4 Nights Bahamas: Great Stirrup Cay & Nassau Cruise

Fantastic Haven Experience

This is my second cruise in the Haven, and I don't know if I can ever go back to steerage. The thing that most stood out to me, beyond the impeccable service, incredible food, and luxurious stateroom, is the sense of space and calm that the Haven provides. Whenever I ventured to the other decks, the venues were always crowded, and in some cases, at full capacity. The Joy, like the Bliss, is one of the best ships to visit Alaska with its large floor-to-ceiling panorama lounge windows and comfortable seating. The entertainment was good, especially the Cirque du Soleil-style primary stage production. Specialty restaurants were equally good. I visited Food Republic 3 times and Texas Smokehouse once. I did not visit the go cart track, but have done that previously on the Bliss. i dd not have any children with me, so cant rate that activity, nor did I visit the Spice H2O or the water slides..

A CHARISMATIC COMPROMISE

There’s something that happens around the middle of a good cruise holiday where you learn or get used to the ship and her crew, her foibles, her noises, her movement and peculiarities and start to bond with her. I’ve been on cruises where this sadly never happened, and others where I was quite moved at the end to get off and still even now have a really special place in my heart for the vessel concerned. I have to say, I think Norwegian Joy has surpassed my expectations and I find myself very sad to have left her in Seattle a few days ago. This is a lovely ship that defies her “megaship” tag and feels a lot more personal than others of her size. The crew have been very good to excellent without fail and really help to make a great trip. Of my fellow passengers I must say I think many Alaska passengers on these cruises are a more challenging and higher maintenance bunch than you get in warmer climes and the crew work incredibly hard on these itineraries. I think Joy is still a little understaffed in some areas but her crew do a superb job in occasionally trying circumstances and must be commended. She’s NCL’s “Jack/Joy of all trades” in that she is found across NCL’s network and tends to go where they need her. She’s a beautiful ship that in some ways isn’t suited to Alaska, but in other ways is perfect for it. The American Diner just doesn’t work in cold weather, the racetrack (while an absolute blast, I can confirm) is rarely used and the waterpark is slightly absurd dead weight on these Alaska cruises. Joy doesn’t have enough elevator capacity for a ship this size and the number of older and mobility-challenged guests they get on these Alaska runs. Conversely, the observation deck on 15 is a stunning space that seems custom designed for the epic views Alaska offers, and the really nice amount of windows along deck 5, 6 and 7 give you much more of a feeling of what’s out there than you get on other ships this size. She was designed to be a warm and cold weather ship - and everywhere in between - and so there’s always a feeling of compromise in her design. That said, she is an excellent seakeeper, appears to have no issues in getting on and off some fairly tight and difficult berths on this trip, and has plenty of power to make much higher speed runs than we’ve seen on this trip. The weather on the last sea day headed south to Victoria was a brisk six or seven and we had four metre swells and she took them like a champ. We were quite heavily trimmed by the stern as well and there is very little pitch and the rolls are shudders really. That’s high-end German engineering for you. PROS So what did I like about the cruise? The service. Absolutely blinding. So, so good. Our cabin steward Leonalyn was outstanding, as was Frenz in the MDR and buffet - she and my four year old son really bonded, she went above and beyond in the most heart warming way. Hugs all round. Brilliant. The WiFi was (expensive but) great. The ship is being absolutely hammered on these Alaska trips and looks in superb nick, super clean, in great shape. NCL do take very good care of her. The mini golf was great fun. Loved the observation deck. I thought the food was - by and large - very good. Portion sizes in the MDR have been cut back by the looks of it (and we heard a lot of moaning about this) but that’s a symptom of passengers ordering more than one main course more than anything. It’s a food waste reaction measure, I’m fine with it. Quality was good, service generally excellent as I’ve said and I didn’t eat anything on board that I thought was truly poor. The Joy’s real shining strength is the buffet though which is streets ahead of any buffet I’ve seen on Carnival, Royal Caribbean, etc. The quality, cleanliness, presentation and variety is outstanding - I’m not exaggerating to say everything I ate there, I really enjoyed. Best things I ate this trip? The filet from Cagneys. The prime rib from the Garden Cafe. The Indian food every day from the Garden Cafe. Outstanding. Elsewhere, Cagneys is good although for the $60 cover charge you’re better off getting the filet or ribeye in the MDR for less than half of that. The Q Smokehouse is a nice supper club concept with distinctly average food. The Local is a decent and simple menu done well but they really struggle to get the food to your table hot. I very much enjoyed American Diner but again, the food arrived lukewarm and my table ended up leaving their food as it was too cold to sit for an extended period. Teppanaki is a loud, boisterous affair with okay food that is rushed and uses way too much grease/butter. It is fun though. For good food, Garden Cafe buffet is where it’s at. That alone makes me feel like the food on this cruise has been very good. Ports-wise, Alaska is a magnificent place