wonderful experience overall

Norwegian Joy Cruise Review

Cruises: 1 cruise (first)
Reviews: 3
Helpful Votes: 27

Overall rating:

4.2 out of 5
Norwegian Joy

5 Night Mexican Riviera (Los Angeles Roundtrip)

Sail date: February 19, 2023

Ship: Norwegian Joy

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 11300

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 1 year ago

Review summary

Overall it was a really good vacation and experience. It went by so fast. 5 days feels like a 3 day vacation.

Embarkation

5 out of 5
No problem at all. On the ship within an hour of arrival.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

4 out of 5
Savor, taste, and Manhattan room have the same exact menu. Some are good and other just blaah. So just need to know what to get. Creme brulee was really good. The longest we had to wait to get seated was 10 mins Garden cafe (Buffet) is just ok, it's a buffet can't really expect too much We had le bistro and it was really good. Waiter was top notch. Highly recommended. The local is like quick fix, fastfood type of restaurant. And its 24/7 Only downside, lunch hours is kind of weird. So most of the time we ended up at the local

Onboard Activities

4 out of 5
1 star off because the ocean loop has too many safety rules. Might as well just go on it with a boxer only The slide they should have cover it with glass so we don't get froze while waiting in line (and you have to wet yourself first before get on it) but it might be ok in summer time. Go-kart, golf, and laser tag are fun. We had a blast.

Entertainment

3 out of 5
Footloose was cancelled due to injury Element was ..???.. weird and confusing Stand up comedy were all awesome 5 stars to all of them Bands, games and other side activities were all good.

Service and Staff

4 out of 5
Bartenders are friendly only at spice h2o. The rest are looking very annoyed or tired. Just not friendly Waiters are good. Especially at le bistro Housekeeping, not too friendly.

Ship Quality

4 out of 5
No complaints on design but they're smaller than expect it from pictures I've seen Clean enough for me.

Cabin / Stateroom

4 out of 5
No complains

Ship tip

Bring your own luggages during disembarkation to save time

Ports of call

Cabo San Lucas, Mexico

5 out of 5
It's "tender" so it's not very convenient to get off or on ship. But its fun enough to be on a boat ride and see some seals Didn't do any excursions.

San Pedro (Los Angeles), California

5 out of 5
Except disembarkation time. Not sure if this is NCL's or the port's problem

Ensenada, Mexico

5 out of 5
We did "highlights and shopping" it's pretty fun we had wine tasting included.

Disembarkation

1 out of 5
Only complaint I have is here. Disembark time 7am, didn't get off the ship until 11am. They do it based on the color of your luggage tags. Not sure what took them so long to let people off the ship. No x-rays, just check your passport by custom and go. There was a bus that took us to get our luggages if you have them take your luggages the night before.
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5 Comments

Gwbigdog    1 year ago

Thanks for sharing your cruise

javawoody    1 year ago

Thanks for sharing

AuntPinkie    1 year ago

Appreciate your detailed and informative review. Glad you enjoyed your cruise with only a few hiccups.

Ship2Shora    1 year ago

Awe, the ever elusive Joy...was slated to cruise on her for a Pacific Coastal in Spring 2020 which was cancelled due to the pandemic & tried to move it to her Bermuda itenerary on a Cruising with Wheels Group cruise later that also got cancelled due to Bermuda Covid restrictions🙄So consider yourself fortunate to experience the Joy & am happy you had a joyous time😊

kdlovescruising    1 year ago

Happy to read you had a great cruise. Going on the Joy 3/18 and was feeling a little apprehensive based on some of the reviews. The last dew I've read have been good ☺️.

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