Cruises and your experience

[WeAreUCONN]

Planning my first cruise for the first week in November. 7 day NCL NY to Bermuda on the Breakaway. Anyone been on this cruise before? How was your experience? I’ll be at Universal Orlando the week prior, so I’ll be just looking to relax on the cruise and in Bermuda. Horseshoe Bay beach looks like where I’ll want to be for the entire time the ship is in port, as long as it’s warm enough. I’m not a drinker but an endless supply of rum swizzles seems like a fun time on the ship and off.

 

[uconnfan68]

Only been on 1 cruise before (not NCL), and it was at least 15 years ago, but I don’t remember free drinks except on 1 shore outing. Enjoy!

 

[Minicoop69]

I am going on a Royal Caribbean cruise again this summer. Endless beverages if you pay for them. Need to drink a lot in order to be worth it.

Going on a 7 nighter to st Croix, St Thomas, San Juan, and coco Cay (RC private island). Will be a great time.

Have fun and try to stay relaxed. Do a lot of people watching, that's what I do.

 

[jibsey]

Love cruises. Instead of going to a bunch of places and having to drive around, drag your luggage in and out of different hotels, then have to figure out which restaurants you should go to, just get on a boat, let them drag you around and wine and dine you the whole time.
Relaxing. Check Vacations To Go online in the future for good deals on all of the lines.

 

[husky429]

I have only been on one, courtesy of my in-laws just before Covid. I'm not a big cruise guy usually, but getting shloshed for 4 days straight wasn't a bad time.

People like to make a whole big thing of cruises. Don't overcomplicate it. Get drunk and relax somewhere warm. Everything else is optional.

 

[HooperScooper]

We went on a NCL cruise from NYC to Bermuda a long time ago. I went on another cruise in the Caribbean and I now hate cruises so take my comments with a grain of salt.

November is still hurricane season. We actually hit 25 foot waves on the way the first day and lots of people on the ship were sick that first night. Was not fun.

I think it was 2 days down, 2 days back, and we were in 2 different ports for about 3 days. Think it was Hamilton 2 days and the Naval Dockyard 1 day.

November is not that warm in Bermuda. Probably in the low to mid 70s. Not terrible but not exactly summer weather. September through mid October or Mid-April May through June are warmer. Remember it's not that far south. Probably about as south as South Carolina.

Cruises just aren't my thing because everything is planned for you. I like to go to places to explore, check out different stuff and go to local restaurants. There will be a lot of elderly on the cruise and it's perfect for them because everything is right there and you don't have to make decisions. Your food is on the ship and the transportation is the ship.

We did go to Bermuda another time and flew there and stayed at the Fairmont Southamptom, which is up on a hill above Horseshoe Bay Beach. We explored the island and had a better time than when we went on the cruise.

Sorry to be so negative but I really dislike cruises. Just my opinion but lots of people like them and it's a relatively inexpensive vacation.

 

[WallStreetHusky]

Not a fan. Small quarters shared with 5K other people all on the same ship. Is there a lot of mediocre food and watered down drinks? And crowded, tiny pools? Yes, and I was on one of the nicer cruise lines. I could see doing boutique cruising though......

 

[jibsey]

Not a fan. Small quarters shared with 5K other people all on the same ship. Is there a lot of mediocre food and watered down drinks? And crowded, tiny pools? Yes, and I was on one of the nicer cruise lines. I could see doing boutique cruising though......

Try Oceania, the food is beyond belief.

 

[Palatine]

I assume you are going on a big Carnival or Celebrity Cruise ship. You will figure out quickly whether you like cruising or not. We didn't enjoy being on a big ship thousands of people. There is a lot to do but there isn't much privacy. And on most big cruises you have to ferry on tenders to the shore. That means waiting in line for your turn to be ferried in or out.

However, we did cruise on a 24 cabin ship when we went to the Greek Islands. We liked that a lot. And the small ship could dock at the small piers in places like Patmos and Samos, etc. So it was like a portable small hotel.

 

[NC_Uconn_Fan]

I've been on 3 cruises ranging from 5 to 7 days. Absolute hell, do not recommend. Find an all inclusive island resort, much better in my opinion.

