Differences between Joy and Escape to Bermuda

[kelly-NYC]

We sailed on the Escape to Bermuda out of NYC the summer before Covid.  I see that it’s been replaced by the Joy.  What are the differences (good and bad) between the experiences?  Any differences between the Haven areas?  Specialty restaurants?  Teen activities?  I think there is no Howl at the Moon (which I loved)?  Anything else I’m not considering?  We had an amazing trip on the Escape in 2019.  

[shof515]

In October 2023, the Escape is doing a few Bermuda cruises if you prefer the Escape better

[BirdTravels]

15 minutes ago, kelly-NYC said:

We sailed on the Escape to Bermuda out of NYC the summer before Covid.  I see that it’s been replaced by the Joy.  What are the differences (good and bad) between the experiences?  Any differences between the Haven areas?  Specialty restaurants?  Teen activities?  I think there is no Howl at the Moon (which I loved)?  Anything else I’m not considering?  We had an amazing trip on the Escape in 2019.  

 

In general, they are the same class of ship (Breakaway+). And the ships are very similar (cousins). 

 

The Joy was built for China and when that fell through, NCL spent $50M to "Americanize" the ship. 

 

The Joy has been fitted for cruising Alaska. They removed 1/3 of the cabins on Deck 15 and the concierge lounge to install a beautiful Observation Lounge. The Escape has more cabins (no observation lounge) so there are more people onboard.

 

The Joy kept the Suites (purpose built for the Chinese) and post-pandemic converted a lot to Haven rooms, making the Haven a more crowded. Having bigger rooms also reduces the total number of cabins and total number of passengers onboard.  

Edited August 3, 2022 by BirdTravels

[njhorseman]

The Joy doesn't have the thermal suites spa area.

[kelly-NYC]

Thanks.  I’d love to go later in the year, but we promised our daughter a vacation to a particular European country that she wanted to visit as a graduation gift.  She decided the other day that flying seemed like a hassle and wanted to cruise to Bermuda again before she headed off to college.  I will say that it’s nice to hop on a train to grand central, hop in a cab to the pier and be on vacation within 2 hours of leaving the house.  No TSA.  No driving.  

[aubreyc1988]

I have been on both ships and I would choose Joy over Escape. 

 

1) Joy has Non smoking casino

2) Joy has Observation lounge which is a great space, regardless of itinerary. Has a mini buffet in there as well as great views and comfy furniture. 

3) Joy has a great Spice h20, I preferred it over the one Escape has 

4) Joy has Q instead of Moderno so depending on preferences, this could be a pro or a con

5) Joy has the racetrack (fee required), slides, and the VR room (fee required), while Escape has slides and ropes course (free) 

6) Joy has The Cavern Club, The Social, The Local vs Escape has Headliner's Comedy Club, O'Sheehan's. I think the Joy has the edge here but could also be depending on preference. 

[JandC_Cruising]

13 hours ago, kelly-NYC said:

We sailed on the Escape to Bermuda out of NYC the summer before Covid.  I see that it’s been replaced by the Joy.  What are the differences (good and bad) between the experiences?  Any differences between the Haven areas?  Specialty restaurants?  Teen activities?  I think there is no Howl at the Moon (which I loved)?  Anything else I’m not considering?  We had an amazing trip on the Escape in 2019.  

We have done that run on both.  We were on the Escape in 2019 and just did the Joy this June.  We were in the Haven for both. Here are our thoughts:

1.  The Haven on the Joy is bigger in several ways.  There are more Haven cabins on the Joy, so more Haven guests.   The Haven sun deck on the Joy runs around the front and covers both sides of the front of the ship, providing more sun deck space than the Escape.  The restaurant, bar, and courtyard areas are very similar.  The Joy has a Haven Observation lounge that is beautiful and great for quick snacks and quiet, but aside for the bites of food, we didn't use it on the Bermuda run the way it would clearly be used on an Alaskan voyage.  I could see if the weather wasn't perfect, it would have gotten more usage (but then more crowded I would expect)

2. Entertainment/Pool:   Our 20-somthings who joined us on the Joy cruise had a great time.  They did the go-carts and had fun, but once was enough. The Beatles in the Cavern Club is loads of fun, but we did miss Howl at the Moon!  Comedians were typical.  We played mini-golf and the slides were essentially similar as on the Escape. Much smaller main pool area and no Spice H2O on the Joy.  Theatre shows were fun on both and certainly depend on specific shows.

3. Restaurants:  We ate mostly in the Haven and for all intents and purposes, the experiences are identical - food was great and service was great on both.  For specialty, we ate a Le Bistro and Ocean Blue (our two favorites, regardless of ship). Le Bistro is on Deck 8 across from Cagney's on the Joy and honestly it has a more "romantic" french bistro feel on the Escape (down on 6 - more isolated).  But the food was still wonderful!  The Local = O'Sheehans; We didn't try Q and will likely try it next Joy cruise (March '23)

4.  Bars:  The biggest bar disappointment (and that is probably being harsher than necessary) was Maltings.  We love bourbons and enjoy it on the Escape.  It is small, but lively.  On the Joy, it is down on 6 and rather isolated.  The night we went by for a post show cocktail it was dead.

5.  No Thermal Spa on the Joy - As mentioned this is due to the origins of the ship (Asian market) and was not added when re-furbished.  We've loved the thermal spa and add it on any non-haven cruise we have done if possible. 

