Norwegian Jade Cruise Reviews - Reviews

This is a very nice cruise in September.  The ship is first rate, and the destinations are all beautiful.  When it is really hot, do take advantage of the cable car trip to the top of Dubrovnik.  The restaurant up there is really nice with a terrific view.  The excursions remain very helpful.  Our guide in Athens was very informative.  The Kusadasi excursion in town ended with a demonstration of rug making that will amaze you.  Definitely take this excursion.

The ship, staff, tour guides, NCL excursions were great . The main dining rooms did not have enough variety of food (many repeat items every night) but we enjoyed the free style dining and relaxed atmosphere

All our meals were plentiful and delicious

The ship needed more staff in busy areas for bar service and the free beverage area was only in one area making it difficult to access

Overall the experience was wonderful

We had a great lifetime experience by taking both of our adult kids 2 Grandchildren and our sons girlfriend on the Greek cruise form Venice. We enjoyed each day and every port that we visited. The ship was fantastic with free style dining and activities that all ages could enjoy. 

We were in a triple room. First night bathroom wouldn't flush, the fold out bed came to my knees and my legs hung off. And it was hard as a brick. All throughout the cruise we had to call 2-4 x a day for the toilet . After the 3rd day cplaining about the bed they had an extension and a "

duvet"! Happened once. Day 4 they gave me a mattress. Guest services was a nightmare. Food was poor and redundant. Entertainment was laughable..spa was good..

Our family had a wonderful cruise!  This is the second time on the NCL Jade...what a great ship!  The ship's staff were terrific.  We are already planning our next cruise.

The cruise was great, but the excursions were too short. Although we spent considerable time at each stop, we could have seen a bit more had the tours offered by NCL be more comprehensive. For example, our day in Mykonos included a morning tour (4 hours) without the option of an afternoon tour (extra 4 hours to spend in town). Had NCL combined tours, we would have been able to see or learn a lot more. The same can be said about our visit to Santorini. NCL crew members are always great, but the Art Show was not as pleasant as we had experienced on previous cruises (Art Staff, particularly the auctioneer) were too pushy and a bit condescending. Our first visit to the Blue Garden Cafe resulted in extended wait, only one person to serve all of us, and poorly prepared food. I would do it again, but NCL needs to look into these issues.

I enjoyed our stops but wished I had been given more info on tours. Most stops other than Roma and Pisa you really can just do the hop on hop off busses or other transport. But I felt at the time it was a must too book through the ship which turned out not too be the case. The only other problems I had with the Jade was the quality of food ....it was almost non existential ! I was told they were cooking for the U.K. crowd (even in the two seat down complimentary restaurants )if this is there reasoning behind the bland over cooked food then be prepared too only eat a few items too survive. Or eat when the ship docks. This was NOT our first Norwegian cruise but our first in Europe and we would have LOVED more over all information and help instead of feeling like it was all about the money.

The ship was lovely.  The cabin was terrific -- I highly recommend upgrading to a mini suite if you can; the extra space and privacy really made our vacation.  Cabin service was wonderful and everything always spotless.  The food was strictly pedestrian. With very few menu changes.  With only a couple of exceptions, I can't say that anyone in our traveling party (6) enjoyed it at all.  And let's face it, the food is one of the pleasures of a cruise!  Service in the main dining rooms was almost always awful and terribly slow.  I believe staff overall was overworked.  Rarely were you greeted with a smile. The excursions were WAY overpriced; choose carefully.  Most weren't that good.  Headsets that didn't work properly; tour guides no one could understand.  I wish we had used an outside vendor as someone recommended.  However, some of the deadlines were tight and we know the ship won't wait for you if you're using an outside vendor so we elected not to.  We adjusted our tip at the end BIG TIME; something we don't usually do,  We left something for everyone then chose to parcel out our tip where we felt service was merited.  I would not do this tour again on Norwegian; maybe Celebrity.  I talked to some people from a Celebrity cruise that were doing the same tour and they were having so much fun.

My family and I really enjoyed this cruise.  We have not been on a cruise in 10 years and were worried that it wouldn't be family friendly initially and that we'd sepnd 7 days in cramped state room.  Instead, our balcony suite was perfect and we were pleasantly surprised that there was something for everyone.  This ship's cabins were more spacious than others I've seen.  Additionally, there were plenty of dining choices for my daughter who has a peanut allergy, I enjoyed the spa and evening entertainment, and we all liked the liveliness of the ship.  As for the ports and itinerary, I highly recommend that you book the shore excursions instead of trying to wing it on your own so that you can really see and enjoy each of the destinations.  I wish that Norwegian would add Athens to their itinerary without removing any of the other destinations.   Venice, Olympia, Santorini, Mykenos, and Corfu were each beautiful in a different way.  We will definitely take another cruise.

