Norwegian Jade Cruise Reviews - Reviews

It was a truly wonderful experience - I was impressed most by Corfu and Katakalon (Olympia) and very disappointed with Santorini, it was not what we had seen in teh pictures, but an experience none the less.

Staff were wonderful an accomodating - the cruise director has a personality to match the ship, and a sense of humour to go along with it... who said Canadians had stiff upper lip type personalities? :)

I only encountered 1 unpleasant experience in the Spa and that put us off a bit, as I expected much better. There was one redeeming factor why we kept going back and her name is Sophie Gill, she is one of the staff in Mandera Spa, and she was the reason why my daughter and I returned. I found it a bit pricey, but it was a cruise so you pay for convenience. If you watch the nightly cruise news delivered to your room, there are some very good daily specials that are available at the spa.

The other shocker - 6 bottles of 1 liter water - $25.00 USD, and soft drinks (soda only) was $ 55.00 USD for the week, but no once consumes that much soft drinks.

A word to travelers from the North America - DO NOT OVER PACK - and no need to bring your best clothes - this is a very casual laid back ship and there were two events that required a bit less casual dressing.

Otherwise a wonderful experience.

I was very excited about the Greek Isles for many years and was also very interested on how the NCL Jade would be compared to the Dawn which we sailed on a couple of years back.  The Jade was a very different ship then I am use to.  There was the lack of a grand atrium lobby which was quite odd at this day and age.  It was really a no frills kind of ship.  The main Pacific dining room was very well staffed and the food was quite good on most nights.  The second main dining room was not so upscale and lacked in service as well as presentation of food.  The buffets were average and served basically the same offerings daily.  The specialty restaurants we not crowded but it seems crazy that there are so many of them to choose from.  I believe that the Cruise industry is really pushing to the specialty dining venues and in some cases the meals included in your cruise suffers.  If that is the case then why not just go all in and add the specialty meals to the price and forget the main dining rooms.  The specialty dinning venues on most ships are taking up a ton of space as it is.  The Staff on the Jade was very good and there were no complaints in that area.  Our room was a Mid Shp Mini Suite and I highly recommend the mini suite as opposed to a basic balcony.  My wife and I both bought the thermal spa package for $199 per couple and used the spa quite often and never found it overcrowded as they only sell 40 packages.  The Gym was perfect to help fend off the unwanted extra cruise pounds and the staff was quite helpful.   The staff in the spa was also very pleasant although the massage packages we purchaced were only about average for the price.    Embarkation and debarkation were as painless as could be and went very smoothly.  Now for the Greek Isles.  Strange but true, our favorite Island was Corfu... Yes Corfu !  We did not and seldom book tours and rather venture out on our own.  This worked perfect on Corfu.  We exited the ship and wandered down the main street until we came upon a very large fortress wall that of course we said, " I wonder if we can sneak in there ?"  we walked around the outer wall and followed a small street and staircase up to a chain link fence.  To the left was a tunnel, we heard voices in the tunnel and then saw people from the island exit almost like they used it as a short cut to this side of the island.  Of course we had to know so we walked through the long semi dark tunnel.  To our surprise we did exit on the other side of the island and smack in the middle of an open air produce and fish market.  We walked through the market and viewed the sights and smells !  Our journey dropped us then in the new city or should I say the modern city.  We walked around a bit and found it was quite a lagre area, we shopped, had coffee and walked some more.  We then decieded as we neared the open market once again that we should venture back to the port side of the island.  Once again we walked through the tunnel.  After exiting the tunnel we decieded to walk through the open gates of a lower courtyard of the fortress.  There was another tunnel there as well.  And of course we just had to enter.  Once again we were surprised to find that this tunnel gave us complete entry to the fortress and we were able to gain access to the whole compound inside and out.  It was awesome and not very crowded.. I think only about 6 other couples had found it !  We had views of the entire island and just soaked it all in.  OK enought about Corfu, Now onto the biggest Island in Hyped up history..Santorini.  I have waited years to see this island.. and after the Kardashians went there and Chloe said she saw this island and could now die peacefully because of its beauty.. I just had to go..

(Mind you I don't always watch the Kardashians nor do I value thier opinions)  Well I have to tell you, yes it was beautiful from the sea and yes I was impressed with the beauty.. Can I die now ?  No way..

