hizzaah

The mini bus I was on only held 10 people (including the driver). Like a cargo van with a bunch of seats. We were the only two passengers wearing a mask. Two others had them on at first but took them off when the driver mentioned they weren't required for passengers.

There were taxis and "mini-buses" (large vans) by the port every day. A taxi to HSB was ~$35 and a seat on the mini-bus was $7/pp. We took a taxi van around 9am the last morning and the driver was extremely nice, gave us a lot of good info. We took the mini-bus back to port around 1230pm and that was also pleasant. Keep in mind that they do wait until they fill all the seats on the bus so you might be sitting for a while.

YMMV The other party we were with received an email saying their bid was not accepted.

NCL Joy May 5/15-22 We had a Deck 5 Oceanview Picture Window (5110). Bid $100pp for the Club Balcony Suite. The morning of 5/12 we were given a "free upgrade" to a larger Deck 5 Family Oceanview (5182) and our bid was canceled. Entered the same bid and it got accepted the afternoon of 5/12 - moved us to Deck 15 room 15170. The other people we were with started in 5112, got the free upgrade to 518X (next door), then their resubmitted $100pp bid was declined on either 5/13 or 5/14. At check-in they were notified of a free upgrade to Deck 10 Balcony 10748. They were Silver level and had some kind of casino status so I assume those factored in.

Ship - NCL Joy (May 15-22 Bermuda) Deck -15 Stateroom # - 15170 Club Balcony Suite Stateroom Category –MA Starboard or Port Side - Port Quiet Stateroom? (With comments on problems) – There was a lot of vibration in this room. I could feel it in the hallway too so I assume it wasn't just us and there were Haven rooms not far from us. Towards the end the ceiling developed an infrequent, light rattling. There was some kind of whooshing/rumbling sound that happened every 90 seconds at all hours of the day (never figured out what that was). It wasn't obnoxious but is noticeable. Overhead was the outdoor seating for the Garden Cafe on Deck 16 so we could hear them dragging tables around 5am each morning and occasionally people running on the deck. Could hear the bass when "DJ Bandeauxx" was bumping poolside but I think the latest that ever ran was 10pm. Was stateroom a connecting stateroom? - No Balcony View - Give comments on view, noting if location of any obstructions was an issue. – View is good; no obstructions. Balcony Size? Normal or oversized for class? - I suspect normal size. Wasn't large but there was enough room to sit in the two chairs comfortably. Was wind a problem? - No If an aft cabin, was soot a problem? - N/A Any specific problems with this cabin? - The vibrations drove me crazy. It happened while docked in NYC and through a lot of the sailing. I didn't notice it while we were docked overnight in Bermuda though. Any other comments? - My second cruise and first with NCL. We got this room with a $200 (total) upgrade bid from a Deck 5 Oceanview room. Our attendant was fantastic (Gregory - very friendly, prompt to care for the rooms, learned our names on day one and asked us about our day every time we saw him). Got free champagne, one free laundry bag, and free room snacks on 2 days. Short walk to the observation lounge to grab snacks or fill our water bottles. One flight of stairs to the Garden Cafe/Pool Deck. Slightly larger bathroom with jetted shower was nice. Bed was by the balcony, couch by the bathroom.

We returned on the Joy from Bermuda on 5/22 and so far so good. We did wear masks when we were around others indoors as it made us more comfortable. Passed on a few elevator rides where people were coughing 😅