Norwegian Jade Cruises Reviews

Thursday 9th Feb 2012

www.cruise.co.uk - Cruise Deals, Cruises & Cruise Holidays

0800 408 6200

All these NCL Norwegian Jade Cruises Reviews are written by REAL cruise passengers & we DO NOT moderate or change any of the review. You can agree or disagree by posting up your own comment. If you write your own review we will send you a Fodor's Guide to Cruising for FREE, Check Out The Fantastic Deals On NCL Cruises 2012

Cruise Reviews
120,930 Opinions Cruise Answers
182,417 Q&As Cruise Photos
14,140 Real Photos Cruise Videos
1,448 Real Videos Shore Excursions Our Cruise
Consultants Cruise Info
Guides Cruise Forum Get a Quote Special Offers Last Minute Cruises Luxury Cruises Tailor Made Cruise River Cruises Family Cruises Free Brochures Make a Payment

Cruise Reviews

Ncl Cruises

Norwegian Jade

A Jaded Christmas Around The Med!

A Jaded Christmas around the Med!	1 of 1 people found this review informative

Reviewed By: Young, COALVILLE on 8th Feb 2010
Cruise Line: NCL Cruises	Times cruised before: 1-2
Cruise Ship: Norwegian Jade	Sailed: December, 2009
Destination: Mediterranean	Age: 26-35
Cabin: Balcony	Occasion: Family holiday

