To summararize, we had a fantastic cruise on Nor Joy, the crew, our fellow passengers, the beautiful ship, the memories we made, both with others and each other, made this one of the more momentous cruises we've done, not the longest, but certainly keeping with the length of cruises we prefer after my (not her, yet) retirement. We're already wondering where our cruising preference will take us next? South Pacific perhaps? Australia's finally opening up post-covid, and it's on my bucket list......
Embarkation
2 out of 5
Embarkation was, to say the least, "inhibited". Apparently the day started with a computer glitch, we stood in line for 3 hours to board, which is, in 36 cruises, the longest ever. I don't hold NCL responsible, as should no one else, anytime computers are involved (which involves nearly everything in modern times) the potential for a glitch is ever present, and we just happened to be the ones "chosen". I do say that port authorities could've have handled the crowd situation better, providing chairs inside the air conditioned terminal for the ones at the rear of the line. Longer cruises usually involve older age groups (as did this trip) and some found it eithter physically impossible and/or extremely uncomfortable to stand in line this long, and provisions could've been made to spend at least part of the time sitting and waiting, instead of standing. The weather was mild (low 80s) so that part of it wasn't bad.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
5 out of 5
Food was, as always, incredible, easily maintaining NCL standards of excellent fare, both in specialty restaurants as well as the main dining rooms, the Local Bar and Grill (formerly O'Sheehans), and the specialty restaurants we tried. La Cucina wasn't up to par with, say, the same venue on Epic, but we've encountered that before on different ships. We noticed there wasn't a Moderna churasscaria choice onboard, but there was a Q Texas Smokehouse available, so one cancelled out the other. We tried Teppanyaki, La Cucina, Ocean Blue, and Cagneys, and with the exception of La Cucina, all were superb. Sometimes the dining room menu wasn't to our tastes, so we had The Local, the Garden Cafe, as well as numerous specialty restaurants as alternatives. Suffice to say, we didn't go hungry.
The District Brew House
4 out of 5
Nice place for a quiet brew
The Cavern Club
5 out of 5
Nice venue for the Beatles show
Teppanyaki
5 out of 5
Awesome dining experience
Spice H2O
4 out of 5
Huge hottub, no pool. Bar service was fantastic tho
Savor Restaurant - Main Dining Room
5 out of 5
Better service than Taste
Onboard Activities
4 out of 5
Onboard activities were much the same as most cruises, though some activities weren't really geared toward the age demographic onboard. Trivia games were as usual very well attended, as well as many others involving limited physical activity. Poolside games not so much, as again, an older crowd isn't usually as boisterous as a younger bunch. There was plenty to do, which is one of the attractions of cruising. You can do as much or as little as you like. My wife visited the fitness center of several occasions, usually when I was at Spice H20 enjoying a cocktail and a cigar, so again, there was something for everyone.
Pulse Fitness Center
4 out of 5
Wife was there.......little if any input
Mini Golf
5 out of 5
Fun, awfully windy on "tournament" day
Entertainment
4 out of 5
Shipboard entertainment had a few issues. The show "Footloose" was cancelled for some reason, rumor was an injury to a cast member, as was "Elements" after one performance, again something unforseen. Let me interject by stating the song and dance theater shows don't attract me much, I'm more into comedy shows, intimate music venues, etc. "The Beatles Revolution' was both good and well attended, though as on other ships we've seen, Beatles cover bands are so popular among our demographic (we were there, we lived through it) that the Cavern onboard isn't really adequate to contain the crowds, but I have to add that the intimate venue (Iow ceilings and all) probably best provided the spirit of the early original group in the Liverpool days. We saw them in the Joy Theater as well, it just wasn't the same. The Latin band, the reggae band, weren't really my cup of tea, but I enjoyed the dynamic lady vocalist in the group "Wild Spirits", she was incredible, though her backing mucisians not so much. Best band onboard were "The Wanted", a country band with a fantastic lead vocalist, Chase, a gifted but somewhat goofy guitar player "Crazy Dave", and a very under-appreciated but talented rhythm section. I think the only shows of theirs we missed was when we couldn't stay up late enough (we're seniors). I would hope to catch them again on another NCL cruise. The comedians were average at best, with the exception of Mark Kline, who literally had me unable to breathe I was laughing so much. I'm not easily impressed by shipboard comedians, but I was impressed by Mr. Kline.
Children's Programs
no kids with us
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
The shipboard staff, it's impossible to convey in words how good they were. Everyone smiling, courteous, attentive to your needs, even crew people who didn't normally interact with passengers were very approachable, and we were singled out numerous times by staff, inquiring how our overall trip was going, were we satisfied, etc. We even met a (not implying anything age wise) senior member of NCL's entertainment department, asking us one night during dinner at the Garden Cafe how our trip was progressing. I'm not putting other lines down, but the way NCL trains it's staff should be the industry standard, quite simply, nobody does it better!
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
Ship was impeccable, top to bottom, staff always cleaning, wiping down, etc. Though Joy has been in service a few years, there was no "showing her age" instances, the ship looked new and spectacular. Well laid out, adequate venues for dining, drinking, gambling, etc. Can't comment on the casino, as we're not gamblers, but we did appreciate that smoking gamblers were alloted their own space on Joy, at least keeping the annoyance of cigarette smoke nearly completely contained therein.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
Our stateroom, 10956, startboard side aft, was an upgrade for us, a balcony stateroom, and adequately equipped for all our needs, especially for a longer cruise. Plenty of storage, closet space, hangers, bathroom and shower more than enough space, though without (at least we couldn't find it) a way to hear PA msgs in our room, always having to either listen at, or open the door to hear announcements from the cruise director's staff, crew, etc. Other than that, no complaints whatsoever. Balcony was small yet adequate for relaxing, reading, watching the sunset (or sunrise).
Ship tip
Check out the Observation Lounge on Deck 15 forward, and excellent space to read, relax, play cards, nap, etc. They even offer limited food options and a bar.
Disembarkation was seamless and easy, though we usually do the self-assisted walkoff, this time we put our bags out the night before, and were in the 1st group allowed off after the self assist group. Easy peasy, a porter took our bags to the transfer bus, and though LAX was it's normal madhouse, we had surprisingly few issues boarding the plane for home.
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