NCL Jade Southern Caribbean

We just returned from the 10 day Southern Carib on the Jade with stops in Grand Cayman, Jamaica and the ABC islands: Aruba, Bon Aire & Curacao and 4 days at sea. We had a great cruise with some high winds at times & a few quick showers but overall beautiful sunny weather. If you enjoy the megaships this may not be the cruise for you but we love the 'Jewel' class-smaller with the awesome Great Outdoors aft dining.area. The Jade was refurbed in 2017 and they did a beautiful job.

Here's a few of our tips & general info.

Great Outdoors aft dining-outdoor eating area at the back of the boat with beautiful views. One of our favorite spots-we ate breakfast here most mornings. You can go thru the smaller buffet line they provide or the adjacent larger Garden Cafe Buffet. They have a made to order omelette station here but it gets a bit crowded. We typically went inside to the Garden cafe, scoped out the station with the shortest line for omelettes/eggs & then headed to the aft dining.

Garden Cafe/Buffet-There are 3-4 made to order omelette stations inside at the Garden Cafe. The omelette stations will also make eggs to order. If there's more then a few people in line look for another station-most people line up at one station and don't realize there are several others. Lots of yummy pastries to choose from that I tried to stay away from. I'm glad I discovered the waffles with the banana compote & whipped cream towards the end of the cruise :)-SO GOOD.

Coffee-if you like good European style dark roast coffee there are 2 special coffee machines to look for. One is in the Great Outdoors-go to the far right in the beverage area. The other is in the Garden Cafe across from the juice bar-again on the far right. Look for the coffee machine with 2 spouts. We didn't find these until halfway thru the cruise-what a difference!

Extra seating-if you're having trouble finding a table at the Garden Cafe or you want to get away from the crowds check out La Cucina next door. Nice quiet spot to eat.

Dining Package-we had the 4 night dining package & 2 additional specialty dinners with platinum. You can make reservations online in advance and I would recommend doing that as far in advance as you can. They do hold back reservations though so check as soon as you board if you didn't get the times or restaurants you were looking for. Our favorites are Le Bistro & Cagney's but we also enjoyed Teppenyaki & Moderno. La Cucina is a nice change but if you have 4 nights of dining would choose one of the others.

Entertainment-main shows are at 7:30 & 9:30. The earlier show is usually packed so get there 10-15 min early if you can to get a decent seat. Worth checking out-NCL does a great job with entertainment, even on the smaller ships. All were worth seeing but we really enjoyed Blazing Boots, Broadway hits with Jeri Sager (my husband isn't a broadway fan but this is a great show for those that are), Duo Aura-aerialists-DONT miss this one, Comedian Julie Barr (hilarious-we went to all 3 of her shows) & Elements (GO!). Julie has an after hours show in the Spinnaker-go early! It was PACKED and people were turned away. They easily could have put her in the Stardust Theater.

Other entertainment-Charlie guitar/singer was one of our favorites. We liked hanging out at Magnums for before dinner drinks. Great bartenders & some of the best made cocktails.

O'Sheehans-we ate lunch here quite a bit but great for breakfast, late night snack/dessert or anytime. They have tables overlooking the Atrium below so if there's entertainment you can enjoy it from here. My husband loved the Jamaican jerk wings, great fajitas -if you like guacomole ask for extra-they give you a really small amount, fish & chips, good burgers etc. They make the best Bushwacker! (tastes like a milkshake-SO GOOD).

Tender/Grand Cayman-All ships have to tender at Grand Cayman so allow some extra time to get ashore if you have an early non ncl excursion. They use larger boats from Grand Cayman so it goes alot faster then we expected. FYI They pass out tender tickets that morning at 7a poolside deck 12-one person can collect tickets for your family. When your tender number has been called you head to the gangway. If you're NCL gold or above you don't need a tender ticket-you just show your keycard. We were on the 1st tender and had plenty of time (over an hour) for our 9am excursion.

FYI there were a couple of rough days (high winds & waves) at sea heading from Jamaica to the ABC islands. My husband had no issues (he never does) but I'm prone to motion sickness and was very glad I had the scopolamine patch. It may not be a issue at all on the next cruise but I mention it just in case -better to be prepared.

We booked our own excursions-I'll add some info on those later!

Thank you so much! We are on this same cruise in 3 weeks. Do you happen to have the Dailys? Did you try out the spa or gym at all?

Looking forward to hearing what you did in port- in Grand Cayman did you tend to the Royal dock?

Thanks, we are also on the same cruise in three weeks. We did a TA on the Jade a few years ago and I loved her then. I imagine she is nicer now. Though I will miss Medusa's, I guess that got replaced by Bliss.

You're welcome! I think I have most of the daily's- I'll see what I can find. I did get a wonderful massage in the spa on our 1st sea day (signed up as soon as I got on board-1st sea day always books up quickly) and I did use the gym but not as much as I normally do. Great selection of new machines but I was feeling a little off due to the seas and facing the ocean on the elliptical with the rolling waves didn't help that much. :o See below for what we did in port-all excursions were booked on our own.

Grand Cayman -We tendered to the Royal Watler Terminal which is where we met up for our excursion. We had signed up for a Catamaran stingray & snorkel trip with Stingray Sailing. We had a great morning with Captain Chip & Michelle-they have small group sizes which is really important to us (max of 25 for a cat rated up to 45) and they take care with the rays-no picking them up or manhandling them. I didn't have a waterproof camera but if you did you could get some amazing photos. The reef we snorkeled was close by - we had good visibility and variety of fish. They provided transportation to & from the boat and with the small group sizes $65 pp+tip was a great price IMO. They also are willing to drop you off at 7 Mile Beach after if you ask.

Jamaica-Falmouth is a newer smaller port. As we were sailing in there was a beautiful double rainbow and lots of green hills surrounding the port-very beautiful. With the travel warnings we opted to spend the day at the Hilton-an all inclusive resort. We booked thru Resort for a Day-they provide the transportation to & from the resort (less then 30 min). We arrived at around 9:20 and left at 2:30 so you have about 5 hours there. Beautiful resort with a lazy river you can float down, several pools and 2 beach area's. Food /Drinks are just ok-pretty much what you expect from an all inclusive but very nice resort and a fun day.

Curacao-Our original plan was to taxi to Blue Bay but we got too much sun in Jamaica so we just opted to explore Wilemstad. This is a very walkable and picturesque dutch caribbean town. There's a floating pontoon bridge that crosses the bay with colorful buildings & interesting shops. We didn't leave until 9:30 so you have lots of time to go to the Beach and explore the area. FYI we had picked Blue Bay because we wanted a quieter beach but there's an $8 entrance fee and I think the taxi is $30 (for up to 4) each way so just a heads up if you decide to check it out.

Aruba-we taxi'd to Eagle Beach ($15 incl tip) and had a great day. Beautiful white sandy beach and blue water. We were by the small MVC resort and had a wonderful lunch across the street in the Tulip restaurant. Get there early though if you want shade. There were no umbrella's for rent where we were -they do have these wonderful palapas that could provide shade for several people but there weren't many of them. We arrived around 10-10:30, paid $20 to rent lounge chairs and we did manage to get the last palapa.

Bonaire-this is a beautiful rustic island known for its scuba diving. We booked a snorkel sail with Compass and I highly recommend them! Our captain Norman along with Marco and Marcel (spelling?) were awesome. They love the island and love what they do and it shows. We had a beautiful sail to & from and a guided snorkel along the reef. The water wasn't as clear as it typically is but I still saw a great variety of fish and an enormous angel fish. They provided beverages after the snorkel & snacks and also provided transportation to & from the boat. At $55pp+tip it was a bargain. This was my favorite stop! If they're booked I also read great things about Woodwind.

This is great! Thanks! We too are booked with Stingray Sailing in Grand Cayman- any issues with timing of the tender? Did you have to rush to get on the first tender to make it to the meeting spot?

