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Item: Norwegian Jade
Rating: 3.1
Author: jovigrl73

Norwegian Jade Cruise Review

jovigrl73

Contributor Level: Second Mate

6 Days Till Next Cruise

Cruises: 7+ cruises

Reviews: 5

Helpful Votes: 74

Overall rating:

3.1 out of 5

5 Night Caribbean: Great Stirrup Cay & Cozumel (Port Canaveral Roundtrip)

Sail date: August 17, 2024

Ship: Norwegian Jade

Cabin type: Inside

Cabin number: 5069

Traveled as: Singles/Friends

Reviewed: 1 month ago

Review summary

Not bad; not sure I would cruise this type of ship again, but never say never if the price is right

Embarkation

4 out of 5

Arrived around noon via NCL airport transfer. There was a long queue, but I didn’t feel it was any slower than normal. Once I got my key card from the agent, I walked right on board

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

4 out of 5

Let’s face it, NCL is not Virgin, Celebrity, etc. You have to go in with reasonable expectations. I cruise NCL for free style cruising. . . I’m not in it for fine dining. I can always find something I like and there’s no shortage of restaurants. That being said, the buffet on this ship is a complete cluster. It’s so crowded and hard to find a seat. At breakfast, head straight to 12 aft; you will find the exact same offerings with no wait. You don’t wait for an omelette; you walk right up. But, why bother wrangling breakfast when you can head to O’Sheehan’s for a sit down breakfast without needing to jockey for a seat. Grand Pacific is also a good option as well; it’s just not open as long. I had dinner in three of the complimentary restaurants- Grand Pacific, Alizar, and Jasmine. You do need reservations for Jasmine, and they are difficult to come by. Of the 3, I liked Alizar best. The staff was speedy and friendly. I dined a la cart one night at the sushi bar and used my specialty dining at Le Bistro. Both were great!

O'Sheehan's Bar & Grill

3 out of 5

I will say, 3 stars is low, but 4 may be too high. A good “bar food” menu. Always easy to get a seat. Burgers. Are awful, but that is NCL fleet wide. Fish and chips were so bad. BUT the bar is always open and the have wings and pretzel bites

Sushi Bar

4 out of 5

Easy a la carte meal that won’t break the bank. One roll was enough for me. Easy to walk up with no wait

Mixers Martini & Cocktail Bar

5 out of 5

I will not tell you the number of martinis I drank here, but oh my! Try the Basil Cucumber. Jay. Kay and Andy knew me by name within 5 minutes of my first drink and made me feel like family. Best bar on the ship, hands down.

Le Bistro

5 out of 5

You cannot beat the value at Le Bistro. Superb service, filet cooked to perfection. Hristina and her amazing staff go above and beyond. If you only have one specialty dining credit, you would be wise to use it here.

Jasmine Garden

2 out of 5

Overhyped. Food was bland; orange beef was not flavored well. The Asian inspired fishes I had at Alizar were more flavorful. Egg drop soup had an odd corn flavor and desserts were unappetizing.

Grand Pacific

3 out of 5

Nice atmosphere at the aft of the ship. We had a group dinner one night; service was good considering we were a table of 8. Food was meh. I ordered shrimp scampi and it came with a weird cream sauce.I also ate breakfast there on debarkation morning. Good menu and speedy service rather than fighting the crowd at the buffet.

Garden Cafe

2 out of 5

Lackluster. Never fined here. It was too busy and there were far better options.

Alizar

4 out of 5

Open for dinner. Menu changes from night to night. Check the menu board, walk right up. Speedy and efficient service. Best bar service of any of the complimentary restaurants.

Onboard Activities

2 out of 5

On board actvities were lackluster

Service and Staff

2 out of 5

This is hard because while I had excellent service at Mixers and Oceanside bars, the rest of the ship was on vacation. I never met my room steward; he never cleaned my shower the entire cruise. Guest services was clearly overworked with everyone complaining.

Ship Quality

3 out of 5

Cabin / Stateroom

4 out of 5

Great location; fairly quiet except for debarkation morning when they were moving luggage carts