NCL used to have great entertainment with at least two different main production shows on a 7 night sailing. They've cut the shows in half and I miss those shows. 😢 I still love Choir of Man its the best show Ive ever seen on a cruise but 1 main show a week isnt enough.
@@MegaBeaches there were more than 2 on Joy. I was extremely disappointed in the Prima entertainment and nightlife. After Summer it got lame. Syd Normans drew lots of people, mostly because it was the only place to go for good live music. It was so crowded that people lined up 2 hours before to see the Rumours show. I saw it on the Getaway. Good thing, because I was not waiting that long.
Hey Zach , I agree with you about the food on NCL…. I always enjoy the food on NCL ships.. My issue now is the entertainment…. They are removing a lot of the big broadway production shows on the ships and aren’t replacing them with anything good
Not paying for entertainment. Stopped taking Norwegian because they nickel and dime so much that it stresses us - we just get tired of constant upsell pitches while we’re trying to relax. And, NCL’s coffee sucks.
Agree. The Prima and Viva are probably the two ships most plagued with the add-on fees just to do so many activities that should be included from the start. For the uninformed, you could easily say it's a bait and switch sort of operation.
Cons 1. The ship is completely over crowded 2. And this is a big one. The pool is TINY 3. The elevators take forever Pros 1. Staff is great 2. Food and drinks are great 3. Activities and shows are entertaining 4. Cagne’s Steak House. Make a reservation, it’s worth it
Your cons are due to the cruise. I took a TA that was at 60% capacity. No overcrowding, and the pool size didn't matter. Oh, and the elevators were good.
Agree on the lack of soundproofing with the balcony cabins. Was on a 15 night Panama Canal cruise on the Bliss ( similar to the Joy ) had a balcony stateroom and a senior gent as a neighbour who kept is TV on all night, I barely slept the entire cruise and after several complaints to guest services, I was given a spare 'inside' to use to sleep.
Just got back from my own solo cruise. For me the biggest issue is clearly with crew. Not their conduct as the Norwegian staff were phenomenal, but there weren’t enough of them. So many bars and other venues seemed to have really tough crew to passenger ratios. I tried to put my money where my mouth was and tip generously and be polite, and by the end I was getting recognized before handing them my card. I honestly wouldn’t mind paying a significant bump for more crew. More time spent sunning and funning instead of waiting for overworked staff.
I definitely noticed a shortage in the hotel department. My room steward seemed to have so many staterooms to manage. She often didn’t make it to my room until 3-4 PM.
@@ZachtheTravelingMan Hopefully when these cruise lines see pre-pandemic profits roll in and they make back what they lost for two years that they'll add more crew members.
@@ZachtheTravelingMan interesting - I was on the Joy (also in a solo balcony) and I think my room steward was magic. I'd go to breakfast, come back, and my room was cleaned. I never even met him until about day 3 of the cruise, and commented to him on that, and he said he prioritized the solos because we were often out early while all the families were still combobulating themselves.
Hey Zach, great job on your review. Straight forward, good facts and easy to understand. By November 2024, I will hit 30 overall Cruises, ..... just behind your 33 as oh this video. P.S.: I have been on 6 Norwegian Cruises and I remember distinctly experiencing the same thing you did, ..... sitting in the main dining room where they had a large dance floor and a band, ..... the music was SO LOUD I literally had to leave the dinning room, go back to my Cabin and grab my "Ear plugs." What made things worse was that I had met a lovely woman on the ship that I had invited to join me for that specific dinner. We couldn't hear each other talk, because the music was SO LOUD then when I returned witwith my ear plugs I was so embarrassed wearing them and the dinner was destroyed! 😎⛹️♀️🤸♂️🚴♂️
Zack, a hack about water - bring your own water bottle and refill it at the buffet! My favorite NCL ship is the Bliss. I am about to go on my 3rd cruise on the Bliss. The first was to the Mexican Riviera. Fantastic experience. The crew was awesome. Then, after cruising on other NCL ships, back to the Bliss to Alaska. It was the last cruise to Alaska for the season. The crew was just "over it"! They were tired, sad and ready to be done. I now take it into consideration when booking!
I remember seeing the Bliss from the Space Needle in Seattle the day before it set sail on its first American itinerary. It was glistening and pristine. I regretted that I wasn't boarding her the next day.
Same here. I did a TA on the Joy and loved everything about it. I even enjoyed the entertainment. There was a Beatles show that was pretty good and I spent time in the Cavern enjoying those groups. I'm looking forward to more cruises on the Joy.
OH, one thing I forgot to mention. Unlike other lines. NCL just tossed your luggage in the hallway "near" your room if you are lucky and you have to go hunt for it. So be ready to play a hunt and find game. This was pretty surprising to say the least.
Ya, we have 3 kids. I am sailing on the Joy in September, but we last sailed on RC Symphony of the Seas and I was astounded by how much stuff there was to do at NO UP CHARGE. So much for the kids. So much for the family. ZERO upcharges. NCL basically everything has an upcharge, even the main shows. It's just weird.
Thank you Zach!! we have been cruising since 1993 and have completed 56 Cruises, we have yet to experience Norwegian !!! your review has encouraged me to at least consider Norwegian… I know this sounds ridiculous but not including water in the drink package is one of the main reasons that kept me away… It was the principal and it still is… But this was a great review and I appreciate it thank you🚢
I'm married but I would totally go solo and do it on NCL. I'd do it now but my husband has some medical stuff and hasn't been able to drive in a year due to his auto immune disease and the need for high steroid use. Crossing fingers that his cataract/glaucoma surgeries will solve that. He's good with me doing things alone, but he needs to be back to independent. Helps are son and his girlfriend live here because they help out and our youngest and her boyfriend are here partially and even when they get their place, they will be 20 minutes away if needed if I'm not here. Thanks for the review and the perks for solo cruisers, it makes me feel comfortable going at a fair and decent price and perks if I ever take that leap.
My sister, who has sarcoidosis recently had two surgeries at once to restore her failing sight. She had a cataract removed and a film that had formed over her retina removed. Recovery took over a month, but her eyesight now is better than when she first began seeing the doctors a couple of years ago! I hope it goes well on your end, too.❤
@@CarolmaizyI have sarcoidosis too plus 3 other autoimmune disorders & my eyesight is just starting to get really bad. I had Lasik back in 2011 so I’m disappointed that the steroids from all these things have ruined my eyes. I 🩵NCL & would love to do a solo cruise as well. My hubby agreed to cruise NCL to Bermuda this October for our 30th anniversary since they do 3 night & 3 days in port. He’s a workaholic so I would love to do a solo cruise one day on NCL too!! Good luck w everyone’s health, maybe I’ll see you 1 day in solo’s lounge😎 😉ENJOY NCL 😊
We were on the June 9th sailing and I agree with most of what you said I think one of the saddest thing was the staff. Most of them didn't seem happy until like the last 3 days when I saw more of them smiling. The first 2 dining room staff seemed so focused on getting foodnout that they even forgot some of the things we ordered. Lucky the waiter in Taste redeemed that, she was the best. We had issues with the toilet in our room that sometimes didn't flush but eventually it did and almost all the public ladies' restrooms seemed to have a stall out of order. We did bid for an upgrade and got a beautiful, spacious room which were happy about. Yes it was below Social so we heard the music but it wasn't loud enough to bother us. Food was delicious, except for the baked wings in The Local. Loved the Indian and Asian offerings in the Garden Cafe. Ship itself is beautiful and was a Joy to be sailing on her.
My husband and I used to cruise on Norwegian a lot but it went down hill. We don't sail them anymore. The service is better on other ships. Just my opinion
Hey Zach! I was on the Joy when it was returning to America from it's refurb. I thought the ship looked beautiful but not every public area was open yet. Minor annoyance. My solo balcony was huge and lovely but I wish it had included access to a solo lounge. Entertainment was pretty meh but I thought the food was some of the best I've had on an NCL cruise.
