Breakaway to Bahamas in October

[NurseMommyTGJ]

Hi all,

 

I'm heading for my 2nd trip on the Breakaway this coming October, but this will be my first trip to the Bahamas. I've searched many threads looking for a couple of answers without success. If anyone can help me out, I'd appreciate it. :-)

 

First question...do I need to be overly concerned that we will skip Great Stirrup Cay? I plan to book a Large Cabana for our group (which I know would be refunded if we indeed skip the island), but I'm just curious about how often this really happens. From what I can find, its pure luck and I know the weather guides the Captain's decision to go there.

 

Next question...in Nassau, is Atlantis a "must visit?" My daughters want to partake in the Sea Lion and Dolphin experiences offered as excursions through NCL, but we can't do both that and a visit to Atlantis. Also, I've been told that excursions to Atlantis are offered through NCL, but none are showing up on my excursion lists...will this show up soon or do I assume that they aren't being offered as NCL excursions?

 

 

Lastly...my last trip on the Breakaway included the show--Rock of Ages. I've read that it ends in April for this ship. Does anyone know what's coming in its place? I'm actually sad I won't get to see it again because I really enjoyed it!

 

Thanks in advance for any answers, and I'm sorry if I've asked a question that has been asked already!

[BirdTravels]

You are sailing during peak hurricane season. Anything is possible wrt GSC or any or your ports.

 

Atlantis is a hotel with an aquarium,,,, not really worth the cost of the excursion unless you don't have anything else to do. If your goal is dolphins-or-bust, concentrate on the dolphins.

Edited January 14, 2017 by BirdTravels

[Julieh40]

Hi all,

 

I'm heading for my 2nd trip on the Breakaway this coming October, but this will be my first trip to the Bahamas. I've searched many threads looking for a couple of answers without success. If anyone can help me out, I'd appreciate it. :-)

 

First question...do I need to be overly concerned that we will skip Great Stirrup Cay? I plan to book a Large Cabana for our group (which I know would be refunded if we indeed skip the island), but I'm just curious about how often this really happens. From what I can find, its pure luck and I know the weather guides the Captain's decision to go there.

 

Next question...in Nassau, is Atlantis a "must visit?" My daughters want to partake in the Sea Lion and Dolphin experiences offered as excursions through NCL, but we can't do both that and a visit to Atlantis. Also, I've been told that excursions to Atlantis are offered through NCL, but none are showing up on my excursion lists...will this show up soon or do I assume that they aren't being offered as NCL excursions?

 

 

Lastly...my last trip on the Breakaway included the show--Rock of Ages. I've read that it ends in April for this ship. Does anyone know what's coming in its place? I'm actually sad I won't get to see it again because I really enjoyed it!

 

Thanks in advance for any answers, and I'm sorry if I've asked a question that has been asked already!

May I ask where you heard that Rock of Ages is ending its run on the ship? I sure hope that is not true. It's the only reason we booked Breakaway. I love that show and was planning on seeing it multiple times while on board. When in April did you hear that it was closing? Thanks.

[dexddd]

We've done the BA on that route but in March. GSC is hit or miss. No real stats that I've seen lately. When we went people in Feb missed it about 2/3 of the month. We missed it as well due to waves. Then ended up sailing slowly to Nassau and got there at 6 p.m. as other ships left.

 

Nassau is a port we really don't like. We typically stay on the ship. We did on the BA and could do the slides over and over without any waits. Atlantis is expensive, but if you have your heart set on it, check out the Comfort Hotel package as I understand you can get a room there with tickets.

 

One other option I would consider for Nassau is resort for a day. There are a couple hotel options with beach that are more reasonable and tend to get good reviews.

 

You didn't mention what you plan to do at PC? Since you don't get in until 1 p.m. that also limits what you can do. We stayed on the ship there as well.

[shof515]

May I ask where you heard that Rock of Ages is ending its run on the ship? I sure hope that is not true. It's the only reason we booked Breakaway. I love that show and was planning on seeing it multiple times while on board. When in April did you hear that it was closing? Thanks.

 

i am wondering about too. The only place i seen an april 2017 date is here:

https://decasting.com/rock/

maybe that is just the contract date of the cast?

[Julieh40]

i am wondering about too. The only place i seen an april 2017 date is here:

https://decasting.com/rock/

maybe that is just the contract date of the cast?

 

I sure hope that's it. They are taking reservations for the show for our cruise which is last week of March-April 2.

