Just back from Jade

[Dancer76]

Hi all

Just wanted to post and say thank you all for advice pre-cruise and just say a few words about our mini cruise (got back yesterday).

 

We stayed in AD Romance Suite (10166) cabin was lovely. Who-ever said 'once you have experience the suite life you will never want to go back' never said a truer word. We were made to feel like VIPs and was worth every penny. Cagneys was an oasis of calm.

 

Thank you for whoever gave the tip about looking which way the dolphins were facing on the carpet - saved me from going the wrong way more than once!

 

I thought the food was very good through out all the restaurants we tried (Cagneys, Papas, main dining room, buffet, Alizar). The buffet had an amazing amount of choice and was of good quality, it was always very busy - but then I would expect that.

 

I have only cruised twice before once with P&O on Ventura last year and on Cunard four years ago.

 

I would definately rate NCL over P&O. I loved the casino - huge compared to others at sea I have seen.

 

I must admit I did not find NCL to be as 'money grabbing' as I expected after reading the posts - don't know if I was prepared for it and therefore did not notice, or if it really was not an issue. I think sometimes people expect to get something for nothing and then are surprised when they are sold something. The best example I can give - is there were quite a few times where you could be entered into a free prize draw - but then in order to win the prize you had to present at a certain time. Now my guess, is that if you went to see if you had won - you were probabley subjected to some hard sell (eg in the art gallery) but we never went to see if we had won -as we had better things to do.

 

True the drinks were not that cheap - but then - that was not a surprise.

 

Think I may need to book for next year - only thing is - we could afford the suite for a mini-cruise not sure if we have the pennies for a week long stay!

 

As for the suite extra's here were my favourites - priority embarkment - being walked past all the queues was quite an experience, going straight to the cabin at 12.30 on embarkment day - drinking our complimentary champagne and then heading to Cagneys for a relaxing three course lunch. Laying on our sunbeds on the large balcony, the concierge - getting wonderful seats in all the restaurants, priority tender pass, and priority disembarkment - got off the ship in less than ten minutes - the queues to get off looked a nightmare.

 

All in all a wonderful relaxing cruise - the suite life - that is what I call a good time!

 

Lisa

[snorklinbarb]

Hi Lisa,

Thanks for your review! We just got off the 12 night magnificent Norwegian fjords trip. Not only was the itinerary fantastic but the weather was as good as it gets! We loved the Jade and thought the crew was absolutely outstanding. Saw lots of friends from other NCL ships and it really was our home away from home.

 

We ate in a bunch of the specialties plus both DR's, Blue Lagoon and for the very first time 2 nights in the Garden Cafe (we were pleasantly surprised!!) Other than the beef stroganoff in the DR the last night (Bob found one mushroom but still says the sauce was brown gravy and no sour cream and can't figure out the pickles), we had tasty hot meals all around the ship. Kaya the restaurant mgr is a gem and really looks after his guests and their needs.

 

I'll be writing much more but just wanted to say our experience on a much longer cruise mirrored yours. HD Dwen Binns and the whole team are really top notch.

 

To answer Cubechick's comment on the buffet at night (from another thread), they did try putting white tablecloths, candles and maitre d' seating up in the Garden Cafe for dinnertime as part of the freestyle 2.0 initiative. However, with the fast turnover they found it got too unwieldy running around changing tablecloths, etc. So now they place a round tablemat on the tables and that's it.

 

To digress one step further, they also dropped the "flags" on the chair initiative to signal the bartenders for drinks. Apparently they kept flying away and getting knocked down.

 

Like any of the mass market lines, NCL needs onboard revenues to turn a profit. This cruise I did notice a couple things I hadn't seen before and I'll address them in a larger review. Most of the time we just kept the PA announcements off.;)

[jff50]

Other than the beef stroganoff in the DR the last night (Bob found one mushroom but still says the sauce was brown gravy and no sour cream and can't figure out the pickles)

We have a few good Russian restaurants in the Twin Cities that cater to Russian clientele. They serve pickles with beef stroganoff.

[sottovoce]

Hi all

We stayed in AD Romance Suite (10166) cabin was lovely. Who-ever said 'once you have experience the suite life you will never want to go back' never said a truer word. We were made to feel like VIPs and was worth every penny. Cagneys was an oasis of calm.

