david_sobe

I did not open the thread awhile back about the Joy's dry dock because I had no interest. I was watching a video last night of all the changes and I was pretty impressed. The Joy had pretty much no spa at all and now it has the largest spa at sea beating the Epic. They converted the gaming complex into the spa. They showed the observation lounge and you would have swore it was not reduced. It still looked a good size. Then they expanded the DOS in the Haven and removed the top part of the Horizon lounge. Originally that area was a Haven casino when it was in the Asian market. The DOS has 3 bedrooms now and some bedroom windows look down into the Horizon lounge. I dont think anyone would miss that area since it rarely was used. I can definitely see these changes coming for Encore. Laser Tag took up the most valuable deck space on a cruise ship. So these changes make sense IMHO. However its sad the Joy could not get a "real" spa. I suppose they could not put in a thermal pool. While the square space is huge and they have countless loungers there is only one small hot tub and a 1 person cold dunk pool. The saunas are normal sized though. I just feel that cheats the purpose of the spa. A very large thermal pool with additional hot tubs like on the other ships. So that is the only downer I see.

That would be interesting.

She's beautiful. Most of this board always flames the new hull art of NCL ships until it grows on them. This I like right away. Very colorful. Not tacky but elegant.

That ain't gonna happen. Everything added is to increase income. Fee based activities wont go away. I remember when NCL ripped up the Spinnaker lounges and what was left over looked like a fire sale. But NCL stopped doing it to their Jewel class ships. It was supposed to be all of them. Is not the Encore already sailing at maximum capacity. They really need 20 more passengers this bad?

I think its a bit extreme to rip apart such new ships to add more cabins. So they will build an owners suite on deck 15 nowhere near the Haven? Part of the appeal of the Encore Haven is having everything in the same complex. So they will make the Observation deck smaller for a few more bucks. Its going to cost a pretty penny to do this too. How about making the race track one deck and removing the track from one deck and put cabins there too. The Laser Tag area would provide some great Aft view for cabins too.

Of course. But its sort of impossible to hide dogs walking the halls during a cruise. Of all the cruises I have been on I have never seen them in the halls and going in sniffing cabins. What I am saying is there is a ton of intelligence data behind the scenes that you are not aware of. If they are bringing dogs on board there is intelligence to do so. The point I was making is the countless threads of people seeing dogs at the port and people post here they were checking for narcotics. Not always. There are multiple kinds of dogs. Its all done for passenger's safety. Its also like when people see police on board thinking someone is being arrested. Not always. Cruise lines do not let police to board with drug sniffing dogs to blindly go on excursions and start opening everyone's cabins or random cabins to sniff for contraband unless there is some sort of reasonable suspicion. Lastly these port calls are pick up places. Even if someone is suspected of smuggling drugs they usually will wait until the ship gets back to a U.S. Port to discover it and make the arrest. Not saying it cant happen but ports of entry are much more intrusive than sail away ports.

Many of the dogs you see at ports are not exclusively are the ones trained for narcotics. To keep the port safe they have dogs that sniff explosive materials. An island like Bermuda is going to keep itself safe and not allow certain food items to come in either. Its a false pretense to assume every dog at the port is looking for drugs. I have never seen a dog some to someone's cruise cabin before. Its likely there was a source of information on that one. There are dogs that sniff currency too. Each dog is trained for a separate contraband.

For authorities and a dog to go to a certain cabin tells us there was an informant or someone snitched the person out and they went to investigate. There is simply not enough time in the day to keep doing drug sweeps in every cabin after every port. Here in Miami people are profiled all the time. They take a cruise, get off in port, wear different sandals back to the ship filled with cocaine. They are profiled and watched or again there is an informant working with authorities. Its put under wigs, in wheel chairs, sandals, etc.

There was no dispute to intervene. I actually started with the concierge and he was not really an advocate for it. He was the one that told me it would have to be up to the Haven restaurant manager. I mentioned it to my butler and he also did not accelerate the request either. It seemed like it was going to be a big deal so I just dropped it. A better reservation came up at Onda that night and we decided on that instead. Maybe it could have happened if I pressed the issue. But I could tell right away it was going to make people uncomfortable and no way I wanted the rules bent for me or given special treatment. I could take a hint this was not a great idea. No biggie. I seriously could care less. I used to read all the special requests in the Haven all the time. Its just something I pondered but the subtle resistance made me change my plans.

