March Eastern Med on the Jade

[Ship2shoreCO]

Just back from the March eastern Med cruise on the Jade and have a few random thoughts to share.

 

Ports of call were great. The shore excursions team was very well organized and ran a very smooth operation.

 

The kids loved Splash Academy. It was a good sign coming back from shore excursions and finding that the kids didn't want to leave.

 

We had the UBP promotion and were very happy with how well it worked. The selection was quite good.

 

The captain always had something entertaining to say during his daily announcements. My wife thought he might have been a bit too chatty, but I thoroughly enjoyed his commentary.

 

The food was the worst we've had on any Norwegian ship so far. Apparently there was an accident that disrupted the shipment of food supplies from the U.S. Hats off to the hotel director and his teamfor being able to get replacement stock from local suppliers. It was better than having to cancel the cruise, but I wonder if this impacted the quality of food we are accustomed to.

 

The breakfast buffet at Garden Cafe was crazy. I'm guessing this had something to do with most excursions leaving first thing, instead of being more spread out throughout the day like other itineraries we've been on. If you like to sleep in, this is probably not the cruise for you.

 

The crew didn't seem very happy on this ship. They did their jobs but we didn't get smiles out of very many.

 

Despite some drawbacks, we are so glad we seized the opportunity to do this cruise. You get to see some really amazing places.

Edited April 5, 2015 by Ship2shoreCO

[3PrincessMommy]

How old were your kids? We're sailing on the Jade in October with an 8, 11, and 13-year old. Would love to hear your thoughts on what made the kids happy onboard.

 

Sorry about the food, but glad you enjoyed your vacation!

[aquarianne11]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

 

I hope to do this itinerary in the future.

Edited April 6, 2015 by aquarianne11

[rochelle_s]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

 

I hope to do this itinerary in the future.

 

Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts. Other than the food issues it sounds like your family had a great holiday. Looking forward to doing this cruise next month hopefully they can get their food shipments problem free.

 

Welcome home

 

 

Rochelle

[RNRcruisers]

That is so different than our experience was in January. We thought the staff was very friendly, among the best we have ever had on a cruise. And we also thought the food was great. We didn't use the kids programs and we did the Western itinerary but I agree that the ports are amazing!

[Ship2shoreCO]

Our kids are 7 and 3. My 7 year old loved how Splash Academy had different themes on different days. I can't really speak to the programs for older kids, but we were pleasantly surprised how many other kids were taking an extended spring break.

 

Our last NCL cruise was on the Jewel in Alaska in 2013 and the crew were amazing. I suppose it's hard not to compare. My wife was the one who brought up the subject with me, so I wasn't theonly one who noticed.

 

As for the food, I'm sure they had to deviate from their usual menu somewhat because they were using different ingredients than usual. The hotel director alluded to this during a Q&A event near the end of the voyage when he said that our cruise had been a particular challenge for the culinary team.

[kandpsmom]

We were on the Jade in December with a 7 and 9 year old. They loved the daily themes at splash academy. They also had a great time with the eastern med itinerary. We read about Greek mythology prior to our trip and loved seeing it all in person.

[ROCruiser]

We had wonderful crew on the Jade in February. I was actually thinking that the crew members made our Jade sailings much better than on other cruise lines. There was only one crew member that seemed like he didn't want to be there.