I am managing to find reasonable prices for solo cruising, mostly on MSC and NCL ships. But I'm also finding that airfare costs roughly the same as the cruises themselves. Ad an extra night by flying in the day before, and I'm priced out altogether.
Then after the long wait ,try to get through all the suitcases in the hallways with a wheelchair ♿️ and room way in the back . People going to their rooms helped us .
Great review. I do enjoy NCL. I have sailed on the Joy, Bliss, Gem, Getaway, and Breakaway. The Joy was definitely my favorite! The Waterfront, Observation Lounge,, Cavern Club, lounges, and all the restaurants were wonderful. Sadly, NCL has reduced or eliminated their high caliber Broadway type shows, and their absence is certainly keenly felt. Game shows are just not for me. I did feel the service was excellent on my cruises. I’m glad you had a good cruise!
We are on the Joy in late 2023 on a Panama Canal cruise. We loved the ship, but do sort of agree about the Entertainment. Like your cruise, the only stage show in the main Theatre was Elements (which we did not see), however, they did have the Beetles cover band do a few shows in the theatre, which were decent. In my experience, the best entertainment was a Broadway review with some amazing performers the last night in the Q Lounge. I was less impressed with the "local" entertainment that played in some of the bars and open areas.
Thanks for mentioning the overly loud music at Q. Good to know. Guess I’ll avoid that place since that would really bother me. I have 21 nights on Joy in a solo Balcony coming in 2025. Your review is very helpful.
I really enjoyed the Q and used two of my four specialty dining reservations there. I especially enjoyed the country band during dinner and did not think it was loud at all. I saw another review that was critical of the food, but I thought it was great and even very generous portions. So, I think it's just a matter of personal preferences.
Sad you didn't have decent entertainment. We sailed on her pre-pandemic to the Panama Canal and West Carib. and had Footloose and a great Motown revue in addition to Elements. Food was great except for the Italian restaurant. Loved the Local and the Sugar Cane Mojito Bar. Probably one of the best cruises we've had
I nearly went on this as a side by side. I was gonna do 4 days in an exterior cabin on the Joy to Bermuda, then 1 week on MSCs Meraviglia in Yacht club. But MSC changed their itenary to work on their private island. MSC offered us 12 days at the same price instead . So no brainer. We took it and cancelled our NCL Joy reservation. (Only lost 160$). So after hearing this , its interesting to read the complaints. Considering how many moan about MSCs service! Its a general problem on many ships at the moment. Understaffed. But us being in Yacht Club , we were cared for constantly!
I just get off noreign joy 3 days ago and I was not happy with the way some staff treated my husband and daughter . Every time my daughter ordered a drink ' she was reminded ' that drink is not in your package ! When ever my husband ordered a drink ' most staff did not seem please to serve him . Not so happy staff! And when eating at the specialty dinner ' staff seem less to want my family to eat there ! I was dissappointed ! I felt like I did not belong on the cruise . I will never sail on the Joy ! Instead of me feeling overjoyed ' I felt sad and ready to go home!
Things changed from couple years ago on Joy . At Cagney’s they brought me baked potato, I said I order mashed potatoes, she said no you order baked . Really ? I guess I lied . Came home 4 days ago , with Covid . No more Joy in Joy .
Been to Dollywood lately, Zach? Finally went for the first time this year the other day. Been a million times, so it's not exactly something I do more than once or so a year nowadays. I'm from east Tennessee as well and live in Maryville. Great to see that you're still keeping up with the informative vids. Considering a voyage on the Joy during early September. But the lack of entertainment options is really giving me pause. If I bring family and there's nothing for them to do, they will be quite displeased. Like you I also travel solo sometimes. Other times, I'll bring someone along. I just tend to do more terrestrial based travel. If I cruise, it's more about the ship and less about the ports of call. I just don't feel like a half day at a given destination is adequate time to really experience a locale. But I do still enjoy cruising and thus alternate my types of travel. Anyway, keep the vids rolling in.
