Melbourne84

Thank you everyone, that is helpful!

Hi, Husband and I are cruising in October with 2 friends. We booked Adventure St. Maarten The Race (showing as noon-4p). We are in port from 8-6. We have never gone into 'town' (aka Front Street area by Great Bay I believe?); we've catamaraned to Maho/Mullet, and on other stops we've just shopped at the pier. I would really like to do a beach while here. Sounds like too much traffic/time for Mullet so I thought about Great Bay. Several questions:

Has anyone recently done The Race? Looks like it was canceled for some people earlier in 2018.

Where does the Race start/finish? I cannot seem to find this info. Sounds like we get water taxi wristbands, and it sounds like we taxi back at our leisure after the Race, but not sure where we end. This is important to know as it helps us determine whether we try to swim at Great Bay beforehand.

Is Delft Blue still there? Looks like 37 Front Street (same as Voorstadt?) but I"m not sure with the hurricane damage if it's still there or whether it moved. Is it like the one in Curacao? Do any giftshops have some Delft? I love to collect the small cats and figurines.

Would you recommend Great Bay for just a little swim? We've dealt with people hassling us to buy so that's not an issue and it sounds like it's not the nicest beach (in terms of clear/calm water, snorkeling,etc.). But with the Race taking up the middle of the day I don't think we want or can go any further from port to swim. Are there chairs for rent?

(Anyone know where you swim for the Race? Sounds like ocean - Great Bay maybe?)

We considered a day pass at a Great Bay Resort. But looks like Sonesta is closed from hurricane? The one by Maho is opening in Jan but I"m not sure about the one at Great Bay. We'd probably have to do it early : 8a to 11, before the Race starts. Worth it?

Finally: The Race ends at 4 and we have prob 1.5 hours til we have to be on the ship. Anywhere near Great Bay (again, assuming the Race ends around there) you'd recommend for a bite to eat? We may want to save money and eat on the ship, but still curious.

Thank you in advance!

Hi there,

Can anyone offer any info on this excursion? We did Mi Dushi 5 hour tour in May 2016 and LOVED it. We'll be in Aruba on a Thursday in April and that tour is either not offered anymore or is sold out. The Sailaway Beach and Snorkel Cruise sounds similar, only instead o 3 dive sites, there 2 and a beach, and instead of onboard lunch they go to "Pelican Pier at famous Palm Beach". It sounds like it's at the restaurant Pelican Nest Grill. Just wondering if anyone's done this.

Thanks!

Oh wow there's a flowrider now too? Thanks for the pictures!

Ohh, they took out the inline skating.

Hi there, I cannot seem to find any pictures of the refurbishments from 2016. I tried Google (many photos were not actually AOS) and I viewed several AOS threads, including 'Everything AOS' and I"m not seeing any pictures. If someone could refer me maybe to a thread with recent photos I'd greatly appreciate it! Or any website. I sailed AOS in May 2016 and my husband and I are planning a spring cruise with another couple on AOS so I'm wondering what's changed. Is it true there are now slides by the pool? Also, those were the MOST uncomfortable Royal Caribbean beds I've ever slept on...Jewel, Serenade and Indy no problem but the AOS mattresses were like sleeping on the floor...any chance the refurbishment included newer/softer mattresses? :D Much appreciation in advance!

Be on the lookout for iguanas. We saw five and they're not something we see at home so it was neat. One was in the grass and somehow both green and purple, really cool. Also, I loved the waves crashing into the rock/boulder barrier parallel to the ship. It's nice to sit on the concrete wall and take pictures or just watch the waves roll in.

We just explored close to the ship in Curacao. It's a great port if you just want to do that (meaning you don't need to take a taxi to the city center or for shopping). There's a lot to see right off the ship (no beaches I think). There are many shops facing the ship and more inside Rif Fort, which is a very easy walk from the ship. You can see it from the ship. I think Rif is now like an open air shopping mall? You can walk up the steps in the historic fort for a nice view of the ocean and some of the city. We crossed the floating bridge which is very fun because it tests your balance a little. We proceeded to just walk around the first block, which is mostly shops and restaurants I believe. Everywhere around there is a perfect photo opp. I mean, this is one of (if not the most) gorgeous ports I've been to. Even if you do an excursion, you should still have ample time (we were there 8am-11pm I think) to walk this route. Slightly disappointed the city didn't 'light up' at night as I thought it would. Hope that helps. Oh, we were interested in the maritime museum a little further away, but decided to just enjoy the empty ship. next time we'll definitely do an excursion to see more of the island. Our tablemates took a guided tour (sounded like it was all day and they saw a lot; not sure if it was thru a well-known tour guide) and another couple thought the caves were really cool (they're extremely muggy/hot though so dress accordingly!).

Yes, Agriculture was very easy, no line for us. It's fast-moving though. You just put your bags through the scanner and grab them when they come out. They'll put a small sticker on them. Just look for the 'Agriculture' signs at the airport.

Cruise Review – Adventure of the Seas

May 14 – 21, 2016

San Juan to St. Thomas, St. Kitts, Curacao, and Aruba

I could just make this post one sentence long: IT WAS AMAZING!

But I will go into more detail J

My husband and I are 29 and 31. RCCL is our favorite cruise line. This was his 4th cruise (2nd RCCL with me) and my 9th (NCL Norway and Sun and Breakaway and RC Serenade, Jewel, Indy, and now Adventure). My husband chose the cruise because he really liked the itinerary and I had no objections. I’ll just bullet point some things, and let me know if you have any questions:

We flew out of Cleveland straight through to San Juan. We arrived a little less than 2 hours prior to our flight. Lines for United were a little scary (I had to check a bag) but TSA was a breeze. The straight through flight was nice.

We did an RC transfer to ship but will do a taxi in future. We've done taxis before but our TA talked us into a transfer this time. We prefer to keep all luggage with us, as we can manage it and I’ve had luggage lost before and it sucks. Well, your luggage is put on a truck while you’re directed to the transfer bus. Our bags must have been some of the last onboard, which always scares me. Had a very good driver, spoke about many things and how Zika is being overblown in the US. Very interesting.

