Mike A

The Great Outdoors is my favorite place on ANY ship I have ever been on. The second is the Observation Lounge on the Joy. When on the Gem out of NY in 2017 My wife and I were with 2 couples. We sat there every morning for breakfast and for all Sail Aways. It has comfortable cushioned seats w/tables both under cover and without, facing aft. Wonderful place to eat breakfast and look at the wake. Great Bar and access to the buffet. The Spinnaker Lounge is also very good. It is large and enclosed, with great views from the bow.

If Football is showing in the channel 30+ range then NCL is as stated above, getting the game from a different satellite. When I was on the Joy last year Sport 24 was on channel 28. Sport 24 had NHL and NBA playoffs, In fact we watched the NY Rangers playoff games with a large group of fans in the Local as we sailed from NYC. There was no Baseball to be found. FWIW, ESPN International has the Baseball but NCL does not subscribe. However, Carnival Corp and Royal Caribbean does. As a huge football fan, I hope the games are shown.

When we upgraded to a Club Balcony Suite from a Balcony on the Joy last year we lost the extra points promotion. It was well worth it however as the upgrade price was only $20 in total for 2 Club Balcony Suites. This was cancel and rebook. It was not an upgrade advantage.

NCL ships obtain their Sports TV from a service called Sports 24. They have a separate service for International Air Flights and a different one for Cruise Ships. According to the schedule on their website, sport24live.com, the Lions vs Chiefs game is only on the Flight version. On the Ship version they are showing the Semifinals of the US Open. Bear in mind this is 3 weeks from now and is subject to change. NCL may also make arrangements to obtain from a different source. I would continue to check the website for updates.

We were in the front corner M108 on the Royal which is the same Mini Suite as on the Majestic. In my opinion , the best cabin I have ever had including full suites. The balcony is HUGE. Great for sailaways as you get the view of both the front and side of the ship as you are on the bridge roof with the extension off the side. The balcony door was never locked, but you could not have the light on the balcony and had to keep curtains closed if lights were on in cabin. Room Steward told me the only reason it was not categorized as a suite was there was not enough room for a suite sized bathroom. However, the bed room and sitting room were large. At sea it could be windy, however as stated above you can usually find a place where the wind is broken.

According to Brooklyn Cruise Guide.com you will be going out of Brooklyn. FWIW well over 90% of Princess cruises out of NYC leave from Brooklyn. The ones that go out of Manhattan are usually Port stops rather than cruises that begin in NY.

Either way you cannot go wrong but my vote for a winter cruise out of NY would be the Gem. I totally agree with everything mjkacmon says. The Gem and Jewel are our favorite ships. My favorite place on the ship is the Great Outdoors. Another great place to hang out is the Bridge Viewing Room which is only on the Gem and other Jewel Class ships. We were on the Joy in May (similar but not the same as Getaway). It was very nice but did not have the same feel as the Gem. We did Jewel (Basically the same ship as Gem) in Winter out of NY and it handled the sailing to the Caribbean very well. Regardless of what you choose, you will have a great cruise!!! M

Our experience with the Platinum Amex and Club Balcony has been exactly the same as Graphicguy’s. BTW the large bathroom with the wall jet shower makes the upgrade worth every penny compared the standard balcony.

If you were on the May 29th sailing of the Joy, I was with you at the M&G. Yes, I can confirm there was a large # of Officers and I got to speak to the CD for 10 minutes. In fact, he confirmed to me that there were 2933 passengers (approx.75% Double Occupancy) and 1677 crew on the ship.

My wife took her Hair Flat Iron onto the Joy in May with no problem.

We did the Jewel the 1st week in January in 2012. On the day we sailed it hit 72 degrees and the CD set up an impromptu sail away party. The warm weather continued all the way to Port Canaveral. On the way back to NY it was warm until 3:00 PM the last sea day when the temperature dropped by 30+ degrees. The morning we returned to NY it was 25 degrees. Our car had 6 inches of snow on it and the Pier 88 Roof Top Parking Lot was like an ice rink. Therefore, be prepared for everything🙂

I became hooked on cruising when I was 9 years old when I sailed for the 1st time on the beautiful Flagship of the Norwegian America Line MS Bergensfjord on June 4, 1965. We sailed Transatlantic from New York to Norway. The ship went to Bergen, Stavanger, Copenhagen and Oslo. We disembarked in Stavanger as we were traveling to see my grandparents for the one and only time in my life. We traveled in Tourist Class and did not have a shower. On the return trip we sailed on NAL's sister ship MS Oslofjord on July 29, 1965. The itinerary was the same in reverse. While the ship was older and a little smaller it too was beautiful. We sailed in Tourist Class and this time did not have a bathroom. On this trip we had to pick up a wounded sailor who was stabbed in a fight from a Cargo Ship and rush back to NY. As a result we arrived in NY harbor a day early and sat at anchor just north of the brand new Verrazzano Narrows Bridge. Well, my buddy and I who became friends with some of the crew and went down to the bow of the ship where we snuck off and started to climb down the anchor chain. We certainly scared the !@#$ out of the crew and they made us climb back up and then they chastised us and took us to our parents. (Yes, this is a true story) Since then, I introduced my wife to cruising on our honeymoon and the rest is history 🙂 Mike A

