Everything...JADE! (Coming home to Houston 11/14/15)

[Oakman58]

So, is there also a 'kettle' (to make tea') in addition to the coffee maker?

I drink various teas, and my wife drinks de-caff coffee. She'll prob bring some on board, with some filters, and I'll bring some teas. No prob.

 

We're in a mini-suite.

 

Blues

 

No kettle for tea. My wife is a tea drinker and since we were on deck 9, I would walk down to the Blue Lagoon (24/7)on deck 8 and get a cup of hot water for her. Actually we brought a travel mug with us and I would fill it up with hot water and bring it back to our cabin.

 

At the Blue Lagoon and the Garden Cafe (buffet) there was a box with a large selection of teas. My wife preferred the English Breakfast Tea.

[Oakman58]

Is the tap water drinkable on the Jade? Or OK for tea/coffee?

 

We have the drinks package - does that include bottles of water also? I think I read somewhere that it doesn't - I might be wrong....

 

Thanks

 

Blues

 

The drink package does not included bottled water. I made my coffee every morning using the tap water on the Jade and thought it was fine.

[Bluesmania]

The drink package does not included bottled water. I made my coffee every morning using the tap water on the Jade and thought it was fine.

 

So, we can have as much alcohol, coffee, soft drinks etc as we like with the drinks package, just not water.......... That's a bit crazy isn't it?

 

Do you remember how much the bottled water was?

 

Thanks

 

Blues

 

p.s. I see that you were on deck 9 - we are on deck 11.

[Oakman58]

So, we can have as much alcohol, coffee, soft drinks etc as we like with the drinks package, just not water.......... That's a bit crazy isn't it?

 

Do you remember how much the bottled water was?

 

Thanks

 

Blues

 

p.s. I see that you were on deck 9 - we are on deck 11.

 

I really don't know how much the bottled water cost. Also, the beverage package does not included the drinks in the mini-fridge.

[xriva]

Do you remember how much the bottled water was?

 

https://www.ncl.com/onboard-packages/bottled-water-packages

 

Those are the pre-boarding packages you can purchase. They will have similar bulk water purchases available on-board.

[meslt1992]

Is the tap water drinkable on the Jade? Or OK for tea/coffee?

 

We have the drinks package - does that include bottles of water also? I think I read somewhere that it doesn't - I might be wrong....

 

Thanks

 

Blues[/quote

We have had no issues with the ship's water.[emoji97]

http://answers.ncl.com/answers/4066/category/JADE/norwegian-jade-questions-answers/questions.htm?expandquestion=2274318

Edited February 1, 2016 by meslt1992
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[Bluesmania]

https://www.ncl.com/onboard-packages/bottled-water-packages

 

Those are the pre-boarding packages you can purchase. They will have similar bulk water purchases available on-board.

 

Thank you. Much appreciated. we'll pre-book the 24 x litre pack. We drink a lot of water, especially in the gym.

 

Blues

[MNcruisingcouple]

Thank you for getting all this information! Would it be possible for you to get a picture of the menu at le bistro and at Cagney's?

 

Sorry I didn't see your request sooner. I will try to take pictures tonight and post them for you tomorrow. I've never posted pictures before so we'll see if I can figure it out.

[Bluesmania]

Is the tap water drinkable on the Jade? Or OK for tea/coffee?

 

We have the drinks package - does that include bottles of water also? I think I read somewhere that it doesn't - I might be wrong....

 

Thanks

 

Blues[/quote

We have had no issues with the ship's water.[emoji97]

http://answers.ncl.com/answers/4066/category/JADE/norwegian-jade-questions-answers/questions.htm?expandquestion=2274318

 

Even better - Thanks. Blues

[anonmom]

So, we can have as much alcohol, coffee, soft drinks etc as we like with the drinks package, just not water.......... That's a bit crazy isn't it?

 

Do you remember how much the bottled water was?

 

Thanks

 

Blues

 

p.s. I see that you were on deck 9 - we are on deck 11.

