old nutter

Cagliari has a free shuttle bus out of the port and the town starts across the road. Jade often stops there on Sunday and shops are closed but everyone goes out walking.

In Istanbul it stops right in the city near a tramstop that goes across the Golden Horn bridge to the two big mosques and the palace. The sunset view across the Golden Horn is absolutely fabulous from the top deck of the ship with added sound effects from all of the calls to prayers across the city - awesome experience.

Been on the Jade, never stayed in suite 9004 but we have stayed in one of the two-bed suites in the Haven. As you say, 9004 is an H3 and the two-bed Haven suite is an H4. The H4 is a bit smaller than the H3 and is around £300/$450 less. The H3 is front facing and so the balcony has special door arrangements onto the front balcony in case it is windy when he ship is under way. The H4 is about in he middle of the ship facing out from the side. The H4 balcony is a bit small (two loungers and a small table are possible and we have also had an upright chair from inside out here as well.

You didn't say how many of you are going, so the second much smaller second bedroom would be a bit wasted if just the three. However, we cruise as a threesome (38 year single )daughter and the privacy of the room and the extra toilet ans shower are priceless. The H3 has a separate section for he main bedroom, but more than two and one of the other day seats has to be made up for you each night.

The biggest issue for us between the H3 and H4 is the access to the Haven itself. 9004 is quite a long way from the Haven because there is five decks and almost half the ship between them. You will have access to the Haven but the only lift to it is midships.

The H4 suites are on either side of the Haven and you can just walk across the corridor and you are in. If you are intending to use the small pool or the mini-fitness room that distance would be a bit of an issue. There is also a very large private sundeck accessible from the Haven on Deck 15 and again, going up there would be quite a trek from 9004.

As well as the H4s next to the Haven on deck 14, there are two H5 suites that are the same as the H4s but without the extra small bedroom/toilet/shower. Those two H5s are about another £300/$450 less than the H4s and although the layout is identical to the H4s in the main area are obviously a bit smaller overall.

Hope that helps. Feel free to ask any other specific questions about the Jade in general or it's Haven in particular, if you want.

So now this has again, turned into another "buy insurance" issue.

So tired of this.

The issue was a journalist writing an article on NCL, to slam them, now folks think they need to tell us that we should buy insurance every time we travel.

The majority of posts are discussing the incorrect and unfair content of that article. Posters are merely linking this sloppy journalism to the solution that the families could have taken to avoid the situation that this journalist chose to print.

The bottom line to the subject of the article is that if you do not take up travel insurance that is entirely your decision because you wish to take the potential financial risk yourself rather than paying someone else to take that risk. If all goes well then fine, you will be better off than those who do choose to pay for the insurance but if not, don't blame the cruise line and then use public or social media to blame anyone but yourself - that is the key point of personal experiences mentioned in this thread.

If you have had cancer or heart problems you can end up having to pay anything up to 30%, even if you haven't still got problems. I have seen some companies quoting up to $4000 for two weeks in the USA for a UK resident who has had cancer in the past year.

Some companies will quote and then get on all sorts of support sites and I am sure some of these companies just say they will then quote for people with past conditions and give silly figures in the hope that the punter will opt to buy insurance without medical cover for a more realistic figure.

All insurance is a gamble for both sides. Like all gambling, the house owns the game and always wins. Travel insurance is a gamble and it is poor value if you never need it. However, if things go wrong big-time the trip could easily end up up the bankruptcy court. It really is a big-time gamble with no wins for the traveler if all goes well but huge potential losses if not.

The following comments do not refer at all to the new ships because they are different in a number of relevant ways.

We have been on the Jade several times over the past few years. We have also been on a couple of Cunard ships (QM2 and Queen Victoria), and our first cruises were on the Thomson Spirit, so we have been on a very wide variety, albeit not all of those mentioned mid-range ones in this set of posts.

The Spirit was OK, but I would suggest that the combination of age and money spent, it cannot even come close to competing with either Jade or QM2/Queen Victoria when it comes to decor and wear and tear. But then it is way cheaper, so very much a case of getting what you paid for.

When comparing decor on Jade with two Cunard ships, they are as different as chalk and cheese. Cunard go for a very high spec old fashioned look that is designed for the US market as well as a older clients who want to re-live the days of the old trans-Atlantic look. Personally, although I am now the wrong side of 70, this style is way too plain and boring for me. I like good quality wood, but like carpets, I don't like it on all of the walls as well as the furniture!

The Jade is what it is, a brash design that was designed for the Pacific Islands feel. I have no problems with that for a holiday home. I have been to Blackpool in my youth enough to know how to enjoy OTT decor on holiday. If I wanted quiet surroundings, I might as well stay at home and rock in our chairs in the conservatory and pretend to be at sea. NCL do not try to hide the south seas heritage and style of the Jade, and there have certainly been enough comments about it on here for nobody to be under any illusions about it before booking. And what is the difference between bright plastic birds and bronze statues as long as they fit in with the whole style?

As far as food goes, the comparison is difficult because we have always sailed on NCL in a suite. The main difference between Jade and the Cunard ships is that in Jade, you eat main meals with everyone, whereas the Grills on Cunard are truly a ship within a ship for all food. The food in the Grills on Cunard is special. It always looks and tastes like it has been prepared just for you. The only problem with it is that in common with all nouveaux cuisine derivatives, the portion sizes are certainly not going to add much weight to your girth! Nice if that is what you enjoy.

On the Jade (and the other Jewel Class NCL ships) the food is mid-range. The buffet is varied but lacking in finesse, although the freshly cooked after dinner crepes are as good as any I have had anywhere. As to the two main restaurants, there are two sides to the menu, as has been said several times, there is one that does not change with a reasonable range of standard offerings and another that changes both daily and with the ports visited. There is usually a regional speciality plus a fairly wide selection of different dishes with some seafood, some meat a small selection of veggie dishes. Where there might be a bit of confusion is in the suites, breakfast and lunch can be taken in Cagney’s. The menus here do not change at all for breakfast and lunch and they can get a little boring on a long cruise. Having said that, the lunch sweet of fresh berries is something I never got tired of.

The menus are available to view at the door prior to going into each of the two main restaurants and in the main atrium before every mealtime, so lack of choice would not be any reason for walking out of the dining room. Poor or rude service or badly presented food certainly would be a reason for leaving. After filling the rest of your innards at the buffet, I would certainly be making immediate contact with the Hotel Director or Restaurant Manager to make sure it only ever happens the once.

I am not saying that any cruise line is better than any other merely that they are different from the water up and apart from having a pointed end and a blunt end, comparisons of both style, decor and food are very subjective. However, there is enough information for anyone who comes onto this board not to be either surprised or disappointed enough to complain unless something is truly worse than the norm. So if there is something you have a particular "bee in your bonnet" about, or have a raw nerve about something you intensely dislike such as bad service or plastic birds, find out first and then book the one that best meets your wishes (and pockets) and enjoy it.

The soft drinks issue is an interesting exercise in logic where something that is true is not necessarily the opposite of something that is false!

From looking through various bits of the web pages, it looks as though anyone who wants the adult drinks package must buy it for all adults travelling with them for all days of the cruise. If they also have children travelling with them, they will also have to buy all of the children the soft drinks package for all days of the cruise. One page on the web site even suggests that everyone travelling on the same credit/debit card and having a common payment card on their key cards must also buy the relevant drinks package.

Where the negative logic seems to come in is when the adults don't want any drinks package at all, but do want to buy the soft drinks package for one or more of the children in the party. This appears to be permissible with the only proviso that they must buy it for all days of the cruise.

I suspect that this logical puzzle may have been beyond the skill of the web page designers as well as the customer service operator. The problem stems from the wierd issue that the answer you get is highly dependent on the content of the question you ask and is even dependent to some extent on the language you use to ask it (bearing in mind the fact that US English sometimes only has a passing relationship with English English)!

The bottom line would seem to be that the OP can buy a soft drinks package for their child without them having to buy it as well. However, if they want the alcoholic package, they will have to buy the soft drinks package for their chld as well.:)

By the way, Scotch is a drink not a nationality (independent or not) - can be a very sensitive issue for some. By the way, I am English but I worked and drank with a Glaswegian for many years.

Layers are the best answer. The northern end of the Adriatic can be pretty cool at times in October, but as you move south it usually warms up considerably, particularly when you are in the sun. The main issue will be the difference between out in the sun and in the shade. The wind can be chilly when you are not out in the sun and then when you are in the sun you will quickly bake if you have too much on. Hence, we always take several lightweight items such as cotton tops, a jumper and a water/windproof jacket (one that can be pulled inside itself into a small pouch is ideal). Humidity is rarely an issue at that time of year so multiple layers (and a small shopping bag to carry them in when not being worn) work pretty well.

