We had sailed with NCL before on the Gem Inaugural, and had enjoyed that immensely, and now we sailed on on the Jade to celebrate 35th Anniversary and much more. We had booked the Romance Suite, joined the Roll Call and had very high expectations having sampled Cagney's for breakfast at the invitation of Claudio the Concierge on the Gem. We were first in line at check in, and that went very smoothly, before being ushered into the VIP Lounge for snacks and refreshments. We had travelled from Scunthopre to Barcelona by train, which had taken 24 hours, and we can highly recommend the Joan Miro Sleeper service from Paris to Barcelona (check out www.seat61.com). Ruth the Concierge, issued our tickets and we were onboard before 11 and wandering round looking at the Hawaiian art decor. We were first for lunch in Cagney's and met Daniela and Maria and Davor and the pleasure began. The team in Cagney's were beyond perfect, always smiling, pleasant and they soon became good friends with everyone. Boat drill, a quick snooze and ready for action at Le Bistro to enjoy the first culinary experience of the cruise. It is easy to criticize, but believe us when we say that there was nothing to complain about at all. Day two and the Meet and Greet went well, with some interesting questions for the Captain and his team, all dealt with in a professional manner, it must be said. At the Meet and Greet it was great to put faces to Avatars and we made friends that day that will stay with us for a long time. We only ate breakfast and Lunch in Cagney's because the Cagney's Team looked after us so well, we could ask for nothing more and were always welcomed and treated like long lost friends. We ate in Jasmine Gardens and dressed up for the Captains Cocktail Party and the visit to the Courtyard and on both those nights ate at the Grand Pacific where again, the food was excellent and the welcome wonderful. I had the honor of being the only person aboard wearing a kilt and got some interesting comments and offers! We really enjoyed the trip to the Fire Mountain on Lanzarote but have to tell you that if you are a nervous traveller that the coach driver is a true professional and you will feel safe in his hands. The Wine tasting was the only low point of the trip, and isn't worth getting off the coach for, but the lunch was excellent. Casablanca was very interesting, and the Mosque well worth the visit. At every other port of call we wandered ashore and had a great time, always managing to get back on board for Cagney's lunch, how sad were we!!! We were very lucky to be invited to a Cocktail Party in a Garden Villa and can tell you that it was an amazing experience. I now have to work for another five years to finance a cruise in that luxury. It was interesting to note that the two smaller bedrooms are actually Romance Suites, so you can understand that the Master Bedroom is out of this world. The Crew Show on the final night was so funny at times that I was crying with laughter, the statues just blew us away, but you had to be there to see them. Better than Perfect, you bet, we had very high expectations and it would be unfair to select any one individual for praise, but from Captain Tommy, Hotel Director Dwin, Cruise Director Jason, Concierge Ruth and everyone else we met on the Jade, thank you very much for making our cruise such a wonderful experience, so my only question is, where next and what will you do to better that?

John and Joan Terry 10666