3 more Vietnamese ports cancelled as docking was refused due to passengers and crew having been on board who had been to Hongkong. Other ships were allowed to dock. A very expensive time at sea with the potential of having been exposed to the novel corona virus. Captain was hiding and left it to guest relations to deal with unhappy customers. NCL refusing to accept responsibility. Have upped offer to 50% of cruise part and 50% of cost towards future cruise. No refund for flights and other costs incurred. Disappointing and shabby treatment of their customers. No sense of duty of care. This was supposed to be a one-off cruise we had booked nearly a year before. We followed news coming out of China and expected the cruise to Hongkong to be cancelled at short notice. It would have been sad but with the refund we could have booked another cruise and would have felt that our well being was of importance. Turns out that NCL are only driven by profits. Read Less

Just returned from this cruise. It was terrible. It should have been cancelled but NCL put greed first. They put us at risk of Coronavirus by allowing people on board who may have it. Only allowed to dock at 2 of the 7 ports on the itinerary. Spent 6 days at sea. Also 1 of the 2 ports was Sihanoukville in Cambodia. Nobody would ever want to go there on vacation... absolutely filthy. Only reason for going is the NCL can charge 89 dollars per person for a Visa that actually costs 30 dollars. Would never travel with NCL again. After 1000 person petition asking for more than the 10% refund offered, we received a standardised letter a week later. If anything goes wrong on an NCL cruise don’t expect any help at all. All NCL want to do is blame Vietnam for not allowing us in. Surely when Vietnam declared an epidemic at the beginning of February, NCL should have cancelled this cruise Read Less

The handling of the above cruise by NCL and the treatment of the passengers was wholly abysmal. This was not caused by one or two issues but a series of poor decisions, communication failures, and what can not be explained away by anything but corporate greed. This all started with the news that the Corona Virus was impacting travel to Southeast Asia. Many airlines and cruise companies were allowing passengers to cancel or make changes without penalty due to the concerns raised by the virus. NCL was a glaring exception. Guests who made similar requests to NCL prior to the cruise were advised that there would be no refund or credit if we were to cancel. NCL did send an email stating that no passengers who visited China in the previous 30 days would be allowed to board and would receive a full refund. A second email advised that passengers who transited through Hong Kong and certain other cities in the last 15 days would not be allowed to board. The miscommunications started before we even left. Some received an email the date of departure advising us of an itinerary change before we made it to the terminal, but many did not find out until checking-in and some not even at check-in. The email that I received stated that we would no longer disembark in Hong Kong and instead, we would be journeying back to Singapore. Further that due to the change of the extended trip back to Singapore, we would no longer be docking in Halong Bay (Hanoi). As two of the main destinations which led vacationers to choose this cruise it was a major change. NCL offered to reimburse “reasonable charges for airfare changes, a 10% refund of the price of the cruise and 25% off a future cruise as compensation. Again, we were advised that that was the only option, we could not cancel. Reluctantly we scrambled at the last minute to contact our airline, changed our departure home from Hong Kong to Singapore (at a cost of over $600 per ticket) and boarded the boat, my friends and I included. We also had to cancel private tours we had arranged in Hong Kong and Hanoi, as well as our hotel rooms in Hong Kong. Despite the warning in the February 5th email that passengers who transited through Hong Kong would not be allowed to board, walking through security and going through the boarding process, I found it interesting that my passport was never checked nor was I asked if I transited through the prohibited cities . Another lapse on NCL’s part. Our first day was at sea. During that day NCL made several announcements asking passengers who transited through Hong Kong or one of the other prohibited cities to come to Guest Relations. Later the announcements were extended to also include crew members who so transited. Query: If on the day of departure you notified us that such passengers would not be allowed on board, how were they now on board? In hindsight I realize that those visa checks were now happening, after the fact. Upon arriving at our first port, Laem Chabang, all was fine. My friends and I had hired a taxi and stayed overnight in Bangkok. However, on return we learned, that over 100 passengers were detained on exiting the ship, and taken to a holding room. They were advised that Vietnam would not allow the ship to call at its ports if any of the passengers or crew had transited through Hong Kong or the other prohibited cities. They were given the option to stay, in which case the ship would not stop in Vietnam, or “voluntarily” leave and receive a full refund. They had no choice but to leave. Needless to say the ship was abuzz with concern and rumors. Unsettling is the least severe way to describe the feelings at that point. Not a way to spend our vacation. The next day we had a day at sea before heading to Saigon. During that day the Captain announced, without explanation, that the order of the ports in Vietnam were being reversed. Instead of stopping the next day in Saigon (the closest port) we would instead sail to Da Nang (the furthest remaining port after the cancellation of Hong Kong and Hanoi). Again no explanation. Again those of us with private tours in the three ports, had to scramble via email and WhatsApp to change the tours. Why did I have to spend so much time on my vacation making changes to plans that I booked months ago? Not the way I wanted to spend my time on board. Once again this decision would prove to be another error on NCL’s part. If Vietnam was not going to let the ship dock, why go to the furthest port instead of the closest one? The only possible answer is that NCL knew that there would be problems with docking in Vietnam, in which case we should have been given the option to get off in Bangkok and get a full refund. NCL’s decision to proceed in this manner and without communication of the situation can only be seen as corporate greed: keep us on board, don’t give us any options, keep our money. Yet we awaited our vacation in Vietnam. After all this was an 11 day Vietnam cruise and we would at least see three of the 4 Vietnam ports promised. The night before we were advised that we would dock at 7:00am and we were given exit cards for Vietnam. Waking up on the day of our first Vietnam port, Chan May, I was greeted by a beautiful sunrise but no land in sight. It was 6:30 and we were to dock at 7:00am...where was the land. Something was not right. I scrambled to the TV channel which displayed the boats navigation details to see the boat had completely turned around; we were heading South and we were south of Da Nang. NCL should have effectively communicated what was happening. I called our concierge (who seemed to know everything) but was told that the Captain had not advised them of anything. Clearly a lie as the Concierge was not at the preferred disembarkment area at the predetermined time. Instead, 7 am (our docking time) quickly passed, next the tour meeting times passed, still no land in sight. It took until 10 am for the Captain to come on the intercom and read a legal-department approved message; verbatim from the document we later received describing that Vietnam closed their ports to cruise ships. We would no longer be stopping in any of those 4 planned ports. Our compensation: NCL would reimburse “reasonable charges for airfare changes, a 10% refund of the price of the cruise and an increase to 50% off a future cruise. Pretty unreasonable for an 11 day Vietnam cruise that never stops in Vietnam. From that point on the remainder of the “holiday” was far from it. With our extra days at sea and 5 missing ports, the exceptional vacation experience quickly disappeared. Unanticipated activities had to be scheduled and continually repeated, and the lack of pre-planning was visible. The crew themselves were visibly stressed by the change in schedule and the additional work placed on them. The passengers became distressed, worried, and aggravated. The series of itinerary changes and removal of passengers led to many of those final sea days being spent concerned that Singapore would not allow us to dock in their port. The cabin was nice and large (aft facing penthouse ) but when the ship was stopped the diesel fumes were bad even in the room with the door closed. The food at the buffet was good, typical NCL but there were two very off nights when the food was bad. OSHeehans was very good as is Cagneys. THe food in the asian restaurant (other than the sushi) was inedible. The common areas are very good. The entertainmant was poor but likely because we missed so many ports that they were unable to change the entertainers so it got repetitive. Norwegian Cruise Lines owes the passengers and crew of the Norwegian Jade an apology and a full refund. Not only because of the changes required due to the Coronavirus but because of poor decisions making which lead to the ship stopping in only two of the original 7 ports, none of which were in Vietnam and the terrible lack of communication ensuring an environment conducive more of mutiny than of fun. In all aspects of this situation, NCL has acted with reckless disregard for their passengers and completely failed to provide what was promised: an 11 day Vietnam cruise. Read Less

I chose this cruise because it’s Far East itinerary (save for Sihanoukville which is terrible) was excellent. We didn’t have a Far East cruise just Singapore-Thailand-Singapore due to port closures because of coronavirus. NCL should have offered cancellation and a full refund at embarkation. It didn’t and we were kept on a ship where passengers and staff were thrown off and fear and uncertainty grew. Captain and other senior crew invisible. Over 1,000 passengers signed a Petition demanding a refund. No response as yet. The food was good and stateroom clean. Entertainment was poor- the Cruise Director was particularly poor and throughout we were encouraged to spend spend spend as the ship sailed at a loss. The loss of a significant number of crew affected those who remained. There were some stand out individuals but in the main the whole feel was tainted by events beyond their and our control. I have sailed on other NCL ships and had a good experience. Unless NCL own up to their failings and do the decent thing - a full refund I shall never sail with them again. Profit before welfare Read Less

I wanted to do this cruise as it was to celebrate our 5oth wedding anniversay. We were thinking of cancelling due to the virus in China but were told that there would be no refund. So we went on the cruise. We were not told about the changes until we were in our 2nd day. some were told before. The entertainment was disappointing. The last show was good. The food was ok. Our cabin was good and clean and the waiters and cleaners were great. I felt that the cruise directors need to take a good look at their morning shows as they were terrible. Jerry seems so self centred and Johnny was asleep most of the mornings. I really feel that the Jade should not have left Singapore as we did not see the ports we wanted to. I realise that the virus made a difference this is why 99% of the passengers believe that it should have been cancelled and money refunded. Norwegian should refund at least 50% fare because it was the worst cruise ever. The best manager was the food manager he coped a lot of flack from passengers when even the captain or higher members did not even put their face in to calm passengers. Did not see the cruise director in this circumstance put his face in either. All others seemed to disappear. We would like more than 10% which was offered to us in refund.The craft was for little children please NCL give us a little credit. card making was for children not adults. please add adult crafts to your ship. I was disabled and at times of queuing was told to go to the back of the line. Not on. Read Less

We were looking forward to a sught-seeing tour around Asia taking in Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and Hong Kong Before ever getting on board NCL had cancelled Hong Kong and Ha Long Bay due to Coronavirus Enjoyed Singapore. Were advised at boarding that the itinerary had changed and that instead of sailing to Hong Kong we would be returning to Singapore so would need to change our flights home So we spent most of our time in Laem Chabang on the internet trying to rearrange our return flights and thus did not get much sight-seeing done Then we sailed to Sihounakville - dreadful place should never have been included in the itinerary. Even NCL were offering to refund the trip money if passengers wanted due to all the building works - it was just one large building site Then we were supposed to sail to Saigon but we were informed that the Vietnamese authorities would not let us in so we sailed up to Hue to be told the same that the Vietnamese authorities would. Not let us in - why the Captain thought one Vietnamese port would let us I after another had refused us is still a mystery to me So we ended up back in Singapore having managed two out of our seven expected ports and with six days at sea instead of two Not a great experience. The entertainment on board was mediocre - a couple of the evening shows were brilliant but, presumably because they expected us to on shore most of the time they were not geared up for anything during the day The food was OK although we did complain that it was luke warm most of the time - the service was quite slow. The customer service was dreadful. Most days there were queues all around the Atrium as passengers were trying to find out what was happening. Very sad to have had such a horrible time. Don't think we will ever bother cruising again Read Less

