Norwegian Cruise Line Norwegian Jade

Introduction

Dividing her time between Venice and Rome as homeports for year-round cruises through the Greek Islands and winter forays to the Holy Land, Norwegian Jade lives the good life. A Mediterranean base wasn’t in Jade’s original plans when the vessel entered service in 2006—in fact, the ship was originally named Pride of Hawaii and was designed to be part of Norwegian Cruise Line’s three-ship all-Hawaii fleet. But when NCL’s Hawaii strategy proved unable to support three ships year-round, Pride of Hawaii was renamed, taking up residence in the Mediterranean in 2008 as Norwegian Jade; the painted leis that adorned the ship were replaced with green streaks flying off her bow. But amusingly, Jade’s Hawaiian Island-themed interior décor remains, and while the hibiscus and aloha elements feel a bit out of place in the Greek Islands, the ship nonetheless has more character than most (we love being welcomed to breakfast in the main dining room by a statue of Hawaii’s King Kamehameha!).

Second in the four-ship Jewel Class, Norwegian Jade is almost identical in design and layout to Norwegian Jewel, Norwegian Pearl and Norwegian Gem. Like those vessels, Jade hums with activities on all decks, often sailing with more Europeans than Americans—the nimble cruise director issued fluent announcements in four languages. But that’s not to say we couldn’t find room for an enjoyable, American-style cruise experience.