MS Joy cabins
We are planning ahead for August of 2016 and will be travelling on the new boat the MS Joy. I'm not even sure it has hit the water yet but if anyone has been on it, we're wondering about the front most cabins, Category 4. Any words of advice on those? I've seen many posts about the Prague - Budapest trip and it sounds fabulous! Very excited to be booking!
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http://www.tauck.com.au/river-cruises/river-cruise-ships/ms-joy.aspx
It was a very comfortable ship, with elegant public spaces. I particularly enjoyed the extra space on the sun deck, complete with a jacuzzi that was bigger than a paddling pool! You are in for a wonderful travel experience.
Cheers,
Jan
In addition to the information that Jan posted, we also have a 360 walkthrough of the public areas of the ms Inspire available through Google! (Which, as it's the same class of ship, should be comparable.) You can view it here: https://goo.gl/maps/ldGDF
Please let me know if you have any questions!
-Tim
We picked the Cat 4 on the Inspire for our next cruise after a 1 week Rhone cruise in a standard 150 sqft Cat 4 on the Swiss Emerald. We wanted a bit more space in the room since our next cruise is longer, but decided to spend our $ on extra nights in the hotel at the beginning of the cruise. We also liked the Ruby Deck. We were somewhat concerned about noise since it's so close to the lobby but heard from friends who had been in that room and they didn't have any problems. Most passengers tended to be tired and in bed after a very busy day and a great dinner.
JPCruising - which sailing are you going on in August 2016?
We were in 201 on the Savor. So you mean the cabins that have a diagonal wall? The cabin was smallish - but the BATHROOM was really tight. Especially the shower - it was triangular, and I ended up with a couple of arm bruises. What we SHOULD have gotten was one of the cabins on the lower deck, that have the table and chairs on a raised platform; more storage space- nice big drawers, and shelves - and a BIG bathroom, similar in size and configuration to the 300 sq. ft. cabins. Not sure in YOUR boats has these - but if you are tall, on anything by SKINNY - then opt for a larger cabin. We too 201 because with my knee surgery (just in case something went bad - luckily, I was FINE), we wanted to be near things - but gee, one or two doors down would not have made a difference in my walking, but a LOT more room.
Pauline
I have a question from a year ago, did your cabin have a coffee maker?
No - our cabin (201 Savor) did not. We are "coffee snobs" anyway - have a really good espresso/cappuccino machine at home - so a few times when our "coffee jones kicked in, we just walked down to Arthur's, which tided us over until the ship docked. Plenty of good coffee places in many of the nice cities we visited, too - nice to have Gerbeaud's right around the corner from out Budapest hotel. Of course - who can have just coffee, when all those glorious desserts are there? As much as I hate "those people"who are always taking pictures of their food (and then posting them someplace online) I *did* (sheepishly) take a photo of our desserts and coffee - which came to about $36 - and worth every penny (and calorie!!).
We have booked the August 11, 2016 Budapest to Prague cruise on the MS Joy. We opted for the loft stateroom which is at 225 Sq Ft. rivercruiseadvisor.com is a great source to learn about the ships of Tauck. This will also be our first trip with Tauck and our second river cruise - we are very excited.
Guess I'll have to do what I did on the Swiss Emerald and pack a lightweight travel mug for trips down to Arthurs. Probably just as well - extra walking steps for the day and they have real cream/milk which I consider essential for coffee.
Four weeks to go til our Rhine/Moselle cruise starts and I'm getting pretty sync'd to be back on a Tauck river cruise.
Great choice! As I said in an earlier post - we *should* have taken one of the loft cabins, rather than the diagonal one with the small bathroom, especially the small shower. The deck plans online and in the Tauck booklets - and the photos - do not give you a good sense of the interior (fish-eye lenses are the darling of travel mags, aren't they??). BUT - on board the ship in the book that all hotels leave for you, the deck plans have all the interior furniture drawn in. I photographed those drawings, and kept them for future reference. And, many people think of upper and lower decks in terms of HUGE cruise ships; there are only 3 floors of decks on these river boats, and they are arranged split-level with the lounge and dining room (Compass Rose) so you are not far above or below anything - you can see that from the lobby photos. The loft cabins also have DOUBLE-height windows, with a chandelier and electric roman-shade style curtains - TONS of light. The next cruise we have planned with Tauck is of the Seine, and the boat used there do not have the same layouts/choices, so we will get the large (300sf) cabin, because they others are just too small for us, although we really do not need 300 sf, either. I got to peek inside one of the loft cabins on the Savor because friends we dined with allowed us to see theirs - now my husband is a convert, too! Do not know when we will be in one of that design ship again - but glad to know what we learned.
