Cruise Ship: Norwegian Jade
Cruise Destination: Eastern Mediterranean
Cruise Dates: October 2008 - 12 day cruise
Guest Contributor: Jason
We just returned from 12 days Eastern Mediterranean cruise with Norwegian Jade. It was a FABULOUS trip, but I wanted to pass on a few pointers before the details fade. We are from the U.S., and this is our 4th European cruise and 10th cruise overall (we have also cruised Princess, Celebrity and Carnival). We tend toward doing most of the ports ourselves, and hiring private guides if necessary because we enjoy researching the ports and like the flexibility and efficiency of a private tour (we have found it to be cheaper than the ship’s tours as well).
Flights and pre-cruise stay in Barcelona
If possible, plan to arrive in Barcelona a day or two early. We
stayed at the Regencia De Colon hotel. It is a sister hotel to the Colon,
both which sit at the foot of the Cathedral and a 2 minute walk from La
Rambla. The room was small, but well appointed in a great location. We had
to go to the Colon to get ice for our drinks. We had dinner at Neya's. A
small tapas bar 1 1/2 blocks from the hotel. The food was great-tapas and
paella, and very inexpensive.
We really enjoyed the city. La Rambla is maybe 6 blocks long and activity abounds! We spent much of the time just watching the street mimes. They get dressed up in amazing costumes and hold perfectly still until you come up to have your picture taken, then they go into action! Quite a site to see. La Rambla is also lined with plenty of street vendors, artists etc. But they even have street vendors that are pet shops along with the normal florists and trinket sellers. We had sangria at a street side cafe. Ugh...it was thick and really sweet and reminded us more of children's cough syrup than a cocktail.
On the day of embarkation we took the hop off/hop on bus. We took the north route to catch all of the architecture, and it really was a beautiful ride. It did, however, take the entire morning as the traffic in the city was really bad. We bought a one day ticket that would have allowed us to take the south route if we had the time. Two day tickets are also available. Cash only, but you purchase the tickets at the boarding stops. We thought Barcelona was beautiful, we were pleasantly surprised. It is a very easy city to do on your own. Cabs are very easy to get either in the city or at the pier. It is about 10-15 Euros from the pier to the closest end of La Rambla. Make sure and negotiate price before you get in.
Norwegian Jade Cruise Ship
We had late seating, traditional
dining. We love traditional dining, however, due to the lateness of some
of the tours we ate every night at 8:45 pm. That's pretty late even for
folks who like to have prolonged cocktail hours! We were rarely finished
with dinner by 11pm. I won't comment too much on food; but, all of the
soups were absolutely fantastic. We never had a bad one. Many of the
nights I had a hard time choosing which entree to select as none of them
completely excited me, but they were all good.
The Norwegian Jade is not as
fancy or as laden with goodies as some of its sisters, but the Jade is a
very nice ship. The crew is attentive and there are many many activities
planned.
Downsides – it is short on public spaces; smoking is allowed in the one lounge where a lot of activities are scheduled, so you can’t really escape it (the high percentage of Europeans adds to the smoking population too); and the rooms are small even for cruise ship standards (no drop down bunk, so kids sleep together on a pull-out couch).
Upsides – I thought the food in the Windjammer was a step above the usual (don’t miss the Asian and Greek nights, the pastries at breakfast, the desserts and the fresh melon), and there is an excellent "salad bar" with unusual ingredients at lunch in the dining room; the bartender at the Champagne Bar makes a killer Chocolate Mint martini (skip the frozen drinks at the pool bars – they are WEAK); there are a ton of fitness and game activities planned if you’re interested. Do go to the port talks – they are very informative. I’m impressed with how NCL aids the independent traveler and does not solely push their excursions.
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