Norwegian Jade 10/31/10 Pictoral Review

[omc329]

Some folks like sweet and simple, and others like lengthy. This is the lengthy version and will be some time in completing. The short version will later be written up for the Jade reviews section.

 

Our cruise was the on the Norwegian Jade, Oct 31, leaving from Barcelona and visiting the ports of Monaco, Livorno, Cittivechia, Naple, and Palma de Mallorca.

 

I booked this cruise in February of '09. By the end of March of '09, my sis and her 16 year old granddaughter and my old high school chum now living in TX and her husband, were also booked. For the next year I read and read and read. Cruise Critic was wonderful for info, little stuff, big stuff and lots of links.

 

By Dec of '09 I found an airfare I could live with, and the point that my sis and I could meet up in Newark for the latter part of the trip made it all the sweeter. At this time I also purchased my travel insurance, making certain to cover pre-existing conditions. We used HTH and my sis and friend used CSA, because we were long past the limited time frame most insurance companies allow for pre-existing conditions. I wasn't about to purchase the insurance 18 months out. Once we had non-refundable airfare, it was time to purchase the insurance.

 

Still, there were months ahead of us to wait, and wait, and wait. I kept myself company as I awaited the trip on our roll call at cc. We shared many insights, thoughts and links as the months progressed.

 

FINALLY, the day arrived!

 

We left WI on Thursday, Oct 28th. There were high winds that day, still dying down from the hurrican force winds of the day before. I wasn't 'overly' concerned as we had a 6 hour layover in NJ, (it was that or 2 hours and had decided 2 hours was too risky for this trip). As we were waiting for our flight we listened as other flights were still running late and missing connections. They were even shuttling folks by bus, down to Chicago from MKE to attempt to reroute them. I again, was grateful we had that 6 hour layover.

 

As chance would have it, we ended up boarding early and actually taking off a bit early as well! Wow! What a nice start to our trip while others were still sitting back at the airport hoping for new flights.

 

We arrived over half an hour early in NJ and now had one Loooonnng wait ahead of us. I was so excited though. I wandered, paced, did a lot of needlepoint, and of course, HAD to take a pict of the NY skyline. It was my first time almost in NY, so had to be documented. Too bad I couldn't take a pict of the Statue of Liberty from the plane! ;) *L*

 

 

My sis's plane ran late, so she ended up cutting her 4 hour layover short by about 2 hours. Again, those long layovers can sometimes payoff. We chatted the rest of the time away until it was time to go.

 

I tried to sleep on the plane. I really, truly tried. I may even have dozed off a few times. It was a rocky flight and everytime I'd start to drop off we'd get new warnings to buckle up and the plane would do some more rocking and rolling. Yawwwwnn.

 

We arrived an hour early in Barcelona. (Did I say this trip started out great?!) We did customs, (their forms sure were confusing, at least to our bunch!), and picked up our luggage and headed out for the taxis.

 

We all huddled together as I attempted to dig out the address to the hotel. As I'm digging I cut my finger. OUCH! Of course, now I'm bleeding everywhere. WHO had the BANDAIDS! I KNOW I packed them. Dig, bleed, dig, bleed, give up! I ended up grabbing a wet wipe and wrapping my finger up tightly and just held it there. This was the first sign of fatigue. My mind just couldn't make out where those bandaids were, and I packed them in around 5 or 6 spots as dh is on bloodthinners and is a bleeder. Who knew I'd be the one to need them!? *L*

 

Oh well, we head up to catch a cab from the many in line. I look all around for a minivan, not to be had. The gal who appears to be handling the cabs signs us to come over and pack into this wee little cab, all four of us and all our bags?!?!?! :eek: I wish I had a pict of that one! ROFL* There we sat, hip to hip, bag to bag across our laps, (not all would have fit in the trunk even if we wanted to pay the extra E's), door to door. Don't take too deep a breath, the door might pop open!!!!

 

Our driver was efficient, if not terribly friendly. He took us right up to the door of the Hotel Continental on La Rambla, right off of Placa Catalunya. Total for the trip was 27E for the four of us and our 5 bags he managed to squeeze into the trunk. (Luckily I pack lighter than my sis!)

[omc329]

We took the old, rickety, but usable elevator up to the lobby. We had made our reservations in June of '09. My sis checked in at a rate of 97E a night. I was supposed to have a rate of 97E a night, but for some reason came up at 98E a night. It wasn't a huge deal, and I didn't feel like making a scene, but it irritated me a bit. Here I am bringing in business for them with three rooms, and I get charged more, not only than my quote, but than my sis who booked at the same time? *shrug* I'll save my frustrations for the bigger things in life.

 

Our room was small and actually included a small balcony overlooking some buildings in the back. It wasn't a spectacular view, but had the weather been warmer, we might actually have used it anyway. My sis had a larger and more comfortable room, but a window rather than the balcony. Friends ended up in a comfortable size room as well when they arrived, again bigger than ours, but no balcony.

 

I apologize for the poor quality of these two photos. I really, truly meant to retake them, but you know how things go on vacation. *shrug*

 

 

The door to the bathroom was next to the suitcase, and just missed the bed. It was cramped getting around, but certainly no worse than a ship's cabin. Again though, everyone else got spacier rooms than we did. They all seem just a bit different from one another. There doesn't appear to be a standard room at this hotel.

 

Now I've mixed up the order of the day. Ooops.

When we arrived early that day, of course our rooms were not ready.

 

We helped ourselves to the limited food bar. It wasn't great, but it wasn't awful either. They DID have a fruit fly problem in the bar area, a separate room from the food thank goodness. They had plastic covers over the prepped food and kept bread rolls and the like in plastic bags. The bar area had the promised free but cheap wine, beer, soda, milk, coffee, cocoa and green and herb teas, (note, NO black tea). So, for brunch I had fresh pineapple, melon, fried potatoes and some egg mixture,(which sis and hubby enjoyed and I didn't).

