Random musings about January 5 Breakaway cruise.

We recently returned from the Breakaway 14 (or was it 13?) day cruise to the Southern Caribbean. Thirteen or fourteen days, depending on your perspective, is a long time for me to remember details at my age. Also, I like to travel light and I don’t take notes or save daily schedules. Therefore, this will not be a review in the traditional sense. It will be more of a series of semi random musings and observations. Some are serious, some will be a bit tongue in cheek, some may even seem like an actual review. If that happens, it is through coincidence and not by design. However, you are welcome to test my memory by asking questions. I will try to answer them the best that I can.

In short, it was a very good cruise with 12 days of good weather sandwiched between a bad day first day and last day. Again, it was a very good cruise overall. Please remember this because a few observations may sound like complaints. I point them out as areas for potential improvement that did not spoil anything.

I should start by addressing my perspective and view on the itinerary changes caused by catastrophic hurricanes and less catastrophic storms that were grossly exaggerated by the Weather Channel in pursuit of viewership. Sorry all, but I consider rough seas and a foot of snow to be temporary inconveniences, particularly when compared to devastation from the two hurricanes. In short, I can’t control the weather and it can affect any cruise from any port, at any time during the year. If you book a cruise from NYC in January, you must fully expect that you will be inside for the first and last sea day.

Background for context: We booked an OV cabin for the original 8 port itinerary 9 months in advance. The hurricanes whacked 5 of the 8 original ports, forcing the itinerary change to a 5 port more Southern plan. We were OK with the itinerary change. In fact, we liked it because we had never visited any of the 5 ports. Also, we really didn’t want to tie up precious resources in those ports when they are needed for recovery. We will go back when things are better.

That said, NCL justly deserves boos for choosing to hold off announcing the itinerary change until 2 days after final payment. That’s just poor customer service and a tacky cash grab from those who would have cancelled because of the changes. We would have gone anyway, but others may have not and have been quite vocal about it.

We were able to snag a nice upgrade from a deck 5 OV to a mini suite through the bid process. Our MS bid was $25pp more than our balcony bid. It was our first experience in a mini suite. We enjoyed it, but would not pay standard prices for a MS over a balcony. The MS is just a standard balcony cabin with an upgraded bathroom. The upgraded bathroom has a double sink and a car wash shower. I will admit that it was the most fun that I ever had while alone in a shower. I probably wouldn’t pay more than $25 pp to upgrade from a balcony to an MS in the future.

The precruise weather delays had minimal effect on us. NCL did a good job communicating the changes and we had the advantage of flexibility. There is frequent scheduled bus service from out town to NYC. The announcement said that you could board between 8 and 10 PM on Friday. We took a 5PM bus to Port Authority and arrived at the pier at 7:20. We snaked through the various lines and boarded around 8:30 PM. Our bus flexibility also made the late arrival at the end of the cruise quite relaxing. Having the morning to sleep in and have a relaxing breakfast before packing is really nice. We caught a 2PM bus home and arrived home at 4.

Observation: The storm and really cold temperatures made gave parts of the outside of the ship a nice iceberg effect. Tons of ice on deck 7 under, and on, the lifeboats.

Observation: The ship has a very crowded feeling when the outside decks are closed.

Observation: An order of Thai sweet chili wings, a Reuben, and a beer make a good embarkation meal. (We had the UDP. More on that later)

Observation: The blues guitarist at Fat Cats is VERY good.

Have to go now. More to come. Feel free to ask questions.

The MS is just a standard balcony cabin with an upgraded bathroom. The upgraded bathroom has a double sink and a car wash shower. I will admit that it was the most fun that I ever had while alone in a shower.

