Loved the NCL Jade and our Itinerary

Norwegian Jade Cruise Review to Europe - Mediterranean

rileyswa

Contributor Level: Second Mate

Cruises: 7+ cruises

Reviews: 5

Helpful Votes: 138

Overall rating:

5 out of 5

Verified Review

11 Night Greek Isles & Italy (Rome Roundtrip)

Sail date: June 30, 2019

Ship: Norwegian Jade

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 9104

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 2 years ago

Review summary

Best cruise ever! Loved the "jewel class" ship, Dave (cruise director), food in every venue was outstanding, beverages great, incredible entertainment/production shows, itinerary was exceptional -- just a great vacation altogether. That being said, we had only one complaint was pre-cruise (Piram) wasn't good, didn't like our room/antiquity of hotel, poor English speaking staff who didn't seem to understand its relationship with NCL as pre-cruise hotel, breakfast in basement wasn't nice, no pool/hot tub, location in Center of Rome was nice, but had to find other location for dinner, DID like their roof top bar though (!), however, our transfer to ship was chaos as front desk had no info on our booking for this, didn't know when bus would come, said it wasn't their company, confused how it was all supposed to work for us so we were afraid we wouldn't make the ship (!) and had to push very hard for them to figure it all out since it was included in the room cost -- would suggest NCL find another pre-cruise hotel.

Embarkation

5 out of 5

Easy on!

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

5 out of 5

Bars and restaurants were all great! Especially Cagneys, Le Bistro, Teppanyaki and Jasmine.

Onboard Activities

5 out of 5

Pool activities, Bliss Lounge, production shows -- wish there was a mini golf, some other onboard activities like SkyRider, challenge course, etc.

Entertainment

5 out of 5

Unbelievable production shows, Greta Salame was amazing, illusionist, juggler/comedian so funny, trapeze act. Grand finale incredible!

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

All NCL staff were wonderful.

Ship Quality

5 out of 5

Love the "Jewel class" ship. Everything makes sense. Signage is great. Everything is where you think it should be like bathrooms! Cabin had plenty of storage and space, loved the 2 desk set up, 3-part bathroom.

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5

Cabin had plenty of storage and space, loved the 2 desk set up, 3-part bathroom. Location close to mid-ship elevators made life so easy for getting to dinner, shows, and disembarking excursions. Would choose this room again if we could!

Ship tip

No beverages in the "family pool and hot tubs". Signage wasn't clear on this and we got "stopped" by lifeguard for bringing in drinks. There are 2 hot tubs and a pool for adults that DO allow. Ask for drink PLUS a cup of ice. That way you can keep your drinks cold all the way until finished.

Thumbs up

Ports of call

Civitavecchia (Rome), Italy

5 out of 5

Easiest disembarkation port we've ever experienced.

Thumbs Up 2

Santorini, Greece

5 out of 5

Incredible place to visit. Will be back. Cable Car BACK down from Thira to ship took about 45 minutes, so plan ahead for getting back. Long line, but can't be helped.

Thumbs Up 2

Piraeus (Athens), Greece

5 out of 5

We went to Temple of Poseiden, south of Piraeaus and Athens. Heat was immense in Athens and they had to shut down the Acropolis, but its an amazing place to visit. Wonderful people.

Thumbs Up 2

Mykonos, Greece

5 out of 5

We went to both the Island of Delos and Mykonos. Loved Delos for its ruins, and Mykonos for it's incredibly sweet town.

Thumbs Up 2

Rhodes, Greece

5 out of 5

This incredible walled city is a fantastic view from your cabin balcony. Town is very interesting and full of history.

Thumbs Up 0

Souda (Chania), Crete

5 out of 5

Hot and still a great place to visit. Saw a monastary, cemetary, great park with view of Hania, and Hania was nice town.

Thumbs Up 0

Valletta, Malta

5 out of 5

Went to the UNESCO ruins and they were wonderful.

Thumbs Up 0

Messina, Sicily

5 out of 5

Mt. Etna, Silverstri Craters, Taomina, Messina were all not to be missed.

Thumbs Up 2

Naples, Italy Did not visit port

We were disappointed they cancelled the CAPRI ISLE excursion, so just stayed onboard ship for an extra sea day since we've been to Amalfi and Pompeii before.

Thumbs Up 0

Livorno (Florence & Pisa), Italy

5 out of 5

Bus to Florence and walking tour of city PLUS the Academie and the REAL David were magical.

Thumbs Up 1