Background: This was my 4th cruise, first time with NCL. It was my second time on a Mediterranean cruise and my third time to Greece. For my fiance, this was his first cruise ever & first time to Greece.

I personally liked NCL a lot. I loved the open dining plan and also felt they had a lot of great on-board activities. I enjoyed: Zumba, abs class, salsa dance class, and the Elements dance show. We also had a free dinner in the La Cucina Italian specialty restaurant and enjoyed this. We payed for the Jasmine Garden Asian restaurant but didn't love it--my food was way too spicy, even though I asked for otherwise.

Things I disliked were that many on-board things still have an extra charge, such as yoga. We are already paying a lot to go on the cruise! I also had a hard time with the food. I eat a primarily vegan diet and had a hard time finding things. Pretty much every veg option is smothered in cheese or cream sauce. The menu is not very explanatory either... expect to find random items not described on the menu in the dish.

For the ports, I love Greece! As I said, this was my third visit, and I still think it's one of the most gorgeous countries I've seen. My fiance loved it as well! We did the excursion in Olympia and thought our guide was great. At the other ports we just did our own thing & had a wonderful time.

If I did another European cruise though, I would go in May like I did the first time I went. It was just way too hot & we just couldn't escape the sun or sunburn. I would advise others to do the same!

Our last cruise was 16 years ago so I  don't really have anything to compare this cruise to.  We thoroughly enjoyed the cruise, the ship and the activities and all the ports of call(maybe not so much Olympia). The ship was very clean and the staff was exceptional. We had a balcony room which I would highly recommend.  The stateroom was plenty big with enough storage for the 2 of us.  We did not eat in any of the specialty restaurants as we figured we could do that at home and we had already paid for food.  I would not recommend the buffet for dinner because it was not very good.  Breakfast and lunch were ok at the buffet but sometimes just so crowded.  We ate dinner every night at Alizar since you didn't have to dress up like you did for The Grand Pacific. The menu was basically the same except for the steak choice was different.  We both thought the food and service in Alizar were excellent.  The only excursion we purchased from the ship was the guided tour to Delos from Mykonos. We enjoyed that because we liked hearing about the history.  You can do it on your own for much cheaper but if you don't have a tour guide with you you are just looking at a bunch of rocks. I do wish we would have purchased the excursion to go to Oia in Santorini. The ship stops there at 1:30 and you have to tendor into shore.  If you purchased an excursion you get off first and that particular tour takes you to the other side of the island where you take the bus to the top.  Otherwise you tendor into shore and take the steps, ride the do keys or ride the cable car to the top.  Line was very long for the cable car so we purchased tickets at 25 euros to take us to the other side and rode the bus to the top  and over to Oia.  (Scarey ride to top). Once you reach Oia it is the most beautiful, picturesque place ever (white buildings with the blue domes like you see on the postcards) with the most spectacular view I've ever seen.  Sit at one of the cafes, have a beer or lunch and just take it all in. You will love it!

Overall, I would highly recommend this cruise. 

Everyone ate at seperate tables so there was not much of a chance to make new friends  The dinners in the included restaurants were not as great as the meals of past cruises.  For those great meals, you had to go to the pay restaurants. There was a $20 transaction fee each time to exchange dollars for euros  and the exchange rate was far above the actual exchange rate. Comparing  Norwegian to Princess, Royal Carribean or Celebrety, Norwegan comes in fourth. We were celebrating our 48th wedding anniversary and according to the tickets, we were supposed to get an anniversay cake which never materialized.  It just wasn't the Norwegian Cruise that we have had in the past. The itenerery was good as far as the ports were concerned but the tours were overpriced. We did our own thing at each stop and had a great time.

This was a wonderful cruise which allowed us to visit Corfu, Santorini, Mykonos, and Katalon. At every port we were greeted by the NCL crew and at the end of the day they were there also to welcome us back. There were plenty of acrtivities on board as well as well thoughtout excursions.

Very nice, no complaints. A bit crowded around the pool and jaccuzzi so I was not able to use any of it. 

People were very nice and helpful. Pillows in cabin not so great

The cruise itinerary was phenomenal.  The ship itself was very well maintained, clean, etc.  The food was so-so.  This is our first time with free-style and it will be our last.  The food in the restaurants was much better but I don't think we should have to pay for it.  Charges have a way of adding up quickly.  The main dining room only rotated one thing on the menu, so  it as kind of boring.  The excursion prices seemed expensive and we were shocked that we had to pay 22% tax in the shops. 

The evening shows were very good as were the parties in the Spinnaker club.  Staff was very friendly.  Joan, our washy, washy, happy, happy girl, was fantastic.  We didn't see much of our cabin steward. 

