PHOTO REVIEW: Eastern Med on the Jade

[epaul78]

Merry Christmas everyone, Melissa here - we are just off the Jade following a 10 day Mediterranean cruise!

 

Our family of four (two boys ages 8 and 10, plus Mom and Dad) had a great trip, although the cruise portion was a bit different from what we were have come to expect from NCL. This was our fourth Norwegian cruise. We picked this sailing more for the itinerary than anything else, and it is a great itinerary- particularly for our Percy Jackson-obsessed kids, they were able to explore Greek and Roman mythology and have a footrace at Olympia!

 

We are pretty easy-to-please travelers; we like to DIY most of our travel planning and usually prefer to arrange our own transportation and activities rather than book excursions through the cruise line. We try to learn some of the local language before we visit, often take public transportation and we like to get a little bit lost in new places to discover interesting things off the beaten path. Good food and wine are important to us and we enjoy trying new things. That said, the nice part about incorporating a cruise into our travel plans is the ability to relax and let one’s guard down and for the kids to have space to unwind and play without having to be on “museum manners” for two weeks straight.

 

At one point during the trip we came back to the ship from a busy day in Istanbul and as soon as we walked out from the terminal building to the ship area both my husband and I had this “phew” moment. Being out and about in a large foreign city requires a high level of awareness and being on “red alert” all the time is tiring. I was thankful to be able to relax at the ship and have some “recovery” sea days too.

 

We enjoyed a few days in Rome before taking the high speed train to Civitavecchia to embark on the Jade. Because we had very public-transportation-intensive pre and post cruise plans with a lot of walking and lugging our own luggage around, it was essential to pack light for this trip. Packing for a two week trip into one carry-on sized bag per person is a neat trick, but we managed to pull it off. (Although next time I would omit any jeans – they take up too much space) Unfortunately having to be so selective about what we brought meant that we didn’t have room for the good camera. We brought our pocket sized Nikon CoolPix and also used our smartphones, but please forgive the photos for the amateur snapshots they are.

 

I’m going to break this out a bit because we saw and did so much! But if you have any questions, please ask and I will do my best to answer. I won’t go into too much about our time in Rome as most are typically interested in the ship and the cruise. Here are a few photos from Rome.

Below is my youngest son Carson standing on the rooftop of the Mecenate Palace Hotel in Rome. As you can see we had quite the view!

 

The day before embarkation many transportation employees were on strike thus effectively shutting down the underground Metro and many trains.

 

 

 

We visited the Vatican:

 

 

....and ancient Rome

 

 

We had reservations for the train leaving Rome from the Termini which was only a short walk from our hotel, Rome Mecenate Palace (good location, nice free breakfast, wifi, and an amazing rooftop view). Word to the wise: do not talk to any of the “helpful locals” at the train station who will try to “assist” you in locating your train (whether you need help or not) and then aggressively demand a tip. The high speed train made for a nice ride to Civitavecchia, although it is a bit of a hike to the port terminal from the train station. We found the walk directly to the ship to be about the same distance as walking past the port area in the opposite direction from the train depot to the free port shuttle area (we took the shuttle upon our return arrival and found it didn’t really save any walking if the train station is your destination). The taxis seemed very high for the length of the trip, so walking worked for us.

 

I was a bit disappointed in the terminal area and found the check in process to be somewhat more chaotic than we are accustomed to, but we were able to get checked in and onboard without difficulty. Unfortunately there wasn’t the same exciting welcome aboard party or sail away as we have experienced on other NCL cruises in the past, but then again, leaving from an industrial area isn’t the same as a big send off from an urban area.

 

More to come!

[rochelle_s]

Very much looking forward to the rest of your review!

 

 

Rochelle

[EllieinNJ]

Looking forward to the rest of your trip report. Please describe the winter weather in the ports and what you and your family wore.

[js4rq]

Enjoying your review so far! ;)

[PathfinderEss]

Great photo review, looking forward to more.

[pieshops]

We were on the sailing with you and had an awesome time. We usually also do it yourself but since this was our first trip to any of these cities we opted for private tours other then Olympia where we rented a car. We were very glad we did the tours.

