Breakaway Fl and Bahamas with photos

[dcollette]

I did post these questions on another thread of someone who wrote a review but I would really like your feedback. I loved your review and will be on the Breakaway in 2 weeks and I have a few questions:

 

1- We are trying to decide what type of clothes to pack for day 2 and the last 2 days coming back to port. Will we need at least 3 warm outfits for leaving and returning to NYC port. What was your experience.

 

3- We are traveling with someone who is handicap and she can't tolerate sun. I wonder if we will be allowed to get off ship on first tender to private island in order to find a shaded area. Is there much shade on the island?

 

Thanks.

 

First off, Gizmo, love that--we have a cat named Gizmo. Too cute.

Ok, yes you will need some warm clothes. The first full day (Monday) is a little chilly, but generally starts to warm up by the afternoon. The last full day for us was windy and chilly--I was in pants and a sweater on the outer decks. If you stay inside-which isn't that hard to do with so much going on, it really won't matter. If you're like me and like to be outside, yes, you will need a couple of warm outfits plus whatever you wear the day you get on and off. Monday afternoon you could easily be in capris or shorts, heck we were in the pool (they are heated) and many people were in the hot tubs.

 

The only way to ensure shade on the island is to attempt to get one of the clamshells, which are limited in number. You are able to reserve your tender the day before, so as soon as you see them available on your tv, you should arrange one. The area near the buffet has picnic tables that are all under shade, so you might want to see about sitting there if the sun is really bad. I'm not sure if you can rent an umbrella or not--we didn't ask. There are some hammocks in the limited shade under the trees, but I'm not sure how mobile the person you are travelling with is. You could ask at the excursion desk if there are umbrellas you can rent on the island--as there really isn't any shade to speak of. If you get one of the early tenders, you will have a decent chance at a clamshell for the person who needs the shade. Perhaps one in your party can try to get one while everyone else catches up? I'm not sure how many there are, they are on the "main" beach, and we didn't stay there--too crowded. We went farther down to the lagoon area, no shade and no clamshells, so not a good idea for you. Just an FYI, the restrooms are a little off the beaten path on the island, you kind of have to go looking for them. They were clean, however, but if you are afraid of spiders, you might want to keep an eye out.

 

Hope this helps!!

[blitzjb]

I recommend a private Cabana at GSC. It was worth the money.

[dcollette]

Let me just start by saying that we didn't spend much time on the ship this day, and I won't bore you with our Disney photos, so I will put some photos of the port and some other ones I took around the ship, but not necessarily on Tuesday. Just an FYI for those wondering, today Tuesday Feb 25 it is supposed to be cloudy and 63 in port canaveral. That is warm compared to here, but if you were planning on a beach day, you might need to be flexible. Honestly, I would most likely stay on the ship, maybe take the public tram to the beach area (very close by) while in Florida. Just not in port long enough to do very much.

 

 

Day 3

 

Per our usual, we ate breakfast in the buffet. I mostly went up there early, 630-7am and brought food back to our room, it was easier and I am an early riser so we could beat the crowds and allowed me to take an early walk.

We hit the pool early (probably around 730 or so) and had it pretty much to ourselves. Very nice. We decided to do this before heading off the ship.

This day we went off the ship to meet with family from Fl. We ended up going to Magic Kingdom and used the transfers to Disney through NCL. It was easy enough to find the buses, and we did get off a bit late. Not the fault of the bus company, we docked plenty early enough, but they did not start letting people off until after 1230, not given any reason why. We were held in the theater and allowed off very early, as we had the planned NCL excursion.

After a very long day, we returned to the ship about 830 or so, it was late and we were exhausted. Grabbed some snack/dinner food at the buffet and retired for the night.

 

 

Nov 19 Night view from balcony of port canaveral by deborah.collette, on Flickr

Nov 18 Chandelier by deborah.collette, on Flickr

Nov 17 The Waterfront by deborah.collette, on Flickr

 

Some of the food at the buffet at dinner:

Nov 17 Dinner Garden buffet by deborah.collette, on Flickr

 

I will say I did have to contact guest services a few times, once for a double charge on my account, which they promptly took care of. Each time I had no issues with anyone, however I will say that I did go there one occasion to ask a question and a lady infront of me was there asking the same question. So, yes I was eaves dropping to see what answer they gave her. The woman behind the counter was so rude to the guest that I walked away. While it didn't happen to me, I did see it and the passenger was not being rude. I am telling you the lady at the counter it was like she wasn't even listening to what the guest was trying to explain. Oh well, bad day I guess. Everyone I personally dealt with was terrific and couldn't have been more helpful!

