SailAwayInAugust

What time did you get to the pier? Thanks!

Add a few dollars to that thousand and I could book an inside cabin for two people for another week on the ship. I would get 21 or more meals plus visit the ports twice instead of once.

 

This is MY way of thinking as well :D

There IS a confusing part about the NCL website...

 

When you price out a trip for 3 or 4 people, it will take the total cost and divide by the number of passengers and show you the per person cost. So, like in our case, if you have 4 people in the room, and the total cost is let's say $4000, then it will say the per person cost is $1000. Until you actually look at the details, you wont see the actual breakdown for passengers 3 and 4... Therefore you are mislead into thinking that the passenger 1 and 2 are always $1000 and you're not getting a break for 3 and 4. Online it spreads the discounts afforded to passengers 3 and 4 across all 4 passengers to give you an average per person price.

 

In the example above, with the promotions it might be that passengers 1 and 2 are $1500 per person and passengers 3 and 4 are $500 per person, which totals to the same $4000 total cost. You just have to keep in mind that until you see the confirmation summary, the price per person is an average.

 

 

This is what a ton of people DO NOT understand! All they have to do is indicate that on the website and that will cut out so much confusion. It makes sense to average the total price per person to get the big picture, but to those cruising NCL for the 1st time, they just wont see it that way until they really break everything down.

The only reason why I'm a bit ticked by this new rule is because I have two young kids travelling with us. (Ages 7 & 4). What I like to do is head up to the buffet and grab breakfast / dinner for them to have them eat in our cabin before they head off to Splash Academy. This way, I don't have to drag them into a very crowded buffet area wait on long lines and search for a table for 20 minutes. It just makes life so much easier for all of us if I can grab a plate for them & have them eat together away from the crowds.

 

And for what its worth, I never EVER understood the concept of leaving dirty dishes on the floor in the hallway outside the room. That is beyond disgusting in my opinion. I never did that, and certainly never will.

Hi everyone,

 

I've been lurking for a few weeks and have found so much useful info to help us plan our upcoming cruise to Bermuda. We chose this itinerary on the NCL Breakaway because, per my thread title I will be 5 months pregnant and my husband and I will be cruising with our 1.5 yr old son. This is our 5th cruise and our son's first. This itinerary is the most low key for us since we live in New York and the port is an easy drive. We also love that the ship will be docked at the same port for 3 days, so there's not a lot of stress about what time the ship arrives and departs in port each day.

 

Based on my research on this board, I've come up with a very loose itinerary. We are open to suggestions and would welcome feedback!

 

Day One:

 

Take ferry to Hamilton then bus to BAMZ. Spend some time here then depending on timing, lunch in Hamilton and ferry back to ship.

 

Day Two:

 

Take bus to....a beach. Somewhere toddler friendly, so Horseshoe Bay or other per recommendation/research. Spend 1-1.5 hrs here then back to ship.

 

Day Three:

 

Take ferry to St George to sight see a bit via trolley then lunch and back to ship.

 

We would spend each afternoon around the dockyards exploring there.

 

Our thought is that our son normally takes a nap around 12pm at home. Being out and about we could stretch that until about 2-2:30pm before we risk a potential meltdown. We have a small stroller (baby jogger city mini) but it's not an umbrella stroller. We won't likely be taking it with us as he's at an age where he hates sitting in it and wants to walk. I've also read only umbrella strollers are allowed on the busses.

 

We are hoping this loose itinerary looks doable. While we'd love to explore more of the history of this beautiful island we know our limits for this vacation and want to keep it as easy as possible. Thanks for any advice or feedback!

 

 

Sounds like my itinerary. Word for word!! I am travelling with a 4 & 7 year old.

It only makes sense to book your dining reservations (especially in the lower capacity & more desired specialties such as Cagneys). If everyone showed up at the same exact time without reservations, it would be impossible to accommodate everyone - especially around peak times. That would cause nothing but frustration beyond belief. I know I would be. I still consider it "freestyle" even though I have to make reservations. For me, at least, it is a piece of mind knowing I'm not going to show up at a specialty at 7:30pm, get put on a "first come first serve" waiting list & end up waiting 2 hours to eat. Not cool. Especially for me- an impatient New Yorker!

Its all about timing. ;)

 

I booked my cruise in early Feb. My kids are sailing free... Booze is free.. AND my gratuities have been prepaid before the new prices went into affect. If I were to book the same cruise last week, I would have paid 3g MORE. The key is to been a savvy shopper. Know your prices. Track them weekly.

 

This free wifi does NOT appeal to me since one of the the perks of me taking a cruise is to leave the world behind for a week. No email, no facebook.. no worrying about work.

Has anyone attended this event in Hamilton? It is worth going to? What transportation is available to get back to the ship?

Hi... I'm headed out to Bermuda soon and just started researching things to do while we are there for three days. I've been there with my husband twelve years ago, loonngg before the kids arrived, so now the experience will be much different with a 4 & 7 year old.

