Norwegian Breakaway Cruise

[everylastbreath]

Going on my FIRST cruise and need tips- Been to WDW & VEGAS many times, if you ask me a question about either I could write a book, but Cruise, I am clueless- Please give me your best tips, money saving, time saving, packing tips etc- anything I SHOULD know (and probably will when I return! LOL) Help me plan!!

going out of NY to Bermuda in August with my daughter & 9 year old GS

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

I've never cruised on NCL but most cruise lines mark up prices for excursions that are booked through the cruise line. Most of these, if not all, can be done on your own for a lot less. The catch is that if you book through the ship and your group is delayed for some reason, the ship will wait for you. If you're out touring on your own allow PLENTY of extra time to get back to the ship. It won't wait for you.
Budget extra $ for gratuties, portraits, shopping onboard & in ports.
I would post this question on the cruise boards. Mostly it's about DCL but still some questions about other lines. Also try cruisecritic.com.

 

[Belle & Ariel]

We are not fans of NCL but love Bermuda. My advice would be to cancel and book Celebrity or HAL out of Boston. In fact, we were in Bermuda once and people saw our towels from HAL and said they wished they were on our ship. They were on NCL and hated it. Other people from their ship chimed in in agreement. We had already been disappointed with NCL and totally understood.
You don't need to do ship excursions in Bermuda. You can buy a transportation pass for about $30 that includes unlimited buses and ferry for 3 days. OR you can buy what they call a book which is 20 tickets for one ride each on the buses. A family can share them and they run about $15.
If you like to snorkel, Church Bay and Tobacco Bay are the best spots. Church can often be rough in the afternoon so go mornings. The most popular beach is Horseshoe. If you have small kids, Jobson's Cove is very calm and you can walk, not along the beach, but through the land, to Horseshoe. Then pay the $2 for the shuttle back up. It is a very steep walk in the heat.
You will be docked at the Dockyard and there is a beach there. We have not been there for years and I have not heard good things lately. I am sure with all the big ships docked out there it gets pretty crowded.
Go downtown on I think Wednesday for Hamilton Harbor Nights. It is fun.
St. Georges is very cute to walk around. It is near Shelley Bay, St. Catherine's Beach, and Tobacco Bay. If you have the transportation pass, take the express ferry.
There is an aquarium and cave that are popular.
Go to cruisecritic.com the ports and read about Bermuda.
It is beautiful!

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

I agree with the above poster - go to cruisecritic.com and start reading.

 

[mjkacmom]

We loved the Breakaway. Because you are docked for three days, I'm guessing lines for the ropes course and slides won't be bad at all. Leaving from NYC is awesome!

 

[RamrodinTonight]

I loved the Breakaway, so much that we looked at it again this year. We went for my son's 9th birthday, and what came as a surprise to me was his love of the kid's club. As soon as you board, go and register her to avoid the crowds later. Even if you think she won't use it. I didn't think my son would want to go, however he want to visit day 1. And had so much fun he went back. And back. And back. My husband and I had so much unexpected down time we ran up a large bar tab.

If you haven't already, go to the Cruise Critic boards and read about the Breakaway. Tons of useful info there. The most helpful thing I found, as previously mentioned, was to buy the bus pass and go to Tobacco Bay and Horshoe Bay. If you want to save money, hit Target before you leave and buy everyone their ow. Snorkel set....much cheaper than renting once you are there.

 

[beffiegirl]

Just FYI... August is hurricane season. If there is a storm near Bermuda they will not go there till safe. So it might disrupt things a little. Also the seas are a little bit rougher then say Florida. All in all I cruise during hurricane. I just keep in mind of the storms and realize that the routes can change. I want to try the Breakaway for my kids(they love spongebob). Might want to get insurance too.

 

[Happyjen27]

You can bring your own wine for a nominal corking fee, I think $15 per bottle. That saves a ton, and you can BYOW to restaurants and also enjoy it in your cabin. We never bought a portrait. You can also BYO soda onto the ship, and that's cheaper than buying at a bar, or buying the beverage package. I'm not a soda drinker, but DH is.

 

[mjkacmom]

Just FYI... August is hurricane season. If there is a storm near Bermuda they will not go there till safe. So it might disrupt things a little. Also the seas are a little bit rougher then say Florida. All in all I cruise during hurricane. I just keep in mind of the storms and realize that the routes can change. I want to try the Breakaway for my kids(they love spongebob). Might want to get insurance too.

I always get insurance, for medical emergencies on the cruise, and the fact that if you need to cancel, for any reason, a certain amount of time before your cruise, you will be refunded nothing, and not even be able to reschedule.

 

[POOHsie]

We went on a Western Caribbean NCL cruise. It was well-maintained ship, good food, but the ship was older and smaller. Next time I will pay more attention to what ship I'm booking (ship age, size, etc.). I think a better ship means a better cruise. HAL and Celebrity are definitely great ship lines. When we got back home from our NCL cruise we got incessant calls from NCL reps, trying to entice us to book more cruises. It got really obnoxious. Maybe all cruise lines do this. But if there's a way to book a cruise with a seldom-used phone number I'd do that in the future.

 

[cel_disney]

The breakaway and the RCI Anthem are the 2 newest ships heading to Bermuda - both will be excellent for generational families! I'm sure you will have a great time! Cruise critic is very helpful (but not as friendly as the dis if that's possible to imagine!).

We had been on several cruises but took our first on RCI Navigator with kids in Febryary - it was a great time and both of our kids enjoyed the kids club as an added benefit. We were visiting at the intrepid a few weeks ago and they saw the breakaway and have been asking to go on it since then! The ropes course and slides would be perfect for a 9 year old!!

My budget advice - research excursions to determine if you need them or would go on your own or with a different company and do some research on the various restaurants on board and figure out what ones are really worth it. Also buy insurance - there is always a seasickness visit risk for a cruise with that much time in the Atlantic!

My packing list for a cruise was a bit different than Disney - but I found that I could have brought fewer clothes - re-wearing is very in vogue on a cruise...also we had 4 in a cabin and keeping that organized was key to our enjoyment. My favorite things were the magnetic chip clips to hold papers to the magnetic walls and a large pad of lined sticky notes and a highlighter. Moor our sanity - I also brought a 1$ bottle of pump foaming hand soap for the bathroom sink - lifesaver item for us vs the bar soap - especially with kids!!

Have a great time!!!

 

[aprilgail]

Everyone I know that went on the Breakaway loved it- my neighbors are going for the third time next month. Right now I am debating between the Breakaway and the Anthem of the Seas for my daughters birthday trip with 2 of her friends.