Going on the Breakaway to Bermuda in October for our 30th anniversary. Last time we were on a cruise was before Covid so it’s been quite some time, but we loved the cruise & everything about it. I was hoping to hear good things about Breakaway & thanks for your comment, it helped me relax on our decision 😊
Joy was my first cruise in 2019 and it's sad that entertainment has fallen off so bad since then. We had Footloose on that cruise that was Broadway caliber performance.
Still have not been on a Norwegian Cruises. I feel like the ships are great but I always see mixed reviews on experience. They are supposed to start cruising out of my local port at the end of next year so i may try them then.
Just got off the Breakaway a couple of weeks ago and I had the same problem. Entertainment was AWFUL! I was sooo disappointed and sad :( So different from my experience on the Encore and Epic. I always have a great time at NCL. I have cruise others but always come back to them. Agree with review1
Great thorough review! We have sailed on Getaway and Epic and will be on the Joy to Alaska in May 25. Epic needs to be shut down for renovations.so many pluming issues. Had no hot water for a week and others had no toilet. Would never go back on Epic. I hope the Joy is much better or we are done with NCL. They do nickel and dime you. A case of water for $30….really??
Did the Encore in Alaska last year, and generally agree with your assessments. NCL is understaffed and that's the reason for 3PM room. I noticed a less than needed crew on my overcapacity Alaska cruise.I did a solo room, quiet as anything. I wasn't impressed at all with their food, nothing bad, but nothing at all great, pretty good at best. Entertainment was subpar, Not a big broadway guy, but willing to watch. yea only one show ( the 'Man' ) , the Beatles cover band ( which was great and saw as many times as I could) most thing are pay or boring MOR ( read elevator music). I go more for the ports than the ship experience itself. Trying a smaller ship this fall and I'll have a more informed view of NCL. Each line
Great video! We are planning a family reunion cruise and considering this ship. Interesting about the bottled water. Does the ship have water stations where you can refill a reusable water bottle?
I go with the basic and just pay for an upcharge meal when i feel like one, cruising is still the cheapest way for me. The nickle snd dime never affect me since i don't need a lot. Inless you want fancy drinks, everything is there.
The Entertainment was really poor for all the reasons you gave. It really shouldn't be taken likely this is the main reason why I will continue to cruise with the competition.
Each of the big Norwegian Ships have a Broadway Show. Until 2023 Joy had Footloose The Broadway Musical. There was a story there but I don't remember, too tired to look it up. Surprised that they didn't replace it reprise the show. Glad your food on Joy was good as the Getaway was awful. I obviously didn't starve but I'll never do the dining package again. If one isn't in to the dining or drinking packages they can uncheck them during the reservation process.
Interesting that the food wasn’t good on Getaway. I’m 2/2 for good food on NCL ships now but will proceed cautiously in the future. Good to know about the Broadway shows too. They certainly need to revamp that on Joy.
Zach as an NCL fan I would agree with the review as we've been on all the Breakaway and Plus ships. What is really disappointing is to cut costs. They eliminated a majority of their shows and replaced them with Wheel of Fortune and it's just ridiculous. NCL biggest selling point was the "shows," and it's sad that's the route they choose to go.. They canceled some fantastic shows, Kinky Boots, Prisella Queen of Dessert etc. Very disappointing. I think there are a couple of issues with staffing. One, they still haven't recovered the employees they lost pre covid, and I also think it's a cost saving mandate to run bare bones to see how much the cruiser will tolerate.
When I was on Breakway a year or two ago sailing to New England and Canada from Manhattan, the entertainment was the highlight. They had two Broadway shows at the time, Burn the Floor and Six. They have cut a lot of their shows, it is a shame. I live in the NYC area, so I can see Broadway whenever I want, but I understand the entertainment is important to cruisers.
