The jade is a beautiful ship. Sailing out of Houston was different. The port is about an hour from the airport so take into account a $100 taxi drive when planning. Getting out into the gulf was wavy, but interesting. Food was amazing. Good quality, nice choices. Alcohol was very good nice wine list and good selection for the beverage package. We dined at cagneys, le bistro and moderne. All very good. The only extras we had to pay was $2 in tax for the wine we got while at the dock and extra tips for the specialty dining we chose to add on.

Staff was good. A bit light on English, but we always figured it out. Boat was clean and the crew was continually doing repairs. The shows were very good although the illusionist just fair. Games could have been better. Not sure if it was the staff or the contestants, not as high energy as we experienced in our previous cruise. Excursions were wonderful. We did the 12 meter sailing in Cozumel, the Mayan ruin and river trip in Belize and the Jolly Roger snorkeling in Routan. All well worth the money. Independent excursions can be cheaper, but you do not get the priority tenders.

I highly recommend this ship and will be looking at NCL for future great vacations!