We cruised once, several years ago with Holland Am. We're considering doing a cruise with NCL on their Jade ship. I know it's smaller than most and was commissioned about 2006 ish. My question to anyone who's recently been on the Jade, is it in need of refurbishing? I'm really particular about where I stay, and the Holland Am ship was fairly new and the room was impeccable. Please help with your thoughts re the Jade. Many thanks
Mocat
NCL cruise ship Jade
Recent Activity
View all Cruises activity »
- 1
Trip report: Sapphire Princess May 11-18 2013/Wine Country Coastal
- 2 World cruise?
- 3 cruise from miami to Los angles
- 4
Just Returned from Gate 1 Danube River Cruise
- 5 A few questions about RCI Majesty of the Seas
- 6 quick lunch in Paris
- 7 first time cruise (Carribean): what money do we take?
- 8 (Almost) Day and a half in Rome
- 9
Boston to Bermuda on NCL's Dawn
- 10 What to pack for an Alaska Inside Passage Cruise in mid-June
- 11 Boston: Black Falcon Terminal to Hilton at Logan by taxi or ship transfer?
- 12 Rhine River Cruise - Amsterdam to Zurick
- 13 Alaska-Oceania vs Regent
- 14
Travel Report for Azamara Journey - Asia Cruise
- 15 Venice Port and Hotel help
- 16 Regent vs Oceania Australia/New Zealand 2014
- 17 Cayos Cochinos
- 18 California Coastal Cruise
- 19 Shared excursions on Norwegian Spirit June 16, 2013 sailing
- 20 Royal Caribbean drink prices and the new alcohol policy 2013
- 21 Going on a Cruise? Do you still want to after you read this?
- 22 Grand Turk
- 23 Transportation from Rome airport to Port
- 24 cruise ship illness outbreaks (the Norovirus reports for 2012&2013)
- 25 Shore excursions on Paul Gaugin ship in Tahiti?
cruisecritic.com recent reviews
after HA new ship odds are great
u will be disappointed with Jade
not new more basic good prices though.
Thanks for your info- it's kinda what I expected and will think about if we cruise southern Italy & greece or just travel on land!!!
Mocat
I have cruised 23 times and just did a third Europe cruise, I like NCL but the JADE is not on my list even though it was accomplished in 06, I do not think HAL is that good, but there are some great deals to cruise Europe at a very decent price. Go to my blog if you need ideas.
We sailed on Jade out of Venice to Greek Islands in May. It was very visible, the ship came from Hawaii, this felt somewhat weird in Europe. Our cabin was spotless clean, no sign of aging. Can't compare to HAL.
I have cruise Holland America many times and NCL-Jade once (May 2010). I LOVED the NCL-Jade. Since the NCL-Jade's first outings were around the Hawaiian islands, the decor is very festive. I had read about it and was nicely surprised because it is actually quite cool and I liked it very much. The cabin was spotless with great features and cabin crew was fantastic. My only complaint would be the actual restaurants on board. It seems there was never enough seating in the main Grill area. The drinks offerrings are basically unsweetened tea and water. The food is comparable with Carnival. Then again, the food at the Holland America is outstanding and this is to be expected because you do pay considerably more than say, at NCL. Overall, I would return to the NCL for the right price and the right ports. The great things about Med Cruises is that the ports are so close that you get there really early and leave late. You should not be spending a lot of time in your room. BTW, the NCL parties, show and entertainment after dinner were much better than on the Holland America (demographics, I guess...)
I sailed on the Jade for b2b cruises in 2008. It's a great ship and really beautiful with the Hawaiian theme. I admit I'm partial to NCL having 16 sailings with them. However, I sailed 5 times with HAL and had such a horrific experience the last time, we will never do HAL again. My friend had a terrible accident on the Zuiderdam and HAL could not have been more uncaring. The staff was nasty and felt I was a "pest" for wanting a wheelchair to disembark.
If you want more upscale go Princess, although I had no complaints and had a great time on Jade.