Norwegian Jade 4th January 2009 Eastern Med

;) After a lot of problems with NCL's London office, including cancelled cruises and a series of incorrect booking confirmations,:mad: my best mate and I will be doing the 12 day Eastern Med on the Norwegian Jade departing Barcelona on 4th January 2009. This will be our 4th NCL cruise. We have always met some very interesting (and some not so interesting) fellow Friend's of Dorothy travellers and I hope this cruise will be no different despite the time of year.

If you are thinking about booking this cruise or you have already booked it then please message me. It would be great to get together onboard.

Three friends and I have just booked this cruise. This is my first time on NCL but I think two of the others have sailed NCL in the past. We're looking forward to the cruise.

Hopefully, we can meet on board.

Scott

Hey all ... One of Scott's friends here. I will obviously be traveling with him and his 'entourage' on this cruise. Am looking forward to seeing the sites, both on and off the ship! It's been several years since I have sailed with NCL, and am hoping they are as gay-friendly as other cruise lines I've been on have been to its gay passengers.

Let the party begin !

Steve

Hi Scott & Steve! It is good to know there will be some more of Dorothy's Friends on this cruise. My best friend David (Sissy) and I have cruised with NCL 4 times in the last 3 years and we have found them to be very gay friendly every time. So hopefully we will get to meet you all and more at the first 'Friend's of Dorothy' informal get together.

See you soon!!

Kevin;)

the cruise, that is. Looking forward to getting away from work and just relaxing and taking it easy. It can't come too quickly. Not just have to decide what to pack.

Looking forward to meeting you and Sissy, Kevin. Am I allowed to call him that or will I get in trouble? :D

Scott

Hey all,

My friend and I just booked this cruise. I've never been on a cruise before, but with the prices dropping by the day (from $484 for 12 days!), we thought we'd give it a try. This will actually be the relaxing wind-down end to another trip--we'll be spending two weeks thumbing through guidebooks in Jordan and Israel making decisions on where to hoof it day by day.

I just discovered this message board, and admittedly still have some homework to do. However, if someone will indulge me--what % of travelers on NCL are gay? My assumption is that the average age on a cruise is late middle-aged--is this true? How comfortable is the environment? I also have a specific question (non gay) related question that I'd prefer to ask someone who has been on a few of these cruises by email.

Thanks--I look forward to meeting you!

k

Hi, Pex,

Welcome to the cruise. All of us in Dallas are looking forward to getting away. Hope we all have a blast.

This will be my first NCL cruise so I'm not sure what % of gay folks we'll find. I've been on several other cruises; some have had a higher % of gay folks that others. So I think it just depends. Guess we'll see, eh?

Feel free to send me your questions via email. I'll be glad to answer if I can. My email is scooterdal@tx.rr.com.

Scott

I will be traveling with my mother and haven't been on a cruise for awhile.

I'm certainly excited about this one!

Hope you can join us at one of the FOD meetings. I understand NCL usually schedules those.

the cruise, that is. Looking forward to getting away from work and just relaxing and taking it easy. It can't come too quickly. Not just have to decide what to pack.

 

Looking forward to meeting you and Sissy, Kevin. Am I allowed to call him that or will I get in trouble? :D

 

Scott

I am also known to Sissy (David) as Sissy. To me he is Sissy Daz and I am Sissy Kez. Don't ask! It is a long story. I am sure he will not mind you calling him Sissy but his name is David if you feel more comfortable.

Hope you can join us at one of the FOD meetings. I understand NCL usually schedules those.

I look forward to meeting everyone at the FOD informal get togethers. NCL have had FOD meetings on every one of the three cruises I have done with them, in fact on the last cruise there was an informal FOD meeting every evening of the cruise!

hopefully they will post on the community board

Hey guys (well, I haven't seen any women posting here yet),

Although we generally are ambivalent about organized tours, it seems that there are two ports of call where a tour makes sense unless you've been their umpteen times before: Alexandria, and Ephesus. We've been to neither.

We've signed on with another group for a 1.5 day tour of Cairo, and are currently getting quotes for Ephesus. We're leaning toward Celsus Travel for Ephesus, who seem to get generally good reviews. If you might be interested in this, please send me an email. No commitment is necessary--I am just trying to gauge interest. The price decreases considerably as the numbers go up. Ideally, I'd like to be in a group of a half dozen or so (but am extremely flexible).

