This was a Scandinavian mini-cruise, outside of the Jade's usual Mediterranean schedule. It had an interesting itinerary and departure/arrival was only 20 miles from our home. DW and I were new to NCL, but not new to cruising (4x Carnival so far). It seemed a good way to get acquainted with NCL and see if the freestyle concept suited us. We booked direct with NCL Europe, initially an oceanview stateroom (5100). The upsell fairy contacted us 2 months before departure and we upgraded to a mini-suite (11022) for a very good price.
Day 1 - embarkation Rotterdam (Netherlands)
Easiest start of a cruise ever! No long-haul flight to the USA, just a short 25 minute drive from home. We arrived around 12:15 PM at the (historic) cruise terminal in the center of Rotterdam. It was a typical Dutch scene: disorganized, yet oddly efficient. The actual embarkation was a breeze, we were on board in under half an hour.
Good location. Close to FWD elevators and stairs to Spinnaker Lounge. No outside noise, quiet card room directly above.Balcony is very large (compared to Carnival, at least twice the area).