Just back from Jade Med cruise.

[flahagan]

We just returned from the 10-night cruise r/t Rome, Aug. 1 - Aug. 11 that sailed to Greek Isles and Italy ports.  It was our first time with NCL so I thought I'd just give a few of my impressions.

 

First of all, we had a spectacular time, even though the record-breaking heat everywhere nearly got the best of us.  We spent two nights in Rome pre-cruise at Albergo del Senato next to the Pantheon and loved the hotel and the location.

 

We used RomeShuttleLimousine for all of our transfers - airport-hotel-port-airport and they were very reliable and good, safe drivers.

 

Embarkation was absolutely the easiest of any of my 19 cruises.  We arrived at the port around 11:15 and went straight through, no lines to speak of.  We were able to drop off our carry-ons in our cabins and proceeded to get our first drink of the cruise.

 

The ship has no wow factor but it is clean and seems in good shape.  We had mid-ship mini-suites and the location was perfect.  Our cabins were 11070 and 11072, starboard, directly over the tender platforms and the pilot access.  Starboard seemed to be the best side for nearly all of the ports, and we really enjoyed watching the pilot boats zoom in and drop off or pick up the pilot. 

 

Our favorite gathering place became the Whiskey/Martini bar area where we met every evening before dinner.  One of the servers there, Sandra, was the best ever - she became part of our family.  Having most recently sailed on the Carnival Breeze and Vista, Princess Regal and Oasis of the Seas, I wasn't sure how I'd like the smaller size of the Jade but it was comfortable.

 

Our cabins were wonderful - there was so much storage space we didn't even use several of the drawers and there were three of us adult women.  Loved the bathroom and the balcony was very spacious.

 

We ate all of our meals in the included dining venues, mostly the Alizar.  We found the food to be just okay, nothing memorable.  THe starters were pretty much the same every night and the menu seemed pretty limited.  I was surprised that there was never shrimp cocktail on offer.  In fact, there weren't any shrimp entrees either, such as scampi.  I really missed my shrimp cocktail!  The soups were generally good.  We enjoyed O'Sheehan's for several lunches and it is a nice alternative dining venue.  The buffet was just so-so.  If I had to compare, the included dining is far superior on Carnival and Princess.  I'm not a fan of RCL's food, but it was also a step above NCL.

 

We saw the three production shows and I will say that the dancers were terrific!  Elements was the best but we enjoyed Blazing Boots also.  The third show's name escapes me but it was set in old Havanna, which could have been great if they'd used some known Latin music instead of the snorefest songs they did.

 

THe entertainment around the ship was mostly blah, but we enjoyed the singer/guitarist Dave.  However, he was leaving after our cruise.  THey need more captivating entertainers in the lounges, for sure. 

THe cruise director, Dave, wasn't nearly as funny as he thought he was and was difficult to understand at times because he spoke so fast.  But to be fair, we were comparing him to Carnival's Matt Mitchum who is the superman of cruise directors.  At least Dave showed up, which is more than I can say of the CD's on Princess and RCL Oasis.

 

We took this cruise because it had the best itinerary this year for the ports we wanted to see.  And it is ever intensive!  The only sea day is at the start and from there on you're in a marathon.  We tendered in two ports - Santorini and Mykonos and it went fairly quickly and easily.

 

I would have appreciated a bit more information of the ports in the dailies, even a little walking map would have been nice or directions to get to the express bus into Athens at Piraeus.  I had done extensive research and had printed out a few maps but Piraeus still seemed a bit confusing, especially with the taxi drivers being so aggressive and in your face as you're trying to find the bus.

 

I'll answer any questions about the ports but I'm not going into detail on them right now.  Suffice it to say they were all fabulous.  We took three private tours - Sicily, Naples and Livorno.  In Sicily we went to Castlemola and Taormina, from Naples we went to Positano and lunch up on the cliffs at La Tagliata.  In Livorno we toured several hilltowns in the Chianti region, had lunch and visited Pisa.  All other ports we did independently.

