Norwegian Jade - Rome, Naples, Sicily, Montenegro, Zadar & Venice

[bazbaz65]

Well, I'm not sure how helpful this thread will be as it's my understanding that this was a repositioning cruise - so the Norwegian Jade will not be hitting these same ports again. But, hopefully, what I have to say about the ship will be helpful and/or if any other ships are hitting these ports, someone might find the port info interesting.

 

We arrived in Rome the night before the cruise was to leave. We stayed at the Hilton Hotel which is at the airport. They have a shuttle into Rome. My husband got up early in the morning to take the shuttle in and do a quick tour of Rome - I opted to sleep-in and not stress about the time frame needed for that. I wish he'd done the same! It took over an hour and a half to take the trains to Civitavecchia - the port for Rome. The train ride cost 11 Euros and the woman at the station told us it was 7 stops on the FR1 suburban train (not the Leonardo Express) to the Trastevere station, where we would change to a local train to Civitavecchia (which was the end of the line). We did have to climb up and down flights of stairs at Trastavere and Civitavecchia stations but we survived.

 

(See below for a picture of Civitavecchia - so we knew we were almost there)

 

 

As I'd read elsewhere: when you come out of the station entrance turn right and walk past the taxi rank; descend to a main road that follows the coast (heading to the right). This road goes all the way to the port entrance. It’s about 750m between Civitavecchia train station and the dock gates for the cruise port.

 

What I was not clear on when I was doing my reading is that you MUST take a complementary shuttle bus from the dock gate to your cruise ship. We almost walked right by and realized only later that we couldn't have walked that distance. In fact, the shuttle bus took us to another shuttle bus and then, finally to the terminal. We checked our bags in at one area and then walked to the terminal entrance to go through the rest of the check-in process.

 

Something interesting: We had 5 bottles of wine in our small carry-on bag because we'd bought it in Switzerland and wanted to take it home with us. We fully expected that it would be confiscated and given back to us on the last night of the cruise. We had the Beverage Package so didn't have any intentions of drinking it so we were completely fine with this. Well, imagine our surprise when the suitcase went through the scanner and not a word was said about all those bottles of wine. Who knew!?

 

We were able to go directly to our room because of it being a little late in the day - in fact, it wasn't long afterwards that it was time to do the Life Boat Drill. Before that, though, we were able to check out the view from our balcony cabin on the 9th deck. As you can see from the pictures, our cabin was decorated when we arrived - celebrating my birthday and our travel agent had them do this for us (unfortunately, they did anniversary - but it's the thought that counts!). Since we'd missed lunch, we enjoyed some birthday cake and then headed to the drill.

 

To be continued...

[bazbaz65]

After the Life Boat Drill, we headed to Mixer's Martini Bar. I was hoping I could get a Frozen Raspberry Margarita (the Getaway had them - yum!) - but no such luck. So, instead, I had a French Raspberry (martini) which was quite tasty and became my favorite for this cruise.

 

I had booked a reservation for Cagney's. We'd been there before (on the Getaway) so knew it was fabulous and figured we could go twice this week since we had the Specialty Dining Package (for free with our reservation!). It's good to go hungry and this was easy for us since, as I mentioned, we missed lunch. We immediately noticed that it had a different atmosphere than the Cagney's on the Getaway. That one had been darker, with more of a dark wood design - more like a "steakhouse." This wasn't but the food was great anyway! I loved the crab salad and my husband had the shrimp cocktail and the Mexican Caesar salad. For dinner, I got the 16 oz ribeye while he opted for the 18 oz bone-in ribeye. We both thought it was delicious! Too much for me to finish though. Loved the mushrooms but could have done without the beans. I'd also suggest that you skip the bread - don't want to waste your stomach space on that. :) The garlic mashed potatoes were good and my husband had the Orzo Pilaf and broccoli which he enjoyed.

 

There's always room for dessert! I had the raspberry creme brule while he had the decadent fudge brownie. I also had the Raspberry Chocolate Martini signature drink - and was very disappointed when I tried to order that drink in the Martini bar but was told "You can have a chocolate martini or you can have a raspberry martini but you can't have a raspberry chocolate martini." Ok then! :rolleyes: I'll take one of each and mix them together! :)

 

Our servers for Cagneys were Ryan and An bole from Philippines. We were very satisfied with the service.

