Breakaway - March 2nd - Deluxe Owners Suite review

[osubuckeyemom]

Cathy, It is very exciting that you have booked the suite, I am sure you are going to have a fabulous time. In my opinion the hide-a-bed in the living room would be a little crowded with two grown women sleeping on it (not sure of the ages of your niece or daughter). If your daughter and niece's mom join you, and your daughter and niece are grown, you may want to check into a rollaway bed (I am not sure if they have them or not). Two people can easily sleep on the master bedroom king bed and not have an issue at all.

 

When are you sailing? Is this your first time in a suite on Norwegian? Please let us know how your cruise went when you return:). HAPPY SAILING!!

 

Thank you for your good wishes and information. Sail next June wanted to be sure to get the cabin I desired. Not first suite on Norwegian but first time on Breakaway. Everyone but me lives in NY and are but a quick cab ride from the port. I fly to NY often to visit daughter. Have no doubt it will be fabulous..my daughter and niece are 30 somethings. we moms are a bit older than that :-) I'll figure something out if I can convince my daughter and cousin to sail. Now I'm getting ready for 2 weeks on Amsterdam in Alaska We sail in just over a month. Can't wait.

Happy Sailing to you as well

Cathy

[socrdad]

Thank you for your good wishes and information. Sail next June wanted to be sure to get the cabin I desired. Not first suite on Norwegian but first time on Breakaway. Everyone but me lives in NY and are but a quick cab ride from the port. I fly to NY often to visit daughter. Have no doubt it will be fabulous..my daughter and niece are 30 somethings. we moms are a bit older than that :-) I'll figure something out if I can convince my daughter and cousin to sail. Now I'm getting ready for 2 weeks on Amsterdam in Alaska We sail in just over a month. Can't wait.

Happy Sailing to you as well

Cathy

 

Cathy, Two weeks................ what an incredible cruise you have coming up :D. We loved our Alaskan cruise and we could have spent a month in that spectacular state. Here are a couple of pictures from our cruise to help hold you over until your trip.

 

 

 

 

 

Have a wonderful time on your cruise and let us all know how it went:).

[Susie51]

Thank you for your review and great pics!

[dexddd]

Cathy, Two weeks................ what an incredible cruise you have coming up :D. We loved our Alaskan cruise and we could have spent a month in that spectacular state. Here are a couple of pictures from our cruise to help hold you over until your trip.

 

 

 

 

 

Have a wonderful time on your cruise and let us all know how it went:).

 

That first picture is Emerald Lake??

[socrdad]

Thank you for your review and great pics!

 

Thanks Susie51, I appreciate it:).

[socrdad]

That first picture is Emerald Lake??

 

dexddd, Yes this is a picture of Emerald Lake.

 

 

 

Here is another picture of the other side of the lake. It sure is a beautiful spot!

[dexddd]

dexddd, Yes this is a picture of Emerald Lake.

 

 

 

Here is another picture of the other side of the lake. It sure is a beautiful spot!

 

I recognized it as we were there in 2011. We had a nice drive up there although a bit foggy start and then sat at customs a bit. Kids still talk about the sand dunes being like from Star Wars and the "special" bathrooms they had at the dunes.

[socrdad]

I recognized it as we were there in 2011. We had a nice drive up there although a bit foggy start and then sat at customs a bit. Kids still talk about the sand dunes being like from Star Wars and the "special" bathrooms they had at the dunes.

 

dexddd, Did you drive up to Emerald Lake while in Skagway port or was it another trip? While in Skagway port we drove to Emerald Lake via Dyea Dave Tours and we also ran into dense fog to start the trip. Our driver said that fog like we had was not common. Wouldn't it be amazing if we were actually on the same cruise:D. We were on the August 21, 2011 cruise on the Pearl. The sand dunes were very cool although we did not get a chance to see the "special" bathrooms.

[dexddd]

dexddd, Did you drive up to Emerald Lake while in Skagway port or was it another trip? While in Skagway port we drove to Emerald Lake via Dyea Dave Tours and we also ran into dense fog to start the trip. Our driver said that fog like we had was not common. Wouldn't it be amazing if we were actually on the same cruise:D. We were on the August 21, 2011 cruise on the Pearl. The sand dunes were very cool although we did not get a chance to see the "special" bathrooms.

 

Well, almost the same cruise. We were on the Star and sailed out of Seattle on 8/20/11. We both were in port in Skagway on the same day then as I recall you guys getting the closer parking spot (closer to the train).

 

I've got some pictures of your ship that I'll have to post - not all were in Skagway though, we ran into you another day or two.

 

We had heard good things about Dyea but we ended up renting a car at budget and driving up there. Once we got close the weather was pretty decent but then kind of gray and ultimately light rain after we walked around town a bit and headed back to the ship.

[dexddd]

Here are a few including Yukon missing the "K". These aren't in order - we took the train picture after we got back into town and the Yukon sign on the way back to Skagway.

 

 

 

 

[dexddd]

Here are a couple more. Sorry the pic of the Pearl isn't any better - we took it through the window in the room. I think that was in Juneau.

 

I do recall someone stopping while we were at Emerald Lake but I can't recall if it was the Dyea Dave bus (shorter type bus/van) or if it was someone else.

 

 

 

 

And switching gears, a couple from Tahiti et al.

 

 

[socrdad]

Well, almost the same cruise. We were on the Star and sailed out of Seattle on 8/20/11. We both were in port in Skagway on the same day then as I recall you guys getting the closer parking spot (closer to the train).

 

I've got some pictures of your ship that I'll have to post - not all were in Skagway though, we ran into you another day or two.

 

We had heard good things about Dyea but we ended up renting a car at budget and driving up there. Once we got close the weather was pretty decent but then kind of gray and ultimately light rain after we walked around town a bit and headed back to the ship.

 

dexddd, Well as it turns out I had my ships mixed up (I guess that's what happens when I am lacking sleep:o). We were on the Pearl on our next trip after our Alaska trip. We were on the Star with you:D, what a small world. Our parents decided to give us a cruise with each of my siblings and their spouses and we had a family reunion. We were in a balcony room. The Star was also our first cruise ship we were ever on. This was many years before the Alaskan cruise. The Star was only 6 months old and it did not even have a casino.

 

It is so funny that many of the pictures that you took (Yukon sign, Carcross Desert sign and Emerald Lake angle) are all very similar to my pictures. I even have a picture of the Pearl. I did not take any pictures of the fog as we never stopped when it was foggy. The driver we had was pretty nervous driving in it. Here are a couple of additional pictures I took from areas that the driver pulled over and we were able to walk around for a bit.

 

 

 

Dyea Dave Tours was a good way to see a lot of spectacular areas but it really was a very long day with a lot of driving. We were pretty tuckered out by the time we got back to town.

 

What other excursions did you do on the trip? In Ketichikan we went on the Aleutian Ballad (Season 2 boat on Deadliest Catch) and went crab fishing. In Juneau we went on a whale watching trip with Harv and Marv's (FANTASTIC!). In Prince Ruppert (can't remember if that was the right port or not as it was very boring) we did not do much other than walk around town. I can understand why they are no longer stopping there, really not much to do.

 

Very strange how this all worked out to find out that we were on the same Alaskan cruise, amazing! Thank you osubuckeyemom - (Cathy) for bringing up your Alaskan cruise next month and started this whole thing:).

[dexddd]

Did you do the Star when it was in Hawaii? It had some strange routes in the early days when the whole NCL Hawaii thing launched and the PoA was delayed.

 

Some folks on here have posted some of the early history of the Star and it is interesting. I also recall seeing some of the little awards in the area of the Star where they post those things and it is interesting to see where she has all been but not widely known.

 

We were also on the Star prior to that trip but it was in 2009 for a Pac Coast repo.

[socrdad]

Did you do the Star when it was in Hawaii? It had some strange routes in the early days when the whole NCL Hawaii thing launched and the PoA was delayed.

 

Some folks on here have posted some of the early history of the Star and it is interesting. I also recall seeing some of the little awards in the area of the Star where they post those things and it is interesting to see where she has all been but not widely known.

 

We were also on the Star prior to that trip but it was in 2009 for a Pac Coast repo.

 

dexddd, Yes we did the Hawaiian cruise on the Star, it was in 2002. At the time the Star had to visit a foreign country to be allowed to cruise the Hawaiian Islands so one of our ports was Fanning Island. Fanning Island is in the middle of nowhere (more than 1000 miles from Hawaii) and is extremely remote and primitive. There was not a lot to do but it was very interesting seeing the natives and how they lived. I did some snorkeling and then we mostly just walked around. It took a while to get there and we were not in port for very long before we had to turn around and make the trip back. In addition to Fanning Island we had stops in Hilo, Maui and Kauai. It was a great cruise but we were still cruising virgins:D and did not really know what we were doing.

[dexddd]

dexddd, Yes we did the Hawaiian cruise on the Star, it was in 2002. At the time the Star had to visit a foreign country to be allowed to cruise the Hawaiian Islands so one of our ports was Fanning Island. Fanning Island is in the middle of nowhere (more than 1000 miles from Hawaii) and is extremely remote and primitive. There was not a lot to do but it was very interesting seeing the natives and how they lived. I did some snorkeling and then we mostly just walked around. It took a while to get there and we were not in port for very long before we had to turn around and make the trip back. In addition to Fanning Island we had stops in Hilo, Maui and Kauai. It was a great cruise but we were still cruising virgins:D and did not really know what we were doing.

 

That would have been interesting to do the Star when she was new, especially on that unique route. When we went to Hawaii in 2006, NCL had the 3 ships there and while we looked at going on the Wind for the 10 day to Kiribati vs. the America, we opted for the newer ship. Glad we went at that time because the prices were great for any of the ships vs once they went to one ship.

 

As far as what we did on the Star - in Ketchikan we took the duck tour around the city and then into the bay area then walked around town some. In Juneau we got into the main town area then took one of the old school buses (complete with leaky roof) to Mendenhall then back and walked around town some.

 

In Skagway, we had the car rented and did the drive then after returning the car we walked around town some. There was an app that one of the tour guides had complete with a pdf document that narrates the trip. We didn't use much of the narration - we just had our DD read what we were seeing based on the mileage markers or other landmarks.

 

In PR, yes, not a ton to do and we got there in the later afternoon. We walked around town quite a bit and saw some of the sites. DW got some gifts at the home goods store.

 

Here are a few pics from PR:

 

 

 

[socrdad]

That would have been interesting to do the Star when she was new, especially on that unique route. When we went to Hawaii in 2006, NCL had the 3 ships there and while we looked at going on the Wind for the 10 day to Kiribati vs. the America, we opted for the newer ship. Glad we went at that time because the prices were great for any of the ships vs once they went to one ship.

 

As far as what we did on the Star - in Ketchikan we took the duck tour around the city and then into the bay area then walked around town some. In Juneau we got into the main town area then took one of the old school buses (complete with leaky roof) to Mendenhall then back and walked around town some.

 

In Skagway, we had the car rented and did the drive then after returning the car we walked around town some. There was an app that one of the tour guides had complete with a pdf document that narrates the trip. We didn't use much of the narration - we just had our DD read what we were seeing based on the mileage markers or other landmarks.

 

In PR, yes, not a ton to do and we got there in the later afternoon. We walked around town quite a bit and saw some of the sites. DW got some gifts at the home goods store.

 

Here are a few pics from PR:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Loved your flower pot VW Bug photo. I thought maybe we would have been lucky enough to have run into you at some point on the trip, maybe an excursion, oh well it looks like we did not. I did really like all of the ports (other than Prince Ruppert) and would love to do the cruise again. In Prince Ruppert I did not take a lot of pictures around town but I did start my fascination with birds in flight pictures so I will always remember Prince Ruppert for that. Here are a couple of pictures that I took in PR.

 

My first bird in flight picture that started the fascination. I chased that eagle around town for quite a while.

 

Walking around town with a tour guide, this was one of our first stops.

 

They did have some beautiful flowers all around town and I did take quite a few pictures of them.

[dexddd]

Loved your flower pot VW Bug photo. I thought maybe we would have been lucky enough to have run into you at some point on the trip, maybe an excursion, oh well it looks like we did not. I did really like all of the ports (other than Prince Ruppert) and would love to do the cruise again. In Prince Ruppert I did not take a lot of pictures around town but I did start my fascination with birds in flight pictures so I will always remember Prince Ruppert for that. Here are a couple of pictures that I took in PR.

 

My first bird in flight picture that started the fascination. I chased that eagle around town for quite a while.

 

Walking around town with a tour guide, this was one of our first stops.

 

They did have some beautiful flowers all around town and I did take quite a few pictures of them.

 

Did you see the couple of the eagles landed on one of the stores in town and they were going after some food - maybe popcorn or something on the ground?

 

Did you go to the M&G? We had a pretty decent one and got a bridge tour out of it.

[socrdad]

Did you see the couple of the eagles landed on one of the stores in town and they were going after some food - maybe popcorn or something on the ground?

 

Did you go to the M&G? We had a pretty decent one and got a bridge tour out of it.

 

There was one eagle that was landing on a couple of the stores. Unfortunately I never saw it going after any food on the ground. Here is one of the pictures I got while on a store.

 

 

We did not do the M&G on this cruise as we did not know about Cruise Critic at the time. We did do the behind the scenes tour and that was very interesting. I believe the cost was around $55.00 and I thought it was well worth it. Here are some of the pictures of the behind the scenes tour.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Washing machines for towels and sheets.

 

 

 

This machine was very cool, it folded the bed sheets.

 

 

 

Ann next to the ship's "steering wheel".