Joyful from beginning to end, bow to stern!

Item: Norwegian Joy
Rating: 5
Author: Jacomino

Norwegian Joy Cruise Review to Caribbean - Western

Jacomino

Contributor Level: Purser

Cruises: 7+ cruises

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 29

Overall rating:

5 out of 5

7 Night Western Caribbean (Miami Roundtrip)

Sail date: March 19, 2022

Ship: Norwegian Joy

Cabin type: Suite

Cabin number: 13212

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 2 years ago

Review summary

I would recommend the Norwegian Joy 100% to anyone considering sailing aboard her.

Embarkation

5 out of 5

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

5 out of 5

The food was exquisite no matter whether you were at the buffet or in a specialty dining venue. Personally, I prefer O'Sheehan's (on other similar ships, Irish Pub themed) over The Local but my partner says she prefers the lighter, more modern look of The Local. That's just a preference. However, the one thing that they dropped from one to another was the quality of the fish & chips. O'Sheehan's has true British-style ones and The Local has minced fish fingers. Luckily, the wings made up for it somewhat as the spicy korean chili ones were delectable! As for American Diner, I hope NCL is looking at changing it as it seemed to always be empty. I suppose it's mostly because people just think of it as a burger and chicken place (yes, I know they offer more) and they're not willing to pay extra for it. Of course, Cagney's, Ocean Blue, and Q Smokehouse were all excellent. The Smoked Peach Margarita at Q ended up being our favorite cocktail on the ship - we couldn't get enough. If you choose only one specialty dining experience, I cannot recommend Teppanyaki highly enough. Not only is the food great but the chefs are laugh-out-loud funny and entertaining.

The Local Bar & Grill

3 out of 5

I much prefer O'Sheehan's over this newer take of the same space. Not only for the decor but the fish & chips now are minced fish sticks rather than true UK-style, whole, beer battered fish as served at O'Sheehan's.

Onboard Activities

5 out of 5

I'll admit that I thought the go-karts were going to be nothing special and boy, was I wrong! Those things are F-A-S-T!!! It's truly a race with others and the hairpin turns cannot be made at full throttle so it is an exhilarating experience. So too was the Ocean Loops drop slide. We did not try laser tag but we could tell everyone participating was having a, er-hem, blast! ;)

Entertainment

5 out of 5

We missed Footloose and we heard it was a great performance of a bad show, if that makes sense. In other words, the actors were great and so was the music but the show itself is meh. Again, that was the buzz amongst those who did see it. Elements was a treat and quite entertaining. It is very difficult not to point out its very Cirque du Soleil vibe and feel.

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

100% of the staff were over-the-top friendly and accomodating!

Ship Quality

5 out of 5

The Norwegian Joy should be used as an example of how well kept and clean a cruise ship can be. Best of the best!

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5

We really enjoyed the extra shower space and dual sinks in this category. The rest of the stateroom is pretty much the same as a regular balcony. Being mid-ship and two decks beneath the top was perfect. There was never any noise and we always slept like babies.

Ship tip

Make The Waterfront one of the first places you get to know as it will likely be one of your favorites. Being able to walk most of the ship's perimeter outside while many of the the restaurants and bars jut out into it is such a great design.

Thumbs up