Norwegian Jade Cruise Reviews - Reviews

Our room steward was great! But the rest of the staff was clearly inexperienced. If the cruise line is going to staff with newbies it should have 1 on1 mentoring! Disappointed in how poor the main dining area staff performed. Required repeating order request and very slow!

The Norwegian Jade is a very nice ship and this itinerary is hard to beat.  Cozumel, Belize and Roatan are great places to visit.  We were very happy with the ship.  The staff were very pleasant and the room attendants were great.  We only ate in the complimentary dining venues so I can't speak for the specialty restaurants but we were very happy with the food.  The selections were good and the quality of the food was good with a couple of exceptions: 1) The sirloin steaks that are on the menu at every dinner were tough and three out of four were over-cooked, even when one was sent back the cook still over-cooked the next steak by a full degree (I'm sure that they are way better at Cagney's Steakhouse, they better be or there would be a mutiny on the bounty). 2) The chocolate butterscotch brownies were dry and a real disappointment.  The wait staff service ranged from VERY slow and non-attentive to VERY good.  If you want a really good waitress ask for Rosalie from the Philippines.  She was great and so we asked for her section after we found her.  The ship was three hours late departing Houston due to time required to fuel up; therefore, we were late arriving in Cozumel which resulted in us missing our scuba diving trip.  That was a real downer.  We went out on a snorkel boat but the so-called reef (Sky reef) was really lame and disappointing.  Belize is a shallow port requiring tendering to shore.  This process was painful.  I found out why they call it Norwegian Cruise LINES.  The LINES are seemingly endless.  It took 1 1/2 hours to get to shore and that was with getting up and standing in line for tender tickets an hour before they were to start giving out tickets.  As luck would have it, all of the piers were full when we got to Roatan and we got to tender to shore again.  Another 1 1/2 hour standing in line and riding a tender boat full of people.  The late arrivals to all three ports was a huge disappointment on this cruise and is the reason that the cruise did not rank higher. The entertainment was good.  The comedian was OK, not great but he was entertaining.  The acrobats and magician were truly amazing.  I didn't really care for the dancers but most dancers don't interest me so don't judge them on my account.  Nathaniel Reed was amazing on the piano at night.  If you get a chance to see this guy he is awesome!  Disembarking at Houston was the last of the painful experiences.  Another huge Norwegian Cruise LINE!  It wouldn't have mattered when you chose to leave the ship you were going to have to stand in line for another 1 1/2 hours to get through customs.  The exception to this is if you are a Latitudes Platinum member in which case you get expedited in the short line, probably about a 20 - 30 minute wait.  

Already did this once... Bar tenders did not even know what drink of the day was or what to charge. Charged wrong amount then lied about why he charged more "its the the system and it will be corrected at end of cruise" it was BS, an officer came to room and confirmed he was BS ing. Got a bottle of wine and some cheese, nice gesture but not enough. Almost everyone except Steward and two bar tenders had bad attitudes like they were pissed they had to be there. Very under staffed and under trained. Wont do NCL again will stick with Carnival or others from now on. We cruise at least twice a year. We had 13 people in our group no one was happy. Talked to others and same thing wont come back. We told newbies not to judge by this cruise.

Enjoyed our cruise on the Jade not the best Norwegian cruise we have been on. They were very late leaving some of the ports. Buffet dining options were short on many items on the bar. We would have to wait for them to be refilled. They did not include several items that have previously been offered. The food was good. They didn't seem to have enough help. 

Over all it was still a good cruise.

I have cruised for a number of years and been on quite a few different lines and NCL several times.  I sailed on the sister ship to the Jade in January 2015.  The ship, the food, and the service was excellent.  We decided to book the Jade on the November 14th sailing out of Houston.  The ship was almost identical to the Jewel.  We realized very quickly that it wasn't the Jewel.  The wait staff was poor at best for the first 4 days.  Normally on a cruise they are waiting on you hand and foot and you very seldom have to go to the bar to get your drink and when you do they are very prompt, at getting the drink.  On the Jade they had very few servers in the various bars and long lines at every bar.  We ate on the pool deck for lunch one afternoon no service and every table in the pool areal was dirty and not bussed.

