Mediterranean magic!
Norwegian Jade Cruise Review to Europe - Western Mediterranean
Contributor Level:
Second Mate
Cruises: 7+ cruises
Reviews: 5
Helpful Votes: 223
11 Night Western Mediterranean (Rome Roundtrip)
Sail date: April 12, 2014
Ship: Norwegian Jade
Cabin type: Balcony
Traveled as: Couple
Reviewed: 5 years ago
Review summary
Unforgettable Easter season Mediterranean cruise with some unique ports.Embarkation
Effortless!
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
The Jade’s main dining room was like fine dining every night. We enjoyed dinner in Cagney’s one night, a 5 star experience. We made good friends with a couple from Australia and got a kick out of Moderno. Terriffic salad/olive bar, and then meat, more meat, some additional meat, good Lord, more meat and 🥩. Delicious, and great fun!
Onboard Activities
Honestly, this was such a port intensive trip we did not do much, but the pool was clean and refreshing if a little crowded. There was a friend from our extensive roll call that was a minister, and he was our “shepherd” throughout the Easter festivities. On Easter Sunday, he set up a special service with the staff, and over 100 people came for services, it was quite nice.
Entertainment
The music was awesome, and our gang loved the karaoke, just about every night. We saw “Elements” for the first time on this sailing and were honestly blown away.
Children's Programs
No kids!
Service and Staff
Norwegian is always wonderful! Great room steward, great bar staff, friendly and attentive wait staff everywhere.
Ship Quality
The Jade was a beautiful gem as the name suggests. Looking forward to sailing on her again.
Cabin / Stateroom
It was wonderful, spacious and clean.
Ship tip
If specialty dining is not in the budget, complimentary dining in the Grand Pacific and Alizar dining rooms always have great choices. O’Sheehan’s usually serves Prime Rib on at least one night of the cruise, and the Asian Fusion restaurant is excellent. You will not feel deprived!
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Ports of call
Because you end up phisically wrecked after an international overnight flight, we always build at least one extra day into a Europe cruise. We have done the whole Rome sightseeing stuff before, so we went to a few spots that were new to us. The Villa Borghese was stunning, the gardens were wonderful to stroll through. That evening we met friends from our roll call in Trastevere that night to enjoy strolling through the picturesque district, have delicious Caprese Insalata and wine while watching the buskers and people going by. Beautiful!
Livorno (Florence & Pisa), Italy
We booked a great tour with Papillion Tours that included Florence and San Gimignano. It was on Palm Sunday, and we received palms at the amazing Cathedral. It also included 1.5 hours at the Uffizi Gallery with a guide, the whole experience with admissions and guides included was about €120. We would definitely do it again. I researched and organized this tour and I think we had 8 people.
We did Monaco on our own as we have been there before, figuring we would take the train to Nice and explore. There was a medical emergency on the train that took more than an hour to straighten out, so we went to Nice, got off the train, found a sandwich shop, then got back on the train to get back to the ship. It was a long walk to and from the station and we did not understand the use of the automatic train ticket dispensers so we basically were totally defeated American Idiots. It was 100% on us.
The port was Toulon, and I again organized the tour with Daphne of Transferts Service. We visited picturesque Aix en Provence, a visit to Cezanne’s art studio, Cassis with its beautiful harbor and several views of the South of France. Super! It was €133 per person and we had 6 of us.
This is our favorite European port and although we have been before, we wanted to see many of the same places. I booked a tour for I think 16 of us with Barcelona Day Tours, flat rate for everyone of €99 + admissions which was less than €20 total. We went to Montserrat and spent about 1 hour there, then Barcelona where we had a skip-the-line access to Gaudi’s masterpiece cathedral La Sagrada Familia, an enchanting visit to Parc Guell and drive bys of Las Ramblas, the Gaudi houses and other Barcelona sights. Our wonderful guide, Christian Aguliera, is a pro Team Barcelona Football (soccer) player, and couldn’t have given us a better experience. He effortlessly took us to every destination with grace and lots of information. Unforgettable! I also want to advocate for generously tipping guides that provide a quality experience like this. Look at my Monte Carlo experience on my own - a disaster. Handing the reins over to any of the guides that we employed on this cruise was a great choice, they got us front row access to every sight we wished to take in, picked us up and brought us back to the ship with time to spare. I highly recommend each one, but Christian was the best of all!
