The Norwegian Jade has received a few comments which in my opinion are very unfair. We sailed on a 7-day cruise which left Venice on 17th September for the Greek Isles. To offer some background the two of us are experienced cruisers, including NCL, and our most recent cruise was on the Queen Elizabeth to the Baltic in May. The reason for the Queen Elizabeth cruise was to treat ourselves to the creme de la creme. Not so - we were very disappointed. I will not go into detail my review is on the QE site. However, my bottom line for reviewing a cruise is to be fair and open minded, not to winge for the sake of it, and above all else to state whether I have received value for money.

So on to the Norwegian Jade. There were 8 of us, son and partner, daughter and partner, my sister and her husband, and us 2 (both in our 60s). The youngest of us was 28 and the oldest 83. We had planned this holiday for some time as we wanted to spend time together as a family and we hoped there would be something for everyone to enjoy. We could eat together if we wished and go off in pairs if that was what we wanted. We had spent a week on Lake Garda before transferring to Venice to board the Jade. It was unusually hot for the time of year, 30+C every day and it was relief to be on the boat with air conditioning.

Having thought very carefully I cannot find anything to complain about which relates directly to the way the ship is run or to the NCL management. Our four staterooms were all clean and spacious and the stewards happy and friendly. The food in all restaurants which we used was of a very good quality and plenty of it. It was interesting that our two older members preferred the Garden Caf buffet for breakfast and lunch because the choice was enormous, they could see exactly what they were choosing and they could take as much or as little as they wanted. My preference is to sit and be served but hey, that is just me. The youngsters enjoyed trying everything. We all had lunch in the Blue Lagoon on one occasion which was perfect. Daughter and partner tried the Teppanyaki which they enjoyed. We had one special evening where we booked Le Bistro for my sisters 83rd birthday. The staff set up a table for 8 in the middle of the restaurant and we were treated like royalty. The food was delicious and the staff could not have done more to make it a very special occasion for our very special person. Read more