A Grade for Norwegian Jade!

[GradTrip1216]

Norwegian Jade Cruise- This is my first review on Cruise Critic and I apologize in advance if it is a little long. I scoured cc for months before the trip and the detailed reviews that other people left were incredibly helpful so I wanted to return the favor for anybody who is interested in reading my review of the Norwegian Jade from Jan 15th through Jan 25th. I also have all the dailies so just let me know if you are interested in seeing them and I will post them. The cruise had its ups and downs but all in all we were had an awesome time. A little bit about us…

 

Background- I went on this cruise with my boyfriend and we are both in our late 20s. I researched this trip a lot before making a final decision as I wanted this to be special since it was a graduation trip to celebrate my graduation from nursing school. I was debating between the Jade and the Escape but in the end the itinerary and the price I got had me decide on the Jade. We live in California and this was our first time going to the Caribbean, or even on a cruise for that matter. When the time finally came we boarded the plane to Tampa, ready to leave real life behind for a while and more than ready to take advantage of the UBP we got with the Free At Sea promotion. , After an uneventful Delta flight, with a short layover in Atlanta, we were ready to get this dream vacation started.

 

Pre Cruise- We stayed at the Chase Suite Hotel in Tampa. This hotel had some mixed reviews online but I thought the price was super reasonable for the room we got, which included a porch and a full kitchen with a small dining table. When you get to the airport you just call the hotel and they send the shuttle driver to come pick you up and tell you where to meet the shuttle driver. Couldn’t get much easier for a free airport shuttle. The Bahama Breeze restaurant is within walking distance of the hotel and we had a great fish tacos and cocktails there the night. Word of warning it does get really busy on weekend nights and we had an hour wait for a table, but that was no problem because we just sidled up to one of the many bars and enjoyed some cocktails and the live band outside while we waited. The next morning we took advantage of the free breakfast buffet and it was not great. Everything was pretty cold, even the scrambled eggs so we just ended up sticking with cereal. They were not offering a shuttle to the cruise port so we decided to call an Uber. It’s only a short distance from the cruise port and would have been an easy ride except our Uber driver didn’t understand very much English and he ended up taking us to the airport instead of the cruise port first, and then got kind of lost going around the cruise terminals so what should have been a 10 minute ride ended up taking 25 minutes. We were in vacation mode already so we just laughed it off as a memorable way to start our vacation.

 

Embarkation- once we got to the right cruise terminal it was easy to find the porters to take our luggage. We arrived around 11am and made it through the lines quickly and painlessly. There was not too long of a wait before we were allowed aboard and we entered on deck 7 by the elevators, ready to explore our new home for the next 10 days. Of course the rooms weren’t ready quite that early but we were able to drop our carryon bags off in our room and head to the aloha bar for a welcome aboard drink

State room 4533- Our room was an inside forward room, the location of the room was convenient for getting off the ship at our ports because the gangways are located on deck 4. It was not so convenient for getting to the pool deck or buffet (where we spent most of our time) on deck 12 but it definitely didn’t hurt us to take the stairs a few extra flights with all the eating we were doing. =) The one annoying thing with the location of our room is that at night when they closed some of the crew doors our room was only accessible by going to deck 5 and taking the stairs down, which got pretty confusing after some long nights. The room itself was great. The Bed was comfortable and the room didn’t look worn-down or old. The shower seemed roomy, bigger than the one we have at home actually, but the rest of the bathroom was a little cramped. The over the door organizer tip that I read about on cc definitely saved us. We had purposely booked the inside room as it was less expensive and we weren’t planning on spending a whole lot of time in our room and not knowing what to expect from a cruise room we were pleasantly surprised with the setup. Our room steward, Norma, deserves a special shout out because she was efficient, friendly and always so happy.

