Family Fun on Norwegian

The real essence of Norwegian Jade is comfortable, family-oriented fun.

The Freestyle Dining breaks the mold of the same table at the same time every night. Some people find this change from traditional cruising unsettling, and they may spend the entire cruise being upset about it. If that traditional cruise dining room experience is important to you, stick with Celebrity or one of the other cruise lines. This will feel more like a land resort experience. I personally love that fixed seating arrangement where we get to know our wait staff and table mates, but Freestyle Dining also has its charms. You aren't locked into a fixed time for dinner, giving you more flexibility depending on what else you're doing that day.

You can pick alternative dining spots, like Papa's Italian Restaurant which is included at no extra charge or Tepanyaki with a "reservation fee" to enjoy exactly the type of meal and environment you want on any given night, or you can enjoy one of the wonderful dining rooms like the Grand Pacific for a more diverse menu. Of course, there's also a great buffet, and with its wonderful fresh fruit, this is always a good choice. The Norwegian Jade features a beautiful, open-air seating area on the fantail of the ship, and a buffet meal here is hard to beat.

For entertainment, NCL again breaks with tradition by introducing new shows for the Norwegian Jade, with the Broadway-oriented show featuring songs from newer plays like "Wicked" and a more rock-oriented show with songs I've never heard in a cruise show like "Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting" and "Dance to the Music." There's also daytime entertainment for all ages from a beautiful spa and well-equipped health club to a circular water slide.

While the Garden Villas are enormous, the standard rooms tend to be small but efficient. The balcony I stayed in for the inaugural cruise was comfortable, and I particularly liked the glass doors on the shower rather than those curtains that most ships have as standard issue. If you choose an interior room for a family of four to be able to itineraries are fantastic. If you go cheap, however, spend a minimum time in the room and enjoy the rest of the ship. If you need to be able to kick back in your room a few hours each day in order to feel really relaxed, then you need to splurge for at least a balcony or mini-suite on Jade. As I said, the Garden Villas are an outstanding choice, but they definitely charge a premium for these over similarly sized mini-suites on this same ship. Having actually visited the gorgeous courtyard, I believe the Garden Villas are worth every penny extra, if you have the moolah.