 

In Venice now before our return back to Jersey from Milan Monday.

[Toola99709]

Really enjoying your report. We're on this cruise 4 FEB.

[epaul78]

We had the best weather this trip; we were so fortunate that it never rained on us once! It was quite cold back home (eastern Washington state) so we were very happy with temperatures around 60 degrees (F) pretty much every day. A light jacket was all we needed most of the time and a few days my kids were stripping down to t-shirts.

 

 

The first night of the cruise we established “The Three Rules of Vacation”

#1. Have Fun

#2. No Fighting

#3. Wash Your Hands

 

We had some violations, but in general, it was a great trip. The boys’ cruise ship alter-egos, “Mr. Vacation” and “Captain Fun” came out to play and we all had a nice dinner at Teppanyaki the first night. Even Carson a.k.a “Captain Fun” who is a bit of a selective diner, enjoyed the show and was tempted to try some new things. “Mr. Vacation”, my 10 year old, is an adventurous eater and he loved the calamari, scallops, and lobster that he was served. Teppanyaki never disappoints and it was a great way to kick off the cruise. Love the “show” and love the food! After dinner, the boys settled right in at Splash Academy and got busy making new friends.

 

There were A LOT of kids on this cruise. I was surprised by how many, but it was probably just the timing – right before Christmas. I think the staff at Splash Academy was a bit overwhelmed with the number of children, I had the feeling that they weren’t really set up for so many.

 

Eric and I got settled in to the stateroom. We had a standard mid ship balcony (10572) this trip.

We’ve been in practically every type of stateroom ranging from teeny insides to suites before and this stateroom is pretty much in the middle. A bit tight, when all the beds are out but it is enough space for sleeping and getting ready. We really liked the location, very convenient to everything but not in a noisy area. The bathroom is satisfactory and we have very good water pressure and plenty of hot water in the shower. It was very nice to have a balcony too and we spent a lot of time enjoying it.

 

The first full day was a sea day. We had a good breakfast in the Main Dining Room (MDR), Mr. Vacation overate, which is easy to do on the cruise ship! I was having trouble with timekeeping and having to change the time. I brought an alarm clock from home because there is never a lighted clock in the staterooms, but it hated Europe and refused to work.

 

We were a bit disappointed in the onboard activities schedule the first day, not much going on that isn’t a sales pitch (art and spa), or additional charge (BINGO). We enjoyed the opportunity to relax though after several busy days in Rome. We decided to try the wine tasting at Le Bistro ($15 per person) and I wish I could say we enjoyed it, we certainly wanted to. Probably the first warning sign that it was going to be a let-down was the 6 burgundy glasses set out instead of varietal specific stemware. Then they poured a Sauvignon Blanc in a head to head comparison with a Chardonnay. Unfortunately it didn’t get better from there. All of the wines were very young and not particularly noteworthy and were all available “by-the-glass” so we didn’t get to try anything special and the stemware certainly didn’t do the wines any favors. There were supposed to be hors d’oeuvres but we didn’t have even crackers or bread as a palate cleanser between the wines. If you don’t know much about wine and just want to try some then I suppose it would be fine, but I didn’t think it was a good value for the money the way it was presented. Later I spoke to the food and beverage manager about this and he shared with me that the cruise ship staff are not allowed to taste the wine. If this is the case and the staff are not provided with first-hand experience about the wines they are pouring and presenting, they probably should offer a wine flight sample instead of a “wine tasting” event.

 

 

Certainly can't complain about this view!

 

 

Another let-down was the kids’ dinner at the Blue Lagoon. Service was painfully slow and inattentive and not all what we have come to expect from NCL. We tried it one other time during the 10 day cruise and had the same experience.

 

The boys had great fun at Splash Academy, both their eggs survived the “egg drop” game during which their teams had to devise protections using limited materials – “duct tape is always a good idea”, Mr. Vacation said.

 

The first day there were very noticeable sanitization measures in place – almost to the point of inconvenience, although I notice a lot of the Europeans don’t seem to wash their hands after using the restroom so it is probably a good idea. Washy-washy! (See Rule #3).

