MITSUGIRLY BREAKAWAY's 1 last time for the year-review/pictorial

[mitsugirly]

Yes, Sakari walked the plank! I have to be honest, it completely freaked me out when she was out there. There's just something different about it being your child out there and it being yourself standing there instead. By no means am I scared of the ropes course, being up high or even walking the plank. Nothing about it scares me at all. However, my child standing out there and me looking down. YIKES! I could not wait for her to get off.

 

The even scarier part was her trying to pull the cord to take the picture. The cord is pretty high up and she had to stand on her tippy toes to do it. My heart is pounding right now thinking of that moment.

 

The other thing is, I can tell you it's an entirely different feeling hanging out over the edge with the concrete below you and the buildings beside you, than it being over water. I prefer the water.

 

The pictures the ship took of the plank that day COMPLETELY SUCKED!! I have complained in the past about ship pictures (but that's with the photographers), but this takes my complaints to an entirely different level. They turned out so dark and spotted (I'm sure from the salt water). But I just HAD to purchase one of Sakari. The kids pictures...they were all so dark and black that it looked like they were hanging on the plank in the moonlight. That was not the case and I have no idea what happened.

 

 

(After the plank and zip lining for me....we continue with the story)

 

Since I had already zip lined, at the end of the zip line, you get off and they have a "clip" where you can't go back on the ropes course and are pretty much forced to end the fun and go down the stairs.

 

Sakari started freaking out and crying so Kendra was trying to rescue her, but couldn't get past the clip. I think at this point she was just tired and wanted to get down and now I was no longer up there with her to help her when her clip got stuck.

 

At one point she completely froze while standing on a single rope line, put her head down and buried her face in her arms that were holding onto her line. She didn't move for awhile and just cried. I felt so bad, but knew she was perfectly capable of doing this entire ropes course by herself. I know she is not afraid of heights, she has jumped many times off the 2 story building into the ocean at Little French Key. She's one of those kids that will ride the highest rides that she's allowed at the amusement park. So the height thing wasn't the issue.

 

Daddy and I stood directly below her encouraging her to move along and telling her what to do. By this time we had a bit of a crowd...people watching and probably judging me at this point. "How could you leave your kid up there alone?" "How could you allow her to go up there by herself?" You know, the things that would circle in your mind if you saw something like this. But she wasn't alone. The rest of the family was still up there, they just didn't know it.

 

I wanted to cry myself. I wanted to bury my face in my hands. But honestly, they had no idea the brave little girl she is and the things she does on her own. They had no idea that this was the famous Sakari from Cruise Critic everyone knows for her bravery of things she does at such a young age. She has done things that most adults wouldn't think of trying. I knew she could do this and we pushed on.

 

 

Sakari finally pulled herself together and came around the course, heading back the way she was familiar with and ended up at the beginning of the course but couldn't make it over to Kendra because of this darn clip. After awhile, one of the guys working the zip line seen what was going on and came over to remove the clip and let Sakari by in order to get off. Whew. I thought we would have a melt down but daddy and I played it off and had a huge celebration about what a big girl she was and tackled that ropes course. We were so proud of her giving her high-fives and she quickly forgot about the ending to it.

 

The munchkins decided they had not had enough of climbing (I guess she wasn't tired after all) and headed to the spider net climbing slide thingy.

 

 

They did this several times before we decided we had better

 

 

 

 

 

[mitsugirly]

At this point we were all a little cold. THIS is not my idea of a way to spend a cruise...cold! At least it wasn't raining. But I'm cold nature to begin with and I just hate anything below 70 degrees. I was ready to head inside and warm up.

 

Before going in, I took some pictures of the skyline again. The sun was going down and it was reflecting beautiful images on the buildings.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[mitsugirly]

We got a quick bite to eat (basically for Sakari) and decided to head to the kids club to sign her up. (They open at 8pm on the first day). We knew she would be hungry before we would pick her up at 10:30pm, but we also knew that we would eat our "dinner" at that time before calling it a day...so the adults ate lightly. (Or as light as one can when on a cruise surrounded by tons of food).

 

 

 

 

Since we had tried to sign her up earlier when we boarded and it was taking forever so we left, this meant that we wouldn't get to "tour" the place during open house. Oh well, I already knew what things looked like from the Getaway and it was no big deal.

 

 

There was a line of very anxious parents waiting to sign their children in at 8pm. I guess we all wanted a little "adult" time at this point. Once we almost made it up to the counter a counselor told us we would need to go upstairs to a desk where they were registering the "late" people. Sigh. I ran up the stairs and told the hubby to stay in line.

 

I got lucky. There wasn't anyone up there and they quickly registered Sakari and back down we went. The hubby had only moved a few inches and we didn't have to wait in the long line again. Mission accomplished! She was checked in and we were officially on our own...well, on our own as we could get with still having 3 other "kids" with us and their significant others.

 

Since it was adult time, we decided to do adult things...like making the most of our UBP!! Now I'm not a big drinker...AT ALL! So that makes me a lightweight. When I'm on a cruise, I estimate about $100 for booze and usually only have about 5 drinks tops while on the ship. If I happen to book an AI in port with alcohol included, I'll drink then. But I just can't justify spending the prices they want for drinks on the ship. I usually just stick to my soda package.

 

However, this trip would be different and we started the night out with a bang! We started at one end of the ship and hit the bar. We'd have a drink and move on down until we came to the next bar. Down the hatch, rinse and repeat...over and over again. I have to say, it was a blast. We were having so much fun and cracking up the entire time.

 

The girls impatiently waiting for their drinks. You can tell the happy one in the picture...because he already had his drink.

 

 

On to the next bar...

 

 

 

 

 

 

[mitsugirly]

This would be the night that I would try so many of the various drinks offered on the ship in order to find out which I liked best for the remainder of the cruise.

 

 

One of my favorites is always the dirty banana. You can never go wrong with that.

 

 

 

In the end, I discovered that I now have a new favorite drink...Toasted Almond=heaven. I would drink it most of the time during the cruise and the girls also agreed with me on my new favorite drink.

 

At one point we decided to go bowling. Once we arrive at O'Sheehans, we found that the price was $5 PER PERSON! Not per game. After trying to add that up in our booze filled heads, we decided it would probably not be a wise investment at this time for something that is not even real bowling, but a mini-version. After all, we had already tried it out on the Getaway, so we weren't missing much.

 

Instead the kids decided to play games. Kolin and Kenny challenged each other to a game of air hockey. The scores went back and forth and it was always a big deal when one of them scored on the other. Drunken air hockey between brothers with family spectators...nothing beats it. I think the most points were scored by them hitting it in their own hole. LOL

 

 

 

Courtney playing games. She ended up with quite a bit of tickets but we had no idea what you are supposed to do with the tickets??? Anyone know?

 

 

 

Kolin played a few rounds of basketball, but I can't seem to locate the pictures for it. Just know balls were flying out and I'm sure you can picture it.

 

We continued on around the ship to various bars and decided to pick up the kids and fill our bellies with more food.

 

Since it was late, our options were limited and we headed to the buffet where we would again find our tall tables available for all of us to sit at.

 

 

 

Courtney knows I love my crapes and she come around the corner with a smile on her face with her newly made crape in hand...waving it in my face. Oh, it's on! Off I went to go get mine!

 

 

 

[mitsugirly]

It was the end of the day and without the casino being open, we decided to head to our rooms to hang out.

 

 

 

I decided to take some pictures of us still sitting in port to report back to all my friends. We still weren't going anywhere for awhile.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It had gotten even colder, so a night of just hanging out on the balcony wasn't really an option. I was freezing.

 

Just a few pictures of the mini-bar pricing:

 

 

Now I have to say that my mini-bar was missing A LOT of items. There was barely anything in there at all. We didn't even have any pop in there. I always look forward to the 2 cold cans of diet pepsi when I board and I replace them with 2 of my hot cans from the cartons we bring on board. Not this time. There wasn't any in there. I did manage to go over and steal the diet Pepsi's from the kids room. At least they had some.

 

I did notice that these cans of pop had NEW YORK on them. Hmmm, is this a new way of seeing if you take their pop? I wondered, but thought...I really don't care. I'm taking it anyhow and replacing it with one of my non-New York cans. We'll see how it goes.

 

Here is the new room service menu.

 

 

 

As you know, NCL changed their "free" room service to charging $7.95 for service once Del Rio became "boss". We never ordered room service in the past, so we weren't missing anything and this trip would be no exception. I'm perfectly happy walking up to any of the various restaurants or buffet to get a bite to eat.

[mitsugirly]

It's time for me to head out of here for a few hours, so I'll have to finish this later tonight. I plan on surprising Sakari after school by taking her to the Pumpkin Show in another town, so it may be late before I'm back. Hopefully this mornings post will keep you a little busy.

