justhappy

I’m glad that waiting till 11am resulted in a short wait for you. Enjoy your cruise!

Looking forward to your review as I’ll be on the Breakaway in March. Having cruised on the Breakaway and the Getaway out of New Orleans several times I think the slightly later arrival time works better. The problem with earlier times being you are fighting through the departing crowds to enter the building. Long lines through security to get to check in. The waiting area is not large and fills quickly. The time we arrived around 11am we didn’t have to deal with any of those issues and pretty much walked right on the ship after checking in.

Sorry if I had you worried! It’s the Escape from Port Canaveral.

I will add I much prefer my last day to be a sea day, I hate feeling like I have to leave the beach early to go pack. And I actually like the idea of GSC on the first full day.

I actually prefer the new itinerary but I don’t have any excursions to worry about. I do feel for those that are having to scramble for new ones though.

I agree with you that if your schedule is flexible and you watch for prices just under the 120 day window you can get a good deal. Was watching for prices on the Breakaway out of New Orleans for my birthday in March when I saw the price on Haven cabins drop, then saw that my favorite- the aft Haven popped up at a lower price than a forward facing Haven cabin. Needless to say I had my TA grab it. I’m like you, but I prefer to call myself an extroverted introvert. I can chat and make small talk but it wears me out and I’d rather be chilling by myself on my own big aft balcony!

I agree that in general everything costs more than 3 years ago. I remind myself vacations are wants not needs and I’m blessed to be able to travel. If that means I have to adjust my accommodations or trip length so be it. I know lots of people are struggling to make ends meet now and would love to be in my shoes.

As someone who cruises in a club balcony suite when not in a Haven suite, and in aft balcony suites at that, I would go for the Haven even if you plan to be off the ship at most ports. If you can well afford it and are celebrating a big milestone as you state then pamper yourself is my motto!

Deck 8 forward staterooms are some of my favorites. The reason you saw endless crew of all types coming and going is due to the fact that there is a crew lounge behind that forward door, several times we could smell cigarette smoke on the crew so we know they just had a smoke break 😉

Wonderful review! Thank you! I second the recommendation of Prof Cruise. She lives in Seattle and cruises Alaska often. Very active so she has lots of hiking and active excursion experience.

If for no others reason than to help spread out diners among under utilized venues and take the load off the overwhelmed buffet, I am all for this change. I will miss those mozzarella sticks though.

Posting to say have a great cruise and just to see if I had prove human- ness. Didn’t have to by the way. But I am. I think.

Take Sakari on the Alaska cruise! So very different from a Caribbean cruise but sooo awesome and usually very port intensive too! The scenery is amazing.

So glad to see your family cruising again and that you’re sharing another great review! Loving all the photos. Your IPhone takes awesome photos. Also appreciate the color and font you’re using, as it’s easier for me to read😃

Glad you came to your senses and ordered dessert. What were you thinking!!! I’m really enjoying your review and I have to say Bayamo/Ocean Blue is my favorite specialty restaurant on NCL. I reliving good memories of meals past while also planning on meals yet to be enjoyed. Thank you!

Haven thing I could do without or not need- the butler. That includes the daily snacks they bring. Best Haven thing, the Haven restaurant.

Enjoying this review so much as we will be on the ship in a Haven suite in March, past Mardi Gras, but I’m sure we will have spring break crowds.

Is the GM Kivanc Ucar who I think I see there? I hope he’s still onboard at the end of January, he’s really personable and kind.

So sorry that the Aft Haven suite didn’t do it for you, but before you decide that no one else can “appreciate the Haven experience” when in an aft balcony, consider that some people prioritize a large aft balcony over proximity to the Haven complex. After 5 Haven cruises, three of them aft, I’m gladly walking the full length of the ship to get my Haven lounge, restaurant and sundeck access. Honestly, after 2 cruises in a Haven Courtyard penthouse, I’m happy to have some distance from the Haven confines and remind me there’s a whole big ship to enjoy. In March I’ll be back in an aft Haven penthouse again, and I’ll be enjoying AND appreciating my Haven experience, even if I’m not behind some fancy door that says Haven on it.

Have an amazing cruise and Happy Birthday to you!

Beautiful photos and thoughtful, plus at times humorous commentary as we have come to expect from you my internet friend ❤️ I too can admire the architecture of historic, if sometimes gaudy buildings while mourning the extreme wealth accumulated in the name of various gods that did nothing to help the needy while they were alive. I was lucky to have parents that saw more of the spiritual in nature than in any man made edifice so I was lucky as a child to explore nature’s architectural marvels all across the US from a young age.

For our cruise next month I too took advantage of the AmEx offer and bought 1k of OBC, plus our travel agent was offering free prepaid gratuities. For some reason NCL wouldn’t allow him to add our Amex Cruise perks with the PPG offer so he reached out to his BDM and they are covering the $200 OBC but we are not getting the free Le Bistro meal, which is ok with me since I’m getting pre paid grats. We will also get $100 Stockholder OBC and a $25 OBC from the TA. I plan to wait till day 2 onboard to upgrade our Internet packages and will also purchase Vibe passes if they are available. They are sold out online so we are probably out of luck there. What I have left over may go toward more CN certificates. Do you love saving money by spending money like me😜 Hey I was going to cruise anyway, saving a bit always helps!

The only smaller NCL ship I’ve been on was the Pearl, loved the smaller size but I found it kind of confusing at first. If you liked the Oasis class ship I think you’ll be ok with the Escape. I do love the Waterfront area, I found the Oasis ships I’ve been on to be to inward focused so I appreciated the ocean views from the Waterfront and other sundeck areas on the Escape. The atrium area is the biggest choke point on Breakaway class ships.

Can’t wait to follow along, I’ll be back on the Escape next month for the 6th time. I’ll be curious to hear your thoughts on the Breakaway class ships vs the previous ones you’ve been on. Enjoy your cruises!

Wonderful Live-ish report @cruiseny4life. And as always , a big thank you for the food porn. ❤️