Fantastic Cruise thru the Panama Canal

Norwegian Joy Cruise Review to Panama Canal, Central America

Cruises: 2-3 cruises
Review: 1
Helpful Votes: 8

Overall rating:

4.8 out of 5
Norwegian Joy

16 Night Panama Canal (Miami To Los Angeles)

Sail date: November 08, 2019

Ship: Norwegian Joy

Traveled as: Family (older children)

Reviewed: 5 years ago

Review summary

In total the cruise was wonderful. It’s a real shame that disembarking was so horrible.

Embarkation

5 out of 5
Embarkation was a breeze. Miami port does things right.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

5 out of 5
The food at the specialty restaurants was top quality. The main dining rooms food was very good, but the food at the Local was stellar. Great cheeseburger.

Onboard Activities

3 out of 5
Did not do any activities on the ship.

Entertainment

5 out of 5
Footloose was very good but Elements is not to be missed.

Children's Programs

Older children are adults.

Service and Staff

5 out of 5
I can’t say enough good things about the staff. Always helpful, happy and eager to serve. It really showed during the virus scare the last 3 days. They were awesome in their cleaning!

Ship Quality

5 out of 5
Ship is spotless.

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5
We had a balcony cabin. Larger than expected and plenty of storage.

Ship tip

Try the Brewhouse if the Observation deck is crowded.

Ports of call

Miami, Florida

5 out of 5
Visited Bayside Market and had an Airboat ride and alligator show.

Great Stirrup Cay (Cruise Line Private Island), Bahamas Did not visit port

Weather didn’t permit our visiting the island.

Cartagena, Colombia Did not visit port

We didn’t get off the ship.

Panama Canal Transit

5 out of 5
Awesome experience!

Puerto Quetzal, Guatemala

5 out of 5
Hot, humid but the people were very welcoming.

Acapulco, Mexico

5 out of 5
Most things were closed due to holiday but we visited the Maritime museum and took a boat ride around the bay.

Mazatlan, Mexico

5 out of 5
We visited the Aquarium, saw a seal performance and rode in the back of a pickup to the beach. These were a type of taxi with benches and a covered top. Ate lunch at a typical Mexican restaurant.

Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

5 out of 5
Rode in a van to Sayulita, a famous surf spot. One in our party surfed while we had a lovely lunch at an open-air restaurant.

Cabo San Lucas, Mexico Did not visit port

Stayed on board.

Disembarkation

1 out of 5
We were herded into a very large building where we all stood for over 2 hours waiting for ill passengers to be screened. Then there were only four Immigration authorities to check all of us through. Totally unacceptable!
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4 Comments

Gwbigdog    1 year ago

Thanks for sharing your cruise

scltc    5 years ago

Hopefully the joy will be all scrubbed and sanitized thoroughly before you embark on your cruise I will be on the joy in March

freehawk    5 years ago

Thanks for the positive review! I sail in January.

bobduck1993    5 years ago

So glad that you enjoyed yourself so much!

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