Jade-Med July 11-25

[realtrip]

This was our first NCL cruise. We have cruised Carnival over ten times and we did the med on the Magic 2011.

We had an ocean view cabin on deck 4; we had UBP.

We booked almost a year out. We had originally booked an inside but the price kept dropping so ended up with the OV and ubp (free). We are Canadian so paid in Canadian funds ( 11% exchange rate).

 

From Marco-Polo airport: took the ATVO (15 euro return) to Piazzale Roma and then the vaporetto to our ''home until the cruise''.

 

Venice: we spent two days in Venice before the cruise. We rented an apartment using VRBO as there were 4 of us and we found that to be more convenient. (The four of us: Hubby and me, 51 and 48 y.o.) and my mom and my bff ( late 60's and 52). Staying in an apartment was fabulous. It was really well situated near the Rialto. We had plenty of room and the price couldn't be beat. We found a great little pizza/pasta place in Carnaggio where we had take away suppers. We got breakfast foods at a surprisingly large grocery store ( hint if you'd like a bottle of water, head to one of the grocery stores and get 1L for under 1 euro). They also sold wine, pastries, cheese...

 

We visited the Doges Palace and did the secret tour which we all enjoyed. Mostly we just wandered around and took the vaporettos ( 30 euro for 48 hour pass).

Of course we stopped and enjoyed the requisite glass of wine and toasted to being in Venice. Wine is incredibly cheap in Venice. Just find a cute looking place and enjoy ( 2 euro for a nice glass of white wine, worked for us).

 

On cruise day, we checked out of the apartment at 10 ish and headed to Piazale Roma (vaporetto) and took the people mover ( 1.50 euro), then the looooong trek to the ship. It was darn hot! Thankfully it was a walk on a flat surface ( no hills) and we had rolling suitcases ( we travel light with only 1 carry-on rolling suitcase and a purse for the girls and laptop bag for the hubby).

 

Next installment coming soon. Let me know if you have any questions.

[realtrip]

Hawaiian décor was different. LOL. Apart from that, the ship was clean; the crew very friendly and quick to serve drinks.

The cabin was nice; it was smaller than Carnival cabins and this was really only noticeable on the side of the bed, it was hard to get out from the left side without crawling out the end of the bed. The bathroom set up was great with the shower/sink/toilet separate. The cabin was very quiet, much quieter than Carnival, I think this is due to the cabin door actually closing hermetically. On Carnival you can see the light from the hall coming in under the door ( this allows the noise from the hall to come in too).

The gym was well equipped, I never had trouble getting a treadmill. I joined a stretch class; it was very well attended ( +20 people and it was free, it was at 5 pm, I never went to the 7 am one, duh.)

Spa: my friend had a massage. She enjoyed it. She got a one day spa pass, she found the staff distracting ( they kept cleaning, picking things up, lol too neat, it was annoying). I tried the free 2 minute massage by the pool. I tried with two different therapists but for me the massage was really painful, so I opted against getting a full massage)

 

Food:

we didn't try room service. Buffet was almost identical day to day at lunch so that got boring. I prefer Carnival's variety ( wok, deli, Mexican...). I did enjoy the made to order salads every day. The burgers were ok, the pasta section was delicious. None of us liked the deli style sandwiches as they were not made to order and were soggy. Loved the set up of the buffet with the islands as there really was never much of a line up.

There is bar service in the buffet, both a station and waiters coming around the seating area, loved this).

Blue Lagoon: went twice. First time we made our own buffet, lol. We each ordered a different appetizer and shared. We came to the conclusion that we love the wings! We also tried the meatloaf (meh...), the fish and chips (good) and the cheese cake ( fabulous).

Dinning rooms: we ate at grand Pacific almost every night. The food was varied and good. The service was sometimes quick sometimes slow. Wine service was very quick. I missed the cheese platters from Carnival for dessert. One night, I took a chance and asked if it was possible to get one and yes it was! So got that a few times.

Desserts in general in the dining room were disappointing so we often ended up having an extra dessert at the buffet ( they had a chocolate fountain every night!).

Something weird we noticed. They don't serve the same way in the same dining room. I'll give you two funny examples. Every night my husband had a house salad with ranch dressing. It was served three different ways: with the dressing mixed in the salad, with the dressing served in a gravy boat, with the dressing served in a small bowl.

