NCL Norwegian Jade to Eastern Med

[CaliforniaTraveler]

I thought I wanted to see the pyramids but I was wrong. I regret all the money and time I spend on this trip. It was really disappointing but a great eye opener. Here are the details:

1. NCL Jade - Great activities director and staff, very good entertainment.

2. NCL Jade has a terrible buffett called the Garden Club, decor is ugly, not inviting, makes you feel like you are at a cafeteria. Very low end.

3. NCL JADE - Constant spraying by staff of antibacterial - seems like you are part of their CYA attempts.

4.NCL Jade - Food is not very good. I could not even eat some of the meat as it tasted funny. Took one bite and could not continue. In fact, I lost weight on this cruise!

5. NCL needs to more closely monitor the shore excursions, in particular the one to Egypt. The bus was filthy dirty and 14 hours in that level of filth is really uncomfortable and worrisome.

6. Eliminate Egypt from the itinerary - stop the advertising! It does not seem safe or healthy for westerners to go there. Rubbish all the way from Alexandria to Egypt - after the beautiful port - it is downhill all the way. Tour bus drove us by a canal where there was a dead horse and dead dog and a man fishing a few feet away. Egyptians slauthered a sheep in the middle of the street - blood everywhere. Egyptians aggressively trying to sell trinkets. The aggression is at the scary level, and it completely ruins the experience of seeing the pryamids. The people are on top of you and even the tourist police are crooks and soliciting tips/money from you. And, if you have to go to the bathroom in the 14 hour trip, it is a scary proposition. The bathroom at the Payprus Institue was disgustingly filthy - water all over the floor. BTW, it is not an institute but a store. Egypt is definetely a 3rd world country - and way worse than Mexico. Tour Guide solicited tips from passengers - saying it was customary to tip the driver and the guide - no one did this anywhere else however we always gave them a tip. Also, could not understand the guide - she spoke English but her accent was too thick to understand what she was saying. Because Cairo was so bad, we did not go on our trip to Alexandria the next day - the six of us decided we would just lose the money - and not expose ourselves to any more of that filthy or harrassment.

All the passengers on the ship were discussing how bad Egypt was and many opted, like we did, not go on the Alexandria tour the next day.

Additionally, the MED sea is very rough at this time of the year and many were seasick the first day on this cruise. Not a good way to start.

[sottovoce]

We did this same cruise a year ago on Jade and it was terrific. Food was excellent, including the buffet. Ship was bright, cheerful, and well-maintained. Egypt is the most amazing place (we've been there three times). Fabulous history and friendly people, despite a repressive government. Some of the stuff I read here simply boggles one's mind.

[cynbar]

I am curious, was this a ship sponsored excursion or privately booked? And if it was through NCL, did you report it to the shore excursion desk, and if so, how did they handle it?

[CaliforniaTraveler]

It was an NCL tour.

 

I am curious, was this a ship sponsored excursion or privately booked? And if it was through NCL, did you report it to the shore excursion desk, and if so, how did they handle it?

[CaliforniaTraveler]

We did report it to the Short Excursion desk and they failed to contact us about it. However, what can they do about the filth in Egypt or the dead animals in the canals or around children playing. What can they do about a coutnry that is littered from Alexandria to Cario with almost every square inch covered? They can, however, make sure the tour bus is clean. The AC system (which did not seem to work very well) dripped all over my husband. Not good.

 

I loved the British Isle/Norwegian fjord cruise we went on with Royal Caribbean and the Mexican Rivieria cruise with Celebrity. Both are far superior except for the entetainment area, which I say gets a rating of "A" on NCL.

 

 

I am curious, was this a ship sponsored excursion or privately booked? And if it was through NCL, did you report it to the shore excursion desk, and if so, how did they handle it?

[cynbar]

Thanks for the reply, normally I would expect NCL to give you a full or partial refund if the tour is not up to par, and I think you certainly were entitled after a filthy bus, poor AC and a tour guide who was hard to understand! Beyond that, different people prefer different cruise lines, and sometimes our preferences are influenced by first impressions. We generally sail Princess and Celebrity but also book NCL when they have an itinerary we want. I have not sailed the Jade and don't go to the buffet, but I agree that the MDR food has not been as good as what we find on Princess and Celebrity. It's not a deal breaker for us, however --- we always find something we can eat on the MDR menu (it may take a couple of tries!) and we expect to go to the specialty restaurants some of the time, and just factor that into the cost of the cruise.To each his own, of course, not everyone looks at things the same way. As far as I can see, your report on the tour in Egypt is your most valid complaint, and I would not have been happy, either.