Onboard by 230pm?? Note for future cruises – I will bring my own travel alarm clock and a watch. We never knew what time it was unless we were on the stairs by the electronic screens that post the time. SO ANNOYING, especially with how we ran from activity to activity, always looking for a clock. (I prefer to turn my cell off and leave it in the safe. I’m on vacation!)

Minor complaint: set up of Windjammer food stations. We had a HORRIBLE time on Breakaway buffet – it wraps around the back of the ship. No stations = loooong lines that are difficult to break into if you just want to grab and go. I figured out that most people would just get in line, not realizing you can duck in and out to grab food. The station layout (like on Indy) was much better. Adventure does have some separate stations for beverages, desserts, fruit, make your own sandwich, etc but salads, hot foods, and espeically the omelette station caused long lines. Still, not a horrible wait. Ample seating. Only had trouble finding seating for breakfast on the first sea day – had to sit allll the way in the back, but we got a nice view of the wake.

Room: We were in 8530. The bad: we were actually pretty let down by the décor…corals and pastels from the 90s. Yeah yeah, we’re on a cruise, with a balcony, how can we complain? I guess just being on Indy right after refurbishment and having nice rooms on Jewel and Serenade, we were a little disappointed. Also, our bed was rock hard. Reminded me of sleeping on the floor. I’m young, and a side sleeper, but I could not sleep on my side the entire 7 nights. I honestly think the only thing that got me through was that I was so exhausted every night. I recall previous cruises loving the beds, but not this cruise. I got several bites the first 3 nights. We checked for bed bugs and determined they were spider bites, but we saw under the sheets that at least 3 mattress toppers had been added. Still rock hard. My husband didn’t mind, saying he likes firm mattresses. Other than that, only very minor things showing the ship is ready for refurb, like a cracked sink drain, slightly worn carpet, etc. Oh third big disappointment – look at Voyager Class ships’ balconies then at Jewel and Freedom Class. Voyager has large oval cutouts, for lack of a better term, whereas other ships’ feel much more open and have more glass. The pro is that we left wet suits out to dry and never feared that wind gusts would sweep them overboard. Still, I didn’t expect to feel so closed in by the balconies. Also, no more free pen and pad of paper. I like free souvenirs and like to collect pens/paper from hotels, cruises, etc. Another plus was that the fridge wasn't stocked with expensive drinks and snacks. It was nice to have space without having to clear it all out.

Overall condition of ship: Fine. I was nervous it would be noticeably rusted, worn, faded. Not so. Many areas actually shine like new. If you really look hard, you will find room for improvement, but this really didn’t impact our cruise at all. Gorgeous theater, dining room, shining stairways, etc.

Crew: Never met an unkind person. Great room steward, amazing dinner staff (we had My Time and so 2 diff waiters and asst waiters, plus the maître d), friendly in Windjammer, sports staff, all throughout the ship.

Food: No complaints. My husband said they could have had more choices, not really sure what that means. There is only one specialty dining but we always are content with MDR food. I really missed the chilled fruit soups when we went on NCL 2 years ago. Windjammer was always fine. I missed Sorrento’s, although there is pizza and small sandwiches in the Café (never the quasadillas that Indy had though, bummer). The Café has this Willy Wonka pie – you have to try it.

Sports – My husband lives for soccer, basketball, volleyball, dodgeball, and I love volleyball, dodgeball, and the rock wall. I wish they would enclose the court with a net, like NCL does. When a ball goes overboard, that’s the end of the game. The putt putt course was nice. Kinda fun trying to play on the 2nd to last night as we raced back to San Juan – the wind almost put me overboard, and I'm only slightly exaggerating. The ball would go near the hole, stop, then slowly roll back haha. I even got a hole in one – while at Hole 5, it jumped the barrier and proceeded into Hole 6 J

Trivia: I’m giving this its own section because this is I think the first time we ever did the trivia, and we ended up doing 3-4 trivia a day. A lot of fun, especially the movie trivia, scary trivia, and scavenger hunt. You’ll learn a lot, and you might want to study up on the countries and capitols in the world while on your flight down J I named the capital of Sudan as well as the continent with the most countries due to studying the magazine on the plane.

Fitness center: amazing facility, crappy group class schedule. Only free classes were 7 and 730 am (who’s getting up after dancing under the stars til 2am?) and 5p (I think just a stretching class, I can do that on my own, and who’s going to do that right before dinner?). Boot camp and pilates cost $12 I think plus 18%? Not that I cruise to use the gym, but I’m disappointed there are not more free classes at better times, like Bosu, step, fab abs, etc.

Drink package: Husband got the pop package. He learned to not show the SeaPass or cup until the bar staff came over to him. We noticed this on Indy too, that bar staff may ignore passengers who come just for a pop refill.

Shows/activities: Great shows and comedians as usual. Saw Invitation to Dance, which I didn’t mind seeing again. There was only one other production show (aren’t there usually at least 3?) and we just weren’t that into it. A tribute to rock throughout 1950s-90s? I didn’t care for most of the songs, and that can really ruin a show for me. We also saw El Gaucho again, great show. The Quest was amazing. The last two RC cruises, we lay down just for a cat nap and ended up missing the whole thing. We also loved the gameshows at 9/10pm. Ice show had the weirdest storyline but the skaters threw some amazing tricks. I was disappointed in the lack of variety for what I call the Arts/Crafts classes. It was just, IIRC, an adult card-making workshop, then 2 or 3 other days it was just scrapbooking. I"m a pretty accomplished scrapbooker already, so I skipped these. Cruises past featured make your own bookmark, painting with Crayola watercolors, make a memory box, etc.

Swimming: I swam about 5 min, determined it was too chilly, and went in the hot tub about 15 min. That’s it. But the pools and hot tubs are very nice and weren’t really ever too crowded. MOvies were often shown in the afternoon and after dark on the screens which was nice. One night they showed the Force Awakens. Get there early for good seats as there are many things to obstruct your view from most places on the pool deck.

