Norwegian Jade Review
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We have done 42 cruises and have cruised with NCL 15 times. We are very familiar with the line and its ships. However, it was our first time on the Jade. We flew Upper Class from NY to London with Virgin Atlantic and had a car service (Smith) pick us up at Heathrow airport and take us to Gatwick where we spend the night at the Hilton London Gatwick. We chose this hotel because it was very convenient to take our early flight on British Airways to Venice the next morning. The Hilton was a typical airport chain, the only problem was trying to print our boarding passes for the next day flight. None of the terminals in the lobby worked. We had to beg the concierge to let us in the "Executive Lounge" and print the boarding passes there. That was a little stressful.
The next morning we just took the train from the hotel to the airport (3 minutes). Gatwick was a mad house early Saturday. It felt like I was on Grand Central Station, NY during rush hour. Confusing and very crowded. Eventually we checked in and found the gate. One thing different than in America is that nobody respect any lines. BA calls for wheel chair, first class, and passengers with young children first. After that it's free for all. Being used to waiting in line for your turn we were a little surprised.
The flight from London to Marco Polo, Venice was just 1h 40 m. BA served a light snack and refreshment. We had paid more for an exit aisle and it was a good move. However, you are not allowed to keep your purse or carry on under the seat during take off and landing. Also different from what we are used to. Descending at Marco Polo we saw some ships and Venice from above. Just beautiful! We retrieved our suitcases and tried to find ATVO counter to exchange our vouchers for a bus ticket. We finally found the counter and the bus stop as well. Boarded the bus (which smelled like cigarette) and were lucky to get a seat because it was very crowded and lots of people rode standing up. It was a short ride though - only 20 minutes. We had purchased the tickets on line and paid 9 Euros instead of 70 Euros for a water taxi.