Luxury Cruise Holidays | Caribbean Sea Cruises | Norwegian Cruise Line

Ship Reviews

My only previous cruise on Norwegian was about 15 years ago when my wife and I were traveling with our young son aboard the Norwegian Spirit in the Mediterranean. We had a negative experience on that cruise with a poor cabin attendant, which soured my taste for Norwegian. This was a solo trip for myself, an early retired college professor. The crew, the cabin, the facilities and the dining were all excellent. I did not choose any specialty dining or drink package and found that between the main dining rooms and the buffet dining was good. I purchased the slower of the two wifi packages and am glad I did. The speed was adequate for simple tasks but anything that was streaming, even Youtube was blocked. The only detractor was the average age of passenger was 75 years old and I've never seen so many walkers, wheelchairs, canes, and scooters in my life. That made getting around the ship challenging at times and excursions challenging with mobility impaired. All Norwegian excursions list an activity level for excursions. All I chose involved a lot of walking. About half the participants had mobility issues with aforementioned assistive devices. Walking 2-3 miles over rough surfaces relying on a walker made the walking difficult for the rest of the group and detracted from the excursion by waiting for the rest of the group to catch up.

Ok - just got off a 15 night LAX - MIA Panama Canal cruise on the Joy in the Haven. Patrick Berido was concierge. The Great, the Good, the Bad and the Ugly. This is going to be chronological. But - you can pick out the great, the good the bad and the Ugly yourself!! Embarkation: Haven helped A LOT. WHERE TO FIND THE HAVEN @ LA PORT: As you roll up to the port entrance - on the left you will see people starting to line up In front of the entrance. We arrived at 945a and noticed rope [airline tape style] barriers set up - we decided to wait with our carry on bags in the planter area between planters so we did not get in the way. By staying between the planters we were clearly in the middle of the boarding area - this area is directly in front of an open door where people line up. The first photo below identifies where we decided to stand and wait. About 10am they started directing all the people in the line to move to a different location to the right of where we were and to the left of the marked luggage drop area. They then said 'HAVEN HERE!' right in front of where we were standing. About 1015 they opened the Haven check in area - first was entering the tent - second was getting in line behind port employees checking the check in scan - then you hit the metal detector and scanner. This was our first point of contact with incompetent port employees. We had two bottles of champagne and one bottle of wine. They were all seized. Port employees claiming 'no alcohol on board.' My point was uh, no, unlimited wine and champagne. Response was 'we were told only two bottles.' I said - there are two of us and three bottles - math works. They seized it - gave us a form and said we needed to get it on board. Sigh. Waited less than 5 min to find an open NCL employee to check us in and we were all done after they scanned our passports and handed us our cards. FYI: Haven no longer provides you the black wallets. No one got them. There is a isolated area to the left of check in where they had the Haven 'lounge' which was just a curtained off area with coffee, water, juice, cookies and a few snacks. Not bad. 1030a came and went with no boarding announcement. We heard an announcement around 11a claiming the boat was delayed in its debarkation due to ICE apparently doing their job instead of just waiving people through. Then we heard rumors of sickness on the ship and they were spending more time disinfecting it. Either one was ok with us. I figured we would not get onboard until I saw Patrick the Concierge so I just sat down and chilled with my bride. Patrick arrived around 1110am - made the announcement the ship was delayed in boarding. He kept making that announcement until about 1140a when it was time to board - a good hour later than most cruises in the Haven. The special Haven lounge area was packed. We were escorted to the REAR gangway and boarded with the mass of the Haven folks - we missed an elevator which was good because we just walked on to the next open one and took it up to Deck 13 where our Rear facing Haven suite awaited. While cabins were not technically ready, ours was so we dropped our bags and headed back to the Haven lounge where we just walked upstairs into the restaurant for lunch. There was going to be a mad rush since we were delayed in boarding but the concierges were doing tours and we just walked in - literally 5 min later there was a line and they were handing out pagers. I had Lobster bisque which was much better than the salty mess they had on the Bliss last June, and the French dip. The French dip was disappointing in that it almost no horseradish sauce and the au jus was way too much water. Oh well. First world problems. Our cabin was spectacular. Bed very comfortable, lots of room, lots of storage, great view, great deck - deck lounge chairs were great. We spent lots of time in them in the evenings. The glass in