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Norwegian Jade Cruise Photos

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Day 2: At Sea

Our second day on Norwegian Jade began with sightings of a tanker and a RORO ("roll on, roll off") cargo vessel from our balcony.

We had breakfast in the Great Outdoors, an alfesco buffet on Deck 12 aft.

We hid from the sun under the restaurant's canopy; these passengers took the July glare and heat in stride.

The pool was already crowded, and most of the sunbeds had been claimed by the time we finished breakfast.

The water slide was doing a sea-office business, and even the babies were swimming:

Two members of the crew watched the action (or possibly the bikinis) from above.

Their colleagues who were off duty could have been soaking in the crew swimming pool on the bow. (The crew pool didn't get much use during our voyage; maybe crew members were self-conscious about being visible from the Bridge.

Up on Deck 13, in the Quiet Zone, hardcore sunbathers were settling in for a peaceful morning of ultraviolet radiation.

"Help, I've lost my top. Has anybody seen it?"

Not all passengers were passive: Aft of the "Zona Tranquilla," the sports court hosted a soccer match.

We preferred air conditioning to summer heat, so we went inside and headed to the Bridge Viewing Room on Deck 11.

Large windows gave views of the Bridge and the sea beyond.

Flat-screen monitors replicated electronic charts and navigation displays from the Bridge.

At the entrance to the Garden Café, where we had lunch, a member of the crew disinfected hands of guests. (Cruise ships are obsessive about hygiene, and "Washy washy, happy happy" is a mantra with NCL.

It can be hard to find a table in the Garden Café at peak hours on sea days, so we carried our plates to La Cucina, Norwegian Jade's Italian specialty restaurant, which is used as an overflow area for the Garden Café at breakfast and lunch.

La Cucina was nearly deserted whenever we ate there, except for a handful of the ship's officers. We always found a table near the windows where we could watch the sea as we ate lunch.

(Trivia note: La Cucina's "stone floor" is actually carpeting.)

In the afternoon, the captain used the PA system to announce a medical evacuation. A vessel of the Italian Coast Guard arrived to take a passenger to the port of Bari (which we could see in the distance).

The transfer went smoothly on the glasslike sea, and the Coast Guard boat returned to Bari. The Captain later announced that the passenger had been taken to a hospital and was okay.

That evening, we had dinner in Norwegian Jade's smaller and more contemporary main restaurant, Alizar. (The atmosphere was pleasant enough, but we preferred the Grand Pacific dining room with its grand staircase, high ceilings, and Hawaiian-inspired decor.)

Following a performance by the Backbeat Beatles tribute band in the Stardust Theatre, we took a spin around the Promenade Deck (top photo) and enjoyed a Dixieland performance by the ship's orchestra (whose members included a New Zealander, an American, and two Russians).