Fun Joy Ride Along the West Coast

Item: Norwegian Joy
Rating: 4.2
Author: sofit

Norwegian Joy Cruise Review to Coastal - West Coast

sofit

Contributor Level: Second Mate

Cruises: 2-3 cruises

Reviews: 3

Helpful Votes: 62

Overall rating:

4.2 out of 5

Norwegian Joy Inagural

Sail date: April 26, 2019

Ship: Norwegian Joy

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 13330

Traveled as: Singles/Friends

Reviewed: 5 years ago

Review summary

A fun time on a lovely ship with friendly staff. There were plenty of activities to keep us busy, even without any ports of call. Food quality left something to be desired, but that was not the focus of our experience. Would have loved to have had more time on the race track, but I'm glad we got one go at it. Overall would recommend this ship for anyone whose main focus in not the dining quality.

Embarkation

5 out of 5

Arrived at the port around 1PM and there were no lines at all. Everything went smoothly and we were on board within 30 minutes.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

3 out of 5

I enjoyed the selections at the buffet but the quality of the food was average. Similarly the main dining room food was acceptable but nothing to write home about. The presentations of the desserts were beautiful, but the flavors did not live up to the visual standard. The raspberry guava mojito at Sugarcane Mojito Bar is on point though - if there's only one drink you get on board, make it this one!

Onboard Activities

4 out of 5

Checked out the Galaxy Pavilion for the VR games - seemed to be understaffed as there were not operators for each game and they did not give any instructions on how to play. VR can make me pretty motion sick, but I decided to play a few games anyway. The one that did me in was Robo Wars; I was nauseated for the rest of the day! Laser tag was amazingly fun and can accommodate up to 20 people if you have a big group with you. Recommend doing this at night for maximum enjoyment. The race track was also super fun but it seemed like they were still ironing out the system. We had reservations for 5PM, but didn't end up driving until past 6PM. Worth the wait for us but saw some people give up while in line. Tip: bring a jacket because it gets super windy up there while you're waiting!

Entertainment

5 out of 5

I'm probably biased because I love musicals, but Footloose was a good time! Gets your feet tapping just in time to go dance afterwards.

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

Everyone was very friendly and steward always remembered our names when greeting us. He even opened the door for us when we came back with our hands full from the buffet!

Ship Quality

4 out of 5

The observation lounge is great for down time, but could use more lounge chairs. Also needs more pools and hot tubs! Can't complain about the cleanliness.

Cabin / Stateroom

4 out of 5

The only complaint I have about the room is that the closet is very hard to access due to the placement of the couch.

Ship tip

Book everything as soon as you get on board at one of the screens (even before going to your stateroom!) All the popular activities fill up fast, especially the race track.

Thumbs up

Disembarkation

5 out of 5

Got in line around 8:30AM, and we were off the boat before 9:00AM.

Traveler Photos

Note that the closet door is blocked by the couch

6 Comments

WileyE 5 years ago

Thanks for the review.

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sofit 5 years ago

@critter48658 the only other cruise I've been on is the Norwegian Bliss, and I would say the food is on par with that experience. @LaurCo427 the ship is very similar to the Bliss, with less hot tubs and pool space! They have the VR space instead of an arcade, but it does cost extra. (There are some non-VR games in that area which I think you might be able to access without paying entry?) Food quality is about the same as mentioned above.

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motycka 5 years ago

Nice review. Very helpful!

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LaurCo427 5 years ago

Thanks for a great review ! How did it compare to the Bliss or the Horizon? Tia

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critter48658 5 years ago

Thanks for your review! Have you cruised with Norwegian before? And was the food worse on Thai cruise than previous? We went on one with them and were not real impressed with the food, have been very happy with Royal Caribbean food, I'm not sure if Norwegian good is the same on all ships.

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tammymhicks7 5 years ago

Great review. Very helpful

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