Roll Call Norwegian Jade November 21, 2010

[mkirch72]

My partner David and I (Mike) will be on this cruise. Any other GBLT folks booked?

[mundaetraversa]

Hi there, my soon-to-be wife and I are on the same sailing for our honeymoon (we wil be married in October in DC...can you tell I'm excited?!). We've never cruised before, so I'm all over these boards. Glad to see you'll be on the ship!

[2inTul]

Hello all,

 

We will be sailing with you. This will be our second cruise out of Barcelona. We are excited about returning and are planning to spend 4 days pre-cruise exploring everything we missed last time.

Of course, we are excited about the cruise also...

[mundaetraversa]

Hi 2inTul, I'm glad to know you'll be on this cruise. We are looking forward to getting to know Barcelona for a day or two before sailing, too. We have never been there before. Are there any particular sights or experiences you think we should not miss? Thanks!

[2inTul]

Congrats on the upcoming nuptials!

 

If this is your first time to Barcelona, you should consider staying on La Ramblas. It can get a little noisy late at night, but it is not too bad. There is a market about halfway down La Ramblas , the Mercat de la Boqueria, and that is definitely worth a trip. There is so much to see in the Barri Gotic that you could spend both days there.

 

Exploring Montjuic will require a lot of walking, but is worth the trip. I would suggest starting with the funicular up to the Castell de Montjuic and then you can work your way down past the Olympic stadium and the Palau Sant Jordi to the Font Magica. Plan this trip for later in the day as the fountain runs 7-9pm in November. Just down from the fountain, there is a metro stop at the Placa d' Espanya.

 

Wherever you stay, I would suggest choosing a place close to a Metro stop. The Metro is a great way to get around. If you plan to use the metro, check out the T-10 pass.

 

If you can fit it in, I would also suggest Parc Guell.

 

Frank (& George)

[mundaetraversa]

Wow, thanks for the tips! We can't wait to hang out in Barcelona, and you have certainly given us a lot to think about for the few days we'll have there. I appreciate your advice! We did end up booking a hotel right near Las Ramblas. Noise doesn't bother us, and we want to be close to the action. We are (according to hotel reviews) a two-minute walk from the Metro. I will look up the T-10 card you mentioned. I am guessing it's good for 10 single Metro voyages?

[2inTul]

Wow, I had to drag this up from page 6! I need to not let so much time pass between checking the boards.

 

Yes the T-10 is good for 10 trips on the metro and can be shared. There is also a Barcelona card that has unlimited transportation and discounts to museums and restaurants so you might want to check on that as well.

 

Is your hotel near the top or bottom of La Ramblas? (bottom being near the port)

If your at the top, there is a nice department store, El Corte Ingles, on north side of the Placa de Catalunya if you need supplies for the ship (or for the hotel). There is also a major subway, rail and bus station there as well.

 

We have just a little over 4 months to go!

[mundaetraversa]

LOL, I almost forgot about this thread too! Good thing I am Honeymoonzilla and came across it again in my Cruise Critic travels.

 

We are at the bottom. We wanted to be close to the water. Is it feasible to walk to the port from the very bottom of Las Ramblas?

 

I would like to visit the department store you mentioned. We're pretty granola. We want to buy some stuff for sandwiches, a few bottles of wine, and anything we may have forgotten to bring with us for the ship. I'm really glad you mentioned it, because it's always better (read: cheaper) in the local shops. Do you think we can walk to the store from near the water?

 

Thanks again - you're being extremely helpful to us.

[2inTul]

I would plan on taking a taxi or the cruise bus to the port, the bridge is not pedestrian friendly, and it is about 1 1/2 miles from the bottom of Las Ramblas to the dock. The cruise bus leaves from the Columbus statue every thirty minutes or so and is only a couple euro each. Be sure to have coins as the bus will not take a T-10. A taxi from the same location should be about 8 euro.

 

You could walk up to the store, it is just a little under a mile, but, depending on what and how much you purchase, you may want to use your T-10 for the metro. I think the Placa de Catalunya location is the closest El Corte with groceries (& wine).

[2inTul]

Well, final payment is due at the end of the month, and we sail in a little over 3 months!

 

It has been a little quiet around here, I hope that everyone is still planing to go?

[mkirch72]

Hi everyone. I can't believe it's been so long since we started the thread and I'm just checking it after all these months. We are glad to see there are a few other GLBT folks on board.

 

mundaetraversa - Congratulations on your upcoming wedding. You will love staying on the La Ramblas. 2inTul mentioned The El Corte Ingles...it's a wonderful store. It's really Spain's version of an upscale department store that also has a grocery store. We usually spend 3-4 hours in there every time we visit Spain.

