Live From the Jade, Nov 13 to Dec 21, from Athens to Cape Town

[Ken the cruiser]

38 minutes ago, Mah Jongg said:

Most cruise lines allow a continental breakfast order from 7-10 am for no charge. The rest of the day/night is a $7.95 charge for delivery and a charge for any food or beverage items as noted on the menu. We often order coffee in the am and skip breakfast. Not familiar with NCL, but have done this procedure for years, and it has always been the same.

We leave tomorrow for Athens - see you there!😁

Funny, we’ve never heard about any charge, but then we very seldom ever use it. However, I will also note we will definitely look at the fine print just in case we ever do decide to take advantage of that option. 😉

[Ken the cruiser]

2 hours ago, Mah Jongg said:

Most cruise lines allow a continental breakfast order from 7-10 am for no charge. The rest of the day/night is a $7.95 charge for delivery and a charge for any food or beverage items as noted on the menu. We often order coffee in the am and skip breakfast. Not familiar with NCL, but have done this procedure for years, and it has always been the same.

We leave tomorrow for Athens - see you there!😁

You peaked my interest, so I asked some folks on the other cruise line CC forums we sail with, Princess and Celebrity, and from what I’ve found out so far, neither one of them attaches a basic room service charge, at least not for orders placed between 6 am and 11 pm, other than maybe for certain items ordered that have an individual upcharge.
 

But, I’m sure there are others that do. 

Edited November 10, 2022 by Ken the cruiser

[SplashOfWater]

6 hours ago, Ken the cruiser said:

You peaked my interest, so I asked some folks on the other cruise line CC forums we sail with, Princess and Celebrity, and from what I’ve found out so far, neither one of them attaches a basic room service charge, at least not for orders placed between 6 am and 11 pm, other than maybe for certain items ordered that have an individual upcharge.
 

But, I’m sure there are others that do. 

We've recently ordered room service on Royal. They offer a free continental breakfast for room service, but charge $7.95 for hot breakfast and other meals.

[Mah Jongg]

9 hours ago, Ken the cruiser said:

You peaked my interest, so I asked some folks on the other cruise line CC forums we sail with, Princess and Celebrity, and from what I’ve found out so far, neither one of them attaches a basic room service charge, at least not for orders placed between 6 am and 11 pm, other than maybe for certain items ordered that have an individual upcharge.
 

But, I’m sure there are others that do. 

Ok, I was off on the exact time. For us 6 am is too early and 11am is lunch 😊.

[vegas4ever]

3 hours ago, SplashOfWater said:

We've recently ordered room service on Royal. They offer a free continental breakfast for room service, but charge $7.95 for hot breakfast and other meals.

 

That's the way it is with NCL, too. They have a flyer where you mark what you want and at which time it should be delivered. You leave it at your door the night before. This is different to the new room-service-programm they have called SWIFT which involves a fee all the time.

[Sailing12Away]

15 hours ago, Ken the cruiser said:

Just a little tidbit we leaned today that we hadn't experienced on any other cruise line we've sailed on. But then again, we very seldom ever order room service.

 

Our son, who just got back yesterday from a 10-day Caribbean cruise on the Getaway, just gave us a heads up when it comes to ordering room service, or at least this is what he experienced on his cruise. Basically, there was a $15 room service charge posted to his account when they delivered one chicken dinner and two Coke Zeros, even though he had purchased the soda package. The breakdown of the $15 charge was $8 for the room service itself and $3.50 each for the two Coke Zeros. Needless to say, that was the first and last time he ordered room service on the cruise.

Depends on the category of room you're booked in. Folks in the Haven can get nearly anything at any time of day brought to their room, and I think possibly club balcony rooms and regular suites also get no charge for room service.

 

The drinks are a hot topic and stupid rule. Even with the drink package, they charge you for bringing drinks to the room. Makes no sense at all. Even for Haven guests, but they can request a free pitcher of soda for their mini fridge. Just not cans.

 

On one trip I was in Covid quarantine confined to my room. Even then - they still refused to give me cans of soda with my meals. They would put saran wrap over the tops of the cups and send 2 with each meal instead of giving me unopened cans to drink when I actually needed them. If I insisted on closed cans, $3.50 charge per can - even with the drink package, and even being in quarantine, and even being a Haven guest.

So yeah.... that part of their policy leaves a lot to be desired. I can understand if someone was requesting a 6 pack a day and pilfering to friends without a drink package. But 1-2 cans with a meal? 

[Ken the cruiser]

2 hours ago, Mah Jongg said:

Ok, I was off on the exact time. For us 6 am is too early and 11am is lunch 😊.

I just learned FWIW Celebrity does add a $5 service charge for those "non-suite" room service orders placed between 11 pm and 6 am, which kind of makes sense.

[Crazy planning mom]

We ordered continental breakfast through room service to be delivered to our room on the Jade last month.  It was complimentary.  We had fruit, pastries, cereal, tea and juice.

It was such a pleasure to enjoy it on our balcony on a sea day.  If I had a hankering for a soda or iced tea, I would pick up one from Garden Cafe or the Great Outdoors.

[BigRedFan]

On 11/9/2022 at 8:43 AM, Ken the cruiser said:

Yesterday, Delta's partner Air France sent an email asking for us to update our information to enable a speedy transition through the CDG airport in Paris. Delta also sent us an update regarding COVID requirements, which reenforces the hope that testing requirements will continue to drift towards the "rearview mirror". Yay!!  😃

 

 

Then there is more good news that Nicole will be moving relatively quickly along the eastern coastline and will be long gone before our flight from Atlanta to Paris takes off at 3:45 pm on Saturday! 

 

 

After today, only 2 days and a wake-up before the adventure begins! I can hear Freddie starting to warm up in the background!! 😊

 

It was a very windy event here in Central FL last night.  The coast is really suffering a lot of damage since the erosion that took place 6 weeks ago with Ian, has left it defenseless.  They had mandatory evacuations of that area and established a curfew.

 

I see you are flying in from BHM.  My son was there overnight and is currently flying back to Chicago O'hare. 

I am just about to check in for my flights tomorrow, fingers crossed all goes smoothly from this point on.

Genzi

[Ken the cruiser]

15 minutes ago, BigRedFan said:

It was a very windy event here in Central FL last night.  The coast is really suffering a lot of damage since the erosion that took place 6 weeks ago with Ian, has left it defenseless.  They had mandatory evacuations of that area and established a curfew.

 

I see you are flying in from BHM.  My son was there overnight and is currently flying back to Chicago O'hare. 

I am just about to check in for my flights tomorrow, fingers crossed all goes smoothly from this point on.

Genzi

 

Luckily for us, our flights leave on Saturday from BHM to ATL and then on to Paris at 3:45 pm. What route is your flight taking on Friday? Hopefully, the route will involve airports on either side of the storm and have minimal impact on your flight schedule.

 

I know this is going to be an awesome cruise, but the various obstacles we keep having to maneuver around for these past few months is sure making it a stressful pre-cruise adventure! 

 

 

Edited November 10, 2022 by Ken the cruiser

[BigRedFan]

8 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

 

Luckily for us, our flights leave on Saturday from BHM to ATL and then on to Paris at 3:45 pm. What route is your flight taking on Friday? Hopefully, the route will involve airports on either side of the storm and have minimal impact on your flight schedule.

 

I know this is going to be an awesome cruise, but the various obstacles we keep having to maneuver around for these past few months is sure making it a stressful pre-cruise adventure! 

 

I fly on United; Orlando - Newark-Montreal - Athens.  Leaving tomorrow morning if all goes well.

The winds have died down here and the storm should be out of this area by this afternoon.

 

[Ken the cruiser]

1 minute ago, BigRedFan said:

I fly on United; Orlando - Newark-Montreal - Athens.  Leaving tomorrow morning if all goes well.

The winds have died down here and the storm should be out of this area by this afternoon.

Hopefully, the flight pattern from Orlando to Newark will skirt around the storm, which will hopefully be downgraded to a depression by then, so it won't be too much of an issue. Safe travels and we'll see you on the ship!! 

[Ken the cruiser]

What's funny is that this is our first cruise since it started back up that we haven't waited to start packing until after we got our negative antigen tests, usually 2 days prior to embarkation. But our bags are pretty much ready to go with our clothes spread evenly across two bags. Just hedging our bets just in case (knock on wood) one of the bags gets "lost" along the way. I know, what are the odds?! 😂

 

After today, 1 day and a wake-up before the journey begins. Yay!! 🕺💃

[Ken the cruiser]

We're all checked in now to both legs of our B2B. By 2:30 pm today "Nicole" will have completely moved out of Atlanta heading North and East. Our bags are packed and ready to be loaded into the car for our drive early tomorrow morning to the airport. So without further ado, let's get this party started!! 🕺💃

 

 

 

[Mrs Moho]

10 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

We're all checked in now to both legs of our B2B. By 2:30 pm today "Nicole" will have completely moved out of Atlanta heading North and East. Our bags are packed and ready to be loaded into the car for our drive early tomorrow morning to the airport. So without further ado, let's get this party started!! 🕺💃

 

 

 

Safe journey!! Fingers crossed all goes well for you and other travellers. We're in Piraeus..... weather is lovely and bright sunshine is due on Sunday morning 🌞🛫🛳🌞

[vegas4ever]

45 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

We're all checked in now to both legs of our B2B. By 2:30 pm today "Nicole" will have completely moved out of Atlanta heading North and East. Our bags are packed and ready to be loaded into the car for our drive early tomorrow morning to the airport. So without further ado, let's get this party started!! 🕺💃

 

 

 

 

We are all checked in for both legs as well.

But I haven't started packing yet...

[Ken the cruiser]

FWIW for those that would like to periodically to see where the Jade may currently be at any one time, here's the Cruise Mapper link you can use. You can also zoom in or out to identify any nearby ships or where it's at with regards to nearby countries.

 

NORWEGIAN JADE Current Location (cruisemapper.com)

 

[DooBop]

Here is another site I just came across that shows your itinerary, other ships in port and the weather forecast for each location. 
 

https://cruiseoutlook.com/future-position/norwegian_jade

 

Looking forward to tracking your adventure as we prepare for ours. 

[PhillyTravelBug]

Safe travels and absolutely following along. My trip choice is next year to Iceland/Norway and my partner has picked Africa for his pick next. 

[Ken the cruiser]

21 minutes ago, PhillyTravelBug said:

Safe travels and absolutely following along. My trip choice is next year to Iceland/Norway and my partner has picked Africa for his pick next. 

Thanks! Both Iceland and Norway are awesome. We went on an Iceland/Greenland cruise on the Celebrity Summit in August and plan to go see the Norwegian fjords again which will hopefully include a visit up to Longyearbyen in the Summer of 2024! 😁

[Ken the cruiser]

Airport update: our flight from Birmingham has arrived in Atlanta where we’re now waiting to board our overnight flight to Paris, which is an about 8 1/2 hours in length. 
 

So far our flight has been uneventful and hopefully it will continue to be until we get to the ship tomorrow afternoon. 😁

 

 

Edited November 12, 2022 by Ken the cruiser

[CruzinMel]

Safe travels!

[Ken the cruiser]

We have arrived at the CDG airport in Paris on time and after a long walk through the airport, we have arrived at our gate and will hopefully be heading to Athens in a couple of hours. 
 

 
But we did learn a couple of tidbits as we were waiting to depart the jetway in Atlanta. First, three people who had checked bags loaded on the plane never boarded, so they had to remove their bags. But with 280 passengers on the plane, it took them a little while to find them. 
 

 
But the most interesting thing was that our bags were not marked as “Bag on plane” until all of the remaining containers (above picture) had been loaded on the plane, which was happening in the compartment right below our seats (below picture). 
 

 
But we have to say, we sure appreciate the information provided on the Delta app, especially when it comes to tracking the movement of our bags as we fly from airport to airport! 😁

 

 

Edited November 13, 2022 by Ken the cruiser

[Ken the cruiser]

We have arrived. We pulled into the pier parking lot at 3:42 pm and we arrived in our cabin after checking into the Muster Station about an hour later. The checkin process was quite orderly. But then again we were probably one of the last groups checking in. On our bus transfer from the airport, it took about 50 minutes to travel to the ship and was pretty uneventful.

 

 

Then after turning our luggage in, we headed into the terminal to complete the check in process.

 

 

 

 

 
Once we finally got to our cabin, I had to check out the view! 😁

 

 

 Then right before we headed to Le Bistro for dinner, I took one last picture!

 

 

 

[Ken the cruiser]

We had a tasty dinner at Le Bistro and then headed to Guest Services and the Excursion Desk to ask a few simple questions.

 

1. How many passengers are booked on this leg? 1,512

 

2. How can we get on a waiting list to be notified in they’re going to offer a Transition Day excursion(s) in and around Dubai? The Excursion Desk manager said they probably won’t be creating one. He referenced Athens as an example. This season they have continually offered RT 7 day cruises out of Athens and never once have they been authorized by corporate to create a transition day excursion for folks on a B2B cruise. But, some folks on the RC have suggested they’re going to make a serious effort to have one created. So stay tuned …

 

3. Just did a speed test just prior to leaving Athens. Here are the results, which I might suggest were quite good when compared to others we have recently cruised on. However, it will be interesting to see if these rates continue once we’re on the high seas as well as in some more isolated locations along the way.