Jump to content
Cruise Critic Community

NCL Jade Observations

rsato

By rsato,
in Norwegian Cruise Line

Recommended Posts

rsato

rsato

Posted
Posted

I just left the NCL Jade after a 11 day "modified" Holy Land Cruise (No Egypt). My wife and I sailed on the Jade in Jan of 2011 with similar destinations. I had a few observations to share:

 

1. The main dining room food has been significantly upgraded - NCL is distributing comment cards at each dining venue and seems to be listening. NCL has some great desserts such as the Tiramasu with Kahlua and the Cagney's brownie with macademian nut ice cream - they just need to offer them more often instead of using their weak standby.

 

2. Gary Glading was again the cruise director for our December 2012 sailing and showed why he is the best at his job. Not only does he sing, dance, speak 8 languages, lecture and entertain....he also works harder than any cruise director in the business! On some ships we sailed on (Disney & Princess to name two) I still don't know who the CD is much less what exactly they do to enhance the ship's entertainment.

 

3. Economics, politics, etc have driven off many cruisers - our ship sailed with 1888 passengers when it sometimes has as many as 3000 when stretched. There is no better time to get a deal on a Mediterranean cruise!

 

4. Jade entertainment remained very special - Elements continues to be a great show that most (all?) other lines doesn't even bother to attempt, and if you have a chance to see 4Ever - the quartet of amazing singers, Do not miss it!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
karoo

karoo

Posted
Posted

Great to read your post. I'm doing a B2B in January. First time on the Jade. I hope they still have the mushroom Quesadillas and the signature cheesecake in the MDR-my favourites.

The CD sounds great and I'm always happy not to be on an overcrowded ship. :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Ilovesailing

Ilovesailing

Posted
Posted

Great summary of the jade we too found the same on our 14 day cruise in May/June

And Gary is no doubt the best and i have never found one before him that didn't irritate me. But there are not a lot of people around that could do his job with all the languges he has to speak, the finagling of the entertainment acts from week to week in order to keep most passengers happy that are mostly from different parts of Europe as well as Canada and the US. And he can also sing quite well.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
megaelch

megaelch

Posted
Posted

thanks i have been on the Jade 2 times in 2010 and 2011 and booked for may 2013 and my biggest complain on the last cruise was the food quality in the MDR, buffet and specialty restaurants have always been great..

I agree on the CD .. he is special and very approachable ... love the ship ..even more with upgraded food ..

Link to comment
Share on other sites
newmexicoNita

newmexicoNita

Posted
Posted
I just left the NCL Jade after a 11 day "modified" Holy Land Cruise (No Egypt). My wife and I sailed on the Jade in Jan of 2011 with similar destinations. I had a few observations to share:

 

1. The main dining room food has been significantly upgraded - NCL is distributing comment cards at each dining venue and seems to be listening. NCL has some great desserts such as the Tiramasu with Kahlua and the Cagney's brownie with macademian nut ice cream - they just need to offer them more often instead of using their weak standby.

 

2. Gary Glading was again the cruise director for our December 2012 sailing and showed why he is the best at his job. Not only does he sing, dance, speak 8 languages, lecture and entertain....he also works harder than any cruise director in the business! On some ships we sailed on (Disney & Princess to name two) I still don't know who the CD is much less what exactly they do to enhance the ship's entertainment.

 

3. Economics, politics, etc have driven off many cruisers - our ship sailed with 1888 passengers when it sometimes has as many as 3000 when stretched. There is no better time to get a deal on a Mediterranean cruise!

 

4. Jade entertainment remained very special - Elements continues to be a great show that most (all?) other lines doesn't even bother to attempt, and if you have a chance to see 4Ever - the quartet of amazing singers, Do not miss it!

 

good news about the food quality. We thought, on our last NCL cruise (almost 2 years ago) the food had improved from the year prior, now it sounds like it is even better. We will find out in about 4 weeks.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
jdvmd

jdvmd

Posted
Posted
I just left the NCL Jade after a 11 day "modified" Holy Land Cruise (No Egypt). My wife and I sailed on the Jade in Jan of 2011 with similar destinations. I had a few observations to share:

 

1. The main dining room food has been significantly upgraded - NCL is distributing comment cards at each dining venue and seems to be listening. NCL has some great desserts such as the Tiramasu with Kahlua and the Cagney's brownie with macademian nut ice cream - they just need to offer them more often instead of using their weak standby.

 

2. Gary Glading was again the cruise director for our December 2012 sailing and showed why he is the best at his job. Not only does he sing, dance, speak 8 languages, lecture and entertain....he also works harder than any cruise director in the business! On some ships we sailed on (Disney & Princess to name two) I still don't know who the CD is much less what exactly they do to enhance the ship's entertainment.

 

3. Economics, politics, etc have driven off many cruisers - our ship sailed with 1888 passengers when it sometimes has as many as 3000 when stretched. There is no better time to get a deal on a Mediterranean cruise!

 

4. Jade entertainment remained very special - Elements continues to be a great show that most (all?) other lines doesn't even bother to attempt, and if you have a chance to see 4Ever - the quartet of amazing singers, Do not miss it!

Great to hear!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
pris993

pris993

Posted
Posted

We are booked on the Jade for April. Looking forward to it. The last time we cruised on NCL was over 10 years ago on the Star. That was before freestyle, even then, the food was just okay. We booked the Jade with some reservation but decided to give it a try. We don't cruise for the food alone. Regardless, nice to hear good things in advance. Glad you had a great trip.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Lady Anna & Sir Troy

Lady Anna & Sir Troy

Posted
Posted

Hi!

 

Thank you so much for your updates. It made me very happy to read. :)

 

I have a few questions:

 

1) Do you know how much they charge for Laundry?

2) How much was the SPA Pass for the entire voyage?

 

Any other tips appreciated. We are on the Jade for the 10 day itinerary in March. We have done Pearl and Jewel, but not the Jade yet.

 

L.A.S.T

Link to comment
Share on other sites
rsato

rsato

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Gary, as in our previous sailing, did his fascinating biography talk about his career and his animal welfare reserve. His book was sold, although because the talk took place just before the final bingo game he didn't have an opportunity to sit at a table and autograph the copies as with our earlier sailing.

 

The Laundry Special ($24.95) for all you can fit in the bag was actually available for 3 times during the cruise - I believe the 3rd, 7th and 9th days (in before noon, returned the next day).

 

We didn't do anything in the Spa so I don't know what the charges were for the pass.

 

We did do the behind the scenes tour (although at $55 per person, NCL had a hard time getting takers during our cruise). I liked the 2 1/2 hour tour of back stage at the theatre, "environmental", laundry, galley, store rooms, and especially the bridge - yes you actually get to go inside the bridge!

 

I'm not sure why, but the fruits were MUCH better in the December 2012 sailing vs the January 2011 sailing. I hope that continues!

 

Another interesting change (I don't know if others have found this) - in our previous Jade sailing, three envelopes for gratuities were left in our Haven suite on the last day - concierge, butler, and steward. They were absent during this cruise so I had to seek out the individuals before we left the ship to reward their fine work.

 

With the ship having 1888 passengers instead of 2400-3000 typically seen, there weren't any lines for anything and I think the only full restaurants were when Gary was singing during dinner at the French Bistro and Papa's Italian Restaurant. Not once did they hand out beepers, and whether you wanted a table for 1 or 8, they accomodated you. That being said, the buffet tables were crowded some times so I can't imagine how difficult it must be to find a spot when the ship is jammed packed.

 

According to the Jade production manager, 4Ever has performed repeatedly on the ship. Do not miss their performance whether you like Italian Opera, Michael Buble or the Rock group Queen. They really brought the house down!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
HokiePoq

HokiePoq

Posted
Posted

Just back from the Jade as well and have to say I agree with all you said. Thanks for reminding me of the name of the vocal quartet. They were great!

 

Want to add that our ship's excursion, the overnight to Jerusalem, was the highlight of the trip and made it all worthwhile.

Our guide Elaun was absolutely fabulous. First day we toured Jerusalem and Bethlehem; second day the Masada and the Dead Sea.

All tours ran from Haifa as we did not go to Ashdod which is near to Gaza.

I got a very different picture of Israel from that portrayed in the media.

All was peaceful where we went and I highly recommend this itinerary and especially the Best of overnight excursion. Not cheap but worth every cent.

It's great to cruise with Gary who is quite literally The World's Best Cruise Director. Amazing person! Several of us were back together after cruising with Gary this same week last year. Maybe again in 2013!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Go to topic listing
  • Forum Jump
    • Categories
      • Welcome to Cruise Critic
      • Hurricane Zone 2024
      • Cruise Insurance Q&A w/ Steve Dasseos of Tripinsurancestore.com June 2024
      • New Cruisers
      • Cruise Lines “A – O”
      • Cruise Lines “P – Z”
      • River Cruising
      • ROLL CALLS
      • Cruise Critic News & Features
      • Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
      • Special Interest Cruising
      • Cruise Discussion Topics
      • UK Cruising
      • Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
      • Canadian Cruisers
      • North American Homeports
      • Ports of Call
      • Cruise Conversations
×
×
  • Create New...