Jade to NYC to Canada October 16-26 2017 - my brief revew

[drvalo]

We just returned from a 10-day cruise out of NYC to some of the Canadian Maritimes and Quebec City. We chose this cruise specifically because of the itinerary; which did not disappoint. These were all new ports for us. The Canadian government is requiring ships to cruise at slower speeds to protect the Right whales, so our times in port were greatly reduced, however. On the other hand, we experienced extraordinary weather on this cruise. Whereas typically the weather should have been in the 40s with some rain; we had bright sun and temps in the upper 50s and 60s in the afternoon. It was raining when we arrived in Halifax, but the rain stopped before the first stop on our tour and later on our final day at sea we were really rocking and rolling as we cruised through a storm.Otherwise the weather was near perfect for fall and, with warmer weather, the fall colors were spectacular. In addition to Halifax, we visited Quebec City, Charlottetown on Prince Edward Island, and Sydney on Cape Breton Island. We booked all of our excursions through NCL, which worked out well. We had such brief amounts of time in each port that that made the visits stress free and all of our tour guides were excellent. We feel like we got the most out of our short time in each port.

 

Pre-cruise we stayed at the Hilton Garden Inn in RidgefieldPark, NJ. They had a good park, stay, cruise package with breakfast and limo transportation to and from the port included. This worked very well and was very economical for NYC. The hotel was nice and the area was safe. We made it to the port in 26 minutes on a Monday morning and our return trip was equally as quick. We waited about 30 or 40 minutes from the time I called the service until they picked us up across the street from the port. We did easy walk off, but not right at 7:30. We were on the road home by 9:30 AM. If you plan to drive to the port of New York and stay the night before, I can recommend this option.

 

The Port of New York was surprisingly efficient for embarkation and disembarkation. We were dropped off around 10:30 AM, left ourbags with the porters, filled our customs forms and were ushered to the Platinum line. There we were given a yellow group 1 boarding ticket and waited a bit to check in. There was also a separate waiting area for Platinum and higher. We were seated for lunch in the Grand Pacific a little after noon. It could have been sooner, but the restaurant did not open until noon. Disembarkation was the fastest we ever experienced. We exited using the easy walk off soon after we were cleared. The most waiting involved being stopped so the forklifts could pass with the tagged luggage. The other slow-up was because people disembarked before Paquito began calling the “colors” and then they just stood blocking the line when they could see their luggage but could not get to it. Why can’t people follow directions?

 

The Jade looked beautiful. We had cruised her in January/February on the last NCL cruise before her dry dock. We also stayed in the cabin right next door to the one we were in on the cruise. Both are sideways inside cabins on deck 9. The cabin was mostly the same, but with updated décor. The square table is gone and there is a new TV console including additional electrical outlets (these did not work for us) with a usb port and a much larger TV. We lost a bit of storage and surface area to put things, but it is much easier to move around the bed. Nice additions were the usb ports on the lights by the bed. We brought our multi-outlet extension cord, but never needed to use it. The one change that I absolutely hate was that all of the desk chairs have been removed from the inside and balcony cabins and replaced with low stools. Our wonderful steward was able to bring me one of the old chairs however, so if you, too, miss the chair, ask. The Medusa lounge is now Bliss and looks great. All the orange is gone. Throughout the ship, most of the Hawaiian décor is gone with the exception of some of the art work on the cabin decks and the Grand Pacific. That does seem appropriate, however, as it is still called the Grand Pacific. The Kamehameha statue is gone, however. Another chair issue was the chairs in La Cucina. They were cheap plastic, wobbly, and uncomfortable. We only used the hour of free internet we received as a Platinum benefit, but it worked well enough for what we needed once we were able to get connected. It took a couple of calls to the internet guy to make that happen, but he also combined our two 30 minute benefits so we only needed the one login. That was helpful.

 

Life on the Jade was challenging at times. This was an unusual cruise as the average age was 67. I saw five children. There were many scooters, walkers, chairs, and canes and the inside spaces were always crowded as it was too cold to spend much time outside. Especially crowded were the trivias and other cruise director staff activities. The early shows were just packed; the later ones not so much. Many, many passengers wanted to eat at 5:30PM. The first sea day we witnessed a near riot when all the early restaurant reservations were gone. I had made a reservation for Cagney’s before boarding and that was there, but there were many people whose reservations were not there. Stefan, the Food and Beverage Manager, took names and promised a phone call to help make arrangements. We never got the call. A couple of days later we walked by the reservations desk and were able to make a reservation for Moderno at an ok time, but still we never got that call. That was just poor service on NCL’s part. I typically give the benefit of the doubt and have always experienced the officers trying to make things as right as they could, so this was surprising to me. I did notice that after the first day, all of the restaurants except for the buffet opened at 5:00 instead of the more typical 5:30. Perhaps this was the way he satisfied those who desired to eat early. I did not hear many complaints after that first sea day. There were also a couple of Noro scares. One of the first early days, there was no self-serve in the buffet. It happened again the last few days of the cruise. One of our excursions was a bit delayed when two passengers did not show up. Later it was determined they had been confined to their cabin. The last sea day there were many dishes left in the cabin hallways. I am not sure if that was because people were forced confined to the cabins or they confined themselves because of motion sickness. There were many sick people because of the rocking and rolling.

 

There were a number of other service problems we experienced this cruise. First we did not automatically receive the Latitudes discount for our excursions even though we had booked them before we boarded and the discounts were on our MyNCL. Additionally, no one understood what the codes for the On Board Credit meant. What was listed on our account was not the same as what was listed on MyNCL and what was on our edocs. It took a couple of days to determine if we received what we should have received. One of the midship elevators was out of service for most of the cruise and we had an odd water leak in our bathroom.The plumbers did find the problem which was not in our cabin at all and it was repaired. While not really a service problem, but certainly something unusual, the captain was nearly absent on this cruise. He seldom made any announcements and I never saw him around the ship. He did not attend the CC Meet and Greet (that was the first time that ever happened for any M&G I ever attended). I am not sure if he attended the Latitudes reception. I did not see him and he did not speak. Again, I have never cruised when that has happened. I did see him at the crew appreciation part of the Elements show. He was standing at theatre exit on deck 6 as we left but he did not smile or otherwise acknowledge the passengers. He did conduct a Q&A in the atrium one day, but the first thing he said was "no complaints". Again, it was just odd. He did not seem to be enjoying his job.

 

We ate at the Grand Pacific, Alizar, O’Sheehan’s, Moderno, Cagney’s, and the buffet. The most egregious offense with all of the meals was that for the first week of the cruise there was no butter. There was something masquerading as butter (Butter Delight with 25% less fat), but it was not butter. The last few days of the cruise the butter pats in the little foil packs returned. With the exception of O’Sheehan’s all the food was pretty good for what it was. O’Sheehan’s was a disappointment. I had the beef fajitas one night and, while they tasted ok, this was the first time I ever had anything to eat on NCL that was truly inedible. It was impossible to chew. Breakfast there was just ok. I missed the cold quick bar of fruit and pastry we enjoyed at O’Sheehan’s on the Pearl. The Buffet was much improved since we ate there on our last Jade cruise. In January the options seemed like mostly rice and casseroles, but this time there were many fresh vegetables and better meats. We enjoyed the Mexican night and the German lunch, especially. They also had one of the good coffee bean grinding coffee machines at the beverage station at the back of the buffet and around the corner at the beverage station next to the buffet bar.You can see the beans in the canisters at the top of those machines. Additionally, LaCucina is opened for buffet seating for breakfast and lunch. We always found a quiet table there with a great view. At Alizar we experienced extremely slow service one night. For example it took 40 minutes from the time we received our dessert menus until we received our desserts. This was at a time when there was a line waiting to get in. For other dinners there, the service was at a more reasonable pace. The service at Moderno was also very slow. The Cagney’s service was excellent and our steaks were very good. We used our Latitudes voucher there and the waiter did include one side comped. Desserts continue to be just terrible. The raspberry crème brulee at Cagney's did not seem worth the calories. Didn’t they use to have a more traditional one? I am not sure why NCL has to make so many desserts with a gelatin covering. It is just nasty. There was certainly good food to eat, but if NCL just stopped covering so many desserts with gelatin, all would be so much better.

 

The entertainment was good. We especially enjoyed Nadeen, the hypnotist. We went to her early and late shows, as well as attended her four workshops. She is just a genuinely kind person. The magician and the acrobats were very good. The ventriloquist was also good. We did not attend Blazing Boots or the Beatles tribute, but we heard both were good. There were the usual midevening game shows. We usually enjoy the various cruise director staff activities on past cruises as they have used signature slips and each person got credit for participation as well as winning. These could be traded in for various better prizes at the end of the cruise. There was no more signature slips and generally the prizes for the winners were drink cozies, key chains, and decks of cards. We left what we won in our cabin when we left the ship. We watched several movies in our cabin – not somethingwe usually do. The larger TV makes that so much better! I do wish they would post showing times somewhere. The schedule is on the entertainment scroll channel, but it is fleeting and you have to watch the scroll for a long time to see it. We watched bits and pieces of “A dog’s purpose” until I think we saw the whole movie. We also watched “The Fate of the Furious”, “Wonder Woman”, and “Guardians of the Galaxy”.

 

In sum, the ports were wonderful. Service on NCL has suffered recently, but the dry dock made some good and useful upgrades. We enjoyed the food (with the exception of the desserts) and the on board entertainment. And one final note: We still miss being able to bring our own beverages. This has really diminished our cruise enjoyment, but we will likely

cruise again.

[lettienets]

We just returned from a 10-day cruise out of NYC to some of the Canadian Maritimes and Quebec City. ....

cruise again.

Thanks for your review and all the information.

 

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[Jruns]

We were on the cruise before you and your review is spot on! So many people had upper respiratory problems and or the flu! We never once heard the captain give any announcements and the cruise director was okay ....his assistant was better! I thought the food in the buffet was good but the main dining room food was just okay. We ate every meal in the specialty restaurants except two. Out of our party of 6 - three got the flu ( we got shots but not enough time elapsed for them to be effective. Anyway, great review and spot on!!

 

 

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[newmexicoNita]

We were on the cruise before you and your review is spot on! So many people had upper respiratory problems and or the flu! We never once heard the captain give any announcements and the cruise director was okay ....his assistant was better! I thought the food in the buffet was good but the main dining room food was just okay. We ate every meal in the specialty restaurants except two. Out of our party of 6 - three got the flu ( we got shots but not enough time elapsed for them to be effective. Anyway, great review and spot on!!

 

 

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We have friends that were on the same one you were; she was one that had an upper resp infection. No, she didn't know it ahead of time. She said a lot of people on their flight were coughing.

It was her first NCL cruise, being a loyal RCI cruiser. anyway she said pretty much what you did. Because she was sick, they ate most of their meals at the buffet. They did not choose to do any specialty dining.

She thought the ports were nice,loved ship itself and liked the entertainment. But I think she likes RCI better.

[soccermommy]

OP, so sorry you had service issues. We were on the Jade Great Britain cruise in May, and although we encountered no problems, we did notice that the crew didn't seem as happy as on other NCL ships. We never saw the Captain, either, except for picture taking on the first "formal" night. He didn't attend the Meet and Greet, either, but the Hotel Director did. That officer was everywhere, and a very nice gentleman. We figured the Captain was busy; it was a very port intensive cruise, but it was surprising.

Food is objective, but service in the Grand Pacific ( they were training staff the the Joy) was slow and often orders were wrong, but I can understand your concerns.

Could you give some more information on your ports, and any shore excursions you took? We are considering this cruise out of NY, or the Dawn out of Boston, so appreciate any advice. Many thanks for your review.

[jaja]

OP---I was also on the sailing before yours....by mid cruise at least 1/3 of PAX coughing...by day 10 over half..I came home with UR infection...still have it...:mad:

 

 

While we loved the cruise...we did have some major plumbing and heating issues....(and I did hear others did as well !)..

[Clarea]

Appreciate the report.

[drvalo]

Could you give some more information on your ports, and any shore excursions you took? We are considering this cruise out of NY, or the Dawn out of Boston, so appreciate any advice. Many thanks for your review.

 

As any cruise to Canada will probably be a year away or so, I am not sure how much help my tour information will be, but I am happy to share.

The Views of Halifax was very informative. We had a great guide. We spent about a third of the time at the Titanic cemetery, but she had lots of info and stories.

The Countryside of Quebec took us to the island and a sugar shack with samples of maple taffy, the Montmorency falls for coffee/tea and pastry, and some other sights with lots about the history and culture. Again, a great guide.

The island tour and Anne of Green Gables took us around PEI and we visited the house that the book is based on. Again, a wonderful guide.

Finally, the Heart of the Island tour took us to the Scottish Highland Village. Spectacular views and a good bit about the history of and current life on the island and Alexander Graham Bell. Again, we had a wonderful guide.

[drvalo]

We were on the cruise before you and your review is spot on! So many people had upper respiratory problems and or the flu! We never once heard the captain give any announcements and the cruise director was okay ....his assistant was better! I thought the food in the buffet was good but the main dining room food was just okay. We ate every meal in the specialty restaurants except two. Out of our party of 6 - three got the flu ( we got shots but not enough time elapsed for them to be effective. Anyway, great review and spot on!!

 

 

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Thanks!

 

Sorry to hear so many in your group got sick. This was the first cruise in years that either I or my husband stayed well.

 

If handsome Rob was the assistant, I agree, he was better. We also enjoyed Kristianna from Latvia. :)

 

The MDR food was really meh, I agree, although I did enjoy the two salmon dinners; one hot and one a cold salad. Both were just delicious.

[soccermommy]

Thanks, drvalo, for getting back to me so soon. Yes, unfortunately, we are looking at a cruise a year away, but the itineraries don't seem to change much, so you were very helpful. Again, thanks.

[garycarla]

We were on the same cruise, a week earlier.

 

Yes, Captain was absent.. but not big deal.

 

Had great food in buffet except last night - was asian themed that we enjoy, but was terrible. Cagneys, French and Japenese were great. We opted out of Italian. Did breakfast overflow there one morning. Who thought those new chairs were a good idea?

 

Entertainment was good.

 

Apparently, there were folks with colds, etc on our cruise, but only ran into a couple of them. We were totally unaware until reading this thread.

[Keith1010]

I enjoyed reading your review.

 

Very well balanced.

 

Keith

[garycarla]

Re: Noise from above the cabin.

 

The workout room is above some of those rooms on the port side. That might have been the issue. Always a good idea to open up the floor plans for the level with the cabin, and the one above it to see.