Itinerary, sadly because of the Coronavirus they changed itinerary before we got on board but did not advise explain why. Was concerned at the outset and wanted to cancel but was advised we would lose our money. 5 ports have been missed, 4 in Vietnam and naturally Hong Kong. Just bobbing along. They also stopped at Cambodia and made us pay an extortionate amount for visa. Worst port I have visited and I have done over 30 cruises. Most “roads” are just dirt or sand. Cannot begin to relay how bad it was. Our clothes were covered in dust and we cut short our tour as did not feel safe with the traffic or breathing in the fumes. The ship itself is good. Spotlessly clean, good food and the staff throughout the ship a credit to NCL. Sadly though I feel they have put money before our welfare. The last they could do is give free internet. Music throughout ship is good but star entertainment not on a par with other cruise lines. Read Less

The itinerary was perfect. The ships crew kept everyone safe from the Corona Virus by spraying every passenger with sanitizer at multiple checkpoints around the ship. At no time did I ever feel unsafe and unprotected from the corona virus. Was awarded an upgrade from an inside cabin to a mini-suite in the rear of the ship by bidding online prior to departure. The cost was a lot less than I would have ever expected. In fact, I was surprised that my bid was even accepted. The premium internet package was a bit of a joke. The internet was extremely spotty at best. In fact, if you were in the room, you could upload photos at about the same speed at the only 56K modems. If you were on the balcony of the room....there was absolutely no wi-fi service. The port of Nha Trang was the best... try the Me Trang Chon coffee at the Me Trang coffee shop right off the pier from the tender dock.. unless you have any sort of heart condition. After two cups... I felt as though I had the energy to just swim back to the boat... without the tender. Read Less

The ports were cool on this trip through Asia, starting in Singapore, going to Bangkok, Cambodia, Vietnam then Hong Kong. But I wasn't crazy about this ship. I can't think of a single meal I had on the trip that was very good. Not even a desert. The menu began to get pretty predictable and nothing that was repeated was that great, although the service was very nice in the Cafe Pacific. They have some great movie channels on the ship for sea days with first run movies, so that was nice. And they have a couple of cable news channels so you can keep up with news, which was important because I was on the ship during the early days of the Corona Virus. Which brings to mind that so many people on the ship were coughing that at times it felt like a sick ward, but no one seemed to do anything about it. My room porter was particularly bad on this trip. She even broke a connection in the bathroom one day while cleaning my room which resulted in flooding the floor of my bathroom. When I returned to the room she told me about the flood and didn't seem to be working on it until I told her that it was urgent to fix it. She also broke the clothing line in the shower which was important to me and I again had to ask her to repair it more quickly. The room was comfortable and the air control was good. It was nice and quiet and the refrigerator was actually cold. The blow drier worked well. The balcony had a weird metal frame around it so it detracted from the feeling of having a luxurious balcony, but it was functional and once you stepped out onto it, it was fine. Getting off the ship for an excursion was ridiculous - the worst of any cruise I've taken. One time it took them two hours extra to let us off the ship to explore. Many of the ports were packed with activities so this was a major inconvenience. And it didn't just happen once. It was a regular thing. It made you feel like you were more at a bus station than a nice cruise ship. The lines at the front desk were also particularly bad on this ship. There wasn't much rocking on this ship on this Asia route, which was nice. Breakfast room service was reliable although not a full menu. If you want anything other than fruit, cereal, coffee, etc. you'd have to pay $7.95/person. The robe in the room is nice. There's a USB port and light above each bed. There's a safe. The crew works very hard. I was disappointed that the casino was almost always closed or empty. I usually enjoy a little blackjack from time to time on a cruise but could not find a table with two other people on it at any time in the cruise (with the exception of one night when there was no table available because they were all in use). Very disappointing. I usually enjoy the entertainment on NCL but the entertainment was very trite on this ship. If you like America's Got Talent losers then you are set because that's who they have ... every night. Literally. Really. I've been to Tepanyaki on other NCL ships and this one was sad. The guys are fake smiling and singing, pretending to have fun but you can tell they are going as fast as they can to get through their shifts. On the Pearl they did a thing where they throw things and you catch them, other fun stuff, but on this ship it's just guys making corny jokes and singing together to pretend they're having fun. The food was good but it was like being at a bad dinner party. Not a fan of this ship at all. Read Less

All i can say, is that i am extremely disappointed by this experience. Firstly, we were provided with the wrong information in regards to visas by the NCL customer service before embarking the ship and forced to pay a hefty amount. On board the ship there were a number of issues including: - Food was awful. Every single day the food overcooked, dry, cold, flavourless and tasted like it had been sitting out for hours. Even the fine dining restaurants had less than average quality food and many times we sat waiting for over an hour for our food, the only one with decent food was O’ sha bar and grill. - Poor entertainment. There were very limited shows and the entertainment was pretty boring compared to many cruise ships we’ve been on. - Luggage left unattended. After waiting for hours for luggage to be delivered to our rooms, we found one of our bags left unattended down the hall. - Lack of atmosphere. No celebration party like all cruise ships have. No themed events. - Staterooms. Our rooms were actually really nice and spacious. Nicest rooms we’ve had however on arrival the coffee machine in the room was left used and dirty and the TV schedule played the exact same movies and shows every single day. - Shore excursions were so over priced so we organised our own activities. But the disembarking was the most disorganised and unprofessional procedure we’ve ever experienced. The staff had no idea what they were doing and it was just chaos. Even once we were off the boat the mascots and photo opportunities were just cheap and tacky. We have been on our fair share of cruises with different cruise liners and by far this is the most disappointing experience I’ve ever had. Definitely do not recommend NCL after this poor experience. Read Less

Embarkation was OK but so many people there at the same time so not their fault. We had an outside restricted view cabin but luckily we were in between the lifeboats so view not bad. Cabin smaller than expected & the en suite likewise, it was clean & had enough space for your clothes. SHIP. Well maintained, lots of lounges & bars & places to sit , pool area very nice. Entertainment .. The theatre shows were poor especially Blazing Boots lots of cavorting, screams, no singer stood out. Palace Lights the same but a bit better. Illusionist, not my type of entertainment. Analiza Ching violinist was very good as was Moniique Dehaney, although her 2nd show was too diverse( a song for each nation on board) All the lounge & bar singers were very good especially Randon, but it all comes repetitious during the 12 nights. Food.... Hit & miss, the buffet was good but sometimes food tepid. We had 5 specialty ding & the best being Teppanaki . Gagneys was the worst bad service & steak not great. Complimentary Jasmine Garden was excellent., only went to the MDR 3 times & they were good. We went to O'Sheehans for fish & chips & it was the worst meal ever on a ship, I cut into my fish & it was brownish inside, it was dreadful, I did get an apology & another fish, I think it is pollock & had not much taste. All in all the cruise was good, but I wouldn't do Jade again, we made lots of friends which enhanced our cruise experience. Read Less

Always wanted to visit Singapore, Hong Kong and Vietnam. Picked the time of year as it was decent weather and the price was right. Been with Norwegian twice before and although not the best they do seem to give value for money. Boarded, very easily, in Singapore. Got to our balcony cabin, not the biggest but OK. Ship seemed fine. Travelled two days to the port which hosts Bangkok for an overnight stay. Back on board and sailed to a dump in Cambodia called Sihanoukville. Looked as though it had been bombed. Lots of building going on and in 15 years time it’ll be fine and populated by Chinese and casinos. On to Saigon. Waited nearly 2 hours, from 07.15, to board our coach for their Delights of Saigon tour. How disappointing both the tour and Saigon. We must have visited all the wrong places. Nah Trang next, I think, where we waited over 2 hours to be tendered ashore by only 4 lifeboats. Had a good day on the beach before waiting, in the sun, on the dockside for over a hour, in a queue to be tendered back aboard. The rest of the cruise was OK. Found the staff in Magnums bar to be good. The singer Azalea was dreadful. Seemed as though she had to finish every line of a song with a wail. Her electric guitar effort was embarrassing. Randon, was excellent. Both polished as a singer and guitar player, and an great range of music. Nothing that took our fancy in the way of shows in the theatre but I’m sure they are OK. The main dining room staff were great. Something that can’t be said for the Alizar, where we had to ask twice for drinks, finally getting one during main course. Overall it was a OK cruise let down by what could have been avoided, namely, waiting, queueing and Sihanoukville and Saigon. Read Less

Chose the ship due to the itinerary as we have never cruised in Asia before and wanted to visit Thailand and Malaysia and it fitted with our work commitments This was our 15th cruise and our third with NCl we have also sailed with Royal Caribbean and P and O but have also been on MSc, Carnival and Holland America. Overall the entertainment is aimed at a more international audience but the acrobats,magician and the last night show were all excellent some of the other acts just average. The bar entertainment was very good but service levels varied by waiter some better than others. Usual mix of daytime activities and quizzes and the entertainment team were enthusiastic. The ship is small but there were always sunbeds available on the upper decks something you don’t always see on royal Caribbean. Did a few excursions the highlight being the James Bond island from Phuket which was excellent.Highlights of Langkawi was woeful, the best of Kuala Kumpar was better than average. The food in the buffet was below average and probably the worst we have had on any cruise with the choice being limited and everything lukewarm at best- more so than on other ship’s. Main dining room was very good although the dress code was not enforced at all. We tried three specialty restaurants and the service and food was good in all of them. We had an inside cabin which was well appointed but the cabin steward lacked attention to detail compared with other ships Overall NCl do not match Royal Caribbean for food but there ships are not as crowded and we like the freestyle element when not cruising from Southampton. Read Less

we chose this cruise as the areas visited were of interested, we left singapore cruise port and arriving on time (12pm) it took us 20 mins until we were sitting onship ordering our food, excellent procedures (although cases were not delivered till later), make sure the labels are taped onto cases or get staff at port to attach new labels, ours broke off leading to late luggage delivery. singapore- excellent subway, we got a card for £10 deposit, put £10 for 1 day travel onto the card and this allowed 24hr travel on subway buses etc, we never waited longer than 3 mins for a train. service is excellent (system works on a loop very easy to follow, ie coloured lines and trains are marked inside to let you know arriving at what areas etc) if going to light show in marina, don't go up the marina hotel lift, you see nothing and costs $23 each ripoff, better watching from shopping mall level 1 (allow plenty of time to get there mall is massive phunket - we took a tuk tuk and the port (4000 baht return) and went to elephant sanctuary (only pay half what they want for entry) (this was the highlight of holiday) fed elephants and washed them etc day 2 went to ko racha yai island by speedboat ( bumpy ride on boat don't sit at the back you will get soaked - early pick up 7am) booked by street vendor/desk at phunket (again paid less than half price quoted (lunch and soft drinks were included - and snorkling if you wanted) initial beach very noisy and busy, after lunch we walked to other beach, very quiet and clean, also shop restaurant at both beaches (beach shoes needed lots of stones rocks at shoreline) langkawi if you go past the taxi drivers on the port walk to the bottom of the port ie gates and local taxis are there probably better deal, we went into town (not city) and went to a lovely beach, water had a lot of jellyfish, we then spent afternoon on ship relaxing penang- we got off ship and if you come out of the port and turn left and walk down main road parallel with sea you will come to the floating village at the other side of the bus garage, opposite the entrance at the other side of the street walk up this road and you will come to tourist areas street art on walls and Chinatown etc at the bus garage we negotiated an hour tour ( 55 local currency) with the taxi driver, he took us to park and temple tour of the area etc then back to town ( he was excellent and gave us an idea where we wanted to go kuala lumpur - went to twin tower building with taxi no option to get taxi other than taxi at port, the system is set price and clear prices, taxi for four is best option, deal with other people you meet to get four for taxi. singapore cruise disembarking, we left our cases at port (paid per case ) to get transported to airport collected at terminal 1, this allowed us to visit the marina gardens and get underground to airport when we were ready (about £3.75 each for underground ticket staff were very helpful) singapore airport is outstanding visit the mall it has soft play/shops/resturants you could easy spend hours here. relaxing with coffee or shopping Read Less

