Live from the NCL Breakaway May 6-16, 2023 – Spring in Italy, Greece, Malta and France Roundtrip from Rome

[Happycrafter123]

Took some time to walk around the waterfront deck on the 8th floor and look at the view.  The seagulls were friendly and it is lovely out there.

 

 

[Happycrafter123]

As for the tour yesterday, I do agree with what others have stated that private tours would be a better option.  
 

However hubby disagreed with me finding it his favorite excursion of the trip.  Here are his comments he shared with friends, in comparison:

 

“Today was Sorento and Pompeii, it was a super scenic drive to Sorento, reminded me of an old James Bond movie where they were racing through the mountains, except we weren’t racing. I must say the bus drivers here have to be the best in the world, at home if two bicycles were passing on these narrow roads there would be a collision, but these drivers somehow manage to get around the tightest corners with another bus on the opposite side of the road, if you have been here you understand what I’m saying, I guarantee you these drivers would not be hitting every single overpass we have on our roads🤣.
Anyway beautiful drive to Sorento and it was a really nice little town, unfortunately we did not have enough time to really venture around there, we did get the best cappuccino so far on this trip for 2 Euros each ($3 cdn) very reasonable☕️. After the visit to Sorento the tour carried on to a local farm, where we had a local lunch and wine, which was good as well. Then we headed to Pompeii, which was definitely the most interesting part of the day to me. Pompeii was a village built in the 7-6th century BC, so yeah a few years ago🤣. It was buried under 4 to 6 m (13 to 20 ft) of volcanic ash and pumice in the Eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD, and because of the ash it actually preserved a lot of the town and it’s inhabitants for thousands of years before it was uncovered, it really is unbelievable. After that it was back to the ship for a very nice dinner and a show, now we are cruising to Florence for tomorrow’s adventure😊
Have a great weekend🥳🍻”

 

so it really is all perspective!  For me, I like more data and content and better food, for hubby the scenery and chatting with other group members made his day.  

[Greener123]

What was the lunch on the tour, the description made it sound like it would be good, did you not get to see the making of the fresh mozzarella? 
 

also while in Livorno are you seeing any of the signage about alcohol resections? Might be a bit early yet 🤣

[Sunsher28]

Happycrafter123 we have been on several cruises all to the Caribbean. We have never taken our passports/ ID with us when we go ashore in ports. I see on the dailies they mention bringing IDs when you go ashore. Have you needed them to get back on the ship? 

[LauraAnneC]

2 hours ago, Sunsher28 said:

Happycrafter123 we have been on several cruises all to the Caribbean. We have never taken our passports/ ID with us when we go ashore in ports. I see on the dailies they mention bringing IDs when you go ashore. Have you needed them to get back on the ship? 

I was on the Getaway in February in the Caribbean. I can’t remember which island it was but we needed photo ID to get back into the port to board the ship. Luckily I had taken my driver’s license with me! 

[insidecabin]

Much of Europe has a carry photo of policy.

 

Hardly ever needed but if you don't have any when asked by authorities it can cause issues.

 

 

[hernando52]

I've enjoyed this post very much as we'll be on a similar trip in Sept.  Do you remember if there was a "Dress Up or Not" evening on the ship?  I looked through the dailies and didn't see it mentioned.

[Happycrafter123]

Just back on board the ship and it is wine and beer only (and Starbucks!)

 

[Happycrafter123]

They repetitively advise you must carry photo Id off the ship.  We have not had to show to return.  We spoke to someone who missed the ship the stop before the end on the transatlantic before us and met with the ship again in Rome, he luckily had his passport with him.

 

it is a personal choice but I always take my passport when traveling in a foreign country.

[Happycrafter123]

4 hours ago, hernando52 said:

I've enjoyed this post very much as we'll be on a similar trip in Sept.  Do you remember if there was a "Dress Up or Not" evening on the ship?  I looked through the dailies and didn't see it mentioned.

Hi,

 

I have not noticed about any special dress events, some folks dress up, some don’t, every night it seems.  Photographers are always mulling about for photos.