 

I'll also be back to answer questions/comments since I haven't had a chance to look at those due to trying to at least get Day 1 finished.

 

Have a wonderful day my cruising friends. :)

[medicalma'am]

So happy for you that your WHOLE FAMILY got to go on this cruise! This is a fun review for sure. Seeing Sakari up there on the ropes course was amazing! (And I thought seeing her swim with the sharks that day was tops. LOL) GO SAKARI!

[medicalma'am]

I just saw in one of your pictures that you were docked next to "The World" cruise ship!

[mickev99]

Do you happen to have a copy of the "complimentary continental breakfast" menu? We like to do a little bit of room service if we have an early morning in port, but are not paying the $7.95 charge so I'm wondering what's available for free. Thanks!

[greatlakesgirl]

Just love your reviews, and seeing your family together having such a great time puts a smile on my face!

 

Thanks so much for taking the time to do such amazing reviews; they really are the best around.

[Laszlo]

At this point we were all a little cold. THIS is not my idea of a way to spend a cruise...cold! At least it wasn't raining. But I'm cold nature to begin with and I just hate anything below 70 degrees. I was ready to head inside and warm up.

 

 

So I guess an Alaskan cruise is not in your future?:D

[Kreativ' Gal]

However, this trip would be different and we started the night out with a bang! We started at one end of the ship and hit the bar. We'd have a drink and move on down until we came to the next bar. Down the hatch, rinse and repeat...over and over again. I have to say, it was a blast. We were having so much fun and cracking up the entire time.

 

The girls impatiently waiting for their drinks. You can tell the happy one in the picture...because he already had his drink.

 

 

 

Loving your review!! :D:D

 

What is Kenny pointing at?? :eek: LOL!!

 

I'm counting down, in less than 48 hours I'll be at one of the bars on the Breakaway!! ;)

Edited October 24, 2015 by Kreativ' Gal

[CAC104]

I didn't know about the new $7.95 charge for room service:eek: I haven't sailed NCL for a number of years now, but my son loves to order room service and we always like to have coffee and juice delivered as a "wake up" first thing in the morning. I booked the Summit to Bermuda for next June and I am hoping they still keep their free room service. We always bring a big stack of $1.00 bills so we can give the delivery person a number of dollars, depending on how much they are bringing.

[Tom Graphy]

OMG you guys were docked next to THE WORLD!?! That's awesome!!!

[mitsugirly]

We're actually going on Spirit out of Port Canaveral.

 

Ohhh, I LOVE the Spirit. It's my favorite smaller ship of the fleet so far. It's so different from any of the other ships with her Asian decor. I hope you have a wonderful time.

 

Forget Netflix. I'm in the middle of a binge of all your great reviews!

 

Now this is how you get a gal excited for her first cruise :D

 

LOL :p

[mitsugirly]

Love your balcony surprise! Bet your kids appreciated it. :D

 

They loved it and were so excited.

 

We rented the Boston whaler type boat. Had a good day...only saw one sea turtle from the distance...was hoping for a swimming one nearby!

 

off to read more!

 

Aww. Sorry you were only able to see 1 sea turtle. We seen a bunch both jet skiing and boating. We also seen several while on the bus and even this time around they were at the beach.

[mitsugirly]

We are taking our two children and their families(5 children ages 5-11) on their first cruise ever NCL and Breakaway(we are Celebrity cruises many times). What do you suggest for dining? Is it hard to eat at dinner together since we are 11 people similar to your group? We have 3 specialty dinners - is it hard to get reservations for 11? In MDR do you think we will have to wait a long time to be seated?

 

So enjoyed your review - made me smile.

 

Any suggested for our group is appreciated as I(Grammy) will probably be planning and hoping everyone is ready and awake when needed.

 

Honestly we have never had a problem eating together. But more often than not, we end up a lot at the buffet or places like O'Sheehans. But the times we have went to the MDR, never had a problem. They just push the tables together. I guess we haven't been during a real busy time or something.

 

Congratulations on going Platinum! That's awesome!! :):)

 

 

Woo Hoo!!! FINALLY!! :p

[mitsugirly]

Thanks for taking the time to post!! I don't think I will be cruising the Breakaway in the near future, looks too big for me!! I love the Dawn...So much that we are driving to New Orleans in a couple of weeks for her Western Caribbean itinerary. (2nd time, cruised it in January!!)