I had tea every night. Sometimes my tea would come ready made ( pre soaked), sometimes I got hot water in a tea pot with one bag, sometimes with 2 or 3 bags.

Edited August 6, 2015 by realtrip

[Travelling2Some]

Thank you so much for all the details. We're on the Jade in October. Which itinerary did you do?

[realtrip]

July 11: we got to the ship to check in. They had ice water and juice in the waiting area. After very quick check in, we waited a bit for our number to be called, then security check, photo and we got on. Once on board, we were unclear where to go. Carnival does this better with tons of staff greeting you and directing you to the lido deck. Not to worry, I remembered from all my reading that we could drop off our carry-on ( which in our cases was all our luggage) in our cabin and head to lunch. So we did just that. We ordered our first drink. We were concerned about getting a bill for it though. The bartender explained it was a tally and we wouldn't be charged. Because we were a little worried as some people here had said the bill was marked zero, we checked with a few different waiters and finally that night at guest services. All was good. Through the week they would only need one card per cabin for our drinks, so barely used mine, lol).

Muster drill was overly quick. It was ridiculous. They only showed us how to put on our life jackets. This was in the Bistro restaurant. No mention of where the actual life boats were???.

Sail away was spectacular; we enjoyed the view sipping on a glass of bubbly ( Prosecco, it was quite good and ended up enjoying several over the two weeks).

After a lovely supper went to the welcome aboard show and then bed. We went to bed petty early every night ( 10 pm) as it was an exhausting cruise mostly due to the high heat.

[realtrip]

Both were sea days.

We spent the first lounging by the pool ( many slept in so we actually got great chairs). The next day we found our new spot ( deck 14 mid-forward where there was a big shower to refresh ourselves). The pool was not refreshing. It got pretty warm quickly in the day. There were very few showers to cool off. We found 4 by the pools ( 2 each) and the one on deck 14, The pool ones had warm to hot water coming out of them. Carnival does this better with showers on all sun decks, at several spots and with cold water.

The adult people was for adults. It was strictly and constantly monitored. NCL does this MUCH better than Carnival!

In the afternoon there was a band on deck which was fun and they had all the usual pool games.

The Beatles show was presented in the theatre after supper and it was great. We also listened to a musical group called ''Twice as Nice'' in one of the bars; they were good. Went to the gym at some point.

Shopped in the ship boutiques. Disappointing. Not much variety.My mom liked a beach bag ; there was only one. She figured she'd get it the next day as surely they would put more on display. They didn't. They did have all the same sales we are used to : Bella Pellerina, 10$ sale, watches, inch of gold/silver.

Edited August 6, 2015 by realtrip

[Demonyte]

 

Muster drill was overly quick. It was ridiculous. They only showed us how to put on our life jackets. This was in the Bistro restaurant. No mention of where the actual life boats were???.

 

 

That is because in the case of emergency you will go to that assembly station and only if needed, you will be escorted from there to the life boats used. So your drill was held in the only place you need to know how to get to.

[realtrip]

And the heat wave begins. It hovered around 40 degrees Celsius ( sorry don't know F) for the rest of the cruise.

Got woken up at 7:00 by the cruise director's announcements (he accidentally broadcast in the cabins for the first few announcements telling us it wasn't time to get off the ship, duh!). Anywho, got up for breakfast. We didn't have a tour booked and planned on getting off the ship after the mad dash. No need for tender tickets at 9. Lovely tender to Santorini, beautiful view. Once docked we were bombarded with offers to take a boat to Oia. We took this . It was 15 euro, they got us to the bottom of Oia, we took a quick bus to the top and they gave us the choice of which bus to take back to Fira ( 11, 12, 1 or 2 o'clock). Oia was really beautiful. Then Fira was also spectacular. We shopped a bit but realized the prices were actually quite cheaper by the dock. Us girls took the funicular down ( 5 euro, no line at mid afternoon). My husband decided to walk down. He said it was horrible. LOL It smelled of mule poop so bad, the path was slippery and long. LOL, we told him not to do it. It gave us girls time to shop at the docks while he was trudging down.

The show that night was The Beatles again (part 2= new songs).

Really liked Santorini and would loved to go back for a week or two.

