Thinking of booking NCL Jade August 2017

[Daddyglove]

Hi I usually cruise with P&O but I have seen a cruise which I am interested in and would like a few questions answered please.

We are looking to travel on 19 August 2017 on NCL Jade from Southampton to Iceland and British Isles

 

1. My daughter will be 12 when we travel will there be many children on board for her and are the kids clubs on board this ship any good

 

2. What are the main differences between NCL and P&O

 

3. What are the speciality restaurants and are they expensive

 

4. Is the free drinks package the best free upgrade

 

5. What is the dress code for evenings. Will I need a tux for a few nights like I do on P&O

 

Sorry for asking so many questions but any help would be gratefully appreciated

[KeithJenner]

1. It's difficult to say for sure, as this will be the first year of NCL sailing from Southampton, but I'd imagine there will be quite a few. I imagine the issue will be the perception of whether Iceland is a good destination for kids. There will certainly be at least one 12 year old on this sailing, our son.

 

He has always enjoyed the kids club, although this does tend to be one of those things that some like and others don't.

 

2. I have never sailed P&O, but from what I know from others, the main difference is that NCL is less formal. See answer 5.

 

3. Have a look at the NCL site for details of the speciality restaurants. The prices are also there. I think they are worth visiting a few times, especially on a 15 day cruise. The included food is pretty good though, in my opinion, so they aren't essential. We tend to go there for a change and a slightly nicer atmosphere, as much as the food.

 

4. This depends on how much you drink. You only need to have a couple of drinks a day to make it better value than the other promos.

 

5. Dress code is a lot less formal than it seems you have encountered on P&O. You certainly don't need a tux (although take one if you want). Dress code is also on the website, but you can wear jeans everywhere, every night if you want and shorts are allowed in most places. There are no nights when the dress code changes.

Edited September 18, 2016 by KeithJenner

[Daddyglove]

Thanks Keith for the reply.

One more question please. Are transfers from the ship to town centre included or do you pay extra or have to walk from ship

 

 

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[KeithJenner]

Thanks Keith for the reply.

One more question please. Are transfers from the ship to town centre included or do you pay extra or have to walk from ship

 

 

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Depends on the ports, but free transfers to the town centre are rare. Usually they are chargeable.

 

I've never been to any of these ports, other than Southampton, so can't help with specifics I'm afraid. From the (very little) research I've done I'd say that many of the ports are fairly small towns, so I believe they are fairly easily walkable.

[Daddyglove]

Thanks Keith

Might see you on board then

 

 

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[cshellz]

Ive also just booked this cruise, we will be travelling with a 16 yr old girl & 13 yr old boy.

 

From the small amount of research Ive done, unless you want a specific tour the towns are walkable or the port puts a shuttle on for most.

[cshellz]

Ive joined the roll call which compared to the cruise before & after isnt very busy.

[KeithJenner]

Ive joined the roll call which compared to the cruise before & after isnt very busy.

 

 

 

Its going to take a while for those roll calls to settle down. Because of all the itinerary changes they are a real mess, and I wouldn't be surprised if some people haven't joined them yet because of that.

 

I suspect they will start to pick up a bit, although these sort of itineraries never seem to get very big roll calls anyway.

[Huntingdon1701]

Hi I usually cruise with P&O but I have seen a cruise which I am interested in and would like a few questions answered please.

 

I've sailed on P&O, then switched to NCL and haven't looked back. It offers considerably more choice in terms of dining and entertainment. The speciality dining options are reasonable value, although I wouldn't say they were all cheap; and now they're a la carte you can tailor the bill to your wallet if you need to (although not so relaxing, perhaps). Several of them offer an experience as well - Teppanyaki and Moderno which you don't get on P&O. They don't have formal nights and you won't see tuxedos, but people are still decently dressed in most of the restaurants.

 

I also found the NCL crew to be much more friendly and enthusiastic, although I gather that varies from ship to ship and sailing to sailing.

 

The Jade is just about to go on a thorough refit, so you'll be going on an upgraded vessel with a few more bells and whistles. The decor, currently, is a little sub-par compared to P&O but I imagine they'll be fixing that.

 

The other area where I thought P&O was stronger was in the art gallery, but that may not be a huge issue for you.

 

If you like the itinerary, then you needn't have any qualms about booking with NCL.

Edited September 18, 2016 by Huntingdon1701

[Daddyglove]

All booked and really excited. See you on the new refit-jade ship. Looking forward to a different cruise liner.

 

 

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