MITSUGIRLY'S birthday cruise on the JADE review/pictorial

[TaDaaa!]

Well I'm not sure about all of them, but there have been a lot of changes. We normally don't eat in the specialty restaurants unless it's Teppanyaki or the Asian restaurant. Now that they have made the Asian restaurant free, we have only been there lately. I do remember reading something about the a la carte but haven't really paid attention to eat since it really doesn't concern us. Sorry I couldn't have been more help. :(

 

I was basing my question on the pic of the menu you showed. It had prices on it and I know when I sailed the Sun back in Jun there were no prices on the menu at La Cucina. So did you pay one set price when you went or did you pay for each item you ordered?

[janpo]

I started out with the Bruschetta and it was really good (except for the anchovies=yuck. I don't like them. I don't like them at all).

 

 

The hubby had no idea what any of this was and just picked something...the Beef Carpaccio.

 

 

Now he didn't realize this is something that he had ordered in the MDR once before last year and just about gagged. Anything that is remotely raw does not cut it with us...at all! Whether it be steak or anything and this was just gross. I can't stomach it. If I see the slightest pink in anything, I want to puke. I did try the marinated bean salad on the top and it was good, but he just couldn't do it and left it untouched.

 

Our bottle of wine came and we tried it. It wasn't too bad and was definitely happier with it than our last choice. He did good. We might possibly drink all of this bottle.

 

 

 

After a few glasses, I don't think I was feeling anything at that point.

 

 

 

The hubby had the ribeye steak for dinner and said it was good.

 

 

 

The polenta al formaggio tasted good to me, but I don't think he liked it. I have no idea what this is but it tasted somewhat like a lasagna made of cheese or something. I'm not really sure. I had never tasted anything like this before.

 

I ordered the carbonara. I do not like tomatoes so anything with red sauce is usually out for me. The waitress suggested the carbonara instead.

 

 

All I can say about this dish is OH EM GEE! I was in heaven. Pure heaven. It was SO good. Perfect! I ate the entire plate!!!

 

 

 

 

I had the carbonara for the first time on The Jewel last December. It was delicious!!!!

 

 

Btw....I can see why you needed reservations to get in there. The place looks packed. Haha

Edited March 7, 2016 by janpo

[jenseib]

Did the Pop luggage ever show up then?

[herdingdogmom]

I was basing my question on the pic of the menu you showed. It had prices on it and I know when I sailed the Sun back in Jun there were no prices on the menu at La Cucina. So did you pay one set price when you went or did you pay for each item you ordered?

 

On our Sun cruise last month, 3 specialty restaurants were a la carte: La Cucina, Cagney's, Le Bistro. Teppanyaki and Moderno were still one set price. We used the SDP and our Platinum free meal certificates at the specialty restaurants. Mitsugirly said she used her Platinum certificate for her La Cucina meal. I always use my free meal certificates too.

 

Mitsugirly: loving the review.

[Match Game 72]

So the specialty restaurants are ala carte now instead of a single price????? :eek:

 

I just found this:

http://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=6443

 

Mitsugirly, Thanks for the terrific review! I really enjoy all the photos you include.

[cruisin4familyfun]

Yay, a new review.

 

We got off the Jade 2 weeks ago. I can skip my review now, I can't do as good a job as you!

 

Thanks for all the photos.

😀

[ncklhaus]

When we were in Le Bistro we heard the waiter tell the people at the next table that the wine you drank, the Beringer White Zinfandel, was the best seller on the ship. :D

[Jana60]

When we were in Le Bistro we heard the waiter tell the people at the next table that the wine you drank, the Beringer White Zinfandel, was the best seller on the ship. :D

 

Beringer white Zin is my favorite wine also but I will admit I'm not a wine connoisseur. But it's nice to know that the ship has my favorite since we have the universal beverage package included with our cruise.

[ellieocb]

Love this review!

[hdowney]

Yay another Mitsugirly review. I LOVE your reviews. I am especially enjoying this one as I sail the Jade from Venice in October - so far away :( so I am living vicariously thru your review for now!

[marvholly]

By the 2nd or 3rd lack of service remark from the room steward I would have asked if he accepted gratuities and told him they needed to be EARNED!

 

By the 3rd or 4th I would have INSISTED on speaking to the Hotel Director.

[mitsugirly]

Great review Kim!!!

 

Thank you. :)

 

I have rushed through the last couple of pages so I hope i didn't miss it but did your last suitcase turn up?

 

Yes, it finally turned up. :)

[mitsugirly]

I'm beginning to think you had the same room steward we did on the Pearl in 2014. On more than one occasion he entered the room without knocking and my teenage daughters were in there alone. Multiple things in the cabin were broken, never brought the right amount of towels, and rarely did he get the cabin turned down at night. He was hands down the worst steward we've ever had on any line. I complained to the guest services desk as well as the concierge about his service (or lack there of) and him continually walking in on the girls. Sorry to say it never improved. The one and ONLY time I've ever had a daily service charge removed....not the entire thing mind you, only for one person (we were three to a cabin).

