TenForward

On 7/23/2019 at 7:26 PM, pxy cda said:

Bermuda Itinerary

Purchase 3 day Bus/Ferry Pass

Arrival Weds 8am

Ferry to St George Orange route

12pm ducking  reenactment

Lunch (Suggestions?)

I can recommend Wahoo's Bistro & Patio (waterfront).  6 of us had dinner there in 2017 and it was fabulous. Every meal was delicious.  Lovely outdoor deck by the water with covered section if you'd rather be out of the sun. The tables in the sun did have umbrellas.  The inside was not much to look at - don't let that fool you.  

https://www.bermuda.com/wahoos-bistro-and-patio/

We'll be on the Escape (again) in October to Bermuda and looking forward to it.  Sail away out of New York is gorgeous.  I've only been on two ships (Breakaway in 2017) and prefer the Escape.  Pinchos, District Brew House, the grotto in Spice and the water slides make this ship our favorite.  

There's a place in myNCL to "print booked items".  I always check to make sure they show up there and, of course, take a print out with me.

On 7/4/2019 at 12:25 PM, Jasonmom said:

I also heard something about some vitamin supplements that you can take and it lessens hangovers. 

I seem to remember NCL sold these (or some similar hangover relief) in the gift shop. 

For me it's the Waterfront.  I love having dinner or drinks right beside the ocean with the breeze in my face and the smell of the sea in the air.  I had looked at other lines before my first cruise and all the restaurants were indoors and air conditioned.  I can get that on land.  

I recently moved my cabin to an angled balcony (first time) and am excited to try it out in October!   Having been in both standard balcony and a mini-suite, I can't say I missed anything by taking the balcony.  I think we actually got a bit more counter space in the bathroom because it was 1 sink vs. the long trough-like double sink in the mini. 

In addition to everyone on here always raving about the angled balcony, I would be concerned about the pool/deck noise from above. 

2 hours ago, flarad said:

This cruise will be different for us, the World Cup finals are at 11:00 am so we will try to get onboard and go to O’Sheehans to watch. Do you think they’ll be showing it? 

They'll likely be showing it on the big screen by the pool. 

First thing we do is any business (Vibe if we want it, restaurant reservation adjustments), drinks from the bar, lunch at MDR if we're hungry and another drink for sail away which is gorgeous out of NY.   Pincho's is not to be missed IMO.

2 hours ago, 1bets1 said:

That sounds so nice. So Escape does not have a free adult area pool, just Vibe?

I was commenting on Vibe only in regards to no pool.  The Escape has an adult pool if you don't mind crowds. 

7 hours ago, 1bets1 said:

What is the Waterfront? And are you familiar with Vibe that the OP is talking about? I'm assuming adult pool area? Is there an extra fee?

The waterfront is deck 8 area of restaurants and bars that are along... the waterfront 😊   Lots of big couches, chairs and tables to make for a comfortable, relaxing atmosphere.  It's the #1 reason I picked NCL breakaway class the first time and each time since.  Vibe is a private area with its own bar, hot tub & misting station -- no pool.  Very attentive staff will bring you drinks, fruit skewers, cold cloths, ice cream... and when we were there, "Shot o'clock" everyday at 4:00.  They have about 70 loungers and only sell 70 passes so you're guaranteed a space.  I think the price has gone up to around $200/pp for the week but I'm not sure.

Last cruise on the Breakaway we did not buy Vibe passes but instead opted for Spice H2O which is also adults only and was nice as well.  Not too crowded at that time in October.

9 hours ago, happyscmom said:

We are now in Bermuda and about to hop off to explore. We are booked with Restless Native this afternoon for snorkeling.

Would love to hear how this works out for you -- We've booked Restless Native for our trip in October.  I love the Escape, she's a great ship.  Thanks so much for posting your review.

October 13 Escape to Bermuda is up!

Oh good idea.  I'll have DH check out the area around the bar in Spice as well - he might prefer that to Waves.  

51 minutes ago, TMO3CCO1 said:

 With everyone complaining about the pool, I wonder why Norwegian doesn't make the  Vibe area open to all adults 18 or older.  Disperse some of the population on the ship to two pool areas.  It seems like they would get less complaints about the pool area.

That is basically what Spice H2O is.   Vibe has about 75 lounge chairs -  not nearly enough space to open to all.  Neither has a pool, just hot tubs & misting stations.

The cigar lounge is enclosed.  My husband loves a good cigar with a glass of port at the end of the night to wind down and relax which he said that was impossible to do because the 10 x 12 ish room was full of drunk & rowdy cigarette smokers.   So he took his cigar smoking to the main smoking area by Waves.  That was far more enjoyable for him. 

I always love to see food comments -- peoples tastes are so different.  DH and I enjoyed Food Republic -- we thought it was good but nothing over the top.   Pinchos was one of our favorite meals as was Teppanyaki... Come to think of it,  I don't think we had a bad meal anywhere.

1 hour ago, Bajan Keith said:

We really want to do Teppenyaki for sure. Would you recommend reservations for this ahead of time?

Yes, I would.  I think the flow of that place (hibachi tables) makes it harder to wait for an opening.   We made reservations for that one as it was our anniversary and we really wanted to be sure to eat there.  It was fabulous! 

14 minutes ago, Bajan Keith said:

Hi Everyone...hope someone ses this and responds as I did not want to start a new thread just to ask this question..so here goes...

 

Can anyone tell me if you have to book Specialty Dining prior to boarding or can you do it when you get on the ship?

 

Do you have to book the shows as well or do you just walk in?

 

Thanks again

I think it depends on the size of your party.  When just DH and I cruised we had no problem getting a dining table for the two of us just by asking the hostess for a table.   We did book 1 or 2 shows ahead of time for any we really wanted to see.   When we went with a group (6 of us), we also just showed up without a reservation for dinner.  1 or 2 times we had to wait a little but we just sat at the bar with a drink for maybe 30 minutes at most.    Shows would be more problematic so if there are any you'd really like to see you should make reservations ahead of time.  That said, our group of 6 waited stand-by for Rock of Ages and we all got in.  If you don't have a reservation just make sure you arrive early to theater -- I think we got there 20 minutes early.  Just a few people behind us were not able to get in.  

If you're unable to make reservations online you can make them once your're on board via the kiosks by the elevators.  

On 6/13/2019 at 2:27 PM, JamieLogical said:

 

Make sure she stops by O'Sheehan's and orders an "Irish Coffee" once in a while too. That's just black coffee, whiskey, and a huge amount of whipped cream. I love to stir the whipped cream in and drink it while it's still really hot.

On 6/13/2019 at 2:36 PM, Bajan Keith said:

 

Sounds really good. I hardly ever drink coffee but I would definitley try that!!

If I remember right, specialty coffee drinks aren't covered under the drinks package... to avoid paying, I've heard some people order the coffee with whipped cream but request a shot of whiskey (or Bailey's) separate on the side, then add it themselves.  

We were in Bermuda October 2017 and did beaches/sightseeing in St. Georges.  We had dinner at a wonderful waterfront restaurant there called Wahoos.  Food was fantastic. Everyone loved their meal.  That was the only place we had dinner out so I don't know if your plans will take you to St. Georges but if so I highly recommend! 

https://www.bermuda.com/wahoos-bistro-and-patio/

I think we paid $20.00.  They give you (loan you) a metallic and fur poncho, gloves & 2 drinks.  There's a time limit of an hour so they can let the next group in.  There were a few neat ice sculptures in there, the Empire State Building and a throne that we all took turns sitting on and literally freezing our butts off for pictures.  The girls in our sandals were proud we made it the full hour.  It was fun for our group but I don't think I'd need to do it again. 

I just purchased 6 liter pack for our cruise in October.  It was $17.94 which works out to $2.99/bottle.  I think the site said it was a 55% savings. 

On 6/12/2019 at 11:22 AM, CruisnDeb said:

 

We will be in Bermuda at the end of August and also are planning a day at Clearwater Beach.  We also plan to go to Horseshoe beach for one day, but like you, we have heard great things about Clearwater (and it will be nice to have a beach day on an uncrowded beach.)  We are going to Ferry over to St. George's and then catch a taxi to a beach bar called Gombey's.

 

I have been in contact with Gombey's (they have a Facebook page and have been really good about responding to my questions.)  FYI they have food and drinks and also take credit cards .  I also read that there are rentals for beach chairs and umbrellas, but it is not from Gombey's.  I have been unable to find out an specific information about the rentals, so I guess we will find out when we get there.

I've been looking at Clearwater Beach as well.  We'll be going in October.  Our last trip to Bermuda (2017) we spent the day at Tobacco Bay and it was nice having the smaller, quieter day.  Would really love to hear what you find on your visit to Clearwater... insights on the taxi from ferry, chair/umbrella rental, facilities and safety of the water (calm and serene?).   The Excursion sounds nice but as the ferry is free, it seems very high priced.   

Have a great time and look forward to (hopefully) hearing how everything went!

On 6/11/2019 at 3:19 PM, JamieLogical said:

Another note about booking through a PCC versus online through the NCL site is that they can see all the available rooms on the ship, not just 15 in each category like WE can see on the web site. My SO and I prefer to sail in angled balconies. When the site limits you to only being able to see 15 available rooms in each category, that means there may be angled balconies available that we can't see. I am able to tell my PCC "we want an angled balcony" and she can find the available ones on the ship that we can't see through the site.

Thank you for this.... I'd originally had our PCC book us in a regular balcony based on availability I saw online.  After reading your post I decided to give him a call and he did in fact find one for us.  We are now booked in our first angled balcony!  🤗

Was on the Breakaway late 2017.  We visited the Atrium coffee shop several mornings for lattes.  It's much better coffee in my opinion. I like it pretty hot and that was hard to come by outside of there.  They had all kinds of flavor choices.

On 6/1/2019 at 5:12 PM, LaCal said:

$100 OBC is still available as well 

I just booked a balcony the other day with 2 CN certificates.  The $100 OBC promo I received said it was a Latitudes loyalty promo for past cruisers.  Would it be expecting too much to think I might get both?  lol