Considering Jade and Greek Islands

[peteukmcr]

Hi Folks

 

New to NCL, so be gentle! Considering Jade out of Venice for 25th June 2011 and the Greek Island itinerary.

 

Any tips for a NCL newbie?

 

Pity we have to book using the UK NCL site as the same cabin on the US site works out to be £360 cheaper than if we book in the UK:(

 

$3852 for cabin 11104 on the US site, the equivalent of $4402 on the UK site, a difference of $550.

[tony@stanton19.freeserve.]

Hi Folks

 

New to NCL, so be gentle! Considering Jade out of Venice for 25th June 2011 and the Greek Island itinerary.

 

Any tips for a NCL newbie?

 

Pity we have to book using the UK NCL site as the same cabin on the US site works out to be £360 cheaper than if we book in the UK:(

 

$3852 for cabin 11104 on the US site, the equivalent of $4402 on the UK site, a difference of $550.

Why not book on the US site?

I did it for my Norway NCL Jade cruise and we saved a fortune.

You can keep an eye on the price, if it drops, just contact the US office using a VOIP phone and they should match it.

We saved $1800 from the original price that we booked at. They even honoured a drop AFTER final payment day, credited back to my card.

 

There are loads of Jade pics on my signature

[JuPe]

NCL + Greek Islands sounds like a perfect combination. Just came from Jade and really liked the ship, especially for the Freestyle concept. I have also been on the Gem which is equally nice. Also I did the an itinerary with Dubrovnik, Ephesus, Santorini, Corfu on the RCCL Splendour of the Seas. Santorini was one of the nicest places on the route.

 

I would recommend a balcony cabin for the spectacular views on the sailing, especially when sailing out Venice. However the view will be as wonderfull from the sun deck in front of the ship. The balcony cabins are small but practical and you should expect very good service from the cabin staff (as well as other staff). The food is good and the specialty restaurant are usually worth the cover charge. My only criticism about the food seems to leave very little space for the chef's creativity as all the menus and ingredients have been carefully planned in the NCL HQ. Also the variety in the salad buffet was lacking. The entertainment was ok (not the best I've had). Looks like NCL has more "one man shows" than what I have had on my previous cruises. On the Jade cruise we had two stand up comedians and one soprano singer. IMO "one man shows" are better for lounges than a big theater. Jade also has a good gym and a swimming pool to burn off some of those buffet and restaurant kilos.

 

As the previous poster said, nothing should prevent you from booking from the US site. In fact that's what I almost did when cruising the first time on the Gem. It was only in the last minute that I discovered that NCL EU was making a good offer with OBC and decided to not book with NCL US. I had already been in contact with the NCL US sales office and they didn't prevent me in making the booking. Also have a look at the UK online TAs. Some are advertising on cruisecritic.

[Cowdengelly]

We always check with cruise365.com before we book NCL and they have never let us down,

[hamrag]

Hi Folks

 

New to NCL, so be gentle! Considering Jade out of Venice for 25th June 2011 and the Greek Island itinerary.

 

Any tips for a NCL newbie?

 

Pity we have to book using the UK NCL site as the same cabin on the US site works out to be £360 cheaper than if we book in the UK:(

 

$3852 for cabin 11104 on the US site, the equivalent of $4402 on the UK site, a difference of $550.

 

You will enjoy NCL. Like all cruiselines there are pros and cons, but the "freestyle" concept brings us back again, although more of the mass cruiselines increasingly have their own variant for dining.

 

All 3 of our NCL cruises so far were booked on a US site....go to the cruise compete website (no space between the words...if I write it specifically here all you will see is a series of x's) and you will receive quotes from various US TA's).

 

Someone else also mentioned the cruise365 website, and we have booked with them for our next NCL cruise and also used them for previous Celebrity and RCI cruises. They certainly have the cruise you are looking at.

 

Whatever you decide, you need to recognise that 15 months out the dollar exchange rate could be anything!!

[LJH1]

I cant get too excited over 365 website when they are still listing 10 months for 2009 and 3 months 2010 for NCL.

[LJH1]

Hi Folks

 

New to NCL, so be gentle! Considering Jade out of Venice for 25th June 2011 and the Greek Island itinerary.

 

Any tips for a NCL newbie?

 

Pity we have to book using the UK NCL site as the same cabin on the US site works out to be £360 cheaper than if we book in the UK:(

 

$3852 for cabin 11104 on the US site, the equivalent of $4402 on the UK site, a difference of $550.

 

 

We are booked for the Greek Islands, Turkey and Croatia for Sept 2011 14 days on the Jade. It was built in 2006 and we sailed her on her last two weeks in Hawaii 2008 before they pulled her out and renamed her.

Its a nice ship and we particularly like the outdoor cafe.

[peteukmcr]

Thanks everyone for your positive feedback. We're thinking of Sept 2011 now and perhaps splurge on a bigger cabin as they do seem a little smaller than some we've had on other ships in the past.

[hamrag]

I cant get too excited over 365 website when they are still listing 10 months for 2009 and 3 months 2010 for NCL.

 

Not sure what site you are accessing, but cruise365.com has 2010 and 2011 cruises for NCL. It does not list all cruises, as they normally purchase a bulk number of cabins for certain cruises and market those. Certainly worth a look for UK cruisers!

[Mooder]

ETA: answered my own question. Sorry!

[LJH1]

Not sure what site you are accessing, but cruise365.com has 2010 and 2011 cruises for NCL. It does not list all cruises, as they normally purchase a bulk number of cabins for certain cruises and market those. Certainly worth a look for UK cruisers!

 

Well as soon as I put in what cruise line it automatically gives me the months that I posted above anyway no big deal for us a we are booked but I just wanted to check the site out. Thanks

[jocap]

We've travelled on Jade twice, and enjoyed every minute. We followed special offers both times, so picked the cruises up for low rates. Be careful about the flights....NCL finds special offers for itself, and it once took us all day to get from Newcastle to Barcelona- via Amsterdam and long, long waits. We're on Gem from Venice this year, and are checking cheap flights from Manchester/NC/L'pool. By booking cruise only, you can get a cheaper deal.

Jo.

[hamrag]

We've travelled on Jade twice, and enjoyed every minute. We followed special offers both times, so picked the cruises up for low rates. Be careful about the flights....NCL finds special offers for itself, and it once took us all day to get from Newcastle to Barcelona- via Amsterdam and long, long waits. We're on Gem from Venice this year, and are checking cheap flights from Manchester/NC/L'pool. By booking cruise only, you can get a cheaper deal.

Jo.

 

We have done the same, and booked with jet2.com direct from Edinburgh. Jet2 are based Leeds/Bradford, so may be another option for you to look at.

[jocap]

H- thanks for that tip- we have family in Leeds, so that's another option for us! :)

Jo.