Norwegian Jade Review

4.0 / 5.0
2,043 reviews

Trip of a Lifetime

Review for the Eastern Mediterranean Cruise on Norwegian Jade
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ginagoodgion
First Time Cruiser • Age 50s

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Sail Date: Mar 2009
Cabin: Mid-Ship Inside
Traveled with children

I planned this trip a year in advance in celebration of our 25th anniversary. One because, yes, I am a planner, and enjoy the process of getting most of the details , but mainly a year in advance, because we were utilizing our frequent flyer miles and those seats are opened up one year in advance and if you don't get yours you will loose out! KUDOS to United Airlines customer service, whom after I'd already booked us to London and thought I'd have to purchase the London to Barcelona leg, took me under their wing, made the call to Luftansa and "fixed" my error. We flew from Oklahoma City to Chicago to Frankfurt to Barcelona for 50,000 miles each. WOW! Save up those miles folks!!!! We also opted to take our 10 year old son, realizing what an educational experience it would be for him. Since this cruise spanned spring break, it would only cost him 5 days absence. This was our 3rd cruise and our first with NCL. In the past we LOATHED our days at sea and felt them a huge waste of precious vacation time. Not the case here. With each port day completely filled with one amazing city after the next, we found we needed the days at sea for relaxation and rest. We found the food very good, comparatively to our past experiences. After 12 days, it was getting old...but it was more than adequate. Rome - we took the train to town, (NCL busses you for free to the end of the pier, walk right into town to the train station...you really can just follow the crowd, we were the first one's off the ship and our first trip to Europe) taking the advice from cruise critic and exiting San Peidro to the Vatican. That worked out fine...TAKE A SEAT EARLY on the train. The trained filled to over flow with commuters and we were smashed against the wall for over an hour....After the Vatican we were pretty lost in Rome, good and bad...roaming in Rome stopping for cappuccino, The Spanish Steps and some exclusive shops...we didn't make the most of our time here. Should have booked a tour... Athens - Got a Taxi for $90E for the 3 of us for 4 hours. He took us to all the "sights" offered to take us to a good restaurant for lunch, but we opted to go back to the ship. This was a good idea! Enjoyed the day being chauffeured around Athens in a Mercedes Benz isn't a bad way to go!! Turkey - Pensacola Patty set up a LOVELY tour of Epheses with Lavent (sp)...need to get his name from Patty. $45 each, we had a small bus, and he supplied water. Turkey truly was a JEWEL........green and lush......want to go back to Turkey! Who Knew? Cairo - De Castro Tours - HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.....My highlight was coming out of the La Meridian Hotel on day 2 to meet Lester Holtz from NBC's Today Show! He was very gracious and allowed me to take a picture with him! Malta - On our own......LOVELY.......Truly Mediterranean and we would love to get lost here for a few weeks! Like Jack, we pinched ourselves the entire time! AMAZING.....A few things we'd change given the opportunity. Kids Program on the Jade didn't keep our son interested too much. He attended twice. There did seem to be smaller children in there. He did enjoy the basketball on the aft of the ship and met up with other boys playing there. Luckily for me there is also a little used deck there, that I found quite relaxing and secluded..... Secondly - Schedule Meet & Greet a little later in the day. First sea day we really suffered from jet lag, not being experienced time warpers, and slept through it......so missed out on some essential information! Thirdly - Our room staff was a little lax. Many days we were given 2 towels for a family of 3, and no wash cloths....we've traveled in Mini-Suites on RC, so not sure if this is status quo for a quaint inside berth...but it was a little annoying, they also didn't take out dirty cups...if it had water in it, they covered it and left it in the room, now who really wants to drink day old water??? Not cruise wrecking, again, annoying! By the end of two weeks, were were over all VERY satisfied with the cruise. The ports were totally CREDIBLE, and were the most satisfied from this cruise as anyone we'd ever taken before. FYI - If you fly through Frankfort........you disembark OUTSIDE, and they take you to the front of the airport where you have to go through security AGAIN...any water brought from the USA or anyplace will be confiscated....TAA regs ya know...Also be prepared for the mile long TREK from Terminal A to Terminal B........CRAZY LONG! I brought plenty of snacks for my family. NO one seemed to have an issue with the gallon size baggy of snacks I was bringing on board for my picky eater (who ate very well on board ship btw)...So pack any "American" goodies for yourself or children for the flight.

Put on a healthy sense of adventure and enjoy this cruise!!!!

Cabin Review

Mid-Ship Inside

Cabin IE

Room was small.........we've stayed in Mini-Suites before.......we were perfectly fine....Tip...we used the ladder for the top birth as a clothes line...DH put about 1/2 of it under the top bunk and we used the additional hangers we brought and line dried some clothing....

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