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Off the Breakaway February 6 - New Orleans

MtnCliner

By MtnCliner,
in Norwegian Cruise Line

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MtnCliner

MtnCliner

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Spent a great week onboard the Breakaway - just disembarked yesterday.

1. Testing and embarkation went smoothly, though it was unclear where the testing site was initially. Once we broke the code we sailed through the streamlined process.

2. The ship was not quite ghost town status, but was probably at one third capacity.  For us there was no negative vibe to that at all - we loved it!

No lines, no chair hogs, great service from the eager to please staff.

3. Food and drinks were great. Ate specialty dinners at Cagneys, La Bistro, and Ocean Blue and the rest at the Manhattan restaurant.

Guilty of getting over-served at all the bars.

4. Didn't really take in much entertainment - no theater shows - just heard bands playing at the Manhattan and poolside. Enjoyed what we heard.

5. Silky smooth disembarkation process.

 

Would be happy to answer any questions based on our most recent experience.

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Senoj84

Senoj84

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Awesome to hear! I’m sailing on the Breakaway this Sunday! Just a few questions, I’m planning to take my PCR Covid test this Thursday, when do they check to see the status of your test? Do they check it at the embarkation process before they give you the antigen? Also, were there any spa specials? Were you able to book shows on board? 
 

Thanks so much for your help! 

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MtnCliner

MtnCliner

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50 minutes ago, Senoj84 said:

Awesome to hear! I’m sailing on the Breakaway this Sunday! Just a few questions, I’m planning to take my PCR Covid test this Thursday, when do they check to see the status of your test? Do they check it at the embarkation process before they give you the antigen? Also, were there any spa specials? Were you able to book shows on board? 
 

Thanks so much for your help! 

We didn't have to show previous negative results. When led in for our test we showed our vaccination record, then were given our rapid test. Waited 15-20 minutes for our negative results and were allowed to board.

I believe there must have been spa specials, since they had several spa reps in the hallway/stairwell of deck 15 as we would go out toward the pool.

If the numbers are as low as we had, you should have no problem booking shows.

Bon voyage!

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PaperSniper4

PaperSniper4

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20 hours ago, MtnCliner said:

Spent a great week onboard the Breakaway - just disembarked yesterday.

1. Testing and embarkation went smoothly, though it was unclear where the testing site was initially. Once we broke the code we sailed through the streamlined process.

2. The ship was not quite ghost town status, but was probably at one third capacity.  For us there was no negative vibe to that at all - we loved it!

No lines, no chair hogs, great service from the eager to please staff.

3. Food and drinks were great. Ate specialty dinners at Cagneys, La Bistro, and Ocean Blue and the rest at the Manhattan restaurant.

Guilty of getting over-served at all the bars.

4. Didn't really take in much entertainment - no theater shows - just heard bands playing at the Manhattan and poolside. Enjoyed what we heard.

5. Silky smooth disembarkation process.

 

Would be happy to answer any questions based on our most recent experience.

For us, only 47 days to go! Hoping our cruise is as enjoyable as yours was!

 

Doug

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Senoj84

Senoj84

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11 hours ago, MtnCliner said:

We didn't have to show previous negative results. When led in for our test we showed our vaccination record, then were given our rapid test. Waited 15-20 minutes for our negative results and were allowed to board.

I believe there must have been spa specials, since they had several spa reps in the hallway/stairwell of deck 15 as we would go out toward the pool.

If the numbers are as low as we had, you should have no problem booking shows.

Bon voyage!

Thanks so much! This answered everything. 

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MtnCliner

MtnCliner

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1 hour ago, Oxo said:

I know on this class of ship they do not have an Observation Lounge on Deck 15 like the Joy. 

Did you happen to notice if the Waterfront was busy during the day on Deck 8?

TIA

We loved the waterfront, and enjoyed the chill vibe there vs the party atmosphere poolside.

And built a great relationship with the bartenders out there. 😉

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bstel

bstel

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18 hours ago, Senoj84 said:

Awesome to hear! I’m sailing on the Breakaway this Sunday! Just a few questions, I’m planning to take my PCR Covid test this Thursday, when do they check to see the status of your test? Do they check it at the embarkation process before they give you the antigen? Also, were there any spa specials? Were you able to book shows on board? 
 

Thanks so much for your help! 

your 96hr PCT test only comes into play if you test positive at the pier.  so no, they wont ask for it.

 

other than booking the upcharge Velvet dinner/show, you dont need to make reservations, well at least we didn't on this Jan30 sailing, since we were at about 33% capacity.

 

Velvet and Six were awesome.  Best shows we have seen on any cruise so far.

 

restaurants were practically empty as well, so we usually made a "reservation" about 30 minutes before we arrived.

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RocketMan275

RocketMan275

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On 2/7/2022 at 12:46 PM, MtnCliner said:

Spent a great week onboard the Breakaway - just disembarked yesterday.

1. Testing and embarkation went smoothly, though it was unclear where the testing site was initially. Once we broke the code we sailed through the streamlined process.

Would be happy to answer any questions based on our most recent experience.

So what was the code?  We're on Breakaway in early March.  We're staying at the Hilton Riverside.  We're driving to NOLA.  

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jeffw67

jeffw67

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1 hour ago, ggg196078 said:

can you give some insight the the ports? were all ports open? wear masks while walking around? Vibe on boat and ports? Any covid issues on boat? 

Not sure if its Safe to cruise, I'm on the fence. Should I or not, Thank you

I was also on this cruise. Agree with everything the OP said. Everything seemed pretty normal except the low passenger count. I was told there were 1300 crew and 1100 passengers on board. All the ports were open. Loved Harvest Caye! Saw most of the entertainment and as far as I know nothing was cancelled. This was our 11th cruise on NCL and the best yet! I would recommend that anyone on the fence go and enjoy a great less crowded cruise. Mask wearing on the ship was generally pretty good while people were in the common areas. I did notice most took off masks while in the theater after the shows started.

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MtnCliner

MtnCliner

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10 hours ago, ggg196078 said:

can you give some insight the the ports? were all ports open? wear masks while walking around? Vibe on boat and ports? Any covid issues on boat? 

Not sure if its Safe to cruise, I'm on the fence. Should I or not, Thank you

All the ports were open. In order we visited Cozumel, Roatan, Harvest Caye and Costa Maya.

I'd originally gotten the impression that the first two would be tender ports, but we ended up docking and walking for all four.

Masks were the norm while walking around most of the places or in the taxi.  Took masks off at the beach.

Great vibe on and off the boat. I'd get right back on if I were able. No covid issues that I was aware of. Most other passengers were considerate of the mask policy - 98% - unfortunately there are always going to be rule breakers.  But overall an A+ experience for us.

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MtnCliner

MtnCliner

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13 hours ago, RocketMan275 said:

So what was the code?  We're on Breakaway in early March.  We're staying at the Hilton Riverside.  We're driving to NOLA.  

We parked in the main parking for cruises; it lies adjacent to the big building with the massive painting of whales. Instead of immediately crossing the tracks and entering the Julia St cruise entrance, go across the street and that's where they're conducting the covid testing. Hope this helps.

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bigrednole

bigrednole

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17 hours ago, ggg196078 said:

can you give some insight the the ports? were all ports open? wear masks while walking around? Vibe on boat and ports? Any covid issues on boat? 

Not sure if its Safe to cruise, I'm on the fence. Should I or not, Thank you

Cruising is safer than going to your grocery store, gas station, etc.

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