 

[WeAreUCONN]

I assume you are going on a big Carnival or Celebrity Cruise ship. You will figure out quickly whether you like cruising or not. We didn't enjoy being on a big ship thousands of people. There is a lot to do but there isn't much privacy. And on most big cruises you have to ferry on tenders to the shore. That means waiting in line for your turn to be ferried in or out.

However, we did cruise on a 24 cabin ship when we went to the Greek Islands. We liked that a lot. And the small ship could dock at the small piers in places like Patmos and Samos, etc. So it was like a portable small hotel.

I’ll be on the Norwegian Breakaway, it holds around 4,000 vacationers. My original plan was to get a club level balcony room because it’ll be myself, my daughter, and her bf, but after further thought. I’m going with the solo studio room for myself which includes the solo club lounge which is only for the other solo studio rooms and I’ll get my daughter and her bf their own room, which is roughly the same price as the balcony room would have been.

 

[WeAreUCONN]

I've been on 3 cruises ranging from 5 to 7 days. Absolute hell, do not recommend. Find an all inclusive island resort, much better in my opinion.

I’m doing this cruise more for my daughter. This is the vacation she wanted to do this year. The price is reasonable so we shall see how it goes. I’ll be in universal the week prior so I know I’ll enjoy that so I just want to relax on this cruise. I’ll buy a pass for the vibe beach club if it’s too crowded everywhere else on the ship.

 

[WeAreUCONN]

I've been on 3 cruises ranging from 5 to 7 days. Absolute hell, do not recommend. Find an all inclusive island resort, much better in my opinion.

I would tend to agree with you but it’s going to be 3 of us for the week and the price was 3500$ for all of us with the free drink package included. That’s a good deal for a full week’s vacation. Universal is costing me like three times the price of this cruise but i absolutely love Universal Studios especially during Halloween Horror Nights.

 

[Hey Adrien!]

I've been on 3 cruises ranging from 5 to 7 days. Absolute hell, do not recommend. Find an all inclusive island resort, much better in my opinion.

Yeah, an ocean liner cruise is high up there on my list of “would never want to do that.”

However, I’d be game for a river cruise.

 

[The Yakk]

Planning my first cruise for the first week in November. 7 day NCL NY to Bermuda on the Breakaway. Anyone been on this cruise before? How was your experience? I’ll be at Universal Orlando the week prior, so I’ll be just looking to relax on the cruise and in Bermuda. Horseshoe Bay beach looks like where I’ll want to be for the entire time the ship is in port, as long as it’s warm enough. I’m not a drinker but an endless supply of rum swizzles seems like a fun time on the ship and off.

I live in Bermuda.

Horseshoe Beach is awesome, but it is 50/50 that you will have good beach weather in November.

Other options:

Rent a side-by-side electric car and tour the island.

Round of golf at Port Royal--public course, hosts a PGA tourney.

Bermuda aquarium.

Waverunner tour of the Great Sound and shoreline, including a cool wreck. Or you can rent a pontoon boat. The water is always warm even if not beach weather.

Maritime museum right at the dock yard.

There is a semi-private poker club, if that's your thing. I can get you a game there.

I get lots of visitors through the year and we do all this stuff.

Edit: some good restaurants in Hamilton--

Ruby Murry's for curries.

Pearl for sushi.

Little Venice for Italian.

Bolero for upscale/modern/eclectic

Port o' Call or Harbourfront for fresh local seafood.

 

[CL82]

My experience with Cruise? I found his lack of stature a little distracting in the Reacher movies, but otherwise he's fine.

 

[Madmannsucks]

Went on one cruise. LRBC(Blues Cruise)Headliner Tederucks. Many many others. Time of my life. You get to hang out with mingle with the performers for the week. Lil Ed of the Blues Imperials can hang with the best of them. All night jams on the main deck. Great food served 23 hours a day. I purchased the drink package. There are no discount options for this particular cruise. Best vacation ever.

 

[WeAreUCONN]

I live in Bermuda.

Horseshoe Beach is awesome, but it is 50/50 that you will have good beach weather in November.

Other options:

Rent a side-by-side electric car and tour the island.

Round of golf at Port Royal--public course, hosts a PGA tourney.

Bermuda aquarium.

Waverunner tour of the Great Sound and shoreline, including a cool wreck. Or you can rent a pontoon boat. The water is always warm even if not beach weather.

Maritime museum right at the dock yard.

There is a semi-private poker club, if that's your thing. I can get you a game there.

I get lots of visitors through the year and we do all this stuff.

Edit: some good restaurants in Hamilton--

Ruby Murry's for curries.

Pearl for sushi.

Little Venice for Italian.

Bolero for upscale/modern/eclectic

Port o' Call or Harbourfront for fresh local seafood.

Thank you for the suggestions. I’ve been watching YouTube videos about the Breakaway and potential activities in Bermuda. I’ll be with my daughter and her boyfriend so Dolphin quest and the aquarium are possibilities. Going to Hamilton for the street show thing which I think is every Wednesday would be cool. Potentially exploring the different beaches like Horseshoe and Seaglass are on the list. Bermuda is safe for first time tourists? Anything I should avoid?

 

[Rondogg]

I didn't like it. Food was plentiful but not great. Get off on an island and face 200 people wanting you to buy their trinkets. On the boat the rooms were tiny and too many people. Never again, for me.

 

[WeAreUCONN]

I didn't like it. Food was plentiful but not great. Get off on an island and face 200 people wanting you to buy their trinkets. On the boat the rooms were tiny and too many people. Never again, for me.

Original plan was a 4 day trip to NY City but the Mets probably won’t be good this year and the city itself doesn’t seem very safe. Used the budget for that trip and found this 7 day cruise instead. Might be my first and last cruise but should be a unique experience one way or the other.

 

[Madmannsucks]

Didn’t mind the 185 square foot room as I only used it to sleep and shower.

 

[WeAreUCONN]

Didn’t mind the 185 square foot room as I only used it to sleep and shower.

The solo studio is only 100 square feet but there’s a separate two level solo lounge near the solo rooms for just the solo passengers on that level. Lounge actually looks quite nice.

 

[SubbaBub]

Planning my first cruise for the first week in November. 7 day NCL NY to Bermuda on the Breakaway. Anyone been on this cruise before? How was your experience? I’ll be at Universal Orlando the week prior, so I’ll be just looking to relax on the cruise and in Bermuda. Horseshoe Bay beach looks like where I’ll want to be for the entire time the ship is in port, as long as it’s warm enough. I’m not a drinker but an endless supply of rum swizzles seems like a fun time on the ship and off.

I've done this ship and this itinerary. The Breakaway is a good ship with plenty of space. Nov is a bit cold for Bermuda. It is an easy trip from NY but I wouldn't recommend it as your first cruise unless flying is a complete no go. If you are looking for beaches, I usually tell people to take one out of San Juan for their first trip, though FL has plenty of options. Yakk's recommendations for Bermuda are good and Horseshoe is the top beach on the Island though there are others just as nice. You will need taxi to get anywhere decent unless you take the ferry to Hamilton.

Depending how old your daughter is, certain islands might be better than others in terms of activities.

 

[WeAreUCONN]

I've done this ship and this itinerary. The Breakaway is a good ship with plenty of space. Nov is a bit cold for Bermuda. It is an easy trip from NY but I wouldn't recommend it as your first cruise unless flying is a complete no go. If you are looking for beaches, I usually tell people to take one out of San Juan for their first trip, though FL has plenty of options. Yakk's recommendations for Bermuda are good and Horseshoe is the top beach on the Island though there are others just as nice. You will need taxi to get anywhere decent unless you take the ferry to Hamilton.

Depending how old your daughter is, certain islands might be better than others in terms of activities.

Not recommended as my first cruise because of rough seas?

 

[Waquoit]

I didn't like it. Food was plentiful but not great. Get off on an island and face 200 people wanting you to buy their trinkets. On the boat the rooms were tiny and too many people. Never again, for me.

I didn't like my one cruise either. There wasn't all that much to do that didn't cost extra. Eat good food - extra. Drink booze - extra. A few shows were free. Tried to hang by the pool once; it was madness.