Continuing....

Once boarding started we were split into groups based on deck/cabins and the butler for each group escorted people to their cabins, the glass of bubbly(available to all) and we are on our way.

This is the point that the holiday begins.

So to the cabin, we had already decided that a balcony was a must for a Norway cruise and when the aft facing AF(mini-suites) became available we took them. Our original plan was for an AB(two bedroom penthouse) but two rear facing AF's offered better value even without the perks.
NCL uses an upsell policy to offload spare cabins so with one week to go we are offered any of the AE,AD,AC cabins for a cost, these cabins are all the same inside but differing location and balcony size.

For us the best options was the AD(romance suite), still aft facing and one deck below where we were, AC are forward facing and have larger balconies and a higher "normal" price but the balconies tend not to be that much use when sailing(windy) aft balconies are usable all the time.
after some negotiation I upgrade ourselfs and my parent to AD suites.

We have seen all the cabins on a Jewel class before either on a walkabout ,cabin crawls or guests for partes, but it is not untill you live in a cabin do you get a feel for the good and bad points.

For all cabins on the jade here is a link
http://www.ncl.com/nclweb/fleet/staterooms.html?shipCode=JADE

So what are thay and what is the value add of this class(AE,AD,AC) suite on a jewel class ship. using the pics cabin layout and image from the link above as a guide.

First thing is the space these are around 1.5 times the width of a mini-suite and bit longer.
The entrance has a large space for shoes hats bags etc. and the closet is accessable from both sides(very handy) the bathroom is a standard minisuite setup with shower over tub wash basin and seperate toilet with door, but between that and the closet is a dressing/prep area, this is well lit with mirror storage and dryer. This is also where the 220v outlet is situated in these suites. Lots of little drawers and two safes, a lot of the storage is not that practical but there is a lot so with a bit of juggling you find a place for everything even if you bring a lot more than you need(traveling by car is handy)

At the end of the closet is the bar setup full hight cabinet, with coffee machine glass selection fridge.

The bed is large and opposite is a desk area with large LCD tv above and DVD built into the desk unit, a DVD libraray is available with lots of movies. the bed has wraparound drapes if you feel the need to have your bed area private when you have guests or if you want to cut out more light(handy for the land of the midnight sun)

There is a small table with 4 chairs a sofa and 2 more chairs and coffee table. this does make the area bit cluttered.

The AD balcony will take two loungers and 2 chairs and a small table.
The feature is great if traveling in a group, sailaway party for 10 was no problem and a great value add.

We have done inside,OV and mini-suite before on this class of NCL ship the inside cabins are tiny, outsides ok(ish) and minis actualy quite good, this is a major step up in terms of space.

There are a couple of issues with this location, you get soot from the stack, the great outdoors is above and because the larger balcony does overhang sometimes bits drop down and people can see if looking over the railing. the small corridor to the bath from the bed area is narrow. They also put a bench at the end of the bed which is perfect for stubbing toes at night.

Summary on the cabin,
These are great and worth some extra just for the extra space, if we were traveling on our own a BA or AF would probably be good enough if you just wanted some aft balcony space but being able to host a sailaway or pre dinner drinks is great if traveling with a group. The layout also means you are not under each other feet which can happen in the smaller cabins. The dressing area also means that those that have lot of getting ready stuff can have their own space out of sight of the main cabin and do not need to clutter up the sink area or desk like you do in the regular cabins and mini-suites.
Where as an Inside tends to be a cabin you want to get out of as much as possible this one was much more pleasent to just hang out in. The extra money would be well spent on a Transatlantic with loads of sea days and relax time, less so on a port intensive cruise with no views, for the scenic cruise like this Norway or Alaska the views from the bed/cabin/balcony are pricless but you would get those from any rear facing cabin with a balcony.

The other benifits of a a suite and the perks I will cover in the next installment.........

** Edit - Unfortunately I have had to remove the images as they are protected by NCL copyright. luci HT Mod **
** Edit - woops, changed the wording to point back to the link WJ**

W/J, finally a post that tells us about the suite, thank you for that. Perhaps you could help everyone evaluate whether or not a suite is worth the additional cost. The inside cabins were available at £450ish pp for a couple of weeks about 2 months out. Are you willing to disclose what you paid pp for two people in the suite?

For those who may be put off by W/J comment that inside cabins are "tiny" and that "it tends to be a cabin you want to get out of as much as possible..." we found our cabin on the Jade (4541) to be perfectly adequate and we were able to do what you need to do in a cabin, and never at any time felt the need to "get out of our cabin" in that sense. The shower, in particular, was very spacious. Everyone, no matter the accomodation chosen, feels the need to get out the cabin, otherwise what would be the point in cruising to various ports and missing out on the incredible ship facilities which are available to all.

I have always failed to understand how viewing a sailaway from a balcony is better than being up on deck, where you can view at the full 360 degrees available. This comment is based on our experience of having a balcony once....we quickly discovered that the view is severely restricted from a balcony, especially if your balcony is at the non-scenic working port/container side of the ship. For sun lovers, the chance of the sun shining on your balcony is at best 25%....think about it. We vowed never again to pay for a balcony cabin, although do understand that for some it is a pre-requisite.

Clearly a suite is better than an inside/outside/balcony but we discovered very quickly that if you go inside the deals can be amazing, thus enabling us to cruise 2 or 3 times a year....for us this is a "no brainer". Come on W/J tell us what it cost for the suite!

Hamrag

Thanks for that. I was starting to wonder whether my "small" inside cabin was going to be fit for purpose!

As mentioned previousely I am on a cruise next week for the 1st time. Our cabin is 11019.

In your experience am I likely to experience noise from the Gym (directly above) or elsewhere? Likewise are we likely to feel the "roll" of the ship being on a relatively high deck?

Also (and this may have been mentioned before) my wife is convinced that if the ship is full that we are unlikely to find a sunbed. Is this true as I would hate to get into a "Costa" situation and get up early to stake my territory?

Regards Dan

Dirk Diggler, be absolutely assured your cabin will certainly be fit for purpose. We have cruised 10 times, with 8 different cruiselines and inside is our choice based on experience. There was one little niggle that we dealt with immediately. There was a small round table that did restrict access to our bed, which was in double bed format, but would not have been a problem if format is 2 singles. We simply asked the cabin steward to remove the table, made a big difference. The only other little thing was my wife did feel there was limited drawer availability, compared to other lines, but we still managed! Also, if you need more hangers, just ask the cabin steward, although we were OK.

Equipment in the gym is pretty much "state of the art" and should not be noisy, although never been immediately below a gym before. Cannot see a problem with that. The roll of the ship will help you sleep! Certainly, in theory, the high decks will pick up any roll going. Should be fine on Med. My wife is a Pharmacist, and always recommends Stugeron. Interestingly we were counting last night how many nights cruising we have done over 10 cruises, and the answer is 97. Only on one occasion has either of us had to take a tablet, and I am not a particularly good traveller generally.

We did not find the sunbeds to be a problem. Certainly on the pool deck you will struggle, but the next deck up overlooking the pool area should be fine. If not, there is plenty room a further deck up. It is only an issue on sea days, and port days once the tours are back. We always got 2 sunbeds together, and only once or twice had to "work at it" to get what we wanted.

Anything else just ask, you will certainly enjoy. Are you aware of the cruising "health warning"..... you will want to cruise again, and again. You have been warned. If you need any advice on touring in ports just ask, will be very happy to help.

This is an addition to original post. Seem to recall you will have a teenage daughter with you, our daughter has been 3 times now with us between age of 14-16. The additional bed in cabin will come down from ceiling, put away during day and will not be intrusive at that time. Will be tight for 3 in cabin, as it was for us with daughter on previous occasions, but manageable. It was only the 2 of us on Jade. The beauty for you is that you will leave cabin at times to give privacy, allowing you to wander around ship at your own pace! Have you decided yet whether or not to take the Tuxedo...note my previous comments in that regard, and also W/J.

