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

[mitsugirly]

FINAL THOUGHTS OF OUR BALCONY ROOM:

 

At a spur of the moment, after prices dropped, I decided to upgrade us to a balcony. I remembered how nice the room was on the Getaway and figured "why not". However, it was not the same of course (and I knew it wouldn't be) because the last time we had a mini-suite, which has a bigger and better bathroom and shower.

 

It was nice though. (A newer ship better be nice). There's plenty of space for your things and storage is always one thing I find that NCL has done right with the design. Everything was clean and stain free and we had a wonderful room steward, which has been the norm for just about every cruise we have had with NCL. They definitely go out of their way to please you and this was no exception.

 

The safe on this ship is laughable. Seriously! Did they downgrade from the other ships? I know on all of their older fleet, they were bigger than this and I can measure that from the folders I take with me. They always fit perfectly in there, this time they would not. It was useless to us and we just left everything out this time around. Such a disappointment that they did this. :(

 

Now everyone knows I'm "normally" an interior cruisers. I HONESTLY do NOT spend that much time in the room. I'm a go-go-go type of person. I go to my room to change, shower and sleep. That's about it. Everyone always says that once you get a balcony, you'll never go back to an interior. Soooo not true for me. I have went back and forth and have absolutely no problem with it...at all. For me, it's very hard for me to justify spending so much more for a balcony that is barely used. When I have a balcony, I feel like I'm "obligated" to use it...and I do, but I just can't sit long before I'm ready to head out and do something! We don't eat in the room, we don't get up and drink coffee in the morning from the balcony. It really serves no purpose for us other than a way to look out every so often. The only time I do use it is when in port and we come back and sit outside watching the pier runners IF we happen to be in the room at that time.

 

In the future, I will be booking another interior unless I get one heck of a deal on a balcony. The only other way I'll book a balcony would be depending on where we are going...like if it was Alaska or some place I really felt it would be beneficial to have one.

 

That's just my take on it. I mean really, they are SO SMALL that it's hard for just 2 people to be out there on them. You are crawling over each other to sit or get up and go back in. Not my idea of fun. Maybe I'll need to try an extended balcony or aft instead some day. That "might" work for a new experience. We'll see. :p

[mitsugirly]

FINAL THOUGHTS ON PLATINUM:

 

Woo Hoo. I finally turned platinum. I swear I feel like I cruise so much I should have reached this status a long time ago. But, I'm finally there.

 

So let's review:

*Monthly Latitudes Rewards Insider Offers on Select Sailings-Well everyone gets this so...no biggie and very rarely does it ever apply to my booking.

 

*Complimentary Latitudes Rewards Online Magazine-Um, I have no clue what this is and have never seen it. Everyone gets it=no biggie.

 

*Priority Check-in-Everyone gets it all levels=no biggie and sometimes these lines are longer.

 

*Onboard Latitudes Rewards Representative-Yep, you got it, everyone gets it...of course, they want you to buy more rewardsand cruise more.

 

*Onboard Discounts:

10% discount at Duty-Free Shop on all Norwegian Logo merchandise, good for one purchase only. They changed this a while ago to only being 10% on NCL LOGO stuff. It use to be on your entire purchase! This also includes some "free minutes" with their internet service. I use the 10%.

 

*Members Only Cocktail Party-Yep, everyone gets this party. (Of course nothing if you are on the "new" ships) :rolleyes:

 

*Ship Pin

(Available upon request from your Cruise Consultant Manager)-They use to have these waiting for you in your room when you boarded. Not anymore. They want you to go ask for them. Everyone gets it.

 

*Discount on Photos

15% Silver members, 20% Gold members, 25% Platinum members-Well looky there...I climbed up the ladder to 25%...go me!

 

*Discount on Spa Signature Services during port days

15% Silver members, 20% Gold members, 25% Platinum members-I don't use the spa-nothing there for me.

 

*Nightly Chocolate to enjoy in your room-for all latitudes except Bronze. A nice touch and Sakari eats them.

 

*Exclusive Onboard Gathering with Ship Officers-Um...is this the same as the latitudes party they are at? Because I'm really not sure. For everyone but Bronze.

 

*Priority Tender Tickets-For Platinum and Gold only. I already had this.

 

*Priority Disembarkation-Only for Platinum and Gold but I swear I have had this on every cruise but my first cruise for some reason. It's nothing I have ever used really. I still pick my time to get off depending on my flight schedule. So nothing good for me.

 

*Welcome Gift-Only for Platinum and Gold. What is this gift??? Is it the box of chocolates with 4 of them in it? Once again, I don't eat chocolate so nothing for me and I've had them before.

 

*Laundry Service-25% on one bag of laundry Gold members, complimentary one bag of laundry Platinum members. Ok, finally something new for me. Yep, I used it and I will use it again just because it's free. Would I ever pay for this? Never! The laundry didn't seem "clean" to me with stains still in it.

 

*Chocolate-Covered Strawberries-Platinum only. Another newbie for me, but I have received this many times in the past too for some reason. Once again, I don't eat chocolate so...sometimes Sakari eats the strawberries, but something I could care less about getting.

