Review of Breakaway 12 day itinerary to Southern Caribbean January 4-16, 2015

Our cruise was Breakaway’s first of a few 12 day Southern Caribbean Itineraries with six ports. Background....DH is 62 and I'm 58. We've been on 12 previous cruises together over the past 13 years spread across NCL, Royal Caribbean, Carnival and one Princess cruise to Alaska. I also did one ladies cruise with a couple of friends. Favorite ship ever was Oasis of the Seas, hands down; I'd say Breakaway comes in second in terms of the overall package.

We booked an inside guarantee back in July for a very low price. As time went on we realized perhaps we should have booked a balcony guarantee being that it was 12 days spent in mostly tropical weather. Prices fluctuated all over, two weeks before the cruise the balcony guarantee dropped as low as we felt it was going to go (we were right) and on top of that NCL was offering the choice of the Ultimate Dining or Drink package, or a $200 credit. We had booked through an online agent who let us keep the $150 credit we had gotten when we originally booked so we upgraded to the balcony with the UDP. We were assigned cabin 14702, which happened to be a spa balcony, so we scored a great upgrade and got access to the thermal suite for the entire cruise gratis which was great, especially in the cold weather. Cabin was a nice size and had plenty of storage areas, the third bed/couch has storage drawers and I pack in packing cubes which helps keep organized. Bathroom has a ton of storage spots and shower was great. We also got the Elemis toiletries since it was a spa cabin which was lovely. Plenty of room under the bed to store the luggage. I had ordered the CC luggage tags and they worked great! We had a great cabin steward, Eric, who was finishing his 8 month contract at the end of our cruise and was a very happy man looking forward to 4 months off. He got happier and happier as the days went on although not looking forward to his 16 hour flight to the Philippines. Just an aside....the tallest Phillipino man I've ever seen, at well over six foot!

What was not great was that this cabin was very high up and very far forward and felt the motion of the ocean strongly. We were right behind the bridge. I'm prone to motion sickness and had taken precautions but I got hit hard right after going under the Verrazano, had I been lower and more centered I might have been ok and had more time to adjust. It took me about 24 hours to start feeling well including a trip to the medical center for a shot. I'm putting that into insurance although shockingly they charged me a grand total of $14.50! I have never felt as poorly on a cruise. Poor DH ate alone in Cagney's the first night. Moral of this story is: if motion is really an issue for you, pick your cabin and pay the cost. I was far from the only person feeling it....lots of people were unwell. I feel this ship shook and vibrated a lot. Dinner one night in Moderno we were seated in the back in calm Caribbean seas, and the vibrations and shaking necessitated us changing our table. We ate the last night in Cagney's, I requested a table at the front of the restaurant the furthest from the aft, and yet my butt had a magic fingers bed under it. The ride from Cape Hatteras back to NYC wasn't the smoothest either at points.

Having the ultimate Dining Package was great. We ate dinner in a specialty restaurant every night except for one night when we tried the Manhattan Room, which was good, and very pretty. You can certainly eat there nightly and do just fine. Taste and Savor are nice too and you can eat there very casually. We had one breakfast in O'Sheehans which was delivered quickly and was hot and tasty. Had lunch there one day, which took forever to come; the chicken pot pie does live up to its reputation and DH liked the meatloaf. Ate lunch there the last day too, tried the corned beef sandwich and as a New Yorker used to a good deli sandwich, I thought it complete inadequate. DH did love his wings though, Most of our lunches and breakfasts were in the buffet or at Uptown Grill, which remained a secret for a couple of days and then became a madhouse of insanity with a half hour wait for a burger. Breakfasts were nice there and the breakfast sandwiches are nice and freshly cooked, but NCL could learn from Carnival's Guy Fieri's burger bar at lunchtime.....just keep on cooking the burgers, don't specialize them behind the counter, give people a fixings bar and let them do it themselves. Both beef and turkey burgers were great but took waaaay too long to get. The salad bar was nice and fast and healthy. If you eat in the buffet, head right to the back where it's much emptier and everything available. NCL does a great job on their baked goods. I'm going to have separation issues from the pretzel rolls and little chocolate croissants at breakfast time, and also from the piles of lox. I'm quite afraid to go to my weight watchers weigh in! Addendum: miraculously, went today and gained just under a pound, I guess our walking and activity did help!