[realtrip]

That is because in the case of emergency you will go to that assembly station and only if needed, you will be escorted from there to the life boats used. So your drill was held in the only place you need to know how to get to.

 

OHHHHHH. Wish they had said that. In case of emergency I would have gone to the life boats ( I read the sign on the cabin door). All was good though. No emergency.

[Demonyte]

The sign on the door also instructs you to the assembly station, not to lifeboats. :)

[realtrip]

Up at the crack of dawn for breakfast. We had a tour to the ruins. We met up in the theatre at 8:15. Easy-peasy. Our guide was very informative, we had an interesting tour of Ephesus, the library of Celsius was huge and the carvings spectacular, the theatre was impressive.

I did like Pompeii better though in 2011. Next we had the requisite tour of the carpet factory. We learned a lot but obviously it is a sales pitch. They offered nice snacks and beverages which was a generous touch.

The tour ended in town near the markets ( easy walk back to ship). We decided to shop a bit but it was too much for me. I didn't like the over insistence of the vendors. My mom and friend didn't mind it as much so they stayed a bit longer.

This was a great nap day. I got a nice nap before supper. I love napping on vacation.

[realtrip]

The sign on the door also instructs you to the assembly station, not to lifeboats. :)

 

really? Are you sure. I must of had too many drinks when I read it:D

[jolgro]

The sign on the door also instructs you to the assembly station, not to lifeboats. :)

 

 

And what If your assembly station is on fire or under water. To wich lifeboat do you go ?

[Demonyte]

And what If your assembly station is on fire or under water. To wich lifeboat do you go ?

 

 

In such situations there is staff guiding people to right direction along the escape routes (the sign on cabin door has primary and secondary routes drawn).

 

If parts of the ship are under water, it is most likely also tilted and there is a good chance that lifeboats on one side of the ship can't even be used anymore so assigning one specific lifeboat wouldn't even do any good.

 

There is no way for them to realistically teach all passengers how to act in every possible situation, that is why they train the staff continuously.

[jolgro]

In such situations there is staff guiding people to right direction along the escape routes (the sign on cabin door has primary and secondary routes drawn).

 

If parts of the ship are under water, it is most likely also tilted and there is a good chance that lifeboats on one side of the ship can't even be used anymore so assigning one specific lifeboat wouldn't even do any good.

 

There is no way for them to realistically teach all passengers how to act in every possible situation, that is why they train the staff continuously.

 

 

Thanks for explaining, always wondering, but never asked.

[realtrip]

We took the HOHO. Pick up was right at the port area (20 euro, 2 routes, headphones with several language audio). Saw the Acropolis, Agora, Temple of Zeus, Olympic stadium, Plaka shopping area... We got off at the Acropolis then we got on another bus and went once around before doing it a second time and getting off near the Plaka for a bit of shopping. We found silver jewelry to be inexpensive, got something to eat and drink and made our way back to the hoho to get back to the ship. Discovered a new drink on the ship: a mudslide which is basically adult chocolate milk. Loved it! It became my new before bed cocktail. The show this night was Motown Men, lots of great music. We set our watches back 1 hour before bed.

[realtrip]

Up at 7:45 and left the ship at 8:45. We got into a looooong line to get the bus to get out of the port area ( we stood in the hot sun for 30 minutes before boarding the bus). It took 15 minutes to exit the port area. Next we took a quick shuttle to our tour bus ( about 1 minute). We booked with Smartcruisetours dot com. They aren't allowed to pick up people at the shuttle drop off point I suppose which is why we had that really short ride to a nearby drop off to get on the actual tour bus to Rome. The bus ride was Ok. It took 1 hr 15 minutes. The bus was insufficiently air conditioned so it was hot. We had booked the tour which included the guided visit of the Vatican ( thank goodness because the line to get in was insane. Next we had a stop at the coliseum for pictures then a stop near the Trevi fountain where we where given free time to explore. Unfortunately, the fountain was under repair so we couldn't throw in a coin ( hopefully the one I threw in last time (2011) has a life time warranty, lol. )

We had a quick lunch of calzone and soda for 5 euro at a place the guide recommended. We walked around the Piazza Navona, the Palace of justice and got back to the bus.

 

Pros of smartcruisetours dot com: on time, respected itinerary, cost (19 if all you wanted was a return trip to Rome add 10 for the three stops add 15 for skip the line to the Vatican), so a person can really have what they want/need.

