Norwegian Breakaway cruising out of Manhattan under the Verrazano Bridge. (Photo credit: pinimg)

Many of you know that I have been a long time cruiser of Royal Caribbean, but after so many clients have sailed and loved Norwegian, I knew it was time to give it a try!  I loved trying a new cruise line and realized there really is no wrong way to cruise:

• I Felt Free.  Norwegian introduced the concept of freestyle cruising awhile back and I have to say this overscheduled-by-the-itinerary girl was skeptical.  However, after not racing to to sit down dinners at the same time every night, I was a fan.  We were able to eat at any of the 20 restaurants (many of them included) at a moment’s notice with little or no wait!  We also could choose the shows we wanted to view beforehand to better plan our days.
• Modern Entertainment.  I can’t say why the entertainment felt different from other cruise ships, but it seemed to read a bit more authentic.  From the comedian/musician without the big props to the dueling pianos, this felt refreshing to have something built more from the ground up.  My favorite was the crew talent show, complete with cruise director belting out an impressive rendition of Andrea Bocelli’s “Time to Say Goodbye”.
• Yes That’s Included.  Norwegian has recently promoted the “Free at Sea” package to many bookings.  This package let’s you choose up to 5 free inclusions.  Our package included all 5: Free 3rd & 4th passenger, free internet, free beverage package, free shore excursions, and free specialty dining.  I have to say this felt like we had won the jackpot.  Every time we turned around, there was something else included!

Ok that’s out of way now, so let’s go sailing!

Day 1 – New York.  As a travel agent, I am constantly looking for new experiences to share with my clients.   This trip provided me several new experiences: a new ship, a new cruise line, and a new port.  As a travel agent, I’m embarrassed to say that I hadn’t been to New York!  We were able to spend a few days before the cruise to explore New York before even beginning our cruise adventure!  We stayed right in Times Square which was central to New York and near the cruise terminal!

Central Park

Had to catch my favorite Oz musical

Check in turned out to be a breeze even though we arrived late.  A quick line through security and we were on our way.  One of perks of sailing out of New York is that you get to cruise right past the Statue of Liberty.

There she is! Up close and personal…

Lunch was served in the buffet area and then our cabins were ready shortly thereafter. This time, my family of four shared a balcony cabin.  Often we opt for adjoining cabins but instead chose this cozy option.  Here is what it looked like during the day.

Our balcony cabin for 4

Next up, the not so fun, but very important muster drill.  Then, our luggage arrived well before dinner so we were able to change and head to Taste, one of the complimentary dining rooms.  We walked right up without a wait, while we noticed the comparable Manhattan dining room had a huge wait!  A Welcome Aboard show was our entertainment for the evening with a sample of all the shows to come!   By the time we got back, the room was made up for nighttime!  The kids loved the bunks!

Night setup for 4 in a balcony cabin

Day 2 – At Sea.  It was perfect to have a sea day for exploring the ship the very first day.  I just wish it had been a bit warmer!  I forgot that if you are leaving New York in the middle of winter, you will have a day of colder weather before you make your way to the Bahamas.  It actually ended up being the perfect day to explore the restaurants and activities!

Relaxing sea day

One of our favorite activities was called “Escape from the Big Top”.  This was an escape room type activity that was included in the cruise.  You just had to make sure you signed up for it on the first day!  We were paired with two other families and given clues to solve the mystery!  It was incredibly hard and we didn’t solve it, but we made friends and it was so fun for all ages!  For dinner this night, we had chosen a specialty dining restaurant with a set dinner menu and Cirque du Soleil type show called Cirque Dreams and Dinner.  This is where the freestyle dining really starts to show its strengths!

Cirque pre-show dinner character

Day 3 – Port Canaveral.  Ok I know this isn’t the destination port everyone’s dreaming of, but we had so much fun.  We had planned to rent a car (shuttles at the port to take you to a rental car company) and then drive to Cocoa Beach to meet our family, then head to Kennedy Space Center.  As it turned out, we were having too much fun at Cocoa Beach and just ended up staying there.  We boogie boarded the waves and visited the famous Ron Jon Surf Shop.

Cocoa Beach

For dinner, we decided to try the complimentary Shanghai’s Noodle bar restaurant.  It was so fun – they just kept bringing you noodles!

Day 4 – Great Stirrup Cay Nassau Bahamas.  Well the best laid plans…We were supposed to be visiting the Norwegian Cruise private island in the Bahamas, but I knew even before the captain made the announcement that we would miss the port.  I awoke at 2:00 am to a rocking ship and knew we had sideswiped a Nor’easter and wouldn’t be able to dock.  However, we made lemonade out of those lemons because the captain announced we would instead head straight to Nassau, Bahamas where we would have two days and an overnight!  What did this crazy travel agent do: called up Atlantis Paradise Island Resort and asked if they had any rooms for the night!  They said come on down and we packed a bag and stayed a night off the ship!  It was so fun to have two days to enjoy Atlantis!  The first night we enjoyed the beach, pool, and aquariums.

Atlantis Resort Beach in the Bahamas

Beach Tower, Atlantis Resort

Aquarium at the Atlantis Resort

Aquarium at the Atlantis Resort “Dig”

Day 5 – Nassau, Bahamas.  Upon awaking at the Atlantis Resort, we quickly dressed and ate and headed straight to the heart of Atlantis, the Aquaventure Water Park.  Tickets to this are complimentary with your nightly stay and it ended up being cheaper for us as a family to buy a room for a night rather than day tickets to Aquaventure.  This was an incredible water park with rides like we have never seen before.  My favorite was the family tube ride, the Serpent, where you plummeted down a fast slide before floating through…wait for it… a tunnel through a shark tank!

Leap of Faith slide into shark tank (photo credit: Flickr)

We were back onboard the ship by 3:00 PM and ready to resume our cruising lifestyle.  We had reservations for another Specialty dinner this night, the Brazilian Churrascaria Steakhouse dinner.  This freestyle dining thing is really starting to win me over by this point.  Afterwards, we scored seats to the show, “Rock of Ages”.  It was well done and although not entirely age appropriate for the kids, I suspect much of it went over their heads.

Day 6 – At Sea.  Now this ended up being a nice warm day at sea and the perfect day to try out the water slides, bungee jumping, and ropes course.  There was even a place to perch yourself out over the water – NO THANKS!

Waterslides onboard Norwegian Breakaway

Ropes course onboard Norwegian Breakaway

For the truly crazy, you can walk out over the sea

Bungee jumping onboard!

Dinner for this night was just eating a casual buffet as we didn’t feel like a big sit down dinner.  Is it possible we were finally sick of eating?  Nah.  The nightly show was “Burn the Floor”, a high energy dance show which turned out to be my personal favorite.

Day 7 – At Sea.  It’s the final day of the cruise and we are at sea for the second day in a row.  This day we really got into the true spirit of laziness.  We slept in and just wandered the ship taking dance lessons, towel making lessons, and trying out the restaurants we had missed.  Our final dinner was spent at yet another Specialty restaurant, the Teppanyaki dinner.  It was honestly some of the best I’ve had!!!

Teppanyaki at sea!

The next morning, we found ourselves back in New York, but I was able to arrange a quick tour of the Haven before disembarking, the suites only section of the ship with its own private pool and dining room!  WOW.  Now that is the way to vacation!

I really felt Norwegian had pioneered a lot of new concepts in dining and entertainment and I felt this is where they really shined.  I can’t wait to sail with them again!

I would love to help you plan a Norwegian cruise! I don’t charge a fee and I can help you find the best cruise for you!