Hamrag

Thanks very much. Most informative.

I feel as though I will want to cruise again.

For this cruise I booked in September 2007 and paid approx £1300 pp for my II cabin.

Do you suggest booking sooner, or later, for next year considering that there are 3 of us sharing a cabin.

Am I likely to get a better "deal" booking when I get back or leaving until the last few months.

Finally as an experienced man what cruise line would you recomend considering that I will not fly and therefore will need to embark from GB?

Regards Dan

Yes Dirk Digger I am afraid I have to agree with Hamrag that this is a disease but a "LOVELY" disease. I just love it and don't worry I have travelled in all grades of rooms over the years. Depends on what is on offer. Have no fear your room will be just fine and remember that once you are out of your room then the Ship is the same for everyone.
Travelling alone and living alone I don't want to spend any great length of time in my room. I like to be out and about on the ship. My favourite place to sit is on a high deck aft normally very sheltered. I love to watch the wake of the ship and it is always quiet there so I listen to my music and soak up the sun.
Me a balcony I sit out on for breakfast as I always have this in my room. Mind you on Celebrity I also have a 2nd I go upstairs for the wonderful waffles and the warm cherries berries or whatever.
Can get pancakes in my room but not waffles
I also use the balcony to test the weather! If I am inside I look at the TV and see the from the Bridge! Failing that I just call Guest Relations. When I get ready in the evening I will be possibly having a look around to see what is what.
Having an inside on a high deck which I always prefer and mid ship if I can get it and I will have this on Summit in August.
On Millennium in November on my New Zealand/Australia trip I have upgraded to a balcony as the highest grade of balcony went on an over 55 offer. This reduced it by £841 over the rate for others. Would not have paid £1042 more like Ahmg would rather have another cruise. But! £201 I felt was worth it. I am talking about always single prices and the supplements do make a big inroad into my budget. Do I have one not really but sense does prevail at times.

Enjoy your cruise and come back and tell us all about it.

Bon Voyage!!

Sue

The sooner/later argument cannot be resolved....sometimes better sooner, sometimes later! We booked our Jade cruise (30th May for 14 nights) last October and paid £500 with an American agency. The cabin we got actually had a 3rd bed, and that is why I have added an edited comment to my previous post.

We have cruised with Island, Thomson, Cunard (QM2), Holland America, Celebrity, Royal Caribbean and Norwegian and enjoyed each one for different reasons. We would not have a preferred line, although Cunard and Celebrity are closer to 5 star, and would sail again with any apart from the package lines i.e. Island or Thomson. This is only because you can get better value with the other cruiselines if you shop around.

If you are thinking what is best for daughter for the next 2 or 3 years then I would definitely say Royal Carribean from our own daughter's perspective as she was overwhelmed with their offering. If you find that you like the big ship experience on Jade then perhaps you would consider Royal Caribbean's Independance of the Seas, or maybe P&O Ventura which is strongly marketed as a family ship. We go on Ventura in October, and will be in a better position to comment after that one. Both of those mentioned sail out of Southampton.

Thanks Hamrag

Re DJ

I am now resigned NOT to take it, unless I find that I have the space. I have read one or two reviews on Cruise Critic and it does appear that I would be in the absulote minority.

I would love to be able to send a general "mail" to all on the Jade on July 26th to ask whether anybody else is considering formal evening wear. You never know but if somebody see's that somebody else is wearing a DJ they may well follow suit.

Inside cabins:

Any cabin is better than no cabin, Insides on NCL jewel class are probably the most compact of the modern fleet, Princess, Celebrity,RCI are much more spacious, NCL have done a good job with the space and have good bathrooms, showers with the doors rather than curtains.

But if you take a lot of stuff(a side efect of driving) you can find you have to store some in the cases under beds.

North Cape Jade Price:

I have mentioned this before on the "WJ does deals" thread but here it is again.
I don't have my printout/screen shots to hand for exact numbers on a particular date but these are the ranges.

The going rate(NCL US pricing + fees $179pp ) for this 12n ex UK North cape trip was skewed for some reason, all the insides were around $999-$1100 anything else was double+, so OV-min suites were around $2000-$2500 the lowest suites(AE) came down to $2999 around final, when there was one, AD suites and above LOTS more with the garden villas topping out at £15kpp ($699 3-8pax)

Prices moved around a bit but that was the general pricing around final payement time when we booked

This trip was chosen(normaly we keep options open looking for the deals) for itinerary/date and we were going, we had allready made the value choice to go upto the balcony(difficult one given the cheap insides) and at the time of booking the mini-suite we got was cheapest cabin with a window anyway and better location being AFT facing

Our final total was under $2900pp,the upgrade to the suite from the mini was $250pp say $20pppn.

Say £1500pp including the gratuities which was our original budget for this trip.

If this had been an inside to suite choice it would not have happened we would have been in that inside at under £600pp(inc).

Note,
Lower prices were available through the US on-line discounters than NCL direct.
There were some very late deals lastminute deals through the UK which brought UK prices under the US ones.

This was a treat for us, we will look out for suite deals in the future it is too easy to allways focus on the cheapest, when the price is right it is worth it, we grabbed a mini on the Gem 9n TA last year for $500pp(insides were $250pp) but in hindsite we probably should have taken a suite for that trip.

Cruise addiction:

You get addicted or just hate it.

We started out on "windjammer bearfoot cruises" 30+ under our belt now and we try to do 3 a year, budget got hit by this suite and the Constellation concierge class cruise in April, but this was some left over money from last years stonking deals and some "zero" birthday funds. With flexability and seeking our the deals carefull onboard spends you can get a lot of cruising for very little money, cheaper than B&B holidays at home. If we had more time we would inside more less time probably better cabins/ships.
The £299 island cruise 7 night med including regional flight will allways be a hard trip to better on value, transatlantics come close if you an get the cheap one way air.

The no fly does restrict a bit but there are plenty to choose from, try them all and find your own prefered option, Fredolsen,P&O,Princess,RCI,Celebrity,NCL would keep you busy for a couple of years, don't dismiss the round britain cruises done these 3 times great. BAltics is another worth doing more than once, Norway, we will do this again, and then there are the Med/canaries runs and mini cruises.

In some ways having one criterea fixed like no fly makes chosing easier, less choice.

Book early/late, varies cruise to cruise, trick it to no a deal when you see one and pounce when they come up, the Jade 14n £500 deals were no brainers, The current Jewel baltics are begining to look very good. the £500 insides on this last north cape trip were good. Flexability is the key.

To pickup on a couple of points so a snipped quote.

hamrag wrote:

For those who may be put off by W/J comment that inside cabins are "tiny" and that "it tends to be a cabin you want to get out of as much as possible..." we found our cabin on the Jade (4541) to be perfectly adequate and we were able to do what you need to do in a cabin, and never at any time felt the need to "get out of our cabin" in that sense. The shower, in particular, was very spacious. Everyone, no matter the accomodation chosen, feels the need to get out the cabin, otherwise what would be the point in cruising to various ports and missing out on the incredible ship facilities which are available to all.

