Mitsugirly BREAKAWAYs for a summer cruise: Review/Pictorial

[erdoran]

I love Sakari’s name - where did it ccme from and what does it mean?  It’s a beautiful, unique name.

[mitsugirly]

On 8/23/2019 at 1:17 PM, ABQrobin said:

Sorry I am so late to the party, I forgot you had a cruise this month or I would have been watching for it.

 

Yikes, your ankle!  Hope you are doing better.  

 

Diving in Roatan -  yep, that was pretty awesome, huh?  Beautiful dive and photos.  

 

robin

 

 

Better late than never Robin. Good to see you. We had a wonderful dive! I feel so relaxed now with diving and no more anxiety (for the last several dives).  I think next time we come to Cozumel, we will definitely try diving here. It looked pretty amazing.

 

Yes, things are getting better day by day. Thanks for asking.

 

Yes, diving in Roatan was pretty amazing. We will definitely dive there again. They were telling us that they have so many places and options to go to there. I can't wait to get back.

 

On 8/23/2019 at 2:25 PM, Laszlo said:

What Great Shots!!!😊👍

 

 

Thanks so much.

 

On 8/23/2019 at 3:02 PM, Mimi0129 said:

OMG!  I am so worry.   Hope you're feeling better real soon!

 

Thanks it's getting better every day.

 

23 hours ago, zencruisers said:

Looks like a great day in Cozumel! Great pictures and commentary. 

 

It was even though there was a moment of rain and it was cloudy, but it felt really good after that.

 

22 hours ago, TPgal said:

When we were there in April we went first thing in the morning, and we stayed as long as we could without eating.  Then we went back to the ship (Jade) and ate by the pool while kiddo enjoyed an empty pool area.  I could not add $75 onto our day for a questionably reviewed buffet,. 

 

The great thing about our plan was we had the whole park almost to ourselves, as we started to packup the folks from the Breakaway & the other large ship started to arrive.  There were lines everywhere, when we had none earlier in the day.  

 

You are 100% correct about water shoes, and we wore rash guards because we are slide people and had read that the slides are bumpy - correct.

 

(sorry about your leg...)

 

Yea, we got there early in the morning and when my child(ren)<---hubby included, gets hungry, they want it now. So the option to return to the ship was kinda out of the question and they had us suckered into the $25 charge pp no matter what. 😞

 

I will know next time I go about wearing water shoes. I will definitely plan for that. My feet were tore up!

 

17 hours ago, SenatorsFan said:

I agree! 😃

 

Thanks Heather

 

15 hours ago, Tigeroy said:

Great review!  Love your photos especially the snorkeling/diving ones!  Hope you're feeling better!

 

Thanks so much and yes, feeling better each day.

 

13 hours ago, perfect match said:

I’ve fallen behind the past few days, but I’m caught up now. 

 

Thanks for for the pictures and update on your injury. I’m like you in that I love seeing the gory pictures as long as they’re somebody other than me. Actually, I’d prefer it if they weren’t of you, either! Hope you’re starting to feel better.

 

I really enjoyed your pictures of the water park in Costa Maya. I was planning to go there on our Brilliance OTS cruise next year - only our Brilliance cruise was cancelled due to a whole ship charter. Now, we’re going on Harmony OTS, going to the eastern Caribbean instead of western. No Costa Maya for us, at least not this time around. We will get there at some point, I’m sure.

 

Sorry you didn’t get to dive in Cozumel. Still, it sounds like the snorkeling was good, even though you weren’t happy with how they turned out. You saw a lot of marine life, even your spotted eagle ray! Too bad about the late start, though. I would not have wanted to have waited that long with my VERY impatient DH! They did end up giving you a really awesome excursion, so hopefully you will be able to dive the next time you go there.

 

Glad you were able to get caught up.

 

Yes, starting to feel a little better. Thanks for asking.

 

Yes, go to the park if that's something you like. It was amazing and a lot of fun! Hopefully you'll make it there at some point.

 

Yes, I'm happy that the snorkeling was good in Cozmuel but diving would have been better. 😄  I'll know next time. I just hate it when I can't get good pics. Although the wait was awhile, the hubby liked it that he could go get coffee and me some pop and they had free wifi at Starbucks, so we caught up on email and stuff.

 

 

1 hour ago, Von & John said:

All your photos are Great...

The ones of Sakari truly demonstrate the Fun & Excitement of your Cruise!!!

Cheers  --   Von

 

Thanks so much. She does always have a blast and it shows...even in her tongue out pics. She just likes to mess with me and get a reaction I think. That pre-teen stage. Ugh

 

2 minutes ago, erdoran said:

I love Sakari’s name - where did it ccme from and what does it mean?  It’s a beautiful, unique name.

 

Thanks and it's pronounced just like it's spelled: Sa-Car-E.   It's a long story where I came up with it. Back then was the Myspace days and I came up with a bunch of unique baby names and had a poll on there with family and friends. I told them I was looking for a unique name that no one would ever pick. I had a list of 10 names. Then I did a second pole and included the only 3 that DIDN'T get a vote. After that poll, Sakari was the ONLY name that no one picked and that's what I went with. 😄 I told them I wanted something no one would ever pick and no one did. LOL  

 

It means sweet like sugar and I believe that it is an Indian name (at least it was back in 2008 when I picked it). I'm Indian and the hubby drinks coffee with his sugar LOL  So it fit perfect!

[coscab]

Kim, I booked the excursion you recommended in Cozumel, there were two that sounded like what you did on their website so I just picked one. We have snorkeled quite a bit in Cozumel but this sounds different.

The Breakaway doesn't get in until 10:00 and my email says to meet at Hooters at 10:30, I sure hope we make it.  I read in a review that the boat speeds along and folks with back problems might have a problem, my DH has just had an MRI for lower back pain, should get results next week,  I hope we don't have to cancel😱

 

[mitsugirly]

5 minutes ago, coscab said:

Kim, I booked the excursion you recommended in Cozumel, there were two that sounded like what you did on their website so I just picked one. We have snorkeled quite a bit in Cozumel but this sounds different.

The Breakaway doesn't get in until 10:00 and my email says to meet at Hooters at 10:30, I sure hope we make it.  I read in a review that the boat speeds along and folks with back problems might have a problem, my DH has just had an MRI for lower back pain, should get results next week,  I hope we don't have to cancel😱

 

 

 

It's super easy to get to the meeting place. Down the pier, walk along the port (up on the 2nd floor) and come down the stairs or elevator and that little area that you are in is shopping and you'll see the main street. Hooters and Starbucks is right there and easy to see. It takes no longer than 10 minutes tops to get there. 🙂

 

As for the boat ride, didn't find it bumpy at all and I thought the boat was rather slow lol  Boats were zooming by us. But it was still nice to view the coastline as we went by.

 

I hope you get to do it. It was a fun and nice snorkel.

 

Here's the tour:  http://cozumelcruiseexcursions.net/cozumel-snorkel-cielo-party-tour.html

 

 

[coscab]

2 minutes ago, mitsugirly said:

 

 

It's super easy to get to the meeting place. Down the pier, walk along the port (up on the 2nd floor) and come down the stairs or elevator and that little area that you are in is shopping and you'll see the main street. Hooters and Starbucks is right there and easy to see. It takes no longer than 10 minutes tops to get there. 🙂

 

As for the boat ride, didn't find it bumpy at all and I thought the boat was rather slow lol  Boats were zooming by us. But it was still nice to view the coastline as we went by.

 

I hope you get to do it. It was a fun and nice snorkel.

 

Here's the tour:  http://cozumelcruiseexcursions.net/cozumel-snorkel-cielo-party-tour.html

 

 

Oh no, this is the one I booked, they both sounded so much alike I couldn't tell the difference, same price and duration.

http://cozumelcruiseexcursions.net/snorkel-in-cozumel.html    

I wonder if I should email and change it.

[mitsugirly]

10 hours ago, newmexicoNita said:

She certainly knows how to have fun and is one adventuresome young lady. You have done something right in raising her. I love these pics, especially the ones where she is so into her snorkeling. 

 

She does. She's so much fun. I appreciate the nice comments. Thanks so much.

 

[mitsugirly]

2 minutes ago, coscab said:

Oh no, this is the one I booked, they both sounded so much alike I couldn't tell the difference, same price and duration.

http://cozumelcruiseexcursions.net/snorkel-in-cozumel.html    

I wonder if I should email and change it.

 

 

Yea, they are the same thing. I don't know why they have 2 different listings on there. I remember now that I had the same question when I booked and they said it was the same. If you look at the descriptions, you go to the same places and have the same things (food).

[coscab]

1 minute ago, mitsugirly said:

 

 

Yea, they are the same thing. I don't know why they have 2 different listings on there. I remember now that I had the same question when I booked and they said it was the same. If you look at the descriptions, you go to the same places and have the same things (food).

Thanks, I appreciate your help. 

[mitsugirly]

3 minutes ago, coscab said:

Thanks, I appreciate your help. 

 

 

No problem. I hope you get to go and have a wonderful time.

[LeesaB]

Thanks to you, we are now seriously looking into Discover Scuba in Roatan instead of just snuba.  (Seriously, thanks, I wasn't excited about snuba).  But Hubby is concerned about us (ok, the kids) not doing well with regulators and what not so it looks like our first stop will be some sort of "try scuba!" class at a local dive shop.  Should be interesting ... 

[cincicruisers]

Kim

i am hoping you are able to continue to give us status updates on your road to recovery. You are about finished with your review.  Maybe a new thread to update us if you can or want to.  I am sure I am not the only one who would like to hear how you are doing going forward.  Just a thought...

[mitsugirly]

12 hours ago, LeesaB said:

Thanks to you, we are now seriously looking into Discover Scuba in Roatan instead of just snuba.  (Seriously, thanks, I wasn't excited about snuba).  But Hubby is concerned about us (ok, the kids) not doing well with regulators and what not so it looks like our first stop will be some sort of "try scuba!" class at a local dive shop.  Should be interesting ... 

 

 

Give it a try! Snuba is basically going to be the same thing with the regulators (I hope he realizes) and the only thing different is no tank on the back  because it is floating above and your hose attached to it. I haven't tried snuba (always wanted to just to see what it's like) but honestly I feel like the kids adapt easier than the adults at first (just what I have noticed with those around us and during scuba classes with Sakari). The only issues is usually learning to equalize the ears (the younger they are the more problems I believe because of development).

 

11 hours ago, cincicruisers said:

Kim

i am hoping you are able to continue to give us status updates on your road to recovery. You are about finished with your review.  Maybe a new thread to update us if you can or want to.  I am sure I am not the only one who would like to hear how you are doing going forward.  Just a thought...

 

Thank you so much and I'll give updates. I appreciate everyone wanting to know what's going on. I'm sure I'll be as good as new in the months to come.

[mitsugirly]

DAY 7: SEA DAY

 

No time frame to get up today...so it was a pretty late breakfast (almost 11).

 

 

 

Then I bet you can't guess what came next.....????

 

 

 

 

Sakari hanging with her friends came next of course...and in the pool....almost all day. That water child just can't get enough.

 

So while Sakari was hanging with her friends....we were hanging with our friends as well.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our friends kept us company most of the day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I just couldn't get over how much this kid looked like my grandson!

 

 

 

I have to say...the weather...although a sprinkle/rain here and there throughout the week, was perfect and this had to be one of the first times I didn't feel ANY movement on the ship...ANYONE WHATSOEVER! The ocean was smooth almost the entire time and looked like this:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited August 25, 2019 by mitsugirly

[mitsugirly]

At some point in the day I needed to do the dreaded deed. This is when reality hits you in the face like a bad punch.

 

 

 

 

Sakari and her friend Daniel decided to play some putt putt while I was packing.

 

 

 

 

That morning I got super excited because (like every other day) I had been checking the specialty restaurants for any openings to use my coupon up. Well La Cucina had an opening!!! Yippee! But it wasn't until 9pm that night.

 

Now it was later in the day and we hadn't ate lunch, but yet since it was so late we didn't want to fill up that we wouldn't want dinner.

 

So as we were walking around, we came across the MDR and I looked at the hubby and ask if he wanted to grab a quick bite for lunch and we'd go "light".

 

 

 

 

 

It was pretty dead in there with only 3 other tables filled. I was informed that it was dinner time and not lunch. Ugh. I was hoping for something not so filling. LOL But here we are and we were gonna see how this turns out.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I ordered the onion soup. I always enjoy this. However, this time I only ate a few bites because it was a little different. Like super strong different. Like the strongest I had ever had it and I just couldn't eat it.

 

 

 

 

 

For the main course, it was hard to find something that wouldn't be so "dinner-y" like. And I believe it was Italian night at the buffet so that usually pours over into all the other food venues I believe.

 

This would be what I decided on. I didn't eat a lot of it and was trying not to be rude (not wanting it to seem like we didn't like the food or wasteful) so I ate in the middle, spread it out some, let some over flow onto the plate that the bowl was on and hoped that it looked like I had ate more than I really ate.

 

 

 

 

I don't remember what the hubby had to start with but I know he ordered a salad as well. The waiter kept giving us weird looks and asking what else we wanted.

 

 

 

 

 

At some point I told the waiter that we had dinner reservations for that night but hadn't had lunch so that's why we were going light on the food. He then understood and smiled like we were no longer the "weird couple" eating next to nothing. We opted for no desert.

 

 

I headed back to the room to finish some packing and found my 2 bags of laundry sitting in my room waiting for me to pack. This is the one thing that is so nice about being platinum. Coming home with less laundry to do. But, how you shove a bag full of dirty clothes in and what comes out is a nicely pressed, in a basket, set of clothes about 2x the size of what it was when it left...is beyond me. It always comes back looking like you didn't send much out.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited August 25, 2019 by mitsugirly

[mitsugirly]

After returning to the room, I picked up my coupon for dinner at some point and noticed that it did not have La Cucina on the name as the restaurant. Oh crap! Now back when I was cruising before, you could pick whatever specialty restaurant you wanted. We would usually pick La Cucina twice because we didn't really care for the other options. I guess that has changed now as well and they give you 2 options on 1 coupon and 2 options on the other. Well wouldn't it be my luck that the coupon we already used for Moderno had the La Cucina on it as well. The only way to use our other coupon would be to pick between Cagney's or Le Bistro. BLAH! So not fair. Neither one of these were open the entire cruise.

 

I decided I would personally walk down to La Cucina (which was NOT full) and explain to them my mistake and see if there was a way I could use the coupon there. Well, of course, I was denied. I was disappointed in this. It's just not fair that they have empty spots in the restaurants but appear to be all booked up and my platinum status meant nothing and I wouldn't get a chance to get my second dining in OR be able to get my free bottle of wine either. I also know that last time we cruised you always got a free bottle of wine with EACH meal. That no longer seems to be the case and you only get 1 and only if you are dining with Cagneys or Le Bistro. Why do they get to pick which specialty restaurant you want wine with? Anything to make things harder to get your "freebies". It was so disappointing I tell ya. So many changes.

 

At some point that night we headed back to the casino to play a little bit and/or cash in any winnings. This would be the absolute first cruise that we didn't play every night and didn't play our allotted amount that I brought for us to play (I want to say we only went maybe 3 times and for not very long). I usually bring $400-500 each for us (I know we are not be spenders but that's enough for us to spread out during the cruise to have a good time on and we usually go every night) and I probably played a total of $100 and the hubby played $40 (he was always busy watching the card tables that he'd forget to play his before it was time to leave).

 

I was having a decent night.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We didn't stay too long...well I didn't. I had some decent winnings and then I started to feel bad and decided I would just donate it back to the lovely ship. Honestly, had the hubby not stood there watching the card table and said let's go, I would have walked out with a decent amount. But, I was trying to kill time waiting on him. So, we are going to blame this on the hubby. 😉 Once my winnings were gone, and with the hubby still watching the tables,  I went back to the room to get Sakari. 

 

Sakari and I went to go pick up my memory stick from the photo shop (I had bought pictures earlier in the day and I picked out just the right amount that would make it a "package" deal, which included a free memory stick) and it needed picked up around 8:30pm. We would do a little bit of last minute shopping as well.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited August 25, 2019 by mitsugirly

[mitsugirly]

Sakari was saying how she was hungry and since we hadn't "officially" ate dinner, we went up to the buffet to see what the offerings were.

 

 

Like I said earlier, it was Italian night.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I wasn't too hungry to opted for something not-so-dinner-like:

 

 

 

 

 

We started to head back to the room and found the hubby along the way. He said he watched the card game for awhile and then went out to look for us. We must have kept missing each other because all the places he had named, we had been, but not at the same time.

 

So now he was hungry too...but the buffet was closed.

 

I was tired and wanted to get my luggage out and plan for our departure the next day so I told him I was going back to the room. I told him he should stop by O'Sheehans and place an order "to go". Well he would return to the room pretty frustrated because they told him they couldn't give him a meal to go. He had to stay there to eat or told him to go back to the room to order room service with them. They made it sound like he could order O'Sheehans from the room.

 

He would call room service and it because a frustrating next 30 minutes for him. He would be put on hold and transferred and then put on hold and at some point, they hung up on him and and he had to call back and start all over. In the end, they told him he couldn't order anything from O'Sheehans even though they had told him he could. How frustrating. We have always stopped by O'Sheehans to order something to go in the past and they would put it on a plate with a cover over it. I guess that was another change.

 

He ended up ordering pizza and since he was going to encounter the same room charge no matter how much he ordered, he decided to order 2 pizzas. I know from the past that their pizza was never good. I have always tried to figure out why it tasted so bad and my only conclusion has been the cheese. The mozzarella cheese they use (on just the room ordered pizza) was always so fake tasting and gooey and just nasty. I could never get one piece down in the past. But, this time, it wasn't like that. It wasn't the greatest, but it was edible.

 

Hubby's pizza

 

 

 

Sakari's pizza which she shared a slice with me just so I could try it out. Even though Sakari and I had just ate about an hour prior, she can always eat some pizza.

 

 

 

We got our bags out and I checked and double checked that we all had clothes to wear and wouldn't have to get off the ship in only our underwear (did that to Sakari once...true story). And then we headed to bed.

 

Edited August 25, 2019 by mitsugirly

[mitsugirly]

So not really much to tell about the day we got off the ship. It's the most boring day coming home and this would be the worse.

 

We headed to breakfast and waited around for the ship to call our "color". We always pick the latest color because we are never in a rush to get off.

 

I want to say they called us between 9-9:30am and we were told to head down to the 7th floor. They were making announcements all morning about go to the aft if you had passports and was from the US and go to the front if you were not a US citizen or didn't have a passport. I don't think I had ever heard them do this before.

 

We headed down and encountered a HUGE line. I stopped to ask a worker where to go if we had passports and from the US. She told us to just follow this line. However, it was the same line...for everyone. We kept seeing signs telling us we should be in another line. We ask workers several times along the way and they still told us to follow the line. 😕 Weird.

 

This line was HUGE and it went from one end of the ship to the other and then back. Down past every venue and through the casino and then turn around and head back. It was crazy. It took forever to get out. I don't even know why they would call more people if the lines were so long. I would rather be relaxing on the deck somewhere than standing in the long lines.

 

When we finally made it to check out, they ask for our passports and that was it. They scanned them BEFORE we left the ship and then motioned us out. They were having a hard time scanning the hubby's and tried twice and it wouldn't work. They told him to step aside. Now why wouldn't his be working or picking up the scan bar? He was like no...try it again...then it worked. Thank goodness!

 

Then we were off the ship to pick up our luggage and out the doors. Wait...is that it? So scanning our passports BEFORE getting off the ship was the US Customs that you usually encounter after getting off, picking up your luggage and then standing in line? Ok, that was different! We didn't even have to fill out a form declaring what we bought. It was odd.

 

We got outside the terminal and put in for our Uber to get us. It was a quiet and uneventful ride to the airport and I don't think our driver spoke to us once until we pulled up at the terminal. Actually we all ended up falling asleep because it was so quiet.

 

Then the waiting game would start....

 

 

See those flight times?

 

 

 

 

We didn't catch our plane until 7:15pm! It was a LONG day at the airport of sitting around on our phones and playing games and talking to the family back home about the cruise. A VERY long day. But at least we had a straight flight home and didn't have to change planes.

 

 

We came back...to a dead battery in our vehicle and didn't even make it home until after midnight...but we had arrived...and arrived safely.

 

The end!

Edited August 25, 2019 by mitsugirly

[LaCal]

Great Great review Kim.  

 

Absolutely Love reading your reviews for years now 

 

Hope your healing continues and everything goes smooth 

[SenatorsFan]

Thanks, Kim for another great review. I hope everything goes well for Sakari at her new school and that you will keep updating us on your recovery! 😃

Heather

[blarko]

Another enjoyable review by the Queen!  With all the changes you’ve noticed, what are your thoughts about cruising with NCL for future cruises?  

[dreamer976]

As always, Kim ...

 

BRAVO! 👏👏👏  

So, when’s the next one???  I’m feeling withdrawal already. 😢  Love your trip reports!

 

Ellen

[Jasonmom]

Wonderful review.  I hate that you had to wait for others so long in Cozumel.  That always upsets us because we have never been late but have had to wait for others.  Love the pictures of Sakari having fun that day though.  Once again I would like to say thank you for your review.

[mopedmom1]

Thanks for taking us along Kim! I hope you keep us up on your recovery.  May it be speedy and uncomplicated. 

[Von & John]

Thanks for taking us on your cruise...  it was a fabulous trip!

Hope Sakari is enjoying Art school & you are healing quickly...

Hopefully you are done w/ the pain creeping up & smacking you in the head period!

[jjjct]

Have read many of your excellent reviews, this one included. I noticed that your drinks had a straw in them. Last NCL cruise I took was last summer and straws were banned. Did you bring your own? Hope you make a full a fast recovery!