Live from NOLA and NCL Breakaway - 3/12 thru 3/19 😀⚓️🕖☘️🍸

[CTCruiser001]

Just landed. Still had issues getting wifi working again, so I just watched a movie instead. Uneventful flight.

 

 

 

[The Traveling Man]

9 hours ago, RocketMan275 said:

We were taxing to the hilton but as we left the port, there was a long freight train. We sat for 30 minutes waiting for the train to clear the port. We would have done better walking to the Hilton since we could have used the walkways that go over the tracks.  The cabby dumped us as close as he could to the hilton but we still had to wait on the train.  We couldn't go back inside and access the Hilton walkover because the doors were locked and we didn't have hilton access cards.

You can walk through the River Walk Mall from the Julia Street cruise terminal to the Hilton without needing to go outside.  We have done it several times and no access card was needed to enter the walkway to the Hilton.

[RocketMan275]

1 minute ago, The Traveling Man said:

You can walk through the River Walk Mall from the Julia Street cruise terminal to the Hilton without needing to go outside.  We have done it several times and no access card was needed to enter the walkway to the Hilton.

We weren't in the Julia Street terminal.  We had taken a cab to the hilton but the cab was blocked from crossing the train tracks about a block, block and a half, from the hilton.  We would have had to walk back to the terminal.  There were entrances to the hilton where we were dropped but all required a hilton access card. It was just simpler to sit down and wait for the train to pass.

[GALSews]

2 hours ago, CTCruiser001 said:

Just landed. Still had issues getting wifi working again, so I just watched a movie instead. Uneventful flight.

 

 

 

The best kind of flight is uneventful, Thanks for letting me follow your journey.

[chemcrazy]

We walked off and were on our way to get our car by 7:45 this morning. We had stayed and parked at Prytania Hotel in the garden district prior to the cruise and decided just to walk 25 minutes from the port instead of dealing with trying to get taxis. Driving back to Ottawa so we left New Orleans at 8:15 and are on our last 35 minutes into Louisville, KY. We have seen the temperature drop from 7°C in New Orleans to 3°C in Louisville. 

 

It was such a great trip for us and we look forward to our next one.

[Happycrafter123]

On 3/16/2023 at 9:13 AM, CTCruiser001 said:

 

Internet is ficky. There are times I struggle to post because the page doesn't always fully load. But it generally works well enough. We've been able to communicate via messenger on the ship. We've also done some video chats with family back home. I expected more from Starlink, but it's working well enough. We have the Free at Sea Plus package, which among other things, gave us unlimited wifi access. Signing up was easy enough.

Curious did you upgrade the unlimited to the faster streaming option or just stick with the one in the plus package?

[CTCruiser001]

55 minutes ago, Happycrafter123 said:

Curious did you upgrade the unlimited to the faster streaming option or just stick with the one in the plus package?

 

Unlimited wifi not streaming. Worked pretty well for us. 

[Happycrafter123]

Thank you for this marvelous review, I enjoyed all 19 pages of it and am left hoping you travel again soon so we can see the next chapter lol!

 

we will be on breakaway in a few weeks and interested to learn of changes from last summer when we last cruised.  Definitely disappointed on the wine but rest looked great.   
 

best wishes settling back in at home with puppy!

[supermom123]

Can you please help me understand wines by the glass and bottle for Premium Plus? We may order any wine by the glass at any price, but for wine by the bottle only those listed with a glass price under $15 are included by the bottle? Anything with a glass price over $15 or any other bottle is 40% off by the bottle?

So I could order 5 glasses of Veuve Cliquot at $29 each fir no charge but the bottle would be charged at cost less a 40% discount. Is that correct? 
Thank you for taking the time to write such a detailed report. We’re sailing next Sunday 3/26 for the first time on NCL and are really looking forward to it!

[The Traveling Man]

4 hours ago, RocketMan275 said:

We weren't in the Julia Street terminal.  We had taken a cab to the hilton but the cab was blocked from crossing the train tracks about a block, block and a half, from the hilton.  We would have had to walk back to the terminal.  There were entrances to the hilton where we were dropped but all required a hilton access card. It was just simpler to sit down and wait for the train to pass.