[Fivehole]

For the 80s party and glow party, did you happen to notice whether under 18s were allowed for a time? I know with the white party they were allowed until midnight.

[dcollette]

Yes, they were allowed up to a certain time, I can't remember if it was 10p or not. I can double check the dailies when I get home from work. I seem to think it was 10 because they hold it in Spice, which is tough with lots of people. We didn't even get near there. They do that party when they do the fireworks, so it's pretty cool. You can enjoy the music and have fun even just on the pool deck as well. My girls didn't want to fight the crowds to get into Spice just basically so they could see the screen. Oh, and I will say our balcony cabin was on the port side, mid ship but slightly aft and you could see almost all the fireworks from our balcony, as my younger daughter stayed in the room. She said the only ones she couldn't see were the ones that were closest to the ship. Again, we were on deck 13, so I guess it isn't totally necessary to leave your balcony depending on where you are. Port side is a must, though as that is the side they launch from.

 

We did not stay much past the fireworks, which start some time around 9 or 930 if I remember correctly. We actually got very lucky, as after we got outside, it rained just a little, but enough to send the squeemish running for cover, so we ended up right at the rail to get a great view. The party seemed to be lots of fun, so if that is your thing, I think you would really enjoy it!! People were all very pleasant and having a great time.

[Fivehole]

Awesome - thanks for the info. My teens are planning their 80s-wear and I want to make sure they will have an opportunity to use these "getups" before we pack! (even if they only get to wear them for a few hours..)

[meatball_nyc]

Thanks, dcollette!

 

we can chill on our balcony (deck 10, port side, aft) and watch the fireworks with some wine :)

 

Sounds like so much fun.

 

Thanks for the pix of the buffet. Making me hungry.

 

I was telling my son (18) about your review. Hopefully he will be as excited as I am by the time July gets here.

 

Dumb question:

Were the beds comfortable?

 

Happy Sailing!!

 

 

 

~Robin

Norwegian Breakaway July 2014

Carnival Miracle 2010

Carnival Legend 2006

[dcollette]

Thanks, dcollette!

 

we can chill on our balcony (deck 10, port side, aft) and watch the fireworks with some wine :)

 

Sounds like so much fun.

 

Thanks for the pix of the buffet. Making me hungry.

 

I was telling my son (18) about your review. Hopefully he will be as excited as I am by the time July gets here.

 

Dumb question:

Were the beds comfortable?

 

Happy Sailing!!

 

 

 

~Robin

Norwegian Breakaway July 2014

Carnival Miracle 2010

Carnival Legend 2006

 

 

Robin,

 

No questions are dumb, honest. All the beds were super comfy. We had a quad balcony, so there was the sofa (surprisingly comfy) and the pull down bunk in addition to the bed. Even the bunk was nice. I tried them all myself, even though I didn't sleep in them overnight. If you want one of those egg crate topper things they will get you one, just ask. We didn't need one. If you want extra pillows, just ask. They do store the linens for the bunk in one of the drawers under the sofa, so you really only get to use one of those drawers, but there is plenty of storage. The life jackets are now stowed in a basket under the bed, and I still had two full sized suitcases and a small suitcase (carry on size) under the bed with no issues. Lots of room in the closet as well. Since they no longer put the life jackets in there, there are lots of shelves and hanging space as well. One thing I didn't know before we went is that under the "desk" unit, to the left, where it kind of curves there is another cabinet or two that you can put stuff in as well. The blue beach towels are stored in the cube seat/table thing. We mostly used that cube thing as a small table (hence the wood topper they have on it) when I would bring down our first breakfast from the buffet. If you use them and leave them on the bathroom floor (ugh, I still have issues with leaving things on the floor- seems so rude) they will bring you fresh ones. You can always exchange them up on the pool deck for dry ones, but they don't always give you the blue ones, sometimes they give you these plain striped ones instead. Doesn't really make a difference, I suppose.

 

The beds were super comfy and everything seemed very fresh and clean, we didn't have any issues. I know others have complained, but we didn't find any of that. Pillows were fluffy, linens were fresh and beds were nice.

