Is Norwegian Joy NCL’s Worst Mega Ship?

For this Norwegian Joy cruise ship review, we are going to do something different. It feels fitting as we started this trip doing something atypical for us– booking last minute.

We had some NCL credit card points expiring and wanted to do something close to home to save on airfare. This meant we had to sail from either NYC or Boston. Given that we hadn’t been to Bermuda in years, a weeklong cruise to this beautiful island seemed like an easy choice. We had also never sailed on Norwegian Joy.

Although, we didn’t realize at the time that Norwegian Joy gets some of the lowest cruiser ratings in the Norwegian Cruise Line fleet according to Cruise Critic readers. Honestly, we were pretty surprised to see this.

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In fact, we had just sailed on her sister ship, Norwegian Encore, and would rank her as one of our favorite NCL ships. So, we were eager to get on board and test Norwegian Joy for ourselves. Now, we are back and share our honest review of the ship in our latest Norwegian Joy cruise ship scorecard review.

Outdoor Decks

Like her sister ships, Norwegian Joy’s outdoor decks start at the pool deck on deck 16. While the pool deck does have two pools like Norwegian Encore, the layout is not the same.

On the Norwegian Joy cruise ship, the small adult pool is set off to the starboard side, with loungers encompassing the center and portside of the deck. The family pool is squeezed between a bar and the kid’s aqua park.

Further, the ship’s only two hot tubs in the main pool area are on the starboard of this deck. Newer ships in this class have these popular sea day features situated up one deck on deck 17 somewhat away from the crowds.

Given that NCL Joy is the second ship in the Breakaway Plus class of ships, its design features some elements of predecessor Norwegian Escape with some new elements later found on Norwegian Bliss and Encore. Thankfully, enhancements were made to this class over time, as this pool deck felt crowded and the layout was certainly not optimal.

The lounger space up one deck on deck 17 is not much better. Given our cruise was sailing at well over 100% double occupancy, the outdoor decks were packed. In fact, by the second sea day, the deck chair hogs had claimed all of the loungers by 7:30 am.

One selling point is that Norwegian Joy does still have a complimentary adults-only sundeck. Located aft on deck 17 is Spice H20. Offering some additional loungers and deck space, it is a lovely retreat from the crowds. This area boasts a bar, a covered seating area, and a large hot tub.

While we did not opt for the upgrade this sailing, there is a small Vibe Beach Club as well. This area is much smaller than its newer counterparts. But, this will be changing! During a dry dock in early 2024, NCL Joy’s Vibe will be getting bigger (taking over the current laser tag space).

This is probably a good thing as we overheard several cruisers raving that this exclusive area was worth the upcharge. Plus, the laser tag arena is only open in the evenings and was never all that busy.

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Signature Attractions

Ironically enough, NCL announced a major refurb to this ship while we were sailing. We were surprised to learn that many of the ship’s signature attractions will be removed in early 2024.

When Norwegian Joy launched in 2017, it was the first ship to offer a race track at sea. This outdoor attraction is now a staple on NCL’s mega ships.

Boy, has it come a long way.

The track on Norwegian Joy is the smallest and has the tightest turns. There is no easy way to pass other cars. So, crashes occur often, and bottle necks form every race.

On other Norwegian Cruise Line ships, the staff are quick to stop races or to warn drivers not to bump into each other. However, on Joy, the crew just seemed to acknowledge that hitting other cars was almost unavoidable.

Still, the race track is a fun time and an experience worth the $15 pp charge, even on Norwegian Joy.

Another signature attraction on the ship is the space-themed laser tag. Located on deck 20 forward, this outdoor space is being remodeled to become the second story of Vibe Beach Club.

This location right above the Vibe Beach Club doesn’t make much sense anyway. It is a loud distraction for those trying to relax in the private area one deck below. Not to mention, those playing laser tag have a bird’s eye view of Vibe, making it feel less private.

Another change announced for Norwegian Joy is the removal of the Galaxy Pavilion. Now, Norwegian Cruise Line is replacing this virtual reality center with a thermal suite in the Mandara Spa. We were huge fans of the thermal suite on Norwegian Encore, so don’t really mind this change.

Not to mention that many of the attractions in the Galaxy Pavilion are not all that high-tech. Besides the 7D cinema, many of the games and experiences seem dated.

With all the new additions, the Joy Speedway will be the only signature attraction remaining. Of course, the ship does have the hallmark NCL waterslides, the Aqua Racer and Ocean Loops, and a seemingly forgotten mini-golf course tucked away on deck 19 as well.

Complimentary Dining

The Local on Norwegian Joy was the standout for included dining. We are big fans of this venue on other NCL ships, and this version did not disappoint.

During this Norwegian Joy cruise, we dined here twice for lunch and once for breakfast. We like the sit-down, table service nature of the restaurant. Service was prompt and food freshly prepared.

We wish we could say the same for the main dining room.

We did have an exceptional experience in the MDR on our last trip on Norwegian Encore. This time around though, the food quality was more akin to what we remember of the NCL main dining room food. Whether it is the suppliers or the onboard chefs, the selections tasted and looked vastly different.

Thus, we only dined once in the Manhattan Room on deck 7 for dinner. My NY strip steak from the Classics menu was tough and lacked flavor. Heidi’s chicken Madeira nowhere resembled the same dish she had weeks earlier on Encore.

Likewise, while we enjoyed our day 3 lunch on Norwegian Encore, our day 1 lunch in the main dining room this trip was average at best. Again, my pork chop was overcooked, and Heidi’s salad was drenched in salad dressing. Further, her chicken quesadilla was warm, but didn’t have much chicken or cheese.

The Garden Café on deck 16 is the cruise ship buffet. It was similar in layout, and chaos, as our previous sailings. There was a mob of people whenever we walked through. So, we dined here once for breakfast and never returned.

Another bright spot for included dining are the morning and daytime snacks at the Observation Lounge on deck 15. We like these grab-and-go options, that mix savory and salty tapas, sandwiches, and desserts. We found ourselves visiting here quite a bit while grabbing our coffees at the nearby Starbucks.

Specialty Dining

Admittedly, we usually opt for specialty dining when cruising on Norwegian Cruise Line. With the cruise line’s free at sea promotion, cruisers staying in a balcony cabin usually get two nights of specialty dining. Typically, we also purchase additional nights. This cruise was no different.

So, we dined at 6 specialty restaurants during our cruise on Norwegian Joy. Specialty dining was certainly better than the main dining room. Although, the dining experiences here were more mixed as well.

Oddly enough, our favorite specialty dinner was at Ocean Blue. This was one restaurant we didn’t try on our last trip. Heidi is not a big fan of seafood, but this menu does have a chicken dish.

At Ocean Blue, I enjoyed the shrimp cocktail and the gumbo starters. The cioppino was a classic made seafood stew which was flavorful and full of various seafood. The restaurant did an excellent job of accommodating my food allergy.

Next up is Food Republic. This is always one of our favorites on any NCL ship. The food here was good and certainly worth the upcharge, with most of the tapas living up to our expectations. You can’t go wrong with the fried rice, pad thai noodles with shrimp, and the Korean fried chicken.

We also dined at Teppanyaki. This hibachi restaurant is always a fun time, with expertly prepared food and some lively entertainment. Our chef was enjoying belting out the tunes while sizzling up some tasty food right off the grill. The one con here was that the restaurant seemed exceptionally crowded, with extra chairs squeezed in at the hibachi grills.

Among the restaurants that didn’t really deliver for us this time was Cagney’s steakhouse. Yet, the restaurant still wins for best dessert on the entire ship! The OMG caramel cheesecake is a hall of famer in our opinion.

It had been a while since we dined at La Cucina on an NCL ship. Newer ships in the fleet have Onda by Scarpetta as the Italian specialty restaurant instead. While our meal at La Cucina was average, it doesn’t live up to the likes of Onda.

Finally, we dined at the casual restaurant Q Texas Smokehouse as a last minute option due to a change in plans. Normally, I enjoy this venue more than Heidi, and while the starters and desserts lived up to our expectations, the entrees were a let down this time around. Heidi’s turkey was dry and my pitmaster lacked a true sampling of the BBQ meats.

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Entertainment

Norwegian Joy is home to two signature productions. In our opinion, the better of the two was Footloose. Based on the 1980s movie, this hour and 40 minute musical is similar to the Broadway caliber productions you find on rival Royal Caribbean ships.

