Live Report - Jade From Athens 17th April

[KeithJenner]

Some comment regarding restaurant reservations.

 

We have the two free at sea meals, and also two latitudes meals. We have also bought another two meals (and five for our son). We all love Teppanyaki and Moderno (which we don't get to go to much these days as it isn't on a lot of ships), so will go there twice each. We are going to Cagneys on our wedding anniversary (the third time we've eaten there on our anniversary) and my wife and I are going to La Cucina.

 

As people will know, NCL hadn't been allowing restaurant reservations on European cruises until last weekend, so we couldn't make any reservations until then.

 

I have noticed a lot of comment on these boards since they did open them with people having trouble making bookings. Based on these comments, and my experience, my conclusion is that NCL aren't allowing anyone to book the same restaurant more than once. This seems to even apply to the MDR's. If you try to book a previously reserved restaurant it won't add to your basket and if you put the same restaurant in twice on your initial booking then it doesn't work.

 

We will therefore need to book the second Moderno and Teppanyaki once we board. I may even break the habit of a lifetime and let a Concierge get involved in my reservations.

 

All of our evening meals will therefore be in specialities (with one at the Chinese place). We tend to eat at the buffet or o'Sheehans for lunch and the buffet for breakfast, although we will probably go to Cagneys or Moderno (wherever it is) for breakfast on a couple of mornings. I don't think we will be using the MDR at all on this cruise.

[Muckyduckway]

Bon voyage Keith, hope everything goes smoothly tomorrow.

We also had trouble with booking our own dining reservations but were successful in making three (with one duplicate.) Our PCC made our remaining reservations for us. At this stage you probably wouldn't gain much by having yours do them for you.

Sounds like you have laid the foundation for a wonderfully indulgent cruise, may it be all that you would wish for.

[fabnfortysomething]

best of luck with Heathrow airport today-I believe your flight is about 11am?

 

our flight on Sunday is 6.40am

I booked a valet parking meet and greet at Terminal 5 and earliest they will take cars is 4am so cant do 3 hours-hopefully 2 1/2 hours at that time of morning is adequate especially with wheelchair assistance.

I just want to be on the ship with all the interim hassle over with

[KeithJenner]

At Heathrow now. 
 

We arrived three hours before the flight due to all the reports of delays and missed flights.

 

No queue at all for bag drop (loads of spare machines). Security took 10 minutes.

 

Now we have to entertain ourselves for the next 2 and a half hours. 🙂

Edited April 15, 2022 by KeithJenner

[Trimone]

18 hours ago, KeithJenner said:

Just checking in from our hotel at Heathrow (Doubletree - we've not been here for a few years. Just had a quick beer and are getting ready for tomorrow now. Well, my wife is, I'm messing about on the internet. 🙂

 

A few bits on the travel from UK to Greece, for any UK readers out there.

 

There is no testing requirement for vaccinated people when heading to Greece and no restrictions at all for the return to the UK. The biggest problem at the moment is the delays at UK airports due to lack of staff and the fact that lots of people are getting away for Easter.

 

I have had some issues with my booking (British Airways), which was originally a flight to Copenhagen in 2020, and then moved to Venice in 2021 before we finally got this one. It looked like there were problems with the reservation (no checked luggage showing, for example), but that all resolved yesterday after we were asked to upload our vaccination certificate. That has now been checked by BA and we have been able to check in, so all we need to do tomorrow is check our bags and get through security. I'm going to make sure we have more than the full 3 hours to do that, just in case, but I'm hoping that the big delays are for those people who need covid documents checking at the airport.

 

Hopefully we will update from Athens tomorrow afternoon. 🙂

Just about to book hotel & parking from Heathrow term 5, what was doubletree like? The best I’ve found is Sheraton with meet and greet that’s through Heathrow own site.

[KeithJenner]

1 hour ago, Trimone said:

Just about to book hotel & parking from Heathrow term 5, what was doubletree like? The best I’ve found is Sheraton with meet and greet that’s through Heathrow own site.

I like the Doubletree. We have stayed there many times over the years, just not recently as the Hilton Garden Inn is often cheaper (we tend to use Hiltons as we have status with them).

 

Nothing particularly special, but it does the job for us. We got an upgrade this time to a big room which was nice.

 

 

[KeithJenner]

So after an uneventful flight we got a taxi to the hotel (Electra Hotel) it is on Ermou, very close to Syntagma Square.

 

The taxi journey was slow, as we arrived just after 5pm. No problems at all at the airport.

 

The hotel is very nice. We booked a suite, which is a decent size and has a big balcony. Unfortunately the balconies don’t face towards the Acropolis, but like many hotels there is a nice rooftop bar where we have just had a few drinks. Great views from there.

 

I’ve posted some pictures to Instagram:

 

https://www.instagram.com/p/CcYYVh3oxlx/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
 

Edit: I’m not sure if the instagram link is working. Let me know if not.

Edited April 15, 2022 by KeithJenner

[Yesimapirate]

3 hours ago, Trimone said:

Just about to book hotel & parking from Heathrow term 5, what was doubletree like? The best I’ve found is Sheraton with meet and greet that’s through Heathrow own site.

Careful,  there are 2 Sheraton's at Heathrow. One is bad  the other tolerable for a night though it's been about 5 years since I stayed there.

 

Unless it's changed since Covid-19, the local bus will take you from the hotel to T5 for free.

[casofilia]

This has just appeared on the March 8-17 cruise Roll Call:-

 

My parents are on the Jade now and have just been told the ship will skip the port of Patmos and they will be sailing right to Athens.  Anyone have any more information on this port change? Thanks!

 

My reading is that the Jade is arriving in Piraeus a day early!!!

[casofilia]

This has just appeared on the March 8-17 cruise Roll Call:-

 

My parents are on the Jade now and have just been told the ship will skip the port of Patmos and they will be sailing right to Athens.  Anyone have any more information on this port change? Thanks!

 

My reading is that the Jade is arriving in Piraeus a day early!!!

 

Original schedule:-

 

Fr      15th April      Istanbul, Turkey           8:00     18:00    
Sa     16th April      Patmos, Greece          13:00    20:00    
Su    17th April                                              6:00        

Edited April 15, 2022 by casofilia

[KeithJenner]

I wonder whether they will be having a sea day tomorrow then. The Jade was still in Istanbul after 6pm today, so they don’t seem to be rushing.

[KeithJenner]

One thing that we have noticed in the short time we have been here is the number of places that require sight of vaccination records. Just going into some shops required ID and your vaccine record. Many shops have queues outside due to this.

 

My wife wanted to nip into a shop and I had to go back to the hotel to get her passport so that we could get in.

[Mars64]

Hi, I am in  wedding party of 15  boarding Jade at the end of May, with wedding taking place in Santorini.   I saw that testing info was changed today and  have received conflicting info.   Am I correct in thinking of going from Athens  we need  a certified lateral no more than 3 days (coming from uk) and then another test at  port FOC. Any info would be great.

 

We have cruised before covid with NCL  and loved it, but this is our first holiday/cruise outside of the UK so nervous.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[KeithJenner]

23 minutes ago, Mars64 said:

Hi, I am in  wedding party of 15  boarding Jade at the end of May, with wedding taking place in Santorini.   I saw that testing info was changed today and  have received conflicting info.   Am I correct in thinking of going from Athens  we need  a certified lateral no more than 3 days (coming from uk) and then another test at  port FOC. Any info would be great.

 

We have cruised before covid with NCL  and loved it, but this is our first holiday/cruise outside of the UK so nervous.  

Just quickly reviewing the testing info I can’t see anything that has changed for us the the last couple of days.

 

The only thing that I think you have got wrong is that the pre test has to be within 24 hours if it is lateral flow. You can only do it 72 hours before if it is a PCR test. This is in the Greece section on the NCL website (not mentioned in the Athens section).

 

We have received two emails from NCL in the last week which mention vaccine and testing requirements but these are standard emails that don’t have information relating to specific embarkation ports, so they say 72 hours for European ports.and are therefore incorrect.

 

I fully expect the tests we do today to be a waste of time and money.

[smillerholmes]

Following...I went to Greece in September 2017 on a land based two week tour.  I loved Greece and all it had to offer, but I swore the only way I'd ever get back to Greece would be via cruise ship.  The hotel choices provided by the Big Box Travel agency left a little to be desired.  Beds and showers were much too small and we never came across any food that we didn't think we could get here in the States.  And is asking for ice rude in Greece?   I didn't encounter that anywhere else in Europe, but there were puzzled response each time I asked for ice.

 

 

 

[Mars64]

Hi many thanks for coming back to me,   I am hoping that if so the free test at the port is it. I understand from a family member who has said from Athens ( different cruise line) it was very easily to find a chemist  who can test and verify and it's quite cheap.

Hope you have a fabulous cruise and looking forward to you updates

[KeithJenner]

Just had a very nice morning walk through Plaka towards the Acropolis and then back through the National Gardens.

 

Off to do our tests in a while.

 

https://www.instagram.com/p/CcZ4JwLoBwU/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

[Muckyduckway]

Nice pics. Last time we walked through the National Gardens I became a walking buffet for the tiniest residents. Next time I will go prepared.

How is the hotel? Is the roof terrace usable for just lounging and reading? Is it non-smoking?  Is it accessible without too many steps?

Sorry for all the questions, your hotel was on our shortlist but we couldn't get answers to those questions.

 

[Muckyduckway]

're ID - they may have tightened up, but they accepted a photo of our passports on our phones for entry, even to the Acropolis Museum. I recommend their cafe for great views and nice snacks or drinks - you don't have to be going to the museum to use it, although the queue might be a factor.

Love to hear of any recommendations for cafes/bars/restaurants?

Enjoy the rest of your day and hope all goes well tomorrow.

[jls pebbles]

14 hours ago, KeithJenner said:

So after an uneventful flight we got a taxi to the hotel (Electra Hotel) it is on Ermou, very close to Syntagma Square.

 

The taxi journey was slow, as we arrived just after 5pm. No problems at all at the airport.

 

The hotel is very nice. We booked a suite, which is a decent size and has a big balcony. Unfortunately the balconies don’t face towards the Acropolis, but like many hotels there is a nice rooftop bar where we have just had a few drinks. Great views from there.

 

I’ve posted some pictures to Instagram:

 

https://www.instagram.com/p/CcYYVh3oxlx/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
 

Edit: I’m not sure if the instagram link is working. Let me know if not.

Instagram link good 👍 thanks for the pics 

[KeithJenner]

Covid tests done. All very easy.

 

No appointment required. The nurse is at the Electra Metropolis between 10am and midday on Saturdays (different hours during the week). Results came through in 30 minutes.

 

Cost is 10 Euros each.

Edited April 16, 2022 by KeithJenner

[jennjess]

It's rather annoying that we won't arrive into Athens until early evening and therefore won't be able to get an antigen test there.  So will mean PCR a day or two before we leave home I guess.  And then no one will check it anyway.

[Trimone]

We’ve booked air with NCL so straight from terminal to ship?

[Muckyduckway]

3 hours ago, KeithJenner said:

Covid tests done. All very easy.

 

No appointment required. The nurse is at the Electra Metropolis between 10am and midday on Saturdays (different hours during the week). Results came through in 30 minutes.

 

Cost is 10 Euros each.

Did you have to make an appointment and be an Electra hotel guest? Just wondering if that would be an option for non-guests? 

[KeithJenner]

35 minutes ago, Trimone said:

We’ve booked air with NCL so straight from terminal to ship?

I’d assume so, although I’ve only ever used NCL air once and that was 10 years ago.