Kotor and Dubrovnik would swing any cruise decision for me. The sail in and out of Kotor is magnificent. It is at the head of what is known as the most southerly fjord in Europe. It takes around 90 mins to 2 hours to sail into and out of the fjord and the mountain sights on either side for the whole time are fabulous.

Kotor town itself is beautiful and there are several excellent excursions up into the mountains and down the other side to Budva. King Nicholas ruled Montenegro until 1918 and the children of him and his wife Milena married into royal families across Europe. He was also close to the Russian Tsars. Many of the wedding gifts that were accumulated are preserved in the King's Palace in the capital of Montenegro, Cetinje. The palace looks little more than a big house, but go inside and you will see items that represent years of European history. Many of the items reepresent the only remaining ones of their type because most of the similar Russian items in particular did not survive the fall of the Tsars.

There are also lots of other beautiful buildings in Cetinje. The road up from Kotor to Cetinje is spectacular and the coach drivers will usually stop part way up the mountain so that you can look down into Kotor. As you look down to the road, you should be able to see the road form the letter "M" at one point. This was supposedly designed to be a tribute by the King to his wife Melina.

The trips usualy carry on down the side of the mountal overlooking the Adriatic into Budva and finally go back to Kotor via a tunnel in the mountain. One interesting peculiarity of Montenegro is that it does not have it's own currency and used to use the German Mark. Montenegro is not part of the Eurropean Union, but when the Euro took over from the Mark, the government decided to accept the Euro as it's national currency. This has two effects on cruises. First one is that you can use the same currency as used by most Mediteranean counties rather than having to change to another one. Secondly, since is is outside of the EU, any cruise stopping there, does not have to charge the VAT from the starting country for the entire cruise!

Dubrovnik is just Dubrovnik. Fantastic scenery, superb buildings, amazing history and some of the best ice cream outside Italy.

These two port stops are arguably amongst the best anywhere in Europe, so the only other place to add to the ultimate cruise in the Med/Adriatic is Split, but if only Kotor and Dubrovnik are available, choose the one visiting them and you will not be dissapointed.

Back to the subject. Before anyone suggests that a potential bonus is cancelled just because some people "abuse" it to get a cheaper deal, please look at it a bit more widely.

What if you have a family emergency or medical issue and need to move your cruise to a date when you can go and if that may not be covered by any travel insurance the fact that the company allows you to move the date to when you can go is an important benefit and is an example of compasionate customer service. The company is still getting your business, you still get to go on a cruise and everyone gains. That is why they allow you to do it at present.

Maybe, if you consider the process is being abused just to get a few dollars off after someone has blocked a potential cabin for months by booking early, the answer could be to block anyone from cancelling and then re-booking the same cruise/dates. Difficult to administer, but at least it would appear more fair.

There is another potential banana skin now come up concerning visas in Turkey. They have changed their rules from 10 April 2014 and it will not now be possible to get one at the airport if you are arriving there like you used to be able to do. It shouldn't make any difference for cruise stoppers since they do not need visas as things stand but the danger that something might go wrong as they begin the changes must be there. Passengers arriving by air starting cruises that from Turkey will be affected (obviously not NCL at the moment).

Just to show how these things can go wrong when politicians and computer programmers get involved, have a look at: http://greece.greekreporter.com/2014/04/19/after-visa-change-cypriots-urged-to-avoid-turkey/

14012 is the same. We have cruised in 14512 on both Pearl and Jade and the only other issue that has been a minor bug in that the private upstairs sun deck is above this suite (and the others with the "5" in their numbers) on the port side. There is a public sun deck on the starboard side but it is a bit of a trip to get round there. If you take 14012 you have your balcony and bath/shower windows on the starboard side and the sun deck on the port so if anything happens that you want to see on either side, you are well set for either (do dress if you race out of the shower to see something on the other side though:D).

We have not had any major noise issues from 14512 although we did hear a bit of a bump once when the crew were moving the sun beds to tie them down when we headed into a Force 9 one night!

By the way, the two suites without the second bedroom (14514 and 14014) do not have the overhang either, but if you want that great second bedroom, that information is a bit redundant I suppose.

Who does NCL intend to punish? Their passengers? We booked believing we would have a certain number of ports and sea days. We don't want another sea day to replace Tunis. We want another port. Any port. What about Casablanca? I don't think it is right for NCL to stiff us.

We have previously discussed the impact of the NCL decision on the two following similar cruises and it is clear that the decision had a significant impact on costs because the change removed an EU dispensation to charge VAT as well as removing a port call that was part of the original itinerary. The VAT issue will remain to affect the fall/winter cruises unless an alternative non-EU port call can be fitted in (probably not logistically possible in the event).

The two decisions (initiation and resultant) that precipitated the issue are both difficult to fathom but the ramifications of those two decisions seem out of all proportion to the crucial event. It would appear that it was a nationality (passport/border) issue affecting a very small group, between two countries that have been involved in complex and difficult political relationships for many years not an ethnic/race issue because others who might otherwise have been affected were apparently not. It is really hard to see how the management of a a second tier cruise company can possibly think that they are going to solve a problem that has evaded the United Nations and many very eminent international politicians for many years, so it would be really interesting to see beyond the PR smoothing story to see what the reason for cancellation really was - I doubt we will ever know. Could it possibly be that they will make more money from a sea day than would have been the case from poor take-up of trips due to local instabilities and this dispute made the decision to cancel any more visits easier to justify? A straight commercial decision would certainly make more sense, albeit not so easy for the NCL PR gurus to make the into the proverbial silk purse.

I do hope that NCL can find a cost-effective solution that will compensate for the change for those taking fall/winter cruises that were due to call in Tunis, mind you finding EU countries with stable borders to deal with around the Med/Adriatic must be hard enough, never mind looking at some of the others in the region.

According to all of the information I have seen, the Spa shop has to charge VAT for actual physical products that they sell on closed loop cruises, but the treatment and service charges do not attract VAT on any cruises. I can only assume that the relevant governments must think the charges are already outrageous enough :D

The Epic European cruises (apart from the TAs) currently planned are all closed loops so will be charging VAT at either the 22% Italy or 21% Spain depending whether they start from Barcelona or Civitavecchia. Could get a bit complicated for back-to-backs with one of them starting from the other country because the rate will change in the middle for those on both cruises.

Interestingly, probably the only non-EU country apart from Turkey plus, the ones in Africa and the Middle East is Montenegro. Since Kotor is arguably the most attractive port in the whole Mediterranean area, we could find a lot more cruises heading there in the future - I really do hope so. I don't think it could handle the Epic, but any of the NCL mid-sized ships could certainly call there. Whilst the sail-out from Kotor is not quite in the same league as Venice (not available to the Epic any more of course any way) the fact that it is the most southerly fjord in mainland Europe makes the hour or so cruising back out to the Adriatic from Kotor one that is not to missed and should be on every European bucket list as far as I am concerned. Add that to the fact that Montenegro is currently in the bizarre position of being the only non-EU country using the Euro as it's national currency so no need for any other money changing. Because Montenegro was too small to have it's own currency, it opted to tie itself to the German Mark when it became independent and obviously then took the Euro when that took over in Germany. Told you Europe was complicated;)

First of all I don't why anyone would want to go there. The place is a rathole just like most countries in that area of the world.

I uphold your right to hold and even make such a sweeping statement. One of the reasons I travel is to broaden my mind and to try to understand a little more about the world in which I live. Nobody wants to live in squalor, ill health and hunger but people often have no choice because there is no way out of where they are. Seeing how some of the lowest standards of living affect people will often give you an idea as to why they hold the views about the rest of us that they do. Having said that, I have travelled quite a bit in East Africa and I have to say that I have met some of the most wonderful and happy people living in conditions that I would not even force a pet rat to live in. Ignoring how the rest of the world exists and pretending that they do not deserve to live as fellow humans is probably the second most frequent cause of wars across history, especially here in Europe and the Middle East where artificial boundaries between some countries have moved around every time there has been a punch-up between the two countries on either side. Better not say what the first cause is or else I will be in trouble again....

By seeing and understanding why things are so horrible in some places we might just be able to make them better. Ignore them and they will eventually come round and bite your rear end and you will not have the slightest idea why that happened. And cruising is probably the best way you can get around and see and meet lots of these different people in lots of different places and hear a little of their history from a local guide. You might just find that these people are fellow humans after all - they just haven't all had the opportunities you have.:)

VAT in the EU is a bit like the local taxes in the US. The imposition of it is EU wide, but both the percentage rates and what they are charged on are decided by each individual country, hence that difference between Spain and Italy. The rates can also be different for different for different things in a country as well!! For instance in the UK there is no VAT charged on uncooked food but it is charged if the same food is heated and served ready to eat. Sounds complicated because it is. These tax things are always going to be complicated in a federal system of historical countries.

The episode when some Jade passengers were not able to get off the Jade in Tunis because of the last minute removal of a non-visa dispensation for them created a lot of steam at the time. The NCL reaction to cross Tunis off any more Western European itineraries because of this inter-country border dispute certainly seemed a bit extreme bearing in mind that the ship had only done one cruise since spending a month on charter to a country that is hardly at the forefront of Human Rights or even national rights in some cases! However, why have a PR organisation if you do not use it to get out of sticky situations with some degree of positive spin at least. The decision was made and that was that. It affected only two cruises in the short term, one almost immediately and the other with a few weeks between, so what were those affects for the 4,500 plus NCL customers affected by that decision?

The first and most obvious affect was the loss of a port stop that was at the top of the list for some because it was not one that appears very often on any cruises. Some may have lost money from not being able to reclaim private tours at worst or just had credit card credits to get back from Tunis trips paid in advance. Those two cruises were/are very port intensive and moving the sea day to a day later unbalanced the timetable for a rest day a little later for some of us older folk - good job I have been to Palma a lot so could spend that day quietly on the ship! The sea day change created by adding the stop in Palma also moved the stop in Cagliari from Saturday to Sunday, so that also meant changes and refunds for some who had booked private trips for the Saturday.

By far the most significant effect for everyone was created by the somewhat strange EU law that says that any cruise that does not have any stop outside of the EU has to levy VAT on all goods bought on the ship for the entire cruise at the rate of the country of the port of embarkation - in this case Italy, where such VAT is charged at 22%. Because Jade was no longer planning to go to Tunis which is outside of the EU, the cruise became a closed-loop EU cruise and the 22% VAT had to be levied on all goods bought on the ship in Gift shops, Spa shop and Photo Gallery etc - bars and speciality cover charges were not affected. Non-EU passengers could apparently re-claim some of the VAT if they bought over around $200 worth of stuff in one day at the same shop via a company called "Global Blue" who will do all of the work to get the VAT back for you for anything between 30 and 40% commission. Effectively, this last-minute itinerary change meant that NCL customers on those Jade cruises now had to face an increase of almost a fifth in the cost of what they spent on the shops for tee shirts, fridge magnets, watches, spa creams and jewellery simply because of that decision to remove the Tunis stop from the two cruises concerned.

Was the cruise worth it - you bet it was - great ship, still with a fantastic crew and a superb wide range of port stops. It was just a shame that the Tunis incident happened and that someone in NCL who probably had no idea just how much the rapid and extreme reaction to it would affect their other customers jumped to do something they obviously thought was a good idea at the time. Never mind, at least the Italian treasury gained some much needed extra cash and Global Blue may have gained a few more dollars in commission if any non-Europeans had to buy expensive presents on the ship.....

NCL has never said that Jade would leave Europe for good. The itineraries annouced now are only for winter season - Star and other ships doing Baltics before her have done TAs between seasons several for years now, just like Epic will do also until Oct 2015 when she makes the last TA for now.

 

I believe that Jade will return to Med for summer season 2016 - no way that NCL would have only one ship during the summer season in Southern Europe. Home port might not be Venice anymore because of the new restrictions but there are plenty of other choices for home ports on Eastern Med itineraries.

I do hope you are right because both ship and crew are fantastic. It just seemed a bit excessive to leave just the Epic in the Med just to do the West Med/East Atlantic because the weather in the Eastern Med can be really nice in spring and fall. The comfortable temperatures can make going round those ruin sites are much better and they are also less busy then. Hence my initial concern that the move might be permanent.

As to home ports, the choice might be a little restricted because I didn't think there were many capable of taking large turn-rounds. Clearly they can still do East Med from Rome because they are doing that this week and I thought that Jade was still OK for Venice because it is just below the size limit they were proposing (Limit 96K - Jade 93.5K tons). Apart from those two ports, there is probably only Corfu and Athens as well. We will just have to wait and see for now.

The OP asked about the Jade itself and there are lots of videos on YouTube showing the inside and out. Try this one for starters:

I can only compare Jade with Pearl and the main difference is at the aft end. The pearl has the Bliss lounge and the bowling whereas the Jade has the shops there. Vrtually everything else is almost the same. The Haven is very similar in both apart from a few differences in the seating. The theatre is pretty well the same as well.

