Live(ish) Review - NCL Jade (July 27 - Aug 3) - Two Azipods, or Not Two Azipods, That is the Question.

[mking8288]

@Stealthdog  Wait, where are the chair/lounger hogs ... looking at the photos (what time was it then - near midday based on the sun's shadow ?? ... while at sea or docked) as it seemed like even the pool deck isn't crowded at all.  

 

From our recent TA, which attracted a somewhat different crowd and very few children and teens onboard, crew members started closing down the pool area, putting the loungers away by dinner time and it's not uncommon for the entire area to be nearly deserted by mid/late evening ... unless there's a late night "party" being held there.  

 

Thanks again for taking and setting time aside to post & write, and share photos, including the FSD.  

[Stealthdog]

15 hours ago, jamin jul said:

Thank you Stealthdog for all the info.  How did the tenders go in GC? Long lines? What did you do in Falmouth? Is the Great outdoors bar a quiet zone? I saw that on the daily information.   Is the bar like sunset bars on. Celebrity ships? 

We did a NCL excursion (will post that later) for Grand Cayman, so we met in the theater as a group and were paraded through I-95 to the tenders.  It sounded like it was the same experience as GSC for everyone else.  People were told to get tender tickets and proceed to the spot when their numbers were called.  People with high enough loyalty status have priority tendering and don’t need tickets - they can just go whenever they want.  Getting back on board - you just walk onto the tender and wait for it to fill up.  It looked like the Jade was using 3 tenders, so was fairly efficient for this size of ship.  The tenders going back to the Carnival Horizon was a hot mess.  It looked like there were 500-600 people standing in line waiting for tenders. 
 

Just posted the Falmouth excursion we did.  
 

The Great Outdoors Bar is alot like the Sunset Bar on Celebrity - it’s a full bar at the aft of the ship. The concept is a little different though because it’s technically an extension of the buffet on the NCL.  There is a buffet station behind the bar that is open extended hours, there are dozens of tables to sit, and of course the bar.   The Great Outdoors is one of our favorite places on board because it’s never full.  I’ll take pics next time I am there.

[Stealthdog]

15 minutes ago, mking8288 said:

@Stealthdog  Wait, where are the chair/lounger hogs ... looking at the photos (what time was it then - near midday based on the sun's shadow ?? ... while at sea or docked) as it seemed like even the pool deck isn't crowded at all.  

 

From our recent TA, which attracted a somewhat different crowd and very few children and teens onboard, crew members started closing down the pool area, putting the loungers away by dinner time and it's not uncommon for the entire area to be nearly deserted by mid/late evening ... unless there's a late night "party" being held there.  

 

Thanks again for taking and setting time aside to post & write, and share photos, including the FSD.  

The date/time stamp on my photo says Sunday at 330pm.  So that would have been GSC day.  There was still a few hours before all aboard.  Every time we have gone up to the sun deck - we like to go there when we get back on board at port days to take photos - it has been empty. 
 

The pool is generally always packed.  We have been avoiding that area at all costs.  There are often 6-8 people crammed into each hot tub and dozens in the pool.  We walked through this morning (around 9am) and it was empty again but people were probably preparing to get off board to Cozumel. 

Edited August 1 by Stealthdog

[Stealthdog]

17 hours ago, jamin jul said:

Thank you Stealthdog for all the info.  How did the tenders go in GC? Long lines? What did you do in Falmouth? Is the Great outdoors bar a quiet zone? I saw that on the daily information.   Is the bar like sunset bars on. Celebrity ships? 

Pics of the Great Outdoor Bar.  Covers the whole aft with great views on port days.  Can see 3 large ships docked at the other pier in Cozumel.  Tons of seating and about a dozen stools at the bar. We haven’t done it yet, but this would be a great place for sunset and drinks - i have never busy here. I might come up here to watch for pier runners today instead of my balcony. 