Pauline
We didn't have a problem in our 150 sqft'r for a week on the Rhone, but then our usual vacations are spent in an Airstream travel trailer so its all a matter of perspective. At least on the Swiss Emerald the shower stall walls are circular so they felt fairly roomy. The only problem we had was the lack of anywhere for 2 people to sit - 1 small wicker chair or the bed.
We thought seriously about the loft cabins as well and all the reviews have been great - apparently they've managed to fix the weird noise issues that were reported the first season.
The pictures using the curved camera lens do give you a false sense of space. There isn't nearly the room between the foot of the bed and the wall that the photos show for the 150 sqft cabins.
However, if my choice was between a 150 sqft'r or not taking the cruise, I'd live with the small cabin. Most people spend so little time in their cabin except for sleeping or changing clothes that it's still a great vacation.
If you are are also we must meet for a cocktail. Starting to decide what I need to bring for clothes. Help!
Pros: The size and layout of the cabin were fine. The angled bed is very accessible from both sides. The 2 chairs and table were nice to sit at when we did have some down time in the cabin. It's close to just about everything on the ship - reception area (where you exit the ship), lounge, restaurant, etc. Plenty of counter and storage space in the bathroom.
Cons: Lobby noise. If you are a light sleeper and don't want to wear ear plugs DO NOT get this cabin. Most nights it was fine, but on a couple of occasions passengers had to opportunity to walk into town for an evening stroll (bar hop) and came back after we'd gone to bed. The sounded like that had a great time. Also on the last morning there were quite a few who had very early morning departures so the crew was up early and there was a fair amount of noise from luggage being put out and picked up.
The bathroom does have a funky shaped shower that some may find a problem. No coffee maker. We took turns walking back to the bistro with our travel cups for coffee and croissants.
If it wasn't for the noise factor I'd book this cabin again in a heart beat. But not getting enough sleep when you are already dealing with jet lag is a deal breaker.
We heard no lobby noise, which I, too, worried about - and yes, people tend to retire "early" so after dinner and perhaps drinks back in the Lounge for a bit, it was quiet.
Our next river with Tauck was last spring on the Rhine & Moselle on the new Inspiration class Jewel - it was magnificent. We were so hooked on river cruising we looked for a longer trip and this one fit the bill adding the Moselle in, so we had ten days onboard I believe, plus started early in Amsterdam and stayed an extra day in Basel at end.
We had the Loft cabin and if I had my choice, I would never occupy another type of cabin again except this one - not even a suite! All the reviews, photos, are spot on. It has a very roomy feel due to the 4 steps "up" to your loft area which contains a small round table, two comfortable chairs, and the biggest window I've seen. Everything is automated and can be adjusted from several locations, including bedside! The window has a very clever shade system covering it so you can have full view, partial, or privacy (which you'll want if you're docked next to another ship!
I've never seen so much drawer and closet space on a ship - two "full" closets, at least 10-12 drawers all over the cabin - every inch of space was put to good use. The bathroom was quite large, plenty of storage and a big shower. We were on the first cruise of the season, so too chilly to sit out all the time in any case, and you're hardly in your cabin, so not having a balcony, which I thought would be an issue as I'm claustrophobic, was not at all. I LOVED the loft cabin and highly recommend it - again we chose the front of the ship, and we are also in the front upcoming on the Swiss Emerald in France. We like "hopping" back to our room for quick trips when in the dining room or lounge, have never heard any noise from the lobby (it's cantilevered so you have to go up or down a few steps to access lobby or dining room anyway), and the coffee run to Arthur's is good exercise and they serve amazing cookies back there!
Our first cruise was French Waterways where we were in 205 - one of the 150sqft cabins on the Ruby Deck. I don't ever remember hearing any passenger noise. Did get some lock noise especially the last couple of nights as the ship makes it's way back upstream to Lyon.
Everyone's noise tolerance is different. My husband could sleep thru just about anything, although for some reason "white noise" types of sounds bother him. I'm the exact opposite. Probably need to break down and start packing ear plugs.
Funny you should mention problems getting into the bathroom. We didn't have a problem on the Inspire. I wonder if they did a slight redesign??? hum
We loved the French Waterways cruise so much we immediately signed up for the Rhine/Moselle. Very different pace. Less bus time and most of the stops you could do some exploring on your own directly from the ship - Arles and Avignon were great for that. Our one regret was not adding extra nights in Paris at the beginning. However, it's given us a great reason for taking the Seine Plus Versailles and London next year where we will be trying out one of the newly redesigned 225 sqft cabins on the Swiss Saphire.
Hope you enjoy your next cruise. Bon Appetite