Greek Isles- NCL Jade 7/13/2012 review

[tiggerman101]

Haha at Bingo Queen - is this a democratic election they hold each cruise? I've never heard of such a title!

 

Did the Coq au Vin have bones in it? I would love to try it, but hate chicken with bones - one of my food quirks.

 

 

It was a raffle that everyone that played the first bingo game got a ticket for. They drew for the Queen and King. It just so happened that the King was a woman.

 

The Coq Au Vin did have bones in it, but it was easy to work around. It was really good.

[tiggerman101]

Corfu, Greece

 

I went back and forth with what to do here. We had a somewhat short time frame as the ship left port at 3:30. I knew the island was larger then the others and I wanted to see what we could. A lot of people just head to Corfu Town which is the old walled section. I did want to see it, but I felt like we should get out and do more so I searched for a tour. I ended up choosing Corfu Taxi Private Tours:

 

http://www.corfutaxi****************/

 

They offered various tours of different lengths. I wanted free time in Corfu Town so I picked the four hour tour. Basically, it was a driver for four hours in our own car. They were very easy to communicate with and responded to my inquiries quickly. We were told to meet at the end of the pier right outside of the building at 9 AM. They did not require a deposit of any kind and I could fully customize the tour if I wanted to. We actually got to the meeting spot about a half hour early and they were there holding a sign. Our driver was the owner's sister and she was very nice. We told her we were into scenery and vistas and she told us her plans for us. With that we were off.

 

Now Corfu is a bit different then you might expect in a Greek Island. It is not the windswept barren land that you see in pictures. In fact it has quite a bit of trees and foliage. It is pretty, but different then the other two islands we would be going to. Also, it is Greek so all the names of places and towns are like Pitrosovoolikovia or something. Don't expect me to remember all the places we went to. Sorry.

 

The first stop was up the highest mountain to a nice view. Unfortunately, we were looking out right into the sun, so it is not the best picture:

 

 

Our driver was always asking to take a picture of us and trying to be as helpful as possible. She had grown up here and along the day she gave us all the info about Corfu that we wanted. She was very nice and we learned a lot from her.

 

 

We drove along the ridge line for a bit and stopped at another overlook to view a beautiful bay and beach:

 

 

There were olive trees everywhere and the whole history and process behind them were fascinating. We stopped at a typical stand where we tried olive oil and bread. Wade had a shot of Kumquat Liquor that he actually liked. We bought a couple things and headed on.

 

Our next stop was the ruins of an old castle (Angelokastro- I looked it up for you).

 

 

[tiggerman101]

From there we headed out to Palaiokastritsa, or rather an overlook above it first:

 

 

Again, the sun was a bit bad so the glare is off. It was beautiful up there though. They even had a nice pool you could swim in if you wanted:

 

 

The area below has a few beaches with some beautiful inlets and water:

 

 

This is our driver taking in the sights:

 

 

There was a restaurant and bathrooms up there so we grabbed some drinks and headed out. From there we went down the mountain to Palaiokastritsa itself:

 

The water was amazing:

 

[tiggerman101]

The area is a resort type place. There are little hotels and nice little beaches everywhere. There is also the monetary that dates back to 1225. I didn't know what to expect, but I am glad we stopped. It is small, but beautiful. The plants alone are gorgeous.

 

Wade in the entrance:

 

 

Here is me on a patio:

 

 

I love these plants that look like snakes:

 

 

The bells outside:

 

 

The view from the monastery:

 

[tiggerman101]

From there we drove past the beach area:

 

 

Eventually we stopped outside the palace, but we did not know if we had time to go in. Wade and I just walked to the front and looked at the grounds. We grabbed a drink and headed out.