The crew knew that the service was not adequate and at the meet the officers event their were so many complaints about the service we expected some kind of apology.  Instead what we received was baffling the ship had just came back from Europe and this was its first trip in the Caribbean and they said that I guess the Texans drank so much they couldn't keep up.

Their were some bright spots the food was quite good and the steak I had at Cagney's was excellent as well as the service at both Cagney's and the main dining rooms.  The cabin steward was ok but not quite good.

We were late arriving at every port on the cruise and we had to tender at both Belize (always tender), and Roatan, but in Roatan we used the life boats to tender.  I think the drivers of the life boats had very little or no experience driving the tenders.  They lowered the life boats and gave the drivers a few minutes to practice and then started to taking passengers ashore.  Their inexperience showed and everyone was talking about that evening,  In fact when we were tendering back to the ship, our driver actually ran into the ship hard enough that one passenger was injured.  Overall I think giving them a 3 star is a little high if they had a star for "fair" I would have given them that. 

Horrible cruise!! Started in Houston with bad customer service on check in. One of the managers stopped to help the first day rookie check us in and advised my roommate had an expired passport. Then laughed and shrugged off without apology when we all was clearly upset. Took three hours to get on the boat. Our rooms where not ready. Had to ask customer service twice to separate the beds in both two passenger rooms. Went and tried get a drink and it took an hour at two bars. When we made it to the front we found the beer was warm and just arrived. We left late from Houston due to issues. Service was not present through the complete trip. Dinning halls where packed and we normally ate before any drinks (7UP) arrived. Cozemel port was late and thus we had an extra hour. Getting on and off was a chore. Second port, we totally missed our shore excursion due to tender issues. Spent the day in Belize with Five other boats making it packed hot and nasty. Getting back aboard was a chore again. Nightly entertainment was bad. The comedian was soo bad we walked out during the show. Kareoke was limited and the songs where old. When it was out turn they closed it to have the band up that was just on stage before. The room cleared out only a few remained after the packed room from karaoke. We did ask the cruise Director and he advised they shortened Kareoke due to reports from the Jewel. I rode the jewel, and that was the most effective gathering every day for the boat! Honduras took three hours to get off the boat. Tinder was a mess!! Did get our shore excursion however it took two hours to get back on the boat. My mother was in hell due to the heat and sun. Again that night the shows and service was very poor! First day back at sea we found out poeple had died, one was bit by a viper, and someone was robbed and shot. Our boat moved to Cancun where people were evacuated off the boat. No information was given from the crew or staff on what was going on. Heard from one bar that the service staff was all new to boat and some had missed or could not board from Houston. Last day at sea was a cleanup so we could get off the boat asap.

I will be asking for someone to contact myself on this subject before any additional cruises are ever booked with NCL. I had six family members attend this cruise with me due to my past cruise in February on the NCL Jewel which was amazing. The Jade was duplicate ship so clearly it was not prepared and or staffed correctly thus creating the single worst vacation my family and I have had to date. Just to be clear I feel my full family is owed a full refund and or a full seven day cruise on a boat of our choice. Being back on the Jade is not an option. This would be due to each member of my family taking vacation from work, and spending hard working money for a less then sub par experience.

I Have been on 16 cruises and this near the top.The Staff is the spa  was outstanding. The Spa manager is great and make thing right if its not.

I can sat anything but the best. The Cruise Director and his staff was great. Val in the Rest. is a true woman  to seat you.

Alex in The bad place to drop your money is well  Can i say Awesome also.

My cruise was a 9 ot of 10. I have friends and now  a bigger family because of the network and love care i got in a week.

