Beautiful Canada
Norwegian Jade Cruise Review to Canada, New England, New York
Contributor Level:
Purser
Cruises: 4-6 cruises
Reviews: 2
Helpful Votes: 59
7 Night Canada & New England: Halifax & Portland (Boston Roundtrip)
Sail date: October 03, 2024
Ship: Norwegian Jade
Cabin type: Balcony
Cabin number: 9130
Traveled as: Couple
Reviewed: 2 months ago
Review summary
Nice itinerary if you are looking for some different landscape and ports, and chance to see some nice fall foliage. Canada ports were full of friendly and welcoming people - unlike several Caribbean ports where you get pounced on by locals trying to sell you things as soon as you walk off the ship. If you are looking for a quieter crowd with very few children, this was a good cruise for that. We saw less than 10 kids on the cruise. Very much an "older" crowd. Great food options in the ports, especially if you like lobster and other seafood.Embarkation
Quick and easy at first, but then we were crammed into a crowded holding area before being allowed to board ship.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
Buffet food was ok. We were disappointed in the lack of variety - they kept the same menu items for all breakfasts, lunches and dinners with exception of a themed buffet dinner (but only a few additional themed items were added). The buffet also shut down completely by 9:30pm each night, and on previous cruises there were always late night snacks available.
The free dining room options were all very good. Menu selections, food, and service were all very good. O'Sheehans which was open 24/7 was ok. Basic pub food, nothing special.
Specialty dining was great. We only dined at Cagney's (twice) so can't comment on the other specialty dining options. Service was definitely a step up from the other restaurants, menu options were good, and quality of food was great.
Onboard Activities
We were a bit annoyed that several activities cost extra (fitness classes, games, etc). This was a small ship, so did not have much to offer like rock climbing walls or special activities, which was fine for us because we wanted to experience the smaller ship vibe. The pool was heated, so even though the temperatures were cooler on this itinerary, we were able to enjoy the pool and were often the only ones in the pool, which made it even more pleasant. We've been on other warmer climate itineraries where the pool was too crowded to enjoy. Hot tubs were also not crowded, and many times vacant.
Entertainment
We attended all shows offered in the main theatre, and all were good (not great). Due to being a small ship, we did not have the bigger Broadway style shows. Seats had very little leg room, so were uncomfortable, but I think that's pretty standard everywhere.
Children's Programs
no kids
Service and Staff
Generally, all staff were very friendly and courteous. We did have some issues with not getting accurate answers (times of activities, told buffet open until 10pm but actually closed by 9:30, instructions on how to play Wheel of Fortune for example).
Our room steward was rarely seen, and when asked for additional towels seemed annoyed. I realize they are overworked, but previous cruises we interacted much more with our stewards and had better experience. We definitely saw the difference between our last cruise and this one in terms of room cleaning, turn down service, extra perks like towel animals and piece of chocolate on pillow, etc.
Ship Quality
This was an older and "small" ship in comparison to others in the fleet. The design for the most part was easy to navigate. I did not like the design of the thermal spa - it was split into small male and female sections, with only one shared co-ed area with a whirlpool and heated stone lounge chairs. There were no lounge chairs or outdoor seating areas other than the pool or outdoor eating areas. It would have been nice to have some outdoor seating on decks to watch the scenery or read a book not near the pool.
As far as cleanliness, we did not have any issues. We observed staff constantly cleaning - wiping down tables, railings, etc.
Cabin / Stateroom
Having the balcony was great and we were able to sleep with the door open every night to listen to the waves. Bathroom was tiny and difficult to navigate. We expected to have an outlet next to the bed, but it was across the room, so we had to step over the cord every night that connected to my husband's cpap machine (we unplugged it during the day). Cabin was clean, and size was fine other than the tiny bathroom.
Ship tip
Don't expect a lot of frills on this ship. It's a small ship so does not have a lot of amenities that the larger ships have. As long as you have reasonable expectations, you will not be disappointed.
Thumbs up
0
Ports of call
We were only in Boston for embarkation and disembarkation, so did not explore port itself.
Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island
Quaint and beautiful island. We did a bus tour that included a lobster lunch, which was very good. We got to see a good part of the landscape, including the red cliffs and Anne of Green Gables inspired house/farm. Our tour guide, Cindy, was fantastic and very knowledgeable.
Another beautiful island. Very friendly people, and beautiful landscape. We did a bus tour to Peggy's Cove but due to some construction delays, only had 20 minutes to spend at Peggy's Cove. Our excursion also included the hop on/off double decker bus, but we only were on it for two stops before getting off to explore the boardwalk and shops/restaurants along the way back to the ship, so did not ride the whole tour through the city. The boardwalk was fun with lots of places to stop and sit, grab a snack, shop, etc.
I was underwhelmed by St. John. I didn't have any real expectations here, but was hoping it would be as picturesque as PEI and NS were. It was not. The city itself is drab and rundown. We did a trolley tour that included a stop at the Reversing Falls. Unfortunately, we were there in between low and high tides, so there was nothing to see. We enjoyed the history and the tour guide was good, but overall, not very impressed with this port. It did have a very cute Container Village as you got off/on the ship that had some little shops and snack places made from shipping containers. Neat concept.
I've been to Portland before, so did not invest in an excursion. Instead, we chose to just walk around Congress Street (main street in cruise port). People are friendly in Portland. Congress Street area is full of shops and snack places. I was a bit disappointed in some of the shops, especially "pottery" labeled shops that were full of touristy items and less of locally made crafts and pottery. As someone visiting a new city, I'm more interested in locally made art, jewelry, etc and not looking for cheap products imported from other states or countries.
Disembarkation
We did not receive any information about disembarkation - only our room steward telling us if we were carrying off our own luggage (as opposed to checking it for them to carry off for us), we would need to leave at 7am. He clearly wanted us up and out of the room as possible because we later found out that no, we were able to leave anywhere from 7:30-8:45am. So, we were up and ready to go at 7am, only to have to sit and wait for the announcement that we could leave which came at 7:30. We were also told that breakfast would be open at 5:30, but it was not open until 6am. Once we left our room, we had to navigate through a crowded hallway that was full of laundry and trash bags that the cleaning crew had already started putting out. After that, it was fine. Easy exit off of ship and short walk to our shuttle bus waiting for us to take us back to the parking lot to our car.