Having cruised with several different cruise lines I think I can honestly say this was the worst and I would never cruise with them again The emphasis to spend money by Norwegian cruise lines is overwhelming. The overpriced gratuities £14pp per day and the additional 20% surcharge imposed upon drinks which are already double the cost of other cruise lines made this seemingly fairly priced cruise an extortionate price in total. In terms of their money grabbing ethics I think I was most disgusted when we arrived in Bergen. Having obviously purchased the cheapest docking bay the Jade was the furthest ship away from town. It was torrential rain when we arrived and rather than putting on shuttle buses for those with poor mobility (I have good mobility so the walk is no problem for me)they were selling cheap thin plastic ponchos for $3 Food in all restaurants was mediocre at best and inedible at worst (I had the toughest steak I've ever been served in one of the non free restaurant Cagneys). There were no vegetables served that weren't stir fried with limited and repetitive choice in the buffet self served on hard plastic plates drinks to be stirred with wooden sticks The entertainment was ok I guess if you like bingo, Mr & Mrs game shows and are keen on passenger humiliation. There are no really nice daytime lounge areas with everything geared around bars or areas where you can spend money. No seating available on the wrap round deck as obviously you can't buy anything there Although only one tender was listed in the cruise itinerary pre booking there were actually 3 tender transfers making it impossible for those with disabilities to go ashore. No explanation was given but it was noticeable that other ships had obviously paid to dock and the Jade had not. Shore excursions ranged between $85 for a walking tour around town to $295 If you want a good cruise at a reasonable price with good service and food then I suggest you look elsewhere and give Norwegian Cruise lines a miss Read Less

Disorganized tender system (some people got trampled and hurt while waiting for tickets, myself included). Staff not as friendly as other cruises. Service at main dining was good, and buffet food is better than other NCL ships. Stateroom steward was terrible. Never introduced himself, and kept removing our pillows and blankets. Had to keep calling the front desk to re deliver pillows and blankets on many occasions. Staff also misplaced all our luggages the first day; we tracked it down outside another cabin. Glad nothing was stolen, but not very mindful or considerate on their end. Inside cabin was nice and quiet. Entertainment was catered towards seniors, and was hackneyed after a while. Itinerary was great. We didn't do any ship excursions. Ports are easy enough to do your own thing. Booked private tours in Scotland, rented a car in Iceland, and did our own thing in Norway. Definitely recommend this itinerary, even if we're lukewarm about the cruise line. Read Less

Travelling: Two disabled seniors and their adult daughter; from Montreal, Canada. All experienced cruisers, primarily loyal to the Royal Caribbean, Celebrity and Azamara group. Itinerary: Norwegian Cruise Lines' Jade 14 night Northern Europe. Southampton, U.K. At Sea Bergen, Norway Ålesund, Norway Lerwick, Shetland Islands (Scotland), U.K. At Sea Reykjavik, Iceland Reykjavik, Iceland Akureyri, Iceland At Sea Kirkwall, Orkney Islands (Scotland), U.K. Invergordon, (Scotland), U.K. Edinburgh, (Scotland), U.K. At Sea Southampton, U.K. Embarkation / Disembarkation: City Cruise Terminal, Southampton The greeters were extremely professional, welcoming and helpful. They provided assistance for my disabled mother and assigned us a "special-assistance" minder to guide us through the check-in process. Porters were readily available for our luggage and were really pleasant. I have to say that I was very impressed with the friendliness and enthusiasm of all of the Terminal and NCL staff who provided service. Problems occurring often give the opportunity to demonstrate excellent customer service and three particular issues were evidence of NCL's quality. There was a slight bug with the computer system during check-in, there were profuse apologies and every effort was made to get the problem resolved quickly. Secondly, there was a mechanical issue with my mother's rented mobility scooter during embarkation and we had to transfer her back to her wheelchair. The land-based staff provided assistance to bring the scooter on board for us. Thirdly, one bag had lost its identification tag and was stored in the pursers office. All I had to do was identify it and it was swiftly delivered to our stateroom. Disembarkation was also very smooth and organised with many porters on hand to help. Signage, Daily Activity Guide, PA announcements communication and Muster Drill Navigation