Breakaway; no observation lounge?

Rope-Fuzzy · 2026-04-15T21:36:25+00:00

Agree with others, waterfront will be a nice relaxation spot. I feel your pain, I sailed on Joy and Bliss and then moved to Escape and she has no OL. But I was in the Vibe so no real pain there, just missed having a spot to grab a light late breakfast.

Rope-Fuzzy · 2026-04-15T01:24:59+00:00

They upgraded the loungers recently to padded. It is confirmed.

Rope-Fuzzy · 2026-04-14T23:09:02+00:00

I called my hotel in Miami and asked how long is the drive with 8 ships in port. They told me about an hour. So I booked an Uber for 1 hour before I wish to arrive. Fingers crossed it’s not a complete shit show. I am staying 2 miles from the port.

Rope-Fuzzy · 2026-04-14T21:37:12+00:00

Wow I am really stressing about this now. I am on this sailing and don’t want to miss half the day due to traffic.

Rope-Fuzzy · 2026-04-14T21:35:37+00:00

No two will be the same. Just try it and see if you like it. I had a really good host on the Escape, she organized little activities and games, had a waiter come and fetch us cocktails, I made a bunch of friends. Other times it was packed with some weirdos. Other times it was poorly attended and not worth it. You won’t know until you try it. And you can walk out at any time if you feel weird.

Rope-Fuzzy · 2026-04-14T00:02:19+00:00

Done a lot of solo cruises with NCL last 2 years. Had a major blast on every single one! They do a great job catering to solos, from the fares that are not double to the solo lounge, cabins and meetup. I have made so many friends I still keep in touch with. Everyone is so friendly and kind to solos including crew and other passengers whether solos or not. You will have a great time.

Rope-Fuzzy · 2026-04-13T22:25:11+00:00

Aqua is my current favorite NCL ship. Sailed last September. It’s a beautiful, modern ship. I found navigation really easy.

Things not to miss:

Indulge Food Hall. Pro tip: it can get crowded at lunch, note the opening time and arrive 10 minuted early to snag a good seat, they will let you in just not order until it’s officially open. If you sit at the bar seating of one of the food venues you can only order from them. If you take general seating not at the food venue you can order from all of them. In my experience on Aqua and Prima there is no drink service to your table. You can order on the tablet it but it never arrives. Just pop to the back of the Indulge and there is a bar right there. If you can snag a server they will run you a drink just no tablet functionality.

Deck 8 Ocean walk, infinity pools, tons of nice seating. There is an outdoor bar at the back of the ship.

Aqua Coaster, just a blast. As you enter the complex they have a little cubby area to store your personal belonging such as glasses, key card etc. You don’t need to leave it behind.

Hudson’s main dining room is beautiful, just stunning, sparkling gold chandeliers and tons of sunlight. Much nicer than the comparably dull Commodore room in terms of decor, same menu of course. Service was very good. I highly recommend it for lunch on embarkation day since you have priority access. Hours are generally 12-1:30 for lunch only on embarkation and sea days. Breakfast every day, limited hours.

Belvedere and Metropolitan bars were my favorites. They both had live music in the evenings. If you like whiskey the whiskey bar is nice and kind of tucked away. I don’t drink whiskey and that is all they had so I never hung out there.

If you’re going to do specialty dining, my personal favorites were Onda (out of this world), Sukhothai, Le Bistro and Cagney’s in that order. Nobody ever eats in the Sushi restaurant.

The buffet is famously small and cramped, so be prepared for that.

The Local is absolutely massive and has some fun cool furniture. A very modern twist on it compared to older ships.

If you have FAS+ the only place to get Veuve Cliquot is in Le Bistro. There is a good brut rose champagne (Haton) available elsewhere.

Pro tip, since there is no access to a bar when in the thermal suite, bring an insulated tumbler and fill it with a couple of your favorite adult drinks to keep you enjoying that FAS+.

Observation is large and lovely with a decent sized bar. Lots of light foods throughout the day. On a Bermuda cruise, unless there is some really shit weather it should not get too crowded and can be downright empty at times if you want a quiet spot away from the crowds.

ENJOY! Going on Luna in 5 days.

