Breakaway Pictorial Review NY-FL-Bahamas 3/23/14-3/30/14

[meatball_nyc]

Edited to defer to OP as myself has never sailed out of NYC in November.

Noted: OP sailed out of NYC in March.

 

 

Robin

Norwegian Breakaway July 2014

Carnival Miracle 2010

Carnival Legend 2006

Every Day at Sea is a Great Day

Edited April 3, 2014 by meatball_nyc

[mking8288]

jjlabre - we've sailed out of NYC on the GEM in early November, crossing path with a Nor-easter on a Sunday right after Hurricane Sandy, but not in late November. We've also sailed out of NYC on the Jewel in mid February with relatively "mild" weather. It's typically chilly in the morning of Day 2, usually warming up by the afternoon - these are generalization as weather is unpredictable.

 

On a mega-ship like the BA, there is no much to do indoors that even when everything outside are closed, it's unlikely you will run out of things to do for a day or two or even three.

 

The convenience of sailing from our homeport has a vast advantage over flying south to Florida to sail to the Caribbeans, especially in the winer months and whenever there's stormy weather. Just read some of the FB postings by JetBlue passengers stranded this winter - even with travel insurance. Relax & plan accordingly, think positive and it will all work out - it's how you make the best out of cruising with what's on the ship. Look for your best deals & go for it.

Edited April 3, 2014 by mking8288

[mking8288]

We left Nassau a little late, possibly b/c of late returning passengers off the ship as we overheard names being paged by PA to contact guest services around 6 PM. We eventually began pulling away from the pier. That's the British Colonial Hilton Nassu in the middle, and Senor Frog on the left, about 10 minutes from the pier/terminal near the Straw Market.

 

 

It's a busy evening ahead on the ship, we headed down to the Main Theater for Rock of Ages around 6:30 PM for the 7 PM show (scheduled for 110 minutes, closer to 2 hours actually) It's a full house again, although there is a line for standby seating in case of no-show reservations.

 

 

Overall speaking, it's well done and as if one is watching it inside a Broadway theater. Not necessary suitable for younger children, as written already by others reviewing the show. While waiting for showtime, we noticed that there were three (3) seats with a printed "Reserved" sign on each of them in the middle - must be super VIP or Haven guests. Immediately following the show, we headed up to Deck 16 AFT, Spice/H2O for BA's Fireworks. We found a good spot starboard side with comfortable loungers while waiting - it's a cool & comfortable evening, probably around 75 degree F.

 

 

Here comes the firework, right on schedule that lasted 5 minutes as the music played, loved it -

 

 

 

 

Hungry by now from our late lunch, we made our way down to Savor on Deck 6 for dinner (open till 10 PM tonight) as the buffet is closing at 9:30 PM and O'Sheehan's being the other option.

 

Starter items on the menu tonight - Salmon Tartare again. Here, let me just say, NCL can and need to do a little better in offering more varieties for 4,000 pax on the BA - IMO. Maybe it's getting late, the veal with creamy noodle was a little disappointed, the meat was tough & seemed overcooked, or just plain too chewy for BIL and myself (subjective opinions expressed here, of course.) Otherwise, it's a fine dinner and time to unwind & get some sleep with 2 full sea days ahead and a slower pace back up the coast to NYC. Day 6 is said to be a great day to being outdoors as it is still going to be warm.

 

... to be continued.

[mking8288]

Everyone slept well last night after a busy day in Nassau & onboard, sea was calm and wavelets only and between 5 to 8 ft. waves this morning at breakfast in the buffet, omelett cooked to order and more smoked salmon with a croissant (was looking for the chocolate one, didn't see any or I was still half awake.) By lunch time, seas were slightly higher varying from 8 to 11 ft. but still smooth enough for us, barely noticed it over the engine vibration depending on our whereabouts - cruising speed of 16 knots.

 

 

It's still fairly warm, temps about 75 degree and plenty of folks in the adult pool. The water slide is closed but the rope course is open. Plenty of chairs & loungers, in the sun and with shades at about 10:30 AM, must be all that late night partying.

