Norwegian Jade - Is NCL ever going to...

[Tapi]

...change the Hawaiian theme?

 

I've been looking at the Eastern Mediterranean sailings aboard the Jade. I like the itinerary, the dates work, the price is right, but to be perfectly honest, thinking about sailing in a Hawaiian themed ship in Europe doesn't thrill me too much.

 

I've been looking for information about upcoming drydocks to see if NCL has any plans to change the "colorful" theme of this ship, especially considering that it's based in Europe year round. The only thing that I found was an old article saying that NCL wanted to keep the Hawaiian theme in case they ever base it in Hawaii again (which doesn't look very likely).

 

Does anybody have any information or comments about the Hawaiian theme on this ship?

[mbisson]

They'll probably change it...but I doubt anyone could say when. So if it really bothers you, you may want to look at other options

[einsteinsmom]

We did not find it overwhelming or trip changing in any way! Still got to go to fantastic places in the Med. The outside paint job is not Hawaiian, btw. It is more based on the theme Jade. Inside there are some Hawaiian decorations, names, but much of what is Hawaiian can be non thematic.

No one who has seen our pictures mistook them for pics of a trip to Hawaii!

[garycarla]

Wow - I had forgotten this was on our trip. Really had no impact other than an occasional conversation about it.

[galliegirlie]

I sailed on the Jade back in 2006 when it was the "Pride of Hawaii". I remember it being colorful, but also very pretty with all the glass flowers. If you are going to let a bit of color ruin an otherwise amazing cruise (I would love to do the Eastern Med intinerary one day), then NCL may not be the line for you. All of the ships are pretty "colorful" except the more conservative Spirit. I'll take neon colors over the more Vegas flashy styles that some of the Carnival ships have any day.

[Tapi]

We did not find it overwhelming or trip changing in any way! Still got to go to fantastic places in the Med. The outside paint job is not Hawaiian, btw. It is more based on the theme Jade. Inside there are some Hawaiian decorations, names, but much of what is Hawaiian can be non thematic.

No one who has seen our pictures mistook them for pics of a trip to Hawaii!

 

Thanks for the comment! Looking at pictures on websites doesn't give a true feel for what a ship is like, so I appreciate what you wrote.

[stubbornoldowl]

Someone raised that question with the crew at our cc gathering on our Feb. 2010 sailing. There was no indication of a change - they did say it is very expensive to make those kind of changes. Personally I sailed on the Pride of Hawaii as well and like the ship just the way it is.

[time2cruise1]

I don't think they will ever change it. As long as they keep sailing the Jade in Europe the option to reflag and return to Hawaii is open if that market grows again.

[Tapi]

All of the ships are pretty "colorful" except the more conservative Spirit. I'll take neon colors over the more Vegas flashy styles that some of the Carnival ships have any day.

 

I agree that some Carnival ships can be flashy (with some exceptions, like the Mediterranean themed Carnival Liberty), but for Caribbean cruises which is what they mostly do, I don't really mind their flashy themes.

 

It's good to see though from those who've sailed on the Jade that the Hawaiian theme doesnt' really clash with the European cruise experience!

[CruisinGerman]

Dear friends:

 

We've sailed on Jade several times because we live here in Spain. The "Hawaiian" theme really has no impact. You merely see a few paintings and color schemes on the ship, but they do not contrast any more than the Gem (whose Tahitian Bar above the pool deck doesn't exactly fit into Europe, either).

 

We actually find that, except for a few ships belonging to lines like Crystal, Silversea, Holland America, Cunard, Regent, Oceania, most of the ships sailing Europe still exude Caribbean fun and glitz throughout their decor and set-up (except for Costa which definitely exudes European glitz, and MSC which is glitzy but on a more subdued basis).

 

No matter where people cruise, the stereotype of The Love Boat (Mexican cruises) and the Caribbean seems to be present on the ships.

 

Next year in 2011, Royal Caribbean is going to deploy nearly half its ships in Europe, according to the press and the posts on Cruise Critic.