on the Jade was extremely easy. The use of the "forward facing" window fish stickers and on the carpet pattern along with the clear diagrams near the stairwells and elevator areas were really genius. The Freestyle Daily newsletter was clear and well-designed. My suggestion about it would be to provide the advertising inserts separately and in only one kit per stateroom. There was a bit too much paper wasted on the coupons and sales materials as these were distributed per person. During the cruise, I found the frequency of announcements to be reasonable and only emergency information was piped directly into the private areas. The volume of announcements to the adjacent stateroom hallways was muted enough to be heard in the cabin but was in no way disruptive. One type of announcement was not made which I think would be an improvement: At some of the ports of call, there was entertainment by locals. If there had been some mention of this to go on deck and see the little kids doing their folk-dancing and sending us off, I wouldn't have missed it! The announcements could also be heard on the "View from the bridge" television channel which was useful for announcements concerning tendering. There was a secondary informative channel with our current navigational position, time of day, current and forecast weather. I have the suggestion to add this time and temperature information in a crawl on the "View from the bridge" channel. In an inside cabin, we use this channel to know how warmly to dress for the conditions outside. Additionally, we can make sure that our watches are correctly set when we wake up in a new time-zone. The muster drill instructions were clear and we observed several crew-drills while we were berthed in port. This made us feel very safe. Accommodation: Accessible Family Inside cabin 10153. This room provided ample storage space for the belongings of three passengers, a collapsible wheelchair and a mobility scooter. The closet was accessible for a person seated in a wheelchair and the rack could move up or down as needed. As the third person in the cabin, I opted not to actually pull out the convertible queen-sized sofa-bed in order to conserve floor-space. I was very comfortable and simply put sheets and a silk sleeping bag on the couch and used the pillows and blankets provided. The room's flat-screen TV was mounted on an adjustable arm so that it could be angled in such a way that the occupants could see it from bed and the person on the couch could see its reflection in the mirror on the wall. Clever design! The bathroom's size was typical for an accessible cabin and had some of the extra features such as an adjustable mirror and safety handles. The zero-entry shower drains did a terrific job keeping the floor dry which was initially a great concern. One additional improvement could be extra hooks for towels and clothing. The room-steward tended to forget that the handles were for the purpose of supporting the weight of a disabled person. We would always find towels hanging on these which made them unstable for my mom to support herself. It was hard to find a place to hang up our used face-cloths and towels for re-use because though there appeared to be many towel racks, these were not good places to put wet towels. My mom commented that the door was not wide enough to easily make the turn into the cabin from the hallway using her scooter and that because there was no automatic door opener, she needed help to get in by herself. Luckily, there was always a friendly room-steward to assist. I found that the lighting in the room was very dim and maybe my mom was particularly demanding but it seemed that every time I got comfortable, she would need me to turn on or turn off a light that she could not control easily from her bed. In an eventual technology upgrade, voice-controlled smart lights or perhaps a hand-held remote with dimmable bulbs would be my suggestion. Dining We were blown away! Your chefs, food selection and service wildly exceeded our expectations and this in the main dining rooms Alizar and Grand Pacific. The hostesses and Maîtres d'hôtel (Especially Maria and Dušan) were very accommodating to my mom's needs as she always preferred a table near the entrance so that she didn't accidentally mow anyone down with her scooter. Dušan had the special talent of maintaining a perfect poker-face while being extremely funny and sarcastic. This really made it fun for me who was sometimes frustrated by my demanding mom. To anyone watching, he appeared perfectly professional but he was quietly acknowledging his awareness that my mom was being unreasonable. I really hope that any management reading this will understand how grateful I was! For myself, I was particularly impressed with the international menu options featuring things that were spicier, more exotic and less well-known to North-American palates. Breakfast options were varied every day and servers were always happy to do their best getting special requests like "bacon extra-crispy" or substitutions right. Server Yuli slipped me some Sambal Olek from her personal stash because the only hot sauce condiment was Tabasco. That was some terrific customer service! The buffet was not my favourite place to dine as I prefer the quiet of restaurant-style meals but when ship was in port or during off-peak hours, I really enjoyed the vegetarian and Asian selections which featured lots of delicious Indian, Chinese and Indonesian offerings. During our cruise we tried Jasmine Chinese restaurant one time. My parents liked it but honestly, the presentation and texture of the food seemed dull to me. The cubed chicken was so uniformly cut up that it looked factory pre-processed and tasted of freezer-burn. Emelinda, our server was excellent as was all of the staff. She even showed us some pictures of her country and how beautiful it was. She was very nice to speak with so overall, I enjoyed the experience at that restaurant. We also went to Cagney's steakhouse for one steak dinner. Yes, the grade of meat used was discernibly superior to that used in the main dining and buffet and the price was a good value for comparable specialty restaurants on other ships but to me, the service and presentation at all the restaurants was so high quality that there was no real difference dining at Cagney's vs. dining in a main dining room. I also thought that the dark lighting and thinly-shear-curtained view of the jogging track was comical. Just put some blackout curtains and spare us the spandex bottoms careening past, please. Full points for the concept of O'Sheehan's Pub! This was the place where I always felt comfortable. Waking up jet-lagged in the middle of the night, I could go there to get a snack. Passing by gorgeous scenery on a cold and windy day, I could take my binoculars to look out the huge windows without mussing my hair or getting a runny nose. Again, the quality of the service and the food choices were excellent. I also liked being able to hear the entertainment in the main atrium without being right in the middle of the crowd. I liked the location on deck 8 being accessible from both the mid-ship and aft elevators. This made it really accessible for my mom too. Getting down to the wheelchair-friendly deck 6 Grand Pacific entrance was always a tiny inconvenience because only one elevator car among 4 stopped at that level. Ports of Call The itinerary was well balanced between at-sea and port days. Having the overnight at Reykjavik really gave excellent opportunity to visit many of the far-flung attractions that Iceland has to offer. It's always difficult to anticipate the requirements of differently-abled travelers especially when dealing with ports of call in countries with varying sensitivity to the needs of those with mobility issues. I think that the "Special Needs at Sea" team still has a way to go with analysing the difficulties that people might have. We received communications that disembarkation assistance would be possible but we had trouble getting assistance, we often had trouble making our way out without using stairs and using the gangways. Taxi stands described as "a short walk away" in Invergordon were too far for my dad to push my mom in a wheelchair. Wouldn't it be possible to have a taxi dispatcher with a walkie-talkie call for a cab to come to the bus-loading area for those in need? This is in no way a critical comment to the way that NCL handled the majority of special needs issues, just an idea. I really feel that the NCL staff were always helpful and sympathetic in this regard and as cruisers with limitations, we should understand that not all ports of call will be easy to access. As a matter of fact, I really would like to commend the "Special Needs at Sea" team for helping us with the scooter problems that were in no way their fault but they stepped up so that my mom could fully enjoy her cruise. Onboard Activities, Services and Entertainment Personally, I rarely attend the organised activities on board. I am usually travelling solo and don't care much for loud music, flashy stage-shows or napkin-folding lessons. However, for completeness in this review, I'll make mention of what I can. Trivia sessions were held daily mornings and afternoons. It was mandatory that I attend as part of the arrangement I made with my parents in exchange for my passage fare! These were fun and I have to say that my mom really connected with Sheree who had only just recently joined the Jade and I would like to make a special mention of "Nacho"'s talent making for a hilarious half-hour every time he hosted. I enjoyed the set-up of the fitness studio but only participated in one class. I probably would have used it more had I been alone. The changing area only had one toilet and one shower which would be enough for the gym users but there was no changing area for the pool which I could not understand at all. On this itinerary, there were precious few folks using the pool so it was never a problem but it definitely have made a difference for my comfort on a Caribbean cruise. The card room and library looked nice but I never used them. I was a little annoyed when people took up space in the buffet playing cards so maybe the card room needs a bit more publicity to make people aware of it. The spa sales people and drink servers were not overly pushy. They would politely ask if I needed something but would not be aggressive after a "no, thank you." I actually enjoyed talking to them when they weren't busy and the exceptional scenery on the voyage often brought them on deck to see exactly what I was looking at so we had lots to talk about. I'm really not much of a drinker and I couldn't justify the expense of the alcohol on board. I might have ordered three drinks and a cup of ginger tea the whole trip and was pretty disappointed with my $13 Irish Coffee which was served in a tiny goblet rather than the tankard I expected. I attended one comedy show in the gorgeous Spinnaker Lounge. It was exactly the sort of cruise ship comedy that one would expect and that's all I need to say about that but everyone else seemed to like it so I'm the odd man out. None of the live music made my ears bleed and I actually enjoyed the piano music that was broadcast between entertainers. It was played at a volume that was never too intrusive. Around the pool, admittedly, the music was too loud at certain times of day and at those times, you would not find me there because of it. Due to my special interests in snorkelling and wildlife observation there were no NCL shore excursions that really fit my profile. I was very kindly helped by the shore excursion team to try to get on a whale-watching tour waiting list but ultimately, could not participate because it was complete. Pre-cruise, I did find that the shore excursions were a little too expensive for me so I didn't pre-book. I was able to find shore excursions directly from the providers in Norway, Scotland and Iceland that suited me and were in my price-range so I took the risk. It would have been interesting to have a naturalist on board to describe a little bit about the geological formations, sea-birds, midnight sun phenomenon or give other talks of a scientific or historic nature. However, that's just me...maybe most people really like bingo more. Places to hide Not many reviews feature this helpful information but for those of us less social cruisers, it's good stuff to know! Outside on Deck 13 starboard side, forward. This was a favourite hidey-hole for observation. There is a wind-screen that cuts off a good deal of wind, a sloping ramp that provides a bit of back support when sitting and slats in the plexiglass for photography or binoculars. There is not too much action here near the door leading to the Spinnaker lounge. The Chapel on the port side uses this space so there is no symmetry. This is the one and only spot of its kind on the Jade! Outside on Deck 14 forward. This area is labelled Quiet Zone which it is not because of the wind and proximity to the ship's horn but at least there weren't a lot of people there. Bridge Viewing are on Deck 11 port side. Wow! What a concept. A place to safely view the goings-on on the bridge and see what's up ahead. I loved this spot to look for whales without the noise and distraction of the Spinnaker Lounge activities. Middle section of O'Sheehan's Pub. The hostess would seat diners on the port and starboard sides at booths and tables. In the center section were cozy chairs and benches and stools overlooking the atrium. This was a nice area that didn't have tons of traffic. Conclusion The highlight of this trip was being treated so well by the experienced and enthusiastic staff and crew-members from embarkation to disembarkation. There were no mentions of cleanliness in my review because everything was so perfect and consistent that I forgot to even say so! As loyal Royal Caribbean-Celebrity-Azamara cruisers we didn't find any major differences and even preferred some of the new discoveries we made on NCL. Read Less

