2023 on the Norwegian Joy

Norwegian Joy (with NCL) sailing from 2023-04-01 to 2023-04-08:

• 2023-04-01 🇨🇦 Canada (Toronto) ✈️ 🇺🇸 US (Miami)
• 2023-04-02 🌊 Sea day
• 2023-04-03 🇭🇳 Honduras (Roatán)
  • land #28
• 2023-04-04 🇧🇿 Belize (Harvest Caye + Placencia)
  • land #29
• 2023-04-05 🇲🇽 Mexico (Cozumel)
• 2023-04-06 🌊 Sea day
• 2023-04-07 🇧🇸 Bahamas (Great Stirrup Cay)
• 2023-04-08 🇺🇸 US (Miami) ✈️ 🇨🇦 Canada (Toronto)

getting on the ship ("embarkation")

• Miami's Norwegian Cruise Line building has a lot of bags shifting about: if you do not have a lot of stuff (i.e. only a back-pack), it helps to take it yourself up the gangway, since you might wait a while before seeing it again
• sailing in the 2020s means fewer workers were around
  • on the day we got on the ship, we could not go into the rooms until 3-4pm
  • staff would make us have our meals to kill time before going into our rooms (sitting in the food halls with back-packs and all)
• for drinks with a drinks pack, go with draft beer: the "cocktails" always felt watered-down and that wasn't hard for them to do
  • they will "tax" the drinks before sail-away
  • they will also do that anytime the ship docks at a harbour that isn't a "tax haven"

the sailing

sea days were well-set:

• first full day at sea to get a feel for the ship
• a sea day before the beach day in Great Stirrup Cay

other days went by well too:

• two never-before-seen lands of Honduras and Belize
• the already-seen Cozumel to "slow things down" a bit
• a restful beach day at the end before going home

the timing of the sailing in April:

• a look at summer before the summer in my own hometown
  • oddly enough, when coming back home to Toronto, it was still early spring and cool, but heated up to Caribbean-like heat a few days later!

the crowds

• most sailing on the ship were "X-ers" with their quasi-adult "zoomer" and "alpha" children
• fewer boomers and millennials

the stuff onboard

• 150 min of "online time" on the ship for the whole sailing
  • go online only when truly needed
• best to book the better "Broadway-shaped" shows ahead of time
• NCL ships have many kinds of "food hubs" so try them all aside from the main food hall
• NCL ships also don't have anyone making you do anything - you choose what you want to do!
• magnetic hooks work on most walls (handy for holding up clothes!)

getting off the ship ("disembarkation")

• getting off the ship happened rather quickly (within a few ticks!)
  • new tools sped it up, e.g.
    • headshot finding ("facial recognition")
    • wayfare-sheet input ("pre-loaded travel documents")
• shuttles to flights awaited right outside the ship!

other things

• "tanzanite" still get pushed like in the old days (but not as much)
  • a shift to a younger, less-"stuffy" crowd might make this go away
• the Caribbean sun and the wind can feel rather strong and heightened
  • get the sunblock ready
  • watch your stuff in the wind
• know where you are each day and where you will be
• know the time and don't miss the ship