Review of the Norwegian Joy: A 3-Day Bahamas Cruise from Miami to Nassau and Great Stirrup Cay

Of all the Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) ships my husband and I have sailed so far, the Norwegian Joy just might be my favorite ship yet!

We had the opportunity to sail the Joy in November 2023. Since we both have Veterans Day off, we decided to make the most of the long weekend by booking a cruise.

Note: This post contains affiliate links. That means that if you make a purchase after clicking on a link, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.

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overall experience

A major reason why I loved the Joy is its Observation Lounge, which was huuuge — I would sail the Joy again just for the Observation Lounge. It was by far my favorite one out of all the ships we've been one, even more so than Encore's (which was my favorite until now).

I was therefore surprised to read some negative reviews, including one that wondered whether the Joy was Norwegian's worst mega ship ever. (!)

I don't know if my husband and I just have fewer expectations since we didn't start cruising until 2021 (aka after the pandemic impacted cruising), but some of the complaints I read about the Joy (like about the food or pool) just didn't even register with either of us.

I will say that based on my personal preferences, the Bahamas itinerary to Nassau and Great Stirrup Cay can't really compete against some of the other itineraries I've traveled — but even that doesn't feel like a big deal, since I'm just as happy to stay on the ship as I am to explore on land!

On the beach at Great Stirrup Cay, NCL's private island in the Bahamas!
Hat: Nordstrom | Sunglasses: Illesteva | Swimsuit: Summersalt

Note: Apparently the Joy is being renovated this year to enhance the customer experience. The revitalization was scheduled to begin early 2024, and changes include the following:

• Adding a spa thermal suite (before, the Joy only had a thermal suite),
• Expanding Vibe Beach Club,
• Upgrading the Haven suites, and
• Repurposing a portion of the Observation Lounge (!!!) to create 24 new balcony staterooms and 40 new spa balcony staterooms.

Since the expansive Observation Lounge was my favorite thing about the Joy, I'm hoping it doesn't significantly shrink — this is definitely something I plan to keep my eyes on!

My favorite Observation Lounge yet!

tips

Here's what I find most important.

• Reservations: You can make dining reservations for most restaurants in advance of Embarkation Day, but the exact timing depends on which category cabin you book (e.g., 120 days versus 90 days in advance). If on Embarkation Day you still haven't yet made reservations for restaurants or shows, make that the first thing you do upon boarding! There should be a designated place (depending on the itinerary, I've read either the Atrium or Teppanyaki, NCL's hibachi restaurant), or you can use the kiosk screens throughout the ship.
• Boarding the ship: Once that's done or if you already have your reservations upon boarding, my other two suggestions would be to either explore the ship deck-by-deck or find a cozy spot to grab drinks and relax (for most people, that's the pool). I like exploring the ship, so I can familiarize myself with my home away from home!
• Pack a carry-on for embarkation: Your cabin will likely not be available immediately, and it may take time for staff to bring your luggage to it, so pack anything you anticipate needing in a separate bag before embarking, since you may not have access to your luggage for several hours. (E.g., you may want a swim suit, sunscreen, sunglasses, charger, headphones, or a book.)
• Toiletries: Bring your own conditioner (the ship provides free shampoo and body wash) and lotion. The ship soap is very harsh on my skin, so because I wash my hands so much on cruises, my hands always become painfully chapped.
• Avoid the crowd: For the Joy, I read that there's a hot tub just outside the entrance to Vibe Beach Club that's available for everyone yet often less crowded than the ones by the main pool. We didn't have the chance to check it out, though!
• Excursions: Booking an excursion through the cruise line means more peace of mind (and priority) than if you'd booked an outside vendor (which are often more affordable but also riskier).
• Directionally challenged? The fish in the carpet swim in the direction of the bow (front) of the ship!

The Atrium on the ship (you can see some of the casino)

dining experience

NCL offers "Freestyle Dining," which means that you eat when you want, where you want (as opposed to assigned meal times at assigned tables at assigned restaurants). 

The ship offers both complimentary dining (free for everyone) and specialty dining restaurants (which can be paid for a la carte or may come included with your cabin selection).

On the Joy, the complimentary dining includes the following restaurants:

• The Garden Café (the indoor buffet on Deck 16)
• Taste and Savor (2of the Joy's 3 Main Dining Rooms, both on Deck 6)
• The Manhattan Room (the Joy's 3rd Main Dining Room, on Deck 7 and only open for dinner)
• The Local Bar & Grill (on Deck 7 and open 24/7)
• American Diner (on Deck 17)

Room service is also available but may involve a delivery fee.

I generally prefer eating our meals in the Main Dining Rooms because I like having table service. But I will say I actually really loved the buffet on this ship, it was extremely spacious and well-lit with natural light. The Local is always good for standard pub fare, and not only do I love that it's available 24/7, I also love its hot fudge sundaes!