 

(To be continued...maybe not today though!)

[bazbaz65]

After dinner, we wandered around the ship a bit. It was rather cool so there was no one outside by the pool (see picture below). So, we picked up a Miami Vice cocktail and explored the ship a little more. As we walked through the atrium we heard a really nice singing voice and decided to have a seat and listen. This was Carlos. It's not often that we sit and listen to the people singing in the various areas of the ship - but, in this case, we actually found ourselves seeking him out. Very nice to listen to and the room was always full of fans. (Not sure why his picture came out sideways - sorry about that!)

 

One of the things we like best about going on cruises is enjoying the live shows each evening. So, this evening, we headed to the Welcome Show in the Stardust Theatre. I got a little excited when the Jade Dancers were singing and dancing to Mama Mia - but, nope, they did not do a Mama Mia show during the cruise.

 

I was even more disappointed because there were no comedians. Not one single show through the week! They had a magician and made claims of him being funny but he sure wasn't a comedian! Someone we talked to speculated that they don't have comedians on the ship because of the high number of non-English (as a first language, anyway) speaking people - that the comedy wouldn't translate very well. I guess I can understand that - but I was definitely disappointed in this.

 

We stopped by our room at 10:30 and saw that there had been no turn-down service. I wondered if it was because my husband's suitcase was still sitting on the bed. But, no towel animal for us that day either and the dirty dishes from our cake earlier that day were still sitting there. He'd been in the room though as the Day 2 Itinerary was thrown on the bed - but that was the only sign he'd been there.

 

Speaking of the cabin steward. We found this really strange. On every cruise we've ever been on, the cabin steward seemed to seek us out within those first few hours. To introduce himself and to surprise us with his amazing memory (as he'd hear our names once and then greet us by name for the rest of the week). I never did figure out who our room steward was on this cruise! And there were a few times when we didn't get things (like the "So you'll be Disembarking soon" brochure which would have told us that they stopped serving breakfast in the main dining room at 9 a.m.!). The cabin was still nice and clean for the most part but it was just a different experience not knowing who to thank for that!

 

First night onboard and the next day was a sea day, so we ended up hanging at the Casino for a few hours - there is no "Non-Smoking" area and not many tables for the bargain gamblers. :) But, we still had fun and it was here that we met one of the best bar servers on the ship. Dino from Slovakia. Such a nice guy - we had a lot of laughs with him through the week.

 

This was also the only night where we felt the need for a late night snack. That was to be found at the Blue Lagoon - mostly pub food but it'll do when you're hungry. I did meet someone later in the week who said this was his favorite place to eat.

[bazbaz65]

Sunday was a Sea Day so we slept in and got up in time to make it to lunch in the Grand Pacific dining room (pictured below). The access to this dining room is on 7 aft - then you do down another half flight of stairs to get to the dining room. Our waiter was "Sure" from India. She was friendly and did a good job.

 

I had the crab salad on beets, the Atlantic fish & chips & the Key lime Parfait

 

The husband had Calamari, a Salmon burger on a pretzel bun, and the Peanut butter cheesecake.

 

We realized later that we had missed the 1:00 Latitudes Members Cocktail Party - an event which is not quite as important to attend when you have the Beverage package! :D

 

Instead, we stopped by the Champagne Art Auction for the preview...having bought before and promised ourselves we wouldn't buy anything else, we just walked through and then left.

 

For this cruise, everyone had to turn in their passports - to get through customs in Croatia, I believe it was. However, my husband needed to have his because he was renting a car in Naples and a passport would be needed when checking in for that. They were good about letting him have his it back temporarily (but they got a little antsy the next day - calling the cabin to remind us to return it etc.)

 

Anyway, while he went to Customer Service to get his passport, I headed down to Mixer's Martini Bar for a French Raspberry - Russian Standard Vodka, Chamber & pineapple. As I said...my new favorite!

 

Also pictured below is the colored wheel that is outside of each person's cabin. I liked this system - though I was never sure if, in the evening, I should say "Make Up Room" or "Turn Down Cabin"! In any case, this was very helpful if you needed to take an afternoon nap. :) Love being on vacation!

[OUgal]

Great review so far. We sailed on the Jade's sister ship, the Jewel, recently. I didn't realize they are so similar except some of the venue names are different.

