Norwegian Breakaway, May 26-June 2, Caribbean - excursions? Formal wear? Help!

[supermamawannabe]

We are pretty new to cruising, did one 14 years ago when my kids were 3 and 9 months on Royal Caribbean (not a great experience). We did a Disney cruise about 9 years ago as a whole family for my dad's retirement, and that was nice. This time it's just us 4, celebrating my daughter's high school graduation and our 20th wedding anniversary. Kids wanted to do a Caribbean cruise, so we booked this NCL. I'm not only having a little buyer's remorse, I need help deciding if we should do excursions and need other advice.

1. Excursions: does anyone have first-hand recommendations for Puerto Plata, St. Thomas and Tortola? 
2. Dinners/formal attire: I did not realize NCL was a "freestyle" cruise line and didn't do formal nights. I'm a bit disappointed as I love getting dressed up. If we wear suits/cocktail dresses to dinner, will we be totally out of place?
3. Planning: I'm such a planner, and I find NCL's website and app to be completely non-user friendly. The UX is awful and I can't find much info. Do we really not have to plan anything in advance besides excursions? 

Any other tips/recommendations for this ship so we have the best time?

Thanks in advance for any help!

[mjkacmom]

I’m guessing this will be moved to the NCL board. Some of your questions vary by ship. NCL is casual, but really wear what you want, especially if you want photos. We’ve never found the need to book reservations in a MDR, we show up when we want to. Specialty dining should be booked, but reservations are held back so if nothing you want is available, check when you board.

[Nebr.cruiser]

As to dressing up for dinner, you absolutely can on NCL and while you may be in the minority, you won't be alone.  You won't be out of place.  In fact, the most fabulous, out of this world ball gown I ever saw was on a NCL cruise--her guy was in a dress kilt outfit.  The dress looked like something from Gone With the Wind.

 

And despite the casual vibe, the only time I have ever seen anyone turned away from a dining room for wearing jeans was on Norwegian.  I don't think that would happen now.

[Cruzinbabe06]

Just booked and I'm dressing up 👍 

[KeithJenner]

NCL have worked out that people are grown up enough to decide for themselves how they want to dress.

 

That means that you can dress up as much as you want without having to make me do the same. It’s great.

 

If you want to dress up do so and enjoy yourself. You won’t be the only one.

Edited April 17 by KeithJenner

[KeithJenner]

On 4/12/2024 at 7:22 PM, supermamawannabe said:

3. Planning: I'm such a planner, and I find NCL's website and app to be completely non-user friendly. The UX is awful and I can't find much info. Do we really not have to plan anything in advance besides excursions? 

If you want to eat at any of the speciality restaurants then I would advise booking them In advance. Bookings open at 120 days. They do hold spaces back for onboard booking, but I prefer to have things organised.

 

On the newer ships there may be some entertainment that can also be booked in advance. I think this opens at 21 days (not sure as I don’t book entertainment).

[www3traveler]

The only times you really see passengers dressed formally (and then only a few) Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Eve.

 

A couple of restaurants require long pants, collared shirts and closed toed shoes for gentlemen.

 

Relax and enjoy this special time with your family.  Kids seem to grow up very quickly.  Where does time go?

 

Read your Freestyle Daily each day and plan as much or as little as you wish.

[cruiseny4life]

On 4/12/2024 at 2:22 PM, supermamawannabe said:

We are pretty new to cruising, did one 14 years ago when my kids were 3 and 9 months on Royal Caribbean (not a great experience). We did a Disney cruise about 9 years ago as a whole family for my dad's retirement, and that was nice. This time it's just us 4, celebrating my daughter's high school graduation and our 20th wedding anniversary. Kids wanted to do a Caribbean cruise, so we booked this NCL. I'm not only having a little buyer's remorse, I need help deciding if we should do excursions and need other advice.

1. Excursions: does anyone have first-hand recommendations for Puerto Plata, St. Thomas and Tortola? 
2. Dinners/formal attire: I did not realize NCL was a "freestyle" cruise line and didn't do formal nights. I'm a bit disappointed as I love getting dressed up. If we wear suits/cocktail dresses to dinner, will we be totally out of place?
3. Planning: I'm such a planner, and I find NCL's website and app to be completely non-user friendly. The UX is awful and I can't find much info. Do we really not have to plan anything in advance besides excursions? 

Any other tips/recommendations for this ship so we have the best time?

Thanks in advance for any help!

