Dorhead1230

Oh one year? Ok good to know; thanks for the info!

Taste or Savor will be open until 10 PM each night. Maybe you don’t like eating late, but otherwise, there’s always the option for a snack at the buffet or O’Sheehan’s and then dinner after the show.

Thanks for this info. This is useful for DH and I to know before we board Sunday. You have to ask the hosts for the CASNext, right?

@Maplemoose if you’re not sailing this Sunday, I’ll be posting Dailies in my semi-live review thread beginning on Sunday (thread has been running all week for my amusement lol, but actual info/review will start Sunday). Holy crap! It’s 12:02! Sunday is tomorrow! 😆 If you are on my sailing, see you onboard! link to the thread if you want to check it out: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2947619-bringing-the-joy-with-as-live-ish-a-review-as-the-lousy-wi-fi-will-allow-bermuda-79-716/page/3/#comment-65687868

@bruce85 you really won’t need reservations for Taste or Savor. Manhattan I won’t comment on because we never attempt to eat there—too large, loud, and crowded—but I have seen long lines, especially if there’s entertainment there. My Getaway cruise during Presidents’ week was horrifically crowded and we never waited more than a few minutes for Taste or Savor (in line, never needed a pager). We usually like dinner around 7.

I hope the apple was disciplined accordingly for having the audacity to mess with the beautiful peach. Also, I like your turtle tat!

I used to take the blister cards out of all the boxes of meds and put them all in the little red first aid bag, and fill little bags with pills from the bottles, too. But then I realized we’d often end up leaving everything like that instead of putting it back away and using it up when we got home. So I started just playing Tetris with the boxes and bottles and get them to fit pretty well in a not-too-large zipper mesh bag. Because we’ve always sailed from NYC or Boston, we’ve always driven to our embarkation ports and although we try to keep our luggage reasonable, we also don’t make too much effort to squeeze into small suitcases. When the day comes that we finally fly to an embarkation port, then we’ll bust out all the space-saving tricks! 😊 You didn’t find the soap in the pump to leave any residue in cups or to be hard to wash out? I’d totally use it on clothes (not like much gets washed in the sink anyway—more for emergencies), but I just wouldn’t want any soapy taste in our cups.

Ok now I’m a super-cool kid…another pair of safety video emails has arrived! For a moment, I thought to myself “Should I be using the link and watching them every time? Will we have a problem on Sunday when we check in?” Then I snapped back to reality and realized NCL can barely keep their website operating fully all the time, so I needn’t worry that they can somehow track who clicks the email video links 🤭.

As some on here may have picked up on, I am a, shall we say, frequent casino visitor 🤪 and sorry to say on Getaway in February the little casino spread had also gone the way of the wind. Maybe it varies by ship like so many other things, but all they’d put out in the casino on that sailing was a few plates of cookies. Which, honestly, they might as well not bother with anything at all, then. I’ll be sure to check it out on Joy this coming week.

Ahhhhh! In 48 hours, we’ll (hopefully) be boarding! Time to play Guess How Many Items Dorhead Has in Suitcases! Price is Right rules—closest without going over! And the winner is… …whoever had zero! That’s right, nothing at all packed despite many good intentions lol. There are piles, so it’ll all migrate to suitcases eventually. I am happy to announce, though, that I’m finally a cool kid and received emails to watch the safety video again. Only two emails, so perhaps not so cool. Ok, off to do some packing! Just kidding! LM needs a haircut, so off to the barber. I better make sure I look super cute on Sunday, because I’ll be wearing those clothes for a week.

@fstuff1 thanks for the heads up! I hope you’re having a wonderful cruise! Bring her back in good condition for us 😊

There must be some reason why they started putting it on winter itineraries despite the fact that it is not a great winter destination, especially for sailing ships there. Everything in Bermuda is expensive; I can’t imagine it’s a cheaper port for them to visit when they do make it there. Is it just a good draw for them to list it on itineraries because people love Bermuda and it makes the itinerary a little different? Don’t know; but they can’t possibly be scheduling it in the winter with the expectation of making it there most of the time. If you decide to go sometime this winter, I’ll be keeping my fingers crossed for you to make it there! I have always been grateful for my time off as a teacher, especially since having LM, but one thing I look forward to in my eventual retirement is being able to travel during off-seasons as opposed to all the worst, most-crowded weeks of the year.

@Russiamomm @Portia @bluesea777 I love when a plan comes together! Lol. Thanks for the info!

Does anyone know if they’ll let you take the bottle of wine with you unopened? We will likely use the vouchers at the places where we don’t care if they don’t allow 4 courses (specifically Q and FR). Those aren’t places where I’d want wine with my meal, though. DH and I will both have vouchers as there’s a cabin in each name. Can we get our bottles in those restaurants and take them unopened for other nights in other restaurants?

Wow, duct tape really can fix anything, huh? 😮 I actually thought of you when I finally said ok a week is good lol! I remember your last one starting way in advance. But I also think you were reporting on the saga of your husband’s passport, right? More interesting than me spending this week taking LM to mini sports camp and getting the family packed! Isn’t Joy the ship with no thermal suite? I thought I remembered seeing that. Either way, I’ve never done it. I wouldn’t now anyway because I like to do stuff with LM during the day and then later on (I guess it closes anyway) I’d rather do shows, music, and the casino, so I never bought the pass in the past, anyway. I feel like Debbie Downer saying it, but Bermuda may not be an ideal winter itinerary if you really have your heart set on visiting there. If you just want a cruise on a nice ship during the winter months and won’t be disappointed if they reroute you, then no biggie. But I remember this past winter seeing on here that they rarely made it to Bermuda on itineraries scheduled for there. Our February cruise replaced Bermuda with Miami, but I totally expected it so I was mentally prepared to not make it. I remember years ago they never scheduled Bermuda cruises/stops outside of April-October; then they suddenly started scheduling it in winter post-Covid, but it’s not far enough south to have great weather in winter. Just wouldn’t want you guys to be super disappointed if you psych yourself up for Bermuda and plan it and then don’t make it 😕.

Just wanted to say I’m loving your review. Your descriptions are so beautiful and detailed I hardly need photos (but can’t wait to see some more anyway!). Also, your excitement about the lovely peach made me so happy…nice to see appreciation for little things 😊. I hope you and your dad have an excellent voyage!

With only four days to go and my commitment to finishing packing at a reasonable time, I thought I’d share some of the supply items I pack for cruises. I know many people on here are quite experienced cruisers, but some of you may be newer, and no matter how many times I cruise, I always find tidbits here on CC helpful. Perhaps some of this is a little over-the-top (dare I say…overboard?), but I’d rather be prepared for various eventualities and not have to pay exorbitant fees to visit medical for minor issues, or have to buy overpriced items on the ship (or in this case, in port, because Bermuda is crazy expensive…and if someone from Long Island who hangs at casinos a lot says stuff is expensive, you can bet it’s nuts). I pack a full OTC medicine and first-aid kit. Pain relievers, stomach remedies, seasickness stuff, cold meds, and Benadryl because DH is allergic to pine nuts (not like epi-pen allergic, but would need Benadryl immediately because he starts to swell up). Funny/ridiculous story about his allergy: he developed it as an adult in his mid-20s. So one day at a previous job, he ate a pine nut cookie at work, not realizing what would happen. He started swelling up and immediately drove to Target. He figured children’s Benadryl would act the fastest because it’s liquid. He gets back in his car and proceeds to start swigging it straight from the bottle, and suddenly realizes there’s a lady in the car next to him looking at him like he’s got a serious problem as he chugs kids’ allergy meds 😂. Anyhow, back on track… in the red bag, there’s a thermometer, and stuff for minor injuries—bacitracin, band aids, gauze, tape, and aloe. Several of these items have come in handy over the years, so I’d much rather travel with them. I also started bringing Covid tests last time, which came in handy when we all started to get sick (wasn’t Covid) because getting tested on the ship (with the same rapid tests I brought anyway) would have been so expensive, and then what a pain to do battle with insurance and whatnot. Also, since long before Covid, I have packed these Clorox medical-grade peroxide-based wipes. They’re the only ones I’ve ever seen that regular people can buy that kill norovirus. I’m not sure if I can say on here where I buy them? Suffice it to say you can get them from an online retailer that sells everything and is slowly edging its way toward world domination. I bring a bunch and wipe down everything in the cabin when we get on…doorknobs, light switches, remote, phone, faucet handles, etc. And with all the reports I keep seeing of how overworked the stewards are now, I’m even more glad to have them! Obviously I don’t bring the whole huge container; they stay completely usable when folded up and placed in ziplocs with the air squeezed out. Also, if you use these, wear a glove because the peroxide is strong enough to make white spots on your hands. The other supplies we always bring include a waterproof pouch for the beach, magnet hooks to hang on the walls in the cabin, suction cup hooks and shower poufs for using the shower gel (that shower gel lathers up great when you use the poufs), travel detergent in case stuff needs to get washed in the sink (I also bring Shout wipes, especially for LM’s daily stains!), dish soap because we bring insulated cups to fill with cold drinks from the buffet and I would be so grossed out if we couldn’t wash them with soap for a week, a little Bluetooth speaker for music from my phone in the cabin, and duct tape. I know the duct tape seems odd, but Macgyver would approve and we have actually used it before. Once, a couple we hung out with during the cruise had a duffel bag completely split open when they needed to pack at the end of the cruise, and they were able to use our duct tape to patch it well enough to use. A couple other times, when the ship was rocky later in the cruise when more hangers in the closet were empty, I was able to just tape them together to stop the constant metallic clanking (the hangers can’t be completely removed from the closets). The gray thing in the ziploc is a cheap shoe organizer that we hang from the magnet hooks to organize our collection of supplies in the cabin. We try to keep the cabin really neat and organized to make it as easy as possible on the steward! I also have this backpack that packs into itself (when it’s taken out, the pouch is actually a little pocket inside the backpack). It has always been useful for beach trips and packs up so small. We bring some clips and clothes pins, too…useful for hanging stuff to dry and last cruise, when LM started to get sick near the end and we were keeping him in the cabin, DH made him a little fort to hang out in on the bed using the plastic clips, towels, and pillows. So you never know when this crap comes in handy! Before our last cruise, I found these luggage tag holders that worked out really well. I just filled out the tags, cut off the excess, folded them in half so you could see the info on both sides, and slid them in. I used to laminate the tags in packing tape to make them sturdy, but these are so much better!

Yes, I definitely will post them! Just deciding whether I want to kick it old school with photos, or be modern and screen shot from the app. There’s something kind of fun about the photos, I think, but we’ll see!

My thoughts exactly!

I board on Sunday…I just was antsy and started the thread a week early 🤭

Oh, they are? I never paid much attention. I drink any juice or anything sweet like a toddler—wayyyy watered down lol. So at most I put a splash of that stuff in a cup of water. I guess that’s good if they’re sugar-free for people who can’t drink the juice/lemonade and don’t like the tea!

Here’s a follow-up question I just thought of—are they actually reserving spots for those who book ahead online? Not as in a specific parking space, but an area of the lot or something? Or do they just keep a count of cars and add the number of reservations to the total or something, to make sure there are spots saved? Just curious if it’s really actually doing anything to reserve it online or if they’ll just send you next door to 90 anyway if they fill up. 🤔

Came here to look into this and glad I’m not crazy. I knew I had never seen this before, even as recently as February when we sailed on Getaway. They’re not now requiring reservations, though, correct? It’s just an option? I know how stupid it sounds when spending money for a cruise and over $300 for parking, but the extra $10 for the privilege of booking ahead online grinds my gears a bit.

@MacGuffin3 your kids can also get a splash of juice added to seltzer if they like that. Meaning bar juices like OJ, cranberry, pineapple. Fresh squeezed juice isn’t included. If they do drink juice/lemonade/iced tea, even watered down, they can get that from bars or in any restaurant, too. The buffet will also have machines with water, juices at breakfast, and then lemonade, iced tea, and a couple (not sugar-free) flavored-water type beverages the rest of the day. Obviously they don’t need their cards for those machines. I know that may not make you feel like the soda package is necessarily worth it, but just letting you know there’s stuff other than soda if they’d like non-water drinks sometimes!

Back in the day, when it cost a supplement above the dining package to use one of your specialty meals at Ocean Blue, they had king crab legs as an appetizer option. But if crabby complaining people count, then there is a veritable buffet of crabs on every sailing 😜