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Wellington

14 of us embarked on a Thanksgiving Week cruise to celebrate my mom's 85th birthday. We were 7 adults and 7 kids (ages 6-13). Overall it was a fun week, due mostly to the ports of call. The ship is lovely but management issues unfortunately took away from much of the enjoyment.

Pre-Cruise and Embarkation

We flew into Ft. Lauderdale late Friday evening and stayed at Cambria Hotel Dania Beach. We chose that hotel because they had suites (there were 5 of us) a free shuttle from the airport. They said the shuttle would take an hour to get us, so that was useless. The hotel was pretty terrible in general and I would not recommend it, although the onsite restaurant was decent.

We used Jiffy Jeff transportation to take our full group of 14 from the hotel to the Port of Miami Saturday morning. They were prompt and communicative, and got us to the port quickly. There was a major accident that closed 95S but we were able to take the express lanes and were not impacted. We got to the port around 10am and there were only very short lines. We supposedly had Priority Embarkation but there did not seem to be any difference - they just sent everyone to the same lines (except Haven of course). It was pretty painless though - we were on the ship by around 11:30. Maybe this was due to people being stuck in the accident traffic...

We were on Deck 10 which was in the last set of rooms to be ready, so it was probably around 4pm before we were able to go in. Our bags were never delivered to our room but we found them down the hall. Maybe they would have been if we had waited but I was anxious to unpack and get settled. 

The Ship

I had studied the layout quite a bit so I had a decent idea of where things were. Generally the Joy is very pretty and in good shape. After running around in a few different line to confirm reservations, I made my way to the Observation Lounge on 15 which was definitely my favorite place onboard. I came there every morning for a pre-breakfast snack and to watch the sunrise. Lovely.

It was pretty easy to find your way around, especially if you know that the fishies swim forward.

Restaurants

We ate in nearly every free venue on the ship and 3 specialty restaurants. I thought Taste and Savor would be preferable to Manhattan given that they are smaller, but we discovered that Manhattan was actually much nicer and had better service. The kids in our group loved the buffet and ate most meals there. Also of note:

- Ocean Blue put us in a beautiful private room surrounded by wine bottles. That was probably my favorite dining experience.

- Le Bistro was disappointing. There were communication issues with our server and overall just not worth the money.

- Food Republic was chaos for us, as we took all the kids and were all sitting at different tables. The staff handled this seamlessly and even accommodated quite a few modifications to orders. The food, IMO, was meh, but I was very impressed with the service.

- In general, all the restaurants took way too long. We would have to wait 20-30 minutes to receive the bottles of wine we ordered. Sometimes we would get appetizers before drinks.

FAS Plus

Since there is much discussion about FAS+, I thought I would share my experience. We had 3 people with FAS+ in our party. It was generally 7 adults having dinner together. We were able to order 2-3 bottles of wine to be shared amongst the group.

 - the Pommery Rose was the only high level champagne available. I liked it, although it was not as good as Veuve,

- Veuve was available, but just not included in the FAS+ (so it is not an issue of availability)

- The only place that allowed us to get Veuve was Le Bistro. We tried to order 6 glasses (2 per each FAS+ account) and the server said yes, but then only brought 3 glasses. We could not communicate well with him and it was a bit frustrating. 

- none of the wines available were very good, in my opinion. I think I tried nearly all the high end reds and many of the whites. A couple were drinkable. 

- Husband enjoyed the Macallan Quest Whiskey

- I was disappointed that away from dinner, it was difficult to find any good wines or champagnes by the glass. During the day, A-List and Cellars were not open and the other bars didn't carry any premium plus wines.

- I would still get FAS+ again. It was worth it for us to be able to have bottles with meals and starbucks/water freely. I had a gingerbread latte every morning which was such a treat!

Ports

Roatan, Honduras - this was probably my favorite port. We booked an excursion through Little French Key Resort. Their communications were clear and everything went really smoothly. We found our driver and they first took us to AJ's Sloth Sanctuary.  What a great experience! We were able to hold sloths, macaws, gerbils, and capuchin monkeys.  It was obvious that the animals are loved and well cared for.

The drivers then took us to the place where you pay for your package (you don't pay anything in advance), and we boarded a small ferry to go over to LFK. While the place isn't perfect, it is quite beautiful, and the service was great. We had a fantastic day there. 

