A few questions about the Jade for us first-timers

[Ken the cruiser]

We just booked an aft-facing club balcony suite on Deck 11 on a Nov/Dec 2022 B2B from Athens to Cape Town and have a few questions.

 

1. Noise traffic regarding cabin location: When does the "noise" traffic actually die down up at The Great Outdoors which is located on Deck 12 directly above us? From everything we've read, the buffet closes around 5:30 pm, so one would think it would be pretty calm from about 8 pm on. Would this be a fair assumption or are there some other events that go on up there, other than the crew moving some chairs around in the early morning hours?

 

2. Specialty restaurants versus MDR: We know food is subjective, but is the quality in the specialty restaurants significantly better than in the MDR? As we have received a bunch of OBC from our TA, we're thinking of purchasing the 39 day specialty dinner package for $14.10 pp/day including gratuities which sounds like a pretty good deal if the quality is there.

 

3. Internet: Our stateroom has received a combined 1000 minutes of Internet for our B2B due to it being reconfigured under one booking number. The cost for Unlimited Wifi for all 38 days is $798 with 15% off if you book online. Should we wait until onboard to get a better discount by exchanging the 1000 minutes for a 38 day Unlimited Wifi package or does NCL even offer a prorated option in such a case?

 

As we have only sailed with NCL once before and that was on the Getaway for 7 days back in 2017, any thoughts will be appreciated as this is definitely a much longer cruise.

[dexddd]

Haven't been on Jade but have been other Jewel Class.  We've always seen them grilling out in the GO in the 11 pm hour but not huge traffic.  Where exactly you at?

[Ken the cruiser]

9 minutes ago, dexddd said:

Haven't been on Jade but have been other Jewel Class.  We've always seen them grilling out in the GO in the 11 pm hour but not huge traffic.  Where exactly you at?

We're in one of the aft-facing club balcony suites on deck 11.

[ohioNCLcruiser]

I think the Jade is my favorite ship in the fleet now. They did an absolutely wonderful job during her extensive renovation.

 

1. The outdoor deck is pretty dead at night so the only sound you might hear is what you mentioned and that is some chairs being moved around in the morning when they set it up.

 

2. NCL is my favorite cruise line overall but their main dining food has really decreased in quality (most cruise lines have the same issue) so the specialty dining is definitely upgraded compared to that. We try to eat in them each night of a cruise and the meals tend to always be impressive to us.

 

3. Can't help with the internet question since I'm not sure.

[Ken the cruiser]

1 hour ago, ohioNCLcruiser said:

I think the Jade is my favorite ship in the fleet now. They did an absolutely wonderful job during her extensive renovation.

 

1. The outdoor deck is pretty dead at night so the only sound you might hear is what you mentioned and that is some chairs being moved around in the morning when they set it up.

 

2. NCL is my favorite cruise line overall but their main dining food has really decreased in quality (most cruise lines have the same issue) so the specialty dining is definitely upgraded compared to that. We try to eat in them each night of a cruise and the meals tend to always be impressive to us.

 

3. Can't help with the internet question since I'm not sure.

Thanks! Your thoughts have definitely helped us continue to lean towards booking the specialty restaurant package.

[EllieinNJ]

As I remember the back of the buffet is The Great Outdoors and I think they reopen from 10 to 11 in the evening for the after Showtime crowd.  Never very busy.

[BigRedFan]

On 9/19/2020 at 9:45 AM, Ken the cruiser said:

We just booked an aft-facing club balcony suite on Deck 11 on a Nov/Dec 2022 B2B from Athens to Cape Town and have a few questions.

 

1. Noise traffic regarding cabin location: When does the "noise" traffic actually die down up at The Great Outdoors which is located on Deck 12 directly above us? From everything we've read, the buffet closes around 5:30 pm, so one would think it would be pretty calm from about 8 pm on. Would this be a fair assumption or are there some other events that go on up there, other than the crew moving some chairs around in the early morning hours?

 

2. Specialty restaurants versus MDR: We know food is subjective, but is the quality in the specialty restaurants significantly better than in the MDR? As we have received a bunch of OBC from our TA, we're thinking of purchasing the 39 day specialty dinner package for $14.10 pp/day including gratuities which sounds like a pretty good deal if the quality is there.

 

3. Internet: Our stateroom has received a combined 1000 minutes of Internet for our B2B due to it being reconfigured under one booking number. The cost for Unlimited Wifi for all 38 days is $798 with 15% off if you book online. Should we wait until onboard to get a better discount by exchanging the 1000 minutes for a 38 day Unlimited Wifi package or does NCL even offer a prorated option in such a case?

