Norwegian Jade Cruise Reviews - Reviews

The Norwegian Jade is a sister ship to the Jewel which I've been on twice. So finding my way around was super easy. The food is really good (and I can be very picky) but I always had something to eat that I thoroughly enjoyed. I only went to a specialty restaurant once on this cruise (Nov 16-26 to Greece, Turkey, Egypt) but I've been to the others before on the Jewel and thought the food was delicious then. The staff is one of the best parts of cruising with NCL. They are really nice people. I was able to have dinner with the Hotel Director, Armando da Silva (who has since moved to another ship :( and he was an absolute delight! Gary the cruise Director was simply awesome, not to mention the Captain and all the many others (like Mercedes and JJ) that make sailing on the Jade an enjoyable experience even for solo travelers. I plan on going back in the Spring.

I took the Jade on it's last Voyage for the year to Greece, Turkey and Egypt. So please not this isn't referencing the Canary Islands (though I plan on doing this itinerary in a few months) --- I didn't have anything fancy room wise, but I had a window cabin to let in some light and I was quite satisfied. I've sailed on the Jewel twice and as it's a sister ship to the Jade I was able to find my way around easily. --- I'm in my 30's and married but decided to make this a solo vacation. I've traveled solo around the world but never on a cruise, so I really didn't know what it would be like. In one word it was excellent. --- There's plenty to do (and not do) if you're so inclined. It's also a very pleasant atmosphere it doesn't feel rowdy and at the same time doesn't feel dull either. A good balance of fun and relaxation. --- The ports of call were exciting and I had no trouble at any of them, both where I used NCL for excursions and made them on my own. --- I LOVE, being able to dine alone without assigned seating. You also have the choice of sharing a table if you choose, so it's great for those that like flexibility.

Norwegian had rave reviews and lent a hand in my selection although the reviews I read all said the food left a lot to be desired. I did not find this to be the case at all and in fact was more pleased with the free dining than the specialty restaurants. Gary, the cruise director was exceptional! All staff members (from the directors holding signs at the port, to check-in, to housekeeping, to cooks, to performers, to luggage holding after debarkation) were the friendliest and most plesant group of people imaginable. The casino options were fantastic and there was so much to do that no single part of the ship was overcrowded and almost no lines for anything. For travellers comfortable navigating in new places, I'd strongly recommend making your own adventure at ports; my boyfriend and I pre-booked an excursion for each stop and although 2 of them were exceptional, 2 were fairly poor. For the cost it wasn't worth it to us but the convenience and set up for excursions is rather nice, regardless of the itinerary. The staff made it very easy to be in the right place at the right time and the excursions promote a stress-free vacation since all you have to remember to do is wake up in the morning!

The food was a disappointment. Quality varied all over the place from unacceptable to very good. Portions were sometimes ridiculously small. Scallops served for a starter were about the size of a pea and there were maybe five of them. Being charged for a glass of juice at dinner seemed out of line when it was being provided to children for free. The water slide was useless, not enough water to keep even children moving. The wait staff in the dining rooms was not formal at all. They were intrusively gabby, didnt know even basics of formal service (such as serve from the left and remove from the right.) Even place settings were inconsistent in places, sometimes you got a bread plate, sometimes not etc. (In the same restaurant.) Room service was prompt at delivering our breakfast tray to our room except totally forgetting us one morning and then taking a half an hour to bring a carafe of coffee. Our in room coffee maker was not working that day. I spilled coffee on the provided robe and ask that it be washed. It was taken away and never returned.

Service lacking. When tipping is automatically withdrawn before hand there is no incentive for better service.

The ship was beautiful and immaculate. Our concierge and suite butler and other staff for the COurtyard Vernada Suites was awesome!

Embrakation: In Rome. Very smooth. In 10 minutes we were on the ship.

Public rooms: Modern and beautiful.

Dining: MDR: good.         buffet: average            specialty: excellent

Entertainment: sometimes average to good, sometimes excellent. There is too much music around the ship.

Ports: WOW

Disembrakation: very smooth, like embrakation.

7 day cruise western mediterennean 

Wonderful ship. NCL Jade was perfect for us. It did not have some of the gimmicks others have (rock climbing, surfing, etc.). What it did have was beautiful layout, comfortable decore, excellent dining facilities, beautiful theater. We'd definitely choose the Jade again.

Pleasant and helpful unless you have a problem and then they refuse to talk to you

I THOUGHT THIS CRUISE WAS OBSCENE, THE WAY THEY TREATED THE PEOPLE ON BOARD WAS DISPICIBLE. I HAVE NEVER BEEN IN SUCH A HORRID PLACE IN ALL MY LIFE. WOULD NOT RECCOMMEND THIS CRUISE TO ANYONE UNLESS THEY LIKE UNCOMFORTABLE BEDS, FOOD POISENING AND UNCLEAN TOILET FACILITIES!!!!!!!!!!!!! :(

The ship was excellent. Boarding easy, Barcelona a great starting point. I am not familiar with the 6 star rating. It was not the best, In some cases excellent, But it was really good.

