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Enjoyable first cruise
Reviewed By: channing, cardiff on 19th Aug 2008
Cruise Line: NCL Cruises	Times cruised before: 0
Cruise Ship: Norwegian Jade	Sailed: July, 2008
Destination: Mediterranean	Age: 36-45

The boarding at Southhampton was simple and quick. The car was valet parked, cases taken straight off us, and we were on board very quickly enjoying a complimentry glass of bubbly. Prior to the cruise I read some very bad reviews, and was a little nervous to say the least about going with NCL. Some of the complaints raised were noted by myself whilst on board, but did not stop us enjoying the cruise itself. Yes the Garden cafe was busy, but the food was very good. One point which sounded minor before the cruise, but would make a difference would be providing you with trays. By the time you make several trips to the counters for food and drink etc, and then try to find a table your food is luke warm - a tray would be a simple solution!. We found the food and service good in the Grand pacific and the Alizar. The Blue Lagoon was OK, but service not fantastic. We tried Papas italian and the Tex mex once and enjoyed both. The staff on board were all very friendly, and the service on the whole was good. Our rooms were always clean as was the ship itself. We found the cabin very cramped with 4 of us in total, but had everything you needed in it. We had a balcony room which was lovely, but when the beds were made up in the evening, we could not make it out to the balcony as beds were blocking sliding door!. There always seemed to be lots of activities on board, although I can't comment on these as we tended just to relax by the pool - I say relax, but it wasnt easy as the pool area was really crowded. There were a lot of children on board as expected at this time of year. My children loved the slide and pool, although the childrens pool was always very full. I was lucky as an early bird in the mornings, and managed to get a sunbed, but a lot of people were moaning at the lack of them. The entertainment by the pool was very repetative. The guy on guitar seemed to play the same songs every day, and I have got to say personally I found him to be talented, but very boring. On the other hand there was a band called rythum explosion in the spinnaker lounge which were excellent. We only went to see the musical shout and the magician in the theatre, and they were both enjoyable. Second city were not my cup of tea, but my children thought they were great. My 2 children really enjoyed themselves, although they did not use the childrens clubs. My 8yr old said it was like school, so only went once! my 14 yr old was a little bit of a loner throughout. He missed the first night at the club, and did not partake in the scavenger hunt, where it seemed a lot of friendships were made. We found the shore excursions very expensive but good. This was our first cruise, and were a little nervous getting places on our own especially with children, although We did our own thing in most ports, and only booked 3 trips in total. We went to Pisa/beach which we all enjoyed, the jeep safari in Lisbon, which the children enjoyed more than us!, and Eternal Rome - this trip cost us nearly £500 for the 4 of us!! You must think that we were mad, but it was so hot, and my daughter nearly passed out with the heat the day before when we did Barcelona on our own, and I could not face going on public transport again in that heat. The trip itself though was very good, and we had a fantastic guide which made it even better. I hope that I have not put off anyone going with NCL, as the comments I have made are what I would call minor niggles not complaints. This was our first cruise and we all really enjoyed it. We read up a lot about different cruises before we booked, and this one suited us because we did'nt want to do ''formal''. I would cruise with NCL again.
Quality of Food

Entertainment

Shore Excursions

Staff

Children's Facilities	n/a
Children did not use this facility
Onboard Activities

Cabins

Overall Rating

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Opinion: Agree Comment by Pillinger, Pontypridd (20 Aug 08 14:52) about this REVIEW.

I'd agree with you. There are a number of niggles which can be exagerated out of proportion - Sun Beds, Service in Restaurant, Poor entertaimnet seem to be the most common - but still an enjoyable holiday. I think seasoned cruisers have a different expectation and maybe this is better as an alternate holiday to the normal "package deal" for families rather than an alternate to "traditional cruising". The cruise industry is no doubt diversifying - it seems one cruise does not fit all!

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Comment by haydon, london (21 Aug 08 00:23) about a COMMENT by Pillinger (20 Aug 08 14:52)

Agree - if you want 'Butlins at sea' this is the cruise for you!

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Comment by Pillinger, Pontypridd (21 Aug 08 08:52) about a COMMENT by haydon (21 Aug 08 00:23)

You been to Butlins lately have you or is this just another unhelpful throw away flipant comment that helps no one? It was not "Butlins at sea".

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