Jade 1st Cruise From Tampa Review- Nov 2016

[Sotermarler]

It's Sunday not so fun day because our cruise is over! So what does one do with 4 hours at the airport? Write a review of course.

I will give my take on the Jade vs our Escape cruise last year. This is our 3rd cruise, our first was GA 2 yrs ago and Escape last year. (Forgive me if I mix up the GA and E as they are very similar) We took our DS 8 for his first cruise this year.

If you are looking for the short version, it was a great trip! Otherwise read on, I've got 4 hrs to kill!

 

Pre-cruise

I don't normally get into pre-cruise stay but since this stay was let's say, "exceptional" in a bad way, it's worth a mention. I wanted to extend the cruise at the front of the trip to take advantage of the Veterans Day holiday and hit Bush Gardens.

I tried to take the cheap way out by booking a inexpensive hotel and Uber instead of car rental, but as I have learned, the cheap way out isn't always the best.

 

You may have seen my previous thread on here about pre-cruise and whether to take my passport to the park with me since the hotel was so bad. I was afraid to leave anything at the hotel while at the park for fear of it getting stolen. I asked my dear friends from CC and they had lots of great advice. I will post the link on the next thread because I don't have it saved yet.

 

We stayed at the Days Inn in Tampa near the park, what a dump! I figured it was a Days Inn how bad can it be? Dumb, dumb question. It was BAD!

My DH even said I think this is where ladies of the night disappear from!

Let's just say the pictures on line were nothing like the actual room and the reviews were 100 % fake. It had such a stench of smoke that I could smell it through my Cpap at night. If anyone here has a cpap you know it's hard to smell anything with it on, except maybe a fire or really bad SBD. Even my DS8 was horrified at the conditions he slept in his clothes and without a pillow. We were stuck there for two nights and then high tailed it out of there to Ybor City.

 

Bush Gardens was great if you love rides like me. They have some really cool roller coasters. My family however, doesn't like rides so for them it was an over priced zoo.

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Ybor City was nice to see once, lots of night clubs and bars. Not all that family friendly with shops. It's not a place I would rerun to. I have to say the Miami port wins this hands down. I am not at all impressed with Tampa. When I asked the Uber driver where the nice parts of Tampa are, he said nothing and smiled. That was all I needed to know.

Continued......

 

 

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[Sotermarler]

Ok here is that link to the other thread about the hotel.

Pre-cruise stay, bring or leave passports in room? http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2422078

By the way here is a tip for Bush Gardens, buy your tickets in advance online and you will save 20%! We actually bought them while standing in line at the gate and saved almost $50 for the family!

 

 

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[mafig]

Looking forward to your review.....

 

I recall a Days Inn in North Carolina. We were on our way to NJ from Florida... it was late.... so we thought How Bad Can It Be???? OMG it was horrible. So glad we didn't catch anything.

 

 

Anyway, on to your review. Hope it's better. We're thinking of Jade in April after her refurbishment.:)

[easyboy]

I agree. Cheap is not always good. As they say, "you give me peanuts, I give you monkey". Looking forward to your review

 

 

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[grandmarnnurse]

A lesson well learned. I avoid Days Inn. My hubby is always looking for the bargain, where as I look for the best deal on the best hotel. He cringes when I tell him what I pay for hotels, but he is thankful once there, that I didn't listen to him. Lol!

 

 

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[Roxxy4me]

Subscribing! We leave for the Jade in a week! Can't wait to hear about your trip!

 

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[dporter]

following

[rnr4thatsme]

Following

[All-ready2cruise]

Thanks for taking the time to do this review and so sorry you found the sad side in the hotel. Strongly recommend reading reviews on Tripadvisor to ensure you're getting a hotel that's safe, even if it's less expensive.

 

We enjoy Tampa area but I started taking my kids there when they were babies... they're grown now with kids of their own and we still enjoy Tampa. We're booked on the Jade in April and have already reserved our hotel at the Marriot Waterside & Marina. For us, it's fairly expensive but that's due to our dollar but we found it to be a wonderful hotel and close to the port.

 

Again, sorry for your negative experience pre cruise but hope you ended up having a great experience on NCL Jade.

