djBobby

Well finally home after a pretty intense week, Thanks for everybody's advice on the post, had a ball, all the staff onboard were great, everybody had a smile on their face no matter what time of day. met some amazing people and seen some amazing places.

Im sure i'll be doing it again in the future :)

full review and photos to follow :)

Thanks for all the advice, much appreciated. Other than exchanging my euros next week and a bit of last minute shopping this weekend I think I'm good to go :)

I shall report back with my review in a couple of weeks :)

Thanks, that clears a lot up I've budgeted £50 for each port day changed in to local currency but as mentioned in OP I'll be carrying more euros than I need as I'll be staying a night in Venice at the end of cruise so there should always be a back up.

I'm trying to keep card usage to a bare minimum besides using it for the on board account obviously. id rather know exactly where I am with money

"Remember to tick the box saying that you DON'T want the ship to change your money- let your cc do that."

Can you expand on this a little please?

One question I did have, is there a way of monitoring how much you're spending whilst on board?

Thanks for all your replies.

Looking forward to actually setting sail now, just starting to worry (probably unnecessarily) about the little things. Im sure it will be fine when i get there though :)

Thanks for the reply, is it best to take all euros? i know most places in turkey will accept these I'm just not sure on Split or Dubrovnik or whether its the best option or if i should get local currency for these ports.

In just over 2 weeks i'll be setting sail on my first cruise on NCL Jade :)

which comprises of Venice, dubrovnik, split, Piraeus and Kusadasi

I'm planning on using my credit card for on board credit and quite probably pre paying the AI drinks package and gratuities. so i think I'm all good on that side of things

That said I'm completely lost as to how much i need to take for port days, Venice and greece shouldn't be a problem as I'm staying a extra night in venice so will be making sure i have plenty of euros but I've no idea what how much I'm going to need for the other ports and don't want to go completely overboard and have to change a load back. I plan on making my own way round rather than excursions.

Also will i still need to take USD if I've pre payed for items onboard?

Has anyone done this cruise and may have some ideas on the cost of getting round, food, drink etc?

Rob

One additional benefit. You may have the opportunity of taking photos of your ship passing by Piazza San Marcos as it heads out for its next cruise.

That thought hadn't even crossed my mind but a great idea. Thanks

it's a little exciting now everything is booked, NCL website has a little countdown timer...... 105 days. Seems like a lifetime away at the moment.

Well, it's done!

Payed the deposit for 7 nights on jade for the 26th September. Booked a hotel for Venice for the return date. Probably could of made the airport on the day like suggested but hey, who's going to knock an extra night in Venice?

So now the countdown begins :)

Twinkle993 be interesting to hear how you get on on epic, I was strongly considering that but settled for what I have now

Thanks again for the suggestions, i think I'm going to go ahead and arrange my own flights as suggested.

I'm tempted to book the extra day before as suggested earlier but a little worried on return as arrival is stated as 8:00 and flights are either 11:30 or 11:50, doesn't leave much margin for error.

Thanks, i might take you up on that, i'm sure i'm going to have plenty of questions. On the plus side to I've just had a friend message me interested in joining so there may be scope for some more savings :)

Thanks, I've already had a nose round on there but will be sure to take a proper look and keep checking back. I'm sure I'm going to have plenty of ncl related questions in the run up

Thanks to you and all for your help, I'm sure I'll be posting more questions as the time draws closer :)

I'd be flying from Manchester, I think flights land around 9am local time and departure is listed as 18:00. Not sure how long before you should arrive but I figured that should leave plenty of time even if there was delays etc.

as mentioned it was the final day that worried me more. I think arrival in Venice was 8:00 and flight was at 11:15 which doesn't leave much room for error/problems.

From what I've seen everything seems to be with in reasonable travelling distance there? Flights in are early morning so plenty of time to navigate my way there, return looked a little close check in was mid morning and I think it only left a couple of hours to disembark and travel. Hence looking at the extra night. Seems pretty obvious to me that half the price and a extra night should win hands down but it's always best to check with those that have the experience.

right i think this is the final question.... for now :)

I think I'm going to go for the adriatic, greece and turkey sailing from venice onboard the Jade for late september.

Looking on the ncl website this package is nearly £400 dearer for a fly cruise. I've looked around and can arrange my own flights and an extra night in venice on return for a snip over £200

Would people recommend fly cruise for a first timer or am i better building my own package and saving a few bob?

Thanks for that. I think its getting close to 90 days to the time i'm looking at round about now so i'll keep checking and see what happens. fingers crossed.

I'm terribly excited about the whole idea yet incredibly nervous at the same time

"Don't over think it. Just enjoy" - sounds like wise words :)

I had also looked at the jade, i suppose its more NCL I've been looking at rather than specifically the epic.

A cruise is something I've always wanted to do but now i look at it the amount of lines and ships is pretty daunting and I'm a bit worried about getting the wrong one.

Studio cabins do look amazing and i'll definitely be trying to go down that road (does the jade have these to?) but as i said i'm not really hopeful that at this late stage any of the limited number will be available. i'm led to believe these sell out fast?

Does anybody have any thoughts on the book now or risk looking for a late deal?

Sorry i should of been a bit more specific.

Ncl is a western med cruise

P&O is Venice, Kotor, Corfu, rome, monte carlo, genoa. ( not quite sure what this is classed as)

Hi Paul, thanks for the reply.

from what can I've seen during my research is that a studio cabin is going to be nigh on impossible at this point so whichever line i use its likely I'm going to have to pay the single supplement for an inside cabin.

Hello to all,

as the title suggests i'm looking to book my first cruise for some time in september. I'm 33 years old and going to be a solo traveller, I pretty much am decided on the med but that's when the problems start! I've been reading and looking now for the last 2 weeks at various options but am struggling to decide on a cruise line that may be best suited to me.

I spoke to a travel agent last week who has recommended p&o Oceana as a good introduction to cruising for myself, but after all the reading etc i'm not sure that this is best suited to me, other lines seem to offer more in terms of entertainment, facilities and so on.

every time i look i keep coming back to NCL Epic, i'd love to do a royal caribbean cruise but the price jumps considerably between the 2.

I was hoping that there may be others in a similar boat to me (pardon the pun) and/or more seasoned cruisers that may be able to offer a little advice.

So heres a brief rundown.....

33

solo traveller

looking for a little relaxation and recharge time,

wishing to pack the dslr and do some sightseeing

but also have some decent entertainment options on board.

Finally.... im pretty flexible on when in september i can go, a few weeks notice should be enough so am i best waiting till nearer the time and checking for late deals or booking early and getting it out the way?

Thanks in advance,

Rob :)