NCL Breakaway May 28, 2017

[lul8]

We are a group of about 19 (of which 7 are LGBT ages 33-39, guys and girls). Anyone else going on this cruise?

[Jennyg921]

My husband and I are :)

[KJE Atlanta]

We are a group of 24 family and friends on this cruise, including 11 gays and lesbians (9 guys, 2 ladies). Only five weeks to go!

[lul8]

We are a group of 24 family and friends on this cruise, including 11 gays and lesbians (9 guys, 2 ladies). Only five weeks to go!

 

Finally getting some responses on here. For most of our group, it will be their first cruise, so people are quite excited.

 

I see you've been on Breakaway before. Obviously you like it if you are going back on. Any thoughts, suggestions, comments? Do you go any of the the FOD happy hours? If so, what are they like?

[KJE Atlanta]

Finally getting some responses on here. For most of our group, it will be their first cruise, so people are quite excited.

 

I see you've been on Breakaway before. Obviously you like it if you are going back on. Any thoughts, suggestions, comments? Do you go any of the the FOD happy hours? If so, what are they like?

 

Hi there, this will be our 4th cruise on the Breakaway. It's a big ship; embarkation and first afternoon on board can be a little crazy with 4000 people learning their way around and elevators will be crowded. Just take it all and stride and know that it won't be that way the entire cruise. If you board in time for lunch, go to one of the main dining rooms instead of the buffet because the buffet will be crazy crowded on day 1 (calms down after the first day). If you know shows or restaurants you want to go to, go ahead and reserve them on NCL website - you can always change them later if you want but that way you at least know you've got reservations. If you plan to do the free fall drop slide, bring swimwear without metal zippers, clasps, etc. as they won't let you do them otherwise (also - you have to take off jewelry (including wedding bands) for the free falls. They're fun though so the hassle is worth it. Speaking of worth it. A number of us are fans of the weekly thermal spa passes (if you're not in a designated spa cabin, you can purchase in advance. There are a limited number and it's a nice place to relax and get away from your 4000 new best friends - and it's adults only.

 

 

Yes - we generally go to the LGBT happy hours - at least the first few days. The dynamics and numbers can vary a lot from cruise to cruise - so if it's a fun group that keeps showing up, then so do we. If it dwindles by day 3 or 4, then we might skip after that. But, we've met some great friends at the FOD get togethers. In fact, 3 of the friends with us on this sailing are friends we've met at various FODs on Norwegian over the year and now we keep cruising together. Most of us are in our 40s. The times and locations of the happy hours will be printed in the Freestyle Daily newsletter.

 

 

By the way, I'm Karl. My Husband is Greg. We're from Atlanta (along with most of my family). Others in our group are from Seattle and New York.

 

 

Anyway, hope that helps. If you've got any more questions, ask away.

[lul8]

Thanks for all of the info. I don't think I'll be doing the freefall, but I'll be sure to pass the info on to the more daring in our group. We booked dinners and shows already, so I think that will help. For the dinners that we booked as a big group, they forced us into 5:30 or 9:30. We chose 5:30, but that is so ridiculously early. Any chance we can get them moved any later once we get on the boat?

 

 

Any suggestions on best place to be while sailing out of NYC?

 

 

What's the cost for the Thermal Spa pass? Buy on the boat?

 

 

I'm Stacey. Its my parents, aunt & uncle and 10 friends. Most of us are from CT, with 1 from NYC and 1 from Chicago.

[KJE Atlanta]

Hi Stacey!

 

Spa passes for the week are $199 in advance, a little more on board I think.

 

5:30 is super early for dinner. I recommend checking with the various restaurants when you board about different times. Also, you might consider splitting up the group into a couple smaller groups. We only have one full group dinner planned at Teppanyaki. Other than that, we'll embrace Freestyle and smaller and mid size subgroups will decide each night where to go and when.

 

Top decks are popular but crowded for sailaway and you're kinda forced to choose a side - skyline versus Statue of Liberty. Last year, we did sailaway from the aft portion of the waterfront and it was awesome. You could see both from there.

[lul8]

Hi Stacey!

 

Top decks are popular but crowded for sailaway and you're kinda forced to choose a side - skyline versus Statue of Liberty. Last year, we did sailaway from the aft portion of the waterfront and it was awesome. You could see both from there.

 

Thanks for the info. A few people in our group have aft balconies, so we'll probably go there. I can't believe we set sail in 9 days!!!