Norwegian Jade Cruise Reviews - Reviews

Liked the food entertainment and staff. Extremely disappointed that there was pool demolition in preparation for dry dock renovations. main pool closed as they tore out the water slide, made pool repairs and tore up tile. It was very noisy and distracting, congested pool area as the kids were forced to converge on the adult pool. jogging track blocked by a huge dumpster the entire cruise. Missed our Key West port of call due to fog in Tampa, port authorities would not let ship leave port. Complaint at front desk no response, emailed customer service and receive $12 per person for missed port. No compensation for the construction zone in pool area the entire cruise. Response from Norwegian was sorry but we have to continually renovate. I greet that has to happen in order to maintain the ship, my problem was that  this worked was planned and they should have communicated it to the customer before we purchased our tickets, that way we could have made an informed decision to travel on this ship or pick one of the others in their fleet. Hotels notify people all the time to let them know about upcoming renovations, Norwegians decision and response were unacceptable.  You can see videos of the demo on #cruisenorwegian

Restaurant food declining in quality. Staff that goes through the motions. Terrible internet service after having to pay through the nose for it. This was by far the worst Norwegian cruise we've ever been on.

we were fogged in as they close the port of Tampa, so we left 7 hours late. The cruise line cancelled the port call at Key West which was the main reason we booked the cruise. They did give us another day in Cozumel which does not compare.

The room was smaller than same rooms on the Gem. Specialty restaurants were great, nice entertainment for the shows. 

Some areas of the ship look a little tired but we had fun.

the worst part of the cruise was embarkation at the port of Tampa, hot long lines getting to the NCL checkin. I will not cruise from this non air conditioned, non heated (which we need when disembarking in 35 degree weather) port area ever again.

Here are the positives:

Very nice cabins (obstructed ocean view) with a lot of room. 

The room steward was great. 

I liked the concept of free style dining. 

The Tappenyaki restaurant and was great.  (The chef's made the experience!)

The bar staff was awesome. 

The food was good....not great but good. 

The variety of food on the buffet was great. 

Negatives:

The were repairing the pool during the entire cruise. 

The staff in the restaurants did not seem like they wanted to go out of the way to make your experience better.   Even at the specialty it felt like a drive thru...place your order and then we will bring it to you.  This distracted from what could have been a very nice dining  experience. 

The staff at the excursion desk was not good.  We booked an excursion and it was cancelled because there were not enough participants.    We then choose some alternatives, but they were all full.   The staff did not understand our frustration and instead of just apologizing and working with us to find an alternative they spent the time justifying the policy.  

It took over 2 hours to board the ship in Tampa.   

We had to leave Tampa late due to fog which impacted our port.   Issues with weather are unavoidable, but we would have liked more information so we could plan accordingly.     

There could have been more activities that were not an additional fee. 

Skip the wine tastings.   

In summary it could have been a much better experience.   I have had better experiences on other cruises. 

Favorite part of the cruise was the restaurants and food.  Great food and great service. Also the signage everywhere including outside and inside the elevators  to find areas of the ship including the fish on the rugs that are facing forward to tell you which way you are going was phenomenal.  No stress finding your way around the ship. The destinations were wonderful. Also enjoyed the different types of shows and entertainment.  Definitely would recommend this cruise to anyone.

Was able to see all the highlights of Central America in one trip.

Food was good with lots of variety. Shows were fun.

Son really enjoyed the kids club, meeting lots of kids from all over the world.

Overall this was a great experience for my family of 6.  It offered flexibility that is appreciated with larger families.  Tips for future cruise families, book your excursions ahead of time, and drink and meal plans.  I was disappointed in the inability to dine at the other restaurants on the ship because I did not book prior to arrival I find that unrealistic with a large family or group to predict what and where the group wants to eat that far in advance.  Also the checking in process was very painful...long process of one line waiting to get in building, then one line waiting to go up escalator, then another line to go through security, then another line to get ID and give credit card info for cruise, it took more than 2 hours ugh please improve this for future passengers!!