Honestly, I didn’t have high hopes for this show, but it proved me wrong. While I was aware of the song Footloose, I didn’t realize how many other popular 80s songs were from this soundtrack.

The second reservation-required show in the main theater was Elements. Essentially, this is a glorified magic show with digital imagery and dancers. Given we watched the featured magician and aerial duo in their own headliner shows, this show didn’t add too much to the entertainment line-up. It did not even include any live singing. Now, there was a cast injury that canceled an earlier performance, so we can’t tell you how much of the show was modified to accommodate this.

In terms of headliner shows, the highlight was Cliché. This aerial duo put on an engaging show to a packed theater. The second show was the magician Po, who performed several tricks including his award-winning fan illusions.

The Social comedy club also hosts two comedians, which require reservations. These reservations can only be made once onboard the ship. Given some changes in our schedule, we only saw one comedian, the adult comedy set for Dean Edwards. He was funny and offered a different set than most cruise ship comedians.

Further, the micro-sized Cavern Club hosted several Beatlestory tribute shows. Unfortunately, they only perform two sets on four evenings of the cruise with each set offering a different Beatles era. Given the size of the venue and that no reservations are required, this made it very difficult to actually see a show. Other cruisers quickly learned that you need to queue 30+ minutes before showtime for a chance at a seat.

Bars and Nightlife

Norwegian Joy offered the same lineup of bars and lounges you find on other vessels in this class. For this Norwegian Joy cruise ship review, we made sure to visit them all of course.

My go-to, the District Brewhouse, maintains its portside forward location on deck 8. Along with a wide selection of beer, it featured the funny and high-energy performer Beau Tahana. His shows are difficult to describe, but he is a cruise line favorite for a good reason.

Among the other performers we tended to follow throughout the ship were Arvin and Emily. This duo played mostly in the Atrium and occasionally in the Sugarcane Mojito Bar.

This is Heidi’s favorite venue featuring her go-to raspberry-guava mojito and my jalapeno-cucumber mojito. While enjoying these great singers playing a mix of pop and love songs in the Atrium, we often sipped some espresso martinis.

Additionally, the popular Maltings Whiskey Bar is located on Deck 6 on Norwegian Joy, near The Social and Teppanyaki. In my opinion, this secluded spot was a better fit for this upscale bar featuring the popular Blackberry Bourbon Smash.

The Observation Lounge was another one of our evening stops for espresso martinis. Often, we stuck around to listen to some live music here as well.

Norwegians know how to party. This meant that there were several epic pool deck parties this Bermuda cruise. The 90s party rocked out Spice H20. But, the biggest event of them all, the Glow Party, packed the main pool deck on the sixth night of the cruise. Of course, there are nearby bars in both locations to grab your favorite NCL cocktails.

If you are still looking for other spots to grab a drink, there’s Q with live country music and smoked peach margaritas on tap, the Mixx Bar near the deck 6 main dining rooms, a large bar in the Local overlooking the Atrium, the Skyline Bar in the casino, the Cellars wine bar, and the A-List Bar near the specialty restaurants on deck 8.

Onboard Activities

This seven-night cruise included 2.5 days in Bermuda, along with three sea days. Jake and the rest of the cruise director staff made sure to hit all of the high notes with activities.

Even with all the onboard attractions, there were still plenty of daytime hosted activities. There were several trivia sessions with various themes like Star Wars, competitions, and challenges. On the pool deck, there were cruiser staples like the Sexy Legs competition.

Further, there were events like tabletop escape rooms, how to run a cruise ship presentations, and other talks. Not to mention, there was Deal or No Deal, Bingo sessions, and dance classes.

At night, along with all the other live music and entertainment, there were plenty of activities. Game shows like the Newlywed Not So Newlywed game show and Battle of the Sexes kept the Atrium lively and full of laughs.

Of course, if you wanted a bit of relaxation, there is also the Waterfront outdoor promenade. This is the perfect spot to read a book, go for walk, or just enjoy the sound of the ocean away from the crowds.

We had no complaints when it came to the variety of things to do day or night. We only wished that some of the venues on the ship were larger to accommodate more guests.