We did some exploring on our own, easy enough to do with an inexpensive transfer from the ship, then met Suzie from Tapas Tours of Valencia for stops at three restaurants for regional tapas and drinks, and tours of this very unique city, the new and old, the colorful street art around every corner, and Chirozios con Diavolo! (Sausages from Hell?) I hope to see Suzie again soon!
Palma De Mallorca, Balearic Islands
Palma was a port that was a substitute for Tunisia, which was cancelled because the government of Tunis refused to admit passengers holding Israeli passports. NCL wisely chose not to allow any of their international passengers to be subjected to this bigotry and switched ports. I did a bit of research, and found out about the Palma to Soller Train, which is a cool old train that used to carry oranges. It clickety-clacks through the countryside, up the mountain, THROUGH the mountain stopping at the top for some stunning views. It continues to the seaside village of Soller where we did a bit of exploring on foot. There is a cool Miro and Picasso museum right in the train station (free) and another museum nearby, a tram down to the shore, lots of charming gardens and buildings. This is very easy to do on your own, maybe €20 round trip or less. Take a cab from the port to the train station. The cabbie did not understand English, but did understand, “chugga, chugga, chugga, whooo-whoo!” Can’t wait to do this again! There was a Passion Play there this day, we did not go because we needed time away from crowds. We were nearly alone on the train back from Soller, and the cabbie back to port took us the scenic route and showed us the best of the city.
If I could possibly give this port more stars, I would! ⭐️! Sardinia Dream Tours is the very best, and on our roll call, we were able to fill 4 of their cool safari jeeps with about 20 people. We were like Indiana Jones on this cool excursion, seeing Barumini, UNESCO Su Nuraxi ancient stone houses and burial mounds, we visited the Casa Zapata, Domus de Jana and up upon the Giara de Gesturi, an ancient plateau filled with unique flora and fauna and the awe inspiring wild horses. They provided soda and sandwiches for lunch which we ate on the plateau. It was fabulous for a mere €65 that included the picnic lunch! I need more stars! It was Easter Sunday and they really gave a special and unforgettable day.
It all sounds so great so far, and it was. This port, however was the centerpiece of the trip, an experience that will likely never be repeated. On the Monday following Easter, Italians celebrate Little Easter, “la Pasquetta” which is sort of like Memorial Day, usually spent with friends relaxing on a day off. But in Palermo, about 3 miles up in the mountains, a little village called San Martino delle Scale where there is a lovely Benedictine Monastery, a Medieval tradition continues. I had read about it while doing my research on the trip. They have a little festival with dances and feasting, an organ concert at the monastery and the monks, who have kept the birds safe and sheltered throughout the winter, release the birds from the back of a decorated Sicilian cart. I was thinking to myself, “I have to experience this!” And when sharing it on the roll call, about 30 of my friends there agreed. I set up a tour to the mountain, and the village welcomed us with open arms! It was truly unforgettable and inspiring, a once in a lifetime experience, and if you happen to be in Sicily on la Pasquetta, do not miss it for the world. Learn, “Buona Pasqua!” (Happy Easter!) and “Grazie!” (Thank you!). The monks and the townsfolk are wonderful.
We have been to Capri many times, and did this on our own, taking the Hydrofoil from Naples (about €20 each way) and did the island boat tour to the Blue, Green and White Grottoes and Fariglioni Rocks (€17 pp), + admittance to the Blue Grotto in a tiny boat (€7). Hung atound the harbor a bit, ate lunch, took the Funicular up to Capri from the port (€1.80). We did not have time to go up to Anacapri and ride the Seggovia Lift Chair this time, but it is a magical experience floating up the mountain with views of the Bay of Naples and Mount Vesuvius. Up top are more great views of the Fariglioni Rocks, and the Doctor’s Mansion (I can’t remember his name) tour and gardens is pretty awesome. Little art galleries, Limoncello tasting (tastes like heaven, with lemons) and the scent of frangipani will leave you wanting to stay forever!
Disembarkation
It was very smooth, with an airport transfer from NCL.