Once up on top of Fira after a quick Cable Car ride I intantly found out that we were in the biggest tourist trap ever... Not to mention it was rather cool for mid May and the Island itself was so high we were in the clouds most of the day.  Thank god I didn't go to Oia, it was even higher up and looked like a rain forest !!!  The view from Fira was nice but not always available depending on which narrow street (walkway) you were on.  The shops were expensive in comparison to Corfu for the same products.  I would suggest that if you want to visit Santorini, you do so on a cruise... I put it simply to my wife.. As a young boy I always wanted to visit the Alamo.. One year my dad had business in Texas and asked if I wanted to go with him and visit the Alamo.  I said yes and off we went.. As you may recall, the pictures in History books show a huge building with giant walls and sprawling landscape etc.. Yeah, leave it to history books to screw that up too.  We arrived at the Alamo to find that I could actually step over the little walls surrounding the small building that I waited so long to visit.  "That is what Santorini was in my eyes, all hype but then again beautiful."  Now off to Mykonos... Much like Santorini in beauty but more of a relaxed island that was not so pushy on the tourists.  I was very impressed with Mykonos for the shops and friendliness of its people.  The final island of our cruise was Olympia.. The home of the very first Olympic games !! This was nice to see from the temple of Zeus and the ruins to the very tiny olympic stadium that you could venture out on.. The stadium brough that Alamo comparison back to me but I had to take into context of where we were, who was at those games and the events they probably competed in.  I was impressed with the islands history and its archeological sites.. I would highly recommend a visit to Olympias ruins.  Other than that the island had a main tourist shopping area located near the pier and it was filled with knock off goods from purses to Beats head phones as well as many other items.. I had fun there, I love a deal and I love to barter!  The island as a whole was rather dirty with trash piled up everywhere but in all fairness we heard that the trash men were on strike.. But who knows maybe thats what they always tell people.  All in all the cruise was definitely worth the price.. Venice was nice to see as well but if you don't get lost and go off the beaten path.. it is just tourits and people trying to sell you anything and everything from Fake purses to Roses... "Get lost and have fun in Venice !"  Just as a side note we then went by train to Florence and Rome and I will tell you, both of those cities were unbelievable.. Even though Rome had its share of the pushy salesman and the streets were loaded with Tourists.. We loved it !!  And our Hotel (Colesseo #9) and our host Melina were the best part of our trip.. We had a room directly across from the Colosseum with a lagre open window.. Not even Julius Caesar had a view like this !    One last point if you are in Venice and you are staying near the airport.. Bus #5 is 1.3 euro to the last stop in Venice smack in the middle of the city.. We were able to take 3 bags on the bus without any problem and its a 20 minute ride from the Best Western Titan INN to the center of Venice.. A cab or shuttle will run you 40 Euro.. "Take the bus and enjoy the sites and people of Venice !"   Hope this helps with anything you may want to know.. Have a great time wherever you go and whatever you do because it sure beats working !!!!

I am now a loyal customer of Norwegian because of the wonderful experience I had on the Jade. The ship was one of the older ships but not at all tacky. Totally a fun ship with a great staff. I have been on a cruise before with RC and was treated like I didn't pay to be onboard. I don't know what it is but my age, sometimes employees treat me like crap. But on Norwegian, everyone treated me right, the way I wanted to be treated after spending that kind of money on a cruise. My room steward was super cool and thoughtful, even though he had so many other rooms to tend to, he made me feel special, and that is hard to do. I had an aft facing balcony, it was worth the price. I have read so many people complain about things on cruises and they sound so petty. Really? You have a good time if you are a fun person or you go into it having fun. I hear people complain about coffee costing 5 cents in certain rooms or that there are cover charges for specialty dining and what not. They should look at the cost of the cruise and add on those extra things before they make a decision on a cruise. You can't please people who are going to be unhappy either way, their lives are just unhappy. But for people who want to have a good time and let themselves go, they will enjoy it and make it fun. 

The food in the main dining was good, and the food in the specialty dining was AWESOME. So splurge a little, you are still saving by not cruising with crazy priced cruises only for the super rich. Norwegian does it well, for those who aren't snobby and for those who don't always find something to complain about. 

I will cruise Norwegian again, in fact, as soon as I got home I booked my next one and I am not super rich, but splurged. Let's see if they are consistent. :) 

Pluses

There's plenty to do on this cruise, the ports come fast and furious...there's a lot of walking involved

The suites are roomy, services great, pampered feel

Plenty of restaurants to chiose from, social and fun

Cons

The spa is doesn't make you feel good, it makes you feel used and fleeced avoid it

The suites complementary party is terrible, an opportunity for selling pics, unfriendly crew, no mingeling,  stingy captain, poor drink and food service. Other ships far superior.

Very, very poorly trained staff, worst for any ship I've been on for dietary concerns. I'm gluten free and buffet could not be used. Staff don't understand the word gluten except in specialty rooms, ALL staff don't understand you and hand you off up to 6 times, extremely annoying. Who ever trains the staff needs to do a huge amount of work here. I was restricted except for specialty restaurants. So, there is plenty of food, but I couldn't eat it from lack of information. Other ships are not like this.

