Tell me good things!

I have been reading on some other sections about bad experiences on cruises and there is a ton of knocking NCL. I will be a first time cruiser on the NCL Jade in September, RT from Venice to the Greek Islands. Now that I have read all those negative things, I am getting worried. I am in a Haven 2 bedroom. Can anyone who has been on the Jade in Europe tell me things that they liked about the ship and or the crew? Or just tell me why you like NCL? I need some good stories to counteract all that negativity that I've been seeing! Thanks!

I did my first NCL last year on the Star and enjoyed. I think the Freestyle concept is great and works well.

People are quick to complain and write bad reviews but slow to write a positive experience.

Let me guess, the negative reviews were on the boards of other cruise lines.

The Jade is probably my favorite ship, maybe tied with the Sun. The crew is simply outstanding and very friendly! We love everything about the Jade and her crew.. I think you will be extremely pleased with your sailing!

Robin

If I took every bad review of the ships I have sailed on '' and loved '' I would never have sailed on them. and I would have missed a wonderful cruise experience. take them with a grain of salt and go and make your own judgement. :)

Where are you reading these "reviews"? Makes a difference in who is doing the writing.

Best piece of advice I could give, is give NCL a try, do not go by what others say, everyone has there likes and dislikes with NCL. If you like NCL you will know after your first cruise, if you dont, then you realize NCL isnt for you.

My wife and I are huge NCL fans and really dont have bad thing to say about them...

I know what you mean. I've been reading in the "cruise review" section and am finding bad review after bad review. I found the same thing before my recent NCL cruise and was worried about it. However, it turned out to be a fantastic cruise on a great ship. I love the freestyle approach of NCL. The cruise was more casual and therefore more relaxing. The crew was the best I've ever experienced and the ports were all wonderful. As another poster said, people are quick to write bad reviews but those who are happy with a cruise are less likely to write them. Don't worry. I can't imagine anyone not liking NCL. And be sure to write your good review when you get back to help counteract the others!

The Jade is a very nice ship with a very friendly and helpful crew.

I've cruised on her 3 times and hope to again one day.

Here are some of my trip reports on her.

Trip Highlights from November 2011 & February 2012: http://travelxena.com/norwegian-jade-trip-highlights/

Trip post from Oct/Nov 2012 Part 1: http://travelxena.com/norwegian-jade-october-31-through-november-10-2012-part-1/

Part 2: http://travelxena.com/norwegian-jade-october-31-through-november-10-2012-part-2/

Excursions while traveling on the Jade:

Tenerife http://travelxena.com/a-day-in-tenerife-canary-islands/

Madeira http://travelxena.com/a-day-in-funchal-madeira-portugal-travelxena-com/

Cairo http://travelxena.com/norwegian-jade-mediterranean-cruise-cairo-egypt/

Athens: http://travelxena.com/norwegian-jade-mediterranean-cruise-athens-greece/

Interview with one of the Jade's captains: http://travelxena.com/interview-with-captain-kim-karlsson-on-the-norwegian-jade/

Side note:

There are a lot of miserable people out there that whine about anything and everything it's a hobby to them. Personally I'd consider only the information that touches on what you're particularly interested in and pull that from a variety of sources. I think you'll have a great time!

I have never sailed on the Jade. I sailed on the Jewel with my hubby,10 year old daughter and 14 year old son. We had an unbelievable experience. That was my first cruise-(I always was afraid to cruise as I get violently seasick) and I want to cruise every year now.

Freestyle works for us as a family. We were able to eat when we were hungry, I did not have to drag my kids from the pool because we had to eat at our assigned time. I didnt have to dress up formally if I did not want too. I know that some people love the assigned dinner times, the formal dress and so on. I totally respect that. It just doesnt work well for my family.

You can not let others experiences weigh so much on you. I bet that if you asked 20 people on the same cruise questions, you will get twenty different answers. Everyone has there own perceptions and expectations. It doesnt mean that are not being truthful. They are just relating their own feelings/perceptions.

