NCL Jade Review (March 12th - 19th)

[Lisalk12]

[Lisalk12]

Disembarkation:

So our time aboard the Jade had came to an end. We got up early to enjoy one last cup of coffee and Cagney's for breakfast.

 

Don't they look wide awake. Lol!

 

We went back up to the room to pick up our bags and pushed through the tons of people in the stair/elevator area to get down to the 7th deck to meet Omar at the Jasmine Garden.

 

He took the walk-off suite guest first down a crew elevator and right out to deck 4 exit. Due to the high wind this would be the only exit. So I'm sure the line was really long. Those who did regular disembarkation waited because luggage was not yet delivered to the port terminal.

 

The NCL security swiped our sail card and we walked into the terminal. We had about 10 minutes waiting in a line that continually moved. Then we breezed through customs. After customs you have to declare any tobacco or alcohol (which we didn't have any) so on we went to the port shuttle out to our van. I wish NCL would continue sailing out of Houston!!

Edited March 31, 2016 by Lisalk12

[Lisalk12]

 

[Lisalk12]

I believe that about does it! We loved and would definitely recommend this ship! I would be happy to try and answer any questions that you might have. Let the countdown start till our next adventure!!!!!

[Linda the Book Lover]

Thanks for the great review which almost took me up to the day we leave. On our way to Houston tomorrow!

[Lisalk12]

Linda - Glad you enjoyed the review. Have a wonderful trip!

[Freespir8]

Thanks for the review! Great job!

[Lisalk12]

Annie- you are very welcome. It was fun reliving a great trip!

[Cruise-mom]

Great, I really enjoyed it. Thanks

[Lisalk12]

Update: Our last cruise aboard NCL Jade we used a third party agent and had a few "issues" and decided that we would not go that route again. So we booked our next NCL cruise while still on the ship directly though NCL. We called NCL later and upgraded our room to a mini suite. Called NCL another day to get a cabana at GSC. And four weeks after our final payment was made we received notification from the third party agency saying thanks for booking through them! Really!!!! We called NCL and they said they could do nothing about it. It seems that whenever you book with someone else the note stays on your account and you are hooked to them unless you state otherwise when booking. Just a heads up!!! My husband is extremely upset that he booked the cruise, upgraded it and made changes to excursions and we now have to pay someone else!

[Bacci111]

not sure what you mean about "upsell". Could you please tell me where to look for that info to see about the upgrades?

[Linda the Book Lover]

Linda - Glad you enjoyed the review. Have a wonderful trip!

 

We had a great trip. Omar is so very sweet! I had a little issue with smoke on the Jade sitting in the Martini Bar but it sure didn't upset any of our plans. We just moved when my eyes turned red and the coughing started. Not sure why except it was near the casino and I am sensitive to smoke. I got sick the day after we returned and i am finally walking about now. I am guessing airport germs...LOL We even enjoyed the Sanctuary in Roatan and I finally was able to hold a sloth. This was the perfect birthday cruise.

[Lisalk12]

not sure what you mean about "upsell". Could you please tell me where to look for that info to see about the upgrades?

 

 

 

Upsell number that we used was 800-625-4309. This is directly through NCL. If you book with a third party agent call them and they will contact NCL. I will see if I can find the thread and post a link. Our upsell was for xx amount of money per passenger you can upgrade to a suite from a balcony. An upgrade (at least in my mind) would be NCL calling and offering you a larger room.

[Lisalk12]

We had a great trip. Omar is so very sweet! I had a little issue with smoke on the Jade sitting in the Martini Bar but it sure didn't upset any of our plans. We just moved when my eyes turned red and the coughing started. Not sure why except it was near the casino and I am sensitive to smoke. I got sick the day after we returned and i am finally walking about now. I am guessing airport germs...LOL We even enjoyed the Sanctuary in Roatan and I finally was able to hold a sloth. This was the perfect birthday cruise.

 

 

So glad you had a great time!!! I miss the Jade and Omar. Hate that you got sick ..nasty airport germs! But glad you are starting to feel better.

[Lisalk12]

Upsell

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2343330

 

I have looked everywhere and can not find the link that I used for the phone number. But I did find this that I thought explained it well.

[92ufgator]

Lisa - Great review! We are doing our 2nd cruise to Europe this summer with our family of 4. We were on the Allure of the Seas in 2015 out of Barcelona and loved it! We are doing 8 night out of Venice on Jade this July.

 

I have been a little nervous that the Jade would pale a little in comparison to the Allure - which is very "tricked out" as my TA says. However, after reading your reviews and several others over the last few days, I am confident our family will love it! The trip is pretty port intensive but we have 2 sea days so I am looking forward to enjoying the ship. My one other experience with NCL years ago was also very positive.

 

A couple of questions:

 

Freebie Upgrades - we have booked two cabins - a balcony for us and an interior room for our 2 kids. Therefore, the whole family gets dining package for 4 nights and husband and I also get one extra upgrade/freebie.

 

I had originally selected the UPB package but am starting to re-think it. I am a big wine drinker and have heard mixed reviews about the selections on the package. Plus, since we will be in ports most days, I know I will have some nice wine at lunch so will not really be able to drink "cocktails" too much during the day except for sea days. I guess my question is, are all the mixed drinks included...painkillers, etc? I thought I read somewhere that you have keep drink cost under $10 - I see other than drink of the day, most of the fruity beachy drinks are more than $10. I guess it doesn't really matter but we had to pay so much in gratuity am wondering if it is worth it since the package isn't' really "free". We won't do many shore excursions through the ship, opting instead to go DIY or book with 3rd party and I can't imagine the wi-fi is really worth it...thoughts?

 

Also, can you explain what the i-concierge is?

 

Thanks so much - loved reading your review. Can't wait to start seeing some of the reviews from passengers once the Jade gets across the pond!

 

Stacy

[Lisalk12]

Stacy- You are very welcome. I like journaling about our trips and sharing them is an added bonus.

 

I've never been on a large ship (just Jade, Star, & Sky). So I don't really know what we are missing but I did love our time and felt pampered. Which I worry about when I think of being on one of the larger/busier ships.

 

Freebie- I drank MANY of the cocktails (including painkillers) during our time on board and payed nothing (except the gratuity that you mentioned). The limit was $15 so anything under that was free. Anything over $15 you pay the difference. So if you had a wine that you liked that was $17 you would only be charged $2 per drink. But I believe most of the wine list is under $15. I like wine but prefer mixed drinks so I'm not really sure about the quality of wines offered.

 

IConcierge -

IConcierge has two parts the free app is a way to check your account. We could keep tabs on the boys spending and check to make sure we were on target for our budget. The add-on to the app (for $7.95 per devise) we could call and/or text other iConcierge users on the ship. I loved this as we could keep tabs on our two boys and stay in contact with other couples we meet on board.

 

I dream of traveling on the other side of the pond someday! Have an amazing time!!!

[abbyar]

Thank you for the review! We will be in the same suite on the Jade this coming Thanskgiving out of Tampa with a very similar itinerary.

 

Did the sound of deck chairs ever wake you? We were on the other side on our last Gem sailing, which was below the gym, and directly below the weight area, so the room would thump & shake every time someone put down weights. It was awful!!

 

I loved the Snuba! Any idea on age requirement? Did your 9 yo like it? My 2nd youngest will be 9 when we sail.

[Lisalk12]

Glad you enjoyed the review! You will love the suite! I don't remember ever being woke by the sounds of the chairs. Just hearing them when we were up in the evening and early morning.

 

The age requirement to Snuba was 8. My 9 year old loved it and would do it again in a heartbeat. He turned 10 a couple of weeks after our trip but he is very tiny (he is just over 4 foot and weighs 50 lbs.) and the company had everything that would fit him. They were very patient with both of us!!

 

Have a wonderful trip!!!

[riclop]

Thanks for the review.