We probably will not take the Joy again. We had a good time but with the changes coming to the Joy to make it even less family friendly we will probably pass on this ship.
Embarkation
1 out of 5
Had a check-in time of 930am only to be held in a waiting area with not enough seating for everyone. We sat on the floor until 1230 when we finally got on the ship.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
5 out of 5
The Local and Ocean Blue are definite highlights. Everything we had at Ocean Blue was on point. Would not miss this restaurant if on a Norwegian ship. The local hits the spot after coming back from port.
Onboard Activities
3 out of 5
Crowded! My kids complained about not having enough to do. No room in the pools, the hot tubs and waterslides had long slow moving lines. We were able to do the waterslide by showing up 15 minutes before opening but still waited 15 minutes after it opened before we finally got on. Shows in the atrium were jammed. Even extra folding chairs were all taken.
Entertainment
4 out of 5
We enjoyed the magic show early in the cruise. Elements had the same magician and added dancing with a more elaborate setup and costumes. Very entertaining. Wish we hadn't seen the earlier magic show though, made elements seem a little repetitive. No footloose on our sailing.
Children's Programs
2 out of 5
Really a pain to use. Had to show up 15 minutes before opening otherwise it would sell out. The line to check in moved very slow. When checking in the staff would ask the parents where we were going to be on the ship. A reply of hopping around was unacceptable. We sail Royal as well and never had any of these issues with Adventure Ocean. Our kids (9 and 8) also mentioned they like the royal program much better.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
No issues with staff. They were courteous and helpful even though at times they looked overwhelmed dealing with the number of people.
Ship Quality
3 out of 5
The pool deck is poorly designed. Ship was mostly clean. No real issues. 3 stars for the bad pool deck design.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
Connecting inside rooms. We don't spend a lot of time in the rooms. These work well for us.
Ship tip
Book all restaurants in the app as early as you can before the cruise. Head immediately to the show reservation line on the ship to get show reservations. Failure to do so can shut you out of dining and entertainment.
Horseshoe Bay and the Crystal Caves were highlights. We used the bus/ferry system and had no complaints. Also the mini golf course in the dockyard was a huge hit with my family.
We also took the joy to Bermuda. So disappointing. We had been on the bliss and thought it would be the same. We also had an inside cabin, usually not a problem
Cabin was high deck , back of the ship
Lucky my husband brought a flashlight otherwise we would not been able to see our clothing. We had do you strategy because one move got in the way of some thing else. Worst cabin we’ve ever had in 25 cruises.
I just got off the Joy on August 20th. Fantastic cruise. If you are not traveling with children head up to spice. Thought the ship was fantastic. Did not utilize the pool deck.
@water227 was just on here in June. It wasn't so bad to me. I didn't have little kids with me though. Wasn't alot of intertainment for so many days at sea. Pools was always crowded. We did utilize the hot tubs on the adult side. Food could have been better. Bermuda was lovely. Hope your experience is good though.
Sorry your trip was not up to par. There's nothing worse than a lackluster vaca! Not the reviews I hoped for since we sail in a week. I wish I saw this bf booking. 😞 The reviews truly help some of us to book solid adventures.
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