cruisekrazykaze

Disembarkation happens from deck 7. You will need to be out of the room at 8:30ish at the latest, they actively start booting you at 9ish. There was breakfast available til about 9ish (even though the Daily said 8 or 8:30). They shut the Observation Lounge breakfast down sooner, the Garden cafe seemed to be the last on to close. We went up and grabbed some fruit, pastries, etc from the cafe and brought them to the Observation Lounge to enjoy later.

Agree, that's how I e seen it on other lines as well

It was available but the buffet closed between meal times.

Highlights: • The staff of NCL Joy were beyond fantastic. So accommodating and friendly. I can't count the number of crew that stopped to talk to our 3 year old and make her trip special. I also appreciate that without asking, they bring the kids meals before the adult meals to appease starving kids a d give them more time to eat. • The cabin (ours was a balcony) was nice and clean with lots of storage. The bed was very comfy. • Elements is an absolute MUST SEE. Fantastic quality and very engaging. • Use the kids club (Splash) when you can for the younger ones. My 3 yr old loved it. Just wish it was open more often! • Teppenyaki was a meal and a party all in one, we had a blast! (however 12 year old daughter who gets overstimulated easily wasn't loving it) • Overall was very pleased with the quality of the food, both specialty, main dining and buffet. The one time we did buffet while most guests were off the ship was lovely. We actually had a chance to stroll around and see the fantastic vsriewof offerings available. Ports (all excursions were independent, not via NCL) : • Roatan, we booked the 'best of Roatan' private tour with Victor Bodden tours. The sloth/monkey place was the highlight of our trip. So many great photo opps and memories made. West bay Beach (Henry Morgan resort) was also beautiful and we loved having the option of a pool or beach for $20 per person. We were very frustrated and dissatisfied with the communication between us and our guide. When booking the Best of Roatan tour you fill out a long form indicating your interests. Despite this, it seemed our driver took is where he wanted and wasn't clear on what the plan was, how long each would take, etc. This resulted in us going for an island tour for far too long in a vehicle with poor AC. Never been so happy to get out of a car in my life. • Cozumel, we booked Nachi Cocum. Since our port time was noon to 9, y the time we got there many other guests were getting ready to leave. We practically had the place to ourselves!! The pool and swim up bar was fantastic. The beach had lots of seaweed (in early April) and fairly rough waves... Better for just enjoying the relaxing sound of crashing waves than actually swimming. Food was very very good. Word of caution for picky eaters, the hamburger has onion and pepper in the burger. That was a deal breaker my daughter unfortunately but the rest of us loved our meal. • Harvest Caye, absolutely fantastic, huge pool and beach. We were able to snag chairs with shade despite not rushing off the ship. The food and drinks are outrageously priced unfortunately... Total money grab by NCL. Despite them saying no food off the boat.... You can take snacks and water off. They don't bother checking bags. We didn't eat in Port, but ordered room service as soon as we got back to our room (very well timed food after hours of beach and swimming) • Great Stirrup Cay, we were beached out by this last stop. We stayed on the boat and enjoyed a reprive from the mobs person of people. I do advise pre booking your tender on the TV on your cabin like they suggest. I was surprised that even til early afternoon they were still calling pre booked tenders and open tendering wasn't available yet. Tips: • If your group had multiple cabins, ask at check in or at guest services to ha e them link the cards so the cards can unlock either room. This was so helpful us since we had 2 cabins between the 4 of us. • Avoid the garden Cafe (buffet) at all costs unless early in the morning or when other guests are off the ship. It was so stressful to navigate the chaos, especially with a family. • The observation lounge is your friend. They have great basic food there, or if you have to navigate the buffet take your food down there for a much more peaceful eating experience. • If doing more specialty dining than your package includes, plan your most 'expensive' meals first, then pay ala cart for the lesser expensive options (Q, Teppenyaki etc) • To get an Irish coffee you need to get your own coffee from the buffet or drink station and bring it to the bar. They are happy to provide you irish cream and irish whiskey for it. • Bring lots to of lotion (dry skin from salt, chlorine, sun etc) • Bring conditioner, the stuff in the shower dispensar isn't great for detangeling hair • Embarkation was smooth, don't rush to get to the Port... You will likely end up waiting til noon or after to board anyway. There was is a larger bathroom in the port waiting area of you keep walking away from the check in area. The bathroom closet to check in is a single stall with a looonngg line. • Debarking, we had a late flight so took our time and did a late debarkation group. Stay away from decks 6 and 7, they were chaos. We found nice seating and quiet in the observation lounge to wait for our group to be called. Probably took 30-45 mins standing in line to get off the boat. Others in our group did the self debark and were out the door as soon as the boat had clearance (7:20ish am for our sailing) Bummers: • It felt like the dining hours were more restricted on this ship than other lines we've been on. Would have loved the Cafe to stay open even just with some basics in the 'off' hours between meals. • The ship venues felt by and large undersized for an at capacity (4800px) sailing. Reservations for everything or otherwise general over crowded... Especially the pool deck, yikes! • Footloose was a bust, when doing such an iconic musical you have to nail the vocals and I found it mediocre at best. • How does they not have an ice cream machine open most of the day, having that close between meals resulted in some disappointed kiddos. • Generally found a lack of activities for younger kids... Shops didn't sell anything kid focused, card room didnt have any games suitable for younger kids etc • The one kids pool was smaller than a typical hotel pool but super super deep everywhere.

Just used them this week. Sloth/monkey experience was fantastic, West Bay Beach (Henry Morgan resort, $20pp) was also nice if you want a pool and beach. We did best of Roatan tour and next time I'd do the group tour. The guide didn't add any value nor communicate well. He insisted on taking us on a 'city tour' and it was a waste of time and poor AC in his car.

We have 7 ships (total of 16k passengers) in Coz when we port over spring break. That is what drove me to book Nachi Cocum. Our family doesn't enjoy crowds.