Norwegian Jade - A Taste of Belgium

Norwegian Jade - A Taste of Belgium

The Grand Pacific restaurant was another rare disappointment to me. It didn't have that something Gem did. It was another leftover from Pride of Hawai'i and one I could have done without. Having American Lee & Perrins Worcestershire sauce made me laugh more than the Heinz. These cruise lines are so hypocritical. They're charging the public a fuel supplement which they constantly increase and say they're going green. Yet they also insist on importing products rather than use those available from the country they're cruising from.

The Medusa lounge and nightclub was the only really clashing colourful place on the entire ship. It had a sea motif, with jellyfish and things. It was really nice and I particularly liked the lamps.

A return trip to the Stardust Theater, this time from above. One thing I do like about NCL is the trouble they go to with the decor along the entrance to the theatre. The carpet is the same as Gem but other parts aren't.

We reached the Blue Lagoon first followed by the Tex Mex opposite, Paniola Tapas & Salsa Restaurant. Unlike it's equivalent on Gem, Paniola had a plainer carpet. It had a cowboy hat but there was no 3D illusion.

The queue for the shuttle was enormous. There really weren't enough laid on by the port for this many passengers. As Pam went horrible hunting, I relaxed and put things on charge.

Pam returned thinking I'd have got fed up waiting and buggered off. The AA batteries had not long finished charging so I was packing that away. Then we wrapped up and went outside to get our usual pictures of the ship. The glorious sunshine was an illusion. It was flipping freezing!

The indentations from the original Pride of Hawai'i name are still visible on the stern and she still has her Hawai'ian flower motif around part of the Promenade Deck.

We went back in and had lunch. Pam had already eaten but I hadn't since breakfast. We also ordered a bottle of wine and Pam sneakily kept topping up my glass when I wasn't looking. We watched them removed the gangway then made our way to the deck, popping into the library en route. The card room and Latitudes Lounge were busy so we decided to get those later.

One thing I REALLY hate about modern ships (besides their flat sterns which takes away valuable deck space by cramming in more passengers) is all the high glass around the viewing areas. Glass with gaps, as Aurora has is bad enough. But complete glass like NCL also has as does the Millennium class Celebrity ships, is a bloody pain for photographs and should be removed or halved in height forthwith! Whoever designed it first and the person who copied for other ships clearly never takes pictures on ships. It doesn't really protect from the elements either and is pointless. We left on time but despite it being the maiden call, the port of Zeebrugge didn't do anything. Not even a fireboat. We blasted quite a few times as we backed up and turned, heading out towards the North Sea. We also did some fantastic tilting as we got into the correct lane.

I found the following quite amusing, especially as they like to confuse by having ship's time. On one side of the clock you had the first photo while on the other was the correct time. How's that for confusing??? No wonder people struggle to keep track of the times.

After watching her gloriously tilt from side to side, it became too cold to stay out, plus the camcorder battery needed charging again. I went to get the luggage tags and also popped into the shop for another lanyard as, while shorter than what I was used to with P&O, it was quite good and prevented me forgetting myself and dropping Pam's camcorder by accident. They also had small tins of mints by the counter which hadn't been there the day before so I picked up a couple. He had to get the code as there was no price but they were certain better value for money than whe ones you get on Cunard/P&O, UK RCI etc and I'd buy them again. The sea off Zeebrugge is a hotbed of anchored horribles so Pam wasn't bored during my absence. The pilot pulled up alongside so we watched from the balcony to see if he jumped, as it had become a running joke since Artemis, and he did!

We'd booked a table for 8.15pm in Paniolo. As I waited for Pam a pensioner came out and asked if I wanted to have a drink with him. When Pam arrived she found it funny I'd been chatted up yet again. She'd told me in all the trips she'd taken with NCL she'd never dined in the Tex Mex. I had the Chicken Quesadilla and struggled followed by Caesar Salad (Royal Caribbean still do the best) and Beef Burrito. Pam had the Black Bean Soup and Sizzling Fajitas. It was all delicious but extremely filling. We decided to go back to the cabin to put out the cases. As Ven had finished for the day we had a long chat with him. He was at the end of his current contract and would be flying home for a few months to be with his wife and two adorable sons. Pam then went to the Spinnaker Lounge to try and get photos but it was busy with a disco.

We were due for 6am so at 4am start. I looked out the window at the beautiful daybreak as we passed No Man's Land fort. I hurried to get on deck and also get the parts we'd missed. Annoyingly some places like the Latitudes Lounge and Card room were flipping locked! I could at least get the decor on the Promenade Deck though. We did some more wonderful tilting as we made turn after turn towards Calshot and Fawley.

Some drunks had been up all night. One of the women in her evening dress climbed into the hot tub and dropped her handbag in it. The Spinnaker Lounge was being cleaned although there was a woman in a chair who had clearly slept there. They had the same chairs Pam liked on Gem but this was quite different to that. No popcorn machine for a start to help yourself. Annoying gambling machines. The roulette one got on my wick, especially as it was spinning the wheel, giving the number but no one was playing.

Grand Princess docked a couple of hours before us which was really annoying. She was also starboard, meaning they all would be for later that day. Grrr! Braemar was still sitting pretty making sure she was all ready to go for Pam. We were being stalked by a Cobalfret, which was right up Pam's street! We also suffered the indignity of being passed by the thing as we went by Hythe pier. Hiss!

Once we were almost docked I went to find Papa's Italian Kitchen because the signs were dreadful. It was very similar to the one on Gem, right down to the carpet. It's still a nice restaurant though.

After breakfast we collected our stuff and went to wait in the Spinnaker Lounge. It was reasonably quiet, bar the gambling machines and a mother and two kids who walked in, the son mucked about with the furniture, then they disappeared. I was still undecided about the green seating. We didn't have to wait too long and our colour blue was called by 9am.

Because we were off earlier than we hoped, the Hythe ferry hadn't begun running so Pam could get photos of Braemar as she waited to check in so she decided we'd take a taxi instead, with it dropping her at the Shell garage in Hythe then she'd get the ferry back and I'd continue home. Our driver was bloody hilarious and it made for a good journey. Wonder how the latest lottery's gone?

I liked Jade a lot more than Gem. Pam wasn't so keen and thought she looked shabby for a ship just two years old. I think by leaving parts of her previous incarnation on it sets her apart from the rest. I preferred the decor because it wasn't in-your-face. It was so much more subtle in most places and matched rather than clashed. If I was able to, I'd choose a longer trip on Jade over her sisters. I just hope in the coming months they correct the lack of Jade souvenir tat.

For photos of Grand Princess, Braemar and Jade sailing click here.

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