We chose this cruise based on the itinerary, and we were not disappointed. The ports of call were amazing, and we definitely had enough time to feel as though we had seen some wonderful sights. We always base our choice of cruise on itinerary rather than line, and we were not sorry we'd chosen NCL based on this criteria. In fact, the sea days (which I normally don't particularly enjoy) were spaced JUST RIGHT for the rest we needed. Both the embarkation and disembarkation ran smoothly as did most in the ports. We had the drink package and enjoyed the variety of drinks and great bartenders and servers. Lots of things going on all hours of the day in all corners of the ship--so if people were bored that's on them. However, there were some things that were disappointing: 1. The buffet selection was fine for breakfast with plenty of choices and even made to order omelets. However, the lunch buffet was basically the same each day and had the WORSE salad bar I've ever experienced. Our biggest complaint was with the seating. Since it wasn't warm enough to eat outside (and people stayed at tables reading and playing games), it was almost impossible to find a table. They did open the Italian restaurant for breakfast on busy mornings, but never lunch. 2. The dinners in the dining rooms were fine--but definitely nothing extraordinary. 3. The bathrooms were reconfigured in the balcony rooms and, although we LOVED having doors on both the toilet and shower, the closet was located directly in front of the bathroom door so we were continually hitting one another. 4. We loved sets by Charlie and 24 Carat, but were unimpressed with showroom shows. In addition, the seats were incredibly uncomfortable! 5 The casino smelled so horribly of smoke that we did not end up playing. 6. We definitely felt that the excursions we booked independently were superior in both price and quality to the two we booked with the ship. We have a Princess Cruise in the fall, so we are anxious to compare the two ships. We've enjoyed cruising on both before, so it will be interesting to see if there are significant differences that would lead us to chose a different line than NCL the next time we're looking for a cruise. Read Less

Interested in ports of call. Shuttle service to and from the ship is a must. Overall staff was helpful and pleasant. We enjoy the smaller ship, it's easier to navigate. Food was very good ,unfortunately the cafeteria is too small. We were hoping for a seafood night. We had an ocean view cabin and was very disappointed there was no couch or chair . Not very convenient. Service charge has been added , just seems another expense. Rather disappointed in the entertainment except for the finale the last night. Some easy listening music would be an asset where we could sit and chat with a drink. Service was good. We enjoyed the ports , tendering tickets for Edinburgh was a fiasco. Should be better organized. Excursion in Iceland was interesting. Too bad many of the excursions are so pricey . Embarkation and disembarkation was well organized. Smooth sailing thank you. Read Less

we chose this cruise because of the itinerary. Absolutely fabulous! We'd do it again in a heartbeat. Had been to Bergen and Alesund before so nice to be back. Iceland was fabulous, I had a friend to show us around. Can't get back to Lerwick and Kirkwall soon enough. Been to Edinburgh and Inverness, both wonderful but know when I'll be back there. We didn't book any shore excursions. I went equipped with a list of shops to visit/things to see and we headed off on our own. no regrets there. We had a balcony and sat outside at every opportunity. A bit chilly some days so covered up with the provided bathrobe and a pool towel! Shows at the Stardust were good. We particularly enjoyed the aerialists. Go early to get a good seat! Embark and disembark were probably the best we have encountered with NCL. Very Smooth! I think I forgot my iPod in the bathrobe pocket and my daughter forgot her travel pillow but otherwise no complaints or issues. Read Less

We chose this cruise because of the itinerary. This is our 3rd cruise with NCL. We did not have a good experience on our 2nd cruise with NCL which was about 7 years ago but this ship the Jade exceeded our expectations. We did not expect much but wanted to see all 3 countries that this ship went to. Much to our surprise the food was very good. Sad to say they did not have lobster night. They did away with this we were told. The entertainment could have been better. The music in all the lounges were excellent. We think the shore excursions were overpriced for what you got. Some of the tour guides on the excursions could have done better while others were really good. You could not understand some of them when they spoke. The Dining Room Staff was excellent. We have made reservations on line before cruise and every night we were seated on time. Read Less

Our 4th NCL cruise and the first with problems which left a bad taste and leave me thinking time to try a new cruiseline. Firstly, Guest Services had a problem with verifying my credit card. And dealt with it by blocking my account until it was sorted. Made it a pain to even get a drink...even though I had the beverage package! I was charged for items I had pre-paid (speciality dining) and not given credit for that was part of my package (discount on shore excursions / onboard credits). Despite providing evidence, I got very patronizing and stock answers from guest services...in effect I must be wrong, NCL is never wrong. What happened to the customer is always right?! Finally...getting off the ship. 1 port the card scanners weren't working which caused delays as security couldn't scan anyone on/off. 2 tender ports, taking almost 2 hours to get off. Read Less

