Barb Nahoumi

At the Meet and Greet, one of the officers said that NCL does read Cruise Critic to find out what the passengers' thoughts are.  So, I will say bring back the cookies and keep them coming.  

On 2/18/2024 at 5:26 PM, cruiser2015 said:

Just a bit surprised they only gave you a half - I assume in the MDR.

At the buffet, you automatically get the whole one.

They are not bagel shop size, but not bad (a whole one). Slightly bigger than the English muffins.

About the size of a Lenders Bagel.

11 hours ago, graphicguy said:

I'm debating about whether to do a live review.  Not sure, yet.

 

I looked at the GEM cruise, too.  I love the GEM.  But, I had never sailed the Joy previously.  So, that tilted it to the Joy.

 

Would love to hear your impressions of the GEM, too!

If I had my choice of the Gem or the Joy it would be a hard decision.  I like both ships.  The Gem has the Great Outdoors which is an out door part of the buffet.  It has two pools, whereas the Joy only has one.  

There is more entertainment on the Joy, such as the Cavern Club where we watched "The Beatles" perform.  In Q there was a vintage Broadway performance.  In the theater, we had 2 great shows.  I'm not sure if the Gem still has song and dance shows.  Magicians and lousy comedians don't interest us, if that was they reduced it to.  Since the Gem sails from Boston, we will sail on her.

Heels hurt my feet to I always wear dressy flats and sandals.

On 9/25/2023 at 11:19 AM, jsn55 said:

That's another point ... if you've maintained your own large pool, you know how delicate the chemical balance needs to be.  You wouldn't get me into a public pool or hot tub for any reason whatsoever.  I mean, they take BABIES in there, ugh.

NCL does not allow diapered unpotty-trained babies in their pools, although they do get in.  There is signage to that effect near the pools.  Even swim diapers are not allowed.

Please keep us informed as to whether the passengers were able to reboard the ship at the next port.

23 hours ago, Two Wheels Only said:

"...eight guests who were on the island on their own or with a private tour missed the last tender back to the vessel,..."

 

I've taken excursions that were booked through the cruise line.

I've taken excursions that were not booked through the cruise line.

 

I've been late returning to the ship while on a cruise line's excursion.

I've never been late returning to the ship while on a "non cruise line's" excursion. 

 

If an over-priced cruise line's excursion comes with the assurance that the ship will wait (up to a point) if I am late, I'll pay the extra...especially since I can use OBC to pay. 

We only book the ship's excursions for this very reason.  However, since the passengers were driven back to the ship while it was still there, the captain should have let them reboard.  

On 3/29/2024 at 8:25 PM, Biffire said:

We signed up for a November Cruise, with free DSC, I asked our TA and she said it was a promotion from NCL. Not sure how it affects the cruise line employees. First time we have ever had this option, it does appear on our invoice from the TA.

On 3/29/2024 at 8:25 PM, Biffire said:

We signed up for a November Cruise, with free DSC, I asked our TA and she said it was a promotion from NCL. Not sure how it affects the cruise line employees. First time we have ever had this option, it does appear on our invoice from the TA.

Hopefully, the cruise line will take care of the employees.

On 2/4/2024 at 12:17 PM, www3traveler said:

Just saw on another social media website that Staff Captain Robert Hammerin has recently been promoted to Captain.

That makes TWO NCL Captains in the Hammerin family.  Robert's father is Gunner Hammerin.

 

WOW!!  Congratulations to both of you.

Good to know.  I saw an episode of Mighty Cruise Ships, in which Captain Carl Gunnar Hammerin was Captain of the Joy.

On 3/9/2024 at 4:40 AM, birdie16 said:

We just booked our first NCL cruise in years and after reading this thread I’m wondering if we are making a mistake. We have cruised over 35 cruises, 3 on NCL. Our experiences on NCL we would rate good, horrible and good, in that order. Even on the horrible cruise, POA, we still had a good time.

 

All the cruise lines we’ve been on have gone down hill after Covid. Making cuts and charging more. The most shocking to me is how much the gratuities are on NCL! In fact, we probably wouldn’t have booked NCL because of that, but we just got a deal on the Breakaway we couldn’t refuse.

 

We love being on a ship and enjoy the entertainment and the food. The ports are kind of secondary for us. For the most part, if you really want to experience a place you need to be there more than a few hours.

 

 

Making cuts then raising the DSC does bother me.  I don't feel that the raise was necessary, but the crew does work hard to provide us with a great cruise experience.

On 2/28/2024 at 1:04 PM, JerseyHorseLover said:

I was on the Joy in October and the food quality was excellent.  The coffee is good also. No complaints here. 

I agree.  The food on the Joy was very good.

On 2/11/2024 at 6:43 AM, ihate2cruise said:

They are really just looking out for your dietary health 😉 

I ask them to serve me both halves of the bagel.  They are so tiny.

They take away & take away then raise the DSC.  

1 minute ago, schmoopie17 said:

Well, they cut the size. I don't know if that qualifies as ruining it...but it sure doesn't improve it.

That was our favorite place to sit and sea gaze.

I know that major changes to the Observation Lounge were made.  Hopefully, they didn't ruin it.

5 hours ago, Two Wheels Only said:

 

Even on land, one Starbucks might not have items that another Starbucks has. It happens. 

We didn't set foot in Starbucks.  

On 11/20/2023 at 11:58 AM, www3traveler said:

Very disrespectful to sign up and then not show up.  Lots of work for the crew to set things up and put things away for an M&G.

We always show up.

I don't need or want all of that junk.  But, I love a large swimming pool.  On some of the ships, the pool is absolutely tiny.  A mega ship should have a mega sized pool.

We noticed that self-led Sabbath Services were listed on the Daily for our Joy Cruise.

For Alaska, it would be definitely the itinerary.  The ship is just the vehicle to get you there.  Of course, book the best cabin that you can afford.

One reason that the roll calls may be dying out, is that folks might not want to advertise to the whole world, that they will not be home during a given period, and that their home would be vacant.........An open invitation to thieves.  

Once onboard, cruise directors, and guest services should be able to do more to promote Cruise Critic's activities, and sign people up.

They retook our pictures at the pier.

1 hour ago, Daveth10 said:

I will be on the Gem shortly (Balcony Cabin). We will be celebrating our 40th wedding anniversary whilst onboard. Is there any point in letting NCL know this in order to somehow make the day a bit more special in some way.

Happy Anniversary🌼

We had our pictures taken at the pier last time.  No problem.

On 10/26/2023 at 4:58 PM, schmoopie17 said:

The Joy has an Observation Lounge, which is a plus. But they are taking space from the Observation Lounge to add cabins...which is a minus.

I wish that NCL would not desecrate the observation lounge on the Joy.   That was my favorite place to sit and watch the sea, and it was always busy.  Hear me NCL, leave the Joy's Observation Lounge alone.  PLEASE.