Just off Jade... a couple of topical insights

Just off the Jade after a wonderful week (Western)... Aft Penthouse ($1349pp) and via an unrepeatable set of circumstances also access to the Haven. Before we sailed there were some of posts that had my heart rate up a little...

1. Haven Courtyard awash with children... We saw none, not one, the Haven was sold out and the place was deserted pretty much all the time, 2-3 people max at one time, no kids, a couple of perfectly well behaved teens. I would have no hesitation booking the Haven. Obviously YMMV but previously mentioned problems appear by no means endemic.

2. Spring BREAK... We saw nothing March 5-12th... a little early but some schools are off and it was a non-event. Not a single wet-t-shirt contest, no rowdiness, nothing out of the ordinary alas.

3. Jade... refit is immaculate, much less gaudy, pretty classy in fact, a delightful ship in all respects.

4. Jade (bar) service... well you already saw one post about custom upholstery. We coudn't fault overall service, especially in the specialty restaurants. Bar service was interesting... during the day at Pit Stop they had people form a line (or two) in the order that folks arrived... and you know what... people complied in good spirits... very orderly, bar staff served in order, worked well. Even the mega tippers and their waving bundles of $1000 bills... got pointed toward the end of the line. Bravo NCL.

5. We paid $314 for a beach villa on Harvest Cay. One of the best $314 I've spent in a while, it was marvelous.

6. Jade had just regurgitated Pitbull when we got on... embarkation did not appear any slower/worse/different than a non-preceding-charter situation, rooms were available shortly before 2:00pm. The only evidence of Mr Bull's departure was a crane lifting his gear off the pool deck.

Those be the latest facts. :cool::cool:

awesome! Any info on the wine list (by the glass)? Is it still the tragically limited selection?

How was the courtyard area? We will be in a haven room in 10 days WITH KIDS (gasp).... but plan to have an eye on them. I'm sure there will be more that week since it's the week before Easter.

Did you do any specialty restaurants?

Suite lunch menu.... was it the old one or the new one?

awesome! Any info on the wine list (by the glass)? Is it still the tragically limited selection?

 

How was the courtyard area? We will be in a haven room in 10 days WITH KIDS (gasp).... but plan to have an eye on them. I'm sure there will be more that week since it's the week before Easter.

 

Did you do any specialty restaurants?

 

Suite lunch menu.... was it the old one or the new one?

Hello... I'll answer as best I can.

Yes wine by the glass is very limited and they are running the 'new wine list', the generally reliable Wolf Blass has gone away for example, whites in particular are weak; the Jadot's are reliable. Though I was amused to see Opus One on there (by the bottle for $375). I'll order wine by the glass sometimes but in truth, it's entirely acceptable/sensible/easy to order by the bottle, drink a glass or two and take the re-corked bottle back to your cabin for the next night. Nobody will stare or pull a face. We emptied out our mini-bar fridge removed the shelf and stuffed it with wine and champagne. Truthfully... the bottle rarely made it back to a second restaurant as we found it rather too delightful to sip a glass on our balcony in the late afternoon as we watched the stragglers running down the pier with a giant straw donkey under their arm and barely 5 minutes to spare.

The Haven kinda divides into two parts, the 'internal' courtyard and the upper sun deck. We felt that the inner courtyard was a little too enclosed (you literally can't see out, only up), so preferred a covered cabana/bed on the upper sundeck with a view. This upper sundeck was generally deserted and we had to seek out the butler... but once he knew we were up there looked after us. The internal courtyard is bright and sunny, a little cooler and they generally had the roof half retracted. There is a hot tub and plunge pool, both of which were delightfully warm. There are also his/hers steam rooms and showers. Towels and snacks are plentiful.

We dined in Cagney's, Le Bistro and Moderno exclusively and honestly for the extra $30 or whatever can't imagine why one would not given the overall cost (we bought the full UDP). MAKE RESERVATIONS... they were turning people away most nights. Cagney's really is good, the steak quality is better than I have had in some 'name' steakhouses on land. I even had Sea Bass one night and it was a pleasant surprise. Eat all the courses in Le Bistro, they are sized to let you do that ;). Moderno is great, plenty of variety lets you narrow down to what you like; just don't fill up too much on the salad bar first! Breakfast is served in Moderno and was yummy.

I know some folks like Cucina... we're kinda blah about it but each to their own, we wouldn't go to an Italian on dry land if there was a currascaria next door either!

Not an expert on menu's... we just go with the flow... We ate lunch in Cagney's, they had the typical burgers, I quite liked the flounder/arugula. I'm guessing it was the new menu because the Cagney's evening menu was certainly subtly different on this trip.

Make friends with Valeria (wears glasses)- Maitre'd at Cagney's/Moderno and she will look after you wonderfully.

I can't see how you could fail to have a wonderful trip on Jade!!! Need a stowaway?

:cool:

Thanks for your review. I will be on her soon. I booked the pool cabana but was considering changing to the beach Villa. What did you like so much about it?

Thanks for your review. I will be on her soon. I booked the pool cabana but was considering changing to the beach Villa. What did you like so much about it?

IMHO the pool area is a bit of a zoo... busy, hot, noisy... but some folks love that. By contrast however the beach villa area is private (no through traffic at all) and very quiet, relaxed, idyllic. You look out at the ocean... and it's empty. For me it is what being on a tropical island should be. You also have a nice private WC and shower and the butler is right there for you all day. Oh and I liked the Bluetooth speaker system so that I didn't have to listen to reggae all day.

Thanks for your report.

Keith

IMHO the pool area is a bit of a zoo... busy, hot, noisy... but some folks love that. By contrast however the beach villa area is private (no through traffic at all) and very quiet, relaxed, idyllic. You look out at the ocean... and it's empty. For me it is what being on a tropical island should be. You also have a nice private WC and shower and the butler is right there for you all day. Oh and I liked the Bluetooth speaker system so that I didn't have to listen to reggae all day.

:cool:Sold

I was going to ask the same question about the Beach Villa. Do tell!

Glad you had a great time. It is good to see that the bar crowds were managed appropriately.

I was going to ask the same question about the Beach Villa. Do tell!

Glad you had a great time. It is good to see that the bar crowds were managed appropriately.

There are of course a bunch of photos floating around of the beach villas but what they can't really communicate is the ambiance of the place...

It's right at the end of the beach beyond a small breakwater and then had a small 'bay' of its own. There is a 'guard' on the entrance who checks for the appropriate wrist band, they had no problem with gently turning away folks who didn't have a band. There are maybe 12 villas, I didn't count, we were #7 (appears to be first come first served), they are mildly spaced with some well placed bushes and palm trees, so you can actually forget the others are there quite easily. I think the first point to make is that while they can accommodate 6 people, they generally don't... Some were 2's like us, most were 4's and the remaining 2-3 6's... so the place is never at capacity. That means that the beach is largely empty and the water might have 2-4 people in it at any one time... along the whole strip. Each villa has 4 towel covered loungers on the deck (covered with a nice sun shade), a wide (double) hammock suspended just off the deck, then 6 sun loungers with umbrellas on the beach in front of each villa AND two further Adirondack wooden chairs.... All this for each villa... so people are VERY spread out!!!

That makes for quiet, distant voices and essentially no traffic. Compare that with the pool area... worlds apart.

Each villa has a high quality Polk Bluetooth speaker... we could hear the speaker next door as background music at a few points but people were reasonable about it and turning our own on at a gentle volume localized us again. I wondered if it would get competitive but it didn't at all. I guess it's possible that one could get a rowdy crew next door playing something unnatural but it seemed to me that the folks there were a classy group who cared about others. There is a dedicated concierge for the villas who could probably have a word if needed (it wasn't I hasten to add).

Inside there are free towels, water, a fruit plate, plus more seating etc. The private toilet is nice to have if you enjoy some beers and it's nice quality, not you typical nasty beach WC. There is a proper shower inside and also a rinse-off shower outside.

We tended to stay on our deck using the shade, enjoy our beers, swim, read, snooze, eat (they bring it to you), beers, swim, read, snooze, beer. I KNOW that would have been less enjoyable around the pool, which was music, people, shouting, music, more people... la la la.

Oh... and they have little golf cart thingies to drive you back and forth to the walkway that leads to the ship whenever you desire.

At $600 for two I might have winced... but at $300 it was a no brainer. I reckon I'd pay $500 but don't tell NCL that! Platinum discount took 10% iirc. :cool:Oh, you pay that for the whole villa... not per person.

:cool:

was Omar still the concierge?

was Omar still the concierge?

Onboard - yes, this is now his last cruise and then he's on his off period for a couple of months I believe. He was a delight to be around... top notch.

Onboard - yes, this is now his last cruise and then he's on his off period for a couple of months I believe. He was a delight to be around... top notch.

Oh we will be boarding next week- do you know who was replacing him? Thanks for all your info!!

Oh we will be boarding next week- do you know who was replacing him? Thanks for all your info!!

Sounds like you're gonna miss him... Alas I didn't ask who was taking over... sorry!

How did you get the beach villa so cheap? We are on the Dawn in a couple of weeks and wanted to get a villa (had one back in December 2016..best $ ever spent). But we are only in harvest caye until 1 so we aren’t ponying up $600 for a short day.

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Thanks for your report. We'll be on the Jade in one month in a forward facing penthouse suite. Did you by chance keep the Freestyle Dailies or do you remember which night was the Blazing Boots show? Do you remember the show times? We've seen Elements on several ships but we like country music and BB is a new to us show.