 

I'm looking forward to reading more.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Iluvcruising2]

We were on the Jade last year and had a great time. Thanks for this review!

[coldinerie]

Loving this review. Not much out there on the Jade, going on her in 32 days. What cabin were you in? Keep it coming.

[AF-1]

Thanks for an update. I leave May 7th for Jade. Question; do you know how much the internet package was? I heard they now have a unlimited package for the cruise. Did you use internet; if so, how was it? Thanks. Great review; love the pictures of your drinks.

[Linda the Book Lover]

Enjoying the review. :D

[bazbaz65]

what cabin were you in? Keep it coming.

 

9130

[bazbaz65]

Question; do you know how much the internet package was? I heard they now have a unlimited package for the cruise. Did you use internet; if so, how was it? Thanks.

 

Embarkation Special: Receive up to 20 minutes free with signing up with a plan today. Unlimited Cruise Plan is $24.99 per day sold on voyage length. Internet Café, Deck 7, Aft.

 

The Internet Café is "in" the Art Gallery. We did not use the Internet so I don't know how it was.

[bazbaz65]

Seems I forgot to attach these photos from our lunch in the Grand Pacific.

 

Wish I was there right now!

[bazbaz65]

Have to admit there are a lot of receipts for drinks on this cruise! The Beverage Package will always be my choice if it's offered as an incentive for booking!

 

My husband tried the Watermelon martini - he liked it!

 

It was too cold for us for any pool time (we're from Florida so these windy temps were too cold for us) but there were some die-hards out there. Even on the next sea day where it was quite cool, there were people out there. They were wrapped up in towels from top to bottom but they were out there! :D

Edited May 3, 2015 by bazbaz65

[bazbaz65]

Dinner that night was at Le Bistro. Jaka from Jakarta was our waiter and he did a good job and was very friendly.

 

At the top of the menu, there was a "Champagne offering" which we were going to try but the waiter advised that it (at $6 per glass) was not part of beverage package. I thought that was really strange. I couldn't have a $6 glass of champagne as part of the package so, instead, ordered a $10 glass of wine. How does that make sense? :confused: The same could be said with their "coffee is not included in the package" stipulation. But, ok...I'll take the wine instead. :D

 

We had a tough time choosing an entre. Truth be told, there were four that I wanted to pick! Thankfully, my husband chose two that I wanted so I was able to taste his and chose two of my own.

 

He ordered the Asparagus which was good and he also ordered the scallops which were actually not so tasty. (No pictures, I'm afraid. Sometimes we were too anxious to eat! :) )

 

I absolutely had to order the Escargot but I can't say they were that great. At my favorite restaurant in Canada, they are served in mushroom caps and are the very best! Usually, in the States, I see them on their own - but, on the ship, they had them in a bread crumby type topping. I ended up scraping most of that off and just eating the escargot on it's own. I also had the French onion soup which was good but could use more cheese on top.

 

For my main course I had the Lobster with potato - apparently if I did not have the dining package there would be a surcharge for ordering the lobster. Good to know! It was pretty tasty. I'd order it again.

 

My husband ordered the Roasted rack of lamb with zucchini. His only complaint was that they need sharper knives - though they'd given him a different knife for the order, it didn't seem to cut very well.

 

For dessert, we ordered the Chocolate Fondue for two - banana, pineapple, grapes, cantaloupe & strawberries. We figured we'd share that but the chocolate was a chocolate syrup not actual melted chocolate! I didn't like it so was glad I'd also ordered Creme brule with a strawberry compote.

 

After dinner, we headed to Showtime: Just Magic with Jorgas. It is described as a "mix of illusion, dance, and a little comedy for good measure." Honestly, I was not terribly impressed. I prefer a good ole magician - this is so much "show" to the whole thing - dancing girls standing in front of where something was obviously happening to block the view. Just a lot of distractions most of the time with one or two good tricks thrown in to make it not a completely wasted evening.

 

As for the Stardust Theatre - you enter it on the 6th & 7th decks forward. We never had trouble getting a seat. The theatre was never full. That was nice. I also noticed that they closed the doors and put up signs asking people not to enter once the show started; I haven't seen that before. As for the theatre - good viewing from the auditorium type seating. There are no drink holders or tables which makes it a little awkward for having a drink through the show but it's kind of nice because waiters can't walk between the rows so there's no pushing of drinks and no waiters walking in front of you as you're trying to watch a show.