 

We stopped at an overlook to see Mouse Island. It is a small, pretty little island with a lone church on it. Apparently, there are a ton of weddings that take place there:

 

 

A closer look at the island:

 

 

 

Then we were off to Corfu Town. We had agreed to be dropped off there. It seemed like it would be easy to walk back to the ship or just grab a cab. We stopped once more for a shot of the fortress in Corfu Town:

 

[tiggerman101]

Corfu town is nice. It is like a lot of other old European towns that we have seen in Italy, etc. It is mainly pedestrian with narrow streets and lots of shops and cafes, etc. We entered the heart of it from the street:

 

 

We ducked around here and there and browsed a few shops, of course we stopped for some cheap pastries at one place. It was very good. The streets were nice to walk down:

 

 

 

[tiggerman101]

We knew we had to head back to the ship so we headed out near the fortress area. Due to time we didn't walk all the way to it but stopped to get a look:

 

 

We decided to just walk it. I didn't think it was that far and there was a line for taxis. Wade and I walk everywhere so I didn't think it would be a big deal. We headed out the gate to the town:

 

 

We just followed the road and had awesome views of Albania across the way. We could look back and see the fortress looming out:

 

 

The water along the way was beautiful and there were small beaches here and there with some people out:

 

 

When we turned the corner we saw the ship was still a distance. Not usually a big deal, but it was VERY hot and I really needed to find a bathroom. We stumbled on and roasted. Eventually, we hit a small restaurant that had a cooler with drinks indie. We went in and bought water and they let me use the restroom. They were very nice. After that, the rest of the walk was not too bad. We were tired and sweaty by the time we got back. We were also hungry so we hit up the Blue Lagoon for some wings and chicken fingers (and of course, the brownie sundae). I must say that I love the fact that NCL has a 24 hour, no fee, sit down restaurant to go to. It is a great alternative. After that I hit the pool for a bit. We had dinner reservations at Teppanyaki for later. We loved it last time so we were looking forward to it again.

[tiggerman101]

We walked the ship a bit before dinner and listened to the piano player in the atrium:

 

 

Then we went to meet for dinner. The hostess outside the Jasmine Garden again addressed us by name and asked about our day. We had a few minutes before our reservation so I went to the bar for a virgin Bloody Mary.

 

Dinner was great. I love the show they put on, but the food is actually very, very good. I like the communal seating and we had some good table mates. Our chef was personable and fun.

 

 

We sat next to a nice German couple that we would see all over the ship for the remainder of the cruise. We would have loved to hang out with them some, but the girl spoke virtually no english and the man was very limited. It did bring about an interesting factor for this cruise. The whole trip Wade and I were pretty much on our own. Our CC Roll Call was a dud and we didn't even have a meet and greet. Our last cruise to Hawaii was a HUGE group and we were constantly running into people, meeting up, etc. It felt a little odd this time around.

 

Anyway, dinner was good and the chefs posed for one more shot:

 

 

Of course, we meandered around a bit then headed back to our cabin. The TV actually was a low point. First it was small and second there was not much variety. They did have an english movie channel which we watched a lot, but they repeated the same movies often. I don't care how cute it is, I never want to see that dang movie about the trapped whales in Alaska ever again (Big Miracle).

 

Well, tomorrow was Santorini and the port I was looking forward to the most. I was really excited. If anyone is actually reading this (seriously, anyone but the two that have commented? lol) then be prepared for a ton of pictures. Santorini did not disappoint. In fact, in over 50+ ports that I have been to, this one shot to the very top for me.

[AttilaTheFun]

Even though I've already posted, thank you again for sharing your review and pictures! I find it incredibly disappointing how people work so hard on reviews and don't get many reactions. I worked on a very thorough review of our Grand Mediterranean cruise with Princess that included lots of port tips and pictures and halfway through, people basically stopped commenting. I have basically given up on the thread. I always try to thank and encourage people who post helpful reviews on here.

Edited August 19, 2012 by AttilaTheFun

[HMK8273]

I am living vicariously through the review/posts so keep 'em coming. I don't like commenting in between posts to reviews like this - I think it breaks up the flow. But don't worry, been "refreshing" the screens all afternoon to keep reading the additional posts that just keep showing up. :D

[*Libby*]

Hey Tiggerman, am thoroughly enjoyng your review and photos - which are amazing! We're sailing the Jade in a little over 6 weeks, cruising the Adriatic, and so can't wait!

