I Wish I Knew How to Quit You

[JamieLogical]

My husband and I are considering booking an NCL cruise for May. I have sworn of NCL a couple of times in the past and I am still not super excited to give them any more of my money, but this seems like our best option for a vacation the very specific week we had already scheduled off of work. Originally we had scheduled that time off to take a road trip, but that has kind of fallen apart because it was going to cost way more than we originally planned. So then we started looking at cruises for that same week and flight prices are really limiting us to a cruise out of NYC. MSC, our current chosen cruise line is only cruising to CA & NE that week and we just did the same itinerary on the same ship in September. So we are seriously considering the Joy to Bermuda.

 

I know a lot has changed on NCL even since the last time I sailed with them. Charges for room service breakfast, no more turndown service, no more late-night snack in the buffet, new menus in the specialty dining venues, more upcharges for specific items in the specialty dining venus, fewer production shows in the main theater... What else do I need to prepare myself for if I do this cruise? I am really trying to get my head around water and coffee not being included again (I know they never were, but I am so used to how every other cruise line handles those now).

 

Can anyone help pep me up and get me enthused about this cruise? What do you love about the Joy? I know they have made changes during the recent dry dock. I am already looking forward to sailing out of the Manhattan Cruise Terminal again, anytime dining, and The Local... so those are a few things I am clinging to. I am Platinum, so I believe I will get 4 specialty dining meals altogether still?

[vacation44]

Jamie, welcome back to the NCL boards!

 

Yes, you will have four specialty dining credits in total as platinum.

 

There is now a thermal spa on the Joy.

 

We were on the Encore two weeks back and late time snacks were hard to come by as the buffet does now close down early with no more evening late night snacks.   We also noticed a difference in the food options available in the Buffett since our last two cruises this past August and March 

 

We are looking forward to our Joy Bermuda cruise this June though as overall, we are still happy with the NCL product.

[PATRLR]

I have nothing to add regarding NCL or the Joy.  I notice in your history there is no RCCL.  Any reason to not try them going out of Cape Liberty across the river?

Tiring of how far NCL has slipped, we tried them last summer.   Better entertainment, better specialty dining, worse buffet and worse MDR.  Bars/drinks about the same.    (we're trying Princess this summer to the Norwegian fjords, I notice only one Princess trip in your list)

 

[graphicguy]

May not put you over the edge, but I’m glad you’re here!!!!🙂

[graphicguy]

Overall, changes don’t bother me.  To me there is so much food available, even late at night (Local, O’Sheehans), I can always find food.

 

Entertainment is different.  Some I like better (Cavern Club, Rumours, Prom).  Some I don’t care for (game shows).  But, all of it seems popular.

 

I LOVE the new ship(s)…sailed Prima…beautiful ship.  

 

I still think NCL with FAS is one of the best values in cruising! 

[BirdTravels]

38 minutes ago, JamieLogical said:

My husband and I are considering booking an NCL cruise for May. I have sworn of NCL a couple of times in the past and I am still not super excited to give them any more of my money, but this seems like our best option for a vacation the very specific week we had already scheduled off of work. Originally we had scheduled that time off to take a road trip, but that has kind of fallen apart because it was going to cost way more than we originally planned. So then we started looking at cruises for that same week and flight prices are really limiting us to a cruise out of NYC. MSC, our current chosen cruise line is only cruising to CA & NE that week and we just did the same itinerary on the same ship in September. So we are seriously considering the Joy to Bermuda.

 

I know a lot has changed on NCL even since the last time I sailed with them. Charges for room service breakfast, no more turndown service, no more late-night snack in the buffet, new menus in the specialty dining venues, more upcharges for specific items in the specialty dining venus, fewer production shows in the main theater... What else do I need to prepare myself for if I do this cruise? I am really trying to get my head around water and coffee not being included again (I know they never were, but I am so used to how every other cruise line handles those now).

 

Can anyone help pep me up and get me enthused about this cruise? What do you love about the Joy? I know they have made changes during the recent dry dock. I am already looking forward to sailing out of the Manhattan Cruise Terminal again, anytime dining, and The Local... so those are a few things I am clinging to. I am Platinum, so I believe I will get 4 specialty dining meals altogether still?