 

As we have only sailed with NCL once before and that was on the Getaway for 7 days back in 2017, any thoughts will be appreciated as this is definitely a much longer cruise.

I have sailed on the Jade and really enjoyed it.  I am booked for  the same itinerary you are on but in 2021 on the Jade.  I find the Specialty Restaurants to be a better deal than MDR.  My favorite is LeBistro; always exceptional service and food.

I love the aft facing cabins!  Most likely you might here chairs being moved in the am.

You will enjoy this itinerary.

[RNRcruisers]

We liked the Jade when we were on her for an 11 day cruise in the Med. I actually quite like main dining room food and don't feel the need to go to specialty restaurants. This was several years ago that we were on the Jade so maybe the quality has changed but I also thought it was good on the Encore earlier this year. I would be more inclined to use OBC for beverages or excursions, but of course that is a personal decision.

[Pens fan]

We were on the Jade for 14 nights last Oct/Nov in the Eastern Med.  We love that class of ship, having sailed on the Gem the previous Fall.  We were in an aft suite on deck 10 on both of those cruises, and didn't experience any noise from Great Outdoors.  We loved being on the aft of the ship, as the views were terrific and you are somewhat protected from the wind.  

 

As for food, everyone is different, but we didn't like the food in the MDR's on the Jade nearly as much as we did on other NCL ships we've sailed on (Gem and Sun).  I don't know if it was a ship specific thing or if the MDR quality is just declining in general.  After a couple of less than stellar MDR meals we just grabbed something at the buffet (surprisingly good!) for the nights we didn't have specialty dining reservations.  I definitely think it's worth it to try at least a few meals at a specialty restaurant, as overall we find the quality is definitely elevated from the MDR.  Our favorite restaurant on board is Le Bistro.  We've never had a bad meal there, and I highly recommend it.  Teppanyaki is always fun and the food is pretty good.  One restaurant we've given up on is the complementary Asian one.  We've tried it on each of our three NCL cruises, and did not like it at all, and we typically love Asian food.   

 

As for internet, I'm not sure about pricing and packages, but wanted to let you know about our experience on the Jade - especially as you mentioned leaving out of Athens.   Most of our ports were in Italy and Greece.  While in Italy, we found the internet to be decent - pretty much what you expect from cruise ship satellite internet (not good - just decent).  But while in Greece, the internet was awful - basically unusable.  One night I had to go down to the internet desk because one of my packages wasn't showing up.  I asked the internet manager if there were certain places on the ship where I would have better coverage.  His response?  "Nope - it stinks everywhere!"  At least he was honest 😂.  As I was walking away, a man was complaining about it taking several minutes to open up one web page.  The manger just said (as politely as possible), "Sir, if we knew what was wrong with the internet we would fix it"  That pretty much sums up my experience with NCL internet in Greek waters.  I'm sharing this long tale to say I wouldn't spend a whole lot of money on it.  We got 500 minutes "free" with booking and I'm very glad I didn't actually put out cash for it, as it was pretty worthless a good portion of the time.

 

I do think you will enjoy the Jade.  It's a perfect size for me, especially on a port intensive cruise.  The crew was fantastic, but then that's been the case on every NCL ship we've been on.

Edited September 25, 2020 by Pens fan

[Sailing12Away]

I'll confirm the internet on ALL NCL ships is quite horrible. Without an unlimited package, you spend half your minutes logging in/logging out and trying to connect. Forget about doing anything data intensive (uploading photos, streaming, etc). It's good for a quick email back home to let everyone know where you're at and that you're doing fine, but that's about it. If you absolutely need internet, you need to get the unlimited package - but honestly you're better off waiting until you're in port and finding a cafe/shop that offers their wifi password with purchase.

 

We've never had a problem with the food in the MDR. I was pleasantly surprised by Le Bistro. I'm not a fan of French food, but their steak was the best I had onboard - even better than Cagney's the supposed 'steak' place. We were also pleasantly surprised by La Cucina. Went in expecting something on the level of Olive Garden and it was better than that. I'm a huge fan of their pesto gnocchi.

 

When we were on the Jade we were in the DOS up on deck 15. The noise didn't bother us and it was fun to be literally in the middle of everything on the main pool deck when you wanted to look from afar, but the movement of the ship was too much. We felt every single wiggle of the ship - so much so that it made us a bit nauseous one night.

[Ken the cruiser]

31 minutes ago, Sailing12Away said:

I'll confirm the internet on ALL NCL ships is quite horrible. Without an unlimited package, you spend half your minutes logging in/logging out and trying to connect. Forget about doing anything data intensive (uploading photos, streaming, etc). It's good for a quick email back home to let everyone know where you're at and that you're doing fine, but that's about it. If you absolutely need internet, you need to get the unlimited package - but honestly you're better off waiting until you're in port and finding a cafe/shop that offers their wifi password with purchase.

 

We've never had a problem with the food in the MDR. I was pleasantly surprised by Le Bistro. I'm not a fan of French food, but their steak was the best I had onboard - even better than Cagney's the supposed 'steak' place. We were also pleasantly surprised by La Cucina. Went in expecting something on the level of Olive Garden and it was better than that. I'm a huge fan of their pesto gnocchi.

 

When we were on the Jade we were in the DOS up on deck 15. The noise didn't bother us and it was fun to be literally in the middle of everything on the main pool deck when you wanted to look from afar, but the movement of the ship was too much. We felt every single wiggle of the ship - so much so that it made us a bit nauseous one night.

Thanks!! After reading your write-up, we're definitely glad we upgraded our 500 minute Internet perk to unlimited! 

[jaja]

While I can't help with your specific questions, I was on the Jade once and the other Jewel class ships as well , and I love the size and amenities. Never felt crowded and always great service.  Enjoy!

[Linda the Book Lover]

On 9/19/2020 at 6:45 AM, Ken the cruiser said:

We just booked an aft-facing club balcony suite on Deck 11 on a Nov/Dec 2022 B2B from Athens to Cape Town and have a few questions.

 

1. Noise traffic regarding cabin location: When does the "noise" traffic actually die down up at The Great Outdoors which is located on Deck 12 directly above us? From everything we've read, the buffet closes around 5:30 pm, so one would think it would be pretty calm from about 8 pm on. Would this be a fair assumption or are there some other events that go on up there, other than the crew moving some chairs around in the early morning hours?

 

2. Specialty restaurants versus MDR: We know food is subjective, but is the quality in the specialty restaurants significantly better than in the MDR? As we have received a bunch of OBC from our TA, we're thinking of purchasing the 39 day specialty dinner package for $14.10 pp/day including gratuities which sounds like a pretty good deal if the quality is there.

 

3. Internet: Our stateroom has received a combined 1000 minutes of Internet for our B2B due to it being reconfigured under one booking number. The cost for Unlimited Wifi for all 38 days is $798 with 15% off if you book online. Should we wait until onboard to get a better discount by exchanging the 1000 minutes for a 38 day Unlimited Wifi package or does NCL even offer a prorated option in such a case?

 

As we have only sailed with NCL once before and that was on the Getaway for 7 days back in 2017, any thoughts will be appreciated as this is definitely a much longer cruise.

Congratulations on your cruise choice! We sailed on the Jade in Cabin a way back in 2016 in Cabin 10164, which was an Aft Suite. We loved the cabin and I persona;;y spent time reading and having a glass of wine on it with my husband and our friends also sailing on this cruise. We never heard any loud noise which disturbed our serenity. I would choose this cabin again should we sail on this size ship in the future. 

 

You are correct food is subjective and also changes from ship to ship. We met at the Champagne Bar for dinner and the service was wonderful. After theatre and sometimes until way "early morning" our friends and ourselves settled in at the bar by the stairs. Sometimes there was a stronger smell of smoke while sitting in the Champagne area closer to Le Bistro  and we would move to another area. My eyes would start tearing etc etc (allergy). The food was good in both the dining room and specialty restaurants - nothing to write home about but my steak was perfect. I always remember the plus and minus on a steak because I like mine well. I know what!

 

We had the internet plan which we get every sailing. We now purchase online before sailing as even with the extra time it was not a better bargain for us to wait. Your length of time may make a difference. I would call and ask the NCL folk.

 

The Jade is nothing like the Getaway as it is cozier. We enjoy the smaller ships because for us in our "twilight time" we are not too interested in all of the games and extra-curricular activities the larger ships bring to the passengers. The Jade felt like a small town while the Getaway was more like a metropolitan city. My daughter and I sailed on the Getaway for her birthday and though we had a great time, we both agreed we enjoyed the smaller to medium ship sizes on NCL but willing to try a larger ship together again. Hence, my birthday cruise on the Breakaway in 2021 with both of my children sans spouses and grandchildren. I am very excited to enjoy my children together as middle-aged adults on a vacation. 

 

I enjoy NCL and sail on the different size ships, we are now Platinum. I also sail other lines depending if it is just my husband and myself or children with grandchildren. I hope you will enjoy your time.

