Norwegian Jade Review

4.0 / 5.0
2,044 reviews

Boring expensive itinerary, understaffed unfriendly crew, last time on NCL.

Review for the Western Caribbean Cruise on Norwegian Jade
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cjtlz
2-5 Cruises • Age 60s

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Sail Date: Feb 2019
Cabin: Oceanview Picture Window

It was my 3rd cruise, my friend's 1st - both 1st time on NCL. We barely made the ship due to winter storm flight delays up north but we did make it. No other passengers were in the embarkation terminal in Miami so we sailed through that process. We bid on an upgrade to an ocean view cabin and they accepted our offer a few weeks prior to the cruise. It had a sliding door to the balcony which had a table and 2 chairs. It saved us during the cruise when we'd had enough of the public areas/antics. The room was good-sized as was the bathroom. The ship was clean, decorated well, and easy to get around. We chose this 5-day cruise as my friend's introduction to the experience. Unfortunately that meant a day and a half at sea in both directions and only 2 ports of call - The NCL caya in Belize and Costa Maya, Mexico. Both were ridiculously priced and touristy.

In Belize, after a day and a half at sea, we got off and went to the beach where we were immediately informed by a lifeguard we couldn't open the umbrella over the beach chairs as it was too windy. I'm sorry, but for what NCL made on the cruise, if an umbrella ripped, they could afford to replace the dang thing. We chose a spot under palm trees. Waitresses were seen lurking in the background talking to one another our entire time there but they only serviced those by the pool. We walked to a bar to get our drinks several times.

Next day's port was Costa Maya, Mexico. After walking through an alleged Mexican village which was nothing more than overpriced bars and tourist trinkets we found a cheap shuttle that took us the 10-minute drive into town (but not back to the port). The town has lots of beach access and restaurants across the street that serve you all day. We found a taxi to take us back to the "village" and our ship. Sadly, I observed fenced in dolphins being subjected to giving rides to adults and children there. That attraction needs to be shut down and the dolphins released.

Cabin Review

Oceanview Picture Window

We bid on an upgrade to an ocean view cabin and they accepted our offer a few weeks prior to the cruise. It had a sliding door to the balcony which had a table and 2 chairs. It saved us during the cruise when we'd had enough of the public areas/antics. The room was good-sized as was the bathroom. The ship was clean, decorated well, and easy to get around.

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