 

Looking forward to your next instalment of Santorini :)

[Sauer-kraut]

I am living vicariously through the review/posts so keep 'em coming. I don't like commenting in between posts to reviews like this - I think it breaks up the flow. But don't worry, been "refreshing" the screens all afternoon to keep reading the additional posts that just keep showing up. :D

 

Yeah! I dislike posting in between a review for the same reason. I will, however, post at the end. (So now you've just wrecked my M.O.!):p

 

It is great, keep it coming and I am enjoying the pictures....wonder if I can talk my travel friend into going to Corfu for a land vacation next year....:rolleyes:

[vivavegas]

Excellent Review! I really enjoyed your photos! Thanks so much for sharing!:)

[EvilBanker]

If anyone is actually reading this (seriously, anyone but the two that have commented? lol) then be prepared for a ton of pictures. Santorini did not disappoint. In fact, in over 50+ ports that I have been to, this one shot to the very top for me.

I confess, I've just been lurking. DP and I are taking our first-ever cruise in October as sort of a taste-testing to see if enjoy cruising - my ultimate vacation would be one that includes Venice and the islands of Greece.

 

Thank you so much for sharing your awesome photos and great commentary!

[pkt1976]

Oh yay, I am so happy that I found your review!! I'm going to the ports you went to next week and I have an aft balcony on the Jade for my cruise in October so this review is awesome and has info for both!!! I love the pictures and can't wait to see more. Keep it coming!!!!

[tiggerman101]

Alright, thanks for tuning in. A lot of you have reviews that I need to check out as well.

 

So I woke up the next morning to another clear day. In fact we never saw a cloud from the time we left Venice till the time we got back. I made my coffee and sat out on the balcony.

 

 

I am pretty sure we went to lunch in the MDR again. We tried to go there whenever it was open. I loved the calamari starter and found the Club Sandwich very good. I had it a few times. Wade loved the Cobb salad. I was surprised at how few people went there though.

 

Anyway, we were due to hit Santorini at 1 PM. This is the one port I wrestled with. If you are unfamiliar with Santorini then I will explain a little bit about it. Santorini was once a big island that housed an enormous volcano eruption some 3600 years ago. It was one of the biggest eruptions ever in recorded history. The volcano collapsed in on itself and now is a submerged caldera filled with water. The remains are cliffs 900+ ft high where the various towns sit clinging onto the side. The caldera is deep enough to allow ships to anchor just about anywhere. Santorini is classically know as Thera and it is actually an archipelago of islands that were once all part of the one giant island. The capital is Fira and the same land mass that holds Fira also holds Oia which is the town I really wanted to see. Yea, a little confusing, I know.

 

Another factor in my decision on what to do was this. Santorini is a tender port. There is only one spot on the island that buses can reach the sea level. The ship will tender those on ship excursions there. If you are just planning on going to Fira or off on your own, then you are tendered to the bottom of the cliff below Fira. The only way up is by cable cars (which are small) or by the donkey trail. Yes, you can pay to ride a donkey up the cliff. You can also walk it, but it is a good climb with mad donkeys and their droppings all around you. Seeing as I wanted to maximize my time there, I had a tough decision to make. We could go on our own and risk loosing a lot of time waiting on a cable car AND have to find a way (local bus) to Oia. Or we could take a ship excursion that tendered us to a bus, went to Oia, and then dropped us off at Fira with a return cable car ticket down. After much debate, I choose to do the ship excursion. My only real concern was this was not having enough time in Oia.

[tiggerman101]

Santorini, Greece

 

So after lunch I went to the front of the ship in hopes of seeing our approach to Santorini. A bad design with the Jade is that there really is not a great place to look out in front of the ship. Everywhere has really high plexiglass, etc. I am a picture freak so this did not help. Those with the forward suites and balconies were sitting pretty about now.

 

I did get some views pulling into the center of the caldera, but pictures were hard:

 

 

Regardless, it is an amazing approach. You just pull into the center of this giant filled in crater. There are actually two volcanos in the center (side note, Santorini has a third volcano underwater on the other side of the caldera as well).

 

Soon the cliffs were in view and the white buildings look like sugar cubes on top:

 

 

We got closer to one of the cliffs and a town started to come into view:

 

 

The ship settled near the base of the cliff where Fira is located:

 

[tiggerman101]

So I was under the impression that the ship would pull in near the port that the busses come to, let off the ship's excursions first, then relocate to the bottom of the cliff where Fira is. This is not what happened. The ship anchored and they had two tender locations. Everyone on a ship excursion went to the theatre and left one way, while everyone else got a tender ticket and went to another tender location.

 

Finally we were called and went down to the (rather large) tender. It was comfortable and nice and the ride was fairly quick. I did get a couple shots of our ship from here:

 

 

We arrived at the port area which consisted of a parking lot, a a bar or two and a shop or so. The busses were waiting for us:

 

 

The coaches were nice and we had a tour operator who was a young girl who grew up there. She was alright and had a lot of info, just a little juvenile at times. The ride up the cliffs was awesome and the views were great. From there we went up and down the other side making it over to the other side of the island to where Oia is. It was a decently long ride, about half an hour or more, but not bad at all. Santorini is very dry and windswept and the land itself reminded me of the Caribbean ABC islands (Aruba, etc).

[searoses]

love this review....pics so welcome.....don't stop now!!:D

[tiggerman101]

We finally reached our stop and I was ready to go. The operator wanted us to follow her to a certain point first. I admit I was impatiant to get going, but oh well. We followed a path crowded with tourists up to the edge of the cliff. From there, our guide explained we could go right of left. Just meet back at the bus in two hours or so.

 

View to the left:

 

 

View to the right:

 

 

We went right and just walked the paths through the town:

 

 

There are also numerous little churches everywhere that have the famous blue domes:

 

 

We found a little alley and decided to duck down it. Good thing we did as we were met with this view:

 

[tiggerman101]

From then on it was like we were walking in a painting or something. It is hard to describe. I can only show pictures. There are so many paths to choose from. You can go up and down stairs, in alleys, over walkways, all with incredible views. I have never been anywhere like it. We just kept going to the right.

 

 

 

 

 

The flowers are beautiful, the stores are neat and there are cafes and restaurants all over. They all offer these amazing views over the caldera. I loved the flowers:

 

 

[tiggerman101]

 

Honestly, we had no plans. I was heading to this windmill in the distance and we found ourselves in a remote area with no people around. It was surreal.

 

 

We made it to the windmill and explored the little area around it:

 

 

 

[tiggerman101]

We turned around and decided to head out to the remains of the little fort. You can see it in the right side of this picture:

 

 

Really, no matter where you looked the view was stunning:

 

 

Looking down the cliff you could see a trail that went down to a boat dock. The water is beautiful as well:

 

 

We got out on the area with the fort and surveyed the scene:

 

 

Looking back to the right:

 

[xenagurl]

Awesome review and beautiful photos! :D I look forward to reading the rest of it!

[tiggerman101]

 

 

 

We decided to head back to to where we started. Really we just climbed up and down stairs and gaped. It was very hot and we were sweating bad, but who cared? We did go into a couple stores and get some drinks and souvenirs. We eventually got back to our starting point and had a little time to go the other way. There were some beautiful scenes that way as well:

 

 

We took one last look before heading back to the bus:

 

 

Of course, back at the bus we waited on some people. There are always the ones who are really late and just come strolling back without a care to the world. It amazes me that they don't even seem phased that it is obvious that an entire bus full of people have been waiting on them. Anyway, we were off to Fira.