and I loved every minute of it. Utterly magical. Nothing else to say, I’d 100% go again. I like the fact that NCL take safety really seriously and really make you know they do. Some other lines are much less focused on it, as far as the passengers experience it anyway. I am a former merchant mariner and career shipping professional who is reassured at how seriously they do take it. I like the fact the ship’s deck officers have a minimal guest relations role and leave the schmoozing to the hotel services and entertainment crew. I think it feels more professional. CONS What didn’t I enjoy? The guest services / next cruise area and atrium bar etc is horrendously busy and there’s not enough places to sit and chill. The bar tenders were rushed and appeared under-staffed so it was hard to strike up the first name rapport you get on other lines. That’s a shame. Nowhere on board would make me a Hurricane, which was sad. Man, I love that drink. Blame Royal Caribbean! I can’t comment on the entertainment side as I didn’t see much really but the country guys in Q Smokehouse from Brazil were excellent. I saw a few instances of my fellow passengers being rude and extremely unpleasant and obnoxious to some of the crew which I didn’t like, but that’s hardly the ship’s fault. We witnessed a lady at Reception desk have a full on shouting, fist-slamming meltdown at the women behind the desk as she felt obliged to come down from her Haven perch to complain in shrill (and very entitled) terms every time she felt costs had been cut relative to previous trips and she was extremely upset to have made six trips on the day we saw her… she was “P*SSED!!!” - they handled her very well but it was an unpleasant twenty minute tear down session I hope I don’t see again. Wasn’t nice. The HVAC issues on day two are not the ship’s fault either (people flush dumb things they shouldn’t on every cruise, it is one of those things) and the water pipe burst and associated flooding we had near the end of the cruise are unfortunately par for the course on a ship. We don’t tank fuel or water in any of the ports of call. Stuff breaks, they fixed it. No issue. There were some instances where service got jumbled or we got starters and mains together etc but I think that’s just because of how busy the Local was. Those guys and girls got absolutely slammed nonstop on this cruise, it was so busy. I didn’t see much of the cruise director in contrast to other trips on other lines where the CD is very much front and center. I wonder if that’s an NCL thing? The ship really misses a Magrodome to cover the pool area over for cold weather itineraries like this so if/when I go back to Alaska I’d pick a ship that has one. Or pay for Haven! I wasn’t sure if I’d want to pay the extra for a Haven suite on this trip and now I’d definitely say I would do next time. Our family suite didnt have a balcony and I wrongly thought I would not miss it on this trip because of the cold. This was a mistake in hindsight. Food wise, I feel like there’s a lot of choices (maybe too many?) but the Local experience should be better than it is. It’s a decent menu but let down by an odd and oddly claustrophobic positioning on the ship and cold food. Worst things I ate? Nothing bad per se but the wings in the Local were cold on the four instances I ordered some. They are okay but clearly not straight from the fryer but are seemingly microwaved to warm them up, so are almost cold when they get to the table. They don’t really deliver the hit of sticky buffalo or chilli flavor they should do. My son’s PB&J was stale every single time he ordered it. I thought the Q smokehouse food was greasy and didn’t really deliver on the forty buck price tag. Decent, but I for sure wouldnt do it again. The draught beers are universally poor on this ship too. I’ve not had a single draught that’s been okay. Clean your lines more frequently and store your casks properly, NCL! I get I’m a Brit on a US ship so have a very nuanced view but the beer selection on board is poor, particularly in Brewhouse. Guinness in cans I understand as it’s finicky to keep and pours better from cans but draught Heineken? Really? Come on guys. The US has some of the best beers in the world: try harder. I still don’t think there’s enough lounge space or seating for guests when it’s too cold to go outside, as well. Some sofas on the landings and more in the deck six atrium area would help. But that’s about it. SUMMARY My overriding feeling of this ship is of great crew, great food and wonderful ports seen from a really great ship that has real personality. In this age of faceless, gaudy and tasteless megaships, Joy is a rare and oddly charismatic thing. She has genuine personality. From the dazzling smiles of her Filipino crew ladies every time they see my four year old son, to the bright hull art, to the heady perfume of burned VLSFO in Spice H2O, to the little shudder along her keel in heavy weather, she’s a proper ship. She’s not pretentious. She’s exactly what you want from a mega cruise ship family holiday. She’s not perfect but she does pretty much all you want her to do in a safe, fun, comfortable and hugely enjoyable way that is a compromise in lots of ways - but doesn’t feel like one. As for NCL, well I’m platinum with Royal Caribbean and a big fan of Carnival and Princess as well in their own ways, but I think NCL is an elevated experience from Carnival and Royal Caribbean in terms of food, service, product and the ship herself. I believe NCL does deserve their reputation as being the most high end of the big four mainstream family lines. NCL will be seeing a lot more business from me, that’s clear. I was very sad to get off. That’s the sign of a good cruise and a great holiday isn’t it? Well done Norwegian Joy!