I expected the ship to look old/outdated.  I was pleasantly surprised that the cabin and interior of the Jade was as nice as other cruises that I had been on. The best things about the cabin were the unobtrusive cabin stewardess, the wheel near the cabin door the allowed "do not disturb", "make up cabin" and 2 other phrases to be used, and real sliding doors for toilet and showers.  The cabin was very tiny, and the bed configuration was awful for our family.  We had 4 individual twin beds that were incapable of being linked together with any other one to form an larger bed(s).  The entertainment was wonderful.  The crew were very nice and helpful.  My son has allergies to food and 3 of the 4 of us are lacto ovo vegetarians.  The food was very good (hubby noticed that there was no lobster and I noticed no fresh strawberries or blueberries).  I loved the variety of food for those with food allergies or constraints.  We ate in the Garden Cafe for 99% of our meals.  We ate one snack in a complimentary restaurant, but service was slow and food was merely ok.   The kids area was wonderful for our 5 year old son.  However, our 13 year old daughter did not like the teen area;  13-17 years is too wide an age range for either girls or boys.  

I have cruised on Carnival many times, so I was definitely comparing the two.

I was suppose to have priority boarding. That didn't happen, the line was like 2 hours long waiting in the hot sun. Finally arrived on the ship. This is my fault as I should have researched first.  Our mini suite was a "mini" suite.  I could not believe how small it was for the price I paid for it. I would think it is more a balcony room, although the one positive was it did have a coffee maker in it.

It was not as clean as it should have been. There was large build up of dust where corners met, like the the tp holder and wall etc.. Spots on the bathroom wall, where it had not been wiped down.

The children were allowed to run around everywhere. Not sure if it was the children's group or parents. They ran around in the busy cafeteria, would slip in front of you and reach up for food with bare hands. Gross! A child ran in front of an older woman and knocked her plate out of her hands. He got is roll he wanted and ran off again not even acknowledging the women.

They ran in the pool area, going from running to hopping on a lounge chair, back to running on pool deck. I was almost run over by children while relaxing in my lounge chair. NOT VERY RELAXING!

I had to ask a group of children all ages to please stop running up and down our hall way and to please quiet down. If I would have know where there room was I would have visited and asked the parents to have there children to quiet down.

The casino allowed smoking in the entire place.  There were not any non smoking areas. Being allergic to smoke meant I didn't spend much time in there. My husband table hopped when someone smoking joined his table.  When he complained to the manager, he was told this is the number one complaint in the casino, but management ignored it. My husband would have spent a lot more time there if they would have non smoking areas.

One of the pool bathrooms which had 4 stalls was horrible. 2 were lock with no one inside, one was nasty gross and would not flush. So the ladies had to wait in line for 1 toilet. This happened more than one occasion. I told someone it needed attention and it was a good while before some attended to it. Other time there would be toilet paper all over the floor. Not what I expected the bathroom to be like.

On the positive side, the staff were very friendly, and ready to help.

The food was great. Disembarking from the  ship was much better than getting on.

This was our anniversary trip and we both wanted a relaxing trip. It was maybe 50/50. 

I spent a lot of money on the cruise, I will not be cruising on Norwegian again.

Norwegian Jade was a great cruise line, there was  one problem with picking luggage up. The letter the night before did not explain that you need to recive your luggage before exiting the building. 

First time on Norwegian and may be the last due to the lack luster entertainment shows on board!  Food was very good, cabin was excellent, and excursions provided the sights and sounds of the countries we visited, as we wanted them to do!  Show time on board was a dud!

