Solo Bachelor’s Bermuda Journey on the Norwegian Breakaway

[Terpsince74]

I sailed on the Norwegian Breakaway solo on July 7th, 2013 to Bermuda out of New York. I am sorry it took me so long to put this together but I was so busy at work when I got back that it took me a while to get to this. Warning, this is a long review of not only the Norwegian Breakaway but also the island of Bermuda. I will try to add some pictures and maybe a few videos along the way to help tell the story. I decided to break out my day to day experiences and conclude the review with more in depth information on specific topics. I truly hope this review helps others as much as the reviews I read on Cruise Critic helped me in preparation for my cruise. Enjoy!

 

 

My Back ground

I am a 39 year old bachelor that lives in the Washington DC area. I am also a diehard Maryland sports fan if you can’t already tell by my username J. The first thing that I will throw out there is that this was my first cruise so I don’t have anything to compare it to. I have however travelled all around the world doing various land vacations in Hawaii, many of the Greek islands (including Santorini, Mykonos, and Corfu), Spain (Including Mallorca and Ibiza) England, Germany, Austria, Italy, Venezuela, and many other places. If you can’t tell already I love to travel.

 

 

All of my previous travels have been with friends and/or family. During this past dreary winter I started thinking about doing a vacation on my own for once. At first it started as a few days at a resort somewhere in the Caribbean. I have always wanted to do a cruise but never had the opportunity to do so. The closest that I came to it was a few summer ago in Greece. A bunch of my friends and I chartered a 60 foot yacht in the Western Greek island of Lefkada (some call it Lefkas). If you have never visited this small island, you HAVE to visit this island one day! Anyways, with the yacht we visited 4-5 small islands over 3 days. Words cannot describe how fun and relaxing it was to be on the water visiting some of the most beautiful remote islands off the Western coast of Greece. With that awesome experience still fresh in my head I started looking into taking a cruise by myself. My first reaction was nobody does that! What kind of loser takes a cruise by himself? After reading numerous threads on the topic here on Cruise Critic I was convinced that this was what I was going to do. Most people wrote reviews of their solo experiences stating that they had incredible experiences, met wonderful people, and would prefer to only cruise solo moving forward. The thought of having no plans, agenda, doing what I want, whenever I wanted to, immediately starting becoming a dream vacation that I could not get out of my head.

 

Choosing a Destination, Cruise line, Ship, and State Room

Being a first time cruiser, I was overwhelmed when trying to determine what cruise line and ship to sail. I spent countless hours on Cruise Critic trying to figure it out. God bless this website. It truly made life so much easier. When you are planning a costly trip like this you want to make sure you make the right choices and Cruise Critic did exactly that for me.

 

Destination

I guess you can call me an island snob but I was very particular about where this cruise would go. I had heard so many wonderful things about Bermuda. One of my favorite authors (Ted Bell) also referenced Bermuda in many of his action/adventure fictions which also help jade me. He often talks about the amazing pink sand beaches of Bermuda. After looking into the island a bit more I decided that Bermuda was the destination of choice. I like it warm so the swims are refreshing not freezing. I decided July would be the perfect time to go there and it worked well for my work schedule as things are quite slow in early July.

 

Cruise line

Since I was a first time cruiser, I read plenty of posts on the topic. I had heard so many good things about Royal Caribbean and also noticed that they had a 5 day cruise to Bermuda going out of Bayonne, NJ. I was worried about taking a longer cruise (in fear of getting bored) so thought this would be the ample trip. After reading more about NCL however, I started thinking that as a Solo cruiser; NCL may be the better cruise line for me. I loved the idea of freestyle dining but what honestly pushed me over the edge to NCL was the fact that they have solo cabins on their newer ships (Epic, Breakaway, and soon to be Getaway). My thought process was that the odds would be higher on one of those ships of meeting other similar solo travelers.

