We hunted for the perfect cruise to destinations we had never visited before and an experience we would never forget, no matter what. We arranged our own flight to, and overnight stay in, Barcelona the night before sailing to cover any unforeseen travel mishaps. We arrived late in the afternoon, taxied to the terrific Wilson (boutique- three star) Hotel in the best part of Barcelona, freshened up, and had dinner. The next morning, after a leisurely breakfast, we packed up and taxied to the port, prepared for horrendous lines, frustrations, expecting a long time boarding the Norwegian Jade. WRONG! We dropped our labeled luggage, got in line, read and followed posted directions, and within a very few minutes were at the NCL counter. That process took less than five minutes, and then we were strolling past the duty-free shops, noting a need to return to them (One must shop at every opportunity!) on our way to the ship. Up the ramp we went, pictures taken, and onboard we go. We were in our stateroom in less than 1/2 hour from getting out of the taxi! That is impressive. We reserved a balcony stateroom, and my ONLY word-to-the-wise on that is: figure out which side of the ship you want to be on before booking. Consider sunrise and sight of land when making your decision. We didn't and were on the ocean-facing side for the full cruise. Not disastrous but seeing land when available would have been nice. I am not sure of the reason behind the desirability to be aft rather than forward but we were somewhat aft. I was much happier about being amidships for less travel time to get places. Our stateroom was neat, clean, fresh, and modern. Considering we were on a ship we had ample space. The bathroom was of a good size, and we did not have to sit on the toilet to shower!! Our closet and drawers held all we brought and that is saying something. You really don't have to take your own hangers! We were gifted a couples' spa package and it was WONDERFUL. There is limited availability and that was appreciated. It was never over-crowded. Time in the spa after a visit to a port-of-call was the best relaxation money could buy. We didn't visit the pay-for restaurants much, as the ones included in the cruise fare were more than just adequate. They really were nice. We never had to wait for a table. The only down side to our eating experience was when the "crew silver service" was started. This began the day before we arrived in Egypt and continued for the rest of the cruise. It consists of the crew handing you a plate and flatware and then serving all the food at the buffet, rather than the help-yourself style we enjoyed before. It seemed to turn the up-until-then happy crew into portion control, frustrated, unhappy servers. Three slices of home fries is not a helping, in my book, and when I asked for more I got "a look". 80 people onboard had come down with gastroenteritis. That is sad but during flu season, in a group as big as that on a large cruise ship, I think that is a pretty low number. We didn't join any of the cruise organized excursions to avoid crowds, save time and money. We did online research and contracted with local area tour companies, and were able to manage our own group size and tour contents, or decided to do self-guided tours. We were not disappointed with our decisions in either case. We did Rome on our own. We got off the train at St. Peter's station and followed the signs along the street. After stopping at a restaurant for a deposit and withdrawal of water, we encountered the Pope in his personal limo, window down, and waving to the few people in the area. I am talking 10ft away. Yes, it was a fluke, but if it happened for us, it can happen for others. The Vatican was then anti-climactic, but nice. We purchased tickets to the Vatican (museum and Sistine Chapel) online and printed out the voucher at home, so there were no lines for us. This is of better value in high season, though. Don't miss the Trevi Fountain (the coin goes back, over your shoulder left to right, or right to left, and ensures you will return for another visit) and do not miss the Gelato shop there! We got back to the ship without incident and in plenty of time. We will do a whole trip just in Italy. Athens was abit different in that while we planned to go self-guided again, but when we got out of the port, we (out of shape as we are) realized both the train and the metro were further away than what we wanted to walk. We heard later that some cruisers were robbed of their wallets and passports at the Metro station. We commissioned a terrific taxi driver and his partner to be our guides. It was an outstanding experience and we saw much more of Athens than we would on a large tour bus, or on our own. We also saw the changing of the guard at the President's palace, and had a wonderful seafood dinner at the marina, away from crowds. We want to visit all the Greek islands. Our Turkey excursion was a planned custom tour. The price was terrific, the group size was small (9) and we toured Ephesus, including inside the terraced houses, with a wonderful Turkish guide who attended classes at Northwestern, teaches field archeology at a Turkish university, and assists at the dig in Ephesus. Consider adding Sirince Village to a tour of Ephesus for a little stress free shopping and dining. Try the local cherry wine. It is where the Turks go. We want to go back for a longer visit. Meander Tours has a website and is wonderful to deal with. There was never a worry about anything. Egypt. You have to see the pyramids, the sphinx, and ride a camel. You have to see Cairo, and the museum, once. If I were to return to Egypt, I would visit Alexandria. The Egyptian people profess a love of English speaking people. I never feared for my security there, or my wallet, but their culture takes getting used to, and I wasn't prepared. Our guide negotiated his "cut" of every purchase. I understand that happened on the cruise line's tour as well. Malta was a wonder to behold. We stayed in Valletta for the day, but I heard from several other people that did a variety of things, it was all good! We want to go back for a longer visit. Disembarkation, in Barcelona was just like at the airport; find your luggage, get a taxi, and off you go. We stayed in Barcelona, at the Market Hotel (another boutique three star) for two days and enjoyed ourselves immensely. The hotel was a great choice and the Hop-On-Hop-Off tour bus (we just stayed on) took us everywhere. We ate dinner at the marina and had paella and fresh sangria. I wish I had completed the online check-in and printed our boarding passes at the hotel passing up the long line (hundreds for one clerk) of angry people at the airport. We made our flight, but it put a damper on the trip. The ship's crew, for the most part is helpful and friendly aside from my statements above. There are enough things to do onboard that there is something for everyone. The pool, hot tubs, casino, art auctions, shows, library, card room, demonstrations, and theme sales in the gift shop are just a few. The company does need to improve their communications between corporate and the ship's admin staff to resolve issues with amenities and promotions purchased beforehand and added to the reservation by the sales staff. It took climbing the supervisory ladder to the head of customer relations, on the ship to resolve our issues. But once we got to the right person, it was all resolved quickly. It should not have been such a laborious process. Others would have given up early on and lost money. That is not right. This was our second cruise, our first freestyle, and we enjoyed it very much. I guess the bottom line is: Would we do that cruise, on that ship, again. Yes, without hesitation.