Perhaps I phrased it wrong, definately more than adequate if you are out and about a lot, port intensive cruise, eating, doing all the shows etc.
We discovered a couple of years ago on a 10night TA with no stops we actualy like total relax time and the larger cabins are much better for this, when we were in our must do/must see early cruise years we felt the same but now(not every cruise) we like the cabin to have a bit of space and a sofa and a TV so we can just not anything or watch a movie or have friends round or eat snacks without filling the bed with crumbs, space for a b,fast tray is also very handy, not for everyone but I now understand what people were tellling me for all those years.

hamrag wrote:

I have always failed to understand how viewing a sailaway from a balcony is better than being up on deck, where you can view at the full 360 degrees available. This comment is based on our experience of having a balcony once....we quickly discovered that the view is severely restricted from a balcony, especially if your balcony is at the non-scenic working port/container side of the ship. For sun lovers, the chance of the sun shining on your balcony is at best 25%....think about it. We vowed never again to pay for a balcony cabin, although do understand that for some it is a pre-requisite.

This was our first rear facing balcony and they are much better than those side ones(again did not believe it till we did it) you get good 180 views, relaxing wake when sailing, no breeze, almost endless Sun when sailing north(too hot most days) on a north cape trip but not so much sailing south. For a fjord trip a great vantage point for the views. we had friends in an owners suite on the same deck so used their forward and side balcony when needed. Not so good for sailin's but on just about every cruise these have been early morning so we miss them anyway.

Definately not a requirement for every trip but when carefully selected it can enhance that cruise experience.

Continuing.....

The headline perks of suites are the Concierge and the Butler but probably one of the most valuable is the B,fast and lunch in Cagnies with the private lounge(star bar) on deck 13.

Open from Lunch embarkation to B,fast on disembarkation, b,fast is now started with a small buffet with the main cold items anything else is to order, so juice,salmon,cold meats yogurt pastries etc from the buffet, this is a change as part of freestyle 2.0 it used to be all to order.

A special hot menu with feature items not available anywhere else, anything that is on the buffet can also be ordered. For me one of the features is that steak(small fillet) can be ordered as a side.
B,fast is available till 10:00am so allthough those seeking a more leasurely breakfast can avoid the buffet by using the main dining room(what we would do) but it only opens till 9:30 on sea days and closes earlier 8:30 most others so the extended hours of cagnies are good.
Lunch is 12-2:00 and feature a special or two as well as items that will be on the regular dinning room which opens 12-1:30 so again extra hours.

The star bar is used as the concierge lounge till 4 so is a quiet place,the librarary and latitudes lounges which now have coffee/tea set up seemed to be packed at all times.

On this trip(not sure if this is a regular feature) the shore excursion team set up for b,fast to deal with any shore excursions issues avoiding having to deal with the regular desk and any possible queues. You were able to collect your tags for any that you had(or get them delivered to your cabin) so you can go straight to the transport or meet ashore and avoid the early collection point on board

The Concierge service is a make it happen service, so like other hotels and ships help with taxi,car hire other issues anything, on a ship this is an access point into the ships workings, the main benifit on NCL ships is for restaurant reservations, a single call and it gets done, on the longer trips the dining room pressure is reduced so it is easier anyway to get the times you want. It does mean you can also get a table booked in the main dinning rooms, which is not so easy for others, at say "when the show finishes" and you bypass the queue that forms after a show finishes, we made most of reservation on the day after 6:00pm for that same night.
In our experience we have never had problems with queues on NCL anyway but sometimes when choosing late where to eat we have had to take second choice, not with this perk 30mins notice is usualy enough to get you in anywhere.

Butler, is responsible for your in cabin needs, room service, extra ice,party setups,minibar, you have an extended room service menu and can in-room dine from any of the dining room menus during hours(cover charges apply). This is a service you can use as little or as much as you like, having the space to have a table set up in cabin(or balcony) for b,fast with table cloths etc is something some people like a lot and very handy for those on early shoreex. It seems butlers can be a bit hit/miss some are active in making sure everything is great, other work more on request, on this trip we had the latter.

Some more of the cabin ameneties.

The bathroom condiments are by Elimis, being a bloke this means nothing to me but they are supposed to be good so I am told. these were in bottles as well as the wall dispensers

1/2 bottle of bubbly and 1 free bottle of water at embarkation.(not that generous, higher suites do better here)

internet acces in the cabin(cable and wireless) I think all cabins have cable.

