Venice and NCL Jade Greek Isles Cruise Review – June 21-28, 2014

We traveled as a family group of 6 on this trip, including myself, my wife, 12 year old twins and my parents who are in their 70s. We’ve found cruising (so far on NCL and Disney) to be a wonderful and stress-free mode of multi-generational travel that allows everyone to find activities that suits individual interests. This was our third NCL Cruise together and we had a great trip! (Previously we had taken a 12 night Baltic cruise on the Sun in 2010, and a 12 night Mediterranean on the Jade from Barcelona including stops in Civitavecchia, Athens, Istanbul, Malta in 2011. We’ve also cruised with Disney including a 14 night Panama Canal repo in 2013.)

I’ve tried to highlight some of our specific activities and this post is intended to complement (and compliment!) the previous excellent CC entries by Dave (http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1691665) and many others who have shared their experiences for the benefit of CC members. We found the CC NCL Boards and Port of Call boards to be an invaluable source of information for cruise planning. Grazie and ευχαριστίες to all who have posted!

Preparations

Learning about our destinations

In addition to perusing CC and TripAdvisor, I found Roger Crowley’s excellent book “City of Fortune: How Venice Ruled the Seas” to be a compelling and excellent primer for our entire trip. Not only does the book describe the Dark Ages origin of Venice as a refuge from the progressive waves of invading tribes as the Roman Empire fell, but it describes the critical relationship and history of Venice with the Adriatic, Aegean, and Mediterranean Seas including with the Dalmatian Coast and Greek Islands that make up the current NCL Jade itineraries. The troubled relationship with Constantinople (including the sack of that Christian city during the Fourth Crusade) explains the presence of some of the key artifacts from Byzantium in Venice (Tetrarchs in St. Marks Square, and the hippodrome horses in the Basilica).

Before our trip we also enjoyed watching the Science Channel “Strip the City” episode on Venice that explained the environmental challenges and solutions for many of the key sites in Venice. We had a keen appreciation for what had been done to stabilize the Campanile in St. Marks, the Saluté Church, and the Rialto Bridge. After watching this episode it was also very interesting sailing past the ongoing deployment sites of the Project MOSE tidal barrier as the ship passed the Lido into the Adriatic on our departure.

Our excellent Venice tour guide (Fiona Giusto, see below) also just sent me a link to a beautifully filmed short feature on Venice that I would highly recommend: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IH4RYm63M_g ( or search for “Venice Backstage: How Does Venice Work” on the well-known free video website that You know).

Map

As a small guidebook for carrying around Venice, we used the Knopf Mapguides Venice book. The book itself is a little limited, but I found the fold-out maps for different sections of the city to be quite good and easy to read.

Cash and Credit Cards

Coming from the U.S. we decided to use our ATM card to take out cash for our needs as the cheapest option. Avoid, if you can, large transactions with the commercial money exchange ATMs which often charge higher commissions and other fees and use a local bank ATM (Bancomat in Italian). Note the daily limits of what you can withdraw that are set by your bank. We also informed our bank that we would be using our ATM card overseas before travel and confirmed that the card would work.

Note: There is an Italian bank with a Bancomat a short walk from St. Mark’s Square just north of the Basilica, I think on Calle Spadaria. It is on the left side and the ATM is indoors.

Based on past experience with our U.S. magnetic strip credit cards not working in some places in Europe (especially supermarkets and automated kiosks) we obtained a Chip and PIN credit card for this trip. (USAA offers this for free on request with some of their cards and there will likely be more options available in the coming months from U.S. banks.) Unfortunately this card did have foreign exchange fees, so we used it as a backup for times when our regular credit card with no exchange fees would not work. On a previous trip we found travelers’ checks to no longer be as easily exchangeable as in the past so we did not use these, instead electing to have some U.S. dollars on hand for an initial small currency exchange if needed until we could get to a Bancomat to withdraw cash.

Venice or Mestre?