My family and I decided to book for the Norwegian Jade Festive Mediterranean Cruise which covered Christmas and New Year. Big mistake in December, if you want a sunny warm holiday but putting that aside as the weather was out of NCL's control, we were a little disappointed with the Jade. This was our Second Cruise on NCL having previously sailed on the Norwegian Gem in September 2009. We very much enjoyed the ship and service on the Gem, however, found the Jade a little less appealing. CABIN: We opted for a standard Balcony Cabin (10550) which was fairly mid-ship. The beds were comfortable, bathroom acceptable although slightly cramped and if you were a person of size, I have no idea how you could physically sit on the toilet and be able to get back off it again! Although comfortable, there was evidence of heavy use such as drink stains on the carpet, paint falling off the balcony ceiling etc. The Cabin Steward, although very friendly, was obviously highly trained in using a Vacuum Cleaner but maybe not so experienced at Dusting? By the end of the fortnight cruise were really were inch's thick in Dust and had to dust our cabin ourselves! One thing I was very disappointed with is the size of these cabins. I believe NCL have some of the smallest standard cabins and boy, they really are small! You could not pass each other around the bottom of the bed it was so small! DINING: Again, this felt a little disappointing on this cruise. We tried most of the restaurants apart from the Jade Garden and Le Bistro. Although all the speciality restaurants charge a cover of between $10-25 per person, you do notice the difference in what you get and the service you receive. It was really obvious at times that we were being rushed to eat and get out of the main "free" restaurants, especially the Alizar. There was nothing relaxing about eating in there and for those of you who like to linger over a meal and chat, like we do, you had no chance! The speciality restaurants were variable, but on the whole, much better than the free ones. We tried the Tex Mex which was great, the Italian which was again also very good, and by far my favourite was Cagneys Steakhouse which does the most delightful steaks! The buffets were generally good, although sometimes a little chaotic like any other buffet. We didn't generally frequent these except for lunch. Sometimes they served food from the poolside buffet, but this was sporadic and not always done when you would expect it (like when everyone was on the ship?). This meant long trips back and forth to the main buffet at lunchtime to take your food and sit around the pool area. We had two days of being unable to serve ourselves in the buffets after arriving in Egypt. We were advised this was due to health concerns as passengers on the last cruise were unwell after excursions in Egypt. The staff tried very hard to cope with "silver service" in the buffet, but it really didn't work. However, I can see why it was a good idea. Christmas Lunch was very disappointing. We chose the main Grand Pacific restaurant for this as we thought it would have the best atmosphere. Although it was decorated nicely, the main offering of Turkey, some kind of Carrot/Swede mash, Mushrooms and strange gravy didn’t hit the mark! There was nothing else traditional on the menu if you wanted a traditional meal. BARS/DRINKS: Now this where it really hurts on NCL. The drinks prices are really high and very off putting. We spoke to many people over both our NCL cruises who sneaked their own alcohol on board as was simply too expensive. The prices are exactly cheap in the first place, with a Short and Mixer being around $7 from memory but then they sting you with 15% auto gratuity, and that auto gratuity even applies to the MINI BAR in your cabin! How ridiculous!!! The bars in general are nice and there are so many, it’s easy to find your favourite, but it’s also easier to opt for the Soda Package (about $6 per person, per day) and get your own alcohol on somehow. Entertainment: This was variable. The Cruise Director was Karen Maybury (a Blackpool lass, trying to sound a little American now and again which really didn’t work!) and she just didn’t hit the mark as far as we were concerned. The Shows were varied, comedian Lenny Windsor was funny, the Russian Acrobats were great, but the rest of the shows I wouldn’t have paid to see. The staff show on the last night was, for the most, cringe worthy and done on the cheap. Although the famous “NCL Jade Fountains” act where several staff members basically end up spitting water on each was very funny, it can’t have been terrible hygienic! There were various things to do throughout the day, and as we ended up with more sea days than we bargained for due to missed port at Rhodes and a cancelled day off ship in Egypt, the staff were good mustering up an activity program at short notice; however, it was fairly lack lustre. We tried the NCL Bingo once, which was incredibly expensive and very long winded. We didn’t bother a second time. PORTS/SHORE EXCURSIONS: This really was the wrong time of year to be calling at the likes of Rome, where is was cold and raining, Naples, it was just cold. Izmir was chilly but we had great fun on the NCL organised tour of Ephesus and I have to say, the local company who operated it were fantastic. The only downfall here was the obligatory stop to be sold something on the way home, and for us, this was Turkish Carpets! Then Egypt really was the icing on the cake for our trip. We booked and NCL shore excursion for a day trip to Cairo and the Pyramids. As were in port at Alexandria for two days, the day trips all go out on the first day. We all got really early for our 7.45am departure from port, got herding on coaches (all 40+ of them), sat there, sat there some more, listened to the tour guide making things up to tell us for ages, sat there for some more until eventually we’d been on the coaches for nearly 3 hours and not left port yet!!! As you can imagine, all the passengers were getting rather irritated and didn’t fancy now doing a 3 hour drive to Cairo having just spent 3 hours on the coach in the car park of the port. Eventually, we got off, having decided we were not prepared to spend a moment longer on that coach. Lots of other passengers were now getting off the coaches too. We eventually noticed an NCL uniformed Shore Excursion staff member in the car park who we overheard telling some other passengers that their was fog on the highway from the port to Cairo and therefore the authorities would not let the coaches leave until this had cleared (which it obviously hadn’t). She said the trips were now cancelled and would be re-offered the next day. We made our way back onto the ship along with the hundreds of other passengers who all seemed a little fed up too. At lunchtime, it was announced there would be a meeting to explain what had happened, and Dallas, the Hotel Director tool centre stage and apologised for the days events but it was beyond there control. They then announced that they would be running the trips again the next day, but we had to meet in the theatre to depart at 5am! I don’t think so! Many people, especially with small children did not like the idea of getting the kids up again at the crack of dawn and maybe having the risk of this happening all over again. Although this was clearly beyond NCL’s control, I do think they could have dealt with it more efficiently and not left everyone on the coaches for 3 hours in the car park. There was a rumour that the highway was actually closed due to a serious car accident that happened at 7am, in which case, the staff should have known this and not left us on the coach for that long. GENERAL: The Jade’s décor internally looks a little mis-matched. Its previous life at Pride of Hawaii is very clearly abundant and it looks like they’ve done half a make-over with the ship? The Jade also doesn’t live up to the Gem in respect of no rock climbing wall, no bowling alley, and no Wii wall, which we all missed. The Medusa night club really is an absolute joke and was more like a tea dance than a night club. It does not have the atmosphere of the Bliss Nightclub on the Gem; probably cause its open plan on the main through fare from one of the ship to another. The music was dire, and the two female on-board singers who seemed to be performing in there all the time were just dreadful! The staff were on the whole very nice. There is always the odd one or two that aren’t so interested. I do think the automatic tipping charge of $12 per person, per night is too much and maybe doesn’t encourage the best service from everyone. We almost contemplating asking for this to be removed (which you do!) but decided not to. Disembarkation on this trip was poor. There were long lines to get off, something we didn’t experience on the Gem either. I think all in all, we like NCL’s product offering, but the Jade just didn’t match up to our previous experiences.
Quality of Food

Entertainment

Shore Excursions

Staff

Children's Facilities

Onboard Activities

Cabins

Overall Rating

1 of 1 people found this review informative

Was this review informative to you?

Report this review

Comment by Hills, Meols (07 Oct 11 15:30) about this REVIEW

I have recently returned from a Med trip on the Jade 17 Sept 2011, I was obviously not onboard at the time of this review so it would be unfair for me to comment on the above, what I can say is that our experience could not have been more different. This was our 5th cruise and 1st on the Jade. We found everything to be first class for very fit and energetic 50 and 60 year olds. The food was exceptional in all areas, to be honest we heard that the food was a slight step up in the speciality restaurants but we did not feel any great desire to use them as the food was exceptional in all the main restaurants. The majority of the entertainment was to our taste with loads of dancing to be had in many styles from ballroom to disco, we don't go for magic/illusion shows, although the illutionist Krypton (I suppose if you have a name like that, you are bound to become an illusionist of super hero crime fighter) and his very beautiful assistant were very good, they were on too often for our taste. The residential singers and dancers would grace any West End show and we felt they were under used, they were superb. The cabins were spotless clean and comfortable, so were the public rooms, restaurants and bars. We found the restaurants very relaxing and always chose to eat on a shared table, this enhanced the experience as we enjoyed meeting some very nice people, we did not feel at all rushed, if you wanted 2 of any course it was available without question and as was common, the staff were always very polite courtious and helpful. We did find the wine and drink a bit over the top, we did however had a bottle of wine with our evening meal and left the restaurant with a full glass which pretty much did us for the rest of the evening, I would hate to see the bill of a big drinker, I would imagine it might double the cost of the cruise in some cases. I was quite happy with the tipping process although I did feel the extra 15% on your drinks bill was excessive. I liked the idea that the hardest workers onboard like the chefs, laundry staff, engineers etc who would not normally get recognised or rewarded as they are behind the scenes have a shot at the tips, these people undoubted work harder in hot and humid conditions and make the biggest contribution to your environment and comfort. You can always reward your steward if you feel he did a good job, in addition we gave ours an extra $50 as his servive was excellent and made us feel very special. We enjoyed the cruise so much we have just booked a trip on the Jade for Christmas and step back onboard exactly 3 months after we departed, we normally cruise every 2nd year but we had such a great time we felt obliged to do it all again, I have no doubt it will be amazing, Barcellona to the Canaties, 9 night for just £1180 for 2 including tips and $100 off our onboard account. I could not recommend the Good Ship Jade more highly. Rob

Report this comment

Question by Court, Birmingham (07 Dec 11 17:58) about a COMMENT by Hills (07 Oct 11 15:30)

Are you allowed to tip as you go along instead of paying the twelve dollards per day. Were going on the xmas cruise too.Thanks for a very usefull review.

Report this comment

Comment by blewitt, felton nr morpeth (08 Feb 10 14:03) about this REVIEW

I was interested to read about the 'fog' in Alexandria as this also happened to us on our RCL in January - we wondered if there were car accidents which they really didnt want tourists to see as the driving standards were chaotic to say the least! but on ours they then closed the port and the ship had to spend the night in Alexandria so that scuppered our theory!

Report this comment

Comment by Bosscat, Argolida, Greece (08 Feb 10 11:11) about this REVIEW

This is a really detailed and interesting review - thanks for taking so much trouble over writing it.

Report this comment

Comment by creed, cardiff wales UK (30 Mar 10 19:10) about a COMMENT by Bosscat (08 Feb 10 11:11)

I was on this cruise and thought the food was very good. Regarding the delay to Cairo I opted for a private tour so made my way smartly to the taxi and got under way. Some 50 miles out on the desert road there was an accident with some 9 to 12 fatalities.The taxi I was in was stopped from traveling by the tourist police due to the dense fog. Entertainment was good, staff friendly and I really went on the cruise to see interesting places and not have a culinary experience. Good ship, good crew, good food, good ports of call .....just booked for this Xmas for the extended cruise of 21 days....cant wai.

Report this comment