Disappointed in NCL and will likely not return.

Item: Norwegian Joy
Rating: 3.7
Author: GaryBruxvoort

Norwegian Joy Cruise Review to Panama Canal, Central America

GaryBruxvoort

Contributor Level: Second Mate

57 Days Till Next Cruise

Cruises: 2-3 cruises

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 44

Overall rating:

3.7 out of 5

16 Night Panama Canal (Los Angeles To Miami)

Sail date: October 11, 2019

Ship: Norwegian Joy

Cabin type: Suite

Cabin number: 13858

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 5 years ago

Review summary

Disappointed in NCL and will likely not return. Staff working hard to provide good service under a mis-managed organization .

Embarkation

2 out of 5

We had the transfers to and from the ship through NCL; on both ends of our cruise. Both embarkation and disembarkation were poorly organized and executed.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

3 out of 5

The food on this cruise was a disappointment. Quality and variety were lacking also the food was hit or miss as far as arriving to the table hot.

Onboard Activities

4 out of 5

Pools were rather small. Hot tubs/jacuzzi were not hot. I enjoyed the water slides.

Entertainment

3 out of 5

I've seen high school dance teams perform more difficult and diverse performances. The two major shows of Footloose and Elements were almost yawn worthy. Individual performers seen in the bars were good to excellent.

Service and Staff

4 out of 5

Bartenders and waiters/waitresses were excellent in the areas we frequented. Max and Michael took great care of us in Spice H2O and Ensari was our favorite waiter in the MDR's. Our room steward was nothing to praise just below average.

Ship Quality

3 out of 5

Cabin / Stateroom

4 out of 5

Mini suite was nice. Enjoyed the extra room in the bathroom and shower. Would have liked a 120v outlet on both sides of the bed in addition to the USB outlet in the bedside reading lites. The space for the bed was inadequate for the room steward to makeup the bed and leave the nightstands in place. Felt like I was doing a tug-of-war with the steward over the nightstand, I would put it in place by bed for CPAP in evening and steward would remove and place by couch.

Ship tip

IF YOU SMOKE DON'T SAIL ON THIS SHIP! SMOKING AREA IN SPICE H2O IS RESTRICTIVE AND UNSAFE WITH TRIP HAZARDS. THE SMOKING AREA IN CASINO IS FOR ACTIVE PLAYERS ONLY. CANNOT SMOKE CIGARETTES IN HUMIDOR, CIGARS ONLY!

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