Because of our family size, we decided to use Mestre (on the mainland across the causeway from Venice) as our base rather than stay in Venice itself. Many others have commented on the positives and negatives of Venice vs. Mestre and I think there may well be a time when my wife and I would return and stay in Venice (perhaps with no accompanying kids and us traveling with light bags only). For this trip it was an economical decision to stay in Mestre and we felt it worked very well for us.

We stayed at the Best Western Bologna which is across the street from Mestre Train Station (Mestre F.S.). This is an excellent hotel with clean, simply elegant modern interiors, (relatively for Europe) spacious rooms, excellent included breakfast options, free wireless internet, elevators, and excellent staff who speak English well. We were able to get a two bedroom family room for us and our kids, whilst almost all the in-Venice options we found would have required two rooms for the four of us. There are nearby restaurants and a supermarket a five minute walk away. (Walk left on Via Piave when you exit the hotel, there’s a pharmacy then a supermarket to the left as you reach the park on your right).

Arriving at Marco Polo Airport

After taking some starting cash out of an ATM (Bancomat in Italian) in the baggage claim area, we also purchased our ACTV passes from a kiosk in the baggage claim area (had to use our Chip/PIN card for this machine). There are various time options for passes that can be purchased from these machines and the prices were identical to what was available online per the website but I could not figure out options for adding the toilet passes or internet to these tickets from the machine. We decided to take the ATVO express bus from the airport to Mestre Train Station near our hotel. The advantage of this vs. the ACTV bus is that these are express buses with under-bus luggage storage. The ACTV buses we saw had very little space for luggage. We bought one-way ATVO tickets (6 euros per person) from a separate ATVO kiosk in the airport baggage claim area) and these buses load from the median just outside the airport arrivals hall. There are several destinations for the ATVO buses but the signage is good and includes updates on time of the next bus. There was also an ATVO attendant prowling the median to assist.

Transportation between Mestre Train Station (F.S.) and Venice (Piazzale Roma)

As we had purchased the 72 hour ACTV pass for land buses to Venice and water buses (vaporetti) in Venice, we used the No. 2 local (land) bus to travel between our hotel in Mestre and Venice. Another option would be the train, of course.

The No.2 ACTV bus between Mestre Station and Piazzale Roma in Venice takes about 20 minutes and can get quite crowded during peak morning and afternoon times. There are buses every 10 minutes until midnight when a less frequent night service starts. You can board from either the front or back (well any of the three doors in practice, although the middle door is “supposed” to be an exit…) and are supposed to tap your bus pass/ticket to the electronic validator panel at the front or rear of the bus. Some days it was so crowded that any movement on the bus was prohibitive, so just be prepared to suck it in, hold onto your valuables and smaller family members and enjoy the ride. On the way into Venice, it may be helpful to walk the extra five minutes to the stop before the Mestre Station (on Via Piave) to make sure you can board with minimal pummeling from the crowds behind. Locals seem to pretty much make sure to get on the bus, so if you are already on and think there’s no more space to be had for others to board, think again and squish in. I often wondered what the locals thought of us darn tourists filling up the buses at peak hours…

The ACTV buses have extremely limited space for luggage so we were glad to have taken the ATVO express bus from Marco Polo Airport to Mestre Station.

We arrived in the early afternoon and after a short rest took the bus to Venice to explore by twilight and night. After arriving at the Piazzale Roma bus station we took the short walk to the vaporetto stop and boarded the first one headed towards the Lido along the Grand Canal. Most vaporetti have an inside seating area, and covered outside areas for boarding in the middle and also covered but outside seating in the rear and front. The front seats, if you are lucky to get them, are a great vantage for taking photos and generally enjoying the procession through the Grand Canal or to other destinations. Since both locals and tourists use the vaporetti, we found that early mornings and late evenings were great times to find choice seats. It rained for the only time during out trip during our vaporetto ride. We got off near St. Mark’s Square (Piazza San Marco) and had a rubbery tourist pizza at a restaurant on the Grand Canal for convenience.

After a short walk, curtailed by the sporadic rain, we returned by vaporetto and then caught an almost empty bus around midnight back to Mestre and our hotel, eager to rest and also to explore more on the next day.

Rialto Bridge by Night in the Rain

Saluté Church

Prior to meeting our guide, we took an early morning stroll from the Giardini vaporetto stop along the Grand Canal and then visited the excellent Naval History Museum near the Arsenale vaporetto stop. We spent two hours exploring the four floors of exhibits and naval history buffs could easily spend longer there. Note that this museum closes by 1:30 pm on most days so plan your visit accordingly. Note that the adjoining Arsenale itself, the construction site of war galleys which for centuries were the source of Venetian sea power, is today an active Italian Navy base and is closed to the public except on some special occasions.

We had arranged two guided tours by Fiona Giusto, the first to include the San Marco area and which started this afternoon. She was recommended by another tour guide and was easy to contact by email and Skype to customize our walking tours. We found Fiona to be an excellent tour guide who helped us to optimize our appreciation of Venice immensely. She also kept our children engaged and interested with questions and riddles. We explored St. Mark’s Square, including the Basilica and then walked through small streets and canals learning about life in classical and modern Venice. We visited the house of Marco Polo and then boarded a water taxi for a one hour narrated tour with Fiona along the Grand Canal and the northern and western aspects of the city.

Many Bell Towers are leaning in Venice

Gondolas always have right of way on canals in Venice

Gentlemen, don’t pee in this corner. The Venetrian architectural addition of anti-urinals in some street corners helps persuade errant men to find another spot to avoid backsplash.

We met Fiona in the morning at the Piazzale Roma bus stop and walked through the Santa Croce and San Polo areas. A highlight was the visit to the Basilica di Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari where Fiona expertly explained the artistic techniques used to in Bellini’s “Madonna and Child” and Titian’s “Assumption of Mary” located in this church. Our tour wound through the Rialto fish and fruit/vegetable markets (open mornings only) where we bid farewell to our wonderful tour guide.

We ate lunch at a restaurant near the Rialto Bridge and on a side alleyway off the Grand Canal, Trattoria Alla Madonna. The seafood was pretty good but the service felt a little rushed.

We then wound our way to the northern end of the city to board a vaporetto for Murano Island, home of the famous glass factories. There’s little shade on Murano and it was a hot day. After seeing some of the free demonstrations of glass-making at some of the shops we walked across the island to catch a vaporetto back to Venice itself. We had learned that some of the vaporetti have routes have more stops than others when headed in the same general direction and eventual destinations so elected to take a more express route back.

On returning to Piazzale Roma for the bus, my daughter and I took a side trip to find Ca’Macana, the well-known carnival mask store. The rest of our group returned to Mestre to rest. We enjoyed our walk along smaller canals and alleyways, never quite getting lost but not always knowing where we were going. This stroll was actually a highlight of our time in Venice and I would definitely recommend some unstructured exploration time to enjoy the streets, bridges and canals full of fortuitous discoveries. Finally, and almost by accident, we found the store located on a small alley just across the bridge at the northeastern edge of Campo San Barnaba. The store itself was full of beautiful masks and the staff person was friendly and helpful. We had our purchases well-wrapped to be lovingly hand-carried home.

All in all, another great day in Venice.

Rialto Fishmarket (open mornings only)

Approaching Murano Island

One of the funnier incidents riding the No. 2 bus from Mestre to Venice came as we took advantage of the morning to make one final trip to Venice. We noticed a group of five elderly Romani women board the bus at the Mestre Station chatting animatedly. We recognized one of these women from our walk in Venice on the previous day when she had been begging on the Rialto Bridge and had staged an artful collapse from a seated to a prone position while maintaining her cup upright in outstretched hand. We were all very glad to note that she seemed to have made a complete recovery and was chatting away with her friends, just another person among co-workers on her way to another day at the office…

On arriving in Venice we were lucky to get a seat at the front of the vaporetto along the Grand Canal and reveled in the wonderful views of the city at work early in the morning. We got off at San Marco and visited the Doge’s Palace on our own for about 1.5 hours. We could have spent much longer here if we had budgeted more time.

Working on the Grand Canal

From the Bridge of Sighs

We then returned to Mestre to check-out and do some supermarket shopping for the ship. We left for the cruise port around 1:30pm.

Instead of braving the ACTV bus to get to Venice and then take the People Mover to the cruise terminal, we decided to book a minivan taxi through the hotel that dropped us off directly at the luggage drop off point for the Jade. (I think this saved us from wrestling with our bags on a crowded ACTV bus and at least 30 minutes of walking with our luggage in tow.) The hotel had quoted a rate of 50 euros for the taxi for all six of us but, as some previous posters also mentioned, when we arrived at the cruise port luggage drop area the driver insisted that the correct rate was actually 60 euros (“10 per person”). Whatever… we should have discussed this with the driver in advance, but did not find this something to get overly wound up about as we looked forward to the next exciting phase of our trip.

We were pleased to board and have immediate access to our aft mini-suites on deck 11.

The People Mover drops off outside the entrance to the Venice Marittima Cruise Terminal

View of St. Mark's Square, the Campanile, and the Doge's Palace from our Aft Balcony sailing out of Venice

View of the Lido and a construction site of the MOSE tidal barrier to protect Venice

We appreciated the views of the Old Town and Venetian fortress of Corfu as we approached the cruise ship dock. For this port stop, my parents took the NCL Achilleon Palace tour while the rest of us joined the NCL Mountain Bike Tour.

We very much enjoyed the Corfu bike tour which included some uphill bicycling over the first half of the tour from Dassia at sea level through the picturesque villages of Agios Markos and Ano Korakiana. We started with a short bus ride from the port to the mountain bike office where we met our guides and had well-maintained Giant brand mountain bikes adjusted to fit each rider. All the biking is done on paved roads and the tour begins and ends on a somewhat busy seaside road. The two guides accompanying us on bicycles and a driver in a support van who also helped direct traffic helped us feel safe throughout. Once we left the main road we rode gradually uphill with several photo and rest stops where our water bottles were re-filled. As we gained elevation, the beauty of Corfu increasingly revealed itself.

The tour does require a basic level of aerobic fitness. The guides did an excellent job in maintaining a gradual pace and kept a very supportive eye out for all riders. There is an approximate uphill elevation of about 600 feet during the tour, mostly gained during the first half of the approximately 12 miles of biking.

The guides were very informative and shared their knowledge of Corfu and life in the villages during the several breaks. There was also an additional optional uphill bike ride to a church from Ano Korakiana which about half of our group elected to take while the remainder stopped in the shade of a local café to enjoy cold drinks, local olives, cheese, and bread. The second half of the ride was almost all downhill and included another rest stop with fresh fruit and cold drinks. We felt that, for travelers who can manage some uphill biking, this tour was a great way to learn about life in some of the smaller villages of Corfu and to enjoy some beautiful scenic views.

I'll pause here and add more later.

Corfu Town

Panorama from Agios Markos - Albania is in the distant left background

Ano Korakiana

Loving your review and pictures!

Thanks for the review. It's very interesting.

Just one question for the moment. How were the aft mini suites? We're booked in one in a few weeks. I understand that noise from the Great Outdoors isn't too much of a problem. Did you have any trouble?

I know the balconies are smaller than deck 10, but they are still a decent aren't they?

Sorry, that's more than one question isn't it. :)

Our Day at Sea on Cruise Day 2 was relaxing.

We enjoyed our aft mini-suite balcony and noticed, but were not overly bothered by the early morning sound of chairs and tables being re-arranged at the Great Outdoors overhead. People who are more sensitive to noise may wish to consider this when selecting aft rooms on Deck 11 on the Jade and sister ships. Furniture on our balcony included a small round table and two upright chairs (no recliner, alas). Also in specific response to your question above, Keith, the balconies were comfortable for two to sit together and enjoy a cup of tea or coffee. One of the chairs was more upright than the other and a little less comfortable for extended lounging, but we still enjoyed the balcony and our aft view immensely. The balcony size seemed comparable to midship balconies we've had. As you note, the Deck 10 aft balconies are substantially larger (and also include recliners), but they also lack some privacy as we could look directly down into much of their exterior space. Passengers leaning over from the Great Outdoors on Deck 12 could not see into our balconies.

The kids participated in some of the kids' club (aka Splash Academy through age 12) activities but were not overly enthused. One comment they made was that many of the activities spanned the entire range of age groups from age 6 onwards and they would have preferred more activities with age group peers.

One of our children ended up spending quite a bit of time on the cruise playing pickup soccer games with other kids his age and older on the Sports Deck. It was neat to watch him playing with a mixed group of German, Italian, and Spanish teens. Although most did not share a common language, they very rapidly learned one another's names so they could form teams, communicate while playing, and compliment others for good play. Very cool to see. Unfortunately, the Sports Deck often closed down in the evenings.

Food Onboard

A quick comment on dining.

For breakfast we alternated between the buffets and the Grand Pacific. I personally preferred the wider range of choices available in the buffets for breakfast, including the made to order omelette/egg stations. Seating at peak times in the buffet areas could get a little tight. I appreciate good coffee and I liked the "espresso" type coffee available at the coffee stations, and there are also more traditional drip brews available as well.

We usually ate together in one of the MDRs for dinner. The vegetarians in our party found the MDR selections a little limited compared to some other cruise lines (Disney and Princess, for example). On the days we ate there the revolving menu at Alizar seemed more vegetarian friendly, but that may have been by chance. We tended to dine by 6:15pm and had no problems being seated immediately in either of the MDRs. Alizar, which is smaller, did seem to have lines form as we ate dinner. For the rest of us, food at dinner in the MDRs was fine if not outstanding with some reasonable options. We did find some other very good "free" options which became favorites, including the chicken wings at Blue Lagoon.

The one very special dining experience we had was at the Chef's Table held on Day 3 in a privately partitioned area of Le Bistro. This was our first experience with this exclusive option and we learned about it by chance when we were approached by one of the dining staff while dining at the Great Outdoors.

I've posted some pictures and comments on another CC thread: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2069850

Although the $99 per person price was high, but we enjoyed some of the best things we've ever eaten while at this meal and we also enjoyed the continuous narration by the Executive Chef throughout the several hour dining experience. There are 4 wine pairings (they are generous with their pours and refills) and also an after dinner drink included in the price. We shared the table with 8 others and enjoyed the evening immensely.

I've since learned on the other thread that the menus for these exclusive events are common across all NCL ships, unfortunately, but we'll still think about doing this again when next on NCL. Owing to the small size of the event that is sometimes only held once per cruise, booking can sometimes be a challenge according to other posters.

Here's a gratuitous photo selected from those on the other thread, above. Sea bass. Yum.

I am loving your review! We leave on July 26 for the same cruise.

We usually ate together in one of the MDRs for dinner. The vegetarians in our party found the MDR selections a little limited compared to some other cruise lines (Disney and Princess, for example). On the days we ate there the revolving menu at Alizar seemed more vegetarian friendly, but that may have been by chance.

Thanks for your comments on the mini suite. Your experience does seem to be in line with that I've heard.

I apologise for breaking up the flow, but I wonder whether you could just clarify something else for me.

Your comment above seems to suggest that the menus in the MDR's are the standard menus where there is one side of the menu that is the same every day and the other side changes, plus a chefs special every day. That is what I would expect.

However, recent reviews of the Jade have left some doubt over this. These are some quotes from recent reviews:

"The "main" dining rooms have THE SAME MENU EVERY DAY"

"In the Grand Pacific The Menu is boring and remains the same except for a chefs option"

"The menus did not change, from one day to the next."

I am used to taking reviews with a pinch of salt, but the number of these comments have led me to wonder whether there is some particular issue with the Jade.

Can you just confirm that the menus did have the section that changes each night please.

Thanks.

