On Board the Jade, Again!

Boarding the NCL Jade, Civitavecchia, Italy -- February 14, 2015

After spending three nights in Rome, we were ready to board the NCL Jade at the port of Civitavecchia. We did not have anything planned for the morning so everybody took their time and slept in before our trip to the port. DC and MC wanted to visit the Vatican one more time, hoping to see the Basilica before the rush of tourists arrived. What they found was a lot of tour groups and tourists already there at the early hour of 7:30. They returned to the apartment disappointed. Together with DD and ChC, they went to the pizzeria where we got the pizzas the day before and brought some fresh hot pizzas back to the apartment. We all enjoyed a great pizza breakfast before leaving the apartment.

After cleaning the apartment a bit and took out the trash, we took turns getting into the tiny elevator with our luggage to wait for our driver downstairs. Raffaele, the same driver who picked us up from the airport, came as scheduled and we were on our way. 

It started to rain as we got closer to the port and quite heavy at times. The port terminal, which was a huge tent type structure, was buzzing with passengers ready for the cruise. After we dropped off our luggage, we were instructed to go to the other side of the tent for check-ins. Health forms were given to us as we entered. There was a "Latitude" line, but it did not specify whether it was for platinum, gold, or silver. We showed our boarding pass and was told that was the right line for 'gold'. We would be platinum after the first part of this cruise but NCL won't take into account of the sail days until after the cruise is completed. Fortunately, this line had only one person in front of us so we got checked in very quickly. The other long line was VERY LONG! After the obligatory embarkation photo, we ran out to board the Jade as it was raining pretty hard.

We knew that the Grand Pacific would be opened for lunch on embarkation day (well, Cagney's was opened too, but this time we were not in a suite) so that was where we headed for a quiet sit-down lunch. It was very empty at the GP, I guess not too many people knew about this and most were up on the Lido deck enjoying the buffet. 

Enjoying our first meal on board the Jade.

Not escargot! I think it was scallops.

This was what I had--poached salmon, which was quite good!

When we were done eating, the waiter told us that our cabins should be ready, so we went and found our cabins even though our luggage were not there yet.

Our Cabin: 11594 Mini-Suite

A small box of Godiva was waiting in our cabin for being 'Latitude Gold'.

Our pins and welcome letters were also on the desk. I was the group leader for the Cruise Critic Meet and Greet on this cruise, so I also received a letter from the Group Event Coordinator Cholette.

We originally booked two balcony cabins, but we were later upgraded to two mini-suites next door to each other because of the price drop after final payment. NCL do not have a consistent method in dealing with these situations. Seemed like a draw of luck to see what the incentives they will give you. I heard that some people got a lot of OBC, but also many did not get anything for booking early and paid a lot more than the last minute people.

The mini-suites are not much different from the regular balcony cabins, except about 70 sq ft bigger. The balcony was bigger too. Also, there is a bathtub in the bathroom instead of just a shower.

We had cabin 11594, port side on deck 11. One of the disadvantages of this cabin is that the balcony is not fully covered, which made it hard to stay outside when it rains. Next time, I will pick a cabin a couple of doors up closer to the middle or forward of the ship.

My sharps container was there already.

Nice bathtub.

A coffee maker with coffee packets and tea bags.

The cabin was ready but our luggage were not there yet, so MOR and I went around the ship to deliver reminders of the meet and greet to those who signed up for it. When we got back, our bags arrived so we unpacked quickly before the mandatory muster drill at 4:00. 

Muster Drill: 

The muster drill was painless and easy. We just went to our station (Moderno), checked in with the crew, listened and watched the life vest demonstration. That was it! We didn't have to take the life vests with us and we didn't have to go to the life boats.

Informal Meet and Greet:

After the muster drill we went to Spinnaker Lounge for the informal meet and greet where many cruise critic members showed up. The official M&G was scheduled for the first sea day, which was on the 6th day of this sailing. This informal M&G allowed for people who were on shared tours to meet and discuss things. It was at this meeting that Jim told me about the nice perks that I would get as group leader of cruise critic M&G. Now, I was getting excited!

Watching the sail away from Spinnaker.

Sailing towards the sunset.

Going back to our cabins before dinner.

This was what I found...thanks, Leah!

...and the first treat arrived!

We had most of our dinners at Grand Pacific, except for a couple of times that we ate at the Garden Buffet. We usually have early dinners, but the young men wanted to eat later on this trip. I think this first dinner was at 8PM.

Pistachio Creme Brulee

One thing I forgot was to take pictures of the menus. We enjoyed most of our meals at the Grand Pacific except for a couple of nights when we had wait staff who acted like they didn't want to be there. Our favorite waitress was Jocelyn, who was fun and attentive. We requested for her a few times and they tried their best to accommodate us whenever possible.

After dinner, we decided that it was too late to go to the show, so we just called it a day and went back to our cabins for the night.