It just felt off...

Norwegian Joy Cruise Review to Mexico

Cruises: 4-6 cruises
Review: 1
Helpful Votes: 38

Overall rating:

3.2 out of 5
Norwegian Joy

7 Night Mexican Riviera (Los Angeles Roundtrip)

Sail date: March 01, 2020

Ship: Norwegian Joy

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 4 years ago

Review summary

Overall this was just an OK cruise, the buffet food being consistantly cold was actually a big issue for me being it is really the only breakfast to have. The entertainment was really not up to par with previous Norwegian Cruises on Breakaway class ships. The staff was just rude to folks who had drinks in the hot tubs, I have never seen a guest be told they could not have a drink in the hot tub on previous cruises but be warned that this staff will scold you. I am going to be an optimest and say that this was due to the COVID-19 scare at the time and possible lack of staff...I asked the customer service rep if they were understaffed in which she seemed insulted by the question and responded that they were fully staffed.

Embarkation

4 out of 5
There was a long waiting line that we were lucky enough to be at the front of. I was disappointed that there was little to no screening for COVID-19 other than a questioneer that I would question anyone answering honestly due to knowing they would not be allowed on the ship, Passports were hand screened for past travel but thats about it.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

2 out of 5
All the restaurants were good, food was good and the service was good. The buffet food was consistently cold though. I really look at this as more of a health risk than an inconvenience

Onboard Activities

3 out of 5
we tried to use the hot tub in Spice but it was less than hot. the weather was a little too cold for us to use the pools or the water slides. We did receive an invite from the Portrait studio for a photo shoot that we did that promised us a $100 on board credit, once we arrived for the shoot we were informed that the credit is only valid for the severely overpriced photos ($400 for a single print!).

Entertainment

3 out of 5
We loved Footloose, Elements was a good show but it just wasn't for us. The comedy host was extremely funny, creative and changed her act nightly. the 2 main comedians were just so-so and the act was word for word the same every night.

Service and Staff

2 out of 5
Towl animals on the bed are gone unless you request them...really? Our room steward barely said hi when we would see her, there were consistently dirty glasses left in the room after she cleaned it. I will say that the ship crew was consistently cleaning all surfaces of the ship all the time. Overall the ship seemed to have an understaffed feel to it.

Ship Quality

5 out of 5
Love the ship layout and the cleanliness of the public areas was absolutely spot on. Great Job here Norwegian

Cabin / Stateroom

1 out of 5
Typical Balcony on Norwegian, good size and lots of fresh air and light from the balcony. I have 1 MAJOR complaint in that the floor in front of the bathroom door was "delaminated" like a 2 foot bubble causing the floor to sink everytime you step on it, this is just unacceptable for such a new ship to not have this repaired.

Ship tip

Of all the cruises we have taken with Norwegian this was our least favorite experience. The ship standards seem to not be on par with the rest of the fleet, this could possibly be related to the COVID-19 pandemic but it just felt off.

Ports of call

San Pedro (Los Angeles), California

5 out of 5

Cabo San Lucas, Mexico

5 out of 5
We loved Cabo San Lucas, we were pleasently suprised on how much less pressure there was from vendors and how clean it was. We did the Wale Watching and arch tour with Cabo Adventures and had a wonderful time, there were plenty of wales active and the guide was absolutely fantastic.

Mazatlan, Mexico

5 out of 5
Very cute city, this is the city we felt most like we were in "old Mexico". We took a cab tour in one of the cool little VW cabs. we had a great time

Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

3 out of 5
Felt like being in a larger city rather than a tourist port. We walked from the port to the beach, unfortunately all of the all inclusive resorts had access back to the street completely sealed off and food/drink was unavailable to non resort guests. Of all the ports this was our least favorite

Disembarkation

5 out of 5
Very easy and very quick, this was the first time customs did not even ask if we had anything to declare.
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5 Comments

javawoody    3 years ago

edandjoey1987    4 years ago

The buffet is not the only venue for breakfast. You can dine in Taste and Savor as they are complimentary.

cruiserrick    4 years ago

Hello and good review We were on the same cruise as you were and yes we can relate to the buffet food being cold and unappetizing on one of the nights we decided to go there for the evening. We normally don’t do the buffet for dinner but we just didn’t feel like dealing with the main dining room It just seem like after the 3 ports were finished it was a slumber feel heading back to LA The show is we’re good we don’t mind musical shows and also magician We live in Vegas so we have seen plenty of shows there. It’s far as a comedy clubs go we were not able to get into them they were too crowded and some you had to have reservation. I just missed the openness compared to royal Caribbean this is our first time on NCL ship and it was just OK but not impressed And we also missed going to get a slice of pizza or just some finger food without having to sit down at a restaurant of some sort on Royal you can do this And the ports were good we had good excursions for all three of them But in overall the cruise was good and yes I can tell about the understaffed feeling and yes I believe it all had to do with the coronavirus precautions and scare. And always washy washy which I don’t mind if it keeps us safe and healthy We didn’t deal with anybody that was rude to us as far as ship employees go We actually didn’t meet our cabin steward till later on the second day. And yes no towel animals. Didn’t know we had to ask for them but it’s all good Will definitely do NCL again at a future time I know they offer some of the better ports compared to Royal

Cruiserike0322    4 years ago

Sorry for your disappointment!

cruisereckoning    4 years ago

Thanks for the review.

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