Loved Le Bistro, their lamb chops are a favorite of mine. Incidentally they did not charge the $10 up charge that is assessed on certain dishes if you had the UDP. Food is delicious there. Anything with duck in it is recommended, DH loved the four cones appetizer filled with different items. Cagney's is good as well. Really liked the braised beef and slider appetizers there. We liked Moderno also; try the coconut flan there. Their salad bar is wonderful. Had one dinner in Teppanyaki, the chef was hilarious, the food was OK. Hadn’t done Teppanyaki in years so it was fun, but the food is not as good as I would have gotten at Benihana on land. I had never eaten in La Cucina, we did that twice. The bread and dipping oils....let's say I ate way too many carbs. First time around my Osso Bucco was delicious. The second time I had shrimp and paella and it was salty and not so good. DH and I ordered a Beef Bolognese pizza to split as an appetizer and it was delicious. Their salad fresca (?) with the pears in it was great too. As for liquor, we aren't big drinkers, my BBCs I did have were yummy. A group of us from CC did the ice bar together the last evening, and we had a blast. Something you have to do one time!

Breakaway really shines in the entertainment department. Saw everything but the hypnotist who I'd seen before and I don't care for. Rock of Ages was hysterical, although NCL needs to do something about the back of the theater seats where the metal rim of the seat bites into your butt. Burn the Floor was fabulous. Saw a great juggler and hysterical comedian. Cirque Dreams was very colorful and a lot of fun, it was included in my UDP. With the luck of the draw I ended up with perfect seats for it and had performers sticking their faces in mine throughout the show. There was a Broadway singer who was good. Lounge singers abound on the ship. Fat Cats hosts the most fabulous musicians, Les Getrex 'n the Creole Cookin' Band, who provided us with a few hours of marvelous entertainment. The Dueling Pianos are a ton of fun as well. I don't care much for Second City, they always seems forced to me, but to each his own, there was plenty much else to do.

The waterfront concept is really nice. We ate outside on the San Juan evening after we returned to the ship and it was really lovely. Although the deck does not go all the way around it’s easy enough to walk in the forward doors and out the other side and walk laps if you want; certainly better than the tiny running track on Deck 16. We also enjoyed just sitting outside in the comfy chairs while I read and DH did Sudoko (there’s a daily crossword and Sudoko available in the library, BTW). Definitely a winner of an idea.

The pool area is, as has been mentioned, quite crowded. I looked down at the crowd one day from Deck 16 during a hot dog eating contest and it really was a mass of humanity. The Nickelodeon themed kids pool and sprinklers seemed well used and enjoyed by the kiddies. I know a lot of people liked sitting by Spice H20, we generally got chairs on Deck 16, one up from the pool and laid out there. It does get crowded, we would go before breakfast, grab a couple of chairs, lay our towels out, attach them to our chairs with our “Boca Clip” clamps and go eat. We were never gone more than an hour which is what you are allowed to hold your chairs for before your stuff is supposedly removed (which I never saw happen to anyone). There are also TONS of chairs on Deck 17 forward on the port side. DH really got a kick out of the water slides.

We had had a huge CC roll call and I was in charge of the Meet & Greet. I had worked hard on it and kept things nice and organized, done nice name tags, and we were doing a gift exchange. Unfortunately I was somewhere in Bonine Outer Space and I didn't really enjoy myself nearly like I had anticipated. Not much comes through my medicated fog except when I was speaking at one point and called NCL Royal Caribbean, which I will never live down. The officers of the ship did attend and answer questions. People, they're doing that for us as a favor. Some people who were not our roll call regulars asked stupid and rude questions. It's not a Moan and Groan, it's a meet and greet. Keep your petty problems to yourself and ask guest services on the side. Crew members trip over themselves to work things out on the ship....don't “assault” the officers!

We had six ports. San Juan was from 3-10PM, we couldn't even get off until 4 and we ultimately just walked to the fort and strolled around there. We then availed ourselves of the free wifi at Starbucks and bought a couple of things at CVS. I'll interject here to say I think they really need to reassess how people line up and get off the ship, open more lines, and be more organized. The line waiting to get off stretched from the front of the ship to the rear, Beware if you are in a rush to get off and do something.

In St. Thomas we walked to town in the morning and walked around, saw the historical Synagogue, climbed the 99 steps and found some free wifi. Went back to the ship for lunch and then at 1:15 boarded a boat for the NCL shore excursion St. John's Eco Hike. We got to St. John, were greeted by our great tour guide Travis, did a nice hike through Virgin Islands National Park and had some time at Honeymoon Beach before heading back on our narrated boat ride. Excellent ship excursion.

