nolatravelgirl

I would also check out Seabourn for some Med cruises. I have been on mainstream, premium (Azamara) and luxury (Seabourn) and found that it isn't that much more and sometimes even less to just cruise Seabourn. I have compared prices with cruising in the Haven on NCL to cruising on Seabourn and the prices are either comparable or less. Remember that you will not be nickel and dimed to death on Seabourn. You are an individual and not just a number. No need to wear a sign and sail card around your neck as there is no need to present it at every turn. 

The biggest draw to Azamara was the late nights in ports. That was really nice. If you are just going to cruise in a regular balcony cabin it was really no better than an NCL room but with slightly better bedding and carpets. The included alcohol was pretty bad. There were only two wines and two beers included. If you are going to pay for a suite on Azamara then you are definitely in the price range for a Seabourn cruise.

if you need big shows and tons of entertainment then the bigger "ship within a ship" is probably best. The great thing about the smaller luxury lines is the fact that they call on smaller ports that the big ships just can't get to. 

My opinion is that Disney cruises are way more expensive than any other line that I wouldn't want to have  to choose between Disney activities and Alaska activities. You are paying a huge premium for all the Disney entertainment that I consider a Disney cruise the actual destination. Unless you just have money to burn I would consider another line for Alaska where you can get much more bang for you buck. We  did a 7 day Caribbean and mostly considered the ports as just a minor part of the cruise. Our stops were Key West, Nassau and Castaway Cay. We spent just a few hours in port in Key West and Nassau. Castaway Cay is Disney's private island where we did spend a full day. We loved the Disney cruise but I would never pay Disney cruise prices for a port intensive cruise. YMMV.

Based on my research you could spend less by getting two connecting balcony rooms on another cruise line for the same price as to what you would pay for a single room on Disney. 

Wow! Looks amazing! 

On 7/20/2021 at 2:46 PM, Lindancer said:

Sorry to say I booked this with *****  The woman is no expert on documentation and just got back from a 14 month layoff due to Covid.  She also gave me wrong info from the get-go, when she told me that the insurance policy was "cancel for any reason" when it turned out it was cancel for medical reasons only.  So you can understand why I don't know who to believe anymore.

Final word thanks to everyone's advice:  I am NOT going to renew my grandson's passport since it is valid to May 22, 2022 (5 1/2 months after cruise ends).  But I will bring it along, along with his birth certicate and government issued ID (driver's license).

From what I read on NCL's website, this should do the trick!!

Thanks everyone!

I think you will be fine with your plan. You meet the requirements for a closed loop cruise and having a valid passport (even though less than 6 month left) is a back up plan for getting back to the USA in the event of an emergency requiring a flight back to the US. 

49 minutes ago, KeithJenner said:

If you don't want to carry the bottles around with you when you board I'm quite sure you can get them to store them for you.

Never thought about that. I am just having flashbacks to my cruise on the Disney Wonder where I was toting around 6 bottles for several hours. Disney allows you to carry on two bottles per person with no corkage and I took my 2 bottle allotment plus the 4 bottles that would have been my sister and BIL allotment. There is no drinks package on Disney I was definitely not giving the mouse any more of my money than necessary. 😄 One unique thing on Disney is that they allow you to bring on wine in every port. I can neither confirm nor deny that I stopped at the CVS in Key West for some additional provisions. 😄  

21 hours ago, bostonphil said:

It was not another beautiful day at sea. it was a very boring day at sea. Many passengers were really angry about this.  One passenger, in particular, had booked this very cruse for the port that had just been cancelled.

I get the wedding ceremony example but I have never heard of folks who book a cruise solely for Nassau. Practically every cruise from Florida ports in Nassau and is one of the most touristy "blah" ports out there. The only reason I may be "upset" about not porting in Nassau is because I needed to use some high speed wi-fi on land. 😄

7 minutes ago, DCGuy64 said:

That's what we're planning to do. We have the drinks package but plan to have 1-2 bottles of our favorites to drink on board. Even paying for the wine itself and the corkage fee, we'll be better off than the prices NCL charges.

I only drink wine and have seriously contemplated just bringing on my own and removing  the beverage package. It makes even more sense if only one person in the cabin is a big drinker. Even if you drink cheap wines it still works in your favor. Take the Matua Valley Sauvignon Blanc that NCL sells for $37 per bottle. My local Total Wine sells it for $9 per bottle so it is a no brainer. The only thing that I am not a huge fan of is having to carry it on board and haul around till rooms are available. It would cost $180 in corkage fees to bring on an entire case but you can also carry off anything that you don't drink. When you consider you pay $140 just in gratuities per person on a seven day cruise then you have to think about the math. 

If you only drink wine and don't wish to purchase a drinks package you can also bring on as much wine as you like and pay a $15 corkage per bottle upon embarkation. Just throwing that out there as another option for wine drinkers. If you mix it up between cocktails, beer, wine and soft drinks then the drinks package might be a better option.

The topic of foreign exchange is about as hotly debated as tipping here on Cruise Critic.

Most European ports are very tourist friendly and assuming you have a major ATM network with your bank you will be fine using ATMs. I did have an issue with an ATM in Turkey but walked a few feet to a different bank's ATM and it worked fine. Never had a problem otherwise. As others have noted, you should alert your bank that you will be traveling to X, Y and Z countries but you need to do you. If you don't trust the ATMs and must have your Euros in hand prior to leaving the US then by all means there are plenty of places that will exchange money for you including those absolute rip off kiosks at the airport. Of course there is always a person who will swear that those kiosks are the "best" places to get foreign currency. 

My experiences have been mostly positive with using foreign ATMs with my ATM card to get a small amount of cash and then just use my credit card (not debit/ATM card) for any larger purchases but again, you do you. Chip cards are pretty standard in Europe and if your card happens to not have a chip then you may want to upgrade prior to your trip. 

1 hour ago, davencl said:

In our case we came during Mardi Gras season on purpose.   Experienced a great cruise and Mardi Gras.   Yes more expensive but worth it for us.  This was our first visit to New Orleans.  We will be back.

I am not discouraging anyone from coming to NOLA for Mardi Gras but many folks don't realize that it is a long city wide festivity that culminates on Mardi Gras Day. As my name implies and I am a NOLA native who has "perfect attendance" for Mardi Gras and you will find me camped out on St. Charles and Jackson Avenue. I do realize that it isn't everyone's cup of tea and could be surprised by the prices and crowds. 

There is a bunk bed in the family ocean view. If you look at this video at the 1:40 mark you can see the outline of the bunk bed from the ceiling that he points to in the ceiling.

6 to 8 hours is about my limit. One thing to consider about New Orleans in February is that is prime Mardi Gras time and hotels could be very expensive so you may want to stay an hour or two away from the port and plan on making the last push into the city the morning of the cruise. Also, New Orleans schools are closed the week of Mardi Gras so plenty of locals will take the opportunity to cruise and make impact pricing. 

9 hours ago, MoCruiseFan said:

The Breakaway is not a "boat".  She is a ship.

Chill out, I was making reference to the commonly used phrase "in the same boat" and you clearly have no sense of humor. Sit down Karen.

We are in the same boat, well not the same "boat" but the Breakaway over New Year's with an 11 year old. 😄  Fingers crossed that they approve the vaccine for kids under 12 or NCL changes their stance for kids not yet eligible. 

Ask a grandkid or the teenager next door to help you. 😄

I leave the DSC in place and have the drinks package which I am already paying a gratuity with but I will tip additional to a server who brings me drinks while out by the pool. Adding $1-$2 in cash gets me very prompt service the rest of the day by the pool and I don't ever have to leave my seat. 🙂

Unlike other lines, you aren't constantly signing for items. You won't see people walking around with their cruise card on a lanyard simply because you aren't having to present it left and right for every little thing. It takes a bit getting used to if you have only ever sailed mass market. 

You would be pretty much wasting your breath trying to get on the AA flight. I get that it is a code share but unless there is some major mechanical the likelihood of them putting you another company's metal is highly unlikely. Your flight is on BA. You will check in at the BA counter and they own your flight. My biggest concern would be your luggage. I would make sure that your carry on has everything you need for this entire cruise as it will be a hard itinerary to have your luggage catch up with you.

Can you get your BA PNR and see if you can log into ba.com and potentially change it yourself?

It looks like you are on British Airways and there isn't an  earlier flight for BOS-LHR (on BA) which puts you in a precarious position. Have you checked to see what the fee is for changing to the flight the day before. The fee could be worth the peace of mind.

4 hours ago, Pudgesmom said:

Crosspack with your traveling companion; this works great in the event one piece of luggage is lost. Similarly, pack one change of clothes and for me, a swimsuit, in your carryon. As a plus size person, it can be near impossible to find clothing in other countries or in onboard shops. No one wants to spend their cruise finding replacement clothing.

When packing my carryon I always consider what would be hardest to replace or find in a foreign country and what could i easily pick up items to supplement. Beyond just one pair of clothes I would consider what is the most versatile items of clothing you own. I always include my black knit dress that can be dressed up and down, a pair of black pants and a bathing suit. I would also will pack a basic nude bra as an ill fitting bra can be awful on vacation. I don't need PJs as I could always pick up a touristy t-shirt for sleep. Same thing with flip flops.

7 minutes ago, JamieLogical said:

 

Those people definitely put on their "Sunday Best" for that Chef's Table experience. That is quite fancy for what I have worn and seen on NCL outside of Le Bistro or Ocean Blue.

You are making my point exactly that what someone considers fancy/formal is very subjective. I would never consider this "formal" in fact I would consider this resort wear considering several of the women are wearing sandals and men are wearing khakis and Hawaiian shirts. I am just trying to give a visual as to what I saw as the most "formal" I saw on a ship and in order to fit in one does not need to pack sequins and rhinestones.

While words are helpful, I find that photos are better. We did the chef's table onboard the Spirit in the Mediterranean and they give you a group photo of everyone who attended that night. We did not know everyone at the table and most people consider the chef's table a "special" dress up evening and I think it gives you a good idea of what most people consider dressed up as this was a cross section of people. As you can see most of the men wore khakis and women wore casual dresses. this photo I think gives a good representation what most people wore on the dress up or not evening. I don't consider any of this as "formal" in the strict definition. I guess what I am saying is leave the rhinestones, bugle beads and sequins at home unless you just really want to wear them. I go with the option of a comfortable black short dress  that I can add a fun statement necklace and carry a cute clutch yet that same black dress would also look fine with a casual pair of sandals and a beach tote for daytime touring. 

Is it possible to just pay as you go for kids or is there a kids all inclusive price? I can't imagine kids making is worth $44 for the AI without alcohol.

This list is not any order. Perhaps you could just post a link to a google doc for others to view.

Anyone care to elaborate on NYE on the Breakaway? I know things could change due to COVID but would love to see the Freestyle from NYE to get a sense of activities.