front of the deck looked like it had not been cleaned in months. Not sure whose responsibility it was but it never got cleaned so our view was blurred out the glass the whole cruise. I mentioned it to the Concierge - never got cleaned. Likewise - the deck was never washed either. It had salt and soot particles on it and got your feet dirty. I'm on vacation - I was not interested in being my normal nudge self - so it stayed dirty the whole cruise. Our butler, who shall remain nameless, was horrible. We met him late afternoon first day - we told home what we wanted - gave him a $100 tip up front and a butler letter being clearly specific - keep the ice full, a container for cold water [we would keep filled], tomato juice, and peanut M&M's. We needed to call him up repeatedly after his daily service to get ice. We never got either the M&M's or the tomato juice. He told us lots of stories about India but never asked us what we needed or wanted or if he was doing his job, which he wasn't. I mentioned I would like a shirt and my sport coat ironed - never happened. Our cabin steward was the housekeeping supervisor. She did her job. Nothing special. Was willing to do anything but anything the Butler's job she immediately deferred and told us to contact him. We tipped her $50 a couple of days before the end. She is in the tip pool so we felt a need to tip even though we already did that. I did ask our Butler that specifically we wanted coffee between 530a and 600a. He demurred and said it was night butler's duty. I said - do I need to contact him or her? He backpedaled and said 'no no, I'll do it.' We did get coffee every morning between 6 and 630 or so - and it was after 7 on time change nights because even though the pax were told of the time change the night before I have no idea what time the crew did the time change but it didn't do the passengers any good. Its kind of frustrating to pay for a service and never get the service done properly. As for our wine - we were told the beverage manager had it. No excuse for why it was seized and it arrived in our cabin about sail away time - so we needed a quick ice chill and again needed to call our butler for Ice because room service would not bring it because we had a butler. About an hour after sail away we could drink our sail away champagne. There was a big NCL / Port of LA minus. I will say the bartenders and staff in the Haven Bar were spectacular. Irene in particular received a Star card. She would make up grey goose martini drinks for my wife and we had 2 or 3 before dinner every night! I tried all sorts of bourbons and found one I liked, then, we did dinner in the Haven restaurant 10 of the 15 nights and they had specials the last 7 nights. We had a sea day after leaving a very very foggy Los Angeles - visibility was down to a 1/4 in fog when we departed. We arrived in Cabo San Lucas around noon the second day - I took the Haven escort off and got on the second tender. Within 15 min after leaving our cabin I was on hard ground. I went into Cabo to buy Punch cigars and antibiotics. Found both easily and walked back to the ship. We had a great view of the rocks and the other boats tearassings back and forth across the bay. We ate dinner again in the Haven - I think I had a couple of glasses of wine [our preferred was Louis Jadot Pinot Noir] and probably had prime rib that night. I cannot recommend the Prime Rib in the Haven enough. Day 4 was Puerto Vallarta. Our preferred excursion was sold out [ which was the tequila and horseback ride] but I needed to see a man about a box of cigars. So I got off again - they cleared the ship at 1155 and I was off with the Haven elevator by noon, grabbed the cigars, looked around the port area for an hour or so and went back up to my cabin. There was a short line but the Haven butler escorted me right up to the entrance and I was back up to my room in less than 5 minutes. Now - the Haven area is in the front of ship on Deck 17, and our cabin was all the way in the back on Deck 13 - so we got a lot of walking in - and we avoided the elevators like the plague boxes they are. We usually took the stairs to Deck 15, walked all the way forward then took the front stairs to Deck 17 where the Haven lounge and guest area begins. I gained one pound on a 15 night cruise because we worked out like fiends. Every single day including embarkation day found us in the gym. We only skipped one day and that was because of laziness, not hangover! So - it is possible to not gain weight and not get sick on a 15 night cruise! We started out taking the pool deck across but the Smoking Box of Death in on Deck 16 and we figured out we needed to avoid it! It is amazing to me how many canes, walkers and scooters were parked outside of the SBOD! Thereafter we had two sea days and it got progressively more humid as we sailed south. Day 7 was Puerto Quetzal, Guatemala. The port area is in a totally industrial area and there is nothing there for humans. They built a port terminal with palm trees and a shopping plaza - but - well - ok. We did not get off because we are not fans of 2 hour bus rides each way. We've seen Mayan ruins before - and didn't think getting off to risk water borne illness made muh sense. So we stayed on board. Day 8 was another Sea Day and on Day 9 we arrived at Puerto Caldera