 

Cons: guide was hard to follow; ran everywhere and lost people along the way. It was too hot on the bus.

 

Our day in Rome wasn't nearly as rewarding as on our last trip because of the heat. It made it hard to walk around. It was 40 C even in the shade. The Vatican was very crowded. I will avoid Rome in the summer but would love to go back for an extended stay.

The return shuttle to the ship was much better with less than 10 minutes to wait for it.

[realtrip]

We booked Tuscany bus tour ( formerly Livornownow). The dock was utter chaos again this morning. There were three types of shuttles offered. A free one to get to the parking lot entrance for rental cars ( the port people did NOT want you to take this one!). B 5 euro to get to city center ( where we headed to meet up with our tour) and C I don't remember the cost but I think 10 or 15 euro to get to the train station). All fares were return. The costs were stated in the dailies.

 

There was a rep for our tour company right at the pier, so that helped us out through the confusion of screaming people ( I guess some people hadn't read the dailies and were unaware of the fee to get out of the port area and boy some were not happy!)

 

Once we got to the city center our tour reps were there with clip boards and they had our names so all was good. The tour rep was also a rep for the HOHO in Livorno.They were selling tours at that time too so anyone could have purchased last minute. The cost was 15 euro for Pisa and 30 euro for Florence ( which we did). I don't know how much the HOHO was.

This tour was just transportation. We could have taken the train ( 19 euro) but we figured this would be easier considering it was a Sunday and that we only docked at 8:00.

We were dropped off by the train station at 11 ish and told to return by 4. Again, because of the heat, the amount of time we got to spend in Florence was plenty ( so much so that we got back to the bus area at 3:40 and everyone was back on the bus by 3:45 so we left Florence a little early).

Florence was spectacular! The Duomo looks just like a 3D puzzle with its green and pink marble. We got some mini sandwiches for lunch, quickly checked our emails and enjoyed a few minutes of a bit of A/C. We saw the Opera house, Pitti Palace, the Ponte Vecchio.

We were back on the ship by 5:15 ( the return with the tour bus and port shuttle was very efficient).

After supper we went to Spinnaker's for the men of Motown and some dancing.

[realtrip]

We got off the ship at around 9:30 and headed to the ''Petit train''. It was right at the end of the pier. For 10 euro we got a one hour tour ( headset for various languages). It was fun.

Then we walked along on the Croisette ( a long paved path along the waterfront), had our pictures taken on the red carpet, made a quick stop at a public beach, shopped a bit. It was a very relaxing day after the long days in Rome and Florence.

Cannes is a tender port. Again at the time we got off no tender tickets were needed. The tenders were the ships lifeboats at this port. It was neat.

[realtrip]

Had breakfast in the atrium. They have a limited breakfast selection but a very nice one ( yogurt parfait, chocolate croissant, Danish...). We also enjoyed a lovely mimosa.

Spent most of the day sitting in the sun. Then I went to the stretch class in the gym at 5. It was very well attended -- at least 20 people.

They had a seafood theme in the buffet for supper so we went for a shrimp cocktail appetizer. Lots of shrimp. LOL. Delicious.*We then headed to grand pacific for dinner. It took forever this time.

The evening show was called 4 Ever. It was 4 male singers. They sang in English, Spanish and Italian. It was really good. They did a Queen tribute and sang Bohemian Rhapsody and it was outstanding.

[realtrip]

We took the HOHO here too. We were sorry we did. Very disappointing. It didn't go to the Blue Grotto because something was going on around there ( I think a movie shoot but I'm not sure).

After the bus we got off in Valletta and walked around. It was nice. The views of the harbour where stunning. It was also fun and funny to see our ship from above. I was quite a different perspective as we could see the top decks clearly.

We took the elevator down from town ( it cost some to go up the elevator but it is free to get down). From the elevator exit the ship is three minutes away tops but because you can't get in to the port there ( you have to go the long way around, it's a 15 minute walk.

The show for the night was a juggling show. Normally that would bore me to tears but hubby really wanted to go. The others went back to their cabin for an early night. I am glad we went . It was so funny. The juggler was top notch and his comedy was really good.