Ha ha, I love this but I must admit, having that extra room in the bathroom is the very reason why I chose an MS over a balcony cabin. We have 3 people in our cabin and I think that extra bathroom space will make things easier. Thank you for posting your "ramblings". :)

We recently returned from the Breakaway 14 (or was it 13?) day cruise to the Southern Caribbean ... In short, it was a very good cruise with 12 days of good weather sandwiched between a bad day first day and last day. Again, it was a very good cruise overall. Please remember this because a few observations may sound like complaints. I point them out as areas for potential improvement that did not spoil anything.

 

I should start by addressing my perspective and view on the itinerary changes caused by catastrophic hurricanes and less catastrophic storms that were grossly exaggerated by the Weather Channel in pursuit of viewership. Sorry all, but I consider rough seas and a foot of snow to be temporary inconveniences, particularly when compared to devastation from the two hurricanes. In short, I can’t control the weather and it can affect any cruise from any port, at any time during the year. If you book a cruise from NYC in January, you must fully expect that you will be inside for the first and last sea day.

 

... NCL justly deserves boos for choosing to hold off announcing the itinerary change until 2 days after final payment. That’s just poor customer service and a tacky cash grab from those who would have cancelled because of the changes. We would have gone anyway, but others may have not and have been quite vocal about it.

 

... The storm and really cold temperatures made gave parts of the outside of the ship a nice iceberg effect. Tons of ice on deck 7 under, and on, the lifeboats ...

:hearteyes: love your overall random musings over that of others and the comments. What deck was your nicely upgraded MS, midship - aft or fwd - starboard or port side - we're on a BA Bermuda run in Spring 2016, 15' seas for less than a day, barely felt some rocking & rolling, deck 12 Fwd, 3 balconies away from the corner Haven suite.

Ships don't have defrosting for its outdoor exposure ... so, the snow & ice from all that splashing will be there and melt, naturally. I am fine with that :p

I think you posted briefly while abroad - using ship's WiFi or while in port, how was that to you ?

We recently returned from the Breakaway 14 (or was it 13?) day cruise to the Southern Caribbean. Thirteen or fourteen days, depending on your perspective, is a long time for me to remember details at my age. Also, I like to travel light and I don’t take notes or save daily schedules. Therefore, this will not be a review in the traditional sense. It will be more of a series of semi random musings and observations. Some are serious, some will be a bit tongue in cheek, some may even seem like an actual review. If that happens, it is through coincidence and not by design. However, you are welcome to test my memory by asking questions. I will try to answer them the best that I can.

 

 

 

In short, it was a very good cruise with 12 days of good weather sandwiched between a bad day first day and last day. Again, it was a very good cruise overall. Please remember this because a few observations may sound like complaints. I point them out as areas for potential improvement that did not spoil anything.

 

 

 

I should start by addressing my perspective and view on the itinerary changes caused by catastrophic hurricanes and less catastrophic storms that were grossly exaggerated by the Weather Channel in pursuit of viewership. Sorry all, but I consider rough seas and a foot of snow to be temporary inconveniences, particularly when compared to devastation from the two hurricanes. In short, I can’t control the weather and it can affect any cruise from any port, at any time during the year. If you book a cruise from NYC in January, you must fully expect that you will be inside for the first and last sea day.

 

 

 

Background for context: We booked an OV cabin for the original 8 port itinerary 9 months in advance. The hurricanes whacked 5 of the 8 original ports, forcing the itinerary change to a 5 port more Southern plan. We were OK with the itinerary change. In fact, we liked it because we had never visited any of the 5 ports. Also, we really didn’t want to tie up precious resources in those ports when they are needed for recovery. We will go back when things are better.

 

 

 

That said, NCL justly deserves boos for choosing to hold off announcing the itinerary change until 2 days after final payment. That’s just poor customer service and a tacky cash grab from those who would have cancelled because of the changes. We would have gone anyway, but others may have not and have been quite vocal about it.

