The Ship’s Owner, Norwegian Cruise Line, Pioneered The Model Over 10 Years Ago Regimented Onboard Routines And Set Dining Times Would Not Be Thrust On Their Passengers.
The “Freestyle Cruising” concept is playing out brilliantly on board Norwegian Jade in the Mediterranean this summer.
The ship’s owner, Norwegian Cruise Company, pioneered the model over 10 years ago regimented onboard routines and set dining times wouldn’t be thrust on their passengers. It’s their holiday, after all.
Instead , passengers would enjoy a profusion of onboard entertainment and dining choices yet with no set schedules or even dress codes to adhere to.
As passengers settled into their seven-night, roundtrip Venice voyage this week (port calls included Dubrovnik and Split, Croatia ; Athens, Greece and Izmir, Turkey) what they found was a 2,402-passenger ship which never sleeps.
The establishment passenger mix here onboard can wake to fitness center activities and aerobics, 2 golfing driving nets, shuffleboard, oversized chess, volleyball / basketball court and paddle tennis.
The pool deck features two swimming pools (one adults-only), a water slide and four hot tubs. Jade also includes a full service spa and salon, a 7,000-square foot boutique, art studio, Internet center, library, casino, and for evening entertainment, a three-deck theater that plays host to a selection of performances.
Jade offers a supervised facility for kids featuring a play gymnasium, flick theatre with kid’s pictures, PC center, and an arts and crafts area. There’s also a club for teens and a computer games arcade.
Jade stateroom accommodations run the gamut, too. There’s a suite complex at the very top of the ship complete along with two luxurious 5,000 square-foot garden villas, a luxury owner’s suite, 3 owner’s apartments and ten courtyard villas, 8 of which have a separate children’s bedroom.
World Class Dining
Top flight dining places abound on this ship.
That might appear surprising to some great dining is historically the domain of the luxury cruise sector and not always what one expects to find on a mass market vessel.
Jade nonetheless , delivers. There are some 14 dining options, and passengers would be hard-pressed to find analogous dcor, quality and service at even their favourite land-based locales.
From U.S. Steak and seafood (Cagney’s), plus Tex-Mex (Paniolo Tapas & Salsa), to French (Le Bistro) and Italian (Papa’s Kitchen) offerings, the ship is alive at dinner hour. Most significantly, Jasmine Garden is the culinary hub. The Asian cafe complicated, located on Deck seven mid-ship, features made-to-order sushi and sashimi, a Sake Bar and a Teppanyaki griddle and is obviously a runaway favourite with passengers.
Look for Cagney’s, a classical steakhouse from the 1930s and the ship’s signature restaurant, to serve a 32-ounce porterhouse for 2 ; at Paniolo their zesty signature dish lobster tacos is a total must ; and both Le Bistro and Papa’s offer classical French and Italian fare respectively.
And while all of the aforementioned specialty restaurants need nominal costs starting from $10-25 per person, Jade still packs a punch with quality food and choice in its no extra charge main dining rooms Grand Pacific and Alizar plus Garden Caf where alluring buffet spreads are offered including specialty dishes from ports, which the ship just visited. Following a port call this week to Izmir, Turkey, for instance, the culinary team featured Turkish bread with chicken plus various kebabs.
Dining options are a big factor today in the cruise industry as more ships than ever before offer alternative onboard venues for their passengers to enjoy. At Norwegian Cruise Line , however , it’s the very premise of their “Freestyle Cruising” concept where one is offered a large number of notable dining selections, relaxed dress codes, and the liberty to dine with whom they desire, when they need at a locale that is correct for them on the evening of their selecting. As such, all bistros aboard Jade feature open seating and flexible, extended dining hours.
Specialty restaurant reservations can be made in specific locales just minutes before dining, though to avoid being disappointed, advance reservations are counseled.
Still hungry? Jade offers twenty four hour waiter service. The new and expanded menu includes soups, salads, pizza, various sandwiches and desserts. There’s also a kid’s menu and an important day menu that includes a jumbo shrimp platter, a collection of international cheeses and Caspian sea Sevruga caviar, writes tagza.com.
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