[Turtles06]

To the OP, I'm truly sorry you had such a bad time. From your post, it seems that you were perhaps not prepared for what you found in Egypt, or even for the weather in the Mediterranean in the winter. (Yes, the seas can be rough.)

 

We were on the Jade's 12-night Med cruise this past January/early Feb, and it was an incredible adventure, one of those "trips of a lifetime." I am so glad we did it, including our overnight in Egypt.

 

I strongly disagree with your suggestion that Egypt should be eliminated from the itinerary, as "it does not seem safe or healthy for westerners to go there." It is safe enough with tour operators, and healthy enough if you follow the advice that you can easily get from your own doctor, a travel clinic, and all over the Internet: don't drink the water, don't eat certain foods, etc. The same advice given for many other so-called "third world" countries.

 

The overnight stop in Egypt was a MAJOR factor in our choosing to do this cruise. Was Cairo filthy? Yes it was. Was it extremely sad to see garbage and dead animals in the Nile? Yes of course. But we weren't expecting Norwegian Fjords, or a western standard of cleanliness. We WERE expecting public restrooms that were pretty disgusting, and we were ready with our own little Charmin rolls and plenty of hand sanitizer.

 

The Pyramids were awesome, as was everything else we saw in Egypt. We used a private tour operator, and our guide did a great job of keeping our group from being harassed.

 

I'm sorry you had such a bad experience on a ship-sponsored tour. It's one reason so many people use private tour operators. I'm saying this not to "lecture" you, but for the benefit of others reading this thread who haven't done a Med cruise (in the winter or any other time), and might be deterred by it from considering one. If I read your post correctly, though, your main concern about Egypt seems to be not the ship's tour but the country itself. While it's not on a list of places I am eager to go back to (though I suspect Luxor would be amazing), I am truly glad to have been there.

 

Again, I'm sorry the cruise was such a downer for you.

[garycarla]

We did this trip last January. We did experience some of what was covered above, but not all.

 

Egypt - dirty, smelly country. No doubt. But we are really glad we did the trip. Like some others, we stayed on the ship the second day and relaxed vs. doing local tour. Yes, would tell others this is a trip worth taking, but you have to be ready for it. Not in Orlando anymore!

 

Bus - many people book with an outside agency for less money, and smaller bus. Surprised that the NCL tour got a bad bus. Most we saw were the big luxury ones.

 

Buffet - maybe your week was bad, or expectations were higher. We ate there and it was okay. Food overall is okay on NCL - but nothing outstanding most of the time.

 

Sanitizer - sad thing about this are those people with poor sanitary habits. There are people on some other ships that wish this took place way more often. Just ask anyone on a cruise where the NORO got out of control. Not sure what you would ask the cruiseline to do about this?? I do not think it is a CYA, but instead an effort to curtail germs.

 

Sorry you had a bad cruise. Based on the reviews here, most enjoy it. Some do not.

[missm54]

We did this cruise early January, and Egypt was one of the main reasons we did this cruise...We had done much reading and were prepared for the trash, and vendors.

We also had booked a private 1 day tour to the pyramids and had a clean minivan and a great tour guide that spoke excellent english. He took us to clean restrooms and the vendors left us alone as long as we stayed close to him.

We found this to be a trip to some of the great places in the world that we would probably never see otherwise.

The ship experience was just average...ok food, entertainment, some rough seas, and of course the dreaded Noro virus on board.

I think our expectations were just what we received...great cities, good travel friends and 12 days of not cooking and cleaning.

[JohnIreland]

Newsflash:

 

Egypt is in Africa.

 

Did you think it was going to be like home ?

[smilesback]

Hi, I wrote a long reply here. It means a lot to me that someone might read this and know my point of view.

 

We just completed a two day tour through Nile Blue Excursions to Cairo and Alexandria. We did a two day tour and stayed aboard the ship. We did not want a large busload of tourists making its way to Cairo and back. We also wondered what we were getting into and think the small mini-bus was a better way to go.