That is what I asked. I was told it has to be cleared with the Haven restaurant manager. The facial expressions that I got were of someone in pain so I never bothered to take it further. The butler is supposed to bring things to your cabin, not the restaurant (which I was sort of told).

Special requests seem to not be common in the Haven anymore. Remember the days when people would get specialty dining appetizers for free with their Haven meal. They dont like bringing any outside food into the Haven restaurant for a few reasons. Once someone sees something that someone else got then its a slippery slope with waiters running back and forth between restaurants. The Haven staff want to feel they are exclusive and bringing any outside food in cheapens the experience in their minds. Many years ago they would actually offer you something from the MDR and deliver it to the Haven restaurant. Back in the day when NCL had lobster night in the MDR, the Haven staff would inform you it was ok to order it and it would be delivered. They dont like to do any such things anymore. I asked once on Encore and got this painful look and I told them its ok and forget about it.

The Haven menu for dinner has an excellent selection. Unfortunately they dropped the wild mushroom ravioli that was a favorite for years. But I could easily eat 4 different dinners off this menu and be happy.

As long there is Cagneys, Onda, and Los Lobos, I'm happy! 😁 Throw in a few cookies and I'm ecstatic !

Good size. You see by the photo it can have several loungers, a table and table chairs.

I was on the sister ship Encore. I also would go for the larger balcony. But the way the Haven is designed there are no terrible choices and every location has a perk. Deck 18 has the Haven restaurant just steps outside your door. Deck 17 has the concierge and Haven bar and pool just steps outside your door. Another perk on deck 17 is the Horizon lounge is on your floor. However on Deck 18 its just down one flight of stairs. There are no bad choices....decide which you prefer to be on your deck. We had the front forward 2 bedroom suite on Encore and we loved being so close to the Horizon lounge on deck 17. We opened our door, turned left and walked 20 feet through another door and we were in the Horizon lounge. It almost felt like an extension of our cabin. Need some juice, coffee, cookies or treats...just steps away.

OMG those look like Chip Ahoys

The Gold card lost its charm 😞

For some schools it is spring break that early. When I was in college we had our spring break the second week of March and I could not understand why they called it spring break when it was still winter. But the second week of March will be spring break for some. It hits its peak mid march and runs to April. I used to live on south beach and you are aware exactly when spring break is. I avoid all cruises in March and April.

My cruise is February 2026 and I would not be surprised if the dock is not even finished by then. Construction is always delayed and this summer is going to be a brutal hurricane season. But I have something to look forward to if the dock is finished by the end of 2025.

Depends on ship Depends on sailing Some NCL ships dont have a Haven complex while other ones have small Haven complexes and others very large 3 deck Haven complexes. The Haven bar is never crowded of all the ships I have sailed. Always got a seat. On the newer ships people claim the Haven bar area is a ghost town and they have the most suites and most Haven passengers.

You missed the point completely. You are assuming that is why NCL discontinued towel animals. NCL never said any such thing. What you wrote is probably true but NCL gave a fantasy explanation why they were stopping them. THAT was my point. Whether you are for towel animals or against them, the point I was making was the gaslighting from NCL with their ridiculous explanations for some of their decisions and the people that believe those explanations and defend them.

Its about time NCL built a pier at GSC. I am on Aqua in Feb 2026 and I hope the pier is finished by then. Construction is always delayed and this year is supposed to be a brutal hurricane season so I will be surprised its finished by then. But it would be fantastic if it is.

NCL wants and targets new cruisers so they got them. I don't think they care their private yacht experience was not up to expectations. There will be new cruisers to replace them. BTW, you reminded me again to never cruise during spring break.

Unless things have changed again, NCL stopped mailing luggage tags a long time ago. As mentioned by someone you can print them online. They were still mailing Haven luggage tags but maybe they stopped that too. My last NCL cruise in 2020, they were still mailing Haven luggage tags. As platinum you will get to board from the Platinum line. Sometimes it is faster while other times not so much. I think luggage is not given any sort of priority no matter your status or where you are staying. At least my experience is I have never noticed my luggage arriving faster just because I am in the Haven.

Welcome back and thanks again for an awesome review. Any major changes since your last Encore cruise?