Hey Jamie! I was following your latest adventures on your live post last week. Sounded like a wonderful cruise. 

 

The Joy is just coming out of a major dry dock last week. Good news is that she is all knew and fresh. She sports a new Thermal Suite (replacing the Galaxy Pavilion). Bad news is that they replace part of the Observation Lounge with additional rooms.
 

The Joy was always that odd ball ship with an excessive number of suites for the Asian market. NCL removed 1/3 of a deck of rooms when she was “Americanized” in 2018. Now they put back some of the rooms. 
 

My live posts are more about the ship and the most common questions asked weekly on Cruise Critic (not exciting like your live posts). Here’s a link to a cruise last fall on the Joy to Bermuda for a look at the pre-dry dock ship  

BTW: I was live posting from RCCL last week and hope to be live posting from the seascape next week. 

Edited February 28 by BirdTravels

[JamieLogical]

45 minutes ago, vacation44 said:

There is now a thermal spa on the Joy.

 

I was excited about that until I learned there isn't a thermal pool. That was always the main attraction of the NCL thermal suites for me. So unless the spa pass is significantly cheaper than on the other ships, I don't think I will be buying one.

[JamieLogical]

47 minutes ago, PATRLR said:

I have nothing to add regarding NCL or the Joy.  I notice in your history there is no RCCL.  Any reason to not try them going out of Cape Liberty across the river?

Tiring of how far NCL has slipped, we tried them last summer.   Better entertainment, better specialty dining, worse buffet and worse MDR.  Bars/drinks about the same.    (we're trying Princess this summer to the Norwegian fjords, I notice only one Princess trip in your list)

 

 

We haven't sailed RCCL yet mostly because the pricing has never worked out. The fact that their drink packages are a variably priced addon makes it really hard to compare apples to apples when trying to price out a full trip. I did look at the sailing out of Cape Liberty for the week and question and the pricing just is not right for us. It's so much more expensive, even before factoring in having to pay separately for drinks.

[Anoynmous Phoenix]

@JamieLogical

 

Simple, if you want to quit NCL STOP reading their material!!   We did that with Princess a few years ago; we still get paper advertising from them and it goes into "File 13" unopened.

[gizfish]

Don't forget your late night slice of pizza is a no go on NCL (and all your other slices will pale in comparison to MSC's).  Also NCL has pretty desserts while MSC has delicious desserts. Your husband will most likely never find a cookie. The coffee on MSC is the best, so you may be disappointed with NCL's.  Oh, and your room stewardess will definitely not be wearing the French maid uniform that MSC for some odd reason has them wear lol.  Probably not a deal breaker though.  Ooh you can leave your foldable foot stool home and ask the room steward for a lounge chair.

[mugtech]

11 hours ago, Anoynmous Phoenix said:

@JamieLogical

 

Simple, if you want to quit NCL STOP reading their material!!   We did that with Princess a few years ago; we still get paper advertising from them and it goes into "File 13" unopened.

Perhaps could start a 12 step program.

[happy cruzer]

Often see lists of the negative changes and get upset.  But then realize that most of that does not impact the overall experience.  To really decide to book or not, we try to decide what is important for this trip.  Do love a home port cruise that is easy to get to and plan.  Good service, good room and board, and being on the ocean.  That can compensate for alot of little things that aren't perfect. 

[hallux]

1 hour ago, happy cruzer said:

Often see lists of the negative changes and get upset.  But then realize that most of that does not impact the overall experience.

Right, for example - 

16 hours ago, JamieLogical said:

no more late-night snack in the buffet,

I see this A LOT and just don't get the fascination.  I'm a hardcore snacker at home, like snack on a schedule.  Put me on a cruise and my nightly dinner is PLENTY to get me through the evening and until breakfast the next morning.  I've never found myself out at 1 AM looking for a snack...

[BirdTravels]

17 hours ago, JamieLogical said:

 

We haven't sailed RCCL yet mostly because the pricing has never worked out. The fact that their drink packages are a variably priced addon makes it really hard to compare apples to apples when trying to price out a full trip. I did look at the sailing out of Cape Liberty for the week and question and the pricing just is not right for us. It's so much more expensive, even before factoring in having to pay separately for drinks.

