Jade TA Feb.29 - March 13

[chefcaw]

What a great trip!. The ship was wonderful, the staff was spectacular and all the new friends we met, made the trip. The ship seemed to improve with each day we were on it. I know that there were issues with the ship because of the turnover from the American crew to the international crew. The ship was dirty when it was received by the international crew. The crew spent the time we were on board bringing the ship up to standards. Ruth (concierge) said there were still areas that needed improving but those would be handled in drydock.

We stayed in 14506, a courtyard villa. The pictures do not do the area and suite justice. It is a beautiful area of the ship. The private sundeck did not see much use. I spent one afternoon on the deck the second day of the cruise. It is breezy up there when the ship is doing 20+knots but it was a glorious day. I spent some time in the courtyard every day. Wilfredo (the butler for the courtyard) kept the courtyard tidy. Every morning there was continental breakfast complete with orange and cranberry juice, decaf and regular coffee, cream, hot water for tea, ice water, pastries and fresh fruit. Each afternoon Wilfredo replaced the continental breakfast with cookies, mixed nuts, M&Ms and ice water.

Our butler, Henry was wonderful. Once he realized that I was a tea drinker, he had very hot water and an afternoon treat for me every afternoon. Our room stewards, Maria and Jose were great. When they found out our anniversary was a particular night on the cruise, they outdid themselves in the towel animal category. They made two swans with heart-shaped necks on our bed after they scattered rose petals on the bed. We had towel animals almost every night. One night we forget to remove the do not disturb sign and Henry and our room stewards were upset that they did not have the room turned down for us. We felt bad because they were so upset. Now really, I turn the bed down every night on home, trust me I did not sprain any part of my body taking the bedspread off the bed that night. We did tho, remember to change the sign for the remaining part of the cruise.

Food. With staying at suite level accommodations, we had access to Cagney’s for the breakfast and lunch. There is a set menu for breakfast every day at Cagney’s, more choices that you get in my kitchen, even on special occasions. The lunch menu is the same as the main dining room. We had breakfast and lunch every day but one lunch in Cagney’s. We returned from a port trip late. It was great! Rebecca or Ana were the Maitre’D in Cagney’s each day. Ruth was there almost everyday while we were there. The wait staff was great. Marla, Tess or Anil served us everyday. Anil was the first to make sure the water for my tea was hot enough to actually brew tea. The sight of me walking in with my tea sock in hand was all that it took for hot water and a hot teapot to appear at my table if Anil was near. We took advantage of the upcharge restaurants several times, (the 2 for 1 special was every night after 8:30) We had dinner twice in Pappa’s, the most popular restaurant on the ship, once at the Tex-Mex restaurant (it was just ok), twice at Cagney’s (had the veal chop and the lamb chops both very good) we live in metro Chicago so we have high expectations for a chophouse, once at Jasmine’s, the Peking duck appetizer was the best, once at LeBistro, not our favorite and twice at the sushi bar. That said the service and the food at the Grand Pacific was very good, we prefer a smaller dining experience. We had dinner the first night in the aft windows of the Grand Pacific. With all the supplies that were needed to be loaded in Miami, we were delayed in leaving. Sail away did not happen until after 7:30. Where we disappointed? No, 7:30 found us in the Grand Pacific for dinner; we enjoyed sail away with all the lights of Miami from our aft table. It is a great place for sail away.

Sea days. I wonder how we would fill the sea days before we left home. Let’s just say, I want more sea days. I almost felt as if the port day cut into my vacation time. I enjoyed each port but I loved my sea days. We will look for cruises with more sea day. What a relaxing way to cruise. We did have a few days of 20 foot seas, I hardly noticed. One afternoon, I was in the pool of the courtyard and knew that the ship was rocking and rolling, the water was splashing in the pool, but it was barely noticeable in the pool. I have never been seasick even with our first cruise on the Norway in 1987, 10 days after Hurricane Hugo had been through the Caribbean.

Ports. Ponta Delgado was our first sight on land in six days. It seemed strange to see land after so long at sea. It is a pretty town and I know that those who ventured away from the city had a great visit. We wandered the town, checked the internet and bought postcards.

Lisbon, a city I would like to spend more time visiting. We hired a guide at the dock, we had a great guide(I have his info if you are interested). Gibraltar was next; we hired a guide just outside the port. He was good just not as good as the guide in Lisbon. We saw the monkeys, the tunnels and caves and then the shopping district. Malaga, we bought the ship’s tour for Alhambra, okay we learned our lesson, do not take the ship’s tour if you have any other choice. The tour was fine, the problem was having to move at the speed of the slowest person. We like to see everything and move very quickly. We also did not see any reason to make a “pit stop” 30 minutes in the outgoing and returning trip. The whole trip is only 70 minutes. Palma, a short visit here about 4 hours, we arrived too late to see the cathedral maybe next time. Barcelona was the final stop.

Entertainment. We went to the Tim Kaminski and ? show the first night. It was great. We laughed so hard that I was not sure that we would stay in our seats. We saw only a few shows. We like to eat late and that cut into seeing the show. There was a great Guitar player in the Spinnaker early almost every evening. We spend time in the piano bar most evening till it closed and then to the Spinnaker for the remaining part of the evening. Played trivia most days morning and afternoon. Played bridge 4 afternoons. We are easy to entertain and also enjoyed the down time.

Best parts of the trip The new friends we made, hope we can stay in touch, the great staff on the Jade and the lovely ship, we hope to return to.

Feel free to ask questions.

 

Chris

[flashdog_1]

We've all been waiting to hear about the Jade.

[cruzinaway]

Great review! I had no idea they had goodies in the courtyard in the morning and afternoons.

 

Thanks for taking the time to post!

[EBeth41]

Thanks for the nice report--I am packing today getting ready to go to Barcelona to board the Jade!! Sounds like a terrific crew.

Elizabeth in WV