 

Now our bellies were pleasantly full we were ready to head out. Dh was simply NOT up to touring. We left him in a corner table of the lobby, shown below with a Limoncello bottle, and sis, gd and I headed out to explore Barcelona.

 

 

Odds are he dozed in and out with his head against the wall while we were gone. Perhaps it wasn't the best, but what else are you going to do? He simply could NOT go any further without sleep.

[omc329]

So, off we go to find the street of discord. As we wander we see a 'castle' on a hill. I don't know what this building was, but throughout our stays in Barcelona, it marked our way to let us know which direction was which at a glance.

 

 

After wandering north for a bit we headed back to Placa Catalunya and down the Rambla for a bit. My sis noticed an alley to the west and off we went.

 

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We finally made it to the Boqueria after wandering side streets a bit, but didn't go in far. Sis just did NOT like the crowds in there so we didn't stick around. Even the Rambla seemed crowded. We were glad to return to the hotel and meet up with TX friends.

 

At this point we checked into our rooms and 'attempted' to catch a nap. I was just too wound. Our friends arrived around 4PM and got their room, we all caught another snack and back out to see La Sagrada.

[omc329]

We took the metro from the far end of the square, about a block from the hotel. We all purchased T10 tickets, (1 per pair), with intentions of using them again. We took the purple line to La Sagrada. We went down and caught the train quickly. They appear to run constantly throughout the day. It didn't seem like we ever waited more than 5 minutes for one whenever we used it.

 

We climbed back up and out of the metro arriving at La Sagrada. (There were lots of steps with the metro, and with all of Europe for that matter.)

 

We had decided before the trip we would choose not to go into La Sagrada. Being a construction site and having an asthmatic in the group and an ocular rosacea in the group, it just didn't seem like a smart move. I think my sis might have regretted it. Frankly, we had so much to see in so little time, things were going to get cut one way or another. After this trip, I'm convinced we need to go back to Barcelona some day and just spend a week.

 

A few closeups of La Sagrada. It is difficult to attempt to catch the entire cathedral, (one side of which is still completely in construction phase).

 

 

After wandering the block around the cathedral for a while, we decided to take the metro, blue line, to La Pedrera. This one was a bit more confusing coming out, and we had some help in directions to Pedrera. The line in was more than we were willing to deal with so we took our photos and headed down the road towards the street of discord.

 

 

Approaching the street of discord.

 

And just two of the houses.

 

It was fascinating to look at all those buildings, but folks were wearing out QUICKLY at this stage.

[omc329]

We began a frantic search for a cafe. The issue was our group of 6. Between attempting to keep all within budgets AND get a table for six, (not bar stools), we simply couldn't seem to find a spot to stop, despite having tons of them along the street. We ended up sitting on a couple of benches for a bit to rest those up who needed it before continuing on down the road.

 

As we sat a beggar woman approached us. We girls all said no and she headed over to where they guys were sitting. Man can those two squirm!!! They just felt sooo guilty saying no and she KNEW it. I decided we had rested enough and went over to collect them up and we headed on towards Placa Catalunya.

 

I saw ahead the building we had noted earlier in the day across from the square.

Finally we arrived!

 

 

We sent TX friends back to the hotel. They were beat. The other four of us headed out for a cafe, but we too were beat. I'm sad to say, we just couldn't hold up long enough to go an extra block or two for decent eats. We saw Burger King, headed in, ordered 4 whoppers to go at nearly 4E a pop, and headed across the street to the hotel and supplemented with the food and drink bar there.

 

Off to bed....until around 1:30AM when I awoke. I headed down to the drink bar and got some hot cocoa and talked with TX friend's hubby for an hour or two before heading back to bed. Good friends share jetlag together! :D

[omc329]

The next morning arrived all to early. We all met down in the lobby for breakfast.

 

TX friend had been on the internet on our way down the hall. Notes here. The hotel had two computers open for public usage. It also had wifi and plugs available in the dining area as well for laptops.

 

Breakfast was a muslix mix, egg junk, ham bits, fresh fruit and bread rolls, and I brought down my own Earl Grey from my luggage for morning tea. I tried their OJ. Their idea of orange juice is not my idea of orange juice. One taste of that was more than enough. Ick.

 

My sis was in a mood this morning. She said the beds were horribly hard and uncomfortable and made her back miserable. TX friends loved the beds. Said they were nice and hard and comfortable, the way they like them. DH slept well on it also, preferring a hard mattress. I was fine, no complaints or compliments to the beds. It just goes to show, you can't make everyone happy.

 

We had decided this morning to do the runnerbean old city tour, but not until we could stop at the store across the street for a few necessities others forgot.

 

Before we left we got directions to Placa Real from the hotel. Just walk down La Rambla and you can't miss it. Yeah, right!!

 

We walked, and walked, and looked for the square with the fountain and palm trees we had described. Before we knew it we were nearing the Columbus monument. Time to backtrack.

 

And as we head back, grandniece needs a bathroom, NOW! Fortunately we come across some public ones as we are heading back up La Rambla.

 

Let's see, the tour begins at 11AM. We left the hotel at 9:55AM waiting for the store to open. Time is a-ticking.....

 

I decide to run ahead and check down the side streets while waiting. I find the placa, NOT so easily seen from La Rambla, gather up the group and we get there with 5 or 10 minutes to spare.

 

The tour was GREAT!!!!!

 

We start in Placa Real and see Gaudi's lamposts.

 

We head down tons of small streets, listening to histories and stories, of saints, of the old Jewish quarter, of the bombing marks on the side of a church where women and children had taken refuge, and so many, many more things to learn. From the Roman gateways to the Spanish inquisition to the Catalunyan histories, we heard story after story as we weaved our way through the streets.

 

[April7901]

Sigh. You're beating me to it :-) It's interesting to see someone else's pictures, and you're right at about the point when I arrived.

 

We noticed that castle on top of the hill too (from Montjuic) and wondered what it was!

