Our Maiden Cruise: A Review of the Norwegian Joy

All aboard for a joyful review of the Norwegian Joy – the good, the bad, and the ugly. 

I am finally getting around to writing about our maiden cruise on the Norwegian Joy. There were the good, the bad, and the ugly. Overall we had a very relaxed and stress-free cruise experience which was exactly what we needed after a family bereavement.

The NCL crew and staff were simply amazing and the Joy was immaculate, clean, and spotless. The bad was that it was busy with 4,000 passengers over Easter, especially on sea days. That said, it never felt busy elsewhere on the ship. And the ugly, well, I’ll have to tell you in person. Not immediately, but we would indeed go on another cruise. Maybe with our elderly fathers to Alaska or the Eastern Caribbean starting from a non-US port.

Embarkation Process

As part of the embarkation process, guests can check-in 21 days prior to departure. It will ask you to select a time in which you wish to arrive at the port, starting from noon. By law, all passengers must board the ship two hours prior to departure. Since we were meeting friends for lunch in Miami Beach, we opted for a later boarding time at 2:45pm. By the time we arrived, there were no crowds. We zipped through the port terminal with ease, having already offloaded our larger luggage with the porters. I can only imagine how busy the port terminal is at peak board time! But for us, it was seamless and pain-free.

Most staterooms are not ready until the late afternoon. Therefore, most guests head to the Observation Lounge or the sundeck for refreshments whilst waiting for the ship to pull out of the Port of Miami. Guests who have children make a beeline to the Splash Kids Club to take a tour and register the children. Other guests like to explore the ship. Overall, everyone is in a happy mood especially under the beautiful Miami skyline.

Staterooms w/ Balcony

We were in stateroom 14278, which meant we were on Deck 14, room number 278 with a private balcony. Those with severe motion sickness should book the middle of the ship on a lower deck. As expected for cruises, the standard stateroom was compact but cleverly designed to maximise wall space and storage. I’d recommend unpacking your belongings and storing the suitcases underneath the beds or inside the closet. Top tips: bring magnetic hooks for hats, bathing suits, lanyards, and other items as well as an over-the-door organiser to keep small items like sandals, etc to keep the floor space clear.

We had a king-sized bed and a sofa bed for our daughter. There is a pullman bed stored in the ceiling to make bunk beds for those who have multiple children. The TV is flushed into the wall with cabinet space below. Whilst compact, the bathroom is perfectly adequate with lots of shelf space and a small shower. Note the toilet flushes like an airplane bathroom. I highly recommend getting a balcony stateroom on a higher deck. It was lovely having the balcony to watch the sunset or just enjoy the vast ocean with a glass of wine.

“Splash Academy” Kids Club

Located on the D5, the Kids Club is a fantastic space for kids between 3-12 years old. If you have older kids, there is a Teen Lounge located inside the Video Arcade. The hours of operation vary daily which will be stated in the daily schedule of events. Note that the Kids Club is closed during meals time and on port days so you can’t leave your kid(s) for a full day.

That said however, the Kids Club is always open in the evenings from 7pm to 11pm so you can enjoy a child-free evening for dinner, drinks, and dancing on the pool deck. For an extra $6 per hour per child, they can stay until 1am if you wish to party on the deck. There is a handy app you can use to get into a virtual waitlist. The staff are all very friendly, happy, and energetic.

Dining & Bars

Majority of dining and entertainment is concentrated around Decks 6, 7, and 8 along the “Waterfront” or on the Pool Deck. There are no less than 12 bars on Norwegian Joy, including the Humidor Cigar Lounge, Cellar Wine Bar, Sugarcane Mojito Bar, The A-List Bar, The District Brew House, etc. Then there is the beautiful Observation Lounge, which is our favourite spot to relax, enjoy afternoon cakes, and the amazing ocean view. The Waterfront has outdoor seating to enjoy that Caribbean breeze. Each night we’ll post up at different bars but we especially enjoyed the District Brew House with live music.

Complimentary outlets for all guests include main dining rooms (Manhattan Room (D7), Savour (D6)  and Taste (D6)) which offers the daily same menu. There is also the main buffet, Garden Café (D16) as well as the American Diner (D17) and The Local Bar & Grill (D7). There are also seven Specialty Dining to enjoy: the pan-Asian Food Republic (D8); Ocean Blue Seafood Restaurant (D8); Teppanyaki Japanese (D6); Cagney’s Steakhouse (D8); La Cucina Italian (D8); Le Bistro French (D8); and Q Texas Smokehouse (D6).

As part of the Free-at-Sea package, we could dine at two specialty outlets of our choice. As a family we enjoyed the Q Texas Smokehouse which also had live country music and for our last dinner, we opted for Cagney’s Steakhouse on the Waterfront. One of the perks of Norwegian Cruise Line is the ”Freestyle” concept where you eat when you want and where you want so there is not a set-time to eat nor do you get the same table. Reservations are recommended but not always required. The food was excellent on the Norwegian Joy – there wasn’t anything we didn’t enjoy. The hardworking staff were attentive, friendly and super-efficient.

Entertainment

Each day the Norwegian Joy issues “The Daily” outlining the schedule of activities. There is no reason to be bored of Norwegian Joy. There is a racing track, mini-golf, video arcade, casino, shopping, art gallery and more. In addition to game show type entertainment, there are also comedy shows and acrobatic shows in the main theatre. There is even The Cavern Club with a Beatles cover band. Evening outdoor cinema and themed parties take place on the pool deck until 2am. Elsewhere there is live music everywhere and something for everyone. We saw a magic show which was fairly mediocre, but the acrobatic show was highly entertaining. I recommend pre-booking seats whenever possible.

Pools, Sun Deck, Gym, and Spa

We didn’t use the spa so I cannot comment on the Mandara Spa although it smells heavenly. The prices were fairly steep even by London standards. Norwegian Joy was recently fitted out with a new Thermal Suite. Sounds lovely but not doable for us with a young child. As early risers, we hit the gym around 6am and it was never busy. If you think you’ll be working out at the basement level with no natural light, think again. Located on D17, the fitness centre faces the ocean with floor-to-ceiling windows for a lovely sea view. There is also a 1/8 running track open until 9am before they land out more deck chairs for guests.

The pools were a major disappointment unfortunately. Please do not expect a large resort-style swimming pool. For that, wait until you reach NCL’s private island in Belize called Harvest Caye. Rather it is more like a plunge pool  and far too small for the amount of cruise passengers. The two pools are on the sundeck diagonal from each other: one for adults and the other for children only. There are several hot tubs around the sun deck, again, far too small to accommodate the number of guests on the ship. On sea days, the sun deck is extremely busy. If you want a sun chair in a nice sunny spot or under the shade, you’ll have to claim your spot by 6:30am.

Disembarkation

We also didn’t know what to expect on the disembarkation day. How NCL planned on getting 4,000 cruise passengers and their luggage off the ship sounds like a logistical nightmare. On disembarkation eve, passengers select a colour coded tag which is assigned to your desired departure time. When your colour is called, then you start making a beeline off the ship and to the port. It was all very organised. However, if you want to be the first group to leave the ship at 7am, then you carry your own luggage off the ship yourself. This is exactly what we did. It was surprisingly quick and easy.

Upon arriving at the port, there was a sea of luggage grouped neatly by colour tags and vaguely by deck numbers. I cannot Calling an uber was a breeze. By 8:30am, we were back at Miami Beach, staying at the Eden Rock before our flight back to London.

Overall a “joyful” week on board the Norwegian Joy! For a maiden voyage, it was a lovely experience.