Harvest Caye - This port experience was somewhat tainted by an issue I had with excursion tickets. All 3 families in our group purchased our excursions at the same time (about 2 weeks before sailing). The other 2 families got their excursion tickets - we did not. I went to the Shore Excursion desk but there was no one there so I went to Guest Services. The person there told me she could not help me but to just look around the ship for someone wearing a blue shore excursion shirt. Sigh. After not finding anyone, I called later to Guest Services again and they told me no one on board could help me - that I needed to wait until I was off the ship and find someone at the Harvest Caye Excursion Desk. Basically, we were able to do one of the excursions we had booked, but we were not able to go with the rest of our group because it took so long for them to find a manager and fill out paperwork about the issue. We skipped the other excursion because we didn't want to deal with the hassle and I was able to get a refund from NCL. Overall, it was just a frustrating way to start the day and I wasn't really able to enjoy the port that much. It was also really crowded and difficult to find seats anywhere.

Costa Maya - Our group booked a snorkeling excursion here but it was maxed at 12 so my mom and I stayed behind. Others enjoyed the excursion and they saw a sea turtle so they enjoyed it. I did get off the ship and walk through the port area shops and saw the flamingos. It was actually quite nice to stay onboard though and enjoy the pool area without crowds! 

Cozumel - There were 8 ships in port this day, so I made sure to book something in advance. We went to Paradise Beach for the day. It is a kids' dream, with tons of inflatables in the ocean and a large pool. We did the All Inclusive and the servers were great - they kept the food and drink flowing all day! It was very hot and a bit crowded though, so we were all pretty tired by the time we made our way back to the ship. 

Debarkation and Post-Cruise

We had priority debarkation because of our family suite, but we had a late flight so weren't in any hurry to get off the ship. We had breakfast in the buffet and then hung out in the Observation Lounge until around 9am. It took about 20 minutes to make our way off the boat, but customs and finding our bag all went very smoothly. 

We booked a Resort Pass at the Hilton Blue Lagoon for the day since our flight was so late. They had a nice pool, a starbucks, and a restaurant. And lots of iguanas around!

Highlights and Lowlights

Highlights - the ship is beautiful, and even though it was at full capacity, it didn't seem terribly crowded. Most of our party were first-time cruisers and they were all pleasantly surprised how much they enjoyed it.

Our kids got the Arcade Package and it was money well spent. They used it every day. Although only certain games are included in it, so we had a few extra charges because the kids didn't realize the games they were playing weren't included.

The food was overall pretty good, and the buffet in particular was better than I expected.

We had ideal weather all week.

Generally, we had no major issue with embarkation/debarkation, or getting on/off at any of the ports.

Lowlights - service just wasn't as good as I was expecting. I requested an egg crate for our pullout sofa twice but never received one. The excursion ticket issue was frustrating. We had communication issues often and there wasn't ever anyone who could really help. 

One thing I failed to mention previously is that we prepaid all of our gratuities so it would be one less thing to worry about. As we reviewed our folio during the week, we noticed the service charges showing up, but we assumed they would be removed at the end. They were not. So on the last morning, we had to go down to Guest Services, wait in line, and try to explain that we had already paid for these charges and were being double-charged. They did finally remove them but again, it was not an easy communication and added frustration.

All in all, I will probably not cruise NCL again just because of the management issues. I'm not totally ruling them out, but in my experience, RC has better customer service and less confusion.

So close to good

Overall the service was good. The bartenders were amazing. The room Stewart are ok and know that they only service your room once per day. Most waiters were excellent but definitely luck of the draw. 

The food served in Buffett as well as dining rooms were barely warm. We ate in dining rooms for breakfast and dinners and food was only hot once. We did visit Cagney Steak and the porterhouse was very tough but the filet mignon was exceptional. We also visited the Bistro the first night, pork chop was way over cooked but they made another one and it was amazing. 

Entertainment was a mixed bag. The Beatles tribute band was good. The husband/wife team of aerial performance was absolutely amazing. The illusionist was horrible and seemed designed for children .  The Elements show was just the same performers but with a theme and dancers. 

Daily activities were minimal unless you pay for the extras or love trivia.

Be ready for extras $$

Went on this cruise as part of a Canadian Line Dance group of 109. Cruised extensively but never with NCL. Reviews read beforehand weren’t great, we set our expectations accordingly. I’m pleased to write that we were more than pleasantly surprised. PROS Ship is in great shape, clean, not gawdy or loud. Cabins are well appointed, with lots of storage, good size showers and balconies. Plenty of bars and restaurants to choose from. Food was v.v.good, varied, fresh and plentiful. Lots of daily activities, but not in your face. If you love trivia and quiz shows, this ship does it very well. Huge casino. The Elements, Beatles and Comedy shows were good. Live music was varied. The Wanted country band were fabulous. CONS rooms were not always cleaned by 3.30pm. Service could be slow at some of the bars. Footloose cancelled with no replacement. We enjoyed this NCL cruise so much that many of our dance group are returning next November!

Surprisingly good!

My wife and I recently returned from a 7 day cruise on the NCL Joy, we stayed in the Haven Aft suite. At embarkation, we found that the Miami Cruise Port was very disorganized. As a Haven Guest, in the past we have enjoyed a private room with snacks and refreshments when waiting to board. This was not the case, we were in the same area as non Haven guests and about 30 minutes after arrival we were provided with coffee and some bland snacks. It took approximately an hour and a half to board and it was a very stressful and not the experience that I have paid for as a Haven Guest. Once we were able to go to our room, we were met by our butler who stated that she was new at this position, I am fairly sure she must have been a prison warden prior by her argumentative attitude and unwillingness to help with anything. Our butler was so terrible that we had to request that she not return to our stateroom the remainder of our time there which was not even honored by her at the end of the week when she walked into our room unannounced looking for a tip from us. 

Our room was not what we expected and was much smaller than other NCL suites we have stayed in prior of the same cabin category. Our cabin steward was a wonderful person who went above and beyond the entire week and was also the most helpful of any of the staff we interacted with all week.

The food quality was a real disappointment both in the Haven and the MDR and Buffet, our filet was dry, tasteless and not what I would expect from the Haven. The desserts all seem to taste the same and our best meal all week was eaten at the local. I love to eat and I have always enjoyed great food on other NCL Haven cruises in the recent past. If you should happen to go to the buffet, be careful as it reminded me of attempting to cross a 5 lane highway without getting run over so my first trip there was my last. 

The ship was sailing at capacity and seemed very crowded most of the time making exploring almost impossible and certainly less than enjoyable. The Galaxy Pavilion was closed most of the time so I was never able to check it out at all. The pool deck was packed all week and was closed the last 2 days of the trip due to wind which did not seem to be a reason to close the pool.

The casino was our only bright spot during our cruise, the staff there is very friendly and accommodating. They have a great selection of slot machines and the area is kept clean although getting any drink service was near impossible. I have cruised with NCL 11 times prior with 5 of them in the Haven, the Joy was a huge let down to my wife and I in almost every way.

Disappointed 

Wow! What a great Cruise!!! 

We left Montreal Airport October 28th Around 7h45 am ( 1 hour late ) with Air Transat ( arrangements made by NCL ) 

We were very happy with NCL arrangements ( perfect hours and they took care of everything )

We arrived in Fort Lauderdale around 11h15 and we waited for our NCL transport for à while ( we were about 50 people from the Air plane to go on NCL Joy ) 

We arrived at the Pier at 2pm 

At that time, everyone was onboard, so we didn't had to do a lineup to enter. Embarkation was a breeze  

We went to the buffet for lunch ( very crowded, but finding a table didn't take long )

Cabins were ready at 3pm 

FOOD: Our experience was amazing everywhere. Buffet was very good : Breakfast freshly made omelets, bacon potatoes, freshly squeezed orange juice. Dîner salads, Asian soups, Indiana food, Hamburgers, french fries, pizzas and more. Dîner at Manhattan Room Very GOOD! Cagney steak house Always the best filet mignon ever ! And Le bistro just wow! Le Coq au vin was delicious!! 

ENTERTAINMENT: very good everywhere. Loved Elements. Sad that Footloose was not presented and was not replaced by    a show with same quality. Loved the live music everywhere. Party everynight were super fun! 

EXCURSIONS: we only did 1 in Roatan and it was a great day!! Shopping, super Nice visit at the animal shelter : we hold sloths, had interaction with monkeys and macaws. We also sent some time at the beach.

SERVICE: Amazing everywhere. Never had to wait long for à drink. Most employees were smiling and very helpfull. 

VIBE : Worth every penny. Thanks to Will, George, Siggit and Randy. We felt like family. 

OVERALL: Amazing Cruise. Felt very safe everywhere. We loved the food and service. Will cruise again with NCL next year !

Amazing vacation on the Joy

We booked the Haven experience on the NCL Joy over eight months ago.   We are Platinum on NCL and have sailed on most of their ships (some twice) and had mostly positive experiences.  Previously we had sailed on MSC Yacht Club (twice) and just loved it.  I presumed that NCL’s Haven would be the same although it is a lot more expensive now and we knew we could not afford it again. 

We arranged to get the NCL bus transfer from the Fort Lauderdale airport to the cruise port in Miami. I was told that the bus left at 10:30 and then every half hour.  We arrived at the terminal at 10 AM and were told that the bus was going to be late.  Not a good start. By the time the bus arrived, we loaded and left it was past 11 AM and the drive was over 30 minutes.  

Our luggage was tagged with the Gold PRIORITY tags for the Haven.  Staff told us to go to the entrance doors at the far right-hand side of the terminal.  When we got there they told us we were in the wrong place and to go to the entrance doors at the other end of the terminal.  On the way we passed the Haven Kiosk and there was NO ONE there!  This is where the staff was supposed to greet us, get all our luggage and take us directly to our cabin (like MSC did).  No staff so we headed to the other entrance and got in line.  Lots of people and ONE security check-point open!  Eventually they opened two more and we found someone with a Haven sign.  Again we were taken to the wrong line of people which was not moving anywhere.  A staff person finally came and got us along with a group of others and took us on board.  At this point there had been a steady flow of passengers going on the ship using the regular system. 

We were taken to the American Diner which is a specialty restaurant and told that our meal would be free for lunch.  Poor service with no bread/rolls offered and tea that was requested never arrived. I was seriously shocked to hear that our cabin would not be ready until 3:30 PM.  On MSC our rooms were ready by 11 AM.  

Perhaps all cruise lines are cutting way back on staff but it cannot be good for business.  Several times during the cruise we found that our room had not be made up by 11 AM after we returned from our breakfast and a swim.  At night, again we did not get “turn down” service before we returned at 8:30 PM and we were told it would be done at 6:30.  

We were expecting to see the show Footloose in the theater only to find out that it was going to be on. Instead there were acrobats, a magician and a Beatles cover band.  We did go to see a comedienne but we were not impressed with his show.

The balcony in our Haven SUITE contained one lounger and two LOW-BACKED, non-reclining chairs!! No one is going to sit out there and enjoy a good book for hours sitting on one of these chairs. The cabin was fine with a bathtub and a coffee maker.  The room carpet was black with dark grey swirls and was just ugly (and possibly dirty).  

The food was great for the most part.  We ate at Cagneys twice and the Haven restaurant several times.  Good service. The Haven pool, hot tub and private lounge were very nice areas and used a lot.  The two excursions we booked went well and we enjoyed the beaches.  

The mini-golf was pathetic and useless.  We did not use the go-carts as we had done them before and no one was interested in the laser tag.  Disembarkation went very smoothly.

Overall I will not be cruising with NCL for a very long time.  Haven was NOT worth the money.

Not up to expectations.

We thought this would be a great cruise with lots to do. The comments about all sorts of extra charges are true. Food was just average where steak was quite tough and limited desserts. Selection was very similar every day. Probably the biggest complaint is the elevators. I think we spent more time waiting for an elevator than anything else we did. They ended the contract for Footloose before we sailed but never told us. One of the main reasons we had picked this cruise. Elements was nice, but comedy show wasn't great. Getting around this ship isn't all that easy as layout is strange. Pool is way too small and chairs are gone first thing in the morning. We had sailed on Norwegian in 2010 and was great. Would not say that about this cruise. Ship was very clean and service was fine but not all that great. Probably will go back with Royal Carribean next time we cruise.

Just an okay ship

I chose Norwegian, as I had heard great things about their food allergy accommodations. As someone with a severe food allergy to soy, these accommodations were key in ensuring I had a safe and enjoyable vacation. While I do see an effort in this area, in that every restaurant knows you have an allergy the second they scan your card into the restaurant and all of the waiters ask about it, the knowledge of allergens by the staff members is not there (at least not for soy). There were only 2 staff members who I felt confidently could tell me yes/no on whether a food item contained my allergen. All of the others told me they were either unsure, or couldn't say confidently yes/no so I should assume no it's not safe. That said, I ate plain pasta and cheese cubes for most of my cruise while on board, which was disappointing. It would be extremely useful to provide an allergen chart of menu items to guests with allergies to ensure all guests are able to eat safely. 