 

 

 

We were able to snag a nice upgrade from a deck 5 OV to a mini suite through the bid process. Our MS bid was $25pp more than our balcony bid. It was our first experience in a mini suite. We enjoyed it, but would not pay standard prices for a MS over a balcony. The MS is just a standard balcony cabin with an upgraded bathroom. The upgraded bathroom has a double sink and a car wash shower. I will admit that it was the most fun that I ever had while alone in a shower. I probably wouldn’t pay more than $25 pp to upgrade from a balcony to an MS in the future.

 

 

 

The precruise weather delays had minimal effect on us. NCL did a good job communicating the changes and we had the advantage of flexibility. There is frequent scheduled bus service from out town to NYC. The announcement said that you could board between 8 and 10 PM on Friday. We took a 5PM bus to Port Authority and arrived at the pier at 7:20. We snaked through the various lines and boarded around 8:30 PM. Our bus flexibility also made the late arrival at the end of the cruise quite relaxing. Having the morning to sleep in and have a relaxing breakfast before packing is really nice. We caught a 2PM bus home and arrived home at 4.

 

 

 

Observation: The storm and really cold temperatures made gave parts of the outside of the ship a nice iceberg effect. Tons of ice on deck 7 under, and on, the lifeboats.

 

 

 

Observation: The ship has a very crowded feeling when the outside decks are closed.

 

 

 

Observation: An order of Thai sweet chili wings, a Reuben, and a beer make a good embarkation meal. (We had the UDP. More on that later)

 

 

 

Observation: The blues guitarist at Fat Cats is VERY good.

 

 

 

Have to go now. More to come. Feel free to ask questions.

You mentioned UDP. Did you mean SDP?

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

You mentioned UDP. Did you mean SDP?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I meant the drink package, but we also had the dining package.

:hearteyes: love your overall random musings over that of others and the comments. What deck was your nicely upgraded MS, midship - aft or fwd - starboard or port side - we're on a BA Bermuda run in Spring 2016, 15' seas for less than a day, barely felt some rocking & rolling, deck 12 Fwd, 3 balconies away from the corner Haven suite.

 

Ships don't have defrosting for its outdoor exposure ... so, the snow & ice from all that splashing will be there and melt, naturally. I am fine with that :p

 

I think you posted briefly while abroad - using ship's WiFi or while in port, how was that to you ?

We were on deck 10 starboard side near the forward elevators. It was just far enough from the elevator lobby to not get any noise. We liked being near the stairs and not having to navigate the narrow corridors.

I thought that the ship handled rough seas pretty well, particularly on the last day. The wind was over 50 knots and the sea looked quite hostile, but it didn't seem to bother most people.

Yes, ships do not need deicing like airplanes. Before sailing, they were using ice choppers to remove ice from some of the outer decks. If I can figure out how to post pictures here, I will post a picture from Friday night, just after boarding and a picture of the same area on Saturday morning.

Ship wifi was okay. I had the one gig package. I was able to check email and news and have make a few voice skype calls home. Port wifi varies greatly by location. When all of the passengers and crew show up in a place near the ship with free wifi, it can really load up the bandwidth.

Observations from sailing day:

The extra day in NYC seemed like a port day, except thateveryone stayed onboard. You couldleave the ship until 2 PM if you wanted to tour NYC, but it was really cold andwindy. I was wearing shorts, so Iwasn’t going outside. (Hey, I was onvacation)

We made our first ventures into the belly of the beast, alsoknown as the buffet. If you go earlyfor breakfast, it can be quite relaxing. Lunch time can be a lot more crowded. Like most buffets, it can be hit and miss. Don’t grab the first thing that you see. Walk around and check everything out before choosing.

Eggs benedict in a buffet is nice. Particularly when you can eat it without the sauce.

The hamburgers are pretty good and surprisingly large. I also liked the fries.

The number of people who flew in for this cruise surprisedme. I guess they wanted to tour NYCbefore or after the trip. If I had tofly to a port for a Caribbean cruise in winter, I would fly to a warmer port.

I’m sure that passengers delayed by the NYC airport closuresappreciated NCL delaying departure until Saturday.

