Live From the Jade, Nov 13 to Dec 21, from Athens to Cape Town

[Ken the cruiser]

4 hours ago, Ken the cruiser said:

We were so happy with that decision, I didn’t want to ruin the moment and decided not to ask about changing out the bubbly for a cheap bottle of wine, which they probably wouldn’t do anyway.

Update on the bubbly. The big reason I wanted to switch the bubbly to a bottle of wine was to get one with a screw-on top rather than a cork-type top, as my DW doesn’t drink alcohol. But, when I decided to unwrap the bottle top wrapping, it was a reusable plastic cork. So all is good and I have to admit it’s quite tasty! 😁

 

[Crazy planning mom]

5 hours ago, Ken the cruiser said:

Just received this from our steward regarding our stop in Israel tomorrow. One of the “low stress” reasons why we’re glad we book NCL shore excursions when we can, especially on this B2B.

  

We booked an NCL excursion for our first day in Israel due to the immigration issues.  For our second day, we booked a private tour through Guided Tours Israel and it was fabulous.  On the first day, Israel gives you an immigration pass instead of stamping your passport.  You hold onto that while in Israel.

[lovetravel63-65]

Can you tell me if mini suites have coffee makers and what brand 

[kirsten1526]

On 11/13/2022 at 5:42 PM, Ken the cruiser said:

We had a tasty dinner at Le Bistro and then headed to Guest Services and the Excursion Desk to ask a few simple questions.

 

1. How many passengers are booked on this leg? 1,512

 

2. How can we get on a waiting list to be notified in they’re going to offer a Transition Day excursion(s) in and around Dubai? The Excursion Desk manager said they probably won’t be creating one. He referenced Athens as an example. This season they have continually offered RT 7 day cruises out of Athens and never once have they been authorized by corporate to create a transition day excursion for folks on a B2B cruise. But, some folks on the RC have suggested they’re going to make a serious effort to have one created. So stay tuned …

 

3. Just did a speed test just prior to leaving Athens. Here are the results, which I might suggest were quite good when compared to others we have recently cruised on. However, it will be interesting to see if these rates continue once we’re on the high seas as well as in some more isolated locations along the way.

 

 

Oh wow!! The ship is quite under capacity! Do you know how many passengers on the next leg?

[Ken the cruiser]

40 minutes ago, kirsten1526 said:

Oh wow!! The ship is quite under capacity! Do you know how many passengers on the next leg?

It might be a little early to check, but I’ll ask Guest Services if they have a count yet once we get within a week of arriving in Dubai. 

[frogandtoad]

I'll be on the cruise going the other way in February so I was wondering if you knew how people that are not on an NCL shorex in the first port in Israel get assigned a group for immigration inspection.  Thanks much for doing this "live from", it helps to answer some of my questions.

[Ken the cruiser]

Tonight after a tasty dinner in the Moderno Brazilian Steakhouse, we went to watch the Not So Newlywed Show up in the Spinnaker Lounge up on deck 13

  

 

followed by the production show Blazing Boots in the main theater with the NCL singers and dancers.

 

 

[Ken the cruiser]

9 hours ago, Ken the cruiser said:

Just received this from our steward regarding our stop in Israel tomorrow. One of the “low stress” reasons why we’re glad we book NCL shore excursions when we can, especially on this B2B.

  

 

20 minutes ago, frogandtoad said:

I'll be on the cruise going the other way in February so I was wondering if you knew how people that are not on an NCL shorex in the first port in Israel get assigned a group for immigration inspection.  Thanks much for doing this "live from", it helps to answer some of my questions.

Unless something changes between now and when you arrive on your cruise, I would imagine it would be based on what floor your cabin is on as referenced in the flyer we received today (see above)

[Level six]

Have fun! Thanks

[ChiefMateJRK]

Fantastic thread.  A bit far away from home for this Cowboy, but it sure look like a fascinating adventure.  (and thanks for not providing pages and pages of food pictures, it's just food....)

[DooBop]

Hi Ken,  Thanks again for taking us along. Our cruise in February doesn't have much to offer in Israel and I am sure many are doing non-NCL excursions, many with Guided Tours Israel so we are keenly interested in your experience getting off the ship and your concerns.  I saw nothing in your posts that referenced floors (only groups). We look forward to your next reports. 

