buckeye82

When we disembarked the NCL Jade on June 7 the Captain came on the loud speaker (the day before) and urged everyone to disembark the ship quickly and be out of the port area by 10 am as a protest was planned for that day. We were off at about 8:30 am and went on an NCL post cruise excursion. Didn't see anything brewing at that time. When asked about it, our tour guide said he didn't think banning cruise ships the size of the Jade and smaller would ever happen. It would just be too bad for the economy. But that was his opinion. I guess we will have to wait and see. As we sailed out of Venice a week earlier we did see a banner hanging from a building saying, "Ban Cruise Ships."

When I called I was told to make a reservation for four and cancel one person when I was on board. I would have to pay in advance but would get a refund.

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Didn't have to chase it. My DH always goes to the Internet cafe to set it up and we just tell the person working there we are latitude members. No problem. DH likes to get as much as he's entitled to! Lol

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There is an Internet promotion for latitude members as well.

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I don't know what ship you are on, but it was a long walk to the metro from ours. And once on it was an uncomfortable ride. First there was the guy playing with a lighter. Then three children got on. Two were playing accordions and the third was yelling something and approaching people for money. Then they got off and went into the next car. A young man got on and started pacing up and down the car talking loudly to himself. We were fine, but I would personally take a taxi next time.

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Our ship (NCL Spirit) stopped in Lanzarote. We did the ship excursion which went to the Volcano park. It was really interesting. It is like being on a different planet. We went to the visitor center where they do demonstrations (sticking a branch in the ground and it catches on fire-things like that). There is a restaurant there where they cook the meat over a hot vent in the ground. Then we got back on the bus to take a trip through the park to see the unusual scenery. If you took a taxi or private car there you would be put on a park shuttle bus to take the tour. The visitor center was busy, but the buses go out on a staggered schedule so that you get more of a not of this world feeling. After visiting the park we stopped at a winery and then on to the coast where the lava had flowed into the sea. Really enjoyable shore excursion. I am sure you could arrange to do it privately if you prefer.

See new thread titled "NCL smoking ban" !

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The POA spends a lot of time sitting in port, so if you are on your balcony front or aft and there is a smoker on a near by balcony and the ship is not moving you will probably smell smoke. I have smelled cigarettes in the front and back balconies. That said the POA has no casino so you don't get smoke smell from there as you might on other ships. A cabin with no balcony might work for you.

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I would vote for Le Bistro and Cagney's.

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Few UDL questions cannot seem to find on NCL site Only available before cruise, on cruise also?. With OBC? Cost 3 nights? Read wine incl. with 6pm bookings,correct? Thanks.

If you mean the UDP then you can book it before the cruise or once onboard. But if you book it before the cruise you cannot use OBC. You would have to prepay. I don't think they offer the 3 night package anymore and we have booked the UDP on our last two cruises and heard nothing about wine being included for an early dining time. Would love to know more about that too!

Thanks so much for all your responses. The only problem I can see is most likely with the teeny tiny balcony stateroom. We did choose a aft with a larger balcony but we have have most recently sailed on ships in larger balcony rooms or junior suites which are quite roomy. We'll just have to make it work.:)

We were in an aft balcony also. But we were connected to the 2 bedroom suite that my grown kids shared. My husband often grumbled about why we didn't take at least part of the suite, but we kept the door opened between the cabins and really enjoyed their huge balcony. Their bathroom was just as tiny as ours, and the second bedroom was really tiny. My daughter had to sleep with her legs bent to fit on the sofa bed in there. It is really meant for a child, but she enjoyed being able to have her own space (there was a door). I have to admit to being very shocked at the size of the bathroom, but the balcony cabin itself was ok for two. I am going to try and link the cruise dailies so you can get an idea of some of the actvities and shows on board.

To see the dailies from our cruise go to http://s1328.photobucket.com/user/buckeye82/media/EK_0003_zps4c4346e7.jpg.html

We flew on American out of Barcelona this spring after our cruise. We were confused by all the lines in the check in area, but finally got in the relatively short line for the kiosk to get our boarding passes. Then we got in the "drop off bags" line which we were in for an hour. We just couldn't imagine what the hold up was! When we finally got to the front of the line we were politely asked many questions about where we had been, how we got to the airport, who had packed our luggage, had we left it unattended at any point and so on. From that point security was pretty straightforward and we got to the gate with time to spare, but it was a little nerve wracking.

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We were on the POA over the Christmas holidays. Perhaps because we had been in Hawaii before and also spent a week on Oahu prior to cruising we did enjoy some of the ship activities. My girls (twenties) enjoyed the hula classes and the lei making crafts (as did I). My husband son and I enjoyed trivia. We all went to almost all the shows and thought they were very good. One included dances from different Polynesian islands. My husband and son enjoyed watching football up in the Gold Rush Saloon where I would help myself to popcorn. After a few nights eating in the MDRs my husband and son decided they weren't too thrilled with the food and we switched to the specialty restaurants. The ship is pretty and we had fun onboard and in the ports!

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This is the specialty restaurant where reservations are probably the most necessary. The table holds ten people. When we were on the Jade there was only one table on board. Some ships have more. So if you want to go, make a reservation!

Sorry! It is the Spirit that only has one Teppanyaki table.

Are reservations required?

 

TIA

This is the specialty restaurant where reservations are probably the most necessary. The table holds ten people. When we were on the Jade there was only one table on board. Some ships have more. So if you want to go, make a reservation!

No. I think the lobster is included.

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Not free. Twenty-five dollars.

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Yes you can park directly at the port of Miami. I believe it is twenty dollars a day.

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We were in a two bedroom aft suite on POA in December and it did not have a name. But on the Spirit we were in the Philippines Suite (10000). On the Jade we were in a SF aft suite and it was unnamed. Names are more fun!

Breakfast items are served 5 am to 11 am.

Our first cruise was to Alaska on HAL. We were on deck in Glacier Bay and it was chilly. The crew passed out plaid blankets and bowls of hot pea soup. For some reason this really stands out for me, though it is hard to explain to others why. I will always remember those two Ps, plaid and peas!

Yes, it can be a fair distance. Depending on the time of day, the dock (or Princess) ran a free shuttle from the People Mover to the ship. We didn't know about it and had walked half way when the bus beeped and picked us up for the rest of the way. I don't know what time it started. It stopped running around 5pm when the dock workers quit for the day, so wasn't available if returning to the ship after being in Venice for the evening. Have sailed into or out of Venice a few times and saw this shuttle only once.

We were on the NCL Jade on May 31 and it was parked far from the people mover. When we got off the people mover and went down to ground level we saw two coach buses parked in front of us at the curb. My husband decided to check them out. One had a piece of paper with Jade written in pen on the wind shield. So if you see buses check them out. If my husband hadn't been curious we would have never known.

Just two thoughts. We were on the Jade in ealy June. The price of the People Mover has been raised. It is now 1 Euro 30. The day we embarked two of the three vending machines were out of order so we had about a ten minute wait.

Also, the Jade was berthed way back in the port. When we got off the People Mover my husand immeadiately noticed two coach busses parked in front of us at the curb. He went over to investigate and found that one was a shuttle to the Jade. Nice.....

After looking at some pictures I am going to modify what I said about the balcony furniture. There was one chair and then another chair that had a reclining back (you could adjust it). But not the full lounge chair like you would find at the pool. Also a small table.

Never saw it called "Movies at the Cinema" but they did show movies in the Mardi Gras Club almost everyday at noon. We made reservations for the specialty restaurants on board.