In St. Martin someone from our CC roll call had organized a beach day at a club called Karakters on Simpson Bay beach where they gave us lounge chairs all for the price of ordering a food or beverage item. Definitely a deal but you need to get there early to get chairs if you are doing this independently. Went back to port and did some browsing. Hit the thermal suite and took a nice nap on the heated loungers!

St. Lucia brought us another CC group tour that had been organized where we went to the rum distillery, saw many local sites, had a lovely lunch at the Beacon restaurant overlooking the Pitons, had fun at the mud baths and speedboated back to the ship. Serenity Tours was the tour operator for this and they provided water, juice and rum punch galore! Also drank tons of the tamarind juice they provided, really yummy stuff I had never tried.

In Barbados I had booked my own independent tour with Glory Tours. As it turned out we were the only ones to book their Natural Wonders tour that day and we had a driver, Calvin and his taxi all to ourselves. He was wonderful and provided us with constant narration and information. He got us to Harrison's Caves before the rush which is an amazing natural attraction I loved. After that we went to the Flower Forest where it poured, but luckily they provided large umbrellas for us to use. We got some fun and pretty pictures there. Then Calvin took us to the east coast of the island which is ruggedly beautiful, we had an included lunch at a restaurant in that area. Finally we went to the Barbados Wildlife Preserve which had really cool monkeys, turtles, deer,

snakes, birds, and other animals out in the open (well, not the snakes, thank goodness!).

Our St. Kitts day almost turned into a disaster. We headed out on our NCL Shore Ex, the St. Kitts Rail excursion, which we were both looking forward to. A ton of us from CC had all booked this together. Unfortunately, the Railway broke down with an earlier tour with passengers from the Noordam on it and we were sent back to ship. The day was far from a loss, however, hung out with some CC friends, drank and had lunch together and then we all headed up to the Ropes Course! Unfortunately didn't get to walk the plank because it was too windy.

The Breakaway has a lovely staff; everyone is pleasant and seems happy. Captain Evans Hoyt seems like a really nice fellow and I believe the only American captain I ever encountered on a cruise ship. CD Julie is OK, I didn't have much to do with her. Her schtick seems a bit “canned” and her elocution made me think she had gone to the Evelyn Wood school of speech or something. We had a couple of waitresses onboard who were just wonderful and as I mentioned a super cabin attendant. A couple of very small issues were dealt with at guest relations quickly and expediently.

Shops on board were not that large and I'm a bit mystified by the lack of Breakaway branded items. No sweatshirts, a minimum of shirts. Seems to me they were missing a marketing opportunity in the NCL/Breakaway branded section. There was a lot of selling of junk for $10. There is a huge photo section with pics in folders corresponding to a number on your swipe card rather than you having to search through tons of them and also an online system. This trip I was not in the market for anything much in the shopping department so cannot really speak to prices onboard or onshore.

I had prebooked the major shows and one dinner ahead of time in each venue online before we left. Two of the shows got canceled (including my free Cirque the first night due to the rocky seas, which worked out well since I didn't have to do it when I was in Bonine stupor) and I had to reschedule them. Also bear in mind that anything you book at home does not show up in the online system in your cabin, which is ridiculous as far as I am concerned. I had started a spreadsheet at home and just kept adding to and editing that to keep track of where I was going when. Brought some wacky tack and hung it up. At the box office the first day of the cruise they did give us a schedule of what was coming up over the 12 days in entertainment, what had to be pre booked and what was a walk in performance. This was helpful.

DH and I had both downloaded the free NCL concierge app before we boarded, but did not pay to use it to text one another. The information on it is on the TV in your room and touch screens all around the ship and I didn’t find it useful. I would imagine if you have a large group and especially kids to keep track of the texting portion would be very useful. Demographically the ship for this 12 day sailing skewed very “mature,” very few children. Didn’t see kids on college winter break like I thought I might. This was the first time we took a cruise over 7 days and I did find it more relaxing, gave us lots of time to explore things without being rushed.

In conclusion our cruise on Breakaway was, for the most part, a winner. She’s a beautiful ship, goes to great ports and for the most part we had nice weather. The two days headed back into NY were fairly rainy but there was plenty to do inside. I was grateful I didn’t repeat my seasickness, I guess I had my sea legs by then, A big improvement over being on Long Island for 12 days during a cold January!

If anyone has specific questions fire away!

Great review, thank you so much for all the info. We are doing the same trip Feb 1st, this is our 1st time on such a large ship, I like the smaller ones, so I've been alittle nervous. Sounds like I have nothing to be nervous about and am really looking forward to sailing now!

Thanks for your Breakaway review. Sounds like you had a good time.

Excellent review! I almost feel like I was there--wait a minute, I was there. :D I'm amazed that all you were billed for the seasickness shot was $14.50. Somebody on the ship complained that they were billed over $100 for a trip to the medical center, but probably for something different than seasickness. It seemed to me, too, that this ship had a lot of movement and vibration. Is that typical of large ships? Did you experience that on Oasis?

We liked the Manhattan Room, and kicked ourselves for not trying it sooner. The service was quicker and more efficient in there, and the live music was nice.

Kudos to you for doing as well as you did at the meet & greet. So what if you called them Royal Caribbean? We figured it out, right? Thanks for all the work you put into it. It never fails to amaze me when people ask the whiny questions. Asking about free laundry when you haven't even been on the ship 24 hours yet? Give me a break! The gift swap was a nice idea, too. I've got to figure out what to do with my dried fish from Maine, which I thought was quirky, but really creative and very local!

Great review Robin, you save me from doing a lot of typing...wish I had known you were doing the Caves in Barbado's my family would have joined you, We also went, (the tour with NCL) a bus ride there and same route back, OH they threw in a cup of juice, LOL)

It was great meeting you and Bruce and the rest of the gang!! My husband says thank you for your concern.

The Meet and Greet was perfect.... You did a great job... RCL staff thought so too .LOL...

Just want to point out to others who may read this, do keep your beefs for a different time, Unless it has to do with no hot water (for tea) out side on deck 8 smoking area, in the morning, I asked why there was only reg coffee and decaf and of course danish but no hot water for tea? Well for the next 11 days it was there and I made sure I thanked him that very next morning! Wonderful trip it was also my first time on the BA and 12 day cruise...

Thanks a million Robin - what a great review! I share your enthusiasm for this fabulous ship...and I'm sorry that the motion affected you. I never felt it :o...but I'm lucky that way, & not everyone is. I think you did a fantastic job at the Meet & Greet & I appreciated your (quite obvious) hard work. Boo Hiss to the moaners...shame on them!

Great review Robin, you save me from doing a lot of typing...wish I had known you were doing the Caves in Barbado's my family would have joined you, We also went, (the tour with NCL) a bus ride there and same route back, OH they threw in a cup of juice, LOL)

It was great meeting you and Bruce and the rest of the gang!! My husband says thank you for your concern.

The Meet and Greet was perfect.... You did a great job... RCL staff thought so too .LOL...

Just want to point out to others who may read this, do keep your beefs for a different time, Unless it has to do with no hot water (for tea) out side on deck 8 smoking area, in the morning, I asked why there was only reg coffee and decaf and of course danish but no hot water for tea? Well for the next 11 days it was there and I made sure I thanked him that very next morning! Wonderful trip it was also my first time on the BA and 12 day cruise...

Oh my... I almost split a gut ;):D:D!

PS - we love you Robin, it's all good! :)

Thank you for the review ! we are leaving in a couple hours on the breakaway .hope to have a great time on this cruise...

Thanks for the great review! We are on our way to board now!!

Would you happen to know how much they were charging for the Vibe pass for the 12 days? Taking the 12 day Southern Caribbean on the Getaway in October and am considering being at the terminal at the crack of dawn, lol, to be in the first boarding group to try and get Vibe passes for my husband and I.

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Everyone who is leaving today or on the next sailing, have a GREAT time! She is a wonderful ship.

I have NO idea what the Vibe pass costs for 12 days, sorry.

Excellent review! I almost feel like I was there--wait a minute, I was there. I'm amazed that all you were billed for the seasickness shot was $14.50. Somebody on the ship complained that they were billed over $100 for a trip to the medical center, but probably for something different than seasickness. It seemed to me, too, that this ship had a lot of movement and vibration. Is that typical of large ships? Did you experience that on Oasis?

I was shocked I was only charged that also. They do seem a bit ditzy down in the Medical Center, I never actually saw a doctor who I would hope is more professional....at that point all I cared about was the shot, the nurse did take my Temp and BP and I think perhaps the actual visit didn't get charged, only the cost of the inoculation. I'm glad you thought that too.....definitely a vibrating shaky ship, especially in the low rear, with people paying upcharges to eat in the restaurants in the rear I see it as a problem...never felt anything like that on Oasis but in fairness we were in the Eastern Caribbean the entire time and the seas were calm.

The gift swap was a nice idea, too. I've got to figure out what to do with my dried fish from Maine, which I thought was quirky, but really creative and very local!

I got Canadian Maple Syrup from Grandpa99, which was very cool and the best gift I ever got from an exchange. Dried fish? Hmmmm...

RCL staff thought so too .LOL...

Like I said, never going to live that one down :D

Thanks for your Breakaway review. I would love to do that itinerary next time!

Thanks for the review. Robin, you did a great job with the M&G. Aside from the moaners and groaners it was done well it is ashame you were to sick to enjoy it

Excellent review! I almost feel like I was there--wait a minute, I was there. :D I'm amazed that all you were billed for the seasickness shot was $14.50. Somebody on the ship complained that they were billed over $100 for a trip to the medical center, but probably for something different than seasickness. It seemed to me, too, that this ship had a lot of movement and vibration. Is that typical of large ships? Did you experience that on Oasis?

 

We liked the Manhattan Room, and kicked ourselves for not trying it sooner. The service was quicker and more efficient in there, and the live music was nice.

 

Kudos to you for doing as well as you did at the meet & greet. So what if you called them Royal Caribbean? We figured it out, right? Thanks for all the work you put into it. It never fails to amaze me when people ask the whiny questions. Asking about free laundry when you haven't even been on the ship 24 hours yet? Give me a break! The gift swap was a nice idea, too. I've got to figure out what to do with my dried fish from Maine, which I thought was quirky, but really creative and very local!

I will second the movement issue. I do not get sea sick but I did feel that this ship moved and creaked like crazy in the areas near our cabin....surprising for a new build of that size! Our cabin had severe noise issues every night.....heavy pounding (of something that sounded like metal pipes) in the ceiling and walls, even when the ocean was calm. Once the ship started moving the clanging started! Our cabin stewart and deck supervisor asked that we report it to the hotel director via the "Dear Prem" suggestion box. Neither us nor the crew could figure out what it was......so they kept sending us canapes:rolleyes:.....believe me, valium would have been more welcome so that I could sleep! ;)

We were on the Quantum of the Seas in Novemeber.....VERY STABLE, even in the very first cabin on deck 12 and no noise issues. Cannot say for other cabins.

Apart from the noise issue, we loved everything else about the ship and the crusie.:)

Our far aft inside cabin was so shaky that I was wondering if maybe they didn't bolt it in tight enough when they slid it into place!!!

In all fairness this only happened on day 1 and 2. And day 11 and 12

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I am feeling the pain today of those debarking the ctn and embarking the 12 day

With most roads closed or logjammed even those who left home at 5 am for a 3 hour drive are stuck in it

Not to mention those driving in to pick up debarking pax

We didn't wait on 48 th st for our ride on Friday we went right back up to drop off and there were no cars at all and very few people so it was great but that is virtually impossible to do today with close to 8000 pax coming and going right now!!!!

I feel their pain. We really did get lucky at embark and debark with the weather. Even the sail away party weather was bearable. Not today's

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Funny we all seem to say the ship was shaky. Maybe the people reading this review should be prepared for motion! I can only imagine what is going on at the port today. The roads down on I95 are just horrific. Son #2 taking an intensive intersession course for his MBA at NYU in NYC (there's a lot of initials). He said it took two hours to drive from Stamford to Greenwich from his home in Norwalk CT and they parked the car and took the train in. Hope everyone taking this cruise today gets there safely. My friend was on the two day CTN and on her way home to RI and said it's awful on the roads.

Thanks for the review! Enjoyed reading it.

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Great review! We were on the same cruise and loved every minute of it. REgarding the motions of the vessel, we were up on deck 16 and both my wife and mother in law passed comment on more than one occasion about the rolling during what was pretty average weather (i never noted more than 4 metre seas).