Ports! In St. Thomas, after much research and debate, we chose Coki Beach over Hannah and her Horse’s beach (Lindquist). EXCELLENT decision. Coki is our fave beach by far. 20 feet apart underwater we could clearly see each other and all the fish. There are waves but not tremendously disturbing (like some other Atlantic side beaches we’ve been to). $9pp each way plus $20 for two loungers and umbrella.$56 for 3.5 hours at a beach of our choice, not bad. I think we were the only cruise ship at every port we visited. We had visited St. Kitts before so just walked around the shops. Beware the monkey men. Curacao was our favorite port. Absolutely gorgeous. Also, very clean and safe, even across the floating bridge. Watch for iguanas, they abound and are pretty cool to look at. We chose to just wander rather than do an excursion. Aruba: We did the Mi Dushi snorkel/catamaran. This was 2nd to Coki only because we didn’t feel the snorkeling was that great. We had a wonderful time sailing the turquoise water, and we visited 3 ok sites. One was the wreck of the WWII ship Antilla, but we were pretty far from shore so waves + wind = pretty difficult to fight. The wreck is large but water’s not too clear, so it's hard to tell what you’re looking at. BBQ chicken lunch onboard was fantastic. The crew was great. One did a double back off the rope swing.

Debarkation: We actually slept until 8:30, a rare treat on debarkation morning. We chose not to leave luggage outside the door and were glad we didn’t, just so there was no way it would get lost as with our NCL cruise – the suitcase was like on the total opposite side of the warehouse and we were on a schedule to meet a group for an excursion – definitely not fun. e left our room at 9:30 and waited an hour in the ice rink. One thing I learned for next time: You can get off the ship pretty much whenever you want. Obviously, you should stick to your debarkation time as instructed but we got nervous when they seemed very behind schedule. At 1030 they called a group that was scheduled for 915…I found a crew member and asked if they were really over an hour behind (our flight was 230) and long story short we found we could just leave, and we’re GLAD we did. Obviously there’s a reason groups leave at once, to keep the lines low and prevent mass exodus of 3,000 people at once. But I went with my instinct and it was a good thing. Immigration sucked. I do not understand the difficulty in filling out the form the night before and having your passport out. Took us close to an hour. We saw people with many bags using the porters and they appeared to immediately go through immigration…not sure why we had to wait so long? Transfer to airport: again, a taxi would have been much simpler. Separated from luggage again and it was quite confusing. Some people just dropped their luggage by the truck that was for United passengers, yet they were Delta, etc, so there was confusion and irritable people. At the terminal, they just unload all the luggage on the sidewalk and everyone crowds around and you’re in the street and it’s a mess. I highly suggest a taxi. I remembered from last San Juan cruise we needed to do agriculture, and while the transfer driver got everyone's attention and explained agri needed to be done prior to checking in, many people apparently didn't understand or didn't listen. The United line was very very long. Know that you need to print boarding passes prior to getting to the counter. This was highly confusing. People went to the electronic printers and printed passes and paid for bags and were asking how they get the sticker for their bags and were pretty angry that you need to get back in the long line to go to the counters anyways. TSA was ok, long line but they moved it pretty quickly. To sum up: take a taxi, don't forget to do agriculture first, have one person in your flight's check in line while the other prints passes/pays for checked luggage at the electronic screens. We were ok but many people were very confused and anxious about making their flights. After all that, we had less than an hour til our flight boarded, just long enough to be able to enjoy a non-rushed lunch. Good thing we left the ship when we did.

Favorite place: helipad after 11pm. There was no one there and I highly suggest laying on a bench or the ground and looking at the stars. It's just different here than anywhere else on board. Quiet and no lights. Unfortunately the moon was super bright but it’s so relaxing to listen to my iPod while seeing as many stars as I could and wondering their distance, as well as feel the cool breeze and see the clouds race between us and the moon. There was one windy night it was closed to passengers, however.

Overall, we give this an 8.25 out of 10 (couldn’t decide between 8 and 8.5 J). You will have a great time on this ship, it’s far from the eyesore some reviews make it out to be, the food is great, the staff are all very pleasant and helpful, and the ports are absolutely amazing.

I’m happy to answer any questions!

I will be on Adventure in May and am in 8530 I think. It's the aqua-colored D2 Superior Ocean View Stateroom with Balcony category. I've had this size room/balcony before and there were two chairs and a small table on the balcony. is it possible to get a lounger on that size balcony? I'd do anything for just one. In 2014 in the same type of cabin I asked the room steward, he didn't say it's not possible, but nothing ever came of it. Maybe if I'd offered a tip :D But can someone say whether a lounger will fit, and whether a room steward would help/be able to get a lounger? Not sure if it's discouraged. On the NCL Sun in 2003 my mom and I snuck a chair on our own from the pool deck. And our room wasn't exactly close by. Not sure if that's recommended.

Would you have cruised less and done more land vacations? No.

Would you have done the same number of cruises, but not as many on RCCL? Hard to say…Started on NCL and loved it until a Royal transatlantic had better ports than NCL’s option. If no perks for Royal, I’d still probably sail it, but maybe also do NCL, depending on itinerary and price.Would your cruise history with RCCL have stayed the same? I think so.

I am at Platinum level. The biggest perk by far is discounts on balcony cabins HOWEVER NCL (really the only other line I’d consider at this point) can have very competitive balcony prices as well.

Really the only other Platinum perk I use is the Onboard offers (coupons): I enjoy the 50% off photos, as well as the 10% or whatever for the shops

Beyond Platinum, I didn’t think there were really any other perks I cared for. Get me a balcony cabin for under $1,000 for a 7N cruise and I’m happy.

I don’t know what most of the other perks are, or I don’t really care lol. I think what keeps me with Royal is there is a bit more of a refined/elegant feeling, compared to NCL, and I like the ships and activities better than NCL for the most part. I prefer the atmosphere on Royal ships to NCL. Just my opinion.