[bazbaz65]

Monday was our stop in Naples. This part may not be too helpful to anyone because we actually didn't stay in Naples. My husband, many years ago, had been stationed in Gaeta, Italy with the Navy so he wanted to head back there for the day.

 

We were a little annoyed because we heard an announcement the night before stating that we would be in port at 8 a.m. I knew that the schedule had said we'd be there at 7:00 but I figured there was some reason for a late arrival so we adjusted our wake-up time only to have an announcement for leaving the ship come on at around 7:15! We were not ready! Sadly, I think this set the tone for the rest of the day!

 

As we had pre-rented a car and the pick-up was at the airport, we had to find our way there. In the event that you ever need to get to the airport form the cruise terminal, here's how you do it:

 

Leave the port by heading towards the castle. The airport bus (Alibus) is to the left at the intersection - look for a big blue sign. They run about every 20 to 25 minutes. We just missed the 8:05 bus and had to wait for the 8:30 bus which, of course, arrived at 8:41. Unlike the earlier bus that we'd seen drive by seconds before we got there, this bus sat at the stop till 8:48 as there were so many people to load. (The next bus was scheduled for 8:50 so I wonder if it was practically empty!). The cost of the bus was 4 Euros per person.

 

Traffic was horrible. The bus made a stop at Garibaldi (the train station) - so even though I'd read that the airport was 3 miles away, that 3 miles in rush hour traffic took a very long time. We arrived at the airport around 9:30. Unfortunately , we followed the herd and ended up at the departures terminal. I had read that bus stopped at the arrivals terminal but we could not see any signage saying where that was. We later knew that we should have turned right as we got off the bus, headed about a block or so and then turned right to follow a street to the rental cars. Instead, my husband wandered around till he found the shuttle bus....and we arrived to stand in line at LocAuto at 9:50 a.m.

 

(The photos below are for the port of Naples).

[bazbaz65]

We finally got out of there by 10:20. He had paid extra for an Alpha Romeo - but instead he got a Meriva, whatever that is. All I know is that he was not at all happy about that. But, he shook it off and about an hour and a half later we were in Gaeta and he was looking at the beautiful sites he'd enjoyed many years ago.

 

We were hungry so stopped at a restaurant on the water called Ristorante La Salute where we had one of the best meals of our vacation! The server was a lady named Carla who spoke English which immediately made our lives easier. We didn't even see a menu. She asked what we liked, made a few suggestions and we ordered. Service was not quick but I think that's what happens when they're not throwing frozen processed food into a pot for you! This was delicious. Carla came out to chat with us a bit and she brought us "free of charge" a zucchini appetizer. We enjoyed a bottle of wine with their name on the label and lamented the fact that we couldn't just sit there all day enjoying the view. Our lunch arrived and we ate every bit of it. I had the ravioli while my husband had the large noodles with mussels/ clans & eggplant. Ended the meal with a limoncello and again wished we could sit longer.

 

Next we stopped at the beach for a bit and then drove through the crazy narrow streets before heading back to Naples. I didn't want to risk missing the ship (as only my husband had retrieved his passport due to needing it for renting the car; I did not have mine) so he dropped me off at the ship, returned the car to the airport and then ran back (yep, I said ran! :D) to the ship - his GPS watch said it was a bit over 4 miles.

[bazbaz65]

We went to Teppanyaki for dinner on this third night of the cruise. I think my husband took some photos there - there are none on my phone. The meal was good but the "show" during these meals is always the same so nothing new there. We were able to chat with the couple next to us (we were on one end) but couldn't really hear what was going on at the other end.

 

We decided to skip the show that evening - it was "Showtime Showdown" described as: "The Norwegian Jade Production Cast appears in this high-energy, full scale creative vocal battle production." I'd seen this same show on The Getaway so knew what it would be and I was fine with our dinner reservation making it pretty much impossible to get to the show on time.

 

Speaking of which - when I'd tried to figure out timing of dinner reservations, I hadn't been able to see exactly when shows were - so, in case you were wondering, they are at 7:30 and 9:30 each evening. One night the show started at 9:45 but all other shows were at these times.