As a Captain myself I was quite intregued and the question was actually raised (in a round about way) in the Technical Q&A with the Master/Ch.Engineer/Camp Boss. Its to do with the new stability and 'return to port' regualtions which new cruise ships must adhere to. In laymans terms the new class/flag regs means that a vessel must have greater reserved stability than on older passanger vessels. This increased stability (refered to as GM and measured in Metres) means that the vessel is always fighting to come back upright if she's heeled over much quicker than vessels with a smaller GM. I think you'll find most newbuild cruise ships will have a similiar feel to them whilst the older ones will not be quite as noticeable as their roll periods are much longer.

Who was the HD on board on this cruise.

prem was the HD on the cruise.

Great review! We were on the same cruise and loved every minute of it. REgarding the motions of the vessel, we were up on deck 16 and both my wife and mother in law passed comment on more than one occasion about the rolling during what was pretty average weather (i never noted more than 4 metre seas).

 

As a Captain myself I was quite intregued and the question was actually raised (in a round about way) in the Technical Q&A with the Master/Ch.Engineer/Camp Boss. Its to do with the new stability and 'return to port' regualtions which new cruise ships must adhere to. In laymans terms the new class/flag regs means that a vessel must have greater reserved stability than on older passanger vessels. This increased stability (refered to as GM and measured in Metres) means that the vessel is always fighting to come back upright if she's heeled over much quicker than vessels with a smaller GM. I think you'll find most newbuild cruise ships will have a similiar feel to them whilst the older ones will not be quite as noticeable as their roll periods are much longer.

Very interesting information. Perhaps that was it. All I know is although I'm prone to motion sickness, I take precautions. I had Bonine in my system and my electronic Relief Band on, which is a wondrous item that usually does the trick. Not this time. Maybe I'd better stick to older ships. Any idea when these new regulations took effect?

Great review! We were on the same cruise and loved every minute of it. REgarding the motions of the vessel, we were up on deck 16 and both my wife and mother in law passed comment on more than one occasion about the rolling during what was pretty average weather (i never noted more than 4 metre seas).

 

As a Captain myself I was quite intregued and the question was actually raised (in a round about way) in the Technical Q&A with the Master/Ch.Engineer/Camp Boss. Its to do with the new stability and 'return to port' regualtions which new cruise ships must adhere to. In laymans terms the new class/flag regs means that a vessel must have greater reserved stability than on older passanger vessels. This increased stability (refered to as GM and measured in Metres) means that the vessel is always fighting to come back upright if she's heeled over much quicker than vessels with a smaller GM. I think you'll find most newbuild cruise ships will have a similiar feel to them whilst the older ones will not be quite as noticeable as their roll periods are much longer.

Thanks for posting. It is very interesting to hear that.

The only other new build I have been on is the Quantum of the Seas and NEVER felt any motion, rolling, shaking, noise or vibration on that one. We had a very stable ride at all times.

From the responses, your M&G was very well received. Can you give some details on what you did to prepare and execute for this event? We have volunteered to run ours for our May M&G and would love the info. Thanks :)

Welcome home. My DD got her undergraduate and graduate degrees from NYU. Good luck to your son. Great score getting the UDP when upgrading to balcony. We are going on the Gem 1/30 PCC said sorry no can do. Only new bookings. No biggie, I booked the Breakaway for next January with free UBP. This Summer got free drink package, paid gratutites, and OBC with Celebrity to Bermuda.

Excellent review! I almost feel like I was there--wait a minute, I was there. :D I'm amazed that all you were billed for the seasickness shot was $14.50. Somebody on the ship complained that they were billed over $100 for a trip to the medical center, but probably for something different than seasickness. It seemed to me, too, that this ship had a lot of movement and vibration. Is that typical of large ships? Did you experience that on Oasis?

 

We liked the Manhattan Room, and kicked ourselves for not trying it sooner. The service was quicker and more efficient in there, and the live music was nice.

 

Kudos to you for doing as well as you did at the meet & greet. So what if you called them Royal Caribbean? We figured it out, right? Thanks for all the work you put into it. It never fails to amaze me when people ask the whiny questions. Asking about free laundry when you haven't even been on the ship 24 hours yet? Give me a break! The gift swap was a nice idea, too. I've got to figure out what to do with my dried fish from Maine, which I thought was quirky, but really creative and very local!

here in Down East Maine we just call dried fish Down East Chewing Gum....just tear off a junk and chew on it.....I'm sorry I didn't get a chance to come talk with you about it at the M&G.....hope you enjoy it....:D:D:cool:.