We chose Norwegian Joy because we'd been on another NCL cruise and enjoyed the experience. As Midwesterners, we wanted to escape the end of winter, so booked in md-March. The "Free at Sea" benefits made it attractive and affordable.
We felt we did great research--on Cruise Critic and other sites--and thought we could deal with the consistent negative comments about the crowding, bottlenecks, ...
Just a fyi avoid Norwegian. Just got off the Norwegian Joy and my group has cruised the adventure twice and a few oasis class cruises and even a sailing on the old majesty of the seas. We were excited because the joy wasn't built until 2017. Our other option was another cruise on the adventure the seas. Our group didn't want to go on the adventure of the seas because we've done it twice and it was ...
Poor consumer service all around ( Stagf seemed new and didn’t know their way around the ship). Food was mediocre and the ship needs more options. The party life, well there was none, a lot of laid back older ppl on this ship. The rooms were spacious however the carpets were stained and the shower head was leaking. Though we had stops everyday, there should have been more activities on board. For ...
Having sailed NCL several times before and reading reviews of the Gem, I looked forward to another enjoyable cruise. Sadly, we were disappointed.
The ship is very well maintained. The staff, excellent (except some non-helpful Shore Exc. staff). The majority of the public areas and venues are very nice. Our favorites where the Great Outdoors and the Spinnaker Lounge.
Food...let's just ...
This was my first cruise, and after this experience will also be my last.
We sailed Norwegian Breakaway out of New Orleans on march 10th.
This cruise was obviously overbooked, and understaffed. If you wanted to get your child into splash academy, you would have to be in line at the very least an hour early.
We waited in line for an hour to see Burn The Floor. We waited in line for at ...
So, my new wife and I wanted to celebrate our 1st year wedding anniversary. We are in older years my wife 64, and me 72. we booked our trip 7 months in advance, of our anniversary. As we live in NW Florida, New Orleans was our departure point. We travelled the day before to be within a 20-mile radius of our day of our departure. Little did we know that our trip was in Spring Break. boarding was ...
This was my wife's and I fourth cruise with NCL. We have done the Getaway, Bliss, and Encore twice.
Embarkation: This took longer than before. We were at the port by 10 am and got group 6 to go on. We were on the ship by 11:45. Once there, we headed up to the American Diner for lunch and had a terrific meal.
Cabin: Our cabin was a great spot on the ship. Our steward Putu, did an amazing ...
The overall experience is ehhh. Carnival is better, Holland is better, genuinely any other cruise line besides Margaritaville is better. The food on Norwegian is pretty bad unless you go to a restaurant (that you pay extra at), the boat is insanely crowded, the excursions always leave late because the masses don’t show up on time, and the customer service is subpar. If you want to do anything ...
The Good:
Viva is stunning! To quote Titanic, "You could still smell the fresh paint". Everything is new, shiny, and bright. The light aesthetic and decor in the staterooms, make the space look and feel much larger than previous NCL sailings, but still very familiar. The hallways and corridors felt a little larger and the woodwork/trim is just lovely. It looks expensive and well thought ...
My mother and I chose this cruise because it sailed from New Orleans, and we wanted to see NOLA as well as take a cruise. We had previously sailed on the Norwegian Spirit on an Alaskan itinerary and loved it, so I didn't hesitate to book another Norwegian cruise. This ship is not the Norwegian Spirit, but there were aspects that I enjoyed:
1) The crew-- they were helpful and kind. They did ...