 

 

 

Next stop, time to check out the shops & stores, including photo on deck 8. Mrs. M wanted to pickup some more duty-free cosmetics with no sales tax. I think we're used up all of our OBC already, LOL. A lighter lunch is necessary today and everyone seemed to be getting "bored" of the almost the same daily menu at Savor or Taste, and didn't care for O'Sheehan's selections either (we LOVED the old Blue Lagoon, however) so we just ate in the buffet, hello to the singing crew members on our way to the various food stations. (Hint, it's ususally less crowded all the way back in AFT and shorter lines)

 

This is LeBistro on Deck 6 MIDship, and there are tables & chairs outside with board games & playing cards, etc. Another good location to do people watching or just chat away or daydream - it does get busy in this area when there's action in the Art Gallery.

 

 

 

I scanned & posted some of the select Breakaway Freestyle Dailies into PDF format on its own thread this morning - here's the link for it.

 

Next - a great dinner at LeBistro ...

[mking8288]

Here we are, seated inside LeBistro with our 6 PM reservation - it wasn't too busy yet. We ordered the Four Mushrooms Soup and it was good - skipping the Onion Soup this time.

 

 

 

Starters - we order a variety plus extras to share among all of us

 

 

 

 

 

 

[mking8288]

Finally, our entrees at LeBistro - they are good & worth the extra $20 surcharge per person.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Crème brûlée is really good (no longer served in the MDR) and the coffee came from freshly prepared French Press.

Edited April 3, 2014 by mking8288

[meatball_nyc]

Wow. That looks amazing.

Thanks :)

 

 

Robin

Norwegian Breakaway July 2014

Carnival Miracle 2010

Carnival Legend 2006

Every Day at Sea is a Great Day

[mking8288]

 

I have been looking for them all this week and nowhere to be found, guess we will just have to go on another cruise soon. Besides, gave away all of our mints to grand-niece and grand-nephew. iConcierge is now useless except for the Cruise Countdown clock.

 

BA was doing 7 knots between GSC and Nassau 2 days ago and doubled her speed now to 16 or 17 knots, and still it seemed almost motionless, that's how smooth this sailing was for us up on deck 13 - being well conditioned for sidway motions with rough seas.

 

 

It was a very short distance to travel between GSC & Nassau.

 

 

Now, on Day 7 - the last full Sea Day, we are cruising almost 17 knots - off the North carolina coast just before 9 AM (Saturday morning) Time to head for breakfast - more smoked Salmon for me, yay! Upstairs, crew members at the buffet, singing Washy Washy, Happy Happy ...

 

 

The sea is still relatively calm and smooth to us, wave is 8 to 11 ft. looking ahead - dark clouds, going to be raining & staying indoors. Nephew managed to soak it up in the hot tube early this morning & now hungry for a full breakfast.

 

 

Downstairs, near the Ice Bar MIDship, all is quiet - nothing going on & no bartenders working yet. In fact, not much of a drinking crowd on this particular sailing - even when compared to other smaller NCL ships in the fleet. Along with the cancelled GSC visit, gross revenue & net profit for this particular cannot be all that good. Oh, wait - it's Bingo time & pitching for tonight's Paradise Lotto drawing.

 

 

As for those NCL E-Coupons worth up to $300 or $400 - totally useless. Don't bother taking them out even if you printed them. We did take advantage of the Photo Package deal yesterday (Day 5,) any 10 (mix & match) pix for $129.99 and we're able to use our Latitude discount (nice, it's 20% for Gold or 25% for Platinum) - savings of about $40 vs. regular pricing. For an extra $20, they will transfer them into an USB drive for making your own prints. Not that we had that many pix taken by the ship's photographers, but those unlimited photo deals in the old days were great bargains.

Deck 8 is mad packed with shopping frenzy crowds everywhere this morning - with nowhere to go & not much to do for some. Folks were grabbing those $19.99 watches like they're free (or, had lots of OBC to use up) along with those $10 deals. It's a good thing we did ours yesterday and already put them away in our suitcases.

Before we knew, it's time to eat and this would be our last lunch on the BA - oh, NO. I refused to look at those Priority/Yellow Luggage Tags or Disembarkation Info, but - all good things must come to an end, sooner or later.

[mking8288]

As much as we would rather not be somewhere else 24 hours later - we spend part of the morning packing our suitcases - still debating on whether to do Express Self-Walkoff or the leisure way since we have Yellow Tags for Priority Disembarkation, and should be on the Pier / inside the terminal around 8:30 AM (that means alarm clock set for 6 or 6:15 AM to get ready)

 

Okay, time to get some fresh air & do some walking exercise and explore parts of the ship that we haven't seen yet. Let's go check out Deck 7 outdoors - yes, that's where the lifeboats are. Okay, there are life preservers with coils of ropes - in case someone is overboard, throw it toward them & sound the alarm, that's the idea ... I think. No medical emergencies that we know of during this sailing and no code calls over the PA while we're onboard. That's good.

 

 

The skies actually brightened up a bit compared to early, sea conditions arent' rough at all - tiny waves, really - as this open deck would be roped off and off limits to guests otherwise. A bit choppy, perhaps - that's it.

 

 

I looked around, there are no chairs or loungers around on this open but "obstructed" deck 7. Otherwise, this could be a pretty secluded & quiet place to relax, enjoy & read, etc. and shaded.

 

 

After lunch, Mrs. M headed back to the casino, we recovered our losses yesterday from earlier and only slightly down - time to try our lucks again, with limits. Not going to give back our winnings again - never a dull moment cruising, LOL. It's late afternoon now, we are sailing off the Maryland coast now and doing about 16 or 17 knots - we are on schedule to get back to NY, and, early for arrival. No detour to Bermuda for this run ...

 

 

It's a little after 5 PM now, and folks are out and about, small gathering of crowds everywhere, some dressed up for the evening for one last time.

 

 

Where's everyone as we walk pass the Art Gallery corridor to Taste & Savor MDR, heading to the Manhattan Room - not buying or bidding for artworks, for sure.

 

 

Some folks came early for their 5:30 PM reservation, waiting outside already to get in. The line was pretty long & somewhat confusing on the last evening - it didn't matter if you have reservation or doing Freestyle dining, lined up the same way to see the host/hostess, and Guest Key Card at the ready.

[mking8288]

It took us about 10 minutes waiting in line to get to see the hostess and get seated, not bad. Meanwhile, we watched large groups going straight into the Manhattan Room as if it's a reserved function for them - puzzled a bit (the jewelry ladies ??) MDR is filling up fast this evening and it's noiser than usual and the waiters/ress & assistants are very busy. Our server greeted us shortly and asked if we are rushing to catch the evening show and we said no - others sitting near us are going, and they're getting the "fast track" service ...

 

Memo to NCL, during busy/peak demand period - consider having 2 host/hostess stations, 1 for walkup without reservations and 1 for confirmed reservations.

 

I ordered the roast rack of lamb (or, something like that) for my entree - medium - and it was quite good & at the right portion size. Mrs. M had the Red Snapper & Shrimp pictured here. Otherwise, it's back to Salmon - no Monk Fish on the menu.

 

 

The best part, however, are the desserts - long lived the "Cooking Light" Menu for the NCL fleet.

 

 

 

 

Well, well - what's waiting for us? Not the mints - those US Customs Declaration Form needed to be filled out this evening. Allright, I will do it next.

 

 

Finished re-packing our luggage, taking off old NCL tags and putting on the new NCL yellow-colored, and put them outside in the hallway of our stateroom. We saw some of them already packed & lined up down the corridors already. Ours were ready by 9:30 PM (must be outside stateroom before 11 PM) and they're gone in a matter of minutes, Julito - our Steward took them quickly, disappearing into the service corridor. A reminder, do a final check of your Account Review using the App or via Interactive TV menu system by now to be certain that they are accurate, and, if not, resolve it with Guest Services before the morning - as the Statement will be prepared/printed overnight & distributed in the morning.

