The Ultimate “Joy” Ride

élite Magazine was recently invited for a sneak peek of the Norwegian Cruise Lines Norwegian Joy after she went through a $50 million ultimate refurbishment. Norwegian Joy recently relocated to the United States, and begins with a season of Alaska cruises out of Seattle, which will be followed by a series of Mexican Riviera and Panama Canal sailings.
There are a number of brand-new cabin categories onboard, it now has more family-friendly suites and rooms with connecting doors. The new Concierge Level unique to Joy is located directly below The Haven, where passengers enjoy a number of extra perks.The Haven, Norwegian’s signature ship-within-a-ship concept is the biggest on a Norwegian ship yet. The Haven is keycard accessible only, with butler service, a dedicated concierge, priority access to specialty dining and entertainment, a private restaurant and an enclosed courtyard with a swimming pool and hot tubs. It also has its own high-rollers casino.
There are lots of choices for free dining including: Savor and Taste (Deck 6); Manhattan Room (Deck 7); Garden Cafe (Deck 16) ; Speciality Dining Includes: Teppanyaki (Deck 6): Teppanyaki is Norwegian’s Japanese hibachi restaurant. Food Republic (Deck 8): Asian cuisine. Cagney’s Steakhouse (Deck 8): Cagney’s is a traditional chop house featuring premium cuts of meat. La Cucina (Deck 8): Italian restaurant. Le Bistro (Deck 8): A French restaurant. The Bake Shop (Deck 8): This boutique bakery sells cupcakes, macaroos, chocolate pralines and Japanese mocha sweets.
Entertainment is No. 1 onboard. The Joy Theater features two shows: Paradis, inspired by a Moulin Rouge-style Parisian club; and Elements, a revue-type show with music, dance and acrobatics. There is a huge casino — which takes up most of Deck 7.
The Galaxy Pavilion on deck 16 is a new area for games and virtual reality simulators and features hovercraft bumper cars, a state-of-the-art racing simulator, three interactive dark ride simulators (where you appear to be riding a roller coaster in the dark), a Star Wars battle pods video game, six Xbox console stations and Oculus, a virtual reality game, as well as a 4D cinema and a simulated hang glider.
Outdoors you will find Aqua Park (Deck 17): The park boasts two multi-story water slides. The Double Aqua Loop free fall slide has two loops, one that extends over the side of the ship and one that is see-through. The Aqua Racer slide allows passengers to race side-by-side on inner tubes for more than 360 feet. A Race Track (Decks 18 & 19): A two-level competitive racetrack, the first at sea. Ten passengers race each other in electric carts over a split-level course (lasting five or six minutes) at the aft of the ship, and have photos taken at the end. Rock Climbing Wall (Deck 19): Two-level rock climbing wall. Laser Battle (Deck 20): A for-fee open-air laser tag course, on what is the top deck Sun Deck on the other Breakaway Class ships.
The Mandara Spa (Deck 16) has hot tubs, a Finnish sauna, steam room and thalassotherapy pool as well as several treatment rooms. Treatments on offer include reflexology, acupuncture and a range of massages and beauty treatments such as manicures and pedicures.
The Pulse Fitness center offers classes like indoor cycling, step aerobics, Zumba, yoga and Pilates. There is also a running track on Deck 17.
Much of Deck 5 is given over to the huge Splash Academy, which caters for kids from ages 3 to 12-years-old. They’ll learn to juggle during circus workshops, play plenty of sports and enjoy a wide variety of other fun activities. The only downside: it’s deep in the bowels of the ship and enjoys no natural light.
To book your next cruise visit ncl.com.

A few interesting facts:
There were 3,625 specialists involved with the renovation
1,750,999 hours worked
902,016 square feet of new flooring
2,240 new light fixtures
21,527 square feet of upholstery

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