 

Very calm seas and smooth sailing. Everyone slept well, being at sea always makes me feel a little sleepy, then again, it could be the food and wine  We had a great dinner at Le Bistro and are enjoying the Ultimate Dining Package very much. Captain Fun was excited for the bunny towel friend in the room at bedtime.

[kandpsmom]

Enjoying your review! We were on this cruise too and had a wonderful time! Have to agree that we loved the weather too! It's 9 degrees right now in Colorado and it has been snowing all day. So, we definitely enjoyed the break and the 60 degree weather.

[epaul78]

Olympia (Katakolon, Greece)

We had an early morning, beating most of the crowd off the ship. Eric arranged for a driver (George Taxi) so we had a nice private car ride over to Olympia to see the ruins and museum there.

The boys had a footrace at the site of the first Olympics and enjoyed exploring the site.

 

What you don't see in any of these photos is crowds. We were some of the first to enter the site. Our driver, Maria, had a nice reference book that we were able to take that was a good addition to the site map in helping us understand what we were seeing. We were leaving just as the tour busses were arriving.

 

We also enjoyed a tour of a local winery with wine and olive oil tasting followed by lunch and some shopping at the port.

It was pretty obvious that the lack of tourism in the winter time really puts the hurt on the locals, they seemed glad to have our business and very willing to negotiate to get a sale.

Back at the ship we were pondering the popularity of a certain commodity from the duty free shop. The crew were buying it by the case. “What is so special about that stuff?” we wondered. Later I learned it was just an inexpensive brand of bottled water.

Dinner at Cagney’s was very nice and then early to bed for another big day bright and early in Athens. All the shows and nighttime activities on the Jade so far have been too late for us.

Edited December 30, 2014 by epaul78

[taykee]

Hi Melissa,

 

We are travelling on the Jade in March. Could you please tell me the tour in Greece with George's taxi service the cost and how many hours where you touring.

[epaul78]

Hi Melissa,

 

We are travelling on the Jade in March. Could you please tell me the tour in Greece with George's taxi service the cost and how many hours where you touring.

 

If I'm not mistaken it was 150Euro for 4 hours with George's Taxi. Very nice Mercedes fit the four of us well. The car even had complimentary wifi! Do Google search for taxi Katakolon and you should be able to find it. We initially found them through trip advisor as they had very high ratings.

[Cruiser Bruiser]

Thanks for sharing your wonderful cruise with us. I'm eager to sail the Greek isles, and I cannot wait to see more. And let your embarkation dinner be a lesson to us all: NEVER HAVE DINNER AT BLUE LAGOON! Service is indifferent to terrible at Blue Lagoon fleet-wide. You would have had a better experience at the MDR. I'm glad you had a good experience at Cagney's.

[epaul78]

Thanks for sharing your wonderful cruise with us. I'm eager to sail the Greek isles, and I cannot wait to see more. And let your embarkation dinner be a lesson to us all: NEVER HAVE DINNER AT BLUE LAGOON! Service is indifferent to terrible at Blue Lagoon fleet-wide. You would have had a better experience at the MDR. I'm glad you had a good experience at Cagney's.

All we did was feed the kids in Blue Lagoon. We grownups had the ultimate dining package so we ate in the specialty restaurants every night.

[fabnfortysomething]

If I'm not mistaken it was 150Euro for 4 hours with George's Taxi. Very nice Mercedes fit the four of us well. The car even had complimentary wifi! Do Google search for taxi Katakolon and you should be able to find it. We initially found them through trip advisor as they had very high ratings.

 

can endorse your recommendation for taxi katakolon-we actually got the owner George for our Olimpia trip in August which included much more than Olimpia -a trip to a nunnery and scenic drive around the area

 

as a side note we actually chose to eat at Blue Lagoon several times instead of MDR as found service quicker-just goes to show how experiences can vary!

[epaul78]

We arrived Piraeus, Greece at 7 am and were among the first passengers off the ship.

 

 

Today is a DIY tour of Athens with our pal Rick Steves in my pocket. We had quite the walk in the dark of the early morning and were hit up a lot by taxis and bus drivers who we ignored in favor of the metro - about €5 for all of us, much cheaper than what the taxis were asking! There are a lot of free-roaming dogs and some cats in Athens (and quite a few pigeons – much to the joy of the kids who like to chase them).

 

 

Athens is a huge city, we didn’t realize how big until we reached the Acropolis and looked down – I think we accidentally went in the back way because the hike up didn’t seem that bad at all, more of a path than the straight wall of steps I was expecting. We had three dog friends follow us nearly all of the way up but they abandoned us at the gate when they found some suckers to scratch their bellies.

 

We were completely wowed by the Acropolis and lucky once again to stay just ahead of the crowds. We had nearly an hour with only a few other visitors before large groups began to arrive – just as we were leaving.

 

 

We hiked down the hill to the Agora – through some back streets and alleys to get to the only open gate and after a self-guided tour we wandered around town a bit, ending up in the flea market and finding a fun square full of locals, shops, fruit stands, (and pigeons!)

 

 

 

We had cappuccino and gelato and I kept noticing some souvenirs for sale of an “adult” nature - luckily the kids didn’t notice – in fact, most of the nudity of the statues and artwork that we have seen is generally ignored by them.

 

 

We got lost wandering streets, window shopping, and eating anything that looked tempting. I also somewhere lost Rick Steves, possibly at the Agora, so if you find him, please enjoy with my compliments! Eventually we reached the Plaka and from there made our way to the Parliament Building just in time to witness the changing of the guards.

 

We found the nearest Metro station and took it back to Piraeus. Back at the ship, Eric’s app on his phone confirmed we had wandered over 19,000 steps – phew! It was an incredible day. We earned drinks at the aft bar and a terrific dinner at LaCucina. Tuckered out from all the walking, once again it was early to bed as we sail through the night to Turkey!

[TXGalAJ]

Loving your review! I'm on this cruise in March with my 12 year old son so any details about the kids' club or things your boys really liked would be greatly appreciated!

[epaul78]

Loving your review! I'm on this cruise in March with my 12 year old son so any details about the kids' club or things your boys really liked would be greatly appreciated!

 

Our kids loved this trip. They both enjoyed the kids' club however we were not expecting such a large population of kids onboard. Well beyond the capacity of kids' club as they even had an overflow room down near the casino for some of the older kids. This meant that many of the planned splash academy activities did not happen which was a disappointment.

 

My boys are both into Percy Jackson so they were very interested in all things having to do with Greek Mythology. This made it very fun.

[epaul78]

Welcome to Kusdasi!

 

 

We had a great day in this part of Turkey with a private guided tour of Ephesus and House of Virgin Mary from Best of Ephesus.

 

Virgin Mary’s house is where Mary the mother of Jesus is believed to have lived in her later years – the area is now a church and there are springs of water thought to bring health, wealth, wisdom, and love (took a sip from each, just in case). There is also a wishing wall where visitors write a wish or prayer and tuck it there to be answered. The house is high in the mountains – we were surprised at the site.

 

 

Our next stop was the Ephesus site – the boys loved the feral cats and a few dogs too. I noticed this colony of cats appears to be managed as evidenced by the ear tips, so we let the kids pet these kitties.

 

 

Ephesus is amazingly well preserved, although sadly many of the best artifacts have been removed to other countries. The library was especially awe inspiring and we also enjoyed the amphitheater a great deal.

 

 

Our guide provided very helpful commentary and pointed out a number of interesting things at the site that we wouldn’t have noticed on our own.

 

 

 

From Ephesus we stopped briefly at the Artemis Temple then enjoyed a delicious homestyle Turkish meal and tour of the carpet school before heading back to port. Twice we heard the calls to prayer from the mosque near the port.

 

We had Moderno for dinner in the evening. We have dined there before on another ship and of all the specialty restaurants it is my least favorite, although the salad bar is quite nice. Also desserts at Moderno, Jasmine Garden, and Teppanyaki really leave something to be desired. I think the “Cake Boss” items that sit (unsold) in the display case in the atrium should be on the dessert menu in the specialty restaurants. It would further help to justify the cover charge since it is something special that you can’t get off the buffet and one of the awesome little treats would provide a more satisfactory ending to a nice meal than the weird yogurty thing they have on offer at Moderno or the “fruit sashimi” and unappetizing green tea ice cream at Teppanyaki, in my opinion.

