What you DID NOT like about Norwegian Jade

[LloydJr]

16 hours ago, mcmomny said:

Yes, your account will know this and not charge you..

Why do you think a person would be charged otherwise?  When making online reservations, only the fixed price venues generate a charge.  That's why somebody with the FAS meals needs to book those first.

[dmwnc1959]

20 minutes ago, spanishguy1970 said:

didn't like the Thermal Spa suite.

 
I’ve seen that in a couple of YouTube videos, it really looks very small and antiquated. 😳

[spanishguy1970]

Just now, dmwnc1959 said:

 
I’ve seen that in a couple of YouTube videos, it really looks very small and antiquated. 😳

 and they charge too much for what it is.

[dmwnc1959]

19 minutes ago, LloydJr said:

Why do you think a person would be charged otherwise?  When making online reservations, only the fixed price venues generate a charge.  That's why somebody with the FAS meals needs to book those first.

Excellent thought process! I think they open 90 days before sailing? I’ll have to make sure I jump on those. 😎

[dmwnc1959]

1 minute ago, spanishguy1970 said:

 and they charge too much for what it is.

Maybe I’ll get lucky and they’ll offer a mid-cruise special. I’m sure after two weeks a sauna and steam might hit the spot! 😉

[Turtles06]

27 minutes ago, LloydJr said:

When making online reservations, only the fixed price venues generate a charge.  That's why somebody with the FAS meals needs to book those first.

Indeed. And @KeithJenner has published a helpful guide to booking specialty dining in advance (pre-cruise) and making sure you book the restaurants in a certain order so you don’t get charged in advance when you shouldn’t. I believe this link is to his most recent guide, but if it isn’t, I hope he’ll let us know.  (Some of the info is out of date, but I think it’s still the case that you should book the fixed price venues first if you have FAS meals.) (And huge thanks to Keith for all this helpful info over the years.) 

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.co.uk/topic/2561613-updated-speciality-restaurant-booking-guide/#comment-55222117

 

 

[Turtles06]

20 minutes ago, dmwnc1959 said:

Excellent thought process! I think they open 90 days before sailing? I’ll have to make sure I jump on those. 😎

Per @BirdTravels “The best advise is to book exactly 120 days prior to departure (12 midnight eastern time). And call as soon as NCL opens in the morning if you are having problems booking online. Onlne reservations open 130 days prior to departure for suites and 125 days for Club Balcony and top-tier Latitudes members.”

 

 

 

[dmwnc1959]

30 minutes ago, Turtles06 said:

Per @BirdTravels “The best advise is to book exactly 120 days prior to departure (12 midnight eastern time). And call as soon as NCL opens in the morning if you are having problems booking online. Onlne reservations open 130 days prior to departure for suites and 125 days for Club Balcony and top-tier Latitudes members.”

 

 

 

THANK YOU for both links, extremely helpful! I’ll have to earmark my iPhone calendar for 121 days out to remind me to book the onboard reservations. I’m only in an inside cabin and this is my first NCL cruise, so I’ll get bottom of the barrel priority lol. I do plan on buying a SDP for 7- or 9-nights plus the 2 FAS freebies. The other nights I’ll use the complementary options that are not MDR (which is still a tough sell for me). 😁

[Panhandle Couple]

28 minutes ago, dmwnc1959 said:

THANK YOU for both links, extremely helpful! I’ll have to earmark my iPhone calendar for 121 days out to remind me to book the onboard reservations. I’m only in an inside cabin and this is my first NCL cruise, so I’ll get bottom of the barrel priority lol. I do plan on buying a SDP for 7- or 9-nights plus the 2 FAS freebies. The other nights I’ll use the complementary options that are not MDR (which is still a tough sell for me). 😁

Keep in mind specialty reservations are for either 2,4,6 or 8.  If you have an odd number, just book the higher even number, and they will work it out when you check in for the dinner.

 

Your cabin level doesn't affect the reservation priority, or even seating when you arrive.  We are both Platinum members, and have gotten some bad seats in the specialties and MDR.   

[dmwnc1959]

7 minutes ago, Panhandle Couple said:

Keep in mind specialty reservations are for either 2,4,6 or 8.  If you have an odd number, just book the higher even number, and they will work it out when you check in for the dinner.

 

Your cabin level doesn't affect the reservation priority, or even seating when you arrive.  We are both Platinum members, and have gotten some bad seats in the specialties and MDR.   

I’ll be booking only for one, so would I be able to do that over the phone?

[zqvol]

3 minutes ago, dmwnc1959 said:

I’ll be booking only for one, so would I be able to do that over the phone?

As he said, book for two. They don’t have tables for one, only even numbers. 

[Turtles06]

4 hours ago, dmwnc1959 said:

I’m only in an inside cabin and this is my first NCL cruise, so I’ll get bottom of the barrel priority lol. 

You will have the same ability to make reservations at 120 days out as everyone else for whom booking opens then, regardless of the number of NCL cruises they’ve been on or the type of cabin. 
 

4 hours ago, dmwnc1959 said:

The other nights I’ll use the complementary options that are not MDR (which is still a tough sell for me). 😁

Give the MDRs a try. The larger one is beautiful and really makes you feel like you’re on a ship, the smaller one feels more like a restaurant on land. (Sometimes the service is better in the latter, but it depends.  The menus are the same.)

[LloydJr]

17 minutes ago, Turtles06 said:

Give the MDRs a try. The larger one is beautiful and really makes you feel like you’re on a ship, the smaller one feels more like a restaurant on land. (Sometimes the service is better in the latter, but it depends.  The menus are the same.)

Yeah, I didn't understand that.  The MDRs on NCL ships are fantastic for both breakfast and lunch.  Dinner entrees can be hit or miss, but you can always graze the buffet or local later.  It's just food, and I've never had a cruise where I couldn't find more than enough good food.

[dmwnc1959]

34 minutes ago, LloydJr said:

Yeah, I didn't understand that.  The MDRs on NCL ships are fantastic for both breakfast and lunch.  Dinner entrees can be hit or miss, but you can always graze the buffet or local later.  It's just food, and I've never had a cruise where I couldn't find more than enough good food.

It’s a personal preference. I dine solo and really do not care for small talk with the adjoining tables - which are usually so close to each other they are practically table mates. I know you can put in a request to ‘dine quickly’, and not sure how well that works because I can’t even fathom taking 90 minutes to eat dinner. Since I eat early, the smaller-sized specialty restaurants usually have a light attendance at that time and it’s much easier/quicker to order, be served, and leave. All of this is why I’ve avoided the MDR in the past. 
 

Admittedly, on a 25-night repositioning cruise the chances of me dining in the MDR increase exponentially than if it were just a week in the Caribbean. 

[LloydJr]

7 minutes ago, dmwnc1959 said:

which are usually so close to each other they are practically table mates.

While I've experienced this in the Taste/Savor/etc. alternates, I've never found this to be the case in the "real" MDR.

[dmwnc1959]

26 minutes ago, LloydJr said:

While I've experienced this in the Taste/Savor/etc. alternates, I've never found this to be the case in the "real" MDR.

Dining solo, the likelihood of me being seated at a table for 6-8 are ‘zero’, with the odds much greater that (per my request ) I’d wind up at a table for two. In the Grand Pacific Dining Room these all appear to be at the back of the venue, whereas in Alizar it has this weird bench seating all along the walls and the tables are quite close to each other. 

Honestly my only ‘experience’ is from watching YouTube video walk-throughs that include the main dining room while meals are being served like these images show…

 

Edited February 17 by dmwnc1959

[Turtles06]

45 minutes ago, dmwnc1959 said:

It’s a personal preference. I dine solo and really do not care for small talk with the adjoining tables - which are usually so close to each other they are practically table mates.

That is definitely a problem on Celebrity, for example, but there is more space between the tables on NCL.  I can’t think of any time in the MDRs on NCL’s Jewel-class ships when my wife and I felt that we were so close to the next table that we were essentially eating with the people seated there. 

[Peachypooh]

I have been on the Jade twice. One time for a week and another time for I believe 9 days.  I love the Jewel class ships No feeling of being crowded or rushed. I am referring to the Encore and Getaway as the bigger ships we didn't care for.That said the Jade was sort of boring. It didn't have the energy of the Pearl or Gem.

[Huntingdon1701]

On 2/17/2024 at 2:05 AM, dmwnc1959 said:

Dining solo, the likelihood of me being seated at a table for 6-8 are ‘zero’, with the odds much greater that (per my request ) I’d wind up at a table for two. In the Grand Pacific Dining Room these all appear to be at the back of the venue, whereas in Alizar it has this weird bench seating all along the walls and the tables are quite close to each other. 

Honestly my only ‘experience’ is from watching YouTube video walk-throughs that include the main dining room while meals are being served like these images show…

 

 

There is more space than there appears in those photos. I travel solo and am autistic, so have a real problem with people being too close, but I've never felt crowded in the Jade's main dining room - sailed on her four times (out of 25 cruises), and she's probably my favourite ship. 

[dmwnc1959]

9 minutes ago, Huntingdon1701 said:

 

There is more space than there appears in those photos. I travel solo and am autistic, so have a real problem with people being too close, but I've never felt crowded in the Jade's main dining room - sailed on her four times (out of 25 cruises), and she's probably my favourite ship. 

Very nice, THANK YOU very much!!! 

[Huntingdon1701]

On 2/16/2024 at 6:09 PM, dmwnc1959 said:

 
I’ve seen that in a couple of YouTube videos, it really looks very small and antiquated. 😳

 

I should have added that one of my cruises was a 19 days Suez Canal trip. 

 

The thermal suite is older but proportionate to the number of passengers on board. It tends to get busy on sea days for a few hours in the morning but is really quiet in the afternoon and evenings. It has actually has one of the best saunas because you can look out over the sea, while the loungers have a great view ahead of the ship. Contrast it to the gloom of Epic or the totally enclosed rooms of the Prima/Viva and it has some definite advantages. Less so if you're travelling as a couple who want to spend time together because that part is more limited in space. 

[dmwnc1959]

42 minutes ago, Huntingdon1701 said:

 

I should have added that one of my cruises was a 19 days Suez Canal trip. 

 

The thermal suite is older but proportionate to the number of passengers on board. It tends to get busy on sea days for a few hours in the morning but is really quiet in the afternoon and evenings. It has actually has one of the best saunas because you can look out over the sea, while the loungers have a great view ahead of the ship. Contrast it to the gloom of Epic or the totally enclosed rooms of the Prima/Viva and it has some definite advantages. Less so if you're travelling as a couple who want to spend time together because that part is more limited in space. 

With your description of the thermal suite and sauna, I’ll have to give it a shot if it’s open on port days. I wonder if they offer a single-day pass on a special? Days 8, 9, and 10 of the 25-night cruise are ports I’m not interested in sightseeing and a spa day sounds good. 
 

Edited February 18 by dmwnc1959

[Huntingdon1701]

On 2/18/2024 at 10:44 PM, dmwnc1959 said:

With your description of the thermal suite and sauna, I’ll have to give it a shot if it’s open on port days. I wonder if they offer a single-day pass on a special? Days 8, 9, and 10 of the 25-night cruise are ports I’m not interested in sightseeing and a spa day sounds good. 
 

 

It will be very quiet on port days. They don't always offer day passes so it's not certain you'd be able to do that, but if they do it will be for a port day. 

[Sailing12Away]

We were on the Jade a few years back. It was only our 2nd NCL trip at that time, and our first trip in the Haven. Any bad memories I have about that trip were more related to the level of service we got from our butler as we had certain expectations about what sailing in the Haven was 'supposed' to be like, and we weren't getting that at all. 

 

Having now been on a few more other NCL ships, I wouldn't say it was our favorite, but the right itinerary at the right price point and in the right cabin we certainly would sail on her again.

[dmwnc1959]

6 hours ago, Sailing12Away said:

We were on the Jade a few years back. It was only our 2nd NCL trip at that time, and our first trip in the Haven. Any bad memories I have about that trip were more related to the level of service we got from our butler as we had certain expectations about what sailing in the Haven was 'supposed' to be like, and we weren't getting that at all. 

 

Having now been on a few more other NCL ships, I wouldn't say it was our favorite, but the right itinerary at the right price point and in the right cabin we certainly would sail on her again.

So - me, being in an inside cabin on the bottom of the ship with zero expectations - I’m pretty sure I will be fine? 😉 Haven’t been in suites for a very, very long time, just isn’t worth it to me anymore as a solo, I’m just renting the space. 😁 Norwegian Jade is sounding pretty good.