The variably pricing is really annoying. Yeah... I can understand a "sale sale sale", but when the base price of a product is different,,, you feel like you're being scammed. We have two eastern caribbean cruises on RCCL scheduled this year and it is amusing to see the price differences... especially on their private island. We're diamond members on RCCL and between a [cheap] soda package and our diamond drink vouchers, we can "get by", which factor into the price analysis. At least NCL is consistently expensive. 

[graphicguy]

23 minutes ago, BirdTravels said:

The variably pricing is really annoying. Yeah... I can understand a "sale sale sale", but when the base price of a product is different,,, you feel like you're being scammed. We have two eastern caribbean cruises on RCCL scheduled this year and it is amusing to see the price differences... especially on their private island. We're diamond members on RCCL and between a [cheap] soda package and our diamond drink vouchers, we can "get by", which factor into the price analysis. At least NCL is consistently expensive. 

Same with Royal.  I'm Diamond, also.  As you say, my 4 drink vouchers mitigate the drinks bill, but they are still pretty expensive.  Their fares have, for the most part, been tough to swallow.  I can find a Haven Fare with FAS on NCL for about what it costs for a Jr Suite on Royal, with no perks.

 

Drink packages range from ~$55/pp/pd to over $100/pp/pd.  Neither is attractive price wise.  And, that's on top of their high fares with no perks.

 

I still shop Royal but haven't found much that even tempts me in the last couple of years.

 

Everything else?  The constant whining.  It isn't exclusive to NCL.  IT seems ALL cruise liens have their fair share of whiners.  But, it just wears on me.

 

People complain about not getting this or that food item.  Seriously?  It's a cruise ship.  You can't find ANYTHING you want at ANY of the restaurants on board?  It's not like there aren't enough restaurants or bars on cruise ships.

Edited February 29 by graphicguy

[BirdTravels]

4 minutes ago, graphicguy said:

People complain about not getting this or that food item.  Seriously?  It's a cruise ship.  You can't find ANYTHING you want at ANY of the restaurants on board?  It's not like there aren't enough restaurants or bars on cruise ships.

We're just off a RCCL cruise and ate at the MDR nightly (didn't want to pay for specialty dining which is just average). Add a slice of Sorento's pizza at midnight and we're happy birds. On NCL, we get the [cheap] FAS 2 specialty dinner and our Diamond 2 specialty dinners which is good enough. 

[graphicguy]

16 minutes ago, BirdTravels said:

We're just off a RCCL cruise and ate at the MDR nightly (didn't want to pay for specialty dining which is just average). Add a slice of Sorento's pizza at midnight and we're happy birds. On NCL, we get the [cheap] FAS 2 specialty dinner and our Diamond 2 specialty dinners which is good enough. 

I've dined at Coastal Kitchen, Chops, Jamie's and Giovanni's.  Out of all of them, Chops was the one I liked the most.  The rest?  Not worth the uncharge.  

 

Pizza?  I'm Italian so NONE of them are very good (including MSC's).

 

NCL....I have dined at ALL of their specialty restaurants.  Favorite has been Ocean Blu.  But, on a 7 nite cruise, while not Diamond, I am Sapphire.  That gives me 2 SDs and 2 more SDs from FAS, plus one dinner at LeBistro (my LEAST favorite SD) from AMEX for paying for the booking with my card.  Haven Restaurant is consistently very good.  And, given you can order from the MDR menus also, good variety.

 

Drinks are strong and the service is good.  What more can you want?

 

Celebrity faves?  Tuscan Grille (one of the MDRs so no extra charge) and Blu (included with the Sky and Aqua Cabins).  Luminae is fine.  Except, their dinner choices are a bit funky for my tastes.  I'm sure they are  "haute cuisine"  type choices. Those just aren't my "thing".

Edited February 29 by graphicguy

[JamieLogical]

7 hours ago, gizfish said:

Don't forget your late night slice of pizza is a no go on NCL (and all your other slices will pale in comparison to MSC's).  Also NCL has pretty desserts while MSC has delicious desserts. Your husband will most likely never find a cookie. The coffee on MSC is the best, so you may be disappointed with NCL's.  Oh, and your room stewardess will definitely not be wearing the French maid uniform that MSC for some odd reason has them wear lol.  Probably not a deal breaker though.  Ooh you can leave your foldable foot stool home and ask the room steward for a lounge chair.

