Trip Report NCL Jade mini cruise May 2009

[ANGEL]

As promised, at last……

3 days, 2 nights, 1 port – NCL Jade May 2009

This may be a pretty quick report as I seem to have only taken notes on the first day…and I have a goldfish memory too!

My lovely dh Mark (chunkster20uk) booked this mini trip to Guernsey as an Anniversary surprise earlier this year. After a pretty tough 18 months, with Mark working like a demon we needed this weekend to relax and spend some time together unwinding.

We’ve only cruised with DCL before and I was very nervous about trying another cruise line. People often ask why, as a couple, we cruise Disney, but I love the theming, the atmosphere and the service. Also, the fact that the adult areas are usually pretty peaceful, due to so many families with kids being aboard. It would be interesting to compare ships!

Friday 29th May

Left home just after 9 and drove to Southampton (from Swindon). Hit heavy traffic just as we were nearing Southampton so arrived around 10.45. We’d pre-booked a car park space but were informed the ship had been late docking so had to wait in a little car park across from the ship. Gave us a chance to take a look up at the Jade as it was docked…looked lovely! Ah, and we could see just about where our balcony was too! I don’t think the ship is as ‘pretty’ as the Magic or Wonder, but that’s just my personal opinion.

Around 11.10 am we are sent round to the pre-paid car park, after a well organised queue system. Parked and unloaded the car and trundled over to the terminal. It’s all very painless and pretty well organised. Hand over the case, although as its small, we could have carried it on ourselves if we’d wanted (didn’t see the point). Picked up a couple of ‘navigators’ (Freestyle Daily) to read later. Checked in by a lady on her first day with NCL (she handled it very well) and are given our boarding cards and room/cash cards. Our boarding card is yellow and after a short while sitting in terminal we are called to embark at just about 12 midday.

The usual photo opportunity is taken by the ship’s photographers as we trek to the ship (and it is a bit of a trek), then finally we are onboard, and are being handed our champagne….cheers! So, no lovely announcement of welcome from the staff like on DCL but we do get champagne…seems like a good swap to me! We move away from the throng in the atrium and find our way to Magnums champagne & martini bar (quite by chance of course). Have a good look round the many bars and lounges, which all look great…some beautiful cosy areas to relax in. Decide to book a table for Cagneys for the Saturday night. (If you’re in a balcony category or above you can book one of the ‘extra’ restaurants 48 hours in advance).



Wander up to the Grand Pacific dining room (one of the MDRs) for lunch. It’s a beautiful restaurant, very large and open, and we are seated by the window. The staff seem to be seating families over one side and adult only parties at the other side, which is appreciated.

The staff and food are excellent. We both have a goats cheese and pancetta quiche with balsamic salad to start, followed by a club sandwich (turkey, honeyed ham, bacon etc) for me, and a beef and rice noodle salad for Mark. A rather lovely chocolate sundae (me) and Peach & Blueberry cobbler finished off the meal nicely, A good start!

We wander round the ship a little more in an attempt to walk off some of the food, before finding a great table by the adult pool bar. A mangopolitan and a margarita seem to be in order….and *sigh* …we’re on holiday! I have to say too that the weather that weekend was just fabulous! We were very lucky as it could have been a very different experience!





People watching is always fun, but noting several hen parties and one particularly boisterous stag party we are a little apprehensive. Are we on the right cruise? Various announcements tell us that staterooms should be ready by 2 pm, and just before that time we head down to our deck (8) to check out our room. It is certainly very nice. There are Elemis products in the bathroom, nice bathrobes and the bed is the most comfortable I have ever slept in! Plenty of storage, the hairdryer is located in a good position by the dressing table, and the bathroom is split into 3 areas by sliding doors for ease of use by more than one person.





4pm is time for lifeboat drill and we troll down to the theatre, where we sit through a very boring but necessary drill, laughing at how ridiculous we all look. Then its back to deck 13 for sailaway, a lounge on the sunbeds and a nice cold beer. Interesting to note that many people didn’t bother with the drill. I hope NCL made them attend their own drill later! Its very busy and very noisy by the pool, especially as there seem to be around a dozen embers of the stag party intent on getting drunk in the hot tub! We decide to pop into the spa for a look round and are very impressed. Enter the raffle to win a spa treatment.



Up to the top deck to watch the sail away. Not as scenic as leaving Prt Canaverel but still exciting. We wave in the general direction of Mark’s sister and nephew who have gone to their local beach by Lee on solent to wave us off. The Isle of Wight looks very picturesque as we slowly pass by.

