NCL Jade V RCI Brilliance - MY Opinions!

[SadmanCruiser]

Firstly, we are a couple of 50 year olds who enjoy cruising and I am always looking for a bargain.

 

We have done 25 cruises on Royal Caribbean on the ships listed in my signature. We still work and I would describe us as 'middle income' couple with no kids or mortgage.

 

The 10 day sailing, 13th February, sailing on the NCL Jade was a very good value cruise so we decided to give them a try.

 

This is not a review but purely a comparison between the 2 lines, and similar size ships, to help any other 'loyal royals' decide if they too fancy a change.

Our first impression of the Jade was that it seems dark. Maybe due to the amount of 'wood' decor - a bit like the schooner bar, all over the ship. The welcome aboard was warm. The ships decor is a little confused - lots of Hawaii (the ship was originally the Pride of Hawaii) and Venition scenes. We later realised that it was the cruise director who was doing the welcoming. We boarded at 12:30 and were able to go straight to our room. We booked a mid-ship mini suite which I expected to be similar to a junior suite on the Brilliance. I have to say I prefer the junior on Royal. The mini-suite is no wider than a standard balcony on Royal but it is deeper.

 

The bathroom has toilet, sink/vanity and a tub but lacks storage space. The cabin seemed a little cluttered with and old style tv, coffee maker and mirror light on the vanity. To get to the wardrobe we had to go down the side of the bed to get to the doors where space was limited. The room also had a 'sofa-bed and small table. No lounger on the balcony, only 2 chairs and a table - due to space.

 

The public spaces inside the ship compared well. The Aloha lounge is light and spacious, large guest services desk, 'pay' restaurant booking desk and a shore excursion desk. Strangely, NCL don't sell cruises onboard - they do offer a 'pay $250 deposit for your next cruise and get $100 credit on current sailing'. We took advantage and paid 3 future deposits towards the end of the cruise and received $300 off our bar bill! At the top of the ship is the Spinnaker lounge - very similar to the viking crown lounge - which was well used for game shows and entertainment. Tankards offers a 'happy hour' between 4 & 6 with all house drinks 2 for 1. The star bar on deck 12 is a very pleasant place for a pre-dinner drink

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The sports court and pool decks compared well but as the temperatures quite cool were not well used. The promenade deck was not as nice as the brilliance with very few places to sit and smoking on both sides.

 

The theatre production shows were good quality, with the usual welcome aboard show and staff and crew onstage on the last night. There was also a show called 'Elements' on the last night - a Cirque type show that was in my opinion the best show we have seen on any ship. The entertainers were of a similar quality to Royal which must have been hard to do due to the number of languages onboard. The cruise director, Gary, who has now gone on holiday, was excellent. He always had time for a chat, speaks 8 languages and runs an animal sanctuary in Italy. On big band night he could be seen dancing with anyone who would dance with him.

We did not enjoy the onboard music very much, with the exception of the orchestra. Neither of the 2 groups onboard were very good and the piano man is not our cup of tea. The trivia’s and game shows were the same - including the love and marriage, battle of the sexes and the Quest. Deal or no deal was on a couple of times and must be more of a money-spinner for NCL than the bingo.

 

The port talks were far better than Royals shopping rubbish. Gary would talk about the history of the port, what to see and do and even the best way to get around. In Istanbul he told us to leave the ship, turn right, go 200m down to a square, buy tickets for a few lira and use the tram. This is an easy way to get to the Topkapi Palace and Blue Mosque sites. Gary also did a talk on his colourful history in show business which again was well worth listening to.

 

Finally food. I should note we are not 'foodies' and will never starve on a cruise. The 'garden cafe' buffet breakfast and lunch were very similar to the windjammer. It did seem a little smaller than necessary and it was sometimes difficult to find a table. The food was adequate buffet food with similar choices to Royal. Breakfast and lunch are served in the MDR but we did not use them. At night there are 2 choices for MDR. Alizar seemed very dark and not really what you would expect for a MDR. Grand Pacific is far more like what you would expect for an MDR and was the more popular of the 2. The service was ok as was the food. There is a set menu with 7 starters and mains with a daily menu adding 3 further choices to each. We like to dine at 6:30, and did not experience any waiting; however, there were queues especially at the Grand Pacific, between 7 & 7.30 with waits of 30 - 45 minutes. They give you a bleeper to alert you as to when your table is ready.

 

We tried 3 of the 'pay' restaurants. On night 1 we dined in Le Bistro. The food and service were of a higher standard and worth the charge. On night 5 we dined in Papas Italian. The food was no better than the MDR and not worth paying for.

On night 8 we dined in Cagney’s steak house. By far the best meal onboard. The food was excellent and cooked to perfection. The service was also top notch.

Next time we do NCL, Italian - no, French - maybe, Cagney’s - definitely!

 

One thing we did notice is that the staff did not seem as engaging as we have been used to. We always enjoy our conversations with the staff and look forward to meeting them again. Only Walter, in Tankards, seemed to want to stop and talk to us. In the theatre one night I had to go and fetch a waiter as 4 of them seemed more engaged in their conversation than wanting to serve customers. We also had to clear our own table in the garden cafe on numerous occasions. Maybe because the tips (which are not tips they are a service charge) are either all prepaid or added daily to your account there is not the incentive to 'earn' tips - I really hope that with Royals new policy that this does not happen there!

 

Did we enjoy the cruise as much as RCI - yes, would we cruise NCL again - yes, deposit already paid. The lines are more similar than different.

 

Sorry for being a bit long winded and I hope MY opinions are of some use to others.

 

Pete & Wifey.

[swcruise]

Thanks for your review, sounds like you had a good trip evidenced by the fact you booked again. Sometimes a change is good which I guess you thought after 25 trips on RCI..

[sidari]

Having also cruised on both ships i would say we prefer the Brilliance as a ship due to the amount of light inside the ship due to its design, the crew on the Jade on both our trips were really good and were happy to talk to people though i guess that can change when some of the crew go off home for a break and others take their place.