Where do we go first once onboard Breakaway?

[tcrny]

Hi, sorry if this is a repeat question. We haven't cruised since 2009 and I completely forgot what we do when we first get onboard. :confused: We have onboard credit & UPB ... do we get everything when we check in at port or do we go to the guest services desk? I've only cruised 3 times but so long ago I don't remember the protocol.

 

Thanks so much!

[JAMESCC]

That is a great question, and will be interested. We have cruised 4 times, one Princess[our first] and 3 on Explorer of the seas RCCL. On Explorer we usually go find our room first just so we kinda know where it is, then head to the buffet. That is what we usually do, but we have never been on NCL. Next Oct. will be our first NCL on Breakaway so we'll be interested in what veteran NCL cruisers have to say.

Edited June 30, 2015 by JAMESCC

[janetz]

Drop off your carryon in your cabin. Explore the ship and eat lunch. We tend to have lunch some where besides the buffet, which is always packed.:)

[JAMESCC]

Drop off your carryon in your cabin. Explore the ship and eat lunch. We tend to have lunch some where besides the buffet, which is always packed.:)

 

I was gonna say on Breakaway you have LOTS of choice, on Explorer you had no choice really but to go to the buffet. NCL you have choice and that's a GREAT thing.

[KurtMo]

Your onboard credit will be on your account and there will be a UBP sticker on your cruise card. Drop your carry-on bags in your room and head for decks 6 / 7 / 8 "the Waterfront" to get the lay of the land. And when you want a nice cool adult beverage, it will be free with the UBP (as long as "sticker price" is under $11). Make reservations if you want for specialty dining or entertainment. Continue up to the pool deck and buffet on 15 to see how it is laid out. Most of all, have fun.

[fshagan]

Hi, sorry if this is a repeat question. We haven't cruised since 2009 and I completely forgot what we do when we first get onboard. :confused: We have onboard credit & UPB ... do we get everything when we check in at port or do we go to the guest services desk? I've only cruised 3 times but so long ago I don't remember the protocol.

 

Thanks so much!

 

I believe you should see that you have UBP or UDP (beverage or dining) on your statement that you get when checking in. You can view your account on the TV in your stateroom to verify everything. Your vacation starts when you set foot on the ship, so there are no things you have to do to secure these things!

 

If you want lunch, they often try to route people to the buffet, but if you prefer a sit down lunch one of the main dining rooms is usually open too.

 

If you have the beverage plan it starts the moment you set foot on the ship, so you can test out getting an adult beverage and seeing the slip for $0 for your drink!

 

Typically you can get into your cabin between 1 - 2 PM. Luggage takes longer to get there usually, so if you have anything you might need (like medicine) bring it with your carry-on.

[Son of a son of a ...]

We tend to have some cocktails, explore the ship, find the cabin, unpack, muster call, sail away, return to cabin, chill, dress, dinner, show, casino ... rinse and repeat 😀

[tcrny]

Your onboard credit will be on your account and there will be a UBP sticker on your cruise card. Drop your carry-on bags in your room and head for decks 6 / 7 / 8 "the Waterfront" to get the lay of the land. And when you want a nice cool adult beverage, it will be free with the UBP (as long as "sticker price" is under $11). Make reservations if you want for specialty dining or entertainment. Continue up to the pool deck and buffet on 15 to see how it is laid out. Most of all, have fun.

 

We get the cruise card at the terminal before we board? If we board by noon, do we have access to our rooms right away or is there a wait? I kind of recall that back in 2009 on our last cruise. We had to wait a couple of hours before our room was ready.

 

Thank you for the info. Looking forward to checking out this ship and the waterfront sounds awesome! We are ready to love this ship and this cruise. We enjoy not planning anything, exploring and just chilling and having fun. I am ready for this!

[KurtMo]

We get the cruise card at the terminal before we board? If we board by noon, do we have access to our rooms right away or is there a wait?

