Norwegian Jade Review
Tampa to Eastern Caribbean; Great Way to Cruise
Rating by category
Additional details
We live about an hour north of Port Tampa. Twelve of us went on this cruise. We contracted for Barracuda Transportation to take all of us to the port together. We would definitely use them again. We did our own thing during the day and met for drinks and dinner at night. We met in Magnum's Bar each night, as one of our couples was 80 plus. It was centrally located to the casino, restaurants, and the theatre. We enjoyed the game shows in the Spinnaker Lounge on the 13th deck in the evenings after the shows.
The size of the ship is just right, about 2400 passengers. The Buffet on deck 12 was excellent. We had breakfast and lunch up there for most of our cruise. The Grand Pacific restaurant has wonderful windows for a gracious dining experience. The Alizer restaurant had lower ceilings with smaller windows and many banquettes for seating. We found the food to be just average - nothing to write home about. I was surprised that there were two very small pools. There was an area of the pool deck that was not in use during the entire cruise which was a bit inconvenient.
We enjoyed the ports - Antigua, St. Johns, St.Maarten, San Juan, and Key West. We took no excursions as we decided the local taxi service would be cheaper in getting us to the beaches. San Juan is a hilly city to walk, but the old architecture is worth walking a few blocks from the ship's pier. Loved the blue brick/cobblestone streets!
Cabin Review
Balcony
Bathroom is more crowded with the sliding doors to the shower (good) and the toilet (not so good). Plenty of drawer, shelf and hanging spaces. Why do ships put the hair dryer on the right? I use a brush in my right hand and dryer in my left. The cord is always in the way!
Port Reviews
Tampa
We are from the Tampa area. If you have time, visit Ybor City and have lunch at Columbia Restaurant, a genuine Cuban restaurant. The buildings of the University of Tampa are very historic and worth a stop too.
Tortola
Grabbed a taxi and went to the beach. The beach was somewhat small, but a good walking beach.
Antigua
We grabbed a taxi and went to the beach which had nice sand and beautiful waters. We were able to walk quite a ways.
St. Maarten
We grabbed a taxi and went to the French side where we had pastries and coffee. That side of the island had a good bazaar area with good crafts and local artists. We walked the shopping area on the Dutch side. Many stores, especially jewelry, again.
San Juan
We were in port on the last day of a festival. Many streets were blocked off to traffic. Taxis were hard to find. We decided to walk to Fort El Morro (quite a hike) and back. Very interesting piece of history. If you are a senior bring your National Park pass and you can get in for free. Old San Juan is very hilly, and some of the streets are hard to navigate as they are made from ships' ballast - blue bricks and cobblestones. Worth getting off the ship!