A fantastic 12 Med cruise on Norwegian Jade, 14 to 26th November.Loved every minute of this trip. Great itinerary.Barcelona, Civitavecchia (for Rome), Piraeus (for Athens), Izmir(for Ephesus), two days in Alexandria (for Cairo), Valletta in Malta, & back to Barcelona. (plus 5 sea days) This was our third cruise with NCL, & our first on Jade. We were impressed with the overall standard & quality of service. The crew were friendly ,had a good attitude, were willing to please & on many occasions talk about sport or their home. We really enjoyed the food, our stateroom, ( balcony deck 9, starboard aft), & the entertainment, & didn't have a negative experience worth mentioning. Met some lovely people on board,from all over the world. Many of these were from the Roll Call & subsequent Meet & Greet.( this was attended by the Captain & senior officers). The weather was exceptionally kind. Calm seas & sunny conditions most of the time. This holiday was great value for money. I work in the UK hotel & restaurant industry, so I can be critical when it comes to quality & service standards. On this occasion Norwegian Jade got it absolutely right & we had a wonderful time. Also thanks to the CC & TA. forums for great tips & advice.
Flew from Liverpool on EasyJet, & spent 2 nights in Barcelona. Airport bus to the city for under 5 euro each, & then taxi, ( 20 euro), to the Holiday Inn Express, (got a deal with Priority Club points). This hotel is located in Poblenou, an area being redeveloped, so is a mixture of old & new. The hotel has a bar, clean standard rooms, & complimentary breakfast. Shops & restaurants are nearby. The metro was 10 minutes walk away, the ticket machines had instructions in English, & for a couple of euro, you were in the city centre within 15 minutes. Loved wandering around the medieval area, very atmospheric, great places to eat, shop or drink. Walked down the Ramblas to the vibrant waterfront, & toured the city on the hop on,hop off tourist bus. 20 euro - two routes.
Embarkation. Easy. Left the hotel at 1200. Terminal at 1220 & dropped off bags. Check in simple, on board with a glass of bubbly, by 1245. Went to eat at the Great Outdoors, & the cabins were available at 2pm.