 

We are somewhere off the coast & north of Atlantic City at 10 PM and had slowed down to 12 or 13 knots - will be arriving in NYC before sunrise. It's time to get some sleep & rest, and set the alarm clock. Good night.

 

... conclusion & final toughts, loose ends & comments, etc. (to be continued)

Edited April 4, 2014 by mking8288

[Noodle77]

Great review, mking! I board the Breakaway on 4/27 for the same cruise, so thanks for posting the Dailies.

 

jjlabre, I sailed out of NYC in November 2012 on the Jewel for Thanksgiving week. I'm not going to lie, the weather wasn't great all week -- but the Captain said that it was unusually windy for that time of year. Even FL and Nassau were unseasonably cold and windy, and we had to skip GSC. The first and last day were pretty rough seas -- I was sick on the first day and my friend was so seasick the last day she tried acupuncture. Luckily, I'm not big into sunbathing for hours at a time, and we had spa passes and spent a lot of time there. Just be prepared to explore all the indoor options on board.

 

(Sorry to hijack the thread!)

[mking8288]

Great review, mking! I board the Breakaway on 4/27 for the same cruise, so thanks for posting the Dailies ...

No worries about HJ. I added info on iConcierge and Spa pricing info - to stay updated on the ship and for pampering if the outdoors aren't perfect.

 

Spice/H2O Outdoors, Deck 16 AFT is adults only until 6 PM w 2 hot tubs and steps away from Uptown Bar & Grill, one of our favorite hangout - it's as close as it can get with the "Great Outdoors" (better, IMO) as those in the Dawn/Jewel class ships in the NCL fleet. The adult pool wasn't too crowded but a different demographics like Spring break or peak Summer sailings will changed that to overcrowded quickly.

 

Our sincere wishes for even warmer weather for your cruise on BA later this month with smooth sea conditions like we did, and making GSC (it's been 50:50 for us - 2 tendered & 2 cancelled thus far)

 

Home again - Early Sunday morning, after going to bed around midnight - awoke around 4 AM, BA has slowed down with its approach to Sandy Hook, NJ and ready to sail into the Lower Bay, and went back to sleep again. Alarm going off at 6 AM had us up quickly, gone past the VZ Bridge and SOL in the morning fog, mist and shower/rain, seeing lights from nearby shores on ship's Fwd webcam. A few more minutes and we're turning toward Pier 88 to dock, this being one of the earliest return to NYC on NCL for us. Wow, I can definitely see us getting off the ship leisurely around 8:30 AM as scheduled, and sure enough - we're docking around 6:30 AM at the Pier.

 

Going against our NCL tradition of doing our disembark breakfast in the MDR, we decided to call the others to meet up in the buffet and we made it upstairs around 7 AM - surprising, it was NOT crowded at all. Maybe, the Express Walk-Off pax had already finished theirs and gone down to get ready. It appeared that a good # of pax are still sleeping in their cabins. Our BIL/SIL already upstairs as they are early-risers, half way done eating as they choose the Express & will call the car service to pick them up to go home themselves. Nephew & his wife were the last to show up and not exactly in a hurry, just like us.

 

 

Out in the open deck area, it's wet with the showers or rain overnight and the pool area is roped off, closed. (Sorry, I didn't check the hot tube areas to see if that's still open)

 

 

On a side note, for those with children wondering about the Nickoloden attractions & events on the BA, they are there and available - otherwise, it's fairly low key - check the Freestyle Dailies for listings on where to find Sponge Bob, Dora & other characters, etc.

 

 

Among the enhancement to the newer ships are the handwash sinks outside the buffet entrances, in addition to the hand sanitizers and crew members with the spray bottles. However, I must say that we did not once see anyone stopping to wash their hands with soap and running water before going into the buffet or afterward.

