Reflections on the Jade

[Been There, Planning That]

I should say up front that we have rich man's tastes on a poor man's budget.

 

We sailed the Jade in January and were pleasantly pleased with the experience. We received good service from our cabin steward and waiters in the main dining room. We were impressed how they maintained a friendly manner in spite of what appeared to be a heavy work load.

 

We're readers, and often would sit in one of the bar areas to read. We were offered drinks initially and then left alone to read. There was no hard sell or indication that we should move on.

 

We had a window cabin with plenty of storage room. It turned out to be a cabin designed to sleep 4. The trundle bed limited luggage storage space and I found the wall unit awkwardly placed for ease of getting in and out of bed. And I don't think the area was any greater than cabins designed for only 2.

 

My only complaint about the room was the most uncomfortable chair.

 

We missed detailed port lectures, but the daily newsletters covered the basics.

 

NCL prices were right for our budget, allowing us an extended post cruise stay in Spain.

 

• Would we sail NCL again? Certainly if the price were right and the destinations good for us.
  
• Have we had better cruising experiences? Yes, on both HAL and Celebrity, but the costs per day were higher.
  
• Did we appreciate the more casual atmosphere? Yes, for this trip as we didn't want to lug dress clothes around post cruise.
  

[dos equis]

Thanks for the posting. I'll be on her in May, and your comments are very comforting.

[Us2inFL]

We were on the Jade last year for the 12 night Canary Island/Morocco (not on of their regular itineraries) and the cruise was terrific.

 

We were in an AD (there are four of them on deck 10 stern) and the butler was very accommodating, but never intrusive. We had many breakfast and lunch meals in Cagney's, but also sampled the buffet (espcially the Great Outdoors, deck 12 stern) a few times.

 

Did you dine in any of the specialty restaurants? Le Bistro was elegant and the food (escargot, double lobster tail in a wonderful sauce) was delicious. There is also a Jazz Brunch in Le Bistro on sea days and that got rave reviews too.

 

Cagney's was as good as the other NCL ships we've been on, (I love the Captain's Cut Filet Mignon with some of the side dishes) so that was a treat.

 

The Italian place (name is always changing) was good, and when we were on the Jade, there was no charge, but I've heard there is now a cover. The Ossobuco was very good and the antipasto cart is always a crowd pleaser.

 

Enjoy!

[snorklinbarb]

We'll be on the Jade in June. I'm also interested in your dining experiences and what you thought of the entertainment.

 

Did you have a Meet & Greet?

[Been There, Planning That]

Yes, snorklin'Barb, we had a Meet and Greet organized by Lambs2 who posts often on this site. It was well attended and it was nice to put a face to the blog names. The Captain and several officers attended and spoke briefly. They lingered graciously. In fact, I was embarrassed that there were really no significant questions to ask of them. I certainly had none.

 

We only ate in one speciality restaurant -- the Tex-Mex and enjoyed it. We were quite content in the dining room as we were staying on in Spain for 3 weeks and would have many varied eating experiences. We're relatively early risers and always had a breakfast window seat in the dining room. Nothing elegant about the seating assignments, the girl assigning seats would yell to the waiters a half flight of steps lower the table number and whether or not the diners would share a table -- unnecessary I'd say as the table was either for two or more.

 

US2inFL, we're window steerage, so didn't get to sample a butler, but our cabin steward whom we saw a couple of times did a fine job and did thank us for a tip left mid cruise. Our HAL steward always made a point of greeting us by name, but then it was a 30 day cruise; this was a nice touch but I've no complaints about NCL room service. And yes, we left the daily service charge in place.

 

If you're sailing from Barcelona, disembarking is the most orderly I've experienced -- all colour coded luggage carousels as in airports make luggage pick up easy. None of this searching for luggage on a huge terminal space. Of course that's not NCL but NCL does use the port.