This was the second time I had cruised with NCL, the first being last summer again on the NCL Jade and on the same route. For my friend it was her first NCL cruise. However in between we had also been on a short cruise to Lisbon on the P&O Ventura. So now it was going to be quite hard not to make comparisons, but I was pleasantly surprised at most of what I encountered. we did the Mediterranean trip on the 26th August 2009.

So first let's talk about the ship: The Jade is a beautiful ship, big, but not too large as some of the ships are now tending to become, the communal areas are also quite airy and roomy, something that was in places lacking on the Ventura- especially the bar areas. I was impressed at how clean these areas are kept, and the vigilance of staff in use of the sanitary hand gel when embarking, disembarking and entering the Garden Cafe restaurant, once again not emphasised on the Ventura, surprisingly really, as we went on both cruises during the peak of the 'swine flu' era!

The pool area on the Jade however is a problem, it is too small for the number of people and the children and teenagers are allowed to run amok in supposed adult only areas. Another adult only pool, maybe away from that of the children would be welcomed. Of the 2000 passengers we had 800 children on board, sometimes the ratio seemed reversed, so NCL needs to address the needs of its adult passengers too. I know that NCL are plying for the family market, however singles do still use these cruises, why should we be delegated to 'singles' or 'adult only' cruises. If another pool is not possible then the enforcement of the supposed rules would alleviate matters and would easily show respect for the single traveler. We saw only one crew member attempting to enforce rules, even though we expressed concerns to more than one, the poor guy had his job cut out with the 'big man' back-chat of some of the 'lads' obviously teenage hormones at their peak! Similarly I did not think that cruising was supposed to be a reflection of a cheap Spanish holiday; according to NCL reserving of sun beds is not allowed but it occurred profusely, and no attempt by crew seemed to be made to prevent this. To avoid the 'teenage rampage' we bought access to the spa area - what a godsend! This is beautiful and peaceful, a real luxury and worth every penny. Read more