Family's First Cruise; My 2nd-Breakaway!!!

[psycomac]

Well, after much digging around, surfing, viewing, reading, etc...I have decided that we will be sailing Breakaway for my family's first cruise (my 2nd).

 

My other cruise was on Carnival so I have a few questions that may or may not be NCL specific but are also just general newbie cruiser questions. My 1st cruise was planned entirely by my mom so I have no clue on what I'm getting myself into but I know it's going to be insane lol.

 

I know there's great resources here on the site as far as tips for planning, packing, scheduling, budgeting, etc but I'm also (as all of us are) looking for personal connections and information. Sharing is caring! haha. So...let me know some experiences of yours as past NCL cruisers. The ages of the people in our party are going to be 45 (husband), 41 (me), 19 (husband's son), 19 (husband's other son-not twins lol), and 4 (daughter).

 

As mentioned, we'll be sailing on the Breakaway and due to a recent inheritance, I plan on doing it up right and will be booking an aft facing penthouse suite (and interior for the 2 boys). My daughter is a HUGE Nickelodeon fan so the onboard kids activities I'm sure will interest her to no end. I've never cruised with a small child (and only traveled with her once) so any tips from experienced parent travelers will be greatly appreciated. Personal experiences with the NCL children's programs (we've never left her with strangers so are a bit leery of that) and specifically the staff on-board Breakaway would be helpful.

 

NCL has a listing of all of their dining options. Am I safe in assuming that if they don't give a list of a per person charge that the venue is included in the cruise fare? It's been roughly 10 years (oh my God it's really been that long) since I cruised so I have completely no idea on the prices of things on-board that are not included in the 'all inclusive' cruise vacation (lol). I'm planning on getting the drink passes for soda and juice but not the one for alcohol. I just can't see spending that much to get slightly buzzed. So, what's the average price per drink if you don't buy any sort of pass? Also pictures...what's the average cost for the ones they take on-board?

 

We're going to be doing the Florida/Bahamas itinerary; are any of these ports tender?

 

Do you get any sort of discount for booking 2 staterooms? (suite, interior). Suites, if I understand correctly, are given priority boarding as one of the perks of reserving that category. If my 2 step-sons will be in an interior room (but also booked and paid for by me) would they be allowed to board with us under priority status or would they have to wait to board separately?

 

What's the cheapest way to book a cruise? Independent TA? Travel site? Obviously not directly through the cruise line I've already seen the price differences there lol. Obviously we'll need to get travel insurance. What's the best way to go about that?

 

Shore excursions...my husband is not a 'luxury vacation' kinda guy and has already started twitching involuntarily at the price tag that will likely be attached to this little outing. That being said, he's made it abundantly clear that he wants to get off the ship at every port (no exceptions, foot down, etc) so we'll need to have some plans in place. Kennedy space center seems to be a lock as it's something that we all might possibly be interested in. However, the other 2 ports are sort of up in the air. I really want to do a beach day. I'm a pisces and LOVE the water and beaches in general, always have. Which of the 2 ports offers the best beach destination? For the 3rd option, I want to do a dolphin encounter but I don't want to do something that's going to take an entire day (like the combo out of Atlantis that runs the full 8 hours). Besides, there's water slides ON the ship (and pretty good ones from the look of things) so I can't see the justification in spending extra money to ride different slides just because they're in another country lol.

 

Dining room...with 5 of us in our party, will we be able to get our own table? As much as I love fellow cruisers, this is going to be a special trip for us and I'd like our meals to be as insulated as possible. Not to mention my daughter is extremely rambunctious and I'm afraid not only would she annoy a table mate (or mates) but she'd be hopelessly distracted and would never eat. NCL has freestyle (non time assigned) dinner seating, right? So whenever we happen to wander in we can eat?

 

Pretend I know absolutely nothing about cruising in general, and NCL specifically, and regal me with your in-depth knowledge and tails of wonder and amazement.

 

We'll be cruising sometime in October or November depending on when one of those aft facing penthouse suites is available so, once we're able to book, I look forward to getting to know those of you who will be on our sailing.

 

Love this site (used it for the last cruise) and you're all so welcoming and helpful that I just know the planning on this will be almost (ALMOST!) as fun as the trip itself!

 

Here's to a 5-6 months that hopefully flies by!!!