The Norwegian Jade was apparently designed for cruises to Hawaii. The crazed multi-colored decor looks llike it was designed by a drunken person who doesn't have much of a grip on reality and is stuck in the '70s. If we were wearing leisure suits, it woul dhave been fine. Our stateroom alone had wave-patterened multicolored blue carpet, one purple panel and the rest orange and green. The rest of the ship equally lacked tatse, including the massive glass flower design over the atruium that made me worry it would fall on my head. Most of the carpets I would call drunk carpets, meaning that isf someone up=chucked on them, no one wouild notice.

The food was lackluster, even in the specialty restaurants, (with the exception of Moderna, which was excellent). The menu was the same every night in the main dining room, with a couple of specials.  Steaks were overcooked and I actually rejected the "pork loin" one wngith which was one of those processed rolls. I've never done that before. Actually the greate4st variety was in the Garden Cafe, the buffet, including nightly Indian offerings. Alas, the buffet had absolutely no atmosphere.

Then there was the entertainment or lack thereof: The first night's teaser left us scrambling for the exit. The only bright spot was Elements, the dance, acrobatic act which was excellent. We walked out on the "American Idol" night, which was downright embarrasingly poor. I've heard better singins at high school musicals. Another bright spot was the guitarist who played several evenings in the Atrium bar.

Oh, and the pool: This is a ship that ccarries 2,400 passengers. There is one adult pool that is not much bigger than your average residential pool. This is totally inadequate. I can only guess they used the extra space for more specialty restaurants where they can make more money.

That's pretty much the bad stuff.

Here's the good stuff: The ship was exceptionally clean, staff attentive and service was far above average. The poor folks who were required to do the annoying "Happy Happy Wasshee Washee" hand sanitizing gig did so with good humor to the point where I felt real affection for them by the end of the cruise.

We've traveled on Holland America, where the food was far better, but the clientel much older. That;'s why we chose Norwegiian, thinking we'd get a little more stimulation. I dont' think we'll sign on for another cruise with Norwegiian.

We have wonderful service on the Jade.  The cruise staff was exceptional.  The entertainment was top notch!  Would  definately cruise with Norweigan and on this boat again!

I was very impressed! This was the best cruiseline I've ever been on. Great quality of food, plenty of options, the shows were really great...I loved all of it. Definitely considering booking our next cruise with them.

We had cruised Norweign before and were not happy to repeat the experience however we had no choice as they had the dates and times that worked with our schedule.

From the moment we boarded the Jade and found our Mini-Suite NOTHING went wrong !!Our cabin was perfect, the cruise itinery was great, the staff were helpful,friendly and always wanted to go that extra mile and the food was beyond expectation. During our 7 days on board we could find NOTHING to complain about which was the complete opposite to our previous experience with this Cruise Line.

So pleased we decided to try Norweign again - we will definately sail with them in the future.

We took a 7-day cruise to the Greek Isles on the Norwegian Jade in May of 2014.  The ship and our stateroom were both clean, though we didn't spend much time in our room.  We got the thermal suite package for the spa and spent time there every day.  We loved sitting in the heated chairs and taking in the fabulous view.

We opted for the Ultimate Dining Package and were glad that we did.  The food at the buffet was so-so, but the specialty restaurants provided a much better experience.  We particularly enjoyed several dinners at Cagney's (the steakhouse).  We found the Freestyle Dining that Norwegian offers to be great - we liked having the flexibility to eat when we wanted, where we wanted.

While we didn't attend all of the nightly shows (sometimes we were tired from our shore excursions!), we did see several and all were very good.  We would consider them a step above the shows that we saw on past Disney cruises, as they were targeted for more of an adult audience.

We thoroughly enjoyed Corfu, Santorini, and Mykonos.  We could have completely skipped Katakolon and didn't feel like we would have missed anything.  In Corfu we took a 4x4 excursion, which was a great opportunity to see more of the island.  We saw several small towns and saw some great views.  Santorini was fantastic!  We hiked the volcano and enjoyed the narrative that our guide provided.  This excursion is not for those who are out of shape (and for heaven's sake - don't wear flip flops), but was well worth the hike to get some wonderful views of the caldera.  We thoroughly enjoyed riding the donkeys up to Fira town - we couldn't stop laughing, we were having so much fun.  We enjoyed walking through the streets and a bit of shopping.  We stayed until the sun set, and got some great pics.  We weren't able to make it to Oia due to time constraints, but maybe next time ;-) .  We enjoyed the shops in Mykonos best.  We thought the prices there were better than Santorini.  It was a cute place, though the streets are definitely confusing.  We saw many things a couple of times as were were wandering around - but that's part of the fun, right?

We had only cruised on Disney previously, but would definitely consider another Norwegian cruise in the future.