I love you all and will see some some soon but close to my heart and will forever live there.

Let me just say a few Jessica,alex  in the spa alex in cusino  shanaya,eleni, val and many many more. Thanks for the best  friends and  and family a man can have, Love you all. and miss you

Can I thank the Captain and the whole crew top to bottom.

A smile and  kindness goes for miles

This cruise line just doesn't measure up to others such as Royal Caribbean or Celebrity.  Food is OK not great,  at the buffet drink dispensers not kept full always having to wait for coffee to brew or drink machines to be refilled.  Long wait for cooked to order eggs.  Evening entertainment adequate some very good some not so much.  Not much in the way of educational seminars and other interesting topics.  Biggest plus is the price.

Onboard WiFi very pricey

A great trip for the price.  Check in at the port in Barcelona was very fast.  The weather during the 16 day crossing was smooth except for a couple days before Madeira where we had 12 foot waves.  The weather in Barcelona was around 70 degrees and it only got warmer crossing the Atlantic. There was custom delays in St Thomas as those who were not American citizens had up to 3 hours wait in line to get their passport stamped.  This was done on board and  there were no announcements to NOT come up to the Spinnaker Lounge until the line shortened.  For those getting off in Miami there was a couple hours delay for those wanting to just go down town etc to be allowed off.  In Houston, we ere off the ship in 5 minutes, we took the charter bus to Bush Intercontentinal  which cost $50 each.  There is no cheap way to get from Bayport to the airport.  The main thing we saw on the ship was a shortage of Bus Staff in the restaurants.   Waiters were busy and tables sat for a long time before they were cleaned off.  The entertainment was super as Norwegian had a variety of acts.  We are taking the return cruise in April 2015.

If only all the employees could learn to smile and be helpful it would have received a higher rating. Perhaps they will learn from their new sibling, Oceania, where all personnel know customer service. Many employees were wonderful but too many were not for a business dependent upon customer satisfaction. Many cruise lines to choose from should be stressed to all of the managers who should be evaluated based upon their subordinates. The signature restaurants were the slowest service at sea. We passed on dessert often to make the shows. All reservations were all at 7 pm and the shows at 9 pm.

On the ABSOLUTELY WONDERFUL AND HELPFUL LIST  are Bruno Dentone, concierge, Charlie Cuevas, our butler, Wayan,our room steward and Antonella Cassata at guest services. All took care of any little issues we had. Please extend our thanks to them.

The ship was immaculate at all times, the room well appointed and the bed very comfortable.  We had all our meals in the Garden Cafe and everything, without exception, was excellent.  It got a bit crowded during lunch, but we were always able to find a table.  The open-air stern dining area outside the Garden Cafe was pleasant.  Plenty of choices for this fish-eating otherwise vegetarian, and the veggie burger was delicious.  Breads and desserts were also excellent.  We're low-key travelers, not joiners, so we did not partake in the many activities offered.  The entertainment was excellent, although some of the performances were extremely loud and I had to use earplugs to enjoy them.  Other entertainers in the bars & atrium were also excellent, especially Twice as Nice and the guitar playing singers.  The check-in at Barcelona took over an hour - they needed more people at the counters.  Lots of grumbling from the mostly over-60 crowd.  We were lucky to have excellent weather and the Atlantic crossing was very smooth.  Justin, our room steward, did an excellent job.  We took our own luggage off at disembarkation and were outside at the taxi stand in about 10 minutes.  No crowds.  Overall an extremely positive experience.  

16 night of fun and relaxing!

Peoples are friendly, all different country and all different language. It was interesting to see all type of peoples.

Love Free style dinner even my friend and me took dresses but never did have to wear! Food was excellent and a lot to chose from.

