Jade Leaves a Lot to be Desired
Sail Date: March 07, 2015
Reviewed: 2 years ago
Traveled As: Couple
Room Type: Oceanview
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.
Category Ratings
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| Ship Quality | ||
| Food and Dining | ||
| Service and Staff | Overall, the service was extremely slow in the main dining areas. Maddlyn Padilla; EXCELLENT wait service in the Grand Pacific Dining area. She was the only person who was attentive beyond expectations. | |
| Entertainment | We attended only four shows in the Stardust Theatre during the entire cruise. Other entertainment in the other lobbys and bars was of substandard quality. Tenors of Power and "Foundations" were the exception. | |
| Children's Programs | Don't really know as we did not participate or have any kids with us. | |
| Onboard Activities | Very limited interest. The casino was TERRIBLE. No Texas Hold 'Em tables other than two tournments. You could not put credits or cash on your room key for slot play. And there were no payouts. The only slots that paid were the 1 and 2 cent variety. | |
| Destinations and Excursions | This was the only positive of the cruise. Other than the price and the safe return. | |
| Cabin / Stateroom | Cabin was excellent. The bathroom was a little tight which was normal. We only wish that the weather was not so cold so that we could have enjoyed the balcony more. Room steward was good and very transparent. |
Port Ratings
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| Civitavecchia (Rome), Italy | There is nothing in Civitavecchia. Their are some beaches, although in March it was to cold to go. The port is an hour from Rome. Taxi fare was 165 Euro for a group of 4. |
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| Livorno (Florence & Pisa), Italy | The learning tower of Pisa and the city of Florence are not to be missed. Make sure that you go to the central market in Florence. | ||
| Monte Carlo, Monaco | Be sure that you go to the village of Eze on the French side. In addition, we drove the road course of the Monte Carlo F1 course. To enter the casino, it will cost you 10 Euro. | ||
| Toulon, France | A nice walking city. The city market which runs from Tuesday-Sunday; 8:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m. is quite interesting. | ||
| Barcelona, Spain | The hop-on-hop-off bus line is phenomenal. It has two lines that covers both the east and west sides of the city. | ||
| Valencia, Spain | Make sure and eat some paella. | ||
| Cagliari, Sardinia | Not much to note. | ||
| Palermo, Sicily | Home of the Godfather and not much more. There is a hop-on/hop-off that can be used. | ||
| Naples, Italy | Don't miss the opportunity to go to Pompei and eat some pizza. |
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.
