Norwegian Joy Review

A+ for Alaska, B- for the Joy

Review for Alaska Cruise on Norwegian Joy
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coldiaz
10+ Cruises • Age 50s

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Additional details

Sail Date: May 2019
Cabin: Concierge Villa Suite with Balcony

My husband and I had a cruise certificate to redeem from the Cosmopolitan casino in Las Vegas and the timing for this cruise worked for our schedule. We had never been to Alaska before and had sailed with NCL several times in the past to the Caribbean. We were excited to go on one of NCL’s larger and newer ships.

We arrived in Seattle on Thursday evening pre-cruise and stayed at the Charter Hotel by Hilton. The hotel was conveniently located downtown just blocks from everything we wanted to see: Pike Place, bars and restaurants and a visit to the flagship Nordstrom store. We went to the spa at Nordstrom on Friday and had amazing pedicures, then went to the Pink Door restaurant for lunch. Lunch was fantastic. The rooms at the Charter were new, modern and large for a downtown hotel. The staff there was exceptionally friendly and helpful. It was only a short Uber trip to the port on Saturday morning.

Upon arriving at Pier 66 it was clear that things were a little chaotic. There’s a lot of construction in that area and dropping off and picking up was a mess. Once inside the terminal, the security line moved pretty quickly. The queue to check in and the waiting area was another big disorganized mess. We were in a concierge cabin, so we had a dedicated check in line, but there was no seating in the waiting area and we were not given a group card. After 30-40 minutes the concierge group was called and we waded through the crowds to reach the entrance. Once onboard, there were announcements being made that all staterooms were ready so we proceeded to our room. It was very clearly not ready. The door was ajar, but the bed was not made, dishes were in the bathroom sink and the room had not been cleaned. We left in search of a cocktail and decided to check back later. About 2 hours later when we returned, the room had been cleaned. We loved the size and the amount of storage. Our only complaint was that the tub/shower combo was so high off the ground you really had to work to get into into it. An elderly person or someone with mobility issues would not have been able to manage it well.

Cabin Review

Concierge Villa Suite with Balcony

Cabin CC

Really spacious with good sized balcony. More than sufficient storage.

Port Reviews

Icy Strait

Not much to do here after you’ve explored the shops and hiked the paths. A nice place to take photos and enjoy Alaska, but not worth an 8 hour stop, in my opinion.

Victoria

Wonderful city with great shops, pubs and restaurants.

5 Helpful Votes
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