Jade to the Greek Islands - Photos

We went from Venice to Corfu, Santorini, Mykonos and Katakolon on the Jade at the end of June. Here are some photos of that trip. We have been around the Med many times and did not take and trips out from the ship this time. We took advantage of the local areas and had a really restful cruise this time in the summer heat.

Corfu Town was busy but interesting at the same time. Shortly after we had arrived, the ship called "The World" docked nearby. We have seen this ship before in Norway on it's world travels. When we saw it then, I was taken by it's name although at first I thought the name was a little pretentious then I did some research on it and felt quite privileged to see it. If you have never heard of this ship, look around for information on it on he web and then you will see why I now have respect for it. If the latest NCL charges are an issue, just have a look at those on this ship. On second thoughts, if you need to ask the cost, you can’t afford it!

Santorini was as spectacular as we had expected and just sitting on the balcony was amazing. When we were there, there was an MSC ship in plus the Queen Victoria so it was a bit busy at first, especially waiting for the cable car up to the top. The timings that NCL use there are excellent because the ship arrives at lunchtime and leaves after dark at around 9pm so the crowds from the other ships are long gone in the late afternoon and you are there to watch the sun setting over one of the most spectacular views in the world. The biggest problem we had was trying to work out which queue was which on the dock because the other two ship’s tenders were getting their passengers off the island when we went over. I think we joined both lots queuing before we found that there was no real queue for the cable car!

The photos of our trip are here:[YOUTUBE]/uI_VL_3uqkI[/YOUTUBE]

Enjoy

Thanks:)

I will be on the Jade a month from now and while my trip has different ports than yours, I really enjoyed your pictures. Thanks for posting!

Thank you,that was beautifully done!

Very looking forward to our trip in Oct. Can't wait for others with us on this trip to see your video. This will get them pumped up to go.

Beautiful photos! Glad you enjoyed your trip. Brought back lovely memories of OUR Jade trip. Thanks for sharing.:)

Thank you VERY much for the posting! We're going on the Jade in October to these same destinations plus a few more so your pix give us a good indication of what we can look forward to.

Tom K.

Thank you for the comments. Just to add a little, we wanted to make the most of the sailout from Venice and although the weather was not particularly nice that evening the actual views were all we expected. Because we were in the Haven, we spent the entire time until we exited the lagoon up on the Deck 15 sundeck. The major part of the view was on the port side, but as our suite was on the other side, we could just nip down the stairs and have a look that way from our balcony if we wanted.

The other part of the Venice plan was to have a look from the suite balcony as we came in at the end of the cruise at around 6am but that was mainly foiled by the sunlight - and the fact that we did not wake up quite early enough!!! When the ship leaves Venice, the setting sun is more or less coming in behind you for most of the sailout and that setting sun on the main island buildings makes for some beautiful views. However, on the return you have to contend with a very low cold sun that makes it very difficult to take any decent pictures at all. That will not be helped as the year moves on because the sun will be even lower than we had in the morning, even if it rises at all before docking. Best pictures are definitely on the sailout evening.

One other quick point, for anyone having the pleasure of staying in the Haven, the last few pictures in the slideshow are of the beautiful new carpets in the Haven gangways that were fitted just before we sailed.

How long does the sail away in Venice take, to the point were the ship is on open sea ?

How long does the sail away in Venice take, to the point were the ship is on open sea ?

It depends on the way the ship is docked. If she went in forwards that morning, it will take the best part of 30 minutes to loop round ready to go down the channel. On the other hand, if she went in astern it only takes about 10 minutes to leave the berth. Once in the channel it takes the best part of 45-60 minutes to get out of the lagoon completely.

The first 20-30 minutes down the channel is the most spectacular time. The second half of the trip out is relatively rural and it becomes less interesting as you go. The Jade left a few minutes after the published time of 6pm so we opted to book for Cagneys at 8:30 and made it easily even though the ship had to turn about to get out.

It depends on the way the ship is docked. If she went in forwards that morning, it will take the best part of 30 minutes to loop round ready to go down the channel. On the other hand, if she went in astern it only takes about 10 minutes to leave the berth. Once in the channel it takes the best part of 45-60 minutes to get out of the lagoon completely.

 

The first 20-30 minutes down the channel is the most spectacular time. The second half of the trip out is relatively rural and it becomes less interesting as you go. The Jade left a few minutes after the published time of 6pm so we opted to book for Cagneys at 8:30 and made it easily even though the ship had to turn about to get out.

Thank you old nutter, great info. Good to know, no early dinner for us as well on our sailaway sept. 5th

Wow, beautiful photos. :D Thanks for sharing!!

Old Nutter,

When we went on this cruise the one thing I remember the most was all the church bells that were ringing and the people waving to us from their homes as we proceeded along the channel.

Do the bells still ring?

Old Nutter,

When we went on this cruise the one thing I remember the most was all the church bells that were ringing and the people waving to us from their homes as we proceeded along the channel.

Do the bells still ring?

Funny how we remember different apsects of this experience. I have done that sailaway several times with different cruise lines and I don't ever remember hearing those bells. Maybe I have been too off-the scale with the visual aspect of it all to notice the bells - or I am going deaf after the flight-in earlier that day:)

We are hoping to do a trip out of Venice again next fall so I will listen for the bells this time. Thanks.

Funny how we remember different apsects of this experience. I have done that sailaway several times with different cruise lines and I don't ever remember hearing those bells. Maybe I have been too off-the scale with the visual aspect of it all to notice the bells - or I am going deaf after the flight-in earlier that day:)

 

We are hoping to do a trip out of Venice again next fall so I will listen for the bells this time. Thanks.

Well if you have done this cruise many times maybe we were there when some other celebration was taking place and we just thought it was for us:)

Fair skies and following seas to you and yours.

Hi, my hubby and I will be on the Jade 14-Day Adriatic, Greece & Turkey from Venice cruise leaving Oct. 4. Is that the one you are going on?

Sorry, should have said Fall 2016. Not sure whether we will be going now because we have been caught up in the cancelled cruise foul-up so don't know what we might be doing or which line we will be going on if we do go.

Enjoy your trip.

Your photos brought back so many memories of the three weeks we spent aboard the Jade last year. Thanks so much for sharing :D

Thank you so much for the posting the photos! We are sailing on the Jade 9/19 to the Greek Islands and I am so excited! One question- the cable car ride on Santorini. I am afraid of heights! How bad is it?

Thanks,

Liz

Liz

The ride up on the cable car is quite short and it actually follows the slope of the cliff side. It is not anything like a cable car that goes over big drops. It is easy for me to say it it easy because I don't suffer from fear of heights.

You can sit facing the wall and you would not see anything else but the cliff wall a few feet away, but it does move about a little bit so it depends if you are affected by the movement and the thought of being off the ground or if it is purely visual.

One thing is for sure is that Fira is beautiful and the views across the lagoon are unforgettable and are worth being a bit brave.

Thank you to Old Nutter for the beautiful slide show. We're taking the Jade to the Greek Isles, etc., eventually going TA to Houston this Oct.-Nov. Your photos are beautiful and much appreciated.

We are on the Greek Cruise leaving Venice on October 3. Really looking forward to it! Thank you for the lovely video old nutter. I will save it and look at it several times before we leave. Really nice to have.

It depends on the way the ship is docked. If she went in forwards that morning, it will take the best part of 30 minutes to loop round ready to go down the channel. On the other hand, if she went in astern it only takes about 10 minutes to leave the berth. Once in the channel it takes the best part of 45-60 minutes to get out of the lagoon completely.

 

The first 20-30 minutes down the channel is the most spectacular time. The second half of the trip out is relatively rural and it becomes less interesting as you go. The Jade left a few minutes after the published time of 6pm so we opted to book for Cagneys at 8:30 and made it easily even though the ship had to turn about to get out.

Thanks just the info I was looking for.. Im guessing though from 7.30 would be ok - If you already changed before departing

Loved the video. Thanks for the info about departing Venice. Looking at doing the Greek Isle cruise in May to celebrate a college graduation. Any thoughts on Mykonos..ie what to not miss/pass on?

Thanks again

Anne

Any thoughts on Mykonos..ie what to not miss/pass on?

Anne

Glad you enjoyed the video.

As for Mykonos, can't be too much help because we spent the day just wandering round the town sussing out where we might want to eat our Greek Meze when we go back there next year. There was a port shuttle to take us round to the edge of the town and then we walked round to the main part of the town. There were some lovely looking places to eat as we walked round and the curve of the bay gives you beautiful views of the sea, coast and some of the famous windmills on the hills.

When we got to the town we spent quite a time walking round the very narrow inner streets - they are really amazing and very picturesque. I am not sure if it is possible to get completely lost in the maze of narrow streets, but it does help if you keep an eye on the shadows from the sun so you know which way to turn to get back to the coast road when you have had enough! There are lots of little boutique style shops and more super places to eat and drink with the locals.

One of the other things doing it our way we found was that this stop is a useful "unwinder" if you need it because you can imerse yourself in that famous Greek laid back way of living. That said, this wasn't a "once in a lifetime" cruise for us since we lived for a while in Cyprus in the early 80s and have been to Greece and the islands a number of times since.

Hope that helps.

Very good video, loved the music that went with the different islands. Thanks for posting