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mini cruise to zebrugge |
| Reviewed By: king, southampton on 16th Jul 2008 |
| Cruise Line: NCL Cruises |
Times cruised before: 3-5 |
| Cruise Ship: Norwegian Jade |
Sailed:
July,
2008 |
| Destination: Mini Cruises |
Age: 36-45 |
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Live in Southampton so departing from this terminal was perfect. Arrived at 11.30 ready for a 1600 sailing, slight confusion when being directed to car park got sent to short term not long term. But we were checked in quickly and on the ship by 12.20pm. We were greeted by a glass of champagne, which was a very nice gesture but actually tasted disgusting, but still a nice touch as we have cruised several times and have never been given complimentary drinks on boarding before. We were immediatly given a small life jacket for our 11 year old son and directed to our cabin and told that food was being served on deck 12.
We arrived at our inside cabin which was very modern but very compact for 4 people to share. One of the beds actually pulled out from under another bed leaving no space at nighttime to walk. We had to crawl from the end of the bed to actually get in. On all other ships we have had two upper pullman beds which we feel is a nicer arrangement, but NCL ships do not do this.
The food in the buffet restaurant was plentiful with a good choice and all labelled and hot. Finding a table was not so easy but we were eating at busy times and I suppose it is to be expected. We ate in the Jasmine Garden restaurant on the Friday evening, which we chose to prebook for 6 of us. The choice was good but we waited forever for the food to arrive. The food was of excellent quality but we were there for 3 hours meaning we missed the show.
We chose to take the free shuttle bus into blankenberge? the following day. We waited for about 15 minutes in the sunshine for the coach and had no wait to return. Lovely little town with a beach and a few choccy shops.
We chose to eat in the buffet restaurant the following evening so we could go to the shows. The quality was typical 'cruise ship' style entertainment, so not so great but the theatre was very nice, but well air-conditioned so a bit chilly.
The one main let down for us was the kids club. Our 11 year old went on one evening and was expected to play circle games with other children ranging from 2 years old. On other ships they have been split into 2-5 yrs, 6-8 yrs and 8-12 years etc. There were no playstations or computers or toys of any description, just a big empty room with a baby jungle jim at one end. My older son had a great time in the teen club who had a juice bar, table football, nintendo wii, computers, xbox etc. When asked if my younger son could go there we were told no as he was not a teenager. Seems the younger club lacks modern facilities!
Overall we had a nice weekend. All the staff on board were very pleasant. There was always an excellent choice of food and the ship was very modern and clean. But we do agree with some of the other reviewers that there is a Butlins type atmosphere on board compared to P & O or Royal Caribbean. I have already another cruise booked with NCL next month but I would not rush to book again.
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| Quality of Food |  |
| | Entertainment |  |
| The aquabatic and juggling show was not what we expected, only being 2 people in the show and not very good. ( quite funny but wasn't supposed to be )
The music/pop idol was ok. | | Shore Excursions | n/a |
| | Staff | |
| Impressed by our cabin steward as he found out the younger childrens names on the first day and continued to talk and acknowedged them all weekend. | | Children's Facilities |  |
| Teens were happy but had lack of people attending,and younger kids club was awful and lacked facilities to keep all ages happy. | | Onboard Activities | |
| swimming pool and bars | | Cabins | |
| except for bed arrangements | | Overall Rating | |
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