 

Side comment: addition of AED, marked & in a red case, mounted high in an enclosed cabinet, making the life saving device easily & quickly accessible to first responders and lay person to use it as necessary. Thanks, NCL - well done (and, I trust that it is checked/inspected on a regular basis by the appropriate crew member, as we do on a daily basis in our primary care facility)

 

Around 7:30 AM, Dan the CD annouced over the PA that Express Self Walk-Off is ready and pax can proceed to the FWD and AFT gangways on Deck 7. Time to go back to our cabins and get ready to disembark soon, and make sure we clear everything out & turn the cabin over to our steward to get it ready for the next sailing.

 

A little after 8 AM, we say goodbye to Julito, our Steward for the week, and finally got into the busy elevators from Deck 13 down to Deck 7, and walked a few steps to the casino area, and sat down to wait - while checking emails, messages & getting "reconnected" via the internet, now that we are home again & no longer roaming or depending on the ship's WiFi. Final calls were made for all those doing the walk-off to make their way to the gangways. Yellow tags were called around 8:30 AM (that's Priority Disembarkation, the first color-coded group) and we proceeded to the AFT gangway around the corner from the elevators (near the Manhattan Dining Room) for the gangway, swiping the BA Guest Key Card for the last time & into the terminal, down the escalators to the street level, where all the luggages are neatly organized in sections & by colors.

 

Yellow is all the forward toward 12th Avenue, with the exit with CBP booths directly ahead. There are plenty of porters available on hand with their carts for those needing assistance, and, they have their own exit lanes - which can save a few minutes or more vs. the regular lines. U.S. citizens & PR holders are supposed to go into one line and non-US passport holders are supposed to go to the oppositte side with another line. Regardless, there're about 7 or 8 CBP booths open and manned by uniformed officers - this morning, they seemed to be checking passports closely and not just collecting the forms.

CBP officer said to Mrs. M, "you cut your hair" (her passport photo has long & straight hair and she has short & wavery hair now) "yes," she replied. I then joked as he started looking at my picture, "I lost my hair" as with age, mine isn't as thick as it used to be and the balding is showing. He chuckled & smiled, took a quick glance at our Declaration Form, returned our passports and signaled for us to go ahead for the exit.

This morning, with just the Breakaway in port, everyone except those parked upstairs on the rooftop are directed to go outside and across 12th Avenue for taxi, car service, private car pickup or other arrangements (except for NCL bus/airport transfer & post-cruise tours, etc.) - fortunately, it's no longer raining or wet and the taxi dispatcher has plenty of taxi lined up for 2+ blocks and we're #4 to get into one. Four of us with our 22" carryon rollers and 2 smaller backpack all fitted into a full-size Ford Crown Victoria taxi for a quick ride home to N.E. Queens - via the 59th Street/Ed Koch Bridge. Amazingly, we got home at 9:30 AM - ride took only 30 minutes in very light early Sunday morning traffic - metered fare came to $48 before tips - a little cheaper than using Carmel car service that we often used (and, that of our local neighborhood car service - Golden Horse Car & Limo - too.)

 

The big question next, "honey, when are we going again - we need another cruise soon, this one is just too short (lasting 7 nights)." Yes, indeed.

Edited April 5, 2014 by mking8288

[mking8288]

To sum up our week on the Breakaway & strategies, tips & tricks for getting the most out of a week’s worth of cruising.

 

Priority embarkation or not, plan to arrive 10 – 10:30 AM to dropoff luggage, finish check-in and board close to 11:30 AM.

Carry-ons go to stateroom, hang up coats/jackets, put valuables inside the mini-safe, lock your cabin and go to lunch (buffet, MDR or O'Sheehan's)

Activate iConcierge Apps on iPhone or Androids & download (FWD ship for optimal signal, i.e. Watefront on Deck 8 is better than Deck 15 or 16)

Stop at Box Office to book shows & do specialty dining reservations, if not already.

Explore Ocean 6-7-8 and rest of ship, burn off the calories on way back to stateroom.

Go to Muster Station (mostly Deck 6) for mandatory safey drill at 2:30 PM plus unpack luggage.

Watch the sailaway at 3 PM down the Hudson on the upper/open deck or balcony, bring camera & dress accordingly.

