This post is from a member of the Voyageer Contributor Team, Jean, who is currently seeking out her next cruise. Find out how to have your post featured here!
When my husband approached me with the idea of booking our first cruise, my thoughts were influenced by the California cruise culture of my friends and neighbors. Their enthusiasm for cruising centered around casino life, tasting and enjoying around-the-clock food, and dancing the night away. I asked my husband, “Why would we want to take a cruise? We don’t enjoy dancing, aren’t crazy about trying new foods, and don’t gamble.”
After researching the different cruise lines, I discovered that each company has its own personality. We decided to try Norwegian because it went where we wanted to go and catered to a primarily adult traveler.
We had always wanted to do a fall trip to see the northeast part of the country and enjoy the changing leaves, get steeped in history, and explore areas we had never had the chance to visit. With this in mind, the idea was that the ship would pull double-duty as our “floating hotel” and transportation. We’d taken an overnight ferry in Scandinavia once, which was pleasant. The lounges, views, and having a tiny berth to sleep in while traveling from Stockholm to Tallinn were a bonus. Given that positive experience, I agreed to a Norwegian cruise from Boston to Quebec.
Overall Impressions
We stepped onto the Norwegian Dawn and were impressed by the decor, layout, and frequent greetings from the staff members. I didn’t expect to have a great time aboard the ship, but we felt very welcome. Our inside stateroom, although small, was adequate, and we were excited to get underway.
The first evening, we decided to go to the Stardust Theater to see what type of shows might be in store for us. After that, we were hooked. The nightly entertainment was well done and included a variety of acts. One night might be a cover band of Elton John’s work, another would feature an illusionist, or an acrobat troupe performing Cirque-du-Soliel type combinations of choreography and musical storytelling. The ship’s singers and dancers were excellent, and the finale Elements show was phenomenal.
We loved coming back to our cabin to find our bed turned down, complete with a towel creation (e.g., a rabbit-shaped towel or other creature) on our bed to greet us. Our booking didn’t include the paid food venues (an upgrade), but we found the food to be tasty and well-presented at the included venues.
The ports of call were places we otherwise may not have known about. We enjoyed each of them, usually doing our own thing instead of booking excursions through the cruise line. One highlight was visiting the home used when filming Anne of Green Gables on Prince Edward Island in Nova Scotia.
When asked about our vacation, we couldn’t say enough about how fun the trip had been and realized we now use the word “love” when talking about cruising.
Since then, we have cruised an additional three times on Norwegian. Our ships have included the Spirit and the Joy in addition to the Dawn. We enjoyed the Spirit on our Mediterranean and Alaskan cruises. Our most recent trip on the Joy sailed from Long Beach, CA, through the Panama Canal, finishing up in Miami.
If you are interested in my reviews of each ship, keep reading.
The Norwegian Dawn
What we liked
Since this was our first foray, we enjoyed practically everything about our trip.
Sprinkled throughout the ship are small venues that feature a variety of music: a duo singing oldies, jazz pianists, and small cover bands of well-known groups. We enjoyed after-hours music and dancing (we watched others dance) in the Bliss Lounge. As a librarian, we had to stop into the ship’s library to see what that was all about. The room was small but comfortably decorated and had a small self-service library filled with books that one could borrow to read while on board. The promenade deck was fun to walk around while getting our much-needed exercise and racking up extra steps on our FitBits.
What we didn’t like
The library was next door to the cigar lounge, so we couldn’t enjoy sitting in the library to read because the air was tinged with smoke.
The Norwegian Spirit
What we liked
This ship is a sister ship to the Dawn, and was very similar in experience to my review of the Dawn (above). It had been recently refurbished and had more of an Asian flair in the decor.
What we didn’t like
When sailing the Mediterranean, we had booked a cabin that apparently, was next to a machine room, so the stateroom wasn’t quiet at night and while sailing. We learned from that experience to book rooms that are more centrally located and away from the elevators and crew-only spaces that could be noisy.
