We just got off the Jade from the February 13 trip out of Barcelona. I have never bothered to right a review before but after reading some of the negative comments, I thought I would set the record straight. First nearly everyone on board booked this cruise with the expectation we were going to Egypt. Naturally we were disappointed when events made that port impossible. I give NCL a lot of credit for arraigning Istanbul as an alternative stop and quickly arranging tours. I

This was my 4th cruise on NCL and I pretty much knew what to expect. If you expect to be pampered and have your every wish immediately attended to, this is not the cruise for you. NCL provides a good value for the independent traveler, but it is not a luxury cruise line.

First, I noticed they were cutting back in certain areas like the free champaign we used to get at boarding and the candy at bedtime. We didn't get these little perks but to be honest it was not a big deal. When we got on board around 1 PM our cabin was ready and I met the cabin attendant. We had a balcony BB class on deck 9 and it was just fine. The bed was comfortable, there was adequate storage, decent reading light by the bed, really perfectly fine for a cruise cabin. The bathroom was small and and I don't know how a really large person could even get into the toilet area. I did notice there was no ice bucket and talked to the cabin attendant about it. This is another cut back. They now only provide ice if you ask for it. I asked for it and my cabin attendant, Sam was great. Twice a day I received fresh ice for the entire trip. The cabin guys were all great, really worked hard and our room was always made up promptly. I swear they know exactly when you leave and they immediately come in to do their straightening up. By the way, they do now provide a coffee maker with coffee, tea, etc. in each cabin. Read more