Live from the Breakaway 3/10 - 3/17

[justhappy]

I know I’m not the only CC member doing a live from this cruise, and it won’t be as exciting as the other live cruise reports this week since we are on the ship to relax after two months of stress and interrupted sleep.

No shore excursions planned unless you consider a trip to the Mega Store in Cozumel an “excursion “

After having to cancel our January Escape cruise at the last minute and wanting to get away once things at home improved I decided the way to celebrate my birthday this year was with a cruise.

It will be just hubby and I this cruise in an aft balcony Haven suite.

We got lucky when one popped up post final payment date at a reduced price.

With a full ship during spring break it’s a splurge we couldn’t resist.

On Saturday we took the short drive from home, stopping at the Beau Rivage Casino in Biloxi Mississippi to use some free play and food credits.

We decided to hit up the snack bar in the casino  where I had a muffalata and DH had a Rueben sandwich.

They were both very good and huge portions.

Then we played our free play and cashed out our winnings, $38 for me and $16 for DH. 🤣

Hey it’s more tip money for the cruise!
 

We drove on another 1&1/2 hours to Metairie where we used a free night voucher at a Residence Inn.

Not the newest property but it was clean and comfortable.

 We met a long time colleague and friend of my DH who lives in the area.

He picked us up and took us to a small local Italian restaurant nearby. The food was delicious and the dinner conversation lively.

He was telling us stories about post Katrina and ended driving us around showing us some of the areas hard hit and explaining the pumping systems and the politics of the city.

 This time of year my DH and I have a tradition of watching the movie Captain Ron. It’s a corny screwball comedy but we always watched it to get us through the doldrums of winter and long hours of tax season.

So warning: many Captan Ron movie references ahead!

[justhappy]

This morning we slept in till 7am SDT then after a light breakfast we packed up head headed to 100 Poydras Street at 9:45am.

It was a short 16 minute drive as traffic was very light this morning.

  I had prepaid for parking and it was an easy process to get parked and down the elevator to wait for the shuttle. Within 10 minutes we were shuttled and dropped off at the baggage porters.

A quick walk into the terminal and right through the security screening with no waiting. At 10:15 there were hardly any lines. No waiting at Haven check in as well. I have to say this was the fastest in 34 cruises we have ever gotten inside the building and completed check in. Escorted to the Haven waiting area (with cookies 😁) among other finger foods and beverages.

[James_Elmore]

Liking all the lives week before I get on her 

[justhappy]

4 minutes ago, James_Elmore said:

Liking all the lives week before I get on her 

I really benefited and enjoyed the live from @boffoboffo last week. Hopefully we can make the days till your cruise fly by!

[dominicr]

Following along for the week.   Sitting at the kids pool right now the the 4 and 8 year old.   Too damn cold for me to get in the water but the drinks are flowing nicely.  

[justhappy]

56 minutes ago, dominicr said:

Following along for the week.   Sitting at the kids pool right now the the 4 and 8 year old.   Too damn cold for me to get in the water but the drinks are flowing nicely.  

The drinks are the important thing!

[dominicr]

5 minutes ago, justhappy said:

The drinks are the important thing!

haha 100% they are for me.  

[we12brich]

2 hours ago, justhappy said:

A quick walk into the terminal and right through the security screening with no waiting. At 10:15 there were hardly any lines. No waiting at Haven check in as well. I have to say this was the fastest in 34 cruises we have ever gotten inside the building and completed check in. Escorted to the Haven waiting area (with cookies 😁) among other finger foods and beverages.

 

Following along! We will be on 3/17 Breakaway and this will be our first time cruising from NOLA and Breakaway. Also looking forward to the Haven area. Is there a separate line in security screening for Haven passengers?

[McGarrett5oh]

This fall we will be in an Aft Haven cabin as on the Breakaway as well & also just looking to relax on board, so very interested in your impressions of the ship, the aft and the Haven.   Enjoy your cruise!!

[RocketMan275]

38 minutes ago, McGarrett5oh said:

This fall we will be in an Aft Haven cabin as on the Breakaway as well & also just looking to relax on board, so very interested in your impressions of the ship, the aft and the Haven.   Enjoy your cruise!!

We loved our aft haven on breakaway in march 2023.  

Only drawback was the long walk to the Haven and the wait for elevators.  Of course, you may be more athletic than we in our mid-70s.  We found service to be excellent in the Haven.  We've been in Breakaway Haven twice and Prima once.  We much prefered Prima because the Haven Bar is larger as was the Haven restaurant, especially the outdoor area.

[justhappy]

1 hour ago, we12brich said:

 

Following along! We will be on 3/17 Breakaway and this will be our first time cruising from NOLA and Breakaway. Also looking forward to the Haven area. Is there a separate line in security screening for Haven passengers?

Same security line for everyone, but after that you head to a line just for Haven check in.

[justhappy]

After the lite lunch we stopped by the Haven Bar for the first drinks of the cruise. DH opted for an Irish mule and I had a glass of Shades of Blue Riesling, I love it.

[boffoboffo]

6 hours ago, justhappy said:

I really benefited and enjoyed the live from @boffoboffo last week. Hopefully we can make the days till your cruise fly by!

Happy to hear I haven’t been wasting my time. 

[justhappy]

To continue day 1, we headed up to the Haven sundeck to enjoy the sunshine. There must have been some military installation nearby as there fighter jets doing fly bys every so often. Looked like F-somethings, to get real technical on you.