 

Why is it still called Royal Caribbean in this day and age?

 

Kind regards,

 

Gunther and Uta

[chonda]

We did not find it overwhelming or trip changing in any way! Still got to go to fantastic places in the Med. The outside paint job is not Hawaiian, btw. It is more based on the theme Jade. Inside there are some Hawaiian decorations, names, but much of what is Hawaiian can be non thematic.

No one who has seen our pictures mistook them for pics of a trip to Hawaii!

I am going on the jade next year and would love to see pictures of the jade.

[susgoss]

We sailed the Jade back in December, to me, the Hawaiian theme had no impact. I never gave it a second thought until I read this thread.

 

The ports where great, the crew was great, I thought the ship was pretty. We had the best time.

 

Good luck whatever you decide !

[MM9953]

The NCL web-site shows two deck plans for the Jade - the current deck plan and one for cruises after April 2011. That is probably when it will go to drydock. I've just booked the Jade for October 2011 Classic Med. from Venice to Rome, so hopefully it'll be all redone!

[mad lizzie]

I sailed on Jade to the Norwegian Fiords in 2008 and initially the decor caused an impact, for about 5 minutes. After that I did not notice it, the cruise was great, weather wonderful and the scenery outstanding. Who cares if the colour scheme was a garish?:cool:

[ohioNCLcruiser]

The Jade is a beautiful ship and I would love to see her back in Hawaii someday. I took my best bud on his first cruise last month on the Jade and he liked it also since I work out here in Hawaii that he could also get a feel for "my" ship.

[JohnIreland]

The NCL web-site shows two deck plans for the Jade - the current deck plan and one for cruises after April 2011. That is probably when it will go to drydock. I've just booked the Jade for October 2011 Classic Med. from Venice to Rome, so hopefully it'll be all redone!

 

 

I think that's just the new room category names.

 

 

All the public areas look the same , so I don't think it's a dry dock.

[electricron]

...change the Hawaiian theme?

 

I've been looking at the Eastern Mediterranean sailings aboard the Jade. I like the itinerary, the dates work, the price is right, but to be perfectly honest, thinking about sailing in a Hawaiian themed ship in Europe doesn't thrill me too much.

The only thing that I found was an old article saying that NCL wanted to keep the Hawaiian theme in case they ever base it in Hawaii again (which doesn't look very likely).

Does anybody have any information or comments about the Hawaiian theme on this ship?

 

I believe the Hawaiian theme will be onboard the Jade forever. The Jade is the only cruise ship in the world that can be reflagged under the American flag again, to join the Pride in America sailing round trip Hawaiian cruises from Honolulu. NCL has been careful to honor the existing PSA exemption granted to it, having not sailed the Jade to Alaska, Caribbean Sea, nor from a Gulf of Mexico port with passengers aboard, so the exemption is still valid whenever NCL may wish to move it back to Hawaii.

It seems where people want to cruise changes over time. I believe more people may want to take a Hawaiian cruise in the future, as fads change. When that happens, the Jade can easily be renamed, reflagged, and sent to Honolulu fairly fast. Having the Hawaiian theme aboard the Jade isn't worse than having an Asian theme aboard the Spirit, it provides variety and sets the Jade apart from other cruise ships. I like that. Sorry you don't.

[Turtles06]

We were on the Jade in January. The Hawaiian theme stuff is mostly in the Grand Pacific MDR, where we found it funny to see giant pictures of scenes from Hawaiian history while sailing in the middle of the Med. But really, just a point of humor and certainly nothing that should make anyone not go on this incredible cruise.

 

There's a large statue of King Kamehameha at the entrance to the Grand Pacific. He's standing and wearing a flowing robe or cape, and, if I recall correctly, holding a spear. We thought it would be easy to paint his face, put a toga on him, and turn him into Julius Caesar (far more appropriate for a ship docking in Italy), and had some fun moments thinking about how to pull that off.

 

Seriously though, don't trouble yourself about the decor.

[hamrag]

...thinking about sailing in a Hawaiian themed ship in Europe doesn't thrill me too much......