We have a pool cabana reserved but I'm tempted by the beach cabana. Did you go to the pool at all or just relax in the beach cabana area? Is the beach area and loungers in front of the cabanas limited to use by the cabana renters or open to everyone? No question about view from the beach cabanas but am wondering if the view from the pool cabanas is limited to loungers, people and the pool. Would it be better to go with the beach cabana and just go to the pool for a while to check it out? I'm very late 60's and Larry is 70+. We like people (even kids) but don't care for screaming and yelling and loud blasting music. If we were traveling with friends I'd go with beach cabana with no hesitation but it seems like a lot of space for just the two of us. There is just under $100 price difference for the two of us.

At what point did you receive your cabana assignment? Was it when you checked in on Harvest Caye? Were you given any choice or was one just assigned?

Appreciate your help :)

Thanks for your report. We'll be on the Jade in one month in a forward facing penthouse suite. Did you by chance keep the Freestyle Dailies or do you remember which night was the Blazing Boots show? Do you remember the show times? We've seen Elements on several ships but we like country music and BB is a new to us show.

 

 

 

We have a pool cabana reserved but I'm tempted by the beach cabana. Did you go to the pool at all or just relax in the beach cabana area? Is the beach area and loungers in front of the cabanas limited to use by the cabana renters or open to everyone? No question about view from the beach cabanas but am wondering if the view from the pool cabanas is limited to loungers, people and the pool. Would it be better to go with the beach cabana and just go to the pool for a while to check it out? I'm very late 60's and Larry is 70+. We like people (even kids) but don't care for screaming and yelling and loud blasting music. If we were traveling with friends I'd go with beach cabana with no hesitation but it seems like a lot of space for just the two of us. There is just under $100 price difference for the two of us.

 

 

 

At what point did you receive your cabana assignment? Was it when you checked in on Harvest Caye? Were you given any choice or was one just assigned?

 

 

 

Appreciate your help :)

 

We had a beach cabana in December 2016 and it was the favorite part of our cruise for our party. Only cabana guests have access to the beach where the cabanas are. So it’s very serene, very quiet. The view is amazing.

We never even went to the pool are bc we loved the beach cabana so much.

You received your cabana number when you check in at Harvest Caye.

If you can swing the price I would definitely say do it.

Me: 42

DH: 40

DD: 12

DD: 9

We dined in Cagney's, Le Bistro and Moderno exclusively and honestly for the extra $30 or whatever can't imagine why one would not given the overall cost (we bought the full UDP).

You didn't, by any chance, take pictures of the current menus that you could share?

We will be on a short two nighter in June and I am wondering if we should buy the dining package ($72) or just pay a la carte for Cagney's and Le Bistro.

You didn't, by any chance, take pictures of the current menus that you could share?

We will be on a short two nighter in June and I am wondering if we should buy the dining package ($72) or just pay a la carte for Cagney's and Le Bistro.

I'm sorry, I didn't think to take a snap of the menu... and didn't pay any attention to prices because we had the UDP. I guess there are two ways of looking at it... 1. on such a short cruise, even if you go crazy a la carte you're not going to run up a massive bill... 2. Get the UDP and don't give it a second thought, you're on vacation.

IIRC (and as I say I wasn't really looking), entrees were in the $17-$27 range... but I was typically impaired by a couple of hearty Caipirinha's by that point (get your pre dinner drink in Sugarcane (Moderno), they have a real barman (as does the Whiskey bar on Deck 6).

Seeing your signature... don't panic!!!

Thanks for your report. We'll be on the Jade in one month in a forward facing penthouse suite. Did you by chance keep the Freestyle Dailies or do you remember which night was the Blazing Boots show? Do you remember the show times? We've seen Elements on several ships but we like country music and BB is a new to us show.

 

We have a pool cabana reserved but I'm tempted by the beach cabana. Did you go to the pool at all or just relax in the beach cabana area? Is the beach area and loungers in front of the cabanas limited to use by the cabana renters or open to everyone? No question about view from the beach cabanas but am wondering if the view from the pool cabanas is limited to loungers, people and the pool. Would it be better to go with the beach cabana and just go to the pool for a while to check it out? I'm very late 60's and Larry is 70+. We like people (even kids) but don't care for screaming and yelling and loud blasting music. If we were traveling with friends I'd go with beach cabana with no hesitation but it seems like a lot of space for just the two of us. There is just under $100 price difference for the two of us.

 

At what point did you receive your cabana assignment? Was it when you checked in on Harvest Caye? Were you given any choice or was one just assigned?

 

Appreciate your help :)

I can echo 'Klo...' here...

I didn't keep the Dailies I'm afraid... BB was on the 3rd night I believe. We didn't go (but hear it is very good). We did go to the 'Showdown' - a kind of audience participation version of American Idol, where 4 members of the entertainment troop have a 'sing-off' to Motown songs and get voted off by audience cheers (or not)... That passed a pleasant 45 mins. We also saw the comic's 'normal show'... honestly I thought he was lame in the extreme, a couple of moments but the worst I have seen on board, spent most of his time trying to pick on audience members with limited success. We always went to the 9:30 shows after dinner, the first show was at 7:30 I think (somebody here will know for sure).

We walked through the Harvest Cay pool area coming and going (and I did a run back to the ship one way and golf-carted back)... no, you don't really have a view from the pool area, especially not from the pool cabanas which are on the non-beach side of the pool. Your view will be other loungers and people and the pool.

The loungers in front of each beach villa are solely for the use of that villa, NO non-villa folks are even allowed on that beach let alone to use the facilities.

If the price difference is only $100 it is a total no-brainer... get the beach cabana, immerse yourself in peace and quiet and wander or golf-cart to the pool when you need your injection of hustle, bustle and reggae! I can pretty much guarantee you'll only make that trip back once ;) Don't worry about the space, just spread out and enjoy, it's not crazy large and remember, YOU BOUGHT THE VILLA for a fixed price... so if you happen to make a couple of friends on board and want to invite them to join you, that is entirely acceptable up to the max 6 occupants. We seriously considered doing that but our genetically anti-social nature meant we never made those connections beforehand. It didn't matter, sip your cocktail.

:cool:

I got the impression that the 'next' cabana was assigned to us when we rocked up at the check-in on Harvest Cay and no pre-assignment occurred. We got there around 9:00-9:15am (we docked at 8:00) and were assigned #7 (mid beach) if that helps any!

How did you get the beach villa so cheap? We are on the Dawn in a couple of weeks and wanted to get a villa (had one back in December 2016..best $ ever spent). But we are only in harvest caye until 1 so we aren’t ponying up $600 for a short day.

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Yes I agree for a 1:00pm day any price would be pretty painful!

The advertised price for our HC day last week was $349 per villa (I know this swings violently by time of year, specific cruise and probably how the NCLH stock price is doing)... We then got a 10% discount for being Platinum members which brought it down. This specific cruise was crazy cheap from the get-go... we were in an aft penthouse for $1349 a head!!!

I've never tried to post a picture before but let's see if this works... and pretty much sums up a beach villa on Harvest Cay at around 10:30am last week.

I've never tried to post a picture before but let's see if this works... and pretty much sums up a beach villa on Harvest Cay at around 10:30am last week.

My math was off. After discounts the price difference between pool cabana and beach cabana was $147.90. It appears that base pricing on our cruise of $349 for beach cabana and $175 for pool cabana is about as low as it gets so decided it was great time to try out the beach cabana. We switched:D Thanks so much for your help on that.

I just realized that the beach cabana has included wifi. Did you use it? Was it decent?

My math was off. After discounts the price difference between pool cabana and beach cabana was $147.90. It appears that base pricing on our cruise of $349 for beach cabana and $175 for pool cabana is about as low as it gets so decided it was great time to try out the beach cabana. We switched:D Thanks so much for your help on that.

 

I just realized that the beach cabana has included wifi. Did you use it? Was it decent?

Most excellent!

Yes we used the wifi to annoy our friends with pictures of the beach cabana/view and it worked well enough for that purpose, probably better than the onboard honestly. I even did a Facebook 'live' post!

The show times were all 7:30/9:30 every night for anything in the Stardust. I think BB was night 3 of our 7-nighter...we went. It was fine, cheesy, but cute (fully admit though that I work in the performing arts and am a bit of a snob when it comes to shows/entertainment--apologies!).

Last week we were the only ship at Harvest Caye so even the clamshell we rented felt a little unnecessary--there were tons of chairs with umbrellas available when we got off the ship on the beach. While a villa would be nice, it doesn't seem worth it for a 1pm departure!

The show times were all 7:30/9:30 every night for anything in the Stardust. I think BB was night 3 of our 7-nighter...we went. It was fine, cheesy, but cute (fully admit though that I work in the performing arts and am a bit of a snob when it comes to shows/entertainment--apologies!).

 

Last week we were the only ship at Harvest Caye so even the clamshell we rented felt a little unnecessary--there were tons of chairs with umbrellas available when we got off the ship on the beach. While a villa would be nice, it doesn't seem worth it for a 1pm departure!

Our itinerary shows us in Harvest Caye from 8 am to 4 pm and Villa "excursion" shows 8:01 am reservation time. Our next port stop is Costa Maya, Mexico. I would not do a pool or beach cabana if departure time was 1 pm. I'm avoiding the casino this cruise so even with net cost to us of $246.65 for the beach cabana we'll be ahead of the game :D It helps that we have $400 OBC on this cruise that will offset the cost entirely.