My View: Our End-of-Summer Breakaway

[APDMOM]

Freestyle Daily - Day 4 - St. Thomas

 

 

 

 

 

[girltrader]

Thank you for sharing all the tips and thoughts.  We certainly appreciate it.  I am wondering if you were able to see the production show Burn the Floor in the Theatre?  I may have missed that post.

Also, I see you docked in Taino Bay, but I thought that NCL docks at Amber Cove.  Do you know if they now regularly dock in Taino Bay?

Many thanks!!  May the journey continue...

[APDMOM]

20 minutes ago, girltrader said:

Thank you for sharing all the tips and thoughts.  We certainly appreciate it.  I am wondering if you were able to see the production show Burn the Floor in the Theatre?  I may have missed that post.

Also, I see you docked in Taino Bay, but I thought that NCL docks at Amber Cove.  Do you know if they now regularly dock in Taino Bay?

Many thanks!!  May the journey continue...

Yes, we saw Burn the Floor on day 5 or 6, so that is coming up soon.

 

Amber Cove is mostly for Carnival ships, so NCL docks at Taino Bay most of the time. There are occasional exceptions.  You can see the official Amber Cove calendar here - no NCL ships scheduled for the two months I checked:

 

https://ambercove.com/Port-Schedule.aspx

[girltrader]

Thank you so much!!  So, Taino Bay here we come.

 

 

[SenatorsFan]

Jade docked at Taino Bay in April.

[APDMOM]

My View: Day 5 - Tortola

[APDMOM]

Breakfast in Taste/Savor

 

TIP:  We found the waffles and croissants were much more fresh-tasting in the MDR than in the buffet. 

 

Since we had a very early arrival in Tortola, the buffet was expected to be extra busy.  So, we opted for Taste/Savor again.  Even these venues were busier than normal, but we were still seated quickly and served with professional efficiency.

 

Waffles with caramelized banana (DS) - Excellent

 

Spinach and mushroom omelet (DH) - Very good

 

Ham and Cheese omelet: Very Good

[APDMOM]

TIP: We have found Norwegian’s excursion pricing is the best of our recent cruises (including Carnival, which had the most expensive excursions, and Royal Caribbean, which was cheaper than Carnival for excursions, but quite a bit more expensive than NCL).  So, if you cruise different cruise lines, NCL is a good option for excursions.

 

With that said, we already toured Tortola on a previous cruise and decided just to walk around in the port area for the morning - mainly in search of ‘thank you’ cards.  I had to settle for postcards, as that is all we could find in the few shops in port.

 

Just a fewViews of the Port Area:

 

 

 

[APDMOM]

Morning Views of Tortola from the Ship:

 

 

[APDMOM]

Becoming creatures of habit… lunch in Taste/Savor 😁

 

I forgot to take some pictures of the main course items…

 

 

 

Shrimp Fritters - Excellent!

 

Asian Meatball Slider (DS) - Excellent

 

Turkey Burger - Very good - the Cranberry Mayonnaise with it was excellent!

 

BLT Sandwich (DS) - Very good

 

Chicken Parmesan (DH) - Excellent

 

Peanut butter cup cheesecake (DS) Excellent

 

Mocha Pot de Crême - Good

 

[APDMOM]

Sail Away Views of Beautiful Tortola:

 

 

 

 

 

 

[APDMOM]

TIP: For a different viewpoint of the churning water during sail away, find this glass walkway, aft on deck 8:

[APDMOM]

Pre-Dinner Fun - The Martini Flight

 

TIP:  If you don’t have the drinks package, this is a fun way to try new martinis.  I ended up only liking 2 of them, but it was a fun experience:

 

 

Forgot to take a picture of the cosmo on its own, but it is the drink on the far right, off the tray.

 

 

 

 

[APDMOM]

Dinner in the Buffet:

Since we had reservations for the early show of “Burn the Floor”, we opted to have dinner in the buffet.  They had 3 kinds of really good pot pie!

 

 

Those Crêpes - so delicious!

 

I cut mine open just to show the oozing goodness!

[APDMOM]

MDR menu for any one interested:

 

 

A bit of Matthew before the show:  The Video does not do his music justice…

 

 

[APDMOM]

Burn the Floor:

Unfortunately, they did not allow any photography during this show.  Lately, most cruise lines allow at least regular photography, sometimes even video.  They only ban flash photography.

 

So, no pictures… However, the show was spectacular.  I can’t think of anything about it that I did not like.  The choreography show-cased the talents of the dancers and the music was excellent. 

 

Different lighting today - all clear:

[APDMOM]

TIP: Keep an eye out for tender reservations.  We were able to make reservations on the public screens and in the app on the morning of day 5.  Unfortunately, there was a glitch in the system, and our reservations placed us on 2 different tenders…

 

HOWEVER, I had not realized that we did not need a tender reservation, as they have different directions for Latitudes Gold and up. You do not need a reservation if you have ‘priority tendering’ as latitudes benefit.

 

[APDMOM]

My View: End of day 5 - Tortola

Nothing like that aft view!  

 

TIP:  In the Garden Café, go all the way to the back - the aft seating was often empty because most people just grab the first table they can get.  Aft views are the best!

 

[APDMOM]

Freestyle Daily: Day 5 - Tortola

 

 

 

 

 

[AKR2011]

What a great review! Thank you so much for sharing your experience with us. I'm looking forward to The Breakaway next year. Reviews as of late have not been very favorable, so you give me hope. Bummer about Howl at the Moon, though. That was my favorite on The Escape years ago. Thank you again for your helpful review ❤️⚓️

[poohdreaming]

Following. Thanks for sharing.

[Tyskie]

Glad you made it to Tortola - it has been consistently canceled recently!

Our favorite tour by NCL is to White Bay - BVI

 

 

[APDMOM]

Sorry to pause for a couple of days!

 

I will need to continue Friday night.  I have a big presentation on Friday, so I have to put my cruise fun on hold.  These day jobs… 😬 Must work hard to cruise 😅

[SenatorsFan]

1 hour ago, APDMOM said:

Sorry to pause for a couple of days!

 

I will need to continue Friday night.  I have a big presentation on Friday, so I have to put my cruise fun on hold.  These day jobs… 😬 Must work hard to cruise 😅

Good luck with the presentation! Come back whenever you're ready. 😊

[spethstation]

On 8/6/2024 at 6:34 PM, APDMOM said:

TIP:  If you don’t have the drinks package, this is a fun way to try new martinis.  I ended up only liking 2 of them, but it was a fun experience

 

I'm definitely trying this on my next cruise!