jeo_la

Thank you for the review! We will be in a balcony on the 9th deck in March. Our room specs say that the room will hold 4. I was wondering if you noticed a pull down bed along with the couch in your cabins? Also where was it located (over main bed or over couch area)? I'm a little worried about the layout.

 

 

NCL

Star 2013

Sky 2015

Jade 2016

On all NCL cruises I've been on in the balcony and mini suites the couch in the sitting area makes out to a bed, some were twins some were doubles

Did anyone who has been on the Jade recently been able to check a case of water in with the checkin luggage?

We cruised on the Jade a few weeks ago. For whatever reason the porters would not accept water. We carried on two small (12 bottles) packages.

That is disappointing who wants to lug around a case of water on embark morning waiting for your room to be ready

Affirmative. A power strip is recommended. You can take water and sodas but you either have to pack them or carry them on board yourself. The porters will not carry your drinks.

Are you unable to checkin a case of water with your luggage and not have to haul them around on embark day? I thought we could put a luggage tag on them and drop off with the luggage?

The only thing I loved about Princess was MUTS (Movies Under The Stars). Not only are they great during the day, but it was fun watching movies at night under the stars - hence the name. They would put out little throws on the lounge chairs and had popcorn, too.

 

Then Carnival started putting the huge outdoor screens on their ships.

I agree I loved that. not only did I find the food below par -- they had to have the worst laid out buffet and very small to boot

Pizza was good

I'm stalking this as well. We are on the Dec 26 voyage

Which port would this be? All NCL excursions are first off of the ship. Of course, if you are in a suite, you have priority, as well. Otherwise, you have to receive a tender ticket. The Freestyle Daily will tell you when you receive tickets.

From what I gather from reviewers we will tender at Roatan and Belize

Thanks!

It is entirely possible the ship we were on "Caribbean princess" wasn't on its A game, as far as the food goes, this was the first cruise after repositioning, but I was disappointed at all venues we tried.

I've been a faithful NCL cruiser for over 10 years, but recently took a 4 night cruise with Princess out of Houston. Here are some of my pros/cons as the relate to NCL comparisons

1. Balcony room - princess balcony rooms have smaller living areas BUT their closet and storage area are huge!

2. Bathrooms are a draw almost identical

3. Movie screen by the pool-- hands down my favorite feature on the Princes ship, wish NCL would take note. So nice while laying by the pool, but also fun to watch NFL games with a blanket and popcorn at night.

4. Pools - I would give this to princess there was plenty of chairs, many had extra cushions -- comfy and several pools 4-5 on the ship.

5. Food - Hands down goes to Norweigan , never had a decent meal on the Princess cruise, I think I actually lost weight. I also prefer the freestyle cruising, we didn't have set dinner times on princess and we're always seated with other people-- not a deal breaker but not ideal.

6. UBP- I will be trying this on my next NCL cruise but we did have for princess -- it was awesome, specialty coffees, bottled water, wine, mixed drinks, really enjoyed. I am disappointed I've heard NCL won't include bottled water

7. Entertainment - nighttime shows are an even draw. I think very comparable. There was a horse race daily entertainment on the princess ship-- you should try not at all what I expected but the CD was great!

Overall I would do a Princess cruise again, but knowing I have low expectations on the food.

Still a NCL loyal

We are cruising on the Jade the week after Christmas and was looking to book excursions through Shorefox, does anyone who has recently cruised on the Jade have some info/Intel on the ability to tender first thing, we are all early risers, but what time do we need to be in line to get off the boat as soon as we can.

Also does anyone have any experience using Shorefox, their reviews on their site look good -- but I trust cruise critic reviews more

Thanks !

After 6 cruises with NCL we will have the UBP on our cruise in December on the Jade. However we recently took a 4 night last minute cruise with Princess out of Houston and purchased their UBP. We greatly enjoyed it, however they DID include bottled water and their specialty coffee, which I had several of each. Disappointed that NCL won't include these. I'll be posting a comparison of the two cruise lines tomorrow there were some things I liked better on Princess but not the food.

Another note princess drink prices were significantly lower -- most tropical alcoholic drinks were $8.95 versus 13 for NCL

Rainwear nd binoculars