Jade on board shows

[Tracik]

So, we will be on the Jade on Feb 13th. I am wanting to make reservations for the specialty dining. But, I need to know what time the shows will be and on what days. Is this information located any where? thanks!

[Sauer-kraut]

The Jade will have 2 shows nightly usually a 7 and a 9 or 9:30

[Tracik]

Thank you so much!

[Bluefox]

The Element show is tonight and at 7:30 & 9:45. I'm currently on board :)

[chicail16]

Any movies on board?

[NMLady]

The Element show is tonight and at 7:30 & 9:45. I'm currently on board :)

 

Oooh, that Elements show is absolutely fantastic!!

It's the kind of show that Vegas would charge money to see imo.

[RMLincoln]

Yes, Elements was extra special. And the time of the later show was 15 minutes later than the usual late show because it takes a bit longer to re-set. So it may be safer to plan on 7:30 and 9:30. Enjoy, m--

[hlb76]

Will we need to pre-book specialty dining for this ship? I've read that only the mega ships really need this?

 

I'm a newbie and certainly don't want to miss out on a show or a dining option. All of this is so confusing to me

[littlebull]

This is my first "freestyle" cruise and I agree about it being confusing! I find it stressful worrying about getting reservations and making it on time to the nightly shows! I did book my UDP reservations online but had to wing it in hopes I was choosing the right times and best days to use them! I also understand they require a 24 hrs cancellation notice if you decide not to go! Ugh! Hopefully I will enjoy this flexibility once I get onboard!

[NMLady]

This is my first "freestyle" cruise and I agree about it being confusing! I find it stressful worrying about getting reservations and making it on time to the nightly shows! I did book my UDP reservations online but had to wing it in hopes I was choosing the right times and best days to use them! I also understand they require a 24 hrs cancellation notice if you decide not to go! Ugh! Hopefully I will enjoy this flexibility once I get onboard!

 

Because we like the truly "freestyle" we never book Specialty restaurants until the morning of dining there, after we've read the newsletter and decided our day's schedule. Sometimes we haven't reserved until returning from port for that evening. We've rarely had a problem getting a time. It might be earlier or later than what we originally wanted, but we do get a table.

Edited November 22, 2015 by NMLady

[rmmom1962]

Interested to know do they show movies out by the pool in the evenings?

[dlynn0366]

Because we like the truly "freestyle" we never book Specialty restaurants until the morning of dining there, after we've read the newsletter and decided our day's schedule. Sometimes we haven't reserved until returning from port for that evening. We've rarely had a problem getting a time. It might be earlier or later than what we originally wanted, but we do get a table.

 

I also never worried about booking but this year & maybe due to so many purchasing the dining packages getting reservations was an issue for me anyway.

[shellpj]

I was on the Jade last week. You may want to consider booking your dining ahead. Although 1500 people on board had the UBP, several hundred had the UDP. On the first evening, we stopped by LeBistro to book dinner for the following night (Sunday). Only 5:45 and 9PM were available. We were able to get in at 8:15 on Tuesday. The next day we decided to book ahead for La Cucina and were able to get the only slot left between 7-8:30PM for the week on Wednesday. The gentleman in front of me tried to get a booking for Le Bistro (this is only the second day on the ship) and she told him they were sold out for the week.

 

Just a side note, when we ate dinner in both restaurants on those evenings, they were half full which was strange given that they were booked full. Our ship had some issues on it regarding staffing (maybe because it just came off the transatlantic). I'm not sure if they limited seating or if people just didn't show up after they booked.

[justali1]

Just curious how you liked the Jade? How was the crew? Any good shows and activities?! Sorry to bombard with questions doesn't seem to be much info out on the Jades first sailing out of Houston.

[shellpj]

Just curious how you liked the Jade? How was the crew? Any good shows and activities?! Sorry to bombard with questions doesn't seem to be much info out on the Jades first sailing out of Houston.

 

I've done a lot of cruising on NCL including Hawaii, the Caribbean and Europe. I would say this was my least favorite of the bunch. I'm not really a complainer and we made the most of it, but there were issues that even the Captain admitted needed to be worked out.

 

In our case, it was a bunch of little issues that added up. Embarkation was quite long. It took us an hour and a half and we went through the Platinum line. We left port about 3 hours late due to some delay to fill the ship to its full fuel capacity. That didn't bother us, but because of the weird Texas liquor laws, only certain alcoholic drinks could be sold and it slowed down the process. Our first drink was a 40 minute wait, but after that, we never waited more than 10-15 minutes for a beverage on the ship. There were fewer bartenders and servers onboard, but those we met, were trying to work efficiently. (Ahn and Marius at the martini bar have it down. I've never seen that many martinis of every variety you have and have not heard of fly beautifully across their hands.) Morning room service never showed up twice for us. The only reason we got into Le Bistro and La Cucina was because we booked it on board in the first 2 days. There were fewer game shows and pool side entertainment and activities. Musicians in the evening also played shorter sets. Tenders made it tough for everyone to get off the ship in Belize and Roatan, making some wait almost 3 hours if they had a high number tender ticket.

 

I could go on, but frankly the good outweighed the bad in the end for us. For example Jorge, our room steward, was attentive, kind and left our cabin sparkling. We had great weather. We took advantage of most of the entertainment options offered (we did enjoy both the theater and game shows). The gym and classes were never crowded. Food was good, especially in Le Bistro and easy for me, a vegetarian, to find something to enjoy. Finally, we could always find a lounge chair or table. We're grateful to have the opportunity to cruise which is better than any day chilling in the cold, snowy weather at home.

 

On an interesting note, we learned a lot from the behind the scenes tour. The 1500 UBP created a different pattern of drinking and they weren't ready for it. Days 1-3 liquor use skyrocketed, Days 4-5 had a crash due to the overindulgence from days 1-3 and Days 6-7 peaked, because so many UBP users wanted to go all out before getting off the ship. Also we learned that the crew was in complete culture shock. The ship and crew had spent the past 7 years in Europe catering to maybe 500 Americans on those cruises. It flipped to less than 500 international passengers on our cruise mixed with about 2000 Americans. We are apparently much more outgoing, a bit more demanding and want to engage with the crew members all the time. This was a bit overwhelming for them and they weren't prepared for it. They were also still doing training and were not up to their full crew capacity.

 

I'm sure several of these issues will be worked out before your cruise. I expect there will be several negative reports from my cruise, but we made the best of it and in the end had fun.

Edited November 24, 2015 by shellpj

[justali1]

I've done a lot of cruising on NCL including Hawaii, the Caribbean and Europe. I would say this was my least favorite of the bunch. I'm not really a complainer and we made the most of it, but there were issues that even the Captain admitted needed to be worked out.

 

In our case, it was a bunch of little issues that added up. Embarkation was quite long. It took us an hour and a half and we went through the Platinum line. We left port about 3 hours late due to some delay to fill the ship to its full fuel capacity. That didn't bother us, but because of the weird Texas liquor laws, only certain alcoholic drinks could be sold and it slowed down the process. Our first drink was a 40 minute wait, but after that, we never waited more than 10-15 minutes for a beverage on the ship. There were fewer bartenders and servers onboard, but those we met, were trying to work efficiently. (Ahn and Marius at the martini bar have it down. I've never seen that many martinis of every variety you have and have not heard of fly beautifully across their hands.) Morning room service never showed up twice for us. The only reason we got into Le Bistro and La Cucina was because we booked it on board in the first 2 days. There were fewer game shows and pool side entertainment and activities. Musicians in the evening also played shorter sets. Tenders made it tough for everyone to get off the ship in Belize and Roatan, making some wait almost 3 hours if they had a high number tender ticket.

 

I could go on, but frankly the good outweighed the bad in the end for us. For example Jorge, our room steward, was attentive, kind and left our cabin sparkling. We had great weather. We took advantage of most of the entertainment options offered (we did enjoy both the theater and game shows). The gym and classes were never crowded. Food was good, especially in Le Bistro and easy for me, a vegetarian, to find something to enjoy. Finally, we could always find a lounge chair or table. We're grateful to have the opportunity to cruise which is better than any day chilling in the cold, snowy weather at home.

 

On an interesting note, we learned a lot from the behind the scenes tour. The 1500 UBP created a different pattern of drinking and they weren't ready for it. Days 1-3 liquor use skyrocketed, Days 4-5 had a crash due to the overindulgence from days 1-3 and Days 6-7 peaked, because so many UBP users wanted to go all out before getting off the ship. Also we learned that the crew was in complete culture shock. The ship and crew had spent the past 7 years in Europe catering to maybe 500 Americans on those cruises. It flipped to less than 500 international passengers on our cruise mixed with about 2000 Americans. We are apparently much more outgoing, a bit more demanding and want to engage with the crew members all the time. This was a bit overwhelming for them and they weren't prepared for it. They were also still doing training and were not up to their full crew capacity.

 

I'm sure several of these issues will be worked out before your cruise. I expect there will be several negative reports from my cruise, but we made the best of it and in the end had fun.

 

Wow, thanks for such detailed information! Only 4 days left and I am thrilled!

[john1024]

Thanks for the review shellpj. Recent reviews since being back to Houston have us a little spooked. Would love to hear some more updates as folks return.

[jeo_la]

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

[kosweeps]

If you look at the "reviews" section of the site there are a number of recent Jade reviews from the past week's sailing and the first one from HOuston. A real mixed bag.

[Linda the Book Lover]

Just curious how you liked the Jade? How was the crew? Any good shows and activities?! Sorry to bombard with questions doesn't seem to be much info out on the Jades first sailing out of Houston.

 

I am not sure if you saw this thread that also has an update from about 2 weeks ago with during and after cruise updates including the daliy copies and food photos from Tanyaheart.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2277086&page=7

Edited December 12, 2015 by Linda the Book Lover