I am reading and gathering all the information that I can for our cruise in July. Good,bad and indifferent. For instance, I keep hearing how loud the parties are at night and you can hear the music on your aft deck. (I will be on deck 14) Some say the noise is unbearable, some say it didnt bother them at all. I do not want to change my room. I will not know until I am on the boat. If I listened to all the negative and not the positive, I would have cancelled my trip.

I can tell you so many great things about my cruise on the Jewel. I can't even think of a bad thing to say.

I am on vacation, I am not at my life sucking job, and I have my family at my side. I cant ask for anything more. :)

Enjoy your cruise !!!!!

I hope to tell you some stories when I get back mid August! First time sailing her and first time to Venice and Greece. Even so, it is not my first time sailing with Norwegian. I enjoy freestyle dress, freestyle dining, their entertainment options, and the genuine happiness of Norwegian crew fleet wide. If you are sailing in a haven you will have a gorgeous suite and private pool area along with other perks and treats.

coka

I had been on most other lines and it wasn't until this past December that I finally tried NCL - the Epic. I LOVED it! The food was good to very good, the shows were very good, service was good, and our cabin was very nice. We enjoyed the live music and the pool deck, my daughter enjoyed Splash Academy, etc., etc. I'd be hard pressed to find something "bad". In fact, I am an NCL convert. We're going on the Breakaway next Sunday and we'll likely book the Getaway and Breakaway Plus as soon as we fix our vacation dates for the next couple of years.

I always take every review - good or bad - with a grain of salt. What's important to someone else may be not important to me and vice-versa. We all have different versions of the exact same event and many things - such as food - are subjective.

Go with an open mind and enjoy!

Well here's my experience for what it's worth.

I discovered cruising kind of on accident. I never had any interest or desire to take a cruise and opted out of extended family cruises in the past because I had pre-conceived notions about cruising (specifically that I'd be bored out of my mind and would be the youngest person by several decades, I'd have to dress up as though I were going to prom, I'd have to eat dinner at a specific time each night with people I don't know etc...) and then magically, I discovered NCL while researching various types of ways to visit Hawaii.

Even reading about Freestyle cruising (disspelling all of those scary rumors I'd heard), I wasn't 100% sold but figured it'd be the best way to see as much of Hawaii as we could in the 7 days that we had.

Well...

Wouldn't you know, we actually enjoyed the cruise itself almost as much as we enjoyed Hawaii. So much in fact that I'll have taken 3 cruises in less than 3 years with a 4th already in the works and if I were retired or had more vacation time, I'd take more than that. I guess you could say that I caught the bug.

That being said, I have not cruised on any other line and likely won't because of the unappealing/dealbreaking things (to me) that I listed above.

Praise ye gods for NCL because without them, I'd never have been turned on to this fun and most enjoyable form of vacationing.

Scroll down the page - there is a post that says something like "Bad Reviews of Pearl".

The answers there apply to the Jade as well.

some people bitch, alot. Some have fun.

Well let's see...

Bad cruises in the past news events have not been on NCL.

Hmmmm.

There are enough of us who keep coming back. That speaks to something.

Some people complain about the ala carte style of NCL as nickle and diming. I prefer to choose what add ons to enhance my cruise.

This is not to say a possiblity exists for a mishap but that can happen on any line.

I hope to go on the Jade someday. Alas, because we changed our plans we had made to sail on her when Cairo got iffy. But I was certainly ready to go. The other NCL ships I have cruised on have resulted in wonderful vacations.

Hope you enjoy your cruise on Jade!

We had our first, and only NCL cruise, on the Pearl last year, Alaska cruise, loved the ship, the crew, the Freestyle concept (no lugging formal gear from Australia), and the food was more than adequate.

Have just returned from Europe as independent land travelers. While climbing the Acropolis in Athens, there were several groups off Norwegian Jade who was in port that day. We chatted with some for our research into an upcoming Med Cruise. All were very happy with the ship.

This is a very good point.

I was lucky enough to find cruise critic prior to taking my first cruise and I don't know if it's because of that or because I was logging into ncl.com like every day but I knew about the DSC and was glad to have the option to pre-pay it. On our second cruise, we had a modest OBC which we had a hard time spending. In fact, we played many games of air hockey to help deplete it, haha.

