Norwegian Breakaway Rocks New York City

Okay, sorry I haven't been posting every day, but, frankly I've been having too much fun.

So, we flew in on  the Virgin America redeye, got to New Jersey at 8 a.m.  My friend Pat and her hubby picked us up and we got to to the city by 9.  We were on the ship at 10.

First impression:  the balcony cabins are very nice, but the balcony is a bit on the small side.  Not unusably so, but two people on the balcony does require a little moving about of chairs and table.  The room itself is nicely beige and boutique-hotel looking.  Bathroom is awesome.  Personally, I never had a problem with the funky EPIC bathrooms, but a lot of people did, and the Breakaway bathrooms are back to a standard configuration, pretty big and with a huge shower.  Room for two, if you're good friends.  At least that's what I heard.

The rest of the ship was, frankly, FABULOUS!  All the decor and furnishings are light and elegant.  And the Waterfront is, to quote a friend a "f***ing Game Changer".  Really, the biggest complaint on Norwegians last ship, the EPIC was that it feels disconnected from the sea.  You can't get more connected than the Breakaway.  Four of the alternative dining venues have, quite literally, ocean front seating.  Also Fat Cats Blues Club has an outdoor section with speakers and TV.s, so you can slip outside, watch the ocean, and still hear Slam Allen wailing the blues.  There is also a wide promenade the whole length of the Waterfront, outside the seating areas, for just strolling.  It feels like Ports O' Call in LA or Shoreline Village in Long Beach.  And very "connected" to the sea.  The only thing missing is the sound of sailboat rigging in the breeze.

So, anyway, back to my story:  We got settled in to the cabin, did the muster drill, and headed to Fat Cats to watch the Sailaway.  Nothing better than a sailaway down the Hudson.  The Palisades on one side, Lower Manhattan on the other.  And the Freedom Tower now dominating the skyline.  Awesome.  Then Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty.  The Staten Island Ferry following along for a while.  The Verazzano Narrows Bridge. Very Americana.

After sailaway we bopped around, just checking everything out til dinner time.  The Speciality restaurants were pretty much impossible to get into, so we decided to dine at Savor, Norwegian's newest Main Dining Room.  Good call!  The Surf and Turf was excellent, with a goodish sized lobster tail and a nice tender piece of sirloin.  Started with something that, honestly, I am too frazzled to remember right now.  It'll come to me, but, what I do remember is that it was all excellent.  And with all my fellow TA's mobbing the alternative dining rooms the service was superb.  I figured I'd let the poor schmoes that had to get off the ship Sunday have their premium dining experiences, and wait til this week to try them myself.  I have reservations this week for Ocean Blue, Cagney's and La Cucina, so I'll be reviewing all of them in the next few days.

After dinner we went to see Rock of Ages.  One word:  BITCHIN, DUDE!  It was the most fun I've had at a Broadway show in, like, ever.  The cast was rad, the music gnarly and just the whole experience was totally, like, worth it, man. 

The show didn't get out til almost midnite, and having been up for 30 or so hours at this point, it was pretty much time to call it a nite.  So, we did.

Sorry it's so brief.  Hopefully in the next few days things will slow down and I can get caught up.  It was such an intense two days, I am gonna get back on the boat, find my stateroom and take a well deserved nap.

Oh, and as I sign off, let me say...HAPPY DAY MOTHERS.