15 night Panama Canal cruise!

The song says, "It Never Rains in Southern California". The song lies! We arrived two days ahead of time and experienced nothing but rain! However, on the day of the cruise it stopped! That was a stroke of luck for most people on our cruise, because they had to stand in line, outside, because of a glitch in the embarkation process. I got two stories about that. One, there was a problem with the facial recognition program that Immigration uses. And two, they had to sanitize the ship because a few of the departing guests were sick. Either way, people had to stand outside. Luckily, we were in the Haven and got to cool our heels in the Haven Lounge. The only trouble was that the Haven entrance wasn't marked at all and took me about 30 minutes to find it. Once I did, it was a breeze! We had to wait for a wheelchair for my wife, but that came directly! Before you knew it, we were having lunch in the Haven restaurant. After we ate our room was ready so we went downstairs to it. Our luggage was waiting for us so we unpacked. We almost missed "Sailaway". Dinner that night was in "The Manhattan Room" It was arranged by John who started the thread for our voyage. He also set up the "Meet and Greet" which was held the following day. Now, this was going to be a relaxation cruise. Only one excursion was planned. We spent our time in the spa having massages and mani-pedis and facials and acupuncture and I got a couple of shaves! We also tried our hand at "Progressive Trivia". We came to the conclusion that we sucked at that! Not so for our friend Tim whose team finished first, or our friend Lauren whose team finished second! I also spent a lot of time in the Cigar Lounge where I meet my friends Craig and Marty every night. I also went to the casino every night to play my favorite slot machine. I limited myself to $20 a night. A few nights I doubled my money. Most nights I lost! Our one excursion was the "Ocean to Ocean Train Trip" in Panama City. It was fun. Our specialty restaurants were Cagney's(good), Teppanyaki (good, but loud), La Cucina (surprisingly good), Ocean Blue (very good), and Le Bistro(excellent). As usual, The Haven Restaurant was always excellent, be it breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Also, I would be amiss by not mentioning Irene and Rae, the two best bartenders at The Haven Bar. Probably the high point of the whole trip was on Valentines Day, when my dear wife treated me to a glass of Louis XIII cognac. Irene turned it into an event! Also, Melvin, our steward, kept our room neat and clean, and Monseur, our butler who always made sure we were never wanting anything. As with all cruises it ended way too early. The only regret I have is that I never met up with "Schmoopie" for a cigar! We'll just have to do it on a future cruise. All in all, this was probably the best cruise we ever took.