 

Sail away party- I had read many reports of postponed sailaways on cruise critic before our trip but our sailway was right on time. After a quick and easy muster drill they began to prepare delicious food on the barbeques and we settled in on loungers with our Bahama Mamas and listened to the band temperature (we really enjoyed them throughout the whole cruise)

 

FOOD

 

Garden Café & Great Outdoors- this is probably where we consumed most of our breakfasts/lunches/dinners/second dinners etc. it was the easiest option and never too crowded. Having separate stations made it very easy to just go and grab what you wanted without waiting in long lines. There was normally a wait for the many omelet stations at breakfast but we can’t complain because the omelets were so good. My only regret was that I didn’t know they also did eggs benedict at the omelet stations until sound the 5th or 6tth day of the cruise! The scrambled eggs were hit or miss but everything else (especially the pastries) were great. We loved to get our breakfast in the garden café and go sit in the great outdoors to enjoy the sunrises in the mornings. The lunch and dinner buffets were also good, with a big variety from cold cuts and breads to pizza, pasta, delicious burgers, a meat carving station and Asian food. On our 10 day cruise we did begin to get a little tired of the options by the end because they tended to be very similar every day.

 

Alizar- Towards the end of the cruise when we began to tire of the buffet options we had a few dinners at alizar. We usually went around 8pm and the restaurant was never crowded or even close to full. The service we got from the hostess to the waiters was wonderful here every time we went. The majority of the food we got here was delicious but I did notice they tended to slightly overcook the steaks so it’s helpful to tell them to cook it just a bit rarer than you would like it so you don’t end up with an overly chewy steak. All in all very good and unfortunately we always left too full to try any of the desserts on the menu.

 

Grand Pacific- We had a few lunches here but never made it for dinner. The food was great but the service not so much. When we were there the restaurant was empty with the exception of maybe 5 tables but the service was very slow and not as friendly as other restaurants we had been at. However the salmon burger I had was delicious and my boyfriend said the same about his meatball sandwich. The peanut butter cheesecake was to die for. I did hear from other people that the lunch menu was always the same so just something to keep in mind.

 

Jasmine & Sushi bar-This restaurant seemed to be hit or miss but for complentary Chinese food I can’t complain at all. The pot stickers were so good as was the fried rice. The main entrees we got, such as the Sweet n Sour Pork, were all okay. We got the Spicy Tuna Roll (all the sushi is a la carte prices.) It was just okay but coming from California we might just be sushi snobs.

 

Blue Lagoon-We went to this restaurant quite a few times for late night munchies. They are open 24 hours but they do have a slimmed down menu after dinner (no late night potato skins, Norwegian?!). We tried the wings, the hot dog and the fish and chips and they were all good from what I remember, but we normally had our fill of drinks by the time we got here. The restaurant was never busy. Since we came late at night we were usually the only people in the restaurant, with the exception of one time when there was one other couple.

 

Moderno- We really wanted to try this churrascaria as we had heard so many great things about it from all our new friends on the cruise. Being cruise newbies we had not planned any reservations ahead of time and the night we went they were very busy and had no openings. Through the hostess we were very easily able to make a reservation for the next night. I have to say this restaurant was amazing and definitely worth the cover charge. We pretty much had to roll out of the restaurant by the time we were done. They brought over Brazilian cheese bread that was to die for. The salad bar was insane with so many different options from make your own salad to premade cold salads that were phenomenal. But as tempting as it is don’t stuff yourself at the salad bar because there are so many different cuts of meat that they will bring around as well as 4 good sized sides (plantains, beans with chorizo, buttered rice, and mashed potatoes) that they will bring to your table and all of them were delicious. The strawberry caipinerhas were refreshing. I would definitely recommend this restaurant to anyone

.

Room Service- We ordered the complimentary continental breakfast room service one morning by filling out the door hanger and leaving it on the door. This was a very convenient and complimentary option after a long night. You get a choice of cereal, fruits, pastries and drinks. The cereal and fruit plates were good and the coffee hot but I would advise against the pastries as it seemed they were all very hard and stale, maybe leftovers from the buffet the day before.

 

BARS

 

Topsiders- This was probably our favorite bar of the whole trip. Right on the pool deck you get a good view of the action and a shaded overhang if you’re looking to get out of the sun for a bit. On our cruise it seemed there was very rarely a wait to get a drink and always an empty stool to sidle up to the bar. The bartenders were very quick and friendly, especially Miguel who always remembered our names and kept the drinks coming before we even asked.

 

Bali Hai- This was one of the main smoking bars and since my bf smokes we spent a lot of time here as well. This bar overlooks the pool deck and is fun for people watching. The huge majority of the cruise goers were older than us so at first we did feel slightly out of place. This bar ended up being where we met the few people around our age throughout this trip. People seemed to like to congregate here. This bar is also where I first tried a Miami vice which ended up being one of my favorite drinks of the trip.

 

Aloha Bar- this bar in the main atrium serves espresso as well as drinks. We enjoyed the espresso here for our caffeine fix and found it worth it to pay extra as the free coffee in the buffet was not so great (I usually enjoy-and need- black coffee to keep me going but I had to add a few packets to make it drinkable). I have to say the Irish coffees at this bar were great too, if you were trying to catch a pick me up and a buzz.

 

Bar City- The three bars on deck 6. This was a great place to stop and get a drink on the way to a show at the Stardust Theater or sit and listen to piano music and singing at night. It was usually really busy at night so we didn’t come here as often as we thought we would.

 

ENTERTAINMENT

 

Spinnaker Lounge- They usually had bingo here during the day which was entertaining even though we seemed to have left our luck on land. This is also where most of the late night entertainment took place, such as the White Hot Party and some of the gameshows like the Newlywed Game. During our cruise they also showed the playoff games here on a big screen with a buffet complete with nachos, hot dogs and other tailgating foods. They even brought cakes shaped as all the teams’ logos, which was a nice touch. We spent most of our nights here listening to either Temperature or DJ Viper. There usually were not very many people here at night, with the exception of the White Hot Party, which we found slightly disappointing. The DJ also never seemed to want to take song requests, even if nobody was on the dance floor. We understand now that in the future we should check out a bigger boat if we are looking for more nighttime activities.

 

Pool deck- As many other people have stated in their reviews the waterslide had already been taken down before our cruise, leaving a large caution taped area in its place. It would have been nice to have but was not a deal breaker to us that it was gone. I can see how it would be disappointing to the few families with small children on this cruise however. The pools were great and never too crowded. The four hot tubs were crowded during the day but were great to use after 8pm as they were usually mostly empty by then. The lounge chairs were never too crowded. Some people did hold theirs chairs all day but there was never a shortage of chairs when we wanted them.

 

Medusa Lounge- We didn’t spend a lot of time here. There were dance lessons (such as merengue) during the day. At night there was always karaoke here. We did karaoke one night and it was a good time but we never really had the desire to come back after that. Also be wary to do your homework and look at the deck plans when booking your room as we met a couple who had a room directly above the medusa lounge and could hear the karaoke in their room all night long.

 

Trade winds- The store was well stocked and towards the end of the cruise had good deals going on which we were happy to take part in. I now have way too much Norwegian gear but the deals were too good to pass up.

 

SHOWS

 

David Naster- He was the comedian on the ship. He did two different sets on this cruise but we only saw the first one. It was clean comedy, definitely okay for the whole family. We both thought some of his jokes were pretty funny but some were over the top and dragged on a little too long. All in all he was entertaining and worth seeing, at least for one show.

 

El Gaucho- This show was great. We didn’t know quite what to expect going in but we were so happy we went. His show was entertaining from beginning to end and I would definitely recommend seeing it if you have the chance. My boyfriend and I both agreed that after Elements this was our favorite show and we would recommend it to everyone.

 

Magician- I can’t remember the magicians names but the show was ok. There were not a whole lot of actual tricks, most of the show was him making jokes, picking on the audience etc., but the tricks that he did perform were crazy to watch and very well done.

 

Jade Production Cast- We saw the production cast in the welcome aboard show, in an American idol type show which I can’t remember the name of, and in Elements. They were definitely great in all of these shows but I have to say Elements was hands down my absolute favorite show and I highly recommend it to everybody.

 

Elements- A circque du soleil type show involving the production cast, the magician, and the acrobats. We sat close to the front and it was awesome to see the cast running by us or the acrobat’s right above. It’s hard to explain this show other than to say GO SEE IT. We were in awe and captivated the whole time. At the end the crew came up on stage, which was a really nice final touch.

 

I had really wanted to see Blazing Boots but ended up being really seasick that day so had to skip it. I heard mixed reviews from others but can’t comment myself. We didn’t end up seeing the acrobat or tightrope walker shows either.