Thanks. Only 2 1/2 weeks!

Karl

shawmut at gmail dot com

hopefully they will post on the community board

My understanding is, the FOD get togethers are very much at the discretion of the individual Cruise Directors but I have never been on an NCL cruise which has not had them. They are always included in the daily events/newspaper left on your pillow with the chocolate each evening.

Eighteen Days and counting!!!:D

By the way, there is a guy called Laurence who is organising a Cruise Critic 'Meet & Greet' for this cruise. If you go to the 'Roll Calls' forum then Norwegian Cruise Lines > Norwegian Jade you will see a thread for this cruise. Laurence is collecting names and cabin/suite numbers so that invitations can be issued to the Meet & Greet, I think it is on the first evening. It would be nice to increase the 'nelly factor' or percentage of gay guys & girls involved with this 'Meet & Greet'. I have noticed already that a couple of guys on this thread have already been invited to this 'Meet & Greet' in addition to David & I so come on guys, let's see you there!;)

Although I suggest you look at the thread first, alternatively you can send an email to Laurence giving your name and cabin/suite details.:) Laurence.fox@ntlworld.com

I just checked the train schedule at:

http://orario.trenitalia.com/b2c/TimeTable?stazin=Civitavecchia&stazout=Rome&datag=6&datam=1&dataa=2009&timsh=9&timsm=00&lang=en&nreq=5&channel=tcom&x=37&y=12

and the first train is at 10:41, I saw on one of the other posts that they were saying there were earlier trains.

Do you know if there are buses to the train station from the dock and if they have earlier train schedules?

Jeff, I see an 08:41 and 08:59 on the schedule. This is my first cruise, so I have no idea if they are realistic options. I am still trying to envision what exactly happens when 2300 cruise passengers gravitate towards one location within a few minutes en masse.

Several messages on the Roll Call thread for this cruise mention some sort of shuttle between the ship and the train station.

Karl

I just checked the train schedule...and the first train is at 10:41, I saw on one of the other posts that they were saying there were earlier trains.

 

Do you know if there are buses to the train station from the dock and if they have earlier train schedules?

My understanding is that Norwegian Cruise Line generally advertises some sort of FOD meetings. However, if they don't, my friend and I will plan to be at the Star Lounge around 7:30pm on boarding day January 4. If nobody's there, we'll probably only stick around for ten minutes or so, then go explore the Jade. I'm not wedded to that time or location--it just seems consistent with what I've seen posted here for the Jewel class ships.

Obviously, if NCL posts a different time or venue, theirs will take precedence. We're actually leaving the day after tomorrow, and are going crazy trying to wrap up holiday stuff beforehand. Hope to meet some of you in a couple of weeks!

Karl

Jeff, I see an 08:41 and 08:59 on the schedule. This is my first cruise, so I have no idea if they are realistic options. I am still trying to envision what exactly happens when 2300 cruise passengers gravitate towards one location within a few minutes en masse.

 

Several messages on the Roll Call thread for this cruise mention some sort of shuttle between the ship and the train station.

 

Karl

Its my first time to Rome and I think I figured out the train system (a little better than the US system). The 2 trains at 8 are regional trains and you buy the tickets at the train station.

I found that you have to make your way to the outside of the dock and then the train station is 4 blocks away. I agree about all of these folks going to the train and the madness, but I'm gonna risk it....

My understanding is that Norwegian Cruise Line generally advertises some sort of FOD meetings. However, if they don't, my friend and I will plan to be at the Star Lounge around 7:30pm on boarding day January 4. If nobody's there, we'll probably only stick around for ten minutes or so, then go explore the Jade. I'm not wedded to that time or location--it just seems consistent with what I've seen posted here for the Jewel class ships.

 

Obviously, if NCL posts a different time or venue, theirs will take precedence. We're actually leaving the day after tomorrow, and are going crazy trying to wrap up holiday stuff beforehand. Hope to meet some of you in a couple of weeks!

 

Karl

Karl, I will join you and your friend at 730 at the Star Lounge...

No sooner had I posted that message, than another message was posted on the Jade Jan 4 Roll Call thread, indicating that others plan to use that same venue around 7:30. See message 644. Their group is larger--if the meet and greet the next morning is any indication, nearly 100 people--so maybe we should search out another venue and/or time.

We're overseas now and only have sporatic internet access. So let's scratch that 7:30 plan for the Star, and come up with other arrangements. I'll let someone else make the choice, but will monitor the board and be sure to drop by on Jan 4!

Karl

Karl, I will join you and your friend at 730 at the Star Lounge...

No sooner had I posted that message, than another message was posted on the Jade Jan 4 Roll Call thread, indicating that others plan to use that same venue around 7:30. See message 644. Their group is larger--if the meet and greet the next morning is any indication, nearly 100 people--so maybe we should search out another venue and/or time.

 

We're overseas now and only have sporatic internet access. So let's scratch that 7:30 plan for the Star, and come up with other arrangements. I'll let someone else make the choice, but will monitor the board and be sure to drop by on Jan 4!

 

Karl

As the ship departs later than most cruises at 1900hrs and the Star Bar will already be occupied at 1930hrs can I suggest if there is not already FOD meeting scheduled for the first night that we meet in the Star Bar at 2130hrs. Does that seem like a reasonable idea to everybody?

I just checked the train schedule at:

 

http://orario.trenitalia.com/b2c/TimeTable?stazin=Civitavecchia&stazout=Rome&datag=6&datam=1&dataa=2009&timsh=9&timsm=00&lang=en&nreq=5&channel=tcom&x=37&y=12

 

and the first train is at 10:41, I saw on one of the other posts that they were saying there were earlier trains.

 

Do you know if there are buses to the train station from the dock and if they have earlier train schedules?

Hey, Jeff.

Sorry for the delay in responding to you.

When I was in Civitavecchia last August (2007), there was a bus that met us at the dock and took us to the entrance of the pier. Then, from there, it was a 5-10 minute walk to the train station.

As Karl posted, there are earlier trains. Since 3 of the 4 of us have been to Rome previously, my friends and I are planning to take the train into Rome and then seeing the sights on our own.

8 days and then we'll be boarding the ship. Can't wait.

Scott

As the ship departs later than most cruises at 1900hrs and the Star Bar will already be occupied at 1930hrs can I suggest if there is not already FOD meeting scheduled for the first night that we meet in the Star Bar at 2130hrs. Does that seem like a reasonable idea to everybody?

The Star Bar at 2130 hrs (9:30pm for us US folks. :D) works for me. I look forward to seeing you there next Sunday, Jan 4th.

Hopefully Karl and Tony will see the post and meet us there as well.

Scott

Well, people, all I can say is I sure "missed the boat" for friends of Dorothy cruisers....this sailing from the 4th of January is obviously where everyone is!

I was on the Dec 12th sailing of the Jade and myself and one British guy were the only 2 at the F.O.D. meetings all week. By about 5 or 6 days we gave up. We did see one guy stick his head in, turn around, and leave, but that was only once.

NCL did post a meeting for every day, in the Star Bar. It was published in the daily bulletin, and now they're calling it "Friends of Dorothy GLBT Mixer". One minor problem is that the Star Bar is also located right next to the steakhouse specialty restaurant, so it was often full of people waiting for their tables at the restaurant.

Our cruise did not do the Eastern Mediterranean itinerary so I don't know first-hand, but many people on my cruise seemed to have intensely disliked the Alexandria stop, by the way. They reported that it was one constant hassle the whole time. As I said, this is hearsay, I don't know firsthand.

If anyone reading this will be taking the 9-day Morocco and Canary Islands itinerary, I can say firsthand that Casablanca is a sh*thole and the "Casablanca Highlights" tour is a waste of money. You might as well just take a taxi to see the Great Mosque and then go back to the ship, because you won't see much else with the tour. If there's anything else worth bothering with in Casablanca the tour didn't show it. Not much to see in Agadir either. Las Palmas/Gran Canary was nice and Funchal/Madeira was also very nice, as was Malaga.

Regarding the Jade, I found it to be very nice and comfortable and the room was great (balcony cabin off back of ship). The food was pretty good, especially for how cheap the cruise was. However, the decor is hideously tacky and still Hawaiian-cartoonish and needs to be redone for Europe.

The casino had the most ridiculously tightest slots I've ever seen, anywhere (one situation where a tight slot is a BAD thing!). After a few days I gave up on it.

With only two of us we felt like "the only gays in the village" on our cruise, but it looks like the Jan 4th cruise has lots of F.O.D, so you guys should have lots of fun.