Some of the seating in the Garden Café

The specialty dining includes the following restaurants:

• Q Texas Smokehouse (BBQ on Deck 6)
• Teppanyaki (Japanese hibachi on Deck 6)
• Le Bistro (French on Deck 8)
• La Cucina (Italian on Deck 8)
• Ocean Blue (seafood on Deck 8)
• Cagney's Steakhouse (on Deck 8)
• Food Republic (Asian-Latin fusion cuisine on Deck 8)

Le Bistro is my favorite specialty dining restaurant, we always have one meal there (I usually order the escargot as my appetizer and the duck as my entrée). And I've heard good things (from my husband, haha) about the smoked peach margarita at Q Texas Smokehouse! We always talk about paying for Teppanyaki but haven't gotten to it yet, maybe on our next cruise!

The Observation Lounge on Deck 15 also offers drinks and complimentary snacks at certain times.

We always book the beverage and dining package that includes drinks up to $15, and because of our cabin selection, we received one specialty dining reservation. 

For the rest of our meals, we usually are in one of the 3 Main Dining Rooms (MDR), although for breakfast or snacks during the day, we'd sometimes head to the buffet at the Garden Café.

ETA: I wanted to add here that on a previous cruise, one of my travel companions remarked that it's essentially impossible to go hungry on the ship — because if you're unhappy with your meal, you can always grab something else at one of the complimentary restaurants, or if you're interested in an entrée but would prefer a different side, you can always ask to substitute an item!

Note: Although NCL offers Freestyle Dining, most of the restaurants do have certain hours, so be sure to check them in advance (which you can do on the website, on the app, or in the Freestyle Daily newsletter left at your cabin door every day).

View from one of the tables at the Garden Café

bars

The Joy offers the following bars:

• The Mixx Bar (on Deck 6, between the Taste and Savor restaurants)
• Maltings Whiskey Bar (on Deck 6)
• The Skyline Bar (on Deck 7 in the casino)
• The Local (on Deck 7)
• Sugarcane Mojito Bar (on Deck 8, which has seats inside the ship or out on The Waterfront)
• The Cellars Wine Bar (on Deck 8)
• The District Brew House (on Deck 8)
• The A-List Bar (on Deck 8)
• The Humidor Cigar Lounge (on Deck 8)
• The Cavern Club (on Deck 8, inside the Cavern Club)
• Observation Lounge (on Deck 15)
• Waves Pool Bar (on Deck 16)
• Spice H2O (on Deck 17 and adults only)
• Vibe Beach Club (on Decks 19 and 20 — this is 18+ and available with a purchased pass)

I feel like I don't really have a favorite bar, just generally whichever one is closest and/or least crowded. My husband's favorite bar is definitely the Waves Pool Bar, but he also likes the Mojito Bar. 

When I inquired about mocktails on our last cruise, I was told that the bartenders could make anything I wanted!

The menu by the pool

entertainment and activities

The Joy offers the following activities and shows (though some are not complimentary):

• Elements (magic and dance)
• Deal or No Deal
• Comedy shows
• Themed nights at Spice H2O
• Go-karts
• Mini-golf
• The pool
• Water slides and splash pad (I kept wishing my young niblings could have come because I know they would have loved this!)
• Fitness center and outdoor jogging track
• Spa and salon
• Kids' Splash Academy
• Video arcade
• Onboard shopping
• I recently learned that Norwegian offers wine tasting (for a fee), so that's something I'd like to do next time!

This isn't the best photo, but there's nothing like being out at sea!
Sunglasses: Illesteva | Swimsuit: Target | Shorts: Abercrombie

I loved the Elements show. There were some parts that were less compelling than others, but the performers are all very talented, and you can tell a lot goes into the production. My favorite part was the acrobatics!! Several standing ovations from the audience. And the ship's comedians were excellent, too.

If we'd been with friends, I think we would have gone to Spice H2O more, but since it was just the 2 of us, we kept it fairly low-key.

Honestly, my favorite thing was to head to the Observation Lounge and curl up on a couch with a book (I finally decided to read Lord of the Rings!), listening to some live music (pianist). Since my husband likes to attend alllll the events (from comedy shows to karaoke to trivia — he carefully reads the ship's Freestyle Daily every night to plan out his schedule for the next day), he'd often meet me there at the end of the night.

Late night in the Observation Lounge

I read some complaints that the Joy's pools are too small for the size of the ship (which is because the ship was initially designed for a different market that was less interested in sunning). The pool sizes on cruises have yet to really bother me because at most I usually just want to sit on the edge with my phone or a book and dip my legs, and I was always able to find a spot along the pool on this cruise. 

