Norwegian Jade Review
Rating by category
Additional details
I was looking for a last minute, affordable solo cruising experience and found it with NCL's Jade and a Western Caribbean cruise 16-23 January 2016.
Finding any deals for solo cruisers has been almost impossible these days and I do not understand why the cruise lines seem to have all started charging a full 100% single supplement for all cabins; we used to get a break if we were willing to take inside, lower deck cabins but no longer. I was fortunate in that after several days of shopping online this particular cruise price dropped to a 50% supplement. I tried to book immediately on NCL's website but it really is not user friendly at all as it will only show some decks and not all on which cabins are available. Frustrated, I had to go to a local travel agent and even she had to really hunt to get all the available cabin information. Note to NCL: redesign your website; see Princess's if you need a model as there is no problem booking any deck with available cabins on their website.
Since Houston is a United Airlines hub and I was able to get a decent airfare a month out and arrived the evening before. Houston Intercontinental has a Marriott hotel within the airport but it is very expensive so I elected to stay at the nearby Baymont Inn and Suites which offered free breakfast and airport shuttle. It's also next door to a Sonic Drive-inn, Waffle House, and a convenience store.
Cabin Review
Inside
The cabin was quite snug but fine for a single passenger. I had requested the bed in a single, queen bed set-up and then moved it to one side of the room. With it centered, you had to duck around the folded-up bunk bed on some side and attempt to shimmy around the other side by the small take that was only 6 inches away. I definitely recommend getting the twin bed configuration if you are sharing these cabins with someone.
That said the bed was very comfortable although that may be in part because I pre-ordered and foam topper for it. Otherwise the furniture consisted of a small table and with straight back chair with a television on the shelf above and a tiny stool in front of a small counter. There were three drawers and five open shelves in addition to the closet--again O.K. for a single but might be tight for two. There was also a mini-bar that was actually cold enough for storing milk--yahoo!
And the shower---OMG, I loved the shower which was almost twice the size as most inside cabins provide and it had a sliding door instead of one of those flimsy curtains that always let the water all over the floor. Storage around the sink was the usual size for most cruise ships.
A nifty feature on the Jade are these dials outside your door where you can move the wheel to say Do Not Disturb, Welcome, Please Make up the Cabin, etc. A much handier way than those cardboard things you hang on the door knob on other ships.
My major criticism of the cabins was the lack of information. There was no information binder in the cabin as I've found on other cruise lines so the only source of information was the daily program which was not great. This meant there was no phone directory or no list of television channels. Fortunately I had learned from another CC review that I could request from the front desk a schedule of movies for the week; this was very nice as I'm a big movie lover.
This cabin's location (Deck 9, aft) was ideal for someone like me who likes quiet. I never heard anything--it was great. And there was quick access to the stairs/elevators to the dining areas.