in Costa Rica. This port is even more industrial than Quetzal in Guatemala. There is nothing there except containers and working cranes. They bring the buses up - and you fight your way out of the port along with the container trucks. We did the Zipline and rain forest gondola - and I will tell you now - unless you like waiting in the sun or waiting period - do NOT take this excursion. We left the ship at 8a, and literally 4 hours later we hit the first zip line. Due to traffic we only had a 15 min delay - but - it took 30 min to get everyone harnessed in - then it was a one hour ten min wait for the 'rain forest gondola' which had to stop every 4 minutes to let people on and off - I saw two animals. A termite and a couple flies. Nothing in the trees or canopy - just a 30 min ride in the humidity and sun to the zip lines. Where we waited 20 in line for the first zip line, did four really fast, then a 45 min wait for one half in the sun - two in close order then a one-hour fifteen minute wait for the last Zipline. To add insult to injury employees at the other platforms cut in front of us to get to the bottom. Overall it was a miserable experience. Zipping was fun - but we could have done that in 45 min. Then a free lunch that after 7 days of Haven and Specialty Dining I simply could not eat. Another day or so at Sea and then we hit Panama City. I liked Panama City, we headed into old town and I bought a true Panama hat, we toured the cathedral and the canal museum - and we can recommend ALL of that highly. But - we simply got off and took a cab. The next was the highlight - Panama Canal transit. We cleared the bridge EARLY in the morning - low tide was 437 - so when I woke up at 5 we were already parked waiting to enter Cocoli Locks. We started to move toward the locks about 630a and did not get lined up for 45 minutes - there was a steady stream of freighters heading toward Miraflores lock while we were spending time literally getting lined up. Took about 2 hours to go up the three levels - and then we entered the Culeba Cut and were were doing 20 knots - they predicted Agua Clara locks at 5p but by 230p we were lined up to go through those locks as well and by 415p we were in the Caribbean headed toward Cartagena. Which was a nice little town It is a 20-30 minute drive to the walled old town. Taxis are plentiful - if all you want to do is cruise the walled old city you do not need a tour - just take a cab into town. Now - we did Le Bistro twice, Cagneys, Food Republic and whatever the name of the Italian restaurant is - reviews: Le Bistro - it was good - but not as good as it was on the Bliss. Food was tasty - but again - if you can hit the Haven restaurant there is little reason to do specialty except for the change of pace. The coq au Vin was very good but they should serve it in the pot! Instead they decant it onto a plate! Cagney's - my wife had a great rib eye - our reason for going - did a filet which was smaller than what I get in the Haven. The Italian place was lame - the lasagna tasted and looked like it came out of a Stouffers box. . . cheese on top was not even melted all the way - oh well. Food Republic was a good way to spend the last specialty dining - got some spice and flavor. Sushi rolls, the Shrimp pad Thai was very tasty but the Steak Kimchee was totally bland. Korean should not be bland - and it was not very tasty either - so - find something else if you go there. Haven restaurant - the prime rib was great, the surf and turf was fantastic, they had specials starting Day 8 - and the bang bang chicken was spicy and flavorful. I had Eggs Benedict almost every morning - the pancakes are usually over done but the French Toast is highly recommended. The Haven restaurant has a well worn service standard - so - don't ask them to speed it up. 90 min for dinner is about normal and you really can't speed it up if you want to get to a show. Coffee in the AM can take 10-15 minutes to get delivered because they do French press for all the coffee. Food is really really good. Service is Damn good. Entertainment - we saw a Beatles show. Elements. Midnight Sky [a couple who does acrobatics] and Big Iron Band, a New Zealand country band, and then a three piece band that should have been 4 piece but for the singer being sick - and they did rally bad 80's covers. So - I'm hoping they were better. Everybody told us the Beatles was good - our band, not so much. The elements show was good, combination of magic and acrobatics - fun to watch. All of the shows at 45-50 minutes were the perfect length. Midnight Sky was spectacular to watch - great acrobatics. Debarkation: Two at sea days after Colombia. It was really rough in the Caribbean - I've never seen it that rough for 36 hours - a 10-12' easterly swell that tore up the wake - that's how strong it was. Once again - the Haven shines in getting off the ship. We only had carry on luggage and were in the first group off at 710a. There were only TWO ICE agents working Customs and I can only imagine how bad that line got - but - by 725 we had cleared customs and immigration with my new Panama Hat and we got into a cab and by 745am we were at Miami Intl Airport - 15 night cruise over. All of sudden nobody was calling me Sir Joe any longer . . . and . . . lines. Questions? Feel free to ask me.