Our 10-day Mediterranean cruise was a wonderful trip.  The sites visited, Olympia, Ephesus, Athens and the Acropolis, Istanbul, Pompeii and the Amalfi coast were interesting places of history, and we were able to spend time in Rome before the ship sailed too.  Some of our land tours were secured through NCL, but not all.  Except for having tour guides who used headsets and radios while walking the sites, there wasn't much difference.  Personally, Ephesus is the site most memorable, and shouldn't be missed if you're planning this cruise and need to be selective.  With some research and independence, you can probably see everything in Istanbul without a guide, because there are many modes of transportation to get your around.  We paid extra for a penthouse cabin, and the extra amenities that came with that were totally worth it, expecially being able to have breakfast and lunch at Cagney's every day.      

I would rate the Food a c-.  It was always load in the dinning room. The table was always set different, short always on something (salt and pepper, silverware or glasses ect).  Food was always the same thing and with no taste. We sat with other couples every night and they also agree with us.  We drank water and had to ask for it all the time.  In the bars we also drank water and it was hard to get someone to wait on us.  Food in the buffett was the same all the time.  Chocolate night was a big let down.  Norwegian Jade needs to hire someone new with new ideas.  I can do better at home.

Acitivities at night NOT.  Nothing to do.  Shows were BAD in the Stardust all but the one couple the one night.  Other guests we met also agree with us on the shows. Bingo game you would have more people playing with it didn't cost so much.  The singing contest, the guy from Russia should not have won.  He is on all the cruises and wins.  He sings all over.  His  personality is all wrong and a plain in

the butt the whole cruise.   His family and friends talked the whole time the others were singing.

The Jade is out dated.  Nothing to dress up for.  White night music was fun and people of all ages were dancing until the raper guy got in and did his music.  Then the dance floor changed with only young high schoolers.  What were you thinking when you invited them on a cruise of older people.

We are 55, right in the middle of the old people and the young people.  We don't want rap and we don't want slow music for the 80 year olds.

No we will not go on another Norwegian Cruise,  we like the Princess Cruise Line.  I guess we will continue to cruise with them.

Our stateroom was fine and always cleaned.

We stayed in Rome the night before our cruise and took train from Termini station to Civitavecchia port where we met the Norwegian Jade. The train cost is about 6 euros.  The ship was large but was easy to get around and to locate different places of interest. We signed up and took a shore excursion thru the ship at most ports. The stop in Livorno,Italy- we took the tour to Florence & Pisa that included a meal. This was fun and it was a four course meal.  Next stop was in Monte Carlo,Monaco and took tour to see Nice,Eze and Monte Carlo. Very good tour and the cities were clean and everything expensive. People watching in Monte Carlo is the thing to do at the sidewalk cafes. Next stop was in Toulon, France and we just walked the city, no tour taken. Next port was in Barcelona, Spain and took the Barcelona and Montserral tour. This tour was very good and worth the money. Next port was Valencia, Spain and took the Sagunto and StJoseph caves. This was an ok tour but not enough time to explore.  Next port was to  Palma de Majorca,Spain. Didn't take a tour and just walked the city on our own. Walked up the aprox. 500 steps to the Belliver Castle which has a great view of the city. Only walk if your health is good. Next port was at Cagliari, Italy. Took the Nora-A walk thru Ancient Times. You will see some  old Roman remains which are very interesting. Also on the drive, you will see some pink flamingos.  Next stop was in Palermo,Sicily Italy. Took the Agrigento Temple Valley tour. Tour drive takes about 2 1/2 hrs. You will see Greek temples and ruins built 510BC. These were very impressive.  Next stop was at Naples, Italy.  Took the Amalfi Coast and Pompeii tour.  The Amalfi coast was amazing. The bus driver earns his pay on driving this coast road. The view is breathtaking.  The stop in Pompeii is outstanding but lots of people. Wish we had more time in Pompeii.  The port stops made on this cruise were excellent.  Enjoyed this cruise. Food was pretty good. We only ate at the places that were included with the cost of the trip.  You can upgrade your food choose at an additional cost.  We also stayed on deck 10 in an inside cabin which was ok with us as we were not in the cabin unless we were sleeping. The only thing a didn't like was that they didnt have self service laundry.  They have a special, which cost about $25.00 for a bag full of laundry. That's not very special to me.Otherwise,I would recommend this cruise. Happy sailing.

Good service, comfortable rooms, good entertainment. Love all the ports! Food in the dining room and Garden Cafe need more varieties, and services need improvemenf. Food in the Le Bistro is excellent! Ove it was an excellent vacation .

This was our second NCL cruise, our last being a 7 night Carribean voyage. While we enjoyed most of the stops, some for the onboard stuff was less than we expected...our room was awesome, and the staff was great, but the food definitely left something to be desired. Our last cruise the food was fantastic- every dish was phenomenal. This time, we often walked away just saying "meh." This was certainly a disappointment, especially since this cruise had a significantly higher price tag. We were also not as impressed by the on board activities- this could perhaps be to cater to a different crowd from the Carribean cruise, but I still feel like there could have been more fun onboard activities. The cruise staff that ran the events, however, were fabulous.