[psycomac]

Oh forgot also what's the age onboard for gambling and drinking? Sounds like a stupid question I know but since once the ship hits international waters, I'm not sure if those ages change or not. And I don't want to get a phone call from a ship staff saying my 19 year old step sons have been nabbed trying to put quarters into slot machines lol

[SliceOfLife]

One of the best features about NCL is not having to share a table! You'll be able to get a table for all of you with no problems.

 

I saw the aft penthouse balcony, my oh my!! It's gorgeous and huge!

[school's_out]

Hi,My husband and I did the Port Canaveral/Bahamas cruise last summer on the Gem.

We stayed on the ship in Florida and took advantage of the quite while others went to Disney and the Space Center. We actually saw dolphins right off the side of the ship and watched them play in the water for a while.

The private island for NCL is a tendered stop. That will be a nice beach day for you. There are little huts set up where you could buy souvenirs so bring cash with you.

When in the Bahamas we booked the Blue Lagoon excursion. I had been to the Bahamas once before and wanted to make sure we had something to do because I did not like the port.

We really liked the Blue Lagoon. They have a dolphin experience there. We didn't sign up or pay anything extra for that part but were able to walk right into it- there is a trail to walk and go in through the back way and see all the dolphins up close. One of the workers even came up to us and talked to us about the dolphins. He was very nice and very informative. We also saw a sea lion exhibit that was adorable. There are two separate beach areas. One is a cove that is perfect for your little one to swim and on the other side is the ocean for the other boys. There is a place to have lunch as well - which was included in the price of the excursion. We had a great day doing that. Others have goon to Atlantis for the day but it's pretty pricey and really crowed.

[Mom2B&Z]

Your best bet for a beach day is Great Stirrup Cay, it's a huge beach ;). You can book other things to do there, but really, it's just a beach.

We have done the dolphin encounter through Blue Lagoon in Nassau and I would highly recommend it. It does take up most of your time in Nassau, but that really isn't a big deal IMHO, as there isn't much to do there other than shop.

Kennedy can be done through a ship excursion or on your own, I've done a bit of research on this one as we plan to visit there too on our Breakaway adventure! The ship excursion seems to be the fastest way to get there, since the ship doesn't get into port until noon.

We too are booked into an s6, but the kids are with us :). Have you checked to make sure the inside cabin is facing your suite? Breakaway switched the inside cabins to inside corridors, which caused many people with children to reconsider booking an inside across the hall, since the doors are no longer opposite each other. This may not be a big deal with your 19 year olds, but better to know before you get there.

Travelling with young children...you'll find all the information you need over in the family forum :). In general, I love the NCL kids programs, they are very active and not a lot of screen time. My shy/sensitive kid loves the NCL program and wouldn't go to Disney at all! Travelling with kids isn't hard, as long as you respect their need to eat and sleep. Everything else is easy ;)

Restaurants...if there isn't a cost listed, it is free. Main dining rooms are Manhattan, Taste and Savor, buffet is the Garden Cafe, along with a few snack and fast food type places. You request the size of table you want when entering the restaurant, no sitting with strangers unless you want to! Alcoholic drinks are in the $6+ range, depending if there is a drink of the day deal or not. I have no idea about beer, I don't drink it lol, but I do know they sell buckets where one is "free".

We book through a TA, but that's because they can get us Canadian dollars at par for US prices. Some TAs charge you for making changes or adjusting fees, or will offer you extra on board credit (OBC). It pays to shop around.

Good luck with your planning!

[francina]

Well slice of life answer your question about dinning, now let me try to answer a few. Your daughter is going to love going to the children's club once she gets over your not being there (I said that because she has never before been left with strangers). My gd complained whenever I went to pick her up. After 10pm I believe the charge is $6/hr which isn't to bad if you want alone time on the evening. If your daughter isn't potty train you will receive a phone so they could call you when she needs changing. The nick staff was very friendly and had many family activities throughout the cruise. The only thing I wish they had like carnival that the child could eat with them. Yeah once while I was on carnival I drop my gd off when they opened and didn't pick her up until it closed.

 

 

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[francina]

Well slice of life answer your question about dinning, now let me try to answer a few. Your daughter is going to love going to the children's club once she gets over your not being there (I said that because she has never before been left with strangers). My gd complained whenever I went to pick her up. After 10pm I believe the charge is $6/hr which isn't to bad if you want alone time on the evening. If your daughter isn't potty train you will receive a phone so they could call you when she needs changing. The nick staff was very friendly and had many family activities throughout the cruise. The only thing I wish they had like carnival that the child could eat with them. Yeah once while I was on carnival I drop my gd off when they opened and didn't pick her up until it closed.

 

 

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[francina]

Booking pricing is always up in the air. Sometimes the T/A may have better pricing because the reserve cabins for group rates. I always check both before I make my final decision. I am thinking about booking the Breakaway two family heaven it sleeps six. Depending on when you decide to go it might be cheaper than booking two state rooms and you won't have to worry about boarding etc.

 

 

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[psycomac]

As I mentioned before, we're not 'luxury vacation' people so I'm hopelessly uninformed when it comes to what booking something like this gets you. What all do you get when you book a penthouse stateroom? Is it "VIP"? What does "VIP" get you? Basically I'm looking for info on anything that you get as a 'perk' when you book one of these category rooms. (and I know it gets you butler/concierge service...what does that mean exactly? lol)

[psycomac]

Booking pricing is always up in the air. Sometimes the T/A may have better pricing because the reserve cabins for group rates. I always check both before I make my final decision. I am thinking about booking the Breakaway two family heaven it sleeps six. Depending on when you decide to go it might be cheaper than booking two state rooms and you won't have to worry about boarding etc.

 

 

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I really want that aft facing balcony though lol I can't wait to go and be able to sit on my balcony sipping my morning coffee and watching the wake churn as we sail deeper into the blue...one of the things I loved was watching the view from the aft of the ship on my last cruise :)

[francina]

As I mentioned before, we're not 'luxury vacation' people so I'm hopelessly uninformed when it comes to what booking something like this gets you. What all do you get when you book a penthouse stateroom? Is it "VIP"? What does "VIP" get you? Basically I'm looking for info on anything that you get as a 'perk' when you book one of these category rooms. (and I know it gets you butler/concierge service...what does that mean exactly? lol)

I am not about to much luxury either. However, I seen a picture of the owner suite and I am dying to have it. So far, it has been out of my price range because like you I have to pay for everyone. In January it will be my first time in a suite and I believe the perks are worth it. There is a good thread outlying all the perks you get. I will find it and hook up a link for you.

 

 

 

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[psycomac]

I am not about to much luxury either. However, I seen a picture of the owner suite and I am dying to have it. So far, it has been out of my price range because like you I have to pay for everyone. In January it will be my first time in a suite and I believe the perks are worth it. There is a good thread outlying all the perks you get. I will find it and hook up a link for you.

 

 

 

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Thanks in advance for the link...and I know..I was looking at the pictures of the suite that has the piano and I was like really?? A piano???? I think the penthouse will be sufficient lol I actually was able to fly first class for the first time ever last month and about peed myself that they served us our pop in actual glass glasses lol. I'm such a 'new money' gal :P lol (We don't have money, just a very generous relative who planned ahead with inheritance lol)

[francina]

Penthouse Suite perks

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=38330171

 

 

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[francina]

Believe me I don't either but I am a great saver and work hard all my life and it is about time I enjoy myself a little. That us why I had to book this January vacation over a year and had a FCC. Still haven't finish paying for it. Also, I like prepaying for most thing prior to brooding so I don't have a bill at the end of my cruise. Also, pictures run $20 8x10 and $9 for the 5x7 and they have some deals.

 

 

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[psycomac]

Thanks again for that link, great info in the list! Yes, I plan to try to pay for as much of everything as possible before we actually board so I get no surprises at the end of the trip...or at the very least pay for what I can and budget (and stick to budget) for the rest so that for all intents and purposes it's just paid when we get done.

 

Haven't even started to book yet and already cannot wait! lol

[lostone65]

I can offer a couple of hints for you. Check out the ports of call boards on the ports you are visiting. Scubagirl is VERY active on the Bahamas board and provides current (she lives there) and excellent information on what to do and how to do it.

Check out Mitsugirly for tips on traveling on a cruise with small children. She has a 4 year old also. Although her daughter is a very seasoned cruiser, Mitsugirly has all the insight to the kids clubs and kid related things. Not to mention a wealth of information if you want to snorkel.

There are many many boards out there right now on the Breakaway and an excellent review just started by Gambee who disembarked today. Very well organized and tons of pre cruise planning info! Well worth your time to follow that thread.