One feature we realy liked and were supprised by how much we used was the phone.
Each suites gets a wander/ships phone, this is great for keeping in touch if you tend to do your own thing or have large group spread around, you can call or be called from anywhere on the ship and for some distance from it(few hundred mtr). I know some couples are never more than a foot apart so this would have no value at all to them.

Fruit and snacks, not sure how far down the cabins range these go with the freestyle 2.0, but fruit to order(available elswhere anyway) and snack including nuts,crisps pretsels, Choc strawberries etc as much as you want delivered every day, much better than the canape you tend to get as treats.

There also two extra "free drinks" parties, one is the Suites/VIP early in the trip usualy first sea day after the latitudes, and later they do a courtyard party for an hour.

VIP tender tickets(also available to gold latitude) are handy for those tender ports, no queuing for a numbered ticket and you can usualy get off with the shorex which have ever higher priority. Its is also but not always possible to jump queues on return tenders also.

I think that is for the main items. what they are worth is a personal choice and for us at regular pricing it will be a while(premium bond win) before we see a suite again. Almoat forgot you get a Silver key card so it is known by all you are in a suite allthough I saw no evidence this made any difference it is a bit difficult to tell since every trip is different anyway.

I was suprised how much we enjoyed Cagnies when we were given this as a perk on a previous trip(they got me) and although the Jewel class are not that big having some small ship dining space on a big ship is an oasis, for the true ship within a ship experience on NCL you need to go up to the courtyard villas, and those that got the upsell for them did it for another $500 per cabin. A transatlantic is probably one of the trips you can make maximum use of a courtyard villa but that will be another time, only guested into that space up to now.

Obviously some of these perks are going to be similar on other ships where butler/concierge feature, we were in concierge class on Celebrity, had no need for the service, nice cabin though and since we don't in cabin dine the butler does not enhance our cruise that much anyway even on NCL.

For loyal NCL guests there are also a couple of others parties
latidudes(all repeat passengers),
Silver(5+)and above party, I think this one depends on the count too many and it becomes gold(9+) party.

So thats the overview of a basic suites and the perks on an NCL jewel class ship at the right price or for a treat there is value, The problem I have now is reconciling this value across cruiselines I think I had the Inside/OV sorted, but if you up the budget a bit it opens up a lot more choices to filter.

Windjammer

Happy to see you didn't take the few negative posts too seriously.

I think everyone on this site really does appreciate your imput

I must say on Jade the breakfast buffet was one of the best I have seen and it was lovely to be out of doors in the sun

We never had a problem booking any of the speciality restaurants we did that in the morning as we entered the buffet they had a little desk inside each morning

I was also down on deck 4 just 2 doors away from Hamrag sorry to say we never met
still I think I would still prefer to have the money for another cruise rather than spend it all on a special stateroom especially on NCL

Just keep the deals coming in Thanks

I can take it.

Reservation system has impoved a lot putting the desk where people go past was a smart move. I think on the shorter cruises there is a much greater pressure on bookings, the longer trips and more UK a lot don't want to pay extra, makes it a lot easier, I think walk up was possible most nights at a lot of places and we never saw Tepenyaki full at any seating.

The NCL "action station" approach is a nice concept for the buffets and are usualy good, seating is an issue on the jewel class since they are spread out in a long thin line with overflow in the Italian, it can be a pain finding a seat when busy and in a hurry.

When the great outdoors is fully operational and in sun that is my prefered b'fast location.

The cost/value equation is an iteresting one probably worthy of it's own thread(we should try to keep this to Jade and NCL) I will think about it a bit more, nearly started one yesterday.

The ship/cruise part of the review is still to come, it's not all good on the Jade...........

Continued.......

So to the rest of the Jade and the Cruise.

