MS Breakaway to Bermuda May 22-39

I’ll establish a thread now as I leave home soon; there won’t be much here until time comes to board; I’ll be on the MS Veendam (also to Bermuda) May 14-21.

Until then, I’ll be reporting on the Maryland Cruisers forum here:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2355059

And on the HAL forum here:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2355060

I cruise mostly with Crystal and HAL but have wanted to try NCL’s studio cabins and this week worked for me. I had one prior NCL sailing long ago, a charter out of Washington (also to Bermuda) on the Leeward, but this will be the first time on today’s NCL.

A companion blog with pictures will be at http://solocabinchallenge.wordpress.com. I have tabs on the blog where I plan to post dailies and menus.

Roy

Is anyone besides me totally confused?

Roy I'm following all your threads!! Excited for our June 2nd Anthem cruise

Roy I'm following all your threads!! Excited for our June 2nd Anthem cruise

Our cruise is getting closer.

I disembarked the MS Veendam in Boston about 9AM and was at Boston’s South Station about 9:30. My Acela train to New York boarded about 10:30 with lunch served in First Class about 11:45. I also just learned from my roll call that one of my fellow cruisers was also on my train.

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On arrival in New York it was a short walk to the Magnuson Convention Center hotel although with bags for 2 weeks of cruising it didn’t feel short. I arrived just about the time the Gem was leaving New York and saw a little of it’s departure on the web cam my first priority was a needed update to my laptop and installing Iconcierge on my Ipad, a task I had learned of through my roll call. I ran into rain when I headed out to dinner but am hoping for better weather in the morning.

Roy

Is anyone besides me totally confused?

I am right there with ya.:confused:

I'm following along. I plan to book Bermuda in 2017 and I am considering a solo cabin on the Breakaway. I also am considering HAL because they dock in Hamilton (followed along on your thread on that cruise).

You may want to consider starting some links on the Solo Cruisers forum for your Bermuda threads. There are many on the solo cruisers board who are interested in Bermuda and would be interested in hearing about your solo cabin/solo experience. Your NCL thread title doesn't indicate a solo experience...so I probably would have missed it or skipped over it, had I not read your HAL thread.

Enjoy!

Is anyone besides me totally confused?

The 39th of May is a long trip.

Thank you SteelMagnolis and Mandy412. Unfortunately, there's no fixing a typo in a thread title.

I was up just a little before 5. I had thought about going down to the river to watch the Breakaway’s arrival but that idea faded with rather dreary weather. I did leave the Magnuson about 7 and had a look at the route to the pier. Scouting transit options it did not look like any were worthwhile; a bus would have taken me either about 10 blocks North or another bus 2 blocks west but neither option took me far enough to be worth waiting at the bus stop. I had also considered visiting one of the local churches but the timing and weather were not right and I opted instead to listen to a sermon via the internet.

After breakfast I checked out of the hotel about 9:30. The hotel is on 38th street between 9th and 10th, with the Convention Center blocking the direct route to the river. My route was 38th to 10th Ave to 40th (the first street not blocked by the Convention Center) to the parkway along the river. It was only about 2/3 mile but with 67 pounds on my back I welcomed a couple rest stops along the way. The porters took my big bag (47 pounds) and I headed up to checkin.

Checkin was pretty quick, finished by 10:30 but that did not lead to boarding. Boarded started about 11:30, and my number 10 was called just before 12. The official word was that bags could be dropped off at cabins beginning at noon, but not occupied until later. There was a mob waiting to board but it went fairly quickly and while dropping off my bag I got a look at my room or should I say cell. I went up to the Lido (officially Garden Café) and the pizza was not bad. Returning to my cell I started stowing the things in my carryon bag. Nobody said anything but the word that rooms were ready for occupancy until about a half hour after I started unpacking.

I’ve been traveling with 2 laptops and full size and mini IPADS. In my Veendam cabin I had ample room on the desk for them along with my scanner but was very short on power outlets. I had only 1 US and one European outlet that were so close together I couldn’t reach the European one if I used a triple tap and jury-rigged a second European outlet from the plug behind the TV. My studio has 4 US and 2 European outlets but no desk and the table only has room for one laptop. I’ve got the IPAD mini tucked into a shelf but the big IPAD and second laptop will spend the week under my bed out of use. It’s also a bit frustrating that there are no drawers at all in the room.

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The muster drill was at 3:30. My station was in the Breakaway theater. Our cards were scanned as we entered and life jackets were not required. Something that stuck out in the information given is that in an emergency parents would meet their children in the casino. Most of the times I have sailed with lines catering to children they would be taken to their muster station to meet their parents.

When the drill ended about 3:45 I walked back to the aft of the ship to check the dinner menu before returning to my cabin. When I got back my big bag was at the door. There were a few things I wanted to use right away and as I retrieved them I could feel the engines vibrating. I was up on deck 15 about 4:10 and we were just starting down the Hudson with the Garden Café opposite the Intrepid. From nearly the ship’s highest point I watched as we passed Chelsea Piers, the Freedom Tower on our port side and then Ellis Island, the Statue of Liberty, Bayonne and Staten Island. The Celebrity Summit was docked in Bayonne and detoured North to view the Statue of Liberty and as we passed there was quite an exchange of horn salutes. I stayed at my perch until we passed under the Verizzano Bridge (quite close) and then prepared for dinner.

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It appears that all 3 of the included dining rooms use the same menu and I wandered into Savor for my first dinner. Seating at 5:30 was virtually immediate and I enjoyed the turkey dinner and especially the apple pie. Service was quick and I was out with time to spare for the 7:30 welcome aboard show with a sampling of the weeks main shows. Cruise Director Soozy just boarded the ship today, after spending some time on the west coast.

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After the show I spent time in my cell scanning documents (I’ll post from Bermuda when I have fast unlimited wifi), reviewing photos, and stowing the stuff from my big bag. My quick parting shot–there is little better than a sailaway from Manhattan. Probably the only thing that could be better is sailing into Manhattan, but I prefer leaving because that marks the beginning of a cruise rather than the end.

Roy

Roy,

Did your attend the solo gathering the first evening? What information can you provide about the solo host(ess) and the group and show reservations? Are you planning on taking advantage of this? If so, can you include this information in your review?

Also, can you post a photo sometime during your cruise of the solo cabin lounge? Your cabin (cell) looks cozy and cheery :)

I loved that typo because I always date things as Nevuary 32nd if I'm not planning to do whatever it is. The 39th is great.

Can't wait to hear the rest. I'll be in a studio cabin on June 5th. Enjoy!

Thank you Mandy and slimkat. Steelmagnolia9, I will say more about the studio lounge and activities in a separate post, probably tomorrow. In the meantime, I placed more pictures on my blog post at http://solocabinchallenge.wordpress.com but my coming post will add some context to the photos.

I was up at 5 but slow getting started as I acclimate to my new surroundings and did not get up to deck 15 until about 5:45. I would normally start my day with a walk but decided against it as the wind was howling quite strongly. I did walk for about a half hour on the ship’s inside corridors before going online. Sunrise was officially 5:30 but at least through the morning it was nowhere to be seen.

I did discover one pitfall with my room and safe The safe sits at the front of the safe and there is about 2 inches shelf space behind it. What I didn’t realize was that the safe is elevated about an inch above the space with room for little items to slide under the safe. That happened with a lock for my backpack and a Bermuda pin. The clearance to remove items from under the safe is very limited; I was able to extract them with a knife and am now keeping books and papers behind the safe to cover the hole.

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There is a lounge in the studio area with light snacks and an espresso machine as well as a soda machine on the upper level (the studios are on decks 10 and 11). Getting to a cabin involves using the key card once to get into the studios and a second time for the actual cabin. It appears there is a daily solo reception in the lounge and I surmise that at those times the entry doors are propped open. At dinner Sunday evening I was not offered a table to share with others, but there was a signup sheet in the lounge for a solo dinner in the Manhattan dining room.

The weather stayed pretty nasty for the morning with 30kt winds, frequent rain, and 10-foot swells, not really a day to be outdoors much. Our track shows we are deviating west of our direct line to Bermuda, probably to avoid the worst of the weather. We are traveling less than 12kt, so there is time for an indirect route.

There was a port presentation in the theater at 10, mostly talk of shore excursions. My plans for the Breakaway are pretty well set but a glass bottom boat tour caught my eye, possibly for the day the Anthem of the Seas visits Bermuda. There was also a Cruise Critic Meet and Greet in La Cucina, probably about 30 guests and 8 or so ships personnel, and we were given a list of ship’s personnel to call to nip any problems in the bud. Coffee and snacks were served.