 

2inTul - What are your names? Looks like you've sailed on NCL before. Any tips? We've always sailed on other lines so we are looking forward to trying out NCL.

[2inTul]

Mike, we are Frank & George from Tulsa. We are the first two from Oklahoma on the roll call list you are keeping. We have sailed with NCL before, but this is our first time on the Jade.

 

Tips?

 

The Jade is similar to the Jewel, so the following should apply:

Lunch will be served in the MDR on embarkation day, they will direct you to the Buffet, but just head to deck 7 Aft if you want a less hectic experience...

Cabins may not be available until around 1:30-2:00pm, but they should have a luggage drop-off area in the Medusa lounge on deck 7 mid-ship.

 

We love the FreeStyle dining, but if you like to eat at 7:00pm, be prepared for a little bit of a wait. We like to eat early and other than the line up right at 5:30, it is never a problem. Same applies to late dining, 8:00 or 8:30 should be little to no wait. Just be mindful of the show times...especially on nights when there is one show!

 

Contrary to popular belief, the Laundry Special is a pretty good deal. You can get quite a lot in that bag!

 

Look for the 'fish' on the carpet in the stateroom hallways, they 'swim' forward.

 

If you are a 'Spa' person, check out the spa pass early, it's good for the entire voyage. They limit the number of passes available and sometimes they sell out. It is 18+ only and usually quiet.

 

 

Food is always subjective, but I would suggest the following:

Lobster Tacos in the TexMex restaurant,

Fish & Chips from the Blue Lagoon,

Chocolate Fondue in the Le Bistro,

Crab Cakes in Cagney's,

and we never miss the Beef Wellington in the MDR.

[mkirch72]

Does NCL typically have a FOD Gathering?

[2inTul]

Does NCL typically have a FOD Gathering?

 

Yes. It will usually be early in the evening (6:00 - 8:00pm). It is almost always already in the Daily and does not need to be requested. The attendance is kind of hit or miss depending on the length and destination of the cruise. Longer cruises (TA's & Repositioning) seem to have better turnouts.

[Mr C]

My partner & I will be on the Jade for the November 11/21/10 sailing on the Jade out of Barcelona. We will also be on the Jade the week before that for the 14-21. Are there others that are doing the back to back ??? My name is Craig & my partners name is John, and we live in Atlanta, I will be celebrating my 46th birthday on this cruise. Any hotel suggestions in the Gothic section of Barcelona ? Looking forward to meeting all of you.

[capecod14]

My partner and I are also doing these 2 B to B cruises. Ruth and I are from Cape Cod. We are staying at the Pulitzer 2 nights before and 2 nights after the 2nd cruise. Should we all plan to meet at the FOD on the first night of each cruise? our email is valdrichcape@aol.com. Looking forward to meeting you all.

Ginny and Ruth

[capecod14]

We are also looking for 2 more for our shore trips on the first cruise Nov 14-21. We are using Rome In Limo for all three ports Rome, Florence and Naples. The trips are 500 euros and if we get two more it will make 8 - that would be 63/euros per person per port. In Rome we decided to get a private guide for the Vatican - an additional charge.

 

We are also looking for 2 more to join a tour in Turkey on the 2nd cruise we are using TAYF tours - all details are on post 509

 

If you are interested please email me. We do not do the boat excursions - way too expensive and can't stand doing them with so many others.

[2inTul]

Welcome Aboard, Craig & John and Ginny & Ruth!

 

We have looked at adding the 7 day cruise on the 14th, but I don't think that ether one of us would have a job when we got back! Our plan was to leave here on the 16th, but it looks like we may have to delay that by a day or two due to issues at work. Who knows, if everything goes smoothly and they still have cabins left...

 

Since our travel plans will be kind of fluid for this trip we were not planning to pre-book a hotel. We are looking at the Catalonia Port hotel. It is in the Gothic section, but we have never stayed there so really cant recommend, but it sounds nice from what we can tell and it is convenient to the subway. George has a list of hotels that he has researched as back-ups in case the Catalonia Port is booked-up, several are of the same chain as the Port.

 

Sounds like there will be lots of reasons to celebrate on this cruise, a birthday or two and a wedding. Any more???

 

It has been pretty standard for NCL to have the FOD in the Star Bar and we usually try to go the first night. Check the Freestyle Daily for times.

[2inTul]

Thought it was time to bring this back to the first page..

 

Only 37 days until we leave for Barcelona! (Work days, that is...)

 

56 days till we are on-board!

[mkirch72]

38 more days....can't wait!!!!

[capecod14]

Hope to meet you all either on the sailing of the 14th or 21st - 5 more nights and we are off to Barcelona! It seems like we have been planning this for a long time and it finally is a reality!

 

Ginny