Norwegian Joy Reenters Service in Alaska

Norwegian Joy was originally built specifically for the Chinese market. When Norwegian Cruise Line decided to shrink their presence in China and move Norwegian Joy to the North American market, they invested $50 million in “Americanizing” it. The ship went to Singapore for three weeks and then crossed the Pacific for its first season in Alaska.

Norwegian Joy just completed its first seven-night cruise in Alaska to rave reviews, and it's now on its second.

Part of the reason for those rave reviews is that the ship's makeover was more than just changing the signage and menus from Chinese to English. Norwegian made major changes. For example, many Chinese passengers go on a cruise because they want to shop for foreign goods (especially luxury goods), but Americans, on the other hand, go on cruises for different dining experiences and to socialize, so space devoted to luxury shopping was converted to restaurants and bars. Likewise, you can say good-bye to the bumper cars because that space is now a teen club.

The complete story appeared in the May 14 issue of Cruise News Daily.