First and last on NCL

Item: Norwegian Joy
Rating: 2.5
Author: mdl77tlc

Norwegian Joy Cruise Review

mdl77tlc

Contributor Level: Purser

Cruises: 7+ cruises

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 4

Overall rating:

2.5 out of 5

7 Night Mexican Riviera (Los Angeles Roundtrip)

Sail date: December 22, 2019

Ship: Norwegian Joy

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 15796

Traveled as: Family (older children)

Reviewed: 4 years ago

Review summary

We had a relaxing time, however we did learn that we enjoy more structured cruises with lots of options for things to do on the ship - shows, games, trivia, demonstrations, etc. I’m glad we went, but we’ll stick with RCCL or Disney in the future. Think of it like this: Say you have left some clothes just tossed Willy-nilly inside-out on your cabin floor. Norwegian will pick up the clothes and put them on the bed as-is. RCCL will pick them up, turn them right side out, fold them, and put them on the bed. Disney will pick up the clothes, turn them right side out, iron them, fold them, and place them carefully in the cabinet with a bouquet of flowers and a note of appreciation.

Embarkation

1 out of 5

This was our 12th Cruise overall, first with NCL; both my husband and myself agreed that this was the worst embarkation of any of them. Long, long lines - took about 2hrs just to get on the ship. Only 2-3 people checking in thousands of people.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

2 out of 5

Food was ok - not great, but not horrible either. Fairly bland, food in MDR was too rich and heavy. Buffet literally never changed. They had several stations for “Taste of India” for every meal, but never any Mexican, Mediterranean, Chicken, Chinese, etc.

Onboard Activities

2 out of 5

Laser tag and Go-karts were just ok, not really worth the extra money. Two small pools, not heated and most days of our trip were chilly so couldn’t use them. There were lines for the hot tubs- only 6 allowed at a time. Galaxy Arcade was ok but pricey.

Entertainment

3 out of 5

Footloose and Elements were both pretty good, I would say on-par with RCCL. Just wish there were more shows. We tried to play some trivia and game shows since the weather was so poor, but strangely, all these activities were played in the atrium, which is kind of like a lounge area beside Guest Services and Starbucks. It was always loud, and the hosts were always hard to hear, even with a microphone.

Service and Staff

2 out of 5

Generally never had a problem with staff. Our room steward never introduced himself but was very nice. Restaurant crew were always friendly. Only issue we had was lack of bar service at the theatre and in the casino - bars were not really close, and the ones that were were always stacked. Only 1-2 staff walking around taking orders in the casino and theatre, and the one in the theatre was always rude. People would try and flag her down for an order and she would just snap that she was too busy.

Ship Quality

2 out of 5

Ship layout was strange and somewhat closed off - no big, open areas. I was surprised the ship wasn’t more clean what with their recent Norovirus outbreak. Oftentimes when I would touch any railing, it was gunky.

Cabin / Stateroom

4 out of 5

A little loud with kids running on the floor above us and down the hallway, but that’s on us, not NCL. Generally comfortable - similar size to other CruiseLine cabins. Beds were great, so were the showers. Lots of storage, which was nice.

Ship tip

Do not expect this to be like Disney, Carnival, or Royal Caribbean. You have to understand their whole concept of - “freestyle cruising.” They fully expect their cruisers to just do their own thing, and are not in the business of scheduling shows and activities for you 24/7. If you are one who likes some structure and plan to the day, this is cruise is probably not for you. You have to be okay with and appreciate being bored sometimes.

Thumbs up