Overall, we had a lot of fun but were expecting more.

Very crowded and noisy cruise.  Room was fine, as was cabin steward. Dining was always crowded and prolonged in the dining room - sometimes taking 2 hours for dinner! Food not varied enough and essentially the same in both dining rooms.  Ran out of orange juice and bananas for the last 3 days! Service was spotty in the dining rooms, sometimes excellent, sometimes poor. Entertainment was ok as expected - variety and choices in the bars and theater.  We particularly enjoyed the piano playing, both in the bar and in the general areas. 

The foods served on board were terible, even special restaurants.  Foods were cold and tasteless.  I ordered a Seafood Chowder soup.  When the waitress brought it the our table, the guy sat next to me covered his nose because it smelled like death fishes.  I personally think the CEO Chef must go.  Breakfast was even worse.  They served the same old things all over for 10 days on board.  And of course, they were not good either.

Other than that, the services, waiters, waitresses, room services were very nice.

I would not try Norwegian Cruise Line again.

This cruise was relaxing, interesting and at times exotic.  We started from Rome, went to Greece, Turkey, and back to Italy.  The tours in Greece focused on the ruins of Olympia and Athens.  In Turkey we went to Ephesus and Istanbul.  From Naples we toured Sorrento and the Amalfi Coast. 

The ship was comfortable.  The food was ok - pretty crowded in the buffet, not a lot of choice in the full service restaurants.  Service was very good during this cruise.  Entertainment was excellent at times, at others it was not to our liking - that's why there's variety. The piano bar was where we spent most evenings, as the player took requests and had a very nice voice.  I would recommend this cruise. 

The entertainment was the highlight of the cruise.

The desserts were not up to par and the chocolate buffet was very disappointing in taste.

We had to ask our cabin stuart to fill our ice bucket several times and request glasses.

I finally had to write a note to remind him.

Overall I felt like the recommended tipping was too high.

On other cruises I've taken the recommended tipping is $7.50/day/person.

Considering these issues we probable will not travel on NCL again.

Good experience. Could have used more sea days and less Tunisia. This cruise was one that required lots of energy as there was a port of call every day but one. The weather didn't cooperate on the first leg but didn't hamper the experience too much. I wouldn't recommend the Tunisia port to anyone as it was just not a comfortable situation. Overall the NCL cruise brand is still a brand I would recommend but a cruise with this many ports of call should come with a few more sea days to recoupe some energy. 

This 11 Night Western Mediterranean cruise aboard the Norwegian Jade was one of the best cruises we have ever been on.  This was our 16th cruise.  The ship was beautifully designed and decorated.  The evening shows could not have been better.  There were so many ports to visit stopping in several different countries.  Overall, we will recommend this cruise to our friends.

Excellent service...shows were amazing (Elements is great!!!) 14th NCL trip and certainly the top one. Zorica in dining was the best hostesss we ever had and really took great care of us.  

excellent shows

excellent spa (though with a fee)

good buffet

repetitive food at main restaurant (other restaurants for a fee)

poor activities for teenagers

enough time to explore each port of call

no covered pool:  a drawback during a winter cruise

We were very happy with our (high-priced) stateroom and with the various places we visited.

 We were a lot less happy with some of the extra charges which we felt should have been included.

Frankly, next cruise, I will look for something more "all-inclusive".

From the destination experience, we had a wonderful vacation.  As cruises go, the experience was average. The food on the ship was okay, although nothing unique or fancy unless you wanted to pay above and beyond what you've already spent. Activities were limited, most of the activity leaders were impossible to understand, and it often sucked the fun out of them. Regarding port visits, if you weren't booked through Norwegian, the staff offered no help whatsoever and was often rude or curt, even at the "guest services" desk when you'd ask them for a copy of the map that was displaying right on the bulliten board next to it. "Where can I get one of those?"  "I don't know".   At the library, we asked the guy sitting at the desk for a book from the reference area. He told us it was not in library hours, although he continued to sit at the staff desk for another 45 minutes. Not the most accommodating staff I've ever met.

My wife and I were celebrating our 45th wedding anniversary. We had never taken a cruise before, although we talked about it for years. When I booked this cruise I wanted a balcony room, but for the little bit extra I opted to get a mini suite w/balcony. It was absolutely an awesome experience. The room was more than I expected. Everyone on the ship were amazingly accomodating. I enjoyed "all the food" and it's many venues. The shore excursions were trips of a lifetime. Each city was phenomenal. The crew on the Jade were very accomodating in getting to the excursion bus and back on board. This was our first cruise and the staff totally took away our anxioties in a very short time. We will do this again!