Trip Report - NCL Jade in the Med!

[LadyStone50]

We went on a cruise last summer - its taken me forever to get my act together to write about it - posting my trip report here (I hope this is the best place to put it)

 

My husband and I are in our 50's - we took our two daughters (27 and 15 at the time) on this trip to show them a little bit of Europe. It was the perfect way to introduce them to the countries around the Med, and I think we've created two more avid world travelers. I am a planning fanatic, so a LOT of research went into our trip and I'd love to share our experience with you all ... so here goes..

 

We flew from USA to London on Virgin Atlantic .. can't say enough great things about this airline, though getting from London to Venice to catch the ship was quite an adventure. I will attach that portion of the trip later, but for here I'm just sticking with the cruise info.

 

Day 1 - July 11 - THE ADVENTURE BEGINS!!!

 

We took the train from Florence to Venice, hopped off at the Maestre stop. Once we got off the train, we exited the station and went to the Taxi stand and grabbed a cab for the port. This was by FAR the easiest way to get to the ship - the taxi dropped us off right outside the terminal and we didn't have to navigate the bridge with our luggage.

 

One of our biggest challenges on the trip was staying in contact with home. We bought a SIM card at the kiosk outside the ship terminal that worked the best of ANY cards we tried. (the one we bought in England was terrible - service outside England ... even though it was promised it would be great, was non existant .. live and learn!)

 

Getting on the ship was quite well organized and easy - and there was no problem getting our wine on board (we purchased some yummy bottles in Florence for the trip) There was a corkage fee was quite expensive, but the wine was still less than if we had purchased it on board and it was fabulous!

 

Once on the ship, we settled into our cabin #11578 (Lovely room with a balcony. I spent every morning there sipping coffee and watching the world float by. I highly recommend a balcony room for this cruise - the scenery is stunning!!) After freshening up, we set out to explore the ship and to meet up with a group we'd gotten to know from here for a sail away party. The Jade is just small enough to still be allowed to use the Grand Canal ... and you absolutely MUST be on deck to see this stupendous city - i think it is the most beautiful port we've ever visited. I highly recommend finding your particular cruise forum here - we split the cost of several shore excursions with people we met there and made some great friends while planning and enjoying the trip. We also discovered the Martini bar (OMG!!! When they offer the martini tastings on the ship itinerary ... dooooo it!!!)

 

My youngest daughter discovered the teen group - and while they didn't spend much time in the teen center after the first meet and greet, she was happy and occupied the entire cruise making friends with kids her age from all over Europe. I loved this about this ship - Lots of passengers from all over - My daughters (as well as myself) still communicate with friends we all made from Greece, England and Scotland. The Jade is a small enough ship that it was easy to keep tabs on the 15 year old while still giving her quite a bit of independence. She was a happy little camper most of the cruise.

 

Days 2-3 July 12-13 AT SEA

 

We went to a Meet and Greet that was organized by fellow travelers from the cruise forum here. Norwegian really did a wonderful job of hosting it, we met the Captain and most of the main staff. They offered a selection of nice appetizers and a beautiful room. It was a great place to meet up with everyone and exchange info for tour excursions and whatnot for the trip. My oldest daughter and myself occupied ourselves with massages and trips to the Martini bar (grin) while my husband attended healthy living seminars and informational talks. A good time was had by all.

 

We dined at Cagney's one night and had a spectacular meal. These at sea days were a nice relaxing start to a beautiful vacation. For fast bar type fare, my youngest and her teen friends discovered the Blue Lagoon cafe ... I think she ate her weight in chicken wings and sandwiches from there. I have to admit .. they were yummy!

 

Day 4 - July 14 - SANTORINI

 

Sun drenched, picture postcard kind of day - and Santorini was sooooo beautiful! Once off the ship, it was a short walk to the Cable Cars (I do not recommend the donkey ride up the side of the cliff .. NO ONE we talked to enjoyed that on the ship. It looks like a very quaint and exciting adventure from a distance ... up close it was smelly, slippery and scary, by all accounts)

 

The cable car ride was easy, but the lines can get long, so give yourself plenty of time to navigate that. On top of the cliff is the town of Fira and it is actually very picturesque and the shops were fun to wander through on our way to meet our tour guide for the day. Though when I asked him where the best place was to buy sandals, he did say "Athens ... not here - everything on Santorini is twice as expensive" and he was right about that.

