Wonderful cruise to ABC Islands

Norwegian Joy Cruise Review to Caribbean - Southern

Cruises: 7+ cruises
Reviews: 2
Helpful Votes: 27

Overall rating:

4.6 out of 5
Verified Review
Norwegian Joy

12 Night Caribbean: Curacao Aruba & Bermuda (New York To Miami)

Sail date: October 16, 2023

Ship: Norwegian Joy

Cabin type: Suite

Cabin number: 8722

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 1 year ago

Review summary

Wonderful cruise, lots of interesting ports of call, including our first time visiting the ABC islands.

Embarkation

5 out of 5
Quick and efficient.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

5 out of 5
Very good overall.

Onboard Activities

3 out of 5
Didn’t do any.

Entertainment

5 out of 5
Footloose and Elements were both excellent full production shows.

Children's Programs

No children.

Service and Staff

5 out of 5
Apart from a couple of slow waiters in the main dining room, service was outstanding.

Ship Quality

5 out of 5
Apart from disembarkation day, it was hard to believe the ship was full. The layout made it feel spacious despite number of guests onboard. Ship was kept spotlessly clean.

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5
Excellent cabin, clean and well maintained. The only downside was being woken by toilets being flushed in neighboring cabins which was very loud.

Ship tip

It was our longest cruise, 12 nights, there was plenty of variety of things to do and see onboard for that length of cruise.

Ports of call

New York, New York

5 out of 5

Royal Naval Dockyard, West End, Bermuda

4 out of 5
We were not aware there was a free NCL ferry to St George’s Island until the last minute, which was a pleasant surprise and thing to do.

Philipsburg, St. Maarten Did not visit port

Ship did not dock due to Tropical Storm Tammy.

Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas

5 out of 5
Took a local taxi to Coki Beach where the snorkeling was excellent.

Kralendijk, Bonaire

4 out of 5
Small port, if visiting again would book a shore excursion.

Oranjestad, Aruba

5 out of 5
Beautiful island, lots to see and do, can wait to return.

Willemstad, Curacao

5 out of 5
Pretty walkable town. Pedestrian bridge stayed open much longer than scheduled, ferry was packed with passengers trying to return to ship on time.

San Juan, Puerto Rico

4 out of 5
Poured with rain, hard to enjoy stops on tour without getting soaked.

Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic

4 out of 5
Looked forward to a beach day but all closed due to big surf which was disappointing. Did an excellent taxi tour of Puerto Plata instead; lots to see.

Miami, Florida

3 out of 5
Probably the worst disembarkation process we’ve encountered, long lines and being herded like cattle to get off the ship. Had to push through lines for customs to get to baggage reclaim area. It was chaotic once outside the cruise terminal. It was by far the worst experience of the cruise.

Disembarkation

2 out of 5
See comment above. Not at all pleasant, the most disappointing aspect of whole cruise.
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5 Comments

Cruisers4Lyfe     4 months ago

Thanks for sharing

Gwbigdog    1 year ago

Thanks for sharing

javawoody    1 year ago

Thanks for sharing your wonderful experience

bubbles60    1 year ago

Glad you had a great time.

cruising2004    1 year ago

Glad you had a wonderful cruise. Thank you for your review.

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