Jàde questions

[pattymo]

I know it's kinda late... We sail in one week but any tips on this ship or cruise ( Athens...turkey croatia). We have 2 mini suites under la cucina. I understand that there is no osheehans just blue lagoon which isn't as good. And no climbing wall right ?? I tried to see if I could make ressies in comp dining rooms and only available was 530 or 830 p every nite. ....husband said we will just wing it..... I hope we don't have to wait to dine. Husb not very patient. ..

[herdingdogmom]

You can make reservations for the main dining rooms or the Asian restaurant (which is now complimentary) for prime time when you first get on board. Go to the reservations desk next to guest services.

 

I thought the food in O'Sheehan's was pretty much the same as Blue Lagoon - fair at best. But, the Blue Lagoon space on the Jade is a nice way to get away from the crowds in the buffet. If you go to the buffet, there is overflow seating in La Cucina in the morning and afternoon. It can be tough to find a spot to eat in the crowded main dining area of the buffet.

 

Check out the bridge viewing area - deck 11 forward port side. The spa pass is a nice treat on the Jade especially on sea days. Correct, no climbing wall on the Jade. Have a great cruise.

Edited May 30, 2015 by herdingdogmom

[SuiteTraveler]

Jade is a medium sized ship, so there aren't things like climbing walls. There is a pool and a kiddie slide and that's pretty much it. But on the other hand, you are mostly using the ship a hotel. Blue Lagoon food = O'Sheehan's food. Buffet in the AM is a madhouse - definitely go through to La Cucina - most people won't know. As to the specialty restaurants, make reservations. Teppanyaki ALWAYS sells out - but then we don't like that kind of dining so we don't care! The MDR's have great food! La Bistro is the best on this ship followed closely by Cagney's. You'll be off the ship all day. Hopefully you have planned some meals on your excursions to taste the authentic foods in Greece and Italy. If not, make some changes and do this as you cannot possibly experience the heart and soul of these countries without dining - it is the MOST important thing you can do to understand what these countries are and you will carry this experience in your senses with you long after the cruise has ended. Otherwise, it's walking around a bunch of dusty, hot ancient ruins and buying tourist knick-knacks without any other sense of what you are seeing. Blah!

[shoey85]

I have just got off the Jade, waiting at Venice airport to fly home, we did the same route. We ate mainly in the MDR and the garden cafe as it was impossible to get a reservation on the ship. We didn't have to wait to be seated in the MDR but service whilst in there could be quite slow. It was very casual attire even on the dress up nights. I didn't think much of Blue Lagoon and again the service was very slow. We didn't book any of the trips on the ship but booked them when we got off which was a lot cheaper.

The Champagne, cocktail and whiskey bar area was fab and we had three of the nicest staff serve us whilst there, the rest could be a bit off, this could be because we are a younger and were using the UBP.

There is a guitarist and a pianist, both were brilliant and I spent most of my evenings watching them. The shows are good and you must go and watch Elements, I would suggest watching it on deck six in stardust because there is so much going on.

We stayed in a balcony room on deck 10 which was good, do take a power strip though if you have lots to plug in.

If you have any specific questions then let me know and I will try my best to answer!

[shoey85]

Jade docked in Dubrovnik

[coldinerie]

Heading to the Jade in 7 days, can you tell me how the internet was?

 

How crowded were the pools on sea day? Crazy like the Caribbean?

 

Room steward, good. bad or so so???

 

Weather, what should be ready for?

 

How did you get back to airport? Ship transfers or booked on you own?

 

Did you stay in Venice before or after cruise? If so, what part of town and how was the transportation?

 

Thank you for reaching out, so many questions about this trip. I appreciate your willingness to answer. :confused:

[Demonyte]

Jade is a medium sized ship, so there aren't things like climbing walls.

 

 

Jade's sister ships Pearl and Gem have climbing walls, so saying that ship size would have something to do with it is incorrect.

[Linda the Book Lover]

Thanks for asking for some tips about the Jade.

[4774Papa]

Ditto earlier comments about Jade, we did the Jade in 2011.

 

For Ephesus, don't miss the Terrace Houses.

For Athens, don't miss the new Acropolis Museum and of course the amazing Acropolis with the Parthenon.

[pattymo]

Thanks for all the tips To shoey 85. Dis you dock or tender in split. Also was venice a zoo on cruise embarking and debating day. I see there is like 4or 5 cruise ships embarking and debarking with us. Thanks

[littlelulu01]

Have a wonderful trip. We just returned from the two week. One of the weeks the reservations were pretty booked, we tried to make a change on the second to last day and all speciality dining was full. Blue lagoon was making speciality dining reservations upon embarkation so if guest services is too crowded you can go up the stairs to blue lagoon and there shouldn't be a line.

 

We did not tender in Split. Docked about a 10 min walk from the action. In Dubrovnik we also didn't tender. 10 euro taxi fare to reach the walled part of the city. Taxis available outside ship and they took euro.

[shoey85]

I only used the 30 minute free wifi however the people that I had spoken to said that the wifi wasn't great and not worth the money. Some Americans that I spoke to said that they had spoken to their cell provider and had data put on for when they were in port, we are from England so I added a European bundle to mine so it was a lot cheaper than the wifi.

The pools were busy yes but having experienced Carnival on Caribbean Sea days it was nothing to that, you can actually get into the pools and SWIM, I know, crazy! There are four hot tubs, two covered and two not and two pools. One of the pools and two of the hot tubs can only be used fur adults, there was also a quiet area just above the pool decks. There were always sun loungers somewhere whether that was deck 12 where the pool was or 13 just above. No where near the business or the noise of what we have experienced on Caribbean also the service around the pool and the drinks menu was not as extensive but good. There was a buffet area by the pools and one day they had a BBQ by the pools, just above on 13 there was a grill as well and the garden cafe was also close by.

Our room steward was good and introduced himself to us on our first day, we only asked that we had ice in the room and there always was. He gave us info on the ports as well and recommendations which was good. We didn't over use him but our room was always made up even if it meant that he had to come back later.

The weather on the she was good but on the Thursday we had a lot of wind and the ship was rather rocky, the pool wasn't that busy on this day due largely to the weather! That was on the sail back from Kusadasi. I found the ship to be cold through out particularly the casino area and some of the bars, I wished I had taken some smarter cardigans and trousers.

We booked through Iglu and our transfers were included with A2B transfers, they were fantastic but you can order then through NCL or there are lots of taxis in port and the airport.

We didn't stay in Venice as we were time limited to a week, I am a teacher so really only had Saturday to Saturday as I needed to be back.

We nearly booked the ncl bus from the port to Dubrovnik but it was only 13€ from the port to Dubrovnik and easy enough to walk around by yourself depending on what you wanted to see and do, I am not a big fab of being marched around in a group! Also we did an open bus tour in Athens and went to the museum and the Acropolis, this was good and only €15 each, we got off the ship and headed left, people will direct you. You can do a taxi your as well for €90 for 5 hours but make sure you haggle, I found the prices of the NCL trios quite high for what they were and what you can get just off the ship but I suppose that they always are. Split was lovely, make sure you go to where the church bells are at 12 (that's when I saw it) there was a big show going on which was good. We were going to do the national park your here but couldn't guarantee the weather so didn't risk it. Split was beautiful but mainly just shops and restaurants. Ephesus is a must but again this is cheaper off the ship and lots of places to book.

Split is also no longer a tender port, it changed a few months ago, it was a beautiful place to sail into.

If you think of anything else then please ask, I think that I answered them all. Oh also, there was lots of issues with timings when we returned to Venice, we had chosen to take our luggage of ourselves as we only had one case each, this proved to be a good choice for us but if you are staying over then you won't be in a rush like we were! The decks were crowded for sail off but just the side that had the view of Venice, I imagine if it hadn't been raining more people would have been out!