 

Does anyone have any suggestions for low-key child-friendly activities? I personally would love to take the sunset catamaran sail, but, unfortunately, cant because of the kids, so I scratched that idea. I was thinking of heading over to the zoo, and then maybe Horseshoe Bay Beach. (Hopefully the water will be warm enough to swim in the first week of June). Any suggestions will be appreciated.

Definitely a Tex/Mex restaurant or a cool burger joint.

Im going to try to get there at 10 the absolute latest. My only reason for this is to score Vibe passes. :D

Just posting about the Breakaway for this, my first NCL cruise. Beautiful ship, great entertainment, friendly, welcoming crew. The ship is very well kept, easy to get around and enjoyable for all. (Including this sixty year old female traveling solo!) Loving it all, especially Howl at the Moon, Fat Cats, dance parties, the way restaurants are inside/outside. Lots of peaceful little places to read and gaze at the sea. Or people watch.

I have a studio room which is very comfortable for one.

I feel safe and content. Don't want the cruise to end and can't wait to do it again! Life is too short. Enjoy all, every moment!

 

 

I love reading posts like this. Glad your having a great time.

 

I hate the Negative Nellys & Complainey-pants. You GO girlfriend! Enjoy your cruise!

[quote name='JugeePartyofFour']Hi. My husband and I and our two kids (ages 6 and 9) will be sailing on the Breakaway May 31 to Bermuda. I have a few questions for someone that has done this cruise before.

1. Any tips on doing shore excursions "on our own" (rather than through NCL)? I like to the idea of just getting off the boat and exploring.

2. Is the Burn the Floor show suitable to kids?

3. Do the kids really want to go to the kids' club? On our Disney cruise, our kids never wanted to go to the kids' club. I think a big part of that was because there were soooo many kids and they weren't able to do many of the activities because it was always so packed...

Thanks in advance! :)[/QUOTE]


We are on the same cruise!

My 6 year old will be joining yours at Splash Academy. We were on the Gem last year, and my littles (5 and 3 at the time) enjoyed it immensely. Oh and so did me and the hubby... we got some free time for dinner while the kids were having a blast.

Just as an FYI, the day we wanted for Rock of Ages, the times with splash didn't line up (i.e. the "early show" started before splash opened and the "late show" ended after the free service at splash closed). We signed the kids up for an extra late night hour in splash (the pay part) and when we told the check-in people at Splash we had reservation for Rock, they said there was no charge if we picked them up right after the show.

 

This may be a "your mileage may vary" type thing, since I've never seen any documenation on this, but that was our experience in November 2014.

 

Fantabulous!!! <---- My new word.

I heard it's around and hour and forty five minutes. We're sailing on the same cruise! Can't wait! Join us on the Roll Call thread if you want to chat with others on the same sailing :)

 

Thanks.. I will definitely look into it!:D

Step 1) Put their stuff on the ground

 

Step 2) Move the chair somewhere else so they get confused

 

Step 3) Enjoy your chair

 

 

Exactly what I intend to do.

 

The friggen nerve of some people! :mad:

Nope.

 

Grrr :(

 

Thanks.

Cant I just add the meal cost to my final bill?

 

Thanks

Im sure you will find plenty of opportunities to spend your OBC. If by some very slim one out of 10 million chance, I find myself with an extra OBC by the final day of the cruise, I would treat myself to a massage , or buy souvenirs from the giftshop.

Trying to plan my time accordingly w/ the Splash Academy schedule!

 

Thanks =)

pro: Its my next cruise.

Con: Its still 32 days away.

 

:d:d:d:d:d:d:d

I am from the area (born & raised!). I would seriously consider Jersey City (Newport area) an option. Look into the Westin in Jersey City. The hotel is literally right on the other side of the Hudson river overlooking Manhattan. If you get a room facing the Waterfront, you will be able to see your ship sail into the harbor early in the morning of your departure. Rates are significantly lower than NYC hotels and it is located LITERALLY across the street from the PATH train (ONE STOP) into Manhattan. Hop off the train & catch a short cab to the terminal (Pier 88) I could be wrong, but the hotel might even offer shuttles into Manhattan.

 

Paramus is much further away.

Double digits (99) today!

Nothing to add, buy just wanted to let you know that I wished I booked the small cabanas when I was there last year. Its so much closer to all the action, food, beaches...water sports. We booked the large one and regret it completely. It was a hike to get there, the beach area was so quiet & rocky, nothing going on & it was a long walk to get food by the BBQ.

 

Some prefer the quiet, secluded area... I personally didn't.

 

The cabana itself was great. Just the location, in my opinion was bad.

Me... No question. An inside cabin with four people will feel like a prison cell. A balcony will at least add another area and "open" the room up a bit, although you will be quite cozy in there as well.

 

This.

 

The #1 reason why I prefer cruising over land vacations is the open seas / fresh air / peaceful sound of the crashing ocean I get to experience from my own balcony.

 

My favorite thing to go on a cruise is have my morning coffee on my balcony.

 

But thats just me. :)