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Greek Isles- NCL Jade 7/13/2012 review

tiggerman101

By tiggerman101,
in Norwegian Cruise Line

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tiggerman101

tiggerman101

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Tiggerman, that had to be the best cruise/trip review I have read. Your talent at describing the content of each picture was truly enjoyable. Honestly , we felt like we were right there with you!

As I posted earlier, we'll be doing this same cruise next year in July and august and have a few questions for you if you don't mind.

 

1) I might have missed the reason why you didn't get to Katakolon and going to Izmir instead. Our itinerary has us in Katakolon as our last port before returning to Venice.

 

2) Just how "hot" was it. We have no choice in traveling in the summer as DW works in the educational system here, se we have to take advantage of our time when we can. I do understand that the temps. in that region can get high but we usually go to Vegas every year at this time so our brains are pretty much fried. Go figure lol.

 

3) How long was your port time in Izmir? We'll be stopping there on our 2nd cruise on the Spirit ( leaves Venice the same day we disembark the jade ) and it's only AM--PM. So we're seriously considering a NCL shore excursion to guarantee a return to the ship before it leaves.We're actually going to Ephesus first , are there any places in Izmir we should make time to see or not ?

 

DW has more Q's for you later lol, but for any CC members that are considering this cruise, or others in Europe, we are flying to London. From there we're flying with Easyjet to Venice and again from Barcelona - London after the 2nd cruise.

Their prices and flight times are excellent for travel in Europe.

 

Once again , thank you for this excellent review. We have learned so much and can't wait for our trip next year.

 

 

cheers...the Ump...:D

 

 

Alright let me see if I can help you out....

 

1) This was a one time 8 day cruise. For some reason NCL had a 6 day and 8 day cruise in July instead of the standerd 7 day cruises that it runs from Venice. I am pretty sure they are doing the same thing next year. It just so happened to be the dates we were on the HAL cruise and I liked the extra sea day. I didn't mind returning to Izmir because I enjoyed what I have seen of Turkey. I thought it would be interesting to explore the city some. For some reason, this one time 8 day cruise substituted Izmir with Katakolon. Honesty, I saw so many ruins in my travels last year (Athens, Istanbul, Rome (twice), Ephesus, Pompeii, etc) I was a bit burned out on them. So missing Olympia was alright with me.

 

2) It was very hot at times. Very hot. Everywhere. Two things about it didn't really bother me though. First of all, I live in Atlanta, it is not only hot here in the summer. It has massive humidity. That is different then the dry heat I experienced on this trip. I will take dry heat over raging humidity any day. Secondly, I expected the heat. Simple as that. I knew it was going to be hot so my mind had already accepted the fact. I did sweat a lot and you felt the heat, but it never made me ill or deterred me from doing anything. Just be prepared, drink lots of fluids, etc.

 

3) We were actually in Izmir from 8-6 so we had a full day. I honestly can not remember our port times when we were there last February. We did go to Ephesus with a private tour and had no issues time wise. However, if you time is 7-2 then I would be a little leery. Ephesus is not right there. It is a bit of a drive. I am not big on ship tours at all, but will take them when time is a factor. That would probably be one of those times.

 

Feel free to ask away if you have more questions.

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tiggerman101

tiggerman101

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What seems nice about this itinerary (to me) is that you can split time between sightseeing on your own and stopping at a beach for an hour or so, sorta like a Caribbean vacations.

 

We had plenty of time in Mykonos and Izmir. I could have used a little more in Corfu and Santorini, but it worked out well. Honestly, I wondered if flying over there would be worth it for an 8 day cruise (the other two times we did a 12 day cruise and did a few days pre-cruise). I think that it was. We booked a 7 day Norwegian Fjords cruise next June out of Copenhagen after this experience. We will spend a few days over there prior to the cruise though.

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etexbeachbum

etexbeachbum

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tiggerman, that was the best trip report i've ever read! Pictures were awesome. We are heading out tomorrow for our 7 day greek isle cruise on the jade. We are staying at the same pre-cruise hotel too. Thanks for all the work you put into that report. I read every word. Again...best report ever!

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Clay Clayton "Live from...." Rare

Clay Clayton

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David

Thanks for the great report. Helped me relive our Eastern Cruise on Jade (Mike and I got to go to Alexandria - sorry you didn't) and our visit to Santorini. You even got a picture of the hotel where I hope to stay on my next BIG birthday. The one with the pool that is half in and half out of the building. It is MY screensaver:D

 

Your comments on Venice will be very helpful for our trip next Spring. And having sailed with Ump, I know he is appreciative of your advice too. I appreciate him emailing me to check out your review. We were lucky enough to sail on his virgin cruise!

 

Would love to sail with you and yours sometime. Y'all seem to enoy the same things Mike and I do...except for your juice and his mountain dew would have to change to gin and vodka! :D

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tiggerman101

tiggerman101

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1. I could look at your pictures all day.

 

2. Promise me you'll smile in October..and not like you're on a Chumly Bear cruise

 

3. Thank you for not taking pictures of the birds in crappy cages..

 

4. How do you seemingly fit 14 hours into a 10 hour day?

 

:)

 

Thanks Lis. We can not wait to see all you guys in October.

