And finally... pictures!

Photos! Photos! Photos!

Libby on balcony, leaving Villefranche-sur-Mer

Well, I've finally managed to sort, select, and add comments to the photos from the trip. We captured a lot of images on our journey this summer (well over 1600 photos). I've managed to reduce those to about 500: 400 or so of London and our ports of call (on average about 50-60 per city), and another 100 or so of the Norwegian Jade. Needless to say, this is very "comprehensive" (read: overkill)... but I thought it the best representation of the places we visited.

That said, consider this an "all-you-can-eat" buffet of our Europe by Sea 2008 pics. View what interests you and skip what doesn't. It's the same price either way (free, so no complaints). :-)

The Ship:

Norwegian Jade

London & Ports of Call:

London, England (Pre-Cruise)
Malaga, Spain
Barcelona, Spain
Villefranche-sur-Mer, France
Livorno (Pisa), Italy
Civitavecchia (Rome), Italy
Gibraltar
Lisbon, Portugal
Vigo (Santiago de Compostella), Spain
London, England (Post-Cruise)

Behold: Social Networking

I'm proud to note that others have used my blog as inspiration to start their own... whether travel-related (Dick) or family-related (Feik). Of course, these are folks who know me outside of the so-called blogosphere. Given that, it's somewhat amazing (philosophically speaking) to know that you've had an influence on a complete stranger's life (even in a small way). Thus, I was both pleased and bemused to come across this message posted on the Internet:

We are going on NCL's Jade on 7/13/08. We leave Friday for our vacation and I decided to blog our trip. Paul's blog was very helpful to me so I thought would give it a try. I also hope to make updates daily while we are on the ship. Here is my website:

http://amyandbriansworldtour.blogspot.com

Feel free to ask any questions about the ship or our trip in general. Enjoy.

Behold the power of social networking, I suppose...

I wish Amy and Brian a wonderful time aboard the NCL Jade!

Additional Literature: Now Available

Here's my last update of documents from the cruise...

- Shore Excursion Info / Price List
- Port Information (Provided in "NCL Shopping Guides")
- Misc Information (Fitness, Spa, Disembarkation, Internet Access, Etc.)

I hope / plan to start posting actual pictures of the ship and ports in the next day or two. Fortunately, the three day weekend should help get me caught up. Once those are posted, this blog (in terms of active updates) will sadly be coming to an end.

Hmm... I guess it's time to start planning the next big vacation, huh? :-)

Menus: Now Available

Here are pictures of many of the menus (especially of the speciality restaurants) from our sailing on the NCL Jade. We ate at every dining venue, save Sushi (which I'd really hoped to try). This, of course, makes for a good excuse to sail around Europe again!

http://picasaweb.google.com/paulandlibbyvacations/MenusNCLJadeJun08

Freestyle Daily: Now Available

I've posted the first batch of pictures: the entire archive of "Freestyle Daily" bulletins.

Given the somewhat limited space on Picasa, I don't intend to keep these online indefinitely. But, I will keep them available for at least six months (after which I suspect they'll prove far less helpful anyway).

http://picasaweb.google.com/paulandlibbyvacations/JadeFreestyleDailyJune13WesternMed

George Carlin

One of the interesting side effects of an overseas vacation, and perhaps especially so of a cruise vacation, is that it's easy to get "unplugged" from the news of the day. As such, I was unaware of George Carlin's death until last night when I saw a promotion on CNN for a special Larry King tribute re-run. How very unfortunate!

As I acknowledged the death of Tim Russert on the blog (which I did hear of while we were gone), I thought it only appropriate to mention George Carlin, who I'd have to say is a greater loss to me personally. Indeed, George Carlin is my favorite comedian and it's difficult to imagine someone taking his place in my esteem. Sadly, it seems that much of the news coverage has focused on his fame (or infamy?) vis-a-vis his "Seven Dirty Words" routine. That's not to say that Carlin's routines can't be viewed as highly offensive. Yet, his perspective (on issues large and small) was unique, his mastery of language superb, and his delivery flawless. While I didn't agree with all of his views (though I sided with him in the majority of cases), it was his rhetorical skills that I most admired and marveled at... indeed, one might even say I've studied his work. And, though I'm certainly no George Carlin, I'd like to think some of my language skills are borrowed--at least in small ways--from him.

George Carlin was a comedic genius, who's wit always exceeded his filth.

In Atlanta

Well, we are back on US soil. We will be boarding our onward connection to Tampa in a few minutes. I checked my email briefly from the iPhone. It looks like I might have up 2000+ unread e-mails at work. Now that says, "Welcome Home!"

Upgrade! Upgrade!

Once again, Libby and I have been awarded the mythical operational upgrade on a transatlantic flight. Champagne, orange juice, mimosa? It's good to be "Delta Boy."

Final Day in London

Today with visited the Tate Britain (known for its collection of British art) and the Banqueting House (known for the Rubens paintings on its ceiling). I enjoyed the Tate Britain, which I usually do. It has a wonderful collection of the old-school British “big” names (Turner, Hogarth, Constable, Gainsborough, Reynolds, etc.), a great collection of Pre-Raphaelite canvases, and an enjoyable collection of contemporary works (including that of the Young British Artists, like Hirst and Emin). Last year I discovered the work of Jeremy Moon. This year, I was interested in the 1990s abstractions by Julian Opie and Ian Davenport.

Today was actually my first visit to Banqueting House, despite numerous trips to London over the past decade. My thought was that the admission (today 4.50 – about $9 – per person) was too high for what you get to see… essentially a large room with Rubens on the ceiling. But, Libby really likes this venue, and I agreed I should see it—not entirely unlike a child who’s forced to eat his vegetables. Now, having done so, I’m back to “it’s too expensive for what you get to see” as my official position on the subject. :-)

We also walked around Westminster and into the West End, playing London tourist (Houses of Parliament, Westminster Abbey, 10 Downing Street, Trafalgar Square, etc.). The weather today was perfect and very enjoyable… sunny, partly cloudy skies, mild temperatures.

Tomorrow we depart for home (via Atlanta) from London-Gatwick on Delta Airlines. I’ll try to post an update or two throughout the day, time and flights permitting.

I still owe my fellow NCL cruisers some additional information, which they’ve asked about (like “Freestyle Daily” and menu images). I also still intend to write about the Cy Twombly exhibition at the Tate Modern (perhaps more for my own future reference than anyone else’s benefit). In addition, I plan to post some overall reflections on the trip sometime next week. Finally, I post links to pictures!

Indeed, since I have a proper Internet connection in London, I’ll end tonight with a picture from today. Goodnight all!

Cruise Review

A few of you have asked for an overall review of the ship and cruise. This post is my attempt to do that for you. Of course, reviews (like blogs) are idiosyncratic... sometimes with an emphasis on the idio-t part. :-) So, keep your grain of salt at the ready.

Public Rooms

The NCL Jade is a very attractive ship with a pleasing, flowing layout (pictures to follow sometime next week). We were aboard the NCL Sun for one night in April, and I was less impressed with its public design. In my mind, the Jewel-class ships (such as Jade) have corrected the Sun’s design shortcomings. Indeed, I rather enjoyed seeing the evolution. I don’t have a lot of points of comparison, but I feel the Jade (and by extension other Jewel-class ships) has a very different feel from RCI’s ships with their multi-story dining rooms and atriums. As such, I think it’s better to evaluate the ship individually rather than compare it to different vessels, much like one can’t really judge the quality of a Romanesque cathedral by comparing it to one in the Rococo style.

Cabin

We loved our cabin. We had originally intended on an inside cabin but later upgraded for about $500/pp extra to an aft balcony (Deck 8, #8134). In my mind, this was worth every penny… as the views were magnificent and the balcony adds a real sense of spaciousness. The cabin was nicely appointed with a “cheerful” décor and in good condition (though the carpet could probably use replacing). The bed was very comfortable with extra pillows and nice bedding – the best I can recall at sea. Likewise, the bathroom was stupendous! It included a pretty roomy walk-in shower with sliding glass door (no wet bathroom floor from a goofy shower curtain) and good quality fixtures. Storage space was perfect for us (as moderately light packers), but I have no earthly idea how those with steamer trunks full of clothing managed! The mini-fridge (which we had cleaned out immediately by our cabin attendant) was really helpful for keeping drinks and/or snacks cool. The cabin steward was very nice and helpful… though, I’ve had better as the little things were sometimes overlooked. Nonetheless, I expect this is typical when on such a long voyage. Overall, the NCL cabins aren’t huge but are nice. We lived there very happily for 14 days and could do another 14 days starting tomorrow in it without getting “cabin fever” (pun, once again, intended).

Dining

This is always a favorite topic in cruisedom and a seemingly significant point of contention amongst reviewed. We tried every single dining option aboard, aside from Sushi (as we ran out of time and into higher seas – a bad combination to encourage culinary adventure). I’m not going to belabor the point of a blow-by-blow as I think the blog covers it pretty well. Instead, I’ll talk more in general terms about the “hot topics” posted in other reviews.

First, many people complain that some of the dining options aren’t “free” on their “freestyle” cruise – get their wit? Thank goodness Shakespeare is dead so he doesn’t have to worry about being usurped! No, freestyle isn’t always “free.” Sometimes restaurants are busy… so you have to wait (though we actually never had this problem). Sometimes restaurants are booked… so you can’t make a reservation (though we never had this problem either). Sometimes restaurants charge more than others… so you have to pay if you want to go (which we did). This is just like your “freestyle” life on land.

Second, many people seem to complain about the service of the wait staff. With “freestyle” you don’t have assigned times and tables. Thus, you don’t usually have a waiter or assistance waiter to build familiarity with… although, by the end of the cruise some will get to know you if you frequent certain venues (for example, a gentleman working at the al fresco Lido deck bar learned of my preference for wheat beers and Libby’s for diet coke – he was right there to help as soon as we sat down with our plates from the buffet). That’s not to say that all of the waiters are great… some were better than others, and I suspect this might have even varied from day-to-day. Again, this is just like a vacation on land. Put it this way, if you went out to eat 2-3 times per day for 14 days to different places with different waiters… do you think you’d have “great” service at all of the 28-42 meals? Given that, I’d say 14 days of overall “good” and usually “very good” service meets/exceeds our expectations, especially on a mass market cruise ship.

Third, some people complain about the food itself. We had very few items that were truly “bad” and absolutely no meals that I would call less than “ok.” In general, I do think the surcharge specialty restaurants are of slightly higher quality and have larger portion sizes. That said, we had some wonderful dishes and meals in the main dining rooms. The buffet was more hit-and-miss. Overall, I believe that I prefer RCI’s buffets (especially for “hot” entrées). However, the buffet did offer a very good salad bar (with nice gourmet cheese assortment and cold cuts), excellent hot dogs and hamburgers, good sandwiches (including a “custom sandwich” action station), and a simply sublime crepe-making action station in the evenings that is not to be missed. Would I opt to eat in any of these places on land at “full” price? Probably not but only because my standards on land are fairly high and growing (under the influence of some of my “foodie” friends, such as Dick, Frank, and Jason) and the choices/competition is more abundant. Overall, the cuisine reminded me a lot of what one would get at a nice, business-class hotel’s restaurant in America (at which I’ve eaten a lot of meals in my life). The notable exception was the Asian choices, which I would absolutely frequent at home.

My advice on dining aboard the NCL Jade:

1. Book early if you really want to eat somewhere at a specific time.
2. If you don’t have a reservation, early and late will be less crowded. At peak times, the surcharge specialty restaurants were also usually less crowded. This is typical / to be expected.
3. Pay the extra price and try the specialty restaurants (indeed, go expecting to pay and add it to the cost of the cruise – if it’s still a good deal… why not?)
4. Order foods you wouldn’t ordinarily eat. If you don’t like it, say so and they’ll replace it with your “safe” choice. The pricing isn’t a la carte. If you don’t like it, what’s the risk?
5. Pay attention to the Freestyle Daily (as times changes in venues based on the day’s cruise / port schedule).
6. Go to the buffets well before the closing time for best selection and freshness.
7. Expect to wait 30-45 for room service in the evenings – plan accordingly.

Entertainment

I’ve written about this extensively in the rest of the blog… so, I’ll largely skip the details. Overall, I thought the program to good in terms of its variety and quality for a mass market cruise line. Are the production shows as good as Broadway or the West End? No. Are they an hour or two of pleasant entertainment? Absolutely! What surprised me most is how few of the scheduled acts we actually attended. We tend to like this sort of thing… but after busy days in port, we often enjoyed just sitting on the balcony watching the world go by. I’m ok with that as cultural events are a part of our “normal” lives already.

On a related note, I wasn’t overly impressed with the new “NCL U” curriculum. Many of the “educational” events were semi-veiled attempts to promote paid aspects (spa treatments, art auctions, etc.). We only had one guest lecturer: an older gentleman—a minister/historian—who tried to please but came across as more “cute” than “enlightening” to us. The best events (which had a cover charge) were the “tastings” which allowed you to sample wines, beers, whiskies, foods, etc. for about $15/pp. Of course, I’m naturally a fan of that sort of thing… as I like the expanding my sensory memory.

Ports / Shore Excursions

If you’ve read the blog, you’ve read all about these already. So, I’ll restrict myself to a few meta-comments. First, please read my post on “Europe by Sea” in general. Cruising is a very different—not better, not worse—way to experience this wonderful continent! We enjoyed all of ports to varying degrees. Of the new locales we visited, we were especially fond of Lisbon and Vigo/Santiago de Compostela. Barcelona and southern Spain will also be worth another trip. Of course, we enjoyed our old favorites too (Rome, Tuscany, and the south of France)!

We can’t review the shore excursions, as we did everything on our own (intended or otherwise). Thus, I can’t offer a review of those. That said, I think shore excursions are good for many people, especially new travelers or those wishing to be “worry free” (though still take care, as I’m confident that pickpockets and disreputable vendors are more likely to take advantage of tourists walking about with “NCL” stickers affixed to them). For NCL’s care and your lack of hassle, you pay a premium… so don’t be shocked if you hear that your “Rome on Your Own” tour at $119/pp. could have been duplicated on the train for as little as $20/pp. I don’t think this is unfair on NCL’s part…

I have no opinion of arranging your own shore excursion (i.e., some sort of guided private tour that you booked yourself). This seems like it could be great or could be a huge hassle. I just don’t know not having done it. I’d look for strong recommendations and/or avoid paying up front, if possible (in case the ship has to divert or you’re under the weather).

I’m a big fan of the “do it yourself” exploration of ports. That’s the most cost effective and flexible means of travel. We saw more (especially of what we wanted to see) in ports than on any of the ship’s shore excursions. And, we did for less than $400 in public transport/entrance/taxis fees what would have cost $2000+ via NCL shore excursions. However, I know… know… this is not best for everyone. It requires some knowledge of “how things work” in Europe. It also requires advanced research / information about what you want to accomplish, as well as a realistic assessment of what’s possible. All of this can be gained in advance, but it’s best for those with experiential knowledge of Europe.

Bottom line: if you want to travel independently on your “dream vacation to Europe” simply to save money – DON’T! You’ll regret it. However, if independent travel is what makes your European vacation a dream (as it does for Libby and me), than by all means have at it! That’s the best advice I can give.

Summary

We had an excellent cruise about the NCL Jade. We thought the service, food, accommodation, and ship to be all meeting or exceeding or expectations. Is the NCL Jade a floating Ritz-Carlton resort sprinkled with nothing but celebrity chef or multiple Michelin star awarded restaurants? Well… no! But do you really expect that on a 14 day European cruise that costs little more than $2000/pp. for a balcony cabin? I believe in assessment via a price-to-quality ratio for most consumer goods/services. For example, the $10 bottle of wine that tastes like it costs $20 is inherently a better value (and arguably a better wine when compared to its peers) than the $100 bottle that tastes like it should cost $80. In that light, this cruise was good value for money, and we had an exceptional time. By my standards, our cruise was outstanding.

Back in London

We arrived in London just before 9:30. We spent the morning taking care of logistics (checking into the hotel, getting some cash, topping up the Oyster card). We then left and had lunch at the Borough Market. We spent the better part of the afternoon at the Tate Modern, primarily viewing the Cy Twombly retrospective. We also did a bit of book shopping, as the lengthy cruise depleted our supply of books to be read.

I will give a more complete update tomorrow, including a review of the Twombly show. I didn't want to pay for two days of proper Internet access at nearly $20 per day for WiFi at the hotel. Most likely, I will locate a more affordable (or free) hot spot.

En route to London

We are now on the train back to London Waterloo. Disembarkation was very smooth... no queues or hold-ups. We did the "express" option that allows you to leave "whenever" between 6am and 9am.

We took a taxi to the station with the most dishonest taxi driver of the entire vacation (and perhaps of any vacation)! He tried to get us to have him drive us to London or the airport, because "no trains would be available until after 10:30 due to the early morning commuter rush." He said they "wouldn't let us on." He then related a story of a poor, misfortunate couple who missed their flight because they didn't take his advice. Hogwash! He shut up quickly when I said, "is that so? Well, no matter, we are just heading back to London for a few days anyway." He also failed to use his meter, so I didn't start reaching for my wallet until after our luggage was safely on the curb. Then I said sharply, "I believe that will be a fiver? That's what I paid on the way in, including tip." He grunted his agreement. What a buffoon!

Note: in my experience, this is very uncommon in England as most cabbies have been honest to a fault. I expect it must be hard to make a living driving a taxi in Southampton. Nonetheless, dishonesty is dishonesty, and I simply do not tolerate it. I think fellow travelers will be fine. This is just another reason to do your homework in advance and know what o'clock it really is.

Editorial Note #6

I will continue to post while we’re in London and will have a few summary posts online after we’re home. I’ll also continue to answer questions and will post our pictures – so the posts won’t stop immediately after the vacation.

For those of you on later NCL Jade (or otherwise) cruises, I’ve created a fairly comprehensive photo archive of the ship’s documents: menus, daily activity sheets, price lists, shore excursions, disembarkation information, etc. from the cruise that you might find helpful. I will make all of this available to you as electronic images.

I’d also be interested in hearing feedback about the blog: good, bad, or indifferent.

Cruise Day #14, Reflections on Europe by Sea

I expect this will be one of my last posts from aboard the Norwegian Jade. Given that, I thought it appropriate to put down some of my thoughts on the experience of seeing Europe by sea. As experienced European travelers, I think we’re pretty well positioned to offer something of an insightful opinion. Of course, it is just that: opinion, not fact. As such, this is bound to be an idiosyncratic view.

Whether for good or bad, cruising is a very different way to experience Europe when compared to either land-based organized tours or independent travel. Overall, a cruise of Europe cruises provides a pretty cost-effective, time-efficient, and low-stress way to see a lot of coastal (or quasi-coastal) Europe. Here are a few key differences:

First, cruising isolates you (to varying degrees) from the “real” Europe you might have come to see (an argument I also make against many of the large, organized tours). If you’re mostly in it for a sort of sightseeing safari, that’s not a problem. However, if you want to be immersed in the culture and atmosphere of a place, I don’t think cruising won’t do it for you.

Second, with a floating hotel and the ship’s shore excursions, we’re able to basically shut your brain off and not have to worry at all about logistics. The downside is that you’re led around seeing what other people think important on the time schedule they’ve set. Want to spend an extra day in Nice? Sorry, not possible. Don’t want the tour’s included lunch? We’re stopping anyway. For independent travelers, that could be frustrating… but it certainly is worry free.

Third, you must accept that in most ports you really don’t have enough time to see “everything” that is on offer. A cruise provides more of a taste or impression of a place, much like eating tapas. A given port usually isn’t a full meal: don’t try to make it so. Instead, focus and enjoy.

Would we travel around Europe on a cruise again? Absolutely! It’s been a wonderful, different, and relaxing experience. We’ve seen both new and old places, including our first visit to the Iberian peninsula. Our discoveries have left us wanting to come back for more, which is always a good feeling.

Would we only (or mostly) want to travel around Europe by cruise ship now? Absolutely not! Obviously, we’d not be able to get everywhere by ship. However, even for those locations that would be cruise accessible, we’d still wish to continue traveling to via our usual methods. Fully independent travel is the ultimate in “freestyle,” allowing us to deeply explore and embrace the places we visit. I believe it’s that kind of close contact that engenders a fuller understanding and deeper passion for a place.

What about for others – is cruising best for first time visitors? This is a tough one for Libby and me to answer. We’ve actually talked about it a lot. I think it depends on the person and what you’re after. In the end, if you’re a “cruiser” looking for a new destination, I think it’s a fine introduction to Europe. If your primary concern is experiencing Europe, I think you should go land-based either independently or on an organized tour. And, for the majority of folks, I’d opt for the organized tour simply for reasons of economics and logistics (after all, my goal is not to turn your vacation into work). Indeed, a good two-week land-based tour that covers the highlights of Western Europe is probably the single best introduction. From that, you can identify the places you’d like to explore further…

Whatever the case, I’d go into it with an adventurous spirit and open mind. Travel is wonderful and enlightening… embrace it and enjoy!

Cruise Day #14, At Sea

Today started with our usual breakfast on the balcony. Well, ok… not “usual” due to the higher seas, but it was breakfast al fresco nevertheless. I managed to spill my coffee all over the place while trying to make my way out of the sliding glass door. We also had to fashion a way to keep the unlocked door from banging open and closed with the sloshing ocean. In the end, I hog tied it open with an extra length of Ethernet cable I’d brought along! After breakfast, we mostly just lounged about the cabin: reading, chatting, and watching TV (BBC One is a joy for the type of boring TV I so much enjoy!).

We had a very light lunch in the Garden Café. At some point while we were eating, we heard a repeated announcement of “Code Alpha, Deck 12 Forward.” I have no idea what that means, but I assume it’s likely some sort of medical emergency. Perhaps, someone took a fall due to the higher seas? In any case, we’re still sailing along happily so it must be an isolated event.

We spent a couple of hours in the casino this afternoon making our donations. I won’t bore anyone with the details. Yet, after about 2 hours, we’re down $40… not too bad for an afternoon’s entertainment -- cheaper than shore excursions. :-)

We returned to the cabin from whence I’m now blogging.

Tonight, we plan to eat our last meal in Le Bistro. We’ll then come back to the cabin to pack and make ready for our disembarkation. I’ve had a few questions on that topic. To answer them, I’ll include a special post on that topic either from London or after we return home.

Cruise Day #13, Reflections on Galicia

In my earlier post, I was so concerned with relating the story of the journey to Santiago de Compostela that I forgot to reflect on Galicia itself. This fairly remote region of northwest Spain lies just above Portugal. Indeed, Vigo is less than 20 miles from the Portuguese border. Like Catalonia, Galicia has a unique culture and language. It’s also an alluringly beautiful area with a sort of “Pacific Northwest meets Tuscany” kind of feel. As we rode along in the train, we noticed many inlets dotted with small villages. Most of the homes seemed to have personal vineyards planted. The landscape was lush and verdant… the climate less arid and milder than most of Spain due to the Atlantic’s influence. As something of a wine enthusiast, I’d like to know more about this as a winemaking region (post-vacation research requirement for me). Indeed, despite its remoteness, I don’t think I’d mind owning a place in Galicia. While that’s unlikely, these started out of one of those places that we should see because we might not see again. But it’s vaulted itself to the ranks of a place I’d like to explore in more depth despite its lack of “big” tourist sights aside from Santiago de Compostela. In short, we think it’s an undiscovered paradise.

Cruise Day #13, Dinner at Teppanyaki

[Note: I didn’t post either of the “Cruise Day #13” updates last evening, because I was having a difficult time writing. The sea was “rough” (according to the televised Ship’s Log with 7.5 to 12 foot waves) and the winds were at 25 knots. Considering the fact that this cruise has been incredibly smooth, I hadn’t had a chance of getting my “sea legs” yet and typing was starting to make me green. This morning, seas are still “rough” but it’s more of a gentle swell than white caps and the wind is down to 14 knots. I’m also doing much better.]


Last night, we had dinner at Teppanyaki ($25/pp. surcharge, 2-for-1 at first group seating). This is NCL Jade’s version of Japanese steakhouse at sea complete with knife-yielding, shtick-playing chefs at a group table. If you’ve been to this sort of thing, it’s very similar to the land-based version… just no flame-based table-side tricks (for obvious reasons). The food was very good -- a bit more tasty than any of the 3 such establishments we’ve been to on land. Everyone at the table started with miso soup and a seaweed salad. We were able to select from a choice of entrees (beef, chicken, seafood, vegetarian, etc.). Everyone also gets grilled vegetables and fried rice. Dessert was fresh fruit sashimi. Overall, I found it to be a bit more flavorful.

The only downside to this experience is that you end up eating at a table of complete strangers (unless you go with a group). I generally hate having to do that, especially when I’m on vacation (as by nature I’m a rather private and somewhat anti-social sort of person – which many people don’t believe about me, but is nonetheless my true inclination). Fortunately, our table was mostly made up of quiet, “keep-to-yourself” couples… making for a somewhat awkward but not unpleasant social situation.

We’d intended on seeing the comedian’s show last night followed by the NCL Jade’s “goodbye” presentation. However, the motion of the ocean deadened my spirits. In the end, we ended up watching the movie Stranger than Fiction (weird but good) and went to bed early (myself with a Dramamine chaser).

Tomorrow’s our last day aboard the Norwegian Jade. We’re at sea all day en route to Southhampton.

Cruise Day #13, Vigo & Santiago de Compostela

Today was out last port of call: Vigo, Spain. For those of you who’ve followed the blog, you’ll have noticed that Libby and I have mostly opted travel independently in port. Today was the scheduled exception with an NCL arranged shore excursion to the legendary Santiago de Compostela (we paid $179/pp. before we left – current price is $189/pp. aboard the ship). We opted for the organized tour because there was relatively little information available about Galicia (this region of Spain), or Vigo specifically, either online or in printed travel guidebooks. Moreover, we knew that transportation connections from other parts of Spain to Santiago de Compostela are time consuming, making it less practicable to visit later over land. So, in relative terms, this seemed like decent value for money, especially since seeing Santiago was so important to us.

Unfortunately, Libby awoke this morning to an upset stomach. I’ll spare everyone the details but suffice it to say we weren’t able to depart with the tour early in the morning at nine o’clock. This was a huge disappointment to Libby (which bothered me) and obviously a waste of money (which bothered me less so, because #@$%^ happens and you can’t let it get you down). I could have obviously gone without her, but we don’t travel like that unless we had planned to do something separately. With us, it’s all for one, one for all. The sad part of it all was that Libby was more or less fine by 10 o’clock in the morning.

What to do?

Well, I’m never one to be deterred. Plus, we’re intrepid travelers. Moreover, the El Camino to Santiago de Compostela is a famed pilgrimage route, whereby millions of people have walked from all over to this destination—a destination only rivaled by Rome and Jerusalem in all of Christendom as a pilgrimage site. If they can manage that, I saw no reason why we couldn’t hold our own little El Camino and make our way to Santiago de Compostela on our own! And, that’s what we did!

I logged on to RENFE’s (the Spanish train system’s) web site and got the schedule for Vigo to Santiago. I found a 10:55 departure that arrived at 12:20, as well as a 2:36 departure that arrived back in Vigo at 4:07. We got off the ship and took a cab to the train station (5 euro and less than 10 minutes). We bought our roundtrip train tickets and jumped onto the 10:55 train (12 euro/pp). In Galicia, most locals do not speak English – so we weren’t sure that we had bought roundtrip tickets, but I knew enough to know that we had to “do something else” for the return. Fortunately, we could make ourselves well enough understood so that he knew to tell us to “go to the train office” in Santiago. Upon arrival, we immediately did that. I used the printed time schedule that I picked up to show the person at the train station the route and time we wanted for our return. She thought us a little crazy (as we’d just arrived and wanted to depart in a little more than 2 hours), but she gave us the required reservation (an extra 1 euro per person) for the rapido (express train) back to Vigo at 2:36. From here, we followed Rick Steves’s guidebook for walking to the cathedral – it’s about 10 minutes up hill. After making out way through modern Santiago, we arrived in the heart of the old town with narrow, picturesque streets. We turned a corner and suddenly before us stood Praza des Praterias, covered with pilgrims and sightseers alike, as well as the Cathedral itself. Wow! What a sight! And, we’d made it.

We made our way to all four plazas around the Cathedral and visited the interior as well, including the tomb of St. James. It’s really a magnificent structure. What’s more, Santiago de Compostela has a very unique almost mystical feel about it. You get the sense that you’re amongst a much higher percentage of the devoutly faithful than what you experience at other religious sights in Europe. There’s also a sense of joy and serenity that seems to emanate from many of those who’d just completed the lengthy and (I assume) arduous El Camino. Perhaps, I was more keenly aware of it, as we had our own unique journey to get there and thus a sense of accomplishment at having made it despite the difficulties.

Of course, getting there was only half the battle for us. So, we left the Cathedral by 2 o’clock. Ironically, we passed the NCL tour group while we were leaving! We reversed our route (train to Vigo, taxi to port) and were back on the ship by 4:30, an hour before “all aboard.” Mission accomplished!

In the end, I’m not at all upset that the organized shore excursion went sideways on us. In fact, I rather liked the adventure of doing it on our own with the added urgency of needing to be back on ship by a certain time.

Would I recommend that others go to Santiago de Compostela? Absolutely!

Would I recommend that others on a cruise do this port independently? Well, it’s not difficult but time is short and communication more difficult. If you’re an experienced traveler in Europe and/or you are fluent in Spanish, I know this is possible and you can save yourself a lot of money ($150-200/pp. versus about $20/pp.) by doing it independently. Thus, I’d give a cautious “go for it.” Just know the train times in advance and spend a little extra on taxi rides to save precious time.

Personally, I would not opt for the ship’s tour again and won’t be so quick to assume that limited information implies that it’s impracticable to explore a given port on one’s own. At our heart, Libby and I are independent travelers and that’s how we like it best. So, despite the wasted money, we accomplished our goal (visiting Santiago de Compostela) and did so without the included group lunch with strangers (which I detest) and lengthy bus ride (which I believe is more time consuming than the train ride). The tour guide would have provided little for us, as we already knew much about Santiago de Compostela. So, in that end, I think we came out ahead.

Cruise Day #12, Lisbon

New city and country today!

We arrived in Lisbon a little after 8 o’clock this morning to mostly sunny skies and mild temperatures. Disembarkation was typical of the other ports: no lines, no waits, and no hooligans. We took the free shuttle bus from the port to Praca do Comercio, the grand entrance to and heart of Lisbon in the Baixa. Our original plan was to make use of the hop-on, hop-off tourist buses and trams. While the routes looked appealing, we were actually there a bit before the ticket office opened and the queue was fairly lengthy (with both NCL Jade and Cunard QM2 in port today). Being the resourceful type, I consulted the map and realized that our two primary destinations were within walking distance of the square. So, we made the somewhat arduous but picturesque uphill walk to the Se Catedral (Lisbon’s cathedral dating from the 1100’s) and Castelo de Sao Jorge (which provides magnificent views of Lisbon from its esplanade battlements). Actually, I say arduous, but it’s not a difficult trek for anyone with average physical stamina and good, high-traction walking shoes. Somewhat inexplicably, none of the NCL shore excursions go to either of these destinations – yet, many travel books list them among the top sights in Lisbon.

