The Jade is a great ship. It was easy to get around, and we didn’t find it to be crowded. We were able to get a chair on the pool deck without much searching. We liked the Great Outdoors on non-windy days. The Spinnaker lounge was a great place to watch the ship come into port. We liked visiting the Bridge viewing room. We didn’t care for the smoky smell in the casino. We discovered the Blackjack machine with the machine dealer in the Spinnaker , but it was full of players each time we checked, so we never got to try it.

We never had to wait for a table for 2 at dinner in the Grand Pacific. (We usually went between 5 and 5:45). We also had most breakfasts and lunches there as well, and were always taken care of. We were disappointed that our Belize tour was cancelled (not enough people signed up for it) and we didn’t receive notice till we returned to our room the night before. We had to scramble to study the other tours, and the Shore Excursion Team squeezed us into another tour that turned out not to be full after all. All of our excursions were through NCL, so we had priority tendering. Our Steward was Wyvon (Charli) and he took good care of us. The buffet is set up with many smaller stations so you do not need to stand in long lines to get a full meal.

Before the cruise we stayed 2 nights at the Springhill Suites in Seabrook. They have a $10/person shuttle to the Houston port (run by Al Austin) that leaves every half hour starting at 10:00. The hotel was nice with a good complimentary breakfast. There are several places to dine within ½ mile (Mario’s Flying Pizza was great) and many that deliver. The Walgreens and Krogers are about a ½ mile away. Read more