Is the jade worth it?

[Blessingking2000]

I had posted earlier about room configuration for 5 people on jade but ncl said no. However, we will do a suite to take five but I want to know if the Jade is worth it. We are not really port people and will be more interested in indoor activities especially as we have 4, 7 and 11 yr olds. We also want to sail from london on the 24th of july. Please could any one advise if their is a better ship than jade with plenty entertainment for children that will leave from southhampton or dover England.

thx.

[time2cruise1]

I had posted earlier about room configuration for 5 people on jade but ncl said no. However, we will do a suite to take five but I want to know if the Jade is worth it. We are not really port people and will be more interested in indoor activities especially as we have 4, 7 and 11 yr olds. We also want to sail from london on the 24th of july. Please could any one advise if their is a better ship than jade with plenty entertainment for children that will leave from southhampton or dover England.

thx.

 

The Jade leaves on the 26th. Quick look and all the ABs are gone. These are the suites that hold 5. I more cost effective solution might be 2 adjoining cabins if you can find any at this late date.

 

The Jewel leaves from Dover for 12 days on the 21st again no ABs open.

 

Both ships have great programs for the Kids.

 

I have a question if you want to spend time on the ship why cruise in Europe. You can cruise in the States and save a lot of $$$$$

[tiyana4]

I had posted earlier about room configuration for 5 people on jade but ncl said no. However, we will do a suite to take five but I want to know if the Jade is worth it. We are not really port people and will be more interested in indoor activities especially as we have 4, 7 and 11 yr olds. We also want to sail from london on the 24th of july. Please could any one advise if their is a better ship than jade with plenty entertainment for children that will leave from southhampton or dover England.

thx.

 

To answer your question, I don't see anything comparable to the Jade sailing around the dates you mentioned. There are quite a few in August though. But in all actuality this sailing is well priced at $2k for a suite (particularly for 14 days) during the summer season.

 

I'm curious...have you already purchased your airfare? At this late stage, it may not be beneficial even if you find a reasonably priced cabin if airfare may be a dealbreaker.

[dolphingirl47]

We just did a back to back cruise on the Jade and thoroughly enjoyed it. We are not port people either. We did not bother getting off the ship at Dublin and only for an hour each at Cobh and Guernsey. We had a great time. However, we are two adults with no kids.

 

As a disclaimer, we normally cruise on DCL and they are fantastic for kids and families, so I might be a bit critical. Kids clubs are closed during time in port. They do something called port play, but there is an extra charge for that. Even on sea days the kids clubs are not open all day. I did not spot any family activities on the Freestyle Daily other than the Family White Hot Party one night.

 

On the first sea day I bumped into a group of kids with the councellors by the library at around 11 am. I overheard the councellors explaining to the kids that the next 3 activities had been cancelled due to the weather and to meet back at 3:30 pm. I was absolutely floored. On my way down I checked the schedule posted outside the kids club and the activities in question were two sports activities and a photo scavenger hunt. I can understand that it would have been too dangerous to go ahead with the sports activities (it was windy and there were showers and therefore the decks were slippery). As far as the photo scavenger hunt goes I am sure it could have been adapted to take place indoors. In any case, the Jade is sailing in Europe for the foreseeable future. Weather in Europe is unpredictable. Rain is pretty much a certain at one point of the cruise or another. I could not believe that they did not have an indoor alternative, but were just turning the kids loose for some 4.5 hours. If I had kids that were affected by this, I would have complained.

 

I am sure that part of the reason for this is that there were not many kids onboard for the 5 night cruise. I felt incredibly young on that cruise and I am 34. I am sure the average age on that cruise was somewhere in the 50s. At a guess, there were less than a 100 kids on board and the ship was full to capacity. For the two night cruise it was different and the average age was much lower with plenty of families on board.

 

Corinna

[jocap]

On July 24, the Queen Mary and Oriana leave Soton; 25th Oceana; 26 Jade and 30th Artemis, but that's adults only-I'm not sure if Oriana is P&O's other adult only ship. Oceana is sister ship to Sea Princess. Look under P&O on this site-jocap.

[newmexicoNita]

I had posted earlier about room configuration for 5 people on jade but ncl said no. However, we will do a suite to take five but I want to know if the Jade is worth it. We are not really port people and will be more interested in indoor activities especially as we have 4, 7 and 11 yr olds. We also want to sail from london on the 24th of july. Please could any one advise if their is a better ship than jade with plenty entertainment for children that will leave from southhampton or dover England.

thx.

 

The one thing NCL is noted for and that is port intensive cruises. More ships are heading that way as more people ask for lots of ports. Regardless of how port intensive the cruise is, there will be lots of activities for the kids. any kid that is bored on a ship needs to learn to have fun without having everything planned for them.

 

Is there a better ship? I don't know, that is a matter of opinion, I am just letting you know, expect lots of ports on any med cruise.

 

You may want to look into one that does the Baltic itinerary.

 

Nita

[insidecabin]

RCI run a similar 14n itinerary on the alternate weekends.

 

Jade 14n as 5 sea days with an overnight in BCN

 

No 5 berth left for the 26th July