[Ken the cruiser]

We have arrived in Haifa, Israel! Today we’ll be doing a 7 hour NCL tour around Tel Aviv and Jaffa.

  

 

 

[Ken the cruiser]

Day 4 - Nov 16 - Haifa, Israel

 

 

 

 

 

[Ken the cruiser]

4 hours ago, DooBop said:

Hi Ken,  Thanks again for taking us along. Our cruise in February doesn't have much to offer in Israel and I am sure many are doing non-NCL excursions, many with Guided Tours Israel so we are keenly interested in your experience getting off the ship and your concerns.  I saw nothing in your posts that referenced floors (only groups). We look forward to your next reports. 

Look on the right hand side of the Immigration Inspection form. Group 1 = Deck 11, Group 2 = Deck 10, etc.

[Ken the cruiser]

Just in case anyone is interested, it’s a little chilly this morning in Haifa, Israel. But the internet speed is quite acceptable at the pier. 😁

 

 

 

[kirsten1526]

3 hours ago, Ken the cruiser said:

Just in case anyone is interested, it’s a little chilly this morning in Haifa, Israel. But the internet speed is quite acceptable at the pier. 😁

 

 

 

Oh wow! That's like summer in Scotland. I would just love it!!

 

Can't wait to join you in the next leg. TIA for the info on capacity 🙂

[DooBop]

Hope you had a good excursion today. In hindsight the immigration assignments are clear enough:). How did that process go and what time was printed on your excursion paperwork?  

[Ken the cruiser]

30 minutes ago, DooBop said:

Hope you had a good excursion today. In hindsight the immigration assignments are clear enough:). How did that process go and what time was printed on your excursion paperwork?  

Our meeting time in the main theater was at 8:35 am and the process went very smoothly, with really only one bottleneck. Everyone had to go through a security and put any backpacks, purses, etc. through the ship’s X-ray machine before getting off the ship. That caused the line to backup in the deck 4 hallway, leaving everyone to wonder what the periodic hold up was. But once you were cleared and left the ship, going through customs in the terminal was a breeze. The Israeli customs person gives you a paper document which you will use to go through the turnstile, and then you’re free to go on your merry way! 😁

  

 

[Ken the cruiser]

We had a great time on our excursion today and highly recommend it! 
 

 
I have to admit the Israel landscape we drove through from Haifa to Tel Aviv was not what we expected, and once again our tour bus was only about 70% full.

  

 
Who knew Israel was a big producer of bananas. We sure didn’t. Along the way we saw miles of these netted fields packed with banana trees! 😂

 

  

 
Then there was an oil rig just off shore.

 

 
Tel Aviv was about a 90 minute drive from Haifa and started coming into view about 20 minutes out.

 

 
Our 2 hour walking tour was through the old town of Jaffa which was on the southern side of Tel Aviv.

 

 

 

 

You will find I get easily squirreled if I’m taking pictures when I see wildlife! 😂

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  
The is the old town market plaza where if you pay 30% of what the asking price is you  probably got a fair deal. 😂

 

 

I just couldn’t resist taking one more bird picture of this pretty pigeon! 😁

 
Also, this morning as we were eating a tasty breakfast up in the buffet, I saw this cool looking building and had to take a picture of it.

 

 

[Lauren Spray]

Always wanted to go to Israel.

[Ken the cruiser]

Tonight after a tasty dinner in the Grand Pacific MDR, which was quite tasty I might add, we went to the early show to watch the performance of Glenn Macnamara.

 

 

Unfortunately, there was no game show tonight, so back to the cabin we went to play on our computers. Come to think of it, we haven’t turned on the TV once since we boarded the ship. Maybe we’ll watch a movie. 🤔

 

[frogandtoad]

On 11/15/2022 at 2:23 PM, Ken the cruiser said:

 

Unless something changes between now and when you arrive on your cruise, I would imagine it would be based on what floor your cabin is on as referenced in the flyer we received today (see above)

 

Thanks - I must be blind as I didn't notice the rightmost column.

[PhillyTravelBug]

Loving this! Thanks for letting us all tag along.

[Ken the cruiser]

We have arrived at Ashdod, Israel! Today we have an excursion to see various sites around Jerusalem. 
 

[Ken the cruiser]

Day 5 - Nov 17 - Ashdod, Israel