We ordered a few adult beverages, bought a couple small souvenirs and I think our entire onboard account was like $120.

 

Some people complain about the ala carte style of NCL as nickle and diming. I prefer to choose what add ons to enhance my cruise.

 

I have been on over 20 cruises..ncl/celebrity/rccl/carnival. Have never had a bad one. As long as I have a beer in my hand and I can relax by the pool I'm a happy cruiser. Going on the Jade in 2 weeks, can't wait.

Well here's my experience for what it's worth.

 

I discovered cruising kind of on accident. I never had any interest or desire to take a cruise and opted out of extended family cruises in the past because I had pre-conceived notions about cruising (specifically that I'd be bored out of my mind and would be the youngest person by several decades, I'd have to dress up as though I were going to prom, I'd have to eat dinner at a specific time each night with people I don't know etc...) and then magically, I discovered NCL while researching various types of ways to visit Hawaii.

 

Even reading about Freestyle cruising (disspelling all of those scary rumors I'd heard), I wasn't 100% sold but figured it'd be the best way to see as much of Hawaii as we could in the 7 days that we had.

 

Well...

 

Wouldn't you know, we actually enjoyed the cruise itself almost as much as we enjoyed Hawaii. So much in fact that I'll have taken 3 cruises in less than 3 years with a 4th already in the works and if I were retired or had more vacation time, I'd take more than that. I guess you could say that I caught the bug.

 

That being said, I have not cruised on any other line and likely won't because of the unappealing/dealbreaking things (to me) that I listed above.

 

Praise ye gods for NCL because without them, I'd never have been turned on to this fun and most enjoyable form of vacationing.

**Like** and ditto.;)

I was the same way for the same exact reasons. DH had given up years ago trying to get me to go on one, then a friend told me about NCL and CC. I came to CC and found out how foolish I had been and I swear I was hooked on cruising before I stepped on the first ship.:D:cool:

I won't say never but so far I've found no reason to try any other cruise line.

We just completed out sixth NCL cruise. Our ships have been the Southward, Pride of America, Spirit, Sky, Gem, and Sun. We've been in inside cabins, an oceanview cabin, balcony cabin, and a minisuite.

Every one of those trips was the trip of a lifetime. We have had so much fun on every trip because we prepared ourselves and by doing some research on the ships, the ports, and such.

I have just come onto the computer to book our third NCL cruise; we are not gluttons for punishment. We have also sailed wih Azamara, Oceania, Celebrity and CIC. All different but you will enjoy NCL.

people complain about the ala carte style of NCL as nickle and diming. I prefer to choose what add ons to enhance my cruise.

This is one my favorite "complaints" I read on other lines boards. Most, if not all, mainstream lines have extra charge food options yet the cheerleaders for that line seem to forget that.

I subscribed to this thread because my DH and I are due to sail the Jade in August! :)

We are novice cruisers, having only 2 previous ones under our belt and they couldn't have been more different! First cruise was the tiny and very lovely Sky and the second, the huge and just as lovely Epic!!

I took a LOT of convincing to take a cruise........I'll feel hemmed in, claustrophobic, seasick, have to sit with the same people each night, eat dinner at the same time, dress up etc etc.

And then I was persuaded to try NCL.......and here we are awaiting our Jade trip!! :)

NCL suits us because of it's friendly and welcoming staff and Freestyle approach. As a previous poster said, go ahead and try it!! You may just become converts.....like us!! Enjoy........and be sure to come back and tell us all about it! :)

We just came back from the Spirit. I too was an NCL doubter due to what I have read. We had an amazing trip. But I will tell you it was the itinerary not the ship. Rooms were fine, food was fine entertainment was awful. But we saw so much and did so much I would use NCL again for a port intensive cruise. Sea days- not much to do, the on deck cook outs were packed and ran out of food. The buffets were nothing exciting. The bar staff was very attentive and fun.

So go and have a blast but just don't expect a four star experience!!!

[quote=

So go and have a blast but just don't expect a four star experience!!!

Sounds good to me. I have to wear skirts and suits to work everyday so I am looking forward to casual and to not having to get dressed up!