Jade 3/5-3/12

We try to cruise once a winter and have been mixing up lines the last few years. I have no great loyalty perks so price and ports drive the decisions. Jade is the mid sized ship I like so here we go....

Flights to Fort Lauderdale tend to be a bit less expensive for us plus I get to visit family. We flew in Sunday missing storms...yea for us! We stayed at Hilton Garden Dania Beach..nice enough but in the middle of a large construction project which could be an issue for an extended stay.

We used Jiffy Jeff to port..first time and I think the service, communication and overall affordability will bring us back to use them again if need arises...great experience.

Jade looks wonderful same as our first ship Pearl in size so easy for us to navigate. We are onboard quite quickly and head to the dining room for a long lunch. Long is the key phrase...it took a very extended time for a pretty simple meal. Food was Ok and that sadly was the theme of the week. I was on vacation and someone else made dinner but few items made me jump for joy!

Rooms were available when we finished and we headed up to the cozy can....wow we have cruised inside before but quite a tiny one. In addition there was a bunk hanging over the bed which made access very difficult from one side of the bed. Storage was fine and the bathroom nice sized and shower more than sufficient. We did have some toilet issues the first few days with it just not flushing...it was taken care of finally but there was limited urgency in getting it fixed until I spoke with the hotel manager at the CC meet and greet. IF you ever doubt the power of CC dont’t...

Ship was in wonderful shape with limited wear and tear and the new post remodel muted color scheme which were pretty but felt a bit bland. I may be in the minority but I like a ship going to the Caribbean to look tropical and have a certain flavor.

We headed outside for sail away and some deck time...chair hogs yup all over with many many left empty for hours but we always managed to find a spot perhaps not a prime location but doable.

We had the drink package which we love and I found service to be quite good. I always hit the bank pre trip for a stack of singles and tip my servers. They all work hard and are so happy for that single it is worth it to me. Before someone flames me I tip because I want to..no line cutting nothing special just an appreciation for the service. I will say it also makes my request for a soda with my drink easy no one questions and no waiting...I need to hydrate so sip the soda while they are making my drink. Now to the part everyone wants to know...worthwhile with drink prices what they are it is pretty simple to hit the break even point...plus we are soda drinkers so I always deduct what we would have paid for that. I believe it works but I would also say we are light drinkers and if it was not a perk I am not certain I could pay the 100 ish per day.

Entertainment on board was good, not great but good and while I do think a few more options both at night and during the day are needed we had a decent selection. This is one of the advantages of ship and line hopping is that we are not hitting entertainment or performers that we have seen several times. We actually walked out of the comedy show..he just was not funny and spent forever just heckling the crowd for being late. We almost never do that but it was just that painful. We have seen some great acts onboard and then others not so much. Cruise director was funny and around but his staff tended to be a bit snarky and at times rude. Kind of the opposite of what you tend to see!

We have been to Coz a number of times. We did see increased security but nothing scary. We took a cab to Paradise beach for a nice beach day.

We hit Tropicante Americana and it was quite lovely. Taxi was hard to get to they certainly don’t want anyone leaving port...it was tough to find our way out. Great experience once we made it there and yummy food and drinks. The vendors never stop however they are very polite when you decline but just one after another...

We had low hopes for our beach/pool day in Belize. It gets killed here and I thought it was going to be a quick on and off. We LOVED it! We found some shady chairs near the pool and were able to drink Coke which we were missing onboard the ship! I did get stung by a bee in the pool and convinced myself I was going to die from a killer bee...but some ice took away most of the sting and swelling and no other impact.

We stayed onbaord in Roatan as I was not able to book Victor B he was closed and I just was not finding an option which made we want to tender in. It was a good decision as the water was rough and tender slow and we enjoyed the quiet of the ship and our prime chairs and pool time.

Last day was a sea day and wow it was crazy busy and felt packed even more than day one! We found some sun and found some shade but it was a struggle and everything felt crowded but it was manageable.

Back to Miami and boy it felt cold and damp after our spot on weather all week. Jiffy Jeff to airport again flawless communication and well worth the price. Rain delays at the airport got us home super late but before the next snowstorm.

Overall nice trip, great weather, ship was lovely, room was super duper small but we made it work, staff was not super exciting or enaged but always always helpful hard working and tried to accommodate, entertainment was pleasant but they needed more options. Food would be the one part of the trip that I will say was very disappointing. The odd combos and options made the meals less than in the past. In addition, there seemed to be some temp issues with perhaps food sitting too long and as a result not hot.

Will we be back on NCL yes for the right price ports and overall package...Jade? Yes again for the right mix..not my favorite ship but a nice time.

What was your cabin number? I too am in an inside and do worry that it may be too small.

Thank you very much for taking the time to share thought on your cruise!

What was your cabin number? I too am in an inside and do worry that it may be too small.

Cabin was 9053 kind of mid ship but closer to forward good location we walked both up and down a lot and if needed close to elevators. The pull down just made walking on the side it was located not possible. I ended up crawling end of bed into it each time after one nasty head bump! We have done other insides on other lines....nothing quite this close but bathroom and closets were fine we just had to manage around the pull down to avoid injury. I do think it may have been less instrusive if the beds were split so you could walk in the center. Hope that helps!

Tobyt, that info does help. I am traveling with my daughter, so we will have the beds split. Thank you for your response.