 

Yeah, all of these things are weighing on my mind (except the french maid outfits). I realize that some of the changes are things that don't impact every cruiser. Room service breakfast... a lot of people never used it. But my husband and I use the coffee delivery as our wake-up call every morning on every cruise we ever take. Nightly turn-down service... again a lot of people could care less. But on cruises, I nap every afternoon and returning after dinner to a remade bed is heaven. Plus, if I go to the hot tubs or something during the day or take a shower after a hot day in port, having clean towels for my morning shower is a treat. Late-night snack... I NEVER snack in my real life. I don't keep snacks in my house. I eat lunch and dinner and that is it. So breakfast and late-night snack is a special privilege reserved for cruises. Decent coffee included in the drinks package... not everyone drinks coffee, but my husband and I have one cup each in the morning and one cup each in the afternoon. Having to settle for buffet coffee in the afternoon on NCL is a bummer. And no, paying money for Starbucks is a non-starter for us. We both HATE Starbucks coffee. I'd rather drink the water out of the toilet in my stateroom...

[Red-Sol]

20 hours ago, JamieLogical said:

My husband and I are considering booking an NCL cruise for May. I have sworn of NCL a couple of times in the past and I am still not super excited to give them any more of my money,

 

[happy cruzer]

Maybe compare the NCL to your previously planned road trip vs. MSC??  Could that help put you in a better mood?  Hope it all works out.

[JamieLogical]

14 minutes ago, happy cruzer said:

Maybe compare the NCL to your previously planned road trip vs. MSC??  Could that help put you in a better mood?  Hope it all works out.

 

I am working on a list of things to look forward to about the Joy. So far I have:

 

• New (to us) Ship
• Recently dry-docked
• Anytime Dining
• Go-karts
• Waterfront
• Mr. Worldwides
• Manhattan Cruise Terminal
• Easier Muster Drill
• The Local

 

 

[MsTabbyKats]

@JamieLogicalMay I point out that May is not "good Bermuda weather".  It's not beach weather.  In addition....the ocean can be very rough.   Worst cruise of my life was NCL Dawn to Bermuda in May (about 15 years ago, that is). The ship's movement was so bad I vowed I'd never go on a on a cruise again.  

 

If I had to choose Canada vs Bermuda in May....Canada would win.  And or course...NCL vs MSC...no contest...it would be MSC for me!

[happy cruzer]

No designated driver?

No searching for a restaurant near you?

 

Good start!

[JamieLogical]

2 minutes ago, MsTabbyKats said:

@JamieLogicalMay I point out that May is not "good Bermuda weather".  It's not beach weather.  In addition....the ocean can be very rough.   Worst cruise of my life was NCL Dawn to Bermuda in May (about 15 years ago, that is). The ship's movement was so bad I vowed I'd never go on a on a cruise again.  

 

If I had to choose Canada vs Bermuda in May....Canada would win.  And or course...NCL vs MSC...no contest...it would be MSC for me!

 

We aren't beach people, so not being able to go to the beach or swim in the ocean isn't a concern for us. I did look up the average high in May for Bermuda and it is 73 degrees, so definitely not beach weather. Especially factoring in that we would be going in early May. Rough seas never bother me. I have taken non-drowsy Dramamine every morning of every cruise I have ever been on and I have been through some rough seas to/from Bermuda before. Honestly, I would be perfectly content to do the Meraviglia itinerary to CA & NE again, despite having just done it in September, but my husband doesn't love the ship as much as I do and we already have the Meraviglia booked for October and January, so asking him to do it in May is probably a bridge too far.

[vacation44]

28 minutes ago, JamieLogical said:

 

I am working on a list of things to look forward to about the Joy. So far I have:

 

• New (to us) Ship
• Recently dry-docked
• Anytime Dining
• Go-karts
• Waterfront
• Mr. Worldwides
• Manhattan Cruise Terminal
• Easier Muster Drill
• The Local

 

 

Do you and your husband like the Beatles?   The Beatles show on the Joy, to us, is great.   My husband is not a Beatles fan, but I insisted we go the first time in the Joy and he enjoyed the show so much, we had to see their other shows in the Cavern.