cruisin07family

Love these....we were on in August and going again in less than 2 wks. I have a list of what I didn't get to in August that I want to do and what I did do that I must do again, lol.

I have read several comments about the hotdog cart and I have to say that the description of "dirty water hot dogs" is cringe-worthy. Luckily for me, I eat about 1 hot dog a year and it's usually at a baseball game. I'll pass.

Robin, can you tell me what is in the Broadway Dreams drink at the Ice Bar? Vodka is my alcohol of choice so I'm sure I'll like it!

My personal tip is to try all of the tastings - martini, beer, wine, whiskey, etc. Great value at $15 and you may discover a new favorite drink.

HowardK, I wish I knew about the wine refills at the Wine Lover's Musical. We had a blast w/o refills but will be sure to drink our wines upon being seated this time!!

A few weeks is Thanksgiving. If you are cruising Thanksgiving week, expect crowds at the dining venues mostly between 6:30-7:30. Also, if you have a desired time for the pay restaurants, I would book them now. There were a few restaurants that we had to take times we did not prefer or not go at all, but it was a summer cruise and very full.

If you want to see any of the shows, I definitely suggest booking now. We were turned away from Second City as it was fully booked with a stand-by line.

If you enjoy wine and campy, silly songs, definitely go to Wine Lover's Musical on the last sea day. It was a hoot!

I think the blazer is unnecessary unless you just want to look good or get cold easily!

Our balcony didn't come with robes either but because it was Bermuda and quite warm, we didn't ask for them. Not sure if we could have gotten them.

No reason to be without your Coke/Diet Coke on NCL. We packed a 12 pack of my Coke Zero and brought it right on board. The Breakaway and the Summit were docked next to each other during our summer trip. We ran into some cruisers from X at a few stops and compared activities etc. on the ships. They seem pretty similar to me although I think X has a slightly older demographic and they are a bit more formal with dining. Personally, I like leaving my dress clothes at home. Are the prices similar?

3 weeks from now I'll be relaxing after dinner on my first Breakaway night!

I believe we are on the same sailing! Your countdown doesn't list the date but it's coming quickly! Happy birthday to me, happy birthday to me, happy birthday to me-eeee, happy 50th to me!!

When are you cruising? I tried to figure out by itineraries and it seems the Sun leaves out of Tampa and the Liberty leaves out of Port Canaveral but that changes in 2015 to the Star out of Tampa and the Spirit out of PC. Personally, I'd be more inclined to sail on the Star or Spirit than the Sun. We have cruised CCL and enjoyed our cruises immensely but I really prefer the casual clothing on NCL and the many dining options. I will say 24-hr pizza on CCL was a HUGE point for my dh who could make pizza his only meal forever and be a happy man. We also thought the stand-up comics on CCL were hysterical but the rest of the entertainment was better on NCL.

I might be going a little batty from too much research, but I swear your Day 4 is dated NOVEMBER 8, 2014. I was looking specifically for Day 4 because it is my big birthday (on our week) and others have reported it's the fireworks day - YIPPEE! Three weeks from tomorrow we will be boarding and honestly, if we just circled around NY Harbor for 7 days, I'd still have a great cruise! At least I won't be at work on my birthday.

Thanks for posting these Joann.

Yes, if you completed your online check-in and your edocs say ready to print then you are all set. Those edocs are your tickets. There are also luggage tags in there so print a couple of those as well. Have fun!

Love your review! Have you talked to anyone who went to Disney? Was there enough time or was it a waste of a lot of money?

I don't think there is anything "factual" about this one. Whether it is a waste of time or money is a matter of opinion. We will be doing Magic Kingdom on Veteran's Day (11/11), crowds and all because it is my 50th birthday and it's what I want to do. I'm a Disney nut and haven't been to the parks since 2010. My sons tease me and have said "so, you're going to go to MK, stand in line for Space Mountain and then get back on the bus and head to the ship, lol". Ha ha. It will not be enough time. That is a given. For me, it's not enough when we've gone to the parks for a week though so ....

When do you cruise? I can give you an update after we return if it's after our Nov trip but I'm sure I will say, for me, it was not a waste of time or money. Once we did the Kennedy Space Ctr and I thought it was a total snoozefest!

This has been our experience as well. My birthday is the 12th and hubby is the 19th and as long as his doesn't fall Thanksgiving week, we can count on either of the two weeks before Thanksgiving to be discounted pretty heavily AND fewer kids (sorry to those who cruise with kids - we have 3 sons, but we enjoy cruising without them too!).

Deck 7 is mostly the casino. I'm guessing you mean Deck 8's "on the waterfront". You can go about 2/3 of the way around the ship. Someone measured it recently and made a post about how many times you can walk around it for a mile. Maybe try a search with 678 Ocean Place in the title? We spent a lot of time out there in August. It was beautiful and usually pretty peaceful & quiet.

I love large balconies and did choose a B6 on Epic but I wouldn't choose a B6 on Breakaway or Getaway because I don't like that they are exposed and so far forward. On Breakaway I have chosen one of the angled balconies as they are somewhat larger although nowhere near the size of the balcony we had on Epic which was HUGE, something like 9' X 12'.

Which Hampton are you in and how far a drive is the Manhattan Port? We usually drive up and stay near Meadowlands but our go to hotel has no vacancies. We could just drive up the day of departure as it's a 4 1/2 hr drive but that makes me nervous.

Can you find answers to the following for me:

 

- which nights are Burn the Floor dancers in Manhattan room

- is there a third "show"- on BA in May there was a magician. If so, which night(s) is it offered?

- I'll be curious about whether it is warm enough for pools day 1 or day 2 and about whether you "make it" to GSC

 

Thanks and enjoy every minute!

Since I'm cruising in 4 wks I can already book Burn the Floor. The shows are Monday 7:30 and 10, Wed., 7pm, Saturday 7 and 9:30. There is currently a comedian/magician onboard but he seems to be getting extended week to week. It isn't pre-bookable.

If Julie has begun her vacation then it is JC who some call Johnny Cash but I don't know why, lol. I have no experience with him but our son is on the ship so I asked who was taking Julie's place.

We were just in 12238 for Bermuda. The cabins are pretty much all the same but ours was on a bump out so the balcony was decent size. If you look at the deck plans you can see which cabins have the bump outs and pick one of those. If the cabins are in the same category there is no cost difference so why not get a bigger balcony. Our thoughts about Deck 12...going down to Deck 8 (Waterfront) and 6 were not bad. Going back up to 12 usually meant taking the elevator. We would walk up to Deck 15 for the buffet but three decks left me kind of winded. Deck 12 was not overly loud but it is where the kids club is so we sometimes heard kids being picked up or dropped off.

I've never seen the balconies this low on Epic - I'd pick a balcony I want now. Maybe you can score one of those huge angled balconies. The only upgrades I've gotten incidentally is within the same category, never from inside to ov or balcony.

Is the corkage fee payable right there in cash or added to your onboard acct.? Just want to know if I should add to the cash I plan to bring to use on excursions & extra tipping.

Since we are talking dining...I posted this ? a few days ago, but no response. Is the main dining room open for breakfast and lunch everyday? And is there a pool bbq for burgers etc? Thanks

The pool bbq probably depends on the ship. There were hamburgers/hotdogs on the buffet on Breakaway but no poolside bbq's. I only remember because my dh missed it and mentioned it several times. There will be one main dining room open for breakfast and lunch daily (but only on sea days for lunch). I believe there are only two variations on the lunch menus. We found them to be too time-consuming for the most part, especially breakfast. It was much simpler and faster to have bkft at the buffet. On Breakaway they even offered eggs benedict on the buffet.

The combination of heavy meals and alcohol really make a body tired, lol. That said, we usually make it to midnight at least. There are a couple times per cruise we will close down the Howl at the Moon show at 2am if it's a fun group. I cannot sleep past 8am on a cruise - I just feel like I am missing too much stuff and like to be out and about!!

Simba, do you have an assignment yet? I booked a BX and was assigned yesterday to a BA on Deck 11 so I'm pretty happy. Just over 5 weeks to go....

One word (two?) Rumrunners!!!!!!!!!

I don't think we've ever gotten out without at least $1000 at the end of the week. That is true when it was the two of us or the five of us, lol! We're trying to do our November cruise on the cheap so it will be interesting to see what our final bill is. The only big expense will be our day trip to Disney for $179pp but I'm not dropping that as I LOVE Disney and haven't been since 2010. Those darn drinks add up quick and it doesn't seem like it when it's $14-16 at a time.

No, not any more. There was a comedy-magician when we cruised but we met him and he said his contract was terminated and his last week was the week the Breakaway got diverted. Supposedly, all the comedy-magicians were going to be cut across the board on all ships. I, personally, didn't care much for the second shows but they were popular and "sold out" so there were no walk-ups for those performances. If you reserve online prior to your cruise, you can only pick one show.

My boys' cabin on Breakaway was an IX Gty and assigned THREE days prior to sailing. They ended up with a I1 on Deck 9 and it was fine. I'm not sure there is a "bad" cabin - heck, you're on a cruise after all which is still better than school or work, lol.