The song says, "It Never Rains in Southern California". The song lies! We arrived two days ahead of time and experienced nothing but rain! However, on the day of the cruise it stopped! That was a stroke of luck for most people on our cruise, because they had to stand in line, outside, because of a glitch in the embarkation process. I got two stories about that. One, there was a problem with the facial recognition program that Immigration uses. And two, they had to sanitize the ship because a few of the departing guests were sick. Either way, people had to stand outside. Luckily, we were in the Haven and got to cool our heels in the Haven Lounge. The only trouble was that the Haven entrance wasn't marked at all and took me about 30 minutes to find it. Once I did, it was a breeze! We had to wait for a wheelchair for my wife, but that came directly! Before you knew it, we were having lunch in the Haven restaurant. After we ate our room was ready so we went downstairs to it. Our luggage was waiting for us so we unpacked. We almost missed "Sailaway". Dinner that night was in "The Manhattan Room" It was arranged by John who started the thread for our voyage. He also set up the "Meet and Greet" which was held the following day. Now, this was going to be a relaxation cruise. Only one excursion was planned. We spent our time in the spa having massages and mani-pedis and facials and acupuncture and I got a couple of shaves! We also tried our hand at "Progressive Trivia". We came to the conclusion that we sucked at that! Not so for our friend Tim whose team finished first, or our friend Lauren whose team finished second! I also spent a lot of time in the Cigar Lounge where I meet my friends Craig and Marty every night. I also went to the casino every night to play my favorite slot machine. I limited myself to $20 a night. A few nights I doubled my money. Most nights I lost! Our one excursion was the "Ocean to Ocean Train Trip" in Panama City. It was fun. Our specialty restaurants were Cagney's(good), Teppanyaki (good, but loud), La Cucina (surprisingly good), Ocean Blue (very good), and Le Bistro(excellent). As usual, The Haven Restaurant was always excellent, be it breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Also, I would be amiss by not mentioning Irene and Rae, the two best bartenders at The Haven Bar. Probably the high point of the whole trip was on Valentines Day, when my dear wife treated me to a glass of Louis XIII cognac. Irene turned it into an event! Also, Melvin, our steward, kept our room neat and clean, and Monseur, our butler who always made sure we were never wanting anything. As with all cruises it ended way too early. The only regret I have is that I never met up with "Schmoopie" for a cigar! We'll just have to do it on a future cruise. All in all, this was probably the best cruise we ever took.

