My husband and I have just returned from a cruise on NCL's Jade from Venice to 4 Greek Islands. We stayed in Venice for 3 nights prior to this trip, which is worth doing, although Venice is extremely expensive. It was a very enjoyable cruise and the food was outstanding, with many places to go and eat. We had a speciality dining package for 4 nights, so didn't even have a chance to go in all the restaurants as there was so much choice. We also had a beverage package which, unfortunately, did not include water, fresh juices or speciality coffee. You could have as much alcohol as you wanted, it seemed, but not the aforementioned beverages! My main gripe with NCL is that you could only get water from the machines which were all the way up on the 12th floor and a small bottle of water (and indeed the water package) was extremely expensive! They even confiscate bottles of water when getting on the ship and returning from a trip! I have been on other cruises where water (an essential drink in my opinion) is included. I would think long and hard about returning to NCL for this reason alone.

This time we didn't go for a balcony, but had a picture window cabin on the 5th floor.... we didn't really miss a balcony as you only use your room for sleeping and getting ready. Surprisingly, for a small room, all your luggage goes away in the many drawers and shelves - there seemed plenty of room for your belongings. Also, an extremely good point, NCL provide a small line in the shower so you can at least wash out small items. This was exceptionally useful and something we didn't have on Celebrity X! A bad point about the room was that there was hardly any room at the side of the bed, especially on one side, where I often knocked into (and bruised) my leg on the vanity table.

The trips, although mostly good, were extremely expensive. One trip, to Santorini, visited Oia (very nice) and then went on to a winery for wine tasting. It was extremely busy with everyone pushing and shoving to get their wine and snacks - not a good experience! We were very disappointed that they did not show you how the wine was made - this would have been a good addition to this trip. Read more