Jade Leaves a Lot to be Desired
Norwegian Jade Cruise Review to Europe - Western Mediterranean
11 Night Western Mediterranean (Rome Roundtrip)
Sail date: March 07, 2015
Ship: Norwegian Jade
Cabin type: Oceanview
Cabin number: 8534
Traveled as: Couple
Reviewed: 9 years ago
Review summary
The only saving grace regarding this cruise was its itinerary and price. Otherwise, this rating would be much lower. Eight stops over an 11-day time period with only two days at sea was extraordinary. Although, there were some stops that were much better than others which is typically the case. The service aboard the Jade, and in particular in the main dining areas, was lacking. This is the direct result of an organizational change that has removed the Head Waiter from a previous team of three and replaced them with another Maitre D'. Thus, the service team has been reduced to a team of two with the same amount of tables. Many times, drinks from the bar were delayed, in addition to the wait staff not being able to spend personable time in getting to know their staff. If you do happen to find a good waiter or waitress make sure that they are requested every time that you attend dinner. In our case, we requested Maddlyn Padilla in the Grand Princess dining area who was EXCELLENT. In addition, the execution of ship policies was extremely inconsistent at the different bars. We had the Ultimate All You can Drink package in which case only one drink at a time could be ordered on a ship card at a time whereas at other bars they honored up to four drinks for our entire group at a time. Instead of disputing the inconsistent use of the rules, we simply agreed to whatever was requested by either the bartender or the waiter. The ships' on board was poor. We only attended four of the evening's shows in the Stardust Theatre the entire cruise. The best show of all was the Tenors of Power which is not to be missed.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
Onboard Activities
Entertainment
Children's Programs
Service and Staff
Ship Quality
Cabin / Stateroom
Ship tip
The Garden Café buffet had a good variety that included American and Asian food. Be sure to use the back deck buffet line. Although, it was more limited than the main buffet there was rarely, if any, a line.
Ports of call
Livorno (Florence & Pisa), Italy