[meatball_nyc]

Thank you again dcollette :)

 

Loved the pics of your little man! He's so cute.

 

Safe Sailing!

 

 

Robin

Norwegian Breakaway July 2014

Carnival Miracle 2010

Carnival Legend 2006

Every Day at Sea is a Great Day

[Tralfie]

, the girls used their soda package effortlessly. ..

 

Did you have to go to guest services to activate the soda package? I bought that and the ultimate dining package...

 

Looking forward to reading the rest of the review!

 

Richard

[dcollette]

Day 4

OK, so after 3 weeks of the ship not making GSC, we made it!!! We were so excited to make the island, as it has been awhile. We headed to the lagoon area, as it seemed far less crowded. We picked up our snorkel gear, pretty painless and headed off. It is quite a walk to the lagoon area, but we did get to see the large cabanas (very nice) and the new smaller cabanas that are closer to the lagoon area. I understand people pay a ton of money for these, and all in all, if you are going to spend the entire day at the island, they aren’t a bad investment. We did not have one. We had no issue finding chairs, which we chose ones near a (very small) tree. Spent most of our time in the water. The snorkeling around the rocks near the lagoon area was wonderful, saw many small common fish. Even a red starfish. Pretty neat. Have to be careful around the rocks, as it can get dangerous. Overall, the island itself is a dud. Not really anything to look at, almost impossible to get a beverage. There is a bar right at the lagoon area, but they were not properly stocked (ran out of almost everything) and the line was always long, seemed only one person was taking orders at a time, so it would take easily 20 minutes to even get a soda. Insane. I have never been on a private island where there aren’t waiters going around offering beverages. This is really where they make their money, folks. Not one could be found anywhere. Unbelievable. They really need to step up service on the island. If I had it to do again, I would just go there, get in the water, then get back on the ship. Food was dreadful. We did not go to the “main” buffet—it was way too packed. We went to the smaller one past the lagoon (all the way down, keep walking for just about forever-then you will see it.). Line wasn’t bad, but there we encountered some of the most rude children (no, they were not from NY or NJ) I have ever seen. The burgers were charred and almost inedible. Very surprised. Did not try the hot dogs. Maybe they were better. The potato salad looked like it had been out in the heat for too long. The pickled cabbage was pretty good, but the corn on the cob was dreadful, almost overcooked beyond belief. Not sure what happens with the food they prepare for the island, but wasn’t anywhere near as good as the food from even the buffet on the ship. Better off skipping it. The chicken wasn’t good either. Quite honestly, we couldn’t wait to get back on the ship. Personally didn’t have an issue with tendering as opposed to docking with one exception—the day before, we could see the tenders on the schedule, but weren’t able to reserve one. Then the day of the island, they were gone. I went down to guest services to do something very simple—borrow scissors—and there was a lady there who had the unfortunate luck to deal with a very rude customer service employee. She was trying to explain that the tenders were gone from our TVs and couldn’t reserve one anymore. The lady behind the desk said (not even exaggerating) “well, maybe the one you WANT isn’t there, so you’ll have to pick another one” Um, hello, she is telling you that they AREN’T there at all, try listening. Not sure how this lady made out, but I’m guessing she walked away very unhappy. We were not able to reserve any tenders. This was odd, as we had the snorkeling equipment (technically an excursion) booked, but not tender letter. Other people with other excursions, had their tender letter (not number) printed on their tickets. Odd. So, we waited, as we were in no hurry, but by the time they called the third group and we were tired of trying to figure the whole tender thing out, we just headed to the theater, and were put through without any issue. They need to have a better system. Tons of confused folks, not just us. Guest services was telling people to go to the theater for tickets, and you couldn’t do anything at the excursion desk, as they were too busy selling sunscreen and such. Very inefficient system.