 

I later spoke to someone else who had gone to this show - doesn't appear we missed anything.

 

Our search that evening was to find Carlos as he was scheduled to have a "Tribute to the Bee Gees" from 9:30 to 10:30 p.m. That was great and the Atrium was packed with people enjoying the music.

[Linda the Book Lover]

Have to admit there are a lot of receipts for drinks on this cruise! The Beverage Package will always be my choice if it's offered as an incentive for booking!

 

My husband tried the Watermelon martini - he liked it!

 

It was too cold for us for any pool time (we're from Florida so these windy temps were too cold for us) but there were some die-hards out there. Even on the next sea day where it was quite cool, there were people out there. They were wrapped up in towels from top to bottom but they were out there! :D

 

Yum to the watermelon martini. I am planning ahead for my UBP ;)

[AF-1]

Embarkation Special: Receive up to 20 minutes free with signing up with a plan today. Unlimited Cruise Plan is $24.99 per day sold on voyage length. Internet Café, Deck 7, Aft.

 

The Internet Café is "in" the Art Gallery. We did not use the Internet so I don't know how it was.

 

Great, thanks

[bazbaz65]

Tuesday we pulled into the port of Messina, Sicily, Italy. It was a beautiful sunny day as we pulled into port so it was a bit of a shock when we stepped off the boat after breakfast to see that it was cold and raining!

 

We found the group we'd booked a tour with Sicily Tours (one of the ladies in the Roll Call had arranged it and we joined her and three others for a nice private tour of the area). Luckily, we seemed to drive away from the rain and before long we were enjoying a nice day with our guide, Sebastian.

 

Below are a couple of pictures of the port, including one of the taxi drivers waiting to swoop in and convince people to go with them. :)

[bazbaz65]

Our first stop was in "the medieval charming village of Savoca." We managed to beat the big tour buses heading in the same direction so it was not so crowded as we took a walk "on the panoramic promenade to the famous church of Sant'Nicolò or better called Santa Lucia which was used in the Godfather movie for the marriage of Al Pacino and Apollonia." (Those pictures will come later.) We actually started the tour at the VITELLI bar from the Godfather movie. Have to confess it's been a very long time since I've seen that movie - I'm feeling the need to watch it again!

 

The views as we walked around Savoca were really pretty. The last two pictures below are of my husband and I standing at the "Door to the City."

[bazbaz65]

As expected, there were lots of churches along the way. Saint Michele, Saint Nicolo, Saint Lucia and Madre Cathedral.

 

Sorry that some pictures keep turning sidewise...I think there are some "rules" about how tall pictures can be on this page.

[bazbaz65]

The snow on top of the mountain made it easy to spot Mt. Etna as we made our way to the next stop. This "charming medieval village" was Forza D'Agrò, which we were told is "one of the best examples of a typical village of the Province of Messina which still conserves its medieval street layout and on all sides of the town you have the most incredible views." Lots more churches and, yes, fabulous views for us to enjoy.

 

Of special interest was found in the basement of the Agostiniano Convent - a crypt for sitting the deceased. Kind of creepy!

[bazbaz65]

One more stop before lunch - the village of Castelmola (just above Taormina). Our guide dropped us off there and we took some time to climb the stairs to the ruins of the castle. More beautiful views. :)

 

After we left there, we made a stop at what translated (I believe) to Maria of the Rock - it is a church dating back to 1640 which is built into the rock of Mount Tauro. That was really something!

[bazbaz65]

The last (and longest) stop was Taormina. There's a Greek-Roman theatre there but we didn't have a lot of time left by the time we reached it and saw that there was an entrance fee (not worth it for just a few minutes - I think it was 8 Euros).

 

We decided to use our time to enjoy a good meal in an outdoor setting. I love to sit in outdoor cafes but having smokers everywhere really cuts into the joy of that. We managed, however, to find a little restaurant on an alley street right near the square where our guide dropped us off. It was called Tutti something. (See the picture below.) We both had Risotto - zucchini for my husband and seafood for me. We really enjoyed the meal...and then just wandered the streets till it was time to leave. Had to have a gelato, of course, as we walked. :)

 

The entire price of the tour was EURO 360,00 for 6 people. I would recommend a tour like this over a big bus tour any day!