Plus, ever since I learned that pools affect the stability of the ship, I'm just happy to have a pool on board at all!

the cabin

As usual, we were happy with our cabin — especially since we don't spend much time there.

To maximize space, I bring a hanging make-up case (so it doesn't have to sit on the counter), and we lay our suitcases flat and push them under the bed so we can roll them in and out like extra wardrobe drawers.

The ship does have American outlets (so we didn't need to bring a universal adapter), and there are USB ports by the bed.

Out on our balcony one night... To take this photo, I propped my phone up on my Lord of the Rings book, hahaha!
Dress: Flying Tomato (non-affiliate link), similar blue-and-white maxi dresses here, here, here, and here

what i packed

Even though the cruise was only a few days, I still managed to overpack! Here's what I brought — please note that all links are affiliate links. 

• Accessories like sunglasses and a hat.
• A lanyard for my ship ID! I'll never go on a cruise without this again, it's so irritating having to pull your ship ID out every time you embark/disembark/order food and drinks, and the lanyards on the ship are pricey.
• Dresses from Flying Tomato, Lulus, and Amazon.
• Jean shorts from Abercrombie.
• Swimsuits from Summersalt, Target, and Amazon.
• Flip-flops from Tory Burch, Lulus, Steve Madden, and Old Navy (for the shower).
• Exercise clothing from Old Navy.
• Tools like my hanging make-up bag; my quick-drying hair wrap; my hair straightener; my curling wand; and my travel blow-dryer (since mine is discontinued, here's the new version).
• Any medicine that you anticipate needing to use, since it'll be much more expensive on the ship.

the ports

Our two ports on this cruise were both in the Bahamas: Nassau and Great Stirrup Cay (which is NCL's private island).

Since this was our first time ever seeing Nassau, we decided to get off the ship to explore. We didn't book any excursions, so our plan was just to wander. 

When you first get off the ship and walk to the cruise terminal, there's a cute area with many brightly colored shops. As you leave that area, you'll begin to come across more bars, restaurants, and food trucks (though more authentic and less color-coordinated)

Since we didn't have a plan, we just kind of kept walking, eventually making our way past the Fins Up Water Park at the Margaritaville Beach Resort and then to a free (but crowded) beach.

We took off our shoes to walk in the water (I wished I'd brought along my water shoes!). The water was so gorgeous, I couldn't get over the bright turquoise color!

Hat: Nordstrom | Sunglasses: Illesteva | Swimsuit: Amazon | Shorts: Abercrombie | Sandals: Steve Madden (also available here)

As we were walking around, we saw a girl in the EXACT same outfit as me — same black swimsuit from Amazon with high-waisted jean shorts. So funny!

Hat: Nordstrom | Sunglasses: Illesteva | Swimsuit: Amazon | Shorts: Abercrombie | Sandals: Steve Madden (also available here) | Nail polish: OPI Big Apple Red, also available here (I am truly an Essie girl for life but this is my FAVORITE red polish ever!)

Back on the ship and trying to match my dress to Nassau, haha! The orange/green/yellow/blue/purple shops in the distance are the brightly-colored shops I referred to earlier.
Earrings: Bauble Bar (old, similar here) | Dress: Flying Tomato (old)

After Nassau was Great Stirrup Cay!

This was our second time visiting Great Stirrup Cay; our first visit was while cruising NCL the previous November.

Last time, we'd rushed around a bit more because we booked an excursion to swim with pigs. However, we didn't book anything this time, so instead, we grabbed two free lounge chairs; waded into the water; and people-watched.

Since Great Stirrup Cay is owned by NCL, your food and beverage package carries over to the island. So we didn't have to pay for our lunch or any drinks/snacks while we were on shore!

NCL is in the midst of expanding Great Stirrup Cay, including adding a pier, but for now you have to take a tender (smaller boat) from the cruise ship to the shore.

Note: There's some debate about whether "cay" is pronounced like "key" or like "kay"! We heard both pronunciations, and even when I asked some of the staff, they either weren't sure or used both. I read that the Spanish pronunciation is "kay," but when the preceding words are English, it'd be pronounced "key" (which is why the Florida Keys are spelled K-E-Y).

Hat: Nordstrom | Sunglasses: Illesteva | Swimsuit: Summersalt

Sunglasses: Illesteva | Cover-up: Gap Factory | Swimsuit: Summersalt

Three of my husband's favorite things... margaritas, NCL, and his wife!

Hat: Nordstrom | Sunglasses: Illesteva | Swimsuit: Summersalt | Shorts: Abercrombie

Although this cruise was a short one, it was a wonderful getaway. I think sometimes we book cruises just so we don't have to spend time thinking about what to make for dinner or washing the dishes afterward. Plus, I was really excited that I was finally able to finish The Fellowship of the Ring!

Let me know if you have any questions about the Joy in the comments!

xoxo,