 

To sum it up, it was a beautiful cruise - calm seas and blue skies (and sweltering temps!).  There were seven in our group and we all absolutely loved it!

[Dar & Bob]

Thank you for your review, glad to hear it was good.  We are on this same itinerary on the Jade in 4 weeks.

 

[Turtles06]

Thanks very much for taking the time to review your cruise. I’m glad you enjoyed it!

 

Our first Med cruise was on the Jade, and we’ll be back on board her in Fall 2020, also leaving from Civi.  The Albergo del Senato is one of the hotels in Rome that we are considering, and I’m happy to hear that you loved it.  May I ask what kind of room you had and whether you experienced any noise issues at all?  Thanks! 

[flahagan]

Turtles06 - there were 7 of us and we had 3 rooms at the Albergo del Senato.  I was in a triple room and it was in the rear so there was absolutely no noise at all.  The other two were in the front overlooking the Pantheon and they had no noise complaints.  I can absolutely recommend this hotel 100% - it was everything you could ask for.  We walked everywhere as it's so centrally located.  We loved the rooftop terrace/bar and met there each night for drinks before dinner.

[Turtles06]

23 minutes ago, flahagan said:

  I can absolutely recommend this hotel 100% - it was everything you could ask for.  We walked everywhere as it's so centrally located.

 

Thank you!  Yes, the location is terrific. We stayed nearby a few years ago and walked everywhere as well. It was wonderful. 

[habitoiyam]

1 hour ago, Dar & Bob said:

Thank you for your review, glad to hear it was good.  We are on this same itinerary on the Jade in 4 weeks.

 

We will be on the same cruise! This post was a great “preview” of what to expect, and we are excited! 

Edited August 13, 2019 by habitoiyam

[flahagan]

I forgot to mention the casino.  I rarely utilize them and didn't on this cruise, but I was shocked every time I walked through it to find it nearly completely empty.  I mean nobody was in there - a handful at the slots, nobody at the bar.  It was very strange.

 

I also found it strange that you couldn't access your ship account on the tv but had to go stand in line to check on it.  The same with daily menus - no way to check unless you walked down to the restaurants. 

Speaking of the tv, there are no movies except one English channel that ran Aquaman almost continuously.  I enjoy watching a movie and relaxing before I fall asleep, but the only other thing on offer was news channel - that's NOT relaxing.

 

The Jade served us well on this extremely busy itinerary, but I wouldn't want to sail her on a transatlantic.

[Dar & Bob]

1 minute ago, flahagan said:

I forgot to mention the casino.  I rarely utilize them and didn't on this cruise, but I was shocked every time I walked through it to find it nearly completely empty.  I mean nobody was in there - a handful at the slots, nobody at the bar.  It was very strange.

 

I also found it strange that you couldn't access your ship account on the tv but had to go stand in line to check on it.  The same with daily menus - no way to check unless you walked down to the restaurants. 

Speaking of the tv, there are no movies except one English channel that ran Aquaman almost continuously.  I enjoy watching a movie and relaxing before I fall asleep, but the only other thing on offer was news channel - that's NOT relaxing.

 

The Jade served us well on this extremely busy itinerary, but I wouldn't want to sail her on a transatlantic.

Luckily we are going with 4 other couples and hopefully meeting a few along the way at the meet and greet etc.  

Would you happen to remember if you could order splits of Champagne or Prosecco as a part of the regular UBP?  Was thinking it would be nice to take back to the cabin to enjoy on the balcony. 

[newmexicoNita]

On 8/13/2019 at 3:35 PM, flahagan said:

We just returned from the 10-night cruise r/t Rome, Aug. 1 - Aug. 11 that sailed to Greek Isles and Italy ports.  It was our first time with NCL so I thought I'd just give a few of my impressions.