By this time we are ready to return to our cabin and relax a little. Our case has been delivered and we ask the steward for some coffee which has been missed from our room (NCL provides coffee makers in all cabins). By the time we’ve unpacked and showered and changed, its time to head back to where the action is.

The Freestyle policy aboard NCL means you only dress up if you wish too. There are optional ‘elegant’ nights, but otherwise you are welcome to wear resort or smart casual clothes, apart from in one restaurant. Even jeans are ok. Shorts are ok for lunch and in the buffet restaurant. There are 2 main dining rooms where you can just turn up to eat (interactive screens around the ship advise on the business of eateries), a buffet, and a 24 hour café. There are also several ‘speciality’ restaurants that have extra fees (from $10 to $25)…..including Japanese, Chinese, Italian, French and a great steakhouse.



We’d planned to eat at one of the MDRs but found them pretty busy so sat in Magnums with a pre-dinner champagne cocktail, listening to the pianist. Le Bistro is just next to this bar so it seemed rude not to try it for dinner. They quickly found us a table, and the waiting time was well spent admiring the genuine Van Gogh in the entrance. (Totally awestruck) There is some great art work onboard this ship!



Very comfy booth seats are great, and there is some beautiful china on the table which I wish I’d taken a photo of. Pink and gold plates with a lovely butterfly design, very pretty. The food was even better, although the 3 tiny scallops I started with were almost too small to see! Mark’s foie gras was a better size thank goodness. My swordfish was wonderful and Mark’s bouillabaisse was also good, as was the cheese plate and my yummy crème brulee. It was wonderful food and great service, marred only slightly by the noise from hen parties in the champagne bar (we were sat near the entrance).

More drinks followed for us in Magnums, which had quickly become a favourite. Then we decided to head to the casino where we bought a book of vouchers for $10 that entitled us to $20 gambling (if that makes sense). Mark played blackjack, winning a little, then losing it. I just played the slot machines as I really don’t understand gambling. Snacks are also provided in the casino.

Some hours later and I can’t believe Mark has the munchies again! We therefore head to the Blue Lagoon (the 24 hour café) for a snack before bed time. I think everyone else had the same idea as it was incredibly busy at 12.30!

Once finished it really is past my bed time, and its back to our cabin and bed for us. On the way we pop our heads into the nightclub but its far to noisy and crazy for us tonight (and I’ve had too much too eat and drink). Time for bed!

Saturday 30th

After a wonderful night’s sleep we wake to St Peter’s Port in Guernsey. We haven’t woken as early as we hoped so miss breakfast in the Pacific, instead head up to the buffet with what seems like the rest of the ship. It’s a real scrum, and not my favourite experience of the weekend, but of course with only having this one port to visit everyone has the same idea, so I’ll reserve judgement. Anyway, the pancakes are freshly made up for me so it wasn’t all bad.

We queue for a ticket to disembark, and then wait for around 30-40 minutes for our number to be called (like on the deli counter) before we are allowed to disembark onto the tender (the NCL lifeboat) for a very choppy ride to the dock.



The weather is gorgeous again in St Peter Port and the harbour is really picturesque as we stroll along the pretty streets. We stop for a ‘proper’ coffee on the way and then have a good old mosey round the shops and market, buying a locally made soap for Becky and the requisite souvenir items. The harbour is a great place to sit and watch the rich mens’ boats, and the water is so clear you can see all the little fish.



Lunch time and we’re ready to head back to ship by the tender. The waves are now VERY choppy which makes getting off the tender quite an experience….at one point I think I’m about to be left with one leg on the ship and one on the tender….very elegant!

Back on board it’s still fairly quiet. We return to the cabin where I get a call from the spa to say I’ve won a half price facial for this afternoon in the spa…yay! I think they were actually not very busy, so offered half price treatments to those that had entered their raffle, but who cares? I book it for later and then we snag a spot by the pool as we decide we’re not hungry enough for a big lunch. Grab a hot dog and potato salad from the pool snack bar instead. Spend the rest of the afternoon by the pool. The hot tub is VERY hot so be warned! However the pool is ICY! It explains why there has been nobody in it. Anyway we decide to be brave, as we love the water, and edge our way in, much to everybody else’s amazement. Its ok for a short while but then I get a little chilly and need to sunbathe to warm up.

The spa has mixed up my time for my facial so rebook it for an hour later in the end. Still, it’s just a little niggle and not worth moaning about. More time to sunbathe anyway! The mini facial cost $25 and was well worth it, it felt wonderful.

Time for another drink after the facial, then back to the cabin to sit on our balcony, and wave goodbye to the Channel Islands. I try to guess which is Alderney or Sark or Jersey but I’m sure I got them totally wrong! Cagney’s was booked for 8.30, and by the time we’d showered and changed we just made it in time.

