Cruising the NCL Freestyle way

Last weekend I was lucky to have been on board the newly refurbished NCL Jade for 2 nights, sailing from Southampton to Hamburg. Check-in at Southampton was very smooth and easy, and we were on board within 20 minutes of arriving at the port (why do the American cruise lines do this so much better? and P&O drag the process out – but that’s for another time)

We had the Ultimate drinks package (which now comes with every NCL booking and there is just the one drinks package unlike other cruise lines who have standard/deluxe/classic/premium etc) and this includes majority of drinks (unlike the problems we encountered on Celebrity a couple of weekends before) and also our gratuities were prepaid. Drinks included were up to the value of $15 and anything over this like your premium whiskeys etc then the bar staff would tell you they weren’t included and just charged you the difference in cost. There was also never really a queue to get a drink and plenty of waiters around to help you.

Walking round the ship it did look and feel different to other ships i have been recently on, and what was interesting to see in photos and also speaking to my friend who was on the full cruise to the Norwegian Fjords was that the decor was now a lot less gaudy and bright, and more understated and tasteful. Gone were the bright oranges and pinks and now more greens and less neon.

NCL are renowned for their dining experiences on board and on the NCL Jade there is 13 dining options to choose from, of which some were complimentary, some had a fixed cover charge and there were others where you paid by the dish. Options include the main dining room (the Grand Pacific and Alizar) which we ate in the first night, and there is also a Steakhouse, Sushi Bar, Asian, Brazilian, French, Japanese, Italian, buffet etc. The dress code in all restaurants is smart casual so no formal nights and these can be pre-booked before you board or you can wait until you board. Dotted around the ship was TV screens which listed all the restaurants and then a traffic light colour to show the availability – so green was available, orange meant there was a queue, and red was full.  The only thing I wasn’t so keen on was to get to the Teppanyaki restaurant (which we were lucky enough to eat in the second night and will write about next time) was that you had to walk through the sushi bar and then through the Asian Jasmine restaurant to get to it. So if you had a table by the walk through you would end up with people walking past which might get annoying if you are trying to have a nice quiet meal.

The atrium had a colour changing light, and to be honest I didn’t realise at first that was the atrium area and just thought it was a coffee shop with guest relations next door to it – for me it wasn’t missing something to make it wow or to stand out.

There was an area on the ship called bar central and is where the Martini bar and the premium whiskey bar was. Wasn’t sure on the decor here and personally felt that this was an area that had been missed in the refurbishment. The ship had a big casino on board, and the theatre had a great walk way with an Alice in Wonderland/through the looking glass feel. We did get to see one of their productions in the Theatre which was like an X factor show with the 4 main singers battling it out to be the winner, but this was decided by the audience as the judges. We went to the 7.30pm show and my friend went to the 9.30pm show and what was interesting to find out was that each show had a different winner so it wasn’t fixed.

Here is a video of my balcony cabin. My cabin must have been one that is normally allocated to people who board in Hamburg as all the TV channels were in German. After filming this I then found the tea and coffee facilities hidden on the top shelf above the safe. I did like that the shower and toilet both had their own sliding doors.

The other area of the ship that caught my eye was the Mandara Spa – which I will write about another time, you could buy passes for the whole cruise or just for the day into the Thermal Suite (the day passes did seem expensive compared to other cruise lines) – however for me the downside was it was segregated into seperate Men and Womens areas, so if you have just gone away with your partner you would not be able to go into the Sauna or steam rooms together, so for me would be of no use.

I did like on deck 11 that you could view it to the Bridge and in the corridor was the plaques they receive when its their first time into a port.

Overall I liked the ship it just would have been nice for a bit longer to experience it more, the NCL Freestyle concept is great for new cruisers or those looking for something of a more relaxed atomsphere – I personally like the formal nights on other cruise lines. I also did like the simplicity of the Ultimate drinks package for everyone which in turn makes it easier for the bar staff to remember what drinks are included as there is only one package,  and I liked the gratuities again included so not having to find money to pay them/queue to remove them.

Have you cruised with NCL or been on the newly refurbished NCL Jade and what was your thoughts?

Have a good couple of weeks

Kerry

xx