 

First of all, we had a spectacular time, even though the record-breaking heat everywhere nearly got the best of us.  We spent two nights in Rome pre-cruise at Albergo del Senato next to the Pantheon and loved the hotel and the location.

 

We used RomeShuttleLimousine for all of our transfers - airport-hotel-port-airport and they were very reliable and good, safe drivers.

 

Embarkation was absolutely the easiest of any of my 19 cruises.  We arrived at the port around 11:15 and went straight through, no lines to speak of.  We were able to drop off our carry-ons in our cabins and proceeded to get our first drink of the cruise.

 

The ship has no wow factor but it is clean and seems in good shape.  We had mid-ship mini-suites and the location was perfect.  Our cabins were 11070 and 11072, starboard, directly over the tender platforms and the pilot access.  Starboard seemed to be the best side for nearly all of the ports, and we really enjoyed watching the pilot boats zoom in and drop off or pick up the pilot. 

 

Our favorite gathering place became the Whiskey/Martini bar area where we met every evening before dinner.  One of the servers there, Sandra, was the best ever - she became part of our family.  Having most recently sailed on the Carnival Breeze and Vista, Princess Regal and Oasis of the Seas, I wasn't sure how I'd like the smaller size of the Jade but it was comfortable.

 

Our cabins were wonderful - there was so much storage space we didn't even use several of the drawers and there were three of us adult women.  Loved the bathroom and the balcony was very spacious.

 

We ate all of our meals in the included dining venues, mostly the Alizar.  We found the food to be just okay, nothing memorable.  THe starters were pretty much the same every night and the menu seemed pretty limited.  I was surprised that there was never shrimp cocktail on offer.  In fact, there weren't any shrimp entrees either, such as scampi.  I really missed my shrimp cocktail!  The soups were generally good.  We enjoyed O'Sheehan's for several lunches and it is a nice alternative dining venue.  The buffet was just so-so.  If I had to compare, the included dining is far superior on Carnival and Princess.  I'm not a fan of RCL's food, but it was also a step above NCL.

 

We saw the three production shows and I will say that the dancers were terrific!  Elements was the best but we enjoyed Blazing Boots also.  The third show's name escapes me but it was set in old Havanna, which could have been great if they'd used some known Latin music instead of the snorefest songs they did.

 

THe entertainment around the ship was mostly blah, but we enjoyed the singer/guitarist Dave.  However, he was leaving after our cruise.  THey need more captivating entertainers in the lounges, for sure. 

THe cruise director, Dave, wasn't nearly as funny as he thought he was and was difficult to understand at times because he spoke so fast.  But to be fair, we were comparing him to Carnival's Matt Mitchum who is the superman of cruise directors.  At least Dave showed up, which is more than I can say of the CD's on Princess and RCL Oasis.

 

We took this cruise because it had the best itinerary this year for the ports we wanted to see.  And it is ever intensive!  The only sea day is at the start and from there on you're in a marathon.  We tendered in two ports - Santorini and Mykonos and it went fairly quickly and easily.

 

I would have appreciated a bit more information of the ports in the dailies, even a little walking map would have been nice or directions to get to the express bus into Athens at Piraeus.  I had done extensive research and had printed out a few maps but Piraeus still seemed a bit confusing, especially with the taxi drivers being so aggressive and in your face as you're trying to find the bus.

 

I'll answer any questions about the ports but I'm not going into detail on them right now.  Suffice it to say they were all fabulous.  We took three private tours - Sicily, Naples and Livorno.  In Sicily we went to Castlemola and Taormina, from Naples we went to Positano and lunch up on the cliffs at La Tagliata.  In Livorno we toured several hilltowns in the Chianti region, had lunch and visited Pisa.  All other ports we did independently.

 

To sum it up, it was a beautiful cruise - calm seas and blue skies (and sweltering temps!).  There were seven in our group and we all absolutely loved it!

