape Liberty, someone else from the CC Joy roll call already "waved" but they are sailing earlier than us.  I hate to be overtly critical as food opinions are personal, highly subjective & personally biased - but, lately - that warm & fuzzy feeling has been challenged.   The newest Specialty Dining "lite" menu is really something and glad we just made ours before the ax dropped again for this round.  Planning anything late winter/early Spring ... to, Escape, for 8 days, maybe ??  DW and l leaning toward the *Away/+ ships more so than the Prima class.  

 

Again, thank you for sharing and writing this carefuly & well written report of your observations as critics of this community of ours.  

 

 

[PhillyTravelBug]

Fellow Philadelphia resident here!  That's really sad to hear about the housekeeping staff. We sailed on the Prima last year in Europe and noticed how busy ours was and how they just don't even have time for interactive chit chat.  I bought 4 cruise next certificates, but I am sailing Disney next month on our Great Britain sailing and Celebrity Ascent next year in the Mediterranean.  

The Joy is on my list of ships I want to sail.  Glad the hurricane didn't damper your trip.

[dcipjr]

1 hour ago, mking8288 said:

Don't really know who got the bugs and circulated it around, but we're vax'd and felt comfortable enough to cruise, etc. - those booster shots made a difference.  

 

They did indeed—it was pretty mild, and afterwards we just resumed traveling normally. That cruise on the Joy was a turning point.

 

1 hour ago, mking8288 said:

Rob the GM is still in command, impressed & surprised that he isn't moving around as others often do, his assistant was great - a tight ship run his wings.  Sadly, your description reflecting corporate choices and policies, raining down the chains.  Talking with CC friends off the grids that sail NCL often, the onboard "synergy" has been sloping off and not what it used to be.  

 

Definitely. The crewmember onboard stressed that the actual onboard crew is great—Roh does run a tight ship, and is well-liked by crew and passengers. The corporate choices and policies are spoiling the onboard synergy—I hope things turn around.

 

1 hour ago, mking8288 said:

You know, NCL is bring a (an older) ship to Philadelphia in 2026, keep your options open. 

 

We definitely will be trying that at least once, probably in 2027. The itinerary isn't great—Thursday to Thursday, with just 2 days in Bermuda + a stop in Charlestown, SC—but the idea of sailing on the Jewel down the Delaware River through to the Bay, under the Delaware Memorial Bridge and out to sea, that's just too good to resist. Plus in my own city! I want to cruise just so that NCL and the rest of the cruise industry knows that the demand from Philadelphia is there.

 

1 hour ago, mking8288 said:

Go with the flow and a good vacation, a great cruise and time-off from everyday stresses and demands from work & family etc. is how and what we make out of it. 

 

I couldn't agree more.

 

I hope you and your family have a great vacation! And don't feel the need to cut down your reviews to be lazy like mine (though you said it more nicely as "concise")—your reviews are the stuff of legends here! I've learned so much from them.

[dcipjr]

1 hour ago, PhillyTravelBug said:

Fellow Philadelphia resident here!  That's really sad to hear about the housekeeping staff. We sailed on the Prima last year in Europe and noticed how busy ours was and how they just don't even have time for interactive chit chat.  I bought 4 cruise next certificates, but I am sailing Disney next month on our Great Britain sailing and Celebrity Ascent next year in the Mediterranean.  

The Joy is on my list of ships I want to sail.  Glad the hurricane didn't damper your trip.

 

Yeah, the crew barely have time to interact with the passengers anymore...the contracts got longer over the years, they seem more tired and overworked. I hope things turn around for them.

 

The Joy is definitely recommended—it's our favorite ship in the NCL fleet.

 

Enjoy your cruise and Go Phils / Go Birds!

Edited August 19 by dcipjr

[dcipjr]

2 hours ago, zqvol said:

Nothing surprising about the DSC. NCL never claimed it actually went to any specific crew member. They are all salaried and part of the salary comes from the DSC but no one knows how much.

 

I'm not surprised by the DSC—I knew it went to a pool and got divided, and at $20/day the workers are only going to get so much. Plus, there's been so much chatter over the years about the DSC not really giving much to the workers, and it was hard to believe there wasn't some fire behind all the smoke.

 

I would say that I was surprised to hear that the stateroom attendants' latest contracts are for less money than they were before. Having them stretched more and for less pay—that just feels wrong to me.

Edited August 19 by dcipjr

[JGmf]

@dcipjr Thanks for your review.  Thanks for providing it with spacing and headers - it was well constructed and a good read.

 

I too love the Joy (Encore is my favorite), but love the Joy and agree with your observations.  I was on it both last year and this year, both to Bermuda, and yes, food has gone downhill and production/theater-venue entertainment has slid way down earning a "lame" adjective. 

 

We've similarly sailed about 20 times on NCL and do recall when we'd actually schedule selected evenings around the production show.  Not any more.  Too bad.

 

We've migrated on to Princess.