 

Overall, the Jade doesn’t seem to follow quite the same m.o. as the other NCL ships we have been on, there is a bit of a lack of consistency with our other experiences. Specialty dining for example is a little more casual and less attentive in service than what we have come to expect from NCL. It wasn’t bad – not at all, but it wasn’t quite up to the same very high standard as on the Getaway, for example. We seem to encounter more crew who are having a bad day too, or rather who aren’t having a great day. While in the Caribbean or Bahamas it is rare to find anyone who isn’t ecstatic about working on an NCL ship and the infectious good mood of the crew just makes the vacation more fun! There were a few staff on the Jade who shone with positivity but these were the exceptions rather than the standard. Other than the Blue Lagoon, we didn’t have any specifically bad experiences, just not as good as on other NCL cruises we have done.

 

Our steward is attentive and thorough; he really made an effort to get to know us and was very observant of our early-to-bed-early-to-rise routine. He clearly works very hard and I know our stateroom beds are a big hassle for him. Unfortunately the room is unusable for anything other than sleeping with the beds down (it is very hard to get to the balcony, you have to crawl through the kids’ beds), so he is constantly having to make up and turn down the room. He makes adorable towel animals and it is very nice to come back to a clean and fresh room with a new surprise waiting every night! The cruise director had a joke: “I got up at 2 am last night to use the bathroom and when I came back my bed was made and there was a towel animal waiting for me!” And so it is when we go for breakfast, no matter how quickly we come back, our steward has magically made our room brand new again!

[epaul78]

(Hey Happy New Year! We finally adjusted back to “normal” time! It only took a week to get on Pacific Standard! The 9-10 hour time difference made for some major jet lag coming home especially hard on the kiddos. Luckily school is still out for winter break)

 

We passed the halfway mark of the cruise with a mid-day arrival in Istanbul where we will port overnight. There were some choppy waters and a little rain overnight, Mr. Vacation said he was “seasick” but I suspect his issues had more to do with the 3 crepes and a cheeseburger at the buffet than with motion sickness. He felt much better after a good night’s sleep.

 

It was nice to be able to take it easy in the morning. We ate in the MDR, also a nice change from the buffet for breakfast. Even though it is basically the same food, I much prefer the atmosphere as well as a nice table and waitstaff rather than having to hunt and peck through a chow line. Our waitress in the MDR for breakfast was just okay, a little slow, but to be fair, it was pretty busy when we were there.

 

Judging by the attendance at the trivia session and the Zumba class, I think the other passengers may also be feeling a lack of interesting activities. I do wish there were some interpretative talks or port-specific enrichment programs (other than an excursion sales pitch) and also more early-evening entertainment. 10:30 is just too late for us, especially with kids along. We found Spinnaker Lounge to be a good place to camp out for a view from the front of the ship and it was interesting to watch the ship traffic as we got closer to Istanbul – it is a very busy port!

 

Sailing into Istanbul was a memorable view with minarets prominent in the city skyline. Being able to see the coastline of two continents is pretty cool too!

 

The boys wanted to do port play, so they stayed on the Jade and Eric and I ventured out to get a feel for the city once we were cleared to disembark.

 

We had Turkish Lira with us, which was good because the money changers didn’t offer very good exchange rates. We found the tram station easily and then it was a matter purchasing a token (jeton) for a one way ride (4 Lira). We planned to visit the Grand Bazaar but got off instead at the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia, two stops sooner, since it was crowded and unpleasantly smelly in the tram car. We visited the Blue Mosque just before it closed for the day, although as it was unplanned I had to make a quick purchase of a head covering. They have loaners available, but, well, ewww. There were many very pushy tour guides around the sites who will follow and keep trying to engage in conversation even after a firm, “no”, “not interested”, “no thank you”, “hayir” and the universal talk to the hand gesture. I started talking to Eric in pig latin just to dissuade the overly friendly and unwanted “advances” of the hawkers.

 

Once past the hawker gauntlet and inside both the Blue Mosque and the Hagia Sophia were amazing. At the Blue Mosque there was a leaflet with information about Islam that was interesting and informative. Again Rick Steves’ advance reading was helpful in understanding the sites. The mosque was beautiful and we had just enough time to have a good look around before it closed for prayers. The calls to worship came from the minarets all over the city, but not at the same time so for several minutes it echoes throughout the streets of Istanbul, “Allah is Most Great! Come to prayer!”

 

 

 

The Hagia Sophia was also an amazing place to explore, particularly given its’ past incarnation as a church before it was converted to a mosque. The juxtaposition of both Christian and Muslim religious symbols in the same building is fascinating to ponder.

 

 

 

Heading back to the ship we ducked into a few shops and markets including a pastry shop for baklava and Turkish delight.

 

 

Then we encountered the shoe shine guys about a block from the boat. I am sorry to say that we fell for the scam where they “accidentally” bump into you, spill on your shoes and drop a shoe brush. After you point out the dropped brush the guy starts cleaning your shoes “in gratitude” and of course demands money at the end. Wait a minute there pal, I never asked for a shoe shine! Comparing notes with our fellow passengers later we found several who had also had a similar experience with these yayhoos- this is a very common scam apparently. One of our dinner companions that evening at Teppanyaki had a very bad encounter with a taxi driver who not only failed to take them to the Spice Market but took them to an isolated area and demanded an exorbitant amount of money for the trip. ALWAYS get the license plate number BEFORE you get into a taxi.

 

I felt like we needed to be very much on guard in Istanbul, however there are also several Tourist Police stations, so I think even pretending to call the Tourist Police on a cell phone might be helpful, or actually calling if being victimized. There is contact information for the Tourist Police here:

http://www.visitistanbul.org/tag/istanbul-tourism-police/

I don’t think Istanbul is dangerous, but you do need to practice some situational awareness.

[epaul78]

The morning of our second day in Istanbul the boys were scrapping with each other from the moment they woke up – such a nice way to start the day. It is good to already be in port though, no feeling like we need to rush to beat the crowds. We enjoyed a leisurely breakfast in the MDR (amazing how much better the kids’ moods get after they have had something to eat!). Eric and I signed the boys in for Port Play again. Since they are in different age groups, they get to participate in separate activities a lot of the time. We wanted to visit the Grand Bazaar and wander around and thought it would be better for the boys to have playtime on the ship, they were completely on board with that suggestion.

 

Using the tram again we rode one way down to the Grand Bazaar and then walked back. The cacophony of smells and sights was amazing, like Pike Place Market back home, there are different sections of the Bazaar that have more of a specific ware or another – textiles, leather, fish, cheese, candies, spices, as well as merchandise of all kinds including “Genuine Fake Watches”.

 

 

We found that getting out of the Bazaar and into some of the little streets between it and the Spice Market offered even more diversity as well as greater specialization in the merchandise for sale. I also figured out that claiming to be “ALLERGIC!” would quickly shut down anyone offering food or perfume and works as well or better than pig latin.

 

 

 

We did some shopping, ducked into some a few other sites and walked over the fishing bridge back to the ship without incident.

 

 

Getting out and wandering is one of our favorite things and I feel like we had a good taste of Istanbul as we sampled anything that looked interesting to eat well as walked off some of the calories from all the cruise food!

 

I was a little mad later though when I discovered that Mr. Vacation and Captain Fun had raided all of the baklava that we had brought back to the ship – I had been looking forward to a treat with my cappuccino. That evening Carson had his favorite buffet dinner and went back to play with his friends while Justin joined us for dinner in LeBistro in the evening for French food and he sampled escargot, duck, and swordfish – he loved it all and was a very pleasant dining companion. I was surprised at how empty the specialty restaurants are every night (except for Teppanyaki), even without the Specialty Dining Package we find that the extra cover charge is usually well worth the experience of the meal – usually one that would cost upwards of $100 on land.

 

We bid Turkey “gule gule” and watched the lights from the city from Le Bistro as we put to sea again.

