Even though the Jade is going in for remodeling, we loved the old Hawaiian decor. We thought it was really elegant and not gaudy. Service was excellent. The staff remembered our names and greeted us everywhere. Grand Pacific main dining room had excellent food. All the specialty restaurants were also excellent. I have a severe food allergy and this is the FIRST time cruising that I did not get sick! Kudos to the Maitre Ds and special chefs!
We loved having the beverage package. The only negative: We thought that there were not enough variety of things to do. The cruise director's comment was that it depends on what fellow cruisers bring with them--wrong! (But thank goodness we had a great Cruise Critic group that did add some activities.)This is our third Atlantic crossing and it is the first time we didn't find enough to happily occupy our time. (We got a lot of reading in!)
The cabin was clean, a bit small. The overhead bunk bed was difficult to avoid when getting up in the middle of the night--easy to bump your head. I loved the sliding glass doors on the shower and toilet room--no messy shower curtains spraying water all over. Small closet but lots of drawers and desk tops.
The embarkation was well organized, quick and the easiest we've ever had. However, this port is in the middle of nowhere! There were no hotels nearby. We had over a half hour drive to get there from our hotel!
We just walked to town. But the 15 minute walk was really more than a half hour--unless you want to count jogging!
Barcelona is our favorite city. We stayed there 4 days. Our first tour was the Montserrat/Cava full day tour with Barcelona Day Tours. They are excellent. They pick you up at the ship, hold your luggage on the van, give excellent tours with wonderful guides who speak excellent English and then take you directly to your hotel. This particular tour is one not to miss: wonderful hiking trails, explanations of the monastery's history, the boys choir, the geology and architecture--all incredible! The Cava part of the tour was also very interesting with a very nice wine tasting at the end.