The slightly OTT decor on the Jade is quite well done in reality and we have never found it a problem. We love Jade and will be sorry to see her leave Europe for good. It will also be interesting to whether NCL have abandoned the Eastern Med when the next set of itineraries are released.

Not sure about the megaships, but the Haven in the Jewel class ships is easily accessed from the two corridors alongside the actual Haven area. As has already been said, you will need the card if you want to go through the access door from the rest of the ship or via the lift into the Haven. The door is quite heavy, so young children will not be able to use it on their own but I doubt you would want them to wander around the ship without one of you anyway. Obviously you will also need a card to get back into your suite, although once recognised, I am sure either the cabin steward or Haven Butler would let you back in if you lock yourself out!!

One thing to be careful of with young ones is that if they do manage to do a runner out of your suite into the Haven, there is a pool and a hot tub that they might be able to get into on their own. The issue there is that the Haven on those ships is often empty and so the pool and hot tub could be dangerous for accidentally unsupervised young ones.

Look for suite type. Haven suites are S followed by a number, eg S1, S3. None Haven suites are S followed by a letter eg SA. SC.

S+ Number have Haven access as of right, S+ letter have no Haven access. Haven guests can invite non-Haven guests to their suites, but it is considered very bad form to accompany them into the Haven and they would probably find themselves asked to leave.

We did the Eastern Med last November on the Jade out of Rome, The Venice version is much better because the cruise terminal is quite close to both airport and town. We have also done aft suite out of Venice on Jade and it was superb both for the sailout from Venice and other ports.

The entertainment on Jade is excellent. There are good quality one hour long shows most nights. The crew on Jade are fantastic. Difficult to comment on the food because we have sailed on other lines, but not RCCL but it is certainly reasonable and the freestyle approach means you can eat when you want to. If you like your sweets, try the crepe station in the buffet - freshly cooked and great.

The decor on Jade is pretty bizarre because it was built for Hawaii and there are lots of very bright colours everywhere - either love or hate. The ship is well maintained and we never saw any real signs of wear.

Suite perks on NCL are well worth the extra if you want a special cruise and the Haven is amazing.

Hope that helps.

There is also a portable DECT type phone in the suite that you can take with you when you go out. It will work all round the ship and on the quayside so you can ring the butler and tell him you are on the way so that he can get your order sorted for when you get to the suite.

We have done London to Venice and London to Rome using NCL/BA. First time we went economy and had to book in at the terminal. As has been said, NCL have block bookings and BA can't or won't give individuals a flight locator. Probably a BA thing because they are not the most customer focussed organisation in the world after all. Not too much of an issue other than having to wander round the terminal a bit, but there was an NCL rep there and she pointed out where we had to go. Obviously with a 1 hour 45 minute flight we were not too worried.

We upgraded to Club/business at the airport on the way back because Venice was such mayhem and for a hundred euros we got to go straight through the security into the BA lounge and also had a decent seat and lunch.

On our recent Rome trip we decided to go straight away for a business seats both ways to make sure we got decent seats, on-line check-in and use of the lounges at both ends. Well worth the extra both ways. Because we got NCL Guest Services to do the upgrade, we got the flight locator and were able to check-in on-line without any issue. We did not pay the money-grabbing extra to BA to get advance choice of seats but just did the 24 before stuff and got to choose our seats OK. I am afraid BA are getting more like Ryanair every day and seem to be looking all the time to grab extra money at every turn.

The answer seems to be if you use the NCL economy flight seats it will be book in at the airport and choose seats at that point. If you want a direct link to the airline you are using to choose seats and do on-line booking, you will have to upgrade out of the block contract.

London/Southampton is not really much worse than Rome/Civitevecchia at the end of the day and with both Heathrow and Gatwick within reach by coach transfer there would be plenty of sense in making cruise starts from Southampton. Add the fact that there are adequate fixed terminal facilities in Southampton instead of having to use that big tent in Civitevecchia and it all begins to make much more sense.

Personally, I would love to see the fjords from that huge sun deck above the Haven, atop the Jade someday.

There are some photos I took of the Pearl at GSC here:

They were taken when we went there on the Pearl last November. You can see that the greenery is actually "brownery" from the salt water damage caused when Huricane Sandy went through or over that part of the Atlantic before moving North, but most things are OK. The photos are taken from and to the ship plus a few from the ship as we left. There are also some views of the big cabanas. The ship is really beautiful when you see her from the tenders. A most impressive sight seen from those angles.

Enjoy.