 

You will have your cruise card in your hand when you check in and before you board. We got to pier around 10:30, and were onboard by 12 noon or so (the lines at terminal seemed to grow a LOT by 11:30pm or so). We had immediate access to room, but bags did not arrive for a few hours. Start your vacation.

[bangzoom6877]

We plan to go to lunch in the MDR as soon as we board. Much nicer than the buffet, quieter, and you'll have a nice lunch served to you!

 

After lunch, we will go to Splash academy to sign the boys up for the kids' activities. Then we will explore the ship and attempt to get to know our way around, which will probably take a week lol! ;)

[tcrny]

You will have your cruise card in your hand when you check in and before you board. We got to pier around 10:30, and were onboard by 12 noon or so (the lines at terminal seemed to grow a LOT by 11:30pm or so). We had immediate access to room, but bags did not arrive for a few hours. Start your vacation.

 

Thanks! WoooHooo I am ready!!!! :D

[JPV072900]

Hmmm...eat lunch then hit the waterslides!!!

[bobg529]

Another nice spot for lunch is to head to O'Sheehans for a burger or fish and chips and to break in that UBP card and order a few beers. And the wings are awesome there too. I love that first day at sea, when the whole vacation stretches out before you, and your filled with the breathless anticipation of too much food, and alcohol, and pretty ladies in skimpy bathing suits, and sun and music and fun. Oh well, I just need to ride it out to Halloween, and then it's twelve days on the Getaway for me!:D

[avcruz]

The day we boarded the Breakaway there was a smaller buffet set up in Moderno's. We went there for lunch and it was very nice and not as crowded as the buffet.

[jaynedough26]

Go to uptown grill on 16th floor for lunch. Great burgers and waffle fries made to order

[luvtheships]

Go to uptown grill on 16th floor for lunch. Great burgers and waffle fries made to order

 

And the guy manning the sabrett hot dog truck tends to hang out there as well!!!!! The best!!!!

 

They also have a truck in the atrium too!!!!

 

 

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Edited June 30, 2015 by luvtheships

[Cruise a holic]

Hi, sorry if this is a repeat question. We haven't cruised since 2009 and I completely forgot what we do when we first get onboard. :confused: We have onboard credit & UPB ... do we get everything when we check in at port or do we go to the guest services desk? I've only cruised 3 times but so long ago I don't remember the protocol.

 

Thanks so much!

Our first NCL cruise. We are in the Haven does our process differ?

Thank all

[bjtravelnews]

Just off the Breakaway yesterday - our best cruise ever! Embarkation was fast and very well organized. I think it only took about 30 minutes from the time we entered the cruise terminal until we set foot on the ship. We had the UBP. There is no sticker. The UBP is printed directly on the room card (below the NCL insignia). We also had spa passes and had to go to the spa for a sticker that was placed on the back of the card. Your onboard credit will be posted on your account. You can view if from the TV in your room.

 

Just a note about the UBP - My husband and I both had the UBP. Most of the time, the bartenders only took one of our cards and charged two drinks. I kept checking our on-board account because I was worried we would be charged for the 2nd drink. But we never incurred any extra charges. My daughter had the soda - and most of the time she never even had to show her card.

 

Also - if you order a drink while still in port, you WILL be charged port tax. Can't remember how much it was, but I think under $2.00/drink.

 

We set foot on the ship by about 1:00. We asked one of the crew and he said rooms were ready, so we went to the room to drop off our carry-ons. The rest of the luggage arrived gradually, with the last piece getting there sometime after dinner.

 

After checking out our balcony, we set out to explore the ship. In the stateroom hallways, the fish design on the carpet is very helpful. Follow the fish's lead to go forward and follow the tails to get the the aft (back of the ship). Setting our priorities, we hit the first bar we found :D. Then went to grab a bite to eat. The Garden Cafe (deck 15, aft) wasn't really that crowded and we didn't want to eat alot, because we had dinner reservations at 5:30.

The muster drill is about 3:30 and you are required to attend. Instead of going to the deck with the lifeboats, you assemble in different areas of the ship.

After the muster drill, we headed up to Spice H2O. We wanted to be there for the sail away party and also to be close to a deck rail so we could take pix as we sailed out of the harbor. It gets very crowded, so make sure you get there early if you want to do the sailaway party. Otherwise, any of the sun decks will give you a great view.

 

Sorry - this is probably much more information than you needed, but I thought someone else reading this post may find it helpful.

 

Have fun on your cruise! I'm ready to go again!

[bangzoom6877]

The day we boarded the Breakaway there was a smaller buffet set up in Moderno's. We went there for lunch and it was very nice and not as crowded as the buffet.

 

We are going with a group of 11 people. We've all been joking around about how much we are going to eat on this cruise! We even goof about going to all 4 available venues for lunch and just making rounds at all of them! The MDR, followed by Moderno buffet, followed by O'Sheehan's, followed by the Garden Cafe once the crowds calm down. Lol, I know we won't end up doing all of that, and we will just eat lunch in the MDR, but the possibilities seem endless! ;)

[Dorhead1230]

We are going with a group of 11 people. We've all been joking around about how much we are going to eat on this cruise! We even goof about going to all 4 available venues for lunch and just making rounds at all of them! The MDR, followed by Moderno buffet, followed by O'Sheehan's, followed by the Garden Cafe once the crowds calm down. Lol, I know we won't end up doing all of that, and we will just eat lunch in the MDR, but the possibilities seem endless! ;)

 

 

Don't forget Uptown Grill and that there's usually some grilling being done on deck...anything worth doing is worth doing right! [emoji12]

[Dorhead1230]

 

 

 

Also - if you order a drink while still in port, you WILL be charged port tax. Can't remember how much it was, but I think under $2.00/drink.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for all of the information you posted. Was the tax charged while in port in NYC and for the entire time in Bermuda? Also, do you recall what time you arrived at the port in NYC?

[emcelh]

Our first NCL cruise. We are in the Haven does our process differ?

Thank all

 

Yes. Be sure to identify yourselves as Haven guests to the people directing traffic once you go through security. You'll be directed to the priority check in lines and then you'll wait to board the ship with the other Haven guests in a special area. I haven't sailed the Breakaway but on other NCL ships you're escorted aboard and taken to the restaurant reserved for suite guests for lunch. Prepare to be spoiled.

[bjtravelnews]

Thanks for all of the information you posted. Was the tax charged while in port in NYC and for the entire time in Bermuda? Also, do you recall what time you arrived at the port in NYC?

Tax was charged while in port in NYC. It was $.71 per drink. I'm not sure at what point the tax is no longer charged (i.e., once the ship leaves the dock or when it sails a predetermined distance away). Just checked my final bill to be sure - there was no port tax while docked in Bermuda. Good thing since we did almost all of our drinking those days on the ship (only paid for two bottles of beer at the Frog and Onion in the Dockyard and they were $6.50 each:eek:)

 

We really made good use of the drink package. Gonna have to detox for a while;)

[Dorhead1230]

Tax was charged while in port in NYC. It was $.71 per drink. I'm not sure at what point the tax is no longer charged (i.e., once the ship leaves the dock or when it sails a predetermined distance away). Just checked my final bill to be sure - there was no port tax while docked in Bermuda. Good thing since we did almost all of our drinking those days on the ship (only paid for two bottles of beer at the Frog and Onion in the Dockyard and they were $6.50 each:eek:)

 

 

 

We really made good use of the drink package. Gonna have to detox for a while;)

 

 

Thanks so much for double-checking and for that info! Tax in NYC is no problem, but the three days in Bermuda might have been a killer [emoji33] lol. I aspire for my cruise in a few weeks to require detox [emoji1].

[nancynana9950]

I think I read somewhere that there is a table with staff from Splash Academy in the boarding terminal and you can register once you have your sail and sign cards. The line can be long to do this on board.