My daughter and son in law booked this cruise for me I travelled with them but in my own cabin. It was a way I could experience cruising as a solo traveller but with them to fall back on after losing my husband and lifelong partner of 47 years. The ship was really good it did not have single cabin lounge but they did have a group that met for a drink and I even went for a meal with them one night. I met lots of lovely people and it has given me the confidence to maybe look at booking a cruise with one of the larger NCL ships with the special single studios next year. I cruised quite a bit with my husband but I have never cruised on the NCL line and was really impressed with the friendliness of all on board and the quality of the food. Read Less

Sailed with NCL a couple of times before - once to Alaska (Norwegian Sun) & the same cruise to Greek Islands 4 years ago. The Jade is starting to look a wee bit tired and probably in need of a refurb - but overall a very enjoyable trip. Balcony cabin on deck 9 was very comfortable with an extra large bed, the balcony a decent size (although not as clean as it should have been!). Food on the Jade was excellent - plenty of variety and choice in the Garden Cafe (buffet style) - if you couldn't find something to eat here you must have a problem !! Also, the Italian restaurant was excellent. The entertainment in the Stardust Theatre was always to a high standard and very professional. The majority of the crew were very friendly and helpful. Wouldn't hesitate to use NCL again but next time, to a different destination. Read Less

I titled this review “Returning to the Jade village” as it is like coming home as you get out of the van on the arrival at the port and you start to meet the old friends you made on previous cruises. A lot of interesting changes here since the last time we cruised on the Jade last October and nearly all for the better. The first improvement was that if you turn left on entering the check-in and are travelling in the Haven, check in is in the Concierges lounge and we were met at the door by Omar O’Bresso who we last met on the Norwegian Star, a quick check-in and we were en route to the ship and lunch in Cagney’s. Everywhere we went we met old friends, and once we settled down for lunch, the food seemed to have improved somewhat. We were a party of five, three first time cruisers and my DW and I. Our youngest member was our three year old DGS and he soon made many friends around the ship. There have been some positive changes on the Jade ahead of her refit and it was good to see that i-concierge was available and the wifi had been given an overhaul, making it easier to log in and out and it was said to be four times faster. The only negative thing I can comment on is that most of the seats and tables including the bar stools have been removed from the Star Bar and it is now a dark soulless place with me often the only one in there. I know this will become Moderno after the refit, but it is dead now despite the very best efforts of the bartender. I chose not to get off the ship this time although the rest of the party did and had a great time. I had a great time too, meeting old friends and making new among the crew. The Haven staff were excellent, with Benjamin our Room Steward, Roberto the Courtyard Butler and Naveem our Butler looking after us very well indeed and all the staff at the restaurants we ate at, mainly Cagney’s, Le Bistro and La Cuccina were great, always fussing young Jack and making sure all went well. The food seems to have improved a lot, difficult to pin point but the steaks were excellent and the sea bass and salmon nearly perfect. Good quality food cooked to perfection. It will be very interesting to cruise on the Jade next September post refit and see how the changes work. All in all a great cruise, lovely people, excellent food and a nice way to spend a week in my “other” village. Read Less

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We chose this cruise because we have never been on an NCL cruise before and we also have not been to Greece and Venice before. This was our fifth cruise and we will definitely be sailing with NCL again! Embarkation: Embarkation in Venice was ok- not the best we have experienced as it was a long wait to board the ship. Ship: The ship has lots of Hawaiian decor from it's previous life as the pride of Hawaii, but it did not change our holiday in a any way shape or form. The Jade was always spotless and there were always workers cleaning away at the ship. Dining: The food on board was excellent. Lots of choice, our favourites being the Jasmine Garden asian restaurant, and the Blue Lagoon 24 hour eatery. Cabin: Our cabin was tiny, but it was manageable. Our room steward was excellent. Entertainment: The entertainment was excellent. We did not attend all shows, but the ones we attended were excellent. Special mention to the 4ever and the Elements show! We also really enjoyed the music on the ship, especially the showtime band. The cruise directors were phenomenal and made our holiday so much fun. There was something onboard for everyone, be it football tournaments or arts and crafts. Service: The service on board was second to none. Everyone was so smiley and helpful. Ports: Corfu: Did Corfu by ourselves. The old fortress is very nice with great views. Santorini: Did the 'Charming Oia Village' excursion. It was very nice to be able to not worry about tender tickets and cable car queues. Oia village is a must see. Mykonos: Did Mykonos by ourselves. There is a free shuttle to take you right into Mykonos town. Olympia: Booked a private excursion with Mr Theodoros Mamousis of 'Katakolon Taxi Tours to Olympia by Mamousis'. We found him on tripadvisor and he was amazing. He was the highlight of our trip and we highly recommend him! Venice: Visited Venice on our disembarkation day. We used the people mover to get into Venice. It was very good. For a more detailed review, check out my review on the cruise critic community forum! Read Less

