Is Norwegians go-kart racing on a cruise ship worth $15?

Table Of Content

• NCL Welcomes Its Newest Ship — Norwegian Viva — to Fleet
• Norwegian's Newest Cruise Ship Has a Go-kart Track, Infinity Pools, and an Open-air Food Hall
• Indulge Food Hall
• Convenient Port Canaveral “Park & Cruise” Hotels
• The long-awaited ship will include eye-popping amenities like the world's first onboard three-level go-kart racetrack.

Enjoy delicious pasta made with the freshest ingredients inside our chic Italian eatery, La Cucina. No matter what you choose, our specialty dining options feature the tastes you’ll crave. Hidden at the top of the ship, The Haven features our most luxurious, well-appointed accommodations as well as 24-hour butler service, concierge service and private sundeck. Though they weren’t being performed when we were onboard, Joy’s smaller shows supply entertainment at close range. A Beatles tribute band takes the stage at the Cavern Club (Deck 8; pictured), modeled on the famed Liverpool nightspot where the Fab Four played early in their careers. Elsewhere, standup comics extract yuks at Social Comedy and Night Club (Deck 6).

NCL Welcomes Its Newest Ship — Norwegian Viva — to Fleet

Smaller riders can go with larger drivers to also enjoy the track. While most riders decide to drive a single cart, you can ride with two people in a double go-kart. As you’d expect on a racetrack on a ship, the course isn’t that long. In a compact space the track packs a lot in, including a ton of corners, twists and turns. It’s also a double-decker track, with a hill climb right at the start and a downhill section at the end to bring you back to the start/finish line.

Norwegian's Newest Cruise Ship Has a Go-kart Track, Infinity Pools, and an Open-air Food Hall

From top to bottom and from bow to stern, Norwegian Joy has enough onboard activities to fill every minute of your cruise. Push the pedal to the metal as you race for the checkered flag on a two-level Racetrack at sea. Enjoy a night of gastronomic proportions at one of our many specialty restaurants. Sip your favorite cocktail as you select from choice cuts of Angus beef at Cagney’s Steakhouse.

Indulge Food Hall

In fact, when you first start on the track you’ll be disappointed with the speed out of the gates and climbing the hill. It’s not until all the cars are on the track that the power is turned up and you can really start to drive quickly. As well, if there are any incidents on the track or when it’s time to pit at the end of the race, your speed will be cut. The racetrack is by far one of the most popular parts of the ship.

This pass costs guests $199 U.S. dollars per person, and allows a guest to race on the Speedway as many times as they wish during its open hours during a cruise sailing. The cars can go up to 40 miles per hour, but Norwegian limits speeds to 27 mph during group drive times. Even with the speed limitations, the curvy track has enough sharp turns—14 of them, to be exact—to keep things exciting.

Convenient Port Canaveral “Park & Cruise” Hotels

At "The Price Is Right," a live version of TV's longest-running game show, passengers are invited to "come on down" to the stage and compete for a chance at spinning the big wheel. Also on the 8th level are two infinity pools at the twin Infinity Beaches, situated on the port and starboard sides of the ship and offering stunning ocean views. Because they're both adjacent to The Drop and The Rush landing areas, though, these areas can also be busy. When Norwegian Cruise Line invited me on an eight-night, inaugural voyage on board the Norwegian Prima, the cruise line's first in a new class of six ships, it took me all of five minutes to respond with a resounding "yes." "We're not just elevating the guest experience, we're giving it an adrenaline rush and multisensory overload," said Harry Sommer, president and CEO of Norwegian Cruise Line.

It’s a little funny at first but really does make it feel like you are going faster. When Norwegian Cruise Lines debuted the first racetrack at sea with go-karts, it made big news. Even now a few years later, the speedways continue to be one of the more popular attractions on a cruise ship. They are also a perfect example of the kind of strides that today’s ships are making in entertainment while at sea.