 

Nov 20 more private island view by deborah.collette, on Flickr

 

Ok, so this is how beautiful and blue the water is:

 

Nov 20 Beautiful blue water 8am by deborah.collette, on Flickr

 

Nov 20 GSC by deborah.collette, on Flickr

 

Nov 20 GSC Fish by deborah.collette, on Flickr

 

Nov 20 Tender back to ship by deborah.collette, on Flickr

 

Nov 20 Fish On GSC by deborah.collette, on Flickr

 

Ok, now don't get me wrong, we had a great time snorkeling on the island, and would totally do that part again. I would not even bother trying to eat on the island, though and I would be sure to somehow bring a beverage with me. I mean like one of my water containers from home that I had on the ship and maybe just fill it completely with ice. The island is mostly rock, so be prepared. My little guy did find a nail (very large galvanized nail) near the beverage hut on the lagoon side while he was digging in the sand looking for shells. Luckily he gave it to me, which I promptly put in the trash. I'm sure it was from the construction, probably for the new cabanas would be my guess. All in all we had a great day, however we would simply go, snorkel around and head back to the ship in the future. I had prepaid for our snorkel gear and we all enjoyed that part. There really isn't much to see snorkeling wise on the lagoon side of the island. We did not head over to the "main" part of the beach where I believe they have things buried on purpose that attract more fish. Pretty much it is the same fish and we did briefly see a stingray, but I didn't get the chance to get a shot of it. Word of caution to those snorkeling-- this island is not protected in any way, so be very careful of the tide drifting you in/out. Near the lagoon side there are MANY rocks, large and small and it would be very easy to get tossed into the rocks while getting carried away watching the fish. Just be cautious. I don't believe it's quite as bad on the main beach part. The water was beautiful and clear. Even though there isn't a whole lot to see, I would snorkel again there if the next time we go that we are able to tender.

[dcollette]

Did you have to go to guest services to activate the soda package? I bought that and the ultimate dining package...

 

Looking forward to reading the rest of the review!

 

Richard

 

Richard,

 

I had prepaid for the soda package. The girls went to the Carlo's bakery in the atrium to pick up their cups (which my oldest daughter left on the dinner table one night and lost hers) and any time we went to dinner, they just simply gave their cards, no issues. We did not go to guest services, they simply went to the little cafe in the atrium and they picked up their cups, and I can't recall if they put stickers on the cards, but I don't think so. Anyhow, with all the free beverage choices, the soda package was a total waste, which surprised me, as they don't always get soda and thought they would use it more. I would've been better off just purchasing individual sodas for them. Sodas purchased are like $2.50 plus gratuity. Personally, I hardly ever drink soda, so I just stuck with the free options. I actually mixed the iced tea and the mango flavored water--made a nice combo.

[dcollette]

After returning (happily) to the ship, we didn’t do anything special, just walked around and had dinner in Taste. Not as good of service as the first day, but not bad. I will take time to note here that the old adage of “out of the mouths of babes” is quite true. Now, I am rather sensitive to smoke, I will say that. I have chronic bronchitis thanks to years of second hand smoke. It makes me ill. However, my 3 yr old son, who is never around it will start to say (near the artwork, before you even get into the atrium area) “mommy, it stinks in here”. On this sailing, honestly, you can smell smoke from 6 all the way up to 8, and not just in the casino. I would not eat in Le Bistro, the noodle bar or the raw bar—I wouldn’t be able to stand the smell. It really was that bad. Now, one day I did see that they brought in some fans to try to blow the smoke (exactly where, I do not know) it seemed more towards the casino area and away from the “center hub”. It did not work. The smell permeated through the entire area, including the atrium. It has been said before, but it bears repeating. They need to put up glass partitions to keep more of that stench in the casino and out of the outlying areas.

Dinner at taste was ok. I ordered the duck salad—um- where was the duck? In the photo, you can see all the greens, which were good. There were two pieces of duck in the entire dish and they were as tough as the bottom of your shoe. Now, I’m no chef, but I have made duck several times in my life and never been able to make it as tough as they did. Duck is generally fatty and tender, but not this duck. Very disappointing. I wasn’t the only one, as we saw other diners order and receive the same appetizer and had the same expression as I did.

 

 

So here's the duck salad that you clearly cannot see a single piece of duck. I think the duck was hiding and didn't want to be found.

I realize this photo is dark, but honestly I hadn't touched it yet. The greens were outstanding and the dressing that was on it was also wonderful. Perhaps they should put a different protein on it, because the duck was disappointing.

 

Nov 20 Dinner Duck Salad by deborah.collette, on Flickr

 

One of my girls had the spring roll and said it was wonderful:

Nov 20 Spring roll by deborah.collette, on Flickr

 

French Onion Soup Again, this had not been touched, so no they do not put the nice bread and cheese on top, but it still tasted very nice.

