Not for me…

Item: Norwegian Joy
Rating: 3.4
Author: Crissy699

Norwegian Joy Cruise Review

Crissy699

Contributor Level: Purser

23 Days Till Next Cruise

Cruises: 7+ cruises

Reviews: 2

Helpful Votes: 11

Overall rating:

3.4 out of 5

7 Night Bermuda (New York Roundtrip)

Sail date: April 14, 2024

Ship: Norwegian Joy

Cabin type: Suite

Cabin number: 15503

Traveled as: Family (young children)

Reviewed: 5 months ago

Review summary

We’ve been cruising NCL for almost 20 years, but this was our first “big ship” and it’s just not for me. Wayyyyy too many people (4600). Splash academy was the biggest letdown, it really just hasn’t come back to how it was pre-shut down and it has me seriously looking at other lines whereas before I never strayed from NCL. The joy is huge but so much wasted space, so many dead ends. Terrible layout flow throughout. Smoking areas are super awkward. Speedway was fun but entire process had hiccups and it should be cheaper or allow us to buy tickets for specific times-and maybe a combo pack discount. Food was disappointing-somehow way less variety than the smaller ships which just doesn’t make sense. No grilled chicken to be found, what the heck? Staff works hard but they’re setup for failure from the top unfortunately. Room was amazing. Loved the waterfront. Might have to stray to another cruise line. With 3 kids, we need water slides or more activities for kids that the smaller ships just don’t have, but these huge ships just aren’t going to work for me with so many people and terrible flow.

Embarkation

3 out of 5

NYC was crazy and terribly organized but didn’t take very long. No priority line.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

3 out of 5

Buffet severely lacking variety and organization. No more mozzarella sticks anywhere! They blamed it on using less frying oil but there were plenty of fries everywhere and fried fish and chicken everyday.

Onboard Activities

1 out of 5

Not much to do, splash academy not good, speedway not organized, no rock wall, splash pad huge bucket is dangerous. Liked the raft slide but lots of stairs and line.

Entertainment

1 out of 5

Not much for shows. Reservations required for Elements…elements! No seats available for either show. Why have a theater that can’t fit everyone on board?!

Children's Programs

1 out of 5

Terrible. Horribly inconvenient times and so many restrictions. Staff interrogated an autistic 4yo about their toilet habits 🤬

Service and Staff

3 out of 5

Ship Quality

3 out of 5

Clean but bad design. Way too many dead ends and bad flow. So much wasted space. The waterfront was the only part of the ship I really loved. Ship is also so clunky and creaky! All the time clanks and creaks, even though the water wasn’t too bad-smaller ships I’m used to don’t make all these noises in worse water conditions!

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5

Room was excellent, spacious and comfortable. Unfortunately very noisy under pool side events if you have a warm weather trip where they will have nightly poolside parties there will be lots of stomping and thumping. Otherwise very quiet.

Ports of call

New York, New York

4 out of 5

Disembarkation

4 out of 5

6 Comments

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