Live from the NCL Breakaway May 6-16, 2023 – Spring in Italy, Greece, Malta and France Roundtrip from Rome

[Happycrafter123]

Messina, Sicily, where the ship stops, is steps from the city.  You can get off the ship and walk around easily and there are many hop on hop off busses and those little train type vehicles too you can buy a ticket on the fly after disembarking.  There were many taxis available.  There were some lovely botanical gardens we drove by that might be nice to visit, as well as a museum.  At the clock tower you can buy a ticket to go to the top lookout point, and next door at duomo church you can get an audio guide.  The clock tower is very cool maybe google it in advance for the details and try to be there at the key times.  This stop can totally be done on your own and is very close to the ship. Note some details below.

 

 

 

 

 

[Happycrafter123]

14 minutes ago, cruiseny4life said:

I noticed the shore excursion description stated local seafood was "likely" to be served. I laughed and thought that you may not see any of that local fish. I'm sorry I was right. The eggplant would have made me gag!

 

Hopefully the tour was an alright experience though. 

@cruiseny4life yes it was actually a nice easygoing jaunt about, Messina is my favorite stop yet as a lovely and interesting seaside place. the tour guide had good English and gave lots of info, but I am learning the hard way maybe I should pick future tours that don’t involve a meal.

 

tomorrow and next day also come with “delicious” Italian lunches, and it’s too late to change them. So we’ll see how those go.

Edited May 12, 2023 by Happycrafter123

[Happycrafter123]

We enjoy watching the buses come in and runners at the end of the day…. We take our entertainment where we can lol!

 

no big lines today and while we had to go through a customs gate before the NCL security they waved us through and the X-ray machines were all shut off 

 

all aboard was 4:30.  About 6 NCL tour buses came in after that with the last at 4:45.  Several folks walking up and onboard till around 5.  I was surprised that folks showing up that late weren’t even running!

 

by 530 we were heading off.

 

a gorgeous day in Sicily!

 

 

 

[southern reader]

Thank you @Happycrafter123 for more good info!  So sorry you've not been feeling well and hoping the rest of your cruise continues to improve!!! Your pics are a great help too!

Would you please post the NCL newsletter/schedule sheets for today?

PS I  hope we aren't future "running " entertainment at the end of the day for our fellow passengers when we sail. 🤣🤣🤣

Edited May 12, 2023 by southern reader

[Happycrafter123]

Yesterday’s daily

 

 

 

[Happycrafter123]

Nice looking port at Naples!

 

 

 

 

[Happycrafter123]

Something I like about cruising is that there is always an interesting view.  Woke up intermittently last night and had to jump out of bed for these photos.

 

[Happycrafter123]

Giant line at Starbucks about 20 in line and 10 waiting for their drinks.  Decided to drink buffet coffee today.  Everyone is excited for early morning tours

 

[Happycrafter123]

Today’s excursion:

 

 

[southern reader]

Thank you for the newsletter! 

Looking forward to your thoughts on your Sorrento Pompeii excursion as we booked the same one too.

What is all aboard time for Naples?

And though there was no Malta stop, did they give you a newsletter that day with the all aboard time at Malta?

Edited May 13, 2023 by southern reader

[KeithJenner]

26 minutes ago, southern reader said:

Thank you for the newsletter! 

Looking forward to your thoughts on your Sorrento Pompeii excursion as we booked the same one too.

What is all aboard time for Naples?

And though there was no Malta stop, did they give you a newsletter that day with the all aboard time at Malta?

Both of them will be 30 minutes before departure.

[laudergayle]

8 hours ago, Happycrafter123 said:

Today’s excursion:

 

 

This excursion sounds incredible.  I’m hoping it’s as amazing as they claim.  Looking forward to your review. 

[Happycrafter123]

I’ll give a full excursion review later, both Sorrentto and Pompéi are interesting stops but it was really too rushed and the guide’s accent, pooor quality sound headsets (lots of crackling) and size of group got in the way of it being a thumbs up day.  I would focus on just one if I were to get a redo.  Lunch was mediocre and I’d have rather of gone on my own somewhere in Sorrentto or Naples.  So two thumbs down on this one despite super interesting itinerary.  The execution was the problem, not the ingredients….

 

the ship comes in to the port so you could very easily do Naples on your own without a tour, or with a local walking or hop on hop off option.

 

 

 

 

[Happycrafter123]

Some photos from Pompéi 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Happycrafter123]

Photos from Sorrentto.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited May 13, 2023 by Happycrafter123

[Flmom66]

On 5/4/2023 at 12:37 AM, southern reader said:

I called Bob's limo USA number about the tour we want and spoke to a man who was pretty friendly.  I booked the Pisa and Cinque Terre tour with them for our family.  If anyone has had any experience with their tours I'd greatly appreciate hearing from you. Thanks in advance

I am very interested in hearing about your experience with this tour! 

[southern reader]

45 minutes ago, Flmom66 said:

I am very interested in hearing about your experience with this tour! 

Will gladly post after we go and let everyone know.   Praying all goes well. 🙂

[Happycrafter123]

Happy news - our laundry came back!  We were a bit worried, we sent virtually all our clothes to the laundry two days ago.  It should have been back yesterday by 6pm. It came back tonight at 9 pm.  We called last night and then this afternoon, apparently we were one of about 1500 (!!!) rooms who were excited to send clothes on the $29 deal, all in the same day, and they are struggling to get the laundry done 

 

Edited May 13, 2023 by Happycrafter123

[Happycrafter123]

Dinner at le Bistro was delicious!

gluten free so could not have the marinated lamb hock but they substituted an extra chop.  
 

pear dessert was surprisingly good.

 

excellent service.  We let them know we had a show and we were in and out in less than 1 1/2 hours.

 

watched a bit of some live music in the central hub area and then on to see SIx

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Happycrafter123]

Some pretty good music in the hub, it’s too bad they don’t have more seating.

[eileeshb]

I did sorrento & pompeii via NCL in October ‘21 so it was just after the resumption. We still had a full bus though and one couple had forgotten their vaccine certs which complicated matters at Pompeii. Back then Italy still had heaps of covid restrictions including no access to Pompeii without a vaccine cert. In sorrento we only had one guide but that was basically him escorting us into town from the bus, bringing us to a wood crafter place with a New Yorker explaining the craft and we then had about an hour free before getting on the bus to Pompeii.  At Pompeii there was a second guide along with our original so one of them could answer specific questions while the other gave the talks. I will say I’d advise anyone doing tours in Italy to bring their own headphones to plug into the little walkies as the ones provided are neither comfortable nor reliable. 
 

[Happycrafter123]

@eileeshb that sums it up well, though now there are also massive crowds everywhere.  I try not to show that inmy photos but here is what it is like navigating Pompéi now:

 

Edited May 14, 2023 by Happycrafter123

[Happycrafter123]

Another beautiful day out there as we approach Florence.  
 

and due to getting laundry back last night, today we have the joy of fresh clothing!  (It really is the small things that make a day lol!)

 

Today was originally going to be a visit to Cinque terre which we cancelled due to a desire not to spend all day going up and down dangerous stairs, given our experiences at Santorini and athens.  Not many tour options left so we splurged more money than I thought we ever would on one of the few tours left to pick from, the Bocelli wine experience.  Let’s all cross our fingers this is an amazing day!! 

 

 

[Happycrafter123]

What a great view for breakfast!

 

[QuattroRomeo]

Your tour from Livorno sounds wonderful, I hope it is so! Sorry that Messina and Naples weren't as good as they should have been. We always do private tours in the Med and make specific requests for stops and food, so I guess that makes a big difference. We did go to Volterra and it is really a neat place. A small walled city - cobblestone everywhere so wear comfy shoes. Beautiful alabaster carvings, bowls, etc in the shops there and really nice Etruscan style jewellery. I hope you have time to really enjoy the place. P.s. if you happen to be into the Twilight movies there are shots taken there. I don't really  know the movies but there is certainly "atmosphere" in this town. I also look forward to your account of the Bocelli experience! Enjoy!