We enjoyed this cruise quite a bit. We've been on 20 other cruises and 5 other cruise lines but found Norwegian to be competitive with all of them. We liked the New England/Canada itinerary as well as the fall weather cruise.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
Embarkation was very easy and quick. From the time we walked into the terminal until we were stepping on the ship was 30 minutes or less.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
4 out of 5
We ate at 4 different specialty dining restaurants. They were good but not outstanding. The Italian restaurant (La Cucina) easily had the best food compared to the others (Cagneys, Le BIstro, and Teppanyaki).
The Local was very good. It serves standard "bar" food. We enjoyed the chicken wings, chili dog, blue cheese burger, french fries, fish and chips and nachos. They were all good.
The Buffet was very good for breakfast and lunch. We at dinner there on two nights and found it to be decent, not great. Their pizza was particularly good, as were their desserts to include a large selection of ice cream. Coffee was very good, reasonably strong, and always very hot.
Onboard Activities
5 out of 5
We enjoyed the Go-Karts (The Speedway) as well as the Formula one race car simulator. Although these cost $15 and $20 respectively, we did them both twice and felt like they were definitely worth the money.
Entertainment
5 out of 5
We enjoyed both of the main shows ... Footloose and Elements. They were very entertaining.
Children's Programs
We had no children on this cruise to use the programs
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
Our room steward did an outstanding job. The dining staff in the specialty restaurants, The Local, and the buffet were all solid. They were all polite and professional but not over the top out-going like some other cruise lines that we've experienced. We were NOT driven crazy by constant pushing to buy drinks, bingo cards, take photos, etc, which we very much appreciated.
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
The Norwegian Joy is an absolutely beautiful cruise ship. She was spotless. Although she's going into dry-dock in January, it didn't appear that it needed to go in there due to typical wear and tear. She looked very "fresh."
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
The balcony stateroom seemed slightly smaller than what we've experienced on other cruise lines but the bathroom was larger. I think this was a good trade-off. There were adequate power outlets, to include USB outlets on both sides of our bed. Overall, we were very pleased with the room.
The city and surrounding area is beautiful. We did a cruise line excursion (Visit the Fjords ... or something close to that). It was a 6 hour excursion, consisting of a 2-hour narrated bus ride followed by a 3 hour boat trip back to the starting point. We felt that it should have been MUCH shorter.
Nice little town. We walked from the ship to the very popular trail that skirts the downtown area. It was very nice. We enjoyed the walk and the city but there didn't seem to be a whole lot of things to do and see.
Outstanding!! We booked an excursion with Halifax Cruise Ship Shore Tours (not thru the cruise line). It consisted of a personal driver/tour guide (Sam) who pointed out and described numerous interesting points. He took us out to Peggy's Cove (a must see sight). Highly recommend this company and Sam in particular.
*Cruiseline.com is not a booking agent or travel agency,
and does not charge any service fees to users of our site. Our partners
(travel agencies and cruise lines) provide prices, which we list for our
users' convenience. Cruiseline.com does not guarantee any specific rates or
prices. While prices are updated daily, please check with the booking site
for the exact amount. Cruiseline.com is not responsible for content on
external web sites.
Contact us
Submitting...
Need help from a personal vacation planner?
Loading...
Find the perfect cruise with weekly tips and cruise deals for as little as $30/night!
Sign up for weekly cruise deals
Join other subscribers and get the best
cruise deals of the week in your inbox every Thursday.