 

*Concierge Service-platinum only.Hmm, interesting. I didn't receive anything about this nor did I ever see anyone. I have had concierge service a few times before when I was VIP, so I have experienced it and can say that "I don't need it". I'm perfectly happy with picking up a phone or going someplace to make a reservation for myself....or whatever is needed. I guess I have been happy with the times we were taken down the "secret hallway" off of the ship before everyone else a few times. But other than that, not a biggie for me and a service I probably wouldn't use.

 

*Complimentary Dinner for Two at Le Bistro with a Bottle of Wine-platinum-Now this I was a little worried about since I don't really care to eat there with that type of food. However, it was nice to find out that it could be substituted for a different venue. We chose La Cucina and it worked out nicely.

 

Complimentary "Behind the Scenes" Ship Tour-I knew that we got this tour and really wanted to go. However, I didn't realize you had to sign up for it the first day so I missed out. Hopefully I'll be able to catch it next time.

 

Complimentary Sparkling Wine in your stateroom-platinum-Everyone on here knows my dilemma with the wine. So...I received the wine and I still have it. LOL

 

 

So my recap. Turning platinum has it's benefits if you use them. Most of them, I don't use. The main thing would be getting to eat at the specialty restaurant for free. Everything else isn't much to me. I don't like most meat. I don't like chocolate. I really wish they gave a choice or something...like fruit or anything other than something involving chocolate. I guess I'm probably in the minority with this though. I would much rather have some OBC instead for each milestone. Now that would ROCK! :)

[retiring soon]

HI all!

 

mitsugirly ~ nice summing of of the trip! :DThanks for the platinum breakdown as I'll be getting those perks next month on Epic for the 1st time & I do like chocolate.

 

I'm one who doesn't really use a balcony either & am not a sun lover but I must say if you ever go on Breeze try a cove balcony. I really enjoyed it being so close to the water & somewhat enclosed. It's also a bit bigger than the usual balcony on CCL.

 

I'm in a studio again on Epic, oceanview on Serenade & inside on Sky & Sun. I tried to get the same cabin you had on Sky (8313) but got the one on the other side instead. I'm hoping for an upgrade to a porthole like I had on Dawn.;)

 

Thanks again for taking time out of your busy life to do this.

 

~ Jo ~ :)

[CAC104]

You probably missed seeing the Statue of Liberty on your last morning by no more than a half hour. She sits right off the end of Manhattan in the middle of the harbor

 

If you ever come to NYC again, just go down to the end of Manhattan and take the free ferry boat ride to Staten Island because the ferry goes right by her.

 

You commented on the color of the water around NYC. This is due to the strict pollution rules they enacted years ago. When I was growing up the water was filthy because all of the sewers emptied directly into the rivers. Now, everything goes to a sewage treatment facility and the water has cleaned up. You now can fish and crab and eat what you catch right from the city piers.

[mitsugirly]

FINAL THOUGHTS ON THE SHIP:

 

She's a beauty. She's clean. They keep her in good shape. Of course she's new. The crew is constantly cleaning and making everything look beautiful.

 

Here's my personal list of the good (my personal opinion of course).

I find the buffet to be good with plenty of selections. I like buffets at home, so I like buffets on the ship. I like to "see" my food and if I like it, I can go back for more. It gives me the opportunity to try different things out. I find that a lot of the meals in the MDR, you can find here as well. If you can't find anything to eat here, well I feel bad for you. I never understood those that say there's nothing there. I like the fact that there's 2 sides and plenty of seating inside and out. It only seems to get busy during breakfast.

 

O'Sheehans-love this place. Open 24/7 and a nice variety of things to pick from. It's also a good choice for breakfast if you want to sit down and eat and we found the service to be great and friendly.

 

Photo shop-I really wish they would convert the other ships to this system. It makes it so nice to be able to find your pictures all in a nice little folder.

 

Bar service and UBP-We only did the UBP because it was a freebie. I would never pay for it. We are not big drinkers. I was worried about the service and planned that it would be slow like the last cruise. However, I was pleasantly surprised. The service was excellent every place we went to. The bar tenders were friendly and they even made the kids non-alcoholic drinks to match ours. That was an added plus.

 

iConceirge-Highly recommend this service if you are traveling with others or split up from your party. It's a great way to be able to text or call and it's only $7.95 for the entire week. Money well spent. There were a few times (maybe 3) that it wouldn't connect in our room, but after waiting about 5 minutes it did. So, I would still purchase it if available on any cruise.

 

Love the waterpark, slides, kids waterpark. Lots of things to keep you occupied. I really hate they lost the contract with Nickelodeon and will be tearing out the Nick characters by next year. I don't even begin to understand how they'll make it a "water golf" area. It sounds like the kids won't have a place to play in the water with this...or there will be people trying to play golf and little kids running in the way.

 

Rock climbing, basketball, golf, zip line and ropes course-all excellent and a lot of fun. There's something for everyone. The only bad thing is the gawd awful pictures they take of you on the plank. There has to be a better way.

 

UPTOWN Bar & Grill-EXCELLENT. This is such a great place for either breakfast or lunch. Fabulous food and never crowded.

 

Love the Nick things they have for the kids-Dora's dance party and the picture time where the kids get to meet the characters. Of course this will all go away next year too.

 

Cirque show was amazing as always. Very entertaining and money well spent. Most don't care for the dinner and I really wish they would improve it.

