The Suite Life Western Caribbean aboard the Norwegian Jade

We had a wonderful time aboard the Jade this past week. Before I begin my review, here’s a little bit about us:

My husband and I are middle aged retirees who love to cruise. This was our fourth cruise, and our second aboard the Jade. We sailed the Pride of America in 2016, and Royal Caribbean in 2012 and 2014.

We originally booked the Escape and the Eastern Caribbean itinerary, but after the hurricanes there, we decided to book a Western itinerary aboard a smaller ship. We chose the Jade after reading the reviews here. A smaller ship is better for us as we both have some mobility issues.

I booked directly through the NCL website and did all of my own research and booking of shore excursions. We did not take any ship excursions, even though we had a $50 credit as one of our perks. It turns out that excursions in Cozumel that included using the ferry were canceled due to safety reasons. More on that later.

I also have dietary issues with gluten, dairy, peanuts, nuts, honey, and agave. I wrote the access desk ahead of time to let them know. This is imperative. I know a lot of people are shy but it’s much easier for them to accommodate any dietary issues if they have advance notice. That way they can be sure to have any special foods onboard. The staff was wonderful. So much so, I gained over five pounds! The food was outstanding, not only for me, but for my husband.

We upgraded about a week before the cruise from a Haven Courtyard Penthouse to the Pink Diamond Owner’s suite. I was really surprised when it became available. We did not bid the minimum $500. We upgraded for an additional $600 total. It really pays to do your homework before you bid. They are counting on it that you don’t and you end up paying more than you should. We had the Ultimate Dining Package and the Unlimited Beverage Package. We definitely drank more than we would have without it. And so did our fellow cruisers. I’m not sure we would do so again. The dining package is totally worth it though. Ok, on with the review!

Day 1. Flying into Miami

Our flight to Miami was delayed by over an hour, so instead of arriving at 8:30 pm we wouldn’t arrive until 9:30. I was not happy but what can you do. This was most likely due to the N’oreaster.

The flight was typical- I had a really ignorant young girl in front of me. She put her seat all the way back, then practically sat in her boyfriends lap the whole time. She almost knocked over the can of soda on my tray. Arghhhh! I hate flying. But we were excited to begin our vacation.

When we arrived in Miami, we headed to baggage claim, then upstairs to get our shuttle to the Marriott Courtyard. Well, there are about ten different Marriotts and ten different shuttles. Each time a shuttle pulled up it was for the wrong one. There should be signs along the walkway for each hotel, but there aren’t. It is really confusing and disorganized. When the right shuttle finally came; he drove right by us. We had to wait another 20 minutes. It was already almost 10:30. We were exhausted and cranky.

Our shuttle came around again but stopped way down the row from us. We ran to it thinking we would miss it again because it was full. We loaded on and I asked to make sure he was stopping at our hotel. It turns out there is more than one Marriott with the same address and ours was the second stop. I can see how you would get off at the wrong hotel here. Make sure to keep asking if you are going to the right place.

The front desk was busy when we got inside as our luggage was unloaded last. The desk agent was really nice. We signed up for the shuttle ($12pp) to take us to the pier the next day. They run at 11:30, 12:30 and 1:30. We chose 11:30 so we could get aboard the ship as early as possible.

The hotel room was clean with a king size bed. We fell into it and were asleep in minutes. Travel days are really stressful. We couldn’t wait to get aboard the ship.

Great review so far. Looking forward to the rest of it.

Following along. You are off to a great start.

Keith

Great start, thanks for all the information so far. Sounds like you were well organized.

I'm on the Jade TA in April so I'm wondering which Courtyard you stayed at, I'm booked at the Doral West on 79th ave, is that where you stayed?

Thanks,

Connie

Great start, thanks for all the information so far. Sounds like you were well organized.

 

I'm on the Jade TA in April so I'm wondering which Courtyard you stayed at, I'm booked at the Doral West on 79th ave, is that where you stayed?

 

Thanks,

Connie

Hi Connie

We stayed at the Courtyard Marriott at 1201 NW Le Jeune Rd. I had no idea that there were so many Marriotts in the area. Be very careful when you take the shuttle.

Great review so far. Looking forward to the rest of it.

Thanks for following along!

Following along. You are off to a great start.

 

Keith

Thanks for following along!

Hi Connie

We stayed at the Courtyard Marriott at 1201 NW Le Jeune Rd. I had no idea that there were so many Marriotts in the area. Be very careful when you take the shuttle.

Thanks Janice, that's my favourite but appears fully booked... maybe I'll call them. Always a chance they'll have a room for loyal customer.

Cheers,

Connie

Thanks for sharing!

Great start. I will be on the Jade next year going to Panama Canal

Wow. Thanks for the great detail. Looking forward to more.

Day 2 All aboard the Jade!

We got to sleep in because we weren’t headed to the pier too early. Our shuttle driver showed up a few minutes early and we were off. Miami is a huge port. We were first to be dropped off: and we left a bag with a porter. He was quite obvious about expecting a tip which I found obnoxious. But since we wanted our luggage to show up; we tipped him well.

We had upgraded to the Pink Diamond Owners suite in the Haven so we got priority check in after going through security. The port of Miami is pretty efficient so we got through pretty quickly.

The Haven area was jam-packed, but we were on our way past the long lines quickly. There was juice, tea, coffee and pastries while we were waiting. One of my pet peeves is there is often nothing for people with food allergies. We are almost always left out. This needs to be corrected.

We were taken to Cagney's for lunch. We had a short wait in the adjacent bar. I had alerted the ship about my dietary needs in advance, but the first day aboard can be a bit dicey. Our maitre’d, Zachariah, was great. He called the lady in charge of special diets right away. While I was waiting, I ordered shrimp cocktail and shrimp and scallops risotto. Right after we ordered, Jocelyn Mahan, who is in charge of special dietary needs, came over to discuss some options for the week. She was very knowledgeable, as I am, in what I can and cannot eat. I have been dealing with my dietary needs for several years, and I am well versed in ingredients. I have a blog about this, gonewiththewheat.wordpress.com, where I share my expertise. But it helps to have an advocate onboard that can lead you through the landmine of possible pitfalls. I can’t stress enough that alerting the ship ahead of time will result in a better experience

After lunch, we decided to try to figure out how to access the Haven but for some reason it eluded us. After getting on several elevators that refused to go to deck 14, we gave up. When we met our butler, Ahmad, he told us we had to insert out Key card into the slot in the elevator, then remove it, then hit 14. This should have been explained to us. We did briefly meet Omar, our concierge when we boarded, but he only really just introduced himself. He kept checking on us all week. He is a very pleasant and eager to please gentleman. Our butler was amazing and took very good care of us.

After running from elevator to elevator, we heard the announcement that our suite was ready. We were so excited to see. It was absolutely beautiful! We had two balconies, one side and one forward and two bathrooms, one master and one powder room. In the Master Bedroom, there is a king size bed, and a heavy bulkhead door leading out to the front balcony. The bulkhead door is really hard to open and close, and lets in quite a bit of wind when you are moving. We did not use the front balcony too much.

We preferred the side balcony. We were on the port side which gave us pretty amazing views. The living room has a sofa; two chairs, a chaise lounge and a coffee table. There is a coffee area and refrigerator. There is also a separate dining area.

Off of the bedroom is the closet and dressing area; and the master bathroom with two sinks; shower, toilet and bathtub. There are two windows. There is a bridge camera outside of one window. I suggest you keep your shades closed!

We did quite a bit of walking around the ship as our cabin was right on the bow and far away from everything. But since we were indulging in massive amounts of food and drink that’s not a bad thing!

We went to Alizar for dinner. I had preordered crab cakes and if they couldn’t t do those gluten free, smoked salmon tartare. I also ordered duck with pasta. The crab cakes were amazing. You’d never know they were gluten free. I got the tartare also as there must have been some confusion. It was delicious. I love mistakes like this! The duck was excellent and the pasta was ok.. My hubby ordered the prime rib. He said it was really tender. He had cherries jubilee for dessert.

We went to listen to some piano music by Dana, then fell into bed. The bed is really comfortable. We had an awesome first day.

Here are more pics from the Pink Diamond Owner's suite:

I would be happy to answer any questions.

awesome start! We are on the Jade next week! Looking forward to the rest of your review!

Thanks Janice, that's my favourite but appears fully booked... maybe I'll call them. Always a chance they'll have a room for loyal customer.

 

Cheers,

Connie

You never know, Connie!

Thanks for sharing!

Thanks for following along!

awesome start! We are on the Jade next week! Looking forward to the rest of your review!

You will love her! If you have any questions, please let me know! :D:D:D:D

Great start. I will be on the Jade next year going to Panama Canal

Thank you! You will love the Jade!

Wow. Thanks for the great detail. Looking forward to more.

Thanks for following along!

Following along.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Following along.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thanks for following along!

Thank you for your review. Love the pictures as I've never seen the suite area on the Jade.

Thank you for your review. Love the pictures as I've never seen the suite area on the Jade.

We never did either. We loved it.

Day 3 Sea Day

We decided to have breakfast in our suite this morning. Since I have to preorder I contacted Jocelyn last night and ordered Eggs Benedict. They were able to make the hollandaise with olive oil. The eggs were great, but I didn’t care for the gluten-free English muffin. Hubby ordered a ham and cheese omelet. He said it was good.

Our mission today is to check out the Haven.

We were finally able to access the Haven. It is small on this ship, and nicely appointed. We are planning on using the pool when everyone else is at Harvest Cay, in Belize.

We started getting our suite amenity treats today. This is a great perk. I got dark chocolate covered fruit and hubby got PB&J. I wrote a letter in advance for our butler as to what I like, and what my hubby likes. We left it for him on our first day. Someone on CC suggested this. It’s a great idea. I wanted to make sure he knew about my dietary issues, as our Butler on the POA was never told about it. I think he really appreciated that. It makes his job so much easier.

We also finally received our three bottles of wine that come with the Owners suite. We were able to choose substitutes at no additional charge. I also printed out the extensive drinks list someone posted here on CC. I can pick and choose according to ingredients I have to avoid. I had a virgin Miami Vice ( Pina Colada and Strawberry Daiquiri mixed). Yum! I also tried the Mango meltdown which was also really good. I had a Singapore sling and a couple of Rebellious Fish. Both were ok; nothing to write home about. We also drank wine.

I found that white wines onboard tend to go bad. I have the same problem at home when I go out, and sometimes when I buy them. Tennessee is a whiskey state, not a wine state. I went through two bottles of Riesling before I finally gave up in our cabin (part of our wine amenity). The same happened with Rose that I ordered two nights in a row at dinner. The first night, it was great. The second night I got two bad bottles (she opened one new one). I gave up trying to order white wine after that. Bottles can go bad even if still sealed. Air can get into the cork or twist top. Or bottles can be left in the heat for too long. I refuse to drink bad wine. I just gave up.

We went to Cagney's for lunch again today. I didn’t pre-order so I kept it simple and had a burger on gluten free bread. They couldn’t give me the fries because of cross-contamination, but they contacted my new best friend Jocelyn, and a fresh batch magically appeared. They do have a dedicated fryer. The staff has really gone out of their way to accommodate me. I am really impressed. I don’t feel deprived at all. It is so hard to dine out with my dietary issues that we rarely go out anymore. It’s wonderful to be catered to. Although I am sure that being in an Owners suite makes it imperative that I am treated so.

Tonight we are having dinner in Teppanyaki. It is one of our favorite places, and books up quickly. Even though there is a risk of cross- contamination ( they do clean the grills) I do not have celiac so I am willing to take the risk.

We had a really relaxing sea day. We missed this on our Hawaii cruise. It is really port intensive, so there is no way to rest in between. Just watching the sea go by on our balcony was very peaceful.

Here are some pics...

Day 4 Cozumel

Teppanyaki was amazing. The only issue was the chef made all of the rice with gluten-free soy sauce. They usually make mine separately, but I guess he didn't think it would be an issue. The only difference is that it does not contain wheat. In fact, in Japan, there is no wheat added, only in the U.S. You can’t tell it’s gluten-free by taste, but I saw the looks going around the table. Some of our dining companions didn’t eat it, although copious amounts of butter were added after mine was served.

My shrimp and scallops were amazing.

We woke up early this morning so that we could have breakfast before our adventure ashore.

We went to Modernos this morning for our suite breakfast. I had pre-ordered gluten free waffles. I get pretty good gluten-free frozen waffles at home (Vans). These were ok, if a bit rubbery. Breakfast and lunch can be difficult onboard a cruise ship if you have dietary issues. They both usually involve some sort of bread. I did not care for the gluten free bread they had onboard. I am very particular about it. But, when in Rome….Dinner is where the staff really shines. I think they were afraid to season my food in some cases. I was constantly asked if sugar was ok. For some reason, they kept asking if eggs are ok. There is a misconception that eggs are dairy. They are not. If it doesn’t come from a cow it’s not dairy. Simple. Milk, cheese, butter, but not eggs. Some people do have egg allergies but I am not one of them. Oh well, I’d rather they ask than make me sick.

We headed out to explore Cozumel. We did not book an excursion ( we had booked Tulum but canceled after reading that it was extremely hot with a lot of walking. We both have physical limitations so we decided to explore on our own.) It turns out it was cancelled anyway due to the ferry explosion in February. We received a notice in our cabin that all excursions involving the ferry were cancelled, and that they advised that no one use the ferry to go to Playa Mia.

We took a pedicab to the end of the pier. We had to walk through the mall to get to street level. I have to say I am a bit annoyed with the layout at Punta Langosta. You have to go up and escalator (you have no choice) then down stairs or an elevator and constantly be assaulted by merchants. It was the same walking through town. We walked on the side with the seawall but were still accosted by cab drivers and carriage drivers. I felt really sorry for the horses. They looked really hot. Luckily, there is a bench running the whole length of the seawall where you can sit. We would never have made it otherwise. We ended up walking over three miles. We walked down to the small museum. I would suggest skipping it-we weren’t impressed.

We walked back to the plaza which was a nice place to sit and get our breath. Unfortunately though, the entire Main Street is a big tourist trap. We did do a bit of shopping on our walk back to the pier. Even here, they wanted us to buy more. I could have bargained, but I didn’t feel like hassling with it. Prices were reasonable.

Feeling hot and sweaty, we returned to the ship. We took a pedicab back down the pier which saved us some walking. After showering and changing clothes, we went to lunch. I had pre-ordered a sesame crusted swordfish burger. What I got was an under seasoned swordfish steak. Again; I think they were afraid to season my food. This was really the only bad meal I had all week. I really can’t complain too much. After adding some mayo it was better. Fries were good. We are finding that an afternoon nap really helps with all of the walking required by staying at the front of the ship, and of course, going ashore.

Tonight we will be having dinner from Le Bistro in our cabin. I am really looking forward to it as I said, dinner is where the staff really shines, although I wish the pastry chef would learn how to make gluten and dairy free desserts. I certainly do it at home all the time. I do feel a bit left out here. It really isn’t that difficult. I will be asking Jocelyn if anything can be done. By the way, my hubby said he didn’t like the brewed coffee. He did like the French press. The Lavazza machine in our room didn't seem to work right. We had to keep fussing with it. The tea and coffee provided was ok.

Tomorrow: Costa Maya