[omc329]

And yet more picts from our Runnerbean tour.

 

The Cathedral which we only had time to explore the extensive courtyard.

The bombed out side of the church where many innocents died.

One of the largest leaded windows from its' time period.

The streets as they narrowed from building farther and farther into the streets.

One of many musicians playing throughout the Gottic district.

 

These are merely a sampling of things we saw on the tour.

 

Another note here. Pickpockets. There was a group of 3 that did not belong with our group. They weaved in and out, and even our tour guide spoke to them directly at one point. They left but returned later. TX friend said they kept attempting to get behind her backpack, and she saw one way to close for comfort on me that I hadn't noticed. She gave him the evil eye and he backed off. Also, at the beginning of the tour, our guide recommended keeping all items held closely to the front.

 

Our tour went on and on. What I thought might be a 1 or 2 hour tour was announced as a 2 hour tour, was running past 2 1/2 hours. This was BAD planning on my part. We had tour tickets for the Musica de Palau at 2PM. The group is tired and hungry, the tour hasn't ended and time is short. Finally, I asked directions out, paid our guide 10E per person for the tip, (they live on tips alone), and we ran to catch the Palau tour.

 

And we ran, and realized those directions weren't very clear. Finally we stopped and asked directions. Following those directions the street ahead did not look familiar as I thought it should. I left behind our slow plodding group to run ahead and get our bearings. I got up to the street, backed up to a wall and checked my map. I knew how to get there. YAY!!!

 

I headed back into the Gottic district........

 

Where was everyone???? I went up the street. I went down the street. I got up on some steps and craned my neck, looking every which way. They were GONE! I was deserted! Left all alone. How bereft I felt at that moment. :(

 

And now it is time to close for the day. I'll attempt to get back at it tomorrow afternoon.

[sjbdtz]

And just two of the houses.

 

.

 

Your photo got flipped! Casa Batllo is to the right of Casa Amatller, not the left... :) (your street photo proves it!)

[omc329]

A few quick notes before continuing.

 

Friends taxi from the airport ran 35E for the two of them. They had asked the driver to take a more scenic route, which he did. He pointed out various things on the ride to the hotel. They felt the extra E was well worth the impromptu tour.

 

During the gottic tour, we saw the square with the history museum. We had intended to return later that day to see both the cathedral and the history museum, but rain, fatique and darkness won out.

 

Another note on pickpockets. TX friend mentioned on several occasions she would open her backpack to see the zippers opened just as far as the safetypins, which I had recommended, would allow. Nothing was ever taken however. Gal on the cruise ship later told us she lost her danish which had been stowed in her backpack, to a pickpocket. It wasn't a huge deal, just irritating. She too, knew better than to keep valuables there.

[omc329]

Now back to my tales.

 

After freaking out about being deserted in the Gottic district by my friends, (after all, how could they possibly have gotten past me!?!?), I went through a momentary set of emotions. First I was panicked. Than I was just short of tears. Of course I was hurt. But then I realized I had the map, I knew the way back to the hotel, deal with it and get on in life.

 

So I took one step, another, and then I was mad. Just plain mad. Why should I head back to the hotel? I had the map! I had the tickets for the Palau. For heaven's sake. Why should I miss the tour?! Why not get at least one ticket's worth out of all those E I spent ordering them?

 

And I stomped off in a huff!........And I came out of the Gottic district, hung a right, stormed off down the block....There they all were. :eek:

 

None of us can yet figure how they got past me without me seeing the 5 of them, or them seeing me. All we can guess is maybe while I was checking that map they passed by me. *shrug* Ok, so maybe I shouldn't have been so judgemental when they all disappeared. :o

 

At any rate, it is now 1:48PM. The tour starts promptly at 2PM. Let's grab a taxi the rest of the way. The driver looks at us like we are nuts. It is only just down the block!

 

Run folks, run! Asthmatic, don't breath so hard! Knee brace girl, hobble better! Dh, use that cane and pick it up! What a sorry lot we were.

 

So we hobbled and panted, and I ran ahead, (think I would learn my lesson?), and found the Palau de la Musica de Catalunya.

 

 

What a building! The only problem was, WHERE was the entrance for the tour?!?! Another three or four minutes later, my sorry lot panting and attempting to recover, we had found our way to the line with perhaps a minute left to spare before they collected us in. Whew!

 

Well, needless to say, by this point my sis was NOT happy with me. Sorry. Best laid plans and all that stuff??

 

The tour started with a movie, perfect for our bunch as they all got to sit and rest for 15 minutes or so. And then we took off for the actual tour. Photos were not permitted inside. Words don't do justice to the beauty and planning of this building. All I can say, is if your are going to Barcelona, attempt to get in on one of these tours, or perhaps catch a show there. It was spectacular, and I am SOOOooooo glad we made it in time!!!

 

My sis on the other hand, was having real difficulties at this point. And her gd was even worse. They could not manage the stairs, and stairs there were. Someone took pity on them and got them on a lift which minimized the steps, but they were both in pain at this stage.

 

After the tour, sis and her gd decided it was time for some space and took off on their own. The other four of us were STARVED and decided to look for the nearest eatery.

 

There, almost just the other side of the street was a place that looked reasonable. It was called Bar Ski Cafeteria. What a terrific choice!

 

Friends decided on sandwiches while dh and I ordered the full meals. The sandwiches were served on a baquett style roll, hard, and ran about 2.8-3.5E, each. Unfortunately, one didn't like the sausage and the other was having tooth issues and simply couldn't eat the sandwich. What sad faces.

 

Dh and I looked at our meals. They were 7.75E each and included 3 slices of pork, 2 eggs, french fries, a scrumptious salad type thing, and all on this HUGE plate. Of course we shared! There was no way I could have eaten everything on that plate! Noone walked away hungry from that table that day. And was that food good!!!! YUM!

 

And for the record, sodas were 2E a pop.