 

The pet stands reminded me of the old pets stores you used to see in the mall years ago. Except these were much worse.

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*Libby*

*Libby*

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Hey Tiggerman - thanks again for posting your fab review and photos!

 

We're sailing her on 29th September and Izmir is one of our ports. I was so excited to see your photos of the bazaar - then I started worrying that DH and myself would get lost :eek:

 

We're really hoping to do something along the lines of what you did there - do you have any tips?

 

Congrats again on such a fab review :)

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maryann2

maryann2

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Eating outside next to a small canal was very nice and it is times like these that I am reminded why I slave so much and live like a pauper at home to travel.

This comment is so true David. This is what so many of us do.

A couple things before I head into the actual cruise review.....We had previously been on the Jade last January for a 12 day Eastern Med cruise. The highlight of that trip was to be an overnight stop in Egypt. However, three days into the cruise the riots broke out. During the cruise, NCL kept us well informed of the situation and we knew we would have to take a few days to "wait and see" if we could dock in Alexandria.

 

I am booked on the 11 day Jade Holy Land cruise in Feb so hoping Egypt won't be cancelled. Was looking for a follow on cruise for the Destiny TA.

The next day was a sea day. Wade and I usually part ways on sea days. I love to lay out and he likes to roam the ship, play trivia, etc.

 

It was then that I found out that Wade won the "Bingo Queen" title. He played Bingo in the morning and they choose two people to be Bingo queen and king. These two people were able to play bingo for free the entire cruise. He was ecstatic, but not real thrilled at the "Queen" part. I thought it was hilarious.

 

123.jpg

 

In the end, he never won.

So that is why I never saw you on the Spirit to Hawaii in April. Yet I remember seeing Wade.

I did win $600 at bingo.

 

Thank you so much for taking the time to write this amazing review.

I did a coach tour of Greece a few years ago (Cosmos) which included a 5 day cruise on a small ship. Mykonos, Santorini, Crete, Rhodes, Kusadasi, Patmos. This brought back all those memories of white houses and blue sea and sky.

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ilablyth

ilablyth

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Thanks for sharing memories of your cruise. I went on a very similar cruise on the Jade in May of 2011. Three of us had a 2 BR, 2 B suite. It remains my favorite of the 5 cruises I have taken. After all, what can beat beat Venice and the Greek Isles. Sailing back into Venice on a Sunday morning with the bells starting to ring across the city was a moment I will never forget. :)

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ibcnusoon

ibcnusoon

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Thanks for sharing memories of your cruise. I went on a very similar cruise on the Jade in May of 2011. Three of us had a 2 BR, 2 B suite. It remains my favorite of the 5 cruises I have taken. After all, what can beat beat Venice and the Greek Isles. Sailing back into Venice on a Sunday morning with the bells starting to ring across the city was a moment I will never forget. :)

 

Sounds beautiful! I hope to take this cruise one day, I like the mix of touring and beaches (and panoramic water views, whether it be Venice or Santorini). I am also thinking of flying in to say Paris or London and making our way over to Venice for this cruise.

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tiggerman101

tiggerman101

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So that is why I never saw you on the Spirit to Hawaii in April. Yet I remember seeing Wade.

I did win $600 at bingo.

 

 

It is amazing that we never really met on a 15 day cruise! However, the roll call was so big. Still, that was a great time and my second favorite cruise.

 

Lovely Review David!!

 

Stumpled upon this while looking for things to do in Izmir besides Ephesus.

So glad I was able to enjoy your entire review ~ you are a wonderful reviewer!

 

Thank you! I wish I could say that we would see you on the Baltic cruise, but we had to cancel it. It would just be too much time off for Wade. Our Asia cruise in March is hitting hard. If we did the Baltics then that would wipe out all of his vacation time, etc. By canceling we are able to squeeze in two other cruise for that one. One day, we will get there....

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VickiD59

VickiD59

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I don't like commenting in between posts to reviews like this - I think it breaks up the flow

Get outta my head! ;)

Great review and spectacular photos.. I enjoy reading all of your reviews, and was so excited when I saw you had recently added this one. :)

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afn10305

afn10305

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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 :)

 

 

I agree with others-- have been lurking and dislike breaking up the flow, but am totally enjoying Tiggerman's review so far! :D

 

DH have had our Sept. 2013 Jade cruise booked for three months now, and I was only recently able to book a hotel in Venice that far in advance. Wonderful reviews like this help greatly to plan for the rest of our cruise. Can't wait to read the rest of it. Thanks Tiggerman (David.)

 

Cindy

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scottishwee35

scottishwee35

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wow, the photos are stunning and so beautiful.

 

I enjoyed to read your trip report and give me some idea for our cruise next year.

 

We are going to Venice and stay for 2 nights and we booked hotel Santa Chiara and I saw your photo show it...

 

Anyway, thank for your times for putting photos and wrote it and I really enjoyed it..

 

Many thanks

 

Scottishwee35

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