goldmom

Loving your review. I'm so enjoying your pictures as I have many similar ones from our trip to Venice many years ago. We loved Venice. We also stayed at the Hilton. I seem to remember they had an amazing rooftop pool. You should check it out the views were stunning. Have an amazing trip!

CruiserBruce stated you go without the life vest. Definitely much easier.

Thank you for the information!

We have not been on HAL since before covid. How are they doing their life boat drill now? It seems that most cruise lines are making it easier and cutting down on the crowded venues. Does Hal do it through the TV in the cabin? Do you go to your assembly station to check in? Any info is appreciated. Thanks.

In addition to the Reuben, the chicken salad sandwich was delicious. The sandwiches made up for the disappointing wings.

Yes, it will give you an issue when you try to finalize it.

We were on 2 weeks ago. The show was called Velvet. We didn't go, but our adult kids went. They said the show was fun (70's or 80's music) but the dinner was awful.

There's also something to be said about driving to the port. I see you're in Massachusetts. Both ships are great. For a couple I would go with the Pearl. With kids, they'd probably enjoy the Joy more. Enjoy!

Definitely agree. Forgot about the guac. Definitely a hit!

We were also disappointed in the wings on our most recent trip on the Breakaway. The waiter said that they no longer fry the wings, they bake them which also accounts for the different texture. Not sure if he's right about the cooking method, but they were definitely different than on prior trips.

The pizza we ordered in La Cucina had a barely cooked and floppy crust. Living in the NY/NJ area we are very serious about our pizza.! LOL! We were really expecting something great as La Cucina has pizza ovens, but all 5 of us found it disappointing on both the Breakaway and the Gem. But, we really enjoyed the rest of our meal. The pastas were delicious.

The blazing shrimp appetizer in Ocean Blue is excellent and large enough to share. Also, the crab appetizer in Le Bistro, different that I expected but very tasty and light. Do not order pizza in La Cucina unless you live somewhere that doesn't have pizza. But, the tiramisu there is worth the raves it gets.

The pre-cruise concierge was able to change the day and number of people on several of my dinner reservations pre-cruise. There was one day and restaurant which wasn't available, the pre-cruise concierge said she would put in the request to the onboard concierge and when we boarded, it had already been taken care of. That was my experience anyway. I found the pre-cruise concierge very helpful and knowledgeable, even more so recently than in years past.

For lobster roll Portland lobster is good. For the best fried clams ever, try Becky's diner. Both on the waterfront. Becky's is about a 2 mile walk. Holey donuts was also a fun stop. They close at 2pm I believe. They wouldn't let you bring them onboard though.

Sorry about the fog. We got off when you got on. Our disembarkation was quite a mess with the Westside HWY closed for a bike race. I'm curious if those boarding the ship had issues. Did you have any challenges boarding the ship? Hope you enjoyed your trip!

Safe travels and Bon Voyage to all of the 10/30 cruisers.

I agree with Gary. Once you're in the Haven you should deal with the Haven Concierge onboard or the Pre-cruise Concierge before you board. They are very knowledgeable and helpful. The Pre-cruise Concierge number is 855-625-4283. Enjoy!

The 14 yo can sit in the second level Haven area with loungers. If Mom wants to pop out and get some sun on the Sundeck, she can do so. They could pretty much see each other the whole time. While her son may be a quiet kid, there are some kids who aren't and once the staff lets one underage child up there it would be impossible to stop other parents from bringing their children (who may not be well behaved) up there. There are plenty of places for Mom and son to sit together, just not on the sundeck.

Hopefully the marathon isn't by the cruise terminal. We came in last Sunday and there was a bike race coming down the Westside HWY. What a mess! They closed off traffic onto the Westside Hwy at the George Washington Bridge. We crossed the road and our driver met us across the street. I felt really badly for the arriving passengers as the entire entrance to the terminal was blocked off. This was pretty early morning, so hopefully they opened it up after the race started. There were a lot of people pulling their luggage across the street to board the ship. Not a fun way to start a cruise!

Would also suggest some OTC cold meds. There is not much onboard anymore. DH caught a cold and I had to find a pharmacy in port and sneak the cough syrup onboard. Enjoy!

I can't speak to the testing, but we were on the Breakaway last week and it was the fastest and easiest embarkation and debarkation we've ever had. Of course you never know. We arrived at around 10;30 and there were no lines, we just breezed right through. It was also probably one of the first ones without any testing requirements which probably made it much faster.

Also, when checking in at the pier, at least in NYC. Tell them you are Haven even if you're in a regular suite. They should have your cabin on their list and will put you in the shorter Haven line. You also pick up your keycard at the Haven waiting area. The NYC staff on the pier don't understand there are suites that are not in the Haven. Enjoy!

We were in the Haven. I've never been able to find the Latitude Concierge either.

Just off the Breakaway. I had checked the weather every day prior to the cruise. It was supposed to be cold and rainy pretty much every day. Instead we had beautiful weather . So, don't stress too much over the weather forecasts. For the shows, they were on completely different days that the previous weeks', so whatever pre-planning you do may not work out. We were okay as we eat early and there were 9:30 shows which worked for us. On the subject of Concierges. On the larger ships there are usually several people working at the Concierge desk. The main Concierge was wonderful! We had a few small requests and billing issues and poof, everything was straightened out. Some of the other staff seemed to have issues and struggled to work on even minor questions or requests. I just always tried to wait for the head Concierge. Wishing you a great cruise. Love your check list! I'm also an obsessive over planner.

Just off Breakaway this morning. They used the key card swipe the whole week getting off and on the ship and in Manhattan cruise terminal, customs used the facial recognition scan.