I did the 8N Eastern Caribbean in April 2014 and Independence is my favorite ship. (I've sailed Jewel & Serenade, and in Nov, the NCL Breakaway, as well as a few other NCL ships previously.) Personally, I think Oasis Class is too big. I'm easily overwhelmed with options and do this, go see that. I got to test this on the Breakaway, which is actually slightly smaller than Indy but more passengers and attractions/public spaces crammed on board. For me, it was too much - too many dining options, too many overlapping activities I wanted to do, etc. So for me, it's a size/crowds issue along with just feeling overwhelmed. But I loved the Indy, everything was clean, with friendly staff, we loved our balcony room (right by the stairs and we never heard noise, which I was a bit worried about). loved the pool areas, the huge fitness center, sports court layout, great activities; basically the perfect balance of everything I love about cruising.

This is such an odd question, but I can't be the only person wondering! I love the furniture and décor on ships (carpeting, linens, etc, specifically RCCL & NCL). Does anyone know where cruise lines buy this stuff (I'm thinking from large wholesalers that only sell to hotels/cruise lines?) and, more to the point, can ordinary people order too? I've Googled this question at least 10 different ways and haven't found an answer, hoping someone can help :) I know RCCL offers their linens/bedding, but what about furniture and other things? Judging by the prices of RC bedding, I can only imagine what other, larger pieces would go for

My husband and I were on the Indy in April and we each had a small backpack and rolling luggage, plus my larger rolling luggage that will always need to be checked on a plane. I hesitated at leaving the bag out in the sun beside the terminal and the porter said we could carry it all on if we wanted. So glad we did. Last two RC cruises, my bag wasn't delivered until after 6pm, very scary as I've had a bag lost before. However, we just sailed NCL Breakaway and were told we could NOT carry on the larger bag, yet were chastised on last day by our tour guide for not carrying it off ourselves (it was misplaced in the giant warehouse)...going forward, we'll always try to carry everything on ourselves.

Nothing beats the helipad at night if you just want to stargaze or listen to an iPod. I LOVED the Indy's helipad, the sea sounds different and it's dark and quiet. You won't be able to read at night there, but it was sheer bliss just laying on the bench and looking up at the stars. Anyways, I hope you find a great place to relax!

Just cruise BA last week and here's what I see in the Dailies:

Day 2 (Monday) 7pm and 9:30 in the Theater

Day 4 (Wednesday) 7pm Theater

Day 5 (Thursday) 9:30pm Burn the Floor's "Steppin Out", Manhattan

Day 6 (Friday) 9:30pm Burn the Floor's "Wanna Dance", Manhattan

Day 7 (Saturday) 9:00pm Theater*

*Day 7 they performed (15 min? 30min?) in the Manhattan (they were already performing when we were seated around 5:30). The 9pm was cancelled due to rough seas, and the Manhattan dancing wasn't in the Daily.

I'm sure you'll get a great show, and as you can see there are multiple opportunities to see their longer shows in the theater.

I've tried the buffet for many first lunches in the past, but I think getting on relatively late (2 hours later than we usually do) really made the difference.

I did figure out the buffet eventually, but it was odd with this ship that I was still feeling lost at times mid-way through the cruise :o, and it is the first ship that I've left without having found everything (never did find the gelato place!).

I did enjoy the cruise, just not as much as previous cruises (due in part to some things I'm trying to cope with, so I actually just wanted to do a stay-cation at home rather than cruise). We would try NCL again, although we would try a different ship. I really like the Jewel-class ships and have family members who said good things about them. I'll have to read your review :) I'm always interested in how other people rated the cruise!

All things considered, a nice cruise. Sailed a near perfect cruise on Independence of the Seas in April, so it was tough for the Breakaway to have to follow that. There were a lot of small disappointments that added up.

Sunday

Arrived LaGuardia 11:30am. $50 taxi (crazy drivers!). Embarkation as smooth as Royal Caribbean (RC). I think noisier, but once you knew where to go, it was fine. Embarkation photo. Nice weather (sunny, about 56, not really windy), so sailaway on Deck 16 was bearable (I hate the cold). We found our room - 12770, a family balcony cabin, I believe. Disappointed: bed not by balcony, small balcony, quite smaller room than lowest category balcony cabin on the Indy, but we quickly got used to it and it was simply something that we acknowledged one day 1 and didn’t really mind during the rest of the cruise. Interesting – you insert your room key to turn on lights/TV/charge electronics. At first we thought something was broken b/c we didn’t realize this! You also push a button near the door for “Do Not Disturb” or “Make Up Room.”

We were onboard about 30 min before the first bad impression. The Garden Café can be a nightmare. It was unpleasant eating there, not the best variety (only day 1 had veggie pizza; every other day was just cheese or pepperoni), too small perhaps, and not designed well. I wondered if the reviews could be that bad, and on some days, it was. I think they tried to fit too much on the ship, so everything is smaller (rooms, rock wall, pool/lounger area, buffet) and I agree that the ship has a ‘narrow’ feel, especially in the buffet and in hallway corridors. The issue is the design: a cafeteria-like U-shape that goes around the sides and back of the ship. Unlike the stations on some other ships (which allow people to mill a bit and pick and choose what they want), this design makes one long line that is difficult to penetrate when you reach the food you want. So you wait a while in line, passing the foods you don’t want, to get to what you do want, because people will NOT let you in line. It was better certain days and times, but I actually dreaded going there; I just wanted to get a bite to eat and sit down. Also annoying: small beverage cups, and they weren’t filled. Took forever for people to get a cup, get ice, pick what beverage, fill the cup. And small cups meant going back sometimes, into the crazy lines and crowds. People had trouble reaching some of the cups on the very top/back of the tray, and didn’t know how to work the ice machine or couldn’t figure out which of the 4 beverage options to get. A significant delay that we didn’t experience on RCI. The muffin/fruit/dessert display case, 3-shelf high, has an annoying plastic ‘door’ you must lift and then reach inside. I don’t understand the need for the doors because they don’t stay open, and if three people want one item on each level, you’re waiting a long time. Never a problem or complaint at RC’s buffets. Also disappointed in lack of vegetarian options…cheese pizza was always gone, and no salads like RCI (greek salad, 3-bean salad, artichoke salad…all these neat options I never eat on land, but on NCL they all had meat, besdies the potato salad). FYI the silverware is on the tables; I was not the only confused person looking for silverware. I couldn’t believe how many people (adults and children alike) picked up soup/ice cream spoons and touched it all over, only to put it back. Some children would take a plate (parents weren’t paying attention) and set them on the floor, drag them along the walls, smudge their hands all over them, then put them back…

Lifeboat drill: our station was in the Atrium. Relatively painless.

Sailaway: Snapped some pics from Deck 16 then ran indoors, as it was quite cold. The WTC Memorial will be on the left and the Statue of Liberty and Ellis are on your right (Port side). Side note – I always like to hear the ship’s horn. Never once did I hear it on this trip.

Dinner – We dined early in Savor so we could see a show. Very quiet, empty. My husband was disappointed that we were never sat with other couples, which we enjoyed on RC; I don’t think NCL does this. Menu – slightly disappointed again with the variety throughout the cruise. Every dish I ate was very good, and all were the vegetarian, but I missed the variety of RC (for example, there was never a meat-less pasta and two nights were Indian dishes on NCL). No chilled fruit soups. Funny, because I think the best food I ever had was on the 2003 NCL Sun cruise, but something’s changed and I can’t quite put my finger on it. Dress code: shorts allowed in Savor and Taste, and not Manhattan, tho we saw some men in shorts/bball caps in Manhattan.

Welcome Aboard Show (Kiss Cam was fun), slightly dull show b/c if you research the cruise ahead of time, the show tells you what you already know (shore excursions, dining options, etc.). The dance by Dora, Spongebob, Patrick and Diego was pretty funny. JC Sanchez was cruise director, he was pretty good. They gave a gift (jewelry and wine) to the couple married the longest. Howl at the Moon was entertaining, but after a few nights they started playing the same songs, so make sure you give them good suggestions (they did Sound of Music nite 1, then changed the lyrics to make it all about beer, was hilarious). Majority Rules gameshow was fun. You get an activity card initialed for every activity you go to. You get a prize at the end of the cruise based on the number you did. 10 signatures or less was luggage holders, then, in no order, water bottle, shirt, and something else…

Monday – Day at Sea

The walls are thin on this ship. We heard neighbors coughing and talking. The stewards in the hall were NOISY and it was highly annoying. We didn’t really ‘sleep in’; this was at 8:00 in the morning, they were laughing and talking and slamming doors. Very nice weather – sunny and warm by 9:30am. Crazy breakfast in the buffet, with line-cutting and rude people. I miss the huge bowls of pre-cut fruit on RC – especially pineapple. Here, just one bowl of mixed fruit, it didn’t taste great, like it had been frozen and then thawed. I liked NCL’s muffin selection more.

Ropes Course –a photographer will be up there to take your picture while you walk the course and when you zip line (I was surprised how many people got stuck in the middle! You really need to run and leap to zip line). Side note – finding photos was better than on RC. Your room keep has a number, and your photos are in a binder with that number. Very simple, they’re all there. Seemed to be A LOT more photo shoots in the evening than on RC – good I suppose, if you don’t have trouble making decisions J Ropes was fun, I think we got lucky with the crowd/line. I read that someone felt a 30 min wait was perfectly reasonable. On the Indy, I never had more than a min or two wait to do the rock wall. Longest wait for Ropes was maybe 3 min, but I seemed to luck out and beat the crowds. Basketball court: It is a level above putt putt and the bungee trampoline. There is no shade or seating, which is too bad. Disappointed they never had volleyball (only on GSC) but had 2 basketball and 2 soccer tournaments, also no rock wall climb competition, so disappointing. I also missed playing for the medals that RC hands out. Dodgeball was fun though. My husband didn’t like that the entire court was closed for hours at a time so the children’s groups could do freeze tag or whatever on it. They certainly didn’t need the entire court, and there were quite a bit of grumbling and complaints about that; didn’t happen on RC; the Freestyle Daily doesn’t say that the court will be closed. Lunch in the buffet, swam a bit. Loungers are mostly in the shade unless you go up a deck. Four hot tubs by main pool, always crowded. Swimming pool actually not too too crowded when we were there. Luckily, most people seemed more interested in sunning than swimming. We did find out later there is a second pool by the water slides/kids aqua park but it’s partitioned kind of weird…

Walked the Waterfront – many good quiet spots for reading or napping – nice big comfy couch/chairs you could lay down on.

Checked the shops: nothing too great, but the photo shop sells a Breakaway scrapbook and accessories, excellent idea. The bejeweled lanyards were all the rage – most people seemed to have it around their neck with room key attached, throughout the cruise.

Fitness Center – 5pm Total Body Conditioning. Only 15 min… instructor didn’t know she was supposed to teach... I missed the big Indy gym. Breakaway’s is in two rooms: treadmills/ellipticals facing out the side to the sea, and machines/fitness rooms on the inside. No where to pull out a mat and do stability ball or situps unless no class in the fitness room, and there were frequestly personal training sessions and I was told the room coupldn’t be used…Only two free workouts: a.m. abs and 5pm conditioning; all others cost; I have the sheet with costs if anyone is interested.

‘Formal’ night: many people looked nice, tho we saw many shorts and jeans.

Dining rooms are too dark. We heard several people mention this. Moderno is so dark I couldn’t even record the food, as I always do, to share with people back home.

A few nights we had to dine quickly to make a show; staff were always very accommodating and got us out on time. Dinner portions are biggger than RC.

Battle of the Sexes with Christine was hilarious. 8:30pm in the Atrium. Some people commented the Atrium is too small a venue for some of the shows. I agree, but I think it was a bad idea to have those bulky armchairs there. More people could fit if smaller chairs or a better arrangement was used. (If you’re small, you can share a chair with someone.) The second story of the atrium has chairs too, but almost always taken. Be in Atrium at least 30 min early to get a seat.

Burn the Floor 930pm – glad I brought ear plugs; very loud, sometimes it’s difficult to understand the singing. Reservations are taken for the evening shows as well as the Second City comedy hours (up to 3 shows an evening), but besides the first Second City show (standing room only) and Burn the Floor (every seat was taken), there didn’t seem to be an issue with crowds. I’d recommend the reservations though. I don’t know whether the ship was filled to capacity or not (I’m thinking it was close). Odd thing about theater seats: there is a very uncomfortable, hard bar that runs through the back of the seat, so I always had to slouch. Weird.

11pm Second City – their adult shows are hilarious! They made up for the ship never featuring a comedian.

Tuesday – Port Canaveral

Look below as the ship glides in – we saw many jellyfish float by.

Kennedy Space Center tour (arrived by 1pm and back on ship by 630). Short 20 min drive. We felt rushed due to only 4 hours there. We met at 5pm (closing time) at the IMAX theater for a special 3D showing of the International Space Station film, only for Breakaway guests. The bus drivers were very informative and I learned a lot. They’ll suggest what you might do during your stay, but it can be a bit overwhelming, so I’d suggest researching this ahead of time (not a guided tour). We did the bus tour of KSC, which is actually several buildings over many acres, which I somehow didn’t realize after scouring the KSC website. The tour is really cool. We saw 3 alligators in the swampy areas beside the roads. You may want to Youtube what an eagle’s nest looks like; we passed it twice but didn’t see it: the driver will point it out, it’s the size of a king size bed and 700 pounds! We did only two ‘exhibits’ really: Apollo/SaturnV and Atlantis. Atlantis is a bit more hands on than Apollo. We did the Flight Simulator at Atlantis, awesome. The video prior to the ride is hilarious and again, very informative. It’s hard to take time out to eat; by 4:45pm it seemed some of the food stations closed (one was being remodeled) so choices were limited. The IMAX film was great. 20 min ride back to the ship. The port is not like St. Maarten, for example, where there are shops and souvenirs; I was a bit disapopinted as I hoped for some Florida souvenirs.

8pm Second City

845-1030 Moderno for dinner ($20 each, plus tip). Husband eats meat and meat only, and said he wished there was more variety (I guess there were 2 or 3 different rib options; me not being a meat eater was fine with the buffet). Nice surprise: not on menu, but we were brought a slice of fried (?) pineapple, with butter and cinnamon. Delicious. The coconut dessert was wonderful.

70s Disco Party at Spice H20.

Wednesday – Great Stirrup Cay

Scheduled to arrive at 10, but at 755 I was rudely awakened to passengers cheering in the hall to the announcement that they could begin tender service. I’ve never slept so poorly on a cruise. Between the paper walls, hall noise, and our loud European neighbors who smoked and chatted at 430am every morning, it was impossible to feel rested. And I’m a pretty deep sleeper. Take a white noise machine or ear plugs if you are a light sleeper. The island is similar to RC’s Labadee, minus pushy sellers. Water was surprisingly cold, so we didn’t really swim, although many people seemed to think the temp was fine. Played beach volleyball, you need to sign up in advance. They had a lot of activities, would have liked to see the tug-o-war but we decided to eat a quick lunch and get on the ship to enjoy the empty water slides, ropes course, etc. Island buffet not as good as RC’s – only 2 meat free salad options, and the fruit/dessert were in another line. Same single-file line set-up L, and I didn’t feel like waiting in line with obviously agitated people. So that was pretty disappointing. I also didn’t like that you have to tender. Not a huge inconvenience, but we waited like 30 min in the tender to go back onboard, so slightly annoying. (Although I’m glad we were able to come, as some cruises forego the island due to weather.) Maybe 2 other people besides us at the waterslides, great time to take advantage. My husband won’t let me live it down, but I got stuck in one of the free fall slides lol. The guy working it said I must have tensed up, but laughed and said no one else had done that before. You get in the tube and the floor drops beneath you after a 3-2-1 countdown, and you start curving over the edge of the ship and kind of go upside down. I felt myself slow down, and then I’m going backwards, and I’m in panic mode like Oh crap I don’t think this is right. I settled at the bottom of the slide and panicked about 30 seconds. I literally couldn’t see – no contacts and sprays of water made it nearly impossible to keep eyes open. I finally discovered a little hole on the top to climb out of. Then I was stuck inside a locked gate (this was so bizzaarre!) and I stood for 5 min not sure if someone had to let me out, then I just jumped over it. I did it twice more with no problem. Quick bite at buffet (after day 1, they only had cheese pizza as the meat-free option; disappointed they didn’t have the veggie pizza again). Ropes course was empty, putt putt too.

530 did early dinner in Manhattan so I could get to the Thriller dance class at 7:15 while husband saw Second City at 7. 80s Dance Party at 815 to 9/930 was great. Fireworks were very nice. A ton of activity tonight: Howl at the Moon, Michael Jackson tribute, World Series at O’Sheehans.

Later we prowled the ship searching for a dark and quiet spot like the helipad on RC ships. There aren’t any. I was surprised the dim glow of light from the ship made it so difficult to enjoy the constellations in the sky. If you’ve never laid out on the helipad late at night before, I don’t think you can comprehend how not quiet and not dark the Breakaway is.

Thursday – Nassau

HOT burning sun. We explored on our own, it was all easy to find:

1. Pirate Museum – not that great at all, pretty disappointed. The reviews seemed 50/50, but it was mostly recreated scenes (dummies dressed as pirates, the inside of a pirate ship (the ship itself was a painstaking replica, so that was neat)) with a few wall plaques of information and a few T/F questions with the answer under a flap. Very underwhelming. Just a few display cases of artifacts. $12 each.

2. National Heritage Museum – this was VERY COOL. $12.50 ea, the website hadn’t listed a price back home, so we were surprised and a bit nervous whether it was worth it. But if you love history (I have my master’s in history and I love old things!) then I highly recommend this museum. It’s located at Greycliff, on the second floor. You get an MP3 player with earbuds that narrates for 37 min. There are several themed rooms. You first start by the 4.7 billion y/o iron meteorite. This was amazing, simply because most are rock, not iron, and to think it was so old and just whizzing around in space, it was neat. Natural history room, Columbus Room (they didn’t clean or fix many of the objects; they are presented exactly as they were found, which lends a very authentic feel to it; I love the wood/leather chair from the 1500s), through to the 19th and 20th centuries.