Upload those last minute FB photos & messages, then put into Airplane mode and/or turn off Roaming.

 

 

The cabins might seemed small, fair amount of (open shelf) storage, functional bathrooms & you can charge your mobile device here by plugging into the ceiling socket next to the top shelf overnight.

 

We found good availability of indoor & outdoor public area offering plenty of comfortable seating, bring along an insulated coffee mug, grab some cookies, fresh fruit or dessert from the buffet and you are all set to read & relax. Here on the Deck 8's Waterfront, Portside - it was under-utilized even at PC as it was a bit windy & chilly to some – we sat outside after dinner with our mobile devices & tablets to play while still docked.

 

 

WiFi / mobile broadband users:

 

NYC – Terminal, no free WiFi. AT&T has stronger signal vs. T-Mo.

 

PC/FL – Terminal, no free WiFi. AT&T Wireless has stronger signal vs. T-Mo.

 

GSC – No WiFi (except NCL's MTN $$)

 

Nassau, Bahamas – inside the Pier Terminal, free WiFi, heavily in use.

 

BTW, we saw nobody using UHF walkie-talkies on the BA. iConcierge is more practically. Otherwise, just call directly between staterooms, leave Voice Mail and/or pre-arrange a meeting time/place on the ship.

Edited April 7, 2014 by mking8288
Summary - a few thoughts to wrap it up

[mking8288]

CC's Meet & Greet and Reception for Latitude's

 

 

This is one of the smaller CC M&G on NCL, probably not more than 25 people - I almost forgotten about it as Mrs. M had us in the non-smoking section of the well layout casino and some of the latest multi-games penny slots machines.

 

As for the Latitude's reception, it was held on different evenings for BIL/SIL and us. No longer free drawings, raffles or door prizes - but some finger food offered and FREE alcohol for the 30 minutes gathering, enjoy !!! (Hint: bring a guest along, no ID's or Key Cards checked and .... )

Specials - "no" Two for One or Early-Bird dining deals, "no" jazz brunch, "no" white hot party or chocoholic buffet. We did run into the "free" hot dog cart once on deck 8 FWD. Room service and O’Sheehan’s are included - try them at least once. Sign up for lucky drawing for Dinner with the Ship’s Officers by Tuesday at Guest Services, see Freestyle Dailies for detail. (I believed I saw them on the last evening in the Manhattan Room)

 

Overall, food at the Garden Café or buffet are fine, food variety or selection could be better – still, we ate more meals upstairs during this sailing. Probably part of the overall trends, we saw fewer varieties compared to past NCL sailings & didn’t see much in terms of BBQ ribs or pork chops and the carving station cuts contained more fat. Buffetl's Asian food are dominated by use of yellow or green curry and spices, which isn’t necessary liked by everyone. Food taste aren’t as bland as others said and still has plenty of sodium. Soup selections are now scaled back to two hot choices, the chilled soup long gone. Pasta can be cooked to order if you don’t mind standing in line and we do missed the noodles soup station. The same selections are served in up to four lines, and the AFT section tend to have shorter & quicker lines - especially when both sides are open for service. Late night, we got fried chicken wings, burgers, fries, mini sandwiches and other hot items in the buffet as snacks - instead of going to O'Sheehans or calling Room Service.

 

Buffet's facilities are kept very clean and spacing between tables are good. Layout is good with the beverage stations spread out, coffee is fairly strong and the mango water is a good alternative to soda – don’t missed the lemonade. It is quite busy during peak time but never over-crowded with crew members quickly clearing the tables of dirty plates & cups, utensils and wiping it clean. Bring a BPA-free water bottle for filtered clean drinking water, flavored water, or juice & keep it iced cold in the empty mini-refrigerator (adjust the temperature knob on the back wall.) A handful of tables designated by handicapped with a sign are often ignored by inconsiderate adults – wish NCL crew member would remind them of the courtesy.

