NCL Joy - Feedback Please...

There is only one review on the Joy.

Has anyone sailed the Joy? Planning on scheduling a sail?

Unfortunately, since the Joy was launched in March of 2017, her cruises (with very, very limited exceptions) have not been offered for sale outside of China. She has three more months sailing out of China (which are not being sold outside of China), then the brand new ship will undergo a $50 million dollar gut and overhaul to rip out everything that makes her unique and change her to "just another NCL cruise ship". Actually "less than another NCL cruise ship" without a Thermal Suite.

So anything you see/read about seafood buffets, tea rooms, karaoke rooms, and gardens will be gone by the time the ship starts sailing Alaska in April 2019.

Yeah, I think the problem is that even if you could find more english reviews of the Joy, they won't really tell you much about what the Joy will be like by the time you sail on her. The renovations are going to make a lot of changes to the physical space and amenities. And the switch from Mandarin to English and change in crew/culture will probably change the vibe of the ship quite a bit. And, obviously, all the entertainment will be changing.

Unfortunately, since the Joy was launched in March of 2017, her cruises (with very, very limited exceptions) have not been offered for sale outside of China. She has three more months sailing out of China (which are not being sold outside of China), then the brand new ship will undergo a $50 million dollar gut and overhaul to rip out everything that makes her unique and change her to "just another NCL cruise ship". Actually "less than another NCL cruise ship" without a Thermal Suite.

 

So anything you see/read about seafood buffets, tea rooms, karaoke rooms, and gardens will be gone by the time the ship starts sailing Alaska in April 2019.

I just called NCL after reading your response. You are correct. The agent said it will be refurbished to be more Americanized with all the new "Bells and Whistles" probably similar to the Bliss.

Curious: Where did you get your information? I would like to read about this.

Found my answer:

https://cruisemaven.com/norwegian-joy-alaska-cruises-begin-soon-after-50-million-refurbishment/

Looking forward to this!

I just called NCL after reading your response. You are correct. The agent said it will be refurbished to be more Americanized with all the new "Bells and Whistles" probably similar to the Bliss.

 

Curious: Where did you get your information? I would like to read about this.

There is a lot of great info on the Joy in this thread as well:

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2621004

A plus/bright side of her Chinese youth will be a new stateroom category called concierge class and inside suite staterooms?

A plus/bright side of her Chinese youth will be a new stateroom category called concierge class and inside suite staterooms?

Yes, those staterooms look interesting, especially the Concierge class... :)

Geezz, wish they would see their way clear to put in a thermal suite...

I just called NCL after reading your response. You are correct. The agent said it will be refurbished to be more Americanized with all the new "Bells and Whistles" probably similar to the Bliss.

From my perspective, they are taking all of the bells and whistles out of the ship and putting back in the "old and tired" stuff that is pervasive in NCL ships.

IMHO the Joy will always be a step child in the NCL fleet. She was built for one thing and then changed for another. No matter the changes, it will always be an odd ship IMHO. No spa. The pools are also much smaller among other things. I would only sail her if I got an incredible deal. The Joy was a huge mistake by NCL and no matter what the dry dock does, it does not change the mistake IMHO.

You have a brand new ship. Even millions later with dry dock and changes it will still be a notch below her sister ships.

I don't understand why they don't leave it as designed and sell cruises to the Chinese travelers who want to see other places outside China.

I don't understand why they don't leave it as designed and sell cruises to the Chinese travelers who want to see other places outside China.

Analysis says that current configuration is unprofitable in US markets.

Get rid of vip casinos and put in bars.

Get rid of the tea room and install the District Brewhouse.

Get rid of the designer retail and put in tacky souvenir shops.

Take out the high end seafood and put in a Mexican restaurant.

IMHO the Joy will always be a step child in the NCL fleet. She was built for one thing and then changed for another. No matter the changes, it will always be an odd ship IMHO. No spa. The pools are also much smaller among other things. I would only sail her if I got an incredible deal. The Joy was a huge mistake by NCL and no matter what the dry dock does, it does not change the mistake IMHO.

You have a brand new ship. Even millions later with dry dock and changes it will still be a notch below her sister ships.

