Info & help required for the Jade and Spirit

[Plan B]

We have recently returned from a great cruise on the Jade - cruising the canaries from Malaga. We enjoyed it so much that we want to book again for next year.

 

But, the Jade will no longer be cruising from Malaga! We live in Malaga & don´t want to fly in order to cruise - mainly because of the cost, we can´t afford flights & a cruise - it doubles the cost. We are travelling with 2 11 year old girls.

 

The only ship from Malaga is the Spirit. I´ve checked loads of websites & posts etc and have noticed the following differences -

 

1. The swimming pools are on different decks on the Spirit

2. There isn´t a fridge in the cabin

3. The hairdryer is in the bathroom

4. The cabins are smaller

5. The storage space in the cabins are smaller

 

Points 3, 4 & 5 are all really about 3 females all wanting to get ready at the same time.

 

These are all minor points but when put together they are making me think twice about booking.

 

Can anyone help? Anyone been on both ships? Any observations?

 

My OH says "just book" but I´m still unsure - and that´s not like me!

 

Thanks

[pitcairn]

Plan B.

How about going for a suite, the old AD SUITE AFT on the Spirit will solve all your problems as well as having a separate bedroom it has Twin sinks shower and Jacuzzi that, along with a lounge with a good bed settee and dining area, and if my mind serves me correctly it also has two hair dryers,be it there is in the bathroom area. Two TVs, and quite a good amount of overall space , along with all the other suite extras (now all you have to do is put the cash together to make all you ladies happy) well worth the extra:)

[pitcairn]

We sail on the Jade in September doing a two-week cruise then is to Venice back to back Mediterranean and the Adriatic, maybe you could send me some tips

[Plan B]

Pitcairn

 

Thanks for your reply but on the Spirit all the cabins with balcony or higher are only for up to 3 people. I don't understand why it is only the smaller inside (& the occasional small ocean view) cabins that can accommodate 4 people - it's going to be very cramped :(

 

Tips? It was very busy when we were on the Jade. The buffet, Garden Cafe, was never busy when selecting your food but it was very difficult to find a table. Some people were sat outside but it was very chilly out there some days, although you shouldn't have that problem in Sept. We used to collect our drinks of water, find a table (sometimes after walking backwards & forwards for 10mins), "set the table" with the cutlery & napkins, leave cardigans on the backs of chairs and then go for our food - it's the only way unless you want to eat cold food which is a shame as the food there is very good.

 

If you want a lounger near the pool, then you have to be prepared to sit in it for hours - the pool guy routinely walks round, taking note of towels & personal items, time left unattended and will remove them to table near the towel exchange. We saw many an argument with people returning after an hour or so to find new people in "their beds" quite amusing to watch as they were always of differing nationalities. Being able to sit near the pool where my girls are is a big, big thing for me but I know that's not the case for everyone.

 

For the first few nights we went to the first show (7.30pm) & then dinner around 9pm - no waiting. Then we decided to do it the other way round, dinner at 7.30pm ish in time for the 9.30pm show - this was always much more busier in either of the main dining rooms & we always ended up with a pager for when our table was ready, usually 20mins. So we would go for a wander around, as we got closer to the Canaries the temperature outside was warmer, so a stroll around the promenade deck before dinner was lovely.

 

Our cabin 8054, obstructed view on deck 8, was plenty large enough for us 4 - loads of storage, we didn't use it all! No coffee machine but we asked our room guy and he brought us one. Which cabin are you in?

 

Anything in particular you wanted to know?

 

Thanks, Sharon

[English_in_Spain]

We are in a similar situation to the OP.

 

We just got off the Jade and loved it. We like to cruise out of Barcelona, this means the Spirit and probably 24 days B2B. Unfortunately this will mean repeating all the ports but we can live with that if it means the convenience of cruising out of Barcelona.

 

We are also interested in the differences between the Jade and the Spirit.

 

I have just looked at the website. There doesn't appear to be a Moderno Brazilian restaurant on the Spirit. Is that correct? If so, is one planned for the future. We loved it there.

