Sailing a southeasterly course of 136.6 degrees, the Jade's track requires us to set our clocks ahead one hour. Upon awakening, it is 8:30 local time well into the Adriatic Sea midway between the east coast of Italy and the west coast of the Balkan Penninsula. Leaving the Gulf of Venice at the far north of the Adriatic, to our port side we pass Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Montenegro and Albania before breaking out through the Strait of Otranto into the Ionian Sea and the Mediterranean. We can see none of these as they are beyond the horizon as is the coast of Italy to our starboard. The Adriatic, about 100 miles wide for most of its length, was heavily used around 229 BC by ancient Roman galleys to transport goods, animals and slaves. But historians say there were settlements along its shores dating to around 6000 BC. Countless wars have been fought here, empires built and destroyed here, lives lived and lost here.
The weather over night was milder than predicted or we slept so soundly that if the Jade rocked overnight, we were unaware.
B4 has been well and truly accosted by the Spa. There is La Therapie Hydra-Lift Facial D'Excellence at 11:15 followed by Elemis Absolute Spa Ritual at 12:45. This leaves barely enough time for a leisurely morning of coffee (outside on our large patio) from our (unusual) in-room Lavazza Blue Coffee Machine and, then, breakfast outside at the Great Outdoors buffet on deck 12. From there, we grow awake to our wake.
Later, I walk while B4 relaxes. The seas are "slight" so Jade is reasonably steady under foot. My goal is two hours or eight miles, whichever comes first. There is a walking track on deck 12 (1 Lap equals 332 yards so it is 5.5 laps per mile) but I prefer the uncrowded and shaded promenade on deck 7 (1 Lap equals 668 yards so it is 2.67 laps per mile). My iPhone has been preloaded with podcasts galore so I will catch up on Terry Gross and Ira Glass and Alec Baldwin as I circumnavigate the ship twenty one times. If you haven’t listened to Baldwin’s podcast “Here’s The Thing” from WNYC, you should. He is a gifted and intriguing interviewer who chooses interesting subjects.
B4 returns to 9000 around 3:15pm, not surprisingly, famished. She beams from her luxuriating. Whatever it is they do during an Absolute Spa Ritual must be a fine tonic (even though the Absolute isn’t vodka). Email calls her first. “Yesterday was a very good day,” she says, “but not enough to pull the week. The margin was very good. Good.” On that note, she retrieves her ring from the safe where she’s stashed it and we’re off to lunch.
We have a rendezvous for a 5:30 drink at the Blue Lagoon on Deck 8 with “Lisa” and her husband Paul who sports a brand new aortic valve. I frequent a social media site called Cruise Critic when I am destined for a sailing adventure. There I found posted an invitation from Lisa to share a car and driver for tomorrow’s day in Corfu and I accepted online. B4 and I will meet them to arrange logistics before they have an early dinner and we prepare ourselves for a late one. Our port time at Corfu is 8:00 tomorrow so it makes sense to have our ducks in a row tonight. Lisa says to meet at 7:45am at Star Bar so we shall.
9000 is a mixed bag. It is large but in need of a makeover. The most quaint accessory is the glass ashtray affixed to the bathroom wall allowing one to smoke a cigarette while answering nature’s call.
The fact that smoking is strictly prohibited in all staterooms is lost on it. The fancy in-room coffee maker is a first for me on board ship. We have a tub. Our closet is quite large and can be accessed from the dressing area and from the short hall to the passageway door.
There is a love seat that will accommodate a third passenger. But, most interesting is the fact that you can hear the performance taking place in the Stardust Theater below us. As I write this, the four singers 4Ever are rehearsing. If one wanted to go to sleep prior to the final curtain of the late show, one would be annoyed at that feature.
Tonight’s reservations are at French Restaurant Le Bistro on deck 6. Specialty restaurants aboard are all subject to a cover charge. Cagney’s is $30 per person while Le Bistro’s is $20 per person. For us, there is no charge as we booked using a promotion which included unlimited specialty restaurant meals. That is thanks to Ava Ng at VacationsToGo.com. Should you be thinking about cruising, I suggest you check that site and, if you decide you wish to contact someone there, I enthusiastically recommend Ava. She’s great. For example, before running our final payment for this cruise back in March, she double checked for new promotional pricing and came up with a scheme where we lost $200 in onboard credits but gained a $1,400 discount on our suite. Let’s just say she earns her keep.
After our meet with Lisa and Paul we sat and listened to "Piano Tunes wtih Maaike in the Atrium." Maaike plays his piano tunes on the guitar. He's really good. Dinner tonight at Le Bistro was excellent. The show was 4Evers who delivered Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody in a fantastic way. I was really surprised.
Jadriatic
Sunday, June 14, 2015
Adriatic Sea, Splitsko-Dalmatinska, Croatia
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Comments

2025-02-14
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Cc & JC
2015-06-14
Good Stuff ! Color combos in your room look like early Adriatic! No mind....sounds like you are off to a great start! Have Fun!
Janet Watson
2015-06-14
I do remember those little ashtrays in the bathroom from my early cruising days. Quaint and totally useless.
Susie
2015-06-15
Paul,
I am loving your travel blog! Totally fascinating....
paul schwartz
2015-06-16
very interesting reading. wish I was with you guys. looks like a great trip.