First time cruise for our family and we loved every minute. We chose this cruise as we loved the itinerary, timing and price combination. We booked four speciality dining packages however the Ultimate Drinks Package was a free promotion when we booked. The cabin (with balcony) was perfect for 2 adults and 2 children, certainly plenty of room. we decided to book a balcony so we could spend time chilling out in the evening if the children were tired - this worked really well and we were pleased with our decision. Housekeeping was lovely and friendly and did a great job! The specialty restaurants were excellent however we probably would have been better to book 2 or 3 nights as we didn't get the chance to try some of the complimentary restaurants. Grand Pacific (complimentary) was excellent and much higher standard than expected. Cagney's, Le Bistro and The Teppanyaki were all excellent (the Teppanyaki was really good fun, the chef was very entertaining and the food was fantastic) . The Brazilian was good but nothing outstanding and we wouldn't book again. The main deck around the pools could get very busy/crowded at times and it was often difficult to find a sun lounger, the staff would remove towels that had been left unattended for more than 30 minutes but on a couple of occasions this caused a few problems when the owners retuned to find someone else on their sun bed. (not aggressive but a bit uncomfortable) The music on the main deck around the pools was good fun and the atmosphere was great on the whole but sometimes just felt too busy again was great to get away to the peace of our balcony. I feel the swimming pools are on the small side for so many people however the children adored the water slide. I have seen comments from others saying the drinks service was slow so I was expecting to wait quite some time for drinks but we didn't find this at all and were very happy .. TIP - the Pina Colada, its fab. Only attended the elements entertainment show which was pretty good but its not really our thing so didn't attend any others. All the ports were lovely - we did the Greek Opa Celebration shore excursion in Santorini, it was expensive but we decided to treat ourselves as it sounded original and good fun. It didn't disappoint! We laughed all evening , thoroughly enjoyed the dancing and breaking plates (my favourite part). My only complaint with this excursion was the limited time we spent in Oia, we were only given 1 hour which was far too short to wander around this beautiful cliffside town. Corfu, Mykonos and Katakolon were all beautiful to visit. Read Less

Cruise left Venice on Aug 6 for 7 nights visiting Cofu, Mykonos, Santorini and Katakalon...Overall, good cruise--ship had 2900 passengers. Only problem was in Santorini, there were 4 ships tendered and it took too much time to get anywhere---long lines for the cable car, which was the only way to get back to the ship.---waited in line for 2 hrs.....Had inside cabin #8053 which was adequate--Platinum member status...NCL does nickel and dime the passengers.....room service after 10am is a $7. charge. room service for a continental breakfast required a tip.... A la carte menus now for the specialty dining which could run up to $75. for 2. Buffet was always jam-packed and hard to find a table and when we did the food was cold. No free Cpts Dinner(Farewell Dinner) like before...no comedy shows, just acrobatics and magic, and dancing troupes----was disappointed that the repeat guest party for Gold and Platinum was not more elegant....no afternoon tea which would have been nice for the European passengers. Chose this cruise for the ports and schedule, would have preferred Princess or Holland America---night vs day for sure!!!!!!! Read Less

We had an oceanview balcony cabin which was good for 2 adults plus a teenager. very impressed with the amount of room although we found storage to be slightly an issue which we had to overcome. but very very clean and didnt have a problem at all. embarkation was good but really busy. we had to wait around 45 minutes to get on the vessel and there wasnt much to do other than sit in chairs and stare into space. the ship is older with only 2 pools. it has wear and tear that is visible but not really an issue at all. we found the crew to be very friendly and helpful and always willing to chat. the pools are one for adults and one for children, which was a problem when on the last day at sea one of the children christened the kiddy pool meaning that the adults only pool was abandoned for the entire day and given over to children. this was a real shame as it gave adults nowhere to escape kids. other days though when both pools were open they were really good in telling the kids not to go anywhere near the adult pool. also there is no drinking allowed anywhere around the pool. have to say though the pool had a lot of nastiness floating in it, including one day 2 hardboiled eggs. we were traveling with an 18 year old boy and it was a real shame there was hardly anything for older teens to do. yes he could go in he adult pool, but he was told he couldnt drink any alcohol, and there were no 18 and over acts which we were hoping for like comedians. this meant that the highlight of his day if we were on the ship was a meal. the shows were very very similar other than a really great singing group from britains got talent. men who sang opera. but to be honest if i never see anoher old sweaty russian acrobat in a dodgy lycra jumpsuit i wouldnt be too bothered. 2 nights was an old russian man who juggled and droppe balls. one night was another circuis act with a lady that wrapped herself in curtains, and 2 nights was a magician who was ok in a cheezy way. would have loved more musical shows or the holy grail of a comedian. old circuiss acts are lazy bookings. adults around me felt the same that you shouldnt just cater for children. also in the late shows at 9.45 there were a lot of unaccompanied children being a nuisance. one night the man next to me was checking his facebook with his phone light shining into my eyes. the food was really really good. we loved the free food far more than the dining plan meals. la cuchina italian was very average and i found the pasta dry. the brazilian barbecue the meat was all medium rare and the plate was dripping blood, cagneys steakhouse was ok but nothing woop de dooh. i would recommend this cruise for older people and for couples and for families with young children, but my 18 year old was pretty badly catered for. all trips were half day and we ended up going for food as something to do rather than the fact we were hungry. if i were to choose another cruise it wouldnt be norwegian unless we were going as a couple. even the disney cruiseline catered for adults only. Read Less

Went on a Greek island cruise on the 4 th of June for 7 nights on the Norwegian jade. Couldn't of asked for a better time, the cabins and the ship were very clean the staff were very attentive to your needs nothing was too much. Cabin was very clean and tieded twice a day by our steward Kurt who was excellent . We had an inside cabin which was lovely but no window would prefer a bit of light in the room maybe something for our next cruise, saying that though we only slept in it !! Too much going on on the ship Main bar by reception very good Medusa bar very Good fire and ice were brilliant plus the karaoke was good fun too Spinnakers bar was good Tina turner Whitney Huston The theatre was good but we did only go once and the Beatles invasion were excellent Martini bar excellent plus the piano player The food was excellent preferred the restaurants rather than the main self serve it was like a free for all was manic at times only used it once but food still of high standard but just reminded me of a very buzy cafe, were the restaurants were mores relaxed and you got waited on rather than self serve. We made a mistake of only taking euros so if you like the casino they only play in dollars and the exchange rate was really bad ! We had the drinks package which was worth every penny all spirits and bottles were well known names none of these these cheap ones. Cocktails were very high standard. Didn't do any of the speciality resturants as in some of the others you could pay a small fee for example a ribeye steak or a sea bream delicious . They only thing which was a downside for me was because it was free style and you didn't have to wear the ball gown and tuxedo which I didn't want. I still like to dress smartly in the evening, but a lot of the guest just looked like they had come in off the beach (shorts t,shirt flip flops caps ) or the gym which I didn't think was appropriate in the restaurants maybe ok for the free for all on the top deck. We didn't do the ship tours we did our own, which were a lot cheaper and the Greek islands didn't let us down they were beautiful.you can get a bus ,taxi not far from the port which were very reasonable, Corfu town was beautiful Santorini we got a boat round the island and then a bus to the village it was so picturesque then we got the bus to feria about 20 mins away and the cable car back down all for 20e. If you like the pool unless you are up early maybe 6 to put your towels out then you have no chance we didn't get on the pool deck for the whole week. To be honest it wasn't a problem, but the towels on empty beds we're.the decks above were very nice and ther a loads of sun beds for every one if you get the weather !! . The only annoying thing for me was I had to pay for bottle water 6.50 dollars a bottle so make sure you fill your cups up in the day and put it in your fridge if you like water at night as mini bar is NOT FREE it is free on the boat by the pool and in the top main resturant but it's not bottled. I would highly recommend NCL they were so organised to getting on the boat, getting off at different ports sometimes by boat as the ship could not dock, and also getting off at departure so thank you and look forward to booking a Caribbean cruise in the near future. Read Less

This was our first trip to Europe and my second time on a Norwegian Cruise. It was an incredible experience on both counts. The itinerary (Venice, Santorini, Mykynos, Olympia and Corfu) was the main reason we chose this cruise, as was the exceptional price. Embarkation was about average and slightly confusing, but just about everything was stellar after that. The room was ready upon our arrival and the service throughout the cruise was top notch. The passengers were a mix of people from all over. I would say that there were probably about 50% Americans, lots of Brits, several people from other European countries and small groups of people from just about everywhere else. The announcements were done in four different languages to accommodate the diversity. It was great! We purchased a dining package that gave us access to several of the add-on restaurants. The best, by far, was Le Bistro. I would skip Moderno. Cagney's was good, but you could easily get by without any additional costs for food and be perfectly happy. The best options are the for free dining are: 1. Grand Pacific - this is the best dining room. We ate here as soon as we embarked and avoided the crowds. It was great. They also ate here for breakfast and dinner and all of our meals were great. 2. Blue Lagoon - this was a cute little place where you could get a good burger, wings or a quick breakfast. It was way quieter and quicker when you were trying to get off the boat to get to shore and still get a decent breakfast or you just want a little taste of home (if you are American). 3. Jasmine Garden -- free Asian restaurant with lots of great options for both appetizers and main courses. 4. The Great outdoors -- when we went to the buffet, we always ate here. It was way more relaxing. Bars - for bars, try the flight of martinis at the martini bar -- super good and a great value. The entertainment on the ship was outstanding -- the Elements show blew us away. I have been on a dozen cruises and this was one of the best shows I have seen, as was the Beatles tribute band. The rooms were as expected and our cabin steward was great. The islands are beautiful. We did not book any shore excursions with the ship, so I cannot comment on that. They seemed pricey. We were able to do everything on our own for less (as we do on every cruise). If I had one complaint about the cruise, it is the process for handing out tender tickets. It was crazy. I am not sure I could come up with a better way to do it, but there were very long lines and if you didn't stand in one, you were pretty late in leaving the ship and getting to port. To sum it up, it was a relaxing and beautiful cruise. Being our first time in a European port, I was somewhat nervous that things would be confusing or challenging. It was not. We had an outstanding time and would not hesitate to book again on Norwegian even though we usually go with a different line. Read Less