 

After a satisfying meal we headed back out and off to the hotel to drop those who did not wish to return to the Gottic district. As we neared the hotel, clouds were rolling in and folks started dropping off of the commitment to return to the museum and cathedral. We decided to all head up to the hotel for a brief respit and then see how everyone felt.

[omc329]

Once upstairs, we hit the bar for some drinks, wine, beer and soda, and sat down in the lobby. I took a few picts from the balcony just off the lobby.

 

 

Here's a pict of the aerobus stopping at the Placa.

 

And one of the many entertainers drawing a crowd.

 

As the rain began we all sat and drank and relaxed. The rain let up and sis and her gd showed up. We thought about heading out, but everyone was still jetlagged, sore and just beat. I think if there had been just a bit of enthusiasm I would have been up and out in a heartbeat. As it was, we were quite grateful for the lobby and drinks. We ended up spending the remainder of the day there and heading off to bed around 7:30PM. Of course....I woke up around 3AM....But I stayed in bed, refusing to give in this time. Yawwwwwwnnnn.

[omc329]

I forgot to mention one other thing as we were returning from our meal on Saturday. Dh and I were walking together and TX friends were back a bit dawdling along behind. Two men cruised into the space between us. Dh and I turned to go into the alcove with the elevator up to the hotel. One guy followed and the other guy continued straight on, but the first guy signaled at him to follow him in with us. (I got some of this from TX after the fact). I looked at these two guys and didn't feel right. In the meantime, friends had caught up with us. I stepped back and said aloud, that we were too many for the elevator and dh and I would just wait for the next one. Friend piped in that they too would wait. The two guys signaled that they would take the steps and headed up them.

 

Now perhaps it was all nothing, but dh and TX heard them ask at the desk for a room, they had no luggage, and of course the hotel was full, (this place does seem to book out far in advance), so they simply took off again. I don't know for certain they were pickpockets. Instincts tell me yes, but I have no proof, and I must admit I was on guard thanks to tales on cc. In the end it doesn't matter. They didn't get us one way or the other. It is just another cautionary tale now.

 

On with my narrative.

 

We got up the next morning and prepare to head off to the ship. Luggage needs packed and documents gathered. We ate again in the lobby, with much of the same fare again. It didn't matter, soon we would have plenty of variety. We finally headed out between 10:45AM and 11AM and walked the 1/4 block or so to the taxi stand and hopped into two taxis. It was a bit more comfortable this time with 3 per taxi. One taxi ran 17E and one 20E. I don't know if that was a difference in cabs or if one had 3 more pieces of luggage? *shrug* Whatever.

 

They were there to take luggage as the taxis arrived. I quickly grabbed my carryon. I'm paranoid. I just don't trust luggage to make it through. We had one 24" that we let them take, but I kept the 18" and our shoulder bags on us. I didn't even think or get a chance to tip the guy taking the luggage.

 

We headed into the building and walked right up to the counters. They said they couldn't get my Discover card to scan and ended up using my Visa. No idea what was up with that. Other than that, we sped through. Sis on the other hand was in yet another frantic state. She didn't have her credit card out, didn't have her passport out, didn't have her documents out. Of course, I was to blame not having prepped her appropriately. *sigh* She was again in a state.

 

The 4 of us walked over to some chairs while sis took a bit longer coming through. Then we all headed over to the escalators and on into the ship.

:D

 

I must admit, I took very few picts of the ship. I figure Norwegian has done a pretty good job on their net site, documenting the various rooms, especially with the virtual cam option. I will say the floral light fixture cannot be done justice in a pict. When I saw the picts, I thought it looked cheap. When I saw it in person, I was much more impressed.

 

As we entered I asked which way to the Grand Pacific. I was nicely directed there. TX asked the same question of someone else. They were directed to deck 12. Hmmmmm......

 

We hauled ourselves off to the dining room for a nice quiet meal near the windows, all our luggage in tow, (I wasn't the only one wanting at least one carryon with me, plus cpaps and shoulder bags and coats).

 

Ahhhh....Quiet, peaceful, relaxing. Even sis finally began to unwind. :rolleyes:

 

Between us we had Talapia, Ribs, Turkey BLT, banana soup, salad, (but without light ranch available), and assorted other dishes. All were happy. Delicious!!

 

I even got a hot carafe of water for my tea, vs those teapots I saw the rest of the week. I wish I could always have had the carafes. They kept the water hot, and there was more of it.

 

The waiter came by at one point to let us know our rooms were open.

 

While being served various courses, I attempted to get dh set up on the sodium free diet I had emailed them about previously. Someone was to come to the table but never did. We asked on the way out. They set it up for next night's dinner and we headed on to our rooms.

 

Again, I didn't see much sense in taking picts of the room with a very few exceptions. This is one.

 

 

I show this one to explain how our window became a window seat. With the bed directly in front, there was no easy way to enjoy the view. I took to sitting in the window often at times like dh showering. The pillows were my window cushions.

 

In my cabin I also found a bottle of wine and fruit. I guess they pay attention to the one setting up the cc meets. I think I want to set up all the meets from now on. That was just the beginning of making me feel like a somebody!

 

We headed out to explore the ship. They were prepping for Halloween, at least a teeny bit.

 

For muster we decided to beat the crowds and headed to Le Bistro in advance of the many announcements. We all took a seat around a table and enjoyed some more conversation as we awaited. The drill itself was quick and painless, and no dragging around the vests.

[omc329]

I'm beginning to wonder if folks on the Norwegian boards care for this sort of review. Responses on past lengthy reviews were more forthcoming. *shrug*

 

At any rate, moving on.

 

The cc meet was set for 30 minutes after muster at the great outdoors so we could enjoy sailaway. We headed up, but a gal turned us away at the beginning of the cafeteria area. I circled around and came back and went past her while she was distracted with other passengers. I figured it was simply that they were between meals.

