This was my second Bermuda cruise - the first being my very first cruise with NCL on the Escape in 2018. The weather was a bit cooler in late April and we had some clouds and rain, but Bermuda never disappoints. The people are wonderful and the port offers plenty to do and see without spending a lot of money. Although next time I will do a full week cruise where we spend another day in port, I felt this was a great option to spend some time in a beautiful place. The water alone is gorgeous! You don’t even see turquoise like that in the Caribbean. The Joy is a gorgeous ship and I wish I had more time to spend on her enjoying all she has to offer. Still haven’t gotten to see Footloose, but that just means I need to go book another cruise.
Embarkation
4 out of 5
I arrived between 9:30-10 and made it through the initial check-in (to validate Bermuda TA, Covid test, etc) and was provided with a boarding group and directed to wait until that boarding group was called to then go through the actual check-in process. They started calling groups in sets of 4, but then after the second set they basically just said “all groups” and it became a mad rush to get in line resulting in everyone crowding together all in one place - they should have just continued to call groups one by one. That check-in process took about 30+ minutes but once through, I was able to board immediately, probably around 11:30am.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
5 out of 5
Food was good as always. The only specialty dining I did (because I had only 1 free dinner) was at Food Republic for sushi and it did not disappoint!
Onboard Activities
5 out of 5
Unfortunately the weather did not permit sunbathing other than the first day.
Entertainment
4 out of 5
Unfortunately Footloose was cancelled and other than the first night, the country band playing in Q (which I absolutely loved!) did not play again and the replacement entertainment was nowhere near as good. My understanding is there were covid cases among the crew on the ship so I realize it was necessary to cancel, however it did put a damper on the trip.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
The service and staff on NCL always impress. I have nothing but admiration and respect for the crew and how hard they work to make our experiences wonderful. This cruise was no exception. Special shoutout to the bartenders in the District Brewhouse!
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
The ship is beautiful and the renovations done several years ago are immaculate. I spent the vast majority of my time in the Observation Lounge, and it did not disappoint. It will be hard to cruise on any NCL ship without one in the future. The only difference on the Joy compared to the Bliss which I was on in March was the bar in the OL is smaller on the Joy, though I think having a full service Starbucks did in part make up for it.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
Luckily I chose correctly and had the layout where the bed is closer to the balcony doors which I prefer. The cabin was great.
I did self-assist and left the ship around 8:45am. There was a line on the gangplank going into the terminal, but it moved quickly enough and I was at Penn Station on my Amtrak train home by 9:50M.
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