 

Club soda is included with the package. I mostly drink LaCroix at home, so club soda is fine with me

[Travel Junkie Judy]

We have been on 20 NCL cruises and have always been able to drink the tap water.

We order tap water in the dining rooms also.

 

If you really have to have bottled water, just bring your own.

You can bring water and/or soda.

Bring a case and put a luggage tag on it.

 

Some people say you must carry the water,

but I have seen people turn it in with their luggage.

Who knows, but I think a very nice tip would get it put with your luggage.

(We always tip $1 to $2 per bag depending on

how quickly a porter gets to us - usually $2.)

Edited February 1, 2016 by Travel Junkie Judy

[Sylrgrl]

I know this has been asked before but any suggestions on who to book through for the snorkeling/shark ray alley excursion?

[meslt1992]

We have been on 20 NCL cruises and have always been able to drink the tap water.

We order tap water in the dining rooms also.

 

If you really have to have bottled water, just bring your own.

You can bring water and/or soda.

Bring a case and put a luggage tag on it.

 

Some people say you must carry the water,

but I have seen people turn it in with their luggage.

Who knows, but I think a very nice tip would get it put with your luggage.

(We always tip $1 to $2 per bag depending on

how quickly a porter gets to us - usually $2.)

If your cruising out of Bayport, they won't.

They refused ours and we left it in the car.

No regrets, ship's water was great.

 

Sent from my LGL33L using Tapatalk

[anonmom]

Just got off the Jade this morning. Still at IAH waiting to board our flight home, but I just posted a mini review to ship mate, so I'll post it here, too:

 

Jade 1/30/16 Western Caribbean. ***** Five Stars

 

I really don't understand the bad reviews. NCL is not a luxury cruise line, and the Jade is an older ship, but the prices reflect that. So if you are expecting to actually be treated like a VIP and to get the highest quality food and the largest cabins, etc., you will have to look elsewhere and pay higher rates.

 

My fiancé and I are in our 30s, and our daughter is 4. This was our first cruise, so I am not comparing the NCL Jade to other cruise ships or cruise lines, just to my idea of what a pleasurable, affordable vacation should be like. I have stayed at many hotels, motels, hostels, resorts & all-inclusives throughout the Americas and Western Europe, though, so I am comparing this to a variety of experiences, just not cruises specifically.

 

We had balcony cabin 10146, right by the aft stairs/elevators on the starboard side of deck 10. I picked this cabin because there are cabins above and below, so we wouldn't hear noise from public spaces in our room, and because it would be a quick walk up 2 flights of stairs to get to the buffet (Garden Cafe), and then the kids' club, pools, pool bar & spa are right on the other side of the buffet. I also wanted to avoid the motion that I've heard can be worse further forward on the ship.

 

Our steward, Rey, was friendly, polite & efficient. He learned our names the first day, kept the cabin clean, and responded promptly to our notes and verbal requests. We left him a $40 tip when we disembarked.

 

The kids' club staff were all great, too. Our daughter always had fun there, and was disappointed this morning when we said we were headed home and there was no kids club today. There are 15 bars on board and we tried them all. My personal favorite was the Moderno bar, where you can see the entire atrium without being in the middle of everything. You do not have to eat at Moderno to get a drink at the bar. It is located right between Moderno & Blue Lagoon, opposite the grand staircases that lead down to the atrium.