As for packing many people on here will tell you to pack and take half out. I don't agree with this. In fact I would say I under packed. I like to wear clean clothes everyday, I also tend to wear 2 outfits a day. One for the beach/ excursion and then one when we get back to the ship and I shower. I honestly can't figure out how others do it with less :confused::confused:, I am obviously an over packer to most. I do only take 2 pairs of shoes. Sneakers and a pair of comfy sandals.

It will be no problem getting a table for your family only. At this point the main dining rooms are having issues with long wait times but hopefully that will improve as time goes on. We were able to reserve a table in the main dining room the day of on the Star last December. I'm not sure if they allow this on the Breakaway. If they do it will be helpful for your party of 5.

Hope this helps you out and have fun planning!

[psycomac]

I'm watching Gambee's thread and already shot them (her? him?) a facebook friend request. I've also started digging through the various Breakaway threads and cannot believe that it's been almost a year since people started speculating and NCL STILL has not revealed a static floor plan for the aft PH. It may be cheaper and more convenient to book one of the more forward facing suites or even the 2 bedroom since there's 5 of us but I really REALLY want that aft balcony. It would be nice to be able to see an actual confirmed floor plan. The only thing at this point that would keep me from booking that room and an additional cabin would be unavailability for the 2 months that I've decided to book during or if we can get a really good deal on a room that will accommodate 5 and give my stepsons haven/suite perks too.

[doberlady]

the only bummer is your stepsons will not be able to enjoy the suite perks along with you if they are not in a suite themselves

 

:(

[psycomac]

the only bummer is your stepsons will not be able to enjoy the suite perks along with you if they are not in a suite themselves

 

:(

 

Yah I know :\...but then again they can hang out in our room as much as they'd like (I'd give them their own keycards if I could) so the only thing they'll *really* be missing out on is the Haven and I'm looking at pictures of that and it doesn't appear to be anything more than another place to sit...a couple of hot tubs but no real 'pool' to speak of...They're going to be more interested in the public space stuff like the basketball court, the rope course, the rock climbing (maybe) and the water slides. Plus I'll be surprised if I can pry them out of the arcade long enough to have dinner or blackmail them into babysitting their half sister so me and the mister can have a date night lol

[woodmews]

Well, after much digging around, surfing, viewing, reading, etc...I have decided that we will be sailing Breakaway for my family's first cruise (my 2nd).

 

My other cruise was on Carnival so I have a few questions that may or may not be NCL specific but are also just general newbie cruiser questions. My 1st cruise was planned entirely by my mom so I have no clue on what I'm getting myself into but I know it's going to be insane lol.

 

I know there's great resources here on the site as far as tips for planning, packing, scheduling, budgeting, etc but I'm also (as all of us are) looking for personal connections and information. Sharing is caring! haha. So...let me know some experiences of yours as past NCL cruisers. The ages of the people in our party are going to be 45 (husband), 41 (me), 19 (husband's son), 19 (husband's other son-not twins lol), and 4 (daughter).

 

As mentioned, we'll be sailing on the Breakaway and due to a recent inheritance, I plan on doing it up right and will be booking an aft facing penthouse suite (and interior for the 2 boys). My daughter is a HUGE Nickelodeon fan so the onboard kids activities I'm sure will interest her to no end. I've never cruised with a small child (and only traveled with her once) so any tips from experienced parent travelers will be greatly appreciated. Personal experiences with the NCL children's programs (we've never left her with strangers so are a bit leery of that) and specifically the staff on-board Breakaway would be helpful.

 

NCL has a listing of all of their dining options. Am I safe in assuming that if they don't give a list of a per person charge that the venue is included in the cruise fare? It's been roughly 10 years (oh my God it's really been that long) since I cruised so I have completely no idea on the prices of things on-board that are not included in the 'all inclusive' cruise vacation (lol). I'm planning on getting the drink passes for soda and juice but not the one for alcohol. I just can't see spending that much to get slightly buzzed. So, what's the average price per drink if you don't buy any sort of pass? Also pictures...what's the average cost for the ones they take on-board?

 

We're going to be doing the Florida/Bahamas itinerary; are any of these ports tender?

 

Do you get any sort of discount for booking 2 staterooms? (suite, interior). Suites, if I understand correctly, are given priority boarding as one of the perks of reserving that category. If my 2 step-sons will be in an interior room (but also booked and paid for by me) would they be allowed to board with us under priority status or would they have to wait to board separately?