I was amazed at how much I….HATED my recent cruise on Bliss sailing from LA up the Pacific Coast to Vancouver…small and cramped, despite the fact it’s technically bigger than the similar RCL Quantum ships (which was MUCH roomier and easier to get around)….most of the complimentary food was SHOCKINGLY mediocre to terrible compared to every RCL ship I’ve been on
Ncl is pricing very aggressively but i struggle so much with the onboard experience. The newer ships have better staff but worse and sometimes paywalled activities. The older ships have better activities like free and included pools and public venues but the staff is somewhat clueless which is problematic for my party as people have food allergies.
Thanks Zach! We like the structure of the STEPS approach that you use. Are you back on Celebrity at some point? Are you seeing the price of cruising going up everywhere and every line? Keep up the great work!
I love NCL. I dont like structure, the free style was perfect for me. Food is so good compared to RCL. If entertainment is important to you, RCL has better entertainment but food is cafeteria food..i couldn't eat.
On the scheduling, there’s no way to make everyone happy. You mentioned that you “get it” and things can change. So, if they put a skeleton schedule on the app for the full cruise and then something is added or changed or removed, there will be people unhappy. Maybe more people unhappily complaining because perhaps they made plans and missed out on other plans because they didn’t notice the adds/changes/removals in time. If you were the one listening to complaints all day every day, I think you’d agree that of all the options, you’re going to disappoint the fewest guests by keeping the app schedule limited to no more than 24 hours in advance. While giving the activities team and other staff the greatest flexibility to manage resources. Still a fan. Just have come to expect you to be a little smarter about things like this. :-)
It’s disappointing news about the entertainment, there’s a lot of sea days in that sailing to be with minimal shows and included/free entertainment. Even the budget Carnival cruises has LOTS of nightly entertainment.
They really do struggle with entertainment and also nickel and diming you. I also do not like the freestyle approach, it makes for huge gatherings at places including getting on and off the ship.
It appears that Norwegian is selling cheaper tickets, then making up the difference via nickel and timing. As a cruise line, Norwegian has been facing financial difficulties. They've been trying to cut costs, such as onboard entertainment and reducing crew to passenger ratios. There has been considerable media attention in this and at one point, they were at risk for bankruptcy. I think that the worst of it is over, but they are clearly under financial pressure.
On the shower draining, do you think that the guest who stayed in your same cabin had the same issue during their sailing and didn’t say anything? Or they said something and it wasn’t fixed? Or, is it more likely that the drainage issue occurred on the last day or night before you embarked and no one had reported the issue until til you did? Let’s be fair and reasonable before making such a sweeping extrapolation. No guest would keep showering if it was flooding. Given how easily they fixed it when you reported it, the same would have been done had the prior guest reported it. So it had to had happened between the last sailing day and your embarkation. If it had kept flooding, then I’d agree with you on this criticism. Still a fan.
Just got back from my 7th cruise with NCL. Second time on the Joy. The BULLSHIT with the lounge chairs on the main pool deck with towels on them for OVER AN HOUR with NO PEOPLE HAS TO STOP. We were not able to sit one ONE CHAIR during the WHOLE cruise. The lunch buffet was the SAME EVERY DAY. Hot dogs tasted raw. THE SHIP HAS WWWAAAAYYYYY TO FEW elevators for a Breakaway size ship. Always crowds at elevators. Tabenyaki food was not that good. The first time I am saying this. The rice was dry and burned,and the scallops were not cooked all the way. The steak had NO taste and VERY chewy. THE TV CHANNELS IN THE ROOM SUCKED!!!! Very important to have CNBC on a vacation. Deck pool was WAYYYYY TO SMALL for a ship with over 4.200 passengers. The GEM was a MUCH BETTER SHIP. So was the STAR and the SPIRIT. One GREAT thing was the WIFI. The ship now has STARLINK.
I agree about trying to get a lounge Chair. I just got back the 14th. I went to get a Lounge Chair on the 13th at 8am. Every single chair on Deck 17 taken. My Brother in Law said deck 16 was full before 8am. I had to wait until 9am for more chairs to be put out when the running track shut down. With not many employees putting chairs out. It took until 9:30am to get a Chair. Then we had Storm come in 11:30. This ship is good for people that don’t want to sit in ☀️. ;(