 

Love that NCL has the forward facing camera and also the "map" of where we are going and have been on the t.v.

 

It was awesome to watch the Medevac and I praise the hard working medical team that did a safe evacuation and I hope the person is ok. Bravo to them.

 

I love that the captain had our safety in mind and left later to avoid the hurricane and then arrived in Bermuda much sooner than expected. Then of course leaving late from Bermuda to give us some extra time. Bravo NCL for giving that to us.

 

Cruise Next-good deal just like before. Save money by buying a cruise certificate.

 

----------------------------------

 

Now the "eh" things:

 

Glow party-everyone loves and a huge crowd. But no music that I can personally dance to and it was mostly fist pumping and appeared to be a rave type of party. I'm not sure I'll go back to another after trying this twice now.

 

Same for the 80's party. It doesn't seem to be as popular with as many people here. I love the 80's music, but they mostly play all rock, so no dancing for me. The "show" they put on impersonating singers, eh, kinda boring to me now. I've seen it twice and have no desire to see it again. I miss the fireworks show now. I'm not sure if I would return. People don't get into it like we have in the past and dressing up. :(

 

I really don't care for the casino layout on these ships. They go off in several different directions and it's just "weird". They have the smoking section up to "this slot machine" then right next to it is non-smoking. :eek: Um...ok.

 

Bowling...$5 per person? Seriously. So we have a party of 10 in our group and we are supposed to pay $50 for all of us and this isn't even a real full length bowling alley? A little ridiculous to me. It should be 1 price for the game. I didn't see anyone playing it the times we were around it.

 

Kids Club-I always love the kids club and the counselors. They are amazing people. I just don't like the set up for these new ships. They don't allow the parents in of course, but a lot of the ships you can at least see the kids off in another room or from a window. I like to be able to spy on my kid darnit. Also, Sakari use to bring back so many "crafts" and projects that she does while on the ship. She hasn't for the last several cruises for some reason. Are they just not doing things like this anymore? She obviously loves to draw and doesn't seem to get the chance to do much of that in the kids club anymore. It's ashame.

 

Kids pool area-the set up is just horrendous. It's hard to see the kids, no place to sit beside the pool unless you are on a hard wooden bench around only 1 edge. I wish they would improve this somehow. It's just in an odd place.

 

Market Place??-I never seen them use this area at all the entire cruise. Have they stopped selling things there now? Wasted space.

 

Playing the games and getting tickets...what to do with them??

 

Kids bounce trampoline was down the entire cruise. I'm not sure what was going on with that but Sakari was disappointed because she enjoys this.

 

Pictures/photographers-I've said it before, I'll say it again: If they just took a little more time when taking the pictures, they would probably have more sales. Hair blowing in face, eyes squinty or closed, looking in a different direction...they just suck! I can do better with my point and shoot!

 

Gameroom-I say this all the time, but I never see anyone in these. Such a waste of space IMO. Gamerooms were popular back in the 80's. I just don't see it now. Hey, at least there's a pop machine in there...just in case.

 

We received a notification in our room about a latitudes party or maybe that was the officers party. I can't remember. It was in Spice and it was rainy outside. It was either canceled or moved. But we weren't informed.

 

Nick on the deck...we arrived, they did not. Nothing ever happened on the pool deck. No notification of cancellation or announcement.

 

Burn the floor & Rock of Ages. I seriously HATE that you have to book these. It takes away from the "freestyle" cruising atmosphere. Same for things like the comedy club. I don't like having to plan when I "might" feel like going to a show. Ugh! The shows are a matter of preference, so I won't comment on them since I went over my feelings on them in my review.

 

The room steward putting dishes and food out in the hallway...um, I just don't even know what to say here. We get slapped on the hand if we do, they take away allowing us to bring food back, they give it back to us...then the room stewards are the ones doing it. I'm so confused.

 

Cheesecake-WHAT.THE.HECK.HAPPENED.HERE? It's not the same. It taste fake. I don't care for it like the "old" kind. Bring it back.

 

Now...one thing I didn't mention before was this: You know how your key card opens the door from the outside? Well you know how you lock the door from the inside (the deadbolt) and it keeps anyone from coming in from the outside...for privacy and sleeping and stuff. Well, any key card still opens it even when it's locked!!!!!!!! We tried this on all of our doors and we could still get in! What's going on here.

 

 

So all in all, I think I have come to the conclusion that I'm really not a "big ship" kinda girl, at least on the NCL fleet with the new ships. I love the way they look. I love the updated decor. I LOVE the things they have on them to do (pool/slide/ropes/golf and so on). But the amount of people and the business of the ship is just so different from the relaxing atmosphere of the smaller ships.

 

I also HATE having to schedule everything. Shows are the worse. If the moment hits me, I want to just go do it, not schedule it or get shut out of a show. Yuck.

 

I really enjoy the smaller ships on NCL's fleet. (However, I enjoy the bigger ships on Carnival...no "scheduling" of things make all the difference).

 

I know people have asked me about sailing on the Escape...and I probably will, but I'm in no hurry really. Just an even bigger version of these ships and well, I'd rather focus on the others I haven't sailed on like the Gem or Jade. Even though the Epic is bigger than the BA & GA, I would sail her again and she's still my favorite. Once I sail on her again, that may change, but we'll see. :D Go figure...I like the biggest ship in the fleet and the 3 smallest ships. LOL I'm odd.