[dhodermarsky]

We are going to Bahamas on BA in April with our two toddlers. When in Nassau we booked Blue Lagoon. I've been to Nassau on spring break about 20 years ago and thought it was a sketchy dump then. Atlantis is very expensive and I didn't think my kids would get anything out of it. When we dock in PC we are taking a shuttle to Cocoa Beach so the kids can play in the sand.

 

 

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[mjkacmom]

You can buy passes for Atlantis on their website. We've done it twice, the slides and crazy river are fun, the beach is beautiful. I recommend it for older children, as the slides have a high height requirement.

[dpg9300]

We were in Nassau in October. It's not our favorite port, so we went with an inexpensive excursion to Blue Lagoon - just the basic beach day. It was a really great deal for the money. There are dolphin and sea lion features for extra $, but when those experiences are not operating, the area is accessible to anyone.

 

 

We were just walking around looking and the dolphins came over to say hi. They were very sociable and gave us quite a show.

 

There is an inflatable area for an extra charge (but still much less than Atlantis):

 

 

 

If you decide against Atlantis, this might be worth a look. We would go back. :)

[missdenise]

Three trips to the Bahamas varies times of the year on different NCL ships - never once did we get to GSC. :mad: Certainly hope you are lucky then we were.

 

I enjoyed the Sea Lion Encounter at the Blue Lagoon, something a bit different than the Dolphin Encounter that everyone usually does.

[ryarger]

I'll echo the praise for Blue Lagoon. We did the dolphin encounter last month (12/11 sailing) and it was fantastic. They provide a lot of information on how humanely they work with the dolphins and the interaction itself was something to remember. Afterwards we were allowed to stay on the property the rest of the afternoon if we wanted.

 

 

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[luckyinpa]

we were 1 hour late to PC in december and virtually all excursions were canceled. i was very disappointed missing KSC

 

if you go to nassau please go further out then the few blocks near port.

[NurseMommyTGJ]

May I ask where you heard that Rock of Ages is ending its run on the ship? I sure hope that is not true. It's the only reason we booked Breakaway. I love that show and was planning on seeing it multiple times while on board. When in April did you hear that it was closing? Thanks.

 

I read it here on this page...it says the contract ends in April of 2017 :-(

 

https://decasting.com/rock/

 

It was one of the highlights of my last cruise!

[NurseMommyTGJ]

We've done the BA on that route but in March. GSC is hit or miss. No real stats that I've seen lately. When we went people in Feb missed it about 2/3 of the month. We missed it as well due to waves. Then ended up sailing slowly to Nassau and got there at 6 p.m. as other ships left.

 

Nassau is a port we really don't like. We typically stay on the ship. We did on the BA and could do the slides over and over without any waits. Atlantis is expensive, but if you have your heart set on it, check out the Comfort Hotel package as I understand you can get a room there with tickets.

 

One other option I would consider for Nassau is resort for a day. There are a couple hotel options with beach that are more reasonable and tend to get good reviews.

 

You didn't mention what you plan to do at PC? Since you don't get in until 1 p.m. that also limits what you can do. We stayed on the ship there as well.

 

We will likely stay on the ship there, as well. My kids are very excited about the ropes course and water slides. There isn't much at PC that interests me to be honest--and we aren't there very long.

 

Do the ropes courses have a fee? I went with only adults last time and we didn't utilize any of that stuff.

[NurseMommyTGJ]

Three trips to the Bahamas varies times of the year on different NCL ships - never once did we get to GSC. :mad: Certainly hope you are lucky then we were.

 

I enjoyed the Sea Lion Encounter at the Blue Lagoon, something a bit different than the Dolphin Encounter that everyone usually does.

 

I showed my kids all the videos...2 of them chose the sea lions initially (for that same reason you mentioned...haha), and the other wanted to do the dolphin experience. This evening we were talking about it again and they all want to stay together and see the sea lions. I'm actually more interested in that one myself. :-)

[mking8288]

I showed my kids all the videos ... talking about it again and they all want to stay together and see the sea lions. I'm actually more interested in that one myself. :-)

If these 2 on your short list aren't showing up yet under MyNCL dot com for booking, not to worry - it will soon, as it get closer to your October sailing date.

 

We are doing this itinerary on the GEM, still over 100 days out but PC, GSC and Nassau excursions including these 2 are available for booking. Been to Atlantis, but honestly, ship's bundled options are too pricey for a 3/4 beach day with some shades, everything else is optional as in pay more. Take a look under the Destination sub-forum for Bahamas & Nassau for tips, ideas - some being organized by those doing the CC Roll Calls (not all sailings are active) as the port is considered a "dump" by many ... been there, done that & too many times & not counting.

