Norwegian Jade Cruise Reviews - Reviews

We chose this cruise specifically for the ports in Romania and Bulgaria but due to the ongoing conflict those ports were switched for additional Greece ports. At first disappointed but the new route didn't disappoint. Overall we were extremely satisfied with the cruise and the cruise line. The Jade sparkles like a brand new ship. It was hard pressed to find signs that is was nearly 20 years old. Everything was in great shape, clean and still looked updated in design. The following were some observations from our experiences. embarkation/disembarkation was smooth and seamless we boarded in about 20 minutes. we were met at the port at the cab and handed off at every junction and went immediately on ship. The same with disembarkation we got off at 8:15 and walked directly off the gangway in 5 minutes. =All tours we booked through NCL and were very satisfied with all of them ( 4). Organized, efficient, entertaining. If we had any regret the Knossos tour was "touristy" and the Ephesus tour was too fast. = Not happy with PREMADE cocktails at whiskey and martini bar from NCL drink menu. Also think it was unethical and misleading to guest that the PREMADE cocktail is in a branded liquor bottle. So if you order say a Woodford old fashioned. The premade drink is already made and stored in the WOODFORD bottle and they pour from this. The bartender also goes through the motions of making the cocktail- shaking and stirring..for effect when everything is done. Long Island Iced tea are all premixed and poured into a VODKA bottle, same with many of the cocktails. However after I voiced my complaint the bartender would make the drinks fresh if I asked at the whiskey bar but not at the martini bar. Food- we had no problems with the quality or quantity of food in the buffet, rotation menu, themed nights etc. Could it be better of course but didn't get tired of it in 9 days. Specialty Restaurants - we ate at all on the ship. We were most disappointed with CAGNEYS as we were on last cruise. and we still are. We were served baked potatoes that were the size of a fingerling potato. So small that you couldn't put sour cream on it. One was rotten and was still served. Replaced when notified but shouldn't have been served since potatoes was already cut open and was visible. All sides miniscule. The menu is uninspired. There is no way this meal I would have paid $188 dollars a la carte. I could and can get much better on land for less. If I didn't have vouchers I wouldn't bother. Moderno was our top choice overall however they had dropped lamb chops off the menu. Being that we had a port stop everyday of the cruise we spent alot of time off the ship as on it seemed and we enjoyed every minute. Service was good, housekeeping good. 

The only thing that I found it wasn’t organized was the excursion that we made in Ephesus. The process to gather all the groups in the theater doesn’t make sense. We even loose 1 hour of the excursion due the process. It would be better if a person of each group/or room gets the number of the bus and then everybody gather outside the buses

NCL had both embarktation and disembarkation down pat. Food was good, but average sizes. Staff was very great. Shore excursions were why we came on this cruise and for the most part, lived up to expectations. Some tour guides was leading us to very expensive souenir shop. Who want to pay $59 for a tee shirt?

Cruise started poorly with no record of shuttle reservations for two separate bookings, very rude NCL rep at airport. Guest service staff condescending and not helpful. Room steward? Hit and miss. Food complimentary main dining and garden cafe ; Service. excellent! Selections: repetitive and uninspired. Itinerary was Excellent Ship was clean but I would not recommend

It was just what l expected, no complaints or surprises

Brilliant itinerary, good excursions and very good ship.

This was quite a stepdown from Carnival which was a surprise to me. I was expecting it would be better. Losing Israel to safety was disappointing but understandable but the replacement ports were just 2 more Greek islands so it was more of Greek Island cruise. They could have replaced with a more interesting ports. Four Greek islands was kind of same, same. The process of refunding us for the cancelled excursions was ridiculous. Having to stand in line to get cash instead of crediting back to our credit cards was hard on passengers and then to get off the ship with the amount of cash refunded to me could be dangerous. The one time I saw the cruise director he was outgoing and did a good job. Information was disseminated as it should. Frankly, this was my first cruise on Norwegian and was ready to move on from Carnival but after this experience I will go back to Carnival where the food, entertainment, activities were much better. I still had fun but was disappointed overall.

Worst cruise of my life and was supposed to be the cruise of a life time. Very disappointing

No communication between line staff and supervisors when long lines occurred or problems happened. One customer relations person and 18 in line. Should have called for assistance but I grabbed an officer passing by and reluctantly he got assistance. Cruise director overwhelmed and unable to control excursion messes in stardust worst was end when chaos happened. One women staff on deck 4 valiantly tried to stop alternate elevator crowds from pushing past main line. All officers and supervisors need to have interest in customer service when problems show up

We enjoyed the ship. The big shows were good and there was occasionally a good musician to listen to at a bar. Karaoke was fun and the dance classes were awesome. We loved the ports of call and had an amazing time on our excursions, both those booked through the cruise line and those we booked independently. We would definitely recommend this cruise to others.

A lovely ship which links the old-style NCL Ships to the new, have great memories onboard and loved it just as much as before. A great ship and amazing destinations!

Overall, it was a good cruise - not outstanding, not excellent, just a basic cruise. This was the first cruise that we had been on since the pandemic that had been completely full, and it was apparent that combined with reduced staffing, the cruise experience suffered a bit. The "low's" of the cruise were mostly offset by the "high's". In spite of positioning itself as a "higher-end" cruise line, the reduction in staff resulted in moving it closer to the "run of the mill" cruise lines like Carnival. A little disappointing for those of us that have done a substantial number of cruises on NCL.

Weather was a challenge with cold temps and rain for the major ports. But the itinerary was excellent to see these places in one trip.

Although our itinerary was absolutely fantastic, NCL as a company is completely inept. I will not ever cruise with them again. The flight that were included in our fare were a mess and we missed planes there and back due to too tight connections. Their insunrace declined our claim. Our friends (along with 90 other people) missed embarkation due to these terrible flights and had to hop on at the first port which was a disaster. There was no plan and no care about this situation. Without my husband advocating and putting immense pressure on NLC they would have been left higher and dry in Israel.

NCL Jade was a good ship, somewhat dated. Itinerary was terrific. Nice staff. Public areas very clean. Decent food.

Nice cruise and itinerary. The only problem is the shore excursion have too many people and it is hard to hear the tour guide, even with the earphones. I would have liked more shopping in Jerusalem instead of them insisting that we shop in a wood store. I don’t want any wood managers. 🙄

A little bit of everything and well thought out tours. Interesting to see the Suez canal.

Good cruise. Great ports of call. Good food. Good entertainment. Would not hesitate to recommend.

Fantastic experience going to Cape Town & South Africa, did as much as we could highly recommend it.

Cape Town the best by far, cruise itinerary lacking. Significant gastro / food poisoning illness on board, which NCL tried to cover up