Jade Mediteranean Sept 12th - 23rd 2019

[Dar & Bob]

Review of 9/12 to 9/22/19 Jade Mediterranean Cruise

I previously posted a review of the ports and the NCL shore excursions we took.  This is regarding the experience with the Jade only.

We had a group of 10 people on this cruise.  Long story short our pre-cruise experience with NCL was awful.  Our PCC was great booking us and making promises.  After that he dropped the ball and didn’t even put us through as a group. it took going to an email for a VP to get anything accomplished.  We had people who had allergies and one that needed distilled water for a CPAP and those common requests took several attempts.  So the overall pre cruise experience was unacceptable in our book.  BTW I don’t want to hear from the cheerleaders or be told we should have had a TA.  Never needed one on any other cruise line and it’s no excuse for the crappy customer service 5 couples received when contacting NCL.

Our cruise started in Rome and we stayed there for two days prior to embarkation.  We stayed at a small boutique hotel in the heart of Rome, Hotel Smeraldo.  This place is absolutely fantastic.  The rooms are small by US standards but it is Europe.  Both the room and the bathroom were updated and very comfortable.  Breakfast was included and had hot eggs, bacon and sausage along with delectable pastries and even specialty coffees made by a barista.  We were able to walk to the Pantheon, Trevi fountain and the Colosseum from the hotel.  The front desk staff was wonderful and even made dinner reservations for us.  I just can’t say enough about this place.  If we go back we will definitely be staying there.

On to embarkation.  We had our own transportation to the port and arrived around noon with one other couple in our group.  Embarkation could not have been more smooth.  We were promptly checked in.  So at this point NCL is not looking so bad.  Once onboard, we explored and found the only open bar by the pool deck.  The bartenders also enhanced the experience and would for the whole trip.  Ade and Mitchert were fantastic and actually remembered guests names for the whole trip. 

Our cabins were ready early.  We had a mini suite which was quite spacious but still don’t understand the bump outs in the wall opposite the foot of the bed that make it impossible for two people to pass. Our room steward was efficient and handled requests quite promptly.  Our cabin 11632 (friends had the cabins to each side) were for the most part quiet.   Only heard a noise from up above one morning about 4 am. 

Traveling with a group on NCL with their freestyle dining is an issue if the group wants to dine together.  Several of us tried to make reservations for the group when the reservations opened up.  When we called we were told there would be no problem getting more suitable dining times for the group once onboard.  This was so not the case.  The woman at the dining reservations told us just get a pager for the group and they would seat us.  At the dining room we were told we could not have a pager for a group of 8.  As usual, no communication.

The same went for the shore excursion desk.  We wanted to cancel an excursion which they state can be done if it’s more than 48 hours out.  However, the excursion desk staff has many duties, including being out on the excursions so they were open very limited hours (like 7 to 9 pm) The good news is they took our ticket numbers and were able to sell our tour to someone else.  So the takeaway is cancel immediately when you decide, don’t think you have until the 48 hours.

We liked the buffet area compared with other ships we have been on since they open up La Cucina to sit down and have a quiet area.  We also liked having the great outdoors.  Overall we thought the food was of a lesser quality than we have had on other lines.  They had many choices that sounded good like the Covina, but it was horribly overcooked.  We did have lunch in O’Sheehan’s and it was good bar food.  The dining room in the morning, although good, was very slow.  One morning it took an hour to get food.  Again the waitstaff was good, asking if we would like food or muffins etc while we were waiting. We ate one night in Cagney’s.  My petite filet was excellent however, my DH ordered the regular filet and was served two mini filets.  One was way overdone and sent back.  The meal was good but an upcharge of $120 for two of us with only salad, potato and filet is ridiculous. The atmosphere was not what I would expect of the best restaurant, it was noisy and mostly a view of the prep line.

I will say the service onboard with very few exceptions was fantastic.  As long as you don’t have to deal with what I will call Management (guest services, shore excursions or reservations).  The bartenders and waitstaff were almost always pleasant and efficient.

The disembarkation in Rome was nothing like the embarkation.  It was raining and when disembarking we had to walk through the rain to a tent (yes a tent) that was dimly lit with hanging construction lights to find our luggage.  Almost impossible to see the flags in that light.  Then NCL busses all parked in front of the exit, so we trudged through puddles to find our transport.  Also, even though disembarkation papers showed we had until 9:30 to get off the ship at 8:45 came the announcement to basically get off NOW.  

This trip was a “bucket list” trip.  The ports were Santorini, Athens, Mykonos, Crete, Malta, Sicily, Naples, Florence and back to Rome.  I have posted a separate review of the ports and the excursions we took.  They did not disappoint. 

Overall, I am glad we took this cruise.  Norwegian really dropped the ball when it came to customer service, so much so that there are 10 people who will look at other lines and most likely never cruise them again.  It is a shame because the onboard service people work so hard and have a smile on their face every day. 

[littlelulu01]

Thanks again for taking the time to write a review.  I really appreciate hearing the good and not so good to try and avoid issues.  Hopefully the same great staff will be onboard.  We’re the last Jade full med sailing for this year. 

 

Did you have prearranged transportation after the cruise?  We have an 11 am flight so are hoping to get off the ship around 7am (docks at 6am). Do you happen to remember what time they announced clear to leave ship?  I paid 150€ for Rome cabs to pick up 4 of us. They say they’ll be at ship with a sign.