[Happycrafter123]

7 hours ago, Greener123 said:

What was the lunch on the tour, the description made it sound like it would be good, did you not get to see the making of the fresh mozzarella? 

 

lunch in Sorrentto on the farm yesterday was small.  There was a small plate each with one small (1inch round) bococini ball and a small piece of ricotta, 2 slices of salami and one slice of prosciutto, and one very tiny crust of baguette.  There was a small plate of pasta noodles with plain tomato sauce, and a slice of lemon tart.  A glass of water, one of table wine and a shot of limoncello.

 

it was not bad, but not memorable, and definitely on the small size.  
 

the man came out for less than 5 minutes to show some a very small demonstration on cheese.

[Happycrafter123]

Today’s excursion was AMAZING!!  The highlight of our trip.  It was the bocelli wine experience .  
 

We were a small group of 23 people, so went in a mini van.  The tour guide spoke excellent English.  We drove about an hour and a half to Volterra, which really deserved a whole day of its own to explore.  It was unfortunate the guide felt we had to stay together the whole time, so we spent a half hour stuck in a coffee shop while 23 people used the single toilet one at a time, and then spent a half hour standing in a small alabaster store while a handful of people shopped.  I would have liked free time to go in one of the museums, city hall or church but that was not allowed.  The only bad thing I can say about this tour.  Of interest there was a car event this day so we got to see some cool old cars.  It was very rainy, even with jackets and umbrellas most of us got wet.  

 

after this we drove about a half hour to the restaurant where we had a wine tasting of three wines with charcuterie, then lunch including a course of pasta with bolognese sauce, a main course of beef and potatoes, and dessert of chocolate mousse, all paired with an excellent wine.

 

after that they treated us to delicious espresso and cappuccino and then upstairs for an exclusive 1 hour musical concert with a female opera singer and piano player.

 

it was absolutely an amazing experience. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[luv2cruise523]

12 hours ago, Happycrafter123 said:

@eileeshb that sums it up well, though now there are also massive crowds everywhere.  I try not to show that inmy photos but here is what it is like navigating Pompéi now:

 

The reason why we choose to do the Med in November.

[eileeshb]

10 hours ago, Sunsher28 said:

Happycrafter123 we have been on several cruises all to the Caribbean. We have never taken our passports/ ID with us when we go ashore in ports. I see on the dailies they mention bringing IDs when you go ashore. Have you needed them to get back on the ship? 

On my very first cruise another solo got stopped when going back to the ship at St Thomas, I had my passport with me and after her giving me her keycard and instructions to find her ID the security guy decided to let her through without the ID. So always bring some sort of photo ID if you have it, you never know when a port will have heightened security. And keep any other travel-critical documents & medication in your room safe so if you miss the ship the crew can find it and leave it with their port agent. 

[eileeshb]

2 hours ago, luv2cruise523 said:

The reason why we choose to do the Med in November.

I did Venice in January years ago, I was in Treviso supporting my local rugby team and the day after the match you couldn’t turn a corner in Venice without spotting someone in team colours. The city was practically empty of all other tourists. Meanwhile our lot were checking pubs to see if any of them were showing another rugby match but no dice so we all did the tourist thing. 
I even managed to get that trip partly subsidised by my employer at the time, I visited a partner company outside Milan before flying back to Ireland. 

[Happycrafter123]

Freestyle daily for yesterday 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[QuattroRomeo]

Yay!! So glad you had a fantastic tour from Livorno. We loved Volterra, even though it  poured rain there for us, too.  Aside from the at-times-too-controlling tour guide, you had a memorable day! The Boccelli experience sounds really interesting; will have to put it on the to-do list!

You mentioned earlier that you have travelled a lot but not cruised much. How are you finding the experience in comparison? Did you visit any of these places before in your travels and what will be on your "must return" list?🍷

[Happycrafter123]

lovely morning in Cannes!

 

Right at 7 am they called boarding groups 1-4.

