Norwegian Jade Mediterranean Cruise November 21, 2010.

Sorry to have taken so long in writing my review of this cruise. Like many of my fellow Cruise Critic members, we encountered some problems on this cruise, but I am a firm believer in not posting a problem until you have given the cruise line an opportunity to deal with it. In this case, I am pleased to report that NCL has been very responsive to our letter, and I feel that the problems we encountered have been taken into account by the cruise line. Problems are inevitable in life; the important thing is how they are handled. I think NCL really stepped up and dealt with us well and there is no need to go into further detail here.

We flew into Barcelona two days early on Delta Airlines, out of JFK. It was a great way to start my retirement, as they upgraded us to first class, which was a delight on an overnight flight across the Atlantic. With our early morning arrival, we had arranged for BCN taxi to pick us up at the airport and give us a tour of the city. We had a wonderful tour of the city and the driver was more than willing to stop any time we wanted, in order to allow us to take pictures. It was a great orientation to the city. We booked the Hilton Diagonal Mar, which is located in the newer part of Barcelona. There was a great shopping centre across the street, where we were able to pick up the last minutes items for the cruise. We took a 45-minute walk along the boardwalk and spent some time exploring on La Ramblas. While there you really need to be aware of your surroundings, and the warnings we read about pickpockets turn out to be true. We were fine, but we were told of one couple on our cruise who were not so lucky. Read more