[setsail1975]

Thanks for taking the time to do this review and so sorry you found the sad side in the hotel. Strongly recommend reading reviews on Tripadvisor to ensure you're getting a hotel that's safe, even if it's less expensive.

 

 

 

We enjoy Tampa area but I started taking my kids there when they were babies... they're grown now with kids of their own and we still enjoy Tampa. We're booked on the Jade in April and have already reserved our hotel at the Marriot Waterside & Marina. For us, it's fairly expensive but that's due to our dollar but we found it to be a wonderful hotel and close to the port.

 

 

 

Again, sorry for your negative experience pre cruise but hope you ended up having a great experience on NCL Jade.

 

 

We are cruising the Jade in April and booked the Marriott Waterside also. Have you stayed there before? We have not, just curious if you had did you like it?

 

 

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[Laszlo]

We are cruising the Jade in April and booked the Marriott Waterside also. Have you stayed there before? We have not, just curious if you had did you like it?

 

 

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My wife and I have stayed there twice pre cruise. Really nice hotel, within walking distance of a lot of things. Check out the Tampa Aquarium if you have the time

[luv2cruisecats]

These places have been terrible for so many years I cannot even count...maybe over 20 years I suspect. There maybe a small % that are just ok but most are terrible. In 2016 if you stay anywhere under $100/night you may be in trouble regardless of the name on the sign unless you were able to snag a one time bargain.

[Sotermarler]

Embarkation

The Jade had just come over from Europe, some folks were on this vessel back to back for 3 weeks! Since she just came back to the US she had to go through customs and restocking. We got a call the day before boarding to not show up at the port before 11:30 am since Tampa is a small port.

When we went on the Escape and GA we had to rush to port to get in line for a Vibe pass. Since the Jade doesn't have this area there was no rush for us. It was actually nice not to stress over arriving early enough to get passes or be disappointed if we didn't get them.

So since everyone got the call not to arrive before 11:30, I think everyone arrived AT 11:30. There was lines outside, then up the stairs, then into security, then more lines to get the ID card. The positive thing was once you got through the lines you could walk right onto the ship. We never did that on the Escape.

We didn't leave port until 7:30 pm. We were told there was divers in the water and we were waiting on them. It was all fine with us as we made our way to Top siders for drinks. We got a table and drinks right away. The weather was hot and sunny and a great start to the cruise.

Continued ..

 

 

 

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[All-ready2cruise]

We are cruising the Jade in April and booked the Marriott Waterside also. Have you stayed there before? We have not, just curious if you had did you like it?

 

 

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Yes, we've stayed there and really enjoyed it, wonderful staff experience, lovely walking area... marina is right outside the doors, nice restaurant and sports bar, a wee bit pricey but very nice. Hope you enjoy your stay there I know we will.

 

As Laszlo indicated it's a very nice hotel.

 

Cheers,

Edited November 20, 2016 by All-ready2cruise
hate it when i misspell a name!

[Sotermarler]

Cabin

We were able to get into the cabins around 1 pm as usual. We had a standard balcony cabin 9th floor forward. I found the cabin to be much smaller than the Escape and was not pleased that the pull down bunk was right in front of the slider. When it was pulled down you had to limbo underneath it to get to the balcony. I must have bonked my noggin at least 3 times. I thought we were just unlucky, but it seems that the few cabins I peeked into had the same annoying set up.

 

I thought the location was fine. We had a 9th floor forward cabin on the Escape and we must have walked for miles to get to the buffet. On this smaller ship, it seemed like a hop skip and a waddle to the buffet.

I did however like the closet area and drawers. On the Escape it's darn near impossible to get into and out of the closet. We are not unpackers, so I was able to throw my suitcase on the floor of the closet, DS suit case on the shelf in the closet and DH on the couch.

 

Are we the only lazy cruisers who live out of the suit case and make a pile of dirty clothes. Please tell me there are others lazy like us!?

Continued ...

 

 

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[snowcones]

Looking forward to your review.

 

 

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[Sotermarler]

These places have been terrible for so many years I cannot even count...maybe over 20 years I suspect. There maybe a small % that are just ok but most are terrible. In 2016 if you stay anywhere under $100/night you may be in trouble regardless of the name on the sign unless you were able to snag a one time bargain.

