My sister and I just returned from our long awaited trip to Europe, onboard the Norwegian Jade. We stayed in Barcelona, Spain for 3 days prior to our cruise..More on Barcelona later.

Embarkation was a breeze, and well organized, as I have always found it to be. There was no champagne as in the last cruises, but no biggy.Lunch first in the Garden Cafe. Very crowded, but it always is on embarkation day, and we only saw the buffet a couple of times after that. We prefer the dining room where there are no crowds, and you are served instead of fighting crowds, then trying to find a table.

The Grand Pacific is where we ate most of our meals, and I can think of only one complaint if I were to have to come up with one. That is that the main dining rooms now only serve mini shrimp as their "shrimp cocktail." Again, no big deal.I have to wonder where the people that complain about the food, usually eat? Or..what they eat? Or..why they are sailing with Norwegian if they are accustomed to top notch food??? As has been said in other reviews, some people cannot be made happy.The dining room menus were varied and always offered beef, chicken and fish dishes. Also offered was lamb, veal,and other selections. We never had a complaint about the food, the way it was cooked, or it's presentation. The appetizers were lovely, and included spring rolls, escargot, stuffed portobello mushrooms, cold and hot soups, and many other dishes. Desserts were equally satisfying, with souffles ( my favourite) cheesecake, fruits, cheeses, and many other selections. Lunch dishes in the dining room included fish and chips, philly beefsteak sandwiches, and more. Blue Lagoon became a fav with us with chicken wings, potatoe skins, mozzerella sticks, hotdogs, hamburgers...and a kids menu with mac and cheese ( the big kids can eat from that menu as well.)All in all, the food was just fine. Our cabin, room 5543 was small, but adequate..We had room for all of our things, but decided against hosting any parties there. The washroom has shampoo and shower gel dispensers, but no conditioner ( important for the ladies)There was enough room for my sister and I to lay out our things and have our own space. Enough room to hang our clothes and some drawers for other things. In-room safe that only requires a pin # and not your credit card as we had on Carnival last year. Our cabin steward was very good, and we had no complaints about how our room was kept up. If you want a bathrobe, you need to ask for it. Other reviews I have read said there were coffee makers in the room. We did not have one, but instead, ordered coffee and tea through room service..( usually with a cheesecake, and stawberry shortcake ) Read more