HoosierShipmate

@thedoc29ca I definitely will if they are still doing print versions!

As we are ten days away from embarkation and exactly one week away from being ‘on vacation’ I wanted to start a live trip report with an introduction. To be honest, it’s also just to see if my iPad alone will work for posting and since it’s my first ‘live’ posting experience, make sure I have an idea of what I’m doing.  On previous cruises the internet was so slow I wouldn’t even think of trying to post throughout the cruise, but early indications are that Starlink really is the cat’s meow and hopefully that means I won’t encounter many problems.

This cruise will be our 2nd or 3rd (there is a family debate about this and NCL says 2nd) on the Breakaway, our 5th or 6th (same debate) on NCL, and our 7th or 8th from New Orleans including Carnival ships. It’s always the same route out of the Port of New Orleans, and I really wish there was some variety there. But the distance to the port means a pretty easy drive, the price is usually right, and we’ve been very impressed at how easy that port is to navigate. PLUS it’s nice to go far enough south that our winter cruise has relatively zero chance of being frigid the whole time.  

This is a family trip, and the family is as follows:

Jeff (that’s me) - 53

Angie (my wife) - a gentleman never tells a woman’s age or weight, but let’s say she’s a couple years younger than I am

Chelsie (daughter) - 19

Josh (son) - 16

All of us love cruising and are looking forward to being in the sun, eating great food, and the adults look forward to making sure we get our money’s worth from the drink package.  Mostly we just look forward to being together as a family.   My daughter is in college, and our son is a typical teenager, so the time we can all be together is limited these days.

While onboard, I’ll do my best to comment fairly on everything, post pics of food, locations, menus, and more, and to keep you somewhat entertained if you find yourself at work wishing you were at sea.  

Prior, if you have any questions about NCL, Breakaway, the itinerary, or really anything else, please don’t hesitate to ask.  I’ll do my best to reply/answer anything and if I don’t know it’ll give me something to google as I count down the days, hours and minutes until we are at sea again! 

Blurry family pic from this time last year:

Breakaway for my upcoming cruise (December 17) is showing $299 for the week.  I wish I could remember what I paid last time. I love a good sauna/steam, but not at nearly $50 a day.  

We have used Bodden twice on two different cruises and had a fantastic experience. Our driver stayed with us the whole day and when we were ready to go he took us back.  It was like we hired a private tour guide for the day!

My kids have heard everything, are very mature and I never worry.  Last year on a Carnival cruise, we attended the 18+ show (son 15, daughter 18 at the time) and I had no worries. Then the show started.  I doubt there was anything they hadn’t heard or discussed with friends, etc. but it was 100% the raunchiest most sexually explicit show I’ve ever seen. I was not offended. But I was uncomfortable being with them, and I can’t imagine how uncomfortable they must have been.  To make it worse, she wasn’t even funny. But she was descriptive, I’ll give her that!

On 8/2/2023 at 1:25 AM, SEA DOGY said:

We are sailing on the Gateway next month on the  Haven with Premium Plus  

Me and my wife we both are wine drinks my wife drinks only white wines Chardonnay etc.

I drink reds carbs Merlots etc My question is at dinner time can we have 2 bottles one red one white

Thanks in advance 

Does anyone have an answer for this one? I’d hope both get a bottle, but unsure and will have this situation often.

Special thanks to a couple of these comments for making me completely reevaluate my dining ‘schedule’ for my next cruise. I love the comments about celebrating night one with something great. We always ended our cruise with Cagney’s on the last night and did whatever otherwise.  Now I’m starting with Cagney’s (and still ending with Cagney’s) and putting Ocean Blue in the middle.  I’ll stop salivating now.  Thanks!

I read the first part of the original post and thought I was going to have a heart attack, right up until I learned about the new ability to assign two rooms to each key.  My family of four always gets two cabins, and extra cards and it’s kind of a hassle. Looking forward to having room access to both rooms on each key, and not juggling (and remembering) who is what LOL.  

Seconding @Liljo22 - I always arrive at my table with a fresh cocktail because I know it’ll take a while for anything ordered in the MDR to arrive.  I also like to order where I can watch them make it so I’m not getting well/bottom level if I’m paying for top shelf.  

Every time I travel, as I’m packing to depart I declare I’m packing less on my next trip.  I practically live in my swimsuit all week during the day, need 1-2 pairs of shorts and some shirts for dinner. Add underwear and I should have what I need.  Instead I end up packing like my wife and daughter, and have several swimsuits (need one maybe two), and for a week seven t-shirts, seven polo shirts, seven shorts, and some long pants.  And I wear about half of it hahaha. 

40 minutes ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

 

That is currently my concern regarding cruising, except you should note that you do not have to personally test positive. You simply need to sit within 6 feet of someone who tested positive for 15 minutes (they use facial recognition software). Lots of discussion on the Halloween cruise social media page. Apparently 60 guests were close contact quarantined for 5 days even though they continued to test negative. Granted, the odds of this happening appear quite small, it still makes me hesitant.

Good to know - I'll be spacing myself accordingly wherever possible LOL

My general thought is that the worst case scenario is NOT having a positive test at departure and being left on shore. I'd be sad, and I'd drive home.  BUT - my worst case scenario is testing positive during the mid-cruise test and subsequently being locked in my room for the rest of the sailing. To reduce my risk of that, I'll wear a mask in crowded areas on the ship whether they require it or not. Not outside, not at my dinner table, but in hallways and when around a ton of people. Will it make a difference? Maybe. Maybe not. But it's a tiny little hassle to reduce risk, and it's worth it to me.    