[realtrip]

Had the NCL God father tour for today. Met up in Theatre at 8 and quickly got escorted to the bus. The guide was very interesting but again the bus was very warm. Everyone was sweating bullets.

We visited a village called Farzo d'Argo, it was charming. Then we drove to Savona where we had a granita which was sooo good at a little café next to Bar Vitto (used the wifi for 1 hour it was 1 euro) . We saw the church of Michael's wedding. It was all beautiful but again it was very hot and humid. I wouldn't really recommend this tour as there really wasn't that much emphasis on the Godfather movies. It was basically a nice tour of two villages.

 

The drive up to the villages was amazing. The views up the narrow winding roads were breathtaking. But a bit scary, lol.

 

We got back to the ship at 1;15. We had lunch and ventured out for some shopping. Most shops, even in the port area where closed for nap time. So we thought that was brilliant and that we should do the same. After a refreshing sleep, at around 4 pm we went back to town for souvenirs. We had the BEST canolli ever. It was so rich and delicious.

Right by the port people were selling purses, necklaces and other souvenirs for real cheap.

The evening show was elements, which is basically a ballet. They then had a farewell from the crew ( a bit early as the cruise wasn't over yet, wonder if they wanted us off and swimming back to Venice pronto? LOL). The farewell to crew part was a bit over the top as we kept being solicited to clap over and over again for different people and most more than once. Plus they showed a video, where again people clapped. Geez, wish my students clapped for me that often, lol.

[realtrip]

Nice morning lounging in the sun. It was very windy so it kept the heat comfortable.

Went to the cake decorating contest. It was really funny. It was held in the atrium and was very well attended. At around 4, headed back to he cabin to pack. Soooo depressing. LOL!

The show tonight was 4 Ever part 2 they did Grease, Flash dance, Fame and a few songs in Italian and Spanish. I enjoyed their show a lot.

 

Early to bed as tomorrow is debarkation.

They had luggage tags with different colours set out in the atrium area. People could select the colour ( which corresponded to time frames to disembark) they wanted. That's pretty cool as Carnival assigns your tags and then you have to go through the trouble of requesting a change if it doesn't work for you.

We didn't get any tags as we had no luggage. We only had a carry-on and a purse. There weren't any explanations about self debarkation ( they had a detailed explanation of the usual process though). We assumed it would be easy to figure out.

[realtrip]

Early wake-up call ( lol the cruise director was ready for new people).

 

Went for breakfast in the buffet area and then headed back to the cabin to get our carry-on. They had called about 3 or 4 colours by then ( it was around a quarter past 8).

Debarkation was super easy. We headed to deck 7 ( Atrium area), rolled our carry-on to the exit, swiped our card for a last time and headed into the terminal. No one asked us about luggage tags. Once in the terminal there was a sign indicating the baggage collection and one indicating the exit. So out the exit we went.

Again it was a long walk to the people mover ( cost 1.50 euro). Got to Piazzale Roma and found the shuttle to get back to the airport ( The ATVO). We had purchased return tickets so we just got them stamped by the bus driver, stowed our luggage and off we went for the 20 minute ride to the airport.

 

The airport was a zoo! OMG! There were so many people it was insane.

We found the ticket counter and got rid of our carry-on ( no need to actually carry it on as I couldn't care less if they lost it going home, lol).

Once relieved of the bags, we went through security and then it was a lot less crowded. We found a food court on the second floor and a shop, where I got flavored olive oil and lemoncello ( both were in a cute boot shaped bottle). This is also where I got lunch. They had cooler style lunch boxes for 16.50 euro that came with 4 sandwiches, a 1.5L bottle of water, a soda and 4 dessert bars and now I will be able to use the lunch box for work.

 

The flight home was uneventful. we had a connection through Toronto and then got to Montreal at the expected time.

 

Thank you for following along :). Let me know if you have any questions.

[Maurer]

thanks for the review - we are on Jade in a couple of weeks and have some of the same ports as you as well

 

was there much to do on sea days apart from relax by the pool?

[realtrip]

thanks for the review - we are on Jade in a couple of weeks and have some of the same ports as you as well

 

was there much to do on sea days apart from relax by the pool?

 

There was trivia, pool games, bingo, an afternoon movie in the theatre, art auction, shops were open, some music late afternoon, spa, gym, golf practice, jogging track.