[mgasparro1]

I just wanted to let you know that, based on your photos, I ordered an Olympus Tough 850 yesterday. :D Of course, last night I had a nightmare that my cruise came early. I was on the ship with all these people using their own- just snapping away, and I kept repeating, "But mine is on the way. I just ordered it today!"

I didn't have any clothes or money either, but I was far more upset about that camera!

 

Is it to normal to have nightmares right before a cruise? We leave on the Breakaway next Sunday and I dream that I left my medicine at home and that my husband packed all my clothes, but only gave me 2 pairs of pants of 2 t shirts (one was a "wife beater t shirt" lol) I have always had nightmares right before we cruise ..like missing the ship, forgetting dress shoes for formal nights, etc etc..weird lol

[mitsugirly]

HI all!

 

mitsugirly ~ nice summing of of the trip! Thanks for the platinum breakdown as I'll be getting those perks next month on Epic for the 1st time & I do like chocolate.

 

I'm one who doesn't really use a balcony either & am not a sun lover but I must say if you ever go on Breeze try a cove balcony. I really enjoyed it being so close to the water & somewhat enclosed. It's also a bit bigger than the usual balcony on CCL.

 

I'm in a studio again on Epic, oceanview on Serenade & inside on Sky & Sun. I tried to get the same cabin you had on Sky (8313) but got the one on the other side instead. I'm hoping for an upgrade to a porthole like I had on Dawn.;)

 

Thanks again for taking time out of your busy life to do this.

 

~ Jo ~ :)

 

Jo, I hope you have a wonderful trip on the Epic. I can't wait until she comes to Port Canaveral. I'm probably going to book that cruise for sure. It's the hubbys bday and I really want to sail her again (and of course that's the one that Sakari hasn't been on yet and she talks about it all the time). :D

 

I have been in the Cove Balcony before and LOVED it!! (On NCL though). I would love to have one on the Breeze. I would just love to be on the Breeze in general. :p That's definitely a goal of mine for next year although I'm going to be sad Matt isn't the CD on there anymore.

 

Eh, you really don't want the same cabin as me on the Sky. It wasn't much and it was SO DIFFERENT than the same room on the Sun. The Sun was amazing and HUGE. That's the main reason I booked the exact same room for the Sky. But it wasn't at all the same. :(

 

 

 

You probably missed seeing the Statue of Liberty on your last morning by no more than a half hour. She sits right off the end of Manhattan in the middle of the harbor

 

If you ever come to NYC again, just go down to the end of Manhattan and take the free ferry boat ride to Staten Island because the ferry goes right by her.

 

You commented on the color of the water around NYC. This is due to the strict pollution rules they enacted years ago. When I was growing up the water was filthy because all of the sewers emptied directly into the rivers. Now, everything goes to a sewage treatment facility and the water has cleaned up. You now can fish and crab and eat what you catch right from the city piers.

 

I JUST KNEW IT!!! I knew there was no way it was that many hours away. They lied to me. :mad:

 

Thanks for the info on the water. That's pretty cool. It should be like that all up and down the east coast because I know the water everywhere else is that nasty brown stuff. Ewwy.

[aztekpm]

Another great review, can't wait till next Sept for Bermuda!

 

I agree completely, I like the 'smaller to medium' size ships, conquest class on Carnival are my favorites. Liberty being my #1, though it may have had something to do with departing SJU. :) I don't mind going into a shop here and there, but don't need a mall when I sail and certainly don't want to cruise with 5000 of my not so closest friends!

[aztekpm]

Is it to normal to have nightmares right before a cruise? We leave on the Breakaway next Sunday and I dream that I left my medicine at home and that my husband packed all my clothes, but only gave me 2 pairs of pants of 2 t shirts (one was a "wife beater t shirt" lol) I have always had nightmares right before we cruise ..like missing the ship, forgetting dress shoes for formal nights, etc etc..weird lol

 

 

LOL, I certainly did before my trip in Sept. We went on a girls road trip, ending with a 4-day cruise on the Sky and I dreamt that I forgot my suitcase ... I'm the driver, but only 'realized' in Atlanta, left the girls in a hotel and had to fly home to pack, but hadn't done laundry, no clean clothes ... what a bizarre dream!

[mitsugirly]

FINAL THOUGHTS ON BERMUDA!!!

 

Absolutely gorgeous place and I feel lucky to be able to visit her twice in 1 year. I highly recommend going here if you get the chance. Being able to stay docked here for 3 days, coming and going as you please, is just simply amazing!!

 

WALKING FROM WARWICK TO HORSESHOE:

If you can do this and are up for the walk, do so. It's a great way to see the beaches and get some fabulous pictures!

 

WARWICK: Absolutely stunning beautiful beach. We loved it here. Beautiful soft sand just since it's more open, the waves are bigger. It makes for a fun time in the water if you like jumping and playing in the waves. Highly recommended.

 

JOBSONS: Definitely a nice small cove area that's good for families with children. The water in gentle here and there is some snorkeling with some fish and coral. There's also places to climb on the rocks and explore.

