weisla

Currently sailing in an M6 forward on the Joy and sailed through a storm all day yesterday. We could not only hear but feel the ship’s bow breaking through waves last night. It was pretty exhilarating! The impact was shaking the cabin. We woke to lightning and massive thunder at 6am and watched lightning through the balcony doors at midnight. Lots of fun, though a challenge if I had been trying to get little ones to sleep. 
Balcony is similar, though a tiny bit of a different configuration on Breakaway+

we’re on starboard side and my only complaint is a faint lingering odor from the cigar lounge in the hallway and on the balcony. It’s fleeting, so tolerable, but if it was continuous it would really bother me. 

Just parked at the MCT on Sunday 6/9. Reserved in advance (generally not necessary, but I’d just had knee surgery 3 weeks prior and was willing to pay the premium for easy access). We arrived around 1pm for a 6pm sail away. Up the ramp, then sniffed through security to the parking area There were still spots, probably 20+ available. Gave 3 bags to the curbside porters with a tip and breezed right into the terminal with no line. Then right onto the ship. The drive up 95 was fairly easy and navigation across the GWB a bit congested but not bad on a Sunday afternoon. 

14 minutes ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

Interesting.  This is what had me confused:

IIRC it was not available pre-boarding, but they are allowing reservations for dinner. Lunch is still first come, first served. Unless you try the  @complawyer $10 bill strategy 😉

50 minutes ago, vacation44 said:

It was nice to have the option of having lunch at American Diner.    While the food is very similar to the Local/O'Sheehans, it was nice to stay outside instead of going inside.   It was also nice to actually see this location finally being utilized instead of seeing an empty restaurant.   

I completely agree! When we sailed the Joy last July American Diner was a ghost town. Stopped by for lunch today and it was packed with a line and 30 min wait. The Garden Cafe was less crowded too with more folks eating upstairs. 

50 minutes ago, weisla said:

Only on day 1, then it is by phone or at the host desk at each restaurant after 5pm

I’m wrong about this, a desk is open in today in Teppanyaki 7:30-5.

31 minutes ago, Lizard13 said:

Is there a central desk to book dining reservations or are they made at each restaurant?

Only on day 1, then it is by phone or at the host desk at each restaurant after 5pm

30 minutes ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

I don't believe that Food Republic takes reservations.

They are offering reservations right now on the Joy. We booked one last night.

Just now, SoloAlaska said:

An empty table doesn’t mean availability. They can move staff around based on needs aka reservation numbers. It doesn’t hurt to ask kindly.

Yes, that’s what we’ll try tonight, go early and ask nicely 🙂

1 minute ago, RocketMan275 said:

A table might be empty at 6 PM because someone has reserved it for 6:30.

Of course, but last between 6:30-7 there were dozens of empty tables - every inside table in La Cucina was vacant and Food Republic was so empty I actually thought it must be closed. 

6 minutes ago, RocketMan275 said:

Why would NCL not seat walkups if there is availability?  That would cost them money.

I know, that’s what I thought! I called the reservation line and asked and was told “no, you need to have a reservation.” That seems ridiculous, especially since we saw tons of empty tables at places that supposedly had no reservations available. That’s why I wondered if they were purposely understaffing.

We’re currently on the Joy and decided to add more specialty dining meals. I’m trying to book but there is little availability. Will they seat us if we walk up and wait for a no show? Last night we couldn’t get anything until 8:45, but when we walked by restaurants earlier in the evening some were practically empty. I’m wondering if NCL is understaffing the specialty venues and not opening reservations for open tables or are people booking and not bothering to call and cancel? I’d appreciate any advice!

1 minute ago, jds2001 said:

It would, the insider offers are only valid if you have previously sailed with NCL.

Thanks, I will call again. I already called to ask them to merge his now multiple latitudes numbers but hadn't noticed the missing double points code. The current reservation with the new latitutdes number shows him as "past guest" but doesn't show his latitudes status.

1 hour ago, Seas2mountains said:

Wow!  I do think the spa needs a monitor who can take action when passengers get out of line like that.

Yeah, it was a pretty tense moment that I never expected to witness in the Thermal Spa! The guy who started it was really loud/obnoxious and kind of aggressive before it escalated. If there had been some kind of monitor who asked him to be quiet, it might have escalated with spa staff rather than another passenger.