6.  Vibe Beach Club - The Vibe on the Joy is 2x the size as the Escape.  Like the Haven sun deck it covers both sides of the ship.  On the Escape it is starboard side only.  We love the Vibe if we do not do Haven (no need for both IMHO) and the service at the Escape Vibe was great.  We already have our Vibe passes for our March Joy cruise.

 

I guess we like the Escape a bit more (since it has the option of the Thermal Spa)

All in all we enjoyed both ship and have cruises booked for both in 2023!

 

Hope that helps!

[aubreyc1988]

5 minutes ago, JandC_Cruising said:

 

4.  Bars:  The biggest bar disappointment (and that is probably being harsher than necessary) was Maltings.  We love bourbons and enjoy it on the Escape.  It is small, but lively.  On the Joy, it is down on 6 and rather isolated.  The night we went by for a post show cocktail it was dead.

 

 

Hope that helps!

Wow I forgot about that, you are right, that is such a strange place for it and on Joy it is HUGE and EMPTY and on Escape it is small and always hoppin' 

[deweytrader]

Been on both to Bermuda in the Haven and give the edge to the Joy.  Just cannot beat the Haven Observation Lounge!

[rbxlady]

45 minutes ago, kelly-NYC said:

Thanks.  I’d love to go later in the year, but we promised our daughter a vacation to a particular European country that she wanted to visit as a graduation gift.  She decided the other day that flying seemed like a hassle and wanted to cruise to Bermuda again before she headed off to college.  I will say that it’s nice to hop on a train to grand central, hop in a cab to the pier and be on vacation within 2 hours of leaving the house.  No TSA.  No driving.  

 

We live in Charleston, SC and are champing at the bit for the port improvements/redevelopment to finally get going so we can have something other than Carnival here (and Carnival's contract ends in 2024). I would love to be able to just Uber to the port for embarkation and back upon our return. So much time and money saved!

[PTC DAWG]

2 minutes ago, rbxlady said:

 

We live in Charleston, SC and are champing at the bit for the port improvements/redevelopment to finally get going so we can have something other than Carnival here (and Carnival's contract ends in 2024). I would love to be able to just Uber to the port for embarkation and back upon our return. So much time and money saved!

I think that port is going to be redeveloped into a mixed use retail/condo type area…

[PTC DAWG]

19 minutes ago, JandC_Cruising said:

We have done that run on both.  We were on the Escape in 2019 and just did the Joy this June.  We were in the Haven for both. Here are our thoughts:

 

2. Entertainment/Pool:   Our 20-somthings who joined us on the Joy cruise had a great time.  They did the go-carts and had fun, but once was enough. The Beatles in the Cavern Club is loads of fun, but we did miss Howl at the Moon!  Comedians were typical.  We played mini-golf and the slides were essentially similar as on the Escape. Much smaller main pool area and no Spice H2O on the Joy.  Theatre shows were fun on both and certainly depend on specific shows.

 

Are we sure on the NO Spice H2O on the Joy? 

Edited August 3, 2022 by PTC DAWG

[aubreyc1988]

4 minutes ago, PTC DAWG said:

Are we sure on the NO Spice H2O on the Joy? 

There is a spice on the Joy. I am positive I have been there lol

There isn't a spice on Encore. 

Edited August 3, 2022 by aubreyc1988

[aubreyc1988]

14 hours ago, kelly-NYC said:

We sailed on the Escape to Bermuda out of NYC the summer before Covid.  I see that it’s been replaced by the Joy.  What are the differences (good and bad) between the experiences?  Any differences between the Haven areas?  Specialty restaurants?  Teen activities?  I think there is no Howl at the Moon (which I loved)?  Anything else I’m not considering?  We had an amazing trip on the Escape in 2019.  

Also, I did the Haven for the first time on the Joy and here is my short recap of it. This was in March so a lot has changed 

 

 

 

[rbxlady]

4 minutes ago, PTC DAWG said:

I think that port is going to be redeveloped into a mixed use retail/condo type area…

 

I believe that is the case as far as downtown. I thought there was some redevelopment occurring in North Charleston to allow for this, but to be honest I haven't been paying close attention. I can't find anything recent about North Charleston in particular, just about the potential for redevelopment in downtown.

It wasn't a great port terminal to begin with, but with the environmental groups' and historical preservation groups' being so protective of the peninsula, it was inevitable that it was never going to get redeveloped into something that could handle mega-ships or multiple ships.

 

Suffice it to say that it will be a while before we see any significant cruise improvements here, but a girl can dream. If it ever came to fruition, I could see myself taking a lot of short cruises.

[dandelpino]

1 hour ago, PTC DAWG said:

Are we sure on the NO Spice H2O on the Joy? 

The deck plan shows a Spice H2O on deck 17 aft: https://www.ncl.com/cruise-ship/joy/deck-plans

[JandC_Cruising]

4 hours ago, aubreyc1988 said:

There is a spice on the Joy. I am positive I have been there lol

There isn't a spice on Encore. 

you guys are absolutely right...I can't believe I forgot, because we got our first cocktail there when we were just walking around the ship after boarding and dropping our stuff out!  

Sorry for the bad info on that one!  

 

[aubreyc1988]

1 minute ago, JandC_Cruising said:

you guys are absolutely right...I can't believe I forgot, because we got our first cocktail there when we were just walking around the ship after boarding and dropping our stuff out!  

Sorry for the bad info on that one!  

 

We will let it slide on account of the drinking 😛