Jade Mediterranean from Rome -> Greece -> Turkey pics report (Nov 27 - Dec 7, 2013)

[MGHockFam]

Thank you so much for your awesome photos. My husband and I just booked this itinerary for a January 2015 sailing. We are first time cruisers and your beautiful photos have gotten us even more excited for our adventure.

We tentatively plan to do all ports on our own, other than Ephesus. No cruise ship excursions for us as I read DIY is much better and cheaper. Any additional tips you can provide in the port cities is much appreciated!!!

[Lucinarei]

Thank you so much for posting your review and (most especially) your beautiful photos. We will be on Spirit in July '15 and stopping at many of the same ports. Thank you for the preview! :D

[NMLady]

Thank you for the awesome photos. In your OP the last port stop is Naples Italy. Are you also going to post photos from there?

[thamanrp]

Again, thank you everyone for the kind comments!

 

Your photos are truly breathtaking and capture the beauty of the several historical cities you visited. Was Istanbul your favorite port during the 10 day cruise?

We actually love all the ports (except Olympia where there wasn't much to do). But I'd say the top 3 would be Rome, Istanbul, and Naples.

 

Thank you for the awesome photos. In your OP the last port stop is Naples Italy. Are you also going to post photos from there?

Yes, I'm sorting them at the moment. Hopefully I will be done this week and upload it to my web album.

 

Thank you so much for your awesome photos. My husband and I just booked this itinerary for a January 2015 sailing. We are first time cruisers and your beautiful photos have gotten us even more excited for our adventure.

We tentatively plan to do all ports on our own, other than Ephesus. No cruise ship excursions for us as I read DIY is much better and cheaper. Any additional tips you can provide in the port cities is much appreciated!!!

Yeah, most of the ports are easy to do on your own. January should still be on a low season but if you want to be sure and to maximize your time in the port try to book all the tickets in advance. Also, the Turkish delights were a big hit for our friends and family. Don't buy it at the Grand Bazaar! We bought some the first day and realized the second day that we probably paid a lot more than we had to. It was a lot cheaper at the Spice Market. But we found a stand where locals were buying them right outside the Spice Market (further down where you come out of the underground crossing). If you see a lot of local buying them you can be sure that it's a good price. If there are only tourist buying them they are overprice!

[AF-1]

Isn't the port of Olympia home to Mt. Olympus where all the greed Gods hung out

[hawkeyetlse]

Isn't the port of Olympia home to Mt. Olympus where all the greed Gods hung out

"Home" in the sense that they're both in the same country, yes… But they're about 7 hours apart driving (maybe 500km, on the opposite side of the country).

 

I spoke to a couple of people on the Jade last December who were quite convinced that we were going to visit Mount Olympus. :)

[kandpsmom]

What a wonderful trip report. Such amazing pictures. We are doing this cruise in December, so you have definitely given us a great idea of what to expect.

[thamanrp]

The last port on our cruise was Naples. We have been here a few years ago with NCL Gem. On our last trip we visited Pompeii, Sorrento, and Capri with NCL excursion. Though all of those destinations can easily be done on your own. We felt a little rush in Pompeii so I would suggest doing it on your own.

 

This time, someone from the roll call booked a private excursion with Shorebee. It cost 320E for Amalfi Coast, 5-8 persons, van with driver, from 8:30am to 5pm. We went to Ravello (through the mountain from Naples), Amalfi, stopped for lunch which was excellent, and then back to port. Originally we were supposed to also go to Positano and Sorrento but our group spent too much time enjoying lunch. So we just stopped at the lookout point. The scenery was just amazing! Too bad I was sitting on the wrong side of the van. So, I couldn’t capture the scenic during the drive. But here are some pics from our stops. Enjoy!

 

Note: As mentioned in previous posts, my web album has more pics and all of them are geotagged. So, in case you want to capture the same scenery you know where the pictures were taken and with which settings. If you would like the link please post you email here.

 

Also, if you easily get motion sickness I highly suggest you take a medicine for the Amalfi drive specially the winding road to Ravello. I was dying and good thing one of the person on our group carried extra motion sickness pill.

