Perhaps you are like me, you have never cruised on a large ship? Well, I recently had a chance to experience such a cruise when my company organized our business meeting aboard the Norwegian Joy! Please note that I am a travel consultant and my company organized this meeting for all of us!
This was a great learning experience for me as this is a product I normally would not consider. But maybe you would! Norwegian Cruice Lines (NCL) is a company with 20 different ships in its inventory and Joy is the name of ship we sailed on, one of its largest with just under 4,000 passengers. It sails primarily in North America, including Caribbean. NCL is also the company that owns two luxury brands, Regent and Oceania, both with smaller ships (I have sailed on Regent). If you have ever seen an NCL ship, you can recognize it by its brightly-painted hull! One of the NCl marketing lines is “Sail Into Vacation Mode”. I totally agree with that. Honestly, I really wonder if people even get off the ship as there is so much offered on board. I noticed that multi-generation families were everywhere. It also reflects the vast diversity of the American population! In a way, I often felt that I was in Las Vegas… long walks to everything, casinos that stretched for forever, so many eating/drink venues, and of course, elevators to take us everywhere which all worked seamlessly.
My first worry was about how the embarkation process would work! Unfortunately, we took a transfer from our Miami hotel to the dock, but they left us at another massive ship (yes, it was boarding with endless lines,) so, we were compelled to walk with our luggage to wherever! Once we found someone to take our luggage, the embarkation process was easy and efficient. Once you get your ID card, you head up many walkways to finally arrive on a specific deck. There, you start wandering around and waiting till your room is ready. No one ever tells you that, so you just make periodic checks. If you are lucky, your luggage is sitting outside your door! You can quickly unpack and let the fun begin.
For those who want to spend up, you can book a room/suite in the area called Haven, which gives you exclusive access to the Haven dining room, bar, different lounges and a small pool. I opted for the Haven and felt that was the best part of our trip! The food for breakfast, lunch and dinner was definitely amazing, a cut above all other food on the boat. You never fret about finding a table by the window as there just aren’t crowds. It really provides a calm, quiet venue with its own Concierge, who takes care of everything for you (no need to stand in line on Deck 6 to get help at Customer Service). Also, for disembarking in ports, you meet the Concierge who takes you down on a private elevator to the dock and off you go! This also was the same process for our last day when disembarkation took place.
Depending on what type of room you choose, the vacation can be quite inexpensive (unless you are paying for multiple family members). But you must take into consideration all the other extra charges: WIFI, drinks (there are no free drinks, alcoholic or otherwise, so, you pay for them as you go or purchase a drink package), gratuities and excursions. Also, there are four to five specialty restaurants on board. Unlike other luxury cruise ships with special restaurants, here, you don’t pay a fee to make a reservation, you pay for everything you order just like you are eating out at your favorite restaurant. This can be expensive. There are also some fees to go into certain clubs or some entertainment venues.
There is live entertainment every night in many areas from song/dance shows, to Beatles music, and a show called Elements among others. There is always the enormous Casino which seems like one in MGM Grand in Vegas. Wow. There are go-carts on the top deck, a large pool crowded with people everywhere, lots of enormous video screens and music blaring, a special White Party night among other things… Art Auction and Rodeo Drive name brand stores which always seemed full, despite Rodeo Drive prices! And if you like TV game shows, there are versions of them where you can be a participant! Of course, there are many different bars with different ambiences to keep you interested. To get around the ship, you can use wide-open staircases or use the multiple elevator banks. Surprisingly, everyone seemed to move around easily to wherever their next adventure was.
About the ports of call, I would not rate this Itinerary too highly. The ship sailed from Miami in the Western Caribbean which included Cozumel, Costa Maya, its own Harvest Island and Roatan, Honduras. If you were not into sun and sand, snorkeling, scuba diving and the beach, there was very little of interest to see. In fact, in Costa Maya, the port was dominated by an enormous Mexican tourist market plus some “voladores” (Aztec men who fly off a tall pole twirling on their way down). Our ship docked right on the market edge and over-shadowed the market stalls with its enormity. I found that an AMAZING site to behold.
Joy definitely delivered a “fun” spirit. People (all ages) seemed happy. Certainly, this is not an adventure for everyone, but it does have lots to offer.
Linda Stack, who lives in SaddleBrooke, owns Travelinda, LLC and can be reached via email at llstack9597@gmail.com.