Unless someone does not care about pools or spas?

My friends booked the Joy for Alaska for next May.

Joy was my mother's name. So, I have to wonder if I will cruise on her. Somehow I think she would like that.

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IMHO the Joy will always be a step child in the NCL fleet. She was built for one thing and then changed for another. No matter the changes, it will always be an odd ship IMHO. No spa. The pools are also much smaller among other things. I would only sail her if I got an incredible deal. The Joy was a huge mistake by NCL and no matter what the dry dock does, it does not change the mistake IMHO.

You have a brand new ship. Even millions later with dry dock and changes it will still be a notch below her sister ships.

It would be interesting to see how this has played out in a few years time.

Much of what you say could be applied to the Spirit. If anyone asks a question about that ship then one of the first replies will always mention about it being build for the Asian market, and being different from other NCL ships because of that.

The Spirit gets quite diverse reviews, but it seems to do quite well despite the differences. There are many people who particularly like some of its quirks.

I haven't really looked into the Joy all that much, so I'm not really up on what the differences currently are, and what they will be after the refurb. I don't think we can really predict how it will do in the future, and it's too early to say whether its differences will turn out to be positive, negative or neutral, in my opinion.

Well, my husband and I were very intrigued by with the Panama Canal itinerary from Miami to Miami so we booked in 2020.

I'm staying positive and will post a review at the end of our sailing.

IMHO the Joy will always be a step child in the NCL fleet. She was built for one thing and then changed for another. No matter the changes, it will always be an odd ship IMHO. No spa. The pools are also much smaller among other things. I would only sail her if I got an incredible deal. The Joy was a huge mistake by NCL and no matter what the dry dock does, it does not change the mistake IMHO.

You have a brand new ship. Even millions later with dry dock and changes it will still be a notch below her sister ships.

Norwegian likes having odd step child ships in the fleet, Epic is one of them!

Well, my husband and I were very intrigued by with the Panama Canal itinerary from Miami to Miami so we booked in 2020.

 

I'm staying positive and will post a review at the end of our sailing.

I also looked at those Panama Canal sailings on Joy and I too wonder if a Breakaway Plus class ship is a good ship for Panama Canal. Will there be enough public deck space for good viewing?

I also looked at those Panama Canal sailings on Joy and I too wonder if a Breakaway Plus class ship is a good ship for Panama Canal. Will there be enough public deck space for good viewing?

They are enlarging the observation lounge to be the size of the Bliss', so there will be a good amount of indoor viewing space as well.

No solo/studio cabins being added as far as I can tell :(

I also looked at those Panama Canal sailings on Joy and I too wonder if a Breakaway Plus class ship is a good ship for Panama Canal. Will there be enough public deck space for good viewing?

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No solo/studio cabins being added as far as I can tell :(

True. The deck plans show that they are keeping the concierge cabins instead of replacing them with the studio cabins.

They are enlarging the observation lounge to be the size of the Bliss', so there will be a good amount of indoor viewing space as well.

Yeah, the forward lounge looks really nice! :D I hope there is also enough open deck space all around because I read that you need to move around the ship's open decks to see the best. I do see there is a narrow promenade deck as well as the waterfront deck so that's good news.

Panama Canal is another itinerary where small open ships have some advantage, especially since they can fit old historic locks.

We booked 7 cabins total. 6 aft and 1 on the side. September 2020 . Hope the kinks get worked out before then .As long as everything works I am good. Do not care about shops. I do care about bars, restaurant venues and shows. Will be following threads on the Joy to see how it is going.

Yeah, the forward lounge looks really nice! :D I hope there is also enough open deck space all around because I read that you need to move around the ship's open decks to see the best. I do see there is a narrow promenade deck as well as the waterfront deck so that's good news.

 

Panama Canal is another itinerary where small open ships have some advantage, especially since they can fit old historic locks.

I've sailed both old & new locks - I really liked the Bliss' observation lounge, to see the beautiful view, while avoiding the humidity! It was interesting to see the differences - the first new lock became a road when closed, the cars were backing up, waiting for the road to open