Pleasant with distractions

Item: Norwegian Joy
Rating: 4.3
Author: bigd2404

Norwegian Joy Cruise Review to Caribbean - Eastern

bigd2404

Contributor Level: Purser

Cruises: 4-6 cruises

Reviews: 2

Helpful Votes: 36

Overall rating:

4.3 out of 5

10 Night Caribbean: Dominican Republic & Grand Turk (New York Roundtrip)

Sail date: August 18, 2024

Ship: Norwegian Joy

Cabin type: Suite

Cabin number: 11366

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 3 months ago

Review summary

Joy is a nice ship. Been on twice. Felt it lagged on second trip mainly to the food and just way too many children on this cruise. They were everywhere, young to middle age to teens. Took over the game shows and were just a little undisciplined while attending restaurants.

Embarkation

5 out of 5

Great. Haven is the way to go

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

3 out of 5

Repetitive would be my best view of all restaurants available. Not a lot of healthy choices in buffet. Smokehouse was dry. I smoke my own and this was pretty bad.

Q Texas Smokehouse

2 out of 5

Nice atmosphere, good band, but the BBQ, which was a specialty meal was not good BBQ. Dry, should be moist. Needed sauces. Sauces were OK, but you shouldn’t need sauce on BBQ.

Onboard Activities

3 out of 5

Games are always fun. Kids took over games on this particular cruise

Entertainment

3 out of 5

Comedians were great. Didn’t do any other shows because there weren’t a lot. Aerials, but seen before.

Children's Programs

1 out of 5

We don’t have kids but it seemed that the kids were in abundance on this cruise. Even in the Haven. Seemed like every table had kids: young kids running the table yelling and screaming; at one point having to yell, quiet. The dad took the kid out. 🤷‍♂️

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

Always great.

Ship Quality

5 out of 5

Joy is nice

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5

Stayed in similar cabin before. They are nice.

Ship tip

Haven is the way to go.

Thumbs up

Ports of call

New York, New York Did not visit port

Live in PA.

Thumbs Up 0

San Juan, Puerto Rico

5 out of 5

Nice. Walked around town. No excursions

Thumbs Up 1

Philipsburg, St. Maarten

5 out of 5

Sapphire Beach is nice. $60 cab round trip. $12 for lounge; $150 for cabana and 2 loungers. No excursions

Thumbs Up 0

Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas Did not visit port

Quiet pool day

Thumbs Up 0

Tortola, British Virgin Islands Did not visit port

Quiet pool day

Thumbs Up 0

Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic

5 out of 5

Did the Falls excursion. Fun.

Thumbs Up 0

Disembarkation

3 out of 5

Sat around waiting for terminal to clear. Haven should be able to just go; in my opinion.

9 Comments

Jude58 3 months ago

Honestly, my husband and I did one cruise in August. We actually saw parents just let the children run all over the ship with no guidance. I guess I’m just old school and would not let my children do that. Hence, we do not cruise during school vacations.

Thumbs Up 0

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EazzyCruising 3 months ago

Good review. I was on this cruise and the kids definitely run the ship, especially at night.

Thumbs Up 0

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TheBigSalad 3 months ago

From June to August and Holidays, it’s school vacations and children will rule on cruises. Thank you, for your review.

Thumbs Up 0

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bubbles60 3 months ago

Glad you had a good trip. Sorry about the kids not behaving.

Thumbs Up 0

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TiffyTaffy 3 months ago

Glad you enjoyed all except the mayhem. Thank you for the review.

Thumbs Up 0

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Sopchoppy 3 months ago

Keep kids home...they don't deserve a cruise ...

Thumbs Up 1

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HeavySeas 3 months ago

Thanks for sharing your cruise experience and glad you enjoyed your cruise

Thumbs Up 0

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Gwbigdog 3 months ago

Thanks for sharing your cruise

Thumbs Up 0

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cruising2004 3 months ago

Glad you enjoyed your cruise despite the children’s chaos. Thank you for your review.

Thumbs Up 0

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