After a long stint on Cranival, just before COVID we booked again on NCL so I’ve been paying more attention to their marketing. Wow. They are always on sale, yet more expensive. I must get more mail from NCL (not email, actual paid printed mail) than my high school daughter gets from all colleges combined. I get emails consistently reminding me to use my cruise credit (I’ve already done so, am booked for 12/26 can the system not actually tell that?) - I’d love an inside look at their ROI on some of those efforts!

So sad. RIP.

This is one of my main NCL complaints - the coffee drink inclusion. CCL of course includes in base plan, and there’s no way I’m gonna drink $30 worth of coffee to justify the upgraded package. I don’t care about 15 per day - I rarely if ever would reach that. Coffee costs are near nothing - maybe add a $5 upgrade or $10 upgrade middle package. I think plenty would pay $10 more per day for the coffee add on, and few would drink enough coffee not to make that profitable.  I’ll just buy my coffee a la carte and complain about it every time in my inner monologue lol

This was a great review - thank you! While none of us are cruising right now, hopefully we will be soon!  We are on the Breakaway 12/26/21 (we hope) and this info was very helpful! Thank you for taking the time to do such a great job!!

We had a cruise booked for spring break, cancelled three days prior (we cancelled using their offer, they were waffling) so we didn't get the 125% or 150% credit. We got 1:1.  Now looking at cruise fares they're significantly higher. I don't think it has anything to do with reduction in capacity. I think it has EVERYTHING to do with them having 125%/150% 'gift certificates' out in the marketplace on their financial books. These are liabilities to them. If they jack up pricing, they write that down quickly and get them off the books AND with people like me they have the additional revenue if I'm forced to pay $1500 for a cabin that used to cost $1000.  The free at sea is BS too, because you prepaid that gratuity at 1:1 and are going to get hit at the higher rate.  Bottom line, they're a business and I get that.  So I'm stuck holding a bunch of gift certificates which are basically a loan to NCL, wondering how I can strategically use them going forward without essentially paying 125% or 150% of the price I normally would allocate to a line of this caliber in an already shaky world where they could go bankrupt at any moment leaving me holding the bag.  And the 20% discount by the way was factored in my math. They're either at capacity pricing, or it's so early they're holding prices high, OR there are so many like me booking up cabins they can pull it off.  Not really in the best mood, but really want to cruse.  Which is exactly why they as business folks will get that price in the long run from many folks, likely me as well.

10 hours ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

Wow...that's really all I can muster.  To clarify, are you watching and timing someone's absence from your own lounger, or are you watching and timing because you're looking for a lounger?  If its the latter, then I guess I get it.  If it's the former, then I go back to wow.  Timing someone's absence from a lounger on the pool deck isn't even in my top 500 things to do while on a cruise....but then again, I worship the shade, not the sun so I really have no dog in this ongoing fight with CHOGS.  

Much more of a situation when there are literally zero chairs, and I’m forced to towel on the deck or sitting somewhere out of the sun, etc - so it’s easy to watch a chair or two, while I’m still enjoying doing what I’m doing.  I agree that just creeping for the sake of creeping on a chair or to get a better position is weird lol.  

I'm not for monetization of the chairs, but do think they need to enforce the rules they have.  It's tricky, but if the parking meter attendants in my town can figure out a way to watch my car and when time passes, so can a cruise line simply remove the towels/books/bags and put in storage. When they return, they go to the towel cabana and get their stuff.  Two hours is too long.  I think Carnival allows an hour unattended. 

I fully admit, when the deck is overcrowded and no chairs are to be had, I watch and note the time a chair has been vacant.  When time expires, I go to the pool attendant and explain that I watched, it's over time, and request they remove their items.  99% of the time they do.  If they don't, I remove them.  If they did it I smile nice when the person returns and explain that it's likely they took their items.  If I did it, I smile nicely and explain the rule.  Nobody ever challenges, though some are obviously not very happy with me. I don't care.  I'm pretty generous on time and it's not like the 61st minute. I give wiggle room, but an hour and a half is too long and I'm taking the chair. 

Side note - last cruise, after Carnival removed their stuff and I was seated - about an hour later the person returns and I explain that maybe Carnival took their stuff (acting ignorant of the actual event) and they should ask.  Dude says 'I was here like 30 minutes ago' and I did reply that was impossible because I've been sitting in the chair for over an hour.  Problem solved. 

I just booked my first NCL in several years, after sailing several Carnival cruises in a row. I was shocked that the alcohol package doesn’t include specialty coffee. Seems for some ‘on the fence’ to purchase (when not free) or so decide NCL this would be a huge incentive and cheap addition.  

I’m still in shock that the coffee drinks and bottled water aren’t included in the NCL package unlike other lines- it’s not an inexpensive package, seems like that would be an easy inexpensive addition to increase sales.  

1 hour ago, jaowel said:

Well *****! We are supposed to leave on her for New Years!

We’re sailing with you too - let’s hope 🙂

Honestly I usually go for the least expensive option UNLESS there is just a crazy great deal.  I travel with two kids, 14 and 11 and prefer less expensive options and two cabins rather than a crowded balcony or outside.  We just aren’t in our rooms enough to justify the added expense and would rather use the savings to splurge elsewhere.  When awake, I’d rather be out and about rather than in my cabin anyway.

1 day. I'm in my pre cruise hotel just counting the minutes :)