 

PORTS OF CALL

 

Key West- We were docked at a military base but there were complimentary shuttles to take us to town. We explored the town on foot for a bit, making the obligatory stop at Sloppy Joes for rum runners. After wandering up and down Duval for a while, with a brief stop at the oldest house in Key West, we stopped for a slice of pizza. I wish I could remember the name of the pizzeria because it was so good but all I can say is it was right on Duval Street and it was outdoor seating only. Outside the restaurant there was a fountain that everyone kept stopping and staring at and it turns out there were a bunch of turtles in it which totally made my day. After lunch we decided we warned to conquer more of Key West so we opted to buy tickets for the Hop On Hop Off Trolley over the conch train as the prices were cheaper and we wanted to be able to get off and explore. We got to see the Southernmost Point and the Butterfly Conservatory, which we had a 2 for 1 coupon for from the ship. We also made a stop to get conch fritters and Iguana Bait beer, followed by a stop at Kermit’s Key Lime shoppe, where we bought way too many souvenirs and had the best key lime pie we had ever had. It was an awesome day in Key West and the only regret we had was that we missed getting a Cuban sandwich because we were way too full.

 

Tortola- We didn’t have any plans for Tortola and were back and forth between booking an excursion through the ship or just winging it. In the end we decided to just wing it and ended up finding a 3 hour island tour with a stop at Cane’s Garden Bay for $25 from a man at the cruise port as opposed to what the cruise ship wanted. The roads were steep and winding and I was afraid I would get carsick but the cars were open air which helped. We stopped at a great bar called Stout’s Lookout and had a beautiful view of the island. We stopped at the beach for an hour where we got to shop for souvenirs and try the very strong, very cheap rum punch. (Only $3 a glass.) We had forgotten our towels unfortunate so we just rented chairs for $10 and relaxed. The trolley took us back to the cruise port and we went searching for lunch but there aren’t many options at the cruise port at all. We wandered in to town and found our way to Pussers. It was busy and the service was super slow but the food made it worth it. We had a mahi mahi sandwich and a jerk chicken quesadilla with pineapple. Both were amazing but the real winner was the painkillers. They were made with pussers rum and hands down the best painkillers we had on the whole trip. After that we headed back to the ship, having had a very relaxing day.

 

Antigua- Our time in port was extended by a few hours today. We got off the boat with no plans again and were a little overwhelmed by all the taxi drivers who were very aggressive and swarmed all over us as we walked through the port. We had a few other snags when the tourist center ran out of maps of the island and when we had difficulty trying to find an ATM that would give us US currency and as a result ended up with a bunch of Antigua currency. After all this we finally just decided to go on an island tour that promised us some beach time at Valley Church Beach because the driver told us he would take us to get our money exchanged. We ended up in the back of an old bus with another group of tourists who only spoke Italian as we went soaring around turns and up hills. We seemed to go the back way through Antigua, seeing many neighborhoods but not much else. Just as I was starting to get carsick from our crazy tour driver and not being allowed to open the windows we arrived at the beach where we were dropped off for 3 hours. Overall the beach made the rest of the tour worth it. We rented some chairs and an umbrella for $20 and grabbed a Wadadli beer at one of the beach bars. After we tanned for a bit we decided to jump in the water since we had made it a point to bring our towels this time. The water was a gorgeous blue color and so refreshing. We spent most of the day in the water until it was time to go back. When we got back to the cruise port we did a little shopping and then looked for some food. The restaurant we found was so expensive ($20+ for a sandwich) so we decided to go back to the ship to eat. Antigua was definably fun but next time I think I will organize a tour ahead of time to see more of this beautiful island.

 

St Maarten- We had a tour booked with Bernard’s Tours. I had heard good things both from cc and from all my internet researching and had decided to book this tour in advance. We had DJ as a tour guide and he was great. I highly recommend Bernard’s. The tour was informative and funny and we stopped at so many great overlooks, an iguana farm, orient bay for an 1 and a half, marigot, and maho beach. We got to see the whole island from an air conditioned bus and on top of that there was free water, beer and the top secret extra potent rum punch available throughout the whole tour. This made for a fun and (somewhat) memorable ride. I was able to get so many beautiful pictures of the island, try an amazing croissant and brie burger at Sarafina’s in French St Martin, get a tan without tan lines at Orient Beach and see the airplanes coming and going at Maho Beach. When we got back to the cruise port we explored and shopped a little, bought some beautiful handmade cigars and tried the guava berry rum. St Maarten was one of my favorite ports and I definitely want to go back someday soon.

 

San Juan- As luck would have it we got to San Juan on the last day of the San Sebastian Festival (or Sanse). We got off the boat at 7am and went in search of breakfast. People were starting to set up booths along the streets. We found a tiny place where everyone spoke Spanish and knew we had to try the food here. As soon as we sat down and were devouring our delicious food the restaurant got so packed that they actually brought tables out from the back to set up in the street for people. We explored a bit after breakfast and then the streets were filling up with people singing, dancing, drinking and just have an amazing time. There were stages set up everywhere for live music and food and beer stands everywhere. The street food was incredibly cheap and so good. We had a few more empanadas than we should have but hey, we were on vacation. After we danced through the streets we walked up to the fort to take in the views, which were breathtaking. We decided to try to find a place to try mofongo since that was on our bucket list and wound up in The Parrot’s Bay Restaurant. The mofongo, along with the two types of salsa they brought, were perfect, and I’ve been craving it ever since I got home. The service was really slow though and we ended up sitting in the restaurant for 2 hours so by the time we were done eating we had to run back to the ship. Once we caught our breath and made it back on board we knew it had been another amazing day in port.

 

Disembarkation- We did the easy walk off disembarkation and it was pretty simple. There was a slight line and a little bit of confusion getting off the boat but that was to be expected with that many people making a mass exodus. It took less than 15 minutes to get through the lines and customs and we were able to get a taxi in less than 5 minutes. A really easy and stress-free end to an overall great first cruise! We are already booked for a charter cruise on the Norwegian Pearl in the fall and are counting down the days!

[pspercy]

Excellent, thanks. Congrats on finishing nursing school too:)

[Ergates The Ant]

Great review, very useful

Thanks

[roger001]

Excellent review. Thanks. We are an older couple and really like all the Jewel class ships, including the Jade. But yea, you might like the Getaway or one of the larger ships also. In any case, it's a cruise....and you can't beat that. And...we're on the Pearl again in a few weeks. We've been to Key West a couple of times, but might look for that key lime pie and that pizza next time, next cruise.

[Kruizin'Kath]

Thanks for a great review! We are on the Jade for a TA in April! Welcome to cruising and nursing!!

Have you done your boards yet? If not, hope you shut off at 75 questions!!:D

[cue881]

That was a great review, thanks!

[okeytaco]

Great review. Thanks for taking time to do it! We're booked on the Jade in 2018 in an inside room for a 16 day transatlantic - hoping for an upgrade but the price for a balcony was almost double the $1399. Was there a coffee maker and a sofa in your room? We've always booked balconies that had both. I'm used to having them but am willing to do without for the difference in price.

[NMLady]

Great review. Thanks for taking time to do it! We're booked on the Jade in 2018 in an inside room for a 16 day transatlantic - hoping for an upgrade but the price for a balcony was almost double the $1399. Was there a coffee maker and a sofa in your room? We've always booked balconies that had both. I'm used to having them but am willing to do without for the difference in price.

 

 

We were in an Inside cabin for April 2016 ta on the Jade and in a different inside cabin for the October ta. There was no couch or loveseat in either cabin. The rooms are tiny. I was on the side of the queen bed nearest the wall and had to really squeeze between the foot of the bed and the small table. This was true in both cabins.

 

There are no coffeemakers in the inside cabins nor in the oceanview cabins.

[easyboy]

Thank you for your detailed review. Glad you enjoyed your cruise.

Congrats for finishing your nursing course!

[okeytaco]

We were in an Inside cabin for April 2016 ta on the Jade and in a different inside cabin for the October ta. There was no couch or loveseat in either cabin. The rooms are tiny. I was on the side of the queen bed nearest the wall and had to really squeeze between the foot of the bed and the small table. This was true in both cabins.

 

There are no coffeemakers in the inside cabins nor in the oceanview cabins.

 

 

When I think about it I realize if the cabin is that small and there's no balcony or sofa a coffee maker would be ridiculous - no where to sit and enjoy a cup! Were you okay in the room? Did it feel claustrophobic? We've booked a sideways inside having read they feel more spacious even though they really aren't.