Breakaway Live! March 10-17, 2019

[jakeawhite]

Good Morning Friends!

 

Long time lurker here! Thought it would be fun to take you all along on our upcoming 7-day Caribbean out of New Orleans on the Norwegian Breakaway!  This will be a learning process for me, but I think it'll be fun ride!

 

 

My wife and I have cruised together several times in the past and really enjoy cruise life! This will be our first time on Norwegian. We've only cruised in December previously, excited about some warmer weather (we think) that March will bring. We both work in education (I'm a Systems Administrator for a university in Texas and she's a 2nd grade teacher) so we enjoy traveling on our time off. We're both "free" for spring break so we decided to go for it!

 

I'm working with my own title template as I'm saving my money for the next cruise, can't afford to send the royalty to @sid_9169!

 

 

[jakeawhite]

We've booked a Balcony Stateroom on deck14, Category: .

This is our first time in a Balcony, we've always been cheap and gone with interior rooms. We're very excited to try it out on ship this large!

 

We'll be driving over to New Orleans from Central Texas, about an 8 hour drive in total. We decided to start our journey Saturday morning and spend the night in Baton Rouge then head down to NOLA Sunday morning.

 

Here is our Itinerary:

Day	Land Tours And Cruise Ports	Arrive	Depart
Sun	New Orleans, Louisiana	---	4:00 PM
Mon	At Sea	---	---
Tue	Cozumel, Mexico	8:00 AM	5:00 PM
Wed	Belize City, Belize	8:00 AM	5:00 PM
Thu	Harvest Caye, Belize	8:00 AM	4:00 PM
Fri	Costa Maya, Mexico	7:00 AM	1:30 PM
Sat	At Sea	---	---
Sun	New Orleans, Louisiana	7:00 AM	---

[jakeawhite]

Here is our plan for Saturday/Sunday travels:

 

 

My truck is still a wreck (unlike @EganFire's clean machine!) so I'll need to clean that up this week! It's been way to cold here in Texas (we're not very prepared for sub 55 degree temps!) so I've been putting it off!

We're probably eat lunch somewhere in Houston and make our way over to Baton Rouge we're I'll try to find some delicious red beans and rice, one of my favorites!

 

I plan to just use cruise terminal parking as the other options don't seem much cheaper (i'm up for suggestions here!). Our check-in time is 12:30 and I'll arrive early to drop off luggage and go park. I always get a bit nervous at new ports, so I like to arrive early and figure things out without being rushed! If I'm not 30 minutes early everywhere I consider myself late! (yes, one of those people!)

 

 

 

 

[Carol1560]

We just did the 10day cruise 2/7 to 2/17/  That was my 30th cruise.  You will like the Getaway a huge ship.  But.....they will try to nickel and dime you to death.

 

When you get to port, go to Erato port and stay in the left lane.  It will lead you to the Julia Street Terminal.  I am assuming you are going to park at the Whale's Tale lot?  It is the closest parking to the Julia Street Terminal.  It is 20.00 per day

 

Any questions feel free to ask

 

Carol

[jakeawhite]

We were able to book on a group rate that I found in a Facebook group that provided us with the Unlimited Beverage Package with gratuities included!

Also, it paid our overall daily gratuities. This worked out a much better deal for us then using NCLs "free at sea" promotions as we would have had to pay grats on UBP and dailies.

 

 

I've also purchased the 3 Meal Specialty Dining Package. We've got reservations for Cagney's & Teppanyaki so far. Undecided what to do with 3rd meal yet. I do want to eat at Margaritaville at some point, but it seems more cost effective to pay for that individually and use the 3rd meal for a more expensive restaurant. 

 

[jakeawhite]

I'm about to pre-purchase the unlimited WiFi plan. I go back and forth on this, but this time around I plan to get it.

 

I agree that it's nice to disconnect on a cruise, but sometimes it less relaxing for me to be fully disconnected. (hey, I'm a millennial after all!) I figure it's my vacation and I can do whatever I want on it. We both work full time so that we can afford things like this.

