Great Family Vacation!

Item: Norwegian Joy
Rating: 4.2
Author: steviem1

Norwegian Joy Cruise Review to Mexico

steviem1

Contributor Level: Purser

Cruises: 7+ cruises

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 32

Overall rating:

4.2 out of 5

7 Night Mexican Riviera (Los Angeles Roundtrip)

Sail date: December 22, 2019

Ship: Norwegian Joy

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 10280

Traveled as: Family (older children)

Reviewed: 4 years ago

Review summary

Enjoyed the cruise with the family. Everyone had fun and no one got sick. Loved the casino set up. Segregated smokers in smaller casino that was enclosed. The rest of the casino, which was large, was all non-smoking. Bar tenders were friendly and fun. Staff is excellent.

Embarkation

1 out of 5

The worst. Disorganized, no upgrade for past passengers, only Haven guests, it was a mess! NCL needs a bigger terminal, better system,

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

4 out of 5

I would give this ship a B. Buffet is hard to navigate with the current layout. Nice selection of foods if you found them. Teppanyaki was the best, Q second, and fish restaurant came in third. Disappointed in the menus in main diningroom.

Onboard Activities

5 out of 5

Comedians were excellent, especially Mark Viera. Shows were good, family did the racetrack, waterslides, kis camp, and game area which was amazing with virtual reality rides. Everyone found something that they liked and we were a family of 10 ranging in age from 6 to 80.

Entertainment

5 out of 5

Entertainment was good, activities in the atrium were inviting, music was good

Children's Programs

5 out of 5

Our 6 year old had a blast

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

The staff was wonderful.

Ship Quality

5 out of 5

Very impressed with ship and upkeep. Beautiful.

Cabin / Stateroom

3 out of 5

Terrible layout. Couch/bed was in front of closet. About 5 inches between. Sliding doors on closet made it impossible to access closet. Very few drawers and little access to closet. Glad I could live out of my packing cubes which I stacked on shelves. Cabin was really small fo a balcony and I've been on 25 cruises. Get a smaller couch, add some storage, and make the closet accessible to make the cabin more user friendly. Not all of our party had the same layout in their balcony cabins.

Ship tip

Show up late for embarkation and be the last off the boat. They need a better system for embarkation and disembarkation. Both were tme consuming, disorganized, and annoying. The worst part of the cruise!

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