I booked 5 or 6 weeks before the cruise as a "last minute" get away. looked at cruise critic reviews which were mixed as always and saw 77% of people would return which is quite high. We have been cruising with Azamara for years which has over 90% returning passengers so we are used to very high excellent standards.

Our expectations were not very high for NCL and we thought we would make the most of whatever came along. Transfers and flights on BA were dealt with by "118" that was 10 out of 10. Boarding was 10 out of 10. When we got on board the greeting music was noisy and the "wild decor" made us feel we were at a holiday camp. (we later found out it was decorated for Hawaii which made sense). Sue and I went to our cabin which was all ready for us and then went to the buffet dining area, got some food and sat in an area which had very low seating and tables. Again the decor was not our style, very plastic and garish. ...I told my wife to make the most of it because we wouldn't be coming back on NCL again..Ha ha. We later found out we were sitting in "the kids" area.

After a weeks cruise on Jade WE WILL BE CRUISING WITH NCL AGAIN. The staff, service and food were excellent. The Jade was clean and bright. The other passengers were mostly made up of Americans (which we like) and visitors from Australia, New Zealand, Asia and europeans. An excellent mix. Entertainment was very good, embarkation and disembarkation was the best ever. Sue and I walked off the ship into the towns ......Messina, Naples, Kotor, Zadar..........the last two we had not heard of but were stunning places to visit in Montenegro and Croatia. Overall a great cruise and well recommended..We shall definitely cruise with NCL again.