I looked out an open door to observe crew members workinghard at ice removal. The differencebetween Friday night and Saturday morning was remarkable. It was there that I met the captain, who hadcome to check on the progress of the ice removal. I didn’t even know that he was the captain until the end of ourshort conversation, when I noticed his name tag. He was wearing a heavy blue one piece jumpsuit when he came infrom outside. He seemed like a nicefellow. Since we were docked, I did nothave to ask him who was driving the ship.

Indoor muster was greatly appreciated.

I’m hardly an expert photographer, but I did learn that itis hard to take a good picture of the NYC skyline through the Garden Café windows. The indoor lights reflect off the windows.

I did not enjoy my dinner at Savor. Perhaps, I didn’t choose wisely. It was my least favorite meal of the cruise.

Make sure you Howl at the Moon at least once.

Sea day observations in no particular order:

Because of the length of the cruise and the itinerarychanges, this cruise had a lot of sea days. Sea days are good if the weather and seas are good. The weather cooperated. It was a bit windy, but otherwise good.

As a charter member of the “Quiet Shady Spot Overlooking theSea Seekers” club, I agree with those who say that there are few of spots that fitthe bill on the upper decks.

The pool area is small for a ship this large. It is much smaller than the pool areas onsimilar sized ships on the competing lines.

How many people see the irony of a Buffet at Margaritaville? It was pretty empty when the buffet was availableand empty the rest of the time. Working the bar there is the bartendingversion of solitary confinement.

There are not a lot of children on this sailing, but morethan I expected due to the length and timing of the cruise. I did not see any “misbehaving kid problems”during the trip.

The “Rock Wall” is actually plastic.

A 15 year old scales the rock wall four times faster than thisperson, who is 4 times older.

We attended two comedy shows. One was the adult show. After the second show, we did not goback. It wasn’t because we wereoffended. They committed a much larger comedic sin. They just were not funny.

Burn the Floor is very good.

Shows like Rock of Ages, Mama Mia, Jersey Boys, etc. are essentiallypoor plots designed to connect songs. Ifyou like the featured music, you will like the show. If you don’t like the music, the show isprobably not for you. Since we like themusic, Rock of Ages is very entertaining.

Spice H20 did not appeal to us. It seemed like a large sundeck with a bar anda couple of hot tubs. It is adults only,but we want shady areas. It is a goodplace for the night time deck parties.

Both women who headlined vocal shows in the theater were verytalented singers.

Carole’s Kings seemed like an odd concept for a tributegroup. In execution, it was. It just didn’t work for us.

The magician, juggler, and hypnotist were standard cruise shipheadliner entertainment.

The entertainment in the ship’s lounges was very good. NCL seemsto excel in this area.

The first beam by the edge of the ship on the ropes course canbe terrifying at first. It’s reallyclose to the edge for this first timer. I don’t know if I ever completely overcame it,but I completed the course because of the fear of embarrassment and the factthat DW was taking pictures. The plankover the ocean was closed due to high wind. No problem, I wasn’t going out there anyway.

La Cucina serves a really good filet.

Feel free to ask questions…

Was there karaoke on board? & What venue ?

Thanks :)

Lots of insights here. Thanks as we get on next!

Heard that some time during your cruise Charlie Love got off and there is a rock band in Fat Cats. Could you tell us the name if you or anyone else has a copy of the Daily?

Somebody mentioned Highway to Stars Band, which is Swedish and but there is also a rock band called Highway to Star. Can you clarify? Hear anything about them?

Glad to hear you had such a good cruise in spite of the irregularities lately in schedule. Hope we get lucky!

We were on the Jade in October they had the Beatles tribute band . EXCELLENT !

Davy Jones - love your style of review...keep going!

We are on Breakaway in April, so curious to know where on the ship Margaritaville is? This was not there last time.

Was there any other areas damaged (other than the plank) by the storms? I think I read somewhere that Spice H2O was affected.

Praying by April that the weather is less treacherous.

Appreciate your answering our questions...

Davy Jones - love your style of review...keep going!

 

We are on Breakaway in April, so curious to know where on the ship Margaritaville is? This was not there last time.

 

Was there any other areas damaged (other than the plank) by the storms? I think I read somewhere that Spice H2O was affected.

 

Praying by April that the weather is less treacherous.

 

Appreciate your answering our questions...

Never mind, I found it via google. Deck 16 aft is location of Jimmy Buffet's.

Davy Jones - love your style of review...keep going!

 

We are on Breakaway in April, so curious to know where on the ship Margaritaville is? This was not there last time.

 

Was there any other areas damaged (other than the plank) by the storms? I think I read somewhere that Spice H2O was affected.

 

Praying by April that the weather is less treacherous.

 

Appreciate your answering our questions...

Uptown Grill

Was there karaoke on board? & What venue ?

Thanks :)

There is karaoke on board. I believe that it is not limited to one place. If my memory is correct, it was in Fat Cats and Bliss. There was kid karaoke in the Atrium, but I don't know if there was open karaoke there. One thing I did see was "band karaoke" during the afternoon of a sea day on the stage by the pool.

Lots of insights here. Thanks as we get on next!

 

Heard that some time during your cruise Charlie Love got off and there is a rock band in Fat Cats. Could you tell us the name if you or anyone else has a copy of the Daily?

 

Somebody mentioned Highway to Stars Band' date=' which is Swedish and but there is also a rock band called Highway to Star. Can you clarify? Hear anything about them?

 

Glad to hear you had such a good cruise in spite of the irregularities lately in schedule. Hope we get lucky![/quote']

 

A number of performers switched on/off during the cruise. They were scheduled to switch off in Aruba, which became Curacao when the port was skipped. I heard that many passengers who could not make it to NYC due to flight delays were also in Aruba to board. I'd like to hear some of their experiences.

 

Charlie Love did get off in Curacao. The new band in Fat Cats was a four man blues/rock band. They were definitely not Swedish. I do not recall their name. Maybe someone can help me out here. We enjoyed them too and the lounge always seemed to be pretty full when they played.

Davy Jones - love your style of review...keep going!

 

We are on Breakaway in April, so curious to know where on the ship Margaritaville is? This was not there last time.

 

Was there any other areas damaged (other than the plank) by the storms? I think I read somewhere that Spice H2O was affected.

 

Praying by April that the weather is less treacherous.

 

Appreciate your answering our questions...

As others have said, Margaritaville is on deck 16 starboard side outside of the aft elevators.

I do not believe that the plank was damaged by the storms. When I did the ropes course, I was told that the plank was closed due to the winds. There seemed to be a brisk breeze/wind every day throughout the cruise.

The water slides were definitely closed the entire cruise. I don't know if there was any damage. I may have tried them once just for fun, so it was not a big deal for me. The aft section of the waterfront deck was also closed for the duration of the cruise. Some outdoor areas were occasionally closed off due to winds, particularly during the evening.

I did notice that a section of the outdoor screen at Spice H2O was not working properly. It may have been from storm damage.

That's all of the storm damage that I recall seeing. However, I left the storm damage assessments to the crew and generally went about the ship finding things to do, even if it was just chilling on a lounge chair.

Thanks, very helpful.

Glad you made the most of it. Always a risk cruising from NYC in January.

UBP musings

Mrs. Jones is a very light drinker, perhaps one drink a month. It is mostly because there are very few alcoholic drinks that she likes. I will have an occasional drink, perhaps one a week, but I won’t drink alone. I need a drinking buddy. It’s more fun and we can go to rehab together. Actually, even with a drinking buddy, I rarely have more than one drink per session.

Given the above, it then makes perfect sense for us to take the beverage package as a freebie and shell out the $400 in associated gratuities for a two week cruise, because that’s exactly what we did. OK, it really doesn’t appear to make sense,but we did it anyway. But we did it with a plan! The plan was not to spend the trip in a blurred state. It was to try some new things without having to worry about wasting $$ on a pricey drink that you don’t like. Those drinks would be supplemented with soda and virgin drinks.

Given that the break even expenditure was the $14.25 pp daily gratuity fee, it is not hard to break even. Before the trip, Mrs. Jones consulted with some girlfriends on things that she might like. She vowed to try some things with an open mind. If she didn’t like it, it’s no loss.

Going in, the one drink that she does like is a chocolate martini. As fate would have it, it is one of the few standard drinks that is over the $15 limit. Each one cost an additional $2.95 plus 20%. She insured me that they were indeed tasty. She also said that they were one of the few mixed drinks that she tried where she could actually taste the alcohol. She found a couple of other drinks that she enjoyed. She did not care for the pina coloda or strawberry drinks. I tasted them and agreed with her assessment that they just did not seem to be fruity enough. We also tried a glass of wine each evening with dinner. That ended after 7 days. I guess that she’s just doesn’t care for wine. In her case, it was one or two drinks a day, the wine, and a couple of sodas. It wasn’t difficult to break even.

I was a little different, NCL does not serve Yuengling Lager,the nectar of the gods. My alternate strategy was to start my personal “beer of the day” club. Three types of beer were not considered for inclusion in the club. They were any beer served in an aluminum can, any beer served with a fruit garnish, and light beers. I believe that the criteria reduced the number of available beers to 13. I had cider the last night.

The NCL beer list is clearly a “safe” list designed for the masses. (I suspect that the wine list is similar) My beer of the day was generally a mass produced import. If you don’t find something agreeable, then you’re probably a serious beer snob.

So for me, one or two beers a day, supplemented with a margarita and some soda makes it pretty easy to break even.

Our bottom line on the UBP is this. Not having to worry about the cost drinks is nice,and the plan does encourage you to try new things. As we try to work off the calories, we’re not sure that we would do it again though. However, it’s definitely worth a try.

More musings.

With the beverage plan and specialty dining package, it is possible to have too much OBC to spend. We used OBC for the internet package and cruise next certificates and we are still be getting a check in the mail.

How long does it take to receive the OBC check after thecruise?

We did the laundry bag special. In fact, we planned on it so we only had one bag each for self debark. If you roll things up really tight, you can fit a good amount in the bag.

When the laundry return was a day late, we called housekeeping. They said that they had an“unidentified” pack of completed customer laundry that needed identification. It was ours. Strangely enough, the “unidentified” pack of laundry had the completed laundry slip with both our name and cabin number on top of the pack. Go figure.

I don’t think I mentioned Clifford, our cabin steward. Great guy who did a great job. He would go out of his way to greet you.

We did not care for the Manhattan Room. We were put into a corner so far back that we could not see the stage of dance floor. We were aware that there was music. The service was not up to snuff either.

Savor and Taste were much better.

The NY strip steak on the “everyday menu” in Taste was a treat. Surprisingly good for a steak in a mass dining room.

We cancelled our other Manhattan reservation and went to the noodle bar. It was tasty and a great mid-cruise change of pace from the dining rooms.

Next time, Mrs. Jones will not go to the noodle bar during the Eagles playoff game. If she does, she will insist that my seat does not face a TV.

We had a very nice dinner in LeBistro.

A couple next to our table in LeBistro came to the restaurant with two tablet computers. Both of them played with the tablets until their meal arrived. (How Romantic!) Then the woman pulled out a phone and called her butler to come get her tablet. (Insert comment here __________). You can’t make this stuff up.

I got a chocolate martini to surprise Mrs. Jones. The bartender at the martini bar put a heart and her name on it Nice touch!

Carrying that martini from the bar to the theater is a test of dexterity, balance, and nerves. People will watch you to see if you spill any. Somehow, I did not.

There is an odd extra step on one step on each side of the theater about 6 rows down from the top. Be on the lookout for it. I saw several people stumble or fall on that step.

Dinner in Cagney’s was very good. I had the porterhouse. I think that the ribeye is probably a better choice.

We may be undecided on the UBP on future sailings, we will definitely get the SDP, even if it is not “included”.

How much OBC credit did you have? It must have been a substantial amount to have some leftover even after buying CruiseNext certificates. How did you swing that?

How much OBC credit did you have? It must have been a substantial amount to have some leftover even after buying CruiseNext certificates. How did you swing that?

I really don't remember what we ended up with. We started with $325 from NCL and online TA when we booked. When the sailing was delayed, everyone was given refundable OBC equal to one day cruise fare (x2). That added over $200 more. Later on, a small amount of OBC was added to refund the port charges for missing Aruba.

Cruise next was $250 and internet was $125. After laundry and a few small purchases, we still had some left over.

Much has been said and written about smoke from the casino permeating into the atrium and other public areas. We did notice this once or twice, but generally did not notice smoke very often. We actually walked through the casino once or twice. This is something that we generally avoid due to smoke.

The smoking areas on the waterfront are very smoky. The smoke drifts into non smoking areas onthe starboard side.

Every cruise seems to have a group of 6 or more frequent sailors who fill 6 or more sheets to give one answer. One or two are usually on a device during the game. I guess it’s really important to them to get another cruise line trinket.

I know it’s a cruise, but the TV is really poor. Both MSNBC and Fox News are intolerable propaganda machines. You can’t get any real news onboard without an internet package.

I may be starting to understand cricket a little. A home run is 6 points and there is no such thing as a foul ball. I still don’t know why there is a person with a bat who runs back and forth, but never bats.

Cricket TV commentators are like baseball TV commentators. To fill time, they have these long conversations that may or may not be related to the match being played.

Missing Aruba was a real bummer. We wanted to see Eagle Beach and get off the ship after 5 days. You can’t control it though. I would think that the airlifted passenger also had plans for the day in Aruba.

There were a number of irate folks in the theater when the Captain announced that we would be missing Aruba. Some seemed to be angry at the Captain,others appeared to be angry at the airlifted passenger.

The pastel architecture makes Willemstad a pretty town. It’s a nice walk from the ship to town through the fort/resort area.

Twenty five $ USD for a highlights tour of Curacao and beach stop is a really good deal. It might cost $20 each way for a beach taxi alone.

A sign in the port area promising $1 beers will usually attract my curiosity, particularly when walking back to the ship. The beer was a fairly typical Caribbean bottled light lager, cold and refreshing.

There was never a long line to board when returning from port. I don’t ever recall that, particularly on a large ship.

The drinks and cold wash cloth upon returning to the ship area nice touch.

We're still open for questions and comments.

also sailed on 5th to 19th to aruba [oops], traveled with son & spouse & daughter & spouse ,all six of us on different decks, mid & aft, we were together but not joined at the hip, the last few days of the cruise my wife started getting sick. In the following week all six of us developed the most nastiest cold/virus that was treated with antibiotics,just wondering if anyone else experienced anything similar

also sailed on 5th to 19th to aruba [oops], traveled with son & spouse & daughter & spouse ,all six of us on different decks, mid & aft, we were together but not joined at the hip, the last few days of the cruise my wife started getting sick. In the following week all six of us developed the most nastiest cold/virus that was treated with antibiotics,just wondering if anyone else experienced anything similar

Sorry to hear about that. We also were on that sailing and I did feel a bit queasy on the last sea day. I attributed it to the really bad weather and high seas, but I really wasn't sea sick, just didn't feel that great. It lasted for about 8 hours then I started feeling better.

Anyone, you must used the hand sanitizer after touching ANYTHING in the buffet, not just when entering it. You just do not know who touched what, and where that hand was prior. Every time we used a utensil, we opted to use hand sanitizer.

Cheers

Len