 

.....Does anybody have any information or comments about the Hawaiian theme on this ship?

 

We have sailed Jade three times. Would not agree that it is a Hawaiian themed ship, rather there are some areas on the ship which have Hawaiian exhibits....principally the Grand Pacific MDR, and the atrium ceiling at deck 8. Honestly, as many have said, after initial impact it is simply not noticeable.

 

If the Grand Pacific, which has countless art exhibits theming Hawaiia, annoys for that reason then the other MDR Alizar serves the same food and we believe offers better service....we only ever eat once or twice each cruise in the Grand Pacific.

 

The Jade is a fantastic ship.

[jocap]

After sailing on Jade twice in a row, we found our next 2 lines a little......bland!

Jo.

[Pennhoo]

We sailed the Jade back in December, to me, the Hawaiian theme had no impact. I never gave it a second thought until I read this thread.

 

The ports where great, the crew was great, I thought the ship was pretty. We had the best time.

 

Good luck whatever you decide !

 

Same here, we couldn't agree more!!! :rolleyes:

[Wingtips56]

Really, the Hawaiian theme is not important. And who doesn't like bright colors?

 

We were amused when we boarded the Jade into the Aloha lounge and bar, and chuckled at the name of the Grand Pacific Dining Room. (It's a gorgeous room, if not tailored for what's out the window. Big windows on 3 sides.) Tittered when seated under the gaze of a gold lamé King Kamehameha (with spear), and snickered at the over the top Hawaiian colors and huge colored glass flower ceiling decor. But, it all just added to the fun and enjoyment. Since it was unusually cool in the Mediterranean (exactly a year ago now), the warm tropical feeling eased the chill.

 

We were told later that they only had a few weeks to convert the ship to international service, i.e. ripping out staterooms in order to put in the casino, and enlarging the big store aft for the booze, Duty Free and jewelry. No time for the decor change. And maybe they don't want to change it if it could return to Hawaiian local service as mentioned above.

 

The only real complaint I've heard about the Jade is that it doesn't have a covered/retractable roof over a pool, for the cooler, rainy cruises.

 

We really liked the food (a big step up over the same-old Princess fare), and the big production shows were completely live and (we were told) unique to the Jade. No lip-synching. Big, talented cast to rotate through nightly, so there was always somebody to take over for an ailing performer. Everyone sang, not just the 4 stars, and the music was live too, not recorded. Since we did back-to-back cruises, we repeated the shows we really liked, and enjoyed new shows on the second, longer cruise. And we enjoyed a brunch in the French restaurant, with some of the singers there doing songs of their own choice.

 

We will definitely sail on the Jade again, when the itinerary matches what we want to do next.

[Luv4dacruise]

With NCL's current financial status, i really don't see them putting any money into changing the decor of the Jade. All the cheerleaders can think what they want (pseudo reality is great huh?....) but they really are hurtin.

 

Put 2 & 2 together. They are the only line that is currently raising prices as of April 1st. Then we have the Star that is continuing to sail her Mexican Riviera itineraries with major construction going on, stuff that any other line would deem to be done only in drydock.

 

Not to mention the adding of additional cabins to the ship, again, ,while there are paying passengers onboard.

 

Glad i purchased insurance for my Spirit cruise in May.

[flormija]

I didn't have a problem with the decor, per se. My only issue was that the legends at the elevators talked about things that weren't there anymore. For example, the Hawai'ian Cultural Center. Another thing was the Cigar Bar. If you went where the signs said the Cigar Bar was located, there was something else there. When asked, the 'Cigar Bar' is now located outside on Deck 13 at the Bali Hai Bar.

 

Those are small things, and probably wouldn't interfere with me cruising the Jade again should the opportunity arise. Just wanted to share a bit.

[Don Haynes]

If the OP didn't like Jade's Hawaiian theme, he/she wouldn't like the Spirit's Asian theme either. I on the other hand enjoy whatever differences different ships have.... Adds spice to life.... Variety is GOOD, not BAD....