 

STONEHOLE: A very nice soft sand beach that's similar to Warwick. Also a good option to hang out at.

 

CHAPLIN BAY-Rough open water with rocks along the beach and some areas to sit at up against the rocks for some shade depending on the location of the sun.

 

HORSESHOE-very big and pretty with soft sand. There plenty of place to spread out. Everyone loves this place and everyone goes here, so it's crowded. Honestly, not my favorite beach like everyone else's. I "probably" won't go back here when I return. I've been here twice now and there's other places to explore and places I like better.

 

BABY BAY-small cove area beside Horseshoe. Gentle calm waves and a good place for families and smaller children. Just beware, there are certain areas that dip down deep and then come back up along the rocks. You can follow trails and climb on the rocks on either side. Excellent place for great pictures. There's also the sandy hills and the kids love to play on them.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

ST GEORGE:

 

This is, by far, my favorite place in Bermuda so far. The little town is cute and things to see when walking around. But I'll discuss just the places we went this time.

 

HOHO Beach Bus-this can be an excellent deal if you plan on going to various places and save your feet some walking. It circles around the St George area or you can take it to the St David area. $6 per adult. They have amended it some to include taking you all the way down to the building at Tobacco Bay and also picking you up there. No need to walk now.

 

COOPER ISLAND RESERVE:

 

LONG BAY: Absolutely the most beautiful beach ever. It's almost like St Catherines and is probably one of my favorites so far. The water is so beautiful and the sand baby fine and perfect. You can walk down to the end and there's shells and there's few rocks to climb on. Very deserted and hardly ever anyone here. We spotted several sea turtles. I will definitely come back to this place!!!

 

Walk directly across the street a few feet and you're at another beach on the other side: (below)

 

FT HILL BAY: A very neat and interesting place with smaller beaches and huge rocks sticking up everywhere. There's neat little coves to walk in, neat trees for shade and just overall a place to visit that's different from the rest. I hope to do it again next time and this time walk up the hill to the old NASA tracking station and look around.

 

TURTLE BEACH: Very pretty beach with powdery sand, picnic tables, a grassy area and it's a pretty nice sized beach. Not a lot of people there. There's some obvious sea grass in the area, which is why there's probably turtles here.

 

CLEARWATER BEACH: Eh, not the prettiest place I've seen. It didn't impress me at all. But then again they had the entire beach torn up. This could have been due to the hurricane earlier that week. I'm not sure. The building itself didn't impress me either. It looked like a huge run down shack to me. The people weren't friendly and the prices were expensive. The plus is that it's a HUGE beach and plenty of room to spread out. There's food and drinks there. There's a bathroom. I hear there's a shower maybe? (If you are a buying customer). They have a playground and grassy area.

 

 

THE WALK FROM CLEARWATER TO THE BUS STOP: Well, now that I actually know where I'm going, I guess I would do it again or just plan my day a little better to make sure we are coming and going when the HOHO bus runs. It is a long walk, but doable depending on your mobility. We had a fun and good time despite being lost. LOL

 

---------------------------

 

TOBACCO BAY:

Great little beach to hang out at mostly known for the awesome snorkeling (even though it just wasn't meant to be this time around for us). The beach is small, but they always seem to have enough room. The staff is super friendly, good food (and good portions for the money), several areas to snorkel around and swim in. Rocks and paths to explore, restrooms (and usually a shower), a deck with tables to eat at with umbrellas.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

DOCKYARD:

 

Great place to hang out and lots to see. There's plenty of picture opportunities around this area from the landscaping to canon's to old phone booths and so on. There's lots of shopping and various types of stores. The Clocktower is a cute little store/flea market type building and neat to look around. Makes for a neat place to hang out for awhile.

-------------------------------------

 

SNORKLE PARK:

 

Interestingly enough, it was a nice experience. The snorkeling was pretty good with plenty of soft and hard corals, several fish and the best part is that it's easy for anyone to do. You can go really far out and still be able to stand in most areas. Obviously there's a octopus that has taken up residence there and he's so cute.

 

The beach isn't the greatest. You won't find that soft beautiful sand there, but it's a beach. You can rent chairs and they come with the umbrella. The drinks are expensive and you don't get much and I can't comment on the food since we didn't buy any. You have to pay $5 to get in for adults and kids 12 and under are free.

 

While it's not the best and prettiest beach to go to, it made for a nice day to spend as our last day and sticking close to the ship. I would do it again if we needed to stay around close.

 

 

 

[missintuitive]

Great review!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Edited November 16, 2015 by missintuitive

[mitsugirly]

Great review!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Thanks!

[sunbird21]

Congrats on finishing and thank you for an awesome review of the week!! Can't believe it was over a month ago[emoji26]

Good luck with school, and look forward to your next cruise!

Stacey

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[mitsugirly]

Another great review, can't wait till next Sept for Bermuda!

 

I agree completely, I like the 'smaller to medium' size ships, conquest class on Carnival are my favorites. Liberty being my #1, though it may have had something to do with departing SJU. :) I don't mind going into a shop here and there, but don't need a mall when I sail and certainly don't want to cruise with 5000 of my not so closest friends!

 

We have only been on the Dream and Pride and loved them both. I'm going to have to try the Conquest class because I know a lot of people seem to liek them.

