NCL Jade - Barcelona return January 3 - 15, 2010 Ports of Call: Rome, Athens, Izmir (Turkey), Cairo, Valetta (Malta)

Background: I am from Australia and this was my 8th cruise, but my first time cruising so far from home. I am a sole parent and traveled with my 10 year old son (his 5th cruise since 2007). I booked back in March/April and a couple of weeks before I left my mum decided to come as well (thanks to my upgrade to a bigger cabin). This was my first cruise on NCL, with the majority of my previous cruises being with Princess or P&O.

Booking: I originally booked this cruise because I was flying to London for Xmas - and if I was flying all that way I thought I would try to squeeze in a cruise while I was there. I booked this particular cruise on a whim because I was able to secure a stern mini-suite and it had a great itinerary. After reading so much on these boards about full suites I upgraded to an AE Suite in October. In late November I had my agent contact NCL about an upsell and ended up in a Courtyard Villa. The deal wasn't as cheap as if it had been initiated by NCL but it was still a discounted rate and I was happy - but more about the Suite later. Read more