[Stealthdog]

Day 6 Freestyle.  Still have Day 5 to catch up with - Grand Cayman excursion and port (I do have lots of photos of this), MDR breakfast, MDR dinner and a few other activities.  Today we are staying on the ship, have dinner at Le Bistro, and will watch the Elements show in the theater. 

[Stealthdog]

Beautiful day in port in Cozumel.  Really busy today with 5 cruise ships.  Grandeur and Harmony of the Seas, Carnival Horizon, and Enchanted Princess all at the other pier.  We are the only ship docked at our pier - the Punta Langosta one.

[mcmomny]

The Great Outdoors is our favorite place to be during sail away!

 

Great live review!

[Stealthdog]

I messed up big time.  We have the perfect balcony to watch pier runners in Cozumel and dummy me booked an early dining reservation.  😩

[Stealthdog]

Day 5 Grand Cayman in George Town, we did the NCL tour Land and Sea.  We arrived into port and had a couple hours before our tour time, so it was a much more relaxing experience on board that morning.  We had breakfast at the MDR, did not need to collect any towels for this tour, grabbed some coffees to go and went to the theater to wait for our tour to be called.

 

Meeting in the theater is what we are accustomed to for cruise line tours, so it wasn’t as stressful as having to debark the ship and search for the excursion people off the ship.  There were a few other groups in the theater - I was particularly jealous of the Turtles, Turtles, and more Turtles tour.  This was our first time in Grand Cayman (previous tour stops were cancelled because of weather and tendering) and we wanted to see hell. 
 

A little after 9 our group was lead out of the theater, thru I-95 (deck 4 I think) and onto a tender.  It got a little chaotic when we got off the tender though because there really weren’t any signs and it wasn’t clear where we were supposed to go.  We went through a security gate and found some tents/canopies that had tour operators that were helping passengers go to the correct spot.  After about 20-30 minutes, we were loaded on a bus for the tour. 
 

Our tour consisted of 4 parts - a submerged submarine, a stop at 7-mile beach, a stop at a rum store, and hell, before heading back to the pier where the tenders were located.   I’ll go through some specific details on each leg in the next post(s).  This is a good tour for people with mobility issues - the only physical challenge is getting on and off the bus. Each of the stops were flat and there were not many steps or streep inclines/declines to travel.

[Stealthdog]

The submerged submarine part was alot of fun.  The stop was about 1/2 mile from the tender pier, so only a couple minutes on the bus.  Once we arrived, we entered a submarine with glass windows across the whole deck.  It is not a glass bottom submarine.  Everyone was crowding towards the front - we went all the way to the back and got a more 180 view of windows…so if you do this tour, take the seats all the way in the back when you board. 
 

We traveled over the ocean floor, some ships wrecks, and some reefs.  The tour guide helped point out various sea life (turtles, stingrays, various types of fish) and gave some history on the wrecks.  It was a really nice excursion leg.  We did see a turtle, stingrays, and tons of fish, including parrot fish, terrapin, and barracudas.  We really enjoy snorkeling, but the submerged submarine concept was fun too. 

[Stealthdog]

The second and third stops on the tour were 15 minute stops at 7-mile beach and a rum store.  Both were fairly unremarkable and you don’t really have time to do anything at either stop.

 

7 mile beach was packed with beach goers, so it’s not really a tranquil beach destination if you are looking for a quiet beach space on the island.  The entry area to the beach did look like a lot of fun though - tons of sports courts/fields, food carts, and chickens everywhere. 
 

The rum store was just a little building that sold rum cakes, bottles of rum, and other touristy items.  They gave samples of rum and cakes.  The building itself wasn’t really big enough to accommodate the tour buses, so it was very crowded inside.  The prices seemed higher than at airport duty free shops, so it didn’t look like good value. 

[Stealthdog]

The final stop of the Grand Cayman excursion was hell.  We only had 15 minutes there.  This was the highlight of the excursion for us.  We could have used 45-60 minutes there. 
 

Hell is a niche, little tourist attraction of coral rock formations.  There are also gift shops and a post office that you can send mail from a hell address, which is fun.  The hell portion is on a wooden platform that allows you to walk out to the formations. 
 

It seemed like a one time experience - next time in Grand Cayman we will do something else.  I was expecting something much bigger, but for first timers, a trip to hell is worth the experience. 
 

After hell, we were brought back to the tender pier.  There are some shops in the area and on the street.  For NCL, we just walked onto the tender and waited for it to fill to bring us back to the ship.  Carnival had a ridiculously long line for people waiting for tenders. 
 

For people that prefer doing cruise line excursions, this one wasn’t bad.  The combo of the submarine and hell was worth it.  The other stops we could have done without.  For people who prefer private excursions or doing it on your own, George Town seems like a port that you can do that.  Next time we come, we will probably do a private tour or do something on our own.  It’s a small island and everything seemed close to the tender pier.  
 

Jamaica and Grand Cayman also seemed like polar opposites.  Jamaica seemed much poorer and Cayman much wealthier.  It felt much safer on Grand Cayman.

Edited August 2 by Stealthdog

[Stealthdog]

Views of George Town from ground, tender, and aboard the ship.

[Stealthdog]

Day 7 daily and disembark information.

 

We have been speeding all day (23knts) and the seas are getting choppy.  Looks like we will beat the tropical storm before it pushes into the keys and into the Gulf of Mexico.

 

The Azipods are operational folks!  Full speed ahead!

[LatinaInTexas]

Originally I just booked an excursion for Cozumel. Been to Jamaica and didn't enjoy it so will just stay on the ship. It sounds like Grand Cayman would be safe to book an independent excursion since there are only a few offered thru the ship at this time, my sailing is on the 10th. Perhaps snorkeling.

Looks like you had a great cruise, the ship looks good, can't wait to board!

 

[Stealthdog]

Pulling into port.  Looks like the Tropical Storm pushed south and will be further west.  Should be zero impact on next cruise.

 

I still have some dinners, shows, casino, spa, Internet, and a few other topics to go over.  We will probably leave the ship around 8ish and get home around 9.  I’ll get some of the last bit done later today and tomorrow. 
 

Good news - everything appears to be operational. 

[Stealthdog]

9 hours ago, LatinaInTexas said:

Originally I just booked an excursion for Cozumel. Been to Jamaica and didn't enjoy it so will just stay on the ship. It sounds like Grand Cayman would be safe to book an independent excursion since there are only a few offered thru the ship at this time, my sailing is on the 10th. Perhaps snorkeling.

Looks like you had a great cruise, the ship looks good, can't wait to board!

 

We saw some snorkeling sites close to the area where the tenders are docked.  I think a private excursion with snorkeling should be fairly safe because of how close it looks.  And that is something we would look to do next time - maybe a site known to have lots of turtles or sting rays.  The only complication would be if the ship cancels the stop because of rough seas and can’t tender - make sure to use a reputable company to ensure you get a refund.  Enjoy your cruise!

[njkate]

Great Review! I was on June 15-22 and agree with your take! 
I’ve been to Jamaica and Cozumel too many times so I stayed on board and my kids explored!

The great outdoors and Spinnaker Lounge are my favorite spots!

 

For GSC I rented a villa and it was worth every penny especially if there are 2 ships there!

 

Im doing the short 4 day cruise on her before she heads to Boston.

 

Back in 2019 did a trans Atlantic on her and she’s been my favorite ship

Edited August 3 by njkate

[jamin jul]

Thank you for all the pics and especially of the great outdoors bar.  Looks very nice. Very sad about Jamaica.   I have been there many  times by cruise and land vacation. It is a beautiful island but unfortunately some of the locals are not being nice to the visitors and giving the country a bad reputation. I feel a lot of the excursions have gotten expensive too. Our last time there- we did a private tour and the driver didn’t come pick our group up to take us back to the ship- it was bad. A local did help get us transportation. We probably will walk around the port and then just enjoy the ship that day. Grand Caymans is always nice. Did a private group excursion on a sailboat to snorkel and swim with rays- it was awesome.  Glad you had a wonderful trip. Looking forward to mine😀

[Stealthdog]

Some Breakfast MDR menus.  The menus mostly stayed on the same from day to day.  A couple items on the left switched daily.  The MDR was slower, but was more laid back and relaxing than the buffet. The available food was mostly the same.  

[Stealthdog]

On night 5 we ate at Le Bistro.  It was the best meal of the ship, but sadly we were hit with the 1 appetizer only policy.  This was really disappointing because I always get escargot and the French onion soup at the French restaurants.  We asked if we could swap the desert course for a 2nd appetizer and were told no.  So…..I choose the escargot, but not being able to have a soup and an appetizer seems like an unnecessary penny-pinching policy for the latitudes dining perk.  I don’t know if it would have been different if we used the free at sea dining.  

I got the escargot, filet, and chocolate desert.  Eric got a salad, a vegan pastry entree, and a chef choice desert.  From the service, food, atmosphere, and managers at the restaurant, everything was fantastic…..minus the penny pinching policy. 

 

[Stealthdog]

On night 6 we saw the Elements show.  This will be an unpopular opinion, but I didn’t like the concept.  I am a big fan of non-traditional entertainment, but found Elements just ok. 
 

It is a cirque-like show, but with the production dancers performing about half the show.  Technically, the singers were there chanting periodically, but for me the best part of productions are the vocalists.  If you like the dancers the best, you will like the concept.  For me, it was a similar concept to a play without words (pantomime), but the speaking is the best part of a play to me.
 

Elements was about 1/2 the production dancers and about 1/2 the magician and acrobats performing.  The acrobats did acts that were similar to what they did in earlier on the ship.  I presume the magicians did too.  If you limit the amount of nights you want to go to the theater, you can skip the nights of the magician and acrobat shows in the theater and go to Elements.  
 

Performance wise, the show was pretty good - it was kind of like a small cirque-like show with various, and at times multiple, acts occurring simultaneously.  And, they had some special effects that were fun. 
 

After the show ended, there was a presentation for the staff and crew of the ship, and some of staff went on stage.  All of that was a nice gesture to the the staff and crew.

Edited August 4 by Stealthdog

[bluesea777]

10 minutes ago, Stealthdog said:

On night 5 we ate at Le Bistro.  It was the best meal of the ship, but sadly we were hit with the 1 appetizer only policy.  This was really disappointing because I always get escargot and the French onion soup at the French restaurants.  We asked if we could swap the desert course for a 2nd appetizer and were told no.  So…..I choose the escargot, but not being able to have a soup and an appetizer seems like an unnecessary penny-pinching policy for the latitudes dining perk.  I don’t know if it would have been different if we used the free at sea dining.  

I got the escargot, filet, and chocolate desert.  Eric got a salad, a vegan pastry entree, and a chef choice desert.  From the service, food, atmosphere, and managers at the restaurant, everything was fantastic…..minus the penny pinching policy. 

 

Glad you had a great meal & time in Le Bistro - this is our Must Go specialty restaurant on every cruise we go …. 
 

A tip: just order whatever you want with your penny pinching thoughts at bay … enjoy the meal and you might be surprised when you receive the bill at the end … we’re often surprised… and we make sure we tip well. 
 

 

[Stealthdog]

On night 7, the production singers performed a show at Spinnaker (7 and 9 pm).  For the same rationale for elements, I thought this was the best show on board (I can do without the dancers - just my preference). 
 

The six singers sang a variety of musical theater and broadway/west end songs - Rent, Chicago, Wicked, etc.  All six were great.  Because the Spinnaker is much smaller than the theater, there are much fewer seats, so get there early.

If you like Broadway style music and the production singers, don’t miss the show on the last night.  

 

[mcmomny]

Thank you for your review! Loved it and it so reminded me of our wonderful cruise on The Jade last July in Greece!