 

Our tour was organized by "ToursByLocals" - our guide, Dimitri, was fabulous (Think of the father from "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" ... that was Dimitri!) He took us on an amazing tour. We saw two cities (My very favorite was Oia - my husband and I will for sure return there soon!) , a monastery at the highest point on the island (with an incredible view of the harbor) and a small local winery, they make a white wine on the island that is quite good (I'm not a fan of white wine, but this was really nice) While at the winery, we were served a light lunch that was perfect. We never felt rushed and he told us wonderful stories about the island history and people. He got us back to the port with plenty of time to navigate the line for the cable car ride back to the ship. While we stood in line for the cable car, we took turns exploring the city of Fira and checking out the shops. They have gorgeous white linen and Egyptian cotton clothing there - as well as frozen yogurt that went down well in the July heat!

 

Day 5 - July 15 KUSADASI/EPHESUS

 

Our tour here was "Roman Ephesus and its Christian Heritage" through Magical Steps Travel tours. It was an 8 hour tour that included Ephesus and the House of the Virgin Mary and a traditional Turkish lunch (YUM!) as well as the obligatory tour of the carpet makers. Ephesus was incredible ... but very hot! The weather throughout the trip was sweltering - but with a big hat and a LOT of water, life was good! The van they used was clean and spacious, with air conditioning (YAY!)

 

I was amazed at the beauty of the area - and the House of the Virgin Mary was one of my favorite parts of the whole trip. The area is tranquil and pastoral, very beautiful and quite serene. I am so glad we elected to go on this tour. Our guide was wonderful and the carpet factory was actually very interesting and the sales pitch really wasn't that bad at all.

 

While in Kusadasi, my husband bought an amethyst and diamond ring for my youngest daughter (for her 16th birthday .. family tradition) we got quite a good deal on it. One of our traveling companions is a jeweler and assured us it was authentic .. our daughter is thrilled with it! We also purchased beautiful hand tooled leather journals to give as Christmas gifts at home from vendors on the street.

 

Day 6 - ATHENS

 

We almost didn't get off the ship here, but I am so glad we did! When we docked here last year, Athens was the center of riots and unrest, the night before there were demonstrations in the town square that turned violent and ugly ... but when we asked friends of my daughter's about safety concerns, they assured us that it wasn't tourists .. but the government that was the focus of the riots. They happened at night, and we would be fine during the daytime hours. I had dreamed of seeing the Acropolis since I was in 5th grade ... i had come much too far to let the opportunity pass so we went for it.

 

It was .. AMAZING!!!!! We took another private tour here, this time through PKTravel. the Parthenon was being cleaned and repaired and fortified (I am assuming this will be going on for quite some time ...) so parts of it were hidden behind scaffolding .. but ... OMG .. I walked on pavers that were thousands of years old and saw amazing things I've wanted to see for decades. Our guide was informative and fabulous .. the van was clean and cool - and the day was peaceful and perfect.

 

And ... I found my sandals. Dimitri was correct - they were a third of the price i would have paid in Oia!

 

This is the halfway point of our cruise, and this is where we left the Eastern Med and ventured into the Western Med for our glimpses into Italy, France, and Malta ... so I will leave off here for a bit. I will finish the report soon!

[LadyStone50]

Day 7 - ROME

 

Of the whole tour, this was probably my least favorite stop ... not because I don't like Rome .. its an amazing city ... but there's just too much to see and do and we tried to do it all in one day (I had been there before but we wanted our daughters to see it all. BIG mistake!!) We used RomeInLimo tours, and our driver was a blessing. He navigated the streets and DID get us everywhere we wanted to go and was very informative. My daughters both wanted to see the coliseum, and I think thats the part of the day that really did me in. Don't get me wrong, the site is phenomenal and worth a visit ... just not on a shore excursion with limited time. The line to get in was crazy and even though we had bought our tickets beforehand online, we were made to stand in the line with people who were just buying their tickets that day. Lots of time wasted (I'm talking hours) waiting in lines to get into the site. Later in the day we had scheduled a tour of the Vatican and it was amazing, but rushed as well. I would not suggest trying to do both in one day. They are both worth a visit .. and they both deserve an entire day to do them justice.

