We had a group of 12 of us sail aboard the NCL Jade over Christmas and New Years for an 11 day Panama Canal Cruise.

Food - We had 4 specialty dining reservations to use on our cruise. We did the Teppanyaki and Cagney's which were very good. Teppanyaki was entertaining and the food was good. Cagney's was very good, steak was tender and cooked perfect. Service in both these restaurants was good. We also did Moderno and La Cucina. The service was good in both but the food left a lot to be desired. Moderno's salad bar was great but the meats served were very dry and tasteless. La Cucina just didn't do it for us. Now outside of these specialty dining restaurants we ate in both the Pacific and Alizar dining rooms. We made reservations due to being a group of 12 rather than taking our chances on going in at anytime and trying to get a table large enough for us. The service in the dining rooms was atrocious! Other than the hostesses welcoming you no one even said hi. The servers would come right over and expect you to know exactly what you want without even time to review the menu. Often your drinks would arrive after your meal. God forbid they ever come back and check on how you are or ask if you'd like another drink. The food was not good and the combinations of items was bizarre, almost seemed like what ever was left from the buffet earlier in the day or the next day was thrown in as the side or to create a recipe. We ate at Jasmine Café one night for dinner and it took over 30 minutes from the time we were seated for anyone to even come over. O'Sheehan's was so bad one day my cousin went down to the buffet and brought up some pizza and small stuff for the kids to eat so they could stop waiting. The buffet was repetitive and not very tasty.

Activities and Entertainment - Let's start by the only activity is the pool, there is really nothing on this boat to do. The kids were so bored. The kids club was a bit too babyish for the 9 and 12 year old. The teen club was pretty good for the 15 year old. The 19 and 21 year old were bored to death. The best shows were those that involved the audience in the spinnaker lounge such as Newlywed Game and Dancing with the stars, these were very entertaining. The planned shows in the theater were ok. This boat might be ok for a short cruise but after 11 days all we wanted to do was get off. There is not even a movie screen out at the pool or anywhere on the boat. The gym was very small. I paid for unlimited classes, $80. I would not do that again as they were only $12 per class and I only ended up going to 3. The pm times always conflicted with dinner and the am times only worked for non port days. Read more