Lisa, we were in 10166 for a Jade Med cruise last December, and, yes, it was lovely. Best perq for us was Cagney's for breakfast and lunch. It was like being on a private yacht and not a 2000+ passenger ship, and the servers were just delightful.

 

On our cruise a bout of rough seas toppled the fake potted plant in 10166 and broke the pot into many pieces. It was removed from the suite. Was it replaced by your cruise?

[Dancer76]

Hi

No the fake potted plant had not been replaced!

Lisa

[lhall85917]

Thanks for posting, we are anxious to board the Jade in just under 2 weeks. Can you share from details on what you did at each of the ports?

[golfinggirl]

Hi all

Just wanted to post and say thank you all for advice pre-cruise and just say a few words about our mini cruise (got back yesterday).

 

We stayed in AD Romance Suite (10166) cabin was lovely. Who-ever said 'once you have experience the suite life you will never want to go back' never said a truer word. We were made to feel like VIPs and was worth every penny. Cagneys was an oasis of calm.

 

Thank you for whoever gave the tip about looking which way the dolphins were facing on the carpet - saved me from going the wrong way more than once!

 

I thought the food was very good through out all the restaurants we tried (Cagneys, Papas, main dining room, buffet, Alizar). The buffet had an amazing amount of choice and was of good quality, it was always very busy - but then I would expect that.

 

I have only cruised twice before once with P&O on Ventura last year and on Cunard four years ago.

 

I would definately rate NCL over P&O. I loved the casino - huge compared to others at sea I have seen.

 

I must admit I did not find NCL to be as 'money grabbing' as I expected after reading the posts - don't know if I was prepared for it and therefore did not notice, or if it really was not an issue. I think sometimes people expect to get something for nothing and then are surprised when they are sold something. The best example I can give - is there were quite a few times where you could be entered into a free prize draw - but then in order to win the prize you had to present at a certain time. Now my guess, is that if you went to see if you had won - you were probabley subjected to some hard sell (eg in the art gallery) but we never went to see if we had won -as we had better things to do.

 

True the drinks were not that cheap - but then - that was not a surprise.

 

Think I may need to book for next year - only thing is - we could afford the suite for a mini-cruise not sure if we have the pennies for a week long stay!

 

As for the suite extra's here were my favourites - priority embarkment - being walked past all the queues was quite an experience, going straight to the cabin at 12.30 on embarkment day - drinking our complimentary champagne and then heading to Cagneys for a relaxing three course lunch. Laying on our sunbeds on the large balcony, the concierge - getting wonderful seats in all the restaurants, priority tender pass, and priority disembarkment - got off the ship in less than ten minutes - the queues to get off looked a nightmare.

 

All in all a wonderful relaxing cruise - the suite life - that is what I call a good time!

 

Lisa

Lisa, thanks for the input. We are scheduled on the Jade on July 12th and have read so many negative reviews that I have been worried. Your review seems very realistic to me and gave me a glimmer of hope that the suite life might not be too bad. Thanks, again Sherry from Houston

[Dolphins]

We just returned from the same Jade Norway cruise and it was spectacular. The entire crew was most helpful and friendly and we had a great cruise. Lots of trivia for us trivia buffs and especially enjoyed swimming in the Jade's outdoor pool in the sunshine at 10PM at the North Cape of Norway. Lots of friendly Brits on board to amuse this old Vera Lynn fan. Never expected such smooth sailing in the North Sea or the Barents Sea. Super!

[Cubechick]

 

 

 

To answer Cubechick's comment on the buffet at night (from another thread)' date=' they did try putting white tablecloths, candles and maitre d' seating up in the Garden Cafe for dinnertime as part of the freestyle 2.0 initiative. However, with the fast turnover they found it got too unwieldy running around changing tablecloths, etc. So now they place a round tablemat on the tables and that's it.

 

To digress one step further, they also dropped the "flags" on the chair initiative to signal the bartenders for drinks. Apparently they kept flying away and getting knocked down.

 

[/quote']

 

Thanks for the info, Barb! :)

 

BTW, we've had the pickle stroganoff too--and are equally baffled. :confused: