DISNEY1975

When I first read this, I thought people were complaining about the food served on the elevators....I had to read it a second time!:eek:

 

Ha! When I first read it, I though it meant people were complaining about other passengers who were carrying food into the elevators! (Maybe bringing a plate to their cabin from the buffet??)

The Breakaway was a brand new concept, so I think people were salivating to learn everything they could. With the Getaway being another Breakaway class ship, there is so much we already know, just based on it being a copy of the Breakway in many ways.

 

We recently had a small thread on here about the restaurant concepts being revealed and I was particularly excited about how they are using the Deck 16 restaurant. Sounds awesome.

http://www.getaway.ncl.com/latest/press-releases/viva-miami-norwegian-getaway-to-debut-south-florida-themed-restaurants-bars/view/2013-10-01

 

Our roll call is slow. Wondering if the two ships being debuted so close together has softened the interest in the Getaway. People are still excited to talk Breakaway.

I think the big difference is where they sail from. Miami port has a lot of competition. Prices for the getaway are more than what is expected from NCL. For the same price, one could sail a more upgraded cruiseline. NCL is known for being budget friendly w/ small cabins. May be hard to draw interested when almost every cruiseline is available for sailing at the Miami port. In NY, choices and destinations are limited. For those looking to save on airfare, it is appealing to have this massive ship in their backyard.

Have been on 11 cruises, all Carnival. Now we are thinking of trying NCL next fall. Interested in Breakaway out of Miami.

For all of you who have been on both Carnival and NCL, can you give me some ideas on the difference of the two lines, pros and cons.

We are couple, early 60's, not really in to a lot of partying.

What do you all like best about NCL.

Also, are the rooms about the same size. We are looking at an Aft balcony. That is what we always have on Carnival.

Thanks for any help.

claudia

Ive been on 3 NCL, one carnival.

My opinion is NCL is much better. (Im mid 40's w/ 3 kids, no drinking or "hot white night" parties for me!)

Cabins - Carnivals are larger. This was the only plus. They are not too much larger, but enough to notice.

Food - I prefer NCL. I also like the free style dining, but I was able to get that on CCL too. Seemed stranger on CCL though, as it was fairly new and most other passengers were on the scheduled plan.

Entertainment - I prefer NCL. There are more shows and "gameshows". During the day they have more to do than just trivia and sales seminars!

Staff is the same Awesome on both lines.

With all that said, I will have to say I like the Carnival Itineraries a little bit more, especially the CCL Valor. We went left SJ, PR and went to 5 different ports. That cant be beat! And the hours at each port were fantastic. Spent the whole day at each one. The downside to my particular trip was that it rained some days, so we got back to the ship early to find nothing going on. I went on an NCL trip when it rained 5 of 7 days. Not a problem...plenty to do inside, onboard.

Have fun with whichever you choose! All of the above is my opinion only. We could be completely different people!

Ive been on 4 cruises and have only had one "complaint".

On my last cruise (not NCL), the "kids club" closed early every night. Normal hours were something like 7 - 10, but when I went to drop off my daughter I was told, nightly, they would be closing at 8 or 9. They even had a pay service that extended beyond 10 that was never opened. All kids theme parties at night were cancelled due to "lack of interest" apparently.

Did I complain onboard? No. What would they do? Stay open for my 1 child? Did I come home and write about it? Yes! Just a warning for parents sailing from SJ on a non school vacation week. There were hardly any kids aboard and the club adjusted their hours, to the point that I did not see one show the entire week. By the time we finished dinner, the club was closing within 30 - 45 minutes.

So...this April, I am back on NCL with the best kids program at sea!

I booked a family balcony (deck 12) back in July and just upgraded to the mini suite on deck 9. Kinda wished I did research before changing rooms. but it was offered to me during a phone call and I heard the word "suite" and said yes too quickly.

After doing some research....

The only difference I see in the room is the bathroom. Balcony and room are exactly the same. Bathroom has double sinks, a tad more floor space and a larger shower.

I chose deck 12 originally because of the location to the kids club. Now I am on deck 9, not too far away, but over the theatre! With 2 shows nightly, Im not sure I made a wise decision! Good part is the theatre is unoccupied in the morning! Also, the mini suite balcony is above the "boardwalk" area (I forget real name for it, but outdoor dining and shops)

It is what it is...Im not changing again. Cant complain as I have no idea how good or bad it will be! Lesson learned though to not say "Yes" too quickly!

Hmmm why so expensive. The specialty restaurants range from $15 to $30 (not including Ocean Blue). $119 seems expensive and you could save money with separate bookings. For example if you ate 3 specialties @ $25 that would only be $75.

 

Am I missing something? When I read the NCL information, it seems unlimited.

Yes! You are missing 4 more nights!!

Thanks so much!

 

Can I purchase now for both my trips on Sky in March and Getaway in August?

Just went to purchase mine for the Getaway next April. I don't see the Getaway listed ??

So that is my share of our blast from the past.

 

Feel free to share your stories and pictures.

 

It's interesting to see how things have changed. Both the good and the bad. :)

Thanks do much for this! I had a big laugh at the size of the boat, I mean, ship !!

My flight from SJU to BOS just got changed. We now have a stop in GA. I immediately thought of you!:)

I carry Crystal Light "To Go" packs with me all the time. Why? I dont like soda, Im not a huge fan of plain water and I like it!! Will I share with strangers? Probably not! If someone asked me and I had an extra, I would definitely give, but I would never offer. That would be weird.

I also used to drink Hydroxycut flavor packets. Weight loss supplement you pour into a bottle of water. Absolutely would not give to anyone...and its BRIGHT red. Maybe this pax has a vitamin supplement / diet supplement and its not appropriate to share.

But...as others have said...who cares!!

Thanks for the review! We'll be sailing on the Valor in May. Some in my party will be i the room next door to yours, 9197. Lucky me will be in 9200 at the end of the hall!

I hadnt thought about getting off the ship in St Lucia (especially after seeing GAPearls climb!) but your excursion looks right up my alley! Im going to check it out. :)

 

On our way back down the stairs. Going down was easier than going up, of course.

 

 

Our last stop was the black rocks. Beautiful no matter how many times I see it.

 

Is this the only staircase, or are there more to get to this level and another one above? I am planning to visit here and dont think my elderly Mom could handle more than this (if she can handle even this!!)

So you would never travel to anyplace you have never been for fear of something bad happening? I'm so sorry for you. I could never give up the chance to see so many beautiful places on the off chance something could happen. Especially when I know it could happen to me at home in my safe little neighborhood.

 

Just curious.. if you don't travel for fear of danger then why are you posting on CC???

Dorchester is right on the water. Why dont you take your family for a nice outing there and then for a nice dinner at night.

Or even better, how about some nice shopping on trendy Tremont St, Boston. If you walk all the way to the west end of Tremont, youre smack at Mission Hill, Roxbury. As a local, I know this. A tourist would keep walking straight into the neighborhood.

Why in the world would they want you to miss the boat??

I thought that too, but reread a couple of times and realized she is talking about the taxi drivers making you miss the boat.

We were scheduled to leave Nassau at 5pm and everyone was supposed to be back to the ship at 4:30. From 4:30-5:30 We watched over 100 people get back on the ship. I don't know if they normally wait that long for people but I think it was because so many people weren't back yet. Towards the end they were carting people back in golf carts.

If it was that many people, maybe it was an entire excursion that got delayed. If you are booked on an excursion through the cruiseline, they have to wait for you.

Kind of on topic....

Do prices for excursions booked via cruise line ever change? I checked out excursions once and decided against them. Never thought to check again for a price reduction.

I dont know how you were able to do activities after St Lucia. I would be in a full body cast for the remainder of the cruise!

Did you prebook the taxi to Maho Beach, or are there plenty at the pier? My family of 6 want to go and what Im seeing online is $25pp / round trip. Your $16 sounds better! It would save me $54 that I could use towards chairs at the beach!

Thanks :)

Our friend smokes marlboro, but said he would take pall malls which are 2 cartons for $31 onboard.

 

You supposedly can only bring home one carton and I was by myself. So, its taking a chance buying 2 cartons unless you are cruising with someone else.

I bought 10 on a cruise out of Boston last year. When we left the ship, I handed my paper (forgot what is called..declaration of goods???") to some teen in a uniform and never looked back. They dont check anything.

We are trying to decide between the 6 night cruise on the Breeze out of Miami with stops in Grand Turk, Ocho Rios and Nassau or the 7 night on the Valor out of San Juan stopping at St Thomas, Barbados, St Lucia, St Kitts and St Maarten. Including the flight, the price is about even.

 

Our only cruising experience was last year on Paradise stopping in Grand Cayman and Cozumel.

 

Any advice will be greatly appreciated!

I would pick the Valor! Why?? Because I did :D:D. I sail in May!

6 Caribbean Islands and only 1 sea day, in 7 days, is a no brainer for me.

My legs and feet ache looking at these pictures. Soooo glad it was you and not me :D. Congrats for making to the 1/2 way point! Can wait to see if you got to the top!

Less than 15 minutes in, I looked like this and was ready to quit!

 

 

 

And you still managed a smile!

Ugghhh...Its like the best book ever, that you cant put down!

Im reading this to my daughter like a bedtime story! But shes not close to sleeping, shes now too excited for the cruise! 73 more days, but feels like Im already on the ship reading your review and looking at all the great pictures!

Thanks again for doing all of this. Youre the BEST!

Another fan of yours here! Thanks for all of this hard work posting and uploading photos for all of us to enjoy!

I cant believe all of that was one day!! I cant wait for the rest, especially Maho Beach!:)

valor is the only ship that has that awesome cabin 9200

And its all mine 05/19 - 05/26 !! :D:D:D:D:D:D

(sorry, but Im really excited!!)

The lido lunch theme today was American food. Part of that buffet was cornbread, or at least Carnival’s interpretation of what they think cornbread is. I have lived in Tennessee, Texas, and Georgia. I’m 110% southern girl. I know good cornbread. I need my southern folks to back me up here.

 

This is cornbread.

 

This is also cornbread.

 

 

THIS IS NOT CORNBREAD!!!

 

 

 

Ok, technically it is cornbread because it’s bread with corn on top. However, you can’t put that in front of someone from the south and not expect to get flamed. Paula Deen would have a fit if she tasted this. Even without the corn on top, the bread wasn’t that good. It tasted very “doughy”, like it wasn’t baked long enough.

 

I’d like to make a deal with the Carnival chefs. Feel free to fly into Atlanta one day. I’ll pick you up from the airport and drive you up 85N to Peachtree Street, where our final destination will be Gladys Knight’s Chicken & Waffles. We’ll order a basket of cornbread and dish on Dancing With The Stars and you can show me pictures of your kids. On the drive back to the airport, I’ll take you around the 285 loop to This Is It Soul Food and get you a couple dozen corn muffins to snack on for your plane ride back. You’ll be back in Florida in time for sailaway. This will give you a taste of good, southern cornbread.

 

I never thought I’d be writing a dissertation on cornbread, but this needed to be said. :)

Im from the north and this is disturbing! We may not know "great cornbread", but werent not stupid to think a biscuit with creamed corn on top is edible.

Blllahhhh....