*LIVE* NCL Jade Jan 7-12,2024

[Chrissy3427]

23 hours ago, CAKEisgood said:

On deck 7 is the promenade to walk around the entire ship. 
 

 

it is very windy at the front of the ship. It was like walking through a wind tunnel. Some parts are bit narrow and I stepped aside to let people pass. There were a few walkers who were on a mission and it looked best to just step aside  

 

 

one of the wider sections on the promenade 

 

and the back of the ship! 

Are there any loungers on the Promenade deck?

[cj'smom]

Thanks for a great review! We just booked to sail on the Jade next fall for a New England/Canada cruise. Looking forward to it.  There seem to be many negative reviews of this ship so it was good to see a positive one.  We always feel like a cruise is what you make it and have never had a bad one!

[mandersen12345]

Just off this same cruise as a family of 5 in the 3br garden villa suite.  Our first time on NCL.  The suite was amazing!  The butler was fantastic!  We ordered most meals to the suite from the MDR and were really disappointed at the quality of the food.  Had much higher expectations.  Is the way to get good food on NCL to eat in speciality restaurants only?  Played a lot in the casino.  Very tight slots.  Slap in the face casino perks.  In spite, accumulated almost 20,000 points and the perks for doing so were insulting.  Disembarkation was easy.  We live 45 minutes away from Tampa.

[zqvol]

21 minutes ago, mandersen12345 said:

Just off this same cruise as a family of 5 in the 3br garden villa suite.  Our first time on NCL.  The suite was amazing!  The butler was fantastic!  We ordered most meals to the suite from the MDR and were really disappointed at the quality of the food.  Had much higher expectations.  Is the way to get good food on NCL to eat in speciality restaurants only?  Played a lot in the casino.  Very tight slots.  Slap in the face casino perks.  In spite, accumulated almost 20,000 points and the perks for doing so were insulting.  Disembarkation was easy.  We live 45 minutes away from Tampa.

I’ve never had a bad meal in the MDR, you must have had bad luck or unreasonable expectations. I’ve got over 8 NCL cruises. 

[mandersen12345]

1 minute ago, zqvol said:

I’ve never had a bad meal in the MDR, you must have had bad luck or unreasonable expectations. I’ve got over 8 NCL cruises. 

Cheap ingredients like chicken, pasta, and nasty fishes like Tilapia.  Where is the good beef?  The lamb? The best fishes?  It all felt very low budget to us and not at all commensurate with what we paid for the suite or spent onboard.

[Enchanted8808]

2 minutes ago, zqvol said:

I’ve never had a bad meal in the MDR, you must have had bad luck or unreasonable expectations. I’ve got over 8 NCL cruises. 

One man's ceiling is another man's floor. I was on the Jade from November 26th to December 24th last year and I would say the food was mediocre at best. I've been on 48 cruises over the last 10 years half of them on NCL and I've always felt the food on NCL was mediocre. 

     No my husband has a plebeian palate and he thinks the food is just fine.   I'm not so sure it says much as unrealistic expectations as the difference in palate some pallets are more sophisticated than others. Just my two cents.

[mandersen12345]

26 minutes ago, Enchanted8808 said:

One man's ceiling is another man's floor. I was on the Jade from November 26th to December 24th last year and I would say the food was mediocre at best. I've been on 48 cruises over the last 10 years half of them on NCL and I've always felt the food on NCL was mediocre. 

     No my husband has a plebeian palate and he thinks the food is just fine.   I'm not so sure it says much as unrealistic expectations as the difference in palate some pallets are more sophisticated than others. Just my two cents.

food is definitely subjective.  being our first on NCL I was disappointed.  Expected more.  So if I can't get that in the MDR then are the speciality restaurants the way to go with NCL? Next NCL isn't until November, also in 3br Garden Villa.  Exceptional food is important to us on a cruise so am trying to learn how to make that happen on NCL.

[zqvol]

1 minute ago, mandersen12345 said:

food is definitely subjective.  being our first on NCL I was disappointed.  Expected more.  So if I can't get that in the MDR then are the speciality restaurants the way to go with NCL? Next NCL isn't until November, also in 3br Garden Villa.  Exceptional food is important to us on a cruise so am trying to learn how to make that happen on NCL.

Choose an upscale cruise line, not a mass market one. 

[mandersen12345]

1 minute ago, zqvol said:

Choose an upscale cruise line, not a mass market one. 

unfortunately with 3 kids that's not an option yet.  Hence sailing in the Haven to try to get that exceptional dining experience while traveling with children.

[CAKEisgood]

7 hours ago, izzy19 said:

did you happen to notice if there was any Ginger Beer (non-alcoholic) on board? 

Hello. I didn’t look for ginger beer.  However, I noticed on the cocktail menus options for non-alcoholic drinks.

[izzy19]

Awesome...thanks again Cake

[CAKEisgood]

4 hours ago, Chrissy3427 said:

Are there any loungers on the Promenade deck?

Hello. There are no loungers on the Promenade deck. This is the deck just below the lifeboats and it is used by the crew to move food, entertainment pieces, etc and it would seem loungers aren’t practical or safe. 
 

there are plenty of loungers on the pool deck that allow you to sun bathe or not 

[CAKEisgood]

2 hours ago, cj'smom said:

We always feel like a cruise is what you make it and have never had a bad one!

Agree!  We have no complaints. Enjoyed every day, the food, and the crew. It was spectacular. I suggest if you are in need of extra service or better meal option, just ask! 
 

Have a wonderful cruise 🚢 

[CAKEisgood]

2 hours ago, mandersen12345 said:

Is the way to get good food on NCL to eat in speciality restaurants only?

Hello. And Yes! MDR is mediocre and not exciting. It’s not bad,but if you want Wow, then go to Specialty dining options. From my cruising experience, this is not unusual compared to other cruise lines. Indeed, I’ve read other cruise lines have awful MDR to push passengers to specialty dining. 

 

As Haven guests we were treated to Moderna for breakfast and Cagney’s for lunch. I hope you tried those options, because the food and service was awesome 
 

 

I hope you will embark on NCL again and try the Specialty dining. 

[CAKEisgood]

2 hours ago, mandersen12345 said:

Where is the good beef?  The lamb? The best fishes?

High quality cooking and chefs serve guests In the specialty dining restaurants. 
 

See my previous posts of dinner options we had in specialty dining. Fabulous service and food was amazing 

Edited January 12 by CAKEisgood

[CAKEisgood]

1 hour ago, mandersen12345 said:

Hence sailing in the Haven to try to get that exceptional dining experience while traveling with children.

The Haven doesn’t give upscale food experience on the Jade; instead it is upscale in service. We were given upscale food experience with Moderna for breakfast and Cagney’s for lunch - no extra cost. Our package came with Specialty Dining and so that’s where we chose to dine. 
 

Other larger ships with a Haven dining area and bar might provide that upscale food experience you are seeking without having to go to the specialty dining restaurant. Look at The Haven post that is pinned to the main NCL forums site for more details. 
 

Enjoy your next cruise 

[Enchanted8808]

3 hours ago, mandersen12345 said:

food is definitely subjective.  being our first on NCL I was disappointed.  Expected more.  So if I can't get that in the MDR then are the speciality restaurants the way to go with NCL? Next NCL isn't until November, also in 3br Garden Villa.  Exceptional food is important to us on a cruise so am trying to learn how to make that happen on NCL.

I wish I could tell you that the specialty restaurants are the way to go but that very much depends on which ship, on the Jade even the specialty restaurants were hit and miss, I was at the Brazilian restaurant three times during my 28-day cruise last month, the first time was wonderful, great pieces of grilled lamb, filet mignon and wonderful ribs, The next two times it was more fat than lamb the filet mignon was tough and they kept pushing the chicken.

   I was hearing a lot of complaints too from other Haven guests I'm not sure if it's just the Jade or if it's across the board as I was not staying in the Haven.

[CAKEisgood]

5 hours ago, mandersen12345 said:

Just off this same cruise as a family of 5 in the 3br garden villa suite.  Our first time on NCL.

Hello, again. Here is a link to The Haven forum that you might find interesting. 
 

the purpose of the live review was to give others a real life feel of my experience. If you have more questions about The Haven please defer to The Haven forum. 

 

 

[BoatParts]

Thanks for the review! We are on the Jade next month and it is good to see a current update. 

[Atlgator]

Thank you for a great review. My group are doing a 9-day out of Canaveral on the Jade. I have done 16 cruises on NCL but have not been on the Jade yet. I prefer the larger ships, but this ship had a great itinerary and was out of Canaveral. I live in Daytona. I am looking forward to the down scale size and comparing the differences from the other ships.

It is funny listening to people complain all the time about the food or entertainment. A cruise is what you make out of it. There are going to be down times on food, entertainment, or service, but I always remember that I am on vacation and a cruise is always better than sitting at home. 

[CAKEisgood]

1 hour ago, Atlgator said:

Thank you for a great review. My group are doing a 9-day out of Canaveral on the Jade. I have done 16 cruises on NCL but have not been on the Jade yet. I prefer the larger ships, but this ship had a great itinerary and was out of Canaveral. I live in Daytona. I am looking forward to the down scale size and comparing the differences from the other ships.

We have been on the larger ships and we found The Jade a delight for a smaller ship. We have cruised other cruise lines (some big, some smaller) and The Jade, so far, is our fav smallish ship. 
 

Nice to chat with a local Floridian. Keep in mind parking at Port Canaveral.  If you don’t know, there is construction to build a new parking garage next to the existing parking garage. The Port opens the gates around 10 am to start self parking. We arrive around 9:45, wait in line until they open the gates. You pay in advance with a credit card before you pass through the gate. 
 

Have a terrific cruise! 

[Pete Nice]

Thank you Cake for all of the posts and information, my wife and I are sailing out on Jade in less than a month.  This will be our fourth with NCL.

[eyecantwait]

Thank you! I was so happy to find this thread shortly after booking the Jade for a cruise out of Port Canaveral in July with some friends. Can't wait!

[CAKEisgood]

4 hours ago, Pete Nice said:

Thank you Cake for all of the posts and information, my wife and I are sailing out on Jade in less than a month.

Enjoy your cruise! February and March are gorgeous months to cruise from Florida. 

[CAKEisgood]

2 hours ago, eyecantwait said:

Thank you! I was so happy to find this thread shortly after booking the Jade for a cruise out of Port Canaveral in July with some friends. Can't wait!

Most welcome. I’m sure you’re counting the days. Enjoy your cruise!