Jade Review - Longish but good for newbies to NCL

[richelen]

thanks for the great reviews, me my wife and daughter booked up for te jade in october 2009 yesterday and the review has made it an even more exciting experience.

[Guest Anorak33]

Thanks to the reviewers they have certainly helped me avoid making a mistake and booking Jade.

On the other hand for folks with kids - it sounds great for you!

 

Enjoy!!

[NoPiratesPlease]

Thanks to the reviewers they have certainly helped me avoid making a mistake and booking Jade.

On the other hand for folks with kids - it sounds great for you!

 

Enjoy!!

 

It's not necessarily a mistake. If you book an owner's suite, or a Villa (CV, GV or DOS), you can be as if you are on a totally different ship. This summer, the Jade was booked out of Southampton, catering to UK mass market customers (who, the crew tells me, aren't nearly as good a tippers as Americans). As of yesterday's sailing, the itin changed as this is a repos and she'll be coming out of Barcelona all fall and winter--so that's a VERY different crowd.

[Guest Anorak33]

For much the same as the cost of an Owner's suite or GV I can book Seabourn and have all inclusive 6 star. No nickel and diming on there!

[harjoe]

What a nice well balanced review, My wife and i along with our two grandchildren (9 & 13 boys) son and daughter in law were on the July 26th sailing which also had a large number of children on board which never bothered us in the slightest it was nice to see kids enjoying themselves and our two made some great friends in the two weeks, I for one will treasure the memories i came back with. Once again thank you for the review.

All the best Les.

[GraceeS]

Thanks kdee and everyone for your posts, they are most helpful.

 

kdee, I will investigate renting a car in Livorno as we sure would like to cover both Florence and Pisa and actually spend some time in each place. It will be my son's first time and it will feel like my first time since my last vacation to Europe was 26 years ago when I was just a wee thing (not!). Seventy euros plus a little pocket money sure beats the $450+ we would have to pay for an NCL Florence/Pisa excursion. I just hope it's as easy as you make it sound and we don't end up sitting in traffic. That would be my only worry, the ship leaving without us! I do enjoy renting cars whenever possible, though. We drove up to Emerald Lake last year during the Pearl cruise to Alaska, just breathtaking and nice to be on our own schedule, not the tour bus's.

 

Nice to hear about the laundry schedule. Phew, now we know we can pack way less than expected. We are familiar with Freestyle, which is why we are booking on NCL again. I packed a couple (mix and match) smart outfits, nothing overly dressy, for the Pearl cruise and sometimes still felt a bit overdressed when I wore them. It was Alaska, though. I hear a few more people get fancied up on the Jade.

 

Pennhoo, you're so right. I've had my share of unfortunate, unavoidable things happen to me while on vacation. You deal, you move on, and unless it's something horrible like a hospital stay, don't let it ruin the rest of your trip. kdee, I had to chuckle while reading about the "belcher", although I know it wasn't funny in the least to you. You handled it very well. You're right; can't always blame the kids!

[insidecabin]

For much the same as the cost of an Owner's suite or GV I can book Seabourn and have all inclusive 6 star. No nickel and diming on there!

 

Not with the AA and Courtyards selling at $200pppn like they are(have been) over the winter

[Guest Anorak33]

Not with the AA and Courtyards selling at $200pppn like they are(have been) over the winter

 

You have been offered better pricing than I have found, and much better than on NCL site.

I/ve been looking at Gem T/A November for example: About $500 pp per day.

 

13-Day Transatlantic Barcelona to New York

Ship: Norwegian Gem

 

Total Price: $12,882.40

Number of guests: 2

 

Stateroom type: AA

 

 

OK so I can get about 10% off one way or another maybe even 15% but that is still way over what you have found.

 

And that is for a sailing which is after final payment date.

 

You must have much better sources than I have.

 

 

Are you just talking Jade, or most NCL ships through some extra special agent or deal? I'd be interested to know as I have always thought I bought cruises fairly well and did my research but have failed recently to find any real good deals through my usual channels for bigger cabins/longer cruises.

[Guest Anorak33]

Hi Phil

I forgot to add the Seabourn offers I got this week which show what I am comparing: And you have to remember that $200 pp on NCL is plus drinks and tips/service charge so could easily come to over this Seabourn figure with a bottle of wine at dinner and just a couple of beers per day.

 

"25OCT08 8 days

Nice

sea day

Naples (Pompeii)

Taormina, Sicily

Valletta, Malta

sea day,

Cagliari, Sardinia

sea day

Palma de Mallorca

 

Cruise fare £1,160 (About $275 per person per day)

 

02NOV08 6 days

Palma de Mallorca

Alicante

sea day

Seville (overnight) Seabourn Legend docks in the city of Seville!

Gibraltar

Malaga

 

Cruise fare £926 (About $285 per person per day)

 

Fare includes unlimited soft / alcoholic beverages, gratuities and fuel supplement."

 

 

Obviously can't post more details etc on here but you know my email.