The cruise and ports of call were good, I only had wished that our ship had stopped in Panama City instead of Colon. The Joy is a larger ship which causes it to dock farther from town centres than smaller ships. This meant that we ended up docking in container ports in Costa Rica and Guatemala. Unless you had an excursion booked, you will have to get a cab or use the $20p.p. shuttle. Walking to town is impossible. Our balcony cabin was tight but serviceable. The shower in our cabin was one of the roomiest I have used on a cruise with proper glass doors. The entertainment was OK but not great. I enjoyed the Elements show, but talking to other passengers who have cruised on Norwegian more often, said that it hasn't changed in years. The Beatles tribute band did a good job performing their shows. The comedians were hit and miss. The cruise directors staff should look at using other venues besides the atrium for seminars that have large attendance. The Theatre would have been a better place for some events, instead of setting up a forest of folding chairs in the atrium, clogging up the whole area. The regular dining venues were basically good but a lowering of the staff head count, caused some delays in service. The menu was not very big or exciting. Some dishes were good while others were not so good. I found most meals were fairly bland, but that is a personal observation. Your palate might differ from mine. One thing that was consistent was the food was not very hot when it arrived at the table. That was both for breakfast and dinner. It must be that the kitchen is too far from the venue. The breakfast menu in the main dinning room was even worse. It only had one special each day and it repeated often. One venue that exceeded my expectation was The Local Bar & Grill. Its menu does not change, but it has a very good variety and is the only place onboard that is open 24h. Full breakfasts are served at 5am and is the place to go if you have early excursions or want to go ashore as soon as you can but do not like eating in the buffet. They have a kitchen right at the restaurant, so the food is served piping hot. All in all Norwegian gave us a good vacation. There was one thing that definitely needs a major improvement is the Embarkation and Disembarkation. My wife and I were bombarded with emails before our cruise, telling us not to arrive before our set embarkation time. Getting through check-in was fairly quick, but after that we were told to wait for our number to be called. Well, we were lucky to find a couple of seats to wait to be called. A lot of others were not so lucky and had to stand. We could see passengers from the previous cruise still leaving the ship after 12pm. Well it was over two hours past out set time before we finally had our number called. Then we ended up standing in line for another hour slowly inching our way onboard. I thought that it was not handled well and was one of the worst embarkation/disembarkation , until we went to disembark in Los Angeles. Our disembarkation time was 9:30am. Well we were lucky to find a place to sit and wait for our colour to be called. They finally called our colour just before 11am. Then the real waiting began. We were told to line up on deck 7, and then we slowly inched back and forth almost the entire length of the ship. Then we finally made it off the ship and slowly inched down the gangway and into the terminal. We finally made it down to where the luggage was after another hour or so once we made it to the terminal. Then the real line began. People were passing out (I am not exaggerating) in that interminable line that had us snaking back and forth. I am so glad we didn't have a flight to catch (like many did) because we wouldn't have made any flight that took off before 5pm, and even that would be pushing it. We finally walked out of the terminal at 2:30pm. I don't know what caused the unbelievable delay at both ends, but at the end of the day, it is Norwegian's responsibility.