 

 

I wish I knew that before I booked! I don't even think hotel impossible could fix this place. It seriously needs to be demolished. It's very sad, that whole Bush Gardens area was suspect if you ask me.

 

 

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[Sotermarler]

Sail Away

 

After a few drinks and checking out the room, we went up and registered DS at the Splash Academy. There were only 132 kids under 18 on this cruise, the previous European 8 day had 16 kids, and they said that on the next Thanksgiving cruise there will be 600 kids under 18! Yikes!

 

We decided to go to dinner at the Grand Pacific at 6:00 pm. The conversation with my friend and I went something like this: My friend, "We are changing for dinner". Me, "why?' Them, "because you have to dress up for dinner". Me, "what? No you don't, this is free style, I'm not changing". I look at my DH to see what he is wearing and I envision us being the targets of someone else's MDR dress code thread, and say to him, "um, we have to go change for dinner".

 

I would later find out that they were right as we were denied entry to the GP another night because my friend had shorts on. We were never denied entry to any restaurant on the Escape for shorts, or maybe we were just better dressed last year?

Anyway the food was quite good, a step up from the Escape that I remember. It seemed like on the Escape all the food had sat for awhile. On the Jade food came out fresh and hot, BUT man it was slow service. An hour and a half is over my limit and just like that, we missed the sail away party.

 

I thought it was odd that the party was held inside and not on the pool deck. The Escape has a much better set up for sail away with Spice H20.

Continued ...

 

 

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[setsail1975]

My wife and I have stayed there twice pre cruise. Really nice hotel, within walking distance of a lot of things. Check out the Tampa Aquarium if you have the time

 

 

Thanks good to know! We arrive into Tampa at 9:00am so we will have a full day to explore, the day before setting sail. We looked at so many hotels online and this one had everything we were looking for.

 

 

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[setsail1975]

Yes, we've stayed there and really enjoyed it, wonderful staff experience, lovely walking area... marina is right outside the doors, nice restaurant and sports bar, a wee bit pricey but very nice. Hope you enjoy your stay there I know we will.

 

As Laszlo indicated it's a very nice hotel.

 

Cheers,

 

 

Perfect! Thank you[emoji4]

 

 

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[compfixer]

We are leaving on the 4th to 11th sailing... any chance you grabbed the dailies? thank you. :)

[SuperMommy]

Following. Awesome review.

 

 

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[ashleyriley]

I am from the Tampa Bay area and just like any large city there are good parts and bad. You had a really bad experience and my intention is not to rub it in. For others cruising from Tampa know that is a great city with diverse food, culture, and entertainment options. And the beautiful Gulf beaches are a twenty minute drive away. This is when research is key...Busch Gardens is absolutely a sketchy area but there are so many great areas, as others have suggested. And the smallest amount of research would tell you that Ybor City is NOT family oriented. Just wanted to put my two cents in so others are not scared away from your experience or what a random cab driver did or didn't say.

[MichelleDavison]

I am from the Tampa Bay area and just like any large city there are good parts and bad. You had a really bad experience and my intention is not to rub it in. For others cruising from Tampa know that is a great city with diverse food, culture, and entertainment options. And the beautiful Gulf beaches are a twenty minute drive away. This is when research is key...Busch Gardens is absolutely a sketchy area but there are so many great areas, as others have suggested. And the smallest amount of research would tell you that Ybor City is NOT family oriented. Just wanted to put my two cents in so others are not scared away from your experience or what a random cab driver did or didn't say.

 

I'm from Tampa too, and yes, stay away from the Busch Gardens/USF area for lodging! But downtown (Marriott and Embassy Suites, Hilton Riverside) are lovely places to stay near the port, the riverwalk, the aquarium and the history center. Lots of great places to eat and drink nearby in Seminole Heights (no nice hotels in this neighborhood, unfortunately).

[Samstress]

We were on the same cruise. We stayed pre cruise at the Marriott Waterside & it was beautiful. Wonderful location & great staff. I would highly recommend it.

We've all had our share of crappy hotels & I'm sorry yours ending up in that category.

Cheers

Sandy