What you DID NOT like about Norwegian Jade

[dmwnc1959]

Still hemming and hawing between two ships doing a long (16-25 nights) Panama Canal cruise: Coral Princess and/or Norwegian Jade.

 

For those that have done extended cruises (3-4 weeks) on the Norwegian Jade in the past year, using the Free at Sea promotions with drinks and dining, what were some of the things you DIDN'T like or thought could be better? What were some of the features and amenities of the ship that just didn’t work with crowds and onboard reservations (restaurants, atrium, shows, bars, promenade decks, etc.). 
 

I’m hoping to get some insight as to how the ship handles the onboard passenger experience when operating on longer repositioning  cruises. 
 

THANK YOU! 

[ricksurf]

I did a three week cruise on the Jade this last year from Athens to Dubai through the Suez Canal. Since, I have cruised on this ship in the past, then I was very familiar with the amenities which this ship offers versus others.  The only fault that I have is the Club Balcony Suites under the pool area, since you can pick up some noise from above due to moving about of lounges. We, always choose the suites under La Cucina in the aft portion, since there is no noise from this area.

The Jewel class ships are smaller and offer a nice experience. We were port intensive on this cruise, so exiting and reboarding was done quickly.  The aft open area behind the buffet is an excellent place to have meals and to spend time outside with amazing sea views.

Five years ago, I did a Transatlantic cruise on this ship from Venice to Houston. The cruise experience was the same positive vibe as I had last year.  What's nice about the NCl ships for long cruises is the number of dining choices.  The food choices never get boring with so many different dining venues. I noticed that Princess is copying this NCl experience with the launching of their new ship The Sun. They have added a separate Suite area with private dining room and pool area.  Also, they have added more Specialty Dining Venues, which is similar to NCl.

[Captain k]

The only major negative was the large smoking bar area above the pool deck.  A lot of smokers. Seemed like smoke blew back over the pool decks.  Morning buffet was the same each day, but good omelets.  No reservations needed for shows.   Two production shows were pretty good.  Comedian two nights was awful.  The three bars together was kind of weird and crowded at times. Food and service were good overall.  No major negatives.  Nicely refurbished ship. We were on a 11 day cruise. 

[mcmomny]

We were only on The Jade for a week in Greece this past summer and had no complaints at all!

 

Matter of fact I am looking at her again for The Panama Canal for 2026 and I prefer to not sail the same ship twice, to try new ones but we really enjoyed The Jade.

 

Having been on larger ships the last few times we were afraid we would be bored on this smaller ship but we were not and we loved seeing the same crew everyday and getting to know them.

 

I never felt crowded, even at the pool

 

Our Free at Seas was great, but we have had 3 bad experiences with Cagney's so won't waste our time there again.

[dmwnc1959]

@ricksurf @Captain k  @mcmomny  

 

I also wanted to ask about how difficult it was to make restaurant reservations, especially for extended cruises. I usually eat around 5:30pm and wanted to buy the 7-meal Specialty Dining Package (will have a total of 9) to try out some of the restaurants. Having never cruised NCL before, can you make dining reservations before embarkation on the app? Is this only available after final payment is made? Thanks again! 

[ricksurf]

It is not difficult to make reservations for specialty dining and especially on an extended cruise, since there are so many more nights and times available for people to dine. You can make the dining reservations on the NCL website, where your reservation is posted 90 days in advance. Also, you can make shore excursions reservations, show reservations, etc.

For extended cruises, then we have rarely made reservations, since in most cases the Specialty Restaurants had sufficient openings on most nights.  Cagney's is probably the most popular; so keep an eye on it and you may need to make a reservation in advance for a particular time.

[mcmomny]

Now that everyone gets "free at sea" I find it necessary to pre booked specialty dining in advance on the website, just to make sure we get the time and place we want.

 

This can always be changed once on board without any difficulty but if you make a reservation for a specialty restaurant and don't show up they will still deduct your free meal and you won't be able to use it elsewhere. FYI

 

Yes Cagney's is the most popular but we have been 3 times and all 3 times we were not impressed, just our experiences. We prefer Moderno Churrascaria

 

Loved La Cucina, we had the place to ourselves and the staff were amazing! And for the first time I convinced my husband to try Le Bristro and he loved it!

 

Our favorite bar was Tankards Beer and Whiskey Bar, great bartenders and excellent selection of Scotch and wines.

 

Jasmines along with the MDR's are included but there was always a wait for Jasmines but it was worth it!

 

Our favorite place on The Jewel class ships is "The Great Outdoors" for all sail aways!

 

 

 

 

[ebay33]

The end of the cruise, when I had to get off the ship.

[dmwnc1959]

@ricksurf @mcmomny  

 

Another question if I may regarding reserving specialty dining.

 

When I make online reservations via the app, and I’ve purchased a 7-9 night specialty dining plan, will my reservation ‘know’ this and debit one night each per reservation, or is it charging me and I’ll get the credit of my dining plan deducted from my onboard account? I’m assuming this all shows up on my encoded cruise card? 
 

Hope that’s not too confusing! 
 

[dmwnc1959]

47 minutes ago, mcmomny said:

Loved La Cucina, we had the place to ourselves and the staff were amazing! And for the first time I convinced my husband to try Le Bristro and he loved it!

 

Jasmines along with the MDR's are included but there was always a wait for Jasmines but it was worth it!

 

Our favorite place on The Jewel class ships is "The Great Outdoors" for all sail aways!

 

I’d love to be able to eat at La Cucina several nights! Found sample menus from there and Jasmine’s and it looked amazing. And eating outdoors while grabbing some fresh air breakfast and hearing the sound of the wake….perfection. 

 

😎

Edited February 16 by dmwnc1959

[mcmomny]

58 minutes ago, dmwnc1959 said:

@ricksurf @mcmomny  

 

Another question if I may regarding reserving specialty dining.

 

When I make online reservations via the app, and I’ve purchased a 7-9 night specialty dining plan, will my reservation ‘know’ this and debit one night each per reservation, or is it charging me and I’ll get the credit of my dining plan deducted from my onboard account? I’m assuming this all shows up on my encoded cruise card? 
 

Hope that’s not too confusing! 
 

Yes, your account will know this and not charge you.. Now about the app, I have only booked via online and have not booked via the app. 

[dmwnc1959]

25 minutes ago, mcmomny said:

Yes, your account will know this and not charge you.. Now about the app, I have only booked via online and have not booked via the app. 

I’ll make sure to use my iPad and the online website. 👍

[mcmomny]

I hope you enjoy The Jade as much as we did!

[dmwnc1959]

19 minutes ago, mcmomny said:

I hope you enjoy The Jade as much as we did!

This is a fairly big leap for me - 25 nights - and definitely the longest single (non-B2B) cruise I’ve ever taken. I think that I’ve done enough research to choke a mule. 🤣 But my research is the biggest investment I can make so there aren’t any crazy surprises. So far I really, really like what I see in Norwegian Jade, and it checks off a lot of boxes for what I want in a cruise. I do think that this is going to be rather amazing. 

 

😁

Edited February 16 by dmwnc1959

[yakcruiser]

25 minutes ago, dmwnc1959 said:

This is a fairly big leap for me - 25 nights - and definitely the longest single (non-B2B) cruise I’ve ever taken. I think that I’ve done enough research to choke a mule. 🤣 But my research is the biggest investment I can make so there aren’t any crazy surprises. So far I really, really like what I see in Norwegian Jade, and it checks off a lot of boxes for what I want in a cruise. I do think that this is going to be rather amazing. 

 

😁

And another thing to consider is that the Alaskan ports will not be overrun by tourists in late April. Might be a bit chilly though.

[ace2542]

That the Bliss nightclub isn't in the back of the ship like on other NCL ships. Big plus though O Sheenans is open 24 hours a day!

[JillK]

Hubby and I did a 14 night cruise on the Jade this past November. Overall we loved the ship and found it to be very fresh and clean - not showing her age at all.

 

The two things we disliked...

 

1/ no seating on the promenade deck which on past ships has always been a favourite place to spend some quality time outside but not in the sun. 

2/ the coffee bar being in the atrium. The net effect was that whereas usually the atrium is the heartbeat of the ship, in the evenings the atrium was a ghost town. We sailed on the the Jade's sister ship the Gem in 2019 and spent some time every night at the atrium bar. Really missed doing this on the Jade. 

 

Otherwise a great ship which I wouldn't hesitate to book again. 

