Norwegian Jade Western Med Cruise 04-18-10 Review - long

[fuzzytv]

Thanks CTCruisers for your great and detailed review. We were on the same sailing, so we enjoyed seeing your pics..!!

 

We were fortunate to arrive just before they closed the Barcelona airport and were on the ship at 12Noon and in our accommodation #9004 which was so nice.

 

We did have dinner in Cagney's one evening and the steak was done to perfection. Overall, I thought the food was better on this NCL cruise than our last.

 

Our days were spent in port all day during those days. I had read great reviews of Miles & Miles in Rome on tripadvisor.com http://www.toursofrome.it/ and we booked for the day including a Vatican Museum and Sistine Chapel visit with a private guide who was very knowledgeable. You won't go wrong if you use Miles & Miles in Rome and/or Naples and we had no waits in lines anywhere and saw more than we possibly could have otherwise. We enjoyed Francesco so much that we booked with his company again (Naples-Amalfi Coastline) just before our Rome tour ended at the port -- talk about last minute..! To some of us, Naples and the coastline were the highlight of the ports.. Great job again..!

 

We shared our Miles & Miles tours with three lovely ladies we met through this thread -- thanks to cruise critic and it's members.

 

CAUTION MY VIRUS PROGRAM DETECTED A VIRUS ON THE WWW.TOURSOFROME.IT WEBSITE!!!!

[CTCruisers]

I received a few requests asking about how to get to Nice from the port in Monaco:

 

Getting to Nice from the Monaco port is quite easy.

 

To get either the train or the bus, you will go to the same spot away from where the ship is docked.

 

http://mappery.com/map-of/Monaco-Tourist-Map

 

The port of Monaco where the ship docks looks like a horseshoe on the map. The ship docks at the southern end of the port right below the high rocks where you will find Oceanographic Museum, Cathedral and Palace.

 

When you get off the ship, you want to walk all along the edge of the port going to your right. If you look at the map, you are starting at 6:00 and you will be walking around to 12:00. You will walk along Quai Antoine and go right on Quai Albert. At some spots along Quai Albert, you want to move over to Boulevard Albert (it runs parallel to Quai Albert). At the end of Boulevard Albert, there is a three way intersection where Boulevard Albert, Rue Grimaldi and Avenue D'Ostende all meet. Both, the bus stop and the entrance to the train station is on the other side of this intersection. To get across the intersection, you need to take the underground pedestrian tunnel. Follow the signs to the Gare (train station) as you go through the tunnels underneath the intersection.

 

When you come up to the street level, you should see a small church called "Place St. Devote". Looking at the church, you want to walk to the left and you will see the bus stop and elevators to take you to the train station after only a few steps.

 

 

http://www.visitmonaco.com/us/Places-to-visit/Monuments

 

I recommend taking the bus. The bus you want to take is the bus #100 which comes by every 15-20 minutes. It will cost 1 euro each way. The ride to the Nice "Gare Routiere Bus Station" which is the last stop for the bus is about 30-40 minutes long and the bus station is on the edge of the old city part of Nice. If you do take the bus, be sure to pay attention to the streets immediately after you get on to get your bearings for the return trip to know when to get off the bus as the bus continues through Monaco before it turns around.

 

http://www.lignedazur.com/

 

The best part of taking the bus is that the road goes along the coast and you have spectacular views of the ocean and mountain side.

 

 

Coming back from Nice, go back to the bus station and look up at the monitors looking for times of the #100 bus and which stall it will leave from. As you approach Monaco, you can get off the bus at a few spots. Depending on the time and what you want to do, you can get off at the same spot where the Church and entrance to the train station is located. Or, you could get off earlier and walk through the top of the rock by the palace, cathedral and Oceanographic museum. Look for signs of the palace and museum. Just past the museum, is a park and foot path that will take you down to where the ship is docked. Look for signs that say Fort Antoine. This way is a much longer walk and very steep at some points.

 

If you want to take the train, just take the elevators near the bus stop up to the train station. You will have to go through a series of tunnels and escalators to get to the ticket windows. The train is faster, but it does not run as often as the bus lines does. Plus, the main train station in Nice is not near the old city. Depending on what you want to do in Nice may dictate which way you would want to go.

 

A great resource is to find a travel book like Rick Steve's or Frommers which will have maps and recommendations for Monaco, Nice, and other sites.

 

I hope this helps.

[cabincop]

I too have gone to San Gennero musuem and cathedral it was gorgeous, and I love the history. It is sad many people ignore this city I loved it when I go this year I want to see the veiled Christ do you have any other suggestions for Naples? I love to keep busy for 4 or 5 hours and have an easy day because the rest of the cruise is crazy busy, thanks for your review I love this itnerary and have done it 3X's and yet always I seee different things

[CTCruisers]

I too have gone to San Gennero musuem and cathedral it was gorgeous, and I love the history. It is sad many people ignore this city I loved it when I go this year I want to see the veiled Christ do you have any other suggestions for Naples? I love to keep busy for 4 or 5 hours and have an easy day because the rest of the cruise is crazy busy, thanks for your review I love this itnerary and have done it 3X's and yet always I seee different things

 

Next year, we plan to take the funicular up to the monastery that overlooks Naples.

[amyehoff]

Hello there-

Thanks so much for all this info - I am traveling with my 3 best girlfriends Oct 24 on this cruise - we are all turning 50 :)

We want to take a flight from BCN departing at 8:45am on the day we disembark - do you think this is possible? We would carry our own bags and take a taxi..we can move real fast when needed :o

Thanks so much -

Amy

[CTCruisers]

Hello there-

Thanks so much for all this info - I am traveling with my 3 best girlfriends Oct 24 on this cruise - we are all turning 50 :)

We want to take a flight from BCN departing at 8:45am on the day we disembark - do you think this is possible? We would carry our own bags and take a taxi..we can move real fast when needed :o

Thanks so much -

Amy

 

If you check the message boards regarding getting to flights in Barcelona, they all say not to book any flights before 10:00 am. Even 10:00 am could be tight.

 

If every thing was to run smoothly with no delays getting into port, clearing customs, being the first ones off the ship, no traffic delays, and no long lines at check in and security at the airport, you might make it but the odds are way against you. Remember, that you would be competing with one to two thousand other passengers all wanting to do the same thing. And, there may be other cruise ships there at the same time.

 

We have booked the same cruise for next October on the Epic which can carry even more passengers. We are not even thinking of fliying home that day. We are just going to relax and spend a final day in Barcelona.

[cabincop]

hi all hey Amy I am a single female going on the same cruise 10/24 look up our roll call, CTcruiser did you find a way to avoid all those stairs in Monaco? I seem to always end up taking them and there are alot lol, Maria

[cabincop]

Amy I agree with CTcruiser I would never try and make an 0845 flight you have to be thru security at least 2hours before for international flights due to homeland security, also with traffic, and other ships passengers trying to get to airport it will be crazy get a later flight or stay overnite why not? lol

[SteveH2508]

hi all hey Amy I am a single female going on the same cruise 10/24 look up our roll call, CTcruiser did you find a way to avoid all those stairs in Monaco? I seem to always end up taking them and there are alot lol, Maria

 

Many of the buildings in Monaco have public lifts (elevators). There are also quite a few escalators around.

[Siouxieq]

Wow CT Cruiser what an amazing review and exactly what I was looking for.

 

We are silver members at the moment and have recently been on the NYC - Bahamas on the Jewel and returned to the UK and Hubby said let's get away somewhere for a week - NCL had this cruise to the Med so off we go.

 

Thanks again xx