 

[Level six]

Thanks for all the information. Was it hard to take the tram? Did you walk back across the bridge, is there a walkway that is not too near traffic?

[AF-1]

Wow, I am enjoying your review. I am a little nervous about the Jade. I have not sailed NCL before; only Royal Caribbean. We are on a 14 night Jade cruise in May. I have already posted a thread about the ultimate dining package. Should I or shouldn't I buy it. I don't know if I will want to eat in a specialty restaurant every night. Most reviews say the staff is excellent. I wonder if your review might have something to do with the Holidays. Oh well keep up the good review.

[epaul78]

Thanks for all the information. Was it hard to take the tram? Did you walk back across the bridge, is there a walkway that is not too near traffic?

 

It isn't difficult to take the tram at all! The ship ports in between two tram stations, so there is one within a few blocks walking no matter which way you come out. If you exit left off the ship (near the art museum) turn left at the main road and keep going a couple of blocks. If you exit to the right through the terminal building, go right and keep going for a couple of blocks. You will be able to see the wires and the trains in the middle of the road. At the station-stop, go to the self-serve kiosk with your Lira and purchase a token (jetton) which is good for a one way trip (buy two if you plan to take the tram back), use the token to get through the turnstyles to the platform. There are signs both on the platform and inside the tram with the stops listed. Major attractions are also listed in English under the appropriate stop, so it is easy to tell when to get off. You don't need to make any transfers to go to the Grand Bazaar or the Blue Mosque area. The tram trains run frequently, so whenever you arrive if you wait a few moments, one will be along shortly.

 

We did walk back across the bridge, there is a large sidewalk area on the bridge itself and sidewalks next to the road, so it is pedestrian friendly. Or you can hop a tram easily too if you didn't want to make the walk.

[epaul78]

Wow, I am enjoying your review. I am a little nervous about the Jade. I have not sailed NCL before; only Royal Caribbean. We are on a 14 night Jade cruise in May. I have already posted a thread about the ultimate dining package. Should I or shouldn't I buy it. I don't know if I will want to eat in a specialty restaurant every night. Most reviews say the staff is excellent. I wonder if your review might have something to do with the Holidays. Oh well keep up the good review.

 

Don't be worried about the Jade! It was fine and we didn't have any bad experiences per se, just a little underwhelming from our prior NCL cruises which have all been awesome! The time of year probably did have something to do with it too - too cool to enjoy the pool (which the kids would have loved) or spend a lot of time on deck, although in May I imagine the weather will be perfect for you!

 

For us, this trip was less about the ship than it was the itinerary. We went to go to Italy, Greece, and Turkey and the Jade was hotel, childcare, transportation, and 3 squares a day (or more). For that purpose it was great! We enjoy the Specialty Restaurants and had consistently good food in an intimate setting. Although RCCL's Giovanni's Table beats the pants off La Cucina, I doubt that you would be disappointed. We enjoyed the chance to repeat our favorites too.

 

The first night of the cruise we took the kids to Teppanyaki and my 10 year old had a full meal for half the cover charge and my 8 year old ordered off the regular kids dinner menu for no extra cost. This was good to do on the first night because Splash Academy isn't open until 8 pm. It was fun to get to go back on a "date night" later in the cruise and order something different the second time around.

 

The other thing that is good about the specialty dining package is being able to make reservations for a specific time. While we didn't have dinner in either of the main dining rooms, walking by I noticed sometimes there was a big line of people waiting to go in. We never had to wait for a table.

 

For you I think the package is $224 per person, or $16 per day. If you want to eat at Cagney's every day, you would for sure get your money's worth! However if you will be eating in port a lot or don't think you would want to repeat any of the restaurants, then I wouldn't get the package and book a la carte instead. Do Cagney's, La Bistro, and Teppanyaki for sure. I would also do Jasmine Garden again but I would skip Moderno. My sushi lunch with my son was only $12 for both of us, which is much less than what I pay when we have sushi at home!

 

Sometimes NCL has a special for booking a specialty dining reservation for the first night of the cruise where you can get a complimentary bottle or wine or reduced cover charge or 2 for 1 deals, so keep an eye out for anything like that too.