 

Ship and State Room

Since I had already narrowed my destination to Bermuda, and cruise line to NCL, my options were more limited regarding ships. I could sail on the Norwegian Dawn out of Boston or the brand new Norwegian Breakaway out of New York. New York is a quick 3 hour train ride for me from DC, so I was favoring that. I also really liked the idea of sailing on a brand new ship. Candidly, the computerized videos NCL put out there of the Breakaway blew me away. That is what sold me on the ship and then some. The Waterfront concept was probably the single coolest thing about the ship. I had no idea that many ships had limited or no promenade decks overlooking the water anymore. I thought that was what cruising was all about. The thought of sitting at a bar or having a nice meal outside overlooking the sunset got me sold on Breakaway.

I originally considered booking a Studio cabin but really wanted a balcony. From everyone I spoke with about cruising they all said once you sail with a balcony you will never want to sail without one again. Booking any room other than a studio as a solo traveler kind of stinks as you have to pay for 2 people but I quickly got over this. I liked the idea of booking a Spa Balcony as I love using the steam room, whirlpools etc. The Spa balcony includes access to the Thermal Spa but it is also more expensive than a normal balcony cabin. I quickly learned you could buy weekly or day passes and decided to just book a standard balcony. I found a room (13288) towards the aft of the ship on the port side that seemed to fit what I was looking for. I created a separate review of the room here that includes photos and videos… http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1887046

 

 

The room was on the bump out section offering incredible views. Floor number 14 scared me as I did not want to be below restaurants or the pool deck. The noise was minimal on 13 and I slept like a baby every night on that comfortable bed! I truly loved this room and would sail it again. I also think that the balcony in the room that was just next to me would be a cool one too as it is angled towards the back of the ship and offers a slightly larger balcony. The next time I sail the Breakaway (and yes there will be a next time) I may also consider having a room on the bump out section towards the front side of the ship as I found myself spending a lot of time at Vibe (which I will get more into later in my review) as well as the Spa.

 

The Waiting Game

Once I reserved my room, time seemed to move so slowly as I counted down the days to my first cruise. I could not stop following the “Everything Breakaway thread” which you can find here… http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1691618&page=3

I became fascinated at following the ship as it was built. It was fun to follow the sail out, sea trials, and first reviews of the ship from the Transatlantic and first sailings to Bermuda. I read Gambee’s review which was awesome. You can view that here… http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1851007

He gave me some good pointers that I am grateful for. Thanks Gambee!

 

Packing

I read reviews on what to bring and what not to bring. I had been thinking about bringing some wine but ultimately decided it would just be a pain to lug all the way up to New York. I figured buying bottles of wine in NYC would not be much cheaper than buying them onboard either. Ultimately I bought the unlimited drink package anyways (I will get more into this later in my review).

 

 

Everyone talked about bringing an extra power cord so I packed my handy travel power strip. I ended up not even needing that but again it was just me travelling. I brought hand sanitizer but quickly realized the ship has hand sanitizing stations all over the ship as well. I brought a back pack as my second bag and this served me well while getting to and from NY, as well as getting around Bermuda. I printed my luggage tags while at home. I used packing tape to waterproof them, and then stapled them to my bags. Another awesome suggestion from numerous people on Cruise Critic! Next time I will just bring a small stapler with me and wait to staple them onto my bags the morning I head to the ship. It was a bit embarrassing travelling by train with those gaudy luggage tags stapled to my bags.

As usual I packed too many clothes but I did use a few space saver bags which helped for easy packing. I got a few of these at the Container Store a few years ago and they have come in handy on several long trips. They also came in handy on the way back (as I had some wet clothes from my last day at the pool/spa). I wanted to make sure that I brought enough clothing that would pass for all of the dining venues but also did not want to over pack as I was sweating the weight limit of 50 pounds per suitcase. By the way if you don’t have a luggage scale I highly recommend getting one for peace of mind. I decided to just bring jeans for going out at night and a mixture of short and long sleeve collared dress shirts. This is the norm in DC. I seemed to fit in just fine with everyone and sometimes was a bit overdressed throughout the week on the ship. Many people were out and about with shorts, loafers, and tee shirts/polo shirts.

 

 

Many people suggested packing a bathing suit in the bag you carry onto the ship so I shoved this, some sun screen, etc into my backpack. This was good advice as the bags you check in, get to your rooms a bit later in the day after embarkation.

 

Travelling to New York

I did not want to stress out about being late for embarkation so decided to travel up to NYC the day before. I took a morning train ride up which was super relaxing and quick. I stayed at the Fairfield Inn & Suites near Times Square on West 40th St for free the thanks to the Marriott rewards I get from doing so much work travel. I made it to NYC in time for a late lunch at my favorite Carnegie Deli. Thankfully it was not too crowded (for a Saturday) as it was a bit later in the day. I ate half of a hot pastrami sandwich and then headed up to Central Park to walk some of that monster sandwich off LOL! It was pretty hot so after a good hour of walking around the park and the city, I headed over to a sports bar to watch my Washington Nationals wrap their game up. Headed back to the hotel to freshen up after that and then went out for dinner.

 

 

There are 2 restaurants I swear by in NYC. Keens Steakhouse and Kellari Taverna (Greek). I know there are a million choices but I absolutely love both of these places. Since I had pre-booked Cagneys for dinner my first night on the ship, I decided to go the seafood route and headed over to Kellari Taverna. They have some of the freshest seafood, amazing Greek wines (that are quite affordable) and an awesome ambience. I sat at the bar and decided to go the tapas route, ordering grilled octopus, a Greek salad, another fish dish along with a nice glass of wine. After that I headed back to get an early night sleep as I wanted to get to the NCL port by 11 am at the latest the next morning.

 

 

 

Day 1- Sunday July 7th, 2013- New York, NY

Embarkation

It was a short cab ride over to the pier. I left the hotel at 10:40 and got to the pier 5 minutes later. This was my first glance at this beautiful ship...

 

 

 

 

 

The cab dropped me off and I was asked to hand my check in bag over to a group of folks loading those up on large carts. It operated just like an airport. I tipped the fellow a few bucks and headed into the terminal. Things were very organized and moved quickly. I was routed over to a check in counter, got a picture taken of me, signed some forms stating I was not sick, was issued a room key, and then directed to sit down and wait for my number to be called. My number was called 15-20 minutes later and I headed up the ramp to board this beautiful ship.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I was shocked how fast I was on the ship. My advice is show up early and maximize as much time on the ship as possible.

 

 

 

Spa Pass

My first priority was to head straight to the Spa as I wanted to purchase the week long pass to the Thermal Spa. I found my way up to the spa and was greeted by a sweet young lady who talked to me about all of the services they had. She gave me a tour of the thermal spa and signed me up for the week long pass for $199. I got a special sticker on my room key. She also suggested the 10/20/30 plan which offered you a 10% discount on first spa service, 20% on the second, and 30% on the third. I decided to hold off on that. I knew I wanted a massage at some point during the trip, but did not yet want to commit to a specific day or time.

 

 

 

Vibe Pass

My second priority was to head down to Guest Services to purchase the week long pass to Vibe. I am guessing I was there by Noon to 12:15-ish. The line was about 10 deep. After a few people cycled through, a gentleman walked up to let everybody know that the Vibe Cabanas had sold out for the week. I was surprised those went that fast but was only concerned about the week-long Vibe pass. Soon enough I got the week long pass for $79 along with another sticker on my room key. They activated my room key so that I could open the private doors to Vibe and also issued me an arm band.

 

Unlimited Beverage Package

My final priority of the day was to look into the Unlimited Beverage Package which was $49 per day (plus 15% gratuity). I was told to purchase this from the main bar on floor 6 next to Guest Services. I had done some number crunching and figured it was most likely going to be worth buying. I was worried that some of the frozen drinks might not be covered like dirty bananas, pina colodas, etc. I figured as long as those were also part of the plan, I would buy it. They confirmed they were also included so I did go ahead and purchase the Unlimited Beverage Plan (UBP). (I will provide a bit more information on the UBP later in the review)

 

 

When I was done purchasing the UBP, I took a quick stroll around the Waterfront and decided I had to have a celebratory cocktail. Being that it was so hot I went for a Gin & tonic. The first of many of those refreshing drinks for the week! LOL!

 

 

 

 

Lunch- Taste Restaurant

I then headed over to the “Taste Restaurant” and ordered calamari and a club sandwich. The service was excellent and the food was good. Towards the end of lunch an announcement was made that our rooms were now available. The timing could not have been more perfect.

 

 

As soon as lunch was over I headed up to my room to check out my accommodations for the next 7 days. The room was awesome. It was just how I had pictured it. The balcony was larger than I had expected. I knew right away that I had made the right choice.

 

I decided it was time to check out Vibe along with the top decks of the ship so threw on my bathing suit and away I went. Vibe was pretty empty when I arrived. I quickly made friends with the bartender named Marcial. Marcial was big into soccer, which I follow a bit of, so we talked about some of the great international players and teams that we both follow. Marcial mentioned that they play soccer games every Wednesday in Bermuda against the crew of the Celebrity ship. I thought that was the coolest thing and was glad that they got a chance to unwind and get some exercise. One thing I quickly learned was that these folks work their tails off and rarely get time to relax. I told Marcial, that I would tip him very well throughout the week (even though I had the UBP) as long as he gave me good service. I could tell he was super friendly and hard working regardless, but he flat out gave me the best service out of anybody on the ship throughout the week. (I will provide a bit more information on Vibe bit later in the review)

[Terpsince74]

Sailaway

I had not yet determined where I was going to watch the sailaway from. Since I was able to get a nice lounger looking out over the starboard side of the ship in Vibe I decided I would enjoy the sailaway from there. I sat back, grabbed a frozen drink and tried to relax for a bit. Just as I was finishing my drink the announcement came over the loud speakers that we were to report to our muster stations for the drill. I had totally forgotten about that so headed down to the Manhattan Dining Room to review the safety drills in case of an emergency. The muster drill was very quick. We were soon after dismissed and invited to Spice H2O for the sailaway party. I decided to head over there for 30 minutes or so until we started chugging down the Hudson.

 

I wanted to be back at Vibe to get some good pics of the Statue of Liberty and the Verrazano Bridge.

 

 

 

It was very cool to be on the top decks for the sailaway. Since Vibe is on the starboard side, we had the luxury of having a great view of the Statue of Liberty but did not get to see the NYC skyline (except for the short walk I took from Spice H2O to back to Vibe once we started sailing away). The view from the top decks going under the Verrazano Bridge is incredible because it looks like the ship clears the bridge by 5 feet. If I did the same cruise again I would probably stay on my port side balcony for the sailaway to get a better view of the NYC skyline. Either way I had a blast at Vibe. I actually met a number of people there that first day and became friends with just about everybody before the week was over as the crowd was usually made up of the same people throughout the week.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Terpsince74]

Dinner- Cagney’s

Time was flying by and before I knew it, it was time to head down to shower for dinner. I was originally going to try and sneak into the Studio Lounge as there was a Happy Hour planned at 5pm for all of the solo travelers. I had already met so many cool people that I did not feel as if I had to join. I also knew they did these happy hours every night at the same time so figured I would just try to join the next event on Monday night. (I never did make one of those and that was one of my regrets on the trip) Oh well!

 

 

I was also a bit pissed at myself for planning a dinner on the first night. I made the dinner time for 6:30pm. It ended up working well as I got an incredible seat outside on the Waterfront at Cagneys. It was surprisingly empty that first night. My suggestion for solo travelers is to never pre-book any restaurants. You can always find availability in the specialty restaurants and even waterfront seating if you wish. I figured that I would never get the chance to sit outside while eating being a solo diner. I was able to do that multiple times.

 

 

Dinner at Cagneys was very good. I ordered filet mignon with a loaded baked potato. I am a steak guy and like to frequent steak houses in different cities when travelling with work so I know a good steak. I was worried that they might overcook my steak so decided to order it medium rare. I figured that would equate to the steak being cooked medium (the way I normally like it). I was right. My suggestion is to always order a steak less well done when outside of the US. The steak was great and the service was excellent. The wine options by the glass were good. I was surprised that they had so many affordable wines by the glass that were as good as they were (that qualified for the UBP). I can be picky about my wines and don’t like to order by the glass unless it is a nice restaurant. I ordered a nice cab that did the trick. I honestly cannot remember what I got for desert but I remember it being good.

 

 

After dinner I walked around on the Waterfront for a bit. I tried to get pictures of the perfect sunset every night. The aft promenade connected to the Waterfront on Deck 8 was a great place to watch the sun go down and take some nice pics.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Casino/Sunday Nightlife

After dinner I headed over to the casino to try my luck at craps. I had a fun time rolling for a few hours or so but never got the vibe that anybody was winning. I did not hit the casino again for the rest of the trip surprisingly. I figured I would be in there for a while each night but it never happened. That is probably a good thing. J

I then strolled around the ship and went up to Spice H2O to see what that scene looked like. I ran into a few people I had met from Vibe and hung out with them for a while. I also dipped into Bliss for a bit but it was pretty dead in there that first night.

 

 

 

The night was winding down and I was about ready to hit he sack. I was already a little hungry again so decided to end the night by ordering some wings and a beer at O’Sheehan’s. The wings were phenomenal and were served fairly quickly. The bartenders there were also very cool and fun. They were getting everyone going and shots were flowing. Thankfully I passed and stuck with my beer but got a chance to meet even more people there at the bar. I could not believe how many cool people I met that first day and night. It probably helped that everyone was in cloud nine on the first day of a cruise. Despite the urge to keep partying, I called it a night and headed back to my room to crash. I was exhausted. I am not sure if it was the subtle swaying of the ship, the nice fluffy bed, or the booze, but I slept like a baby that night. I slept well every night!

[susea4000]

Love the Spa pictures - I can't wait to hear what it was like!

[dcipjr]

Great review so far! Great details and pictures!

[david_sobe]

WOW

I was just thinking, where are all those Breakaway reviews with the photos and then you were there. Loving it so far and especially the pictures. Cant wait for the rest!!!!

[soccersharon]

Great start! Looking forward to the rest of your review :)

[macruise]

Your great photos and review make me want to get back onboard the Breakaway.

[Terpsince74]

Day 2- Monday July 8th, 2013- Sea Day

I woke up feeling refreshed after an awesome night’s sleep. The only thing I had planned for the day was the cruise critic Meet & Greet.

Breakfast- Garden Cafe

I decided to head up to the Garden Café for the breakfast buffet as I was starving. I was also in need of some coffee as well. There were a lot of people up there but the crowds were dispersed well. There was a bit of a line for the omlette station so decided to go with what was already made. I had some bacon, scrambled eggs, and a pastry. It was typical buffet food that I thought was pretty good. I also think it’s hard to mess up breakfast but anyways. The coffee was not great but I am a coffee (Starbucks) snob. I was able to find a seat pretty easily and actually found one right next to the window. I ended up eating breakfast up here every sea day as it was quick and easy. When I finished eating I was determined to go and find some real coffee. I had remembered reading on Cruise Critic about the Café at the Atrium having good coffee. They also have the famous Carlos Bakery lobster tails and canoli’s. I ordered an American style coffee to go. It was AMAZING! Quite possibly the best coffee I have ever had. I will warn you though it is piping hot. I love my coffee like this but many people will not so just sip slowly or open the top to let it cool off. I ended up going here for coffee every morning for the rest of the trip. I enjoyed the coffee on my balcony and before I knew it, I had to hustle up to the Cruise Critic Meet & Greet.

 

Cruise Critic Meet & Greet- Cagney’s

The meet and greet was held at Cagney’s at 11am. As soon as I got there I realized that I already had made a few friends that were attending. We spoke some more and I got to meet a few others there as well. The cruise director Julie Valeriote, spoke to us and introduced us to a host of directors and managers. Julie is an attractive, energetic, and very talented person. I hope they pay her well as she is super talented. I am not sure how she gets any rest as she was everywhere you turned throughout the cruise. She would kickoff many of the events, get people dancing, all while on her mic subtly selling the ship’s amenities. The other officers all spoke briefly about what they were responsible for. They were all super friendly and gave us all their cards and contact info. They told us to call them if we had any problems what so ever. Of course I got to meet Jose Contreras who was the Beverage Manager, LOL! He was a super friendly guy from Honduras that also loved talking about soccer. I told him that I had purchased the UBP and also gave Marcial a good plug for his hard work the day prior. Jose told me to give him a call and that he would get me into the Ice Bar for free. I also got a chance to meet the Hotel Director Sean Wurmhoeringer. He was constantly cracking jokes and had a great personality. I ran into him a few times while roaming the ship and every time he and some of the others as well remembered me. They were all very present throughout the cruise and went out of their way to make sure everybody was having a good time. Props to NCL for that! I did not feel like socializing too long so left the meet and greet soon after.

 

I headed back to my room and decided that I would book myself a massage for the afternoon if there was some availability. Luckily there was and after making my reservation headed up to Vibe

 

 

Vibe

As I made my way up to Vibe I walked past the crowded pool decks. I could not believe how many people were up there. They really do pack the loungers in there. I told myself, I am going to be lucky to find any space to lay out in Vibe. To my surprise, I was able to get another lounger right next to the edge of the ship. I told myself, the $79 had already paid for itself. I spent most of the day at Vibe that Monday just relaxing, making new friends, enjoying the hot tubs, and ice cold Coronas. It is amazing how fast time flies on your first cruise. Please tell me it slows down on your second and third cruises! LOL! If you are travelling solo on the Breakaway, the Vibe is an absolute MUST in my opinion. I had not eaten a thing since breakfast so decided to stroll over to the outdoor Uptown Bar & Grill.

 

 

 

Late Lunch- Uptown Bar & Grill

They had a variety of grilled items there that all looked pretty tasty. I went for the meatball sub and fries. Much to my surprise, it was amazing. The fries were pretty good too. I decided to go and relax for a bit on my balcony until it was time for my massage.

[Terpsince74]

Massage at the Spa

I got the 50 minute Deep Tissue massage which was excellent. I cannot remember my therapist’s name but she was very good. The massage was $130 and was over before I knew it. Before leaving, the therapist tried to sell me on some sort of lotion that helps with muscle tightness. I declined and away I went.

Thermal Spa

After my relaxing massage I headed over to the thermal spa for a while. I tried everything out. The steam room is my favorite so I went there first with an ice cold cup of water. Not sure what it is about those steam rooms but you feel like a new person when out get out of there. I next tried the dry sauna which was also nice and relaxing. I have tried salt rooms in the past in Vegas and am not sure what it does for you. The Salt Room on the Breakaway was a bit too chilly for me so quickly moved on to the whirlpool. They have a bunch of cool jets that massage your back if you lean up against them. There is also a hot tub in the thermal spa as well. The front facing heated seats were only mildly warm but nice. I found the padded loungers looking out over the starboard side of the ship more comfortable so sat there for a while and read a book. I can imagine this is a perfect place to unwind when the weather is not so nice. I could see me being in there all day if that were the case. The Spa pass was nice but not sure I would do the week long pass again as I did not use it every day. I decided to leave the spa when the sun was going down.

 

 

 

There was an amazing sunset that evening so I decided to take a few pictures before heading back to my room to shower for dinner.

 

 

 

 

Dinner- Moderno

Since I had not eaten much all day I was starving. I called down to see if there was any availability at Moderno and thankfully there was. One of the advantages of travelling solo is it is super easy to slide into the dining venues, especially the specialty restaurants. I will never pre-book a specialty restaurant again traveling solo.

For those that don’t know what a Brazilian churrascaria restaurant is all about I will try to give you a quick description. You have access to an awesome salad bar with all sorts of different options on top of traditional salad vegetables like pasta dishes, olives, meats, cheeses, etc. The highlight of the meal though is when you are served an unlimited amount of meats. You are served things like bacon wrapped chicken, many different cuts of beef like sirloin, filet mignon, bottom sirloin, sausages, and lamb. Whenever you are ready to start getting the meat brought to your table, you flip what looks like a round drink coaster from the red side over to the green side. Out of nowhere food servers will make their way over to your table and offer you an array of meat selections. For any meat lover, this place will be heaven for you.

It was a bit late so the place was clearing out when I arrived. In hindsight I probably should not have done Moderno towards the end of the evening as I might have done myself a disservice with limited meat selections. I still think I was able to try everything they had so that was cool. The food was very good again. I am a big Fogo de Chao (similar Brazilian churrascaria restaurant) fan as they have one of those in DC. If you have not been to one, I highly recommend it. This place was not Fogo, but it was still very good. All of the food was nice and hot and super tasty. I think my favorite was the bacon wrapped chicken. The salad bar also had a nice selection of items too. It hit the spot as I was really hungry by the time I got down there. The service was excellent even though I was there just before closing. I gave the folks an extra big tip for keeping the service level so high being that I was a late diner.

Monday Nightlife

I thought I might be in for a nice and early night but boy was I wrong. After strolling around I ran into a family that I had met at Vibe. They were heading over to Bliss Lounge celebrating their mother’s birthday. They were super cool and friendly so I decided to join them for a few drinks. Before I knew it the shots were flowing and we were having a blast. From Bliss we headed down to check out the dueling pianists at Howl at the Moon. That was cool but the place was pretty crowded. I met up with a few other folks I had made friends with a bit later and went to Shakers for some late night drinks. I had a blast but it was time for bed.

[Gershep]

Enjoying your review! We sailed the week after you and had a great time. My review is much, much shorter than yours. Looking forward to the rest of your review, it brings back such good memories!

[triptolemus]

So... as a bachelor at sea... will you answer the obvious question...?? Enquiring minds want to know!

[islandhoppingfool]

Loving every second of this. Cannot wait for more.:o

[VickiD59]

Enjoying your review... keep it comin :)

[Terpsince74]

Day 3- Tuesday July 9th, 2013- Sea Day

 

 

Gym

After the late night I was feeling a bit rough LOL. I decided it was time to hit the gym and work off some of those calories. For whatever reason working out is a great hangover cure for me. The first 10 minutes suck, but after you start sweating a bit, it gets better from there and you really do feel better when you are done. I ran for a little bit and then lifted some weights.

 

 

There were plenty of tread mills available for my run. There were also a good number of elliptical machines available too if that is your cup of tea. The weight lifting area felt a bit crowded to me. I always felt like someone was hovering over me waiting to use whatever weight or machine I was using. It probably was just a really bad time of day. There were a lot of people in there in the morning. I did go back another day in the afternoon and it was not bad at all. My advice is don’t do your workouts in the prime time hours of the morning. Get up super early or wait until the afternoon.

Since the spa is right next to the gym I decided to hit the thermal spa again for a little while. The steam room is also a great hangover cure!

 

I think I may have taken this picture in the gym from another afternoon workout but nonetheless this is your view while running. Not bad eh?

 

 

Late Breakfast- Garden Cafe

I went back up to the Garden Café and had another good breakfast at the buffet. I went for a healthier breakfast this go around. I won’t bore you with the details as it was just fruit and yogurt, nothing exciting. I met a very nice couple that noticed my Maryland football shirt. They were Uconn football/basketball fans so we shared some laughs about the football coach that left Uconn for Maryland. I was amazed at how friendly everyone was on the trip. I am pretty outgoing but still people would just come right up to you and start chatting. I guess a smile really does go a long way.

 

After breakfast I headed back over to Vibe for most of the day. I decided to wait until later that day for the booze to flow. I also had Bermuda on my mind the next day. I had a lot to see in Bermuda so did not want to go too hard that day. After spending a few hours relaxing in Vibe I realized that I had not tried out the slides or the ropes course yet.

 

Water Slides

I was expecting crazy long lines as it was early afternoon and there were a lot of people still out and about. I wanted to try the free-fall slides first. I walked right on up 2/3 of the way and only had a short wait. You stayed to the right for the free fall slides and left for the 2 slides they call “The Whip”. Lines to the Whip were almost non-existent. I waited about 5-10 minutes to board the free-fall. Once I finally got up for the free-fall slide, I was laughing at myself as I got just a tad bit nervous. Before you know it, the floor drops out from underneath you and you are flying down the slide. You really do go very fast. It is hard to keep your eyes open as the water just flies into your eyes. I saw some people wearing back pads to avoid getting back-burn. I never experienced that but I only enjoyed those slides a few times throughout the week. I can imagine the kids probably get a bit scratched up riding those things all day. I know I would have been if I was a kid back in the day. After the free fall slides I tried one of “The Whip” slides. Those were also pretty fast. They went around and around in circles. I was surprised just how fast you were able to go on those slides. They were very fun and fairly intense. I am sure these slides are a dream for kids. I will say however that if you weigh less than 100 pounds, you cannot ride the freefall slides as you might get stuck. You also cannot wear any jewelry so be warned!

 

 

 

 

 

Here is a picture I took of the basketball court. I was tempted to play a few pickup games but figured I would turn an ankle and ruin my time in Bermuda so passed! LOL!

 

[Terpsince74]

Lunch- Uptown Bar & Grill

After the water slides, I grabbed another meatball sub at the Uptown Bar & Grill. What can I say, when I find something I like, I continue to exploit it! LOL! I then headed back to the Vibe for a bit, and then hit the Spa for 20 minutes or so. From there I went to enjoy some reading on my balcony for the rest of the afternoon. I caught another great sunset from my balcony that evening.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dinner- Wasabi Sushi

I was in the mood for a sushi dinner and heard so many good things about that in previous reviews so decided to try Wasabi Sushi for dinner. I ordered my standard edamame along with a few rolls. The sushi was incredible! My favorite roll had a crusted coconut coating and cannot for life of me remember which roll it was. Keep your eye out for one with toasted coconut and you will not be disappointed! I also ordered some sashimi which was very fresh and tasty. Again the service was phenomenal. Wasabi was an ala carte dining venue where you just pay for what you purchase. It was fairly inexpensive.

 

 

Tuesday Nightlife

After dinner I headed up to Spice H2O for much of the night. I hung out with a bunch of people I had made friends with from the previous night as well as. We drank and danced the night away. By this time a small nucleus of people started forming a little group of friends which was really cool. We all sort of hung out for the remainder of the trip. I can imagine it would have been similar if I had met up with some of the travelers in the Studio cabins. I am pretty sure I headed back over to O’Sheehan’s for some wings before bed again. This was becoming the go to end of night ritual for me. LOL! My original plan to get an early night sleep did not quite go as planned. I wanted to be up early for the sail into Bermuda. I also wanted to get an early start to the day as I had to pick up my scooter and start exploring the island. I decided to get an early wake up call for 6am and just sleep on the beach the next day in Bermuda.

 

 

I am going to stop my review right here so I can get at least the first portion up for people to enjoy. I will try to get the Bermuda section up as soon as possible. Stay tuned for more…

[Laszlo]

Great review, where is the (6th) photo down from the top taken?

[Terpsince74]

Laszlo- that is the aft waterfront area on deck 8. Great place to catch a sunset, sunrise, etc. I think that is the picture you are referring to...

[newcruiser48]

I'm so happy for another review with pictures!! Thank you! btw, nice legs :D

[graphicguy]

Terps...thanks so much. I enjoy reading and seeing other solo travelers exploits on NCL. Did my first solo in June (in a Studio). Enjoyed it. Glad you enjoyed yours, too.

 

Curious, what did NCL charge for a solo in a balcony cabin?

[twinlges]

Thanks for asking that question, Laszlo! As soon as I saw that pic I wondered the same thing...Can't wait for my turn! This review is definitely helping! Great review! Keep it coming Terp! Thank you so much for sharing your trip!

 

Katie

[Big Jay]

I'm Sailing Solo, In October, I Can't Wait To BREAKAWAY!!!!!!:D

[Starry Eyes]

I am enjoying your review tend all the pics. thanks for sharing.

[punkincc]

I'm so happy for another review with pictures!! Thank you! btw, nice legs :D

 

Debbie, I was thinking the same thing! And, very nice feet for a guy!;)

 

Love the review and pics. Feel like I am right there on board.

[Stillfloatin']

Loving the review!