GGBNJ130

Seems like every ship I sail on turns doomed in the future...

Celebrity Horizon (Now renamed and sailing in a 3rd world country)

Carnival Triumph

Explorer Of The Seas

BEWARE of NCL Breakaway, I was just on that one!

Wonder if the news will be waiting in Bayonne, NJ to catch the ship sailing in and docking so they can get reactions from people onboard...The news eats that stuff up!

if you know what the powerball numbers will be for this saturday could you please post them? I need a little for cash to book my next cruise. Thank you for your kind assistance.

18-19-31-45-52 (12)

What kind of penny slots were in the Casino? I am a frequent visitor to AC. I like the popular themed ones (Willy Wonka, Monopoly, Sex in the City, etc.) Anything you remember?

I have a list of all WMS games on the Breakaway, check em out, I have a thread w/ the list I posted a few weeks ago

NO to Willy Wonka, Monopoly, or Sex In The City

As far as the other slots, they were things i've never heard of before or seen before

Good evening All!

Just wanted to address this really quickly:

 

 

It's true that our disembarkation was delayed. I think the self-disembark folks didn't get off until 8:45AM or something. Joker and I didn't walk off the ship until 10:45AM, and then had a huge line at customs. While in line, we heard some people complaining about being awoken at 7:30AM with knocks on the door and dogs. Someone on our roll call posted that one or two persons may have been raped (they kept saying kids, but no verification about the ages). Rumor was that someone also went missing and that there was a police presence on the ship. Emphasis on the word RUMOR. The Cruise Director didn't mention anything like this (of course), and was vague about why disembarkation was held up; just apologized for the inconvenience. To this day, I have no idea what happened... followed the boards for a few days to see if there was any mention (I didn't expect there to be a news report or anything about it). I hope that this was a terrible rumor... if it wasn't, what an awful ordeal for the family. Since you were on the cruise right after us, maybe you can confirm whether there was an increase in security measures? I am only interested in the occurrence because we should know if there was any way to prevent what occurred and keep people safe. It was sad to end the cruise on such a sour note :(

I saw 1 security guard the entire cruise for a few seconds while I was walking by the guest services desk, that was the one and only time I saw someone w/ a uniform that said Security...Other then that, it was an uneventful cruise...I also saw on your cruise the first day at sea, an 80 something yo lady was air lifted by us coast guard off the NC Coast...Theirs YouTube video of that.

We had Sinon on the GEM and he was absolutley the best CD I have to date. Fun, funny, energetic, entertaining...and boy can that guy decorate a cake.

Sinon is on the Breakaway now, we had him last week, "YOU ARE MY SUNSHINE, MY ONLY SUNSHINE" at the crack of dawn after coming back from the club at 4am and being woken up was like AHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!! But he did keep you informed about why we were leaving late from ports and actually gave the reasons for everything...If it wasn't him, it was the Capt.

We had pre paid tips, our steward was cool, we only had the room made up maybe 4 times during our 7 day cruise, I can easily use the same towel more then once, and I can also sleep w/ the same sheets and cover more then one time, we were easy going, we didn't ask for anything at all the entire time, your steward normally comes in 1 time in the AM and 1 time at night to turn down the beds, refill your ice bucket and make a towel demon...He did empty my ash tray on the balcony twice a day when he came to make up the room...

...what do you mean $323? Its supposed to be a full $500 prize? I mean, i stopped entering these when they decided only the winner of each ROUND could advance (ie, if six people all jave the highest scores all of a sudden, only the actuak winner moves on). But when did they start playing with the payout?

"UP TO $500" was said, and yes, only ONE winner from each of the rounds they did, so lets say 8 ppl entered round six, whoever got the highest score in round six would get their name on the clipboard but could still be beat, lets say that winner in round six got 120,564 points and was lowest score overall and was beaten by someone in round 9 who had 120,565 points, they would be knocked out and crossed off the clip board because they were beaten....It was either 6 or 8 ppl in the final, now that i'm thinking, maybe 8 ppl, my mom won a qualifying round on Machine 1, but was knocked out at the next qualifier because she had only the last place top score overall, she didn't care tho, she won $456 OBC playing Deal or No Deal, she was called up to the stage...I however took the slot tourny seriously, and had a game plan which paid off...

Hi GGBNJ,

 

I just posted a review of this cruise too. A couple of thoughts/ responses to your review:

 

Most of the staff and passengers were quite polite, I didn't experience anyone yelling at anyone. That's terrible about the old lady with the cane, I'd like to think I or my kids would have helped her up if we had been there... It was very crowded at times but we generally found ways to go against the flow, which helped.

 

I agree about the bumpiness the first couple of days, I was very surprised. The ship seemed to jitter a lot. I actually got seasick on Monday for the first time ever in 12+ cruises.

 

"90% of this cruise's passengers were Asian".... Not quite, sorry. Maybe 20%? Certainly noticeable, and more than I've seen on any other cruise though.

 

We also skipped the Ice Bar. The price is excessive.. they should just make it a one drink minimum. They would get a lot more traffic that way.

 

Similar experience at Moderno, although we didn't dine so late... we only saw like 5 different meats. Had to beg 3 times to get the lamb chop (which was eventually worth it).

 

My burger in O'Sheehans was cold the first day... but pot pie another day was wonderful and overall we were happy there. Did you eat in the bar area or in the regular table area? That might have made a difference?

 

sorry I missed the wine tasting class, I would have liked that!

Regular table area of O'Sheehans, I did have the pot pie on the last day at sea because this asian girl I met in Nassau was there and I said ehhh might as well go to O'Sheehans again, the pot pie was like a creme of chicken soup w/ a big fluffy biscuit ontop, it was ok....I missed the first 2 wine tasting classes myself, but made it to the last one, which I heard was the most crowded of em...I'm gonna re disagree w/ you, i'm still saying 90% asian LOL....As far as Moderno, the lamb chops are all that was really coming! I had prob 3 of em' total...The chicken wrapped in bacon I had 1 piece of, that was prob the best!

We will be in a HC Balcony cabin. Does anyone have pics of cabin and balcony. Would like to get some idea what we can expect in terms of space and balcony access. Thanks

I was actually talking to our room steward outside of a handicapped balcony cabin, he had the door opened, the room is VERY EMPTY, and has a huge space where you can do 360's in your wheelchair or scooter w/ a ramp that leads up to the balcony door...Multiple wheelchairs can prob. fit into that room and you can have your own demolition derby o' wheelchairs if you wanted too!

What the hell happened on your cruise? We were delayed boarding on 12/22 pending a lockdown/investigation of the ship for "persons of interest"...I'm reading now some chick got dragged into an inside cabin and was rapped...Can you confirm any of this?

That was you? Congrats! I was in the finals on machine # 4. I came in last:)

 

Missed the meet & greet unfortunately, I was seasick on the first day. Great cruise overall, I will post a review shortly.

Yep, that was me! I kept my poker face on just staring at Slot #1, I pretty much knew if I got Slot 1 in the finals i'd win it...Was soooooooo relieved when I got first seat choice, I couldn't jump to Slot 1 fast enuf lol

LOL The Meet & Greet lasted all of 2 cups of water for me, I couldn't handle it, I was in and out within 3 minutes...I did sign my name on the sign in sheet so it looks like I was there....

I just posted lil tidbits of what I experienced on the cruise, a whole thing on the main ncl forum...

I score this cruise a 7 out of 10

Not really a review, just some stuff that happened, and that I noticed

Some crew members were GREAT, others blew up on you for minor things like asking simple questions, not just me, but I witnessed it happen to others, and I witnessed those others threaten to go to guest services to complain. My question to a bar tender at O'Sheehan's was where I could find a glass ash tray to take to my balcony, and he went postal yelling at me "NO SMOKING SIR!!!!" when I didn't even have a cigarette lit or in view, the pack was in my pocket, eventually I found a glass ashtray sitting around and just took it w/ me to the room where it was then replaced by a plastic dome ash tray...

I witnessed passengers on the ship knock down an old lady w/ a cane and nobody bothered to help her up, they just stepped right over her cursing her for being in the way because they were going to be late for the show. About 10 seconds after this happened, a group of crew members helped her up...