The Jade is a Jewel class ship they come in two basic layouts, Jewel/Jade and Pearl/Gem for layout we prefer the Gem/Pearl with Bliss at the back not the shops they also have the big screens in the atrium since they moved the stairs to the side. One advantage of the Jewel/Jade set up is you never have to go near the shops the Photo or the Art since that part of the ship goes nowhere else.

The Jade was the Pride of Hawaii in the NCLA fleet and so there are still a lot of Hawaii themed bits on the ship not a big deal but it looks like some won't be maintaned as well as they should. There were other issues with maintenance on the ship in cabins and public areas

Restaurant choice is the same across the 4 ships and it is likely the menus will be also so some comments will apply.

NCL have introduced freestyle 2.0 and this is the first tme we have done it(the Gem last year was only partialy 2.0). Lots of little tweaks and some new menus to try and lose the tag that the main diining room food has gone down hill to make you go to the pay place.

Lets see if I can remember where we had our evening meals(not in order and we have a budget for the pays).
1 Cagnies(steak) $20
1 Bistro(french) $15
2 Jasmine Garden(Asian) $15
1 Shabu Shabu(part of the asian) $15
1 Teppanyaki $25
1 Papa's(Italian) $10
1 Grand Pacific(main)
3 Alizar(small main)
1 Paniolo's(tex mex)
1 Sushi Lunch $15 (asian is open on sea days for lunch).

There was happy hour 5:30-6:30 1/2 price in all except Sushi and Cagnies
So 4 out of 12 in the main dining.

First the not so good.
Shabu Shabu : A monglion/chinese hotpot meal probably would not bother again, fun for a group though. I have had this in Taiwan much better.

Teppanyaki : always a once a cruise group meal, most felt his had gone down hill they have sped up the service and taken out a shrimp starter. So in the current form no longer good value. One to watch.

Papas: this used to be an included meal but with the charge does not cut it, at the early 1/2 price probably OK. New menu has some interesting new options to try.

There were 11 of us in our group and there were others from the Cruisecritic roll call joining in some meals, 11 was too many to eat together all the time so we mixed it up a bit, there did seem to be a problem with consitancy from night to night sometimes very good and other nights items had to be returned, one chap had the worst and nearly the best steak on two different nights in the same place.
AS ever you can order what you want and there is no problem if something is not quite right getting it changed.

The good,

Asian menu much improved and no pretend dishes, the last menu had a Vindaloo that was extemely mild. Rib starter was outstanding, Spicy fish another good dish plenty to choose from And I think if you asked specials would not be that big a problem as long as they had the ingredience and it did not need a long prep, Say a special stir fry.

Main dinning room menus do seem a lot better, the lobster and beef wellington were outstanding, the always available items are now clearly marked on the menu there were a few nights where we did not fancy anything and a couple when we did but were already booked into something else

Cagnies :much the same steak selection with non steak items, a slightly tweaked menu but they still managed to blacken my ribeye even though that had gone. We went first night and it was very quiet so we god excelent service later reports were patchy when busy.

Tex mex: again much the same, they changed the seared tuna starter and I got my normal tripple portion but this was huge, only order a double if hungry.

Bisto we had a great meal, dressed up in the DJ for this one as the celebration meal for the cruise, new menu has lost my favourate dish but the new stuff is good and enough choice to do this place more than once.

Not mentioned so far is the Blue Lagoon 24hr snack type place, we eat there a couple of late(3pm-5pm) lunches, some changes but good selection of snacky food Chicken wings were very good and the fish and chips(fries) are a favourate of many, great place to top up with waiter service rather than the buffet, after being ashore if you miss lunch

The 2 outdoor grills were not that good so ended up being avoided(on the Gem they were good especialy Bali Hai). Never needed to use the buffet or the great outdoors on this trip.