 Last time we cruised out of New Orleans was in Dec of 2021 and I think the whale mural was refreshed and had more added to it. I don’t remember the sky and clouds and additional critters.

It looks really nice!

 

 

[justhappy]

Posting photos is proving to be as difficult as boffoboffo said.

So just commentary for now.

After an hour of soaking in some sunshine and additional Irish mules for DH we headed to the cabin to unpack. After all that was squared away we watched the ship traffic on the river and gloried in the fact that we were on a cruise after our January no go. I was stressed something would go wrong until I was actually on the ship.

 Shortly before 5 pm the Carnival Glory loudly made her departure. I know they crank up the music and encourage guests to be loud to make us think they are the party ship. And you know, they are! But I toured the Glory once and no way would I enjoy that ship. Guys Burgers would be the only thing😋

 5 O’clock on the dot they threw off the lines and we were underway. 
 

 

[justhappy]

Anything’s gonna happen, it’s gonna happen out there!

[cruiseny4life]

I'm a day late, but you're still posting, so I'm on time! Have a lovely time! I hope the meander down the river was fun. That's the only reason I want to sail out of New Orleans. The big muddy.

 

It's heartening to see you be on a cruise, enjoying relaxing, and each other's company without having to deal with the stress of every day living. Have a phenomenal time! And thank you for sharing! 

 

I'll be the first with a super annoying question: do you know if an alternate option for lunch was offered on embarkation day? 

First of probably 100 questions for you. I feel so special! 🍻

Edited March 11 by cruiseny4life

[justhappy]

Lots of traffic

[justhappy]

3 minutes ago, cruiseny4life said:

I'm a day late, but you're still posting, so I'm on time! Have a lovely time! I hope the meander down the river was fun. That's the only reason I want to sail out of New Orleans. The big muddy.

 

It's heartening to see you be on a cruise, enjoying relaxing, and each other's company without having to deal with the stress of every day living. Have a phenomenal time! And thank you for sharing! 

 

I'll be the first with a super annoying question: do you know if an alternate option for lunch was offered on embarkation day? 

First of probably 100 questions for you. I feel so special! 🍻

They never offered an alternative, they just announced at around 11:30 that the Haven restaurant was open for lunch.

Thanks for the kind wishes for a great cruise. 
I don’t mind a zillion questions, bring ‘em on!

[justhappy]

Since Daylight saving time started at 2am, we had over 2 hours of daylight to view the scenery before sunset. Our previous cruises were in December and January so it was dark right after leaving port.

We really enjoy the scenery along the way.along the river, even the industrial areas like the refineries.

Years ago someone had posted a guide to what you saw as you head downstream along with a short history. It’s really handy to have if you are history buffs like we are.

Some scenery along the way-

 

Edited March 11 by justhappy

[justhappy]

Pre cruise we had called the shore side concierge to book Ocean Blue for the first night and all they could do was put us on a waitlist. 
When we boarded the ship we happened to be riding up on the elevator with Omar Salgado, the concierge. I mentioned to him that I was on a waitlist and within a few minutes he had us booked at our preferred time. 
  Some of the Haven waitstaff also work Ocean Blue in the evenings so we had the pleasure of having our server Gladys for lunch and for dinner. 
 We were seated next to a sweet family of three on their first cruise who we ended up chatting with as they had lots of questions.

So I forgot to take pics of all the food. 
 We were delighted and surprised that a server we had met on the Encore in 2022 in Ocean Blue was still on the Breakaway, where she was headed after she returned from her vacation.

They had all worked with a crew member we are friends with so we all took a group photo to send to her.

 It was a great meal and such good memories shared.

The only two food pics I took. Clam chowder and cheesecake in a jar.

 

[justhappy]

20 hours ago, we12brich said:

 

Following along! We will be on 3/17 Breakaway and this will be our first time cruising from NOLA and Breakaway. Also looking forward to the Haven area. Is there a separate line in security screening for Haven passengers?

Same security line for everyone, but after that you head to a line just for Haven check in.

[justhappy]

Dinner ended around 9:30 and after deciding we were too tired to do any later entertainment we headed back to our cabin. The skies had cleared enough to see some stars and we had passed most communities long before. DH did wake up around the time we entered the gulf so went out to take a look see.

Somewhere between my Blazing Shrimp app, the clam chowder, the Seafood pasta and the cheesecake, 

my stomach decided it had had enough and at 5am decided to let me know.

 I had lost 50 lbs over the course of last year and what it takes to fill me up is much much less. I will refrain from making that mistake again.

 By the time the sun came up I felt much better and stepped outside to see the last bit of a beautiful sunrise.

[justhappy]

I want to say I was pleased that our butler came by the afternoon on Sunday to introduce herself and asked what she could do for us. 
 She took notes on our requests

of afternoon cookies and/or BLTs, 

ice twice a day, and a bowl of nuts. 
The nuts appeared while we were at dinner as did a bowl of fruit.

 

  The age of the ship with wear and tear is apparent, the coffee table in our stateroom has a warped top and looks sad and tired. Some tiles in the bathroom are unlevel and looked to have attempted to be recaulk to fix.

  The balcony has rust spots and faded paint. Not enough to truly bother me but wondering if it’s delayed maintenance due to belt tightening.

The terrycloth covers the loungers in the Haven sundeck and on our balcony are no longer as well.

 

 

 

[justhappy]