Norwegian Joy Cruise Reviews - Reviews

This was a unique cruise in my experience, absolutely no ports other than departure (Southampton UK) and destination (Miami USA) 10 uninterrupted sea days (my personal favorite) though they weren't the smoothest seas available (the notorious North Atlantic) and as the captain said "you can never underestimate the North Atlantic". Mostly rough seas, force 7 until nearly the end, up to 33 foot swells, windy and, while not cold, at least very cool outdoors,, at least to us. A little background, we're a longtime married couple, semi-retired, and have been cruising since 1988. We choose our trips based on itinerary, price, ship, and aren't glued to one cruise line exclusively. I enjoy different cruise lines to compare experiences, and to us, a trip "just to cruise" is a perfectly good excuse. NCL lived up to what we've come to expect, excellent accommodation, splendid ships, splendid crew, outstanding service, a crew second to none, I'm running out of superlatives. Except for one small interruption, the service was all to be expected. In Cagney's Steakhouse, where we've dined before, our side dishes were inexplicably late (compared to when they delivered the entree) and the toppings for the baked potato that 2 at our table ordered were later yet, resulting in the baked potatoes being cold before the toppings were applied. The restaurant was moderatey busy at best, plenty of empty tables. The rest of the food was excellent, but the aberration in service cast a shadow on what would've otherwise been an incredible meal. Overall, a great relaxing cruise, lots of good companionable shipmates, and another cruise in the book. Great job NCL, you certainly provided what we've come to expect.

First Trans Atlantic, will not be my last. Enjoyed the experience, less children (but quite a few), and a different crowd than the usual cruise. Being a 11 day TA, no ports, all sea days was unique.

This was our first Transatlantic cruise and we booked another one we loved it so much! We thought we were going to be super bored due to it being cold outside but no, there were loads to do inside the ship! The non pressure of booking a shore excursion and getting up early to get off the boat etc was refreshing.

They are not fully staffed. Whenever we ordered toast or muffins they were always cold.

Great cruise as always with NCL. Looking forward to July's cruise..

To set the background for my review, I want to note that this was our 11th cruise on Norwegian Cruise Lines, and our 26th cruise overall.  My wife and I have cruised over the Christmas/New Year's holiday 18 times.  This is our 5th time sailing this same itinerary, so we knew what to expect.  We chose this particular cruise because of the timing and the value of the extra perks and discounts.   
 In general, we enjoyed this cruise and the NCL ship Joy.  We were told that there were over 4,000 guests on the ship and yes, some areas of the ship were crowded at various times throughout the week.  We expected a lot of children, crowds, and venues at full capacity.  This is exactly what we experienced, but it did not affect our overall cruise.  We found ways to make the cruise the experience we wanted it to be.

We really enjoyed our time onboard. Even with a packed ship service was consistently excellent.

Food was disappointing this week. Meals were served warm at best and the food was only okay.

The Joy was design nice. My favorite part of the ship was the Observation room.

Had a great time. Would do it again. Maybe next time in reverse order

It was a fun trip. Our 21st cruise. Was looking forward to an excursion in Panama City, but on our transport to the airport,we got a good feel of the city and its huge skyscrapers!

Excursions were wonderful. Met some nice people. Will not sail with NCL anytime soon. Overall experience was disappointing.

My favorite activity was hands down the go-karts. They were so fun!

had a great week. A decent wait to get on ship not a big deal but other lines do it better. overall for was good. service was not great had a time trying to get room cleaned. not a great ship for lounging in sun or getting in pool or jogging track. also if you like going to the casino this one was disappointing

Any time at sea I am happy, and this was my son's first cruise and he loved the water park and playing with other kids, so the cruise did not disappoint for these reason, but overall this cruise was my least favorite as it fell short in almost every category.

BEEN CRUISING WITH NORWEGIAN FOR YEARS ON DIFFERENT SHIPS. JUST FELT NCL DROPPED THE BALL ON EMBARKATION. THEIR RESPONSIBILITY TO MAKE SURE CUSTOMERS DISEMBARK ON TIME. NEVER WAITED PAST 11:45 AM TO BOARD. FELT THIS SOURED THE CRUISE FOR MANY CUSTOMERS. FYI, NCL STARTED HANGING UP ON CUSTOMERS ON PHONE. OVERALL, JUST WON'T DO 3 NIGHT CRUISE AGAIN. WILL STICK WITH SMALLER SHIPS.

Overall, I had a great time as I cruise to relax…additionally, I enjoy NCL.

Any cruise is better than not cruising, however, this was just an ok experience for me.

Great cruise, great ship, weather cooperated for 6 of 7 days. Casino was not kind to us. Be prepared to empty your wallet. Shows were great. Staff very friendly. Self debarking was great choice. Very quick if able to do

Ship was great! Very clean. Staff was very friendly and very busy. Highly recommend this cruise!