 

[4774Papa]

We have recently returned from a great cruise on the Jade - cruising the canaries from Malaga. We enjoyed it so much that we want to book again for next year.

 

But, the Jade will no longer be cruising from Malaga! We live in Malaga & don´t want to fly in order to cruise - mainly because of the cost, we can´t afford flights & a cruise - it doubles the cost. We are travelling with 2 11 year old girls.

 

The only ship from Malaga is the Spirit. I´ve checked loads of websites & posts etc and have noticed the following differences -

 

1. The swimming pools are on different decks on the Spirit

2. There isn´t a fridge in the cabin

3. The hairdryer is in the bathroom

4. The cabins are smaller

5. The storage space in the cabins are smaller

 

Points 3, 4 & 5 are all really about 3 females all wanting to get ready at the same time.

 

These are all minor points but when put together they are making me think twice about booking.

 

Can anyone help? Anyone been on both ships? Any observations?

 

My OH says "just book" but I´m still unsure - and that´s not like me!

 

Thanks

In my opinion, you should be able to make minor adjustments to cope with these issues.

 

Can you take another hair dryer?

 

The fridge in the cabin in the Jade is for the mini-bar, not much can be put in there.

 

As for space, you can pick luggage that you can stuff inside other luggage and under the beds.

 

Not sure why the location of the pool is an issue.

 

I am sure you would enjoy the cruise.

[Toyz711]

the spirit is a beautiful ship. you can request a fridge, families with kids or ppl needing meds get them first. be careful with the hairdryer, if you bring one, you can do a search (of these boards about that). the outlet can not handle our big, powerful hairdryers. look for a international hairdyer with dual settings.

more storage is under the beds, you may have to left the mattress a little..but our luggage slide under. the kids pool is on a different deck from the bigger pool, yes. the kids pool is in a great location and usually very quiet. the spirit has the best "aft" decks.

[Plan B]

Thanks for your replies everyone.

 

I have an international hairdryer that we took with us on the last cruise - so we would sit down at the dressing table area with a hairdryer on each side of the girls - even so it still took an hour to dry 3 lots of hair - perhaps a trip to the barber is the answer!! Ha ha

 

On the Jade the kids were in the pool all day long - it's very deep for a childrens pool & quite large for a cruise ship - I was in the adult pool, trying to work off all the lovely food. We wouldn't be able to do this on the Spirit with 2 decks between the pools, plus the Spirit childrens pool is only 3 foot deep and very small. It will be Easter when we go, and if the Spirit is anything like the Jade was this year, then there will be 700 kids on board!! :eek:

 

Toyz711 - I had a look at all your photos of the Spirit & you are right it does look like a beautiful ship. Thanks

 

If anyone else has any comments and or suggestions, please feel free .........

[mypleasure]

We are in a similar situation to the OP.

 

We just got off the Jade and loved it. We like to cruise out of Barcelona, this means the Spirit and probably 24 days B2B. Unfortunately this will mean repeating all the ports but we can live with that if it means the convenience of cruising out of Barcelona.

 

We are also interested in the differences between the Jade and the Spirit.

 

I have just looked at the website. There doesn't appear to be a Moderno Brazilian restaurant on the Spirit. Is that correct? If so, is one planned for the future. We loved it there.

 

 

 

Each cabin has an English style 3 pin plug socket on the Spirit.

 

I too wish there was a moderno as we loved it on Epic.

 

The Spirit crew were the nicest crew I have sailed with and given that all NCL crew are wonderful that is really saying something.

 

I was only on Jade for 2 nights and liked the ship but even though the Spirit is older and maybe has less bells and whistles we still found it a lovely ship to sail on. So much so we are sailing on her in 3 weeks time.

[Plan B]

I have now booked our cruise :D:D:D:D:D:D

 

Thanks to all of you for pushing me in the right direction, much appreciated 'cos I'm really excited now.

 

Cheers