BayAreaCruisers4

It should be added that the shareholder benefit only applies to the cruise portion of a land/sea tour. For example, we are going on a Princess land tour in May 2024. The land portion is 7 days, and the cruise portion is 7 days. We will only receive a shareholder benefit of $100 for the 7-day cruise.

On 5/27/2019 at 4:37 PM, Snagler said:

I am on the ship now. We reserved our Footloose and Elements online through NCL.com before we sailed. They changed the dates we had selected but we were given guaranteed tickets on the alternate nights. They sold out right away and other passengers are going to have to wait to see if there are no shows 10 minutes before showtime. So best to make your reservation ahead. 

Same thing happened to us. I thought it was first week problems. Sorry to hear it’s still happening. 

36 minutes ago, Ptroxx said:

 

 

Ok ok so I cant reserve anything before we sail?   Guess that’s the first thing I’m doing when I get on board lol 

Try reserving ahead by calling NCL. I heard a lot of folks were able to reserve shows and dinner houses ahead of time. We did, but almost all of our reservations were changed when we got on the ship. That might have been because it was the first public sailing, though. We went to the box office to get it sorted out and all was ok. 

BTW, be sure to download the NCL app before you sail. You can also make reservations there while on the cruise. 

2 hours ago, Ptroxx said:

 

Bay Area.  Thanks for the great review.   

Fellow Bay Area here.   Sonoma Co area.  

 

Ill be on the Joy for Labor Day weekend can’t wait.  First NCL cruise for me.   Mini suite 12268

 

curious to how the comedy shows were ?  Really enjoy going to the shows.  

Ive been on many cruises but with carnival.  And I’ve never had to make reservations for a comedy show. 

 

This ship is so much bigger than any ship I’ve been on.  

 

Thanks again for the review 

 

 

The comedy shows were pretty good. We enjoyed them. The opening act was pretty much the same for each one. Make sure you reserve them when you get on board at one of the kiosks (midship) or at the box office (deck six forward). 

On 5/24/2019 at 10:59 PM, luvincruising said:

Great review.  Thank you for taking the time compiling this detailed review.  What type of shoes/ boots did you wear in ports and on the ship?  Waterproof? Insulated?

That almost sounds creepy. 😉 I we both wore Skechers (not waterproof). Mine were hiking shoes, which were better than regular tennis shoes. 

Glad you like the review. 😀

8 hours ago, rrrijah said:

do people (and does Joy allow) decorate their room doors?

I saw a few decorated doors (maybe 4-5). 

1 hour ago, ggg196078 said:

  Is it a disadvantage being on Port side(left side) when departing. Looks like all the good scenery is on Starboard side(right).

I wouldn’t call it a disadvantage. You get to see the land side when you return. 😄

18 hours ago, Snagler said:

Which restaurant served these? Want to keep my eye out for them next week. 

The crab was served in the buffet the second night of the cruise. Not sure if they offered it in the MDRs. 

2 hours ago, seemoreroyals said:

I noticed that American Diner is open as a complimentary breakfast option.  Do you know if you order off the menu there or is it a buffet type set-up?

It’s a small buffet. Really good and quick croissant egg sandwiches, but it’s cold up there. On excursion days we would order coffee the night before from room service and then I would run up and get a couple sandwiches while my wife was getting ready. 

Oh, another thing. I forgot to bring my binoculars with me on the cruise. Doh! So I bought a really nice pair of Nikon  Prostaff S3 10x42 binoculars onboard from the photo shop for $129.95. Even though I was sure that I was being fleeced, I checked the price on Amazon when I was in port in Juneau and was pleasantly surprised that they were the same price there, plus tax. There actually CAN be some good deals found onboard!

Too bad that I left them at The Local and were long gone when I came back for them 15 minutes later. 😞 At least it was on the last night.

4 hours ago, oregonian123 said:

 

Thank you for posting these. I don't see where the restuarant's times are listed on these for days 2-7. Am I overlooking them?

I just realized that I only scanned the back of Day 1, which shows embarkation restaurant times. Here's the back of Day 2, which is the same as all the rest.

32 minutes ago, Snagler said:

When leaving the ship on the last day, are there taxis or Uber’s at the port to just grab and head to the airport if you aren’t booked on the ship’s transport? We did this in Hawaii and there were plenty of cabs.  We bypassed everyone waiting in line to get their luggage loaded on the NCL bus. 

Pier 66 doesn’t have a lot of room for cabs or rideshare, but it was easy enough to pick up. Just outside the terminal head to your right toward Anthony’s. We use Lyft and it was easy. Same thing heading from SeaTac to Pier 66. It’s about a 25 minute drive with traffic. 

1 hour ago, CaliMom05 said:

Your info on the disembarkation is super helpful!  I have a question - we are using NCL transfer to SEATAC but don't want to lug our checked bag to the shuttle bus.  We've never used their transfer service directly to the airport before.  Do you know if that bag goes directly from outside of our cabin to the shuttle bus?  Or would it be best to use Port Valet and not worry about it.

We didn’t use it, but I was told the next time folks see their luggage is on the carousel at their destination.

9 minutes ago, oregonian123 said:

 

Thank you for posting these. I don't see where the restuarant's times are listed on these. Am I overlooking them?

The first page?

Here is some more embarkation and disembarkation information. I'm a pack rat. 😉

We had our bags outside our cabin about 12:30am. Not a problem. There were other bags out in the hallway, too.

Something to note, we couldn't hear the onboard announcements from our room when the door was closed and they don't announce well, if at all, on the TV in the cabin. We always had to open the door to hear them. That's also true about Glacier Bay. A park ranger came on board and described what we were seeing over the PA starting around 8AM. We missed a lot of that.

1 hour ago, Melli56566 said:

do you happen to remember if The Local pub was open or embarkation day?  (I'm home sick all week, hence the numerous posts!) ☠️

The dailies I uploaded near the top of this thread list dining options for Day 1. The Local shows open at 11:00am.

Also, one of the MDRs and the buffet were open till 9am if you're not in a rush to get off the ship.

13 minutes ago, jfbbarry said:

We have an 11AM flight- What time did debarkation start?

Do you think that the  portal valet service will get our bags to the airport on time? I heard that service was free?

Did additional research and the Port Valet is  a free service.

https://www.portseattle.org/blog/explore-seattle-luggage-free-port-valet

I found my picture of the disembarkation program from guest services. Next to it were all the luggage tags of various colors that you could take. Hope this helps. We did light blue at 9am and offboarding traffic was busy.

1 minute ago, jfbbarry said:

We have an 11AM flight- What time did debarkation start?

Do you think that the  portal valet service will get our bags to the airport on time? I heard that service was free?

 

We didn't use it, but that's what it's for. I don't think it's free.

36 minutes ago, Snagler said:

How was the usual indoor temperatures on the ship in alaska? Public places like the theatres, atrium, observation lounge, dining rooms, etc? 

Very comfortable. We wore short and long sleeve shirts throughout the cruise. I felt that the cabin was a little warm, so it was nice to open the balcony door to get some fresh air and cool off. We even slept with it ajar some nights. We're from SF, so we're used to cool temps. 😉

My review of the Joy has finally been published. https://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=656910&et_cid=3214772&et_rid=24339019&et_referrer=NULL

2 hours ago, rrrijah said:

Just wanted to say thank you for the best post ever.

 

We're headed out in Early June.  Will post dailies as well.

 

Apologies if this is a lame question:  was the weather ever good enough to use pools/slides?  How was the heated pool?

 

thank you!

Thanks!

The weather was great in Seattle and Victoria. Alaska was cold and rainy, but weather is always subject to change.

One day I almost got my nerve up to try the water slides, but ran into some friends and never went through with it. The weather that day was sunny and mild. Never got in any of the pools or hot tubs, so can't say anything about them. Sorry.

4 minutes ago, Melli56566 said:

thought of another question,,,,best area for glacier viewing (we cruise through glacier bay)?  I've read about observation deck is good (but can get crowded). Is it best/possible to view outside (I heard there is a lot to hear too)?  We bid on a balcony, but that's yet to be seen.

Best inside viewing area would be the observation lounge (deck 15, forward, crowded). But to really experience it go outside. There were several calvings while we were there and they are thunderous! It was cold and rainy, but worth it.

Best outside viewing is on deck 6 all the way forward (enter the long hallway near District Brewhouse toward the bow of the ship) or, as we did, go to deck 8 all the way forward. Here you can get great views from the railing on both sides of the ship. The captain does a great job of pivoting the ship back and forth so both sides of the ship get good views. The crew also setup Irish Coffee stations for us on deck 8. 🙂 

Oh, another tip. Make sure to have the World's Best Mac and Cheese (TM) at Beecher's. Their shop is in Pike Place, but they have one in SEATAC, too! I always get some when I come in or go out of SEATAC. It lives up to its name.

2 minutes ago, Melli56566 said:

10pm for us too!!  seems like they leave very early or very late!  How was that flight?  Get any sleep?

We live near San Francisco, so it's only a two hour flight for us.