 

 

[Ken the cruiser]

11 minutes ago, Linda the Book Lover said:

Congratulations on your cruise choice! We sailed on the Jade in Cabin a way back in 2016 in Cabin 10164, which was an Aft Suite. We loved the cabin and I persona;;y spent time reading and having a glass of wine on it with my husband and our friends also sailing on this cruise. We never heard any loud noise which disturbed our serenity. I would choose this cabin again should we sail on this size ship in the future. 

 

You are correct food is subjective and also changes from ship to ship. We met at the Champagne Bar for dinner and the service was wonderful. After theatre and sometimes until way "early morning" our friends and ourselves settled in at the bar by the stairs. Sometimes there was a stronger smell of smoke while sitting in the Champagne area closer to Le Bistro  and we would move to another area. My eyes would start tearing etc etc (allergy). The food was good in both the dining room and specialty restaurants - nothing to write home about but my steak was perfect. I always remember the plus and minus on a steak because I like mine well. I know what!

 

We had the internet plan which we get every sailing. We now purchase online before sailing as even with the extra time it was not a better bargain for us to wait. Your length of time may make a difference. I would call and ask the NCL folk.

 

The Jade is nothing like the Getaway as it is cozier. We enjoy the smaller ships because for us in our "twilight time" we are not too interested in all of the games and extra-curricular activities the larger ships bring to the passengers. The Jade felt like a small town while the Getaway was more like a metropolitan city. My daughter and I sailed on the Getaway for her birthday and though we had a great time, we both agreed we enjoyed the smaller to medium ship sizes on NCL but willing to try a larger ship together again. Hence, my birthday cruise on the Breakaway in 2021 with both of my children sans spouses and grandchildren. I am very excited to enjoy my children together as middle-aged adults on a vacation. 

 

I enjoy NCL and sail on the different size ships, we are now Platinum. I also sail other lines depending if it is just my husband and myself or children with grandchildren. I hope you will enjoy your time.

Thanks! We're definitely looking forward to that cruise! There is just something about watching a port fade off into the distance or going through the Panama Canal locks while sitting out on our aft balcony that makes those cabins extra special.

 

But I have to say when you mentioned smoking that really perked up my ears up, so I had to go check the NCL site for details on their current rules:

 

https://www.ncl.com/cruise-faq/smoking

 

Thankfully, the currently designated inside "public area" smoking location shouldn't be an issue for us as we don't use the casino.

[TPgal]

We were on the Jade for an 11 night Panama Canal cruise (2018).   We spent many a night in the Great Outdoors having beverages in a quiet, not crowded place.   

The bar was open in the evenings, and piped in music was playing but by no means was it ever loud.  One evening a rather large group of folks set up a lively card game and they were loud, but other than that it was like a secret romantic place to hang out.

 

We were on the same deck, but near the pool (in a 2br suite) and we heard the pool deck arranging every morning, but by night 2 we slept thru it without issue.  

 

We loved the Jade and hope you have a great trip.  

[ppcox]

On 9/19/2020 at 2:45 PM, Ken the cruiser said:

2. Specialty restaurants versus MDR: We know food is subjective, but is the quality in the specialty restaurants significantly better than in the MDR? As we have received a bunch of OBC from our TA, we're thinking of purchasing the 39 day specialty dinner package for $14.10 pp/day including gratuities which sounds like a pretty good deal if the quality is there.

 We think the specialty dinner package is worth it. I think the gap between the quality and quantity of the main dinning room and the Speciality Restaurants has got wider in the past few years. I don't think you will regret it. Happy cruising 

[Norseh2o]

We sailed on the Jade earlier ‘this century’, a great introduction to NCL! Smaller ships are our favorites, we love the NCL Jewel class ships. We last sailed on an NCL in September, 2018 on the Pearl (round trip Seattle to Alaska) at the end of the Alaska season. We decided that the Pearl was our favorite ship. Our cabin on deck 11 in a forward mini suite, (named Club Balconies now) was perfect, good location, and we appreciated the extra cabin size as we have always booked regular balconies. Our May 2020 Jade trip was cancelled,  NCL refunded in about 50 days & we are scouring catalogs and the NCL website for another trip on a Jewel class ship. 

[Linda the Book Lover]

6 hours ago, Ken the cruiser said:

Thanks! We're definitely looking forward to that cruise! There is just something about watching a port fade off into the distance or going through the Panama Canal locks while sitting out on our aft balcony that makes those cabins extra special.

 

But I have to say when you mentioned smoking that really perked up my ears up, so I had to go check the NCL site for details on their current rules:

 

https://www.ncl.com/cruise-faq/smoking

 

Thankfully, the currently designated inside "public area" smoking location shouldn't be an issue for us as we don't use the casino.

Le Bistro and the bar is right across from the Cigar place. If the door is opened for someone you can barely notice the smoke.  Sadly I am sensitive and just that bit had me tearing away. 🙁 No big deal for us we just changed seats. It is not like a Smokey bar screen in a b&w movie. We did go to the Casino for the slot pull and afterwards we carried on smartly to an outdoor bar😁😉

[hernando52]

The Jade is our favorite ship and we have taken several cruises on her (through thick and thin).  The Jewel class ships are by far our favorites as we like the smaller size and do not need all of the bells and whistles offered on the mega-ships.  We are booked on her again 11/29/2020, but I am afraid that one may be cancelled.  On one trip around the British Isles we stayed in an aft balcony on the 10th deck....loved the large balcony and the views.  Two things to keep in mind with an aft balcony room.....we found that our space got very sooty  from the smoke stack and some mornings, trash had blown down from the outdoor restaurant.  Our steward always had a lot of work keeping the area clean.  Second....the aft area is fabulous in good weather, but terrible if you hit storms .  We rocked back and forth and side to side.  More than once in bad weather we had to make our way down to the 7th deck mid ship just to have a little steadiness!  The hallways in the back were always very quiet and we never heard any noise from the back bar/restaurant.  When we sailed her in the Caribbean, we chose a mid section balcony stateroom which we enjoyed...unfortunately, the cruise was cancelled after 3 days of a 10 day cruise due to mechanical difficulties...which happens...NCL and the ship staff treated us very well during that emotional time.  We rebooked the same cruise months later and had a wonderful trip.  We like the smaller of the two main dining rooms as it is more intimate and seemed more casual.  Cagney's, Le Bistro, & La Cucina were a step above the MDR.  Internet is not good.  The bars and staff are very good!!  You'll be happy on the Jade!

[thedarklord]

I really like the Jade, been on her a couple of times.

 

One thing I don't see mentioned very often is the bridge viewing room, forward on deck 11. Well worth a visit for a few minutes at some point, has plaques from some (all?) of the ports she has visited. Don't think the room appears on deck plans.

 

Your cruise itinerary interests me, but I'm struggling to find it on ncl.com - any pointers on how I can find it?

[All-ready2cruise]

Try this: 

https://www.ncl.com/vacations?cruise-destination=africa&port=cpt,pir&ship=norwegian-jade

[Ken the cruiser]

Thanks everyone for your thoughts. We are definitely excited about our future cruise on the Jade. However, some folks have mentioned poor internet service. Regarding that issue, how is the router connectivity in the cabins, especially those on Deck 11? Slow bandwidth speeds are fine. However, having to go to a public area on the ship rather than from the cabin to obtain a connection would become a little more annoying, especially considering all the passengers on the ship having to do the same thing. 

[Linda the Book Lover]

1 hour ago, Ken the cruiser said:

Thanks everyone for your thoughts. We are definitely excited about our future cruise on the Jade. However, some folks have mentioned poor internet service. Regarding that issue, how is the router connectivity in the cabins, especially those on Deck 11? Slow bandwidth speeds are fine. However, having to go to a public area on the ship rather than from the cabin to obtain a connection would become a little more annoying, especially considering all the passengers on the ship having to do the same thing. 

We had no issues in our cabin at all. We even uploaded pictures to post. We were on deck 10 the same as you.

[VirginiaIsForCruisers]

1 hour ago, Ken the cruiser said:

Thanks everyone for your thoughts. We are definitely excited about our future cruise on the Jade. However, some folks have mentioned poor internet service. Regarding that issue, how is the router connectivity in the cabins, especially those on Deck 11? Slow bandwidth speeds are fine. However, having to go to a public area on the ship rather than from the cabin to obtain a connection would become a little more annoying, especially considering all the passengers on the ship having to do the same thing. 

 

On both my trips on the Jade, my internet connectivity in my cabin (I was on deck nine near the aft elevators) was probably the best I experienced on the ship. The worst was in the theater. I couldn't get connectivity there at least 90% of the time.

 

I hope you enjoy the Jade as much as I did. She's a lovely ship.

[Ken the cruiser]

3 minutes ago, Linda the Book Lover said:

We had no issues in our cabin at all. We even uploaded pictures to post. We were on deck 10 the same as you.

Cool!! Thanks. That makes us feel a lot better as we even in our late 60s, like others, need our daily internet fix. 🙂