Solo Bachelor’s Bermuda Journey on the Norwegian Breakaway

[cherylroslyn]

From Vibe you could see how narrow of a trench the cruise ships have to navigate to get in and out of Bermuda. There are very shallow reefs that you can clearly see from the below pictures.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here is another leg shot for the ladies! LOL!

 

 

 

 

It felt as if they were only 50 feet away from the ship. No wonder there were so many shipwrecks around Bermuda before technology was around. I spent a few hours up at Vibe just relaxing in the hot tubs as we sailed away and finally reached open water.

 

 

Dinner- Garden Cafe

Since I had such a late lunch I was not super hungry until later in the evening. I ended up going back to the Garden Café for a small bite once it got dark. I got a hot dog and a salad. Not sure if they were serving the same hot dogs from the hot dog carts up there or not but it was pretty good with mustard.

 

Fireworks

Friday night was firework night. Everyone was saying that you could best view the fireworks from the pool deck over looking the port side of the ship. It was getting pretty crowded and it was only 9:15pm. They were saying the fire works would start around 10. I did not feel like waiting up on the pool deck so I went over to Spice H2O to see how it looked. It was starting to get very crowded on the port side so I went over to the bar and hung out for a bit (on the starboard side). I saw a few folks that I chatted with for a bit. I decided I would just roll the dice and see if I could enjoy the fireworks from my balcony on deck 13. Soon after I got settled on the balcony the firework show started. You could see them perfectly from my balcony. It was hard to hear the synchronized music but I really did not care about that. The show lasted longer than I thought it would and the fireworks display were better than I thought they would be. If you have a portside or even mid-ship balcony, I would recommend you watch the fireworks from your balcony. It is so much better than having to stand around waiting with all of the crowds.

 

 

Here are a few videos I shot of the fireworks from my balcony…

 

http://s1316.photobucket.com/user/terpcruiser/media/M4H00978_zpsb8b04e8e.mp4.html

 

http://s1316.photobucket.com/user/terpcruiser/media/M4H00977_zps483465b5.mp4.html

 

Friday Nightlife

After the fireworks ended I headed up to Spice H2O and met up with everyone. We had a blast that night. Everyone was saying that this was the night to party as most people take it easy on the final night. That sounded like a good plan to me especially after a few drinks. We danced up at Spice H2O and then continued the party down at Bliss Ultra Lounge. That seemed to be the routine. Spice would start dying down around midnight and everyone would then head down to Bliss after that. I made plans to have dinner with another one of my newly formed friends. The plan would be for Teppanyaki with her and her daughter the following night.

 

I am headed to a Bachelor Party in Vegas tomorrow so am sorry I was not able to complete this before leaving but was thankful to get through Bermuda section at least. I am hoping to be able to finish this up on the flight back on Monday. Stay tuned…

Take some leg shots in VEGAS!!!!!!! They can be part of the POSTSCRIPT!!!!!!

[noshoobie]

Your pictures of Bermuda are spectacular! Thanks for the great review!

[KerCar]

Take some leg shots in VEGAS!!!!!!! They can be part of the POSTSCRIPT!!!!!!

 

What do you think ladies~Should we crown him Mr. Sexy Legs?!;):):D

 

 

Very funny...I've been following this thread since day 1 and it just occurred to me that I had a whole bunch of family members on this sailing! So of course now, I'm going to have to go back through all the pics to see if I can spot any of them in the background!

[Highboy90]

Bandwidth alert. No pics displaying.:(

[Rocket J]

Good morning - I am looking forward to reading your review (just started). I wanted to skip to the end to see if others were having a problem seeing your pictures. Glad I'm not alone. Is it on your end? I'm not too familiar with Photobucket. We are looking forward to our 9/8 sailing on the Breakaway! It's great to have this site with such useful advise and pictures.

[bluesea777]

I do not see the pictures anymore.

[Terpsince74]

Hi all,

Sorry I had to upgrade my photobucket subscription. Pics should be back up and working again. The Vegas trip was great but I lost my phone. Ughh! Should have the rest of the review done this weekend. Stay tuned...

[cherylroslyn]

Hi all,

Sorry I had to upgrade my photobucket subscription. Pics should be back up and working again. The Vegas trip was great but I lost my phone. Ughh! Should have the rest of the review done this weekend. Stay tuned...

Common legs......what up with that? lol

[Rocket J]

Hi all,

Sorry I had to upgrade my photobucket subscription. Pics should be back up and working again. The Vegas trip was great but I lost my phone. Ughh! Should have the rest of the review done this weekend. Stay tuned...

 

......about the phone! Terp, thanks very much for a great, objective review. Pics are super. I'm looking forward to seeing all these sights, and I really appreciate the fact you had a great time with the scooter. We are thinking of renting as well -- it doesn't sound like you had any serious run-ins on the roads.

[aleeturk]

Just want to say thank you for posting this and I really enjoyed reading it, even though I am not planning on sailing on this ship or this itinerary any time soon. I have cruised solo a few times but rarely do I see men cruising solo. Most of the time I meet other women cruising solo or cruising with girl friends. Glad to see that a guy feels comfortable enough to do this alone and meet friends along the way.

[LandlockedCruiser01]

I have cruised solo a few times but rarely do I see men cruising solo. Most of the time I meet other women cruising solo or cruising with girl friends. Glad to see that a guy feels comfortable enough to do this alone and meet friends along the way.

I (male) was in the same situation on my cruises, both done solo. People were very friendly, and no one thought it was weird of me to be going on a crusie by myself. No, I take that back. One person did: the customs agent in Port Canaveral. I don't even want to know what he thought I was trying to achieve, because he really gave me the third degree there.

 

Interestingly, when a buddy (female) of mine went on a cruise with her friend, she said that there was almost no one to dance with, so they ended up dancing together on most nights. Since cruising, especially solo, is more popular among women than men, the odds were ever in my favor (to slightly paraphrase a line from "Hunger Games").

[aleeturk]

Interestingly, when a buddy (female) of mine went on a cruise with her friend, she said that there was almost no one to dance with, so they ended up dancing together on most nights. Since cruising, especially solo, is more popular among women than men, the odds were ever in my favor (to slightly paraphrase a line from "Hunger Games").

 

I see that you call yourself a Latin dancer. Wish I was on your cruise! Anyway, when I was on the Norwegian Wind cruising with my parents, who always go to bed early, I went up to the bar one evening to have a drink. One guy came up and started chatting with me and asked me to dance. He was wearing a Norwegian badge so I know he was a staff member. Turns out he is a "taxi dancer" whose job is to dance with women without partners. After he danced with me, he moved on to another table with several women together and started chatting up with them. I think it is nice of the cruise lines to recognize that there are more women traveling alone than men and that we can use some dance partners!

Edited August 22, 2013 by aleeturk

[allie3490]

So is there a face to go along with the feet?

[Barb Nahoumi]

Fantastic review and pictures.

[gizmo911]

I am really enjoying this review and can't wait for you to continue. I have a few question about jet skiing because it is on my to try list for my upcoming cruise.

 

• How challenging it is.
  
• Do you have to keep it balanced (like riding a bike).
  
• Do you have to ride with someone else or can you ride alone.
  
• Is there any skill needed.
  

[snorklinbarb]

I see that you call yourself a Latin dancer. Wish I was on your cruise! Anyway, when I was on the Norwegian Wind cruising with my parents, who always go to bed early, I went up to the bar one evening to have a drink. One guy came up and started chatting with me and asked me to dance. He was wearing a Norwegian badge so I know he was a staff member. Turns out he is a "taxi dancer" whose job is to dance with women without partners. After he danced with me, he moved on to another table with several women together and started chatting up with them. I think it is nice of the cruise lines to recognize that there are more women traveling alone than men and that we can use some dance partners!

 

Good concept but cost them a cabin. They phased out the "dance hosts" several yrs ago. Sounds like you have some nice memories.:)

[Terpsince74]

......about the phone! Terp, thanks very much for a great, objective review. Pics are super. I'm looking forward to seeing all these sights, and I really appreciate the fact you had a great time with the scooter. We are thinking of renting as well -- it doesn't sound like you had any serious run-ins on the roads.

 

Hey Rocket- I highly recommend the scooter. Best way to see the island. Just be alert and play it safe. If you have anyone in your group that is at all timid about it, you might want to bag it though. There will be some nerve wracking moments for anybody that is not comfortable on 2 wheels.

[Terpsince74]

I am really enjoying this review and can't wait for you to continue. I have a few question about jet skiing because it is on my to try list for my upcoming cruise.

 

• How challenging it is.
  
• Do you have to keep it balanced (like riding a bike).
  
• Do you have to ride with someone else or can you ride alone.
  
• Is there any skill needed.
  

 

Hey Gizmo- sorry for the delay. Jetski-ing is super easy. It might even be easier than riding a bike. You just press teh throttle and off you go. You don't do many sharp turns unless you want to (like I did) on the tour. You can ride alone. I know I did. The only tricky part and it is not that tricky, is there is one section where you have to go under a small bridge that is fairly narrow. You just have to go slow and you will be fine. Hope you enjoy!

[Terpsince74]

Day 7- Saturday July 12th, 2013- Sea Day

I woke up on Saturday feeling pretty good with a bit of a hangover. I was pretty hungry so decided to head up to grab a big breakfast.

 

Breakfast- Garden Cafe

I went up to the Garden Café and decided to wait for the omlette station. I got a bunch of food including an omlette loaded with a few meats, spinach and mushrooms. It was really good. I also had some pancakes. I was really hungry. By the time I left I was stuffed.

I decided to swing by the spa to see if they had any openings for a shave.

 

 

Spa- Shave

They had an opening right away so I decided to get a basic shave for $50 as I was getting a bit scruffy. LOL! I have never had a shave before but it was relaxing until the sales pitch started. I am in sales so can appreciate applying yourself but not when I am trying to RELAX! The guy who did the shave was selling me the entire time. He literally tried to get me to buy 4 different products. The lady who did the massage earlier in the week also tried to sell me but was less persistent. The shave experience really put me off. I had not shaved for a few days but still I realized later in the day that he missed a few spots. He even went through 2 cycles of shaving with 2 different types of razors. I probably should have gone back and complained but I just did not feel like doing that on this trip. At the end of the shave I headed over to the thermal spa for a while to just relax for a bit.

 

 

I was starting to feel the ship sway a bit by midday. It was more the side to side motion. I remember Gambee referring to this and I want to say it was on day 7 for him as well. While in the Spa you could see the whirlpool water shifting from side to side. I was not feeling nauseas but was also not feeling 100% either I have to admit. I usually never get seasick so am not sure if it was that, the remnants of a hangover, or something I ate for breakfast. Probably a combination of all three! I was cursing myself and my friends for suggesting to go so hard the night before. LOL!

 

Vibe

I headed up to Vibe and could really feel the ship moving. We were going pretty fast. The seas were pretty calm but you could tell there was a bit of movement. I am sure they have to push the boat to higher speeds on day 7 since we needed to be back in NY before sunrise the next day. I told myself I was going to take it easy and not have any drinks until I felt better. I tried to relax for a while up at Vibe and thankfully started feeling better after a few hours.

[Terpsince74]

Rope Course/ Slides

I still had not experienced the rope course. Once I started feeling better I headed up. I figured the line would take forever being that it was the last day but thankfully it was only a short wait. Like 15-20 mins max. I was also doing this during one of their peak times in the afternoon so could not have chosen a worse time for it. The ropes course was cooler than I thought it would be. You feel very safe and secure with the harness that they use. Walking the plank was fun. I wish I had gotten a picture of that. There were also a few spiral end caps you could walk around that took you just over the edge of the ship as well. I finished the rope course by going over the zip line (which takes you from the starboard side of the ship to the port side) that was pretty short but still fun.

 

 

 

 

 

[Terpsince74]

Minature Golf

I did not play the miniature golf but did take a few pics of the course. This looked like it would be a blast for the kids to play.

 

 

 

 

[Terpsince74]

Dinner- Tepannyaki

I met my friend and daughter down at the Tepannyaki restaurant just before we were seated. I was not expecting much out of this dinner but have to say that Alexandro, our chef, was AMAZING! I have been to many Japaense Steak houses in the past and always leave entertained but Alexandro was really the best I have ever seen. He is easily the best chef there so see if you can ask for him. I ordered the shrimp and chicken. It was pretty tasty but somewhat bland. The food was good but not spectacular. Regardless the experience made up for the good but not great food. We also had a fun table with a bunch of nice people.

[Terpsince74]

After dinner I decided to take a few more pictures out on the Waterfront.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Terpsince74]

I also got a chance to get a great shot of the beautiful chandelier at the center of the ship.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ice Bar

From there I met up with a bunch of friends at the Ice Bar. I was able to cash in my free admittance that the Beverage Manager (Jose) offered us. I was worried that it might not have worked since Jose had offered this up on the first day of the cruise and he just said let them know I said you could get in for free. They said no worries and got us all setup with free entry. We also got a free drink with that entry as well. They set you up with a large parka and gloves. I decided to be a tough guy for the first 5-7 minutes and not where the hood. It felt good at first as I got a bit too much sun that last sea day. But shortly after I was shivering and had to put the hood on. I was freezing by the 15 minute mark and did not want to drink too many drinks that last night so we decided to call it quits after 15-20 minutes. LOL! Pretty weak I guess but it was fun. They had an assortment of 5-6 drinks they offered. Most of them fruity with Vodka.

 

 

 

Saturday Nightlife

The last night was super low key. Many were not drinking. I was casually sipping on beers but was ready to make it an early night. Everyone met up at Spice H2O for a while and then we said our good byes. It was the start of the cruise blues! I could not believe how fast the trip had gone. It literally felt like 2-3 days max. I attribute that to how much fun I had. After making my rounds, I headed to bed around Midnight. I wanted to get up early to catch the sail in to NYC.

[smeck]

Enjoying your review... keep it comin :)

 

Vicki glad to see your branching out, hope all is well. Sorry didn't mean to hijack your thread. Fantastic job!!