Accommodation

The Haven

Hidden at the top of the ship, The Haven features our most luxurious, well-appointed accommodations as well as 24-hour butler service, concierge service and private sundeck.

Suite

Finished with the finest touches, spacious suites with luxury accommodations.

Club Balcony Suite

Whether it's the two of you or your family, our Club Balcony Suites are accented with the finest touches. And enough room to make memories forever.

Balcony

See the world like never before. Floor-to-ceiling glass doors open to your very own private balcony. Stylish and sophisticated appointments enhance these modern rooms.

Oceanview

Experience comfort all around you. These stylish staterooms feature fine appointments, which are highlighted by nice touches and clear views of the ocean.

Inside

Relax in lively style and smart sophistication. Our modern inside staterooms are highlighted with appointments like a TV, sitting area and more.

Accommodation Types

Sail Away Inside

The Haven Premier Owner's Suite with Large Balcony

The Haven 2-Bedroom Family Villa with Large Balcony

The Haven 2-Bedroom Family Villa with Balcony

The Haven Aft-Facing Penthouse with Large Balcony

The Haven Aft-Facing Penthouse with Balcony

The Haven Courtyard Penthouse with Large Balcony

The Haven Courtyard Penthouse with Balcony

The Haven Forward-Facing Penthouse with Balcony

The Haven Family Villa Suite with Balcony

The Haven Penthouse Suite with Balcony

The Haven Suite with Balcony

Penthouse Suite with Balcony

Family Suite

Family Club Balcony Suite

Club Balcony Suite with Larger Balcony

Club Balcony Suite

Sail Away Club Balcony Suite

Aft-Facing Balcony

Family Balcony

Large Balcony

Balcony

Solo Balcony

Sail Away Balcony

Family Oceanview

Oceanview with Picture Window

Solo Oceanview

Sail Away Oceanview

Family Inside

Inside

Solo Inside

Sail Away Inside

The Haven Premier Owner's Suite with Large Balcony

Dining

COMPLIMENTARY DINING

Every cruise fare includes beautifully crafted menus in our three main dining rooms, a help-yourself buffet and a variety of casual cafés, grills and on-the-go choices. From fresh-baked breads, desserts and pastries to our chefs' original dishes made with the freshest ingredients, your dining can be as fine or fun as you want.

SPECIALITY DINING

Dining aboard Norwegian is about having choices. Enjoy delicious comfort foods as well as more exotic choices from our many speciality dining restaurants for a cover charge or á la carte. Whether it's a cheeseburger you have a desire for, or Coq au Vin, your dinner is ready when you are.

Dining Types

American Diner

Food Republic

La Cucina

Q Texas Smokehouse

Le Bistro

The Manhattan Room

Room Service

Savour

Taste

Garden Café

The Haven Restaurant

The Local Bar & Grill

Ocean Blue

Teppanyaki

Cagney's Steakhouse

American Diner

Food Republic

La Cucina

Q Texas Smokehouse

Le Bistro

The Manhattan Room

Room Service

Savour

Enrichment

Listen and learn in a lecture held by a guest speaker, Norwegian Cruise Line ships have much to offer to enhance your learning and senses.

Enrichment Types

Excursions

Entertainment

When it comes to entertainment on Norwegian Joy, you won't believe your eyes or even your ears. Get mesmerised by the awe-inspiring acrobatics in Elements, relive the iconic 80's movie Footloose on stage, or enjoy sensational wines along with the characters of Wine Lovers the Musical. On Norwegian Joy it's showtime, all the time.

Entertainment Types

The A-List Bar

The Cellars Wine Bar

The District Brew House

The Local

Joy Speedway

Galaxy Pavilion

678 Ocean Place

Aqua Park

Footloose

The Cavern Club

Elements

Social Comedy and Night Club

Joy Casino

The Waterfront

Sandbar

The Beauty Shop

The Tides

The Time Zone

Tradewinds Tax & Duty-Free Shops

Perspectives Studio

Professional Portraits

Video Arcade

Observation Lounge

The Humidor Cigar Lounge

Starbucks®

Skyline Bar

Horizon Lounge

The Haven Lounge

Mixx Bar

Vibe Beach Club

Spice H20

Waves Pool Bar

Park West Gallery

The Jewel Box

The Photo Gallery

Haven Sundeck

Sugarcane Mojito Bar

Main Pool

Courtyard

Maltings Whiskey Bar