Stacey's Girl Getaway on the Breakaway- BA to BDA 10/4-10/11

[sunbird21]

Hi all! I just got off of the Breakaway 10/11, and am writing my third review of a NCL cruise. I have been on 9 total now, 3 NCL, 6 CCL, and have been a solo cruiser for the last few. However, this time, I had company.

 

 

 

Disclaimer: I tend to have a somewhat dry sense of humor and try to be factual about my experience. This may irritate some people, and to them I say this review may not be for you. This is solely based on my opinion and obviously it is not the same experience that all of the other 4099 people encountered. Some may disagree with my praise or criticism-it is, again, my experience, and I am (not) sorry if it displeases others. I do ramble a bit, but I enjoy reading detailed reviews, so I want to return the favor and also catalog the memory for myself in the future. I do include the secondhand details of some of the experiences that others in my group had, but I do not claim their views for anything other than to report additional events that occurred on this cruise. Finally, I do tend to use initials when referring to my friends or fellow cruisers.

 

 

 

Background: I was planning a fall cruise and the Breakaway to Bermuda has been on my radar since the ship debuted shortly after my initial Epic cruise. While I was comparing cruises, I had a conversation with two of my friends, one who was a coworker, and the other was a former coworker. We loosely discussed how it would be fun to take a girls cruise. Well, talk led to more talk, and the two of us who still work together inquired into the possibility of taking the same week off. When we got the go ahead, my third friend looked into childcare options, and soon it was official- we were going on a girls getaway week to Bermuda!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Prices started out pretty low for October, and even though I was hooked by balconies after my last cruise(on the other line), we got a good rate for three of us in an inside cabin. It had the third guest free promotion at the time. We also had our choice between the Wifi, shore excursion, UBP, and UDP. At this time, we ended up choosing the shore excursion, as we figured it was the fairest( three people, three credits). Also, my two friends were pretty light drinkers(not that I am heavy, but I can have a few Drinks of the Day onboard), so the UBP didn’t seem to interest them.

 

 

 

Now, while we are all laid back people to a degree, I haven’t had multiple successful solo cruises and international trips by just winging it. Thus, I began my research and planning, reading multiple reviews, Bermuda travel sites, and Tripadvisor ratings. I started a private Facebook page for the three of us to share my info when my friends began to get annoyed with my cruise planning creeping into a majority of our conversations. Still, they told me time again that they appreciated me taking on the planning role, and said that their job was to “support the planner.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

A few weeks after booking the cruise, my friend C mentioned the possibility of her friend V, who lives in Florida, coming along. L and I were ok with it, although I said four women in an inside was pushing it. I threw the idea of upgrading our cabin for four of us if the price was decent, although I knew V was checking into studio cabins as well. Luckily, my PCC said that the price of a balcony cabin would only be an extra $100 (above V paying the same price that the three of us each had paid). C and I decided to split that cost, as it was her friend and I was willing to spend $50 for a balcony-we didn’t want to make L pay more. I attempted to get a bump out balcony, but was told that these rooms only accommodated threeL so we ended up with a balcony on the 12th floor I believe. Also, after some more negotiating, V and I convinced the other two to trade in the shore excursion package for the UBP, and we offered to pay for an excursion for them in exchange, to which they agreed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

So after a few more weeks of planning, cruise critic chatting, and preparation, I happened to look at the NCL website and noticed that prices had dropped even further- to the point where now a mini suite was the same rate as the balcony price that we had paid. A quick phone call to Joan later, and we were now booked in 9808, a category MB minisuite. Yay!!

 

 

 

Fast forward to two weeks to D-day, and the cruise critic board starting buzzing with word of calls/emails from the Upgrade Fairy. Sure enough, I got an email, offering a Haven suite for an extra $500pp. I was ready to jump on it, but when I called the Upgrade Fairy Hotline, I was told that the Haven suites left would only accommodate three people.

 

 

 

All was still well-after all, we had climbed the ladder to a minisuite, and had the UBP-I was content!

 

 

 

 

 

 

The final 2-3 weeks prior to cruise day were grueling for me-we were short a couple of nurses, and I had inherited the workload of one of them, so I was pretty exhausted by the time the week ended.

 

 

 

 

I did find the Facebook group and spent much time chatting with fellow passengers on there and on our roll call. It was mainly the typical pre-cruise chatter until the final week when we learned about a guy named Joaquin that wanted to horn in on the cruise. Unfortunately, while this passenger was unwelcome by all, he succeeded in dominating pretty much every topic that week. Suddenly, people began to divide into different categories-those who tried to predict weather outcomes for the week, those who tried to predict when and where the ship would be diverted, and those who tried to redirect the conversation back to the actual cruise. But Joaquin would not go away quietly.

 

 

 

 

 

Finally Sunday arrived. I woke up (pathetically) early, as I still wanted to get to the port early to secure Vibe passes for my group. Yes, Joaquin laughed at my plans by turning the weather down to a sunny but chilly 63 degrees that day. Anyway, I did some last minute prep around the apt, bid my cats adieu, and e-hailed a taxi as I began my 5 flight descent with two overpacked bags. Of course, this would be the one day that a New York cabbie would be early, and he called when I was only at the third floor.

 

 

 

Luckily, he was patient and waited, and soon I was sprawled in the backseat trying to explain where I was going-apparently he was the only New York cabbie that had no idea where Pier 88 was. He tried to explain that the West Side Highway was closed due to a bike marathon( message board topic the week prior to Joaquin). I kept telling him that I knew this, and tried to explain different routes to get there. Finally, he ended up weaving his way to Columbus Ave where he had the magic traffic light touch, and we made it from 110th to 47th in under ten minutes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

As we turned onto 12th, we encountered a sea of debarking passengers and luggage frantically trying to grab a cab, and I was expelled from the cab a block south of the pier in order for my cabbie to secure his next ride.It was after I began hauling my two whales that I realized that I forgot my jacket at home. Oh well.

 

 

 

 

 

As soon as I crossed the street, I found the porter desk and several empty packing carts. I was able to part with my whales in seconds and headed inside the terminal. It was here that I found a large roped off area right by the old fashioned security machines( pre-9/11 airport security style) and began to walk towards it. As I reached the security machines, a security guard jumped in front of me. “Where do you think you are going?” he barked.

 

 

 

 

 

I showed him by e-docs and explained that I was attempting to check in. “Nope, that ship doesn’t open the lines until 11,” he stated.

 

 

 

 

 

“But my check in time is 9:30,” I explained. Yes, I knew this check in time thing was likely irrelevant, but I also knew that people could check in well before 11. I also knew that I was (pathetically) early at 8:45,but, hey-Vibe passes. And I didn’t see the point in hanging around my apt all morning.

 

 

 

 

 

“Listen ma’am, I don’t are what your paper says, I’m telling you, you can’t go anywhere UNTIL 11!” He tapped his terminal security badge with a sense of self inflated importance.

 

 

 

 

I then inquired as to what I was supposed to do. “Go talk to the lady with the blue scarf and sit down,” he snapped.

 

 

 

 

So I sauntered over to the much friendlier lady in the blue scarf, who smiled, welcomed me to the terminal, and laughed at the boarding time guidelines. “Those are so ridiculous, no one needs to be here at those times,” she aid. “Have a seat in one of the chairs,and you’ll be called up to get in line in about an hour.”

 

 

 

 

 

OK, then. At least I vaguely recalled being corralled into a chair the last time that I went on the Epic, so at least I was in familiar territory. Also, there were about 50 or so other early birds, so I had company.

 

 

 

 

I checked the Facebook page,and after some chatter, found a roll call member on the other side of the room. I went over to say hi and talk for a few minutes until the room began to fill up, and I grew concerned for my chair,being held by a couple sitting next to me. I went back and sat down for a few minutes, chatting with them. It was their first cruise ever, so we discussed that until Blue Scarf Lady walked by and told everyone to pull out their passports and e-docs.

 

 

 

 

The woman next to me frantically looked through her purse and realized that she had packed them in her checked luggage. Oh, no! As she ran outside to plead her life to find her suitcase, the Facebook group admin (J) spotted me and said hi. She was also by a small group of roll call people, so I talked with them for a few minutes until Blue Scarf Lady waved me back to my seat. Luckily, by this time, the woman had returned with her e-docs. She was lucky-the terminal still wasn’t that crowded, so they found her bag pretty easily.

 

 

 

 

 

Then Blue Scarf Lady ushered us into the roped lines, and I was near the front,followed by the couple and a small group of roll call people sitting a few chairs down. J and her group were about ten people behind us, but we all trotted through the lines up to the machines, where another security guard checked our passports and waved for me to go ahead. Just as I was approaching the machine, I saw someone fly across the room from my left and yell, “STOP!”

 

 

 

It was the self inflated guard from earlier. “WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU ARE GOING?” he bellowed, glaring at me.

 

I pointed to the other guard, and gave him an innocent, wide eyed “He told me to go ahead.”

 

“You CAN’T GO UP THERE YET! I TOLD YOU THAT BEFORE!!!” Now he had his hands on his hips.

 

 

 

I looked at the other guard in confusion. He shrugged, and motioned for me to go to the machine. The cluster of people behind me stood there, frozen, probably not wanting to antagonize the other guard even more.

 

 

 

 

 

I repeated to the self inflated guard that I was being told to continue on. Then he turned towards the friendly guard and said’ WHY are you letting them go,I’m telling you its NOT TIME YET!”

 

Friendly Guard tried to debate with him for a minute,but AH Guard (I’ll let you decipher that one) continued to screech, so Friendly sighed and waved me back. I slunk back to the line, stating to the others that I was not going to make a move untl that guard was gone. I explained that it was the second time he had yelled at me that morning.

 

Friendly huffed. “Well, I’ll tell you this, sweetheart, he’s only going to yell at me once. I’m not putting up with his attitude TODAY.”

 

The cluster and I laughed. The lines behind us were filling up, and I could see that people were confused as to why we were standing there, staring at 5 empty security machines, but that was the situation.

 

 

 

In the meantime, I kept looking at Facebook and CC, and since I had updated that I was in the terminal, I had requests for “more pics please, so I took some random crowd shots.

 

 

 

 

About 15 minutes later, Friendly Guard got the go ahead, and we flew through security and into the check in lines. I was lucky to get to the check in line with the first group of people, but alas, had a trainee, so it took a bit longer as her preceptor had to coach her through EVERY step. Finally, I was on my way to the next lounge, when I realized-

 

I had no group boarding number!!!!

 

 

 

TRAGEDY!!! (Just kidding, not really). But since I had arrived super early, I was needing that early group number. I traipsed back to my trainee and asked for my boarding number, but she looked so flustered and directed to another woman, who directed me to another woman, who gave me

 

 

 

Number 21.

 

 

 

Houston, we have a problem.

 

 

 

I very politely inquired about this, as I was one of the first ones to check in, and the woman gave me a cold stare and told me that 21 was the first group to board. I accepted her challenge for the staredown, and we continued for a minute until she told me that the first 20 numbers were for Haven and Platinum peeps. OK, then.

 

 

 

So I took my measly 21, trying to convince myself that Vibe probably wouldn’t have been a good investment this week anyway, and wandered over to another guard who directed me to an empty expanse of benches where the peons with numbers 21 and higher were to sit. I was going to relax and read(or catch up on posting) when I saw J and her husband T, and four other Facebook/roll call peeps, so I snuck out of my holding pen to chat with them. We hung out for a bit, talking about the cruise, the boards, the ship,etc (J and T had been on 25 Norwegian cruises!) and found out that two of the other members, S and JM, were in the cabin next door to my group. Also there was A and her daughter, Little A, celebrating A’s birthday.

 

As we were sitting there, someone was passing around flyers, but Facebook announces faster than flyers, so we were already aware of this:

 

 

 

 

Leaving at 2am seemed to be a good compromise if it meant avoiding bad weather and still going to Bermuda. I knew it killed any sailaway party, although we all tried to convince ourselves that we would all either wake up or be awake to toast the early morning ride down the Hudson.

 

 

 

In the meantime, T very generously offered to sneak all 7 of us in their group 1 boarding, to which I offered a free drink off my UBP packageJ Of course, we all had it(I’m not really sure that many people DIDN’T take this option when all was said and done). Instead, T and I agreed that he would be first in the Vibe line. We all had a good chat about Vibe then, and hoped that we would get good use out of it that week. In this area, they have a snack cart selling bagels, soda,water, coffee and a few other things, and they were making a decent profit during this time.

 

 

 

I also found a table for the spa, and managed to adopt a spa pass for the week. I was planning to skip it initially, but as the temps declined over the last week, and the rain potential increased, I figured it would be worthwhile to have a back up option to Vibe. Plus, the access to an extra shower would probably come in handy with sharing a bathroom with three other girls.

 

 

 

Finally, they began to announce that it was boarding time, and we were on it. J and the A’s strolled n, but T, S, and JM bolted up the gangway-now that was my kind of action. Earlier in the terminal, T and I had talked about his knee injury, so I was amazed at the speed with which he made it onto the boat-I was almost out of breath keeping up with him, BUT we made it from the terminal to the back of the guest services line in under 3 minutes.

 

(Hope your knee is doing well this week,TJ )

 

 

 

The guest services people, clearly not idiots, began handing out tags with Vibe numbers on them so that people would know whether or not it was worth standing in line. I held my breath when I asked for four, but she peeled them off without question.

 

(And yes, I let T get his first).

 

 

 

BTW, as we were in group 1, and had moved around several other group 1 members on the gangway, we were some of the last 30 people to secure Vibe passes.

 

 

 

A few minutes later, and I was the proud owner of this:

 

 

 

 

Little A was sitting on one of the circle couches and called me over, so I sat with her and talked for a few minutes, until A came running over frantically, not realizing that Little A had wandered off.Once she had recovered, the seven of us decided that food and drink were in order, so we headed to Savor .

 

 

 

 

With Vibe now secured, I was able to really look around Deck 6 and snap my first photos of the Breakaway.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[sunbird21]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[sunbird21]

A and I did notice the smoky smell immediately as we walked into the area under the chandelier-it was pretty strong. It went away as soon as you walked out of that area, and it certainly didn’t take away from the experience but I can agree with people who do post that it is noticeable.

 

 

 

After we walked by that area, we passed through the art gallery and came up to the dining rooms-Savor was on the right, Taste on the left, and the Mixx Bar was in between.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Disclaimer-some of these photos are from the last day, but I insert them here in attempt to paint a picture of the deck layout.

 

 

 

As we were walking to Savor, my phone buzzed that I had a text from my friend L, asking where the port was. I tried to reply, but my service went AWOL. I attempted a couple times after we sat down, then gave up until we ordered.

 

 

 

J managed to snag us all a copy of the initial Freestyle Daily, and we alternated between looking at that and choosing our lunch

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[sunbird21]

 

 

 

 

 

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[sunbird21]

Outside the window we could see the Carnival Splendor, which I was surprised to see as I had thought it was relocated to Florida.

 

 

I had read decent reviews on the open air burger, so I chose that, and ordered my first beverage on the UBP-my standard Malibu and Coke(well, Pepsi for this trip). Both S and I offered to treat A to a birthday beverage, but she held out for the moment.

 

 

 

After we ordered, I excused myself to go to the closest open deck, which was the Waterfront. It was very windy outside at that moment! I managed to leave a message on our group chat that I was eating( that was what they get for choosing to arrive late LOL) and would check by the cabin in an hour to see if anyone else had arrived yet.

 

 

 

Once I returned to Savor, our food was arriving-pretty quick service!

 

 

 

The open air burger was good, and everyone else seemed to enjoy their meals.

 

 

 

 

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[cantthinkofanythingfun]

Hey Stacey. Looking forward to your review. I didn't make the meet and greet. Unfortunately, I didn't see you around the ship. I got to the pier late and was in the last boarding group. Amazingly, I still snagged two Vibe passes. Couldn't use it as much as I would have liked with the weather, but still enjoyed it.

[sunbird21]

After lunch, we parted ways to check out our cabins, walk the ship, etc. I found my way to Deck 9 and my cabin, 9808, quickly, and was greeted with a pretty,clean, and spacious environment.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I did note that the bed was made up as a single, so I called to ask if it could be separated. Whoever answered the phone informed me that they had just been in my room and would “do it tonight.” I said that that was fine, just wanted to make sure that it was possible.

 

 

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[sunbird21]

More room pics.....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[sunbird21]

Bathroom.... The cleanest it was all week LOL

 

 

 

 

 

 

Please ignore the girl in the mirror

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[hansolosmom]

What a crazy experience with the security guy. We had a mean one last time out of Baltimore. He kept yelling at people who were using their phones in the security line.

[sunbird21]

Just as I was squeezing over the room-and the balcony!- L walked in, and we jumped up and down and shared our squees that we were FINALLY on vacation.

 

 

 

 

Nursing can be a bit stressful at timesJ

 

 

 

I had brought my whiteboard in my purse, so I wrote a note for C and V telling them that we were going to the buffet to feed L. Just as we were leaving, there was a knock, and my luggage had arrived! (It was only about 1 at this point).

 

 

 

So we made our way to the buffet, after making a couple of “I’m on a cruise and you are not” phone calls to family, and taking the first of many obligatory selfies.

 

 

 

 

 

I really felt (at that moment) that we were lucky with our cabin- it was about 5 cabins away from the elevator bank and right over the Waterfront, but there was a roof from the Waterfront to block the view from that deck.

 

 

 

We took the elevator to Deck 15, made our way across the pool deck and were greeted with our first “Washy Washy” of the trip. L, who had only been on Royal, was a bit surprised, but pleasantly so with the infection control aspect.

 

 

 

Since I had just eaten, I just explored the buffet but helped myself and L to a beverage.

 

 

 

Shortly after sitting down, we received a text from C, saying that she and V had arrived, and were willing to share the single bed,but we decided to draw paper with the bedding choices to be fair instead. So we finished our drinks/food and went to greet them in the cabin, where more vacation squees abounded. It was then that V noted that she was going to leave a note on the whiteboard, and was commenting on how cool it was that the ship provided it, but realized that it was another of my many over prepared features.

 

 

 

Well, of course , THEY were hungry, so we made another trip to the buffet, but by this time , places were shutting down for the muster drill(it was about 3), so their dining experience was brief. Then we wisely decided to climb the stairs down to our muster station in the Atrium, where someone checked our cards and told us to “go find the really wacky hyper guy standing by the computers.”

 

 

 

That wacky hyper guy was Zack, one of the entertainment staff members, who scanned our cards and proclaimed that his group “won” every muster drill and was the best, and therefore we would be the same way.

 

 

 

Again,this was my 9th cruise-never realized that there was a competition for muster drill. This was going to be interesting to say the least.

 

 

 

We huddled into an area by the Internet café, and were soon joined by about 50 others, including S and JM, our neighbors. I introduced everyone, and was interrupted by Zack, who then gave the decree for how this was all going to go down:

 

 

 

Zack: Okay, when I ask a question, these are the answers that you will give, and you will shout them as loud as you can. #1-When Silas the cruise director is speaking, you WILL be silent. #2, When you hear the 7 beeps, where will you meet?

 

Us: Here!

 

Zack: Nope, you guys need to be louder. My group ALWAYS wins this,and this ISNT going to be the week that we don’t. So, AGAIN, WHERE are we going to meet?

 

Us: HERE!!!!!!

 

Zack: When you hear the alarms, are you going to go to your cabin or stop for a drink at O’Sheehans?

 

Us: NO!!!!

 

Zack: Can you eat or drink during the muster drill?

 

Us: NO!!!!!

 

Zack: Can you talk to your family or flirt with the hot guy next to you during the muster drill?

 

Us: NO!!!!

 

Zack: Last,can you take any pictures or surf the web during the muster drill?

 

Us: NO!!!!

 

 

 

At that point,you would think he would’ve been satisfied, but he had us repeat the above cycle twice more before more people crammed in. Zack told us that we would quickly find out “who we didn’t want to be near” during the cruise.

 

 

 

As people continued to pour into the Atrium, S, JM, V and I discussed other muster drills and were laughing. S and JM were making jokes about the ship going down, and I could see C’s face growing paler and paler-remember, this was her first cruise. I tried to reassure her that these drills were routine and that there was little to worry about.

 

With each group that arrived, Zack had us repeat our script. S declared that he was going to get annoyed with Zack quickly.

 

 

 

Finally, finally the muster drill announcements came on, and the process was complete. As we filtered out, I couldn’t help but note that it was odd to have muster drill and…not have the ship move yet.

 

 

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[sunbird21]

The four of us made our way back to Deck 15, walked around,exploring a bit before finding Vibe and settling in with a few more beverages. The others were appreciative of the deck, and we relaxed for the next couple of hours on sunbeds and in the hot tubs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Around 7ish we went back to our cabin to get ready for dinner, which was going to be at Cirque that night. We did our bed draw, which we had to repeat a few times as C was nervous about having the couch under the Pullman, and of course she kept drawing the couch.

 

 

Finally, we ended up with C on the bed by the balcony, me in the next bed, V on the couch, and L in the Pullman.

 

 

 

Our luggage had arrived, so we also unpacked somewhat before heading back to the buffet for a pre-dinner dinner. I had warned my friends that the Cirque dinner wasn’t the best(at least it wasn’t on the Epic)so we decided to ward off hunger in case the choices weren’t great. They had a good variety up there, and I got the prime rib, but after three trips to the buffet that day, I was quickly growing tired of it. We ate quickly, and headed to the Spiegel tent on Deck 6.

 

 

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[sunbird21]

As we walked in the stage was set up with a neon cage. We were asked if we wanted to upgrade to better seats, which consisted of zebra print chairs just off the stage, but we declined. Instead, we were led to a table on the other side of the stage with almost the exact same view….so not sure what the advantage was?

 

 

 

 

I took a few photos of the stage and theater as a bird came by to present us with our menus. He offered to take a photo of us, and we asked him to jump in to capture his costume.

 

 

 

 

Now it is here that I mention that C is vegan, and she asked the bird about vegan options. At the time that we booked the cruise, I inquired on here about vegan options/menus, and was prompted to call the restaurant dept of the ship to notify ahead of time. I passed this along to C, who declined, and even offered to call myself, and was still declined, with her saying that she “wasn’t going to be that strict about it that week.”

 

 

 

So here we are, with her inquiring about a vegan menu. I give them so much credit though,especially this first night-the Cirque people went above and beyond to concoct a dish of gnocchi and vegetables for her. I thought that was really cool of them.

 

 

 

Then the show started, and the menu was actually pretty decent, better than I remembered it being on the Epic. Go figure.

 

 

 

 

 

The performance was AMAZING-all of the acrobats were in animal costume, or had an animal theme. They performed some pretty freaky moves, I was holding my breath more than once.

 

 

 

By the end of the show, I was stuffed and exhausted, and though it was early, I was ready to collapse. I walked around with the others to check out the nightlife, and we watched Howl at the Moon for a few minutes before moving on to Bliss. I noticed that the Bliss venue was about half the size of the one on the Epic-and no horses in front. Although, considering my interaction with them on my first Epic cruise, that was probably a good move.

 

 

 

I stayed in Bliss for about ten minutes, then I couldn’t fight it- I cried uncle and told the others I was out for the night. I headed back to the cabin, eager to see what animal awaited me and saw…nothing. The couch was not made up, nor was the Pullman out.

 

 

 

 

I called housekeeping, and our steward, Levi came by. Introductions were made, and then he explained that the “do not disturb” light was on. He showed me how to work the lights, and proceeded to fix the other two beds. He handed me a Freestyle Daily for the next day and was off!

 

Stacey

 

 

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[sunbird21]

Apologies for some of the photos being blurry- I don't have the photography equipment that some have, but do the best I can! Because time passes between these reviews, I forget how to edit some of the pics as well.

 

 

That is all of my updates for today-I'm going to try to get this review finished within a couple of weeks, want to try to update every day or two, but I'm going to be realistic, now that I'm back at work, I do get busy, but to anyone reading, please be patient with me and I will complete it! It took me a bit longer as I have to transport the text via email to my phone and break it up bit by bit, as I have to use my phone to upload pictures. Yes, I know there is any easier way to do it from the computer-I totally need a mentor LOL.

 

Jared- I am sorry we didn't get a chance to meet as well, though I'm glad that you got Vibe as well! I don't recall seeing you up there, although it truly was hit or miss with the opening times up there this week. There were a few people from here and FB that I chatted with a bit but never seemed to meet-although the ones I did,I'm very glad, b/c we really had a great group of people. I hope that you and your companion enjoyed the cruise!

 

Hanssolomom- yes, he was quite rude, I had thought that it was a NY thing, as most people in other ports were very friendly. But I suppose attitudes exist everywhere:) At least no one yelled about the phones, since there was little else to do.

 

Stacey

[cantthinkofanythingfun]

It looks like we were in the same muster group as well. Zack was pretty funny. I thought it was a great cruise despite the weather issues. I enjoy the BA and she didn't disappoint. Bermuda is beautiful and the people were very friendly, but it is a bit of a chore to get to different places on the island.

[worktocruise610]

Love the review & pictures! Can't wait to read, see more. Glad you enjoyed yourself :)

[Kreativ' Gal]

Loving your review, thanks so much for sharing!! :D:D:D

[ncklhaus]

Great review so far. I must say that I got a huge smile on my face when you said you met J and T. We met them on our cruise last October, also in the terminal and they were the reason we were able to get Vibe passes #1 and 2. They are amazing people. We spent lots of time with them throughout the week and I'm very happy to say we are still friends. We even went out to dinner and to the circus with them and the kids a few months ago.

[Gershep]

Great review, enjoying it!!

[sunbird21]

Ok will have day 2 up later but here are the dailies to hold you over

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[rogue 35]

Thanks for sharing, I didn't see anything in the Daily about a discount at Cirque for the first day. Was it full price?

[scopewest]

Love your review and sense of humor, keep it coming!

[sunbird21]

Day 2

 

 

This is a bit text to photo deficient due to the day.....

 

 

I woke up from my nap once around 1, when L came in. Apparently, the three of them had stayed out at Bliss all night and had met up with a group of guys. The other two were hanging out with them. I dozed back off for a little bit, knowing that I wasn't going to make it up to the impromptu sail away party -so instead I opened the blinds so I could watch the sail away from the balcony I woke up again just as we were pulling out of port, when L said that the toilet had overflowed. We managed to mop the floor up with towels, and were about to call for help but the issue seemed to resolve itself and the toilet was flushing properly again.

 

 

 

I went out to the balcony and watched us sailing down the Hudson. Due to the temp, I only lasted a minute before climbing back into my bed, watching the rest of the sailaway from there. I did manage to get up to get a picture, albeit blurry, of the statue lit up before passing out completely.Sadly, I didn't even see us go under the Verrazano Bridge.

 

 

I was awakened again at around three or four in the morning when C & V came in, having closed down Bliss for the night.

 

 

 

When I woke up in the morning, I noticed that the ship was rocking quite a bit. Now, I had been on nine cruises and have had a handful of rocky days, but I could tell it was going to be the bumpiest.

 

https://vimeo.com/142449675

 

 

As I stood up I could immediately feel the dizziness. I got my gym clothes together, deciding to be good and head up to the gym in the morning. I also wanted to check out the spa since it seemed like everyone else is going to be sleeping in for a bit.

 

Unfortunately, the toilet decided to have an issue again right before I left, but like it had earlier, it seemed to flush fine with the second smack of the button. Of course, this was AFTER the floor got flooded-again.

 

 

 

After my impromptu clean up, I went out into the hall and saw our cabin steward,Levi, a few doors down with his cart. I walked over and told him about our toilet issue, asking if he could look at it later in the day.

 

 

 

He shrugged. “If it’s overflowing, hit the button again and that will stop the water from coming out of the bowl.”

 

 

“Yes, I know,” I replied. “But I’d like to fix the problem so that it doesn’t continue to overflow.” I assured him that we had not flushed any improper items down the drain, to which he said “Yeah, it happens sometimes, you just have to hit the button again really fast so it doesn’t overflow. If it overflows, it’ll be a mess for the cabins below you.”

 

 

 

OK, he was totally missing the point.

 

“ I understand what you are saying,” I stated. “ But, there’s four of us and we are going to be here a week. Is there a way to FIX the problem so that it DOESN’T overflow?”

 

 

 

“I’m busy right now,” he said. “ I have an idea of what’s wrong with it, but I can’t get to it now. Just hit the button really fast when you use it and it won’t overflow.”

 

 

 

I said that it wasn’t necessary that moment, but tried to get confirmation that he would, in fact, be by at some point that day to address the problem. I did not want to spend the week walking on a floor covered with toilet water, thank you very much.

 

 

 

Finally he shrugged and agreed that he would stop by “later,” but then said “Maybe try not to use the toilet that much today.”

 

 

 

I had no words. With the next sideways rock of the ship, I thanked him for his effort and headed up to the gym.

 

 

 

I was proud of myself for making it to the gym, as I have yet to do it on any previous cruise. When I got there, about 10 people were using the machines. The gym was pretty much an average sized room with a row of treadmills and ellipticals, along with a few stationary bikes. There was another row of treadmills behind this. I chose a treadmill on the front row, deciding to just do 20 minutes. I figured that that was a good start and I also wanted a view of the ocean.

 

 

Big mistake.

 

 

 

Just imagine walking on the treadmill in one direction, and watching the waves rocking in front of you in another direction. Cue major dizziness.

 

However, I did manage to make it through my 20 minutes before heading into the spa. I checked in and found that the pools were closed in there due to the rocking of the ship. At that point in time, all of the heated loungers were taken, as well as a majority of the padded loungers. It almost looked like at a sunny day on the pool deck inside the thermal suite.

 

 

I did manage to find a padded lounger and relaxed on it for a little while, and then decided to check out all of the room options. I first went into the steam room, which hence the name, was very steamy. I manage only last for a few minutes. The next one in the line was the salt bath. I was very curious about this, as it had not been on the Epic. When I went in, there were no mists or anything going on in the room- it was just kind of a cool, quiet room with a sculpture of a pink rock in the middle that was supposed to be, I don’t know, meditating, I guess. According to the cue card on the wall you're supposed to sit there and inhale the salt and taste the salt on your tongue. I did not see or taste anything- it just seems like a room where you sat and stared at the stone. Needless to say, I did not last in here very long. Next, I went to the next couple rooms which were basically a couple of saunas to check them out.

 

Once I had done this loop, I went back to my lounger and try to relax and read, but this was hard to do because the thermal suite was at the front of the ship. Instead of relaxing, I kept noticing the bow of the ship raise above the horizon and then plunge down into the sea with giant waves splashing.

 

A minute later, one of the heated loungers opened up, so I moved over to a hoping that it would soothe me and I could just doze off quietly for a few minutes.Nope- the rocking sensation at the front of the boat was so severe that my nausea began to pick up immediately. I decided that the thermal suite was going to be a bust for that morning!

 

The dizziness and nausea picked up as I collected my things and went to the checkout desk to get my card back. I almost felt like I wasn't going to make it but luckily they seem to notice the greenness of my face, so they handed me my card quickly and I scampered back down to my room.

 

Upon returning to my room, I noticed that the other three were awake but didn't seem inclined to leave their beds. V informed me that she had been in the bathroom, and guess what was overflowing again? I decided to help out Levi a bit and called guest services to leave a reminder about the issue. Within a few minutes, someone was at our door, and a few moments after that-VOILA! Whatever the mystery issue was had been solved-we never encountered another problem with it.

 

Meanwhile, I decided that it was time to turn to the Dramamine. C and V were holding out, but L joined me in downing a tablet. While we waited for to kick in, we decided to go in search of some ginger ale hoping that would help.

 

The two of us went to O'Sheehans, only two decks below, and got our ginger ale. We sat there sipping on it for a few while watching the morning trivia, which was very sparsely attended. A few minutes later we decided to go back to the room and rest for a little bit.

 

 

However, L's face was getting paler as we got to the elevators and just as we reach the elevator bank she stopped and closed her eyes for a moment. One of the ships officers happened to be walking by,took one look at her, immediately whipped out an emesis bag from behind a trashcan that I hadn't noticed before, and in a perfectly choreographed move, manage to sprint in front of L and open the bag just in time for her to deposit the contents of her stomach into it.

 

 

 

Poor L was mortified as I thanked the officer, and we bolted for the nearest bathroom (FYI, by the forward bank of elevators, a lot of them seemed to be tucked off to the side of the staircases). A woman glared at us from the sink as she saw us rush in, L continuing to, um, utilize the bag. I kind of gave her a look and she scampered off.

 

 

 

A few minutes later, we did return to the room, and crawled into our beds for a bit. As the clock approached 10:30, I was attempting to ready myself to go to the CC Meet and Greet. I threw the invitation out for the other three, but they had made plans with the gentlemen that they had met the evening before to meet for brunch.

 

 

 

So, just before 11, I left for the Meet and Greet, while the others were getting ready. I planned to meet up with them after the event.

 

 

 

The ship was continuing to bounce, but luckily the M&G was held at La Cucina on Deck 8, only one measly flight down. As I went in, I noticed that there were about 40 people there already, but didn’t recognize anyone from the day before. I grabbed some juice and a croissant and settled at a table near the back.

 

 

The initial presentation was similar to the other M&G’s, except the ship’s officers speech seemed a bit shorter than before. Understandably, they had a lot to do, but they did still take time for a few questions- and does anyone want to guess what the first question was?

 

 

 

If you guessed that it involved trying to predict the remainder of the roller coaster ride, you’d be correct. And although many, many prizes were given out at this M&G, I do not have any other than my admiration to bestow on you.

 

 

 

One key point that the officers did make was that they wanted us to approach them with any issues during the cruise, rather than “waiting until you are back home and telling us behind your keyboard.”

 

 

 

All in all, they were accommodating and polite, and once they exited, our host, Anthony, led us through the door prizes, then the gift exchange. It was quite the turnout despite the rough seas. Surprisingly, my juice and croissant seemed to have settled my stomach at that point.

 

 

 

After it was over, I saw the A’s, J and T, and JM and S. I said hi and we all chatted a bit. They were all going to lunch and invited me, but I declined since my friends were waiting for me….or so I thought.

 

 

 

I went up to the buffet and found C, V and two of their gentlemen friends (henceforth shall be referred to as Guy #1 , #2, etc). They told me that L had gotten sick again in the shower, so she stayed behind to rest. I sat there for a few minutes until it seemed like they were involved in their own specific conversations, so I excused myself to go check on L. I think that they could sense that I was a bit of a fish out of the water, so they separated and we decided to get some bland food from the buffet for L.

 

 

 

We walked around looking for items on the BRAT diet list. For those not in the medical profession (or not a parent, I assume), it stands for Banana, Rice, Apples, and Toast. Basically, its very bland food that one is supposed to eat after being sick, to soothe your stomach. I know that there are others, this is just what they throw at you in school.

 

 

 

Well, the buffet has a lot of things….but bland food was a bit harder to come by. We managed to find some white rice, bread and a piece of grilled chicken that looked dry but unseasoned. Once we collected out findings, we stumbled down the hall to the elevators( forget the treadmill throwing my equilibrium off-elevators on a rocking ship take the cake) and back to or cabin. Poor L was passed out but happy to try the food when she woke up.

 

 

 

At this point, C decided to lay down for a bit- I could tell she was getting nervous,since this was her first cruise, that this was the norm. I quickly reassured her that this was by far the worst rocking that I had experienced. L and V agreed. I tried opening the balcony door and telling them to look at the horizon. Unfortunately, the horizon angrily pounded waves against the side of the ship and kept tossing up water that sprayed onto our deck.

 

 

 

 

 

V and I decided to walk around and “do something” to distract ourselves and not “waste the day.” We went upstairs to Deck 15 to watch the Mr Sexy legs contest with all 12 of the people on the deck. Very stupidly, we decided to utilize our UBP’s at the Waves Bar,and consumed a shot of Fireball each.

 

 

 

Shortly after that, the contest was postponed until Friday, so we went to the inside decks of 6-7-8 and walked around. V commented on that there wasn’t a lot of planned activities going on. There were a few shopping seminars and trivia and such, but I do agree most of what had been planned was for the outdoors. Even so, we managed to entertain ourselves fine exploring the stores, where I got my Breakaway striped beach bag (with a 10% Latitudes discount,yay!) and entering some jewelry raffle (didn't win,boo).

 

 

 

Finally, the Fireball convinced us to go to one of the alcohol seminars, suggesting that it was fate,since it was indoor and there were quite a few. We ended up at Shakers for the martini tasting, after I recommended it based on previous tastings on the Epic.

 

 

V decided to seek out C and L while I collapsed in one of their very comfy chairs. I think I dozed for a minute while they collected our cards and the host began to dole out martini trivia. V and C returned just in time for the martini plates to be served.

 

 

 

 

 

Well, I may have recommended the other tasting on the Epic, but sadly, this one I cannot. Out of six martini samples, only two were “drinkable,” as in, I can tolerate maybe a second sip of this. Gone were the key lime and chocolate and apple martinis. No, these were purple and gray and had descriptions such as “Now, this may taste a bit like perfume at first…”

 

 

 

Eww, disgust and HELL NO.

 

 

 

I do believe the only reason that we stayed was that there simply wasn’t anything else to do-that or the rocking just kept us pinned to our chairs.

 

 

 

Finally, at the end, we somehow rolled back to the cabin to check on L- who still wasn’t well. Apparently, she and the BRAT lunch decided that they weren’t compatible.

 

 

 

At this point, the three of us began our day long debate as to what was wrong. C was convinced that L was dehydrated. V insisted that she was just hungover from the night before. I called them both crazy and said that it was seasickness. Poor L just laid miserably on her bunk and prayed for relief.

 

 

 

After C kept attempting to get L to drink (water, that is), we left to feed ourselves. I went to O’Sheehans, as I had been craving their wings since my last Epic cruise.

 

 

 

If you have guessed that the other two went to the buffet, congrats. You win another point on my prizeless trivia game.

 

 

 

Anyway, I got to O’Sheehan’s, and was able to get a table pretty quickly. I have read the reviews on the poor service here, but-spoiler alert- I never had an issue. In fact, in all of the dining venues that I visited over the week, I never had more than a 2 minute wait, and service was perfectly fine at worst, efficient and pleasant at best. On this day, I was seated quickly, as I said, and the wings…oh, those perfectly seasoned and cooked wings…. And the chicken pot pie…..

 

 

 

Sigh. I miss them already.

 

 

 

After lunch, the seas had calmed to a slower rock, and more people were outside on Deck 15. I attempted to venture up to Vibe, which was finally open, but no one was in there. The sunbeds and loungers were all tied down, and it looked like a ghost town, so I left just as quickly. Instead, I decided to get an early start on getting ready for formal night.

 

 

 

Upon my return, I ran into Levi just outside my cabin, who said he had just been called in to clean the bathroom due to L’s illness. He asked if there was going to be a time when we would all be out of the cabin, as he was unable to clean the room otherwise. L had heard him and said that it was fine for him to come in and clean around her. He seemed hesitant but did a token spruce of the bedding before disappearing.

 

 

 

While I was getting ready, L wanted to attempt to eat again. I tried to advise against it, and when that was shot down, I looked for the room service menu. Finding none, I called room service, who told me that there was supposed to have been a menu left underneath the TV. Still finding none, she told me that I should call my steward to get one. I explained that I felt as though we had called him enough for today, and asked if there was anywhere else that I could find it, i.e., the NCL app,guest services, etc. The room service rep then proceeded to read me the entire menu,allowing me to scribble it down on my whiteboard. I was incredibly grateful!

 

 

 

I disconnected and read the list to L, strongly suggesting the chicken noodle soup. She refused. She wanted macaroni or a tuna sandwich. We debated over the items before compromising on a PBJ for her.

 

 

 

I called the RS back, getting the same person and I ordered the PBJ. Just then, she interrupted me.

 

 

 

“Ma’am, is your friend seasick?” she said.

 

 

 

I replied affirmatively.

 

 

 

“Might I suggest that the PBJ isn’t the best choice for her. I would recommend the chicken noodle soup instead.”

 

 

 

I relayed the recommendation with just a tiny bit of gloating to L. I think if she had any strength at that point, she probably would have smacked me. However, she grudgingly agreed to the soup.

 

 

 

The rep asked what she could get for me, stating that the $7.95 was a flat charge for as many items as we would like. I declined, since I had eaten, but she insisted on sending a cheese plate, so who was I to argue? She did say that she had been sending out a lot of plates today due to the ship’s smooth ride.

 

 

 

I continued to get ready while we waited, and soon after I placed the call, C and V returned. We immediately realized that we needed the iron,so another call was placed for that.

 

 

 

About 20 minutes later, both the iron and the food arrived-and the RS rep sent a PBJ in addition to the soup and cheese plate. She was so kind, I wish I had gotten her name.

 

 

 

BTW, the PBJ, with the crusts off, was the perfect snack. Just saying.

 

 

 

The next hour or so was with the three of us getting ready and L really trying to get ready. At one point, we all tried to convince her that she would be better off just calling it a wash today, but she was insistent that she didn’t want to miss formal night.

 

 

 

C and V had made arrangements for our group and their gentlemen friends to share dinner tonight at the Manhattan Room, and they called at one point to get an ETA. I think we gave them a 30 minute estimate, but it soon went out the window….

 

 

 

Just as we made our first attempt to leave, L and the chicken soup decided that THEY were not any more compatible than her earlier attempt. At this point, I was getting concerned-I had no idea how long the rough seas would go on, and whether or not her stomach would calm down before we hit Bermuda. We did another guess-the-cause round, but we were all worried that she would become dehydrated before long.

 

 

 

I called the medical clinic to inquire about the cost of an antiemetic injection, and was told the following rates (if anyone’s interested):

 

 

 

Initial visit, during office hours-$129

 

Initial visit, after office hours(which, at 7pm, this was)-$189

 

Medication(varying between a scopolamine patch up to an injection of Zofran and/or IV fluids) –anywhere from $20-$75.

 

 

 

I was told that the total price would NOT exceed $250….

 

 

 

Regardless,L rejected these options at this time, saying that she would “keep forcing (her)self to eat and drink.”

 

 

 

I’m sure anyone can guess how well that worked out.

 

 

 

Needless to say, by the time we hobbled out the door and on our way to Manhattan, the 30 minute ETA was well out the window.

 

 

 

Since we were dressed up, we attempted to take a few photos by the chameleon chandelier.

 

 

 

Once we arrived, we found the four guys waiting for us, but they took one look at L and realized where the delay had come into play. We were able to get our table quickly, but as we walked towards it, C and I noted that it was in the back of the room-i.e, the back of the ship, and the ride was NOT the most pleasant there.

 

 

 

Sure enough, L didn’t last long, and we received some more dirty looks from the table behind us. Seriously, why was anyone surprised to see someone sick on a day like this? C escorted her back to the cabin, while V continued to chat with two of the guys.

 

 

 

I attempted to make conversation with the two near me, but it was a bit strained when one of the guys compared his haircut to that of a Cavs palyer. Finding a common topic, I held up my hand in a high five , saying, “Oh, you’re a Cavs fan, too?”

 

 

 

The guy glared at me. “I hate the Cavs,” he deadpanned.

 

 

 

Awkward moment. Seriously.I concentrated on the menu.

 

 

 

The guy sitting next to me felt bad, you could tell, and tried to make polite conversation. But here’s the thing….You could tell that an agenda had already been set, and the players had already been cast. I had no interest in the game or the players, and the players had no interest in any talk outside the game. So I decided to get through the dinner, and just excuse myself from any further combined events, if there were to be any.

 

 

 

The dinner itself was pretty good, and again, the service was efficient. I was grateful that my small amount of dizziness from before hadn’t returned, as I do believe that we were sitting in the worst possible spot of the ship. But I was okay,as were the others, and we enjoyed our food.

 

 

 

I had the chorizo-potato appetizer and the pot roast.

 

 

Since C was gone while we ordered, V tried to order her a vegan meal. C ended up with her gnocchi again.

 

 

 

Once dinner was concluded, I pleaded fatigue and dizziness and escaped back to the room. The day drinking from earlier hadn’t helped matters to much, and I was ready to crawl into bed.

 

 

 

I had some small hopes of catching one of my prime time shows on TV(just this once) but found out, in our earlier preparation, that a fuse had blown out, including the TV. Guess who we had to call??

 

 

 

Thankfully, Levi and his cohort arrived quickly and repaired the issue, but alas, no network TV on NCL. Point goes to the Whale Tail on that one.

 

 

 

And NO, I don’t go on a cruise to watch TV, but it’s nice to have if the moment arises. Even L said she wished she had something other than the NCL channel to watch when she was sick all day.

 

 

 

As I settled into bed, light out, I was drifting off when I heard…

 

 

 

“Stacey? Do you think the cone part of an ice cream cone could be considered part of the BRAT diet?”

 

 

 

I sat up in disbelief and informed L that no other substance was to enter her mouth that night. We laughed, and with that, I went to sleep.

 

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[sunbird21]

Thank you for the compliments scopewest, worktocruise, Gershep, kreativ gal!!

 

Ncklhaus, thanks- yes, J and T were awesome! I ran into them several times, and we hung out a bit on the last day up at Vibe. I would love to cruise with them again! In fact, I wish I could compile a cruise with a handful of ppl from my last several cruises, I think there are a lot of similar personalities and we would have a blast!

 

Rogue, there is no Cirque discount on Day 1, the only discount is if you have the UDP, and I believe it is a 10% discount...someone else can correct me on this if different. Otherwise, the first day thing is gone :(

 

Thanks again to all who read!

 

Stacey

[queenschick9b]

I love your review!