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Helmets are required and everyone is given a clean open-faced ski mask to wear beneath the helmet. Because the racecars are electric, there is little sound from the race track; however, the noise of a speeding race car is piped into the helmet to give drivers the full sense of being on a race track. Whether you use a travel agent or not, make sure to maximize your purchase when paying for the cruise by using a card that offers extra points for travel purchases. Once on board a Norwegian ship, you'll pay extra for most drinks, extra-charge restaurants, spa services, shore excursions, internet service and a few other things — unless you've bought a package for some of these items in advance.

Are The Go Karts Free On Norwegian Ships?

Having lived in walkable cities for more than a decade, I rarely drive nowadays, let alone in miniature race cars on moving ships in the middle of the ocean. For larger families the karting experience can be a little pricey. But when you think about the fact that you’d be having this amazing experience in the middle of an ocean on one of the very first race tracks on top of a cruise ship, spending the money is worth it. Especially if you just intend to do it just for the experience. While the race track is 18 feet (5.5 m) wide, overtaking can be challenging in certain areas, so you’ll have to factor that in.

And with a crowd cheering you on from the stands, you’re sure to get into the racing mood. It’s understandable if you don’t want to spend the extra money to take a ride on the carts. For instance, a family of four would spend $60 for about 10 minutes of entertainment.

Contrasting slightly with these flashy entertainment options, the line previously announced that its six Prima-class vessels would focus less on size and more on luxurious suites, as well as a better crew-to-passenger ratio for enhanced service. When first looking at the race cars, they may be intimidating to some guests. The cars do move rather fast, however controlling the cars is also very easy. To slow down or stop, drivers only need to let up on the go pedal or take their foot off the pedal all together.

Another cool thing about these go-karts is that they are fully electric. They’re extremely quiet but they do feature authentic engine sound effects to make you feel like you are going much faster than you actually are. With a top speed of up to 30 mph, you’re able to race at decent speeds, considering you’re on top of a cruise ship.

Plus, our Main Dining Rooms offer a menu that changes daily, Chef's Signature Dishes and carefully selected wine recommendations, guaranteeing a different culinary adventure with every visit. If you get disoriented, remember that the fish on the carpet in the hallways swim forward—i.e., toward the front of the ship. Facing in that direction, aft is behind you, port is left, and starboard is right. Some cruising aficionados make a big deal of using those terms, so you may as well learn them, too. Draw the line at referring to watergoing vessels with she/her/hers pronouns, though. As a former tennis player, the highlight of The Stadium was the pickleball court, enclosed in a cage to prevent cruisers from accidentally thwacking the polymer ball off the side of the ship.

In addition to the Prima Theater & Club, the ship features other venues where you can catch a show. The pub-style Syd Norman's Pour House is a popular place to grab a beer and listen to live music, with the house band's performance of Fleetwood Mac's "Rumors" album from start to finish a major highlight of the week. At The Improv at Sea, passengers can watch stand-up comedy in an intimate space reminiscent of a New York City improv theater. The balcony, which comes with two chairs, offers lovely views of the ocean and port destinations (I was sailing through the Netherlands' waterways as I wrote this), and can be a peaceful respite from the hustle and bustle of a busy ship. Since we were on the 15th floor, it was possible to hear the buzzing of the go-karts racing two levels above us; however, we were able to shut out the sounds by closing the door to our balcony.

These vessels also have outdoor eating space in an area called Ocean Boulevard. Some of the extra-charge restaurants come with a flat fee (the teppanyaki outlets are $59 per person, not including the cost of drinks). One thing you need to know upfront about going on a Norwegian cruise is that there are a lot of extra charges — and sometimes quite high extra charges — on the line's ships, particularly for things like restaurants.

Plus, the room had several outlets where we could charge our phones, laptops, and iPads, with the two bedside lamps offering additional slots for USB C and USB cords. What does stand out, though, are the twists Norwegian has used to differentiate itself from its competition -- and from previous iterations of its own at-sea firsts. Its racetrack is longer with more turns, its dry slides have sharper drops, and its new Broadway-style offering provides theater buffs with another playbill from which to choose.