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Let me preface this review by saying that my family of four stayed in the Deluxe Owner's Suite, which was a last-minute upgrade on my part. This upgrade put us in The Haven, with access to the amenities on Deck 14 (and 15). It was well worth it. In fact, the biggest downside was that we're now spoiled for cruising any other way.
First, the room. It was just amazing to have that much space on a cruise ship. There was a dining room, two balconies, a large sitting area with TV, a wonderful bathroom with separate shower and tub, walk-in closet with a vanity area, another TV in the bedroom that included a DVD player and a top-notch BOSE sound system. As part of The Haven, we used the amenities on Deck 14 quite a bit (Deck 14 is only for rooms in The Haven and not accessible to other passengers). There is a pool, hot tub, small dining area with snacks/drinks, lounge chairs, a work-out area and showers. Up on Deck 15 is a private sundeck.
Also with the Owner's Suite, we got priority embarkation and debarkation (also in the ports). We had a concierge, Carlos, who made all of our reservations and gave us great advice on where to go while in port. We also were able to dine at Cagney's for breakfast and lunch at no extra charge. Cagney's is a signature restaurant only open for dinner for other passengers.
Aside from the room and the perks afforded to us as suite guests, I was still impressed with NCL. The Jade was spotlessly clean, the crew was extremely friendly and the public areas were really beautiful. In addition, the food was very good. Much better, in fact, than the food we've had on any other cruise line.
Our kids really loved this cruise as well and claimed that the kid's clubs "were the best" with plenty of activities and other kids to hang out with.
My only disappointment was with the entertainment. The nightly shows were not great, the singers around the ship were pretty bad (one was almost embarrassingly bad) and the TV offerings were the worst I've ever seen. We had brought our own DVDs, so that wasn't a huge issue for us.
Loved all of the ports, although Greece and Turkey were our favorites.
We loved this experience so much, we are booked on another NCL cruise next Summer (in The Haven).
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