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Ever Changing Holiday Cruise

Norwegian Joy Cruise Review to Caribbean - Southern

Cruises: 2-3 cruises
Reviews: 3
Helpful Votes: 17

Overall rating:

4.3 out of 5
Norwegian Joy

11 Night Southern Caribbean (Miami Roundtrip)

Sail date: December 23, 2021

Ship: Norwegian Joy

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 9280

Traveled as: Family (older children)

Reviewed: 2 years ago

Review summary

Unfortunately the great weather was overshadowed by the cancellations on the cruise. When initially booking, we were supposed to visit 7 ports. We were down to 6 ports on the day we sailed. And only 4 ports total by the end of the cruise. Many of the shows were also canceled at the last minute so the nighttime activities were limited.

Embarkation

3 out of 5
Long. The testing site was incredibly unorganized with ridiculous lines.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

5 out of 5
Food and drinks were very good.

Onboard Activities

4 out of 5
Fitness center was nice. Pools were over crowded (probably because they were small and there were many at sea days

Entertainment

3 out of 5
Unfortunately many of the programs were canceled while onboard. The few live shows we were able to see were very good.

Children's Programs

No small kids

Service and Staff

5 out of 5
Service was excellent. Housekeeping was terrific. Bartenders were great. Service in restaurants was fantastic.

Ship Quality

5 out of 5
Ship was constantly being cleaned and sanitized.

Cabin / Stateroom

3 out of 5
Cabin was very clean but small. The foot of the bed was so close to the wall that a suitcase could not fit.

Ship tip

Get pool chairs early. They get taken fast.

Thumbs up

Ports of call

Miami, Florida

5 out of 5
We rented a car and busted the Everglades. Significantly less expensive than excursion with ship.
Thumbs Up

Willemstad, Curacao

3 out of 5
The excursion we wanted to do was canceled so we just walked around the town.
Thumbs Up

Oranjestad, Aruba

5 out of 5
We made plans for Aruba on our own and had a fantastic time.
Thumbs Up

Castries, St. Lucia Did not visit port

St. Lucia would not let us dock at the very last minute.
Thumbs Up

St. John's, Antigua Did not visit port

St. John’s would not let us dock.
Thumbs Up

Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas Did not visit port

St. Thomas would not let us dock.
Thumbs Up

Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic

5 out of 5
We booked the “safari” excursion through the ship. It was very nice.
Thumbs Up

Disembarkation

5 out of 5
Very easy to leave ship.
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6 Comments

Gwbigdog    1 year ago

Thanks for sharing your cruise
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moormd    2 years ago

I think it’s worth mentioning for other cruise goers that although our original ports denied us Norwegian rerouted us to St. Martin which had an amazing beach area and beautiful blue water. One of my favorite islands actually! I feel it was a good effort to help make up for the other cancellations.
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javawoody    2 years ago

Appreciate the update
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AuntPinkie    2 years ago

Appreciate your feedback. Sorry to hear the closing of your ports of call. Glad you enjoyed your otherwise.
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izrgreen    2 years ago

Thanks for the review.
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cruising2004    2 years ago

Thank you for sharing your experience.
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