 

MDR Menu, we're not sure if these are newest menus that rotate & change daily, as it looked the same on all 7 days for lunch - and there seemed to be less variety nightly, especially with some of the starter items, including the soup & salad. Not a big deal - NCL has some of the best dessert and on most nights, we had ours with coffee. We’ve almost missed lobster tails & seafood (it’s buffet only on Day 2 upstairs, go early for shorter lines and to catch Burn the Floor) - as it wasn't served in the MDR?? The roast rack of lamb served was better than strip loin beef. It's not 4 or 4.5 stars fine dining and you will NOT be hungry - with generous OBC's in our accounts again, our dinner at LeBistro did NOT disappoint at all, loved the Four Mushrooms Soup, better than the French Onion Soup that's often too salty. Creame Burlee and freshly brewed premium coffee using French Press, OMG - that's pure haven ! (better than the Napoleon pastry)

 

 

To get into Rock of Ages and Burn The Floor, making reservations are a must as these free shows are full - standby’s are allowed, if there are no shows. The Jungle Fantasy Dinner show with a $29.95 surcharge (thanks to OBC again) lasted about 90 minutes and it was very entertaining, the steak was reasonable tender as I asked for it cooked medium – and shrimps medium sized.

 

O’Sheehan’s has more far seating than the Blue Lagoon on "smaller" NCL ships but services in PC, Florida was a bit slower than expected - they appeared under-staffed and overwhelmed, not a big deal as we’re not in a hurry to go anywhere. We did speak to the host/manager on duty about our observation & extra help came later - the crowd was gone by then, presumably off the ship for dry land. The Old Fashion Soup replaced the old "Wonton" Soup but the Hot Wings were just okay. Ordered my big Salmon burger and that was GOOD - yummy. (these are all subjective opinions)

Bingo & Instant Wins: we didn't played them at all this time, finding them to be expensive relative to its payouts. Our nephew went to check out Bingo once & came back, saying it was appealing enough to play.

 

Latitude members: Platinum members get 25% discount for photography & gift shop purchases, show your card & save and 20% for gold. Priority tendering for GSC go and disembarkation, part of Welcome in the cabin + Ship Pins, Godiva Chocolate, etc.

 

Missing GSC & Nassau at night: due to rough sea/waves, we stopped at GSC but for safety reasons, we just couldn't tendered in. We managed to docked at Nassau by early evening, except that most shops & stores are closed by then, took some night scene pictures off the BA and then went back up (unless going to Altantas for some action or local bars, etc.) Two Carnival ships (or, was it 3 ??) were also docked overnight.

 

 

Yellow Luggage Tags is for 8:30 AM leisure walkoff, about 1 hour after docking & Express Self Walk-Off being announced (used the porter services & you are outside in 10 to 15 minutes, across 12th Avenue for taxi/car service pickup or to rooftop parking.

 

That's about sum up our recollections, and probably left out a few details - please feel free to post comments, questions or share your thoughts if you've sailed on the BA, whether it's the same sailing or on a different sailing.

 

Edited April 7, 2014 by mking8288

[windjamming]

It took us about 10 minutes waiting in line to get to see the hostess and get seated, not bad. Meanwhile, we watched large groups going straight into the Manhattan Room as if it's a reserved function for them - puzzled a bit (the jewelry ladies ??) MDR is filling up fast this evening and it's noiser than usual and the waiters/ress & assistants are very busy. Our server greeted us shortly and asked if we are rushing to catch the evening show and we said no - others sitting near us are going, and they're getting the "fast track" service ...

 

Memo to NCL, during busy/peak demand period - consider having 2 host/hostess stations, 1 for walkup without reservations and 1 for confirmed reservations.

 

I ordered the roast rack of lamb (or, something like that) for my entree - medium - and it was quite good & at the right portion size. Mrs. M had the Red Snapper & Shrimp pictured here. Otherwise, it's back to Salmon - no Monk Fish on the menu.

 

 

I *loved* that Snapper and Shrimp dinner on the last night. We were at Savor at around 6:30, and our waiter said it was a madhouse in the kitchen trying to get that dish. Apparently the Manhattan Room was in overdrive...wonder if it was the jewelry ladies?

 

Great review, love all the pictures - takes me right back to the ship!

[mking8288]

[quote name='windjamming']I *loved* that Snapper and Shrimp ... We were at Savor at around 6:30, and our waiter said it was a madhouse in the kitchen ... the Manhattan Room was in overdrive...wonder if it was the jewelry ladies? ... takes me right back to the ship![/quote] Yes, those sweet memories. [B]BTW, I read your review - great job.[/B] The fish soup (small chunk of Monkfish ??) that was once in the MDR was good, sort of miniaturized as served in LeBistro, and the Tilapia was a nice change instead of Salmon. Here we are at the Manhattan, it was a bit dark inside and nearly all the tables are full around 6:45 PM with a long line outside, live music but hardly anyone on the dance floor as this was supposed to be like a supper club.

[IMG]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/64025118/2014%20NCL%20BA/VLCs-2014-03-29-MDR-Prime.jpg[/IMG]

I "raided" our other parties' photo collection to see what else is worth posting here, got a few more for sharing. From embarkation, Deck 7 Fwd as we head for the Box Office after lunch:

[IMG]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/64025118/2014%20NCL%20BA/NCL_BA_032014_Nick_Welcome.jpg[/IMG]

Just in case, for those that missed the singing crew members - here's one snapshot outside the Garden Cafe while we're waiting for our parties to arrive. Oh, yes, someone actually used the sink to wash their hands with soap & running water (see her) - got it on smartphone video too ! [B] Washy, Washy, Happy Happy ... [/B]([I]can't believed that we didn't find time to make it to the special farewell performance this time around[/I])

[IMG]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/64025118/2014%20NCL%20BA/VLCs-2014-03-25-GC-Wash-W.jpg[/IMG]

After Burn the Floor in the Main Theater, the BA's senior officers were out on stage briefly with their greetings, including Captain Hoyt in the middle with the microphone and "Dan the man" CD on the far right in his suit.

[IMG]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/64025118/2014%20NCL%20BA/VLCs-2014-03-24-BTF-Officers.jpg[/IMG]

Just in case you run out of ideas and things to do, how about an outdoor game of chess on the Waterfront ... (if it's chilly & windy, bring a fleece or hooded jacket alone)

[IMG]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/64025118/2014%20NCL%20BA/NCL_BA_032014_Waterfront_Chess.jpg[/IMG]

And, of course, plenty of music & singing going on all around - we didn't get around to check out any of the Karaoke on the ship.

[IMG]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/64025118/2014%20NCL%20BA/NCL_BA_032014_Jazz_Club.jpg[/IMG]

There are a # of current reviews from others on various shows & lounge, please read them. We did enjoyed listen to the resident singers, Alis & Pedja Duo while hanging out near O'Sheehan's overlooking the altrium lobby during the week. [B]Gift shopping[/B] on the BA was fun, lots of $10 specials that ran all week long and $20/$35 watch set specials. [B]Duty-free shopping[/B] for those buying smoke & alcohol, the popular brands are there (prices seemed to be UP again, but still below land's with taxes/surcharges, etc.)

Duty-free [B]cosmetics[/B] are offered in numerous brands, but they seemed to run out of some items in their inventory, so shop early during the cruise - we soon ran out of OBC rather than later, LOL - but so taxes & the better half is happy bring them home.

Spring break week coming for NYC public schools (and others) so this weekend's sailing is going to be mad packed with children and they will be all over the ship along with the Nickelodeon themed events, just trying to imagine how they are going make room for most in those tiny pools. [I]Okay, saved that debate for another thread/topic on a different day. [/I]

Looking at her live webcam - moderate sea with white caps near GSC, odds are that they are not tendering and doing another ultra-slow Day-At-Sea toward Nassau by the evening. Have a plan B for skipping Port Canaveral and what to do in the Bahamas overnight as the shops will be closed, except for restaurants & of course, Atlantas-bound.
[URL]http://www.ncl.com/shipcams/bawaycam/fullsize.jpg?browser_popup=640x480[/URL]