Thanks for your comments on the mini suite. Your experience does seem to be in line with that I've heard.

 

I apologise for breaking up the flow, but I wonder whether you could just clarify something else for me.

 

Your comment above seems to suggest that the menus in the MDR's are the standard menus where there is one side of the menu that is the same every day and the other side changes, plus a chefs special every day. That is what I would expect.

 

However, recent reviews of the Jade have left some doubt over this. These are some quotes from recent reviews:

 

"The "main" dining rooms have THE SAME MENU EVERY DAY"

 

"In the Grand Pacific The Menu is boring and remains the same except for a chefs option"

 

"The menus did not change, from one day to the next."

 

I am used to taking reviews with a pinch of salt, but the number of these comments have led me to wonder whether there is some particular issue with the Jade.

 

Can you just confirm that the menus did have the section that changes each night please.

 

Thanks.

Happy to answer to the best of my ability. I believe that, as you note, the left side of the menu remained constant and the right side did change. However, because we varied our dinner restaurants over this relative short cruise and skipped the MDR two of the seven nights, I might not have picked up on repeated items, especially at the Grand Pacific. I'm fairly certain that the right side of the Alizar menu changed over the nights we were there, but I may need to defer to others who've followed this more closely. One thing I did notice, though, was the re-labeling of identical appetizers on the menu the night before at the Grand Pacific that appeared on the menu at Alizar the next night with a slightly different name.

Hopefully others can shed more light on this than I can. Sorry to not be able to be more definitive.

Thanks. That does sound like the usual menus. I assume that those reviewers just looked at one side. Odd that so many did the same thing.

Among all the port stops, we struggled the most in planning for Santorini and ended up exploring the island on our own. We had looked at some private tour options but did not find as much reliable information on tour operators online as we usually hope for. (One operator whom I emailed did not win our trust by only responding several months later.) We were most interested in exploring Oia and were a little nervous about getting ashore by tender and then up the hill to Fira by cable car to meet a private tour on time, especially if the port was going to be crowded that day. I imagine the private tour groups have this all down to a routine though and we saw a number of groups getting assembled outside of the top cable car station. (If you are taking an NCL tour there is a tender to a different port than Fira followed by a bus ride up the hill in most cases.)

We found the CruiseTT website very helpful for learning that only one other large ship (Serenade of the Seas) had a Santorini port stop scheduled that day and was scheduled for a morning arrival and an early afternoon departure in contrast to our 2pm arrival and 10pm departure. It turned out that another smaller cruise ship also was in port but that did not seem to add too much to our tendering time or cable car wait.

The tenders are run by a local boat union and operated smoothly and efficiently. Once we arrived at the tender dock at the base of the mountain from Fira we headed for the cable car station where we purchased tickets for 5 euros per person. Each car can hold up to six. There's discussion on the Santorini port of call threads on using the donkeys vs. cable car vs. walking and I don't want to get into the issues here other than to say we elected to take the cable car. The photo below shows the cable car route and the winding path up the hill...

One experience that we did try unsuccessfully to schedule was a free photoshoot with the NCL professional photographers on Santorini. Unfortunately there was some miscommunication when we scheduled this in person at the Photo Desk the day before and we did not receive the map that identified the meeting place. We were left with the impression that we would be met and directed outside of the top table car terminus in Fira. I don't want to point fingers at NCL staff as the fault was likely equally ours in not requesting more clarification. Nevertheless if you schedule this, do make sure to get a map from the Photo Desk for the meeting point in Fira (apparently at a church near the cable car terminus).

After waiting and looking for NCL staff for about 30 minutes near the cable car terminus, we gave up and proceeded to the public bus station to catch a local bus to Oia. It was hot and the kids enjoyed the opportunity for a gelato stop while we waited so it was not a total loss. :)

As others have noted, the Fira bus station is about a 15 minute walk from the top cable car station. Take a left when you exit the station and walk generally forward (east), turning right at the first intersection as needed and then left again so you bearing east until you reach the main road. Turn right (south) at the main road and then walk until you reach the Museum of Prehistoric Thira and then turn left and walk downhill on the street immediately after the museum. You should see signs for the bus station at that point and there are some occasional maps on the street to consult if you feel uncertain. (I'm a guy so wasn't going to ask directions unless I was about to walk off the edge of the caldera...)

The public buses look like green tour buses and have signs listing their destination. We bought tickets onboard along with everyone else (the fare to Oia was 1.60 euros per person one way). Note: although there may be people waiting in some semblance of a line for the buses, we found this deceptive appearance of organized queuing activity rapidly devolved into chaos when the bus was ready to board. A helpful hint may be to aim resolutely for the middle door of the bus to bypass the crowd trying to jam through the front entrance. Although the bus to/from Oia was packed to standing room each way, the conductor was very adept at oozing his way through the bus to collect a fare from everyone. Remarkable to see and worth the ride itself. We also had a very nice chat with some others tourists on the bus. You tend to get to know people easily as personal space concepts get redefined here. The ride to Oia took about 30 minutes.

On arrival to Oia, remember where you disembarked because the return buses will pick up from the same location. There may be bus stop signage but there's a lot going on at this location in Oia and I may have missed it. The non-public tour buses picked up from a slightly different location that was visible from the public stop so don't be deceived by the stand of silver buses slightly down the hill.

By the time we got off the bus in Oia we were ready for a cold drink. We followed the the surge of the crowd to the caldera and were awe-struck when we first caught site of the sea and the graceful cascade of white buildings arrayed on the edge of the cliff. We ended up finding a table at Neptune Restaurant, one of the establishments with a shaded rooftop seating area. After a rest/refreshment/restroom break we walked east along the path with continuous views of the town and sea. Absolutely enchanting. We promised ourselves that one day we'll return to Santorini and stay in one of the cute hotels perched on the side of the cliff and drink cold drinks while watching tourists sweat their way along the path. Ahh but what a path...

A view from Oia on Santorini

A church in Oia

View of Fira at dusk from the ship - Note the winding path from the tender dock to the top and the cable car towers to the left of the path

Although we did not wait for sunset on Santorini (around 8:30pm with last tender departing at 9pm), we enjoyed the view from the ship.

Loving your review and pictures!

Thanks and I wish you all the best on your future cruises!

I am loving your review! We leave on July 26 for the same cruise.

Great, I hope you have a wonderful time. We certainly did!

And thanks for the comment! Always encouraging to know that people are reading and enjoying the post.

Thank you for your beautiful pictures and the review of your cruise. did any staff member stand out to you?

Your pictures are fantastic and your review is bringing back happy memories of our Jade trip last August! :) Looking forward to hearing more and thanks for posting. :)

I am enjoying your review, we get on the ship on 7/26!!!

Feeling overwhelmed at home here with very little plans in the works!!!:confused:

How was the entertainment on the ship? We are also traveling with a 12 year old - he loves comedians but I didn't think they offer any on this sailing?

thanks

Thank you for your review. I'm on the Jade in October and I'm taking notes. Thanks. Oh, I love your pictures.

Thank you for your beautiful pictures and the review of your cruise. did any staff member stand out to you?

You're welcome and thanks for the comment!

Overall I was very impressed on this Jade cruise by how friendly the staff appeared. It seemed that staff (crew and officers) went out of their way to make eye contact and to say hello in passing at almost any opportunity. It was reminiscent of what we've experienced on Disney ships, and in fact I think the officers' greetings this time on the Jade even stood out more than from our Sep 2013 Disney Wonder cruise (they "out-Disneyed", Disney as it were in this respect). Although it's a small thing, this seems to me to elevate the "feel" of the ship and we of course made sure to return the greetings and smiles in turn.

We recognize that most of the crew are doing a job that involves trading opportunities with sacrifices and separation from loved ones (often including young children) and we appreciate their efforts to make our stay enjoyable. I think the ship was likely close to full capacity and it seemed to cause stress on the system and staff at times including one night at Alizar when our server took on additional tables (initially indicated as closed ) and also served us without the benefit of an assistant who had apparently been pulled elsewhere to meet the demands of growing lines. Despite the hard work, he remained friendly and professional and we recognized Ajish for this with a comment card ; thanks again! Our cabin steward Raymond on Dec 11 aft was very good, as all our NCL cabin stewards have been. We also enjoyed the laconic wit of the Captain's commentaries and wish we had a chance to spend some time with him in person. Executive Chef Rodney Bennett was also very entertaining and informative and we appreciated his energy and enthusiasm at the Chef's Table.

This was our second cruise on the Jade and we find ourselves growing increasingly fond of this ship and her crew. (Our first Jade cruise experience too was also excellent, so we were starting at a high baseline...) :)

Thanks for your review and awesome photo's.

On this cruise, Mykonos was a tender port and the tendering process was again very efficient using dedicated local tender boats. The drop off was near the Old Town area of Mykonos, close to shopping and restaurants. For Mykonos we again split our party, with my parents taking the NCL Delos tour to that UNESCO World Heritage Site, mythical birthplace of Artemis and Apollo. My parents described the ruins as impressive but confirmed that the island itself was very hot with no shade. Bringing an umbrella helped somewhat.

The remaining four of us booked a private kayak tour with Mykonos Kayak-Day Tours and Trails. This is a truly wonderful family company run by Kostas, his wife Jo, and their adult sons Nikos and Alexis. During a side conversation Kostas confided that they run these tours "from the heart", and it truly shows. They clearly have thought of all the details to make these tours memorable and enjoyable. Booking was accomplished easily by email with a secure online deposit to secure our spot. We followed email directions to our meeting point by the luxury yacht berths (an easy 10 minute walk from the tender dock) where Kostas picked us up for the drive to the beach where our kayaks and equipment were waiting.

After a very clear orientation on land, they assigned us to single or double kayaks. In total our group of 16 kayaked about 7 km (4.3 miles) over two hours, broken into three segments by a rest/refreshment stop on a beach and then a lunch stop on Bau island (this is the island in the bay with a small red-domed church on a hill). The second segment included photo passes beside the windmills near the Alefkandra harbor and then alongside the bars and restaurants of Little Venice. The lunch stop on Bau island included the opportunity to snorkel in the very clear waters for about 25 minutes and was followed by a 10 minute walk over slightly rough ground to the shade of the church for a picnic lunch. The lunch was wonderful and included freshly-baked local olive bread, a variety of cheeses and luncheon meats, tomatoes, cucumbers, green peppers, home-made tzatziki, olives from the Kostas’ mother’s trees, sesame seed dessert, and was accompanied by Nikos’ description of the importance of each of the foods in Greek life. All throughout the day Jo and her sons accompanied us in their kayaks, providing commentary and answering questions while also taking pictures which they later sent to our email address. The kayaking pace was amenable to persons of different experience levels and the presence of three guides in kayaks enabled the group to spread out based on speed.

Tips: Bring or wear robust-soled shoes for the walk on Bau island and use ample sun protection. Be aware that tours sometimes need to be canceled and refunded because of high wind conditions.

Things they provide: well-maintained kayaks and accessories, life-vests, masks and snorkels, ample bottled water, dry bags, gloves, and kind attention throughout.

This was an outstanding tour with Kostas, Jo, Nikos and Alexis while on Mykonos. Truly a highlight of our trip!

After the tour we were dropped off near the tender dock and decided to walk through the intentionally twisting streets of old Mykonos before returning to the ship. We had read that these streets had been built in an intentionally maze-like pattern in order to confuse pirates. We were soon very cheerfully confused and turned around. I'd definitely recommend saving some time to explore and get lost in this section of the town before returning to the ship!

Mykonos Windmills from the kayaker's perspective

Little Venice

Kayaking from Little Venice to Bau Island and past the Jade at anchor

Delos as seen on the NCL Tour

Just wanted to chime in and say thank you for posting such a great review. I love all the research you did ahead of time! Thanks for sharing!