 

Cheers, Mike

[richelen]

It's not necessarily a mistake. If you book an owner's suite, or a Villa (CV, GV or DOS), you can be as if you are on a totally different ship. This summer, the Jade was booked out of Southampton, catering to UK mass market customers (who, the crew tells me, aren't nearly as good a tippers as Americans). As of yesterday's sailing, the itin changed as this is a repos and she'll be coming out of Barcelona all fall and winter--so that's a VERY different crowd.

 

 

us brits are happy to tip but if you are already being charged £5 pp per day and 15% on bills etc then there is no need to tip any further. i for one wont be, apart from maybe, the maid at the end of the cruise if the service has been exceptionally good and i feel it deserves extra recognition.

 

i would personally prefer a system where i can tip to recognise good service not have it added automatically added.

[Jimmys Chippy]

 

i would personally prefer a system where i can tip to recognise good service not have it added automatically added.

 

I agree, but the Freestyle system of dining means that you probably won't encounter the same serving staff twice, so it would mean tipping in cash every night or having your card swiped after every meal and your tip put on there which, to be honest, is far too much faffing about.

 

We only encoutered one rude member of staff who worked on the Aloha bar, all the rest did the job they were asked to with courtesy, so I'm not going to be docking the pay of 99.9% of the crew just because of one sour faced individual.

[NoPiratesPlease]

us brits are happy to tip but if you are already being charged £5 pp per day and 15% on bills etc then there is no need to tip any further. i for one wont be, apart from maybe, the maid at the end of the cruise if the service has been exceptionally good and i feel it deserves extra recognition.

 

i would personally prefer a system where i can tip to recognise good service not have it added automatically added.

 

You make an excellent point: I RARELY tip bartenders or cocktail waiters/waitresses because of that added 15%--the normal tip. A lot of them don't deserve that much--the casino bar service was atrocious and the drinks were terrible. How hard is it to make a Rum and Coke properly???

 

But if you are in a cabin that receives butler/concierge service, you should know that THEY are not in the tip pool. I cannot post what a villa-level butler makes but I've seen the salary and it would make you weep it's so low--it would be hard to live on it in the US or UK much less support a family. True, they receive room and board (3 or 4 to a room with one shower) but it's still very low, and you understand why NCLA isn't doing well. The concierge is better paid, as an officer, but it's not a princely salary.

 

The lowest level cabin stewards and bus-persons make about 1/3 of that. So we tip the butler, the concierge, and our cabin stewards.

 

We do allow for the fact that $10/day per person is taken for the tip pool--that's because FreeStyle means you don't tip your waiter, bus-person, head-waiter, and maitre d' directly because they always are changing. But at the std tip rates of $3.50pppd for the waiter and cabin steward, $1.75pppd for the bus, headwaiter, maitre d', and assistant stewards, $10 seems like a bargain.

 

Another thing you can do for exceptional service is fill out style cards naming names of people. It actually counts towards raises and promotions. So if there is one waiter/waitress in the dining room you like SO much you ask for, fill out a Style card and name them--it will help their career.

 

But on every ship, any staffer will tell you that, in general, Americans are the most generous tippers.

[NoPiratesPlease]

For much the same as the cost of an Owner's suite or GV I can book Seabourn and have all inclusive 6 star. No nickel and diming on there!

 

Try to bring your children with you and you'll find out the BIG advantage NCL has.

 

However, they are talking about "Adults Only" sections on F3 ships for the Courtyard Level. In which case, we may not ever go on those.

[kdee69]

We were very unsure of how much to tip and whom and when actually.

In the end we tipped about 5$ for a good waiter during a meal. We gave 50 Euros (we had a whole range of different currency :rolleyes: ) to the two guys who made up our room and $140 to be shared out amongst the kids club staff in addition to our service charge.

 

I felt sorry actually for the kids counsellors as I'm sure most parents didn't factor in anything in addition for them as it wasn't especially clear that they weren't included in the service charge.

 

As for the automatic gratuity added to a bar or spa bill, funnily enough, i didn't appreciate that or think it was necessarily worth it. I found I had far better service from all the areas where the charge wasn't added on.

 

We filled out 6 cards for good service whilst there and I'm really glad we did now reading what NoPiratesPlease has written.

[Jimmys Chippy]

 

 

I felt sorry actually for the kids counsellors as I'm sure most parents didn't factor in anything in addition for them as it wasn't especially clear that they weren't included in the service charge.

 

As for the automatic gratuity added to a bar or spa bill, funnily enough, i didn't appreciate that or think it was necessarily worth it. I found I had far better service from all the areas where the charge wasn't added on.

 

 

We were unaware of the Kids Club consellors weren't included in the tip pool until it appeared in the Freestyle Daily. We went to reception to ask for couple of envelopes and the receptionist told us that it wasn't necessary to tip them, we did but I doubt that the counsellors will be pleased to hear that reception could well be talking people out of tipping.

[Jimmys Chippy]

 

As for the automatic gratuity added to a bar or spa bill, funnily enough, i didn't appreciate that or think it was necessarily worth it. I found I had far better service from all the areas where the charge wasn't added on.

 

 

I do think 15% for handing me a glass and a can of Sprite is a touch steep.

[kdee69]

I do think 15% for handing me a glass and a can of Sprite is a touch steep.

 

you forgot the ice they had to put in :D :D :D

[Jimmys Chippy]

you forgot the ice they had to put in :D :D :D

 

And I'm forgetting the straw too. I guess I just took them for granted.

[insidecabin]

You have been offered better pricing than I have found, and much better than on NCL site.

.......

Are you just talking Jade.

For these deals yes just the Jade and might not be available to US passengers unless sailing with someone from the UK, there is something weird about these deals, but at 1/2 the price of NCL sites worth going for.

I forgot to add the Seabourn offers I got this week which show what I am comparing: And you have to remember that $200 pp on NCL is plus drinks and tips/service charge so could easily come to over this Seabourn figure with a bottle of wine at dinner and just a couple of beers per day.

A couple of beers now you are having a laugh, I guess $100pd is on the low side for extras that would be include with seabourn, I don't think we have hit $200pd average before would need to check the records to be sure.

 

Great prices I remember looking at Seabourn a couple of years ago when there were special at around £1kpppw, at the time decided it was probably not for us yet, at the time we were happy with the basics, we still like the bigger more varied ships with more casual dress, celebrity is about our current limit but one day for a special treat we might try something different, windsurf do some great TA deals(£800/14n).

 

I think this is getting a bit OT for this thread but thanks for the heads up on the seabourn prices, might have another look now we are more into the luxuries.

 

Try to bring your children with you and you'll find out the BIG advantage NCL has.

 

However, they are talking about "Adults Only" sections on F3 ships for the Courtyard Level. In which case, we may not ever go on those

That is something to think about if a few families book the CVs it could become a very different place and not the sanctuary one might be expecting.

 

We avoid school hols so hopefully will be OK.

[carpy1]

we have also just returned from a 2 week med cruise . we had a great time. We also booked starboard deck 10 , and the view in villefranche was great . in barcelona we did the open top bus tour ( not guided tour ) and saw the city . I think it was about 20 euros each for ticket. I did hear a few people who went on the ships tour to montserrat who said it was fantastic ,so maybe next time we will go on that .

 

a tip for breakfast and lunch is find a table first then get your food. dont be afraid to share a table ,we met some very nice people this way .

we ate in the alizar most nights ,didnt do any of the speciality restaraunts.

the coffee machine in the room can be used to make tea aswell , just dont put coffee in top and it heats up water as normal .

 

we had a balcony as my hubby smokes .and we sat out there instead of going up on deck ,it was a bit too noisy for me by the pool .

 

the quiet bar is a nice place to go for peace and quiet.

 

entertainment was ok ,but not the best i have seen on cruise ships . it was a shame as some acts were very good but there werent many in the audience.

 

overall i would reccomend ncl jade ,it is a clean ship with friendy staff .i have also sailed on dream and dawn .ncl dream is soon to leave the fleet. i have put down my 250 dollars for my next cruise with ncl .

 

happy sailing

[LOMOND LASS]

Thanks Kdee69 for your review and to all other contributors on this thread.

 

We have booked a Morocco/Canaries cruise on the Jade and had been quite concerned but some of the very negative reports on various sites. Although, to be fair, a lot of these were made by people like ourselves who are Celebrity or Royal C cruisers or, indeed P & O cruisers. However, the price we were offered for this cruise was too good to miss despite all the negative reviews so we have gone for it and hope we will have a positive experience.

 

On every cruise we have been on we have experienced gluttons and rude people but I think you get these on land based holidays as well but as someone said don't sweat the small stuff. We have never experienced rowdy children either because of the cruise area chosen or else the timing of the cruise (we endeavour to avoid school holidays if at all possible) not because we do not like children but rather we want them to have their exhuberance but not within our earshot:) !

[CHASBOY]

Great review!!! :) Thanks. We will be on the Jade in October for our first NCL cruise.

Hi P.A sailor what date will you be sailing in october? we will be going on the october 1st sailing.;) been to this area several times with the exception of egypt, first time on ncl always been on princess

[Pennsylvania Sailor]

We'll on the one after you - 13 October. We are much the same as you. Lived in Izmir for two years 35 years ago and have done much of Greece and Istanbul but never have been to Egypt or sailed on NCL. Have a great trip and leave JADE in super shape for us!!!:)

[CHASBOY]

Almost Forgot To Add That I Am From Your Neck Of The Woods.

I Lived In Hanover Pa For 40 Years,still Get Back Quite Often To See Kids And Grand Kids;)

[catharina]

Kdee69

 

was looking for a way to contact you about your review in the review section, but found you here. THANKS for balancing it out@! I was getting concerned about all the negative reviews, but I really do not understand the complaints that most people have.

 

Anyway thanks for your honest review