Glad you had a wonderful time. We have friends that sailed on a river cruise during the heat and the A/C on the ship went out.....

[Travelicious]

Please share your views on lunch at La Tagliata.  Thanks!

[flahagan]

Dar and Bob, bottled alcoholic beverages are not included, but you could order 2 drinks at a time - put one glass in the cabin fridge while you're drinking one!

[flahagan]

2 hours ago, Travelicious said:

Please share your views on lunch at La Tagliata.  Thanks!

Well, that's another story.  We went there as part of a private tour I had arranged months and months ago and I was able to customize our tour to Positano, lunch at La Tagliata and a short tour of Naples on the way back to the ship.

When I first booked this tour, the price for lunch was 25 euros each.  About 6 weeks or so ago, I got an email from the tour operator saying the price had gone up to 30 euros each for lunch, so obviouly that's what I planned on.

 

When we got to the restaurant shortly before noon, we were the only ones there for at least 30 or 40 minutes.  One of the family owners, Tony, came and explained that there was no menu, that dishes would be brought out to share and that everything was grown on their property and cooked by "Mama", his sister-in-law.

He brought 2 bottles of red and 2 of white wine as well as several bottles of water and then the plates started coming.  There was antipasti, fresh mozzarella and tomatoes, grilled zucchini, bowls of spinach, broccoli, chickpeas with garlic and onions, beans with fatty pork, little bits of pizza and fried bread, then I think 4 different kinds of pasta.  Everything was excellent and we were groaning with fullness.  THen he brought out a platter of meat (!) - sausage, chicken, rabbit and a steak.  Most of us were too full to even look at it but the two guys in our party sampled some of the meats.  I swear I don't know where they put it.

 

The wine was flowing and then he brought out a plate of assorted desserts to share and small glasses of limoncello.  All of this while loverlooking that gorgeous view.

 

Then the bill came and he requested I pay in cash.  I looked at it and he had charged uss 50 euro each for lunch instead of the 30 that I had confirmation for.  I didn't want to cause a scene but I also wasn't going to pay this in cash so I used a credit card.

 

As soon as we stepped out to meet our driver/guide I told him about the overcharge.  He immediately called his supervisor (Sarah) who subsequently called the restaurant and said we were owed a refund of 20 euros each, as she had it in writing that we were confirmed for lunch at 30 euros.  The restaurant refused and said we had been asked if we wanted to choose the more expensive option and we had said yes.

 

Obviously, this was a lie.  Sarah said she would contact the owner of the tour company and see how to proceed.  When we got back to the states, I contacted her and she said the owner had also contacted the restaurant and demanded a refund for the overage but they were very "frosty" and refused.  She said I needed to dispute the amount with my credit card company, which is what I did, and to write a review on Tripadvisor alerting others to this bait and switch.    She also said the owner instructed her to cancel all future stops at La Tagliata and rebook with a different restaurant.  She said she has two groups of 35 people scheduled to go there in October and she now has to change those bookings!  She also said it's a shame when a place has to get so greedy, that it leads to ruin.

 

The strange thing is that yesterday before I wrote the review, I read through several pages of recent reviews and saw that the charge for the evening dinner with meat was 45 euros, so I guess we must have looked like easy marks all the way around.  It's such a shame, because until the bill came, we were having a great time but this has left a bad taste, you might say. 

[Travelicious]

Wow!  Thanks for sharing.  I was really wanting to go there next year, but by the time May rolls around they may be charging 70 euros for lunch.  I have been reading for months that it was 40, then somewhere I saw 45.  Reviews are mostly great until very recently.  Guess I'll talk to tour operator about somewhere else. 

[flahagan]

Travelicious, I'm not advising you against going, but just to be squared away on the price before you sit down, lol.  To be sure, it would have been worth 30 euros for lunch, but 50?  I almost choked when I saw 350 euros on that bill!