 

Day 8 - PISA / Volterra

 

If yesterday was my least favorite ... today was the best. Because it was so hot, and because we had seen Pisa before, I had arranged with the wonderful folks at RomeInLimo to get a driver and head into the mountains. We spent the morning in Volterra, a walled city known for their alabaster artists and ceramic studios. We wandered around the city, exploring on our own and finding tiny out of the way shops and art studios. It was interesting, relatively quiet and calm, few tourists, and just lovely. In the afternoon, we went to a small family owned winery outside the city walls - called Podere La Marronaia. There we had a wonderful lazy afternoon of wine tasting and lunch on a balcony with breathtakingly beautiful views of the vineyards and city. The family opened their home and spent the day with us and we have kept in contact with them and will stay with them in their bed and breakfast next time we are in Tuscany. When we got back to the ship we heard stories of crowds and heat in Pisa and Florence. We were so glad we had escaped all that and had a perfect day in Tuscany.

 

Day 9 CANNES/Eze

 

The ship ported in Cannes, France on a Monday ... and all the museums are closed on a Monday. We had planned on going to Ile Sainte-Marguerite to see the fortress prison (Fort Royale) from "Man in the Iron Mask" but everything was going to be closed to the public so we decided to rent a car and drive to Eze. It was quite an adventure! The drive wasn't too bad (praise God for GPS) .. stopping for gas in Nice was interesting (the people in line for gas were less than thrilled to have American tourists who were unsure of how to operate the pumps in front of them). The road to Eze runs along the coast and the beaches. Fun to people watch! Eze itself was stunning - and well worth the drive, though if I were to do it again, I would maybe take public transportation and save ourselves the stress of driving and parking there.

 

Day 11 - MALTA

 

After a relaxing day at sea (which included a VERY fun martini tasting at the ship martini bar) We found ourselves in Mdina and Rabat. My husband and I split up and each took one daughter to explore this port. I took the oldest and we purchased a HOHO ticket and away we went! The day is now kind of a blur ... but I remember visiting an artist community (uninspiring), taking a horse drawn carriage ride through the ancient town (VERY touristy but still fun!) then lunch in a square waiting for the church to open up for tours in the afternoon (never made it in ... headed back to the ship because my daughter was worried the ship would leave without us LOL). It was a nice day all in all. That night, we had dinner at Teppanyaki onboard. Lots of fancy knife wielding and the food was quite good :) I do not know if I would do the HOHO here again - the lines were long and the busses were crowded. We spent a lot of our day just waiting for transportation.

 

Day 12 - MESSINA

 

Another really great day with the RomeInLimo folks! (I would like to mention here that they discount their tours when you book multiple tours through them - we found other families to share our tours and they were all very well done.They are not intrusive, the guides don't lead you around ... they just give you a few suggestions and pointers, recommend good places to visit or eat, and let you explore on your own. I will use this service again!) We drove first straight to Mt Etna to get in front of the cruise crowds ... it was a good thing we did. When we got there, we had the volcano to ourselves! The women hiked up one of the easier slopes while the men tackled the harder one. By the time we were finished with our hikes, the tour busses started pulling into the parking lot and there were people all over the place when we left. We stopped at the base of the mountain for a quick cup of espresso. We then drove to Taormina for the afternoon. What a beautiful town! We had a great time exploring it, and wished, like we had in many of the ports, that we could stop there for more than just an afternoon.

 

Day 13 and 14 - At Sea then Venice

 

Our last full day at sea on the cruise was spent saying goodbye to all the wonderful friends we'd met. We exchanged emails and made tentative plans to meet again on future trips ... and had one final meal at Cagney's. The next morning, I watched the sun rise from my balcony while we reentered the Grand Canal in Venice. Getting off the ship was easy and well organized.

 

It was the trip of a lifetime. My daughters still talk about it all the time.

 

We just booked another cruise through Norwegian to the Greek Islands again ... Santorini - Here We COME!!!

[cincicruisers]

Wonderful review, thanks for sharing

[scanditaly]

Where did you get the idea(s) for the smaller townships? Volterra seems like a wonderful place to visit.

 

Scanditaly

[easyboy]

I agree that Rome has many worthy sites to visit and a day of shore excursion is not enough. Not too mention the long lines. Thanks for your review and looking forward to your next.

 

 

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