The Norwegian JOY
What we liked
This ship is much larger than the Dawn and the Spirit. Our favorite spot to eat was The Local Bar and Grill, which served primarily pub food. They were open for breakfast, and we loved the options, from a quick bagel to a full breakfast including eggs, bacon or sausage, and toast. On deck 15 is the Observation Lounge, featuring comfortable seating, great views, and a light snack from 2:30 to 5:00 in the afternoon.
Each day, when we arrived back on board from visiting the ports, we made it our habit to freshen up, head to the Observation Lounge, and grab either a sandwich, bowl of fruit, a tasty dessert, or some flavored water. The sitting areas included sofas and chairs, an area with game tables, and the highly sought-after chaise lounges that looked out onto the ocean. To enjoy a chaise, one would have to get there first thing in the morning and camp out all day. (We didn’t get so lucky, but we loved the other areas.)
We enjoyed the nightly shows, with the Beatles Tribute Band being the best. Several of the bars and lounges had comfortable outdoor deck seating one could enjoy without going into the bar or ordering a drink. We loved finding a cozy spot to sit and read in these areas during our afternoons at sea.
We booked our shore excursions through Norwegian, and this required a bit of an early-morning wait in the theater while the many tour groups were called. The staff was well-organized and did a good job of herding everyone and guiding us all to our designated transportation. Booking our excursions ahead of time helped us relax. We knew that the ship wouldn’t take off without us if we encountered any time-related issues while out and about.
Unfortunately, I became ill one day while out and about and had to return to the ship early. The crew members made every effort to make sure I was properly taken care of, and our cabin attendant checked on my health for the rest of the trip. I appreciated that so much. I had some anxiety about cost and delayed going to the Medical Center on board, knowing the out-of-pocket cost could be expensive. Finally, I gave in… the care I received was phenomenal, and the provided documentation made filing a claim with my insurance a breeze.
What we didn’t like
Because this ship is so large, the layout is very different from the smaller ships. There is an open atrium in the center of the ship where much of the entertainment takes place. The type of entertainment focused on game show formats or Karaoke (which is not our cup of tea).
We saw several grand pianos sprinkled throughout the ship, but nobody was playing them. I was disappointed by that, having fond memories of the talented pianists on other ships. The sun deck was huge, the pools small, and the hot tubs were right next to the smoking patio. Game shows were the chosen entertainment on this deck in the afternoon, which we found noisy. We wished for a quiet option for sitting and soaking up the sun. The promenade deck didn’t encircle the ship, and to walk all the way around, one had to cut through one of the crowded elevator bays.
Complimentary food choices were quite limited, with three of the options serving the same menu at all times. The only difference in these venues was the size of the room. I felt it a bit misleading to think that we had six choices, when in reality, there were the Garden Cafe, the Local Bar and Grill and the other three with the same menu. There was also a super cute American Diner, but its hours were so limited that we were never able to try that one.
We had booked an interior cabin, unaware that there would be a bunk bed that was folded up onto the wall (see below). If we had realized this, we would have asked for our beds to be separated so that access to each bed would be from the center, instead of one person ducking under the protruding bunk to access the bed each time.
Lastly, the JOY has a ship-within-a-ship experience called the Haven. Those who purchase the Haven experience have access to special lounges and spas and enjoy reserved seating at the entertainment venues. We didn’t choose to upgrade, and the emphasis on the Haven experience in the daily announcements and other not-so-subtle ways left us feeling a little less-than-special.
Final Thought
Throughout the trip, the Cruise Director referred to the JOY as a floating hotel, and that is what it felt like. Overall, the JOY experience was fine but not fantastic, and we will probably choose smaller, more intimate ships going forward.
More posts by Jean: Travel After 50 and Sightseeing by Coach
Jean is a retired librarian who now spends her days traveling to the corners of the earth, revisiting old favorites and exploring new horizons.
