Never again with Norwegian Cruises( The Jade)

[penders]

Have you ever heard the phrase "in my opinion" because that is what you are giving. I will be honest, I haven't been on Celebrity for several years and the last time I was it was a 5 day cruise. The shorter cruises are normally not as nice as7 day or longer, but our experience with Celebrity (that time) was anything but positive. Our last cruise on Princess, about 2 years ago had the worst food we have ever had and I have cruised about 30 times, on all mass marketed lines, all more than once.

 

You are right, for those who do not want to take part in the formal nights on Princess there are other options, but I can assure you, we felt like low life, not dressing formally, even eating at the buffet. The second formal night we grabbed something early, then had room service.

 

So, as you can see: the term "in my opinion" is just that, an opinion. I would never suggest NCL is better than say, Princess, I would say, for us NCL is a better fit. I do know, when someone posts a very negative review, most do not take it too seriously.

 

Obviously NCL isn't for you. Every cruise line has a market and what works for one will not always work for someone else. This does not make any brand inferior.

 

Next time I write a review I will try and remember to start it with " In my opinion" as this was my first time writing a review on a cruise line I just wrote my feelings down what else can I say

[penders]

Completely changing the subject, hows the traffic and noise round your way this week? I lived in Fleet, Farnborough and Aldershot until I was 32 and I miss this week.

 

No noise this week but last week very noises with planes over head I think they must have been arriving as for the traffic I have not driven round the area of Aldershot Farnham has been Ok

[SeagoingMom]

The extra cost for a minisuite compared to a standard balcony is so little so noone can really expect to get much, I think.

 

I'm amazed when people seems to know everything about the suiteperks but they don't know that a minisuite isn't a suite! (I don't say that you were like that before you got more experienced!)

It may be amazing, but I think it still happens. Point is, not much about a mini-suite is actually like a suite, so why do cruise lines call it that? Mini-suites (or junior suites) are really just somewhat larger and somewhat fancier balcony cabins, so why not call them "deluxe" or "luxury" or "extra-large" balcony cabins or some similar terminology, and retain the term "suite" for those cabins which include perks? Just seems reasonable to me.

 

But then again, neither you nor I are making those marketing decisions... :rolleyes:

[sverigecruiser]

It may be amazing, but I think it still happens. Point is, not much about a mini-suite is actually like a suite, so why do cruise lines call it that? Mini-suites (or junior suites) are really just somewhat larger and somewhat fancier balcony cabins, so why not call them "deluxe" or "luxury" or "extra-large" balcony cabins or some similar terminology, and retain the term "suite" for those cabins which include perks? Just seems reasonable to me.

 

But then again, neither you nor I are making those marketing decisions... :rolleyes:

 

I agree with you that they should be called something without suite in the name.

 

And I also think that people must research and don't just assume that every cabin with suite in the name get all perks.

[jackson bernard]

Next time I write a review I will try and remember to start it with " In my opinion" as this was my first time writing a review on a cruise line I just wrote my feelings down what else can I say

 

No need to put "in my opinion" in your review. Any 10 year old would understand it is your opinion. Some people are personally insulted when a posting has negative comments about "their favorite cruiseline". Thanks for the honest review. I don't think I will be sailing on that ship anytime soon.

 

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[DevonianCruiser]

 

Before you booked the RCI Junior Suite, you have have researched what perks you would get.

 

I'm fully aware of that.

[DevonianCruiser]

 

And I also think that people must research and don't just assume that every cabin with suite in the name get all perks.

 

Yep aware again

[SeaShark]

Actually, the better solution would be to post your review in the review section instead of here on a discussion board.

 

Reviews in the review section don't generally all of the subsequent commentary.

[newmexicoNita]

I have a question.

 

I note this from your review:

 

"The menus did not change, from one day to the next."

 

Is that actually the case? I ask because this isn't the first time I have read this written about the Jade. On every NCL cruise I have been on, about half of the menu changes every day. Is there really just one ship that serves exactly the same food every day? I'm interested because I'm sailing on the Jade in a few weeks.

 

this is not the case: menue are pretty much set for all NCL ships. Of course there are the "always available" menu with the other side of the menu being different each day. There is a 2 week menu, thus nothing is repeated for 14 days. The lunch menus often do remain the same, as do the breakfast menus.

[andmad]

The right side of the menu changed in the MDR nightly. The chef's specialty was listed orally and was not printed on the menu. While the ship looked as if it still belonged in Hawaii, it did not impact my cruise at all. On such a port intensive cruise, it was nice to be at home in the evenings on the ship after a long day of touring. We sail on NCL every year on the Jewel class ships. We have not ventured on the newer ships yet. I thought the staff was very friendly and competent. I enjoyed the. Latitudes cocktail parties and met many officers. We sailed on. June 28th. If you are sailing soon, enjoy!

[KeithJenner]

this is not the case: menue are pretty much set for all NCL ships. Of course there are the "always available" menu with the other side of the menu being different each day. There is a 2 week menu, thus nothing is repeated for 14 days. The lunch menus often do remain the same, as do the breakfast menus.

 

 

Yes, I'm fully aware of how the menus work on NCL. however, this review is one of four recent ones which state that the menu didn't change. The OP has confirmed that this was the case.

 

I know that people sometimes do mistakenly believe that there are no changes (someone has just posted one from the Breakaway or Getaway saying the same thing), but so many reviews for the same ship saying the same thing do make me wonder whether there was some issue on the Jade. It sounds so unlikely that I still think it was probably misunderstanding but I'm not sure.

 

A couple of people have now confirmed that their menus did change, so either the other reviewers were wrong, or the problem on the ship has been sorted.

 

 

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[KeithJenner]

The right side of the menu changed in the MDR nightly. The chef's specialty was listed orally and was not printed on the menu. While the ship looked as if it still belonged in Hawaii, it did not impact my cruise at all. On such a port intensive cruise, it was nice to be at home in the evenings on the ship after a long day of touring. We sail on NCL every year on the Jewel class ships. We have not ventured on the newer ships yet. I thought the staff was very friendly and competent. I enjoyed the. Latitudes cocktail parties and met many officers. We sailed on. June 28th. If you are sailing soon, enjoy!

 

 

Thanks for the feedback. You sailed after the OP and other reviewers did so once again it seems that, if there was a problem with the menus, it's been fixed now.

 

 

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Edited July 19, 2014 by KeithJenner

[Aussieflyer]

Thanks for your report Penders and thank you for the review in the review section. I note the overall star ratings for Jade are less than 5 with 3 and 2s quite a bit.

Your report and review came at a very opportune time as we were tossing up whether to do a Jade cruise out of Rome later this year. Have decided that we probably would not enjoy the ship as much as we hope so better to perhaps choose something different this time. Food and ambience are very important to us when we cruise (not to many I know, but to us, yes). The newer X ships we have enjoyed (especially Blu restaurant for Aqua Class) and probably if we had booked Jade, we would have been eating in the specialty restaurants each night at extra cost. I would have been disappointed with the chips in Cagney's - X has hand cut parmesan and truffle ones which are heavenly!

Happy sailing

[DevonianCruiser]

Thanks for your report Penders and thank you for the review in the review section. I note the overall star ratings for Jade are less than 5 with 3 and 2s quite a bit.

Your report and review came at a very opportune time as we were tossing up whether to do a Jade cruise out of Rome later this year. Have decided that we probably would not enjoy the ship as much as we hope so better to perhaps choose something different this time. Food and ambience are very important to us when we cruise (not to many I know, but to us, yes). The newer X ships we have enjoyed (especially Blu restaurant for Aqua Class) and probably if we had booked Jade, we would have been eating in the specialty restaurants each night at extra cost. I would have been disappointed with the chips in Cagney's - X has hand cut parmesan and truffle ones which are heavenly!

Happy sailing

 

There are other reports on here of the Jade that are very positive, so it may be worth reading them for a different view perhaps. I'm doing the Jade next month mainly because of the itinerary. Being summer it is very expensive bit out of season the Jade is extremely good value for cruises. I did Oasis last December and it was fantastic, but it was also a very expensive ship, so there also price as a consideration. Good luck with whoever you choose :)

[Cruisercl]

Just to say I have posted a review on the review page and to put in context that we have cruised before with PRINCESS and CELEBRITY which we found in all areas to be of a much higher standard with anytime dinning and if you did not want to go to the Formal Night there were plenty of places to eat and drink on the same evening.

 

I really think that N.C.L need to look at all aspects of there catering with somewhat more choice in there main dinning rooms. It would also be nice some of the furnishings could be updated they had made a start with new carpets in some areas !!!

 

We did enjoy our cruise as all the ports we went were fabulous and the weather was great just pity about the ship

 

 

OK, enjoy your future cruises on other cruise lines. :)

[swedish weave]

I am shocked at the number of people who allow complete strangers affect their decisions on which cruise to take.

 

I use my own mind to make decisions and do not read reviews.

[PatJim]

I had a mini suite on the Sun years back and for the small extra it was well worth it. The room was lovely.