Sorry, I must have misunderstood.  I thought you meant that you were traveling between the cruise terminal and the Hilton.  The only tracks I'm familiar with are those between the Hilton and the river.  If you were coming from the airport, I'm not sure why your taxi would need to cross any tracks to get to the entrance of the Hilton.

[RocketMan275]

9 hours ago, The Traveling Man said:

Sorry, I must have misunderstood.  I thought you meant that you were traveling between the cruise terminal and the Hilton.  The only tracks I'm familiar with are those between the Hilton and the river.  If you were coming from the airport, I'm not sure why your taxi would need to cross any tracks to get to the entrance of the Hilton.

We were travelling between the terminal and the Hilton.   You have to cross the tracks or use the overhead passage.  We were only a 100 yards from the Hilton.  We had three options.  We could enter the hilton and use the overheads.  No hilton cards to access the hilton.  We could return to the terminal and use the cross over.  Long way to drag bags back and forth.  We could sit and wait for the train to clear which we did.

[CTCruiser001]

13 hours ago, supermom123 said:

Can you please help me understand wines by the glass and bottle for Premium Plus? We may order any wine by the glass at any price, but for wine by the bottle only those listed with a glass price under $15 are included by the bottle? Anything with a glass price over $15 or any other bottle is 40% off by the bottle?

So I could order 5 glasses of Veuve Cliquot at $29 each fir no charge but the bottle would be charged at cost less a 40% discount. Is that correct? 
Thank you for taking the time to write such a detailed report. We’re sailing next Sunday 3/26 for the first time on NCL and are really looking forward to it!

 

Unfortunately I think there is a lot of confusion with the packages. When we ordered Veuve Clicquot at Le Bistro, it wasn't charged for, so it may be covered despite being over $15 a glass. Just doesn't make any sense. 

[rjm11]

the website claims that any wine you can get by the glass you can get by the bottle.... this still isn't as good as it used to be with some additional special bottles that weren't served by the glass, but at least it makes sense (it's more convenient for them to hand you the bottle then pour 4 free glasses). It was the $15 cutoff that made no sense- hopefully that was misinformed servers somehow. If the rule stands as written that anything by the glass can be by the bottle then it makes sense that you got the Veuve bottle.

[CTCruiser001]

My final post...

 

We had a wonderful time in New Orleans and on the Norwegian Breakaway! There were a few hiccups, like the dreaded mustering that was required. However, it appears this is going back to the favored e-mustering next month...Perhaps it was my review that drove this to change? 🤣🤣🤣

 

We enjoyed our cabin the Haven despite it being overwhelmed with kids in the courtyard pool and tubs nearly everyday, all day. The Haven bartenders and restaurant staff were wonderful all week. 

 

Omar, our concierge was fantastic. He helped us get priority disembarkation when we left ship for Costa Maya and on the final day. Great perk! He also got us in early to the Syd Norman Pour House Band shows all week...Thank you Omar!

 

Our steward, Ludwig was wonderful. He greeted us with a smile several times a day and always made us feel welcome.  He helped us get extra pillows and made the bed to our specifications...No comforter, two topsheets folded one on each side. The bathroom was always spotless!

 

Our butler was MIA most of the cruise. Despite meeting him briefly in the late evening on the first night, until the last 2 days of our trip, we wouldn't have known who he was if we passed him somewhere. I'm sure he was very busy with other cabins, and his assistance at the end of our trip was appreciated, but his presence or lack thereof really did not have any impact on our sailing. 

 

We purchased the Thermal Spa Passes for the first time on this sailing - it won't be our last! The spa was a wonderful reprieve from the overrun courtyard and gave us the chance to relax and enjoy our time. 

 

We upgraded our Free at Sea perks to the Free at Sea Plus package.  The additional specialty dinners, the unlimited wifi, drinks from Starbucks and at the bars being covered made the package worth it to us. Previously we enjoyed sailings with the FAS+ package and getting decent wine bottles included. This is largely gone, however we still receive 40% off bottles, so it can be worthwhile to check out the package for those savings. 

 

We enjoyed the specialty restaurants, particularly Ocean Blue, Le Bistro and Cagney's.  I've never been a fish eater, and I enjoyed eating seafood all week. The servers in these restaurants were all fantastic and very helpful. 

 

The pooch is very happy to be home and is receiving lots of cuddles and belly rubs. Don't forget the treats! 

 

I stood on a scale this morning and much to my surprise, only gained 5 lbs while away and off my diet! I expected much worse. I will be working hard between now and our next sailing to keep losing as much weight as I can - This trip was eye opening for me...Being able to buckle the seat belt on the plane without a belt extension...Being able to walk around New Orleans and the ship as much as I did all week without stabbing back pain and being completely out of breath and exhausted...What an incredible difference!

 

Lastly, I'd like to thank each and every one of you all for reading and following my live review. It's been a pleasure and I hope everyone enjoyed tagging along. 

 

Until the next time...

 

 

 

[graphicguy]

Great review!  Thanks for taking us along, and Welcome Home!

 

BTW….I had OMAR as my concierge, too.  He is great!  And, wondering if we had the same Butler?  DIdn’t see him until the last day of the cruise, hanging around my door asking if I needed anything.  LOL!

Edited March 20, 2023 by graphicguy

[The Traveling Man]

3 hours ago, RocketMan275 said:

We were travelling between the terminal and the Hilton.   You have to cross the tracks or use the overhead passage.  We were only a 100 yards from the Hilton.  We had three options.  We could enter the hilton and use the overheads.  No hilton cards to access the hilton.  We could return to the terminal and use the cross over.  Long way to drag bags back and forth.  We could sit and wait for the train to clear which we did.

Julia Street ends just after crossing the tracks, where it becomes an alley or driveway as it passes under the River Walk Mall.  The cruise terminal entrance is on the South side of that alley.  On the North side of that alley, directly across from the cruise terminal entrance, there is an elevator that goes up to the mall.  From there you can walk the length of the mall to a hallway which leads to the Hilton.  Both the cruise terminal entrance and the elevator are at ground level on the East side of the tracks.  You may have to dodge some taxis or baggage carts to walk the 100 feet or so across the alley, but it is not necessary to cross the tracks.  The shops in the mall are on a couple of levels, so it is necessary to use an elevator or escalator to get from one level to another when walking with luggage from one end of the mall to the other.  It's a walk of several hundred yards, but it's indoors, air conditioned, with wide aisles making it fairly easy to roll a suitcase from the ship to the hotel.  The doors to the Hilton take you to a walkway over the tracks.  That walkway has never required an access key on the dozen or so times we have used it.  We have taken this route several times without problems, even doing some window shopping along the way.  I'm sorry for the delays you encountered on your trip, but if you sail in or out of New Orleans and stay at the Hilton again, you may want to take advantage of being able to walk through the mall to reach your destination.

[RocketMan275]

42 minutes ago, The Traveling Man said:

That walkway has never required an access key on the dozen or so times we have used it.  We have taken this route several times without problems, even doing some window shopping along the way.  I'm sorry for the delays you encountered on your trip, but if you sail in or out of New Orleans and stay at the Hilton again, you may want to take advantage of being able to walk through the mall to reach your destination.

I'm familiar with that path.  Perhaps I've not been articulate enough in explaining what happened.  We departed the ship and engaged a cab to take us to the Hilton. The cab path is to the riverside of the train tracks until it crosses the tracks as it approaches the Hilton.   As we approached this crossing (we were appoximately even with the circular roundabout in front of the Hilton), the train came  through blocking our further progress.  The cab drive told us to exit the cab, enter the hilton on the riverside of the tracks and it would be an easy path to the Hilton.  Would have worked had we had access cards to the Hilton.  At this point we were faced with two options.  We could retrace our path to the Julia Street terminal (google says this would have been approximately 1/4 of a mile) to take the cross over to the Whale Lot. Then of course, we would have faced retracing that 1/4 of a mile back to the Hilton all the while dragging our suitcases.  The second option was to sit and wait on the train to clear which we did taking about 15 minutes.  FYI, we are in our mid seventies and a half mile baggage drag isn't something we would enjoy. 