I am just back from this cruise and I would like to make a few comments about it. This is my fourth time for cruising. We have been with Royal Carribean, Princess, P&O etc in the past. So, I think I am eligible to make a few comments of the NCL Jade ship. Pros: We are a group of four and we all agreed that the food there is not bad. For the regular dining, the food is average. For their special dining, they have French, American steak house, and Japanese Teppanyaki. They all are spectacular. For the special dining, you need to pay extra which is at reasonable price. But we have included the special dining package and therefore, we did not need to pay anything. In fact, this is only the food which impress me. Cons: 1. The ship is not big, only housing two thousands something people. At the North Sea, the ship was quite wobbling. Even though at sea time, the captain did not slow down during dining period. The ship was at full speed! You can imagine we dine at quite a wobbling situation. 2. The ship cut short a lot of free service. The map for excursion needs to be paid. The hot food room service needs to be paid. There is no boiler in the room. Every time you ask just for a cup of hot water, you need to pay! The only way you get FREE hot water is to go to the buffet restaurant. 3. They have poor management for tendering. Normally, you will be prescribed a tender ticket. But on the day of issuing, the condition is very chaotic. We arrived at the lounge one hour early than the scheduled time to take the ticket which is one day before the tender. A lot of people were sitting at the lounge already. But there is no staff or sign to tell the people to line up to get the ticket. At the time of announcement, everyone rushed in front of the staff who issue the ticket. You can image the chaotic condition with about a couple of hundreds people waiting for getting the ticket. This is not fair for the early waiter and the later comer may take advantage of the situation. I cannot image a cruise has this experience before would continue this mistake. Moreover, some people who joined private shore excursion may not be able to catch up with the tour because they may get a late ticket for tendering. 4. Regarding the show, if you watch once or twice, it should be fine. But if you watch every night, you may find some of them repeat again and again! 5. Regarding dining, they have the so called free style dining. That means, you don't have a fixed table, but you need to line up every night to get your table. First come first serve! 6. This ship has only limited activities such dancing class, fitness center, swimming pool(too cold to use). It does not have rock climbing, mini golf, ice-skating, roller etc. With all this experience, I shall not use this line again. And I shall not recommend this to my friends as well. Read Less

The Jade was recently papered over with a top-to-bottom refurbishment. Yet it felt like just a thin veneer over an old design of a ship, and the cruise's target seemed to be for something above the average age of 62 that took this cruise. With nothing like the modern amenities being shoe-horned into newer ships, the Jade has only a couple things beyond the bars, resturaunts, and theaters to keep travelers occupied. There are two tiny pools, a fitness center stocked with 1990's equipment (plus some 1980's spinning bikes), a casino, one basketball/tennis court upstairs, and that's about it. The exotic ports were the main reason we chose this cruise, and the destinations didn't disappoint. But there's very little on the ship that helped. There were no books in the library about most port cities we landed in. And while the crew did show some 1990's style static Powerpoint Presentations about the ports, they had just a few slides on each city taking maybe 10 minutes each. They prepared the same for exotic ports as they would have for Poughkipsie. Most surprising was the embark/disembark process at each port. It seemed as if they were trying to figure out how to be efficient for the first time. Crowds pushing to get Tender Tickets. Huge lines in the Embark hall. The cruise line does this every day for thousands of people across the world, yet it felt like a slow and awkward first time every time. The staff on board was, of course, super pleasant. The food, while mostly mediocre outside of the few fancy resturaunts, was pleantiful. And the entertainment seemed to be well targeted for the age group of 62+. Read Less