Norwegian Jade good to know?

[RMS Olympic]

Sailing on the Jade this month and would like to get some feedback. Are there any things that you learned after getting on the ship that you wish you knew before hand. Any surprises good or bad? Anything unique about this ship as compared to other jewel class ships?

Every ship is different, every cruise is different....but there are always good to know items.....

Thanks in advance

[Bilge Rat 2]

Sailing on the Jade this month and would like to get some feedback. Are there any things that you learned after getting on the ship that you wish you knew before hand. Any surprises good or bad? Anything unique about this ship as compared to other jewel class ships?

Every ship is different, every cruise is different....but there are always good to know items.....

Thanks in advance

Keep a watchful eye out for bilge rats, & mr. bubbles bouncing around the ship, in his kilt. And the 101 things that may go wrong. Harvest Caye or other itinerary & menu changes. Remember: dare to be different from your 4 legged friends. Jade in port 12MN to 7:30PM Sunday. 19-1/2 hours problems? Not mentioned on roll call by anyone!

Edited November 16, 2016 by Bilge Rat 2

[trinitytrees]

Pardon?

[meltingmoments]

Keep a watchful eye out for bilge rats, & mr. bubbles bouncing around the ship, in his kilt. And the 101 things that may go wrong. Harvest Caye or other itinerary & menu changes. Remember: dare to be different from your 4 legged friends. Jade in port 12MN to 7:30PM Sunday. 19-1/2 hours problems? Not mentioned on roll call by anyone!

 

Would LOVE to know what all this means? SHOULD I know? Am I just not in the loop? ;)

[RMS Olympic]

Gracie is my dachshund that I hate to leave when I sail. mr Bubbles I think is a new name assigned to me because of a post I made on the roll call concerning champagne on the Jade.

Bilge rat....ill let him explain his post.

[meltingmoments]

Gracie is my dachshund that I hate to leave when I sail. mr Bubbles I think is a new name assigned to me because of a post I made on the roll call concerning champagne on the Jade.

Bilge rat....ill let him explain his post.

 

Lol....thank you for the (partial) explanation! :)

 

Enjoy the Jade, we loved her.

[scanditaly]

I read on another thread that the trip from Miami to Tampa was expedited due to fog. So......She arrived very early.

 

Since She (The Jade) was arriving from her TA crossing, extra provisioning, USGC, and the like were due Her. Do I know this for certain? Heavens no!

 

Scanditaly

[nexttimeclub]

Since you want an explanation from Bilge Rat, Nexttimeclub will translate.

Family's live in Tampa Bay area for more than 100 years.

NO FOG here nor on web cam at Tampa port.

Still no answer to what was the problem for 19-1/2 hours. Reputation control?

Actually, RMS nickname is not mr. bubbles, it is Bertha. Mr. Bubbles is another roll call member on the Jade 11/27.

It was his DJ nickname in a lounge in DC for 10 years.

So far we are the 3 fun people on the roll call. Bilge Rat kidds Bertha. Ask him about my psychic powers.

If you are really curious, read roll call for above date & Bilge Rats past posts (130 + cruises & 1200 + dives). Some have underwater pics.

Bilge Rat tries to educate as well as be humorous. It is NOT about my room. "All cabins arrive at the dock & depart at the same time."

Edited November 16, 2016 by nexttimeclub

[hawkeyetlse]

There definitely was fog in Tampa when we woke up on Sunday morning, but I don't know for sure if that was the reason for the Jade's early arrival. And I don't know why the next cruise left so late on Sunday night. But both of these events are extremely common (the ship arrives a few hours early or leaves a few hours later than scheduled), and there is no need for a conspiracy theory every time.

 

I'm sure lots of people were annoyed by the extended port time, because it did not translate into extended shore time for passengers, only extra sales tax and no casino etc. I guess one small advantage is that you can keep using your cell phone while the ship sits in port.

[nexttimeclub]

I do not know where & when you woke up. FYI: When there is fog, not only is the Skyway bridge closed, the port of Tampa is also closed. At 12MN the port of Tampa web cam showed NO fog!

The reason for concern: Last year after a TA crossing, the NCl Star was plagued with propulsion ipod problems for more than a month (30 days). 3 weeks in a row ships schedules were interrupted. Replacement bearings required. Can be done at the dock, takes 36 hours. Mechanical issue, or ipod problem?

[hawkeyetlse]

I do not know where & when you woke up. FYI: When there is fog, not only is the Skyway bridge closed, the port of Tampa is also closed. At 12MN the port of Tampa web cam showed NO fog!

I was onboard the Jade, obviously (otherwise I wouldn't have bothered posting). I don't know what the point of posting the weather report at midnight is. The whole point is for the ship to get to port before the fog does.

[Blondie008]

I was onboard the Jade, obviously (otherwise I wouldn't have bothered posting). I don't know what the point of posting the weather report at midnight is. The whole point is for the ship to get to port before the fog does.

 

I was on board also - for sure when we woke up and it was VERY early - it was pea soup outside - I quite agree - the ship would have to get in before the fog did -

Great cruise !

[EllieinNJ]

Getting back to tips, if the buffet is too crowded for breakfast,you can go into La Cuchina with your food and sit at a nice quiet window table. They even have juice and a coffee machine in there. Very relaxing. Also, if you want eggs benedict you have to ask the omelet chef against the wall, not the one in the center station.

 

At night, even though the buffet is closed, you can walk through it to get to the Great Outdoors for late-night food and dessert, up till 11pm.

[bluesea777]

I do not know where & when you woke up. FYI: When there is fog, not only is the Skyway bridge closed, the port of Tampa is also closed. At 12MN the port of Tampa web cam showed NO fog!

 

That is certainly why we arrived (yeah, we were on the Jade - with Hawkeye and Blondie) early at 11:30PM before the fog hit! I was miffed with the casino's early closure - had to cash my chips at Guest Services!

 

JADE is a really lovely strong lady! No issues. She cut thru the rough waves well (we had about 5 days of rough during the TA) - better than the Epic and Escape, imho.

 

The food on the Jade - anywhere - was good - in our opinion. At the beginning of the TA there were 2 omelette stations in Garden Café at breakfast, but after a few days, there were 3, and then after a week, there were 4!! We had omelettes daily - they were so good! The scrambled eggs were cooked - not runny at all as on other ships.

[pooh/tigger]

When you go in the MDR, there is a quiet dining area to your left and then back. Just ask the concierge and wait if no table available. It's an area you almost always have to ask to be seated in.

It's very quiet and the service is much better. Not saying MDR service is bad. It is just better back there because very few tables and 2 to 3 servers and busers for the section.

We were a group of 5. Had the same server each night for dinner so we got to know each other well.

Each night, he would bring a sample plate of all the desserts available that evening and our group would share.

He found out (we didn't tell, he just heard us talking) that this trip was to celebrate mom's 80th. He had a beautiful cake brought out, a special birthday crown and sash and then proceeded to escort mom throughout the MDR as everyone sang Happy Birthday to her.

He made her feel so special, she was crying.

 

Back to the point. That area is where to go for dinner.

 

If you just want some quiet time to read and look out at the water, Spinnaker is place to go. The bar is suppose to open at 4pm up there but once in a while, the bar tender would open by 3pm.

And if you have a drink up there, ask for bar snacks. They don't always bring them out.

 

 

BTW, we tipped that server $100 at the end of our cruise.

[NMLady]

When you go in the MDR, there is a quiet dining area to your left and then back. Just ask the concierge and wait if no table available. It's an area you almost always have to ask to be seated in.

It's very quiet and the service is much better. Not saying MDR service is bad. It is just better back there because very few tables and 2 to 3 servers and busers for the section.

We were a group of 5. Had the same server each night for dinner so we got to know each other well.

Each night, he would bring a sample plate of all the desserts available that evening and our group would share.

He found out (we didn't tell, he just heard us talking) that this trip was to celebrate mom's 80th. He had a beautiful cake brought out, a special birthday crown and sash and then proceeded to escort mom throughout the MDR as everyone sang Happy Birthday to her.

He made her feel so special, she was crying.

 

Back to the point. That area is where to go for dinner.

 

If you just want some quiet time to read and look out at the water, Spinnaker is place to go. The bar is suppose to open at 4pm up there but once in a while, the bar tender would open by 3pm.

And if you have a drink up there, ask for bar snacks. They don't always bring them out.

 

 

BTW, we tipped that server $100 at the end of our cruise.

 

Which MDR? Grand Pacific or Alizar??

[pooh/tigger]

Ooops, Grand Pacific.

 

As you enter here, go left and then back.

[Sotermarler]

There definitely was fog in Tampa when we woke up on Sunday morning, but I don't know for sure if that was the reason for the Jade's early arrival. And I don't know why the next cruise left so late on Sunday night. But both of these events are extremely common (the ship arrives a few hours early or leaves a few hours later than scheduled), and there is no need for a conspiracy theory every time.

 

I'm sure lots of people were annoyed by the extended port time, because it did not translate into extended shore time for passengers, only extra sales tax and no casino etc. I guess one small advantage is that you can keep using your cell phone while the ship sits in port.

 

 

On the ship now, they said we left late due to divers in the water. We left around 7:30 pm. It didn't bother us what so ever.

 

Here's a tip, on 11 forward you can watch the bridge in action at certain times.

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[hawkeyetlse]

Yes, definitely visit the Bridge Viewing Room on deck 11 at some point, but it's not a place you can spend hours and hours, either. :)

[nexttimeclub]

Unique! This ship may show you (maybe last chance) before refit updates. Deck 6: large bars of the past, Deck 8: old to new, O'Sheehans & Deck 13: Star bar no more. Compare deck plans NCL Star (newer updated) to Jade being older (Jewel class). I liked deck 6 layout without smoke room. Prefer larger bar area! Champagne bubbles bar. PS: RMS are you watching webcam today (yesterday) LOL. Can see sail away as it sails down channel about 4-5PM, Look at bottom for area map (may help others). I can see it's not at my favorite berth, (longer walk to parking). See you next week. Have you watched slideshow of HC yet?

Edited November 21, 2016 by nexttimeclub

[RMS Olympic]

As for the port cams.....yes I watch them each weekend Sat and Sunday (Tampa, Miami and port Canaveral. Sometime on weekdays I look at St Maarten , Nassau and Key West. I agree about the berth Jade is using, prefer the othe on. What I can't figure out is why there isn't another ship in port on Sunday...unless it's because HAL is sailing from Tampa now on Fridays.

By the way NTC, I still don't know if NTC and BR2 are one and n the same.

As for your powers....I would guess Facebook.

Concerning the number of cruises you have been on, either you started very young, you are extremely wealthy or very very very old......first cruise on Noah's Ark?

Me I am just a beginner, this Jade cruise being number 81. That's why I can still claim to be innocent, naive, fragile, delicate, pure and unsoiled...even at my age😈

[compfixer]

Anyone have a scan of the dailies for this season? we are leaving Dec 4th to 11th

 

Thank you :)