ilovewdw

Thank you so much for sharing your review! We are sailing on Indy next July for the 14 night Med Highlights cruise. It's our first RCI cruise and we are excited. Your review was so refreshing! I'm glad you were bit by the cruising bug. Nothing beats the wind in your face, a drink in your hand and the sound of the ocean in your ear. Aaaaaahhhhhh. :cool:

I have sailed Breakaway 4 times. Each time has been in an Inside Stateroom. The Breakaway Insides are among the SMALLEST Insides I've ever been in! My kids are older than yours...15 & 11. We usually opt for connecting Insides now. That said, you just can't beat the KIDS SAIL FREE promo. considering the ages of your kids, honestly I think you'll be FINE! The majority of my cruises have all been in Insides and while the Kids were as young as yours, one Inside cabin worked fine.

Don't stress! Go and have a BLAST!!

Awesome video!!! It got me really excited for my cruise in October. I love the Breakaway!!

Awesome review so far. I have sailed on Breakaway 4 times already, with #5 scheduled for 10/9. Bermuda is my ABSOLUTE favorite port so far.

I have to COMPLETELY agree with you about the Atrium. The amount of activities they schedule in that small space boggles my mind. They should have thought of that during planning for the ship. I think of the Atrium and it causes me anxiety & stress! LOL I really wish they were able to use other venues for at least *some* of the activities.

Can't wait to read more...it's getting me excited for my cruise in 7 weeks!

This is a great review! I loved the way you separated it into GOOD, BAD, etc. I have cruised the Breakaway 4 times already, with my 5th Breakaway cruise booked for October. I'm really shocked on your thoughts about DanDan, though! I've had him on the Gem and to date, he was THE BEST Cruise Director we've ever had out of 22 cruises! Maybe he's still getting used to the size of BA? :confused: And funny, I've had Julie a few times and dare I say I can't stand her?!?!? ;)

Thanks again for a great review! :cool:

will be traveling on the Escape July 31st and have never cruised with Norwegian nor have we ever purchased a drink package. wondering If I'm understanding this correctly but the way I am reading it, Even though it says $79 per day per person + 18% gratuity, when I went to research it online and placed the package in my cart it was for all 6 days. Can you not just purchase the drink package by day?

No, you can't purchase the UBP per day. You must purchase it for the length of your cruise.

Thanks so much for sharing your VERY detailed review. We have cruised to Bermuda many times and it's my ABSOLUTE favorite port! We live the Breakaway and have sailed her 4 times already. I just talked DH into booking another Bermuda cruise on the BA for October! Can't wait!!! :cool:

We bring one on EVERY cruise. It keeps clutter and "stuff" off the counters and easily accessible! We have a clear one so we can see everything.

I put this list together after our Indy trip last October. I am hoping it is helpful.

 

http://eatsleepcruise.com/2015/12/top-10-things-to-do-on-independence-of-the-seas/

 

Thanks,

Mark

Thanks so much for this! Although we are not new to cruising, we are new to RCCL. As a first time RCCL cruiser on Indy next summer, this is extremely helpful. THANK YOU!!! :)

Great question. We are RCCL newbies and will be sailing for 14 nights in July 2017! We plan to get a drink package, I'm just not sure of which one. Personally, I love mixed drinks, frozen drinks, wine, beer, soda, water. Hubby likes wine, beer, spirits/mixed drinks, coffee, soda, water. We have 2 kids with us as well.

My question is this...can hubby order the package that includes the coffees, teas and Fresh juices and I can order the other one? Also...do you pay tax or gratuity in addition to the package price?

Trying to understand the various packages. :confused:

I just revised my 14 night Med Cruise booking on Independence of the Seas for next July. I saved $1000! Sweet!!!! :eek:

Thanks for sharing your review. I can't wait to read more! We are sailing on INDY for the first time next July so looking to,learn all I can before I sail. Glad you had a great trip! :)

I am LOVING your TR! Congratulations!!! How exciting to be able to celebrate all week. I love reading about "Indy" as you call her, since we just booked our first RCCL cruise on her for next summer...14 Night Med! I hope it's great!

Can't wait to hear more of your story. :)

We actually booked the Magic for the 7 night Med cruise in August 2017. We booked ONE Deluxe Inside 10A stateroom for all 4 of us (2 Adults, 2 Kids 15 & 12) for $7804. Hubby wanted me to look into longer cruises and compare to RCCL. We have NEVER sailed RCCL before and have always wanted to, but honestly...I'd much rather sail DCL. But when I saw a 14 night Med on the Independence of the Seas for only $1400 more than what we paid for the Magic...oh, and this is in TWO Promenade Staterooms...well, it's a no brainer. I guess we are trying RCCL next summer. :confused::eek:

I actually booked the 7 night Med Cruise on the Magic...one category 10C for 4 of us which was $7804. Hubby decides he wants a longer cruise and has me research RCCL on one of their "newer" ships they have in Europe, Independence of the Seas. So....found a 14 night Med for $9200....in TWO Promenade View staterooms. I guess we are switching to RCCL...an extra 7 nights, in an extra room for $1400. :eek: And we have always wanted to try RCCL anyway, so...silver lining. :confused:

Agree. Do a catamaran cruise to Dunns River Falls. Yes, it's touristy but its a must do thing. Skip to 3:20 in my video to see the sail and climb excursion we did with Chukka tours.

 

Loved your video! I went to Jamaica on my honeymoon and we did Dunn's River Falls. We are going next year while on the Disney Fantasy. I think we will need to go again so the kids can see how amazing the Falls are!

We pay our ENTIRE cruise, gratuities, excursions, new cruise booking and spending money using discounted Disney gift cards! We get ours for 4% off at BJ's plus the 1% we get back on the credit card. We also use the Disney Gift Card site to combine the gift cards...soooo much easier! I also use the Disney Vacation Account to pay for my cruise after I put my gift cards into it, which gets you another $20 per $1000 you put in there. I'm still waiting on my bonus from my February cruise, though. :confused:

Awesome report. I agree with you on all counts. We cruise both NCL (for convenience and perks) and DCL. DCL is in a completely different category. We just LOVE it! All of their ships are truly amazing. Happy planning your next one! Did you rebook while onboard?

We were just on the Breakaway 7/12 and 8/9. We were lucky enough to get Vibe passes both times. I will say that we had Priority Boarding through the Casino and were first on the ship after Suites and weddings. BOTH TRIPS, we got the LAST VIBE PASSES!! People who were in general boarding, even with an early number, were out of luck.

If you can get it, DEFINITELY GO FOR IT! It's HEAVEN...a hidden gem!

Here you go:

 

http://www.beyondships2.com/norwegian-breakaway-menus.html

Thanks so much for posting this! :cool:

I go to Atlantis all the time (have timeshare there) and I can tell you for a fact that they DO in fact sell out of day passes! They now have a new rule though that day passes will not be offered to anyone who is not staying at the resort or traveling to the Bahamas on a cruise ship. Gone are the days when people could reserve a cheapie Bahamas hotel and pay to use Atlantis facilities.

As far as different prices at different times of the year...I don't know. I, personally, haven't seen the Atlantis Excursion sold out on cruises if you go to the Excursions Desk on Day 1. I have actually seen it sold out the night prior to docking in Nassau, though.

I have never done a CTN on NCL...our first is booked on the Breakaway in December. I'm glad I'll get to experience one NCL CTN from NY. I'll be keeping my eye on it. I hope they don't cancel that one, too! :eek:

How many people in your party? It's possible that there are cabins available in that category, but they may have already met lifeboat requirements for your party size. In that case it would be listed as "not available".

What a great review so far. I'm so excited to read more! We are starting to plan our very first Hawaii trip for August 2016 and I'm very overwhelmed with which islands to do, which do excursions are a MUST and just traveling between the islands. I can't wait to hear more about your trip. THANKS FOR SHARING!!! :)

90 Days until the NCL Breakaway, 118 days until NCL Breakaway and 305 days until DCL Fantasy. :cool: