Just back from the Jade and it was unreal

Long time lurker, first time poster.

Got back yesterday from the 7 night Eastern Europe cruise. Was travelling with my younger sister (15) and my parents. As a young adult, I was quite worried that I'd be left on my own a lot with my parents going to bed fairly early and my sister in the teen club, but in reality it was so much better than I had ever hoped for. There were a whole bunch of similarly minded cruisers, some solo travellers, others who were with a friend or two, but mostly in a similar position to myself. We became very close as a group, many of them eating and going ashore together.

I personally stuck with family for most meals, port days and the shows at night but then had the group for swimming, games on the sports court and of course going to Spinnakers and the casino at night. It really was the perfect trip for me.

I will give a few thoughts on each port.

Dubrovnik, Croatia

I would advise people doing this cruise to avoid ship tours at this port. There are really two ways Dubrovnik can be done. A family I became close with over the week chose to take the panoramic taxi tour costing €50, and they highly recommended it as it showed them many of the amazing scenes of Dubrovnik. Most people walked around the city walls and this certainly is a must if visiting Dubrovnik but don't get fooled into paying the $15 for the NCL transfer to and from it. If you exit the ship and cross the road you can take the public bus (1A, 1B or 3) which arrives at the entrance in around 5 minutes and costs 15 kuna per person. You can also walk in around 30 minutes although I would only recommend it if you enjoy long walks because the wall itself takes over an hour to walk around.

Athens, Greece

Everyone's favourite port! Again it is possible to use public transport in the form of the "hop on, hop off" bus. You take the Green line to the Acropolis and then switch to the red line which shows you around Athens, and then take the Green line again to go back to the ship at Piraeus. Alternatively you can choose a taxi tour again here, depending on your own wishes. Athens is about a 25/30 minute drive from the port itself so if you are DIYing it then be sure to aim to arrive at the ship in plenty time.

Kusadasi, Turkey

If you want to go and see the Ephesus then some kind of tour is a must (either a ship tour or a private one) because it is not in walking distance and I'm unaware of any public bus. In this port we decided just to walk around the town which is quite a funny experience as the Turkish salesmen are very funny and a little pushy :D It is definitely the best port for shopping lovers because they are always willing to negotiate a good price for you.

Split, Croatia

In this port we walked around the city before going on the little tourists bus and OMG it was beautiful. I have to confess to knowing nothing about Split before we went but it was definitely somewhere I'd go again. Unless you want to explore a little further then there is no need to take a tour.

Anyway I have to pop out for a little while but am happy to answer questions about ports/the ship in general when I return with some more thoughts later :)

Now some thoughts about the ship itself

-What an awesome ship, I've been on a few absolutely massive ships in my time but they still always take your breath away a little bit when you see them.

-Dat sailout of Venice. Wow.

-Food choices way better than my previous RCI cruises, although the food quality itself was the same, there was far more choice on the Norwegian ship. By the end of the week I was ready to get back to normal homecooked food, though.

-Room steward was very nice as always on ships.

-Drew was one of the best cruise directors I've seen, full of energy and a genuinely good guy. His assistant Rodrigo was also a big star of the week.

-The casino dealers were all very nice and happy to explain the games to inexperienced gamblers, they were also good at dealing with some less than friendly gamblers who were being unfair to them.

-The shows were quite good. My favourites were the magic show with David and Abi Haines and the beatles tribute show. Also loved the ending to elements where some of the most loved crew members were rolled out onto the stage.

-All guests hand in their passports on day 1 and collect them after we leave Piraeus, just a word of warning for anyone doing this itinerary.

That's all I can think of for now but I would be happy to take questions from anyone doing this cruise or sailing on the Jade in general :)

Heya! I'm on this cruise next week and just wanted to ask a few questions about your thoughts! Could you explain more about the handing in of passports? I'm scheduled to do excursions in a couple of ports and just wanted to know more about this!

Was the Jade in good condition? I've been on NCL several times before but never been on the Jade so very much looking forward to it!

Thanks so much!!

Heya! I'm on this cruise next week and just wanted to ask a few questions about your thoughts! Could you explain more about the handing in of passports? I'm scheduled to do excursions in a couple of ports and just wanted to know more about this!

 

Was the Jade in good condition? I've been on NCL several times before but never been on the Jade so very much looking forward to it!

 

Thanks so much!!

Hi, hope you're well :)

Pretty simple, really. You hand your passport in to security as soon as you board the ship and then you collect it from guest services any time after leaving Athens. The reason for this is that the next port (Turkey) is not in the EU Schengen area so the port authorities have to check passports in order to send the ship off to the next place, in the same way that an international flight would have passport checks. All the other stops are in Schengen so you won't need your passport on the preceding days.

The Jade appeared to be in good condition :)

Hope you have a fantastic cruise :)

I am glad you enjoyed the Jade, and that specific itinerary. My wife and I did three weeks aboard the Jade in May of 2014, and probably enjoyed that itinerary the most. Places like Split aren't heard about much here at home, but are spectacular what they have to offer. We too would like to go back and do it again. Thanks of your review.;)

I am glad you enjoyed the Jade, and that specific itinerary. My wife and I did three weeks aboard the Jade in May of 2014, and probably enjoyed that itinerary the most. Places like Split aren't heard about much here at home, but are spectacular what they have to offer. We too would like to go back and do it again. Thanks of your review.;)

No problem. I definitely have the post trip blues but writing about how wonderful it was eases that a bit :D

Hi, hope you're well :)

 

 

Pretty simple, really. You hand your passport in to security as soon as you board the ship and then you collect it from guest services any time after leaving Athens. The reason for this is that the next port (Turkey) is not in the EU Schengen area so the port authorities have to check passports in order to send the ship off to the next place, in the same way that an international flight would have passport checks. All the other stops are in Schengen so you won't need your passport on the preceding days.

 

The Jade appeared to be in good condition :)

 

 

Hope you have a fantastic cruise :)

Thanks so much :)

Thanks so much :)

No problem, anytime.

P.S. If you're eating breakfast in the garden cafe look out for "washy" guy and "coffee" guy. You'll know exactly who I mean and everyone's favourite two crew members onboard :D

Hi Edin Cruiser.

Have been on a 14 nighter on the Jade and she is our favourite ship thus far. I must say Split is amazing, however if you go back there, make the effort to travel to a little town called TROGIR. Absolutely beautiful. You can catch a local bus from the port which takes you there. From memory it was about half an hour trip. Make sure you do it.... Wont be sorry.

Cheers Bob & Christine . ( Downunder.)

-All guests hand in their passports on day 1 and collect them after we leave Piraeus, just a word of warning for anyone doing this itinerary.

This depends on your nationality and/or visa status. As Finnish(/EU) citizens we have never had to hand in our passports on any cruise we've taken - this specific itinerary included.

If you exit the ship and cross the road you can take the public bus (1A, 1B or 3) which arrives at the entrance in around 5 minutes and costs 15 kuna per person.

Question: was there an ATM in port or near the bus stop? Where did you get the local currency for the bus?

This depends on your nationality and/or visa status. As Finnish(/EU) citizens we have never had to hand in our passports on any cruise we've taken - this specific itinerary included.

On this cruise ALL passengers were required to hand their passports in. We are British nationals ourselves and I actually saw an Italian question it at the port but were told that everyone would be handing them in.

Question: was there an ATM in port or near the bus stop? Where did you get the local currency for the bus?

I can't remember where the ATMs were located but surely there will be one in the area.

We actually changed money into Kuna before leaving the UK.

Have you seen people travelling with Picture ID's? Swiss Citizens only need picture ID's for Turkey, and some people of our group only have Identity Cards.

Thanks!

Have you seen people travelling with Picture ID's? Swiss Citizens only need picture ID's for Turkey, and some people of our group only have Identity Cards.

 

Thanks!

I'm unsure about this because they seemed pretty strict on passports. Best to contact NCL.

I did this route two weeks ago and also loved it

Have you seen people travelling with Picture ID's? Swiss Citizens only need picture ID's for Turkey, and some people of our group only have Identity Cards.

 

Thanks!

I'm unsure about this because they seemed pretty strict on passports. Best to contact NCL.

They made everyone do it on the 6/20 cruise

No problem. I definitely have the post trip blues but writing about how wonderful it was eases that a bit :D

Thank you for your wonderful posts. PLEASE write more!

Our family is sailing on the Jade for two weeks out of Venice on July 11. I will definitely be looking to read more from you.

:)

Mariann

Thank you for your wonderful posts. PLEASE write more!

 

Our family is sailing on the Jade for two weeks out of Venice on July 11. I will definitely be looking to read more from you.

 

:)

 

Mariann

There is nothing more off the top of my head to write about but feel free to bombard me with questions otherwise I will have to bore all my friends back home by talking about this wonderful trip so much :D

Thank for you review. We did this cruise a couple years ago only we did b2b.

The sail away though the Venice canal is just so breathtaking that we even got up in the early mornings for the sail in and sunrise. to be able to do this in and out 4 times was worth the money alone. We also had an aft cabin so we had 180 degree view.

And Croatia there are not enough words to explain this port.

The Jade we have been on a view times and we were on it on its last voyage of the Hawaiian Islands when it was called Pride of Hawaii, so we love the theme of the ship.

There is nothing more off the top of my head to write about but feel free to bombard me with questions otherwise I will have to bore all my friends back home by talking about this wonderful trip so much :D

Let me see how I might prompt you to speak more of your cruise.......my husband and I are sailing with our 3 teenagers.......M is 16 (girl) and leaving for college in the fall; E is 14 and she and her twin brother, M, enter high school in the fall.

They have cruised on Royal Caribbean and loved it......they love everything about cruising: the pools, the excursions, the restaurants, the frozen yogurt, the ice skating (Independence of the Seas), towel animals, rock climbing, mini golf, shopping, wave rider......you name it, they love it.

They tend not to hang out in the teen club, but they do make friends easily......they like playing video games but are not likely to hang out there for hours.

On the Independence, all 3 did spend most if not all of their time with my husband and me........and as the Mediterranean cruise is quite 'excursion intensive,' I expect that will be the case again.

So.......anything you think teens in general might be interested in knowing. My 16 year old, particularly, wonders what attire is best for shore excursions.

TIA

On this cruise ALL passengers were required to hand their passports in. We are British nationals ourselves and I actually saw an Italian question it at the port but were told that everyone would be handing them in.

Is this only for this itinerary or also for the Greek Islands route?

Let me see how I might prompt you to speak more of your cruise.......my husband and I are sailing with our 3 teenagers.......M is 16 (girl) and leaving for college in the fall; E is 14 and she and her twin brother, M, enter high school in the fall.

 

They have cruised on Royal Caribbean and loved it......they love everything about cruising: the pools, the excursions, the restaurants, the frozen yogurt, the ice skating (Independence of the Seas), towel animals, rock climbing, mini golf, shopping, wave rider......you name it, they love it.

 

They tend not to hang out in the teen club, but they do make friends easily......they like playing video games but are not likely to hang out there for hours.

 

On the Independence, all 3 did spend most if not all of their time with my husband and me........and as the Mediterranean cruise is quite 'excursion intensive,' I expect that will be the case again.

 

So.......anything you think teens in general might be interested in knowing. My 16 year old, particularly, wonders what attire is best for shore excursions.

 

TIA

I would suggest just to make sure that she is comfortable. It will be hot, so remember to drink plenty of water. Most of the ports will involve a lot of walking so I'd definitely tell her to get a pair of "sneakers" if she doesn't own them already. Our cruise director told us stories of people that have worn high heels or flip flops and it hasn't ended well :o

Is this only for this itinerary or also for the Greek Islands route?

I would think it's only the Adriatic one as the Greece one is entirely EU based.

How were the bars in the evening by the way? We have the UBP and looking forward to some drinks in the Spinnaker Lounge!

How were the bars in the evening by the way? We have the UBP and looking forward to some drinks in the Spinnaker Lounge!

Spinnakers was always jumping, everywhere else always seemed kinda dead.