 

Also, being the IT guy that I am, I plan to try and cheat the system a bit. I've purchased a battery-powered travel router that will let you rebroadcast WiFi to multiple devices. It's really pretty cool, you login to ships WiFi through this router and login (like you do in the browser on your phone) then you can connect multiple devices to it. I've used it at hotels before and it works great. I'm sure some of you will tell me it won't work on a cruise, I've done my research 🙂

 

We'll both take our phones, an iPad, and my laptop. I use the iPad to download some movies and TV shows from my Plex server at home to watch while at sea.

[sid_9169]

8 minutes ago, jakeawhite said:

We were able to book on a group rate that I found in a Facebook group that provided us with the Unlimited Beverage Package with gratuities included!

Also, it paid our overall daily gratuities. This worked out a much better deal for us then using NCLs "free at sea" promotions as we would have had to pay grats on UBP and dailies.

 

 

I've also purchased the 3 Meal Specialty Dining Package. We've got reservations for Cagney's & Teppanyaki so far. Undecided what to do with 3rd meal yet. I do want to eat at Margaritaville at some point, but it seems more cost effective to pay for that individually and use the 3rd meal for a more expensive restaurant. 

 

 I recommend using your remaining credit at the raw bar if you're a seafood lover... You can basically eat the entire menu if you can handle it...

[jakeawhite]

I've already started on my list of things to do before traveling. I'm big on lists, I enjoy making them though not always following them. (electronically, my handwriting is crap!)

 

I've had my mail held for the week, notified bank and credit card of travel, arranged for a friend to stay at the house with our dogs.

 

Side note, it's nice to have friends that will do this! He lives on a houseboat and is always willing to come spend a week at my house on land where we have normal sized showers and  a washer/dryer! Was the best man at my wedding and he convinced me to go on my first cruise several years ago! He worked as an assistant cruise director for awhile with Holland America and has lots of great tips.

 

We also have a stash of our cruise essentials that I've started gathering. Magnets, magnetic clips, portable fan, camera, extension cord, plug adapters, baggies, etc.

 

Yesterday I got the suitcases down from the attic and we are in final stages of laundry before packing! I prefer to have everything ready before putting anything in the suitcase, otherwise I tend to just pile things in there.

 

 

[jakeawhite]

17 minutes ago, sid_9169 said:

 I recommend using your remaining credit at the raw bar if you're a seafood lover... You can basically eat the entire menu if you can handle it... 

 May try it! I'm not a MASSIVE seafood fan, but can usually find something!

[Gatorj]

Jake - we will be on this cruise with you.  I was contemplating doing a "Live" review, but you beat me to the punch.  Now we'll just have to compare notes throughout your LIVE review! 

[jakeawhite]

15 minutes ago, Gatorj said:

Jake - we will be on this cruise with you.  I was contemplating doing a "Live" review, but you beat me to the punch.  Now we'll just have to compare notes throughout your LIVE review! 

 

How fun! It's our first time on NCL so hoping for a great experience! Feel free to chime in along the way if you wish!

[Gatorj]

14th NCL cruise for us, so feel free to track us down or send me a PM if you want any info beforehand.  

[asen2asen]

Hi there!! Thank you for doing this...your timing is awesome...you will be getting off and we will be getting on! Are you going to be on the quest for Vibe passes?? And also looking forward to hearing about the themed dance parties at night! We just got off the 

Bliss Haven last week and can't wait to vacation again!! 

Thank you!! Come on March 10th!! 

[km3045]

Just in case you didn’t know, the cruise terminal is located at Riverwalk outlet mall, in case you forget to pack something!  They have a pretty good food court and a Cafe Du Monde for your Beignet fix. I got a new pair of kicks just before boarding so I could walk the long pier st Harvest Caye!

[Gatorj]

@asen2asen

We were on the Bliss this summer for an Alaska run.  Loved the ship and the DW loved the country themed venue at night.  

 

Our group is going to try for Vibe passes.  We're Platinum, so shouldn't an issue getting there in time.  If however, they are at the new price of $209 per person, I think we will scope out a nice spot in Spice H2O and save the Vibe cash for the casino.   

 

I know Jake is going to have his hands full with the Live reports.  I'll add the Dailies for each day so everyone can see what the theme of the day is. 

 

For reference, we're a small group of 5, DW and me in a minisute on deck 11, our kids, ages 25 and 21 in studios, and a dear friend also in a studio.  Fee free to shoot cabin questions and we'll try to answer.  

[jakeawhite]

13 hours ago, asen2asen said:

Hi there!! Thank you for doing this...your timing is awesome...you will be getting off and we will be getting on! Are you going to be on the quest for Vibe passes?? And also looking forward to hearing about the themed dance parties at night! We just got off the 

Bliss Haven last week and can't wait to vacation again!! 

Thank you!! Come on March 10th!! 

Howdy!

 

So you're on the March 17th sailing? We're not going to be trying for Vibe, maybe in the future! We don't mind being around kids or anything, so we're pretty flexible on where we hang out! We enjoy reading on vacation and just slowing down without a schedule.

We may check out the dance parties, but probably from a slight distance 🙂 (I now fear I'm making us sound like boring people, maybe we are! haha)

 

I would LOVE to have Haven one day!

 

[jakeawhite]

17 hours ago, Gatorj said:

14th NCL cruise for us, so feel free to track us down or send me a PM if you want any info beforehand.  

Nice! We decided after last cruise that we wanted to test-drive a few different cruise lines to see what we like best. Only Carnival so far, NCL now - then we'd like to try RCL, MSC, and maybe Princess.  Disney Cruise Line is on a "hopefully one day" list due to cost!

 

I do have one question, I've read that NCL does not care about check-in times. Ours is set at 12:30, do you think we could arrive earlier?

[jakeawhite]

Saw this weird thing in the sky on the way to work this morning, haven't seen that in awhile!

 

Gives me hope for next week! Looks like towards Friday we warm up to 70s through the week.

Just checked weather for Cozumel, Costa Maya, and Belize City - highs around 85 every day and lows around 71! Those are PERFECT temps for me! I can't wait!

[CruisinMama2003]

Following along! Nice start so far 

[Gatorj]

20 minutes ago, jakeawhite said:

I do have one question, I've read that NCL does not care about check-in times. Ours is set at 12:30, do you think we could arrive earlier?

 

I think that noon is the earliest published check in time.  If you arrive at 10:30, you won't be turned away.  The check in times are intended to spread the masses across a few hours, but many people show up in the 10-11am timeframe and are not sent away.  

[zencruisers]

I will be following along. We will be on the Breakaway April 28th but out of Miami. Enjoy your cruise and thanks for taking the time to do a review. I am looking forward to reading more. 

[RedRover96]

We're the next week 5/5, except we are doing the Eastern trip, therefore ship feedback would be great!

[jakeawhite]

Started getting all the random little things together that go with us! I like to be well prepared for anything we choose to do. Also, you'll see my folding travel backpack below, I love mine too @EganFire!

Also, finishing up laundry to get packed tomorrow or Friday!

 

 

Abby is looking a bit concerned about the suitcase situation, she knows what's coming (us leaving).

[jakeawhite]

5 hours ago, RedRover96 said:

We're the next week 5/5, except we are doing the Eastern trip, therefore ship feedback would be great! 

Will do! I enjoy the ships themselves and activities provided more than ports generally, so I'll try to post plenty of ship-based content!

[MrFunInTheSun]

Looking forward to sailing along with you!

 

As a "Live" trip reporter myself, fully understand the time that goes into them, thanks for bringing us along. For being your first "Live" your off to a superb start! Keep up the great work and happy sailing.