Nov 20 Dinner French onion soup by deborah.collette, on Flickr

 

Ok, so thankfully my rack of lamb was excellent and cooked exactly how I asked for it (rare)

Nov 20 Rack of Lamb by deborah.collette, on Flickr

 

This was prime rib, I believe and it was a huge piece of beef. According to our waitress, this was one of the first runs of this menu and they were trying to work with the portion sizes. Hey, I'm a huge meat person, so it works for me. My daughter could not finish it.

Nov 20 Prime rib by deborah.collette, on Flickr

 

Ah, the sunset

Nov 20 sun goes down at great stirrup cay by deborah.collette, on Flickr

[dcollette]

I know I showed sunset already, but here was the sun rise on GSC

 

Nov 20 sun rise by deborah.collette, on Flickr

 

 

Sorry, I don't recall which dessert this was:

Nov 20 Dessert not sure which one by deborah.collette, on Flickr

 

 

Another dessert that I can't tell you what it was:

Nov 20 Dessert by deborah.collette, on Flickr

 

our towel animal with our (very expensive) Disney souvenirs

Nov 20 towel animals by deborah.collette, on Flickr

[destaw7182]

I am enjoying your review!

[Dave85]

Great review, thanks for sharing!

[dcollette]

Thank you for taking a look and for the kind comments. I am really regretting not getting some photos of the room all made up with the sofa and bunk. I think those pictures might have been helpful to those who are debating whether there is enough room for 4 people. We don't spend that much time in the room, just to sleep, change, shower and get ready for our next adventure. I am the one who uses the balcony the most, as I hardly ever sleep through the night, and it makes it nice when I cannot sleep to be able to literally sneak out there and enjoy the ocean air without waking anyone up.

 

For those who may have missed it, if you are in a balcony room and you either have the balcony door open or the handle not completely in the "locked" position, the A/C will not run. Just an FYI. Also, I personally recommend that you be careful NOT to open the door to the room while the balcony door is open. This creates a rather strong wind tunnel effect and your papers and such will definitely go flying around the room. No kidding. I think there are some videos on you tube in this regard. A couple of times we did it by accident and it almost ripped down all of the happy birthday decorations in the room. Oops. Personally, I am not a fan of air conditioning, so quite often I would keep the balcony door open at night while we slept. The door is set back a little from where the curtain is, so you can get around the curtain and keep the room dark while still being able to get out onto the balcony. This is a great feature so you don't wake anyone else in the room up with the bright light from outside.

 

It is true that there isn't a visible clock anywhere in the room. Not a big deal to me, heck when you're on vacation, does it really matter what time it is? It's vacation time. I just checked my phone for the time most of the time anyhow. I suppose you could bring a travel clock if you really felt the need.

 

We did bring a power strip to charge all of our crazy devices, so the little shelf that is against the mirror got quite a bit of use from phones charging, camera batteries, etc. Just don't forget if you are charging devices to make sure your steward knows not to take the card out of the slot and turn off the power. We asked for a "dummy" card and our steward supplied one. We did not leave it in when we weren't charging items.

 

Another little side note, the light switch to the bathroom is on the outside of the bathroom. Not a big deal, so you might think. Well, that all depends on who you are traveling with. Kids will be kids and like to turn on/off the light sometimes on their siblings--this can only be funny so many times. Also, at night this poses a conundrum, do you turn the light on, then open the door to blast the room with light or do you take you life into your hands by stepping up into the bathroom without any light? Hmm. Well, I would step up into the bathroom, just open the door wide enough to stick out my arm, turn the light on and shut the door, and it didn't seem to wake anyone up. Bit of an odd set up, but my guess is the reason for doing so is to prevent people from tripping on that step up into the bathroom. I'm being silly and assuming after the design of the Epic bathrooms, they decided it is better to have it raised so that water will not be able to get into the cabin.

 

Oh, one more random thought--Ladies, I forgot my conditioner (dumb, I know) and I was really worried about the dispenser shampoo. To my surprise, it was perfectly fine. Not sure what all the fuss is about. yes, they are in cheesy dispensers in the shower but both the shower gel and shampoo were adequate. I always use conditioner in my hair, as it is fine and dries out easily and my girls have super thick hair that frizzes easily--we were all just fine. It took me until almost the end of the trip to realize that these types of items can be purchased in the duty shop, the one that looks like it only has liquor in it. I only found this out by watching an informative video while we were waiting for something or other near the atrium.

