New Cruiser to NCL with Questions on Jade

Hi,

I just booked my 1st cruise on NCL on the Jade leaving Houston Dec 5 on Western Caribbean for 7 nights. I have interior room IE 5561. I paid 1165 and that includes tax, port fees and the tips for the ultimate drink pkg. That includes the ultimate drink pkg too. NCL started the promotion today to include that as option even for interior rooms. I also got 50 obc. So I think I got a good deal.

I have cruised with Royal twice on the Allure & Oasis and in both cases in balcony rooms.

For this NCL cruise I was going for least expensive so I could afford to cruise this year. I mentioned this in another post but I have 2 kids in college and 1 getting married next year.

I know I will miss the balcony but I know I will still enjoy myself. When I was on the Allure & Oasis I didn't drink when I wanted because I was too cheap. We are not big drinkers but it will be nice to not have to worry about the extra costs and have what we want.

Is cabin 5561 ok for an interior room as far as location?

Can you give me any tips for cruising with NCL and specifically the JADE?

Are there any quiet spots to sit out on the deck?

Are there any specialty restaurants we should not miss? I probably won't do too many to keep the cost down.

What about the entertainment? Anything we shouldn't miss? Do I need to reserve anything ahead of time.

I appreciate any feedback to help me plan this cruise.

Thank you

Sue:)

Hi,

 

I just booked my 1st cruise on NCL on the Jade leaving Houston Dec 5 on Western Caribbean for 7 nights. I have interior room IE 5561. I paid 1165 and that includes tax, port fees and the tips for the ultimate drink pkg. That includes the ultimate drink pkg too. NCL started the promotion today to include that as option even for interior rooms. I also got 50 obc. So I think I got a good deal.

 

I have cruised with Royal twice on the Allure & Oasis and in both cases in balcony rooms.

 

For this NCL cruise I was going for least expensive so I could afford to cruise this year. I mentioned this in another post but I have 2 kids in college and 1 getting married next year.

 

I know I will miss the balcony but I know I will still enjoy myself. When I was on the Allure & Oasis I didn't drink when I wanted because I was too cheap. We are not big drinkers but it will be nice to not have to worry about the extra costs and have what we want.

 

Is cabin 5561 ok for an interior room as far as location?

 

Can you give me any tips for cruising with NCL and specifically the JADE?

 

Are there any quiet spots to sit out on the deck?

 

Are there any specialty restaurants we should not miss? I probably won't do too many to keep the cost down.

 

What about the entertainment? Anything we shouldn't miss? Do I need to reserve anything ahead of time.

 

I appreciate any feedback to help me plan this cruise.

 

Thank you

 

Sue:)

Sue,

We were last on the Jade out of Barcelona in 2011. It is a good ship and I believe you will enjoy your cruise.

We have cruised on the Gem, Jade, Epic and Star. We like all the specialty restaurants, but especially the French restaurant, Le Bistro. Cagney's is almost as good, but more expensive and their focus is steak. We only eat red meat about three times a month. The Japanese restaurant is excellent, but hard to get a reservation so if you want to go there make a reservation before the cruise.

As for a quiet place on the ship. You will find the pool area to fill up quickly. We like the bar overlooking the pool where you can sit in the shade. Also, you can go to the promenade deck, find a deck lounger and read there.

There are places indoors that you can find quiet spots, like the library as well.

Hi Sue, I'm just off the Jade on one of their Eastern Europe cruises and I had the time of my life :D You can read some of my thoughts here http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2227694

Is cabin 5561 ok for an interior room as far as location?

I found 5th deck interior rooms to be excellent :)

Can you give me any tips for cruising with NCL and specifically the JADE?

 

Are there any quiet spots to sit out on the deck?

If you go to deck 13 and walk to the aft of the ship, there are some deck chairs near the sports court. It won't be totally silent because of the sports deck itself, but far quieter than sitting close to the pool.

Are there any specialty restaurants we should not miss? I probably won't do too many to keep the cost down.

Honestly I found the free restaurants to be excellent so I wouldn't feel the need to pay for any of the restaurants on the ship.

What about the entertainment? Anything we shouldn't miss? Do I need to reserve anything ahead of time.

Loved all the shows on the Jade. No reservations required.

I appreciate any feedback to help me plan this cruise.

 

Thank you

 

Sue:)

Have a great cruise :)

Hi,

 

I just booked my 1st cruise on NCL on the Jade leaving Houston Dec 5 on Western Caribbean for 7 nights. I have interior room IE 5561. I paid 1165 and that includes tax, port fees and the tips for the ultimate drink pkg. That includes the ultimate drink pkg too. NCL started the promotion today to include that as option even for interior rooms. I also got 50 obc. So I think I got a good deal.

 

I have cruised with Royal twice on the Allure & Oasis and in both cases in balcony rooms.

 

For this NCL cruise I was going for least expensive so I could afford to cruise this year. I mentioned this in another post but I have 2 kids in college and 1 getting married next year.

 

I know I will miss the balcony but I know I will still enjoy myself. When I was on the Allure & Oasis I didn't drink when I wanted because I was too cheap. We are not big drinkers but it will be nice to not have to worry about the extra costs and have what we want.

 

Is cabin 5561 ok for an interior room as far as location?

 

Can you give me any tips for cruising with NCL and specifically the JADE?

 

Are there any quiet spots to sit out on the deck?

 

Are there any specialty restaurants we should not miss? I probably won't do too many to keep the cost down.

 

What about the entertainment? Anything we shouldn't miss? Do I need to reserve anything ahead of time.