Stateroom

For this Norwegian Joy cruise ship review, we stayed in a standard balcony cabin, cabin 13166. This BA category stateroom was on the portside, forward of the forward elevators. It looked almost identical to the cabin we were in only a few weeks prior.

Immediately entering the room, the bathroom was on the midship wall, with the closet directly behind it. The bathrooms on Norwegian Cruise Line’s newer ships feature a roomier shower with a glass door and adequate storage. Not to mention, there is liquid hand soap and both shampoo and body wash in the shower.

The closet was pretty standard, featuring a clothes bar with hangers and a series of shelves. This provided ample room to store all our clothing for this 7-day cruise. There is also a handy drawer under the sofa, which is great for storing shoes.

Beyond the bathroom and closet was the sofa and desk, followed by the bed right next to the balcony. This is our preferred cabin layout. The sofa became my work station, and Heidi took up residence at the desk. The desk contained three outlets, but no USBs. Although, there were two USB outlets right next to our bed which was perfect for charging phones at night.

Finally, the cozy balcony had two chairs and a table. This was just enough space for enjoying the sail in and out of port, or for grabbing some fresh air. With 3 days exploring Bermuda and the plush accommodations on the Waterfront, we did not spend nearly as much time on our balcony this trip as we did in Alaska.

Still, the room was comfortable, well-appointed in cruise ship standards, and contained all the necessary amenities to ensure our trip was smooth sailing.

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Service

As mentioned previously, we were sailing at a capacity over double occupancy. Needless to say, the ship was busy. It was also filled with a lot of kids and teenagers. As we already mentioned as well, the loungers on the sundecks were essentially claimed by early morning.

So, we know how hard the crew were working during this sailing. While we never had any service issues, most of the crew were cordial but not overly talkative or friendly– with a few exceptions.

In fact, we never met our stateroom attendant the whole trip. This almost never happens and speaks to how busy they were. With cabin service reduced to once a day now, it’s obvious that the stateroom attendants just have more cabins to service. Gone are the days of leaving the room for an hour to grab breakfast and coming back to an already tidied cabin. In fact, our cabin was typically not serviced until well into the afternoon.

The shining stars for service on this trip were Ana and Emily at Starbucks in the Observation Lounge. They were friendly and talkative and knew our drink orders early on in the cruise. They always had smiles on their faces and were eager to ask how our day was going.

When it came to dining, our dinners at the restaurants were moderately paced. Most three course meals took about 90 minutes. During most meals, a supervisor or manager did come by the table to ask how things were going. Yet, none of the servers were memorable.

Similarly, we never had to wait long for drinks at the bars or lounges. Whether it was at the bar or with a server, we didn’t find it difficult to get drinks. Though, no one that we encountered was overly friendly.

In terms of entertainment, we were able to secure all necessary reservations. We showed up about 30 minutes before showtime and were able to get prime seats in the theater or comedy club. Standby lines also formed 30+ minutes before showtime.

The Verdict

So, back to our original question. Is Norwegian Joy NCL’s worst mega ship?

Norwegian Joy has many of the same amenities as its sister ships. Although, this ship’s flow on deck 8 and the pool deck are different. It is incredible how moving just a few venues around can drastically change the ship’s overall vibe and ambiance on subsequent Bliss and Encore.

Overall, complimentary food met our expectations, whereas the specialty dining was slightly below the standard NCL fare. Still, we had great meals at Ocean Blue, the Food Republic, and Teppanyaki. Although, the main dining room on Joy didn’t compare to our experience on Encore.

Like many NCL ships, the venues on Norwegian Joy felt too small for the number of cruisers on the ship. Still, the signature entertainment and music program were better than many other cruise lines’ offerings.

When comparing ships offering Bermuda cruises, Norwegian Joy offers more amenities, onboard attractions, and dining options than other vessels. While not our favorite ship in the NCL fleet, we still feel that Norwegian Joy was the right choice for this itinerary.

Plus, Norwegian Joy will be undergoing a dry dock in early 2024 to receive some additional enhancements. So, we would certainly say that this ship is a worthy contender for your next Bermuda cruise.

Comments

Do you agree with our Norwegian Joy cruise ship scorecard review? Have you sailed on this megaship to Bermuda? Drop us an anchor below with your thoughts on this NCL cruise ship.