mevelandry
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 22, 2013
We have just booked a cruise on Norwegian Joy. Can I tag along?
We have just booked a cruise on Norwegian Joy. Can I tag along?
They Joy looks like a fabulous ship. We will be on the Encore next which is very similar, and will be our first time on a mega ship - on any line. Up until now the largest ship we've been on is the Disney Fantasy.
Where are you going?
I know you've sailed a lot on Carnival in the past. There is a YouTube channel I watch occasionally by a couple that sails a lot on both Carnival and NCL. I like them because they seem pretty honest about what they like and don't like, but also pretty much just go with the flow and don't sweat the small stuff - which is basically our philosophy when we are on vacation .
Here are a couple from the Joy:
Thank you so very much for the videos.
We are going to Bermuda (from NYC). It's been on my bucket list forever.
I've sailed on Carnival, DCL & RCCL... I can't wait to discover Norwegian.
You're welcome. We love sailing out of NYC. Be sure you're up on deck for the sail out and the sail in as well (it's worth getting up before dawn!!). It's pretty incredible. They have a few more videos on the Joy, but I'd also recommend checking out the ones from the Bliss as it's very similar and they were on that one for a full week long cruise. I think this one on the Joy was some type of travel agent preview cruise.
I've not sailed on NCL's big ships, (yet) but if you've got any general NCL questions, I'll try my best to help.
Help. My husband and I are debating between a cruise on the Royal Caribbean Ovation of the Seas to Alaska and the Norwegian Breakaway from Miami to Honduras, Belize, and Mexico. This will be just us no kids. Going first week of August. I am leaning towards the Norwegian a bit because of cost. What do people think about this ship? Plenty for adults to do? We have not done Norwegian before.
Well we just did it. We have booked the Norwegian Gem out of Boston to Bermuda the first week of August. Anyone have any thoughts on this one? Hopefully good.
Well we just did it. We have booked the Norwegian Gem out of Boston to Bermuda the first week of August. Anyone have any thoughts on this one? Hopefully good.
So we actually just changed our minds.We spent 12 days on the Gem in 2018 and loved it. It's a smaller ship - probably slightly larger than the Magic/Wonder for a DCL comparison. It definitely does not have all the bells and whistles that the larger ships do, but that was fine with us. It was a beautiful ship and the service was great. We enjoyed the food and entertainment. Just be aware that the entertainment on the smaller NCL ships is a combination of live music and your typical cruise musical shows. You have to sail on one of their larger ships to get the Broadway type shows. That being said, we really enjoyed our time on that ship and wouldn't hesitate to sail on it again. We also just spent 14 days on the Jade (pretty much identical to the Gem) in Oct/Nov 2019 and loved it as well.
I don't know if you have younger children, but that would probably be my one warning. They do have kids clubs, but we have no experience with them (our son is 21). Other than that, there won't be as many activities geared towards children as you'll see on the larger ships. There was a sports court, the pool and I seem to recall an arcade, so it's not as if there is nothing for children to do, but it's not like the larger ships.
If you don't care about that, I think the Gem is a great option. It's small enough that it's easy to navigate and there are still lots of dining options. It also was probably one of the cleanest ships I've ever been on (including Disney ships). We loved our time on the Gem.
Wow - sorry! I don't want to discourage you, as we actually quite love the NCL product. We've very much enjoyed all three of our cruises on NCL and look forward to our next one. I just don't think their smaller ships are the best choice for families with small kids. I'd recommend really looking at their website and seeing what is available on each ship.So we actually just changed our minds.
I haven't experienced this ship, but my DH and son{17] did and it's my DH's favorite ship. He's been on over 20 DCL cruises and one Royal. He really liked the entertainment. Since I wasn't there he didn't try the dining room and ate in the buffet every night. My youngest child[15] and are Disney loyalists but were all sailing on Allure next week. I'm looking at NCL in Europe next year since there prices and itineraries are a little better than DCL.We have just booked a cruise on Norwegian Joy. Can I tag along?
So we actually just changed our minds.
Elysa and Jason! I watch their videos sometimes too. Their series of vids from their Alaskan cruise on NCL (Breakaway I think) is what got me excited to do an NCL/Alaska cruise. I also like Gary Bembridge on cruising tips.The Joy looks like a fabulous ship. We will be on the Encore next which is very similar, and will be our first time on a mega ship - on any line. Up until now the largest ship we've been on is the Disney Fantasy.
Where are you going?
I know you've sailed a lot on Carnival in the past. There is a YouTube channel I watch occasionally by a couple that sail a lot on both Carnival and NCL. I like them because they seem pretty honest about what they like and don't like, but also pretty much just go with the flow and don't sweat the small stuff - which is basically our philosophy when we are on vacation .
Here are a couple from the Joy: