MtnCliner

The area was closed during our cruise 2 weeks ago as well.  We also received the $50 OBC.

Really didn't miss it.

Epic last week - felt like we were at maybe 2/3 - 3/4 full.

The good news is that the phone app is mostly easy, with a couple of odd quirks.

I believe that I'm now good to go.  Glad I stumbled upon this thread!

Flying to Spain on Thursday for Friday arrival - first I'm hearing of this!  😮

On 2/28/2022 at 2:44 PM, mpk218 said:

Rise to the level of the bare minimum .. which is okay 

I'm remembering the Peter Principle a bit differently - in which one rises to their level of incompetence.

11 hours ago, mking8288 said:

Thank you and nice for uploading them ... will be on her sister *Away ships soon.  By chance, you have the O'Sheehan's (renamed "The Locals" ??) menu and was Shanghai Noodles" open - and, menu would be great too.  Much obliged.  

Sorry, don't have those menus.  All the restaurants were open on our cruise.

17 hours ago, oracer said:

Any sites for getting the MDR menus for the Breakaway. Trying to finalize the days we will use our specialty dinners, so we want to decide based on the day 1- day 7 menus. 

Here are the Cucina and Ocean Blue menus:

16 hours ago, oracer said:

Any sites for getting the MDR menus for the Breakaway. Trying to finalize the days we will use our specialty dinners, so we want to decide based on the day 1- day 7 menus. 

Just got off the Breakaway a few weeks ago.  Here are the menus.  Bon appetit!

On 2/20/2022 at 2:48 PM, DwayneG said:

Is Breakaway still using the old key cards you stick in the slot or have they changed to the proximity ones you just wave around?  Want to know whether we can punch our cards for lanyards or need the kind with a pocket.

Just got off the Breakaway - we were in a regular balcony and just had to wave the card to unlock the door.

5 hours ago, crowandzah said:

@MtnCliner @SimplyAlbert

 

Question - you have your terminal arrival time...did you get in line for the tests prior to that time or at that time? I would think prior, but the hubs is arguing.

 

thanks

We were a bit early for ours, but no one even asked about times - they just put us into the queue.

10 minutes ago, gigem_aggies said:

Ocean Blue and Cagney's is where we are leaning since we can have hibachi and churrascaria meals in our home town.  But, hard to decide since we love both.  🙂

The wonderful thing is that there are no bad choices!

15 hours ago, gigem_aggies said:

Just booked a last minute sailing on the Breakaway for mid-March.  Favorite specialty dining?  We have a balcony and free at sea, so have 2 specialty meals included.  My birthday is the first sea day, so trying to decide is hard!  😄 

We would rate our favorites as Ocean Blue, Cagneys and the Bistro. Personally, I like the Moderno salad bar and meat skewers, but I'm the only one in our foursome that does.

Ocean Blue isn't on that many ships, so we consider it a special treat.

Just got off the Breakaway a couple weeks ago. We were happy to discover Mango Meltdowns, Peach Bellinis and the Miami Vice.  All were wonderful poolside, soak up the sun fruity frozen concoctions.  Cheers!

Just now, Mikial said:

After a number of cancellations and delays, we are - finally - headed out on the Bliss Sunday!

 

For those who have recently sailed -- are we tipping on the card at the bars these days, or should I be bringing a roll of singles with me?  Not sure if NCL has gone "cashless" since the pandemic...

We brought along rolls of 5's and 1's for tips.  The staff seemed really appreciative of any and all tips.

23 hours ago, Summerstravel said:

Thank you for sharing. I have a question about the time zones. Does the ship stay on ship time or use local time zones in ports? I am concerned about port times and returning to the ship on time. Any information would be really helpful. 

Just took that cruise two weeks ago - the time changes were the oddest part of the whole cruise. Happily, we were willing to ignore watches and clocks altogether for the most part, so it didn't have much effect on us. Just odd.

January 30 sailing of the Breakaway from New Orleans.

Heard 1200 pax, seemed like less.

Last week on the Breakaway I was only aware of 2-3 smoking areas:

- poolside smoking area

- cigar humidor area next to Maltings bar

- and we saw smoking in the H2O area next to the bar - not sure if it was designated/authorized or not

11 minutes ago, Kclovesken said:

I was just coming here to say the same thing and ask a question. Is the streaming plan really worth it? I only want to use it to be able to use WhatsApp to check on the kids back home. Also do you use it while your phone is on airplane mode? So confuzzled lol any guidance would be much appreciated. Doing a Mex Riviera Cruise. 

Just got back from a cruise a few days ago. 

Used the 150 minutes per person.

Stayed on airplane mode and tapped into ship WiFi. Were able to use all other apps on my phone through ship WiFi. Wasn't the best connection - very slow - but could ultimately connect.

Also, interestingly learned that there are several free sites on ship app - could connect with NCL.com and CruiseCritic - again, slow, but free.

9 hours ago, JCDCA said:

How was the WiFi onboard?  Would one be able to work fairly easily onboard, including the occasional video call?

I wouldn't count on the quality of WiFi for work, based on my experience using my cell phone.

The service was pretty sporadic.  Maybe others have had a better experience.

13 hours ago, RocketMan275 said:

So what was the code?  We're on Breakaway in early March.  We're staying at the Hilton Riverside.  We're driving to NOLA.  

We parked in the main parking for cruises; it lies adjacent to the big building with the massive painting of whales. Instead of immediately crossing the tracks and entering the Julia St cruise entrance, go across the street and that's where they're conducting the covid testing. Hope this helps.

9 hours ago, chrisdar1 said:

 

Can you use your dining package perk at Ocean Blue?

Yes, we used the specialty dining perk at Ocean Blue. Had to pay a surcharge for the surf and turf, but it was worth it to me!

10 hours ago, ggg196078 said:

can you give some insight the the ports? were all ports open? wear masks while walking around? Vibe on boat and ports? Any covid issues on boat? 

Not sure if its Safe to cruise, I'm on the fence. Should I or not, Thank you

All the ports were open. In order we visited Cozumel, Roatan, Harvest Caye and Costa Maya.

I'd originally gotten the impression that the first two would be tender ports, but we ended up docking and walking for all four.

Masks were the norm while walking around most of the places or in the taxi.  Took masks off at the beach.

Great vibe on and off the boat. I'd get right back on if I were able. No covid issues that I was aware of. Most other passengers were considerate of the mask policy - 98% - unfortunately there are always going to be rule breakers.  But overall an A+ experience for us.

1 hour ago, garebarepups said:

Could you sit at the bars??

Yes, the activity at the bars was just like normal, just less crowded.

1 hour ago, Oxo said:

I know on this class of ship they do not have an Observation Lounge on Deck 15 like the Joy. 

Did you happen to notice if the Waterfront was busy during the day on Deck 8?

TIA

We loved the waterfront, and enjoyed the chill vibe there vs the party atmosphere poolside.

And built a great relationship with the bartenders out there. 😉