We went on the November 7-14, 2010 Norwegian Jade cruise to the Western Mediterranean. We arrived in Barcelona on November 5th and stayed a couple of nights at the Aparthotel Bertran on Calle Bertran which was about a 30 minute drive from the airport and cruise terminal. This was one of the few hotels we found that was able to accomodate five people.

On the 7th we took a taxi to the cruise terminal and arrived around noon. We were able to check in rather quickly and smoothly and were able to embark shortly thereafter. The wait was much shorter than we had expected so we were pleasantly surprised about their efficiency. Our cabin wasn't available until 2 pm so we decided to go to the Grand Pacific Dining Room for lunch. The kitchen and wait staff were very accommodating as Grandma has food allergies, therefore we experienced no problems. We were greeted the first day by the assistant maitre'd Furtoso Gonsalves who was extremely helpful and pleasant the entire trip taking the time to talk with us every time he saw us. He even went out of his way several times during our cruise varying from assisting us with calling card info to even specially placing a dinner order for us on Day 5 that was not on the menu that evening.

For Days 2, 3 and 4 we toured Italy. We cannot say enough about the company "YOUR TOUR IN ITALY" and all of the tour guides we had while we were there. At each port, for a tour for 5 people in a private van we spent 550 euros which was much, much cheaper than going through the ship excursion desk. In our opinion, we were able to see many more sights in the time allotted from a local expert who is from the area. Read more