Norwegian Breakaway first timer

[SloopLife]

Hi there,

First time cruiser cruising to the Caribbean on the Norwegian Breakaway in June 2019. 

Was wondering if anyone had any tips for a first time cruiser specifically regarding this line/ship/itinerary. 

Other question I have is that apparently we have premium all inclusive and gratuities included. What does this actually mean? I'm trying to work out how much spending money I need to allocate and just not sure what these things mean.  

TIA

[CruiserBruce]

Welcome to Cruise Critic!

 

Come over to the portion of Cruise Critic devoted to NCL, located here:

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/64-norwegian-cruise-line/

 

for tons of info.

[KmomChicago]

This ship was profiled on a TV show called Mighty Ships on the Smithsonian channel. If you can get access to see this it might help you.

 

The fine print details of your fare and your cruise contract should explain exactly what is included with your fare. Sometimes passengers sailing from different starting points get different deals with similar names, and sometimes travel agencies put in extras that are specific to bookings only through their agency. However, according to the NCL website (and sometimes people searching the internet from other countries report that they see different information), premium all inclusive covers a range of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages and specialty coffee drinks, gratuities and limited internet.

 

Though I have never sailed Norwegian, I would not hesitate to do so and have considered it several times. It is one of the established lines that are known for offering a good quality product at a reasonable price, with nice ships that appeal to a broad market base.  Most cruises offer various ways to part you from additional funds, but these things are optional.

 

This might include premium alcoholic options, spa services, upgraded specialty dining, shore excursions, anything you might want from the gift shops onboard or in ports, photos taken by the ship photographers, arcade or bar games, exclusive pool/cabanas, certain fitness classes, late night babysitting, upgraded internet, casino gambling or Bingo games, etc. You can spend almost nothing on this stuff, or you can go through many hundreds of dollars (or Euros, or pounds) over the course of a week.

 

As Bruce mentioned, on the Norwegian board you will get more info from people discussing specific optional costs (some people call them hidden fees, but others appreciate that they can pay for just what they want rather than pay more for a cruise that offers unlimited services they don't care for).  From the research I have done on Norwegian it does not look like their optional fees are much different than other lines I have experienced.

Edited December 9, 2018 by KmomChicago

[lauren009]

Everything I can tell you about cruising: http://laurenofalltrades.blogspot.com/p/cruise-tips.html

Note that there is a post specifically about the Breakaway and one specifically about Norwegian. I have a post about tipping - European NCL cruisers get their tips included in their fare, so just consider the "tipping extra" points.

Edited December 16, 2018 by laurenofalltrades

[evandbob]

I don't specifically recall if the Breakaway has the carpeting in the cabin hallways with the fishes swimming towards the front of the ship?  I know NCL's "older" ships have that design.  It's a good visual directional cue.

 

All but the little red fish standout anyway.

[pacruise804]

1 hour ago, evandbob said:

I don't specifically recall if the Breakaway has the carpeting in the cabin hallways with the fishes swimming towards the front of the ship?  I know NCL's "older" ships have that design.  It's a good visual directional cue.

 

All but the little red fish standout anyway.

 

If it doesn't have the carpeting with fish swimming forward, there is another way to help the directionally challenged among us 😉: left, port, and even all have 4 letters.  The port side of the ship is to the left as you are looking forward (starboard to the right) and cabin numbers are even on the port side.