Both getting on and getting off were disasters!! Norovirus made everything worse. Cancelled one port altogether and changed our original Puerto Rico stop for another port. Too many specialty restaurants, lost all concept of inclusive cruising, nickel & dime over everything. Design has so many wasted areas that people were not interested in using due to all the extra charges.
Embarkation
1 out of 5
Stood in long line over 2 hours outside in hot, humid heat at Miami.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
1 out of 5
Same menu every night in all three main dining rooms. Can't believe they have so many specialty restaurants. Never saw a soul in the American Diner, waste of space.
American Diner
1 out of 5
Did not see one person use the entire 16 days.
Food Republic
1 out of 5
Another waste of space on this boat, no one was using because of the extra charges.
Onboard Activities
1 out of 5
$15 each ride on the speedway, not many takers.....another waste of space for the small amount of people willing to pay. Workers just stood around with nothing to do because no one was using the activity.
Entertainment
2 out of 5
Only 2 real productions for a 16 day cruise is ridiculous. A couple of the comedians were really bad. Theater was the size of a regular ship, could not accommodate all the passengers, you must reserve to go to a show or you will not get a seat!!
Service and Staff
2 out of 5
My cabin steward, Armondo, was excellent!! Servers in the main dining rooms appeared overwhelmed, unable to keep up the pace. Did not interact or take time with the patrons.
Ship Quality
3 out of 5
Never enough room in the elevators, always forced to take the stairs. Lot of wasted areas that did not get used, poor design for the normal cruise crowd. Lots of expensive activities for kids but we only had maybe eight kids on the entire 3,400 passengers. That doesn't even make good sense of space.
Cabin / Stateroom
4 out of 5
Size was decent for midship balcony. Clean, good size shower. Bed comfortable.
Ship tip
Don't do it, too many better choices than the joy.
Always hot and humid in Miami so there needs to be a way to get people inside the air conditioning for check in especially when the lines are so long and it took over three hours of standing!! Not a good beginning.
The observatory on the Joy was a joke. They brought out folding chairs for hundreds of people packed in like sardines that could only see the back of someone's head, no way to see the ship entering the canal. Don't bother going there, find another spot to watch entering the canal.
Enjoyed the Village ATV ride. Only 10 on the tour. Took us through a village, stopped at a restaurant along the way, stopped for a free tequila tasting. Bought the over priced video, but the pics on it are great.
Disaster. Norovirus broke out last four days, hundreds of people were very sick. No one got off on scheduled time, ambulances and fire trucks were waiting to take the sickest passengers first. Once off, they were no prepared for such a large ship. Had too few custom agents and the lines created another 2 hour wait!!
Wow, I’m sorry your experience was not the best. We’re going on the Joy in December. I will experience the Joy up close and personal real soon. Thank you for your review.
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