 

However I had a Junior Suite on RC and that was a load extra and I was extremely disappointed with the lack of perks as it's not really a suite! As it had priority boarding I thought it had more than it did. I won't make that mistake again.

 

The Sun is an older ship, and her cabins are larger than other mid-sized NCL ships like the Dawn and Gem (only other NCL ships we've sailed on). We did a Baltic cruise on the Sun in a balcony, and were delighted to find the Sun's balcony cabin was the same as a mini-suite on the Dawn. How can you tell? The usual balcony has a 'two-seater' couch; the mini-suite is a 'three-seater,' meaning the room is somewhat longer and a bit wider. Don't know about the newer mega-ships like the Breakaway. We're sticking to the Gem, because we can afford suites on her that cost the same as a balcony (with tiny balcony space) on the mega-ships.

[PatJim]

Well we certainly had frozen fries in our cone! I even took a photo of them as I was so shocked, I was expecting hand cut fries, properly cooked (twice or three times is best) not what we got. The rest of the meal was delicious, but then we paid quite a lot for it, so it should have been. Had we eaten there every night we would have paid nearly $500 more each, and for that we could have had a balcony cabin on either RCI or Princess, with superior service and dining in the MDR.

 

If you ate at Cagney's every night, for a 7-day cruise the cost would be $210 ($30 X 7) per person. The UDP is $119 per person for a 7-day cruise, which is even cheaper. (Platinum Latitude members pay $99 for the UDP.)

 

Re the Cagney fries, they serve truffle fries. Some of our group of 6 loved them so much, the waiter brought some over with extra truffle oil. I rarely eat fries (health issue, not taste issue), but these I ate!:D

[Winnigirl]

I am shocked at the number of people who allow complete strangers affect their decisions on which cruise to take.

 

I use my own mind to make decisions and do not read reviews.

 

Well said! If I had listened to every review concerning every cruise we've taken - I'd still be sitting at home.

[KeithJenner]

Well said! If I had listened to every review concerning every cruise we've taken - I'd still be sitting at home.

 

 

I tend to read them mainly for entertainment value. There was one the other day where someone was asked to pay corkage, and apparently they wouldn't let her off despite her explaining that she'd read on the website that you were allowed to take it on for free. It all seemed to go downhill from there.

 

In the weeks coming up to a cruise I do tend to read reviews for that particular ship, just to see if there are any particular things that seem to come up a lot (like the menu apparently not changing on the Jade). I still take it with a large pinch of salt though.

 

 

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Edited July 19, 2014 by KeithJenner

[Aussieflyer]

There are other reports on here of the Jade that are very positive, so it may be worth reading them for a different view perhaps. I'm doing the Jade next month mainly because of the itinerary. Being summer it is very expensive bit out of season the Jade is extremely good value for cruises. I did Oasis last December and it was fantastic, but it was also a very expensive ship, so there also price as a consideration. Good luck with whoever you choose :)

Yes, I am aware of the good reviews as well and that Jade is good value for the price. When looking for reviews I always take them with a grain of salt. It is the factual information I am looking for and look for the recurring comments as well. I also try to look for information in more than one forum to get a better feel for the way people have responded. I am also aware that posters on each cruise line's board here in the main are quite loyal to the line. You should see the Cunard threads :eek:

Probably will not choose Jade this time; price was excellent (until you add the flights from Australia :( ) but the timing was not quite right as well for us. It looks like it will be a land holiday this year as we want to spend some time in Munich and Vienna.

[PathfinderEss]

Thanks for your review, glad you enjoyed your cruise, to bad about the ship.:(

[penders]

Actually, the better solution would be to post your review in the review section instead of here on a discussion board.

 

Reviews in the review section don't generally all of the subsequent commentary.

 

Thanks for that I will do that in the future as I am new to this I had no idea that posting on both would cause such a UPROAR one learns something new every day

[Zhane's mum]

Thanks for that I will do that in the future as I am new to this I had no idea that posting on both would cause such a UPROAR one learns something new every day

 

Had you posted that everything was wonderful you would not have had such responses. Some people just don't like to hear that not everyone thinks their favourite cruise line has no faults (it's the same on all of the boards). Take it all with a pinch of salt, if we all liked the same things life would be so boring :)

[penders]

Had you posted that everything was wonderful you would not have had such responses. Some people just don't like to hear that not everyone thinks their favourite cruise line has no faults (it's the same on all of the boards). Take it all with a pinch of salt' date=' if we all liked the same things life would be so boring :)[/quote']

 

Thanks I will sign off now as it seems everybody has had their say one way or the other it has been an interesting few weeks in the end every one I am sure will have their own view on what ever cruise they take:)