Not quite what we expected.

Norwegian Joy Cruise Review to Mexico

Cruises: 7+ cruises
Review: 1
Helpful Votes: 66

Overall rating:

4.2 out of 5
Verified Review
Norwegian Joy

7 Night Mexican Riviera (Los Angeles Roundtrip)

Sail date: December 29, 2019

Ship: Norwegian Joy

Cabin type: Suite

Cabin number: 11531

Traveled as: Family (older children)

Reviewed: 4 years ago

Review summary

Our 5th NCL cruise and very likely our last. We just felt like the ship was one big party and we were on vacation to unwind. Ship was beautiful and the food was outstanding.

Embarkation

5 out of 5
Very efficient. We had a Concierge Class cabin and the priority embarkation was awesome.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

5 out of 5
Definitely the best food of any of the 5 NCL ships we’ve been on. Specialty restaurants were amazing.

Onboard Activities

3 out of 5
Pools were overcrowded. GoKart was a hot mess and the lines (even with an appointment) were excessive. Waited over an hour for our turn. Do NOT buy the unlimited GoKart package as there’s no way you can break even. Lazer rag was fun.

Entertainment

3 out of 5
Magician would not have passed first round of AGT. Other shows were pretty good. Couldn’t get a reservation to see comedian as it was in the small lounge.

Children's Programs

Kids didn’t want to attend.

Service and Staff

5 out of 5
Waiters were all outstanding. Honestly don’t even remember talking to the room steward but our room was always clean.

Ship Quality

2 out of 5
Not enough areas to just sit back and relax. All public areas were super loud.

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5
Cabin was very spacious. We loved it.

Ship tip

If you’re going to party and don’t mind a ship where you can’t relax and read, this is the ship for you.

Ports of call

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

Cabo San Lucas, Mexico

5 out of 5
We did a camel excursion. Super fun.

Mazatlan, Mexico

4 out of 5
It rained so our tour was cancelled. But we made the best of it and walked around town.

Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

4 out of 5
We zip lines. Aside from waiting almost two hours after we arrived to start the tour, it was a fun time.

Disembarkation

3 out of 5
Nobody seemed to know where to point us. Different crew members told us to go to different places.
Was this review helpful? 66

5 Comments

Siobhan1997    4 years ago

How was the cabin? Was it a 2 bedroom, 2 bath ?

DRR24    4 years ago

You were on a NYE cruise... what did you expect??

cindyjovoth    4 years ago

You need to go on Alaskan cruise very relaxing

nmb926    4 years ago

I was on this cruise, we played dominoes up on the observation lounge one late afternoon for several hours. Very quiet and plenty of room. Some people were taking naps, or reading.

cubfan0725    4 years ago

Better to go when schools restart after break. Rarely a problem then

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