Everything...JADE! (Coming home to Houston 11/14/15)

[anonmom]

With the Jade currently making her way across the Atlantic to her new home in Houston, I'm hoping we'll start seeing more reviews that are relevant to those of us sailing on her Western Caribbean itinerary this winter or next.

 

So this thread can be a place to post pictures, videos, facts, reviews, questions, or anything else about the Jade!

 

I'll start by mentioning one of the things I'm most excited about for my January Jade cruise: the dining options. :)

 

According to Norwegian's current dining brochure, our main dining rooms on the Jade are the Grand Pacific (open for breakfast, lunch & dinner) and Alizar (dinner only). For 24-hour casual dining, we have the Blue Lagoon, and for buffets there are the Garden Café (indoors, all 3 meals) and the Great Outdoors (outdoors, breakfast and lunch only). The pool bar & grills are Topsiders (breakfast and lunch) and Bali Hai (lunch only). Jasmine Garden (dinner only) is the complimentary Asian restaurant. And you can also get a complimentary continental breakfast from room service.

 

As far as additional charge options go, Cagney's (steakhouse), Le Bistro (French), La Cucina (Italian), Moderno (Brazilian churrascaria), Teppanyaki (Japanese steakhouse) and Sushi are available for dinner only. The Atrium Café with Carlo's Bake Shop Treats is open for all three meals, and room service (flat $7.95 fee) is 24-hours.

 

So who has recent menus from the Jade? Let's see them!

Edited November 5, 2015 by anonmom
typos

[anonmom]

I found a new Jade food porn video on you tube tonight to tide us over until someone posts some menus for us!

 

[existential monkey]

Nine days. Can't wait. :D

[anonmom]

Nine days. Can't wait. :D

 

I'm jealous! Bring back all the menus and dailies, pleeeeeease. :)

[txagfan]

I'm jealous! Bring back all the menus and dailies, pleeeeeease. :)

 

I always see people asking for these and feel like they're a little needy, but I'll ask too haha. We are heading out on the cruise over Thanksgiving and can't wait.

Edited November 6, 2015 by txagfan

[JWinKC]

Ain't too proud to beg either! ;)

 

We'll be on 12/5, and would love it if someone shared the dailies.

 

I always see people asking for these and feel like they're a little needy, but I'll ask too haha. We are heading out on the cruise over Thanksgiving and can't wait.

[Oakman58]

My wife and I will be on the Jade in mid-January. I'm more curious about the nightly menu in the main dining room.

[rvsullivan]

This being the last season for NCL out of Houston, better enjoy it while you can!

[hawk1972]

I am interested in finding out more about the Jasmine Garden. I don't remember it from when we were on the Jade in 2011 -- maybe it was not complimentary at that time? Chin Chin on the Jewel looks similar, but for some reason we never checked it out when we were on it last January. I remember seeing it. Maybe I thought you had to pay extra.

 

We really enjoy the Great Outdoors. It's a great place to eat breakfast, have a snack during the day, or just enjoy the sunshine. This time, since we have the UBP, we will also take advantage of the bar that's there too.

[anonmom]

Another thing I'm excited about on the Jade is the kids' club, which is called Splash Academy. It is broken down into Turtles (3-5, the group my daughter will be in), Seals (6-9 years old) and Dolphins (10-12).

 

There is also Entourage, a teen club for 13-17 year olds, and Guppies, a parent-child program for babies 6 months - under 3 (not a drop-off program, they just lead activities for you to do with your child).

 

There is a note on the NCL website that 6-12 year olds are combined into one group during "low season" but I do not know when exactly that is.

 

People often ask on CC if NCL allows kids to move up or down an age level, and the general consensus is that NCL is pretty strict about this. Posters have said it doesn't hurt to ask once aboard, since the staff have some authority to make changes, but that it is *very* rare for NCL to allow a child to go into a different age group.

 

On embarkation day, the club will be open for a few hours in the evening for parents to sign kids up and look at the facilities. This is the only time during the cruise that parents are allowed inside the club. Hopefully someone will come back from the Jade soon and let us know the embarkation day times and procedures for the Jade's Western Caribbean itinerary.

 

On sea days, Splash Academy and Entourage are open from 9 am to noon, 2-5 pm and 7-10:30 pm. Kids club activities during this time are included in your cruise fare. I have seen people post in the past about the second and third shifts opening early, since they just want parents to at least pick the kids up for meals on sea days. That is something else I would love for early Jade pax to report back about.

 

On port days, the youth programs are open from port arrival time to 10:30 pm. If you chose not to pick your child up for meals, there is a $6 charge per meal per child. Otherwise, youth programs are complimentary on port days as well.

 

One fun activity they do with the kids is a circus school, where the kids learn circus tricks that they then perform for the parents in the theater one day.

 

Here are a couple of cute videos someone posted on YouTube of the kids doing a circus act and singing a song wearing their circus face paint:

 

 

[Sotermarler]

I'm interested in hearing how the first trip out of Houston goes for all of you as I am booked on her on 11/13/2016. It will be the first cruise back after being in Europe as well. Have a great cruise!

[anonmom]

My wife and I will be on the Jade in mid-January. I'm more curious about the nightly menu in the main dining room.

 

Here are the brand new Escape MDR menus, which are supposed to be rolled out fleet-wide on January 1, though I'm sure Norwegian will make at least a few changes based on the reception on the Escape.

 

http://www.cruisewithgambee.com/2015/11/05/norwegian-cruise-line-mdr-menus/

[Oakman58]

Here are the brand new Escape MDR menus, which are supposed to be rolled out fleet-wide on January 1, though I'm sure Norwegian will make at least a few changes based on the reception on the Escape.

 

http://www.cruisewithgambee.com/2015/11/05/norwegian-cruise-line-mdr-menus/

 

 

Thanks for the link. I didn't realize those menus would become fleet wide in January. I'm not too thrilled with fewer complimentary entrees on those menus.

 

I'm not big on cruising but my wife is, I prefer all-inclusive resorts. Perhaps having al la carte items in the complimentary dining rooms will convince her resorts are better.

[existential monkey]

Ain't too proud to beg either! ;)

 

 

 

We'll be on 12/5, and would love it if someone shared the dailies.

 

 

I'll see what I can do about dailies and menus! :)

[Linda the Book Lover]

It seems we are all excited about sailing the Jade. I am looking forward to seeing quite a few reviews in the future.:)

[trackstarsmom]

Curious to know if the staff has turned over also

[Oakman58]

Looking at the deck plans of the Jade two things stand out for me, the Spinnaker Lounge on the front of deck 13 and the Great Outdoors at the stern of the ship on deck 12. I think I'm going to like this ship a lot.

 

On both the Dawn and the Star the Spinnaker Lounge was on deck 7 at the stern of the ship and both were rather dark and dreary. Photos I searched for on the Jade show a bright and cheery lounge.

 

On both the Dawn and the Star, deck 12 had pools and slides for children.

[anonmom]

Thanks for the link. I didn't realize those menus would become fleet wide in January. I'm not too thrilled with fewer complimentary entrees on those menus.

 

I'm not big on cruising but my wife is, I prefer all-inclusive resorts. Perhaps having al la carte items in the complimentary dining rooms will convince her resorts are better.

 

I felt the same way when I first saw the thread about a la carte items in the MDR. It seemed ridiculous to me that they would add pay items to the restaurants that were supposed to be included in our cruise fare!

 

But now that I have read the menus, I see that steak and salmon are among the every day choices, both of which I actually prefer to prime rib and lobster. And the chef's special each day is a steak or other beef dish. And actually, I like every single item on the "Classic Favorites" menu, and every one of the Chef's Specials, too. If I was going to spend a month on board, I might worry about having fewer options, but for a week there really is enough variety for me.

[NMLady]

Curious to know if the staff has turned over also

 

Some of the staff and crew will change, those whose contracts are up or those who have vacation time coming. But most of the crew and staff will be the same.

[NMLady]

Looking at the deck plans of the Jade two things stand out for me, the Spinnaker Lounge on the front of deck 13 and the Great Outdoors at the stern of the ship on deck 12. I think I'm going to like this ship a lot.

 

On both the Dawn and the Star the Spinnaker Lounge was on deck 7 at the stern of the ship and both were rather dark and dreary. Photos I searched for on the Jade show a bright and cheery lounge.

 

.....

 

The Star and Dawn both used to have the Spinnaker lounge on the front of Deck 13 but a few years ago at their drydock that area was changed to cabins and the Spinnaker lounge was moved to the current location on Deck 7.

 

The Jade is a jewel class ship with same layout as Jewel, Gem, & Pearl and there are no plans to change the location of the Spinnaker lounge. We have sailed three times on the Jewel so are looking forward to our first cruise on the Jade in April.

 

Since the layout of the Jade is the same as the Jewel we know that there is a bridge-view window on deck 11 port side. I spent some time there viewing the officers on duty in the bridge.

[rvsullivan]

Thanks for the link. I didn't realize those menus would become fleet wide in January. I'm not too thrilled with fewer complimentary entrees on those menus.

 

I'm not big on cruising but my wife is, I prefer all-inclusive resorts. Perhaps having al la carte items in the complimentary dining rooms will convince her resorts are better.

 

12 entree's and three a la carte items per menu seems to be pretty good. Where are you seeing fewer complimentary items?

[anonmom]

12 entree's and three a la carte items per menu seems to be pretty good. Where are you seeing fewer complimentary items?

 

Well, Oakman is correct that there are fewer complimentary items. The old menus had 11 appetizers, 7 classic favorites, 7 nightly offerings, 1 signature dish, and 7 desserts.

 

(Great recent MDR video with old menus and many actual meals that I found on youtube. I think the poster is here on CC, too.)

 

The new menús have 7 appetizers, 6 classic favorites, 6 nightly main courses, 1 chef's special, and 9 desserts.

 

However, I fully agree with you that, for me, on a 7 night cruise, this really is plenty of variety, especially considering that there are 3 other complimentary restaurants with full menus, plus the grills by the pools.

[anonmom]

I am interested in finding out more about the Jasmine Garden. I don't remember it from when we were on the Jade in 2011 -- maybe it was not complimentary at that time? Chin Chin on the Jewel looks similar, but for some reason we never checked it out when we were on it last January. I remember seeing it. Maybe I thought you had to pay extra.

 

Here's the announcement of the complimentary Asian restaurants from Gambee's site: http://www.cruisewithgambee.com/2015/04/14/norwegian-adds-complimentary-asian-venues-fleet/

 

This was just announced in April of this year, so both restaurants did still have cover charges last time you sailed the Jade and the Jewel.

 

Now where are our Jade TA cruisers? I know I've seen Jasmine Garden menus somewhere, but they could give us the most up to date info! :)

[Oakman58]

12 entree's and three a la carte items per menu seems to be pretty good. Where are you seeing fewer complimentary items?

 

We were on the Star on a 14 day Panama Canal cruise in Nov. ’14, and the Dawn on a Caribbean cruise in Feb. ’15, the number of complimentary entrees on the menu each night was 15.

 

Of the 12 complimentary entrees listed on the new menu, one is Caesar Salad which was a Starter, not an Entrée, on our previous cruises. So yes, there are fewer complimentary Entrees on the new menu.

 

Here are the Entrées from Feb 9, 2015.

 

 

 

One more picture, the starters from that night, notice the Caesar Salad listed there.

[Oakman58]

 

Since the layout of the Jade is the same as the Jewel we know that there is a bridge-view window on deck 11 port side. I spent some time there viewing the officers on duty in the bridge.

 

I'm looking forward to taking a few pictures of the bridge through that window.