 

LOL, I certainly did before my trip in Sept. We went on a girls road trip, ending with a 4-day cruise on the Sky and I dreamt that I forgot my suitcase ... I'm the driver, but only 'realized' in Atlanta, left the girls in a hotel and had to fly home to pack, but hadn't done laundry, no clean clothes ... what a bizarre dream!

 

 

LOL, I bet you don't forget your suitcase on any trip...check, double check, triple check. :D

[mitsugirly]

Is it to normal to have nightmares right before a cruise? We leave on the Breakaway next Sunday and I dream that I left my medicine at home and that my husband packed all my clothes, but only gave me 2 pairs of pants of 2 t shirts (one was a "wife beater t shirt" lol) I have always had nightmares right before we cruise ..like missing the ship, forgetting dress shoes for formal nights, etc etc..weird lol

 

I have weird dreams but it's usually after a cruise or just in general (about cruising). I hate to even tell this story but Sakari had a nightmare about a week ago. I got her up for school and she said she was dreaming that we were on a cruise and I was over at a wall in the corner and we had our cat with us (a cat she had about 3 years ago) and the cat walked over to me and then I was on the floor laying. It licked me and I was dead. :eek: Sakari being the "artist" that she is, said "I'm going to go draw what I seen now" :eek: Seriously? You're going to draw me dead laying on the floor??? ....and she did. Yikes. So even she has nightmares about cruising. A little more intense than mine leaving my cameras behind though.

[Tyskie]

FINAL THOUGHTS ON USING CARMEL TRANSPORTATION:

 

The drivers were...um, quiet. VERY quiet. As a matter of fact they didn't talk. So if you like those local drivers that talk up a storm, carry on a conversation with you giving you history and stuff along the way, this is not your company. ;)

 

Now I had absolutely NO problems with our service. Kendra did on the way home. I'm not sure if these drivers are using their vehicles or not:

 

Other than this issue, everything was fine...except the driving, which I'll chalk it up to the "New Yorker" coming out in them and everyone does it. :D

 

We live in the NY/NYC metro area. We have used Carmel many times. True, drivers usually do not talk much. Yes, most own their own cars/vehicles. We have ALWAYS found them to be careful, safe drivers. That being said, the last time we were picked up from JFK (coming in from Europe) - the driver we had as NOT a good driver. Didn't seem to know where he was going. Tailgated, braked at the last minute, weaving in and out..................you get the picture. We said something to him several times, finally he slowed down. Car was older, needed shocks. Something I don't like to do, but since it came down to our safety and safety of others, we reported him to Carmel. They seemed concerned and said they would take care of it..................hummm, one wonders what they do if anything. Just thought you would like another perspective from a "local". :)

[Swells1]

Is it to normal to have nightmares right before a cruise? We leave on the Breakaway next Sunday and I dream that I left my medicine at home and that my husband packed all my clothes, but only gave me 2 pairs of pants of 2 t shirts (one was a "wife beater t shirt" lol) I have always had nightmares right before we cruise ..like missing the ship, forgetting dress shoes for formal nights, etc etc..weird lol

 

I have two recurring dreams- year round. It doesn't matter if I'm close to cruising or a year away. In the first one, the cruise comes too fast and I forget to pack anything. In the second, the cruise goes by too fast, and I'm leaving the ship saying, "But I forgot to eat!"

[mgasparro1]

I have two recurring dreams- year round. It doesn't matter if I'm close to cruising or a year away. In the first one, the cruise comes too fast and I forget to pack anything. In the second, the cruise goes by too fast, and I'm leaving the ship saying, "But I forgot to eat!"

 

OMG...so crazy, but I am glad that I am NOT going crazy..we are 5 days out now and the anxiety (and excitement) is really kicking in!! I haven't had a toothache in months and NOW today, 5 days out, it is throbbing lol Murphy's law right? lol Thank you all for the responses!! :)

[Zippeedee]

We live in the NY/NYC metro area. We have used Carmel many times. True, drivers usually do not talk much. Yes, most own their own cars/vehicles. We have ALWAYS found them to be careful, safe drivers. That being said, the last time we were picked up from JFK (coming in from Europe) - the driver we had as NOT a good driver. Didn't seem to know where he was going. Tailgated, braked at the last minute, weaving in and out..................you get the picture. We said something to him several times, finally he slowed down. Car was older, needed shocks. Something I don't like to do, but since it came down to our safety and safety of others, we reported him to Carmel. They seemed concerned and said they would take care of it..................hummm, one wonders what they do if anything. Just thought you would like another perspective from a "local". :)

 

Just to jump in with an example of how different the drivers are. There was a mix-up with my pick up time at JFK before my Gem cruise. The driver was very quiet, but understood that I had been waiting almost an hour in the hot sun. He stopped at a 7-11 and let me run in to buy water. It was a taxi drivers rest area store and the prices were really great. I stocked up on water for my cruise. My driver on the way back to JFK was very chatty and told me all kinds of information about the area, driving for Carmel, etc. We were stuck in traffic for a long time but it was an enjoyable ride.

[retiring soon]

HI all!

