ltmguy

Did u cruise in this cabin? I am looking at it for an upcoming cruise from Barcelona to Venice 

3 hours ago, wolft927 said:

Luggae Drop off is next to the Whale lot. You can park then walk your luggage over, If drop off luggage first then park it can be a pain becasue there is no through road, you need to turn around and come back out the way you came in. 

• PLEASE NOTE, THE HILTON “WHALE LOT” IS NO LONGER BEING UTILIZED BY THE PORT FOR CRUISE PASSENGERS.
  • Parking is available at the 100 Poydras Garage, located at 100 Poydras St. New Orleans, LA 70130. The 100 Poydras Garage opens at 9:00am (CST) and has over 500 covered and secured parking spaces.
  • Parking rates: $25 per day without reservations and $25 per day plus $1/per day fee for reservations.
  • Norwegian Cruise Line parking reservations can be made here. 
  • Please come directly to the 100 Poydras Garage, as a shuttle will be available to take all cruise passengers and their luggage to the Julia St. Cruise Terminal.
  • Please have your boarding information available. You must show it to the parking attendant to enter the facility. 
  • Maximum height is 6' 4" and maximum 22 feet in length. Garage is secured, lighted and patrolled.

3 hours ago, OurAnniversary25 said:

Hearing a lot of chatter about how bad traffic is around the port.  Also that luggage drop-off is in the opposite direction of the ship.  Can you advise?

This was the last Whale Lot Parking for NCL. Below is direct from the Port of New Orleans.

• PLEASE NOTE, THE HILTON “WHALE LOT” IS NO LONGER BEING UTILIZED BY THE PORT FOR CRUISE PASSENGERS.
  • Parking is available at the 100 Poydras Garage, located at 100 Poydras St. New Orleans, LA 70130. The 100 Poydras Garage opens at 9:00am (CST) and has over 500 covered and secured parking spaces.
  • Parking rates: $25 per day without reservations and $25 per day plus $1/per day fee for reservations.
  • Norwegian Cruise Line parking reservations can be made here. 
  • Please come directly to the 100 Poydras Garage, as a shuttle will be available to take all cruise passengers and their luggage to the Julia St. Cruise Terminal.
  • Please have your boarding information available. You must show it to the parking attendant to enter the facility. 
  • Maximum height is 6' 4" and maximum 22 feet in length. Garage is secured, lighted and patrolled.
  •  
•  

On 12/19/2023 at 12:11 PM, HoosierShipmate said:

@ltmguy This is the officer board I believe you were asking for. Have a 30 minute wait for O’Sheehans so wandered down. It’s digital and I’m uploading highest quality level to help if you zoom in but not the best…

 

 

 

Thank you this is perfect 

On 12/18/2023 at 5:22 PM, HoosierShipmate said:

Waiting for dinner and got a nice almost-sunset shot from the balcony.  And why oh why NCL do you not post your MDR menu on the app every day? I need to plan my strategy!!!!!

Completely Agree!!! 
day 1 of cruise we ask for the entire weeks menus and take pictures. 

2 hours ago, HoosierShipmate said:

We are now in Cozumel! We still haven’t decided if we will leave the ship or not, feels like a breakfast decision. If we do we won’t be ashore long.
 

 

We love to go to Mega Mart when in port🤣

1 hour ago, HoosierShipmate said:

@Laurenran Having a great trip so far - we love Breakaway and hope you have a great trip!  If you have any questions or request pics I’m happy to oblige. Otherwise it just looks like all we do is eat! 🙂

 

Can u post a pic of the Officer board? Deck 10 I believe. 
 Favorite Bartender?

Did u go to Sid’s yet? 
Once you see the comedian and dueling pianos can u report back? 
 

16 hours ago, PaperSniper4 said:

I'm the former, but fortunately not the latter. I wonder if I can get a 25% discount?

27 years USN.

 

 Doug

Unfortunately no. This is actually a government thing that most people don’t know. Government parking like city’s and county’s and at airports n such offer free parking for the 50%disabled vet. But u must do your research because many parking attendants don’t know about it. 

On 12/17/2023 at 10:28 AM, HoosierShipmate said:

Parking in the whale lot was simple. No line, and @PaperSniper4 the charge was $150 for the week.  Drive right in and parked, about two minute walk to luggage dropoff and then went straight to Cafe Du Monde Riverwalk. 
 

For those that are veterans and 50% disabled it is free with the appropriate paperwork 

9 hours ago, sarahandmike23 said:

You’re welcome. Let me know if there’s anything you’d like me to find out for you.

 

We’re still coming down the Mississippi River at 9:45 pm C. I had no idea it took this long to get to the gulf. Very calm waters and slight movement of ship. Here’s a photo of the Haven pool area this evening. We had dinner outside. It was so peaceful. 

I have the drink package and was enjoying Peach Bellini’s from the Haven bar. My husband is having Tito’s and lime juice on the rocks. The pours have been great, as has the bar service. We are tipping a couple dollars cash with each drink. They are super grateful. 
At dinner I wanted a premium glass of wine which is $19 per glass. They just charged me $4 + gratuity for it, which is the difference from the $15 limit of drink package I have. Also since we were still in the US technically, they also charged $1.70 tax. We tipped $5 cash for the 3 drinks they brought us as dinner. 
For dinner I had the Prime Rib which came with vegetables and a small baked potato. The vegetables were cooked so perfectly, I have to remember to ask for more vegetables next time. They brought around toppings for the baked potato - fresh chives, cheddar cheese, sour cream and bacon were the choices. The creamed corn side was pretty good but spicy - must have jalapeños in it.

 

 

I started with the deviled eggs with no lobster on them (I don’t eat shellfish and they accommodated for all of our groups substitutions). The deviled eggs were slightly bland but after cracking peppercorn on them, they were really good - great consistency. Only disappointment in our group were the desserts. We didn’t find them as good as the desserts in years past like the carrot cake or espresso brownie. My son had the chocolate decadent cake - it’s very soft, mostly mousse.

 

 

My husband has the cheesecake which he did like, but he said he has much better before.

 

 

Others in the group had the New York Strip and the Lamb chops with no pancetta. 
 

 

 

It was a great, all around dinner experience though. 

We travel this route every year love the Breakaway Haven it is our favorite! Can you ask Aaron and Raymond if they are still there for the March 3 sailing? 

3 hours ago, sarahandmike23 said:

Details from our checkin experience today:

We left our hotel at 10am by car service. What should have been 10 minute drive was about 45 minutes. There was terrible traffic to get to the terminal. When we got to the terminal we entered through door 4, baggage handlers were right there to help and super friendly (we tipped $10), and then walked down the hall to the queue for security. There were 3 lines for security. All guests go through these lines and they all move at the same speed. These security lines are right at door 1.

 

 

We got in security line at 10:40 and it took less than 20 minutes to have our edocs verified against identifications. Then you go immediately through metal detector lines - there were no people in line here with 2 open stations.

We then walked around the outside of the lines to check in to go to Haven check in. There were 9 open spots for Haven check in. We were checked in and had cards in less than 5 minutes for 3 of us. We were then escorted to the Haven lounge where they offered to board us immediately at 11:10. We were waiting for friends so we waited there first and a few minutes. While waiting I heard them announcing boarding for Group 1 at 11:15, Group 2 at 11:23, Group 3 at 11:24. Our friends arrived then and we were escorted on immediately. They take you straight to your muster station to have badge scanned. For 16122, our muster is at the theater. We then went for lunch at American Diner which is free for Haven guests on embarkation day. We were one of 3 tables. The weather was pretty cool outside. The food was good. We all had burgers, which were excellent. I had a Caesar salad on the side instead of fries. Our room was already ready when we checked at 12:30 and baggage was in our room by 1. One thing to note, our butler greeted us almost immediately after we arrived on the ship. His name is Marc. He gave us his card and said he’d come to our room later to meet us and find out how he can help us through the week. He did come to our room and was super nice, took notes of what we like. Asked all 3 of us what he could do specifically for each of us. I was impressed, especially after reading a recent Breakaway review where the guest said they never saw their butler until the last day. 

Thanks  for sharing we are in Haven March 3

Just now, ltmguy said:

 

On 2/17/2022 at 10:45 AM, Two Wheels Only said:

For the standard (not Haven/not wheelchair accessible) aft-facing balconies on Breakaway, there are differences in depth (by deck) and width. From deepest to least deep, the order is 9, 12, 11, 10, 14, 13. The differences in width vary between bed near balcony vs. bed near closet. Having the bed near the balcony will generally be wider than bed near the closet. Even then, not all "bed near the balcony" balconies are the same width when on the same deck (a few inches different). 

 

 

(using Getaway which is the same sizes/depths as Breakaway)

 

The balcony located port side of the wheelchair accessible stateroom is the narrowest on each deck. The exception is deck 10 which has 2 wheelchair accessible mini-....errr, Club Balcony suites. In that case, the port side one has the smaller/more narrow balcony.

 

I usually suggest the stateroom next to the aft-facing Haven suite. The configuration is bed near balcony (my preference) and the view to the side of the ship is still good. The center (wheelchair accessible) balcony gives the best views to both sides but those balconies should go to those who need them. 

 

For deck, I prefer 12. It offers a good size (2nd deepest) and has a good view. Going lower to deck 9 would give a slightly deeper balcony but the view wouldn't be as good. Going higher would give a better view but the balcony would be smaller/less deep and the possibility of noise from Spice H2O (under normal cruising) at night is a negative. 

 

12306/12906 would be my first choice.

 

9318/9918 would be second. The deck plans have errors so even though the indent shows the bed near the closet (9318), it is actually bed near balcony...

 

(9318)

If you we’re choosing between Regular Aft or Club Extra Large Balcony which one you u choose? 
European cruise.  Only started in Haven. 

On 2/17/2022 at 10:45 AM, Two Wheels Only said:

For the standard (not Haven/not wheelchair accessible) aft-facing balconies on Breakaway, there are differences in depth (by deck) and width. From deepest to least deep, the order is 9, 12, 11, 10, 14, 13. The differences in width vary between bed near balcony vs. bed near closet. Having the bed near the balcony will generally be wider than bed near the closet. Even then, not all "bed near the balcony" balconies are the same width when on the same deck (a few inches different). 

 

 

(using Getaway which is the same sizes/depths as Breakaway)

 

The balcony located port side of the wheelchair accessible stateroom is the narrowest on each deck. The exception is deck 10 which has 2 wheelchair accessible mini-....errr, Club Balcony suites. In that case, the port side one has the smaller/more narrow balcony.

 

I usually suggest the stateroom next to the aft-facing Haven suite. The configuration is bed near balcony (my preference) and the view to the side of the ship is still good. The center (wheelchair accessible) balcony gives the best views to both sides but those balconies should go to those who need them. 

 

For deck, I prefer 12. It offers a good size (2nd deepest) and has a good view. Going lower to deck 9 would give a slightly deeper balcony but the view wouldn't be as good. Going higher would give a better view but the balcony would be smaller/less deep and the possibility of noise from Spice H2O (under normal cruising) at night is a negative. 

 

12306/12906 would be my first choice.

 

9318/9918 would be second. The deck plans have errors so even though the indent shows the bed near the closet (9318), it is actually bed near balcony...

 

(9318)

We have just asked and never had an issue. If you are concerned and are not in Haven, I would stop by the restaurant and ask or go to the reservation desk and let them know.

If in Haven, then I would just tell them when you board.

We are traveling with 4 in a 2 bedroom.  2 are Adult Kids this time, and I am wondering if anyone has upgraded to the plus package for just 2 of the room members? My husband and I normally upgrade, but not sure if this is the right route to take as the additional meals are not transferable. The internet is only good for 2 people... we are on a 10-day cruise that is heavy on the ports... what we really want is the upgraded drink options and the internet as I work from the ship..

Got an email back from Steve this morning.....our loungers will be waiting for us...YAY!!!!!!

Great can't wait to meet u guys. See u soon.

Thx for the info I am very excited.

We sail on her Aug 2 and can't wait. What shows were your favorite and did your kids enjoy them? We can't wait to see our cabin we are in the Grand scenic ocean view.

we are there Aug. 7th I will let you know.

I am excited --- we have booked a 3 hour snorkel with Caveman on Caye Caulker; look him up on Tripadvisor or his facebook page.

 

**Half Day Private Tour (3 hours - 3 Locations: Shark Ray Alley, Coral Gardens, South Channel. )

- Snorkeling gear, fruit and water provided.

- Price for Regular: $35.00USD per person

- Price for Private: $200.00USD for a maximum of 4 people; price is then increased by $50.00USD for additional person added.

- In your case if Private Tour, Price: $100.00USD per person - 2 people.

 

We will take the water taxi to Caye Caulker and he said he will be ready whichever taxi we get on -- hoping for the 9:00 ship time one, which will be 8:00 in Belize. Planning on the 1:30 taxi back to port (will be 2:30 ship time) but we are there until 5 so I think we are good to go!!! It will just be my husband and me, so looking forward to no crowds!!

When are you booked with him I sent him a message and am lookng for a trip Aug 5

I would like to know how the taxi thing works out.;)

Going In Aug I want info on this to.

We have reserved chairs with Steve at Tropicante for August, just email him reserve your chairs, he will send detailed info on where to get the taxi to The Tropicante, it is to far to walk

Thanks I did send a email today but have not heard back when In Aug. We are head on the 7th

How do we get to them do we walk or a taxi

Please help with better ideas.... I grew up in Key West my husband palm beach and have traveled the world with as a Navy family we are going with our 2 boys 8 and 10 that both fish big game salt water and snorkel as diving they aren't of age yet even though my husband and I were diving at that age. We were condisering doing a a taxi tour? We are open to ideas Please help. My husband and I have been once and did Dunns River yea OK but a Trap if you know what I mean.

I am looking at doing sunset restort on our trip on the breeze in Jan can any one tell me what is like now?