Anyone go from Epic and Escape to Jade?

We are looking an amazing deal on the Jade for Dec 18th to 28th (3&4th sail free). Concerned about the decor and age of the ship.

Anyone who has been Epic and Escape try the Jade and was happy with their experience?

We have been on both Epic and Escape and enjoyed them a lot.

The Jade just came out of a major refurbishment like 2 weeks ago, so at this point I think it's probably looking newer than the Epic and the Escape…

The biggest difference is the size of the ship (number of passengers, number of venues, etc.) and you might want to consider that more than the decor. The Jade will not offer you the same megaship experience as the other two. Some people strongly prefer one type of ship over the other, some people enjoy both.

Personally, I say if you are seeing an amazing deal for a Christmas cruise you should jump on it!

Went on Epic and then the Jade. Was perfectly happy with the Jade, even post refurbishment. No reason to not go for that deal.

The Jade just came out of a major refurbishment like 2 weeks ago, so at this point I think it's probably looking newer than the Epic and the Escape…

 

The biggest difference is the size of the ship (number of passengers, number of venues, etc.) and you might want to consider that more than the decor. The Jade will not offer you the same megaship experience as the other two. Some people strongly prefer one type of ship over the other, some people enjoy both.

 

Personally, I say if you are seeing an amazing deal for a Christmas cruise you should jump on it!

We have been on the mid size ship on other cruiselines and liked them equally as much. I was mostly concerned about the eye popping decor that I was seeing when looking up the ship on youtube. I just saw the pics of the refub which look really great in another thread. WOW!! That is quite an update. This deal is hard to pass up especially with the refub!

Seriously??!! The decor of the ship matters? I must be cruising for the wrong reasons!

I'd be interested in this too. We did Epic, Escape and were looking at the Jade. I'm more concerned about the entertainment at night...I really wish Howl at the Moon was on all of the ships.

The entertainment is different, that's for sure. But there's a different show in the theater every night of the cruise (which cannot be said for the megaships), and live music in 3 or 4 venues. Plus the theme parties most nights.

We have been on the mid size ship on other cruiselines and liked them equally as much. I was mostly concerned about the eye popping decor that I was seeing when looking up the ship on youtube. I just saw the pics of the refub which look really great in another thread. WOW!! That is quite an update. This deal is hard to pass up especially with the refub!

I have done the EPIC several times and then went to the Jade and Jewel.

I would not be worried about the decor. It was never all that loud. Looked worse on videos that real life. That said, the photos of the refurbished ship look good.

Key difference is the EPIC you have multiple major entertainment options each night that tend to repeat several times during the cruise. On the mid-size ships there is a different major show each night in the main theatre with a early and late showing. That is augmented by more modest entertainment options in the bars and other venues.

I'd be interested in this too. We did Epic, Escape and were looking at the Jade. I'm more concerned about the entertainment at night...I really wish Howl at the Moon was on all of the ships.

I was worried about that too, but actually I found that it was fine - although I ended up going to the individual artists in the various lounges around the ship, rather than to the big theatre. It wasn't quite Howl at the Moon, but the quality was good and it was enjoyable. I wouldn't let that put you off the Jade i there is an itinerary you want to do.

We are looking an amazing deal on the Jade for Dec 18th to 28th (3&4th sail free). Concerned about the decor and age of the ship.

 

Anyone who has been Epic and Escape try the Jade and was happy with their experience?

 

We have been on both Epic and Escape and enjoyed them a lot.

We sailed on the Epic a couple of times, and then, last year, we did back-to-back cruises on the Jade.

We actually preferred the Jade. Have no plans to sail on the Epic again.

Jade was our first cruise and then we did Epic and Escape and we enjoyed them all. Our next cruise is Jade to Norway in June. As others have said there are differences especially with entertainment and dining/bar options but there are much less people on-board and I am looking forward to sailing on Jade again post dry dock and seeing the fjords.

has anyone been on jade tell me about their thermal spa offerings compared to other ncl ships...

do they have any of those warm loungers?

has anyone been on jade tell me about their thermal spa offerings compared to other ncl ships...

 

do they have any of those warm loungers?

Yes they do, with a great view over the front of the ship. However, the rest of the facilities like sauna and steam room are in the men and women's changing rooms so if you're going there as a couple, the only thing you can do together is lie on the loungers.

The spa also has some great fruit infused water which you can't get anywhere else on the ship. Very refreshing. I found it a great place away from the crowded pool deck, and it was rarely that busy.

The mixed-sex area has a thalassotherapy pool, too, in addition to the tiled loungers. But everything else is in the single-sex areas.

We are booked on that christmas sailing. Looking forward to having the updated decor of a new ship, with the intimacy of a smaller ship. Less walking, less people. We just did the escape in august and while we loved it, it was just too big!

What about activities on the Jade? Is there enough to keep kids busy in addition to Splash Academy & Entourage?

Just off the Jade today and off the Escape a few months before. Jade is much smaller. Entertainment is not nearly as good as Escape, but it's not bad at all. They updated the TV's on the ship, but not the system. There's no interactive TV's or pay per view in the room - just a few basic channels.