 

mistugirly ~ I'm not too worried about the cabin as I'll be sailing solo

so have it to myself.;)

 

I wondered if you've ever heard of this place. I've read a few Bermuda reviews & hadn't.

The link is a post from pirate4forme2's review, a girl I met on the Breeze. Too bad the photos are missing as they were nice.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=48168732&postcount=46

 

Take care & thanks again.

 

~ Jo ~ :)

[shout19661966]

FINAL THOUGHTS ON THE SHIP:

 

She's a beauty. She's clean. They keep her in good shape. Of course she's new. The crew is constantly cleaning and making everything look beautiful.

 

Here's my personal list of the good (my personal opinion of course).

I find the buffet to be good with plenty of selections. I like buffets at home, so I like buffets on the ship. I like to "see" my food and if I like it, I can go back for more. It gives me the opportunity to try different things out. I find that a lot of the meals in the MDR, you can find here as well. If you can't find anything to eat here, well I feel bad for you. I never understood those that say there's nothing there. I like the fact that there's 2 sides and plenty of seating inside and out. It only seems to get busy during breakfast.

 

O'Sheehans-love this place. Open 24/7 and a nice variety of things to pick from. It's also a good choice for breakfast if you want to sit down and eat and we found the service to be great and friendly.

 

Photo shop-I really wish they would convert the other ships to this system. It makes it so nice to be able to find your pictures all in a nice little folder.

 

Bar service and UBP-We only did the UBP because it was a freebie. I would never pay for it. We are not big drinkers. I was worried about the service and planned that it would be slow like the last cruise. However, I was pleasantly surprised. The service was excellent every place we went to. The bar tenders were friendly and they even made the kids non-alcoholic drinks to match ours. That was an added plus.

 

iConceirge-Highly recommend this service if you are traveling with others or split up from your party. It's a great way to be able to text or call and it's only $7.95 for the entire week. Money well spent. There were a few times (maybe 3) that it wouldn't connect in our room, but after waiting about 5 minutes it did. So, I would still purchase it if available on any cruise.

 

Love the waterpark, slides, kids waterpark. Lots of things to keep you occupied. I really hate they lost the contract with Nickelodeon and will be tearing out the Nick characters by next year. I don't even begin to understand how they'll make it a "water golf" area. It sounds like the kids won't have a place to play in the water with this...or there will be people trying to play golf and little kids running in the way.

 

Rock climbing, basketball, golf, zip line and ropes course-all excellent and a lot of fun. There's something for everyone. The only bad thing is the gawd awful pictures they take of you on the plank. There has to be a better way.

 

UPTOWN Bar & Grill-EXCELLENT. This is such a great place for either breakfast or lunch. Fabulous food and never crowded.

 

Love the Nick things they have for the kids-Dora's dance party and the picture time where the kids get to meet the characters. Of course this will all go away next year too.

 

Cirque show was amazing as always. Very entertaining and money well spent. Most don't care for the dinner and I really wish they would improve it.

 

Love that NCL has the forward facing camera and also the "map" of where we are going and have been on the t.v.

 

It was awesome to watch the Medevac and I praise the hard working medical team that did a safe evacuation and I hope the person is ok. Bravo to them.

 

I love that the captain had our safety in mind and left later to avoid the hurricane and then arrived in Bermuda much sooner than expected. Then of course leaving late from Bermuda to give us some extra time. Bravo NCL for giving that to us.

 

Cruise Next-good deal just like before. Save money by buying a cruise certificate.

 

----------------------------------

 

Now the "eh" things:

 

Glow party-everyone loves and a huge crowd. But no music that I can personally dance to and it was mostly fist pumping and appeared to be a rave type of party. I'm not sure I'll go back to another after trying this twice now.

 

Same for the 80's party. It doesn't seem to be as popular with as many people here. I love the 80's music, but they mostly play all rock, so no dancing for me. The "show" they put on impersonating singers, eh, kinda boring to me now. I've seen it twice and have no desire to see it again. I miss the fireworks show now. I'm not sure if I would return. People don't get into it like we have in the past and dressing up. :(

 

I really don't care for the casino layout on these ships. They go off in several different directions and it's just "weird". They have the smoking section up to "this slot machine" then right next to it is non-smoking. :eek: Um...ok.

 

Bowling...$5 per person? Seriously. So we have a party of 10 in our group and we are supposed to pay $50 for all of us and this isn't even a real full length bowling alley? A little ridiculous to me. It should be 1 price for the game. I didn't see anyone playing it the times we were around it.

 

Kids Club-I always love the kids club and the counselors. They are amazing people. I just don't like the set up for these new ships. They don't allow the parents in of course, but a lot of the ships you can at least see the kids off in another room or from a window. I like to be able to spy on my kid darnit. Also, Sakari use to bring back so many "crafts" and projects that she does while on the ship. She hasn't for the last several cruises for some reason. Are they just not doing things like this anymore? She obviously loves to draw and doesn't seem to get the chance to do much of that in the kids club anymore. It's ashame.

 

Kids pool area-the set up is just horrendous. It's hard to see the kids, no place to sit beside the pool unless you are on a hard wooden bench around only 1 edge. I wish they would improve this somehow. It's just in an odd place.

 

Market Place??-I never seen them use this area at all the entire cruise. Have they stopped selling things there now? Wasted space.