Excursions: I haven't actually done this excursion so ya know, I'm ignoring the whole "first-hand recommendation" thing. Multiple posters on here have stated The Baths on Tortola are amazing. It sounds like you probably have a fairly active family since you're still young'ish. Check out the National Park website here: https://www.bvinpt.org/the-baths 

 

For others, you can search on the Ports of Call forum which you'll find here (specific link is to the Caribbean forum): https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/456-caribbean/ 

 

My husband and I are decidedly in the camp of we will not ever  dress up when on vacation. This includes pants and collared shirts (though I do throw a Hawaiian-type shirt in my bag and it has a collar). This means we do not go to Le Bistro or Ocean Blue (collared shirt/pants required). So, I might not be the best to answer this one, but I have been on plenty of cruises where I've seen folks dressed in tuxes, ball gowns, and everything in between. You should feel comfortable wearing fancy clothes if you really want to. Just don't judge those of us enjoying our vacation on a line with a casual dress code (we don't cruise any other lines partly due to the dress code - seriously). 

 

Try the app to look through your options. I find the UX more intuitive and it's easy to scroll through the options. You'll want to make reservations for dining (if you want to - we do, but change them so often that we shouldn't), check out entertainment at 21 days before your cruise (may or may not be able to book), look at thermal suite/Vibe options, and shore excursions.

 

And, of course, get that buyer's remorse off your face. You're going. Unless you're silly and cancel within the cancellation period. Go! Have a wonderful time celebrating your daughter's achievement of getting herself through high school. 

[AKR2011]

On 4/12/2024 at 2:22 PM, supermamawannabe said:

1. Excursions: does anyone have first-hand recommendations for Puerto Plata, St. Thomas and Tortola? I like booking third party and just choosing a tour that starts early and returns with a few hours to spare.  Check out Shore Excursions Group to get some ideas and then compare with local tour operators.  NCL is much more expensive and doesn't open a lot of excursions until closer to the sail date in my experience. Support the locals! There are zshore Excursion videos and reviews on YouTube as well.
2. Dinners/formal attire: I did not realize NCL was a "freestyle" cruise line and didn't do formal nights. I'm a bit disappointed as I love getting dressed up. If we wear suits/cocktail dresses to dinner, will we be totally out of place? My husband and I tend to dress up more formally in specialty restaurants and find that others do too. For regular dinners in the dining room, I wear a dress and he typically wears nice shorts and a collared shirt. We fit right in.
3. Planning: I'm such a planner, and I find NCL's website and app to be completely non-user friendly. The UX is awful and I can't find much info. Do we really not have to plan anything in advance besides excursions? Definitely compare dining and try to book 120 days out when it opens. You can also book as soon as you board. I also prefer to prepay the service chsrge so my account is lower on board. I also will go to the bank and get a bunch of dollar bills to tip. It's not mandatory, but nice to appreciate the bartenders. It's also fun to read the dailies and reviews posted on here to get an idea of the kind of entertainment offered. You can also watch tours and reviews on YouTube.

Any other tips/recommendations for this ship so we have the best time? Have fun and enjoy your vacation!  We all work so hard and deserve a break. I find the more I plan ahead, the more excited I am and the more relaxed I am once on board.

 

❤️⚓️ Ashley

Thanks in advance for any help!

 

[schmoopie17]

On 4/12/2024 at 5:15 PM, Nebr.cruiser said:

 

And despite the casual vibe, the only time I have ever seen anyone turned away from a dining room for wearing jeans was on Norwegian.  I don't think that would happen now.

No, it wouldn't happen now. The only long pants I take on a cruise are jeans and I've never been turned away in any NCL restaurant. Taking extra "dress" clothes on a cruise nowadays with baggage fees the way they are makes no sense (well, at least to me).

[hernando52]

We enjoyed just walking around Taino Bay, where you dock in Puerto Plata.  There are pools, a lazy river, restaurants, bars and nice shopping.  We have also done an excursion to Ocean World which is a large entertainment complex and enjoyed it a lot.

[lepidoptera]

For Tortola I highly recommend NCL’s excursion Escape to Jost Van Dyke-a catamaran ride to different island with a lovely beach with really good beach bars.

 

For St Thomas I generally go to Magen’s bay. A beautiful beach. It is like $5 per person for entry into the park and a shared shuttle is very cheap as well (you will ride in open air truck things there and it is less than $20 pp each way). 

 

I was on the Breakaway for 14 days right after Thanksgiving last year and had a fantastic time, I am sure you will enjoy it. I dress for dinner every night (except for a few nights when I was not feeling well and did not go) I wore dresses or a nice blouse with palazzo pants each night with flats. 

[TenForward]

On 4/12/2024 at 2:22 PM, supermamawannabe said:

We are pretty new to cruising, did one 14 years ago when my kids were 3 and 9 months on Royal Caribbean (not a great experience). We did a Disney cruise about 9 years ago as a whole family for my dad's retirement, and that was nice. This time it's just us 4, celebrating my daughter's high school graduation and our 20th wedding anniversary. Kids wanted to do a Caribbean cruise, so we booked this NCL. I'm not only having a little buyer's remorse, I need help deciding if we should do excursions and need other advice.