 

Heading through the cafeteria and to the aft of the ship we came out into a lecture on Barcelona on the port side. I looked around and spotted a few red ribbons, our signal to recognize one another for the meet. I looked around for April, who was supposed to have all the name tags, but didn't see her. Hmmm....

 

I wandered over to the starboard side and found some more cc members there. I gathered up those near the lecturer and moved us all over. Still, I have to wonder what Norwegian was thinking, eating up half of the aft for a private lecture during sailaway.

 

Speaking of sailaway, as we were pulling out we passed another cruise ship. What fun waving at one another as we were pulling out of port. :D

 

The cc meet seemed to go fairly well, with around 20 or so turning out. Most of those needed to meet up with others for private tours they had arranged via the internet. We all kept coming back to April and why she wasn't there. Did weather hold her up? No. Others coming from that area had no problems. Perhaps family or health issues. Oh wouldn't it be awful, after 18 months of planning!!!?! We were terribly concerned, but not much we could do.

 

After muster my bunch headed over to the Grand Pacific for dinner.

 

Sirloin, 5*, Ragu 3.5*, Jerk Chicken 3-3.5*, Peach soup 4-5*, Toasted Pinapple 5*, Vanilla Bean Soufle 4-5*, Chocolate desert of some sort 3*. Everyone went away contented, and noone hated their meals, though some enjoyed their meal more than others.

 

We asked for tea to be served with desert when we gave them our initial order. Wasn't going to happen I guess. Long after we finished desert, out came the tea. After that experience, we ordered our tea with our meals. It was a shame, as sis and I really like our tea with desert, but service we were to discover, wasn't the greatest in the dining rooms. I can get better at the local Applebee's on service.

 

After supper, sis, dh and myself went to the atrium, ordered some foofoos and sat around enjoying the guitarist for some time. Later we headed off to bed, rather early again though. I still had not adjusted to the jet lag.

 

The next day was Monaco with a docking of around 10AM. We all slept in. Dh and I ate at the Grand Pacific. The cream of wheat was on the thin side, (soup I would have called it), but the eggs and toast and bacon were fine. I ordered tomato juice having been warned on cc about the orange juice. I really don't want sugared fruit drink for breakfast. I ordered my earl grey tea and got a teapot. I sure would have preferred the carafe they used that first lunch, but never was I to see that again. Oh well, the lot of tea drinkers. At least use tea cozies and keep the water hot, huh? Please?

 

Sis made the mistake of going up to the garden cafe. Ouch! Was she grumpy after that experience. I guess after standing around in lines and finally getting her breakfast she went to look for seats and gave up. She handed the plate back over at a counter and said she didn't want cold eggs. I guess I should have warned her, both about the overflow in the Italian restaurant, and to avoid the entire area when possible and go the dining room. Oooops.

 

After breakfast we went outside on the promenade and watched as we approached our dock.

 

 

 

What is there to say about Monaco? Well, it is convenient with dock and no tender. And if it hadn't been a national holiday and pouring rain much of the day we might have taken the bus up to Eze or Nice. As was, it wasn't exactly the highlight of our vacation.

 

We met up about 30 minutes or so after they released the passengers and headed on out without a problem. Finding the tourist train, which I had foolishly expected to be down at the base, or the elevators up to the museum and old town area, was more difficult.

 

Immediately after disembarking one could see the new hoho buses, waiting and ready for boarding. I'm so glad we didn't buy into them that day. On a nice day, they might be worth the price, but they are open buses. Folks on those buses didn't look too happy as the rain began.

 

After wandering up and down looking for either the tourist train or at least the elevators up, we finally used a bit of very rudimentary french and asked for help. Turns out one must ascend a couple of flights of steps before reaching the elevators which are in the back of a parking garage. It wasn't too bad really, and we took a break partway for the slower members. It made for some nice photo ops.

 

[omc329]

When we got to the top, we could see both the museum and the tourist train. We headed over to get tickets for the train and managed to grab the last few spots, splitting some of us up, as it was about to head out.

 

 

It was ok I suppose. It did a quick little tour of the city, driving past the casino and palace, and kept a running commentary on the headphones. At least it was covered! I got damp, but not soaked sitting in it.

 

It was pouring when it returned. We headed up to check out the cathedral, but it was closed for services and I wasn't about to wait around in the rain for an hour or longer. Sis stood in the rain, camera in hand and got her photos of the outside. Afterwards, we headed back to the ship.

 

Sis, at this point was soaked through and through, cold and miserable. Like I say, this just wasn't the highlight of our trip. We headed up to the line to reboard, and had we just looked a bit beyond sooner, we could have saved ourselves quite a bit of time, as the farther point was also open for loading. *shrug* Live and learn. I hustled down there eventually, and everyone else tagged behind, sis grumbling the whole way. This being the first port stop, folks were not ready for the security procedures reloading. It was a bit slow this day, more so than in other ports.

 

We changed into dry clothes and headed to the Grand Pacific for lunch.

 

Greek Salad 4*, blueberry soup tasty but grainy, Apple pies 2 *, Flan 5*, mahimahi, 4*. We had a a wonderful and friendly waiter that day. I wish we had gotten his name. It is nice sometimes to share a bit of chitchat.

 

After lunch, dh and I took ourselves off for some alone time. We changed into our swimsuits and headed up top to the hot tub, nicely covered with the umbrella to keep off the rain. It was probably mid to upper 50's or so that day, but for us Wisconsinites, that is perfect weather for hottubs. We relaxed a good long while with the steam rising up around us and watched as we got some strange looks from others.

 

Eventually some other braver souls made their way into the pools and whirlpools. We had a nice chat with a german grandmother, and her very quiet granddaughter. As folks started wandering in, we decided we should probably head out, especially as we had been in there quite some time. It sure was nice and relaxing though! :D

 

Upon our return to our cabin we found an invitation to the captain's cocktail and some chocolate strawberries. Yum! Did I mention I REALLY liked arranging the cc meet?!

 

One last look at Monte Carlo.

