Just off the Jade, and have the post-cruise blues

[andmad]

My wife and I just returned from a one week cruise aboard the Norwegian Jade and decided to post a review.

 

A little bit of background: We are in our early 40s and have two children. We have been on approximately 14 cruises since we were married (12 of which were on NCL). We typically cruise out of New York or Miami with our two children. This year, however, my wife and I decided to do a European cruise without the kids. Because we did an NCL cruise out of Barcelona about six years ago, this time we decided to try the eastern Mediterranean. We selected the Jade's June 28 sailing from Venice with stops in Dubrovnik, Athens, Kusadasi (Turkey), and Split (Croatia).

 

In short, we had a blast. Anyway, here it goes:

 

Departure Day

 

We flew directly to Venice from Philadelphia, leaving on Friday evening and arriving in Venice on Saturday morning. While the flight departed from Philadelphia about two hours late, we arrived in Venice in plenty of time to make it to the ship.

 

Upon arrival in Venice, we took the ATVO bus into town (6 Euros per person). We then took the "People Mover" tram to the pier (1.3 Euros person). There were a few other ships in port at the time and the Jade was docked far from the tram stop. Compared to other ports were have sailed from (New York, Miami, Barcelona), the Venice port seemed less organized. Unlike other ports where you simply drop off your luggage with porter, in Venice there were no such porters to be found.

 

Once we dropped off the bags, we checked-in and received our room keys. The check-in process was quick and efficient.

 

After checking-in, but before getting aboard the ship, non-EU citizens were required to turn-in their passports. We were provided a receipt and told that we could pick-up them up on Thursday.

 

We finally boarded the ship at about 1:30. Our room was ready at that point, so we went to drop-off our carry on bags. In order to off-set the cost of airfare, we decided to go with an inside cabin on deck 10. The cabin was in great shape and included plenty of storage space.

 

While we typically would have gone to lunch in the main dining room, we decided to head back out to Venice for a walk around town and a quick lunch. Although we were exhausted from the 8.5 hour flight, how often are we in Venice? We had a great time strolling around the canals and enjoyed a quick lunch. By 4:00, we were back aboard and ready to sail away.

 

The sail away from Venice was simply amazing. There is nothing like gliding past St. Mark's Square and the Doge's Palace as we headed out to sea.

 

Because we had been awake for 30+ hours (I couldn't sleep on the plane), we headed to an early dinner at the Grand Pacific dining room (more on the food to come) and then crashed for one of the best nights sleep I've had in a long time.

 

 

More to come - in the meantime, let me know if you have questions. I'll post a few pictures, too.

[littlelulu01]

Can't wait to read the details. We are planning a 14nt May, 2015. After you checked into the ship did you walk to Venice?

[DevonianCruiser]

Thank you for your review, I'm on the Jade in 4 weeks. Looking forward to hearing more from you, especially anything on the ports of call :):)

[KirkNC]

Thanks for the report!

[Keith1010]

Thanks for your initial report.

Keith

[KeithJenner]

Thanks for the report.

 

I see you used the bus from the Airport to Venice. I know there are two of them, one which has a couple of stops on the way and doesn't have luggage storage (you have to carry it onto the bus), and another which stores your luggage and goes direct.

 

I assume you took the one that goes direct. I'm considering using it to get back to the Airport after the cruise. Did you use it to get back, and was the service OK?

Edited July 9, 2014 by KeithJenner

[JohnIreland]

The cure for the post cruise blues can be found on this page : http://www.ncl.com/vacations/

[Cruising Golfer]

Keep going, we sail next year. Would like to know all about the Jade.:)

[andmad]

After sleeping all morning, we had lunch at the Great Outdoors Cafe as the ship docked in Dubrovnik.

 

The location where the ship docked was about a 30 minute walk from the old-town section of Dubrovnik. The ship also had buses available ($15 per person, round-trip). We opted to take the bus.

 

We absolutely loved Dubrovnik. The views were breathtaking, the people were friendly and there was a lot of history to take in. We spent hours exploring the town and then stopped for drinks at a cafe in one of the squares in town. You can definitely tour Dubrovnik on your own.

 

One thing to remember about Dubrovnik (and Split) is that they (generally) do not accept Euros. We found an ATM and withdrew 300 Kuna (about $55). That was plenty and got us into the museums and churches we wanted to see and still had enough left over to sample some of the local beers.

 

After getting back on board, we enjoyed some piano music in "Bar City" and headed to dinner again in the Grand Pacific dining room.

 

A word about the dinning rooms on the Jade. We have been on a number of NCL cruises and have generally found the food in the main dining rooms to be pretty good, but we typically do the specialty dining 3 or 4 of the nights on a 7 night cruise. I found the food and the service in the main dining room on the Jade (Grand Pacific – we did not try Alizar) to be better than I have come to expect in recent years. As a result, we only did specialty dining on 2 of the 7 nights on the cruise.

[andmad]

Here's a photo of us enjoying the "cafe culture" after a long afternoon exploring Dubrovnik.

[andmad]

Can't wait to read the details. We are planning a 14nt May, 2015. After you checked into the ship did you walk to Venice?

 

You are going to love it! After we checked in, we took the "People Mover" from the port area to Pizzale Roma (the only area in Venice where cars are permitted). From there we walked around Venice. I don't think it is possible to walk from the port to Pizzale Roma, but I'm not sure.

[asda]

You are going to love it! After we checked in, we took the "People Mover" from the port area to Pizzale Roma (the only area in Venice where cars are permitted). From there we walked around Venice. I don't think it is possible to walk from the port to Pizzale Roma, but I'm not sure.

Glad you had a fantastic time.

Hi we were in venice on a cruise last week. We walked from ship into venice both ways. You walk under the people mover and carry on up road which takes you over a bridge about 15 mins. You come out near plazza de Roma were we bought tickets for the boats. We are in venice on Saturday this week going on ncl jade so hoping to go into venice to buy some soft drinks and water.

[andmad]

Thanks for the report.

 

I see you used the bus from the Airport to Venice. I know there are two of them, one which has a couple of stops on the way and doesn't have luggage storage (you have to carry it onto the bus), and another which stores your luggage and goes direct.

 

I assume you took the one that goes direct. I'm considering using it to get back to the Airport after the cruise. Did you use it to get back, and was the service OK?

 

We used the direct bus service (ATVO) to and from the airport. The other bus (ACTV, I believe) is the local service. The ACTV buses I saw seemed to be packed with locals. If you have luggage, opt for the ATVO bus. We found the ATVO service to be great. The ride to the airport was non-stop and took less than 15 minutes. There are machines that sell ATVO bus tickets in both the airport and in Venice (at the Piazzale Roma). Exact change is not required.

[KeithJenner]

We used the direct bus service (ATVO) to and from the airport. The other bus (ACTV, I believe) is the local service. The ACTV buses I saw seemed to be packed with locals. If you have luggage, opt for the ATVO bus. We found the ATVO service to be great. The ride to the airport was non-stop and took less than 15 minutes. There are machines that sell ATVO bus tickets in both the airport and in Venice (at the Piazzale Roma). Exact change is not required.

 

Great thanks. We've already ruled out the local bus, so it's good to hear the ATVO worked for you.

[AF-1]

Count me in as a Jade groupie. We r doing B2B

[andmad]

Morning in the gym. Well equipped, not too crowed. Unlike other Jewel-class ships I have been on, the Jade lets you use the treadmills any time of the day or night. As a result, I would be careful about booking a cabin directly below the gym.

 

 

After a lunch in the Great Outdoors (my favorite breakfast and lunch spot on the ship), we enjoyed an afternoon hanging around the pool. Not too difficult to find two loungers, especially on the level above the pool.

 

At 7:00, there was the first of two Latitudes cocktail parties. The Captain introduced himself and his officers. We certainly enjoyed the wine and hors d'oeuves.

 

For dinner, we booked the Brazilian Steak House, Moderno, which is one of our favorite specialty restaurants. One bit of advice about Moderno: go hungry. I don't think I was ever as full as I was after that dinner.

[www3traveler]

I have two questions for you:

 

(1) Because of the late hour you sail from Venice, how is the Muster (Safety) Drill handled?

 

(2) I am glad that you got to meet Captain Lars, very nice man. Did any staff member stand out to you?

 

 

Mandy

[KeithJenner]

(1) Because of the late hour you sail from Venice, how is the Muster (Safety) Drill handled?

 

 

Mandy, I think you are thinking of the Spirit Grand Mediterranean, which leaves Venice in the early hours of the morning.

 

The Jade leaves at 6pm.

[Always Cruising]

Love your review! I was wondering about getting off the ship - and to the airport. Is that possible for an 11 am flight? Probably not, but just checking on timing with your sailing (knowing that each arrival schedule can be different. I had thought of one night pre-cruise and two post in Venice, but would love to try to do three night consecutively either pre or post.

[kikki21]

The Jade will always be special to us as that was our 1st cruise together on her!

Agree that the sail out and in from Venice is special! :) that's another cruise on our to do list!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[andmad]

I have two questions for you:

 

(1) Because of the late hour you sail from Venice, how is the Muster (Safety) Drill handled?

 

(2) I am glad that you got to meet Captain Lars, very nice man. Did any staff member stand out to you?

 

 

Mandy

 

Hi Mandy,

 

(1) The Jade sailed at 6:00. The muster drill was at 5:00 (very quick and painless; life jackets not required)

 

(2) We also met the Hotel Director. His name was Orlando and he was from Columbia. He was very personable and seemed eager to please. Another staff member that really stood out was our cabin steward (Arqilino?). I have found that most cabin stewards on NCL are very good, but this guy was amazing. At one point I asked for an extra wash cloth and he literally ran down the hall to get one.

[andmad]

Love your review! I was wondering about getting off the ship - and to the airport. Is that possible for an 11 am flight? Probably not, but just checking on timing with your sailing (knowing that each arrival schedule can be different. I had thought of one night pre-cruise and two post in Venice, but would love to try to do three night consecutively either pre or post.

 

 

You may be able to pull off an 11 am flight. The ship was docked and people were getting off the ship by 8. We flew US Airways and they said you should arrive at the Venice airport 3 hours before take-off. There is no way 3 hours was necessary. We found the Venice airport to be very efficient and manageable.

 

This time we stayed an extra night in Venice at the end of the cruise, but we made an 11:00 post-cruise flight in Barcelona a few years ago.

[OceanDreaming2]

 

(2) We also met the Hotel Director. His name was Orlando and he was from Columbia. He was very personable and seemed eager to please.

 

Perhaps you are mistaken. Jean-Michel Dhelin in the Hotel Director on the Jade. Also very personable, he is from France but now lives in Thailand.

[andmad]

As in Dubrovnik, we decided to tour Athens on our own.

 

I had learned from Cruise Critic that there was an express bus (X80) that ran from the port in Piraeus to the Acropolis is Athens. Our plan was to take this bus. After purchasing the tickets from a booth just outside the port terminal, we headed across the street to the X80 bus stop (you really take your life in your hands crossing this street). Unfortunately, there were hundreds of other cruisers with the same idea (it looked like there were two other ships in port at the time). We waited about 15 minutes and when the bus arrived, it was already packed. Only about 6 new passengers are able to get on the bus. So we waited another 15 minutes or so with the dozens of other cruise passengers, all trying to get into Athens.

 

We finally gave up waiting for a bus and walked to the Piraeus Metro stop. Not only was the Metro farther away than I thought, but we actually walked right past it and had to double back. Anyway, we finally found the Metro, which we took into town (Monastiraki Station). We were able to use the tickets we purchased for the bus on the Metro.

 

When we arrived in the center of Athens, we purchased two universal tickets (12 Euros each) which were good at 7 or 8 different ancient sites around town, including the Parthenon. After strolling around the Roman Agora, we made our way up to the Acropolis. When were there (about 12:30), it was incredibly crowded, but well worth the wait in line. Not only is the Parthenon amazing, but the views of Athens from the top of the Acropolis are stunning.

 

After the Acropolis, we made our way the Ancient Agora, which is much more low key than the Parthenon, but still fascinating. The museum inside the Stoa should not be missed.

 

By then, we were hungry and thirsty, so we found a nice place for lunch on the street just outside the Agora. I can't remember the name, but there were 5 or 6 similar looking cafes along this street.

 

After lunch, more exploring around Athens before taking the subway back to Piraeus. In hindsight, we should have taken a cab from the Piraeus subway stop back to the pier, but we decided to walk. By the time we made it back to the pier, we were both exhausted.

 

There is free Wi-Fi in the Piraeus cruise terminal, so you may want to check emails or facebook (like we did) before getting back on the ship.

[andmad]

Perhaps you are mistaken. Jean-Michel Dhelin in the Hotel Director on the Jade. Also very personable, he is from France but now lives in Thailand.

 

You are correct. Perhaps Orlando was head of housekeeping.