I took this cruise after having taken my first cruise last year to Alaska on the Ruby Princess. I was hesitant to try a new cruise line, as I really enjoyed my Alaska trip. However, a good friend highly recommended Norwegian, so we took a chance on the nine-day itinerary through Northern Europe on the Norwegian Jade. I'm so glad we did.

When we first booked, I was a tad turned off by all of the photos of the ship, as it appeared outdated and worn. However, shortly thereafter, I learned that the ship was being refurbished in early 2017. The ship ended up being beautiful. All of the finishes were clean and modern, and it had a very elegant feel to it. There was nothing super extravagant about the ship, but it was clean and well-done down to the last detail.

We were in a mini-suite on deck 11 and it was great. The room was well laid out and the bathroom was really nice sized. It had a separate toilet and shower, so it felt bigger than what you would expect. Our steward was good, although we didn't interact with him too much. You hear stories of people who become best friends with their steward, but apparently I'm doing something wrong because I didn't find a lot of opportunities to chat other than in passing. Nonetheless, the room was always clean and he provided and/all information promptly and efficiently. Read more