Trip Report - NCL Jade Harvest Caye & Belize

[Sailing12Away]

About us: We’re a couple in our late 30s/early 40s from NY. This is our 2^nd cruise with NCL (hubby’s 2^nd cruise period), and our first time sailing in the Haven. Overall it was a good trip, but we had some glitches along the way. The excursions themselves were good, but we have no interest in returning to Costa Maya or Harvest Caye and would stay behind on the ship if a future cruise stopped there. The Jade is very different from our last ship, the Epic. We found getting around to be much easier on the Epic, as each elevator bank on the Jade stopped at a different top floor. So for us to get back to deck 14 we had to either take multiple elevators, or zig zag our way to the front of the ship first before going up. To get to some of the aft parts of the ship you had to walk through the entire buffet first as well. Despite having less passengers than the Epic, we also felt the Jade to be more crowded at times.

 

We purchased 2 more Cruise Next certificates while on board, so despite the glitches and minor disappointments, we’re still sticking with NCL for at least one more cruise after the next 2 we already have booked. Overall common theme with NCL is that it is very inconsistent. Communication from one passenger to the next will vary completely, and one person’s experience will also vary completely from someone in a comparable room next door. The “free” perks work well for us and our cruising style, so as long as the itinerary looks interesting and we feel it’s a good value, we’ll keep cruising with them.

 

Our Cabin: #15000, the Deluxe Owner’s Suite within the Haven. The good: Tons of space to stretch out and relax, two balconies so you can either follow or avoid the sun as you choose, 1.5 bathrooms so no fighting over who needs the potty first, and ~120 degree views of the front of the ship overlooking the main pool area below.

 

The bad: You feel a LOT of movement of the ship being this high up – so much so that we felt a little seasick on day 2 for the first time ever on a cruise (not that we have many others to compare to, but still), you enter the cabin from deck 14 and have to walk up 19 steps before reaching your actual room – which is tiring if you’re in/out all day long or have any mobility issues, there’s a lot of odd noises that you hear throughout the day – clinks and creaks and rough vibration when the ship starts/stops. Plus, the wind. The way the balconies are angled, it creates a wind tunnel up there when you’re standing and looking out. Being right on top of the pool area you also hear all the music and activities going on down there. So if you’re looking for a quiet spot to lay down and read, it’s not on your balcony.

 

It was an amazing room, but if we had a choice and were sailing in Haven again, we would probably go with a regular balcony room. There’s a substantial price jump from the “regular” rooms to the DOS, and for us we would have been fine in a different room. Maybe for a family with kids it would be more fun and interesting to look out at the pool area all day, but for us it was just a reminder to be grateful for the Haven pool area access as there was hardly any open spots to be found.

 

The Haven: Our first time sailing in this category of rooms and services, only because our particular cruise was dirt cheap when we first saw it and booked (inside rooms started at ~$200/pp if I remember correctly). The good: The Haven courtyard and pool area was worth it alone. Our room lets us get a good view of the activity going on down at the main pool, how many (if any) seats are available, how crowded it is, and if the particular band playing is to our liking or not. If things looked roomy and fun, we headed down that way to mingle, but we never once went in the main pools. Headed to deck 14 for the Haven courtyard and pool and essentially had the place to ourselves each time. The pool is small, but when there is only 2-3 people in it for a quick soak and to cool off, there is plenty of space. There’s a separate upstairs sundeck area for those who enjoy the sun (me) and the area on deck 14 with the pool is covered by a glass roof to reduce sunburn in those who don’t enjoy it as much (hubby). Water & juice and snacks (M&Ms, cookies) were always out and available during the day while you were there. Our cabin steward Sergio was amazing, pleasant, and helpful; anything we needed or wanted was taken care of (or got the correct person to take care of for us without making us feel like we were troubling him).

 

The so-so parts: The Haven “perks” were mostly lost on us. Free in-room snacks were nice, but I didn’t eat most of them. The junk food was fine (gummy bears, M&Ms, cookies, chocolate covered strawberries), but the afternoon food snacks I wouldn’t touch. Finger sandwiches of tuna or ham & cheese, mini tarts, shrimp on crackers…. Not for me. Hubby tried some of them and said they were ok, but honestly I would have preferred chicken fingers and fries waiting for me when we got back from excursions over the more foo-foo stuff, but that’s just my lower class taste buds I suppose. In the main theatre area there is a spot to the left reserved for Haven guests so you can sit in an upper balcony area close to the stage – meh, I think the better seats would have been in the center of the room on the floor with everyone else, rather than viewing from an angle. The fact that we spotted our new friends down in the center area at one show confirmed that suspicion that those seats were actually better (they sail A LOT and know tons of great tips/tricks, so I trust their judgement about the best viewing spot). On the Jade there is no separate Haven restaurant – for breakfast you can eat at Modernos, and lunch at Cagneys, but it never felt like the special amazing food I had read others raving about on other ships from their Haven restaurants. Large breakfast “salad bar” at Modernos and mostly egg dishes for the main course (I had a Belgium waffle with berries), but when we asked for extra bacon with hubby’s egg dish they said no problem and I stole from his dish. We did lunch at Cagneys once, and my French dip sandwich was just ok. They slathered some mayo/mustard type spread over it and I don’t eat either of those things. I ended up just pulling the safe ‘goop-free’ meat from the center and eating just that. Cagneys for dinner was amazing though, so I guess I just picked poorly for lunch. I should have went with the turkey burger that another passenger raved about.

 

The not-so-good parts: I won’t call them bad per se, but more of misunderstandings or miscommunications which just led to unpleasant experiences. Talking with a lot of the other guests there was a complete disparity in how some of us were treated by the Haven concierge Bruno. When we first got to our room, we were missing our excursion tickets for Belize. I called his number to reach out to him, and he said he was currently with another guest and would have to call us back. No problem, except we didn’t get a message from him until later in the evening just saying “I’m calling you back, now you call me back.” Um, ok. After we had breakfast the next morning we asked at the desk near Modernos/Cagneys, and he happened to be right there. After meeting him in person he was much nicer and more helpful to us, was able to switch our dinner reservation for that night on the spot so we could attend the VIP reception at 6:30 and head to dinner after at 7:45, and said he would take care of our excursion mix-up. Our tickets were waiting for us when we returned to the room that evening. Another couple though said on day 4 they had still not met him in person for more than 60 seconds, he was refusing to return their calls, and that he had scolded them when they tried to flag him down in a restaurant so they could follow up with him. If we had received our excursion tickets on day 1 as expected, I’m not sure I would have even needed to use him as we didn’t after that day. When you combine that with the horrendous experiences I had trying to use the pre-cruise concierge before we even got on board, the added value to having a special Haven concierge was minimal in our eyes.

 

Pre-cruise I had replied to the concierge email I received and asked for help with dinner reservations and excursions. Dinner reservations were fine, I was not able to book myself online for 2 of the specialty restaurants, but they got us in with no problem. The excursions though were a different story. They booked us on our Costa Maya trip with no issue, but when I reached out again a week later to add on the one for Belize they told me to call the excursion desk myself. It is exactly this type of inconsistency in service that drives me nutty with NCL. Is it part of your responsibilities, or not? You can’t do a task without hesitation when first asked, and then balk and claim it is not your job when asked to do it again. Our Belize excursion that we were trying to book was the Monkey River Eco Tour. The excursion desk told me it was sold out and to get myself placed on a wait list, but when they transferred me to reservations they had no idea what I was talking about as NCL doesn’t do wait lists (plus the reservation desk is for people booking new cruises, they have nothing to do with excursions). So I reached back out to the concierge for guidance and asked them to escalate this to a supervisor as I was now thoroughly confused. The supervisor informed me that it wasn’t sold out, but simply not being offered at all on our particular sailing. Again, more conflicting information. Two days later I received an email confirmation of my reservation for the tour. So to this day I truly have no idea what the real story was, and I don’t think they do either. Ironically, it was this excursion that we were missing tickets for when we boarded the ship.

 

Our butler was just ok. Mary Jane was nice and pleasant enough, but I’m still confused about what she can/can’t do for us, what is/isn’t within the scope of her position, and exactly what she does for us other than bring breakfast when I leave my card on my door the night before with my choices. When we arrived on the ship, we got here late due to a bad experience with AA delaying our flight 2 hours (see this thread for more info on that adventure: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2638571-jadebreakaway-passengers-stuck-at-jfk/). So, we didn’t get to utilize any of the Haven perks for boarding as the staff were all gone by the time we arrived at the port. Apparently, the person who checked us in gave us the wrong colored room card – it was orange instead of the Haven silver/grey color. MJ noticed right away and said we had the wrong cards, and would take care of it for us. When we got back to the room later that night the new cards were there waiting for us. The problem though is that the new cards weren’t working for the elevator. It was about a 30% success rate. I called MJ and explained the issue to her, the response I got was “You have to go to deck 7 to fix that.” Um, ok, the ship is smaller than the Epic but exactly where on deck 7 am I supposed to go? “Guest services, ma’am. They will fix it for you and give you a new card.”

 

I admit, I may be too critical and sensitive here, but isn’t it at least partly your job to help fix it and take care of it for me? At least call them ahead and let them know we’re coming so the new cards are ready and waiting for us? Or if you were busy with another guest, just say that you can’t get to it until at least 7pm and ask if we can wait or if we would prefer to handle it on our own. The whole situation was odd and my hubby asked me if she was taking care of it, and I had to say I honestly don’t know. She said she didn’t know when we would be in the room (why does that matter?), so I told her we were there now and would be for at least another 30 minutes or more. She called me back 30 mins later saying “Oh, I wasn’t sure if you were still in the room.” Yes, I told you I would be. “Oh, ok ma’am, I’ll go take care of the card for you now.” I’m sure it was probably just miscommunication more than anything, but it just felt really odd and made me uncomfortable to call her and ask her anything else after that.

 

Again, we got to the room late so maybe our experience was different from what was supposed to happen, but she didn’t explain anything about the room to us at all. To this day I still don’t know how to turn on/off some of the lights, or if there was a way to open the lower door without having to run down the stairs - or an intercom at least to see who is there as there is no peephole. We never had a muster drill, although other people who came late with us were told about a makeup drill on day 2. I didn’t realize we had extra water bottles and cans of soda in one of the drawers next to the mini fridge so we were rationing them out. I still don’t know how to play just music from the Bose stereo. There’s a keypad next to the door that I still have no clue how to use. She didn’t help us with anything. When I finally got my new “new” card, we joked with her that we didn’t know how to use it in the elevator – do we put it in and leave it there while hitting the button for 14 or do you take it out right away? She smiled and said nothing. We asked Sergio next time we saw him and he not only explained, but came into the elevator with us to show us how to do it. So again….. what is your function and purpose?

 

I guess my biggest gripe and complaint with our Haven experience was that it was not smooth and seamless and worry free. Regardless of whose job it is to perform XYZ task, the guest should not be put in the middle of a finger pointing match or passed from staff member to staff member. “No problem ma’am, I’ll make sure it’s taken care of.” When I get back to the room, it is magically fixed by the Haven fairies. Whether it is the butler who does it, or the room steward, the concierge, guest services, engineer…. Whoever, it doesn’t matter, so long as the guest knows it is being taken care of and actually gets done. Again, we weren’t demanding or asking for help with anything I felt was above and beyond reasonable expectation, but when we have to go down to guest services at 10pm the night before disembarking to get our own luggage tags, that to me is a problem. Especially when your butler calls to tell you that she is getting you the new correct tags 5 hours earlier. I simply missed the “wow” factor that everyone else raves about, so for our first experience it’s hard to justify wanting to spend that kind of money again and take a chance that we would get a repeat experience.

 

Yes, I did reach out to NCL with all of our issues, so I’ll let you know in 13 days if they bother to respond. I don’t want to get anyone in trouble, but they need to be aware of the inconsistencies in experiences from guest-to-guest, as that is a big part of what you are paying for with the Haven experience.

 

Stay tuned, more to come.... I did take photos of our room and some parts of the ship, so if anyone wants to see something specific let me know and I'll post them. I'll also work on scanning in the dailies too.

[erdoran]

Hi, I have a Jade sailing coming up and I’m in a 2 BR Haven.  I was wondering exactly what you posted - about whether the balconies in OS and DOS are usable because of wind.  You are saying not while the ship is underway?

 

I’m sorry to hear about your negative Haven experience, because it is NOT up to par at all from what I experienced over the summer on Bliss, which was spectacular.  We do Haven to avoid crowds and not to have to deal with anything - and NCL most definitely charges a pretty penny for that.  Will be interesting to see what others’ experiences have been.

 

Looking forward to the rest of your review!

 

[Sailing12Away]

Day 1

NCL booked our flights and transfers for us with their special “free” air promotion. When the price is right, this sounds like an amazing deal and the bargain of the century. For us, the flight from JFK – MIA was truly free (minus our $30 bag fee – we squished all of our stuff into a single large suitcase and a carry-on each; and the transfer fees). Flight was scheduled to get us into Miami around 12:30 pm, meaning we would realistically be on the ship around 1:30 – 2pm. Plenty of time for 4pm sail away, to grab a bite to eat, wander around and get our bearings, and settle in. Well, the worst fear that everyone who uses this service has came true. We had issues with our flight (see this thread for more info: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2638571-jadebreakaway-passengers-stuck-at-jfk/) and went into panic mode when we thought we would miss the boat.

 

Pro Tip: We have the TSA pre-check, so from our front door at home to the time we were standing at the gate waiting to board the plane was ~45 minutes. That includes a 15-20 min drive to JFK airport as well. If you travel once a year minimum, go and pay for the TSA pre-check. It is a life saver, time saver, and a no brainer. We’re kicking ourselves from not doing it sooner. Not only are your lines shorter and faster, but you don’t have to be bothered with stripping down or taking things out of your bag. We each normally travel with a laptop which would have to come out of the bag and go in a separate bin. He then has shoes to untie and remove, a belt to remove, pants to hold up so they don’t fall off while walking through the metal detector, I usually have a light sweater or jacket which would have to come off….. a big pain in the tuckus. Well, with the TSA pre-check you do none of that. Shoes stay on, laptops stay in their bag, entire bag goes on and comes out, my sweater stays on…. You literally walk up, put your bags on and walk through. We also got the global entry which lets you skip lines at customs when you travel internationally. Since we try to do one trip overseas each year, again, a no brainer for us.

 

So back to JFK and American Airlines… We started boarding the plane according to zone right on schedule at 8:20am. We have no perks with AA so we boarded with zone 6, got settled into our seats, pulled out our book and gum for takeoff, seat belts on… and then they made the announcement. Pilot got on the intercom and started apologizing, and then said something about us having to get off the plane so another flight could have it. Everyone thought he was joking so no one moved. Then they announced it again. Their story – which none of us flying out of JFK that day believed – was that they had a flight scheduled to go to Vail Colorado, and their plane wasn’t approved for high altitude (um, I’m no aviation expert, but you mean to tell me that Colorado is higher in elevation than planes normally fly?). The plane we were on was, so we had to get off so they could have our plane, and we would get a different plane. In all my years of travel and flying I have never experienced that before. I’ve had gate changes and delays, but never have they let people board the plane and then kick them off.

 

Once we’re all at our new gate they tell us the plane isn’t available yet. We all incorrectly assumed we would simply hop on the Colorado plane and take off for Miami just slightly delayed. Yeah…. No. They had no plane, were borrowing one from Delta, and it was still sitting cold in the hangar and needed to be checked. While we’re all sitting there grumbling and complaining, we realized that nearly half of our flight was cruise ship passengers (some members of Cruise Critic – so hello to all of you, my fellow sufferers from JFK!) with a mix of Jade, Getaway, and Carnival among us. Multiple people were on the phone with NCL letting them know the delay and figuring out our options, so I didn’t bother inundating them with yet another phone call to hear the same (ha! If only….) story from NCL reps.

 

I won’t bore you with all of our woes, but my biggest gripe about the whole situation is the ever constant problem that EVERYONE has with NCL – depending on who you speak with on the phone you are told a 100% different story from the next person who calls and asks the exact same question; and none of what they tell you is even true! My fellow passengers were being told that the last shuttle bus from Miami airport to the port was leaving at 2pm sharp – if we were not ready to board the bus at that time, we were on our own. Take a cab and get to the port before 3pm or you will not be permitted to board and they would help make arrangements to catch up to the boat at the next dock (2 days later mind you). As we sat there watching and hearing our boarding time get pushed back further and further, the panic set in even more for folks. It’s just frustrating and stressful for something that was supposed to make your life simpler and easier, and not a good way to start off your vacation.

 

Long story short (sorry, it wasn’t short at all), we finally landed in Miami at 1:54pm, and didn’t get off the actual plane until after 2pm. Quick stop at the potty, then take the tram to the baggage claim area, hubby ran ahead to find which carousel the bags were coming out of, and every single cruise passenger was following him like the pied piper. To everyone’s shock and relief, there were 4 NCL representatives there at baggage claim with giant signs waiting for us all.

 

I have to give credit where credit is due, despite the fact that their customer service reps on the phone are horrendous and insensitive and useless, the people actually at the airport were fabulous. The first thing they said to our huge group was “relax, we’ve got you covered, you’re not missing your ship”. Instantly the mood changed and we were all back to laughing at our unfortunate situation and simply rolling with the punches of unexpected travel difficulties. We were instructed to get our bags (which took another 15 mins for some reason – another AA fail in my eyes), take our transfer voucher to the NCL desk right across the way, exchange it for a bus token, and then wait for everyone else to be ready.

 

We didn’t board the bus until 2:40pm, and finally arrived at check in at 3:15pm. Stopped at the Getaway first to drop those passengers off and wish them a good cruise, and then arrived at the Jade. No porters to help with the luggage at that point in the day, but we only had a single roller bag so it wasn’t too bad for us and everyone was running on too much adrenaline from actually making the ship to even care. No line at check-in (not a surprise), but a silly long walk to finally find our way onto the actual ship.

 

Found our way to an elevator and sat there for what seemed like forever waiting, and then it dawned on us that everyone was letting out of their muster drills (which we had missed) and that was why it was so crowded. Finally just jumped on an elevator heading down just to be on one, put my card in the magic slot and hit floor 14 for Haven. To our surprise it actually went up instead of continuing down and brought us to our floor. As I stepped out of the elevator and was trying to take photos and videos of our door to send back to family and friends, I heard my name. Turned around and saw a fellow Cruise Critic passenger from the role call, who would be our neighbor this sailing in the cabin next door. We chatted for a bit, he got us someone to help bring our bag upstairs, and we agreed to stop by for a tour and drink after we settled in.

 

We were fortunate enough to find a great deal on the Haven Deluxe Owners Suite for this trip. Wow. All I can say over and over again is wow. It will be hard going back to a regular balcony after this experience. It just blew our minds away with the amount of space. The butler service I can honestly do without, we’re self sufficient people and don’t like bothering others for things we can easily do ourselves. But the room is huge and amazing.

 

Our butler came by to introduce herself (Mary Jane), we gave her hints about what we like to munch on (gummy bears for hubby, chocolate for me), what we don’t like (I don’t do seafood), and then she left us to be. Apparently there IS a rhyme and reason to the key cards and their colors – I know there was a previous thread somewhere. When we boarded we were given orange cards, which was incorrect. Being in Haven we were supposed to have the silver cards with the starfish. Who knew? Well, MJ knew, and got our cards switched out for us when she saw the orange ones we had been given.

 

We poured ourselves a vodka/orange soda cocktail (I was exceptionally heavy on the vodka to make up for lost drinking time) and stood on our balconies (we have 2) for a while just people watching and taking it all in as we started to sail away. We called up our neighbor next door to see if he was in, and then stopped by for a visit. As amazing as our room is, the 3 bedroom villa is 10x more amazing. If you’ve got a large group of family and friends sailing with you, it’s definitely the way to go. That group knew how to party and have fun, and more importantly just a good group of down to earth people with fun and interesting stories to share.

 

Dinner that first night was at Moderno. The chicken wings and bacon-wrapped chicken was the best, which isn’t saying much for a place with endless meat and multiple kinds. It wasn’t bad, just didn’t stand out. The sides were good, salad bar good, tons of food and even if we didn’t have the dining plan, a cost of only $30/pp was certainly cheaper than we would have paid at home. I guess they try to appeal to a more Americanized taste bud, but most of the meat felt like it was lacking seasoning and flavor. Again, it wasn’t bad, but a bit disappointing since we love those types of restaurants back at home.

 

I’ll admit now, I was horrible about taking photos while on board the ship. I rarely had my phone with me as we had no internet, and didn’t feel like schlepping my whole camera bag around most of the time. Normally on vacations I take 1000’s of photos (literally), not so much on this particular trip. So if you’re looking for food porn photos, there won’t be many – sorry!

 

After dinner we made our way to the champagne bar where there was an Elton John/Billy Joel singer piano player. We had been looking forward to the champagne bar, hoping to try a bunch of different sparkling wines. Sadly, they had just one. One. At a "champagne" bar. And it took almost 20 mins to get that single drink. I gave up and found a seat next to another couple who turned out to be in the Haven as well, and eventually the 4 of us had drinks in front of us as we were singing along to the music. The wait staff wandering around between the seats was 100x better than the staff behind the bar. Our new companion must of had about 4 Jack & Cokes and they kept bringing them, whereas if you went up to the bar you were ignored for a good 10 mins before getting someone's attention. 

 

We called it a somewhat early night and headed to the room around 10:30. We always forget about the shows on day 1, and despite saying we need to go through the dailies and circle the stuff we want to check out - we're terrible about actually doing it. So I'm sure we missed out on a bunch of stuff, but we tend to just go with the flow anyway. Day 2 coming up next, day at sea. View from our right balcony as we sailed out of Miami is attached.

[Sailing12Away]

23 hours ago, erdoran said:

Hi, I have a Jade sailing coming up and I’m in a 2 BR Haven.  I was wondering exactly what you posted - about whether the balconies in OS and DOS are usable because of wind.  You are saying not while the ship is underway?

 

The balconies weren't unusable per se, but they were quite windy when the ship was moving. So much so that my glass was nearly blown off the table a few times.

 

If we were standing out them, I had to make sure I was facing into the wind otherwise my hair was just blowing in my face and became a gross knotted mess when we went back inside. The warm temperature made the wind nice, but simply annoying if I didn't have my hair tied back.

[Sailing12Away]

Day 2 – Day at sea.

We headed down to breakfast at Moderno’s. Menu was mostly egg dishes & omelettes, but I found belgium waffles with berries for me. The salad bar was filled with fresh fruits, yogurt and mix-ins, pastries, and cold cuts. Lots of stuff to pick from with french press coffee and tea. I was craving bacon, so we added some on to hubby's egg dish for me to pick off of. 

 

The food was tasty, but it was as quiet as a library in there. We felt like we had to whisper when talking to each other. Plus seeing all the runners go by on the track outside the windows made us feel guilty about eating all the carbs and having no intention of exercising ourselves.

 

After breakfast we started to wander around the ship trying to get our bearings and see what it had to offer. We found it difficult to find our way and get from one end of ship to the other without having to walk through dining rooms. The outdoor basketball court was odd - the netting for the ceiling was so low that people were having a hard time actually shooting hoops, if you threw a good arch it would just hit the net roof which seemed to frustrate the kids out there playing. The nice thing about the Jade though is there was a walking track that was completely outside (unlike the Epic) and went from the back of the ship up to the main pool area for those wanting to walk and get fresh air.

 

Ultimately ended up near the main pool area and got some drinks. Best drink by far was the Miami Vice frozen slushie – amazing. It was a combination of a pina colada, strawberry daquari and blue curacao. Never saw it on any menu, but we saw people drinking a red/white/blue slushie and asked what it was. Everyone was drinking them, and they were awesome. 

 

At 11am we met up with fellow CC passengers for an informal meet & greet at La Cucina. The wealth of knowledge and cruising experience among everyone was enormous. We shared some laughs and mimosas, and left our mark on the ceiling of La Cucina. I'll definitely be picking the brain of some of them for more tips/tricks, and hope to sail with some of them again on a future trip.

 

Despite our awesome room, there are issues or things at least to keep in mind. Last night while we were wandering around the ship getting our bearings, we ended up near the main pool area and looked up at our room. At night with the lights on inside and curtains open, you can see right into the room. During the day, there are mirrored windows so you can’t see inside, but at night with the sun not reflecting off of them, you can see right in. Good thing we realized that before we assumed we had privacy and started trotting around in our undies putting on an unexpected show for everyone near the pool.

 

You also feel the movement of the ship – a lot. On our last sailing on the Epic around the Mediterranean we felt nothing at all the entire trip. Granted, it’s a bigger ship, different body of water, closer ports… but on the Jade on our trip we felt every swing and sway. Even in the middle of the ship on deck 7 you feel the ship. Not sure if we had rougher weather than normal, or if it was just the different ship and different sea, but for the first time in a long time we started feeling a bit sea sick. Loaded up on water and eased off the UBP for a bit, and started feeling better.

 

The main pool area was full of people, so we took advantage of the Haven perk and went to the Haven courtyard and pool. It’s small in size, but considering there was a single person in there besides us, we were fine. I enjoyed the hot tub by myself once I started feeling chilly in the pool. Had a lovely conversation with another guest who was in the Haven for the first time as well (they normally sail Cunard, Viking, and other luxury lines, so it was interesting hearing their take on Haven compared to those lines).

 

Our only complaint, we decided we wanted some lunch as we had seen other people sitting at the tables in the courtyard munching away. I went over to the staff member who was cleaning up plates and asked for a menu. She told me that Cagneys closed at 2pm (it was 2:30pm) and that was the only menu she had. I asked her to clarify that there was no food available to be ordered after 2pm, and she said I would have to order from the room service menu and could have it delivered to the pool. But since she didn't have that menu there near the pool, she just walked away from me. I suppose I could have walked back to our room and called the butler, but we were just so put off from the interaction that we left the pool completely. Ended up walking to deck 12 to grab a burger and fries as I didn't feel comfortable calling the butler to get it for me. 

 

Dinner was at La Cucina that night. We went in with low expectations, thinking it would be on par with an Olive Garden experience, but we were pleasantly surprised. My pesto gnocchi appetizer was amazing. Started feeling sea sick again during dinner, so I only had a few bites of my chicken dish and we got dessert to go. We would definitely eat there again, just make sure we go on emptier bellies as the amount of food was crazy and too much for us after our late lunch. Also be mindful that when they ask you if you want tap water or sparkling - take the tap. Had we known we would be charged $6 for sparkling despite having 2 bottles up in our room free of charge, we never would have taken it. Went back to the room to drop off our desserts and take a sea sickness pill, then headed to the main show. 

 

Palace of Lights was a cuban themed dance show. We felt terrible about it, but ended up dozing off in the middle of the show. Not because it was boring or bad, but just from being exhausted and worn out from a hard day of lounging near the pool. Called it another early night after the show so we could be up early for Belize. Day 3 coming up next...

[CozGurl]

Thanks for taking the time to write this. I love a review that reads like a good story!

[erdoran]

still stalking....can't wait!

[Relax@Sea]

Hi Kyle

 

It was great to meet both You and James, I really enjoyed talking with you both. I wish we could have spent some more time together.

I hope we didn't disturb you Guy's too much.

Sorry to hear about the issues, we also had problems with the one elevator on the far left and a small issue with one of the Haven staff, I think that the Haven Staff person was just unsure of some of the rules of the Haven, as she told me that I could not be in the Haven area and that it was for Haven Guests only as I grabbed the wrong key and not the one to my cabin. She tried to embarrass me but that didn't work. I think she just needed a little more training on her customer service ability, but I took it as she was just trying to do her job.

 

Edited March 8, 2019 by Relax@Sea
wrong spelling

[BalconyGal]

Enjoying your review! 

 

[Sailing12Away]

6 hours ago, Relax@Sea said:

Hi Kyle

 

It was great to meet both You and James, I really enjoyed talking with you both. I wish we could have spent some more time together.

I hope we didn't disturb you Guy's too much.

Sorry to hear about the issues, we also had problems with the one elevator on the far left and a small issue with one of the Haven staff, I think that the Haven Staff person was just unsure of some of the rules of the Haven, as she told me that I could not be in the Haven area and that it was for Haven Guests only as I grabbed the wrong key and not the one to my cabin. She tried to embarrass me but that didn't work. I think she just needed a little more training on her customer service ability, but I took it as she was just trying to do her job.

 

Thanks Adam, you guys didn't disturb us at all. We didn't want to impose on you guys or crash the party, but definitely look forward to cruising with you again if our itineraries should ever align in the future.

 

I think with the whole Haven experience we were missing that "Wow" factor that everyone raves over. I sent NCL a lengthy letter when we returned outlining all of our concerns and suggestions for ways they could improve things - we'll see if they bother to send a response. I'm not looking for a refund or anything (although onboard credit for my upcoming cruise would be a nice gesture), but I'm curious how much they take these issues to heart when they're brought up to them. Their response may sway our decision to try Haven again in the future if the price is right, or just leave that tier of rooms for the high rollers like yourself 😉

[Aesop081]

Sailing Jade Haven 14012 in 14 days.  This is wonderful information as it is our first time in Haven also.  Keep up the good work.

[david_sobe]

Really enjoyed this.  You are not alone. I feel the same way when I stay in the Haven.  The afternoon snacks are way overrated.  Nothing I would ever eat and I don't like to waste food. I always try to stop them from coming but they still show up 

 

And you are correct.  The reserved Haven seats in the theater are nothing special.  You can show up 15 minutes before showtime and get better seats.

 

I hope someday NCL tweaks their Haven experience because its on the verge of being fantastic but it falls short sometimes and is more hype than reality.  I think like many of the other lines they should have a happy hour for Haven guests at the Haven bar with free drinks for a few hours or something.

 

IMHO your minor complaints are very valid. You paid dearly for an owners suite. A little communication goes a long way between the staff.  The concierge should have been more organized and helpful.  Was it Bruno?  Another Jade Haven guest a few weeks ago stated Bruno did not even show up during embarkation which is shocking to me.  He was supposedly working somewhere else.

Edited March 8, 2019 by david_sobe

[Relax@Sea]

21 minutes ago, Sailing12Away said:

Thanks Adam, you guys didn't disturb us at all. We didn't want to impose on you guys or crash the party, but definitely look forward to cruising with you again if our itineraries should ever align in the future.

 

I think with the whole Haven experience we were missing that "Wow" factor that everyone raves over. I sent NCL a lengthy letter when we returned outlining all of our concerns and suggestions for ways they could improve things - we'll see if they bother to send a response. I'm not looking for a refund or anything (although onboard credit for my upcoming cruise would be a nice gesture), but I'm curious how much they take these issues to heart when they're brought up to them. Their response may sway our decision to try Haven again in the future if the price is right, or just leave that tier of rooms for the high rollers like yourself 😉

Both of you will always be welcome to join us anytime.

I enjoy reading your review.

[Sailing12Away]

Day 2 - Forgot to mention the Macallan tasting we did on day 2. I have a weak spot in my tummy for Macallan, with the 18yr being my favorite. Haven't been able to justify the $200+ price tag to buy a full bottle for home, but always jump at an opportunity for a taste. For $20 (+20% gratuity, but minus a discount for having the UBP) we got 4 tastings - a 12 yr, 18 yr, 21 yr, and also a bonus Tallisker for comparison. These weren't the normal single malts that I was used to, but they were special bottles. 18 yr is still by far my favorite. We had missed doing a tasting when we were on the Epic as we had a hard time finding our way, so I was glad we were able to make it this trip.

 

Day 3 - Harvest Caye, Belize

 

We booked the Monkey River Eco tour through NCL for this excursion. Hubby has a coworker that owns a house near Placencia, and when we asked her opinion on the best tour (given the NCL options) to experience 'real' Belize, this was her choice. We didn't have much interest in the manufactured version of Belize on Harvest Caye, although other guests we spoke to said they had a nice relaxing pool day - so I guess it depends on what your interests are. For us, cruising is all about the destinations and getting to experience what each location has to offer. So sitting at a pool at a man-made resort is just not for us.

 

One perk of being in the Haven was that we were able to get off the ship faster than most by going with the concierge. When we were on the Epic, any NCL booked excursions had an arranged meeting place/time on the ship. I guess since the Jade is so much smaller that wasn't necessary. After getting off the ship, there's a LONG walk on a covered pier to get to the Harvest Caye island itself. They do have golf cart shuttles to transport those who physically can't do the walk, or are feeling tired and lazy. It was about a 10-15 min walk to actually get off the pier, so keep that in mind when figuring out what time to leave.

 

Once you actually get there, there's tons of people to help point you in the right direction. Cabana and clamshell rentals are to the right, most other excursions are to the left. We headed left towards the marina, where we sat under a covered patio waiting for our tour to be called. Eventually hopped on our boat, and off we went. First part of the trip was a speedboat ride out to the Monkey River. There was a gentleman sitting in the back of the boat in the most unfortunate of seats, as all of the sprays from the wake were flying and hitting him square in the face the entire trip out. The staff gave him a towel to hold up to try and block the water, but it wasn't helping. The water was literally dripping off his face. I couldn't help it, but was hysterical laughing at the situation. He was a great sport about it though and someone switched seats with him for the ride back. In all fairness, he was bone dry within 5 mins of the boat slowing down once we were on the river itself, so it wasn't too bad.

 

Sailed slowly through the river itself with the guides pointing out different flowers and trees and all the animals. It was almost like a game of Where's Waldo, I have no idea how they were able to spot some of the animals when they were as camouflaged as they were. Tons of different birds, iguanas, bats, and howler monkeys in the trees. We stopped off at an opening in the jungle and hopped off the boat for a walk through the jungle itself. We had read reviews before going and wore light pants and tons of bug spray. Fortunately, we didn't need either. I guess we got lucky with the weather, but if it had rained at all we would have been covered in critters. The fact that the guides themselves were in pants is a sign that you're better off playing it safe and wearing pants and not needing them, than to be in shorts and find yourself a buggy buffet.

 

Within the jungle area the guides were able to point out different plants and veggies growing there, we got to smell fresh herbs like sage, lemongrass, basil... all just growing wildly. Found a family of howler monkeys up in the trees, but they didn't feel like howling for us. My only complaint was that our time in the jungle itself was very limited, maybe only 15-20 mins tops. The majority of the tour was on the boat, and I was hoping for more time in the jungle itself. After our short visit with the monkeys we were back on the boat headed back to the ocean. Found another family of monkeys along the river, and one gentleman on the left side of the boat got an amazing up close shot of the baby monkey. Unfortunately, I was sitting on the right side. 

 

At the end of the river we stopped again at a small village for a quick stop. They have a toilet, but be warned they charge $1 per person to use it. There was a gentleman in our group who paid $10 for everyone who needed it to use the potty, as some people were unprepared and had no change on them. There's just a very small 'gift shop' of sorts, but the highlight was buying a nice cold Belize beer. It tasted similar to a Heineken, and at a cost of $5/bottle was similarly priced. 

 

Boat eventually dropped us back off at Harvest Caye and we wandered around a bit. Full of different gift shops, but very touristy. We didn't use the pool, but others told us that the 'beach' itself was not walk able. The sand is just coarsely ground up shells and unpleasant on your feet without water shoes. We headed to the pier and the 10 mins walk back onto the ship.

 

When we got back on board, we went straight to O'Sheehans for lunch. It's one of our favorite spots for quick, simple bar food and beer. Ordered the wings and nachos to start with, hubby had a burger and I had the bangers & mash. Food was great, and the beers hit the spot after a long day in the sun.

 

The rest of the night we wandered from lounge to lounge listening to 80s music trivia. The headliner show for the night was a comedian, but we never made our way over there. Eating a big, late lunch threw us off for dinner, so we just grabbed a quick bite at the buffet. The variety is fantastic, there's something for everyone  whether you want something simple or fancy. The beef empanadas and tostones hit the spot for a late night dinner snack. Day 4 coming up next...

[Sailing12Away]

Sorry for the long delay... picked up some nasty bug when we got home and was sick for over a week. Then I just got lazy.

 

NCL actually emailed me today, almost exactly 15 business days to the day when I first wrote to them about the issues we experienced during our cruise. They claim they couldn't see the attachment I included and asked me to reply to their current email instead. So I guess now I have to wait another 15 days before getting another response? Le sigh...

 

Back to the Jade trip review - Day 4 was Costa Maya Mexico. We opted for breakfast in the room, the one thing the butler was good at doing. I had read from others that you can nearly order anything you want and don't have to stick to the options on the card. We wrote down hash browns and bagels with lox, and was surprised that we actually got it along with danishes and croissants. Packed up some of the breads to bring with us on the bus out to the ruins along with a bottle of water, then headed off the ship.

 

We had scoured reviews and maps regarding our options and went with the shorter NCL excursion to Chacchoben. I didn't have any interest in sitting on a bus in Mexico for 2hrs each way to see ruins, when I could drive for half that distance and see similar ones. Unless you're a big archaeology or history buff, my guess is that when you've seen one ruin you've seen them all.

 

After getting off the ship, similar to Belize there was a long walk down the pier to get to the actual port area. There were golf carts again available to assist those with mobility issues and save them some steps. After getting onto land there are signs everywhere and lots of people to help guide you to the correct location. Most tours were towards the right, with giant signs to help you get on the correct line for your tour. 

 

The bus wasn't bad, it was an air conditioned coach bus - a little tight and cramped, but comfortable nonetheless. Everyone was given a bottle of water when we boarded, and another bottle later on after getting back onto the bus after the visit to the ruins. Our guide was great, funny and informative, and knew when to just be quiet and let us relax and nap on our way out there.

 

Costa Maya did not jump out to me as a place I would wander around on my own. Leaving the touristy port area you pass through a gated entry way with armed guards and barbed wire fence. Our guide informed us that after the last ship leaves, the area becomes a ghost town and is essentially put on lock down. It was roughly a 45 min drive from the port to the ruins, and along the way it was evident that you were in an extremely poor area. The front lawn of every home was filled with garbage - literal garbage. Hundreds of empty bottles, rusted out metal parts, broken down cars... we thought it was a garbage dump. Nope, the guide told us that these were the 'better' homes that actually had roofs and walls. It's sad to see, and certainly puts life back into perspective when you see what is 'normal' to others.

 

There are 2 main temples at Chacchoben that you visit. You can't climb more than a few steps at those, but later on in the tour there is an area that you can climb and get an aerial view of the grounds and area. The interesting thing that the guide pointed out was that all the land there was completely flat. So any 'hills' that you see, are not 'hills' but rather additional ruin sites that have not yet been excavated. It was hot, but not unbearable so. Shade and trees are available, and there's a few sporadic benches to sit and rest. The climbable temple was not short-person friendly, so I opted to sit on the bench and drink my water while hubby took the climb up. There were elderly people making the climb, so it is doable, but the steps are quite tall and there is no hand rail, so just be warned.

 

When he got to the top, he said the views were great. There was a baby monkey nearby, and if I had put my bigger lens on my camera he could have counted the number of teeth the monkey had, that's how close he was. When we got to that climbable temple we were given ~30 mins of free time before having to be back on the bus. After hubby returned back down we stopped at the potty, then did a little shopping. Bring cash - the market stalls don't take cards. We didn't have much on us, but I was able to buy a cool ceramic sugar skull for my sister that she loved.

 

Back onto the bus, then another ~45 min drive back to the port. When you return they have you enter from the back, so you are forced to walk your way through the whole market before getting back towards the actual pier. Lots of touristy shops, food markets and a couple of bars. We browsed but didn't stop. There is a place where you can swim with the dolphins, and you can walk along a boardwalk right next to it, so we were able to watch and catch a few pictures of the dolphins jumping out of the water with our ship in the background in the opposite direction. 

 

When we were heading back down the pier, there was another ship now docked next to ours - RCC. The comparison of sizes was silly, they made our little Jade look almost like a dingy. When we were sailing away, RCC was still there and waved us goodbye. In comparison, the folks on the deck of RCC were quite boring and tame. We were standing on our balcony looking out at the pool area, and there was a cannonball competition going on in the pool. Everyone was laughing and enjoying themselves, and the folks on RCC just looked bored. 

 

Made our way back onto the boat and grabbed a quick bite to eat at the buffet after sailing away. Every crew member we interacted with asked if we were going to the special show tonight, Elements. They all said it was "the one not to miss" - and they were correct. We got there for the early show and sat up in the left balcony area. There are some seats blocked off in the main area - this is because there will be performers falling from the sky during the show. I don't want to give anything away, but the show is a combination of magic/illusions, cirque de solei stunts, acrobatics, dance numbers, and a number of things that will simply make you say "wow". Definitely catch this show, it was the best we saw while on board.

 

After the main show we made our way over to Spinnaker lounge to watch "The perfect couple" game show. This was amusing to us on our last cruise, and we found it fun to watch again this time around as well. Went and grabbed some late night munchies from the cafe at the aft of the ship, wandered around a bit, had some drinks, and went back to the room for another fairly early night.