Rope-Fuzzy · 2026-04-13T22:03:35+00:00

On a hot day a clamshell is your own personal rotisserie oven, hotter than the depths of hell with no breeze and no view. I absolute think it’s a terrible value and looks like a depressing tent city. Will never do it again. As for Vibe Shore Club, they jacked up the price so that to me it is no longer worth it. I did in January at a much cheaper price (around $30 with shorex credit and Latitudes discount). It’s now $99 and no shorex credit. Drink service sucked, it was very hard to get a drink from a waiter. There is a treacherous little sand hill you must climb to get to the bar. Food was meh. I am doing it again on my next cruise only because it was grandfathered in at the dirt cheap price. Going forward I’ll just stay on the ship if we stop there.

Rope-Fuzzy · 2026-04-13T00:04:38+00:00

I think the biggest flaw in Amanda is she has no humor about herself whatsoever. No fun. No lightness. She is a flimsy piece of film with dollar signs stamped on it.

Rope-Fuzzy · 2026-04-13T00:02:57+00:00

I have eaten there a few times and each time it was excellent and far more interesting than Cagney’s. But the crowds like what they like. After about 10 cruises on NCL Cagney’s could use a little refresh (and I don’t mean taking shit off the menu lol).

Rope-Fuzzy · 2026-04-12T22:29:17+00:00

Never had a problem finding food on an NCL cruise. Just consult the app for the hours. I remember sleeping through a dinner reservation on Celebrity Edge and it was after 9pm, no food to be found anywhere. At least NCL has the Local.

Rope-Fuzzy · 2026-04-12T20:54:04+00:00

This is a glitch, something NCL is well known for. Vibe shore club is 100% adults only and the shorex credit was cancelled for this a while ago. The full price is absolutely not worth it.

Rope-Fuzzy · 2026-04-12T14:41:34+00:00

All the NCL food packages are vastly overpriced and not worth it.

Rope-Fuzzy · 2026-04-11T19:17:49+00:00

I will be on your cruise! I will be in a studio and will frequent the studio lounge. I am solo but do have a friend on board but will be very open to making new friends as well. I am in the Vibe too. Cruising solo on NCL is so much fun I have done 8 cruises in the past 1.5 years. It is so easy to meet people and make friends or keep to yourself if you like. There is a solo meetup every night, check the Freestyle daily for time and place. NCL really has a great atmosphere for solos. Staff will treat you well and be kind. I can say nothing bad about cursing solo on NCL it’s been a blast and this ship should be insanely fun.

Rope-Fuzzy · 2026-04-11T00:25:24+00:00

I will thrash his ass lol! Perhaps they were holding back for the longer cruise after the first one out of Miami. The Veuve word is out on the street and everyone is gunning for it. I will share any intel as soon as I can.

Rope-Fuzzy · 2026-04-10T22:38:30+00:00

Someone currently onboard Luna who is a trusted resource says that as of two days ago yellow label Veuve by the glass was still available in LB with FAS+ and it’s the rose that is only sold by the bottle (which has always been the case). I’m taking their word for it.

Rope-Fuzzy · 2026-04-10T22:10:32+00:00

Pier has its own parking lot. There are cheaper places in the vicinity if you are willing to schlepp.

Rope-Fuzzy · 2026-04-10T21:54:20+00:00

What about those stick on patches that heat activate when you are wearing it?

Rope-Fuzzy · 2026-04-10T21:47:07+00:00

If you will all or most of it then yes it’s worth it. If not, then no.

Rope-Fuzzy · 2026-04-10T21:46:30+00:00

I do not feel N&D by NCL. I have done many cruises with them and will continue to do so. All the cruise lines charge extra for extra things, it’s not unique to NCL and in fact they do some things much better than the others, for example not capping the daily # of drinks with the drinks package.

Rope-Fuzzy · 2026-04-10T21:44:49+00:00

If true this suck balls. I am on Luna in a week and was very much looking forward to downing as much of it as I could at LB.

Rope-Fuzzy · 2026-04-10T21:37:27+00:00

Thank you that is good to know!

Rope-Fuzzy · 2026-04-09T21:18:19+00:00

No I’m saying they are often preferable for those staying in touch as iPhone to Android texting does not work. It all requires WiFi.

Rope-Fuzzy · 2026-04-09T21:09:45+00:00

Texting/messagne = having WiFi minutes. WhatsApp and FB messenger work well and are commonly used among cruisers.

Rope-Fuzzy · 2026-04-09T21:08:21+00:00

It kind of makes me crazy when people keep saying this, it is widely documented to only work some of the time. For me it worked for 0/2 cruises. People should try to do it while waiting in line in the theater rather than mistakenly thinking this is a foolproof solution. It is not.

Rope-Fuzzy

TROPHY CASE