Pookie092403

Hello! I am looking to book my first cruise with NCL for August of 2018. We want to sail out of NY and currently I see the Gem and the Escape are sailing that summer out of NY. The Breakaway is sailing out of NY the summer of 2017 but so far there aren't any sailings listed for the summer of 2018.

 

Does that mean that the Breakaway won't sail in August 2018 out of NY or that they just haven't opened the sailings for that summer yet?

 

Thank you to anyone who can help.

The breakaway is not sailing Bermuda next summer only the gen and escape. Breakaway is going to Europe to do some sailings and going into dry dock.

I asked this question when booking my trip. If a group of 5 books a cruise and only one person is over 21 years old they must book 2 adjacent rooms. But it can be done.

I haven't been outside of the country since I was a child so I am unfamiliar with the customs process.

I have been collecting sand from the beaches I have been to recently in the US. From what I've read it's "possible" that customs could confiscate it when declaring. Anyone have any experience of this? Is there a way to do it legally, or is it not worth the hassle? Thanks!

 

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When we went to Bermuda last May my daughter got some sand from horseshoe beach (she bottled it in a soda bottle) and when we went to get back to the ship the made her throw it away. We asked if we would have put it in something else and they said no.

In this case he's the 3rd passenger. We (1st and 2nd) have the UDP. Glad to hear Shirley Temples are included. $5 isn't bad for a Frozen drink, I just wish they offered a package that included them... Drinking pop all day isn't ideal :(

I agree! I know its funny to say I would rather them have a virgin drink than soda but it's their vacation too! I actually emailed ncl and made the suggestion they add a beverage package that includes non-alcoholic drinks. I got a call from ncl about 3 weeks after I sent the email saying they would forward my suggestion to the higher ups...but that's all I heard. My girls loved RCL since they were able to get those "fancy" drinks!!

That is what you get for booking a popular cruise date. :)

I guess it's my ignorance.....didn't realize it was a popular cruise date. The OP received a better deal then I did and he went from a studio to haven. It makes no sense how they go about offering up sells.

$1200 per person, based on double occupancy (I'm sailing solo). I know, not cheap, but not bad either, and I'm super excited too! :D

I am on the same cruise as you. I called upsell today. I am in a balcony room. For me to move to a 2 bedroom haven suite...they quoted me 4000.00 total!! I almost fell over. That's ridiculous. I want a haven room so bad but not at that price.

when we went out of NYC in January the cost was about $450 (about $40) a night. They dont take Discover. Cash Mastercard or Visa only

So for a 8 day 7 nights cruise will it cost 280.00 or will they charge 320? how long was your cruise?

I had to have NCL agent add it to my booking in order to prepay them.

Wow, that's a lot of people in two rooms! ;););)

Guess I should have specified there are 4 of us. When we sailed Granduer of the seas and saw how small interior rooms are, we decided then that whenever we cruise again it would be two rooms so we are not squished together like sardines. We had two rooms on Granduer because it was 5 of us then. But my SIL had an interior with 4 of them and holy lord they couldn't all be in the room at the same time. So two balcony rooms on the breakaway it is! Which is still 5k cheaper than doing a family suite. I guess we could suck it up and get a room with all 4 of us to save even more money....but what happens at bedtime? When a husband and wife need ALONE time 😜

on the breakaway in march going to Nassau Bahamas,just wondering whats the better excursion,going to atlantis or blue lagoon beach island,any input would be appreciated!thanks

Haven't been to blue lagoon but went to Atlantis. We didn't do the excursion through the cruise line. We got off went to the market area and hailed a cab. The cost was $20.00 each way for 5 of us. We walked around the resort, which was beautiful but if your not with a booked excursion some areas are off limits. We just wondered around like we were guests of the hotel and no one was the wiser. We saw the huge aquarium, which was amazing. To eat or drink at Atlantis is extremely costly. So we did drinks and went back to the ship to eat. Ultimately, it depends on what your looking to do and see.

i value privacy, calm and good service for sure but i'm far from well off enough to say this will not hurt the wallet. but 1600 over a 'normal' 3300 spa room is a 50% premium.

 

i'm really leaning toward doing it but the numbers guy in me says thats a lot. but i have broken down the numbers to hopefully justify it in my mind (4900 room - values of the perks ...1139 drink pack, 125 for 1000 mb data, 150 in port credit, 148 specialty meal credit means true cost 3358 for the room) of course using that rationale the mini suite is only about 2000 so thats still 1300 more :) see how things bounce in my head

 

hows that for justification

 

i also do need to learn how to get the most out of the services that are provided. i know boarding 1st etc but for first timers this is a lot of info. just the stuff at the terminal in NY is a bit intimidating. and yes i will probaly pay the 300 for the week there rather than offsite since ive read it is close and secure.

 

in my limited reading the only people that havent liked the haven are those that dont use the butler etc or care about the private oasis. of course they probably havent booked it lol.

 

and since this will be the first and only cruise for a long time, i hate to cheap out. so if we do it will likely do haven. i think.

 

either that or just will stay home and refurb my shower for 5K (yes i've gotten estimates)

 

so new shower or cruise..what to do (shower is down to studs now just fyi :)

Sounds like you have made up your mind to try the Haven, you just need others to help justify the cost and possibly the experience of the Haven to you. I am going on my first NCL cruise on breakaway in May and I too went back and forth about, to haven or not to haven! It was cheaper for my family by 5k to get two, yes two, balcony connecting rooms. Every day, well almost everyday, I kick myself in the behind because I want to try the haven but like you I couldn't justify the cost. I hope whatever you decide, you have an amazing time. But my two cents...go big. Do the haven!!! It's an increase but if it's going to be your only cruise in 5 plus years...it will be worth it!