[ricksurf]

You can make all your dining reservations online without any charges.  When you check in for your dinner at the individual restaurant, then they will ask you how you want to pay for the meal. You just tell them to use your meal plan.

[trivimp]

17 hours ago, dmwnc1959 said:

I also wanted to ask about how difficult it was to make restaurant reservations, especially for extended cruises. I usually eat around 5:30pm ...

 

In my experience, 5:30 is a pretty easy reservation to get at any of the dining venues.  7:00-ish tends to book up fast, and those are the hard slots to get if you wait too long.  (We also like to eat early to free up the evening for shows & stuff.)

[dmwnc1959]

2 hours ago, JillK said:

Hubby and I did a 14 night cruise on the Jade this past November. Overall we loved the ship and found it to be very fresh and clean - not showing her age at all.

 

The two things we disliked...

 

1/ no seating on the promenade deck which on past ships has always been a favourite place to spend some quality time outside but not in the sun. 

2/ the coffee bar being in the atrium. The net effect was that whereas usually the atrium is the heartbeat of the ship, in the evenings the atrium was a ghost town. We sailed on the the Jade's sister ship the Gem in 2019 and spent some time every night at the atrium bar. Really missed doing this on the Jade. 

 

Otherwise a great ship which I wouldn't hesitate to book again. 

The lack of promenade seating is a huge check mark in my ‘Negatives’ column. There are vast stretches of recessed areas along the Promenade Deck where NCL could put dozens of seating options along this sheltered area. Even if it were just large benches, which could also store life vests or other safety equipment. I do wonder if they consider it a safety issue? Coral Princess has replaced their padded steamer loungers with wooden slat chairs with a table in between, but at least it’s something. 

 

Other than the atrium coffee bar, are there other areas on Norwegian Jade to get specialty coffees, i.e. somewhere in the Garden Cafe buffet? 

[dmwnc1959]

1 hour ago, ricksurf said:

You can make all your dining reservations online without any charges.  When you check in for your dinner at the individual restaurant, then they will ask you how you want to pay for the meal. You just tell them to use your meal plan.

Very nice tip! THANK YOU! 👍🏻

[dmwnc1959]

1 hour ago, trivimp said:

 

In my experience, 5:30 is a pretty easy reservation to get at any of the dining venues.  7:00-ish tends to book up fast, and those are the hard slots to get if you wait too long.  (We also like to eat early to free up the evening for shows & stuff.)

Thanks! Not sure why, but I’ve always been an early eater, not just breakfast but for every meal. I’m also an ‘early to bed, early to rise’ kind of guy, so I don’t like to go to bed with the full stomach. Pretty much looking forward to trying out all of the specialty restaurants! 

[mcmomny]

FYI the specialty coffee is Starbucks! In the atrium.

 

If you have the coffee package no cost, they will serve the Starbucks coffee and specialty drinks to you in the MDR or specialty dining options.

 

No package than they will serve and bill you.

 

We did the "free at seas" plus package, we enjoy better quality drinks and wines, this also included Starbucks, better wifi and an extra $50 per port excursion.

 

Many don't feel it's worth it but we did, my husband got to try some very expensive scotches nightly and also had Starbucks several times a day. And several of the NCL excursions we booked were almost covered by the $50 plus the extra $50.

[LloydJr]

18 hours ago, mcmomny said:

if you make a reservation for a specialty restaurant and don't show up they will still deduct your free meal and you won't be able to use it elsewhere

This doesn't sound correct.  Did this actually happen to you?

[spanishguy1970]

On 2/15/2024 at 9:08 AM, dmwnc1959 said:

Still hemming and hawing between two ships doing a long (16-25 nights) Panama Canal cruise: Coral Princess and/or Norwegian Jade.

 

For those that have done extended cruises (3-4 weeks) on the Norwegian Jade in the past year, using the Free at Sea promotions with drinks and dining, what were some of the things you DIDN'T like or thought could be better? What were some of the features and amenities of the ship that just didn’t work with crowds and onboard reservations (restaurants, atrium, shows, bars, promenade decks, etc.). 
 

I’m hoping to get some insight as to how the ship handles the onboard passenger experience when operating on longer repositioning  cruises. 
 

THANK YOU! 

didn't like the Thermal Spa suite.