That's what its all about! So glad to hear you enjoyed your cruise. Hope to see you on the next adventure!

Our pleasure! So many little ways to make a cruise on the Joy even more magical. We hope they help!

Wonderful! Thanks for watching. Hope the tips come in handy if you find yourself on the Norwegian Joy soon!

Yes! Meeting up with our family in the back was so easy. Enjoy your trip!

Our pleasure! Hope they come in handy soon!

So glad to hear that! We hope they help if you ever find yourself on the Joy. Stay tuned because the next cruise vlogs start tomorrow 🤫

Have a wonderful time! You'll have to let us know what you think of the Haven value wise. I always hear good things but just don't know if the additional amenities and perks are worth the cost. -J

@@ThisHappyPlace_ I know it’s so hard to justify the cost these days!! but once we stayed in the Haven and tried to go back to a balcony room there is definitely a difference! Thanks again for the great video!

Wonderful! Glad you found it helpful. Hope you have an amazing cruise!

I swear, our raw footage feels like it's 50% bloopers sometimes lol!

So glad you enjoyed the ship and the cruise8! We're very interested in a transatlantic eventually. Not sure what cruise line, but it would he hard to NOT want an observation lounge for a cruise like that.

Thanks, Paul! We hope it helps if you sail on the Allure any time soon!

How exciting! Great time of year to cruise too. Enjoy!!

How was it?

We hope that you have a fantastic trip on the Joy!

Perks? Free at sea isn't Free. Being solo, I get 2x points on RC in an interior, oceanview or balcony cabin. Easier and faster to get loyalty rewards.

That's a good idea! And solid advice about VBC. We've wondered if it would be worth it in the past. Thanks!

Oh my gosh, 4 days in Bermuda, what an absolute dream! As for cruising with a toddler, our son was 10 months and pretty mobile when we were on the Joy. Definitely bring a white noise machine to help drown out sounds in the room and LED tealights so you can move about the room while your baby is sleeping. Be flexible with your schedule and utilize the Guppy's open play hours for place for your babe to run around and burn off some steam. Make sure you get some decent baby sunscreen. And most importantly, take SOOOOO many pictures. I already cherish ours from the cruise seeing how much he's grown in just 6 months! Have the best time ever!

So the specialty mealing included will depend on the restaurant. Some include an app, entree, and dessert, some several sharable plates. The server will explain it to you when you are seated. As for charging to an onboard account - everything will be linked to your room card. You can attach a credit card to your name/room before and when you board and every purchase will be charged to that. Or you can settle with cash at Guest services. You have to put a minimum payment down when you board (I think its $350) and then continue to monitor (which you can do through the app). We find it much preferable to just attach a credit card and not have to wait in lines at Guest Services or worry about spending over our cash limit.

Cool, thanks for the info. @@ThisHappyPlace_

So glad you found the video to be helpful! That sounds like quite the trip you're considering. Obviously everyone finds their happy place in different ways, so I have a hard time recommending one way or the other on such a long cruise. What I CAN say is if you're the type of person who enjoys the more relaxing and easy going aspects of cruising, then any ship is likely to give you what you're looking for on a transatlantic sailing. Personally, I think we would choose a ship with more variety of amenities and on board entertainment if we were going on a cruise of that length with no stops, but that's something we value a lot in a ship. Check out our ship tour of the Norwegian Joy if you haven't already! It may help you see first hand if the Joy has enough of what you're looking for! kzfaq.info/get/bejne/abmEnpV6urrZf6M.html

@@ThisHappyPlace_ thank you for your prompt reply

I was on the transatlantic in Feb that you mentioned. It was great. I love TAs, but I have not cruised one with no ports, so I was looking forward to it. The weather was cool and rainy a few days, but I was able to enjoy so many areas inside. Without busy days in ports, the cruise did not fly by and really did seem longer than it was. It really was a great cruise. P.S. there were only 2300 passengers, about 60%. THAT was fantastic!!

Excellent advice! Thanks. From your perspective, having sailed with NCL as many times as you have, is the Haven worth the cost?