I chose this cruise due to its Itinerary and price. They were offering a low single supplement cost, which made it very attractive. I booked a single-supplement, mini-suite for $1,300 total. My expectations were low. I haven’t sailed NCL for many years. Most of my recent cruises have been on Cunard, but was using a recent RCCL cruise as a point of comparison. Comparing NCL to RCCL on these two cruises, I would definitely choose NCL over RCCL in the future. NCL’s not good at everything, but on the factors that make a cruise enjoyable for me, they did very well. My room was smartly appointed and quiet despite being under the pool deck and having a connecting door. The bathroom was well thought-out as well with terrific water-pressure, a large tub, and the ability to close off each area from the other, allowing a couple or family to use different functions simultaneously. My stateroom itself was large and smartly designed. I was in stateroom 11540 a mini-suite located directly beneath the pool deck. I think this is not the room for you if you’re very noise sensitive. But it was not too much of an issue for me. I brought a small fan both to aid air circulation and to provide white noise. I think NCL did a good job insulating these rooms from the noise above. I only really noticed the noise of loungers being stacked or unstacked around 9am and 9pm. The noise was not that loud, nor did it last more than 30 minutes or so. I rarely heard noise from the hallway or adjoining staterooms, which I have heard on other cruise ships. I don’t really participate in any activities or watch much entertainment. Everything on ships like these are too loud and crowded for me, so I tend to seek out quieter spots on the ship. I was able to find some nice relaxing areas on the Jade. First, signing up for the thermal spa was smart. It is very quiet there and has great views over the bow of the ship. It’s a great spot to take a steam, sit in a hot tub, or just read. There were also other good spots to quietly watch the world float by. I also think most of the perfunctory exercises (including embarkation and disembarkation) were well organized. I didn’t sit needlessly on long annoying lines, which I really do appreciate. As for the less satisfying aspects of this ship: I think the food lacked quality, and generally service was robotic, oblivious and sometimes downright incompetent. I cannot count the number of times I was served coffee without sugar, or toast without a knife to spread butter or jam, or french fries without ketchup. With some exceptions the staff seems to maintain a general disdain for their guests. With the exception of staff that had to acknowledge guests as part of their function, staff seemed completely disinterested in greeting or acknowledging their guests. Unfortunately I ate most of my meals in the buffet, which I know is not a good idea, but on this ship it provided an astonishing education in the creative use of leftovers. I don’t think I ate a single buffet item all week that wasn’t a leftover from another venue. Leftover steak? Add onions and peppers and call it Lomo Saltado! Left over cabbage? Add vinegar and something orange and let’s call it Kimchi! And every single “chef’s special” dessert was simply a “bread pudding” made up of that morning’s mushed-up, left-over french toast! both brilliant and gross at the same time, but it certainly doesn’t make for good eating, and it doesn’t show much respect for your guests. But alas, I don’t go on cruises to eat great food, or see world-class entertainment. I go on cruises to comfortably experience places I haven’t been to before. NCL Jade provided a comfortable, quiet room that took me to visit new cities and at a very reasonable price. I can’t complain too much about that. Read Less

Singapore was amazing, I called based my trip on the movie Crazy Rich Asians, It was my first time to Asia. Singapore did not fail, it was amazing city, I was there a total of 8 days. My cruise was either hit or miss with Guest Services and very rude main dinning room employees. 1st my room was underneath the prep kitchen, everymornign at 2:15, they would start banging and dropping things. I complained several times, one time one of the GS came to room at 3AM to see what the noise was. I asked if he was kidding, he could not hear the noise. By the fourth night, I said either move me, or let disembark, I can't go on a couple of hours sleep each night. They moved me 5 cabins down and it was much better, although a pain to pack and unpack again. 3rd night, after two nights of seeing people in shorts and flip flops in main dinning, I went with Bermuda shorts, collared shirt and closed toe shoes. I was literally yelled at by a seating person, then yelled at by the hostess. The manager afterwards came to see me and explained thegy relax the rules for the first two nights and last night, but not the rest??? The servers in Bliss broke my room card 3 times, i finally stopped ordering anything to drink there, because I then had to line up for 30 mins to get a new card each time. The worst was the tour to Bangkok, we left 30 mins late, a couple disappeared for 30 mins, they left the hottest part of the tour till 3pm. It was a tour of the grand Palace, where you needed to wear pants and shirts. Our tour guide kept having team meetings in the Sun, I nearly had heat stroke, my HR went to 151, I left the tour, got water and drenched myself, ripped off my long pants and t-shirt. When I complained about the lack of organization on the tour, showed the NCL rep my HR jump and the fact that another two people also experienced this, it was an oh well. 2nd worst tour, being trapped in a bus for 20 mins, bus was locked solid and no way out. New Years, lucky no one died. People were using the lounge chairs to climb onto of the rood of Deck 14. There were no railings, if someone slipped, they were going overboard. We told three officers, the answer " oh well its New Years eve" The final icing on the cake was the last night and the return of our passports. I was supposed to get it 7PM, i went down from our groups regular meeting at 6:45. I got to the desk at 7:10. I was then rudely told Canadian passports were not ready and to come back. I asked why no announcements were made, was then told by another GS member they had, I just did not hear it. I then pointed out 5 others from Canada, who all had waited in the line, none of us heard it. That is when she went beyond rude and just called the next person. I did not move. If they were behind, they should not have waited to the last minute to tell people. I finally got my passport at 9pm. The entire experience felt like the crew were all new with the exception of a few bar staff in the upper bars like spinnaker or the servers on breakfast. One lunch meal, we hadn't even started eating when the crew started clearing the bread plates. The staff in the Casino were some of the best and not just because I won. I probably spent 6+ hours in line ups to clear up their mistakes. At least I was not like one passenger who went to the medical team with a sore throat and then was quarantined in her cabin for a day, no food other than consume, no refund for excursions she missed, nothing, but her key taking away from her. Lots of people were coughing, this just seemed overkill. Read Less

This was our first experience on Norwegian. It was chosen mainly to perfectly fit over Xmas shutdown and for itinerary, despite overpriced airfares from Sydney to Singapore during busy holiday time. Overall , it was a very pleasant experience and I would recommend it. I could have done better for the shore excursion value but you pay for convenience. From start: We arrived to Singapore late at night and had a decent stay in Holiday Inn Express. We left at 11:00am , for MSC embarkation. Embarkation was challenging as NCL does not allocate time slots as other cruise companies, so this took two to three hours. Signing for Vietnam and Cambodian visa was easy but pricy and I was prepared to pay. We are Australians, so it costed us about A$200 each. We stayed in a balcony cabin 9112, which was of a reasonable size and clean. However there was a weird tapping noise all night probably from air conditioning. I have requested a fix or a change and we were moved to 10100 before lunch time following day. It was inconvenient to have to pack and move all our stuff but we did have some help from NCL. Jade was nice, smallish ship, adequate for our needs. First port was Koh Samui , and we opted for the beach, to have nice relaxing experience. Be aware of dodgy prices for cabs. We went to Nikki Beach Club, the cab fare should be around 300tbht. For Bangkok, I have booked shore excursion for two of us at A$482.00. I was not able to find anything prior to cruise privately. This was a little overpriced, it was a long but pleasant drive to the Grand Pallace, then nice lunch in a nice hotel then stop at an overpriced souvenir shop. We had overnight at Laem Chabang, we could have gone to Bangkok and stayed overnight and do a bot more sightseeing on our own. Following day we spent in Pattaya , we did shore excursion Pattaya on your own, overpriced US$59 ( same trip at the dock with a local tour $20). Then we had what was supposed to be two days in Singapore, we haven’t paid for any excursion, we moved around via metro. All you need to do is tap your credit card, no cueing for tickets. It was perfect, such a lovely city. Visited usual hot tourist spot, had lovely lunch at Marina Bay Sands, went to Gardens at night for light show, it was New Years Eve , it was perfect. Then onto Jade for a massive party. However the following morning was disappointing as we were sailing, I thought we had until 5:00 pm in Singapore. NCL mislead us in advertising, they did not advertise 5:00am, and 5 hours in a day hardly constitutes a day at port. Anyway we were going back to Singapore at disembarkation so I did not let this ruin my day. Cambodia was interesting, but so dusty due to massive Government projects. Bathrooms are challenging.... Market too busy, did not feel very safe and looked forward to return to Jade’s. Overpriced shore excursion at A$382.00 for two of us. Vietnam was a highlight of this trip, beautiful cities, I wish we had more time. Booked through shore excursion , it was excellent. We did Malaysia KL on our own, we wanted more freetime. If itwasn’t that hot, would be perfect. Phuket, we took a cab to the beach to enjoy the sunshine. I wish I had more time for shopping during this trip in general. Shops on the ship are very basic, nothing like Celebrity, but it is mainly due to ship size. Food on the ship was extraordinary. My gluten free needs were taken care promptly with preordering day in advance (thanks to Mary). Staff at the restaurants are amongst friendliest I’ve ever seen. We did not have set time for seating, and walked in every day. Lovely Paola was allocating always beautiful window tables for us and we thoroughly enjoyed the experience and ate at the main dining whenever available. Also, beds were not as comfortable as in the previous cabin and lovely staff gladly replaced the mattresses for a brand new ones. Internet is slow when everyone is on ship, overpriced for $450. If you don’t have needs wait until you come off the ship and use free wifi elsewhere. Entertainment was relatively good , some shows are exceptional, some I left at the beginning. Overall we had a wonderful experience and looking forward to cruise with NCL later this year ( should have taken advantage of Cruise Next !) Read Less

My husband and I chose this cruise as the first part of a back-to-back cruise because of its price and itinerary. We enjoy having sea days so the first and last days as sea days were quite relaxing. Because the price was so low, we had a forward-facing suite. It was perfect! Because we were in a suite, we got concierge and butler service. Though we didn't use the concierge or butler for anything special, we enjoyed the embarkation/debarkation process and the contact point should we run into any issues. Sumedh (concierge) and Lucas (his assistant) were very friendly and helpful. We were able to meet in a small location (as opposed to the theatre) when we were on excursions and made it to the bus first. We also skipped much of the hassle in debarkation, where the queue was madness. Another perk was lunch at Cagney's. Normally, we opt for O'Sheehans and have a small lunch of soup or wings. But, I always ordered the half portion of fettuccini. The servers got to know my order and were always so friendly. The entertainment was meh. But, what do you expect for the price we paid? The magician was clumsy, the dancing put us to sleep, and while the acrobats were good, nothing was memorable. The cruise director staff was amazing thought! We participated in the Newlywed, Not So Newlywed Game for the first time (and won)! Jerry (cruise director) and Jonny (asst. cruise director) were amazing! They were entertaining, constantly visible, and greeted us. I would have preferred more trivia and activities. I get that the ship passengers weren't much on joining in, but I wanted to join in more and wanted more activities. On the downside, because the cruise was so cheap, most people that chose to cruise didn't have the drinks package and didn't really leave their cabins. This made the ship feel quite empty and I felt bad for the bored bar staff. On the plus side, this made the ship feel very uncrowded. In fact, the specialty restaurants were never hard to get into and I don't think reservations were required. The only packed restaurant was Jasmine's. We also loved the time in ports and the quality of the ports. There was only one tender (Phuket) and that seemed to run very smoothly. Langkawi was beautiful just for its nature and scenery. We encountered many monkeys who tried to steal from us. We went on the nature boat ride and saw many otters, monkeys, bats, eagles, fish, and even a viper. In Phuket, we did the Phang Na Bay excursion which felt a bit crowded (would have preferred half the excursion size) but was breathtaking. In Penang, we chose the temple and hill excursion, but could have done so much more. We loved Penang. The restaurants were all very nice, including the main dining restaurants. Granted, this was my 9th NCL cruise and the only other cruise line I've taken was Carnival, I don't have a lot to compare to. However, I'm a huge foodie whose lived in France, the US, and the UK now and I do enjoy a good Michelin star dining. I would have to say that the food was quite good. There were some dishes that were overly salted and others we didn't care for. But, you can tell the servers that you didn't like it and order something else. I've found that Le Bistro isn't the best. The veal is one of the best menu options and I recently ordered the lamb, which now is a new favourite. Cagney's never disappoints. Sometimes I feel like we have too much food! Teppanyaki is more about the entertainment than the food and sometimes I need to say rare rather than medium rare to achieve a medium rare cook. But, I love teppanyaki and always make it a stop every time (just for the novelty). We tried La Cucina for the first time on this cruise and wow were amazed in a positive way. If you expect the American version of Italian food, then maybe it's not for you. It truly is more Italian because of the way they cook the pasta. Though, some of the preparations seem geared toward an American palate. Read Less

We got a great deal for a 6 night Asia cruise Singapore - Singapore. We had a room with a window, 5078. The room was clean and reasonably spacious, it had heaps of storage, and i was impressed by the comfy beds and the bathroom was larger than i have experienced on other ships with a separate space for the toilet rather than being jammed up against the basin. The entertainment was excellent and we really enjoyed the nightly shows, we had an illusionist, an outstanding aerial acrobatics couple, great dancers, and great ballroom dancers. We spent time at many of the bars and lounges participating in various entertainment such as quizzes, bingo, competitions. The prizes for quizzes and comps were a little lacking but we still had fun. We enjoyed the food, with plenty of variety. We ate in the Grand Pacific and Alizar dining rooms in the evenings and enjoyed the service. We also ate at Osheens for lunch and found the shepherds pie to be be homely and delicious. And of course the Garden Cafe, which sounds so much posher than "the buffet", which had a great selection of food but, like all buffets, was too noisy and busy for my liking. However, I did like the made to order omelettes and crepes though! The outside part of the Garden Cafe was open long hours and had a small selection of food as well as drinks, and became a favourite place for us to have relax and enjoy the views or to have a late night hot chocolate and sneaky cookie after all the shows before we went to bed. We organised our own shore days. Embarkation was efficient. Disembarkation was slow, but there was another ship there too so i don't think it was NCL Jades fault. All staff were very happy and friendly. This short cruise was over too quickly, and i cant wait to book another cruise, and would happily book NCL and the Jade again. Read Less

We chose this trip because the Asian itinerary was perfect for us. Our main complaint was the shore excursion desk. -Sent changes to 5 of our excursions as soon as we boarded -Rude and abrupt when we asked questions to book new tours -Unorganized in meeting areas. People stood/huddled around the exists to be the first to disembark. -Consistently spoke down to us -Disregarded meeting times on tickets. I arrived 10 minutes early and was told the passengers had already left for the excursions. -Untrustworthy. Had to arrive half an hour before excursions -Mass chaos instead of exiting in single file/ row by row -Was to told to repeatedly return to follow up on a credit for a cancelled excursion -Set a negative tone of dread when going to meet for an excursion -Encouraged pushing and shoving when exiting the ship -I was shoved by passengers running to be seated first on the bus. The ship was definitely in need of a mood "lift" . The worst restaurant service we received was in the dining room for lunch by three servers on three different occasions. The worst "hit" was when I called their customer service desk upon returning home, I was told I was lying that I had followed up with customer service on board the ship. My husband was also bored with the entertainment. Especially on sea days. Ghosted by customer service after the cruise. Will not be sailing with Norwegian again. Read Less

I have sailed over 25 cruises and this was my third with NCL. I was reluctant to go on NCL since my first two cruises were very disappointing. I chose this cruise because of its very nice itinerary. First the good, the ship was better than anticipated. The Jade is 13 years old and my experience with refurbished ships are they are like a pair of jeans that is washed. They are clean but clearly used. However, this ship looked fresh. The ship was confusing in that they had cabins both odd and even numbers on both the port and stern sides and there was minimal marking for where you were situated Aft versus Mid Ship etc. Dining- Mixed review here. The food in the cafe I would give a B+. The variety was good and the food was for the most part very good. The main dining room I would give a C-. The food was for the most part tasty but the menu selections were sub-standard. 17 day cruise and there was not a single shrimp in any dish, no escargot, no escargot, no lobster. The beef entry on one evening was a "Texas Hamburger" For desert, no Cherry Jubilee, Baked Alaska, or even cheese cake. It obvious that NCL's strategy is not to make its specialty dining exquisite, it is to make its regular dining room ordinary. The service in the main dining room was for the most part very slow with the average dinner taking 1 3/4 hours and twice over two. Service on the remainder of the ship was comparable with other cruises. The onboard entertainment gets a C+ with 4 groups. One excellent, one above average and two substandard. The evening shows get a C. The ships orchestra and singers and dancers were comparable to other ships but used sparingly. Each guest entertainer had shows on two nights. One illusionist who you could easily figure out his magic a German entertainer playing the xylophone, and the Pan flute and a juggler who could not keep his juggling rings in the air. Hardly comparable with other cruises. In summary, though this was my best experience with NCL they will continue to be a last choice for me. It is clear that of the major lines, Celebrity is still the top rung, Royal Caribbean, Princess, and the Carnival lines a second tier and NCL the Walmart of the major lines. Satisfactory but not exemplary. Read Less