Either ship you cannot go wrong. We were on the 5/29 Memorial Day weekend sailing of the Joy to Bermuda in Club Balcony. Great Ship. Weather was beautiful. High 70’s/Low 80’s every day. Warm water at Horseshoe Bay beach. Given the fact the Schools do not close until late June here in the North East /NY Metro area, you should not have a problem being over run by kids. We had maybe 100 children on the ship this sailing all young. My 13 and 8 YO grandchildren were on the ship with us and only found 1 child to hang out with. No issue with pools, hot tubs or slides. Mike A

Thats exactly what I did on the Joy in May 😎

Depending on the currents it takes between 45 minutes and an hour. On the 5/29 sailing of the Joy it took 60 minutes. Left Pier 88 at 4:00 sharp and we went under the bridge at 5:00. I have been on sailings that were quicker. FYI, you can watch sail away every Sunday from NY on the PTV Webcams. 1st Port of New York and then when the Joy gets closer to the bridge change to the NY Harbor webcam. You can also see the Celebrity Summit on Sundays as well as Oasis of the Seas, Adventure of the Seas from Bayonne and Carnival Magic from Port of NY Pier 88 during the week.

The initial line starts on the second floor of Pier 88 just inside the entrance doors once you give your luggage to porters. There are snakes there leading to security/metal detectors which start processing passengers at 9:30. Once you get past there you get on a Covid-19 paperwork line. Once you finish there you get on line for check in to get your room keys etc ... Priority/Latitude on left, general on right. Following, If you are Priority/Latitude you will be escorted to a special holding area to wait until boarding starts at which time you will board following special needs. If you check in after boarding starts you should be allowed to board immediately after final check in. Bear in mind this is how it worked for the 5/29 sailing. I can’t speak for upcoming sailings I hope this helps. Mike A

We were on the 5/29 sailing of the Joy. Following Covid-19 check, there were 2 lines Lattitudes/Priority on the left and General Check-in on the right. We reached that point at about 10:00. We had no one in front of us while the general check in had at least 50 people on it. Following final Check-In we were escorted to a special holding area until 10:45 when boarding started. Special Needs went first and we followed. We were on the ship prior to 11:00. Please note we arrived at 9:00 but they do not open security until 9:30 Sharp. We had approximately 150 in front of us in snakes by that time. Once the doors opened it took about 10 minutes to get past security and another 20 minutes for the Covid-19 paperwork review.

The key here is the Priority line is AFTER the Metal Detector and Covid-19 paperwork lines. If they tried at the initial entrance it was Haven only and would be turned away. Following the Covid-19 check in is where the Priority line is to the left of general check in. There is a representative to look at your boarding pass against the master list and should let you through. The key here is DONOT take no for an answer. Have the representative speak to a supervisor if necessary.

We had purchased Priority Access which came with Priority Embarkation and Debarkation. The key here is the boarding pass needs to say “Priority” on it. Yours should also. The other is once you get to the Latitudes/Priority line the gatekeeper will cross reference your party with their list which you should be on. Do not take no for an answer. Make the representative speak to a supervisor if you have an issue.

We were on the May 29th sailing of the Joy. The Lattitudes/Priority Line was following the Covid-19 paperwork check. There were 2 snakes with the entrance to snakes in center. Lattitudes/Priority, with sign on left. There was a rep checking boarding passes with a list of eligible passengers and they let us through. If not, you went right for normal check in. Make sure your Boarding Pass says Priority. We were then directed to the Lattitudes/Priority holding section and were second on the ship at 11:00 following special needs even though we were given #28 on the Covid-19 line.

At LeBistro they use French Press for the free regular coffee. At least they did on the 3 NCL cruises I have been on.

We were on the Joy on 5/29. Yes they had 2 person karts. That was the only way my 8 year old grand daughter could ride as they would not let her on the single.

We were on the Joy 5/29. We had a pre printed card in the slot. The room steward only placed it in half way into the slot. We had to insert it all the way in for the lights and outlets to work. He did this when ever he made up the room. We had a small clock plugged in that we had to reset whenever the room was made up which was no big deal. Was never unplugged. FWIW the Joy had a number of USB outlets in the room. Therefore never had a charging issue. Can’t speak for Escape.

Hi Gootie... Sorry again for late reply. Not on everyday LOL If you have an iPhone that is where you will go to turn on/off Airplane Mode which has to be on while at Sea. Once you are in sight of land you just have to turn off Airplane Mode and turn on cellular service. If Service is in area, you will get service bars on the phone. Within 1 minute oy my turning on I received a text from AT&T telling my they recognized I was in a Foreign Country and that since I had International Day Pass I was good to go. I was off the coast and withing eyesight of St George Bermuda at that time Hope this helps. Mike A

We were the 5/29 sailing and Priority Access used the same check-in line as Latitudes and Casino at Sea