@@ThisHappyPlace_ Our finances allow us to cruise every other year as Haven Guests , so yes it is costly . We did 1 Spa Suite non Haven trip on the Breakaway and after being Haven guests we were a little let down. For me it is worth it. #1 If I want to be involved with the social party atmosphere of the main areas I can, If I want to retreat to the calmer areas of the Haven I can. #2 Consigniers desk. They make all your reservations, resturants, shore excursions, Spa, barbershop, beauty treatments , even private ships photography sessions at a moments notice usually #3 - 24 Hr Butler service 24 hr room service, 24 hour carry around phone to call the Butler for any needs anywhere on the ship. 4 - Private elevators - no waiting. 5 - Priority boarding and disembarking- no lines no wait 6 - Haven Resturant opens at 7 am last seating 9 pm - Breakfast , lunch , Dinner, bars, lounges , sitting areas, sun deck, hot tubs , pools, saunas , * ice rooms and steam rooms depending on the Ship. . 7 - Reserve guarenteed seating for every show. 8 - plush bathrobes, deck slippers, 1 day laundry service. 9 - Library , board games, and card games area - kind of a throwback to earlier ship travel. 10- Some Haven suites have their own hot tubs which the room steward drains and sanitized daily then refills upon request. * Not all of our Haven suites had private hot tubs - depends on suite booked. Some Haven suites have full bathtub some dont. 11- Free Two hour behind the scenes tour of our most recent Prima Haven, incuded a guided tour of : Galley of Los Lobos and meeting the Chef, Tour of Engenineering section, Tour of crew areas , crew lounges, dining areas, Tour of ships laundry, Tour of behind the stage and entertainers areas, Tour of ships food storage areas, freezers and butchers shops, Tour of ships waste disposal areas, this is how I knew that NCL was eliminating plastic products such as bags to be environmentally responsible, and that all unconsumed food products are ground up and pumped into the Sea - they call it " feeding the fish ". Tour of ships bridge where we met the Captain and he spent about 15 minutes answering questions face to face. Included two free photographs from ships photographer of behind the scenes areas of Wife & Myself. But the biggest thing in my case is that I dont have to stress over a pool side deck lounge chair. In the Haven if the sun deck lounge chairs and unbrellas are taken you just tell the cabana attendant and one is brought out for you. The pool and sun deck furniture is much more plush and larger. If you want a snack or lunch at your lounge chairs the cabans staff will order it from the Haven resturant and set it up pool sude or on the Sun deck. YES it is costly - Yes I think it is worth it to be treated like a King every other year. Word of warning - If you go Haven it is very hard to go back . Ask my Wife!!

Hi Lisa! Bon Voyage in advance for your upcoming cruise! In general I can say every single time we sat down at either a specialty dining restaurant or at one of the complimentary main dining rooms the crew members always (ALWAYS) asked if we had any allergies or dietary needs. The fact that they asked made me feel confident that the chefs were happy to adapt dishes where they could. I've seen similar sentiments on reddit and NCL's blog regarding GF options. I would just recommend using your own judgment based on your level of sensitivity when going to the buffet or similar style dining option. Even naturally gluten free options have a higher chance of cross contamination there. We'd love to know your experience after the cruise! -J

You can also contact the Special Needs department for NCL for more info and advice.

That's very cool! What a great idea.

Honestly we looked a ton before we went and couldn't find one either. Still can't. Maybe you can be the first to share one with the cruising community!

@@ThisHappyPlace_ thanks for letting me know. You guys are great!

While we sailed, it was awful and only worked about 50% of the time. We didn't try to stream, upload or download anything and I doubt it would have worked anyway. BUT we've heard that they added Starlink in the refurb a couple months ago so hopefully it's much better now.

The internet wasn't great at the time but it did what we needed (basic browsing and some low quality streaming). I heard that's one of the things that improved after the recent enhancements, though!

It felt quite crowded. We had to wait in lines pretty often and the pool deck was always full. But we were doing a lot of things at peak times and could more easily get tables in dining facilities and spots to relax if we did them at "off" times.

That's good to know! We'll have to try it on our next one. Thanks!

Yes, you can!

@marybright9112 What is "go carts on TV" ??

There is a kids aqua park on deck 16, but generally the rule is that children using the area have to be out of diapers to use it. If you're looking for more of what the Norwegian Joy has to offer, check out our complete tour! kzfaq.info/get/bejne/abmEnpV6urrZf6M.htmlsi=_9Wmr6ijIZ6JSFPm