 

We had the UBP, like almost everyone else onboard, and had no trouble getting drinks. At busy bars we tipped a dollar per drink and the bartenders were very appreciative. We did sometimes have to wait 5 or maybe even 10 whole minutes to put in a drink order, but I don't know of any popular bars anywhere where that isn't the case. If you want instant service, you can sit at the Star Bar or Moderno Bar, and get drink after drink with no problem. Handmade cocktails, shaken martinis & blended drinks take several minutes to make, obviously. There are various beers, wines, and ciders for those who need their alcohol fix in 30 seconds or less, though. ;)

Edited February 6, 2016 by anonmom

[tanyaheart]

Just got off the Jade this morning. Still at IAH waiting to board our flight home, but I just posted a mini review to ship mate, so I'll post it here, too:

 

Jade 1/30/16 Western Caribbean. ***** Five Stars

 

I really don't understand the bad reviews. NCL is not a luxury cruise line, and the Jade is an older ship, but the prices reflect that. So if you are expecting to actually be treated like a VIP and to get the highest quality food and the largest cabins, etc., you will have to look elsewhere and pay higher rates.

 

My fiancé and I are in our 30s, and our daughter is 4. This was our first cruise, so I am not comparing the NCL Jade to other cruise ships or cruise lines, just to my idea of what a pleasurable, affordable vacation should be like. I have stayed at many hotels, motels, hostels, resorts & all-inclusives throughout the Americas and Western Europe, though, so I am comparing this to a variety of experiences, just not cruises specifically.

 

We had balcony cabin 10146, right by the aft stairs/elevators on the starboard side of deck 10. I picked this cabin because there are cabins above and below, so we wouldn't hear noise from public spaces in our room, and because it would be a quick walk up 2 flights of stairs to get to the buffet (Garden Cafe), and then the kids' club, pools, pool bar & spa are right on the other side of the buffet. I also wanted to avoid the motion that I've heard can be worse further forward on the ship.

 

Our steward, Rey, was friendly, polite & efficient. He learned our names the first day, kept the cabin clean, and responded promptly to our notes and verbal requests. We left him a $40 tip when we disembarked.

 

The kids' club staff were all great, too. Our daughter always had fun there, and was disappointed this morning when we said we were headed home and there was no kids club today. There are 15 bars on board and we tried them all. My personal favorite was the Moderno bar, where you can see the entire atrium without being in the middle of everything. You do not have to eat at Moderno to get a drink at the bar. It is located right between Moderno & Blue Lagoon, opposite the grand staircases that lead down to the atrium.

 

We had the UBP, like almost everyone else onboard, and had no trouble getting drinks. At busy bars we tipped a dollar per drink and the bartenders were very appreciative. We did sometimes have to wait 5 or maybe even 10 whole minutes to put in a drink order, but I don't know of any popular bars anywhere where that isn't the case. If you want instant service, you can sit at the Star Bar or Moderno Bar, and get drink after drink with no problem. Handmade cocktails, shaken martinis & blended drinks take several minutes to make, obviously. There are various beers, wines, and ciders for those who need their alcohol fix in 30 seconds or less, though. ;)

 

So glad you had a great experience, as did we!

[olesiabr]

Thanks for the review!

 

Sent from my SPH-L720 using Tapatalk

[meslt1992]

Can anyone out there please tell me what the spa costs are?

 

Sent from my LGL33L using Tapatalk

[hawk1972]

Can anyone out there please tell me what the spa costs are?

 

Sent from my LGL33L using Tapatalk

 

If you mean the thermal spa, on the Jade I believe it was $129 pp when purchased in advance and $149 pp on board.

[hawk1972]

I will follow up on anonmom's mini-review with my own while it's still fresh on my mind.

 

Jade 1/30/16-2/6/16 Western Caribbean (Houston-Cozumel-Belize City-Roatan-Houston)

 

My wife and I are in our late-50s to early 60s and this is our 5th cruise overall, and 3rd on NCL (second on the Jade). We were Latitude Bronze when we left but moved up to silver with this cruise.

 

Overall -- I would give it five stars also. It met all my expectations and exceeded some of them. The Jade was just as I remembered it from 2011. I'm sorry NCL won't be returning to Houston/Bayport, as it's convenient for us to drive there, but we might want to try a different itinerary in the future anyway. We had beautiful weather for all our port days -- highs in the 80s each day. It turned windy and colder on Thursday afternoon and stayed that way on Friday.

 

Embarkation and disembarkation both went very smoothly. We stayed in a hotel in North Houston on Friday night and we arrived in the parking lot at 10:30 on Saturday and were on the ship by 11:30. We were off the ship this morning at 7:30 with Easy Walkoff and through customs and pulling out of the parking lot at 7:45. We were home at 2:30 this afternoon.

 

We stayed in a forward balcony on deck 10 starboard, near the forward stairs. It was tight but comfortable. Our stewardess, Rose, took very good care of us. She knew our names on the first day and always wished us a good day. We tipped her extra also. On the Jade, the mini-bars lock. We left everything in there and only used it for a carton of milk or two.

 

We ate breakfast every day in the buffet. We like oatmeal, eggs, bacon, fruit, and juice. It was fine. We ate all our lunches on ship but one in the Grand Pacific and all our dinners in GP also. We thought the food was very good and didn't have any poor meals or service. We ate one lunch in Blue Lagoon and it was good. We chose not to share a table for any of the meals but could have if we wanted to.

 

We too had the UBP and never had any trouble getting a drink anywhere -- it was probably too easy, ha ha! Easily had wine by the glass with dinner when we wanted. We didn't try all the bars -- mostly the two in the pool area and in Great Outdoors.

 

We used the hot tubs a few times and I swam once in the pool. Pools were closed on Friday because of high winds. We aren't big into sunbathing but did enjoy sitting by the pool and reading.

 

We only went to one show -- "Elements" on Thursday night. We tend to go to bed early. I attended the Meet and Greet on Sunday and it was fun meeting people and the crew was good to answer questions. Thanks to Bill for setting it up! We went to the Q&A with the captain, hotel manager, and chief engineer on Thursday. Captain Karlsson has a very dry sense of humor.

 

We did three excursions, all through NCL for convenience. We went to Passion Island at Cozumel for the second time and enjoyed it again. Weather was beautiful.

 

We did Lamanai ruins on Tuesday. It really is a full day and we were the reason the ship was late leaving Belize. We didn't get back on board until a little after 6 and the last tender was supposed to be at 5. The bus trip was long but we enjoyed the boat ride and I really liked the ruins.

 

We went to Maya Key on Thursday in Roatan and had a great time snorkeling. It was awesome, in our limited experience.

 

The tendering went smoothly in both Belize and Roatan and people seemed to have no trouble getting to private excursions. In fact, I think the private trips beat us back from Lamanai.

 

As anonmom said, the Jade is not the biggest and fanciest, but it suits us fine.

[Linda the Book Lover]

Thanks for your review. 15 bars -- let's hope this cruising birthday girl can enjoy every last one of them!

[Linda the Book Lover]

hawk1972, thanks for your review of the Jade. Just like you and anonmom we will have UBP along with the other perks. We are a decade older than you but we are going to run around like we are a lot younger (we decided to sleep when we get back home (LOL) It is so nice to have upbeat reviews.

[hawk1972]

hawk1972, thanks for your review of the Jade. Just like you and anonmom we will have UBP along with the other perks. We are a decade older than you but we are going to run around like we are a lot younger (we decided to sleep when we get back home (LOL) It is so nice to have upbeat reviews.

 

Thank you. That's what's great about cruising -- we can all do what we like to do.

 

We are not big drinkers and I hate to say it, but we were "drinked out" by about Thursday. But we did enjoy trying lots of different kinds of drinks.

[pr0pel]

Can you tell us where you docked in Cozumel?

[hawk1972]

Can you tell us where you docked in Cozumel?

 

We docked at Punta Langosta, which is in the middle of town. The MSC Opera was docked next to us.

[pr0pel]

We docked at Punta Langosta, which is in the middle of town. The MSC Opera was docked next to us.

 

Thank you! Is there any good shopping to be done near the pier or do you have to travel away? I've got a private taxi tour in Cozumel and thinking of things to do. Will be embarking this Saturday.

Edited February 7, 2016 by pr0pel