 

What's the cheapest way to book a cruise? Independent TA? Travel site? Obviously not directly through the cruise line I've already seen the price differences there lol. Obviously we'll need to get travel insurance. What's the best way to go about that?

 

Shore excursions...my husband is not a 'luxury vacation' kinda guy and has already started twitching involuntarily at the price tag that will likely be attached to this little outing. That being said, he's made it abundantly clear that he wants to get off the ship at every port (no exceptions, foot down, etc) so we'll need to have some plans in place. Kennedy space center seems to be a lock as it's something that we all might possibly be interested in. However, the other 2 ports are sort of up in the air. I really want to do a beach day. I'm a pisces and LOVE the water and beaches in general, always have. Which of the 2 ports offers the best beach destination? For the 3rd option, I want to do a dolphin encounter but I don't want to do something that's going to take an entire day (like the combo out of Atlantis that runs the full 8 hours). Besides, there's water slides ON the ship (and pretty good ones from the look of things) so I can't see the justification in spending extra money to ride different slides just because they're in another country lol.

 

Dining room...with 5 of us in our party, will we be able to get our own table? As much as I love fellow cruisers, this is going to be a special trip for us and I'd like our meals to be as insulated as possible. Not to mention my daughter is extremely rambunctious and I'm afraid not only would she annoy a table mate (or mates) but she'd be hopelessly distracted and would never eat. NCL has freestyle (non time assigned) dinner seating, right? So whenever we happen to wander in we can eat?

 

Pretend I know absolutely nothing about cruising in general, and NCL specifically, and regal me with your in-depth knowledge and tails of wonder and amazement.

 

We'll be cruising sometime in October or November depending on when one of those aft facing penthouse suites is available so, once we're able to book, I look forward to getting to know those of you who will be on our sailing.

 

Love this site (used it for the last cruise) and you're all so welcoming and helpful that I just know the planning on this will be almost (ALMOST!) as fun as the trip itself!

 

Here's to a 5-6 months that hopefully flies by!!!

 

I would consider the 2BR Haven Suite for your family. On the Breakaway The Aft Penthouse is a Haven Suite so you have use of the Haven. If your step sons are in a inside room they will not be able to go with you to the Haven at all. It might be worth a little extra money for them to be there. Otherwise they cannot take part in the Private Dining etc in the Haven.

[doberlady]

I have my kids in an inside too but we are only in a B6 not a suite

[woodmews]

I have my kids in an inside too but we are only in a B6 not a suite

 

That is fine because a Balcony has no perks. I just ran sample numbers for A Aft Suite and A inside room. About 600 overall higher to take the 2BR Suite. Worth every penney!!!!!!!

[psycomac]

I would consider the 2BR Haven Suite for your family. On the Breakaway The Aft Penthouse is a Haven Suite so you have use of the Haven. If your step sons are in a inside room they will not be able to go with you to the Haven at all. It might be worth a little extra money for them to be there. Otherwise they cannot take part in the Private Dining etc in the Haven.

 

We don't need the private dining, the main dining rooms and other offerings will be sufficient as far as that goes as people have said we can have our own table. And the Haven area itself doesn't look like much at all in the way of usefulness for us. I was looking at the 2BR Villa and honestly I don't see that much that would sell me on getting it. The aft balcony is what I'm really jazzed about and they don't have that suit on the aft end of the ship (unfortunately because if they did, I'd book it in a heartbeat).

[psycomac]

lol my husband keeps telling me 'i don't know, it's 5 months away!' whenever I ask him anything.

 

I want to shake him and scream "It doesn't matter! It's a cruise! The one thing you can start planning 5 years in advance and not look like a complete nutjob in the process!!!"

[bluesea777]

Oh forgot also what's the age onboard for gambling and drinking? Sounds like a stupid question I know but since once the ship hits international waters, I'm not sure if those ages change or not. And I don't want to get a phone call from a ship staff saying my 19 year old step sons have been nabbed trying to put quarters into slot machines lol

 

Gambling - 18 years old.

 

Drinking - liquor - 21 years old.

 

Drinking - beer and wine only - 18 years old - with signed waiver from parent who has to be on board to fill out and sign the waiver.

 

P.S. no quarters for slot machines - bank notes only. The machines are coin-free.