This was my 5th time with NCL - 1st on the Joy. I work for wherever, so I need Internet access. I've never had a problem before. This time was a disaster. More than half of my purchased minutes were wasted watching the little circle go around, and many times I finally gave up after 10 minutes. Not only was I stressed out, but I had to purchase more minutes - couldn't even access the internet while the ship was docked in Juneau! The Internet Cafe staff said there was nothing they could do - It had something to do with the satellite still "aimed" in China. I know that my phone gave the Chinese weather everyday! But this was the Joy's second cruise to Alaska - you would think they would have worked out that satellite issue after the first week - there were so many people complaining.

Embarkation was a mess. The kid who waited on me to check me in actually told me he had no idea what he was doing. Then, I (along with several others) was told to go one way and when we got there were told to go back to where we started. I thought the disembarkation went smoothly.

The ship itself was fine - since it was an Alaskan cruise, no one was using the pools but in warmer weather, it would have been bad - 2 very tiny pools. My balcony cabin was great. Read more