 

I appreciate any feedback to help me plan this cruise.

 

Thank you

 

Sue:)

I don't see anywhere the promotion for UBP on insides, if it does I'm changing all my reservations???

Jo

I don't see anywhere the promotion for UBP on insides, if it does I'm changing all my reservations???

 

Jo

I just checked both the American NCL page and the European NCL page (as they often have different promotions), and both pages stated only SODA package included and NOT the UBP....

It also stated on both pages that it was (for inside staterooms) only ONE perk, not two perks (like not the soda package AND the OBC for one inside stateroom booking).

Maybe the offer the OP have received was through an independent travel agent...?

From the American webpage:

http://www.ncl.com/promo/wave15

From the European webpage:

http://www.ncl.eu/promotions/freestyle-choice-spectacular/

Hi,

 

I just booked my 1st cruise on NCL on the Jade leaving Houston Dec 5 on Western Caribbean for 7 nights. I have interior room IE 5561. I paid 1165 and that includes tax, port fees and the tips for the ultimate drink pkg. That includes the ultimate drink pkg too. NCL started the promotion today to include that as option even for interior rooms. I also got 50 obc. So I think I got a good deal.

 

I have cruised with Royal twice on the Allure & Oasis and in both cases in balcony rooms.

 

For this NCL cruise I was going for least expensive so I could afford to cruise this year. I mentioned this in another post but I have 2 kids in college and 1 getting married next year.

 

I know I will miss the balcony but I know I will still enjoy myself. When I was on the Allure & Oasis I didn't drink when I wanted because I was too cheap. We are not big drinkers but it will be nice to not have to worry about the extra costs and have what we want.

 

Is cabin 5561 ok for an interior room as far as location?

 

Can you give me any tips for cruising with NCL and specifically the JADE?

 

Are there any quiet spots to sit out on the deck?

 

Are there any specialty restaurants we should not miss? I probably won't do too many to keep the cost down.

 

What about the entertainment? Anything we shouldn't miss? Do I need to reserve anything ahead of time.

 

I appreciate any feedback to help me plan this cruise.

 

Thank you

 

Sue:)

I sailed NCL for the first time last year and loved it! I have my second NCL cruise booked. I traveled solo on the Jade my last cruise and booked an inside for the first time since my first cruise 18 years ago! I was very concerned about not having a balcony, but it was just fine. I spent time in the Great Outdoors and was always able to find a nice quiet spot to read or people watch.

Enjoy!

Hi,

The 50 OBC is because I booked with TA. But the ultimate beverage package is available through NCL for most sailings in 2015 for interior rooms. I'm not sure why they do not have it announced on their home page. You can call and ask. Also, if you book online it will allow you to put the code for the ultimate drink package and it gets added to the reservation. You still have to pay tips for the drink package. I made an online reservation for my son and he got the deal without the 50 OBC. He didn't want to go through TA because he might need to cancel and their is no penalty for cancelling with NCL before final payment.

I hope this helps someone to get a fantastic deal.

Thanks for all the feedback on Jade :):)

I don't see anywhere the promotion for UBP on insides, if it does I'm changing all my reservations???

 

Jo

Hi Jo,

Were you able to change your reservations to get UBP on your interior cabins?

I hope so. :)

Thanks

Sue

Hi Jo,

 

Were you able to change your reservations to get UBP on your interior cabins?

 

I hope so. :)

 

Thanks

 

Sue

No it was only for booking up to 22 December and the one I was looking at was my partners reservation for 28 December.

Jo

Hi,

 

The 50 OBC is because I booked with TA. But the ultimate beverage package is available through NCL for most sailings in 2015 for interior rooms. I'm not sure why they do not have it announced on their home page. You can call and ask. Also, if you book online it will allow you to put the code for the ultimate drink package and it gets added to the reservation. You still have to pay tips for the drink package. I made an online reservation for my son and he got the deal without the 50 OBC. He didn't want to go through TA because he might need to cancel and their is no penalty for cancelling with NCL before final payment.

 

I hope this helps someone to get a fantastic deal.

 

Thanks for all the feedback on Jade :):)

I went into a dummy booking for 28 december and added chob and it accepted it and listed UBP but then I placed a hold on and when the confirmation came through it had 100 minutes of internet as the special offer so this didn't work for me.

Jo

We sailed on the Jade out of Rome last year and it was pretty cool.

We found the food in the MDR and public buffet line to be above our expectations, granted we went with low expectations.

Here are some video links that might be useful.

Garden buffet dinner. Don't miss the nutella crepes. (they run out!)

[YOUTUBE]ic9vxaMs48M[/YOUTUBE]

Garden cafe embarkation day lunch.

[YOUTUBE]rvZV0Q3QPyE[/YOUTUBE]

Main Dining Room food

[YOUTUBE]xOimIZW3xEw[/YOUTUBE]

They had poolside parties with great food that I really enjoyed. Here is the Hotel Director and Cruise Director serving up some mean paella.

[YOUTUBE]j2wqHjUlLiM[/YOUTUBE]

Enjoy your cruise!

We sailed on the Jade this spring - what a wonderfully intimate ship it was! Not so large that we felt lost, but not so small that it felt claustrophobic. Just right. We loved The Bistro restaurant a lot, highly recommend it. And the best tip I got was to take the spa tour as soon as you board, buy one of the limited-quantity spa packages for $199 for the length of the cruise. It was heaven to relax in the spa tubs or on the heated loungers - watching sailaway from many ports there was amazing. You will enjoy!

Thank you for all the great tips.

I can't wait for Dec 5 to arrive.