On 3/5/2024 at 11:25 AM, WillCruiseForMoney said:

LATBONUS 1 extra latitudes point per night

I'm cruising on the Joy tomorrow and booked under the Latitudes insider double offer. This code isn't included in my summary (or any other LAT code that would indicate a double points offer). Should I call before we sail, or is it something they can adjust onboard? They also screwed up my husband's latitudes number and assigned him a random new one so I wonder if that negated the insider offer?

On the Getaway in March I witnessed two passengers get into an escalating argument in the thalassotherapy pool that almost turned into a physical altercation. It started with one man speaking very loudly and disturbing a woman who was in the adjacent hot tub. He was trying to draw her into conversation and ultimately insulted her when she continued to ignore him. Another man stepped in to tell the loud guy to buzz off, then the two of them got into a heated argument. Thankfully the guy who challenged the obnoxiously loud man walked away before punches were thrown. 

Try this thread

And this one

Does she have the NCL app downloaded on her phone? Connecting to the ship’s Wi-Fi is managed through the app. This thread has a lot of helpful info

22 hours ago, Kortehgehn said:

Our TA told us that they could apply the discount to two of our existing reservations, but I haven't received a confirmation with the updated pricing yet. The cruises were still before final payment though, so that may make a difference.

 

Also, has anyone who booked using this discount noticed the $50 onboard credit showing up in the vacation summary on NCL's website?

Did your TA say whether they had to cancel and rebook a new reservation in order for the discount to apply? The fine print specifies the discount only applies to sailings booked on or after May 6, 2024. My TA tried but NCL would not apply the discount to a booking made on May 4, 2024 for a cruise in June already past final payment. 

We ordered off the kids menu at Moderno for our 10yo. He decided to try the kids avocado tacos and didn’t care for them as prepared. I doctored them up with some of the black beans served with our meal. We also shared a few bites from our salad bar plates (as in would you like to try a bite of this to see if you like something new?) and bread. The staff had no objections. They even offered him a free dessert from the Moderno selections rather than choosing one off of the kids menu. I’d say YMMV, but no one is going to give you the stink eye if you share a bite here and there with a 7yo who ordered a kids meal. However if you fill up an entire plate for her from the salad bar you’ll likely be required to pay the cover charge.

Excellent, I’m glad it worked!

When you navigate to https://www.ncl.com/teachers and click on “Get Started” to sign into your Latitudes account are you able to sign in to your ID.me account through the NCL teachers page?

If you were able to, try signing out, then navigate back to https://www.ncl.com/teachers and sign in again there. It may prompt you to approve sharing/sending the verification status with NCL. I wasn’t able to link my US verification until I did this final step. If that doesn’t work, you might find some help here https://help.id.me/hc/en-us/articles/8933788806935-Finding-who-you-shared-your-information-with

It is for drivers only, my son was under 55” and allowed to ride but not drive. Measured him yesterday and he’s grown to 55 1/2” since last summer. He is super excited to take the wheel! 

Happy Mother’s Day! Thank you so much, I’m following your wonderful report with interest and anticipation of boarding the Joy in 4 weeks!
The entertainment schedules are really helpful, where are these posted onboard? 

4 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

What entertainment is on the ship this week. For future cruisers, The Bird notes that this week’s schedule is different than last week’s schedule which was different from the week before. 
 

I believe the minimum to drive is 48”, my son (then an average height 9yo) had to ride last year while Dad drove. He is REALLY hoping he’s grown enough this year to drive. I’ve been meaning to measure him for our June 9th departure on the Joy. Your 7yo will definitely be able to ride with Dad!

They also had a smaller breakfast buffet in the American Diner on Getaway. It was half empty in March out of NY since it was still pretty cold for breakfast outdoors. A really nice alternative to fighting the crowds downstairs at the full buffet.

After ID.me sent me an email confirmation, I had to go back to NCL.com/teachers and click through the link to ID.me and sign in there again. It then prompted with a request to approve sharing/sending the verification status with NCL. I assumed it was finalized with the email but once I logged in again on ID.me approved sharing the status it showed up as activated on NCL: