The Jade!

[Captain k]

Greetings:  We are long time Princess cruisers who just booked an NCL Jade cruise to the Carribean out of Tampa.  Great itinerary and good price hooked us away from the love boat line.  Last NCL cruise was on the SS Norway lol!  Would love to hear thoughts, suggestions or can’t misses about this ship.  Looking forward to experiencing something new.  Thanks in advance for your comments. 

[schmoopie17]

After seeing your headline, I wondered if the Jade changed its name to the Jade!

(Sorry, I have a thing about unnecessary exclamation marks. Probably from watching the classic "Seinfeld" episode where they featured that topic.)

 

Anyway, we will be on the Jade in February. Our previous NCL cruises have been on "bigger" ships...Escape, Bliss, Prima and Encore. So we're also interested in seeing how the "smaller ships are in comparison.

 

Maybe we'll see you on board!!! (Sorry, couldn't resist) 😁

[ChiefMateJRK]

The Jewel class ships are favorites for many here.  They're my second favorite after (Bliss/Encore/unmolested Joy).  I've only been on the Pearl, but I believe it is mostly identical to the Jade.  We just got off an 11 day on the Pearl last Saturday, and it was a great time.  I always enjoy the Great Outdoors, but it was a bit warm for the Southern Carribean itinerary.  Some folks say that you don't need an OL for a Carribean cruise (because it is warm outside), but I find that I need the air conditioning at times.  The Chief may be a bit more "insulated" than others. 🤣

[vacation44]

19 minutes ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

They're my second favorite after (Bliss/Encore/unmolested Joy).  

I am still holding out this will not happen.   But you did make me chuckle at work so I thank you.

[JillK]

Hi there. 

 

My husband and I (both late 40's) just disembarked a 14 night cruise aboard the Jade this past Sunday.

 

We really love this size ship and have previously sailed her sister ship the Gem, the Epic, the Getaway, the Escape (x2) and my very first cruise with my brother and parents was in 1992 aboard the Norway. 

 

The ship is very easy to learn and get your bearings. We almost always dined in the back of the ship at the Great Outdoors. They have breakfast service there and "tea time" service usually beginning at around 2:30. It was almost always easy to get a table here for breakfast and lunch.

 

We ate at Cagney's, Le Bistro and La Cucina... preferred La Cucina on this ship, whereas Le Bistro or Cagney's is usually the favourite. We found everything to be heavily charred at Cagney's and my husband's steak was not cooked to the temperature that he asked for. There is zero ambiance at Le Bistro - felt more like dining in a nicely appointed cafeteria. The service was exceptional, the food very good but the lights were too bright and you are so close to your neighbour that you are basically at a table for 4 (and they advertise this one as intimate and romantic). 

 

We found that chairhogs were out in full force on this cruise. If you weren't up at the crack of dawn to get a lounger, you were out of luck. I believe that some sunchairs were available on the upper decks later in the day but we were looking for spots of shade and only were able to get two chairs the day we were in Grand Cayman (we had just been there last December so elected not to bother tendering to shore). 

 

We were in an obstructed oceanview and found the cabin to have more than enough storage for two. The beds were comfortable and the bathroom layout is good with more size than most ships. 

 

We were disappointed that there were no seating areas on the promenade deck, which used to be the case on ships of this size in the past. As such, we would often spent time playing cards or reading in the Spinnaker Lounge or the bar area on deck 6. 

 

We found the food in the dining room to be very good to excellent but the coffee everywhere to be terrible. We actually elected to without coffee for the majority of the cruise as I do not like Starbucks, nor having to pay for it. On that note, I didn't care for the coffee bar being in the middle of the atrium and missed using that space to get a pre/post dinner drink and listen to live music like we did most nights when we sailed on the Gem. The atrium wasn't very busy most evenings when we went through there -- nothing to draw you in! 

 

For the most part, evening shows were moderately to poorly attended so we never worried about getting a seat.

 

The Jade was renovated last year and is in excellent condition - I hope that you have a phenomenal cruise... welcome back to the NCL family! 

[jazzydiver]

I'm also a fan of the Jewel class ships.  Have been on the Jade twice, the Jewel one, and am about to go the the Gem.  I love, love, love the Great Outdoors and am also a fan of the Spinnaker Lounge.

 

O/P, I've also been on the SS Norway!  What a wonderful ship she was 🙂

[luv2kroooz]

Jade is a great ship. Lots of deck space. Spinnaker Lounge. Not too big, not too small.

[Travelling2Some]

We've sailed on the Jade three times (if you count once on her former incarnation as the Pride of Hawaii).  Dating myself almost as much as your mention of the SS Norway, which I can remember my parents sailing on.  Anywho . . . always been happy with the Jade and especially love the Great Outdoors area at the stern behind the buffet.

[genealogyfan]

11 hours ago, Captain k said:

Greetings:  We are long time Princess cruisers who just booked an NCL Jade cruise to the Carribean out of Tampa.  Great itinerary and good price hooked us away from the love boat line.  Last NCL cruise was on the SS Norway lol!  Would love to hear thoughts, suggestions or can’t misses about this ship.  Looking forward to experiencing something new.  Thanks in advance for your comments. 

I was on the Jade for 12 days on the Trans Atlantic sailing in November. The crew was great, and enjoyed the ship. It wasn't too large and not a huge number of passengers either. Some of the specialty restaurants seemed smaller then the larger ships. There is a deck that goes all around the ship, so it was a nice place to walk all around the ship. Many people were walking there each day.

 

I would suggest if you eat from the buffet, go outside to the back and eat outdoors, Nice area and not as crowded. They didn't offer many different options during non typical meal hours. For example, they had really good variety of cookies for a set amount of hours (I think starting at 3pm) in the outdoor cafe area. I wish they had more times for snacks. 

 

Easy flow to get around the ship, there are 3 sets of elevators and 3 sets of stairs. You'll enjoy the ship and the crew. Ralph was our cruise director and he was great and friendly. He had been our cruise director on a different sailing we did last year. 

[itsnotjustme]

We were B2B on the Jade last summer.  Things we liked:

 

• Jasmine restaurant as a change of pace from MDR and specialty
• Fresh hot pizza at the lunch buffet
• Sarah from Liverpool at Trivia and Karaoke 
• Spinnaker Lounge for drinks with a view