[meatball_nyc]

Thank you for taking a look and for the kind comments. I am really regretting not getting some photos of the room all made up with the sofa and bunk. I think those pictures might have been helpful to those who are debating whether there is enough room for 4 people. We don't spend that much time in the room, just to sleep, change, shower and get ready for our next adventure. I am the one who uses the balcony the most, as I hardly ever sleep through the night, and it makes it nice when I cannot sleep to be able to literally sneak out there and enjoy the ocean air without waking anyone up.

 

For those who may have missed it, if you are in a balcony room and you either have the balcony door open or the handle not completely in the "locked" position, the A/C will not run. Just an FYI. Also, I personally recommend that you be careful NOT to open the door to the room while the balcony door is open. This creates a rather strong wind tunnel effect and your papers and such will definitely go flying around the room. No kidding. I think there are some videos on you tube in this regard. A couple of times we did it by accident and it almost ripped down all of the happy birthday decorations in the room. Oops. Personally, I am not a fan of air conditioning, so quite often I would keep the balcony door open at night while we slept. The door is set back a little from where the curtain is, so you can get around the curtain and keep the room dark while still being able to get out onto the balcony. This is a great feature so you don't wake anyone else in the room up with the bright light from outside.

 

It is true that there isn't a visible clock anywhere in the room. Not a big deal to me, heck when you're on vacation, does it really matter what time it is? It's vacation time. I just checked my phone for the time most of the time anyhow. I suppose you could bring a travel clock if you really felt the need.

 

We did bring a power strip to charge all of our crazy devices, so the little shelf that is against the mirror got quite a bit of use from phones charging, camera batteries, etc. Just don't forget if you are charging devices to make sure your steward knows not to take the card out of the slot and turn off the power. We asked for a "dummy" card and our steward supplied one. We did not leave it in when we weren't charging items.

 

Another little side note, the light switch to the bathroom is on the outside of the bathroom. Not a big deal, so you might think. Well, that all depends on who you are traveling with. Kids will be kids and like to turn on/off the light sometimes on their siblings--this can only be funny so many times. Also, at night this poses a conundrum, do you turn the light on, then open the door to blast the room with light or do you take you life into your hands by stepping up into the bathroom without any light? Hmm. Well, I would step up into the bathroom, just open the door wide enough to stick out my arm, turn the light on and shut the door, and it didn't seem to wake anyone up. Bit of an odd set up, but my guess is the reason for doing so is to prevent people from tripping on that step up into the bathroom. I'm being silly and assuming after the design of the Epic bathrooms, they decided it is better to have it raised so that water will not be able to get into the cabin.

 

Oh, one more random thought--Ladies, I forgot my conditioner (dumb, I know) and I was really worried about the dispenser shampoo. To my surprise, it was perfectly fine. Not sure what all the fuss is about. yes, they are in cheesy dispensers in the shower but both the shower gel and shampoo were adequate. I always use conditioner in my hair, as it is fine and dries out easily and my girls have super thick hair that frizzes easily--we were all just fine. It took me until almost the end of the trip to realize that these types of items can be purchased in the duty shop, the one that looks like it only has liquor in it. I only found this out by watching an informative video while we were waiting for something or other near the atrium.

 

 

 

 

 

~Robin

Norwegian Breakaway July 2014

Carnival Miracle 2010

Carnival Legend 2006

[Winston Wolf]

[/url]

Nov 17 Comfy Chairs by deborah.collette, on Flickr

 

 

It looks like they added loungers to the Waterfront. Good to see. I recall earlier reviews suggesting this would be a good place to do so. Particularly Gambee's video tour of Breakaway.

[meatball_nyc]

Sorry I just replied without my reply!!!

 

Thank you dcollette for such a thorough review of your cruise.

I enjoyed reading it very much

 

Great tips and info that will surely used by us this summer.

I'm like you about sleeping, so I will be using our balcony ALOT.

Thanks for the tips on the lights, having both doors open and the hair conditioner!

I plan on taking some battery powered tea lights to use as nightlights in the bathroom now :)

 

Glad you enjoyed the Breakaway as much as you did and thank you again for sharing you and your family's adventures with us !

 

Happy Cruising!

 

 

~Robin

Norwegian Breakaway July 2014

Carnival Miracle 2010

Carnival Legend 2006

Edited February 26, 2014 by meatball_nyc

[dcollette]

Yes, there are a few places like this that are (thankfully) not near any of the outdoor bar areas where people are allowed to smoke. These loungers/chairs were super comfy and would be a nice place to just sit and watch the ocean or read a book. I think if I sat there too long, I would end up taking a nap!

[dcollette]

Sorry I just replied without my reply!!!

 

Thank you dcollette for such a thorough review of your cruise.

I enjoyed reading it very much

 

Great tips and info that will surely used by us this summer.

I'm like you about sleeping, so I will be using our balcony ALOT.

Thanks for the tips on the lights, having both doors open and the hair conditioner!

I plan on taking some battery powered tea lights to use as nightlights in the bathroom now :)

 

Glad you enjoyed the Breakaway as much as you did and thank you again for sharing you and your family's adventures with us !

 

Happy Cruising!

 

 

~Robin

Norwegian Breakaway July 2014

Carnival Miracle 2010

Carnival Legend 2006

 

Robin,

 

Some of the little things may seem silly, but they are simply things you don't really think about. I was all prepared by what others had said to bring our own shampoo and conditioner--which I promptly forgot to pack! Wow, brilliant, right? I took a shower that morning and forgot to put them in when I was done. Well, I was very pleasantly surprised that we didn't need them. I only brought soap for the little guy who in addition to having food allergies, his skin is very sensitive to soaps, so I brought some of his from home.

 

There will be more posted this evening, even though it is almost done. If anyone has areas they might want to see, let me know and I will look through what I have. I may post some of our silly ones, just so you all can get a laugh. This is really an amazing ship that makes it super easy to enjoy.

 

Debbie

[dcollette]

Ok, so my little guy has food allergies, which I notified NCL of ahead of time. I received an email prior to sailing that said we should meet up with a person whose title I cannot recall at the moment. Once on board, there was a letter in the stateroom addressed to my son (too funny) but it said to simply let the Maitre d know when we went to dinner and his needs would be well taken care of. I thought this was wonderful. Now, he has specific foods which he cannot have. So, of course one night off the kids menu, he decided he wanted the pb&j, but I was hesitant, as I did not know which kind of jelly/preserves they might use. I asked the waitress and she informed me they use strawberry, of which he is allergic. When I informed her he was allergic, and was ready to order him something else, she let me know that they could substitute apple jelly instead. Very good to know! I know what to stay away from for him, and generally do not make any special requests if I can help it. There was another night he wanted pasta (guess what, the kid can't have tomato sauce, either) and I asked if it was possible to get it with just butter and parmesan (sp?) cheese and they happily obliged. Said they do it all the time. So, if you happen to be travelling with someone who has allergies, they are very quick to accommodate and do not make you feel like you are putting them out of their way.

 

My younger daughter and I did the ropes course. We did this on Friday, at sea. As others have suggested, don't wait till the last minute to do the ropes course, in case if parts are closed due to high winds. This was the case for us. While we could not go out on the plank (major bummer) I will tell you I could get right to that platform before you get out there. It is very intimidating, and I'm not afraid of heights. I am the person who goes on the tallest, scariest roller coasters in the park-- but that plank definitely gives you something to think about. The ropes course is challenging, but it's very fun. There are several "paths" you can choose, some easier than others. I always felt safe, no matter what. Once up there, it seemed like there was more to it than when looking from the ground. The little zip line that goes in front of the rock wall was pretty cool. Just make sure you get a good head start so you don't get stuck. We saw a few people get stuck, and while it may be funny to watch, I would be completely embarrassed if that were me.

 

I do have more to post along with photos, which I will honestly attempt to do later tonight. I forgot to check the dailies for the burn the floor in the manhattan room, and I need to get the pics posted of the week at a glance, those were requested. I haven't forgotten.

 

I wish I could say more about the kids club, but my teens didn't go at all and the little guy went once and didn't want to go again. This is not the fault of NCL, that is how he is. He doesn't do change very well. All four of my other children have absolutely loved the kids programs. They apparently did a puppet show when he was there and he couldn't stop talking about it. The staff member that met me when I picked him up said he sat in the young man's lap the whole time. That was nice that they let him do what made him feel comfortable. He brought in one of his "blankies" with him, something for familiarity, but I guess that wasn't enough for him. That's ok, he didn't want to go back so we used it as a tool--if you don't behave, you have to go back. Needless to say, he behaved very well the rest of the week!

 

We did not get to the rock wall (bummer, totally wanted to try that) because we just ran out of time. Also, didn't get to the spider web/slide thing that I know the little guy would've loved--it is open for VERY limited times and we just never caught it at the right time. I did notice that for the trampoline/jumping thing next to it (I have a photo somewhere) there is a weight limit that I don't recall seeing from other photos. I don't believe you can see the sign for it in the pic I took, I want to say it was like 120lbs.

 

I am not a drinker, and I will say that I thought the drink of the day choices were kind of blah. Nothing really appealed to me. I remember some better choices when we sailed the Dawn. Oh well, no biggie. I ordered one drink (which I ended up getting charged twice for) and it was ok. I tried something new and didn't really like it. It seemed plenty strong enough for me, but then again, like I said--I really don't drink. Should've just opted for a glass of wine. Live and learn. I was able to get the double charge taken care of with no issues. I wasn't sure if they would actually believe me, but the lady must have put my card through twice in a row. They did not give me any issues at Guest Services about this, they just took it right off my account. Easy peasy. I guess it's a good thing I was checking our account on a fairly regular basis.

 

We did spend about an hour or so in the arcade, which I was a little reluctant to do. If you can avoid it, please do! Yikes. Games are at least a dollar in most cases. There may have been some that were 50 cents, but I think they were mostly $1 and up. I played this silly game that was like the price is right wheel, and if you land on this particular spot, you get 1000 tickets and since I happen to have a knack for these, I tried it and won the 1000 tickets. So, when I went to use the machine to turn in the tickets so the kids could pick a prize, it only gave me like 965 tickets, not the 1000 it said. There was not an employee around, so I let it go. Well we ended up spending close to $30 in an hour-- that was with four of us playing games at the same time. Just an FYI to those who may have kids that might go in there. We did have fun, but it didn't seem worth it to me. Whatever, we were on vacation.

 

Unfortunately, I cannot help much with the night life on board. There were plenty of things going on, I can tell you that. Everyone that I ran into late at night when I would go up to the buffet to bring back our evening snacks (second dinner) always seemed to be having a good time. They do have the much smaller rock lobster tails in the buffet one night. We just happened to be up there late getting our hobbit second dinner and saw the crazy line. DD1 and I were making this particular run. Well, it was like 10pm or so, and we got into the insanely long line (they only had them on one side of the buffet at this time) to try to get some. We managed to get there before they ran out, but they were split lobster tails and you could only get one per person (so I offered to share mine with DD2) they ran out about 3 people after us. One lady kept trying to get more for the "other people" with her, and the staff member politely explained they could only give one per person in line, as this was the last tray. Not sure what the situation earlier was like. They tasted amazing, I will say that. I believe they were grilled, but they were yummy. I really miss the surf & turf the first night in the dining rooms and really wish they would bring it back. Oh, and if you're like me and love crepes, well you better have all the patience in the world (and maybe an adult beverage would help) because the line for that EVERY night was crazy. To the point where I never even got one. So disappointed. They had them premade when we were on the dawn at breakfast a couple of times and I loved that. These ones are made to order right in front of you, which is cool, but I think they can only do two at a time and many people get more than one. They only ever had one station open for this, so I never waited for one. I'm sure they were great.

 

They always seemed to have some sort of fruit compote for dessert in the buffet, and that was pretty much my go to dessert. Some of the desserts we tried were pretty bland, some ok. The hard ice cream at the buffet was pretty good, with a decent selection. The kids didn't hit the soft serve as much as I thought they would. There are several soft serve "stations" pretty much located on the "corners" of the buffet. The buffet is huge, and be sure to walk the whole thing--there are some items that they only seem to put on one side and not the other. Oh, and the yummy waffle fries are only in Uptown grill--they never have them at the garden cafe. It's worth the walk upstairs to try them. Really, and I'm not even a big potato fan! They also did have sweet potato fries (the regular kind) in the garden cafe, which I like.

[Michylicious]

Thanks for the review!

[dcollette]

Ok, so the dailies do not say when burn the floor performs in the Manhattan room. We went on Thursday evening as the ship was leaving port. I'm not sure if they perform the same nights in there on each sailing, so that's the best I can tell you.