After the castle, we trekked back down the hill and then made our way to Rua Augusta, a long pedestrianized street with shops and cafes leading back to the triumphal arch at Praca do Comercio. An interesting sight on the Rua Augusta were the street musicians playing accordions. Now that, in and of itself, is fairly typical. What made this unique is that they each had little dogs (Min-Pins no less, like our beloved Harley and Annie) holding tiny little cups in their mouths for the passersby to deposit change into (which was usually accompanied by an even more appreciated head pat or ear scratch). Needless to say, we made our contribution… more for the dogs than the music. :-)

From the square, we took a taxi all the way across town to Belem (cost of taxi: 5 euro). We began our exploration here with a visit to Mosteiro dos Jeronimos, a beautiful example of Portugal’s unique Manueline architecture. Given our time constraints, we only visited the church and not the cloisters of the monastery or attached museums. However, this still allowed us to see the tomb of Vasco da Gama and Henry the Navigator, as well as enjoy the interior and exterior architectural embellishments of this historic monastery. From here, we made our way to the waterfront to view the Torre de Belem (a quintessential example of the Manueline style built between 1515 and1520) and the far more modern Padrao dos Descobrimentos (“Monument to the Discoveries,” built in 1960 on the 500th anniversary of the death of Henry the Navigator). After our sightseeing, we paid a visit to the renowned café Antiga Confeitaria de Belem to sample their famous pastesis de Belem (custard tarts). Libby and I both agree that these tarts are simply sublime… and yummy!

We traveled back to the ship via taxi (for another 5 euro). The driver was exceedingly friendly and provided us with a mini-tour along the route to the ship. Overall, we’ve found the people of Lisbon to be proud of their city and culture, as well as extremely helpful and friendly. Also, while we’d heard reports to the contrary, the official taxis in Lisbon were remarkably affordable and had some of the nicest drivers we’ve experienced anywhere.

All in all, this was a perfect day in Lisbon. Our only regret is not having a few more days to spend in this delightful place!

Tonight we mostly relaxed and enjoyed a dinner at the buffet. Tomorrow we visit our last port of call: Vigo, Spain.

Cruise Day #11, Shabu-Shabu

Those of you playing the home game might have noticed that we’ve eaten in nearly every restaurant on board the ship at least once. As of this morning, we had three to go: Sushi, Teppanyaki, and Shabu-Shabu. We’re not really (or havn’t been) sushi eaters – though I think we’re planning to try it out. As for Teppanyaki – it’s actually the most expensive specialty restaurant ($25 per person), but we’ve had this sort of Japanese-steakhouse cook at the table before. So, instead we settled on trying something new and unusual tonight… Shabu-Shabu ($15/pp; 2-for-1 before 6:30)!

What’s Shabu-Shabu? We didn’t really know… it’s described a form of a Mongolian Hot Pot. We can either do a steak shabu-shabu meal or something known as the “noodle bar” (which features noodles and a variety of dumplings). Being a fan of Asian dumplings, we went for the noodle bar options. We began the meal with a seaweed salad, which was surprisingly delicious. We then had numerous plates, condiments, implements, and raw ingredients brought to our table. Finally, a very large pot of boiling, richly flavored broth was brought to our table. After it returned to the proper temperature (the table had some sort of specialized “burner”), it was time to cook. Being shabu-shabu neophytes, we weren’t sure what to do, but our first instinct was very wrong! We thought it should work like an Asian fondue – cooking and eating, item by item. Wrong! Indeed, had we gone down that path, we would have turned our Mongolian Hot Pot into a Mongolian Cluster… well, you get the point.

Thankfully, our wonderful waitress came to our rescue and offered to sort us out. It turns out that one essentially dumps the entire group of various items into the pot all at one time in an effort to create an Asian quasi-soup/stew. First, you add the hard vegetables, raw meat, and dumplings. Let it boil away. Next you add the four different kinds of noodles. Continue boiling. At the very end, you add the delicate vegetables. After another minute or so, you start serving yourself by ladling the soup and ingredients into your bowl. The larger items can then be dipped in one of the condiments. The broth, noodles, and vegetables are eaten as soup. The flavors are mild, delicate, and delicious. We ended our meal with fruit sashimi and green tea ice cream. It was entirely unique (to us) and a lot of fun. I’d recommend it.

Cruise Day #11, Rock of Gibraltar

We docked and were cleared as scheduled by noon. This was the first port where there was a substantial queue in trying to depart the ship. From the time of the captain’s announcement, it took about 30 minutes to get on land. Sadly, we witnessed a number of rather rude guests on the stairs – either trying to push their way down or making offensive comments at the aforementioned queue hoppers. While I don’t say this to offend anyone, the fact is that this cruise’s population really crosses a number of demographic and socio-economic strata, especially among the British passengers and perhaps somewhat less so among the Americans. Of course, Americans have “superstars” in all socio-economic classes that are good at making asses of themselves in public, particularly when overseas and things don’t work “right” as defined by their standards. Fortunately, this group was a multi-national “collation of the willing,” a regular United Nations of Morons. Three cheers for Anglo-American relations!

Thank goodness we haven’t had such queues in the other ports… I’d have abandoned the ship by now. Oddly (but ever so gratefully), we’ve not seen too much of this rabble while sailing. I can only surmise we frequent different venues or the same venues at different times, because I’m certain they’d have been noticed by us.

In any event, the disembarkation pretty much set the stage for Gibraltar itself.

We walked through town and then took a mini-bus tour to the “Top of the Rock.” The cost for the tour (including all admissions was 25 euros per person or less than half of ship’s excursion price). The lookout points would be great on a clear day. Unfortunately, our view of Africa was obscured by a haze (which is only now starting to clear). The apes were a lot of fun and the highlight of the tour for us. I have some wonderful pictures of them, including a few with one sitting on Libby’s head. St. Michael’s Cave is impressive (but only if you’ve never been to a cave before). The siege tunnels are pleasantly cool and mildly interesting. Unfortunately, I damn near knocked myself out on the low ceiling when rising up after taking a picture by one of the cannon stations... ouch! The area around the tunnel’s entrance provides a very good view of the runway (which is intersected by the roadway into Gibraltar and must be closed for arriving/departing flights) and the Spanish coastline beyond. Interestingly, a British Airways plane ingested a bird into its engine today while landing. So, it was sitting on the airfield waiting for an engineer to arrive from Malaga to inspect / repair the plane.

In our view, the downtown of Gibraltar generally lacks charm. It has a few highlights, including the picturesque Trafalgar Cemetery for many of sailors who died during the famous battle. Of course, Nelson is not buried here as his body was “preserved” (in liquor) and sent back to London. Nonetheless, today the downtown is mostly tarted up with souvenir shops and duty-free retailers (selling liquor and cigarettes on the cheap). Note: I will admit the liquor prices looked pretty good. Hmm… come to think of it, I wonder if Nelson’s barrel was duty-free? :-)

Overall, Gibraltar is fine. I had just hoped for something that was more evocative of the Age of Sail. I think Libby anticipated something more quaint and charming. Instead, what we found was a small town and peninsula that was overrun by tourists and cruisers (both the NCL Jade and Cunard QM2 were in port today) and that lacked what we’d expected.

In the end, I’m glad to have seen the Rock. But, I wouldn’t have to come back, and I’m fairly confident Libby would rather not (except maybe to visit the apes).

Cruise Day #11, En Route to Gibraltar

Well, last night didn’t hold too much actually. We had a drink on the balcony, went to the buffet for dinner around 7PM, and basically spent the remainder of the evening in the cabin reading (turning in to bed fairly early). After a number of busy port days in a row on this lengthy vacation, the respite was actually very nice.

This morning we awake to a rather strange sunrise. The sun was visible but veiled in a mist of low cloud and haze. I took some pictures of the sight, which I found alluring. We returned to our usual pattern of coffee and a continental breakfast on the balcony. As we’re well over halfway through the cruise, we chatted about the experience of seeing Europe in this way, comparing it to both organized tours and independent travel. On our last day at sea (Thursday), I plan to write up some reflections on the cruise experience.

We are now approaching Gibraltar. This morning, we’ve seen a marked increase in the amount of ship traffic approaching the Strait of Gibraltar, which connects the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. We’ve also witnessed scores of dolphins frolicking in the water. Yes, yes... I know. I’m anthropomorphizing them, as they’re doubtlessly just swimming as dolphins do and not “frolicking” in some sort of aquatic delight for our pleasure. But, they seem such happy creatures leaping out of the water to and fro. So, if you were here, I bet you’d say “frolic” too.

I also glimpsed my first sight of the continent of Africa this morning. It was tantalizingly, even frustratingly, close at hand. We have a goal to eventually visit all seven continents (heretofore we’ve mostly explored Europe and North America, albeit in depth). Therefore, it was exciting to see Africa so close, yet so far, away. Perhaps a brief gaze at a future destinations? Let us hope so.

Cruise Day #10, At Sea

Despite it being a sea day, we were up fairly early and opted for a sit down breakfast in the main dining room (Grand Pacific). This was our first such experience of the cruise… and likely our last as breakfast on the balcony is really more sublime. Also, the food was edible but not especially good… kind of like a Denny’s or Cracker Barrel. The other odd thing was that the items were very uneven in terms of quality and/or quantity. For example, my bacon was good and represented a “normal” side-order portion at most restaurants (3-4 strips), but my main entrée of pancakes (only two) were about the size and density of hockey pucks (though with a good flavorful). Libby had a similar experience with her biscuits and gravy: an ocean of gravy but only one rather small biscuit. It made no sense. If you like trying a proper sit-down breakfast, I’d say you should try the main dining room. This was our only experience to date and one data point shouldn’t be considered a representative sample.

After breakfast we lounged around cabin just reading, writing, and chatting (some of our favorite Sunday morning activities anyway). Truth be known, we often just spend weekend mornings chatting about various topics. (Hopefully, Libby isn’t reading this as I’d hate to portray myself as an overly sentimental sort.) But, this is one of the advantages of having a spouse or partner who’s also truly your best friend. We simply take pleasure in each other’s company... and can and do happily pass hours doing nothing but talking about matters both great and small. Indeed, one of the greatest pleasures of our travel is the ability to spend countless uninterrupted hours together, which is a rare treat for us given our professional commitments.

But, hey, you can’t sit around the cabin all day! So, I made my way up to the lunch buffet for a small snack (salad and some fruit). We then attended the afternoon’s lecture on Sir Francis Drake, hosted by the ship’s guest lecturer. This one wasn’t especially captivating, but we do find the gentleman who delivers them to be personally pleasant. And, we have the added bonus of usually being the youngest people by one or two decades to even bother attending, which makes us think it pleases the Rev. Dr. Collins (though he may not notice or care).

After our “NCL U” education, we headed for the Jade Casino for the first time this cruise. I think it might be the nicest casino I’ve ever seen at sea. I had a pretty good run at the video poker and slots (played for over an hour and only walked away down $5). Libby was less successful and lost her entire allocation of NCL casino donations ($20). Another thing that’s unique (I think – at least in our experience) is that the Jade Casino serves FREE drinks to those playing with a “Casinos at Sea” membership card (which is also free to join). Given the cost of drinks on a cruise (about equal to a resort’s bar prices on land), it’s actually not a bad deal if you can string out something like “Jacks or Better” video poker for hours on end. The only downside to the casino is that it allows smoking, which is just something that we (as non-smokers) are simply not acclimated to being around.

We’re now back in our cabin and not sure what tonight shall hold for us.

Travel Tips: London Underground

In London, the underground or “tube” (as it’s popularly known) is a very efficient and cost effective means of getting around. To save money and hassle, I have a few words of advice: Oyster Card. Oyster Card. Oyster Card. What’s an “Oyster Card”? It’s a smart card (like a credit card with an RFID-like chip) that allows you to pre-pay for fairs (and save a lot 50% or more over regular tickets) or store a weeklong travel card on it. You can read all about it at the Transport for London website. I’d never travel around London on the underground without one again. And the only way I think it’s probably not worth getting is if you’re only going to be in London for a day or two and don’t intend to return in the near term. In those cases, I’d suggest buying a one-day or three-day travel card (which I believe you can still do without an Oyster card). But, Oyster has the advantage of giving you reduced fairs and will not charge you more than the single-day travel card rate, even if you travel more in a given day. The advantage of a travelcard rate (which allows you to travel without limits for its period of validity) is that you can freely use the Tube to save energy and time between points of interest, which you might not be willing to do if you were paying $3 or $6 per person to go a short, walk-able distance. When we’re in London, Libby and I use the underground extensively (multiple trips) on most days. The only time we tend to avoid it (if possible) is during rush hours (mornings between 8:30-10:00 and evenings from 4:30-6:00). It’s not that rush hour travel is impossible (though it could be overwhelming at first for the uninitiated on certain lines / routes)… but it’s generally more crowded and less pleasant. Thus, we generally avoid it because our schedule is flexible and usually allows us to do so.

Travel Tips: Packing Light

As promised, I’m going to start answering your questions now that I have some time on a sea day. One popular subject has been questions or tips on packing light for such a long vacation. I’m not sure that I can answer this effectively as I think packing is a very personal thing depending on your travel style (particularly on a cruise). But, I’ll explain our methodology, and you can adjust accordingly.

First, I think it’s helpful to think about the climate (which this time of year is generally warm – although England can be a little cool) and the itinerary (days on land, days at sea, days in port, “formal or not” evenings, opportunities to do laundry, etc.). You’ll also need to factor in what you plan on doing, as some activities will make clothing less repeatable than others. We actually planned roughly what we thought we’d likely wear each day.

We had the benefit of being able to easily do laundry in London, as the timeshare includes a combo washer/dryer right in our flat’s kitchen. This meant we could almost “restart” with a fresh set of clean clothes for the cruise. Thus, we were effectively packing for only a couple of weeks versus a full 23 days on vacation.

In addition to laundry in London, we planned for the ship offering one (or more) “laundry specials” where they’ll do a bag of laundry (wash and fold only) for a flat $19.99. As it happens, they’ve offered this twice so far. We’ve taken advantage of this once (as planned). In a single bag ($19.99), we managed to wash numerous undergarments, a multiplicity of socks, a few t-shirts, a couple of polo shirts, a few shorts, and two pants. One word of caution: I believe they wash these in boiling hot water with caustic detergent and then dry them in a blast furnace (okay, not really – but it’s not the gentle cycle at home on your high-end Maytag or Whirlpool). As such, don’t subject anything that is overly prone to shrinkage and/or wouldn’t hold up to fairly harsh treatment. We anticipated this and planned for it (both in what we packed and what we sent out for cleaning). To be honest, travel is generally hard on clothing and airlines are apt to lose luggage (indeed, I believe in only two kinds of luggage: carry-on and lost). So, I wouldn’t bring anything too expensive or favored… you’re just setting yourself up for disappointment.

Anyway, back to what to bring… given that the laundry opportunity means that you won’t really have to go more than 10 days without washing, I suggest you plan what you pack based on that duration. What does that entail? Here’s roughly what I brought: four shorts, a couple casual pants, two dress pants, two dress shirts (for fancy dinners), about 5 casual button-down/polo shirts (for in port and more casual dinners), a few t-shirts, nicer swim trunks (which can double as shorts on sea days), something to wear to the gym, something to sleep in, a couple of ties (which I haven’t worn), and enough underwear/socks for about 12 days. I picked all styles and colors that mixed and matched (e.g., no shirts that only matched with one pair of shorts or vice versa). For shoes, I brought three pair: sandals (my beloved Birkenstocks), good walking shoes (New Balance), and dressier shoes (Echo – deck or boat shoe style). Libby brought a similar mix of clothing and shoes operating under the same principals – for example, “mix and match” dressier tops and bottoms for evenings. This allowed her to bring a single pair of black heels (in a sort of sandal style) as her only evening shoe and reduced her need for a variety of accessories. She did much the same for her day wear – though she opted for a lot of capris rather than shorts (a wise choice for Europe, especially as shorts are problematic in religious sites). She even only brought a single two-tone brown / black purse that basically worked with everything, which is no small concession for Libby (a purse-arista extraordinaire). For other shoes, she’s worn casual sandals (Birks as well) and good walking shoes (Earth). I stress good walking shoes… they’re of #1 importance when traveling in Europe.

If you’re looking to wear more formal attire (evening gowns or suits / tuxedo), it’s not possible to pack as light as we have done. Likewise, if you’re not willing to repeat a shirt or pant without the being washed, you won’t be able to pack like us either. The same is true if you want shoes and accessories to be a perfect match with a unique coordinated outfit… packing light isn’t going to happen.

That said, I think you’ll find it easier and less stressful to travel light. It may also save you money with the airlines (who really charge now for overweight and extra bags). Finally, on a ship, your closet space is limited. What we brought has fit perfectly, so I think we’ve done it about right. With other cruise lines, we too would have needed to pack more. But, NCL’s Freestyle Cruising really makes it possible to look good without having to go overboard (pun intended) on the packing.

Cruise Day #9, Dinner & Show

[Note: this should have been posted yesterday… by the ship’s Internet connectivity wasn’t working for some reason late last night].

After getting back to the ship, we had a brief nap and then went to an early dinner at Jasmine Garden, our favorite specialty restaurant aboard the Jade. Later, we attended our first performance by the Jade’s mainstage singers, a revue called “And the World Goes Round” featuring the songs from the musicals of Kander and Ebb (“Cabaret,” “Chicago,” etc.). Overall, we thought the vocal quality was better than our average experience on past cruises.

Tomorrow should be a relaxing day at sea as we sail to Gibraltar …

Cruise Day #9, Rome

[Note: this should have been posted yesterday… by the ship’s Internet connectivity wasn’t working for some reason late last night].

As noted in my prior post, we headed to Rome on one of the earliest trains. This is very easily accomplished; although, my sense is that most folks opt for the organized shore excursions. On balance, I think this is probably a pretty good idea for the unfamiliar and/or uninitiated simply because Rome has a lot to see and one doesn’t want to waste time working out logistics. In our case, we’d already “been there, done that, and had the t-shirt.” So, the train and independent travel made sense for us (and was dirt cheap – 9 euro/pp roundtrip including unlimited metro/bus in Rome vs. $119/pp for a “Rome on Your Own” bus transfer with the ship). We also didn’t feel pressure to see all of the big sights. In fact, we saw very little, but we what we did see we slowed and intently.

You might be wondering what we did today. St. Peter’s Basilica and the Vatican Museum? Nope. Colosseum and the Roman Forum? Nada. Pantheon? Trevi Fountain? Spanish Steps? No. No. No. What did we see? We focused on northern Rome, specifically the area from the Termini (main train station) to the Borghese Gardens. We began by walking north from the Termini to the church of Santa Maria della Vittoria. It’s on a fairly small scale, but it is swoonfully beautiful. It houses Bernini’s magnificent St. Teresa in Ecstasy. In addition, it appeared to have the body of St. Maria della Vittoria on display as well, which was simultaneously icky and magnificent.

After our brief visit to the church, we continued north to the Via Veneto and into the Borghese Gardens (sort of like Rome’s version of NYC’s Central Park). We made our way to the Borghese Gallery (a heretofore significant gap in Rome sightseeing portfolio) by 10:30 to buy our tickets in advance of our 11:00 reservation time. Note: the gallery allows access in 2 hour increments and basically requires reservations (stand-by tickets are not always available). The Borghese contains an amazing collection of Bernini’s sculptures and Carravaggio’s paintings. Our favorite was Bernini’s Apollo and Daphne. I won’t even attempt to describe it, because words could not do it justice. Today was especially significant for Libby, as someone who’s studied this art fairly extensively. In case I failed to mention it, my preferences run more toward modern and contemporary art. However, I’d be a cretin if I failed to appreciate that Bernini’s marble creations are simply extraordinary.

We finished with the Borghese around 1:00. Unfortunately, some of the other sights in the immediate area were closed for the mid-day break. As such, we could have either opted to take an earlier train (1:39 vs. 2:39) or venture further to other destinations. In the end, we opted for the earlier train to avoid any crowds. This was probably good as we didn’t get back to the ship until nearly 4:00 anyway (having stopped for wonderful gelato in Civitavecchia). All aboard time was 5:30. So, a later train would have been possible but more hurried than Libby would have liked. By the way, the weather was great again today… albeit a little hot (closing in on 90+ degrees). Even for Floridians, the heat eventually wears you out more quickly. And, after walking around Rome for the better part of the day, you end up sweating like a pregnant nun on her way to confession. :-)

Overall, despite our 7am start time – Rome is simply has far too much to see and do in a single day. Therefore, I’d recommend either taking one of the ship’s whistle stop tours (for a fly-by overview of Rome) or embracing the short duration as an opportunity to explore one aspect in some degree of depth. As a cost-effective alternative to the ship’s excursions (though I can’t speak for or against it really), one could also consider a hop-on, hop-off bus tour in Rome from the Termini.

Cruise Day #9, En Route to Roma

We were off the ship early and on to the first shuttle bus of the day. From the shuttle bus drop off point, it's a short walk to the train station (just follow the waterfront to the right for a couple of blocks). We had no queue for tickets. We just purchased them and jumped on the 7:59 to Rome. We're now sitting on the train and enjoyed a nice conversation with a couple also from Florida. Unlike many on the cruise, we've been here before. This sort of makes us the de facto "experts" on Rome. :-)

Cruise Day #8, Pisa and (Not) Lucca

After my exuberant blog post of the morning, we hit a minor snag on the changing of trains in Pisa for Lucca. According to Rick Steves (and I quote) speaking of the frequency of train connections between Pisa and Lucca, expect “roughly 2/hr.” That is to say “roughly” two trains per hour. The unfortunate part is that “roughly” means there are NO trains to Lucca between 10:20 and 12:20 in the morning. We arrived in Pisa at 10:27. How’s that for timing?

Such are the joys of independent travel. Given the return train schedule, distance to major sights in Pisa, and the somewhat circuitous route to get back to the ship (especially from Lucca), we concluded that changing the order of Pisa and Lucca wasn’t viable. So, we had to opt for one or the other and given that we didn’t want to spend nearly two hours waiting for a train, we opted to spend the day focused on Pisa. In the end, this worked out very well (one of those happy accidents of travel). Could Pisa and Lucca be done in the same day (during a cruise stop)? Yes. Would you do them both justice? No, I don’t think so.

As I believe I’ve mentioned, Libby and I have visited the major cities in Italy on previous vacations (Rome, Florence, Milan, and Venice), but our schedules have never really allowed us to visit the smaller cities, such as Pisa (or any number of other wonderful localities). As a child, Libby did make a brief visit to Pisa. However, it was very short, and she was (to use her own phrase) “ignorant at the time of the artistically significant artifacts in Pisa.” Now that she’s older and more knowledgeable, she really appreciated the treasures of today: Cimabue’s mosaic and Pisano’s pulpit in the Duomo (itself a unique architectural contribution in the “Pisan Romanesque” versus plain old vanilla (I suppose) “Romanesque” style), as well as Pisano’s pulpit in the Baptistery (which is of huge importance as perhaps the first example of Renaissance sculpture). Interestingly, the baptistery also has amazing acoustics, demonstrated by the guard who also sings for about a minute every 30 minutes. You see, this is the type of thing that gets missed when rushing through a city. Because we had the time to explore, we also visited the Church of San Sisto (a very simple, classically Romanesque structure) that served as a useful reference point before visiting the Duomo. Amazingly, it’s only a few blocks from the Campo dei Miracoli, but we were the sole visitors exploring it during our visit! We also had a chance to explore the historic core in more detail, visit the University of Pisa (founded in the early 1300s), and do some window shopping.

Indeed, our leisurely window shopping led us to another of Libby’s favorite destinations in Italia: Furla, the one of handbag fame. While both Libby and I are far from fluent in Italian, she’s remarkably good at communicating in this retail environment… managing to clearly say “I’d like the large red one, please.” Yet, somehow I manage to mangle my gelato orders even when I can point to the flavor that I’d like. Non capisco! :-) Actually, as a tip for those of you who like purses, Furla (and some other European brands) really are cheaper in Europe than in the States (even after accounting for the exchange rate). Libby’s purchase today (you didn’t really think she wouldn’t bring home another purse did you?), was a good 50% off the price one would have to pay at home.

After spending lovely day in Pisa, we arrived back at the ship by 4:00. We relaxed for a while and then went to an early dinner in the Grand Pacific Dining Room. We thought my meal was better than Libby’s. I guess that I ordered the “right” things tonight. Interestingly, NCL features items from the magazine “Cooking Light” onboard their ships. While this might seem counterintuitive (or just downright unbelievable), these items are actually very good in terms of both quality and quantity. I recommend them. If for no other reason, you might not feel so guilty when you wander up to the late night buffet for a second dessert. :-)

Tomorrow, we visit Roma once again!

P.S. I forget to mention that we had the NCL Gem, RCI Independence of the Seas, Crystal (something), and Regent (something else – note my attention to detail) all in port with us today. Nevertheless, the trains and public transport worked smoothly. Kudos to the city of Livorno for effective management of the port operations and public transport!

Editorial note: After we return, I’ll post detailed instructions regarding the train to Pisa and Florence (including pictures). I also plan to start answer some of your questions during our upcoming sea day on Sunday.

Cruise Day #8, On the Train

Well, we are en route to Pisa and Lucca. The process of getting from the ship to the train was fairly smooth, but it could be confusing for the uninitiated, as you take a shuttle to the center of town, buy a bus ticket, take the bus (route 1 in the direction of the train station) to the station, buy your ticket, and then get on the train. However, the cost is less than $20 for two people roundtrip (about 10% of the cost of the ship's arranged shore excursion).

Update on Libby

Since I didn't mention it in my daily post, please feel free to assume that "no news" is good news. Libby is feeling fine and spent the evening happily reading a book on the balcony.

Cruise Day #7, Villefranche-sur-Mer

Today we said both “bon jour” and “au revoir” to France. We anchored in the rather petite harbor of Villefranche-sur-Mer, a picturesque seaside town on the Cote d’Azur. Since we were at anchor rather than a dock, we had to take tenders (smaller boats) to reach the coast. The process was reasonably smooth but ran slower than usual due to a swell that made the boarding of the tenders on the starboard side too tenuous (especially, I suspect, given the demographic profile of the ship). All told, we made it ashore approximately one hour and a half after we docked.

Libby and I were fairly indecisive in terms of what we wanted to spend the day doing. You see, we’ve been to the Cote d’Azur previously (having stayed in Nice). The entire south of France is a wonderful place to vacation… but the immediate area surrounding Nice and Monaco didn’t really contain anything we just “had to see.” Morever, the slow tendering process, early-ish “all aboard” time, and relative infrequency of transport connections for such short distances (e.g., trains every 30 minutes, six buses per day on certain routes, etc.) didn’t make it practical to venture too far past either Nice or Monaco. We thought about hiking the 50 minutes or so over to Cap Ferrat, but we opted not to do so for logistical reasons (given Libby’s illness I wanted to make sure that a restroom would be reasonably close at hand rather than an hour or more away by foot). In the end, we decided (after some hemming and hawing) at the train station to spend a leisurely few hours enjoying Villefranche (which we’d passed through previously on the train but had never visited).

We walked along the beach enjoying some of the sights. We thought there were far too many topless women and bikini wearing men… not that collectively we’re opposed to either. Actually, it wasn’t so much a matter of quantity but rather quality. Certain people just shouldn’t go topless or wear bikini bottoms. But, the propensity to do so (at least today) seemed to have an inverse relationship to suitability. Oh well, c’est la vie!

In addition to beach area, we ambled along the scenic walkway at the base of the citadel and strolled through the old town. The town has the feel of a real community – not just a tourist destination. And, it’s very picturesque. For those wanting a leisurely day, there are worse things than whiling away a day in this seaside paradise. If, however, you wish to really see the sites independently: I’d suggest making sure to get an early tender ticket and know the train/bus times (going and returning) in advance. Distances in the Cote d’Azur aren’t far, but the taxis are rather expensive. Given our experience (on this and previous trips), I don’t think a shore excursion arranged by the ship is a poor idea here (as they handle the tendering and transport). It’s worry-free and probably a more efficient use of time for the newcomer.

We returned to the ship in the early afternoon. That was great, because we had it almost entirely to ourselves. I used the time to take a number of pictures around the ship. We also had a wonderful buffet lunch and worked out in the gym (another 30 minutes on the old treadmill for me). Tip: the Garden Café’s buffet selection and quality is highest shortly after it opens. Toward closing times, the stock isn’t replenished, it’s been fairly well picked over, and the warm items are overcooked from being over heated.

Tonight, we’d dined in Papa’s Italian ($10/pp surcharge; 2-for-1 before 6:30). Libby had soup to start and a goat cheese pizza for her entrée. I ate the fried calamari, Caesar salad, and shrimp risotto. For dessert, we had cannoli (Libby) and tiramisu (Paul). While none of it was especially bad, we didn’t find any of it to be particularly good either. Without a doubt it was certainly below the standard of most Italian restaurants we’d eat at in Tampa (and probably below that of mass-market chain places like the Olive Garden too). In short, I’d recommend skipping this one unless 1) you’re desperate for Italian food or 2) don’t know/care about “good” Italian or Italian-American food.

Tomorrow we say “buon giorno” to Italia with a visit to Pisa and Lucca!

P.S. Today basically marks the midpoint of our cruise. Tempus fugit! Given our level of enjoyment and relaxation, I’m certainly hoping the next week goes by very slowly. :-)

Cruise Day #6, Barcelona

We skipped breakfast and started the day early in Barcelona, taxing to Placa de Catalunya by 9 o’clock. To maximize sightseeing time, we decided last night to take the hop-on hop-off double-decker bus tour (“Bus Turistic”). It’s not a cheap option (about $30 per person), but it gets you around town to all of the major (and minor) locations on one of three routes. Two route take about 2 hours each (Blue and Red). The Green route takes only 40 minutes as it’s more of a beach shuttle. We focused on the Red route (highlighting architecture predominately) in the morning and completed the entire circuit by 11ish.

We then visited Barcelona’s cathedral in the Bari Gotic. The front façade was undergoing restoration. I’ve noticed that inevitably much of Europe always seems to be under scaffolding and/or obstructed by cranes. I suspect it’s because the upkeep of such aged structures is fairly significant; however, I still think Oliver Stone ought to consider one of his conspiracy theory movies on the subject. You never know: there might be something there. No matter, sans façade the cathedral was fine but largely forgettable. I was most impressed by the adjacent cloister and its resident swans.

We then strolled (and made a few wrong turns) through the Bari Gotic to reach the Museu Picasso. See what I mean about Picasso museums in Europe? For those of you playing the “at home game,” that’s a total of two Picasso museums in the first two ports that we’ve visited. And guess what? There’s another one within easy striking distance of tomorrow’s port too. Joking aside, we really enjoyed this museum. It provided a great insight into his formative years and early works. I came away impressed by his artistic virtuosity. Somewhat like Mozart, Picasso could be described as a child-prodigy. Overall, the collection is uneven and has large gaps. Yet, it has the very insightful early works, good representations of Picasso’s ceramics, an excellent collection of Picasso’s prints, and a few other highlights (most notably Las Meninas, 1957).

We finished the Picasso museum by a little after 2 o’clock. We walked back down through the Bari Gotic to the waterfront and made our way to the statue of Columbus. From there, we grabbed a taxi to take us back to the port. We returned a little earlier than needed because Libby was feeling a little under the weather and needed to visit the ship’s doctor. As I suspected, she was diagnosed with a urinary tract infection. I actually had antibiotics with us, but they weren’t the right kind for that type of infection. So, I’m glad that she paid on the onboard medical center a visit. Happily, the total cost of the visit amounted to $126 including physician consult (to confirm my diagnosis), urinalysis, and medication. I was shocked by the low price! In theory, this should be covered by either our medical insurance (doubtful) or supplemental travel insurance. No matter, at that cost, I’m not going to lose sleep over it one way or the other. After about six hours (now), she’s already feeling much better—so, I don’t think this is going to slow us down at all.

Tonight we attended a “sing along” (a la the Rocky Horror Picture Show) of the Sound of Music from 6-9ish. I’d never seen the complete movie before. It was ok (yeah, yeah – start throwing stuff at your screens), but I’ve never really been a fan of the movie-musical genre anyway. Libby had a good time (and fortunately possesses an equally good signing voice), and I enjoyed the experience too (in spite of myself).

The only downside to the movie time was that I basically ended up missing dinner at any of the casual (shorts ok in the evening) venues. Somewhat inexplicably, they sort of stop serving food around 9-9:30 in the main buffet. They offer “snacks” later (tonight starting at 10:00), but the selection is usually poor (and the quality is often not the highest either). It seems to get worse as the cruise goes on (earlier closing, less selection, lower quality). This leaves one in a bit of a pickle, no pun intended, if you don’t feel like sitting down to a more formal but good, multi-course meal. Ironically, those restaurants remain open later than the buffet. Indeed, this is how we ended up eating in the Alizar last night. I also learned that the main dining room menu is not available from room service during the dining hours (which is different than a number of other cruise lines, I believe… I don’t recall when/if/how NCL’s practices changed from prior cruises). In the process, I also discovered that room service isn’t always a viable option either as I was told I’d be waiting an hour plus to get a BLT sandwich delivered. After fuming for a while, I ended up just going to the Grand Pacific and eating dinner there. It was fine but this didn’t live up to my “freestyle” expectations. Fortunately, Libby had a decent late lunch upon returning to the ship. Given that, none of this was problematic for her.

Obviously, there are far worse torments in life than not having a desirable buffet available. But, I feel like I’d be remiss in my blogging escapade if I failed to point out the bad (or mildly annoying) along with the good. Indeed, this was a philosophical point Libby and I ruminated about while meandering through the Bari Gotic en route for the ship. For example, should we have mentioned her (then probable) UTI? It seemed to us that one thing that makes a blog good or successful is its genuine and honest reporting of facts and opinions. Therefore, we felt it important to record the vacation as it happened—not skipping over details. Besides, I found it reassuring to know that the medical care onboard was both prompt and cost-effective.

Good night all! Tomorrow we arrive in France!

P.S. I should mention that we really liked Barcelona and plan to return when we do some land-based travel in Spain in the future. And, given the overall wondeful experience so far on the Jade, we're likely to cruise back as well.

Cruise Day #5, An Evening in Barcelona

Once again, the ship cleared with the local authorities almost immediately after docking and the process of disembarking was uneventful (no lines, no waits… amazing!). We started out by walking in to downtown Barcelona from the cruise terminal. The route is pedestrian friendly (with sidewalks to, over, and beyond the port’s bridge) but somewhat lengthy to the statue of Columbus at the foot of La Rambla. It’s also not especially picturesque. Given that, I’d probably recommend using either the shuttle bus (no details on this as we didn’t try it, although I believe there is a small fee) or taxis (which is cheap and plentiful in Barcelona). The advantage of the taxi is that you aren’t limited in terms of your destination and as I said they’re pretty cheap. For example, we spent 15 euros to taxi back from Sagrada Familia and this is about as far as one is likely to go in the tourist areas of Barcelona. It’s far less expensive from the cruise terminals to the Columbus statue (under 5 euros) and Placa de Catalunya (under 10 euros).

In any case, we walked to the base of La Rambla on foot and then proceeded to meander up to Placa de Catalunya, stopping along the way to enjoy the lively street scene and soak up the atmosphere. We especially enjoyed see the flower and pet (primarily bird) vendors along the route. Also, despite frequent warnings regarding pick-pockets and other miscreants, we had no problems and saw little in the way of bothersome behavior. Nonetheless, tourists are obvious and some are clearly good targets (walking along with open backpacks and purses, while taking pictures, and trying to read guidebooks/maps at the same time). So, a little caution and common sense go a long way. If you follow that, I suspect you’ll have no problems.

After reaching Placa de Catalunya, we opted to change our planner itinerary. Instead of heading into the Bari Gothic, we walked into the Eixample and set out for Sagrada Familia. This neighborhood has a very much more upscale feel than the area surrounding La Rambla. It’s also the home to numerous Modernista (Catalan Art Nouveau) buildings, including many by the renowned Antoni Gaudi. Libby and I are generally fans of all things Art Nouveau – so, we were over the moon about what we saw in Eixample. The organic, curvilinear forms are very striking. After a fair bit of walking, we reached Sagrada Familia—a striking example of Gaudi’s architectural and artistic prowess, as well as a testament to his personal faith.

After viewing the still unfinished church (they’ve only been at it since 1883), we returned to the ship via taxi and enjoyed a late dinner in the other main dining room, known as the Alizar (with décor “inspired by Rothko”). This was actually our first dinner in one of the non-specialty restaurants. Overall, it was rather good. I will note, however, that the venue itself is not nearly as attractive as the more opulent and spacious Grand Pacific Dining Room. All things being equal I’d suggest eating in the Grand Pacific, which is identical in menu but doesn’t allow patrons to wear jeans after 5 o’clock.

Cruise Day #5, On To Barcelona

Last night before bed the seas had picked up to a “moderate” level, defined as running between 4 to 7 feet in height. Yet, we felt little motion in our cabin. By this morning, the seas had returned to “slight” as we awoke to views of Spain on our port side.

As has been our custom, we started the morning at a leisurely pace with a continental breakfast and coffee on the balcony. In general, mornings aboard the ship are fairly low key with fewer scheduled activities and usually none of particular interest to us. Indeed, it seems that the morning events are generally tailored to the senior demographic (which dominates this cruise as we expected it would) and are less relevant – I have no desire to play bridge or learn to “run” a computer (as I’m a computer “marathoner” by profession). ;-)

Our afternoon activity surrounded the onboard art auction. I say surrounded because we spent two and a half hours at it (and they were still going when we left). The preview started at 1PM, and the auction followed at 2 o’clock. This was not well communicated in the Freestyle Daily. Thus, nearly everyone showed up promptly at 1 o’clock and more-or-less sat around for 30+ minutes after registering. The show mainly consisted of really expensive “modern masters” prints (Dali, Chagall, Miro, Picasso – none of which sold) and far less expensive decorative works (which sold well, usually to a single bidder). I realize that art is highly subjective, but we didn’t generally like what sold. Indeed, I think Libby summed it up best when she noted that “you could still smell the room service on some of the works.” That’s probably unkind… but like I said, art is subjective Libby did manage to win a “free work of art” (still and potentially to remain unclaimed) after impressing the auctioneer by consistently identifying artists and naming art terms. For the record, I knew the answers too… ;-) All in all, the auction was fun (albeit too long)!

We had a late lunch / early dinner at the Blue Lagoon (the ship’s 24 hour comfort food restaurant). I had read in reviews before our cruise that the food and/or service were below par in this venue. After having experienced it, I would say that I generally agree with this assessment. There were too few waiters given the number of patrons. They messed up Libby’s order, forgetting to deliver part of it and then did nothing to rectify the matter after this was pointed out. And, it wasn’t even worth hoping that one’s drink would be refilled. The food itself was fine in terms of taste. Also note, the portions are more “snack” than “meal” sized, which wasn’t a problem for us… just something to be aware of so that you may set your plans / expectations accordingly.

I just saw the pilot boat go by because we’re getting ready to dock in Barcelona. We plan on focusing on the Old City tonight, walking La Rambla and the Barri Gotic (following the walking iternaries found in Rick Steves’s Spain 2008). This is an important city to us, and we’re very excited to be here. So, this will probably be my only post prior to tomorrow evening’s summary of Barcelona. Adios for now!

Editorial Note #5

Pictures just aren't working out for me for some reason from the ship. I'll continue to work on it, but it wastes precious minutes. So, expect this to be solely the expository portion of our show until we're back in London!

Cruise Day #4, Dinner @ Jasmine

Unlike prior days, we opted for a later dinner around 8:30 this evening. Wanting something a little different, we opted to try Jasmine (surcharge $15/pp; 2-for-1 special before 6:30) the Jade’s Asian-fusion restaurant (much like P.F. Chang’s). Wow! It was absolutely fabulous! We started with a trio of appetizers: a barbecue pork bun (similar to something we’d once eaten in Seattle a few years ago called a “Hum Boa” -- though I’m not sure of the spelling), salt-and-pepper calamari, and Tse’s chicken in soothing lettuce wraps (actually rather spicy – yummy!). Libby then had a Chinese chicken salad, which was served stacked like a sandwich with multiple layers separated by flat but fried Won Ton skins. I hadn’t planned on a salad, but our waiter (Narciso) insisted that I try the shrimp salad (and I’m glad that I did). For our entrees, Libby had a version of Kung Pao chicken, and I supped on Sichuan braised beef (which was also properly spicy—something you tend not to get much on cruises, sadly). We were also given fried rice and lo mein. For dessert (which we almost didn’t order until Narciso urged us on), Libby had an order of banana pancakes, and I had a trio of Asian-inspired crème brulees (ginger, green tea, and something else… sorry, poor reporting). I have to say everything I ate was simply excellent. And, Libby seemed to feel the same way. This was our favorite meal of the cruise thus far. Indeed, the quality and service in Jasmine was good enough to compare favorably with land-based restaurants of the same genre. That is to say, if Jasmine were a restaurant at home, I would skip over some of our preferred Asian options in order to eat there. That’s very high praise. Indeed, while we really enjoyed Cagney’s and Le Bistro, I wouldn’t make the same statement about those venues.

As an aside, I’ve been typing this on the balcony while the sun has been setting over the water and (in the distance) mountains in Spain. The sky is cloudless but slightly hazy near the land creating a kind of vibrant, yet almost ethereal, vista that looks like it’s been carefully created by a masterful artist blending oil paints into one another using a wet-into-wet technique. In short, it is one of those magnificent, yet achingly beautiful sights that make you pause in order to just be thankful that you’re alive and fortunate enough to experience it firsthand.

A suitable way to end the day, I should think…

Cruise Day #4, Malaga

We arrived in port this morning around 7:00am under a cloudless sky. We backed into our berth, giving Libby and me a spectacular view from our balcony of the sunrise over the hills / mountains surrounding Malaga (as a native Floridian I have little ability to visually differentiate between these topological features). The view of Malaga from the port is attractive but not breathtakingly beautiful. The immediate coastline is dominated by high-rise buildings of little architectural interest.

After docking, the ship was quickly cleared by the local authorities. We skipped breakfast today. Disembarkation was an absolute breeze when we departed around 8:30. Amazingly, there was neither a queue on the stairs nor a wait to exit from the gangway! As we didn’t opt for any of the shore excursions, we explored Malaga on foot on our own. We had planned to take the “ho-ho” (hop on, hop off) bus for tourists. But, it really wasn’t needed as the main tourist sights were in easy walking distance. We started by visiting the Cathedral in Malaga (3.50 euro entry fee), known as “La Manquita” (The One-Armed Lady) due to the single north tower and non-existant south tower on its primary façade. From there, we walked to the Picasso Museum, which was closed today as it was Monday. While Picasso seemingly has museums all over Europe, Malaga is an especially appropriate place as he was born here in a house on Plaza de la Merced. We did, however, a chance to view and photograph the Roman amphitheatre on the Western hillside of Alcazaba. The theatre dated from the time of Augustus. The Alacazaba itself is a palace that was on the eastern edge of the then Moorish walled city. Unfortunately, it too was closed today (as it was still Monday…). After this, we started hiking up a mountain via Camino Nuevo to Castle Gibralfaro of Phoenician origin. Thankfully, it’s a ruin. So there was no fear of it being closed today. It’s also fairly steep climb to the top, but the views from the mountainside were magnificent! After climbing back down, we wandered around the downtown of Malaga, which is dotted with a number of small parks with formal gardens and statues. Interestingly, while Malaga’s shopping streets include some international brands (e.g., Sephora, Foot Locker, and the ever-present McDonald’s), we noticed that most shops were local or possibly Spanish national brands. In any case, it made for something of a unique retail landscape for us.

Overall, we were impressed by Malaga. This wasn’t a “highlight” port for us, and we came with little in the way of expectations. I suspect that many aboard the Jade took shore excursions to Ronda or to Granada to see the Alhambra. However, we went on this trip with an assumption that we’d return to Spain (and likely this region) to see it in more depth. Though new to Spain, we’re also experienced and independent travelers. For that reason, it didn’t make sense to spend hundreds of dollars and valuable hours on a bus tour when we had new and interesting sites to see right outside of our backdoor.

We returned to the ship by 3PM for a small snack on the Lido Deck buffet. After 5 o’clock, Libby went to the spa for a manicure. We’re now sitting on our balcony and gawking at the morons (or should I say who display “moronic behavior”) that can’t seem to arrive before or even 15 minutes after the “all aboard” time. :-)

Cruise Day #3, “Date Night” Redux

[Note: This should have been posted yesterday…]

Tonight we went to Le Bistro ($15 per person; before 6:30 2-for-1). This was actually our 3rd trip to NCL’s signature restaurant. We ate there 10+ years ago aboard the NCL Leeward on our honeymoon. We also dinned there on the overnight “cruise to nowhere” aboard the NCL Sun this past April. I’ll skip the French titles in describing our dinner. Libby had the seared scallops, French onion soup, freise salad (w/ blue cheese, dried figs, and walnuts), and an Alsatian (I assume) dish of various pork culets and sausages along with potatoes and sauerkraut in a Riesling sauce. I started with the escargot (snails – a first for me!) in butter and garlic, the same soup/salad as Libby, and a wonderful beef tenderloin in wine reduction and pepper sauce. For dessert, we shared a chocolate fondue with fresh fruit and miniature profiteroles. I also finished the second half of my 2004 Chateau Mont Redon Châteauneuf-du-Pape bottle. Of all of it, everything was good, but the escargot was great! This perhaps proves one-and-for-all my long-held theory that anything in enough butter and garlic is bound to be delicious! Also, the wine stored excellently. Therefore, I’d recommend this approach to those not wishing to finish a bottle in a single evening. It’s more cost effective than buying by the glass.

After dinner, we went to the Star Bar on Deck 13 to try the drink of the day in honor of my mother. Why in honor of Mom? Today’s cocktail was a “Tropical Itch.” This particular concoction was a favorite cocktail that she occasionally shared with my grandmother during the times we spent in the Hawaiian Islands while I was a child. So, now being of legal age (and then some), Libby and I thought it only fitting to try this drink in honor of Mom and my happy vacation memories of the past.

After the beer tasting, wine drinking, and scratching of my tropical itch, we thought it best to return to the cabin and make it an early evening (skipping “Monte Carlo Night” in the Jade Casino). Libby did so in a straight line. I think I wobbled a bit (due to the slightly higher seas… right… the seas). By the time we returned, we had out first towel animal (a bunny) of the cruise awaiting us, which I’m not ashamed to admit we both enjoyed seeing. We also noticed that we’d turned left to enter the Mediterranean! This also meant that the sunset was directly off the aft of the ship.

Tomorrow we begin our exploration of Spain in Malaga.

Editorial Note #4

Following up on "Editorial Note #3," I e-mailed a post containing pics to the blog. If it shows up, it will be titled "Date Night Redux." If it doesn't, I'll try posting it again tomorrow. Good night all!

Cruise Day #3, At Sea

We started today much like yesterday. I began with early morning reading followed by breakfast on the balcony after Libby awoke. These seas were only a little higher today (described as “slight” on the televised ship’s log) with waves running between1.5 and 4 feet in height. As a result, little motion is felt within the ship. The skies continue to be overcast, and the temperature is warmer (though somewhat masked by the wind, both natural and resulting from our forward progress).

After our leisurely start, we headed to the gym for some exercise. I spent about 15 minutes on the upright stationary bike, which I departed as the seat started to make my rear-end sore) and another 25 minutes on the treadmill (which was perhaps my first time ever on such a device). Libby, who seemed unbothered by the seat, spent the entire time (45 minutes or so) peddling up a storm. Amazingly, I both rather liked the treadmill and extraordinarily feel more connected to the psychological motivations of hamsters as well. :-)

The ship’s unrelenting siege from the “food cannon” finally overwhelmed our fortifications today. We raised the white flag, humbly surrendered, and simply skipped lunch altogether. We shall return to battle with an early supper tonight at Le Bistro, NCL’s signature French… well… bistro (what did you expect?).

This afternoon I attended the first “NCL U” event: a lecture on the influence of Christopher Columbus’s “discovery” of the Western Hemisphere. The lecture was delivered by an experienced cruise lecturer (over 70 cruises in 17+ years), who billed himself as both a historian and minister (he had conducted the morning’s worship service as well). Overall, the quality of the lecture was good and entertaining. It was probably more pro-Columbus than is “politically correct” amongst academics today. Indeed, contemporary scholarship tends to focus on the negative repercussions of colonization for native peoples and largely rejects as being conceptually flawed the idea that Columbus could “discover” an already inhabited place. Nonetheless, the lecturer’s wider point is nonetheless true: the Europeans’ discovery of a large chunk of the world that was previously unfamiliar to them had significant implications on many civilizations and shaped the subsequent course of history.

We followed this lecture by a talk on art hosted by the Art Gallery Director and Art Auctioneer for Park West. As this was not part of “NCL U,” I expected this discussion to be another opportunity to promote shamelessly products (fine art) under the guise of “education.” As it happens, I was largely wrong. The discussion was actually a very good introduction to the techniques of fine art printmaking, including etching, lithographs, and serigraphs, as well as more modern digital techniques. As I have knowledge of this subject, I could have easily picked out bull sh… err (family blog)… untruths. But, I found no such glaring examples and clear statements regarding matters of opinion vs. fact. Moreover, the presentation was well organized, informative, and entertaining. In general, the idea of art auctions at sea is fairly controversial. Park West is featured across most of the major cruise lines and seems to have a decent enough reputation. If you’re buying art works that 1) you can afford and 2) don’t view as an investment, I think there’s no problem in buying from Park West works that bring you joy and/or aesthetic pleasure. If, however, you’re intending to make a serious investment or wish to build a museum quality collection of works on paper: do a lot of research, speak to experts, do your due diligence, and buy from the Sotheby’s, Christie’s, or other reputable auction houses / galleries that exist on dry land.

At 4PM, I went to a to my second “NCL U” event of the day, a beer tasting (surcharge: $15). Unlike the Columbus lecture, I’m not sure I’d call this educational in the classic sort of way. But, as your faithful reporter, I thought it my sacred duty to cover the full range of “NCL U” events. We had six beers (roughly 1/3 of a bottle each) which I will try to report (please pardon any misspellings, as I did not have a note pad with me): McEwan’s Scotch Ale, Celebrator, Pilsner Urqell, Mythos, Hoegarden, and Fran-something-or-other (a German wheat beer). The bar staff lined up six glasses and poured out the beers one-by-one while reading the description/information to us. I generally love tastings of all sorts and this was no exception. There is just no equivalent for drawing distinctions than direct side-by-side comparisons, a la the “Pepsi Challenge.” Since it would cost $30+ to try all six beers aboard the ship individually, I highly recommend the types of events as a means to “try before you buy.” (For the record, I enjoyed the wheat beers as I always do, but I also really liked the McEwan’s Scotch Ale).

All in all, I would say the new NCL "U" program is enriching... in more than one way! :-)