4,622 Passengers, One Spectacular Coastline, and a Few Honest Truths About Sailing Alaska on NCL
Written By: Tom Ogg, Co-Founder and Co-Owner – Travel Professional NEWS
Part 1 of 3
Alaska cruises are a favorite among travelers for all kinds of reasons, the wildlife, the jaw-dropping scenery, the shopping, the dining, and the chance to soak up a culture unlike any other. Cruise lines have taken notice, and today you can find an Alaska itinerary to match almost any taste: luxury or budget, adventure-packed or culturally focused, and everything in between. Itineraries themselves vary just as widely.
This article covers an Alaska cruise aboard NCL’s Norwegian Joy, a 9-day round-trip sailing out of Seattle. This itinerary broke from NCL’s usual Inside Passage route by adding stops in Icy Strait Point and Sitka.
Selling Alaska cruises well means knowing each line’s personality and value proposition inside and out, then matching that to what your client actually wants. The differences between lines are significant, and this review will walk through what makes NCL’s version of Alaska distinct, for better and for occasionally-worse.
About the Norwegian Joy
The Norwegian Joy underwent a refurbishment in 2024, and it had been a few years since cruising on this ship. The Joy is a Breakaway Plus-class vessel with a passenger capacity of 4,622, weighing in at 167,725 gross tons. That works out to a passenger space ratio of 36.3 and a crew-to-passenger ratio of 0.39. If that sounds like a lot of people sharing not much room, serviced by a comparatively modest crew, you’ve done the math correctly.
Most passengers aboard were on their first Alaska cruise, and for many, their very first cruise of any kind. There was also a healthy contingent of NCL loyalists, drawn back by a loyalty program that generously dangles free specialty dining, free internet, shore excursion discounts, free laundry, and more.
The overall vibe skewed casual, with plenty of kids running the halls, and the ship felt crowded pretty much everywhere, pretty much always. Snagging a seat in the buffet on a sea day required the reflexes of a competitive musical-chairs champion. The Horizon Lounge on a scenic cruising day was no easier. And the elevators, well, let’s just say the stairwells became a preferred option after day two.
Stay tuned for Part 2 of this Alaska Norwegian Joy review, coming soon on Travel Professional NEWS.