Cruise was nice, ship ok, destinations ok but everything cost money and service was lacking

Norwegian Joy Cruise Review to Panama Canal, Central America

Cruises: 7+ cruises
Review: 1
Helpful Votes: 46

Overall rating:

3.5 out of 5
Verified Review
Norwegian Joy

16 Night Panama Canal (Los Angeles To Miami)

Sail date: October 11, 2019

Ship: Norwegian Joy

Cabin type: Inside

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 5 years ago

Review summary

Enjoyed 1st NCL cruise, but the last 2 not so much. I will probably never go with them again. Service overall was lacking. Never have I had that issue with Royal Caribbean.

Embarkation

3 out of 5
It was fine, atleast for us, but part of our group took the NCL bus and it was a complete disaster. Way cheaper and less aggravating to find own shuttle.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

3 out of 5
Messed up orders a lot and that was with many different servers. Buffet was pretty good actually better than the restaurants.

Onboard Activities

2 out of 5
The 2 nd BIG NCL ship I’ve been on and soooo disappointed as all you get is more pay for restaurants and they dumb down the “free” dining experience. They also added a couple fun things, WHICH you have to pay for and book ahead of time. Just not impressed.

Entertainment

3 out of 5
A lot of boring stuff, which is kinda usual, a couple great performance, some you have to pay for. The money just adds up so quick.

Children's Programs

No young kids

Service and Staff

3 out of 5
Room steward was great! Most servers were good, and although guest services helped and all it always felt like you were annoying them. BTW I did not go often at all. Bar tender mostly great.

Ship Quality

5 out of 5
Sucks, assist things onboard cost more money.

Cabin / Stateroom

4 out of 5
Clean and surprisingly comfortable.

Ship tip

It’s nice but be prepared to be nickel and dimes for everything

Ports of call

San Pedro (Los Angeles), California Did not visit port

Just there to start cruise

Cabo San Lucas, Mexico

4 out of 5
Shopped, it’s ok but doing an excursion would have been better

Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

4 out of 5
Shop and I liked it

Mazatlan, Mexico

4 out of 5
It was not bad. Went to the beach which was nice but was constantly asked to buy something. Even if you have no more cash they don’t tend to believe you

Acapulco, Mexico

2 out of 5
Shopped and that was mostly ok, but otherwise I wish we were able to go to Costa Rica instead like we were supposed to

Puerto Quetzal, Guatemala

3 out of 5
Shopping was nice but other than the port shopping there was nothing close buy.

Panama Canal Transit

5 out of 5
Just a cool experience

Oranjestad, Aruba

4 out of 5
3rd time there so it was just a stop that we didn’t do much on

Miami, Florida Did not visit port

Straight to airport

Disembarkation

4 out of 5
Smooth and no problems, except customs was closed for a few and that was annoying, but that had nothing to do with NCL
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2 Comments

ajoker31    5 years ago

I guess I’m lucky, I had a great experience on the Joy. I did a lot of research before going. I found out ahead of time what the extra costs were. I enjoyed all the entertainment. I hope your next cruise is better.

bobduck1993    5 years ago

We only did the partial transit and totally enjoyed it , it must have wonderful to do the complete crossing!

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