ExpatBride

I've never seen this look good on anyone.

I'm an American living abroad with my English husband in a third country and we use PureVPN to watch American TV, English football, etc. PureVPN allows you to choose a server by purpose (one is UK sports streaming). I haven't used it onboard a cruise ship, but I use it when I travel and as long as there's a stable internet connection I've never had an issue.

I leave Sunday on the Jade for my third fjords cruise! I know you said that you ate mainly in the buffet, but do you recall if the MDR was open for lunch on port days? DH and I mostly stay onboard and were spoiled 2 years ago on the Star because the MDR was open for lunch every day. We've yet to encounter that again on any line.

And thanks for the tip about not booking specialty restaurants in the early evening on fjords days. This is our first time sailing with the SDP and that hadn't occurred to me.

2 :d

Off Jade last week. My husband isn't one for shows, we usually pop into few and sit where we can sneak out when we have had enough!

We saw a bit of the comedy juggler, and left early. Skipped the Blazing Boots, never heard of any of the performers whose songs they were featuring.

I went to see the acrobat / gymnast duo on my own, it was ok of its type, but many of the audience were obviously enthralled and gave them a standing ovation.

The comedian was Al Brown, not brilliant, but I laughed quite a lot, and we didn't sneak out early.

Elements, we could only get seats in the middle of a row, and were warned that the aisles had to kept clear during the performance. So we resigned ourselves to an hour or so with no escape!

However, it was brilliant! Don't miss it. Even my husband enjoyed it all. The dancing was excellent, well choreographed and executed, and I am a regular attender at modern ballet performances, including the Birmingham Royal Ballet. The illusionist and the aerial gymnasts had roles to play, which added some variety to the spectacle, but overall, it was extremely well done, and we both enjoyed it tremendously. It was inventive and entertaining, (watch out for the charming frogs on their trapeze!) and a lot of fun. My sceptical husband was quite impressed.

Don't miss it!

Thanks for this great overview of the shows. We leave Sunday and DH is onboard for Elements...I'm glad I asked for recommendations :D

He's just replied to say that he hasn't paid any VAT on drinks, which is as I'd expect, but also that he wasn't charged on another purchase, which surprises me.

Thanks for posting back :)

I have a friend currently on the Jade. I've just asked them what their experience has been. I imagine theirs is one where VAT was charged all cruise as it was British Isles.

I'd be curious to see what they say... I'll be on the Jade from Sunday! It's a fjords cruise with a stop in Southhampton. We sailed the fjords on the Star a couple of years ago with the UBP and didn't have to pay VAT. I hope our winning streak continues :cool:

To clarify further.

 

If you are on one of the itineraries where VAT is chargeable, the most current position (as it has been for about 2 years now) is that you will pay the VAT if you are purchasing drinks individually (don't have the UBP).

 

If you have the UBP then you don't pay the VAT on the individual drinks you get. It is however paid (along with the 18% gratuity) on any additional charges, for example if you get a drink costing more than $15 and pay the difference.

Ah, OK. My TA told me that I would need to pay VAT on the price of any drinks while we were docked in Barcelona, even with the UBP. So I was fully expecting to see VAT charges on my account but they never showed up. Your explanation makes a lot more sense!

I'll be Southhampton in a couple of weeks and was expecting to pay the VAT there, too. But now I guess I won't have to!

Did you have the UBP?

I never sail without it :D

When I say the Epic Western Med itinerary, I mean the round trip from Barcelona or Civitavecchia, which also includes Naples, Livorno and some French ports or Majorca.

That's the one I did... R/T from Barcelona, a bunch of Italian ports and Majorca.

Ketchup! Nooo you have to have brown sauce with a bacon sarnie.

Truth! Can you believe I was married to my English husband for over 2 years before he told me about egg banjos and bacon butties?

I love a bathtub and don't have one at home so I'm always keen to have one when I travel, but the upcharge from a balcony to a mini-suite is too steep with not enough reward to make it worth it, IMO. It's just two of us in the cabin, so the only benefit for us from the mini-suite would be the bathtub.