 

Nobody can forecast the odds for a successful stop & tender to GSC, just because another NCL ship managed today doesn't mean tomorrow will be a "go" - waves/wind & weather played a big part ... safety first & nobody wants to get seasick riding the transfer double-decker. Our sailings with a stop there is in May - going to see what happened & with the changes, might not be worth our while to go ashore, even though we've priority tendering as Platinum ... sometimes (and, many others have the same idea) it's nicer to stay on the ship & enjoy the smaller crowd + the GEM is much "smaller" & easy-going. Will likely do a brief pictorial review/report afterward, based on the GEM after we get back ... unless there's breaking news warranting a semi-live update while still at sea.

 

GSC can be both crowded & secluded, before the recent work done to it - Cabanas are nice - split the cost among 8 to 10, it's not a bad deal (and you get priority tendering to be on the first boat - hot sun, heat, UV exposure, etc. can make it unbearable ... until you can get under the shades. Good luck as it can turn into a fun day t sea - cruising very slowly - pulling into Nassau around sunset as ships doing a day stop leave.

 

Think of a Plan B, although there isn't much to do that I would recommend once it's dark ... shops closed, tourist restaurant open & there's always Altantis (not for kids, LOL) But, that meant you can wake up super early the next morning & hit the beach resort, and get almost a full day - just don't join the pier runner's club & be mindful of ship/local time difference.

[NurseMommyTGJ]

If these 2 on your short list aren't showing up yet under MyNCL dot com for booking, not to worry - it will soon, as it get closer to your October sailing date.

 

We are doing this itinerary on the GEM, still over 100 days out but PC, GSC and Nassau excursions including these 2 are available for booking. Been to Atlantis, but honestly, ship's bundled options are too pricey for a 3/4 beach day with some shades, everything else is optional as in pay more. Take a look under the Destination sub-forum for Bahamas & Nassau for tips, ideas - some being organized by those doing the CC Roll Calls (not all sailings are active) as the port is considered a "dump" by many ... been there, done that & too many times & not counting.

 

Nobody can forecast the odds for a successful stop & tender to GSC, just because another NCL ship managed today doesn't mean tomorrow will be a "go" - waves/wind & weather played a big part ... safety first & nobody wants to get seasick riding the transfer double-decker. Our sailings with a stop there is in May - going to see what happened & with the changes, might not be worth our while to go ashore, even though we've priority tendering as Platinum ... sometimes (and, many others have the same idea) it's nicer to stay on the ship & enjoy the smaller crowd + the GEM is much "smaller" & easy-going. Will likely do a brief pictorial review/report afterward, based on the GEM after we get back ... unless there's breaking news warranting a semi-live update while still at sea.

 

GSC can be both crowded & secluded, before the recent work done to it - Cabanas are nice - split the cost among 8 to 10, it's not a bad deal (and you get priority tendering to be on the first boat - hot sun, heat, UV exposure, etc. can make it unbearable ... until you can get under the shades. Good luck as it can turn into a fun day t sea - cruising very slowly - pulling into Nassau around sunset as ships doing a day stop leave.

 

Think of a Plan B, although there isn't much to do that I would recommend once it's dark ... shops closed, tourist restaurant open & there's always Altantis (not for kids, LOL) But, that meant you can wake up super early the next morning & hit the beach resort, and get almost a full day - just don't join the pier runner's club & be mindful of ship/local time difference.

 

We have plans to split a large cabana with my DHs Father and his wife who are joining us on the cruise...its welcome news to hear we will get priority tendering! We will move forward with fingers crossed for good weather. I also have a strong desire to do some snorkeling at some point. I did this in Bermuda and it was SO MUCH FUN! My daughters really want to snorkel and we planned to do this at GSC--which I am sure is nothing fancy but we aren't looking for anything too extravagant.

[ncklhaus]

I read it here on this page...it says the contract ends in April of 2017 :-(

 

https://decasting.com/rock/

 

It was one of the highlights of my last cruise!

 

No worries. It's the actors contracts that end in April 2017, not the entire show. They change up every 8 months or so. They should be posting a new casting call soon.

[NurseMommyTGJ]

No worries. It's the actors contracts that end in April 2017, not the entire show. They change up every 8 months or so. They should be posting a new casting call soon.

 

So it should still be playing in October?! That would be fantastic!!!

[ncklhaus]

So it should still be playing in October?! That would be fantastic!!!

 

Yes. I'm on Breakaway right now, actually getting off in the morning and there has been no talk of it getting replaced. Norwegian paid a lot of money to be able to have the show. Rock on!!!