[jb6075]

I am really enjoying this - we will be on the Jade in January. Thanks!

[omc329]

A few side notes. My gn was signed up in the teen program at 16 years of age. The teen meet room was apparently nothing more than a video arcade? She went to the Halloween party that supposedly had been advertised with refreshments and the like, only to discover she had to pay to eat or drink anything? I got the impression, secondhand, that sis and her gd were not overly impressed with the teen program.

 

None-the-less, gn DID make friends there and apparently quite a few good memories, so I'm guessing it wasn't all bad.

 

TX complained about not being able to get ice cream at 3AM. For that matter, even the blue lagoon, though open, was slower than molasses at that hour, ordering from the main kitchens on a different floor.

 

Onward ho.....

 

We had decided previously in the day to check out the Alizar on this evening. Since we had the captain's cocktail to attend, we decided to hit the Alizar as soon as they opened. Dh was to receive his first,(and last), prearranged low sodium diet.

 

Now, I don't know if it was the Alizar or dh's low sodium diet, but service this night was the worst, and I'm not all that hard to please. We waited for over 45 minutes after our appetizers for dinner. During that time, noone checked water, tea or anything. I finally went up to entry and complained, mentioning that we had a captain's cocktail to make.

 

Well, that shook somebody up. We got apologies. We got complimentary wine. And we finally got our meals, except for dh's that STILL took another 10 minutes after the rest of us got our meals. Moreover, my salad finally arrived, even after that, while I was attempting to eat an inedible steak.

 

We did not go back to the Alizar again, and dh refused to order anymore sodium free meals. He simply watched carefully for the rest of the cruise, avoiding known salty dishes and doing the best he could on his own. I couldn't blame him. That was AWFUL! And why precisely, was it necessary to email them months ahead and then order one's meal 24 hours in advance, if in the end they don't even look at it until he orders that evening?

 

The meal that night, all the way around, was less than stellar. Steak I couldn't eat. Salad that came late, though thank goodness it is tough to mess up a salad, and even the chilled soup, melon this night, was at best 2*.

 

We finally headed out of there and up to the captain's cocktail, held in the garden villa courtyard. Now THAT was a treat. I could stand there and make believe we were part of the rich and famous of the world. *L* ;)

And it WAS cool to check out the courtyard. We also had a nice chat with a german couple. Funny how we always seemed to end up chatting with germans. They also had canapes and champaign and a guitar player providing background music. I enjoyed myself.

 

That night I zonked, with too much free wine and champaign. At 1:30AM I awoke, not to sleep again the remainder of the night. Ugh. Did you know they vacumn Le Bistro around 2AM? Anyone else beneath would have slept through it. It wasn't loud, but if you were awake, you could hear the muffled sounds from above.

 

At 4:45AM I got up. Dh needed to be up by 5AM anyway, to take his diaretic in time to pass through before our excursions at 8AM. After some quick showers we headed up for a bite to eat. I was starving at this point, between my unfinished meal the night before and lying there awake since 1:30.

 

Concerned that the garden buffet didn't open til 6AM I figured we'd hit the 24 hour Blue Lagoon.......

 

Yeah, right! 24 hours my foot!!!!

 

I could not order breakfast. I could order off a short menu of options. I said fine, I'll take the BLT. She said it would be a VERY long wait as it would have to come from the kitchens below. She did everything except shove me away physically to get me out of there.

 

Grrrrr...........

 

Growling belly and drooping eyes we head up top. Of course they chase us out of the buffet, which is not yet ready to open. We go out into the cold, on wet slippery concrete, to grab some cold danish. Come back in to get tea and coffee and grab a seat INSIDE where it was warm and dry to await a REAL breakfast while my stomach made loud, unhappy noises.

 

This was one of my strongest beefs with Norwegian. One should be able to get a HOT meal of some sort, even pizza for heaven's sake, at any hour, ESPECIALLY on a cruise where there will be known jet lag passengers wandering around at odd hours.

 

And don't call the Blue Lagoon 24 hours!!!!!! Perhaps by some technicality they can call it that, but it is definitely NOT what I would call available for 24 hour use!

 

And a HOT breakfast should be available earlier when port days begin at 8AM. By 6AM, folks were milling about waiting to hit the buffet. They should have been able to eat earlier.

 

Ok, that was my rant for the cruise. But of all the things that went right and wrong, that was a continual issue for us as we had to be up early for those 8AM ports.

 

Speaking of ports....This was the day we arrived in Livorno. Of course I took picts from my cabin window as we approached.

 

I don't suppose that minivan down there could be our ril tour????

 

It was a wet, rainy morning once again, but that wasn't about to get me down. We were arriving in ITALY!!! Yippee!! :D

 

(Besides, that rumbly in my tumbly had finally settled! ;))

[petesweet]

We headed into the building and walked right up to the counters. They said they couldn't get my Discover card to scan and ended up using my Visa. No idea what was up with that. Other than that, we sped through. Sis on the other hand was in yet another frantic state. She didn't have her credit card out, didn't have her passport out, didn't have her documents out. Of course, I was to blame not having prepped her appropriately. *sigh* She was again in a state.

 

I am loving your review!

I had to laugh and laugh about some of your experiences trying to keep everyone happy. (And I can read between the lines of your gentle comments.) How familiar that is!! I research and research and feed the information to the others in my group, and nobody pays attention. "Kathy will handle it all." Then, like with your sister, there is a glitch and guess who gets the blame?!!

 

(This is why I love a cruise - once we actually get on the ship. I don't have to keep track of everyone.)

Fooled 'em. At the last minute DH got sick and I had to back out of our November 21 cruise. It should have been a snap for the others with all the preparation I had made, but you would have thought the world was coming to an end.:D

Well, I do hope that absence does indeed make the heart grow fonder!

Kathy

[omc329]

We had booked ril for our group of 6 at all 3 Italy ports. For Livorno, our group had all agreed in lieu of doing Pisa and the David we would be able to spend a leisurely morning in Lucca and then do the rest of Florence in the afternoon.