I get a pn email weekly addressed to my 6 year old that she/ we need to complete our online check in before our March 16th cruise. I have inputted all the information but it will not save the contact info for anyone accept me. So it appears that we are only 75% checked in, but just the contact info is missing. Will this be an issue? I have tried on many different days to go back and complete the process but it just doesn't work!

On a seperate matter, my booked items are very inaccurate in my web account. Is this normal that the online is so glitchy or should i call customer service? I seem to be missing $2500 from my onboard account.

Who did you book with? I would contact them immediately. My two daughters, 10 & 12, will be in their own room (adjoining balcony room). I was not able to complete the online check in for their room because of their age. 90 days prior to my cruised I have to contact NCL to get a underage permission form (not sure if that's truly the name of the form) and then the online process will be complete. But I only found out this information my calling my NCL PCC. I think u would benefit highly from calling them especially with your OBC missing.

I booked my DH and I in a balcony room and my two daughters 10 & 12 in a connecting balcony room on the breakaway for May 2016. When the sailing is within 90 days I have to get a release form to allo kids to be in an adjoining room. Booked through NCL directly in May 2015.

Please help! I just booked for May on the Breakaway. I have never been on a ship this big and I need all the help and tips! I had everything down pat on the smaller ships. Now I need help especially with prebooking for shows and restaurants.

My family will be on the same cruise and it's our first time on this ship! There is a roll call you can join and has other people who will be in that cruise with us. I am so excited and can't wait! I will be trading the tips along with you, need all the info I can get too!

We're sailing at the end of May and are trying to figure out our parking situation. Is the parking area gated/locked while the ship is away, or is it open during the week? We've got relatives in the area, and I'm curious if, rather than paying for the week, if they could drop us off and then bring/park the car a day or two before we get back.

When will you be going? We are on the May 29 sailing.

When you're on board it's announced on the first day.

Thanks!

I was on a 100% capacity Breakaway sailing. Here's the bottom line with the Breakaway...

 

It's a big ship. Bigger than the Gem. However, the size of the various areas on the ship are not scaled up proportionally. Therefore, whenever a majority of people want to do the SAME thing at the SAME time, it will be overcrowded. The pool area and theater are the worst in this regard.

 

This is why a lot of people prefer the Gem. There's more elbow room. Most of the issues with the Gem were fixed (I assume) after its recent refurbishment. The main advantages of the Breakaway over the Gem are:

 

• Better slides. (Actually, the slide isn't working on the Gem right now.)
  
• Better sports area.
  
• Better entertainment.
  
• Ocean Blue.
  

The Splash Academy on the Gem didn't have the latest video games (Wii U) when I sailed last year, but maybe they have that now. I also don't know if the TV system has improved on the Gem, but I'll assume it has, too.

 

I'm going for 9-days on the Breakaway this July. It's the only one available in the summer from NY and will most likely be filled to capacity. If 7 day cruises were the only criteria, I would have done the Gem again in a heartbeat.

I am curious how you find out what the sailing capacity is? I am going on breakaway may 29 and its Memorial Day week and I am thinking it's going to be packed.

Oh, so sorry. I misunderstood and was confused. Yes, when you are still in port, you will have to pay the taxes on any drinks you get. In reality, it's really not that much and still worth it to have a few bon-voyage drinks until you pull out. :) (Or at least for us). :D

Thank you again for all your help!

Hi and welcome to the forum. I hope you find some helpful information around here.

 

You can buy bus/ferry passes (good for both) for 1, 2 or 3 day passes depending on when you plan on using them. The prices as of last year are as follows:

 

 

 

 

 

 

The UBP is a beverage package that is offered on the ship (NCL) and has nothing to do with being on the island in port. When you are in port, where you decide to go and what you decide to do will all be extra. So, if you visit a beach or a fort, if you decide to eat and drink there, you pay the vendor. When you drink on the ship, that's where you UBP comes into play.

 

The gratuities are the same. That is for the ship and has nothing to do with the island of Bermuda. :)

 

Let me know if you have any other questions. :)

Thank you for the bus fees, that is awesome!! I should have been more specific in regards to the UBP and I apologize for the confusion. While we are in port in NYC and we order drinks with the promotion, will we have to pay extra taxes or grats? The rep is telling me no but I thought I read somewhere we do have to pay extra. Thanks again for all your help and responding so quickly, I appreciate it.

Good morning,

I am new to this website. I really enjoyed reading your post. I am set for my first BA cruise in May to Bermuda, and have a couple of quick questions....hopefully I didn't miss these and if I did, I apologize. How much did the bus passes cost? I don't want to pay for excursions if we can do the beaches by taking buses for cheaper. The agent I booked the trip through told me the UBP is all inclusive and we prepaid grats...so he said we wouldn't be charged anything extra in port....is this true? I thought I read in your post while docked they charged extra fees?? Thanks for your help.

Yes! The passport card is cheaper, and works for Canada, Mexico, and Caribbean via car or boat. That's what my family has since we don't fly and had no issues when we cruised to the Bahamas in 2014.