Enjoyable Cruise to Warm Climate

Norwegian Joy Cruise Review to Caribbean - Western

Cruises: 4-6 cruises
Review: 1
Helpful Votes: 9

Overall rating:

4.5 out of 5
Verified Review
Norwegian Joy

7 Night Western Caribbean (Miami Roundtrip)

Sail date: March 30, 2024

Ship: Norwegian Joy

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 13890

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 1 month ago

Review summary

Our cruise was excellent. Just note during spring break time there will be lots of families with their younger kids and teens. That was my fault for booking during that time. My biggest issue was some parents letting their children run around doing cartwheels, tumbling and overall not being supervised. The crew is not there to babysit unless you bring children to day care. Besides the above, the cruise was excellent. We wanted to get away to warmer climate and it was certainly warm. Over favorite port, Harvest Caye is amazing. Lounging in the pool and enjoying cold adult beverages while soaking up the sun. Doesn’t get any better. Beware though, you must have cash or credit card when purchasing food, drinks, or gifts on Harvest Caye. Yes, the information was given to guests prior to going ashore. We have two more cruises scheduled on Norwegian and can not wait to see other parts of the Caribbean area

Embarkation

2 out of 5
Embarkation was ok. No communication or organization. The guests just rushed when boarding commenced even though everyone had a boarding group number. No loud speaker or intercom system to present boarding instructions, just a young staff member trying to yell over the crowd noise.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

4 out of 5
Dining was very good. Staff were always pleasant and working hard to take care of all guests. Food could have been hotter especially at Taste, Savor and Manhattan Room. The Local has amazing wings and the Coney Island hot dog was amazing.

Onboard Activities

5 out of 5
Pools are small and over crowded. We utilized Spice H2O each day and had a great time. The oversized hot tub was amazing but could have been warmer. Ellon, the steward for Spice H2O deserves a special shout out for his amazing work, friendly attitude and welcoming smile. Ellon spent each day talking with us about his goals, family and experiences while working for Norwegian.

Entertainment

4 out of 5
Shows were good but not enough offered. Elements only played twice

Children's Programs

No kids with us

Service and Staff

5 out of 5
The entire staff deserves an excellent rating. I can’t imagine working 12 hours a day, seven days a week for their entire contracts. The waiters are constantly moving to clean up tables, spills or offer assistance to ensure guests have everything necessary. Our room steward Kenneth was excellent. Our room was always cleaned when we asked for service and he greeted us by our names each time we saw him.

Ship Quality

3 out of 5
Pool is way too small for so many guests. It was an afterthought in the company design. The Escape is so much better with the kids pool area a little segregated so they had their own area to play and enjoy the kids pool. The 2 hot tubs were small and mostly crowded with kids / teenagers.

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5
Cabin has plenty of storage and we love balcony rooms so we can enjoy gazing out over the clear blue waters of the Gulf.

Ship tip

Book shows immediately after getting onboard to make sure you have a seat.

Ports of call

Harvest Caye, Belize

5 out of 5

Disembarkation

5 out of 5
Disembarkation went well. We were first to get off due to early flight but no issues. Transportation from cruise terminal to airport is plentiful.
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