NCL JADE - Feb 2013 Mediterranean & the Holy Land * Photo review *

[fireflies]

Hey everyone. Woke up this week to the harsh reality of the latest conflict in the West Bank with Palestinian mortar shells fired and Isreali rockets pouring into Gaza. It is a sad truth that stability in the area is still a distant dream. We cruised in early February on a Mediterranean & the Holy Land cruise and really enjoyed the itinerary. We enjoyed all the ports and made some good friends while experiencing centuries-old spectacles, what more could you ask for? The Jade ship itself, a couple of weeks shy of its 7th birthday and full of its own quirks wasn't too shabby either.

 

Israel was a definite highlight on our cruise. You can really feel history in Jerusalem and I could understand the struggle and a sense of the Israeli faith. From the soldier who ran after us to return something we dropped to the restaurant server who took the time to share some of his weekend photos with us everyone we met was super nice too. NCL seems to have dropped Israeli ports for the time being and has put in some visits to Tunisia. Israel is a pretty unique place, definitely worth seeing if you have a chance.

 

 

a) Precruise: 2 nights in Naples having foods like pizza + sfogliatelle

 

b) NCL Cruise: stop in the Turkish riviera in a town called Alanya, about 2 hours from Antalya and after a stop in Cyprus to see some ruins. Then the trump card of the cruise, 2 days in Israel. This turned out to be an overnight stop since they called a port visit closer to the West Bank. Our plan for the two days was one day on our own to see a bit of nature and to see the old city and market of Akko + to eat hummus! Next was the Greek island of Crete for seafood and finally an Almafi coast tour (was a bit cold to try but avoiding the tourist hordes of summer) during our Naples port visit.

 

There is no love sincerer than the love of food. - George Bernard Shaw. We love food, and whenever possible try to plan where and what to eat in the port stops so you'll see a lot of food photos. Hopefully this thread will convey a sense of the Jade with Mediterranean life & Israeli sights.

 

 

We ventured out by local train (Circumvesuviana) to Ercolano (the modern name), or Herculaneum from the main Naples Garibaldi rail station.

 

 

Herculaneum was as an ancient town destroyed when Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 A.D. The site is a 15-20 minute walk straight down from the station.

 

 

We chose Herculaneum over Pompeii since we only wanted to see one site, and read that Herculaneum had better buildings intact, more lavish marble and was closer to the original than Pompeii. Although, we still want to visit Pompeii and see for ourselves one day.

 

 

The coach buses don't go here and it isn't on the tourist radar as much as Pompeii so we had the place almost to ourselves.

 

 

 

Fresco from the college, depicting the myth of Hercules.

[fireflies]

 

 

Communal thermal cooking pots.

 

 

Wall mosaic of Neptune and Amphitrite.

 

 

 

 

 

The site is right in the city and there is a park outside the ticket entrance.

[fireflies]

 

 

Some bright graffiti at the train station

 

 

Back in the central district, a normal site in Naples, clothes hanging to dry from building to building.

 

 

The birthplace of pizza, Naples has pizzerias everywhere. We had a couple of places we wanted to try on the west side but after a lot of walking opted for a pizzeria closer to our hotel. Not awe-inspiring but a decent pie.

 

 

 

Italians like sweets for breakfast…"Sfogliatelle" are seashell shaped ricotta cheese filled pastries. A tasty one from Calde Fratelli Attanasio, a couple minutes away from the Garibaldi station. A nice sugar rush to start your day.

[fireflies]

Our second time on NCL, we had a great time on Epic…Could the NCL Jade exceed our expectations?

 

 

It was the second oldest ship we had been on but the Jade is still in good shape. It's not a modern wonder but was comfortable.

 

 

 

 

The original itinerary called for a stop in Egypt which was later cancelled. I'm sure the 8 days of fighting in Israel in November didn't help bookings either so the cruise was deeply discounted as we booked towards the end. We heard the ship wasn't at full capacity, something around 70%. It didn't feel crowded other than the usual peak breakfast buffet hours.

 

 

 

 

[fireflies]

We had breakfasts in the MDR a couple of times but usually ate at the Garden Cafe for brekkie. The ship was originally built as the Pride of Hawaii and the Hawaiian motifs still remain.

 

 

It is a bit strange to see all the flora accents while you are crusin in the Med.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[TSUmom]

Thank you for the pictures, we are taking the Jade on an 11 day med. but not until 2015. Looking forward to more photos! Thank you for taking the time.

[fireflies]

Turkey is one of my favorite countries to visit. It is steeped in history and is a great mix of east and western culture. This was our first time on the Turkish coast so to see as much as we could (primarily the Roman theater in Aspendos) we did a taxi tour with some friends.

 

 

View of the walled fortress snaking up to the castle as seen from the ship. Reminiscent of the Great Wall.

 

 

Manavgat Waterfall was a pit stop on the drive to Aspendos. There was a entrance fee to enter the grounds. Not what I would call a waterfall exactly, heard that the flooded river made the falls disappear a bit under high water.

 

 

Aspendos amphitheatre, about 110 KM from Alanya

 

Playing by the ticket gate.

 

 

With a diameter of 96 meters, the theater provided seating for 7,000.

 

 

Costumed gladiators ready to pose.

[Carolina Daisy]

We're on the Jade in July and your photos are giving me a glimpse of the good times to come. Thanks!

[fireflies]

From Wiki, The theatre was built in 155 during the rule of Marcus Aurelius. It is pretty impressive and fun to explore.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[fireflies]

The town of Side has ruins to see but we wanted to chill and take it easy over lunch. We ate at a rooftop restaurant overlooking the streets below drinking beer in the warm sun.

 

We had some Turkish dishes, this is the chicken guvec, a Turkish version of goulash.

 

 

Spiced beef dish. The rice was buttery soft.

 

 

A stray cat who stayed by our table.

 

 

After lunch we walked along the seaside of Side.

 

 

Looking inside a store selling spices.

 

 

[youngestof9]

your pictures are amazing - they tell quite a story (and oh my word those puppies!!!). I hope to travel to the other side of the world someday and this is a nice little glimpse. Keep them coming! (you have a wonderful eye for photography - what kind of camera?)

[fireflies]

Our cruise director Gary and other officers grooving away as guests return back on the ship.

 

Hanging out on the decks.

 

 

 

Night view of the fortress wall.

 

 

[ColinIllinois]

Fantastic photographs. Thanks.

[Molokai-Chuck]

Wonderful.....just wonderful photography!

[luvtocruise52]

Thanks for sharing your wonderful photos!

 

We are considering an eastern Med cruise on the Jade in Oct of 2013. I read on a post that despite there being restrictions on where one can smoke, people were smoking in a lot of public areas. I am highly allergic to cigarette smoke and this would ruin the cruise for me. What was your experience?

[fireflies]

your pictures are amazing - they tell quite a story (and oh my word those puppies!!!). I hope to travel to the other side of the world someday and this is a nice little glimpse. Keep them coming! (you have a wonderful eye for photography - what kind of camera?)

hi. yeah those puppies were too cute, had to take a photo. for this cruise we used 2 cameras both micro four thirds system cameras, an olympus *****-d em-5 and a panasonic gf5. the cameras are smallish (between a compact and a traditional DSLR) and are a great tradeoff between image quality and portability.

 

hope you get a chance to see the other side one day.:)

 

“Travel changes you. As you move through this life and this world you change things slightly, you leave marks behind, however small. And in return, life - and travel - leaves marks on you. Most of the time, those marks - on your body or on your heart - are beautiful.”

― Anthony Bourdain

[fireflies]

Thanks for sharing your wonderful photos!

 

We are considering an eastern Med cruise on the Jade in Oct of 2013. I read on a post that despite there being restrictions on where one can smoke, people were smoking in a lot of public areas. I am highly allergic to cigarette smoke and this would ruin the cruise for me. What was your experience?

 

hi, we aren't smokers as well but I am a somewhat used to smoke. I would say that I didn't notice smoke around the ship, but we didn't go to the casino late at night where smoking is permitted. we didn't spend extended periods of times in one specific lounge where smoke could build up. I saw people smoking on the outside decks a couple of times, not sure if it was in a designated area or not.

[fireflies]

TSUmom, Carolina Daisy, ColinIllinois, Molokai-Chuck

 

thanks for nice comments. i don't have the photos pre-sorted or uploaded so this review will be spread out, probably around a week so keep checking back if you'd like to see some more photos.

 

The Asian themed Jade casino.

 

 

 

 

 

Protecting the valuables.

 

Fingers crossed.

 

 

[spacepotatoes]

Your photos are just gorgeous! Thanks so much for taking the time to share them and your experience with us.

[fireflies]

The folks at NCL always have their thinking caps on. They offer cooking demonstrations early on in the cruise, showing how some of their dishes are prepared. It's a nice way to kill 30 minutes at a time and sample the restaurant menu.

 

Jasmine - home of the trio of Asian eateries

 

 

hard at work serving up some bowls of shabu shabu

 

 

the teppanyaki preview had a lot of stuff flying around. we've tried teppenyaki a few times and on the Epic so took a pass this time around.

 

 

We had the a la carte pay menu Jasmine/sushi bar for lunch one day. The lunch buffet's ethnic offering never looked too appetizing and we wanted a change of pace from the hectic hunger upstairs. We ate at the Asian restaurant on the Epic a while back and it was basically terrible. Jasmine was much better, edible fare with some flavor, not really authentic but passable for cruise fare. We liked lunch enough that we came back for dinner later in the cruise.

 

Salmon sashimi & Dynamite roll - yellowtail and salmon tempura style

 

 

Singapore Noodles

 

 

Beef Chow fan

[MinieBall]

Some of the best photos I've ever seen on CC. You're a real artist with that camera. Thanks for the review.

[fireflies]

Another lunch or dinner or I want something to eat but the buffet isn't open and I don't feel like getting my own food alternative. Comfort food like wings and burgers.

 

 

 

Wonton soup. Package taste but hey it is warmish

 

 

Meatloaf. Alright if you are tired of meat between bread

 

 

The massive brownie sundae. don't think we came that close to finishing this monster

[fireflies]

Your photos are just gorgeous! Thanks so much for taking the time to share them and your experience with us.

 

hi. thanks for sharing your cruises too! I have been looking around at Alaska cruises recently (my interested got peaked a bit watching Top Chef cruise on the Celebrity Summit) figuring since Vancouver is so close should try it one day. good to know ahead of time about HAL being sticklers for formal dining dress code. those desserts look awesome, the creme brulee trio looks especially yum, NCL does an Asian creme brulee which I will put up later. that watermelon pie is practically jumping out of the picture!

[fireflies]

Some of the best photos I've ever seen on CC. You're a real artist with that camera. Thanks for the review.

 

thanxs so much. always been interested in seeing Atlantis and really want to see the fireworks and try the new food on the Breakaway so I am really jealous! have a wicked cruise and then another awesome one on Sky! :)

[buggins0402]

Pictures are wonderful. Can't wait to see more! Brings back wonderful memories - we were on the last cruise to Egypt in November and ported during the rocket attacks in Israel. But, it was our favorite cruise thus far. The Jade, despite all her quirkiness, is a great ship, with a wonderful staff.