 

I guess we will be stuck with Boston to Bermuda and New Orleans to Western Caribbean for a while.

 

BTW, I booked my excursions last cruise based on your reviews!! Thanks, and please keep them coming!!

 

Thanks for taking the time to comment.

 

Yea, she's a big ship for sure.

 

Being "stuck" cruising Boston to Bermuda or NOLA to Western...I'll take it! :D

 

Aww, glad my reviews helped you some. :)

 

So happy for you that your WHOLE FAMILY got to go on this cruise! This is a fun review for sure. Seeing Sakari up there on the ropes course was amazing! (And I thought seeing her swim with the sharks that day was tops. LOL) GO SAKARI!

 

Aww, thanks Robin. She's up for anything. My little dare devil. I hope the Ma'ams had a good cruise! It sure looked like it. We'll have to cruise together again some day. :)

[mitsugirly]

I just saw in one of your pictures that you were docked next to "The World" cruise ship!

 

What's The World cruise ship? :confused:

 

Do you happen to have a copy of the "complimentary continental breakfast" menu? We like to do a little bit of room service if we have an early morning in port' date=' but are not paying the $7.95 charge so I'm wondering what's available for free. Thanks![/quote']

 

All I have is the one that I posted. I didn't realize there was another. :(

[mitsugirly]

Just love your reviews, and seeing your family together having such a great time puts a smile on my face!

 

Thanks so much for taking the time to do such amazing reviews; they really are the best around.

 

Aww, thank you. I really appreciate your compliments. :)

 

 

So I guess an Alaskan cruise is not in your future?:D

 

 

Believe it or not, it's on my radar due to some friends cruising there and the amazing pictures. Plus there's all new animals for Sakari to see and I know she would love it. I would have to get a balcony though just so I could look from the inside of my heated room! :p

 

Oh plus I hear there are certain times of the year you can go and it's around 70...so that "might" work.

Edited October 24, 2015 by mitsugirly

[mitsugirly]

Loving your review!!

 

What is Kenny pointing at?? :eek: LOL!!

 

I'm counting down' date=' in less than 48 hours I'll be at one of the bars on the Breakaway!! ;)[/quote']

 

OMG, I didn't even notice that before. :eek: Haha, I'll have to ask him.

 

Have a WONDERFUL time at the bars. :D

 

I didn't know about the new $7.95 charge for room service:eek: I haven't sailed NCL for a number of years now, but my son loves to order room service and we always like to have coffee and juice delivered as a "wake up" first thing in the morning. I booked the Summit to Bermuda for next June and I am hoping they still keep their free room service. We always bring a big stack of $1.00 bills so we can give the delivery person a number of dollars, depending on how much they are bringing.

 

 

There have been a lot of changes just this year. ;)

[mitsugirly]

OMG you guys were docked next to THE WORLD!?! That's awesome!!!

 

 

WHAT IS THE WORLD??? I'm so confused. :confused: :eek:

[perfect match]

I just saw in one of your pictures than you were docked next to "The World" cruise ship!

 

I also noticed you were docked next to "The World"! She's a condo cruise ship' date=' each cabin suite is privately owned. I would love to be an owner there, but the price is WAY ABOVE my price range! Do a search and you will find a lot more info.

 

I loved seeing Sakari on the ropes course! She did a great job out there! She certainly earned her bragging rights, and I expect Brayden was motivated to keep up with her. :eek:

 

The NY city skyline pictures are beautiful. Almost makes me want to head back up north for a visit. Then I remember it's Oct now, it's getting cold up there, and here in FL where we live now it's in the 80's. I'm like you, I don't like the cold. I'm staying right here! :D

[/size']

[Tom Graphy]

WHAT IS THE WORLD??? I'm so confused. :confused: :eek:

 

The World is a cruise ship where you buy your cabin (They call it an apartment) and live there! It's super expensive, but you cruise literally all the time! It has overnight stays of 2-5 nights per port and the itinerary is voted on by the residents. I would love to do that, but I would have to win the lottery (Possibly more than once)! But a man can dream :rolleyes:.

[rocker57]

I just want to say how much I enjoy your reviews. Although I sail Princess, it is because of your reviews that I have booked Maya Key, and doing Shark Alley in Belize, though we will be flying over to Ambergris Caye for our upcoming cruise. Because Princess does not do an excursion for Shark Alley, I wouldn't of known that except for your review. I hope my photos turn out half as well as yours. Glad you had a wonderful time with your family, and keep up the good writing!