 

As far as the Jade cruise goes, we are first time cruisers and as such are not "jaded" (sic). We found the cafeteria style Garden Cafe great so we could pick and choose what we ate at every meal. We used it to eat casually and meet new people for our breakfast and lunches. The dinner food is never super hot, but for breakfast I got my egg sunnyside up and ate muesli daily. That's as fresh as I needed breakfast. My husband wished the sweet rolls were sweeter - he has an unquenchable sweet tooth - think Cinnabon cravings.

 

We enjoyed trying the different dishes in the cafeteria. The grill was great for hamburgers and made to order pasta - he loved the arrabiatti spicy sauce. I loved making my salads just the way I like them and the soups were made to order as well. We liked the variety and enjoyed the Indian style food. We got hand sprayed regularly and glad we did -- because we never came down with any bug!

 

Overall, I was able to be selective with my low calorie diet and my husband could indulge his chocolate crepes urges nightly! We liked the sit down dinners in Alizar the best, and again experimented with appetizers and entrees. We liked sharing our table with new couples - it was probably the best part of cruising (next to the Spa).

 

My husband and I are completely satisfied with Jade. We posted a review with CC for our Egypt tour and there is a link below. We wrote a review of the Jade that has not yet posted.

 

Everyone is entitled to their point of view. Like I said, we had not cruised before and our impression is that for the dollar value, you really are way ahead than flying to each of the cities on the itinerary. You get to meet people from around the world - Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Austria, South Africa, socialize, have fun, be entertained. We had a blast dancing, doing the silly adult games, watching art auctions, playing bridge, soaking in the hot tub...so what is not to like?

 

I am sorry there are so many poor, impoverished nations, but tourism is a big enough industry to help them out. We bought stuff and passed out tips even for TP in a W.C. I passed out pencils to kids that were begging. I mean, what more can a tourist do? Look on the bright side, if you don't like what you see, you can always say you appreciate being an American with all the comforts of home.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1166186

 

"We completed our Cairo and Alexandria tours with Nile Blue Excursions. You can reach them online at www.nileblueexcursions.com or through the Executive Manager, Ghada Kamal, by email ghada@nileblueexcursions.com.

 

The 2 day tour in Egypt was uneventful as far as any unpleasantness. We paid at the end of the tour in US dollars too. We are completely satisfied and would highly recommend them.

 

They customized our tour to sights we requested. We noticed that they had good strategies for our agenda to work thinking of the time of day for traffic as well as heat. We were very comfortable in their hands and found they didn't leave our side when we were on sites. They ran interference so that salesmen did not pester us and yet they were available to negotiate a better price for us. They took a lot of care to make sure we enjoyed ourselves.

 

The driver stayed with the locked up bus at all times allowing us to leave our cameras and bags onboard knowing they were protected. The guide provided clear directions and information about the sites, both before and after our visit. It was absolutely worth every penny -- a high value for the dollar! They also passed along the savings to us by reducing our price because we had added more passengers making it very affordable. We in turn gave back in the tips to the driver and guide.

 

Worth mentioning is that the Egyptologist guide was easily understood with her perfect English. Her presentations were very scholarly and she raised questions for us to think about and then provided plausible answers based on evidence. She used photos and maps to explain the history behind the sites we visited and explained the culture as it was and how it influences them now.

 

There were no air conditioning wars on our bus. We had a mini-bus with AC controls at each passenger's seat. They provided and encouraged us to drink bottled water often.

 

The bus was a new Toyota mini-bus, looked very clean, and was very comfortable even for my husband who gets sciatic pain from sitting long periods of time. We didn't feel any bumpy, potholed roads other than the occasional speed bump. We attribute the good ride to our experienced driver who selected the better roads for our commute and the fact that the bus was not too big to maneuver through traffic and get to these roads.

 

I don't usually write up critiques because someone else usually does that. It is just that we were so uncertain about our safety for going to Cairo like everyone else, but didn't want to stay overnight or pay NCL excursion prices. The Nile Blue Excursions Tour group offered us a smaller entourage, with the same sites, and no unexpected surprises happened. We enjoyed shopping at the end of our day at a government approved papyrus, jewelry and cartouche shop that had authentication rights -- so no made-in-China junk. Check them out if you are interested in paying a lot less but not sacrificing quality. They really represent a hard working, caring tour group and you will not regret it!

[Mooder]

Traveling is all about knowing what to expect and/or having an open mind. I am sorry the OP had an unpleasant experience. I have not yet been fortunate enough to go to Egypt, but I anticipate that no amount of dirt or poverty is going to take away from the experience of the pyramids. Seeing other cultures is one reason to travel and I love every minute of it. There are other reasons to travel, and they include seeing beautiful things and having only pleasant experiences, but that's a different vacation. You can't expect that in every country. This post reminds me of the Italy forums. So many people tell you to stay away from Naples because of the garbage problem. I had read so much about it that it seemed so minor to me when I finally got there. And the thought of missing out on the wonderful experiences I had in Naples because of a little garbage is, well, unthinkable.

 

I have not yet cruised to Europe though I have been several times on land based vacations. The meat on the other side of the pond is a little different tasting than in the states. I expect it and don't have a problem with it. Is there any chance that is what the OP noticed? I don't know the source of the meat on the NCL ships.

[lambs2]

I too am so sorry the OP did not have a good experience on the Jade. We took this same cruise, combined with the 9 nighter, for a total of 21 days on the Jade and had an absolutely FANTASTIC experience back in Jan and Feb '09! We booked all our own private excursions well in advance, including a wonderful overnight to Cairo that was everything we had hoped for and more. I am still marvelling at our incredible vacation experience on the Jade. Yes, it is dirty and poverty-stricken in Egypt, but I had done much research and was prepared for this - including a dead water buffalo by the side of the road and the absolute WORST traffic congestion I had ever experienced!

Here is my writeup of our 21+ days: http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=53361

[stubbornoldowl]

My husband and I just completed the 21 day Eastern and Western Med on the Jade returning home March 7. We thought it was a wonderful adventure. This is our 6th cruise on 4 different cruise lines. We have never had amazing food on any cruise line but thats OK - we manage. We always find certain features on every line that we like more than others. Our excursions vary - sometimes we head out on our own, sometimes private and sometimes ship excursions but always well researched. We took the NCL overnight excursion into Cairo. Was it perfect? No but I have had difficult excursions and not so good guides on other excursions as well. We would have chosen had we been given the opportunity to skip the Nile dinner cruise - we were exhausted and it wasn't worth it. However overall it was OK and an amazing experience. Our accommodations were excellent. To be honest I was mesmerized looking out the window as we drove around the streets of Cairo. Do I want to go back again? No, but I would not have missed it either.

[Educators2]

We also took this cruise on the Jade in March 2009 and loved every minute. We had great weather with no rough seas but weather is always an unknown on a cruise. We even loved the cruise on the Nile and the whirling dervish-touristy but great fun. Yes, Egypt is a third world country but we read reviews and knew just what to expect. I have read that there is more filth now after the swine flu epidemic last year which resulted in the slaughter of pigs in Cairo (the pigs ate trash). All the tour buses that we saw in Cairo from NCL were luxury buses with clean toilet facilities. I can't wait to return to the Mediterranean!

[katusa97]

It's too bad your trip was not what you expected. My wife and I took this cruise in Jan 2009 and it was wonderful! We especially enjoyed our overnight trip to Cairo; our bus was very clean; our tour guide spoke English very well. I would agree though this is not guaranteed. Malta was amazing, as was Turkey, Greece, Italy and Spain. It was thus far our trip of a lifetime.

[romrai]

I have travelled to many countries and could pick bad things about most. Including the one we live in.....But we really try to see the best wherever we go. Yes, egypt is dirty with trash everywhere and dead animals. Yes the vendors/hawkers were the worst we've ever seen. Yes, everybody had their hands out. If you look past it, it is a wonderful country, the friendliest people you've ever met.....and some of the poorest. I make more in 1 hour, than the average policeman makes in 2 weeks, can you blame them for having their hands out....and they are some of the better paid. We did our research and wasn't surprised and took a lot of dollar bills.

 

Should NCL or other lines stop going to egypt?? No NO NO!!! Bring your dollars to share. It's egypt, adapt, not US. I loved egypt our first trip (2005), so much, I went back the next year for another two weeks (2006).....and we are booked on the jade in go back for the two days in alexandria. I would even live there if I could convince my DH of same.

 

I could say, that NCL should get rid of Samana as a port, because of all of the same type of things (on a smaller bases)

 

We were on the spirit a couple months back, sprayed to death with sanitizer. Was it annoying? yes. Am I glad? yes.....we didn't get sick. Food was so-so. Oh well, pay more, have better food and I will be happy to pay less, eat average and go on more holidays...