Cagney’s has a very relaxed feel, but we’d been assured it was a top class meal….and we weren’t disappointed! It was busy and bustly and reminded us of the Palm at Hard Rock Hotel. Great service and even better food made it a meal to remember. My clam chowder was followed by the best filet mignon I’ve ever tasted, cooked to perfection (charred how I like it). My dessert sampler included a cheesecake ‘lollipop’ which was lovely. The server was upset I didn’t want to try more but I felt I might explode so declined. Mark had crab cakes, some sort of massive steak, and of course the cheese board (as always). The wine was also delicious and all in all the meal was absolutely delicious. Even the coffee was yummy. It was well worth the extra $25 a head.



A little woozy but content we headed to our favourite comfy sofa in Magnums, where we sang along to the pianist with gusto (fuelled by the alcohol of course). Mark was very upset that he didn’t know any REM…..lucky he didn’t ask for Guns and Roses! He settled for Neil Diamond instead (not much difference) much to my disgust. The hen and stag parties were pretty well behaved, and the stag party in particular was actually great fun, the groom giving us a rendition of ‘I’m getting married in the morning’ while dressed in a tutu and wings!

By 1.30 am we were ready for bed and agreed it had been a great day.

Sunday 31st

The next morning w quickly packed and headed up to bf at the Grand Pacific, taking our case with us. A leisurely bf of pancakes, bacon and fresh fruit and lots of coffee, then down to disembarkation point. The queue was quite long and next time I would take longer over breakfast, as they don’t seem to hurry you off like Disney. Goodbye to the Jade, or should I say ‘Au Revoir’?


Conclusions
• A great alternative to the more expensive Disney Line (cost us just £200 ish)
• Cheaper than a weekend in a UK hotel with all entertainment and food included
• Service was good, not great, but still good
• I’d say it wasn’t as scrupulously clean as the DCL ships, especially the public restrooms which were not up to Disney standards
• As with DCL staff should ensure adult areas are kept for adults only. (NOTE: Mark had a quiet word with one family with a little baby using the adult pool who complained how cold it was….explained the FAMILY pool was much warmer!)
• Far more choice for eating and drinking, greatly appreciated
• LOVE cruising without having to fly…or restrict amount of baggage
• It was too short!
• Missed the Caribbean…then again it was almost hot enough for the Caribbean!

Would we do it again? Yep, next month….2 weeks in the Med aboard the Jade again!



... oh, and sorry it turned out to be more long winded that I expected!:

[Ste]

It looks amazing. You really booked the right weekend to go weatherwise. Thanks for writing it Angel , NCL are a big contender for me next year , what with Royal Caribbean being totally overpriced for 2010!

[Deano]

Looks and sounds great, and seems a real bargain to me.

[HiddenMickey35]

Angel

I enjoyed to read it and seem that you had a great times...

Nothing better than DCL but better that nothing!

I love to see you with champagne, just wish join with you lol...

Scottishwee35

[luxorsun71]

Enjoyed reading , we were on the NCL Jewel last year( Caribbean) and thorougly enjoyed it. Know what you mean about disembarking to get the tender ashore,it can be a bit of a wait at times.We really enjoyed our meal at La Bistro as well but did not try Cagneys, maybe next time. Have to agree our bed was so darn comfy,had the best of sleeps on it. Loved the Elemis toiletries in the bathroom. Thanks for sharing

[M M]

Great report, looks like you had a good time and a bargain price

[Guest]

Loved reading your report!
Thanks for sharing

[ANGEL]

Originally Posted by Ste

It looks amazing. You really booked the right weekend to go weatherwise. Thanks for writing it Angel , NCL are a big contender for me next year , what with Royal Caribbean being totally overpriced for 2010!

See more...

Phew! Done as promised Ste (you put me to shame doing yours!) I hope you get to try NCL, I'd be interested in your comparison with RCL.

Originally Posted by scottishwee35

Angel

I enjoyed to read it and seem that you had a great times...

Nothing better than DCL but better that nothing!

I love to see you with champagne, just wish join with you lol...

Scottishwee35

See more...

lol Deb, I do love DCL, but their prices these days are a bit beyond us! These are a good alternative though... and the champagne's an added bonus!

Glad you all enjoyed it anyway

[Michelle]

Mandy what a lovely time you had.

I must admit to being just like you - a bit wary of trying other cruises having only cruised with DCL.

mmmmm. I wonder if I could persuade Neil

[ANGEL]

we'll work on him Mich!