As far as housing went, we had a stateroom with a balcony and it was absolutely wonderful. The space was nice and roomy and had ample storage for all of our things. The private balcony was wonderful for the mornings and to have a nice view of the different areas we went to. 

Beginning in January, Norwegian implemented a $20.00 per person service charge, per day. This was not disclosed openly to us in advance, we noticed it on our account balance on our TV and there was a small blurb about it in the handout on the last day. This is allegedly for tips, but was very misleading because we had been tipping in cash throughout the trip. What they don't tell you, is these service charges are actually not mandatory, and can be removed from your account. I just wish they were more transparent with us on the charges because we basically double tipped the entire trip until we found out the charges could be waived upon request. 

The entertainment was pretty good, I do wish there was a bit more for the younger 20-30 year old crowd, as many of the activities seemed more geared toward the older crowd until after 10:00 pm. We did have fun and enjoyed the entertainment we attended. The shows were great.

Allergy Accommodations Need Work and Non-Transparent Service Charges

Riga

Chose this cruise for a reunion of friends. 

Food - poor for specialty restaurants - meat entrees ordered were tough and chewy, Rib Eye and Pork Loin in Cagneys and NY Strip in Teppanyaki. Buffet food in Garden Cafe was average. Bar food in Local was average. Food in Manhattan, Savor and Taste were average.

Wait staff - NCL did a poor job training their wait staff. Staff in Manhattan, Savor, Taste, Teppanyaki, and Cagneys did not always remember who ordered what and forgot items that were ordered.  In Manhattan when it was requested that we get quick service because we had to catch a show we had to skip parts of the meal to catch the show. 

Guest services staff - NCL needs to do a better job at training. Three different responses for the same question on the same day. When will disembarkation luggage tags be available and can I get them now? First response was all luggage tags will be delivered to your stateroom, second response was luggage tags will be available in reception two and one day from disembarkation, third response was I can help you what is your stateroom and did you purchase a transfer with us.

Disembarkation - NCL did a poor job supervising and coordinating - People who bought airport transfers to Miami airport for 11:51AM flights missed their flight because everyone disembarked for both airports around the same time. The lines for the buses were long and not moving because buses were not taking passengers. I heard an outside worker say NCL had to get cruise passengers on the tour buses out first. There was no one from NCL managing the bus passenger flow to keep people and buses moving. Peoples who bought airport transfers got off the airport transfer line 2 hours before flight departure and took taxis to Miami airport to make the 11:51 AM  departure. People who stayed missed their flight.

Someone on the taxi line let us go first and said this was same experience they had with prior NCL disembarkations.

Embarkation in New York was not much better. People cut in lines because no NCL personnel were stationed directing people where to go until others complained that newly arrived passengers were cutting the lines that people were on already for 10-15 minutes.

Disappointed NCL experience

We chose this cruise because it went to ports we hadn't been to. The weather wasn't great, lots of rain on a few port days. But the amenities on the ship more than compensated for the weather. The ship is beautiful and we found it easy to get around. Our favorite hangout spot was the Observation Lounge. It featured comfortable seating where we spent time reading, relaxing and watching panoramic scenery through expansive multi-story windows. The entertainment was great. Footloose and Elements were both amazing. We could have done without the hypnotist act - kind of a dud. But the entertainment highlight for us was the standup comedians. They were hilarious! 

The crew was exceptional and on multiple occasions went above and beyond the call of duty to make our cruise enjoyable. The food was always good, though they seemed to have a challenge in serving food hot. It was more often "warm." Our best meal was at "Ocean Blue", followed closely by "Cagney's". Both were excellent. "Le Bistro" proved disappointing, mostly because the menu felt very limiting and neither of us ordered anything that we were truly excited about. Our meals in the three main dining rooms were good and the service was excellent. We rarely saw our cabin steward but he took very good care of us. He consistently kept our cabin clean and stocked. Overall, it was an excellent cruise experience.

Awesome crew, beautiful ship!

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