Our food franchises are one of the bad exports we've foisted on the world.

Many people all over the world would disagree. I don't eat fast food, but it was a big deal when we finally got a KFC and Dominos in Denmark and both are still very popular.

And if I'm in need of the ladies' in my travels, I alway look for McDonalds because it's clean and usually free of charge.

People doing the Epic's current Western Med itinerary will have to pay Spanish VAT if they pay for their drinks as you did.

Not necessarily. I sailed the Western Med on the Epic from Barcelona and didn't pay any VAT even though I thought going into it that I would.

3!!!!

But they primarily sell to Spanish people. You might not have many people to talk with on the ship.

Not likely. Most people in Europe (assuming that's where the OP is looking to sail) are bilingual. English is the lingua franca.

My German friends have done an analysis of US expats, and apparently if you are a "wadder", you hate European toilet paper. If you are a folder, you think its the best thing in the entire world. It's pretty much the first thing they ask newcomers.

I've lived abroad for over 7 years and I can't say that I've ever thought much about toilet paper or heard American expats complaining about the toliet paper. They complain blue murder about many things that are different over here, but TP so far hasn't made the list.

That said, I'm highly amused when I buy toilet paper because it says "recycled toilet paper" and that's just... wrong.

When traveling in Europe, I've learned to bring my own toilet paper "just in case". Yes, some of the European toilet paper is basically just too rough/stiff to use.

:') How ever do we survive over here?

We were on a 10 day Jade itinerary recently. There were 3 production shows that they said are all itineraries. Elements - which was their big at the end that included a little bit of everything. Would def recommend that. There was also a country themed dance/singing show (blazing boots). It's more pop country than country; I really enjoyed it but it may not be everyone's thing. There's also a Motown themed dance/singing show (showdown). Wasn't my thing but many people liked it. But those two are easy to skip if you don't care of that style of music.

 

I think they also regularly have a acrobatic duo, magician duo, and comedian; plus a welcome aboard show. The order I would pick to go to those again are: acrobats, comedian, magician, welcome aboard show. You'll also see a bit of all of those in the elements show.

 

So, if doing two, I would recommend elements and the acrobats. After that maybe the country music show and the comedian.

Thanks for this! Elements seems the clear winner of the production shows. DH is English and I think that country and Motown aren't good bets, they're not really my cup of tea, either.

I really appreciate you mentioning the other shows, too. The acrobats seem like a good choice!

I saw Elements on the spirit a week ago and it was AMAZING. Either dump the husband at the bar and go on your own or drag him with you. They are only about an hr long. Either way, that's the one I reccomend 100%

Thanks for the recommendation, that's was the one I was leaning towards! He'll go if I really want to see the show... I'm just trying up my chances of choosing something that he'll like so it's not a one-off :D

In all of our cruises, DH and I have never gone to the shows. I'd love to see a show or two, but it's not DH's thing. We're sailing soon and this time I'd like to go to at least one show... hopefully one that he'll like so much that he'll want to see more :D

Can anyone who's recently sailed on the Jade recommend a show or two that would be a good bet?

I seem I'm late to the party, but if anyone else is in this situation... bring your marriage certificate. I always book in my maiden name so it matches my passport, which I'm too cheap to update, but I've asked at check-in if I could book in my married name and they said as long as a have a bridging document it's fine.

You can easily go on Getaway and do and see everything you want with minimal waits and without making reservations. Part of "freestyle" is that you choose to make the reservations.

Exactly. I've never made reservations and never had an issue. I think my longest wait was 30 minutes for a table at the Asian restaurant on Epic.

They make tablets for business as well.

Yes, but whether or not that's a viable option depends on your line of work. I can't work on a tablet.

If the ban came to pass, the answer would be that you wouldn't take a laptop. You'd bring a tablet (so long as they remain allowed) or you'd rent a laptop at your destination if you really needed one.

How's that going to work for business travelers?