Prior to the cruise had read mixed reviews about Norwegian, the Jade, and the overall experience. We loved the various ports of call - many enjoyable things to do, and wish we could have done more in each port. We had a balcony stateroom which was comfortable. NOT impressed with the food choices that were included with the cruise. We chose not to eat in the speciality restaurants because of excessive cover charges, so we have no idea if the quality would merit the expense. I would not classify Norwegian's policies as "customer friendly" (can't bring any beverages on board, for example). Evening entertainment was OK, but some acts were not "family appropriate" (skimpy costumes and very suggestive dancing). Overall, glad we went but probably won't cruise with Norwegian again.

My husband and I went on the cruise as s getaway vacation after a hard semester of school. It was a good decision. We loved the casual environment, friendly staff, athe shore stops were extra for us. We enjoyed the shopping experiences and most of all the walking around and swimming in the clear beautiful ocean side. The food was excellent of course and the "washy washy" girl was our favorite person. She just lights up our day! Thank you Norwegian Jade for making our Christmas Holiday such a special one! We look forward to another trip on it in the future.

I will recommend a variety of music at the pool area.  The group they had was excellent but it seemed to be the same music every day.

I will recommend Norwegian Jade to family and friends.

This is our second cruise so I don't have much to compare it to. It met the expectations of small room, 24/7 food, and good service. Beds were comfortable (better than most hotels I've been lately) food was available whenever, the seas were pretty calm except for 1 day. The ports were average...One of them we were advised not to leave (Guatemala) because of security issues. Overall good shows. Weather was fine, pool was good...

We had a blast on this holiday cruise. Traveled with family of 4 with young kids (8 and 6 years). They enjoyed it a lot. The food was great for the most part.except on one night where we could not eat any of the main courses. Sushi was awesome.

This ship used to be The Pride of Hawaii and will be redone for  20 days starting March 9, 2017. All the décor and pictures etc will be changed- Good it need it. Also the promenade walking track that was falling apart will be redone also. This was a very pleasant cruise, with the following warnings. The price of photos is out of hand. 25 of 15 bucks each- just too high. Take your own pictures. The casino should be avoided- really no winners- this was the worst I have ever experienced, in all games and machines. AVOID IT. Finally the price of basic drinks (that were short poured alcohol) and a basic beer is out of sight. With tax and tip the beer was $8.25. Drink ashore. We only got 4 hours in the beach port,due to a crappy itinerary, and a full day in Roatan is a waste- they should reverse these 2 stops. The food and shows were top notch, the cruise staff game shows were hokey. Music and bands were good, but will not take this itinerary again. Norwegian has improved over the years, excellent buffet choices and variety, but the destinations here left a lot to be desired. If you drink you must get the drink package, and 10 drinks a day break even- avoid their overpriced bars. They did not offer a single bottle of wine for less than $35, and a 4 oz glass started at , with tax and tip $12. I bet the dhip is awesome when redone, but avoid this itinerary.

I'm not a fan of cruises and here's why. Once I spend 4k on a vacation, I expect everything to be included. There were about 11 restaurants on this ship of which FOUR were included in the price! Come on guys! My first round of drinks, (a total of 3) came out to $36. Highway robbery. Our stop in Belize was not a stop in Belize, it was a stop on a island run by NCL where we spent even MORE money with NCL instead of giving the locals of the island some business. The ONLY reason I did not object to the $400 gratuity at the end was because my children, ages 3 and 8 thoroughly enjoyed the kids club. The counselors did an excellent job of caring for them and I did not want to jip them of a tip for their hard work. Also my room attendant was excellent and attentive of which I personally gave her an additional tip. We will not be cruising with Norwegian again!

interior cabins had bunk beds in each room.  there was not enough room to get out of bed when the beds were put together.  had to sleep in separate beds and the side with th bunk bed on it was in the way.  I hit my hand/arm three times.  My foot twice.  It was terrible.

housekeeping was so - so.   Would never cruise the Jade again.  We cruised the Pearl and that ship was good.

So relaxing.  No push to do it all and enjoyed the shows each evening.  Really enjoyed the food and did not see the need to go to specialty dining.  Loved the self serve ice cream.  Liked going to buffet to try so many dishes!  Never felt like it was crowded!