 

Playing the games and getting tickets...what to do with them??

 

Kids bounce trampoline was down the entire cruise. I'm not sure what was going on with that but Sakari was disappointed because she enjoys this.

 

Pictures/photographers-I've said it before, I'll say it again: If they just took a little more time when taking the pictures, they would probably have more sales. Hair blowing in face, eyes squinty or closed, looking in a different direction...they just suck! I can do better with my point and shoot!

 

Gameroom-I say this all the time, but I never see anyone in these. Such a waste of space IMO. Gamerooms were popular back in the 80's. I just don't see it now. Hey, at least there's a pop machine in there...just in case.

 

We received a notification in our room about a latitudes party or maybe that was the officers party. I can't remember. It was in Spice and it was rainy outside. It was either canceled or moved. But we weren't informed.

 

Nick on the deck...we arrived, they did not. Nothing ever happened on the pool deck. No notification of cancellation or announcement.

 

Burn the floor & Rock of Ages. I seriously HATE that you have to book these. It takes away from the "freestyle" cruising atmosphere. Same for things like the comedy club. I don't like having to plan when I "might" feel like going to a show. Ugh! The shows are a matter of preference, so I won't comment on them since I went over my feelings on them in my review.

 

The room steward putting dishes and food out in the hallway...um, I just don't even know what to say here. We get slapped on the hand if we do, they take away allowing us to bring food back, they give it back to us...then the room stewards are the ones doing it. I'm so confused.

 

Cheesecake-WHAT.THE.HECK.HAPPENED.HERE? It's not the same. It taste fake. I don't care for it like the "old" kind. Bring it back.

 

Now...one thing I didn't mention before was this: You know how your key card opens the door from the outside? Well you know how you lock the door from the inside (the deadbolt) and it keeps anyone from coming in from the outside...for privacy and sleeping and stuff. Well, any key card still opens it even when it's locked!!!!!!!! We tried this on all of our doors and we could still get in! What's going on here.

 

 

So all in all, I think I have come to the conclusion that I'm really not a "big ship" kinda girl, at least on the NCL fleet with the new ships. I love the way they look. I love the updated decor. I LOVE the things they have on them to do (pool/slide/ropes/golf and so on). But the amount of people and the business of the ship is just so different from the relaxing atmosphere of the smaller ships.

 

I also HATE having to schedule everything. Shows are the worse. If the moment hits me, I want to just go do it, not schedule it or get shut out of a show. Yuck.

 

I really enjoy the smaller ships on NCL's fleet. (However, I enjoy the bigger ships on Carnival...no "scheduling" of things make all the difference).

 

I know people have asked me about sailing on the Escape...and I probably will, but I'm in no hurry really. Just an even bigger version of these ships and well, I'd rather focus on the others I haven't sailed on like the Gem or Jade. Even though the Epic is bigger than the BA & GA, I would sail her again and she's still my favorite. Once I sail on her again, that may change, but we'll see. :D Go figure...I like the biggest ship in the fleet and the 3 smallest ships. LOL I'm odd.

 

I sailed on the breakaway and had the same feelings about reserving everything you had to do like you said took away the freestyle part of the cruise and I cant imagine doing it with 10 people as it was tough enough with just 2 of us. I also felt the amount of people on the breakaway is way too many for me and I prefer a small cruise ship with say 2000 people instead of 4000+. Great review as always . I read it from front to back with my wife jealousy standing over me wondering why I was so enthralled in reading this thread for 3 days lol. she wanted to know was was mitsy lol. When I explain she let it go lol.

Edited November 16, 2015 by shout19661966

[perfect match]

Thanks again, Kim, for another great review! I've enjoyed traveling along with you and your family. I will be anxiously waiting to hear where we will be going next.

 

I am wondering, though - will Kenny be cruising with you again? Or has his experience with seasickness made him decide he really wants to stay on dry land?

[caissonqueen]

 

Wow, is the water really that blue here? I thought it was only like that in the Caribbean and Bermuda.

 

[/color]

Lake Michigan really is that color during the summer. It feels like Key West water in the Midwest. The color of the water changes depending upon the weather and season. It becomes a ugly grey during storms and late fall through winter. It can also be a pretty light blue. One of the reasons I like living near Chicago. :)

[luvcruzing]

Regarding the ship's pin, we just got off the Star and were told that NCL no longer will give pins out on ships, and we have to write to NCL after disembarking and request a pin. :confused: We wrote - haven't heard back yet.

 

As always, great review, Kim. ;)

 

I'm with you - I cruise for warm weather and hopefully no rain. If I ever cruise out of NYC, it will be during the warmer months. But, that's doubtful now after reading your review. Why go through that hassle when there are other friendlier cruise ports out there?

[jenseib]

I finally was able to catch up here. ....but even though you think you wrote slow it's still super fast in my book. I wish I was that dedicated to get it all wrapped up so fast. I put put along on mine.

Great trip report!!!

So will Kenny ever sail again? Sounds like when the ship was in motion he had troubles, but it could have been the rougher seas?

 

That totally sucks about flying the day that the SW computer glitch happened. That was a mess, but it sounds like you guys did ok....and you made it home.

 

thanks for taking the time to write this. I can't wait till your next adventure.