 

Uh, yeah, right! ALL agreed, months out.......*sigh*

 

Had I known how wishy washy folks can be about things, I would NEVER have scheduled Lucca into our day. I'm not sorry we did Lucca, but I regret not having more time to spend.

 

At any rate I digress.

 

I told everyone to be at the 5th floor steps out at around 7:30AM. It was tough, but I managed to get everyone there as they were roping off the steps from the 5th to the 4th floor. They told everyone to go up to the lobby to wait. I said our rooms were on this floor and we would wait there. I never did leave.

 

Shortly after, maybe 10 or 15 minutes, they pulled back the rope. They had not yet announced to the rest of those on board that debarking could begin, again, a tip I got off of cc.

 

We headed off without further hindrance, and I began to look for our driver. There were plenty there, all hanging under umbrellas in the rain, but none with our name. I walked up and down. Finally, way down near the end was a mid-sized van with my name in the window!, (and I might add a dry driver). I headed back to gather the troops and take them to our luxury accomodations for the day.

 

Ahhh....It feels good to be a hero for once! EVERYONE was thrilled! NO complaints! Spacious, dry, comfortable and at our every beck and call for the day. Yippee!

 

And our driver for the day is Vinnie, a most informative driver. He asked about lunch, TX yelled pizza, I stated whatever so long as it is QUICK. I mentioned QUICK several times over, not wanting to lose time in our packed day. Vinnie went on and on about pasta and other options. Perhaps he gets a wee bit tired of pizza and quick? Well, we have plenty of time to work it out.

 

First stop was to be Lucca, but TXans REALLY, REALLY wanted to get a quick peek at Pisa. Ok, we'll squeeze it in.

 

I must admit, I was taken aback when we got there. I don't care how many picts I've seen of this place, none of them do Pisa justice. It was well worth the stop. I'll give you the baptistry since everyone has already seen tons of picts of the tower.

 

With our limited time, we spent maybe 5 minutes grabbing super quick picts and back into the van.

 

Our next stop is Lucca. On the way he confirms our tickets for the Accademia and Uffizi. Uh, no, we agreed NOT to do the museums this day. Vinnie says something about the David and sis gasps. *sigh* Ok then, we'll do a stop for the David, but that's ALL!!!!

 

We arrive in Lucca.

 

Vinnie stated that ordinarily he would drive us around inside, but that because of some festival he was not permitted to do so this day. That's ok, I didn't know he was allowed in at all.

 

He offered up a map and told sis, (who no longer trusted me after Barcelona), how to route us and what we should stop and see. We all piled out and as we step just a few feet from the van TX friend's foot screams out in pain. *sigh* Dh offers her his cane, but she just can't go on. She stays at the van, (WITH dh's cane), while the rest of us head into the city. Vinnie suggests she sit at a cafe, but apparently she couldn't even make it that far. He brought her a bottle of water and she read a tour book while she waited.

 

Lucca is a small, walled, medieval town, with gorgeous churchs, narrow walkways, and a history dating back to roman times.

 

[omc329]

Thanks for the feedback folks! After today, I'll probably not get back to this before Sunday at the earliest, but so long as folks want the tale end of all this, I'll see to it I get done eventually. They do take a long time, but I enjoyed them so much when I was preparing for our cruises, I like to give back what I take. Back to Lucca.

 

Narrow streets and ancient archways lead into the old amphitheatre area.

 

Of course, by this time two of the group need restrooms, and fortunately we pass a sign for some public ones,(note .60E), as we are finding our way through Lucca. Afterwards it is back to the van and off again, destination Florence!

 

Again lunch returns to the conversation. Again I specify quick, and perhaps real soon as my tumbly is growling. Sis says pasta would be nice and TX still wants pizza. Vinnie states they don't eat that early in Italy and we would stop when we got to Florence.

 

We end up in a little restaurant that is apparently much used by tourist groups, and indeed a tourist group seems to have swamped the restaurant before we arrive.

 

They assign us a table which I promptly walk past in search of the rest rooms. EVERYONE followed me!! Right past our table! *ROFL* I got to the restroom, looked at the guys and stated that perhaps they hadn't ought to be following me in there???

 

When I come out, I find that Vinnie has managed to get our table moved to a better location. That was nice.

 

I looked about as we waited to order. I saw the pizzas....supposedly single servings. Dh and I decided to split one, and so did TXans. Sis and gn ordered pastas. Our pizza was 6.5E and waters were 2E a piece. The waiter didn't seem thrilled that we were splitting a pizza. *shrug* I'm fat enough without eating more than I want.

 

After we ordered it seemed like we sat forever. I saw Vinnie at one point talking to the establishment and then signing at me that it would be about another 5 or 10 minutes. That place was swamped! Finally lunch arrived and we gulped it down in starving gasps of delight. Truthfully, it WAS good, and the price was fine. I just wish it had been MUCH quicker. It was nice of Vinnie to attempt to speed them up though.

 

On a quick side note, I must mention that Vinnie, throughout the morning's drive went on and on about this and that, providing background to various things we were seeing as we drove, or would be seeing later. The group ate all the info up most appreciatively.

 

After lunch it was on to the David. *sigh* I'm sorry to say it was much as I expected. Sis and TX were THRILLED. I wasn't. I got nothing out of it. A waste of money and time so far as I was concerned, but life is full of compromise, and there were some nice paintings to be seen.

 

Next came the Duomo of Santa Maria del Fiore, the huge cathedral one sees in all the picts of Florence. Again, picts do not do this place justice. GORGEOUS! I could have stood there gawking forever. Of course, TX friend couldn't leave the car, and her dh stayed with her, and gn was sore as well and chose to stay in the van. What a crying shame!!!!

 

 

All in marble.