3. Queen’s Staircase – very cool retreat from the scorching sun. Lovely waterfall. Though I certainly didn’t feel like climbing all 66 stairs after our morning of walking!

4. Fort Fincastle – we wanted to do Ft. Charlotte, but were wary of the distance. 10 min and we’d seen everything. Reviews on TripAdvisor got it right – it’s small, really no exhibits, a few signs with information. $1 admission each, no one pushed us for the guided tour (which supposedly you then have to tip). Nice views of ship and harbor.

We were pretty tired, and I wasn’t really up for shopping, although there are a lot of shops by Fincastle and by the ship in ‘Festival Place’. Lunch at buffet.

345pm Arts & Crafts in Atrium. We decorated a ‘treasure box’ – it’s a cardboard box that you put self-adhesive paper and stickers on. Kind of dumb, but they wouldn’t pass out scissors. Told us just to fold and tear, which produces ugly jagged uneven lines. So I’m designing it at home with pictures from the cruise. Disappointed with lack of arts and crafts. I only recall seeing origami on Fri or Sat, but I overslept and missed it.

5pm Fab Abs – turned into Total Body Conditioning, same exercises as a few days before, so disappointing.

Dinner at Manhattan Room – could happen anywhere, but seated by table of adults and table of 8 children. Sometimes I felt the adults behaved worse than the kids, and the reprimanding of the shrieking kids took way too long. Nearby guests were also irritated. FYI the menus don’t denote which is the vegetarian so it’s good to check with the waiter when ordering.

Second City was great, my favorite skit was Cirque du Sol Laundry. I couldn’t explain it if I tried. They perform at Headliners, and if you get cold easily, put on jeans and a sweater before coming here.

930pm Rock of Ages. I enjoyed what I saw, but it was too long. A lot of people left before it was over. It’s like an hour and 40 min, and conflicted with Second City at 11, so my husband left too. Rock of Ages is not appropriate for kids (tho they weren’t stopped from watching), you’ll be warned in the Freestyle Daily and just before the show begins, but I thought it was the most explicit show I’d seen on a ship.

Friday – Sea Day

I tried the Bungee Trampoline, weight limit is like 220 I think. Get there right at 10 when they open and there probably won’t be a line. It was thrilling to do double backs at sea J It really fatigues your arms and legs. The kids are hilarious to watch. Ropes course until noon. Later did some laundry in sink (those Tide packets are lifesavers!). Manhattan Room – we were seated in back by the windows and got to see a beautiful sunset. 7pm Second City. Got a new towel animal, I’d never seen this one before! 8pm O’Sheehans to catch some of the Cavs game. A lot of people dressed for Halloween some very innovative and funny costumes. There was karaoke in Atrium below us, they were quite good. 9pm Second City. 11pm Second City – again hilarious, partly because it was the adult version. It is getting much cooler outside…

Saturday – Sea Day/Storm Day

Chilly but sunny in the a.m. The day was nice up until about 3:30, when we hit the storm. The nausea lasted the rest of the day and some of Sunday and even Monday at work I swear the floor was moving beneath me. Since our first sea day was warm, I assumed the final day would be shorts and sweater weather, but I had my jeans and tennis shoes and fleece coat on at 10am. Did the bungee trampoline again. 1115am fruit and vegetable carving demonstration. 1215 watched the tango class (Atrium wasn’t big enough for all who wanted to try), stuck our heads in on the art auction ($4,900 to start ?!). Best lunch of the week at Taste. Wish we’d done the restaurants more. We tried restaurant lunches on RC before but we’re very active and didn’t want to give up 45 min, so we stuck to the buffet. Taste played Big Band and it was just a million times nicer atmosphere than buffet. We saw the skies turn dark and white caps increase. The captain came on and advised passengers to use the railings. There was noticeable rocking/pitching of the ship. 2pm crew talent show was fun to watch (JC listed his top 10 favorite questions passengers ask: “Which elevator takes me to the front of the ship?” and an appearance by the Washy Washy Happy Happy band haha) and we really felt the ship moving even more. Around 330 I felt sick and just layed in bed until dinner. It was a shame they served gnocchi as I love that dish and never make it at home because I’ve no clue what sauce to use. Took me about 30 min to eat ¼ of the plate. Skipped dessert. At one point the ship jumped out of the water and everyone in Manhattan Room gasped. The storm truly ruined the rest of the day, from dinner, to not enjoying Burn the Floor in the Manhattan Room, so not wandering the ship one last time, to having Burn the Floor’s 9pm show cancelled (replaced with Spiderman 2 in 3D). So we went to bed at 9, neither of us feeling that well.

Sunday – New York

Woke several times during the night and feared every bad jerk of the ship. I did a transatlantic before, and the ship moved more violently (I recall being thrown into the walls, but found it an amusing adventure) but the Breakaway’s movement was just more sickening to me. The sea outside was fearful. One last buffet breakfast. Luggage: Try your hardest just to carry on if you can and carry off as well. On RC, we were allowed to carry it to our room ourselves, which was reassuring as I’ve had luggage lost before. Terminal staff said I couldn’t bring the larger suitcase aboard myself, although we had in April. I assumed debarkation would be similar, so I set it outside at 9pm with the TOUR tag, as we were doing the NY tour. Go figure, my bag was no where to be found when the tour group got their luggage. Took about 10 min to locate mine and about 4 other people were missing some or all their luggage. The tour guide kind of criticized me for not just carrying the bag off…but I was told I could not carry it on, so why should I assume I could carry it off? I read about debarkation being a little crazy, and to just bring your own luggage off the ship. We’ll carry all our luggage in the future. The NY tour was great, I highly recommend. It’s only for those with late flights. We started about 30 min late due to the luggage fiasco, so it was nice they extended the tour 30 min so we got the full time. We met at Fat Cats onboard at 8:45 and by the time luggage was loaded on the bus, it was 9:40. We were dropped at LaGuardia about 12:40, so a nice 3-hour tour, but time flew. I didn’t even try to film any of it, as we were told so much info it would have been difficult to swing the camera left! Then right! Then look down that street! Oh too late! Lol We made 15/20 min photo stops at about 4-5 locations, including Rockefeller Center/ice rink, WTC Memorial, and Flatiron building and Chrysler bulding (or Woolworth?). Freezing and windy, I think the sea storm had made its way to land, although it was bright and sunny. Definitely bring warm clothes for the tour!