1. Excursions: does anyone have first-hand recommendations for Puerto Plata, St. Thomas and Tortola? 
2. Dinners/formal attire: I did not realize NCL was a "freestyle" cruise line and didn't do formal nights. I'm a bit disappointed as I love getting dressed up. If we wear suits/cocktail dresses to dinner, will we be totally out of place?
3. Planning: I'm such a planner, and I find NCL's website and app to be completely non-user friendly. The UX is awful and I can't find much info. Do we really not have to plan anything in advance besides excursions? 

Any other tips/recommendations for this ship so we have the best time?

Thanks in advance for any help!

 

You should definitely check out the Ports of Call forum - lots of helpful info there on what do on each island.  I'm sailing this Friday on the Getaway to most of those same islands -  I've been to all before except St. Maarten.  In Tortola we are booked for Jost Van Dyke Escape (which we've done before but weather sent us to an alternate beach).  In St. Maarten we'll be hitting Little Bay Beach near the Belair Hotel and then the Sky Explorer & Flying Dutchman.   @Mitsugirly Did a great review of Taino Bay with all the pools, shops & lazy river and that's our plan for that day as well.   

 

Will report back in a little over 10 days on how things went. 

 

Enjoy your cruise!

 

(why don't my @'s create a link like I see on others)

 

 

Edited April 18 by TenForward

[ggTexasGal]

9 hours ago, TenForward said:

(why don't my @'s create a link like I see on others)

Often, I have found that I need to type the "@" and then wait for awhile (until I am able to see that it will work) before I type letters or numbers of CC member.

[TravelinGert]

I'm going to answer without reading the other replies in hopes some small thing I say will prove helpful to OP or to others reading. 
 

1. Excursions: does anyone have first-hand recommendations for Puerto Plata, St. Thomas and Tortola? 

 

In St Thomas we did a tour bus the first time, and just winged it the other two times we were there.

 

We went to all the trouble of booking one in advance and paying a $10 deposit only to be completely unable to find anyone from the company. Ended up there were half a dozen tour buses just collecting anyone who want to be driven up to the scenic overlook for a very reasonable flat fare so we just joined one of those.

 

Not the best option for an excursion in St Thomas I don't doubt, but we had plans to meet friends at a beach for the greater part of our time there. The tour operator agreed to drop us at the beach for no extra so it worked well for our plans, particularly considering the tour itself was only barely more than the taxi fare we'd been told by a couple of taxi drivers at the port just to go directly to the beach.

 

If you decide to visit the beach be aware Magens Bay Beach is gorgeous, but gets a bit crowded in the afternoon unless you head for the edges of the beach. There is a fun bar on the beach if that's your pleasure. Emerald Beach isn't as nice but is usually less crowded.

 

If you'd like to visit Coral World, then Coki Beach is just there by the parking lot. Saw some gorgeous little colorful fish there after being recommended to visit by someone who grew up in St Thomas. Take a few dog biscuits or some fish food or crackers and you'll soon see more than you can imagine swirling about.

 

If you decide to take the ferry to St Johns taxi to the far side of the island and grab the Red Hook Ferry which is faster and offers a smoother ride. Trunk Bay is beyond gorgeous but can be logistically a pain to visit due to taxis and ferries. Has a great snorkeling trail, too. I'd say it was well worth it. You can swim with turtles at Maho & Linduist or Salt Pond Bay has great snorkeling though I would say book an excursion for that. 

2. Dinners/formal attire: I did not realize NCL was a "freestyle" cruise line and didn't do formal nights. I'm a bit disappointed as I love getting dressed up. If we wear suits/cocktail dresses to dinner, will we be totally out of place?

 

Every cruise I've been on both before and after pandemic I've seen everything from people in high end tuxes and formals to people in much more casual attire, and this has been especially the case on Caribbean cruises. Everyone else wears whatever they like so you might just as well enjoy that privilege as well. 

3. Planning: I'm such a planner, and I find NCL's website and app to be completely non-user friendly. The UX is awful and I can't find much info. Do we really not have to plan anything in advance besides excursions? 

 

I'm also a planner and always plan a lot in advance. Truth be told, you really don't even have to plan excursions in advance, though.

 

At every stop there will likely be a booth on or near where your ship unloads selling all the same tours you can book in advance. There will also be individual tour operators looking to fill up the last few empty seats. Sometimes these can be less expensive than booking in advance, but most times they're roughly the same price. Sometimes if you've mastered the art of haggling you may score a deal. 

 

If you're like me, the planner in you will be thankful you at least read up on the options in advance.