Was looking forward to going to Svedka Ice Bar, but not for $50.00 (which included 2 low priced drinks) so I never went inside, I can just go to work and be inside a 4X colder freezer and drink a soft drink if I wanted to...

Went to Moderno w/ a 9:30pm reservation, the place closed at 10pm, our waitress for some reason flipped the cards UP on the green side when we were seated, which brought the person w/ the meat to our table as we were eating our salads, we said no thank you to what he had, he seemed to get mad, and put our cards on the red side, walked off, and didn't come back to our table again after we figured out green side up meant come, and red side meant stop...So if you go to that place, make sure your cards are red until your ready to eat all the meats...They said 20 different meats, I saw maybe 6 total come to our table over and over and over...Would of loved to have another spare rib, but the one who ignored us had them and I wasn't going to give in and call him to the table, would of rather threw some punches with him

Only deal in Tradewinds were cigarettes, and that's all I got, the bottles of booze were either very slightly overpriced or equal to what I can get that stuff at home for, plus tax...Same with the watches/colognes/perfumes, same price minus the tax on the ship...Passed!

Slot Tournament, bought my entry for $15.00 and asked the person "ok now what", they had no idea, so I asked again, "where do I go to play, and/or wait to play", they had no idea, so I went to the desk by the lotto machine and asked the girl behind the counter "Where do I go to do this slot tournament?", She had the answer because she was the one running it! I ended up winning the final! $323/Wine/Shirt

Bingo = Expensive ($39.95 and UP)

Drinks cost more money on this cruise then it did on Carnival/Royal, I just drank ice water and lemonade the entire cruise

Wine Tasting Classes in Moderno....A MUST DO! LOVED IT! For $15.00 plus tip/tax whatever they call it, it came out to $17.25, was prob. the best thing I did on the ship minus the casino...6 glasses of wine to try, and hear about, and at the end, you can refill at your leisure FREE!!! One incident did occur at "Old World Vs. New World" day, a lady at the next table screamed at the top of her lungs for everyone to "SHUT UP" and stop talking because she liked to enjoy her wine in peace and wanted to hear what the person giving the class was saying, and she paid for this! (as we all did pay for it stupid!) (note, the instructor was speaking at a great loud tone for everyone to hear, this lady was just RUDE and looked to be like that all the time, I even saw her talking while the instructor was talking, so)...After we all ignored her, she became the loudest table at the wine tasting class laughing out loud and saying MmMm Good, I LIKE THIS ONE, and I DON'T LIKE THIS ONE, ect ect., i'm gonna say this specific class had about 36 to 44 ppl total

Master Lock Gaming Machine = Addicting, Nobody won the iPad/$500 during my cruise...1 person just won a fan of $5 bills and a casino credits gift card...I played 38 times according to my bill hahaha

90% of this cruise's passengers were Asian, ALOT of ppl were complaining about it, and making comments about it...Didn't bother me any, some of the Asian girls were HOT!!!!

Loved my Aft Balcony, we're used to getting balcony rooms on the right side of the ship on whatever cruise we book, an AFT BALCONY totally blows those away!

Port Can. FL...ZzZzZ

Nassau, Bahamas....LOVED IT! Spent 90% of the time at Atlantis Paradise Island Casino, 5% at Senior Frogs, and the other 5% on the ship

Trying to make this review end soon, typing fast, going to Joe's Crab Shack and the mall soon, you understand lol

What else....Oh....O'Sheehan's food was always luke warm to ice cold...Anyone else experience this?

No main dining room on Breakaway! Manhattan Room is considered the main dining room, it's not what i'm used to as a cruise ship main dining room, what I am used to are main dining rooms w/ 2 or 3 levels on cruise ships...

Never made it to Savor or Taste

NCL Breakaway was HUGE, biggest cruise ship i've ever been on, yet, the first 3 days you felt the ship jolting around, sometimes alot, tho, the wind was NEVER that extreme, and the wave heights were also NEVER extreme...Was surprised that on such a big ship in mild seas it was jolting around...

1,500 passengers UNDER 18 on the cruise...Some were playing slots and drinking hahaha, and you constantly heard announcements in the casino that the playing age was 18+

2nd to last day all the slot machines malfunctioned when you hit COLLECT, EVERY machine where someone pushed COLLECT had the "Call Attendant, Handpay" blue screen, didn't matter what amount you were trying to collect...It was all fixed within 4 hours

2nd night at sea = Buffet INCLUDING Lobster Tails...1/2 tail per person at a time...WOW talk about craziness!

Elevators like on any other cruise are all filled to the limits and then some at peek times...It's normal...Then you've got the ppl w/ the scooters on the elevators who just sit by the door parked and you can't get around it to get on...Back That Thang Up!

Taxi rides in FL are $12 round trip to the mall or Walmart

Taxi Rides in Nassau are $8 round trip to Atlantis

I really would LOVE to spend a week in Atlantis

Looked at a watch in Atlantis, it was really nice, asked the guy "how much?", "Today sir, for you, $45,000.00".......BeJEZZUS!!!!!

Ok, i've gotta jet...If I think of anything else i'll reply again to this...

If you are planning on cruising on NCL Breakaway and enjoy the casino for penny slots, then this post is for you (maybe)

I was on the 12/22 to 12/29 NCL Breakaway cruise, during the cruise, the casino will host multiple rounds of slot tournament qualifying rounds up until the last full day at sea, $15.00 to enter, when the last full day at sea comes along, the ship will take the SIX people with the highest scores overall and they will compete for a cash prize UP TO $500.00 (I won the final round on my cruise, I received $323.00)

Just wanted to give everyone a helpful tip, SLOT MACHINE # 1 produced THE MOST of the highest scores, my qualifying score on 12/25 was the highest score overall the entire cruise, easily earning me a seat at the final...When the final came up, the highest score overall got to chose what seat they wanted, I of course went w/ the odds and retook slot machine # 1 which led me to victory scoring me over 120,000 pts (which was LOW compared to my qualifying total of 49,000 pts more, but it was enough by over 11,000 pts to get the win)

What is this post all about? Just chose Slot # 1 at sign up and let me know how you do by replying here after your cruise.

Everyone who participated in the slot final will receive a bottle of wine and a t-shirt, so the $15.00 entry fee paid for itself (unless you entered multiple times spending hundreds of dollars trying to beat my score and still failed, you know who you are) anyways, it was a fun thing to do on the ship!

I spent most of my time in the casino playing penny slots by WMS Gaming, as people were losing their shirts on other machines, we who played WMS Gaming slots were winning! But not all WMS slots were hot, only a select few were hitting pretty decently, those select few were Bier Haus, Mystical Unicorns, Kronos, and Zeus III...Might want to try those out!

If one of your ports is Nassau, Bahamas, you may wanna take a taxi or ferry (I suggest the taxi, unless you want to walk across what can qualify as a major highway and then some) across the water to Atlantis Paradise Island Casino and look for the set up of LIFE OF LUXURY DELUXE themed slot machines by WMS Gaming, they are located near the back of the casino, you can't miss the tall sign. I cashed out over $600 as did other people only betting 40 cents per spin, 2 days in a row! I don't think i've ever seen so many "Big Win", "Super Big Win", and my 1 "Mega Big Win" ever in my history of slot playing...Only wish it could be that easy in Atlantic City!

Let me know how you do if you take my advise!

So you're saying you're hoping to ride free on somebody else's use of the ship's cell phone data? Hmmmm. Anyway, it's unlikely that anyone else on the ship will be broadcasting their wifi hotspot..and even if they are, unlikely that you can get near enough, with all the steel walls around you, to pick it up.

 

 

 

The ship turns off its cell phone system when in port, so you don't have to worry about getting away from the ship.

 

 

 

You're speaking of a "mifi" or wifi hot spot system. If you used one, you'd still have to hook it into the ship's internet and cell phone service, and pay for the data charges. The only advantage it might give you is to allow you to connect more than one device to your cell phone. But unless you secure it, some one nearby may ride free on your wifi signal.....

Nope, what i'm saying is there are lots of office buildings, hotels, stores, ect., in NYC, i'm hoping while we sail out of NYC on NY Harbor I can hook into someones wifi signal from land...

The only way i'd pay $500 for a bath is if it came with 2 twenty year old Russian blondes w/ broken English sitting in the tub waiting for me both wearing a CCCP hat armed w/ Super Soakers

Damn I miss Kelava & Olga :(

Do you get cellphone service while on cruise? Do i need to get international plan? Will be on NCL Jewel going to jamaica, grand cayman and cozumel

 

Mainly want to be able to check emails, facebook, twitter....

Of course it's available, even if you have an international roaming/data plan it's gonna cost ya almost as much as you paid for a single person to cruise.

I got a emergency text in San Juan, PR from AT&T to call them immediately, WITH my international plans, and only turning the phone on for 10 minutes at each port to make a quick phone call home and immediately shut it off after the call, AT&T was going to charge me $878 + Tax to what would normally be a $118 a month cell phone bill...I'm still wondering how the hell that is possible, I had the phone OFF right after we got out of NY Harbor until we got to our 1st port in Bermuda and only turned on 10 minutes (if that) at each additional port to make that quick phone call I mentioned. I was wondering, if while I was in NYC if the phone somehow connected to something on the cruise ship, if that's even possible...

I've got 11 days until I go on Breakaway, now I have an iPad Air, I'm hoping I can find an open wifi signal while on the ship from someone in NYC, I don't plan on paying NCL for wifi...One of our stops is FL after the first day and a half at sea, when I get well away from the ship, I will turn on the phone, then after that, Great Stirup Cay (no chance of a wifi connection), Nassau (hope to get a connection), and 2 days at sea....

I heard their are portable wifi things you can purchase, weather or not they would work out in the middle of the deep blue sea is a diff. story...

Not 9 years old, but I had the same question! Thank goodness for cruise critic! :)

Leave some Frosted Flakes for me huh, I know your going a week before me, just nervous they may forget to reorder it for my cruise :D

Silly question but posed by my 9 year old....is there Cinnamon Toast Crunch on the buffet on the Breakaway? He eats it every morning...i assured him there will be plenty of food on the buffet he likes for breakfast, but he would like to bring a box from hone if they do not have it "just in case".....oh the troubles of 9 year olds...

sent from my Samsung galaxy s3

Call NCL, tell them your kid wants Cinnamon Toast Crunch or your switching to Carnival :D

Let us know what happens at TSA checkpoint / security checkpoint trying to smuggle in Cinnamon Toast Crunch...Tho, i'm sure ittle be on YouTube lol

I like how customs takes fruits away from ppl walking off the ship w/ it in foreign ports, you see an entire table full of foods and fruits while your exiting...The fruit/food is already there to begin with when the ship sailed in, if their was a parasite in the fruit whats to say someone eating an apple on the opened pool deck didn't release the beast into the air (saying it had wings and could fly)

On the 17th we got to the port a little after 11. They had been boarding for a while by then. We were at lunch at O'sheehans by noon.

Just be aware that if they don't turn the heat on earlier in baggage claims & customs than they did last Sunday you may be delayed. Our customs agent was rightfully peeved, because the heat wasn't turned on til 8:30, & he had been on duty 2 hours:( Yes he was this color.

You had to go thru customs BEFORE you got on the ship? On Royal, we did customs after the cruise in the same building we got our luggage...I do remember a carry on/metal detector TSA checkpoint getting on, that was about it...

I am and I'm so excited! I would love a Christmas cruise but my parents would kill me if I were away for the holidays! Thanks for the response... I kept seeing 11AM as boarding time, but thought maybe they would let us on earlier since sailaway is earlier? Wasn't 11am the same boarding time as when the ship departed at 4PM?

 

Also, I'm right there with you-- I fully intend to sit on my balcony, even if it means packing snowpants and bundled up head to toe! :D ;)

Never know, you can show up at 10am and might be able to get right on, it really all depends on how many ppl are ahead of you at that port in NYC, cuz there is always someone who didn't read the memo and didn't do something they should of like check their luggage, or check in, or forgot this paper, that paper...Once you get in your room, your pretty much rushed out of your room by the "Muster Drill" aka "Lifeboat Drill", those are always fun, love the alarms going off in the ship and the flashing emergency lights...When I cruised w/ my cousin on Horizon many years ago, we stuck our life jackets in the shower and turned on the water for a good 10 minutes so the little light on the jacket would flash non stop while we were going to the muster drill...We met a ton of hotties on the ship that way, got ya attention hahaha!