 

Naples Port

 

 

Ravello - it is high up on the mountain, overlooking Amalfi Coast

 

 

 

 

 

Ravello Main Square

 

Edited March 14, 2014 by thamanrp

[thamanrp]

Amalfi

 

 

 

Panorama view of Amalfi

 

 

 

 

[thamanrp]

Walking around Amalfi

 

 

Amalfi Cathedral

 

 

 

The narrow street in Amalfi

 

 

 

Edited March 14, 2014 by thamanrp

[thamanrp]

View from the stops along the way from Amalfi to Positano

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited March 14, 2014 by thamanrp

[thamanrp]

The road/bride over a village along the way

 

 

View of Positano from the lookout - it's actually prettier from the other side but we didn't stop

 

 

 

Panorama View from the lookout

 

 

View of Sorrento

 

Edited March 14, 2014 by thamanrp

[thamanrp]

Mount Vesuvius - view from the ship

 

 

 

Naples Port - view from the ship

 

 

 

 

[AF-1]

Your pictures are so beautiful. Such clarity

[cmdchiefthom]

Again, I have to compliment you on your extraordinary photographic skill. My wife and I will be doing Positano, Amalfi and Ravallo in six weeks, and I fear my pictures just won't measure up:p But, they give me something to shoot for:)

[OurDogCisco]

Wow.. Your pictures are amazing and tell a great story. You have totally convinced me to cruise off season. I can't wait until our youngest is in college.

[winnipegmanitoba]

I love your photos. I will have to get the same camera for our trip. We are going next nov/dec on the same ship/itinerary. Just looking at your photos and it looks like a lot of people are wearing winter parkas. How cold was it at that time of year? Will we need winter parkas? Was there snow?

[thamanrp]

Thanks everyone for the kind comments!

Wow.. Your pictures are amazing and tell a great story. You have totally convinced me to cruise off season. I can't wait until our youngest is in college.

 

Just keep in mind that the weather during off season is not ideal. I think we got very lucky that it was only raining (light) one day out of the 10 days cruise (in Istanbul).

 

I love your photos. I will have to get the same camera for our trip. We are going next nov/dec on the same ship/itinerary. Just looking at your photos and it looks like a lot of people are wearing winter parkas. How cold was it at that time of year? Will we need winter parkas? Was there snow?

It was very cold for us specially in Rome and Istanbul. But we are from Southern California so we are not used to the cold. I think Rome was like mid 30's at night and 40's during the day. The week before we arrived it was pouring rain in Italy. So we got lucky, weather-wise.

 

As for the winter parkas...I guess depending on where you are from. There were no snow and I don't think it snows around that region in Nov/Dec. Have fun!

[OurDogCisco]

Thanks everyone for the kind comments!

 

 

 

 

 

Just keep in mind that the weather during off season is not ideal. I think we got very lucky that it was only raining (light) one day out of the 10 days cruise (in Istanbul).

 

 

 

 

 

It was very cold for us specially in Rome and Istanbul. But we are from Southern California so we are not used to the cold. I think Rome was like mid 30's at night and 40's during the day. The week before we arrived it was pouring rain in Italy. So we got lucky, weather-wise.

 

 

 

As for the winter parkas...I guess depending on where you are from. There were no snow and I don't think it snows around that region in Nov/Dec. Have fun!

 

 

Good to know.... I'll definitely keep that in mind. I'm hoping to travel closer to Oct/Nov timeframe or Apr/May. I'm not sure how off season that would be but it has to be better than June/July that we have been traveling for the past 10 years.

[Iloveinn]

Awesome pictures and play by play of your adventure. We are going on the jade ourselves on April 2, and your pictures along with its descriptions really help us get a better idea of what's ahead.

 

The photographer in me of course have to ask, did you bring a tripod with you, or all your shots were handheld?

Edited March 24, 2014 by Iloveinn

[thamanrp]

Good to know.... I'll definitely keep that in mind. I'm hoping to travel closer to Oct/Nov timeframe or Apr/May. I'm not sure how off season that would be but it has to be better than June/July that we have been traveling for the past 10 years.

Oct/Nov is probably a best time to go. Not too busy and the weather is not that bad.

 

Awesome pictures and play by play of your adventure. We are going on the jade ourselves on April 2, and your pictures along with its descriptions really help us get a better idea of what's ahead.

 

The photographer in me of course have to ask, did you bring a tripod with you, or all your shots were handheld?

Thanks! I had a tripod with me on the trip but other than a few night shots in Rome and Istanbul most shots were handheld.

[runningoutofideas]

We'll be on the Jade in May. Can't wait!! Your pictures in Amalfi are absolutely stunning! I was thinking about just bringing my 50mm lens because I use it the most, but after seeing your photos maybe I should bring my wide angle lens also. It's just so heavy!

[snaiks]

what camera do you use? or is it the photographer? great pics

[Iloveinn]

She's got great eyes but the gear, Nikon d600 with the 12-24mm lens, isn't bad either :)

[binwinbinwin]

Mount Vesuvius - view from the ship

 

 

 

Naples Port - view from the ship

 

 

 

 

I just got off Norwegian Jade this weekend on the same 10-day itinerary that you did.

 

Your brilliant photos were a great way for me to find out about the ports prior to getting on board Norwegian Jade. Now that I am back home, your photos are a wonderful reminder of the beauty of the sights in Italy, Greece and Turkey.