We sailed from Abu Dhabi; our travel agent offered us an all-inclusive deal with flights, transfers, cruise, and drinks packages. O Our Cabin Steward Oliver was pleasant & very helpful. We discover on this cruise that we could have fresh coffee and tea at the little Cafe on deck 6. It also served snacks and small cakes throughout the day. The live entertainment was too good, There were enough sun loungers except for the day at sea when it was very busy up on deck. We did the Dinner in the desert in Dubai, Dubai City Tour, Abu Dhabi City Tour and the Fujairah east coast city tour with www.suncitydubai.com, they were great. and provide multi-port tours. On leaving the ship we were able to check in our luggage and get our boarding passes in the port. I thought this was a great feature and wish it was offered in all the ports around the world! Overall we had a very satisfying cruise, the drinks differed from bar to bar, so try them all. Read Less

We started in Rome & ended in Dubai. Boarding in Rome was very easy. I’m a platinum plus, so zipped right thru. Only one complaint. For some reason, every one of our umbrellas were taken out of our luggage when we boarded. ??? 3 of them? Every port was easy on & off. Oman & Fujairah were shipping ports, so not designed for ships yet. But transportation were brought to ship. Food in buffet was great for breakfast. Same old complaints.. people would eat & then just sit. This made it difficult to find seats. We just went by pool. Beautiful & not crowded. Never ate buffet for dinner. Had 2 free upgraded. Loved Cagney’s. The Brazilian steak house was just too much meat. The Main dining room was fantastic. Even had my waitress from my trip on the Jewel from the year before. Always plenty of pool seats. Shows were great. Plenty of seats. Didn’t do casino. Staff was great as always. The Captain was absolutely fantastic. He got on the air every morning. Gave us cheery information about the days events. His humor was so uplifting. The meet & greets with the top staff members were a blast. All questions were quickly answered. Only one person made it a complaint session. They immediately took her aside & got the her information to see if they could help. She apparently bought some jewelry at a store the NCL tour guide recommended and it was fake. They said the guides are independent, but would help if possible. The port information was almost correct. Some were said to have shuttles, but then, the transportation cane right to ship. The worst port for unorganized tours was in Egypt. It was a mad house to get the taxis. Going back to the ship, it was one if my best cruises ever!!! Read Less

My wife and I are, generally speaking, destination-driven. This itinerary really appealed to us because we had not been to the Holy Land, nor to the Middle East. The stops were interesting and historical. NCL, IMO, continues to nickle and dime us for every possible sale. At some point, you half-expected someone to get in the elevator with you to sell you something: excursions, spa treatments, specialty dining, drink packages, beverage packages, etc. etc. etc. etc. Yet, they can't offer a free bottle of water.....No, they can't, but oh, how about buying a water bottle package? (The running joke is that NCL stands for No Cash Left.) NOTE: Interesting that NCL sent us a questionnaire upon our return, but the "Comments" section link was either broken or disabled so that no comments were able to be delivered. Ship was nice, cabin was very nice. Crew was exception, in my opinion, throughout the ship, restaurants, etc. Pollite, helpful, professional (except for the first two days when EVERYONE is trying to sell you something. They make the hawkers in Jerusalem and the Valley of the Kings seem like amateurs! Initial boarding in Rome was horrible....seemed to have little organization, few updates. The local port debarkations were generally smooth, much better. Final debarkation was very smooth. Entertainment was NOT what was originally promised. When we signed on, I recall being offered Howl at the Moon and Million Dollar Quartet. Both were listed, neither showed. Excursions were good, but we are gradually learning that we can get good quality excursions from local resources and often at prices much less expensive than through the ship's offers. Use Trip Advisor to get a list of good, local operators with excellent reviews. Speaking of reviews, why are there NO REVIEWS on any of the NCL excursions offered? So, on balance, our (fourth) trip on NCL was good, not great. Cruise ports were great. Read Less

We chose this cruise as an experience of a lifetime. To see places such as Petra and the Suez Canal. We have traveled extensively over our life time. Our previous cruises were fantastic and we decided to try a different cruise line and experience different countries by cruising. The first half of the cruise up until the end of the Suez Canal was as we expected. The shore excursions were very good. We visited Petra and Wadi Rum, which we expected to be our highlight of the trip. Although we enjoyed it I feel this could have been done better. For example everyone was not expecting it to be so cold. Everyone I spoke to had, as did I focused on the dress code for these countries and we were unaware of the temperatures we experienced especially at night. The service was generally very good however guest service’s staff were quit rude at times towards myself and a number of other guests. I understand it’s a very difficult job however customer service and staff training should prepare them for most situations. Dining option were good what let this down was the repetitive options offered and the service by some staff. Four dining experiences in the main dining restaurant were horrible with grumpy/angry staff who served us with an attitude fit for a roadhouse. The ship overall was very good the cabin also very good and the Cabin service was awesome Entertainment and activities were ok just needed more physical activities examples badminton, more dance classes. Photo packages so expensive that people we spoke to left with nothing as did we, which was very disappointing Read Less