We were very pleased with this cruise. The crew was wonderful. Don't think we encountered anyone that was unpleasant. Our room was great and the bed was so comfortable. We had a mini-suite which was a good size for myself and husband and teenage son. It was wonderful to have the balcony as well. The entertainment was fantastic. I even went to one show twice I liked it so well. My son really enjoyed the teen program and participated with it every day. We really liked most of the ports. Our favorite was Funchal and Malaga. We did do some of the shore excursions offered by the ship. The quality of them I think depends on how good your guide is. We had a great one in Casablanca but some of our friends didn't get a guide that was as good and therefore didn't care for that stop as much as we did. There are a lot of extra costs but we kind of expected that so no big surprise. I probably would not have done the soda package for myself and husband if I had realized that water and iced tea were included in the cruise price. It was not bottled water but it was fine and the iced tea was really good. We didn't end up using the soda package very much. We only ate at 2 speciality restaurants, Cagneys and the Tex-mex place. They were both really good but Cagneys was exceptional. Probably the best steak I have ever eaten. The other restaurants were good also. We really enjoyed the buffet too. Better than most buffet food. Overall, we loved the cruise and look forward to booking our next one with NCL.

The ship was clean and easy to get around on. We were isolated for 2 days with the virus and did not get any compenstion for room service charges or medical concerns.

The ship is wonderful. Clean and well cared for and most of the staff is excellent. The ship shows were entertaining for the most part and changed daily.

It was very relaxing

We had a cruise on the Norwegian Jade in late January, 2010. The ships ports of call were wonderful. We started out from Barcelona (Spain), then we visited Civitavecchia (Italy), Pireus (Greece), Izmir (Turkey), Alexandria (Egypt), and Valetta (Malta), and we finally returned to Barcelona. The ship was very attractive and well-maintained. The food was adequate, but far from excellent. However, the musical shows were outstanding. They were some of the best weve seen on cruise ships. But the cruise itself was marred by some unknown sickness that the ship apparently was carrying. By the ships own admission, it had some 2% (of reported cases) of its passengers on the cruise prior to ours getting sick with vomiting and diarrhea. However, Norwegian Cruise Line did not notify any of us until we checked in for boarding the ship in Barcelona. At that time, it handed us an announcement that passengers in the last cruise experienced some intestinal viral infection that caused fever, diarrhea, vomiting and/or intestinal pain or discomfort with the implication that these passengers got sick while visiting the ports of call. To combat this unknown sickness, the ships crew expended extra efforts to keep the ship cleaner by disinfecting everywhere. In fact, boarding the ship was not from 1 p.m. as announced in the literature; it was delayed three hours until late afternoon so that the cabins presumably could be further disinfected. Passengers had to disinfect their hands at every public gatheringthe shows, restaurants, and buffet lines. In the buffet lines, the crew served everything, including glasses of water and unopened boxes of cereals! Nevertheless, many people still got sick on our cruise. When we got to Egypt, the Egyptian authorities delayed anyone from disembarking the ship for over five hours! They apparently were checking the health records of the ship and were determining whether or not to quarantine the ship! But by the time we were able to disembark, half the first day was irretrievably gone. That created a lot of chaos, extra expense and hardship among the passengers to rearrange their schedules to visit Cairo and the pyramids and sphinx, switching or canceling the tours to accommodate this unforeseen change. Norwegian Cruise Line should have been more upfront with its passengers regarding this uncontrolled noxious viral intestinal illness aboard the ship. But for this unknown sickness on the ship, we would rate the cruise at least a very good! Also, though we don't recommend this ship (in its present condition), we've had good experience with NCL in some of its other ships.

The cruise was great. I would advise trying all of the resturants, although I thought the Tex Mex was horrible. Went on excursions at all of the ports, thought Turkey was the best and the trip to the pyramids, with all of the pesky vendors, was by far the worst excursion I have ever been on. Seeing the pyramids and all of the trash around Egypt, ruined the image I had of how beautiful they would be.

I would recommend it because of the value for a 12 day cruise. We had an ocean stateroom and got a very good price from . My personal opinion is NCL is good over all but the excursions are very disappointing. If you are going on this cruise, I would recommend to book your excursions outside of NCL. I had tried to reflect the issues to the excursions desk and I was being ignored. I would definitely travel again with NCL because the value it brings but definitely not the excursion (except for Turkey)

Very large, lots to do. Freestyle cruising gives you freedom to eat when and where you like at 10 different restaurants. Also gives you freedom to pay cover charges of anywhere from $10 to $25 per person at six of them for very average food. Staff was generally helpful but inconsistent. Service was equally inconsistent as were the Shore Excursions.

The ship design, staterooms and decor was all fine. We had a fine cruise from this standpoint.