Our last cruise was on Celebrity(April) which is traditional dining, we like the variety and choice of NCL a lot. The celebrity food is probably overall better than the main dinning room on NCL but much more traditional dining choices, fixed seating and time does have it's plus points though, different experiences both good, our current mix seems to be 2 NCL to 1 other but that seems to be where the deals take us.

to be continued........

Continuing,

Due to being with a bunch of people we know well(family and friends) and happy to spend time together we did not do much of the ships entertainment options, day time managed only two quizes, there was the other standard cruise stuff but never had the time.

Evening they have two main venues the theatre and the Spinnaker lounge,

The theatre main shows have changed from song/dance to more music and less dancing I think the singing cast is 10 and they were of mixed quality, tried hard but not quite there, the two shows we viewed were "Showdown" a mock pop idol style show OK ish, and "Smoky Joe's cafe" a shorter version of the full stage show again OK but some liked them a lot more than we did. We missed Shout, and we heard this was not so good, I think they have two others they can do and they are supposed to be better but they were missed on this trip because they booked other acts.

Lenny Winsor is the main comedian(NCL regular) good for an international audience funny but seen him before. They also had Tony Stevens who we also missed this time.

There were Two acrobat duos and two headline singers we did not see.

Theatre show are no longer the same shows twice each night they are mixed up ususaly the same show at the "other" time the next day, makes planning a bit harder.
They also do a "Tony and Tinas wedding"(cover charge event) here is a wiki enty to explain
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tony_n%27_Tina%27s_Wedding

Spinnaker is now host to "second City" a few nights a 8:00-11:00 we looked in for part of one of these improv style sessions and it seemed good so we would look to try this venue more on another trip.

They also do the themed parties, line dancing, game shows, a party band "skyline", karaoke and disco fill out the schedule.

One thing we have found with these NCL Jewel class ships is there is no real place for the lounge entertainers like you get on some of the other lines, On this trip the dance band was in medusa which seemed ok they also some stuff in the atrium area, gospel and show tunes using the show cast. there were a few others playing bar city but we just caught them passing through.

With entertainment it is very hard to please everyone and there is only so many option a cruise ship can try so the more cruises you do the more you hit similar things, some of this new style stuff is a welcome variation from the norm and would keep us entertained if travelling with fewer people we knew.

I think to get full value out of the offerings you do need to eat early which is handy for the early bird 1/2 price cover in most of the pay eat places.

We are not great pool/sunbathers and allthough the weather on this trip was good the area was not used much by anyone, they did a couple of BBQ's but I think they may drop these when in northern waters, we much prefer the celebrity,RCI,princess ships with the covered pool options for the northern europe trips if we want pool time.

Did not do the shops or the art and only got our free photo so cannot comment on these areas or the kids facilities.

Overall the ship was kept clean but there were mantainence issues with some thing not getting fixed for the complete cruise and casual enquiries indicated they had not been fixed for some time.

There was a few(100 or so) passengers from Spain, a problem for the ships management and security which seemed helpless, generaly rude and pushy, they would turn up at events and talk through the acts, ignored the no the over 18 rules late night, teens and kids in the disco and some would smoke inside.

Not a big problem and a bit of a culture thing it is normal for families to eat and go out late but his did upset some.

Our previous 3 tips with NCL have been on brand new ships(Gem,Pearl) with what has become know as the dream team a crew selected to bring out new ships so high standards for the Jade to match up too

Overall an excellent trip, the suite makes it a totaly different cruise experience, the ship needs some work to bring it up to top notch, getting that last 10%-15% will be tough job.

This looks like a good trip- prices not bad either...
http://www.ncl.com/nclweb/booking/cruisedetails.html?packageId=1637268

Good little cruises but are midweek so not very efficient on time off work allthough does includethe Bank holiday.

Fuel $55 tax $75.

Posted an NCL Jade deal on the latest cruise deals thread a couple of days ago.

emdia43...its cheaper with bestpriceruise $1,381.62 for a G grade obstructive view compared to $1751 with ncl.com