Photo Review: H, a loyal CCL cruiser, tries Breakaway. Puppies! Babies! Applie Pie!

[Yorkvillain]

Wow I just found this review. Great job!

[Yorkvillain]

Your review is so good that I just spent the last hour looking at booking the Breakaway for 2017. You should get commission from NCL if I book it!

[ProfCruise]

Sunday's Freestyle Daily

 

 

 

[ProfCruise]

Monday's Freestyle Daily

 

 

 

[ProfCruise]

Tuesday's Freestyle Daily

 

 

 

[ProfCruise]

Wednesday's Freestyle Daily

 

 

 

[Megali]

Glad to hear you liked "boat school"! That, and the pool/water slides are what have my kids most excited about our cruise.

[ProfCruise]

Thursday's Freestyle Daily

 

 

 

[ProfCruise]

Friday's Freestyle Daily

 

 

 

[ProfCruise]

Saturday's Freestyle Daily :(

 

 

 

[ProfCruise]

 

Fun is not mom’s first priority for port days. In fact, I’m not sure that word is even part of her vernacular. Her goal for port days is to spend not a single bloody penny (my apologies to the tourism industry). And if she’s really lucky, I find a penny (hopefully not a bloody one) on the sidewalk or I score a free stuffed animal (see my Conquest review) because people feel sorry for me for having such chintzy parents who never buy me any of the tchotchkes I want, and we come out ahead. And in fairness to mom, we always still manage to have a great time.

 

So, let’s start with Port Canaveral.

 

Port Canaveral

 

The best thing about Port Canaveral? All our drinks were free! That’s because we never got off the ship. Why, you ask? Mom has an irrational fear of Mickey. I can understand Santa and clowns, but a cheerful everyman who will probably receive 80% of the vote for president this year? I don’t get it. Actually, it’s not just Mickey – mom refuses to get within 35 miles of any Disney theme park. Don’t ask her why unless you have 14 hours to waste and lots and lots of beer (I still didn’t get it and had a terrible headache the next day).

 

In any case, while others were at the happiest place on earth, I was stuck with mom (story of my life). Thank goodness for the toddler pool and the UBP.

 

In truthfulness, it was nice to have an extra day to enjoy the ship while it wasn’t very crowded. Don’t worry about me, I’ll make it to Disney someday – that’s why I have a Gigi.

[ProfCruise]

Great Stirrup Cay

 

If you know me at all, you know I love me some sugary frozen desserts and cheese…and the beach. So I was super excited to visit Great Stirrup Cay, NCL’s private island, for a beach day.

 

I loved almost everything about it – the smaller boat that sailed us over there, the tractor that drove us to and from the Lagoon, the sand, the water, the friends, and the chocolate dipped rice krispies at the buffet lunch.

 

While I prefer to focus on the positive, mom insists I discuss the tendering process as a warning for any of you who have a toddler (or mom) who isn’t as patient and saintly as I am. To sum it up: chaotic and slow.

 

The day before, mom called to make a tender reservation. If you want to leave the ship anytime before 2pm (What?!?! We’re usually back on board by then!), a tender reservation is required (or so they said – stay tuned). Mom requested the earliest possible group and was assigned tender group “H,” estimated to leave around 11pm. That was disappointing as we prefer to get to port early and get back for an afternoon nap or “quiet time” for mom (which usually turns out to be mostly yelling that she’s not tired). But we try.

 

We headed down to O ‘Sheehan’s bar (which is near the main show lounge where you’re supposed to go when you’re tender group is called) to kill time while we waited. We waited and waited and waited. Twelve games of pool later, I got bored and started using mom as a bowling ball on one of the miniature bowling lanes. I guess she didn’t find that as fun as I did, because she walked over to the show lounge to ask which group they were on (since we hadn’t heard an announcement for a long, long time).

 

Turns out they were telling everyone who came to the show lounge “if you’re ready to go now, go on in” regardless of their reservation (or lack of reservation). People who had been waiting a long time for their group to be called were pretty ticked that they waited around for nothing and others without a reservation were able to just walk right in. It appeared very chaotic and disorganized.

 

We shook it off (it was a good lesson in patience for mom) and were directed to sit down in the show lounge where we waited another 30 minutes for our section of the lounge to be called. On the plus side, they talked about the island while we waited and we learned about the Lagoon, which is where we would end up spending our day (and we were so glad we did).

 

We finally boarded our tender boat:

 

 

I could practically taste the sand!

 

 

And 15 minutes later we were welcomed to the island by this guy:

 

 

To be continued...

[ProfCruise]

Great Stirrup Cay, cont.

 

We headed left and followed the signs for the tram to the Lagoon. We waited (not long this time) at the tram stop for our chariot to arrive.

 

 

Which turned out to be a tractor!

 

 

Now don’t get me wrong, I love me some farm equipment, but I’m used to them driving me to the pumpkin patch, so I was a little confused. Where’s the hay?

 

After a short and beautiful ride we arrived at the Lagoon. Although we wouldn’t be making any pie later, this place was pretty sweet.

 

 

 

 

 

That last photo is of the main beach area as seen from the Lagoon. We never made it over to that side, but it looked much more crowded. We didn't exactly have the Lagoon to ourselves either (like the beach at Nassau -- stay tuned), but it didn't feel overwhelming.

 

To be continued…

[ProfCruise]

Great Stirrup Cay cont.

 

The Lagoon offers plenty of loungers (and clamshells available for a charge), calm, shallow waters great for swimming, plentiful sand for burying mommy so you can steal her drink, beautiful views (and some not so beautiful like mom’s pasty legs), a free BBQ lunch, and booze (the UBP does work on the island).

 

 

Here’s the lunch/bar area at the Lagoon. Get there early because the lines get very long after noon and tables go fast.

 

 

 

BBQ lunch includes hotdogs and hamburgers (They do have veggie burgers available upon request -- they take 15 minutes to cook), a variety of salads and sides, and cookie and rice krispy bars for dessert.

 

 

After a wonderful, relaxing day we toweled off...

 

 

...and headed back to our big boat around 3pm (there was no wait for a tender on the way back) to not nap.

 

[LuCruise]

Loving your review. Your little boy is soooooo cute.

[JustCRuSIN37]

Awesome review! We were on the same trip, we went to Junkanoo beach too, I remember seeing you! I really enjoy reading your review, it takes me back to the trip!:D

[cyndepet]

Just wanted to let you know that I'm loving your review - so cute :)

[ProfCruise]

Nassau

Sometimes life with mom makes you wonder if it’s Opposites Day. Wait, let me get this straight, you’re on vacation in the Bahamas and are thrilled it’s cool, overcast, and the beach is nearly abandoned? So it was on our day in Nassau.

 

This was my first view of the place – I thought it looked pretty fancy.

 

 

“Too rich for my blood!” said mom, so we headed toward the free public beach. Junkanoo Beach is a short 15-minute walk (I missed the fun tender boat ride to shore – mom did not) from the ship. Our last time in Nassau we got lost trying to find the beach, but this time we knew to turn right as you’re leaving the port area, and head straight through town.

 

 

 

Then you turn left (last time we turned right) when you hit a giant hotel. We even learned a new trick this time – after you turn left at the hotel, look for the sign to the “Fat Tuesday” daiquiri bar (BTW, the UBP doesn't work there...not for lack of mom trying) and turn right. Continue through the parking lot toward the bar.

 

 

There is a small beach access area just before the bar. That section of the beach was all but abandoned save a few locals selling jewelry at a stand near the bar, some guys bagging up big piles of seaweed (one of which contained mom’s sunglasses – see above), and a few fellow cruisers (Hi, JustCRuSIN37!) who wandered through on occasion.

 

 

To be continued…

[ProfCruise]

Nassau Continued

I should mention that the beach is very rocky. But on the plus side, if you use broken glass for craft projects or collect bottle caps, you’ll have a full bucket of them in no time flat (which is to say, wear water shoes). What do you expect at a beach called “Junk-anoo” (I’m sure I’m the first person ever to make that joke).

 

We loved this beach the first time we visited over Spring Break last year (although it was much more crowded then -- I suppose the Carnival crowd has lower standards) and loved it even more this year. It was quiet and peaceful, the views were beautiful, and no one required a tetanus shot (although dad got his first sunburn since childhood – clouds can be deceiving). Don’t let the name scare you off (or do, we loved having the place to ourselves) and give it a try.

 

If that doesn’t convince you, maybe these will…

 

 

 

 

[JustCRuSIN37]

Nassau

Sometimes life with mom makes you wonder if it’s Opposites Day. Wait, let me get this straight, you’re on vacation in the Bahamas and are thrilled it’s cool, overcast, and the beach is nearly abandoned? So it was on our day in Nassau.

 

This was my first view of the place – I thought it looked pretty fancy.

 

 

“Too rich for my blood!” said mom, so we headed toward the free public beach. Junkanoo Beach is a short 15-minute walk (I missed the fun tender boat ride to shore – mom did not) from the ship. Our last time in Nassau we got lost trying to find the beach, but this time we knew to turn right as you’re leaving the port area, and head straight through town.

 

 

 

Then you turn left (last time we turned right) when you hit a giant hotel. We even learned a new trick this time – after you turn left at the hotel, look for the sign to the “Fat Tuesday” daiquiri bar (BTW, the UBP doesn't work there...not for lack of mom trying) and turn right. Continue through the parking lot toward the bar.

 

 

There is a small beach access area just before the bar. That section of the beach was all but abandoned save a few locals selling jewelry at a stand near the bar, some guys bagging up big piles of seaweed (one of which contained mom’s sunglasses – see above), and a few fellow cruisers (Hi, JustCRuSIN37!) who wandered through on occasion.

 

 

To be continued…

 

Love it!!!!!!!! We had the beach to ourselves that day, it was perfect and i love love this review :)

[ProfCruise]

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

 

The Good

Sometimes pictures speak louder than words…

 

 

The Bad

 

Mega Crowds

 

The ship felt very, very crowded. Mom’s an introvert and would have frequently escaped to our interior cabin seeking solitude if she wasn’t also claustrophobic (she’s put all 6 of her therapist’s children through college).

 

Service

 

The dining service was a little spotty (when you order a Bailey’s and coffee and end up getting charged for a macchiato – I don’t even know what that is), slow at times, and not nearly as friendly as Carnival (sometimes you wanna go…where everybody knows your name).

 

Internet

 

The wireless internet was painfully slow. It took 20 minutes to upload 1 adorable beach photo to Facebook (I don’t like to keep my fans waiting) and mom was transported back to her college days where the soundtrack to her life included a loud dial tone, AOL proclaiming “you’ve got mail,” and grandma yelling at her to “get off the internet already, the phone’s been ringing busy for 7 hours straight!”

 

Narrow Stateroom Hallways

 

 

On the first day we had to do a sideways shuffle to get past the service carts (I’d love to hear from anyone using a large stroller or mobility scooter on the Breakaway – how did you manage?). By day 7, with 20 extra pounds of ice cream, mac n cheese, and cinnamon rolls having taken up residence on my thighs, I looked like Baymax, the giant inflatable healthcare companion (from Big Hero 6) trying to squeeze through the factory window (maybe you have to have seen the movie) or mom trying to get into her pep club uniform from high school.

 

And…The Ugly

 

Remember that adorable photo of me serving a martini from earlier? Well here, let me refresh your memory…

 

 

Two seconds after the photo was taken, the glass fell off the tray (the French Canadians saw that one coming), shattered into a million pieces (one of which sent dad to the medical unit for stitches), crushed mom’s dream that someday I’d work on a cruise ship and invite her for friends and family week, and did further damage to the reputation of Americans (burp).

 

Stay tuned for my final thoughts.

[ProfCruise]

In conclusion

I love Carnival like a childhood friend. There’s history there and comfort in the familiar. And I know I’ll go back to her time and time again. But I’m glad I took a chance on something new. NCL broadened and enriched my cruising experience.

 

Life is unpredictable and scary and sometimes you just want to burrow down in a familiar place where you feel safe. But I challenge you to peak out, take a chance, change direction, not because there was anything wrong with where you were, but because there might be something amazing right around the corner. In cruising and in life.

 

Thanks for reading and participating – I love you all and hope to see you on a big boat real soon.

 

[ProfCruise]

Didn't get enough H? Check out my Breakaway video here:

 

[YOUTUBE]qeb3e8nDuK8[/YOUTUBE]

 

Now I'll finally get around to replying to your comments!

[Sauer-kraut]

Thank you for taking so much time to do a detailed and photo filled review. I'm glad you took the plunge and broadened your horizons.

Keep your eyes open for the next "Kids Sail Free" (KSF) promotion where passengers #3-#6 are free! (Just pay the port fees and taxes).

 

That way you can keep your Mom in Martini's without too much over spending! :D;)

[dazey]

I have read many reviews but never made sure I read each new addition. And thanks for "puppy" in the title so I could find you. You are adorable.