[omc329]

As we were taking picts, dh and I lost sight of my sis. We headed inside, assuming she had gone in without us. Well, she wasn't to be had, and I wish she had, as my camera does not take good photos indoors without flash. What picts I have of the inside are mostly blurry, but truthfully, the beauty was on the outside anyway. The inside was rather anticlimactic.

 

 

When we came out, and still didn't see sis, we headed back to the van where she was fuming when she realized we went in without her. Oh well.:cool:

 

Sometime during that day we walked through an open market. Frankly parts of the day become sort of a blur, so I'm not certain when this stop was. Regardless, I picked up my Florence souvenier. I think I paid too much, discovering too late that one should bargain. Oooops.

 

My 35E mask that I saw from the van somewhere else at 28E.

 

At the end of the day we hit up a gelateria on our way back to the ship. It was most definitely delicious.

 

All and all it was a very successful day, though rushed and tiring. We arrived back at the ship at 5:15PM. We tipped Vinnie 65E on the 550E day. (Ril charged us an extra 50E to add Lucca). Frankly, either I misread him, or he was not thrilled with the tip. I don't know. Perhaps when there are 6, they get less than with a full 8 in tip? I thought it was a lot. Maybe I just didn't read him right, or maybe he was still sorting through the E traveler's check for the 550E that TX brought.

 

At any rate, back onboard, this time choosing the shorter line, (which it appeared more folks noticed by now).

 

I had turkey, stuffing and gazpacho for dinner, 3*, at the Grand Pacific. Service was slow, but not nearly as bad as at the Alizar the night before.

 

Having been up since 1:30AM, I was ready for bed promptly at 8PM. Yaaawwwwwnnn.

 

(I make note that my stewards seemed upset that I went to bed before they did turndown. I was fine with it, I knew it was early, but it was nice they were concerned.)

[fergusonvt]

Nice review and great pics!

[tiggerman101]

Thank you for taking the time to do this review. I know how much effort it takes. It is interesting for me since I will be on the Jade in January, but with different ports (12 Day Eastern Med cruise). However, I am doing a June Med cruise that hits all of these ports.

 

BTW...You have a lot of patience ;)

[mr_cruiser8]

Thanks for taking the time to do this review...enjoyable reading with the bonus pics and looking forward to the rest of it.

 

We'll be doing the B2B on the Jade in Feb 2011 so the ports of call will be slightly different (Med East and Med West of Barcelona), but your review gives wonderful insights on what/ what not to do on the ship and at ports ...

[omc329]

Hope everyone had a great Tday. I'm working on the xmas decorations today, but will continue on my journey here during breaks.

 

It is Wednesday morning, Rome. Again, my internal system had me up early, today though, only 3:30AM. I'm doing better, right? Yawwwwnnn. I layed around until 5AM for dh's sake. After showers we wandered up to the buffet, grabbed a couple of cold rolls, and I grabbed two hot cups of water for two cups of tea to hold me until they opened.

 

We ended up at the same table as the day before, and TX found us there, the second day in a row, and awaited the opening with us.

 

After breakfast, back to the rooms to regroup and meet at the steps at 7:30AM. It took some doing, and tugging and pulling, but I managed to get everyone to the steps by 7:40 or so. Again, they attempted to chase us up to the lobby and again we waited patiently by the top of the steps. Around 7:48 TX rememebered he'd forgotten his camera. Aaargh! The steps were opened two minutes later and I headed off to find our driver. I figured they'd catch up, and they did.

 

This time we got off the ship and we looked and looked and looked through the many signs being held up. We couldn't find our driver. It was still a bit early though. We wandered down the way a bit and a minivan pulled into a space. I told everyone to stay put until he got out in case it was our driver. So there we stood, waiting as the driver got out, walked around, gave us a glance, reached in for his sign, and yup!, he was ours!

 

He seemed at bit surprised to have us standing there, ready and waiting. A great start to a great day, eh?

 

Our driver for the day was Onofrio. Can I tell you how hard he had me laughing? I was wiping tears away at points. He began by telling us we'd be back at 5:19, precisely, not a minute late, nor a minute early. Uhhuh. We'll see.;)

 

I'm afraid I had to make Onofrio work for a living, spoiling a few of his usual jokes. Even his game, which I won't mention for those that get him in the future, was solved before he could even get into it. *shrug* It was fun, that's all I can say.

 

We left it to ril to plan a typical tour day for us. We were not disappointed. We saw everything one could possibly hope to see in a single day. It was rushed a bit, sometimes a quick photo op and off to the next point. I could see where it might be beneficial to cut a few things and spend more time milling about here and there, but at the same time, I know TX won't make it back, I don't know if dh and I will, and for sis, she discovered what she would or would not do and see in Italy should she return in the future. Who wants to miss something major, if this is their one and only shot?

 

Driving into Rome was fun despite heavy traffic, with Onofrio entertaining us the whole way. I don't recall the precise order of all that we saw, but it included all the usuals.

 

Once in the city, he discussed everything from laws of motorbikes to pyramids around town, and everything in between.

 

 

 

At the Colosseum he pulled up, took out a book with overlays and gave us a nice history on the Colosseum, the church involvement and odds and ends. Then he took our E, ran up for the tickets, and walked us up past the lines to make certain we got to the turnstiles to use our now purchased tickets, and walked right in. He told us where and when to meet and went back for the van.

 

 

We avoided the costumed romans as we were warned, again on cc, that it is a gimick to demand $$ from tourists for photo ops. We found the elevators swamped. We waited, as there was no choice for our group. I took tons of photos, but I am attempting to post a wide variety and so will skip most of my favorites.

 

Following the colosseum, we headed to the Roman Forum. He dropped us at the top of an overlooking hill for photo ops, told us to go up the way, see the government buildings and head down the steps to meet him at the appropriate time.

 

Roman Forum view

 

Govt buildings and the steps coming back down.

 

At the base of the steps, I looked about and didn't see the van, nor where he could park. I saw off the right some minivans parked and began to head that way.

 

:eek: