NCL and the Joy - pluses and minuses

Item: Norwegian Joy
Rating: 4.3
Author: BobaLou

Norwegian Joy Cruise Review to Caribbean - Western

BobaLou

Contributor Level: Cruise Director

Cruises: 7+ cruises

Reviews: 6

Helpful Votes: 106

Overall rating:

4.3 out of 5

7 Night Western Caribbean (Miami Roundtrip)

Sail date: April 08, 2023

Ship: Norwegian Joy

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 12716

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 1 year ago

Review summary

There was nothing wrong with the cruise, except for a degradation in the quality of the food. A new cruiser would have nothing bad to say. But as an experienced cruiser (25 cruises with more than half on NCL) it bothers me what they have taken away while all the while charging more. We'll probably be taking a break from NCL until they restore some of the things they have cut back on.

Embarkation

1 out of 5

Total chaos, the shoreside staff had no control

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

3 out of 5

All food venues have a noticeable reduction in the quality and variety of the food.

Food Republic

5 out of 5

Never tried this venue before, glad we did. Had the best food of the week in Food Republic.

Onboard Activities

5 out of 5

Awesome fitness center

Entertainment

4 out of 5

Footloose was a great experience, but the show should have been a little shorter

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

Despite huge cutbacks in staffing levels, the staff did an exemplary job

Ship Quality

4 out of 5

Many differences in design from the other breakaway ships made it a fun to walk and explore, to see those differences

Cabin / Stateroom

4 out of 5

No issues with the stateroom

Ship tip

Small pool; many chair hogs made it totally impossible to find seating on the sea days

Thumbs up

Ports of call

Harvest Caye, Belize

5 out of 5

They have done a nice job with the island, but have a fundamental problem of paying high prices for things that should be complimentary on a private island

Thumbs Up 1

Costa Maya (Mahahual), Mexico

4 out of 5

Love Costa Maya and the Mahahual beachfront, but lots of seaweed made it unappealing to enter the water

Thumbs Up 2

Cozumel, Mexico

5 out of 5

Only visited briefly, as I have been here many times, but I love Cozumel

Thumbs Up 0