Can you comment on the wine list (wines by the glass)? Was it the hideously limited one I've seen published here?

Sorry for all the questions!

I was worried about Grand Cayman too but no issues at all. We were on the 1st tender but we had lots of time once we got there-close to an hour. So if you're on one of the 1st few you should be fine. There is a small sign for Stingray Sailing under one of the tents but you can ask anyone and they'll point it out.

Ahhh the wine list-I haven't seen the published list but sounds right. We were disappointed with the lack of selection. We had great choices on our Baltic cruise a couple of years ago and didn't realize NCL had made this change. They did have an Estancia Pinot Noir I like so I drank that with dinner most nights. We ended up drinking more cocktails then we usually do. Hope they rethink this.

I found most of the dailies-I'll scan them in later for you

How much was the all inclusive in Jamaica?

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I was worried about Grand Cayman too but no issues at all. We were on the 1st tender but we had lots of time once we got there-close to an hour. So if you're on one of the 1st few you should be fine. There is a small sign for Stingray Sailing under one of the tents but you can ask anyone and they'll point it out.

 

Ahhh the wine list-I haven't seen the published list but sounds right. We were disappointed with the lack of selection. We had great choices on our Baltic cruise a couple of years ago and didn't realize NCL had made this change. They did have an Estancia Pinot Noir I like so I drank that with dinner most nights. We ended up drinking more cocktails then we usually do. Hope they rethink this.

 

I found most of the dailies-I'll scan them in later for you

Thank you! I've heard rumblings on here that they may add to the wine list- the new one really is pitiful. We last cruise in late 2016 and thought the selection was pretty good, but the one I've seen lately is pitiful! I think I might become a cocktail drinker too! We are doing an all inclusive in Jamaica too- but the Royalton Sands one instead of the Hilton- only because it was a little closer. How was the port area? Did you feel safe and everything?

Curacao-We didn't leave until 9:30 so you have lots of time to go to the Beach and explore the area.

Just curious if that time was on your itinerary or did they lengthen it once on the cruise? Asking because we are on this cruise on the 23rd and it shows only being there until 5.

Hi all-

Dailies-I tried to post the dailies (2x) and received a security error. I reached out to CC support but no reply. If you message me I can try emailing them to you.

Jamaica-the port area was very nice and we felt completely safe. The cost for the Hilton Rose Hall was $117pp-it is pricey. That did include transportation. We paid $53 each up front to ResortforaDay and then the balance was paid directly to the resort upon arrival (credit card).

Curacao-good point on the departure time change. Our itinerary showed 5pm as well so we were surprised to learn we would be there until 9:30p. Its a short distance to the next island so guessing this will be the case for you too but I can't say for sure. All the other times were as stated.

Hi all-

Dailies-I tried to post the dailies (2x) and received a security error. I reached out to CC support but no reply. If you message me I can try emailing them to you.

 

Jamaica-the port area was very nice and we felt completely safe. The cost for the Hilton Rose Hall was $117pp-it is pricey. That did include transportation. We paid $53 each up front to ResortforaDay and then the balance was paid directly to the resort upon arrival (credit card).

 

Curacao-good point on the departure time change. Our itinerary showed 5pm as well so we were surprised to learn we would be there until 9:30p. Its a short distance to the next island so guessing this will be the case for you too but I can't say for sure. All the other times were as stated.

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I was able to make reservations online for 6 nights of specialty dining without any charges (4 for the specialty dinner package & 2 platinum). You may know this but they leave coupons in your room for the 2 platinum dinners -you provide those to your waiter. They did accidentally charge for one of the platinum dinners we had provided a coupon for but they corrected it before we even had a chance to call. Good idea to check your bill though to make sure.

FYI We arrived to Miami the night before so we got to port early-around 10:30a. We were able to enter the building (no lines) and then quickly got thru the latitude line inside. (the regular line wasn't too long either). On past cruises out of Miami we arrived later (11:30- noon) and there was a long line outside the building. Once thru security we headed up to the waiting area to wait for the ship to clear and boarding to begin. They were passing out boarding cards at the top of the escalator but if you're Platinum you don't need a boarding card-you can board with the 1st group after they preboard those needing additional assistance. I think they started boarding around 11:15.

Hi all-

Dailies-I tried to post the dailies (2x) and received a security error. I reached out to CC support but no reply. If you message me I can try emailing them to you.

 

Jamaica-the port area was very nice and we felt completely safe. The cost for the Hilton Rose Hall was $117pp-it is pricey. That did include transportation. We paid $53 each up front to ResortforaDay and then the balance was paid directly to the resort upon arrival (credit card).

 

Curacao-good point on the departure time change. Our itinerary showed 5pm as well so we were surprised to learn we would be there until 9:30p. Its a short distance to the next island so guessing this will be the case for you too but I can't say for sure. All the other times were as stated.

Could you email me the dailies? My email is paytonconner@gmail.com...thanks so much!!!

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I would love the dailies too..... rjm11 at case. edu (no spaces though.... and of course the "at" sign).

Just emailed. The file is a bit large -if you don't receive let me know and I'll try sending in 2 parts.

Just emailed. The file is a bit large -if you don't receive let me know and I'll try sending in 2 parts.

I received it! Thank you so much!!

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Could you please email me the dailes to: erikssonfamily@tyfonmail.se

Great to read your reviews, we will make the same route in three weeks.

// Liselotte

Hi all-

Dailies-I tried to post the dailies (2x) and received a security error. I reached out to CC support but no reply. If you message me I can try emailing them to you.

 

Jamaica-the port area was very nice and we felt completely safe. The cost for the Hilton Rose Hall was $117pp-it is pricey. That did include transportation. We paid $53 each up front to ResortforaDay and then the balance was paid directly to the resort upon arrival (credit card).

 

Curacao-good point on the departure time change. Our itinerary showed 5pm as well so we were surprised to learn we would be there until 9:30p. Its a short distance to the next island so guessing this will be the case for you too but I can't say for sure. All the other times were as stated.

Thanks for the review! Great information. I too am on the March 23rd sailing. We were all probably just circling here waiting for someone to post a review!

Just sent-I split it up so hopefully went thru ok

Thanks for sharing!

You're welcome Dltvermont! Funny that's exactly what I was doing prior to our cruise :). If anyone has questions let me know. I've been helped so many times by those of you that post - I'm happy to return the favor.

Thanks for the info. I'll try to make the reservations prior to leaving. In the past we couldn't do that without a credit card.

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Can you please send the dailies to Allen@underwood-family.org? I'll put them up on drop box for others

Hi all-

Dailies-I tried to post the dailies (2x) and received a security error. I reached out to CC support but no reply. If you message me I can try emailing them to you.

 

Jamaica-the port area was very nice and we felt completely safe. The cost for the Hilton Rose Hall was $117pp-it is pricey. That did include transportation. We paid $53 each up front to ResortforaDay and then the balance was paid directly to the resort upon arrival (credit card).

 

Curacao-good point on the departure time change. Our itinerary showed 5pm as well so we were surprised to learn we would be there until 9:30p. Its a short distance to the next island so guessing this will be the case for you too but I can't say for sure. All the other times were as stated.

Thanks!

Hi all-

Dailies-I tried to post the dailies (2x) and received a security error. I reached out to CC support but no reply. If you message me I can try emailing them to you.

 

Jamaica-the port area was very nice and we felt completely safe. The cost for the Hilton Rose Hall was $117pp-it is pricey. That did include transportation. We paid $53 each up front to ResortforaDay and then the balance was paid directly to the resort upon arrival (credit card).

 

Curacao-good point on the departure time change. Our itinerary showed 5pm as well so we were surprised to learn we would be there until 9:30p. Its a short distance to the next island so guessing this will be the case for you too but I can't say for sure. All the other times were as stated.

I'm chiming in for the dailies too...mrstocko@gmail.com