Whew, I’m ending this now. I’d be glad to answer any questions you have!

I am sorry that some took my thread title to mean I'm a screaming, shaking angry person over little things. I have never been so upset over a customer service issue as I have been with this one. I wasn't going to write a novel-length post explaining all the difficulties I've had with this cruise up until now, so I can see that it was my mistake to be overly sensitive about this issue.

I did not mention that I was yelled at (I am not exagerating) by the final rep I spoke to yesterday...thus adding to my disapopintment and frustration with NCL. I have never been treated that way for being firm, although I'm sure some will assume I raised my voice first or was unpleasant (you can be meek and get nothing or you can be firm and deemed a nightmare customer - sometimes you just can't win). The rep was simply fed up with being unable to answer my simple questions (like why I was credited for one cruise when I was under 18). TBH, any Crown and Anchor Qs I have had were answered within a week by Royal Caribbean, so I can only compare their service with NCL's. I don't buy that 'a company as large as NCL' should get a pass for not keeping good records or being able to fix issues in less than a month or more. I mean that sincerely. Internet posts, given without the advantage of tone of voice and body language, can be interpretted in a variety of ways, some good, many bad. I regret that my original post has been interpretted as the latter, although I still cannot understand some of the mocking and sarcasm of several comments.

That said, I'm done defending myself and will not be posting to this thread (unless asked a sincere question) and likely to Cruise Critic either. Thank you genuinely to all who had helpful answers. I wanted to enjoy this cruise despite what has happened so far (thus slightly tarnishing the vacation before it's even begun), and this entire thread was obviously a huge mistake.

Reading these posts has me thinking: What is the point of even having a Loyalty Program if your points can suddenly disappear or be deemed ineligible? This is a big part of my frustration and confusion, as well as being seemingly attacked as NOT loyal just because I don't cruise every year, and with NCL. I cruised NCL in the past, and even more important, I'm coming back to NCL, aren't I?

For example, I have several credit cards and I only use one on a daily basis. One is a department store card that I use maybe every 5 years? Yet I am not told I don't deserve or qualify for the promotions since I don't use that card ALL the time...I mean, isn't this the main issue? Besides NCL apparently having poor records management, of course.

Is this the other thread to which you refer? This experience is complete opposite of yours.

Hmm, no. I believe the one I saw was 3 pages and the first post was long...this person also could not get the points they had accumulated. Funny, I didn't commit anything about it to memory since it had nothing to do with me (at the time) :rolleyes:

Thank you for all the helpful posts! There are actually quite a few perks in Silver that appeal to me. Believe me, I would not be putting myself through this otherwise.

Uh, a discussion board is where people come to discuss things, like questions regarding an upcoming cruise, which I did. If you had nothing helpful to say why did you bother to post?

Thank you to those of you who responded kindly and in ways that helped. Some of the other responses were uncalled for and rude.

I didn't expect to cruise so soon but my husband really wanted this, so we booked only about a month and a half in advance.

As for waiting 10+ years, my mistake for assuming NCL could keep their records straight. This is obviously their mistake, as they credited me for a cruise in 2002 but missed the ones before and after that??

There is a REASON I have not cruised NCL for years. I was a college student in 2003 and paid my entire way through school, never taking loans. Not many dollars left over for cruises...It was a matter of chance that my next cruise, in 2009, happened to be on Royal Caribbean.

As for the person who said I wasn't concerned about the points I was not entitled to...really? I was told I was a member and I received everything that other adult members received (the card, the pin, the newsletter, etc). There was NOTHING said about my not getting them because I was a child. As another poster commented, his under 18 son was credited for previous cruises. It's not my fault if NCL decides to change the rules. What made you feel the need to come across as a total jerk on that comment?

I'm hardly the first person to 'freak out' about something pre-cruise, and all those other posters received kind and helpful replies, for the most part.

I can't seem to find the thread about the Latitudes issue that I was just reading yesterday, so I'm starting a new one.

I just got off the phone with an NCL rep. Here is the problem: I cruised 4x with NCL (1999, 2001, 2002, and 2003). For some reason I've only been credited with 2001 and 2003. I'm sailing the Breakaway in one week and I've emailed Latitudes 3x in the last 4 weeks, and received no response. I emailed some photos to prove I was on the other two cruises. Here are the lame excuses I received today:

Points are only given if you are 18. (I pointed out I was 17 in 2002 yet still given points.)

You've BEEN credited your 14 points. (I should have 28 points, she didn't seem to understand.)

You are purged from the system in 4-5 years (I guess if you don't cruise in that time?). (I pointed out my mother and grandmother, both of whom I sailed with, have been properly credited, and my mom has not sailed NCL since 2003 as well...why wasn't she purged?)

They changed latitudes a few years ago. (Again, why are my mom and grandmother in the system, properly credited with their points?)

It takes 4-6 weeks (she said up to 90 days!!!! Are you freaking kidding? Hire more people!) to process Latitudes issues. (So what, I'm supposed to cruise at bronze level and miss out on benefits I deserve, and hear a week or month after that OK! Everything's updated! ???).

I should be silver level, which gives benefits I'd ACTUALLY LIKE TO USE. I'm was unsure about trying NCL again after what I've heard (I'm loyal to Royal, husband wanted 'something new'), and now this.

Has anyone had an experience like this? What did you do? The rep I spoke to says Latitudes actually doesn't even have a phone number (number on site links you to reservations). I feel like calling corporate, but will that solve anything? What if I just take it up with Latitudes onboard the ship?

:mad::mad::mad: