26SEP Jade Cruise REVIEW

First- a big thank you to all the users of this website who helped make my first cruise a big success!!!!!

Now for the review and details:

Sailed on NCL Jade 26SEP-04OCT in Haven 14014 suite.

**We sailed in a Haven Courtyard Penthouse Suite, with UDP/UBP**

Checking in:

Easy and took minutes to complete. Then, escorted by a staff member to a cordoned off area for priority members just a few meters away. Basic snacks and refreshments available for all, as well as a few more staff members to help with anything you may need.

Moments later we were introduced to the ships Concierge, Bruno. He is a young guy from Peru who represents the image of a Concierge VERY well. He’s very polite and friendly. But wow, is he BUSY!!!! You could literally reach him by your own ships phone number 24/7. We tried our best to minimize our calling and nagging to our concierge and butler as we are more of a do-it-ourselves kind of couple. But, many couples did advantage of the services.

When it was time for us to be escorted onboard, we had our own security lane and an appointed ships server escort us to Cagney’s for lunch. Being in Haven and with the dining package, all meals were “included”. Order everything or one thing, doesn’t matter, except for your waist size J.

An announcement around 1230-1pm was made announcing rooms were ready and our waiter told us that Bruno would escort us to the suite including a tour of the Haven.

Initial thoughts of the Haven area:

While an older ship, she is in amazing shape and the haven is well maintained. It was quiet, nicely decorated and the courtyard itself is a good amount of space with ample tables + seating and relaxing chair seating areas. Important to note, the cardio machines are flanked with male/female changing area and restrooms, and, include steam rooms and showers.

We spent A LOT of time in the haven courtyard and private sundeck during our sailing time. Oliver is the courtyard attendant and he was VERY busy. Constantly taking and delivering orders without fail and checking on various guests for requests.

**Important**. As a UDP/UBP/Haven member, any restaurant drink can be delivered to you without a charge. So while it may sound crazy, a “le fizz” martini can be ordered from deck 6 and brought to you on deck 15 private sun deck.

The drink/ meal packages.

We drank ourselves silly with how many drinks we’d order at the bars. But by day 5 or 6 we slowed down and went from 9+ drinks/day to may be 3. Still a lot of drinking, but as long as the drink price is UNDER 11USD, it’s ‘free’. You still have to sign the receipt for it, but again, it’s the price of the drink that matters, not the price + service charge etc…. Honestly speaking, almost the entire drink menu is under 11usd. I think I saw one drink over 11 and was a martini sampler drink. Fine liquors were covered, too except the few top shelf ones you’d typically expect to pay for. Full bottles of water, wines, liquors and Lavazza coffee are EXEMPT from the package and will be added to your on-board bill. Easy way around it is to just order glasses of it and pay nothing, or, the complementary coffee in the restaurants and Haven coutyard.

**priority on/off boarding process**

At every port you get the opportunity to get on and off first. Regardless if you are doing an excursion or not. You just have to tell your concierge and he will tell you where to go and when. This made life so much easier. Plus you saw some areas of the ship you otherwise would not see as we used crew elevators and exit ramps.

**Tipping**

I found it odd the ships staff were very hesitant to tips. Our butler refused ours at the end of the trip, and our room steward, Richard E., who was absolutely amazing, was very hesitant to it.

**room service**

It was on time- every time. If the window was 930-10, it was there AT 930. Not a minute later. Which was very impressive. One night we wanted Cagney’s Steakhouse in room since being haven, you can do that with white table service and all. And at 730 on the dot, it was delivered and plated timed 3 courses by our butler.

Standard room service menu was also available and punctual service to that, too.

**Room cleaning**

Our room attendant was the best and even catered to how we slept to his cleaning strategy. He knew my wife LOVES robes, so he would throw it in the dryer at turn down service and that gave her a heated robe in her pre-bed time shower. And, he knew that I don’t sleep with my top sheet/blanket tucked in (feet exposed) so he didn’t tuck the sheets in as tight as required to accommodate that preference.

At all times, the crew were very attentive to the door status signs. “Do not disturb, made up room” etc…

**noise**

Some reviews mentioned lots of noise. Honestly, the only noise we heard was the 0500 fresh water wash down on the sun deck above before hitting a port. And that was maybe 5 minutes? Our room was the most aft Haven room starboard side, and behind us was a Haven guest’s only access door so it was rarely used. We didn’t even use it! There were 2 familes having a reunion of sorts who were haven guests and we found the noise almost from them and the others to be almost none. What helps, is that the access into the Haven Courtyard was gained via a glass door (4 in total) and that reduced the noise levels and helped maintained the temperatures, too. Even in the Coutyard, while underway, the sunroof was opened partially and again, was very quiet.

The private sundeck for Haven guests also, very quiet.

**Couryard misc.**

The Haven courtyard was nicely appointed with fresh ice water, coffee and snacks. Mainly pastries in the AM. Then cookies with M&M’s in the afternoon. The cleanliness was constantly attended to by one of the haven cleaning staff members. At no time was it smelly, dirty or wet floors. The hot tub in the corner was always available and only one day, for 2 hours were there every more than one couple in the courtyard area. The upper private sun deck was very quiet (even with the common pool area forward of us). You do hear the ships exhaust system but it is more of a white noise than anything else. With tons of space, it’s a private oasis and even with another party sharing the deck, it was still enjoyable.

The family relaxing forward of us on the sun deck had a small speaker system with their music, but they kept it at a respectable level and never heard anything. We, in turn, did the same.

** Dinning**

We certainly over did the fine dining. It’s our honeymoon- ENJOY IT!!!- cuz we all know when we get home that luxury ends lol!!

Our main eatery was Cagney’s and it is definitely equal or better than a US high-end steak house. Moderno is good, but was slow. Le Bistro was good. Overall we gave the dining 4.5stars out of 5. We did eat at Teppenyaki and did not like it. Way too noisy and clearly scripted. Little room for the chef to interpret or use their skills. La Cucina was good, but, having just had the ‘real thing’ in Venice hours earlier, it was not by comparison.

We did not use any of the buffets or regular restaurants. But they were certainly popular.

**Entertainment**

The shows are great and being Haven, you have a private seating area and your concierge will be there to verify it is ONLY used by Haven/Priority members. I saw him escort a couple out who must have thought “no way you’re Haven.. We’re gonna sit there too!” only to be turned away.

We did not do any gambling or game shows.

** Shore excursions**

-Dubrovnik-

Do the $15/person shuttle service in Dubrovnik. DO NOT walk it!! It is a very long walk and taxi’s were $40/each way as per a couple we met. What you may not know is the queue to enter the taxi drop off area is one lane, one way and is a long wait. Do the bus!!!

-Athens-

Skip the shore excursion here. We were not happy with the excursion we had. She was uninterested and the Acropolis was so busy they had staff there to keep people moving. Recommend doing the Hop-on, Hop-off. You will need to do the complete package which includes the Piraeus port. Otherwise, a cab from the acropolis to Piraeus port is maybe 25Euro.

-Kusadasi-

A MUST! We did the Virgin Mary and Esphesus tour and were VERY happy with it. Do not think you can take a taxi to the locations, one couple we spoke with at lunch did and it cost them close to $100. Definitely a great use of a tour and we ate at a phenominal place called Ozufra which was recommended and it was amazing!!!! Turkey was gorgeous, and we will be back again for a separate vacation soon!!

-Split-

Avoid the excursions here, too. The Downtown/ Square is a 10 minute walk from the ship and the entry fee to the self guided tour is practically nothing compared to the excursion.

MISC observations Do’s and Don’ts:

- Only in Dubrovnik did we have to go thru a metal detector/ xray machine on the ship. We walked on with 5 bottles of wine, 2 bottles of ouzo and never once were stopped by port security, or, ships security.

- Announcements were very hard to hear. Not due to the quality of the speaker’s English, but, simply due to the volume they set the speakers to. NCL- Strongly recommend fixing this-

- The Haven/ Priority social in the Star Bar is a must. We met some great couples and unlimited free liquor- regardless of price. I enjoyed a great Chardonnay with my wife that was listed as $88/bottle.

- Definitely bring at least one 6foot extention cord. The room has both 110V and 220V plug outlets. But they are mainly in the bathroom. And, only one US plug bedside.

- On the last night, it will say that only 3-4 restaurants are available for eating for breakfast disembarkation day. However, they are all open.

- The internet package is ridiculously expensive. I skipped it and relied on free restaurant wi-fi in each port.

- Do check out the bridge viewing room, Port side deck 11.

Again, thank you to all who helped with my cruise planning. And, if you want any pictures of anything, please let me know!! I took 4,600 pictures on this vacation, many on the cruise.

Great review. Thank you!

Awesome review. Thanks for taking the time. It is appreciated

Congrats and great that you enjoyed the room. Figured you would.

Richard E. was also our room steward when we sailed on the Jade last November. He is amazing! The reluctance of folks to take extra tips is new, though. Butler/concierge/steward all accepted my extra tips with a blush and a smile. Maybe it has to do with the new higher daily service charge for suite passengers?

I enjoyed your review. Your review was nicely done with fact inclusive of both ship and shore experiences.

Do you have any close up pictures of the pools on the Jade? Mostly interested in the thalassotherapy pool in the spa, and the splash area around the main pool. Thanks!

Do you have any close up pictures of the pools on the Jade? Mostly interested in the thalassotherapy pool in the spa, and the splash area around the main pool. Thanks!

here's the "pool" in the spa ... i loved it, but i wouldn't really call it a pool ;)

Congratulations on your honeymoon! So glad you enjoyed the Jade. Thank you for the thorough review. DH and I will be sailing her in Feb. in a family suite. We also have the SDP and UBP. I wonder if using one of the SDPs for room service will be "free" for suites the same way it was for Haven guests. That would be awesome! I know the beverages wouldn't be free.

We'll be on the Jade this coming Saturday (11/28/2015). Thanks for taking the time to share all of this very useful information about sailing on the ship!

here's the "pool" in the spa ... i loved it, but i wouldn't really call it a pool ;)

 

 

Thanks so much for the pics! Yes, it does seem smaller than I hoped, but I'm sure we'll still enjoy it. :)

Just booked this cruise and the Greek Island cruise as a back to back for September. So excited.

On the Pearl you would lay on the back part like a jacuzzi. It was really too small for much swimming plus on the Pearl it had an above head (Jacuzzi??) nozzle you could turn on. It was heaven!:)

Great review Thank You for the details.