What time do you think the earliest we can get on board is if the ship is leaving at 3?

We were told we'd be on the ship by 11am w/ access to the outside and buffet only, then at 2pm the rooms would be ready...We have a car coming for us at 8am, should take about 2 to 2 1/2 hrs to get into the city. We figured 8am pick up would be safe since we're going on the first Breakaway Christmas cruise, and NYC is jammed on weekends right after that trees lights go on...ALSO another factor was weather...Breakaway changes the entire process of how things are done if lets say on Dec. 22nd a blizzard is happening...I don't know where the paper is that they sent us about that, prob w/ the rest of the papers locked away in the file cabinet...

I'm pretty much set for the cruise, just got some warm clothes at the store which I never had, because I don't care if it's a blizzard, i'm standing outside on the deck as we sail away under the bridge w/ a drink in my hand...Our room catagory just sold out, Aft w/ Large Balcony...

I see your on the Breakaway the week before us CruiseBear :)

When we did RCI EOS, we were on the ship by 10:30am and the thing didn't take off until 4:30pm, and it was a heat wave too, I think the reason we got on so damn early was because of my cousin's "rank" w/ RCI, she's been on 100s of em, and we were pretty much pushed to the front of every line, and were some of the first at the buffet...Then we just took our carry-on's outside stacked them in a corner by some lounge chairs and waited until the rooms were ready to open...

Would like to know if there is a lot of noise and foot traffic on deck 13. I see this deck has the Splash Haven. Looking at a mid ship mini cabin.

 

Thank you

On every cruise i've been on, the noise level is there, weather it's someone letting their door slam at 3am just coming back to the room from the club/casino, or a group of guys/girls laughing and screaming coming and going in the hallway, then you've got the kids who are running at full speed past your door and you hear their feet hitting the floor going all the way down...

Your gonna hear something, that's the truth...No matter what deck or position your stateroom is located throughout the ship

Can anyone tell me if NCL have an alcohol package? I know that other lines have Premium and Classic packages so any details about costs and limitations would be gratefully accepted.

On the website i've seen ULTIMATE DRINK PACKAGES (beer, wine, soda) with a catch, you can only drink the cheap stuff, for example, the beer must be under $xx.xx as well as the wine...So if your into drinking domestic then that package might be great for you! I remember the price being $40 a day

The soda package is available too, I think it was $6.50 a day

Here we go, just scroll down a little bit: http://www.ncl.com/freestyle-cruise/gifts-and-more

Hmmmmmm

 

I am on the ship and yeah, it was rough... but didn't see, hear any hailstones. Lots of wind and lots of rain.

 

They informed us last night that the arrival was scheduled for 10am with debarkation starting about 10.15... yet people have been lining up at the gangway since just after 7am, before we were even under the Verrazano bridge.

 

Why do people do this to themselves? I am sure people love to make themselves miserable. They are the same people that stand up the second a plane lands or stand right at the entrance to the airline gate, even though they are Boarding Group 4.

On my last cruise w/ RCI, we had to sit in the main dining room for about 3 hrs. AFTER DOCKING while waiting for our number to be called to walk off the ship, get onto a bus and drive to the place that has your luggage inside and customs waiting, my older cousins friend was flipping out cuz it was 3 hrs, and no bars are opened when your in port waiting to get off, just a continental breakfast in the main dining room w/ 3000 other ppl...I think my cousin went back to sleep, she's in no rush to get off, her mom told me it was crazy crowded outside w/ the ppl wanting to get off haha...

I'm waiting for Gem to pull in before I leave the house.

Jemrtt, it already pulled in, past the NYHarborWebcam.com cam in Staten Island at 9:07am while I was talking to my cousin on the phone...Ship may have to go thru damage inspection because of the storm...I doubt it's anything major, the ships are made out of iron...