Norwegian Joy Review

4.0 / 5.0
496 reviews

The Bad, The Ugly and the Downright Unforgivable

Review for the Mexican Riviera Cruise on Norwegian Joy
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Size12Stilettos
10+ Cruises • Age 40s

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Sail Date: Dec 2019
Cabin: Balcony Stateroom

I cruised the Norwegian Joy the week of December 1-8, 2019. To avoid this being a super duper long review, I’m going to touch the highlights.

The Bad

SMS International Shore Operations was the company facilitating the embarkation process at the dock. They are the most unprofessional group of people I have ever witnessed. It took 3 hours to get onboard and for some 5-6 hours - the longest of the dozen or so cruises I’ve taken over the years. SMS employees were guarding the door like we were refugees trying to invade their border. There were handicap people waiting for wheelchairs for hours showing visible signs of pain. One woman with no teeth was yelling at people when they asked simple questions. Another with a lazy eye kept asking for management to come out and get order and provide information. That never happened. They even had ship representatives coming outside in full uniform not saying a word. I had to learn from scuttlebutt talk in line that the delay was likely the result of the Norovirus outbreak over the past 2 weeks which was reported by the local news. They were likely running late because they were sanitizing the ship. The only problem with this? Why wasn’t this communicated to us in advance to help manage our expectations? Why have us arrive at 1 PM to wait 2-3 hours? Why couldn’t we wait inside the terminal where there were hundreds of empty seats available? Want to know how bad it was? They had people fully checked in that morning around 11 AM, then they fooled them by telling them to go outside to get fresh air, they then locked them out and made them wait in line all over again. We’re talking about people who had turned in their health form and gotten their room key card. CRAZINESS!

Cabin Review

Balcony Stateroom

Port Reviews

Mazatlan

Total crap show. Driver got into an accident with the wall. We ended up having to walk to the bard drunk from tequila. It was horrible. The excursions desk ended up refunding our money.

Los Angeles

The SMS team that mans the port are terrible. Bring your patience. If you can, get there right before the sail away time to avoid all the foolishness that this port offers.

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