 

I do appreciate your explanation.  It is doubtful we will cruise out of NOLA again.  We have cruise scheduled for 24 and 25, nothing out of NOLA.

[CTCruiser001]

10 minutes ago, DanMartin8602 said:

We had a blast. I am sure our grandsons are some of the kids you whined about earlier.

 

 

Didn't think I was whining when I shared my observation about the courtyard. Not sure why you have to use hateful language either. 🤔 

 

Your grandsons were great. I enjoyed watching your son or son in law explaining to one of them how to play Sudoku in the Haven lounge early on in the cruise. 

 

I hope everyone got home safely!

[Mizunosport]

I just want to say thank you so much for all your insight. I am sure that took a lot of time, but it very helpful.  I cannot wait for our cruise ❤️

[Jordan61]

9 minutes ago, Mizunosport said:

I just want to say thank you so much for all your insight. I am sure that took a lot of time, but it very helpful.  I cannot wait for our cruise ❤️

 

Yes, thank you! This isn't the ship or itinerary I'll be on, but I am loving all the reviews and lives.

[ggTexasGal]

@CTCruiser001  Thank you for sharing your cruise with us.

Great pictures and some very humorous posts! 

Wishing you and @MrsCTCruiser001 the very best towards your weight loss goals!!!

[Russiamomm]

Sorry for the late question, but I’m just catching up on the review.  It was wonderful!

 

we’re on the Breakaway for a TA in April and cautiously optimistic we’ll win a bid into the Haven.  I’ve been in the Haven on the Joy, but I have two questions.  
 

1.  It looks like there is no observation lounge in the BA Haven.  Is that true?  We really enjoyed that space on the Joy - especially the espresso machine and the snacks out all day.  Am I right that the snack station on the BA is in the courtyard by the pools?

 

2.  Is there a hot tub on the Haven sun deck on the BA.  Looking at deck plans, it doesn’t look like it.  Again, we spent may hours in the cabanas and in the hot tubs on the Joy.  It would be disappointing if there was no hot tub in the BA Haven sun deck.  
 

thanks in advance!

[wolft927]

14 minutes ago, Russiamomm said:

Sorry for the late question, but I’m just catching up on the review.  It was wonderful!

 

we’re on the Breakaway for a TA in April and cautiously optimistic we’ll win a bid into the Haven.  I’ve been in the Haven on the Joy, but I have two questions.  
 

1.  It looks like there is no observation lounge in the BA Haven.  Is that true?  We really enjoyed that space on the Joy - especially the espresso machine and the snacks out all day.  Am I right that the snack station on the BA is in the courtyard by the pools?

 

2.  Is there a hot tub on the Haven sun deck on the BA.  Looking at deck plans, it doesn’t look like it.  Again, we spent may hours in the cabanas and in the hot tubs on the Joy.  It would be disappointing if there was no hot tub in the BA Haven sun deck.  
 

thanks in advance!

No observation lounge and no hot tubs on sun deck. Also haven sundeck is only on one side believe starboard 

[Russiamomm]

Just now, wolft927 said:

No observation lounge and no hot tubs on sun deck. Also haven sundeck is only on one side believe starboard 

Thanks for the confirmation.  We’re back on the joy next week in the Haven.  Will have to take as much advantage of these two venues as possible!

[wolft927]

1 minute ago, Russiamomm said:

Thanks for the confirmation.  We’re back on the joy next week in the Haven.  Will have to take as much advantage of these two venues as possible!

We sail the Joy april 8th also in the Haven, 1st time on Joy!