What we paid was awesome and definitely I  will go back again. Especially I love from Barcelona to US. This way time change which occur 4 times is gain instead loss. I was getting up one hour early every morning. That was awesome!

while overall an enjoyable cruise, i had issues with 2 things...food in the buffet area was usually lukewarm, and having to clear US Immigration and Customs in St Thomas (being the first US port of entry) was disastrous, as the island is ill-prepared to handle a shipload of over 2000 passengers/crew..it took well in excess of two hours standing in line to be processed. Norwegian need to rethink this.

Got food poisoning 10/28 in Barcelona. Symptoms happened 4:15pm in stateroom, went to Medical, given shot, voluntarily stayed in room, bland diet delivered, just treated for symptoms, not food poisoning. Nov 1 suitcases were packed by crew and I was taken to a Clinic in Funchal Madeira,  xrays, treated with respect, diagnosed,  given antibiotic and clearance to travel. Ship doctor disagreed with clinic doctor, and coerced me into leaving ship as a71 year old female traveling alone in Funchal.   Fortunately had trip insurance.  However, missed my planned vacation and put into financial strain to pay for hotel stay, medical visit,etc.  Always felt safe with NCL traveling alone, not anymore.  The nurse and one dr. were great, but Head Medical Dr. was incorrigible.   

We had very nice cruise vacation with Norwegian Jade. We have done over 50

cruises but this 1st time on Norwegian cruise line. Service was excellent and staff members were polite and nice. Our ports of call were interesting Venice, Malta, Mallorca and ending in Barcelona. As  the crown and anchor member and cruising most of the times on Royal Caribbean we compared the our ship all the time to for example to Oasis of the Seas were we went last transatlantic from England to Miami. On Norwegian Jade we missed open promenade with shops and spacious corridor but on Jade we admired the interior design and thought that it was more classy than Royal Caribbean. Absolutelly loved the various restaurants and had good old charm like feeling of great steamships.Our cabin was mini-suite with balcony and we were VERY pleased with it. We also bought a SPA pass to sauna, jacuzzis, heated chairs and relaxation SPA and we think that it was the most well spent 100usd/per person during the cruise. it was 6stars to relax there. Unfortunately we had to go back to Finland we would have wanted to go along the NCL JADE across Atlantic to Houston. It is almost impossible to say which one of the cruiseline is better Royal Caribbean or NCL both have so much to offer. We love them both and LOVE CRUISES ONLY THEY ARE THE BEST OF THE BEST!!!! see you again on another cruise in January! Martti & ANU

Everyone onboard the ship are wonderful people. They are always willing to help you any way they can. I have been on the Star and they also were just as friendly.  When I cruise again, I will be going on with the Norwegian Cruise Lines.

Room Steward & remainder of staff warrant a 5 star rating, but food & dining experiences were only average on this cruise.   Didn't care for the overall selections in the dining rooms and the food in the Garden Café was often cold & dried out.    Entertainment provided was also only fair. 

We were on back to back cruises on the Norwegian Jade. The ship itself was an average ship compared to others we have been on. The itinerary was the main reason we took this particular cruise. On this cruise, the second week of 2, there was a fair number of new staff that embarked and this was for the good. The cruise on the first week, the staff was anything but exemplary. Most looked tired of working and were not very friendly. This cruise was much better especially for the bartenders. The other issue was the ship, especially the bar, were short of staff. This caused long waits at time for drinks. One bartender in a busy bar is not enough. 

Thank you for offering such carefree and leisure free time. The staff has been extraordinary friendley and helpful again. Organisation of on and off board is perfectly managed. Food was delicious and the choice of ports was very interesting. This is is the only concern however. The small islands like Santorini or Mykonos seem to small for harboring more than one cruise ship at a time. Anyway, we are a part of the problem ourselves- understandable everyone loves cruising.

This was the first week of back to back cruises. The staff on this cruise was less than enthusiastic. the bars were under staffed and most bartenders could have been friendlier. They spent more time meaning the liquor in drinks than smiling. the itinerary was great especially the stop in Kusadisi - Ephesus. Amazing place, friendly people, great tour from an outside tour group.