[fabnfortysomething]

unfortunately we have been subjected to this kind of tactic to inflate price

 

first time was on our first cruise with a small group got together via our roll call

our tour guide suggested a place for lunch for an "inexpensive bowl of pasta"

to me that suggested about 5 euros

the place he took us to with admittedly a great lake view had a minimum price of 20 euros

 

none of us knew each other well enough to object but we all ordered cheapest on menu

our guide expressed surprise when we ate quickly and didn't linger with a  couple of bottles of wine over lunch

 

he sounded perplexed as he thought "tourists want that"

nope we wanted sightseeing!

 

your guide sounds genuinely annoyed on your behalf but I now make it clear from the outset what our expectations are and would certainly make a fuss if bill is a shock

this place was certainly trying to rip you off

 

have you done a review on trip advisor?

[raynvic]

Hi Flahagan, we were on the Jade with you and spent a good deal of time at the Martini Bar.  Antonio and Bojan were the best.  Like you the heat almost did us in and we are from AZ (it's a dry heat).  I agree with your assessment of the Jade, I did a comparison with Carnival and posted a few days ago.  I like the size ship and found the entertainment really good.   We had a lot of specialty dining so we only ate in the dining room one night.  I did find the buffet to be much better than those on most cruise lines.  Thanks for posting your review and glad you had as good a trip as we did.  Vicky

[jimbri]

Thanks for the review!

[flahagan]

2 hours ago, raynvic said:

Hi Flahagan, we were on the Jade with you and spent a good deal of time at the Martini Bar.  Antonio and Bojan were the best.  Like you the heat almost did us in and we are from AZ (it's a dry heat).  I agree with your assessment of the Jade, I did a comparison with Carnival and posted a few days ago.  I like the size ship and found the entertainment really good.   We had a lot of specialty dining so we only ate in the dining room one night.  I did find the buffet to be much better than those on most cruise lines.  Thanks for posting your review and glad you had as good a trip as we did.  Vicky

I'm sure we were right beside you some nights in the Martini Bar, lol!  What I missed on this ship was the "fun" vibe that you get on Carnival - there wasn't much energy.  We all dressed in our whites for White night and then couldn't even get in the Spinnaker.  It would have been nice if they'd had it on deck like most every other line does.  But the itinerary made up for any shortcomings - no other line had anything as comprehensive this year in the Med.

[jetsfan]

Loved your review! Cruising the Jade on 9/22.  

Edited August 17, 2019 by jetsfan

[diddydoormouse]

Hi we are sailing in September - just wanted to know if the ship has a Duty free shop selling spirits and Tobacco ? As on the last ship I sailed from Rome they weren't allowed to sell any.

Thanks

[flahagan]

Honestly, I only went in the shopping area one time, towards the very end of the cruise, as it is very out of the way and not central as in most other ships.  I remember seeing a few notions, e.g. toothpaste and such plus the assorted jewelry, purses and tees.  I can tell you that when I was in there, it was nearly deserted, like the casino.  I think the majority of people shopped in the ports on this cruise and never gave the ship's shop a second thought.  As you probably know, it's all one large area, much like a duty-free shop in a port terminal.  I wish I could help you with this.  I'll ask my son-in-law later today and see if he remembers.

[raynvic]

I don't know that I would consider anything they sold on board as duty free.  They charge VAT on every purchase.  If the purchase is over $200 they will help you with the forms that you need to turn in at the airport.  I don't recall seeing any liquor or tobacco, but that does not mean it wasn't there.

[Justcruzin08]

Do you remover which nights the shows were on. Doing cruise on jade Oct with similar itinerary. 

Thanks

[Justcruzin08]

F

[flahagan]

I believe Blazing Boots was the second night (sea day), Elements was the second to last night and the Havana show was somewhere in the middle.  Sorry, I nearly always save the dailies but didn't want to fool with so much paper this time.  Make sure you're on Deck the evening you sail from Valetta - the place was lit up like Christmas!