Christmas Cruise on the Norwegian Jade in the Caribbean

Norwegian Jade Cruise Review to Caribbean - Western

CrusinFromTX

Contributor Level: Third Mate

Cruises: 7+ cruises

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 12

Overall rating:

3 out of 5

Verified Review

7 Night Western Caribbean (Houston Roundtrip)

Sail date: December 19, 2015

Ship: Norwegian Jade

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 9044

Traveled as: Family (older children)

Reviewed: 8 years ago

Review summary

Pros: Getting on & off the ship went quickly & smoothly. The food was outstanding; service in the buffet & Grand Pacific dining room was excellent. The excursions were wonderful (Maya Key Private Island Retreat encounter with sea lions and swimming with sharks; Atlantis Submarine; and airboat adventure); good service from cabin stewards except for smelly linens; fun casino.

Cons: Ultra-small cabins; smelly pillows and bed coverlet (like dirty oily body smell--ugh!); very narrow hallways; a rude salesperson in the watch sale slamming shut the boxes when they closed early because of arriving back in Houston early, but giving no announcement or warning, or acting nice about it; expensive cocktails especially before leaving ports; much miscommunication & being sent to wrong locations for things like picking up bingo cash awards & bottled wine at end of cruise. I personally won't book with Norwegian again; prefer to go on Royal Caribbean. But overall, we thoroughly enjoyed the cruise to these ports (Roatan, Belize, & Cozumel).

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

5 out of 5

Awesome accommodation of special diet requiremenhts (gluten free)! Very tasty meals in both the diningroom and the buffet.

Onboard Activities

3 out of 5

Entertainment

5 out of 5

Service and Staff

3 out of 5

Room steward was very good but linens were very smelly; most staff were nice, friendly, helpful, except for one in the watch sales; diningroom staff were excellent.

Ship Quality

1 out of 5

Beautiful ship, but the hallways are extremely narrow and the cabin was tiny and crowded and not clean smelling (like dirty oily body smell). Restrooms were clean.

Cabin / Stateroom

1 out of 5

Too small. Sofa bed & queen bed were side-by-side touching, could not get to balcony when sofa bed was made up. (Bed was comfortable.) Could not walk around beds--had to crawl up them from the foot of the beds. Not enough counter space--tiny like a small motorhome, including the bathroom. Our parties' two big guys each accidentally knocked the sliding door off its tracks in the restroom trying to maneuver the cramped space.

Ship tip

Best accommodation of my gluten free diet requirements I ever experienced on a cruise--food was ordered the previous day from the regular menu & most items were made gluten free that normally included breading, etc. Great service and great quality food. Fun casino--better payouts late evening.

Thumbs up