[Happycrafter123]

Today we have the following excursion

 

 

 

it is 5 hours so should be back by 2 pm to enjoy the pool area and pack up.  I sure Hope everything fits in my bags and I don’t have to leave lemon candies behind lol!

 

 

[Happycrafter123]

41 minutes ago, QuattroRomeo said:

Yay!! So glad you had a fantastic tour from Livorno. We loved Volterra, even though it  poured rain there for us, too.  Aside from the at-times-too-controlling tour guide, you had a memorable day! The Boccelli experience sounds really interesting; will have to put it on the to-do list!

You mentioned earlier that you have travelled a lot but not cruised much. How are you finding the experience in comparison? Did you visit any of these places before in your travels and what will be on your "must return" list?🍷

Interesting questions.  I have had nausea every day on this trip which has made me a bit worried about future cruises— we are committed to Alaska in a couple months so hoping that will be better.  But I like cruising, in general, very similar to a good quality all inclusive resort for onboard experience.  The excursions on this trip have been generally disappointing, but on our last cruise they were generally very good.  When traveling independently, if you do your research, you can find better experiences for things to visit as you are not constrained by the ships itinerary.  Even on this trip, our excursions privately arranged in and around Rome were way better than NCL arranged excursions.  I know others have talked about private excursions and do see the benefit more now than I realized before.

[Happycrafter123]

Today’s daily

 

 

 

 

 

 

[bdodd444]

Thanks so much for this thread.  We are on the Breakaway late July/Early August on a similar itinerary, and this has been very helpful.  We typically go on our own, so I was wondering if you happened to notice which pier you docked in Livorno?  Trying to figure out transport to train station or rental car at the port.  Did you notice nearby bus stops or rental car agencies by your pier?  Any observations would be greatly appreciated.

 

Brian

[Happycrafter123]

Cannes was beautiful!  I was tired and wanted to just sleep in, but glad I didn’t.  The NCL excursion was horrible, and I would recommend a private cab or tour if you can find one.  Do not do this tour!!  We did go to St Paul de Vence which was stunningly beautiful but the tour was so mismanaged that despite investing about 8 hours of time in to this endeavor we had only about an hour of time to enjoy the destination.  Absolute fail, NCL!!  
 

The French Riviera is on my bucket list now, but I think my plan will be to rent a car and some hostels and have a driving holiday as France should be enjoyed at leisure.

 

Here is how today went:

 

Met in Manhattan room at 7:45

Waited to get called for boarding till 8:20

Got on tender at 830 and waited for others to board

Got on bus at 9 and waited till 915 for others to board

Got to grasse at 945 -  we are now in to 2 hours spent “going on day trip and not done anything except wait and wait”. Next step - waited for everyone to go bathroom

Finally started perfume factory tour at 10:00. 

 

10:20 perfume sampling and shopping 

Supposed to meet at bus at 10:50.  Several did not board will 11.

 

Left perfume factory at 11:07

Got to parking lot at Vance at 1145

Wait for people to go bathroom before walking tour

Have to be back at bus (a 15 m walk from the walled city) at 115.

Less than an hour to explore and get lunch 

At 115 get back to bus and wait for late people

Leave at 1:45

Back to tender at 2:35

Long tender line

On board at 3:40

 

the life rafts we’re used for tendering which was bouncy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Happycrafter123]

 

St. Paul de vence was gorgeous and deserved a full day or two, not 40 minutes to peruse.  We were turned away from two restaurants who said we would need a full hour for lunch, but finally found a little spot that could accommodate us and our 30 minute timeline.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Happycrafter123]

All in all, investing 8 hours of my day to enjoy less than an hour of time in Vence was extremely disappointing.  Time is precious.  This would be like going to Walt Disney world for a full day and getting one ride done.   I do not plan to travel like this in the future, that is for sure.  I could have paid for a private taxi or tour.  I have on my last two cruises booked all excursions with NCL, and for my upcoming Alaskan one have $$$$ invested with NCL for 6 days of tours, but reconsidering that as well as what to do differently in future so that I have opportunity to enjoy the destinations I spend so much time and money travelling to.