Bringing the JOY with as live-ish a review as the lousy wi-fi will allow: Bermuda 7/9-7/16!

[Pablo Diablo]

2 hours ago, dcipjr said:

 

FR is one of the most walk-in-friendly restaurants on the ship. I have almost never seen it crowded.

Hi. I’ll be sailing on Joy next month and wondering if you know if Food Republic is open every day for lunch, or just sea days?  Thanks.

[js]

Love your review! Thank you! I love all the pictures! I let my dh chose one restaurant out of four and he chose Q. Wouldnt be on my list, I only like chicken and seafood lol but we will go.

 

I think you are the first full Bermuda sailing. Will you be posting the Dailies. 
 

Hope you are having a blast!

[mccoy132]

2 hours ago, Pablo Diablo said:

Hi. I’ll be sailing on Joy next month and wondering if you know if Food Republic is open every day for lunch, or just sea days?  Thanks.

Hi, I just got back from the Joy.  On last week's cruise, it was the latter - Food Republic was only open for lunch on sea days.   Have a great cruise!

[golf4me2010]

On 7/9/2023 at 5:35 PM, Dorhead1230 said:

I’m still out of chronological order right now and I’ll have to go back to fill in more later, but they just called a code alpha in Garden Cafe. I hope the person is okay…not a way to start a vacation 😐

 

We were able to come to the cabins by maybe around 4-4:30 (they had announced a couple decks much earlier, but not all cabins until then). I would like to take this moment to reiterate that the Joy deck plans are incorrect regarding angled balconies. They are indeed one off. I am so glad I found that on a previous thread on here. 10342 is the angled balcony cabin, not 10346 as is shown on the deck plan. If you like to look for angled balconies when booking, keep this in mind!

Funny in a few weeks we have 10346, 342 and 340.

[mking8288]

Very nice angled balcony ... so noted for future "reference" in 2024 or 2025 😊 

 

Great pictures for Q dining, it's a nice change vs. the other specialty ... agreed, I wouldn't go out of the way to dine there more than once on a given sailing. 

 

Looks like it's a bit windy outside this evening but wave height & sea swell apparently okay, maybe a little bit of gentle rocking on that final stretch toward St. Goege passage & turn for Dockyard ... pilot boat should come out for an early escort.  LM might enjoy a upfront & close-up look at the coral reefs alongside that narrow channel.  

[Dorhead1230]

3 hours ago, js said:

Love your review! Thank you! I love all the pictures! I let my dh chose one restaurant out of four and he chose Q. Wouldnt be on my list, I only like chicken and seafood lol but we will go.

 

I think you are the first full Bermuda sailing. Will you be posting the Dailies. 
 

Hope you are having a blast!

I posted day 1 so far; I need to catch up on my pictures of the rest and I’ll be posting them!

[Dorhead1230]

Footloose review from night 2:

As we sat in the darkened theater, music in the air, dancers on the stage, I leaned over and breathed in DH’s ear, “I think the dude behind me is asleep,” and he lovingly replied, “I’d be asleep, too, if these seats weren’t so uncomfortable.” That about sums up our Footloose experience, during which I repeatedly saw people around me rubbing their temples and eyes trying to stay awake, and several people gave up and headed out early.

 

To be clear, Footloose did not suck because of the performers. They were talented and energetic. I’ve seen a lot of Broadway (and even London West End when I studied abroad) shows, and I think this play would be terrible even if it was on Broadway. It’s boring, the original songs are not good, and it was a very unwise choice to put an hour and forty minute play on a cruise ship with no intermission.

 

As far as the positives go, I was really impressed by the technical elements of the show—the set design, props, and costumes were great, especially considering they need to do all this on a ship. Also, I like the theater itself. The view was good even though we chose to sit farther back, and there’s this cool grid of lights in the ceiling that is fun and lights up in different colors. The seats, while not having that terrible bar in the butt that the Breakaway seats had, aren’t super comfortable after a while because the cushion starts to feel hard. Maybe that also made sitting through such a long show worse.

 

At any rate, if NCL is eliminating/replacing their Broadway-style shows soon, Footloose is definitely no big loss. There are loads of entertainment options on this ship. Last night alone, there were multiple music acts in different venues, comedy shows, Cavern Club shows, and Footloose. Part of why we went to Footloose was because we already had it reserved and couldn’t get to the other options on time, but any of them definitely would have been better!

[Dorhead1230]

Casino report, days 1-3:

The casino staff on this ship is leaps and bounds better than at least our 3 previous cruises on Escape and Getaway. I couldn’t get a drink to save my life on Getaway in February and the slot attendants seemed pretty disinterested, whereas on Joy, the servers go out of their way to make eye contact to see if you need anything and the slot attendants have been very friendly.

 

A majority of the machines are newer games (over the years, we got a kick out of some of the cheesier machines that we’d only see on cruises, like the ones that would loudly yell “three more for the bonus!” “Two more for the bonus!” as the symbols landed; but there aren’t any of those types of machines on here). There’s more games we’d play at our land casinos, though, which is good. Not really any Lock it Links, but a bunch of Lightning Links and a couple of the Huff and More Puff Lock Its, and even a couple Eureka Treasure Trains. A variety of Buffalo machines scattered about, a couple of the Stinkin’ Rich where the skunk jumps all over the place, no old-school Konami (China Shores, etc.) that I’ve seen, but a couple newer ones. There are a variety of machines with wheel features on top, but now that I think of it, maybe no old-school Wheel of Fortunes (unless I have missed them because I wasn’t looking for them). I haven’t gone in the smoking room at all, so I’m not sure of all the machines in there.

 

As far as pays, it has been so-so. I have not spent any time in there during the day at all, only a couple hours at night each night. DH has had a few handpays, but only on high limit machines, so he’s pretty much dumping it all back in anyway. I’m down, but hitting just enough here and there to lose slowly. My typical bets are anywhere from $2.50-$5 a pull, and I don’t think I’ve hit for more than a couple hundred on any bonuses or anything.

[Dorhead1230]

3 hours ago, mking8288 said:

Looks like it's a bit windy outside this evening but wave height & sea swell apparently okay, maybe a little bit of gentle rocking on that final stretch toward St. Goege passage & turn for Dockyard ... pilot boat should come out for an early escort.  LM might enjoy an upfront & close-up look at the coral reefs alongside that narrow channel.  

Yes, definitely a little rocking tonight. Not barf-inducing; just enough to know you’re on a ship lol!

[js]

8 hours ago, Dorhead1230 said:

I posted day 1 so far; I need to catch up on my pictures of the rest and I’ll be posting them!

Oh thank you so much! I must have missed it and will go back now and look and print.

Thank you for letting me know!

 

7 hours ago, Dorhead1230 said:

Casino report, days 1-3:

The casino staff on this ship is leaps and bounds better than at least our 3 previous cruises on Escape and Getaway. I couldn’t get a drink to save my life on Getaway in February and the slot attendants seemed pretty disinterested, whereas on Joy, the servers go out of their way to make eye contact to see if you need anything and the slot attendants have been very friendly.

 

A majority of the machines are newer games (over the years, we got a kick out of some of the cheesier machines that we’d only see on cruises, like the ones that would loudly yell “three more for the bonus!” “Two more for the bonus!” as the symbols landed; but there aren’t any of those types of machines on here). There’s more games we’d play at our land casinos, though, which is good. Not really any Lock it Links, but a bunch of Lightning Links and a couple of the Huff and More Puff Lock Its, and even a couple Eureka Treasure Trains. A variety of Buffalo machines scattered about, a couple of the Stinkin’ Rich where the skunk jumps all over the place, no old-school Konami (China Shores, etc.) that I’ve seen, but a couple newer ones. There are a variety of machines with wheel features on top, but now that I think of it, maybe no old-school Wheel of Fortunes (unless I have missed them because I wasn’t looking for them). I haven’t gone in the smoking room at all, so I’m not sure of all the machines in there.

 

As far as pays, it has been so-so. I have not spent any time in there during the day at all, only a couple hours at night each night. DH has had a few handpays, but only on high limit machines, so he’s pretty much dumping it all back in anyway. I’m down, but hitting just enough here and there to lose slowly. My typical bets are anywhere from $2.50-$5 a pull, and I don’t think I’ve hit for more than a couple hundred on any bonuses or anything.

Is the CAS only linked with NCL playing or is it tied with land based casinos, for instance in AC like Borgatta, Ocean and HR.

Thank you.

[mccoy132]

7 hours ago, Dorhead1230 said:

Casino report, days 1-3:

The casino staff on this ship is leaps and bounds better than at least our 3 previous cruises on Escape and Getaway. I couldn’t get a drink to save my life on Getaway in February and the slot attendants seemed pretty disinterested, whereas on Joy, the servers go out of their way to make eye contact to see if you need anything and the slot attendants have been very friendly.

 

A majority of the machines are newer games (over the years, we got a kick out of some of the cheesier machines that we’d only see on cruises, like the ones that would loudly yell “three more for the bonus!” “Two more for the bonus!” as the symbols landed; but there aren’t any of those types of machines on here). There’s more games we’d play at our land casinos, though, which is good. Not really any Lock it Links, but a bunch of Lightning Links and a couple of the Huff and More Puff Lock Its, and even a couple Eureka Treasure Trains. A variety of Buffalo machines scattered about, a couple of the Stinkin’ Rich where the skunk jumps all over the place, no old-school Konami (China Shores, etc.) that I’ve seen, but a couple newer ones. There are a variety of machines with wheel features on top, but now that I think of it, maybe no old-school Wheel of Fortunes (unless I have missed them because I wasn’t looking for them). I haven’t gone in the smoking room at all, so I’m not sure of all the machines in there.

 

As far as pays, it has been so-so. I have not spent any time in there during the day at all, only a couple hours at night each night. DH has had a few handpays, but only on high limit machines, so he’s pretty much dumping it all back in anyway. I’m down, but hitting just enough here and there to lose slowly. My typical bets are anywhere from $2.50-$5 a pull, and I don’t think I’ve hit for more than a couple hundred on any bonuses or anything.

You may know this already but just in case, the Footloose show on the Joy will be ending this October.  Also, thank you so much for posting about your cruise this week.  I have enjoyed reading your messages, which have helped me relive my cruise on the Joy last week.  

 

Enjoy your cruise!

Norwegian Cruise Line Closing Multiple Production Shows (cruisehive.com)

[Dorhead1230]

@js CAS has a marketing partnership with Caesars Entertainment. That’s how we first started sailing NCL years ago. DH received a certificate from Caesars for a comp cruise. Once we started sailing, we began to get deals/comps directly through NCL. Depending on your Caesars Rewards status, you can also get discounts on bookings (not a huge amount—Caesars Diamond is 20%). But your status doesn’t carry over or anything. I’m Diamond with Caesars but never get past Jade with CAS because we only sail 1-2 times per year.

[Dorhead1230]

@mccoy132 yes, I did see that story. I think they can definitely do better than Footloose—even the older-type revue shows I’ve seen on the ships sometimes were more enjoyable 🤭

[js]

3 minutes ago, Dorhead1230 said:

@js CAS has a marketing partnership with Caesars Entertainment. That’s how we first started sailing NCL years ago. DH received a certificate from Caesars for a comp cruise. Once we started sailing, we began to get deals/comps directly through NCL. Depending on your Caesars Rewards status, you can also get discounts on bookings (not a huge amount—Caesars Diamond is 20%). But your status doesn’t carry over or anything. I’m Diamond with Caesars but never get past Jade with CAS because we only sail 1-2 times per year.

Thank you. My ds gets comped cruises all the time for RCCL but not NCL.

 

I appreciate your taking the time to post on your vacation.  I LOVE reading your review!

[Dorhead1230]

1 hour ago, js said:

Thank you. My ds gets comped cruises all the time for RCCL but not NCL.

 

I appreciate your taking the time to post on your vacation.  I LOVE reading your review!

Aw, thank you! 😊

[Dorhead1230]

Yesterday and today, we went to American Diner for breakfast. We went on the later side, too late for MDR or Garden Cafe and, although The Local’s breakfast was very good the other day, I only wanted cereal, fruit, yogurt, and a pastry to take a break from all this heavy food. So, it was easier to go to American Diner. It’s perfectly adequate if you don’t need anything too extensive or eggs made to order. They have bacon, sausage, eggs, a couple breakfast sandwich things, pancakes, French toast, oatmeal, grits, pastries, fruit, yogurt, muesli, bread, bagels, and English muffins. I took some pictures today because we haven’t rushed off the ship and it is blissfully empty so it was easy to get photos without getting in anyone’s way.

[Dorhead1230]

I realized late last night that I was a dummy and must not have logged out of the internet at some point yesterday after uploading pictures on here. LM and I went to the Internet cafe this morning and the very nice manager, Alexandru, restored my minutes for me (Did it help that I had a cute kid with me and blamed him for distracting me and making me forget to log out? We may never know. 😜).

 

The ship was already nice and empty by then so I got some good shots on deck 6.
Sorry; The Social is upside-down.

This Maltings looks super nice; I kind of want to go sit in there at some point.

[Maleficent's Dad]

Good review of Footloose.  We saw it a few days before you (previous cruise), and while subjective, it wasn’t our cup of tea.  But the actors and staging are great!

[mking8288]

That's more than a full, morning breakfast at the American Diner in our books ... eating light & healthy, DW had 1 slice (2 for me) of toasted whole wheat bread & coffee, that's it when we aren't on a cruise, haha, as we sleep until whenever.  iCafe managers are usually nice onboard and they can see your usage, traffic & history (and, probably URL's visited 😁 😂 ) and are known to restore, as a one-time courtesy when forgotten to log out & wasted the remaining free minutes.  Surely, having LM come along didn't "hurt" the kindness ... and especially if s/he probably saw that you're surfing on CC too 😄  Enjoy the beautiful islands for the next 2+ days. 

[bluesea777]

Tip: when taking landscape photos on your phone make sure the shutter button is on the right side of the screen. If it's on the left side, the photo is upside down so you need to turn your phone around.

 

Enjoying your live review and photos, and WELCOME TO BERMUDA!!!

 

 

 

Edited July 12, 2023 by bluesea777

[Dorhead1230]

@bluesea777 this is one of my favorite places in the world. I have always seen your posts here on CC and thought how lucky you are to live here 😁

[Dorhead1230]

I didn’t post much about what we did yesterday (day 3) because it was a very lazy day and we didn’t do all that much. Several days without much sleep caught up with me and I was exhausted and had a terrible headache.

 

We did spend a little time in the OL, where we played a couple games I brought for LM—a Disney I Spy card game, and my best pre-cruise find, a Dollar Tree Colorforms Candyland that came in a small box and was light to pack.

 

Then we ended up just in the cabin for a few hours, where we got sucked in to watching Black Adam on TV and LM and I napped for a while.

 

Dinner was at La Cucina and I know it often gets ragged on a bit, but we had a very nice meal. Part of it was due to our server, who was so great we mentioned it to her manager (have I mentioned, 5 or 10 times already, how wonderful the Joy crew is?). She was attentive, accommodating, efficient, and so sweet to LM. @mking8288 I’m not sure about anywhere else on the ship, but she offered (without us asking) to plate DH’s leftover pizza on a plate with a cover, and also offered us all our desserts to go if we wanted.

 

What we ate:

appetizers: calamari, antipasto plate (forgot to take a picture, but it was the basics—some sliced meats, a little cheese, olives, peppers—totally fine; won’t change your life), gnocchi pesto appetizer portion, plain fettuccine Alfredo appetizer portion

 

entrees: lamb osso bucco, shrimp fra diavolo (DM was concerned the sauce may have too much garlic, so our wonderful server brought her both the diavolo sauce and regular tomato sauce on the side), prosciutto and arugula pizza, kids’ pizza for LM (this time it was its own small round pizza, unlike what he was served at Food Republic)

 

desserts (taken to go): cheesecake (did not try; DM said it was so-so) and cannoli (didn’t end up eating them; will report back if I get to them)—I also didn’t photograph the desserts because we took them to go and then put them in Ziplocs (yup, I bring Ziplocs and I have no shame in that 🤗) in the fridge.

 

The food was all fairly decent. The calamari is not the best we’ve ever had, but it was good—not overcooked or rubbery and they included tentacles (Italians dig the tentacles lol). The gnocchi pesto was mine and I enjoyed it; the gnocchi were cooked well and the pesto had a nice flavor without being overwhelmingly garlicky like it can be sometimes. DH liked his prosciutto pizza but said he thought it was a little oily (he thinks they put garlic oil or butter on the crust). LM ate his whole pizza plus some of his fettuccine, so I guess that was all good! DM was happy with her shrimp pasta, but did comment on what a small amount of linguine was included. She’s not a really big eater so if she comments on a portion being small, it’s small. Overall, a nice meal and the clear winner over Q!

 

La Cucina doesn’t have any desserts LM will eat, so we went up to the buffet where they had cupcakes with mini M&Ms on top, which made him happy. I got ice cream, which is partially why I never ended up trying the cannoli.

 

We then succumbed to LM’s begging and took a spin through the arcade (wasn’t his first visit there this trip, but it was mine). The layout of this one is weird. On the similar ships we’ve been on (BA, GA, Escape) the arcade is a regular big rectangular room. On Joy, it’s kind of long and narrow and shoved along a wall because the Galaxy Pavilion takes up so much space in there. Maybe I just don’t get it or am not fascinated enough by VR, but that Galaxy Pavilion seems like a pretty silly waste of space. Are enough people really doing that to make it worth having it on the ship? Anyway, DH got LM a Jurassic World T-Rex from a crane game, which is his latest cruise mascot and came ashore with us in Bermuda today 🙃.

 

After putting LM to bed, DH and I headed to the casino, where we were until around 1:30, when they announced they would be closing at 2 as we approached Bermuda.

[Dorhead1230]

DAILIES DAYS 2-4:

Day 2

 

Day 3

 

Day 4

[Dorhead1230]

Entertainment line-up for the week from the Box Office:

[bkrickles1]

8 minutes ago, Dorhead1230 said:

DAILIES DAYS 2-4:

Day 2

 

Day 3

 

Day 4

Thank you, thank you, thank you for posting all of this while you're busy enjoying your cruise on Joy!!

We sail Joy in 10 days and your posts have us super excited!

Referencing another thread, I'm happy to see that there is some form of breakfast available every day from 5am until 11:30am. 

The buffet closing at 9:30pm seems to have a few people upset too, so is the Local jammed after that time? Just wondering, as I never saw it crowded after 10pm on any of my 3 prior NCL sailings, including Joy last summer.

It looks like there is just as much entertainment as we've always experienced, so that's a good thing too. I love all of the music options as that's my go to in the evenings.

Continued enjoyment for you and yours and I look forward to anything else you post!!