Planning for the Norwegian Breakaway cruise was a slow process. The problem was that there was very little information out there about this ship. Most of my planning was done from rumors, speculation and information about the Epic, since the ships seemed to share some similarities. Norwegian Cruise line did have some information about specialty dining venues and other things, but overall it was not enough to go on for my usual obsessive planning. Without any Dailies there were little activities that I could actually plan for, so we just had to wing it.
Norwegian Breakaway Specialty Restaurants
This Dining guide can be found on the NCL website, and it offers pretty much all of the information that you need to create a dining budget. With this in hand, I had a pretty clear idea about what we wanted to try during our cruise. Please note Blue increased to $49pp (more on this later).
Norwegian Breakaway Wine packages
NCL offers a wine package that can get you considerable savings (up to 25%). Here is the information I found on the forum prior to our sailing, the Fleet Wide Wine List. I find some wines to be reasonably priced on NCL ships.
Norwegian Breakaway Liquor/ Drink packages
Please don’t bash me for this, but unfortunately the liquor situation was one big flaw that I saw in NCL Sky. During our cruise on the Sky, we ordered several drinks from a variety of bartenders, but unfortunately only one bartender (MDR) made the drinks with an adequate amount of liquor. Unfortunately, most drinks were watered down and weak. Even my mom said that her Pina Colada tasted like a virgin. I am not sure why, but my guess is that it stems from their training about saving money.
Fortunately for those with a thirsty palate, NCL deployed a new all you can drink alcohol package. It seems that most mainstream lines are implementing these kind of packages. The NCL one requires everyone in the cabin to get the package, and the cost is $56 + 15% for gratuities, or $46 for the basic one. Although an option for some, this was not ideal for us, as it was simply too expensive to purchase for the both of us.
Another option they offer is the Stateroom Bar Setup. This was a much better option for us, as I can control how much liquor to add to each drink. The bar setup has to be ordered at least one week prior to sailing (although some people claim they were able to order up to the day before). Once onboard, you will not be able to purchase it. You have to call the main reservations line to place your order (1-800-327-7030). If you bought your cruise from a TA and they are having trouble placing the order, just tell them to process it as a gift from someone else.
Here is the list of current liquor bottle prices. (Plus $3 service fee per bottle)
Norwegian Breakaway Wifi Internet
When we sail, my mom needs to stay in contact with my grandmother and family in Colombia. So for this sailing we opted to go by the minute and buy the internet package in Bermuda for $15 for 3 days, I will get into that later. The internet was to be used solely for my mom to communicate with family. Okay I lied, I did sneak a peek on Facebook here and there =). For email access on my mac I use Sparrow, it is the simplest and fastest email client I have tried and is perfect for cruising.
Internet plans:
Pay as you go: $0.75 per minute
250 minutes for $100 ($0.40 per minute)
100 minutes for $55 ($0.55 per minute)
I noticed these 2 more plans were added on the last day.
15 minutes for $8.25
30 minutes for $12.00
*One time activation fee of $3.95 for all plans.
Norwegian Breakaway Spa and Vibe Club
On this cruise, we were interested in purchasing a few day passes or a week pass for the steam room and spa pools. Unfortunately I thought the cost was going to be the same as Epic, with the price increase we decided not to do it. Cost for the Spa is $49 per person, per day (only Port days) , or $200 per person for the weekly pass.
We were also interested in buying a day pass or week pass for the Vibe Club. The only real reason why we considered it was for the access to two additional hot tubs.
Here is the cost for Vibe:
Day access passes will be $20 per person
Week access passes will be $79 per person
Full Sea Day Cabana Rentals – $99 for two guests
(includes day pass and $30 food and beverage credit to be used in Vibe)
Full Port Day Cabana Rental – $79 for two guests
(includes day pass and $30 food and beverage credit to be used in Vibe)
Full Cruise Cabana Rental – $299 for two guests
(includes week pass and $100 food and beverage credit to be used in Vibe)
Norwegian Breakaway Other Costs
* We also had to account for the $20 per person to go to the ice bar, since we were interested in visiting it.
* My mom usually gets the soda package (@$6.25 per day) as she likes to have several sips of fresh bubbly Coke throughout the day. The problem with NCL is that they don’t offer Coke products, so in the end she decided not to get the package.
* And of course, gratuities, which are $12 per person, per day. I usually end up giving extra on the side.
Norwegian Breakaway Trip Insurance
As suggested by many fellow CC members, I went to Insure My Trip and shopped around for travel insurance.
Norwegian Breakaway Coupon Book
Here is the 2013 Coupon Book. From what I learned from other CC members, the 2012 book was better than the 2013 one. It seems to me that the coupons are mainly to get you to spend extra money on things that wouldn’t normally do otherwise. I wish they had at least one coupon for a specialty restaurant deal; I was looking forward for one of those.