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I had not planned on having pizza again for lunch but when I browsed the Garden Café the Hawaiian pizza seemed to be calling me and it was good enough to change my plans. There will be other days to try different options.

There was not a lot of afternoon activity that interested me. There was a “landmarks” trivia in the Atrium bar but it took me a little while to find it and the quiz moved very quickly. I arrived about 2:40 for the 2:30 quiz and they were already on question 15.

This is “Night Out” which is as close to a formal night as Norwegian has. The photographers are out in force for portraits and the Captain appeared in the Atrium for photos with guests. I like the concept, having a special occasion and the opportunity to dress up but not making it a requirement to be part of the evenings activities.

I was near first in line for the Captain’s photo and back in the studio lounge well before we left for the solo dinner. Sometimes Tiara can work miracles but this was not one of them. She advised she was unable to get a reservation for the Manhattan Dining Room until about 9, and this time I would be going back to Savor. We did stop for a group photo with the Captain on the way down to dinner and 11 of us (including Tiara) enjoyed a lovely dinner. I had the beef ribs, nice but not really special and the appetizer was a very nicely done Hawaiian pineapple. I left my actual tux home but my black Travelsmith blazer with matching accessories were pretty dressy. Tiara took a selfie with me and also a photo of me as dressed. The dining room had everything from tee shirts to suits and I thought the atmosphere was fine.

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This was the night we lost an hour to get to Bermuda time and I didn’t do much after dinner. Today’s parting shot is home based. I’m not getting a lot of news at sea but did see that there was a not guilty verdict in the Freddie Gray trial. I wish Baltimore and my fellow Marylanders peace and healing.

Roy

I enjoyed the pictures, including the ones posted on your blog. The studio lounge looks very nice.

Thanks. I'll post this for background and in case anyone else is interested.

First of all, if you think you are interested in the Veendam to Hamilton, I will strongly suggest it. The days of that experience are numbered. The Breakaway is a great alternative that can happen either another year or even the next week if you have time. I have absolutely no regrets about doing both.

I did not attend the solo gathering the first evening, but did do the dinner the second evening. The solo hostess, Tiara, organized the dinner and plans during the week to organize several other events including shows and a group to Horseshoe Beach, probably the second day in Bermuda.

There were 11 of us, including Tiara, at dinner last night. Probably half were in studio cabins and the rest elsewhere on the ship. I did feel a little like a fish out of the water in one way; the others seemed to be pretty dedicated NCL cruisers and a lot of the conversation seemed to be about the whereabouts of other beloved (and perhaps a few not so beloved) staff members. Solo hostess is only part of Tiara’s duties and she had to leave for another function about the time for desert but she spent over 1 ½ hours with us. Tiara also provided the wine for the meal.

In addition to the events Tiara organizes some come up spontaneously in the group. Several people (not me this time) are planning lunch today (Tuesday) at the Moderna Buffet.

Not solo specific, but entertainment on the ship seems to book pretty quickly. I have a reservation for a show Friday night, but could get into nothing else except at that time slot. I’m hoping some additional options will be available through the solo program, time will tell.

I do want to add one word of caution. The buzz at the dinner table was that Tiara is a far above average solo hostess. She will join us for dinner most every night, some of the others only go with the group once.

There’s a solo’s get together nightly 5:30-6:30. It’s in the studio lounge but all solos are welcome to attend. The time is unstructured but there is a bar in the lounge open 5-8. There are also vending machines for soda and wine, an espresso machine, and an assortment of snacks appropriate to the time of the day.

Finally, the photos, some probably a recap from prior posts.

First, my cabin, looking towards and from the shower/toilet/sink:

http://solocabinchallenge.files.wordpress.com/2016/05/studiobath.jpg

http://solocabinchallenge.files.wordpress.com/2016/05/meetgreet1.jpg

The upper level of the studio lounge:

http://solocabinchallenge.files.wordpress.com/2016/05/lounge11.jpg

The lower level from opposite directions:

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The snacks at the studio lounge. There’s also a big bowl of fresh fruit on the bar:

http://solocabinchallenge.files.wordpress.com/2016/05/studiogoodies.jpg

That’s about all I can think of right now. If you have any other questions please ask. Also, I think the photo links are valid but can you please let me know if any of them are not.

Roy

Roy,

Thank you very much for your research and postings Not to mention your photos.

I will be going solo next May, my first cruise. Your posts are priceless

Thank you goldfish99.

Well, the clocks moved forward but I wasn’t ready to get out of bed at the new 5:00 and went back to sleep until 6. When I headed up on deck the weather was a great improvement, warmer, less windy, and with a bright moon in the sky. I walked 2 miles (16 laps) on the jogging track and the sun started appearing through the clouds around 6:30.

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My major morning activity was Early Risers trivia, unfortunately my help to the team was minimal but we won anyway. It sounds like the quiz presented has been given on NCL before, so having been on a prior cruise provides a big advantage. It appears that Captain Svendung’s daily update comes about 10:45. A weather system he was anticipating took a favorable path and we had a warm, sunny day. We will pick up the pilot about 6AM and be at the dockyards by 8. He warned us to expect some sharp turns as we navigate through the reefs.

After a late lunch there was a future cruise talk in the Atrium lounge at 1:45. Nothing struck my fancy to book a future cruise deposit but there was one very nice feature. The deposits are charged to your onboard account and you are given a credit of half the value of the deposit, which essentially makes the deposits half price. That was much better than my last Royal Caribbean booking where the deposit was charged directly to my credit card and I had to scramble to find a way to get the value out of the onboard credit. The men’s sexy legs competition took place at the same time as this talk.

Later in the afternoon I discovered some new features of the ship. I had thought SpiceH2O on the back deck was a teen hangout but (actually learned this at the future cruise talk) found it was an adult’s only area in the daytime. Sort of above it was an area with a long climbing course which included a “plank” where people would walk out over the side of the ship.

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Tonight’s solo dinner was in the Manhattan Dining Room. I believe this is the largest dining room on the ship and is billed as a “supper club”. While the 10 of us were here there were 2 programs, selections from the dance show “Burn the Floor” and a dance band playing the Great American Song Book. It was a nice idea, but I found the shows distracting and made conversation difficult. I’m sure in some situations it would be great but I found after trying both I preferred the quieter atmosphere of Savor. As I left the dining room and walked forward along the waterfront the sun was about ready to set.

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Today’s parting shot comes from the future cruise presentation. We have a tendency to put entities in “boxes” and I certainly think of NCL as a mass market cruise line. To me, the hallmark of a mass market cruise line is repetitive itineraries. I was very surprised to hear a description of a time when one of the ships would not be repeating an itinerary for something like 230 days. Beware of generalizations.

Roy

The first 4 dailys and 3 menus should now be available at

https://solocabinchallenge.wordpress.com/programs/ncl-dailys/

and

https://solocabinchallenge.wordpress.com/menus/breakaway/

respectively.

Roy

Thanks for posting the link to the dailys.

Wine Lovers: The Musical sounds interesting - if you attend or speak to anyone who does attend, or if you can provide a copy of the lunch menu and wines, any information would be appreciated.

I am right there with ya.:confused:

Me also :eek::eek::eek:

OK, this is getting annoying, sleeping through the alarm again. I was still up for coffee at the Garden Café in time for sunrise, but the clouds would have nothing to do with a sunrise. We were turned around by the dock about 7:45 with the Celebrity Summit waiting behind us until we were settled at the dock. My plan for the day was to visit St. George. I was in plenty of time to take the 9:30 ferry which was quite packed. It’s about a 45 minute ride to the far end of the island.

I had planned on walking around town but there was a tourist train at the ferry stop and it seemed like a good way to see more than I would on foot. The 45 minute ride took us past forts and beaches outside of town and iconic St. George sites liked the unfinished church, a monument to the idea that some people who call themselves Christians still could learn a lot about working together. Our guide explained the white roofs are treated with lime to purify the rainfall and built to channel water into a cistern. The tour ended to the visitor center.

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The tour ended in the center of town and I spent some time in the visitor center uploading files but the performance was poor. The center of town was about a quarter mile from the ferry terminal along a path that had once been the Bermuda Railway.

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I took the 1PM ferry back to Dockyard. By this time the clouds were thin enough that the sun was casting a shadow and it was pleasantly warm. As we approached the Dockyards the ferry captain pointed out some Americas Cup entrants.

After lunch I walked around the Dockyard, also hoping to find a quiet shaded spot for wifi. I have a 3-day wifi card from Bermuda and found several good locations to work in Hamilton but not so much here. I ended up logging into the Bermuda wifi from the tables outside Shakers bar and it was better than anything I had found elsewhere.

The group from the Studio Lounge was eating at La Cucina which didn’t interest me. I had also noticed that Cagney’s steak house had some availability around 7 and booked that. We chatted in the Studio lounge for a while before the group headed off to dinner. Sever people were also heading into Hamilton where there is a Wednesday evening craft fair. I was in the thick of it on the Veendam last week and didn’t see a need to go back.

My reservation at Cagney’s was for 7:30 but when I went down at 7 they were ready for me. The Petit Fillet was small but tasty and the apple cobbler was delicious. The ambience of the restaurant was also very nice. While there was no visible sunrise there was a beautiful sunset just after dinner.

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Note: Dining room Appetizers and Entrees are posted outside the dining room. The desert menu is only seen when you are in the dining room ordering desert. For days I eat elsewhere (like today) the menu I post will therefore not include the desert section.

All in all quite a nice day. I will mention since the Freestyle Daily doesn’t (there was a little flyer in our rooms) that today was the day for the laundry bag special. Quite a large bag to be filled for $19.95.

Roy

Just curious about the cost of the train in St. George - sounds like a good option on a day when showers are predicted.

Steelmagnolia9, the Wine lunch was not something that interests me but I'll try to get a report. CTSandy, the tour was 45 minutes and $20 ($18 seniors).

I was easily up in time for a sunrise that was noticeable but not very spectacular. In the Studio Lounge there was an announcement from Tiara that showers were expected and the Horseshoe Bay Beach visit was cancelled.

My morning was spent in Hamilton. The cruise terminal in Hamilton has pretty good wifi and I started my morning there, then went for a walk through Victoria and Queen Elizabeth Park. A shower interrupted my walk about 11 and I took refuge in the National Library. There is free wifi there but I haven’t found it very reliable. A second walk after the drizzle stopped took me past Victoria Park to the Catholic Cathedral.

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I took the 1PM ferry back to the Dockyards with the Veendam following behind us and passing our ship about the time I got on board. After lunch there was time to visit the National Museum, the former defense headquarters.

At the entrance there is a parade ground with a statue of King Neptune.

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The centerpiece is the Commissioners House, a stately mansion at one of the highest points. All 3 floors of the mansion are devoted to exhibits with one of the most lovely being the Commissioners Room used as a Ward Room when the fort was active. A porch on the upper floor has commanding views of the area.

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A rampart walk leads to the Casemate, a one time naval barrack abandoned in 1951 when the base closed and used as a prison 1961-94. Abandoned since then, volunteers are working to restore it but I couldn’t see progress since my last visit in 2012. It’s still a nice walk.

My final stop at the National Museum was at Dolphin Quest where handlers were feeding dolphins. I returned to the Breakaway about 5.

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There didn’t seem to be a lot of organized activity in the Studio Lounge but Andrew, Carolyn, Debbie, and I went out to the Taste restaurant for dinner. The entrees were pretty standard but Debbie had a very interesting Berry Mint Tiramisu, and I enjoyed the Bananas Foster.

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I returned to my room for a while and was not part of the group but many of us went to the Atrium Bar at 9 and cheered Tiara on in the Celebrity Dance Off. Tiara and her partner put on a great showing and were finalists but someone else was declared the winner.

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Today’s parting shot comes from my cabin. Some things work in a Studio Cabin and others not so well. Most if not all nights my steward has left a lovely towel animal on my bed. I was following a blog from the Holland America World Cruise where someone in a suite saved all hundred towel animals and had them on display. In the Studio, once I get in bed there’s really no place for the animal. Oh well.

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Roy

Thanks for posting a review and pics. Very much interested so I will be following as I will be on the Breakaway to Bermuda in September.

Thanks for the info on the train in St. George - if it's rainy (as the weather report seems to indicate) I'll be hopping aboard!

Thank you so much for the wonderful review. You had mentioned that you ate at Cagney's, was the the only speciality restuarant that you ate at? If you ate at others how would you rate them and how would you rate Cagney's vs the MDR? Did you feel that the dining package was worth the extra money?Did you do the Cirque Fanatasy or did you hear opinions of others? Did you have to make reservations to the shows or were they easy to get in? Thank you again.