 

That has happened to us before. I watched this room steward and another knock a quick knock and instantly insert their key card and walk in. They don't give anyone time to answer the door. I have been noticing this on several of my last cruises and have had them walk in before. I know that when you lock the extra lock inside the room, they are not supposed to be able to unlock the door with the key card and come in. However, for the first time we tested this theory on the Breakaway cruise and that bottom lock did not keep anyone from coming in. I haven't tried it on any other cruise but I would think that's the purpose of this lock. :confused: Maybe this guy is the brother of my guy. :p

 

aha!!here it is.

 

Now to go back and catch up!!!!!

 

Hiya! Glad you made it. :)

[mitsugirly]

Cant wait to read your review

I hope you enjoy it.

 

I was basing my question on the pic of the menu you showed. It had prices on it and I know when I sailed the Sun back in Jun there were no prices on the menu at La Cucina. So did you pay one set price when you went or did you pay for each item you ordered?

 

 

Oh I'm sorry. I thought you meant all of the specialty restaurants. Yes, La Cucina is al la carte (according to them) now. But I can't speak for the others since we don't go to them.

 

We didn't pay at all. Since we are platinum members we get a free meal (well actually 2 free meals...one for me and one for the hubby). :)

[mitsugirly]

I had the carbonara for the first time on The Jewel last December. It was delicious!!!!

 

 

Btw....I can see why you needed reservations to get in there. The place looks packed. Haha

 

It was very good. So good I had it again later on in the week. :D

 

Yea, it was REAL crowded. :rolleyes: LOL I gave her a funny look when she was giving us a hassle about having a reservation. But why????

 

Did the Pop luggage ever show up then?

 

 

Yes it did. (Did I forget to mention it in my review? Oops). :p

[mitsugirly]

 

Mitsugirly: loving the review.

 

Thank you so much.

 

I just found this:

http://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=6443

 

Mitsugirly, Thanks for the terrific review! I really enjoy all the photos you include.

 

There, I knew someone would have the info. :) Thanks for the compliments.

[mitsugirly]

Yay, a new review.

 

We got off the Jade 2 weeks ago. I can skip my review now, I can't do as good a job as you!

 

Thanks for all the photos.

😀

 

I hope you had a wonderful time. Thanks so much for your compliment.

 

When we were in Le Bistro we heard the waiter tell the people at the next table that the wine you drank, the Beringer White Zinfandel, was the best seller on the ship. :D

 

It's probably the one we will stick with when sailing. :)

[mitsugirly]

Love this review!

 

Thank you.

 

Yay another Mitsugirly review. I LOVE your reviews. I am especially enjoying this one as I sail the Jade from Venice in October - so far away :( so I am living vicariously thru your review for now!

 

Aww, thanks so much. I hope you have a wonderful cruise on the Jade. :)

[mitsugirly]

By the 2nd or 3rd lack of service remark from the room steward I would have asked if he accepted gratuities and told him they needed to be EARNED!

 

By the 3rd or 4th I would have INSISTED on speaking to the Hotel Director.

 

As the week progressed, he KNEW I was not happy with him. :( I'm pretty sure he also knew he wasn't getting anything extra either.

[mitsugirly]

Ok, sorry about yesterday and not continuing with the review. I HAD to get one of my assignments done for one of my classes...only 6 more to go for this week. :eek: Then my oldest son invited us over for a cookout and a bonfire and we didn't get home until late last night. Someone offers me free food and free drinks...I'm there. I'm hooked on Whipped Vodka and his girl was making drinks with cream soda, orange juice and whipped vodka. I had to drag myself away from there last night. :p

 

So I will get a little more in now before work and fingers crossed, I might be able to continue tonight after hopefully getting another assignment done.

[mitsugirly]

DAY 2

 

 

Even though this was a sea day, and boy do I like my sleep, I sat the alarm for 7am because...since I am a platinum member, I get a free "behind the scenes ship tour". I did not get to take one on our last cruise because I didn't realize that you had to sign up the first day. Oops. But this time I didn't want to miss it.

 

We headed up to the buffet for breakfast. It wasn't too crowded up there...at least for being a sea day, I expected more. Maybe everyone was busy sleeping in...like I should have been.

 

 

 

Breakfast was good. No complaints here.

 

 

 

The ship tour started at 9am. We headed down to the atrium, which was our meeting spot. As we approached, I did see some people sitting, with name tags, and I knew that had to be the group. However, I also noticed that Sakari and I had our flip flops on and the instructions said to make sure we had closed toe shoes on. Oops. We raced back to the room to change shoes and headed back down and checked in. It was about 8:45am and the latitudes consultant said she had just left us a message in our room wondering if we were still coming. And here I thought we were early. LOL

 

"Barb", the cruise consultant, introduced herself and told us what we were going to see. She just recently joined the Jade back in December (I believe she said she came off the Breakaway, or maybe it was the Getaway) and she was still trying to learn her way around the Jade. She said the last tour she gave she got turned around and had to ask for directions from the crew. She told us how she has walked this tour so many times, trying to get it right, so that she didn't mess up again. We would later find out why she got lost so easily.

 

She first took us to the theater to meet the lady that was the production manager for the shows. They took us up in the sound booth where the lighting and music is played and explained to us what they did. We were told absolutely NO photography. Quite honest, where we were at is something anyone could take a picture of from standing beside it out in the audience at the top. Or, even when boarding the ship and wondering around taking pictures. I thought it was odd. There was nothing but a desk with computers and they had their notes, but nothing that would be a giveaway to the shows to take back somewhere and sabotage them.

 

Then she took us behind the stage, up and down some steps and showed us the ladies dressing rooms, told us about how quickly they had to change outfits, how many girls they had, and so on. Then took us to the mens dressing room and did the same. They were short 2 men I believe she said. Of course she pointed out how much cleaner and organized the mens room was compared to the ladies.

 

She also showed us a "spot" right as you exit the stage that they usually change clothes, right there in front of all the other dancers, and told us you can't be a dancer and be modest.

 

It was interesting to see the changing rooms, but quite honestly, I think once she told us that we were not allowed to take pictures, I instantly lost interest and tuned some things out. Just my opinion, but...yep, it's a dressing room, yep there's costumes, nope you can't take pictures of this??? I was bored and felt a little too much time was spent in this area and was ready to move on.

 

We headed into a hallway they call the I-95. It was all white with doors going everywhere and the main hall that the employees use to get everywhere. We were told that we were allowed to take pictures from here on out and I perked right up and started paying attention.

 

I tried to walk and snap a picture to show just how long these halls were...but it didn't turn out well. I forgot to put it on the sport setting. Oops

 

 

 

 

A spot they kept extra carpet for repairs.

 

 

 

Just a few interesting facts about the Jade:

 

*810 miles of electric cable & 55 miles of pipe within her hull.

 

*835 exterior windows & 1834 interior doors

 

*1000 gallons of paint used on the exterior and 3000 gallons for the interior

 

*12 passenger elevators & 10 service elevators

 

*Over 25,000 various light bulbs

 

*6800 nozzles & 437 fire hydrants for protection

 

*Max speed 25 knots=28.75MPH

 

*22 life boats: 20 holds 150 passengers & 2 holds 49 for a total of 3,398 people

*22 Life rafts holding 101 people and 2 hold 25 for a total of 2,272 people

This is a total capacity of 5,670 people

 

*43 life buoys and 2 MOB boats

 

*8098 Life jackets + 200 life jackets for infants

 

*Fuel use: capacity=713,300 Consumption at top speed with 4 engines running is 1 gallon per second.

[mitsugirly]

Next up was the laundry facility.

 

Interesting facts about laundry.

*6 Large Washers (256 lbs. max loads)

*2 Medium Washers (125 lbs. max loads)

*1 small washer (for delicates & linens)

*8 Dryers (134 lbs max loads)

 

 

 

 

This area was the area they do passengers personal clothing

 

 

 

This machine was pretty neat. They put the shirt (or pants) on a thing that looked like a mannequin and pushed a button and it blew the shirt up while steaming it.

 

 

 

The pants being blown up

 

[Jana60]

*22 life boats: 20 holds 150 passengers & 2 holds 49 for a total of 3,398 people

*22 Life rafts holding 101 people and 2 hold 25 for a total of 2,272 people

This is a total capacity of 5,670 people

 

*Fuel use: capacity=713,300 Consumption at top speed with 4 engines running is 1 gallon per second.

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Do you know how many total people are aboard Jade, both passengers and staff, when at maximum capacity who would need to use the lifeboats in an emergency? With the recent drop in gas prices you would think the cruise lines would be saving a lot of money if they use that much fuel!

[mitsugirly]

 

 

 

 

 

 

These machines sounded like a jet engine on a plane starting up and ready for take off

 

 

 

Video of the machines

 

 

I watched a show on the Undercover Boss that had a place that did cleaning and the guy was talking about having his arm caught in one of these once and how dangerous they are and it's all I could think as I watched these guys work. Eeekk Those machines really get to moving. If they weren't bolted to the floor, they would be walking across it.

 

[mitsugirly]

Mounds and mounds of laundry. It was just amazing to see this place run.

 

 

 

Barb did tell us that they keep (I think) a weeks worth of linens put away, just in case anything was to happen, then they would have clean linens for back up. Then each week those "back up" linens are rotated out.

 

This machine was a folding machine and was so neat to watch.

 

This guy had to work FAST to keep up with it.

 

 

Video of it working:

 

 

 

The sheets would come out on the other side and on to the next machine.

 

 

 

Then here the machine would fold them.

 

 

 

Coming out all nice and folded: