HAPPY 40th Birthday Sweetie! What better way to celebrate than in LAS VEGAS! The celebration capital of the west and SIN CITY. I knew I wanted to celebrate Chris's 40th BIG and this did not disappoint. We arranged for my sister, Allison, to take care of our kids while we scurried off to Las Vegas, midweek, to celebrate Chris turning 40. This went off without a hitch and was a HUGE hit! We had been to Las Vegas before in 2008 but that had been 10 years. Times and our bodies had changed. We were a decade older and wiser and so was Las Vegas!
We don't look a day older than 40! (I am not... I'm only 36)
We celebrated Chris and each other with a Cirque Show, LOVE, and even a helicopter ride over the strip. It was a PERFECT way to spend a weekend celebrating a birthday! Now I cannot wait until MY 40th to see where it takes us!
While this trip was a little out of the ordinary from our cruises and was in the middle of a SCHOOL WEEK, this was the best thing we could have done to celebrate Chris. We needed this little break before the end of the year madness and this hit the spot.
This may have to become an annual BIRTHDAY trip for us!
A HUGE thank you to my sister, Allison, for her help in taking care of the kids and getting them to and from school in our absence. She was a natural and did very well!
I love you Chris Davis! Happy 40th Birthday! GOD IS GOOD... ALL THE TIME!
Click on a link to see our past travel adventures:
This is always the saddest, and usually most frustrating, part of our cruises as it is the day we say goodbye to the ship. This day was not as frustrating as previous NCL disembarkation, but it still proved to be a LONG day back to God's Country... TEXAS!
Morning
We sat the alarm for 6:30AM (BOOOO) and got dressed rather quickly. The horns had been blowing all night as it was VERY foggy on the Mississippi River. We chose to do the Regular disembarkation this time and opted out of the "SELF ASSIST" option.
This was us the night before and the morning of disembarkation! TIP- Don't over pack!
TIP- Most cruise lines do a "self assist" option where each passengers carries off ALL of their own luggage. This group is usually called to get off the ship first and in our experience, this is a GREAT option. Well most of the time... The last time we sailed on Norwegian in March 2018, we noticed over half the ship, literally, using this option. With this history, we decided to do the regular disembarkation which allowed us to get off according to our COLOR GROUP. TIP- I LOVE the way NCL does this large group disembarkation. NCL allows you to CHOOSE when you get off the ship by having you go to Guest Services on the next to last day of your cruise and choose a group time you want to disembark. If you want to get off early, choose the early group and if you want to get off later, choose a later color. This is SO MUCH BETTER than Royal Caribbean or Carnival that have these large groups get off by DECK. I swear we get group 30 out of 30 on EACH AND EVERY Carnival cruise. This was is MUCH BETTER! However, if you are wanting a certain time or group, be sure to check GS on the 6th (or next to last) day of the cruise. Some of the groups GO FAST!
We chose to be in the earliest group of the regular disembarkation groups. According to the projected disembarkation time, we were supposed to be called to get off the ship around 9AM. But at 7AM as we were making our way to breakfast, we heard the CD start calling for the "self assist" passengers, approximately 45 minutes earlier than expected. We knew this meant the Norwegian Breakaway was ahead of schedule and we would be called shortly.
Not really sure what happened here because it was not like this the night before. I am thinking someone had a little too much drink package!
We ate breakfast in the Savor MDR for the first time on the cruise. This was a mistake as the service was VERY slow. We knew to avoid the buffet on disembarkation day due to all of the luggage of the "self assist" passengers but the service was so bad, we would have been better off in the buffet.
The MDR Breakfast Menu (It is the same everyday, except for the daily specials)
Our breakfast was tasty and delicious but was so slow, we missed the calling of our green group at 8:15AM, roughly 45 earlier than expected (WAY TO GO NCL). We finished breakfast and hurried back to our room to get our belongings and then made our way to deck 7 for the long line of people getting off the ship. We weaved in and out of the casino before walking out on the promenade deck to get off the ship. We stood in line about 25 minutes from start to finish and overall, was not a bad disembarkation at all. We were off the NCL Breakaway around 8:45AM.
The kids still had smiles on their face despite leaving the ship!
A view of our balcony from the gangway!
Once off the ship, we made our way to get our luggage, which was the fastest EVER of about 3 minutes. Then flew through customs to get to the terminal exit to wait for our taxi. Since we stayed at Comfort Suites Harvey, we had a promotional deal that provided a taxi back to the hotel upon our return. We waited about 15 minutes for the taxi and were back at the hotel and on the road back to Texas around 9:50AM.
Afternoon and Evening
The drive home was frustrating, as usual, and we once again said "NEVER AGAIN" will we sail out of New Orleans, but we always seem to find great deals so we will see if this proves to be true! The typical 7 hour drive took nearly 10 hours and it was dark before we even got back to our house. The kids did REALLY well on the trip to and from New Orleans and were VERY proud of them.
These poor kiddos were SO tired!
Home SWEET Home! Thank you Jesus we are back in God's Country!
We got back to our house in The Woodlands, TX around 6PM and quickly unloaded all of our stuff and went picked up our fur babies, Abbey and Oxford, who had been staying with our amazing dog sitter. BOY... Were they glad to see us!
Overall, it was a GREAT cruise and a pretty decent disembarkation day. It is always sad to say goodbye to the ship and the cruise but always good to be home. Now it is time to get through the next 4 weeks before Christmas break... I think I can, I think I can!
Our Thoughts OVERALL
This cruise on the Norwegian Breakaway was FANTASTIC and just what we expected and then some. The kids LOVED the ship and had a GREAT time on board and ashore. Chris and I LOVED many things about NCL such as: the drink package, the food quality and entertainment.
However, there are a few things that were eye opening to us during this cruise:
1- I personally do not think NCL knows how to do a "mega-ship". The layout of this ship was not conducive to nearly 5K passengers and while we never "felt" crowded, we could certainly FEEL the other 4762 guests.
2- I HATE the way NCL does the Splash Academy (kids club). This was not parent or user friendly to say the least. The schedule did not flow very well and the hours of operation did not match the entertainment and dining venues times. Furthermore, the workers were never happy and always seemed a little aggravated, as did ALL OF THE OTHER PEOPLE and passengers I talked to about this venue. I can honestly say that unless there is a CRAZY GOOD deal, we will more than likely not sail NCL again with kids. They pretty much lost me as a PARENT customer. Chris and I would sail NCL again in a heartbeat WITHOUT kids.
3- I had read that the ships out of New York had crew members that are not as friendly or hard working as those out of other major ports and this proved to be true on this cruise. (The Breakaway came from New York just 3 weeks prior to arriving in New Orleans.) We found about 2 crew members total who acted like they really wanted to be there and would do anything for me. Most of the other crew members we had dealings with were short, seemed aggravated and quite frankly RUDE compared to other cruise liens we have sailed.
4- Since NCL has added the Ultimate Beverage Package as a perk to bookings, the bar service has continuously gone down hill. As a guest you do not even have to sign when you get a drink, thus the bar staff does not work for tips as much. Our bar service was APPALLING and the worst we have EVER had on a cruise. The drinks were also poorly made. We left thinking "Thank goodness we did not PAY $900+ for the drink package".
Chris and I have a cruise in March 2019 on the Liberty of the Seas out of Galveston for Spring Break and a few more planned after that. We have been very fortunate to cruise 3+ times a year and we hope to be able to continue to do this as our time (and finances) allow. We also have some very exciting land trips planned for California and Las Vegas this coming year! As usual, we will share our experiences with y'all. I love reliving our travels and sharing our experiences and thoughts with other cruise and travel enthusiasts. I truly hope our blog has helped someone plan their next cruise or adventure! Once again, we owe all of these experiences to God and the mercy He has bestowed upon us! We also appreciate our family members who continuously help take care of our children while we cruise the open seas!
In addition, I want to thank YOU! You all who continuously follow along day by day of our cruises and share comments and questions. I like blogging about the cruises almost as much as the cruise itself.
Thanks again for following along! I appreciate you!
Follow us on YouTube at Kellie Davis- Cruise Like a Davis. I have videos and tips and tricks from most of our recent cruises.
Next Up… RC Liberty of the Seas- March 2019 Carnival Dream- 2019
It was our last day on board the NCL Breakaway and there were still things we had not seen and wanted to try. We were all tired from a busy trip but we made the most of our last day!
Morning
Luke and I woke up and had our morning balcony time before the other two joined us. It was a beautiful sunny day and the seas were fairly calm.
Luke and I got to witness the sunrise and that was really neat!
Luke truly LOVED this balcony!
I am going to miss this quiet stillness!
There were some choppy waves but still very smooth seas.
We noticed in the FreeStyles that Moderno was offering an "Express Breakfast" so we opted to try it out. I was expecting a sit-down and order type of thing but it was more of a buffet. They had most of the same items offered in the Garden Cafe and it was not crowded at all. TIP- This was offered most days and seemed very well organized and the food was great.
Overall, this was a good breakfast experience and I wish we would have found out about it prior to the last day of the cruise.
After breakfast we walked around the ship exploring all we had not seen on the Breakaway, including the Vibe Beach club. TIP- NCL offers the Vibe Club passes to a VERY LIMITED number of guests on embarkation day. You literally have to run to Guest Services to get the tickets. However, it looked like a great place to spend your cruise and with limited number of people allowed in the club, a PERFECT way spend 7 days!
The VIBE BEACH club offering private Hot Tubs and clam-shells.
The kids loved this ship!
A view of the main pool area from Deck 17.
The hot tub on the right is for ADULTS only but the one on the left allows kids.
We wanted to play shuffleboard but it had been raining so we were not getting good traction. Later a worker told us it was too wet to play, for safety reasons, so we opted to go play mini-golf (of course) instead. We played several rounds before spending hours in the pool and hot tub. The kids rode the Family and Whip water-slides and Natalie was "almost" ready to get up the courage to ride the FreeFall with me; however, it was still not open.
We never really played by the official rules but the kids LOVED shuffleboard.
My own little TIGER WOODS!
After a few hours at the AquaPark we got dried off and then went to the towel folding demonstration in the atrium. I was expecting it to be like Carnival and they would TEACH YOU how to fold these animals but it was just a demonstration.
Towel Folding Fun!
Afternoon
We made our way to the Shanghai Noodle Bar at 11:35AM since they opened at 12PM. I guess all 4,800 other passengers did the same because we were in a very long line. REMINDER- This Noodle Bar only has 42 seats and is only open on Sea Days for lunch from 12-2PM. We got to the front of the line at 12:05PM and we were handed the 1st pager. So in essence, we were the 1st LOSERS. We were quoted a 45 minutes wait.
Luke was STARVING and HANGRY so we went up to Moderno on Deck 8 to check out the "Mexican Buffet". This was a small buffet that featured all kinds of "Mexican" dishes, including tacos, burritos and fajitas. Pretty much everything but the tortillas... and salsa! Hello NCL? Do you know where you sailed out of... We want NEED the salsa! We waited about 15 minutes for them to get the tortillas. The comments from the other guests was pretty funny! And let's just say it left much to be desired so we went back to the Noodle Bar for our real lunch. This was just a snack!
They paged us that our table was ready at Shanghai around 12:45PM. People were still getting in line but the Maitre' D was telling them no more service since it was an hour wait and they closed at 2PM. As much as I LOVED this food, this is almost a waste of NCL's time and money. If you can only feed 120 people in a 2 hour span... Not really worth it!
We got to sit at a bar near the kitchen in the Noodle Bar and this was very interesting to see the chefs cook the food. But unlike sea day #1, our service on this day was AWFUL. The waitress could have cared less and we literally saw our food get plated and then sit there for 15 minutes. We were a little aggravated but still made the most of our lunch.
Our view from our seats!
Waiting patiently for our food!
Even after the "Mexican" buffet in Morderno, he still destroyed his food!
He must be going through a growth spurt.
I think y'all need to go ahead and start praying for me and those teenage years NOW!
After we got done eating quickly ran to the Captain's question and answer session as this is Chris's favorite thing to do on a cruise. This was a neat experience as Natalie got to ask questions as well. We learned that our Captain's favorite destination to sail to was... ANTARTICA! We were all pretty impressed with that answer.
TIP- If you like to learn while you cruise, be sure to check out the Captain's Question and Answer sessions. We have seen them across ALL the major cruise lines and it really is interesting to learn about how these floating resorts work.
After the Q&A, we went straight to the Ropes Course, but the line was as long as it had ever been and Natalie decided she did not want to spend her last afternoon on board in a line. This is where we began to question if our family is ready for DISNEYLAND. Luke HATES the lines and so does Chris and by the end of the trip Natalie was not enjoying the wait times either. We are going to rethink our California 2019 Disneyland plans after this!
FYI- If it rains, the Rock Wall will not be open for the remainder of the day. The mats are wet and it is not safe! We saw a few customers get rude with the Sports workers, which was uncalled for, but just a heads up!
Natalie finally decided she wanted to do the FreeFall water-slide but as we were going to our room to change back into swimsuits she saw a young girl get stuck and had to use the escape pod! Yeah... That idea went out the window! We did not get to ride that slide this cruise. I guess that means we will have to come back! We went to the arcade instead.
I think Luke could have spent the whole cruise in here!
We then went to the Waterfront to enjoy the rest of our sea day and some shuffleboard. We got a few drinks at the Shakers Martini Bar and enjoyed the live music before getting ready for dinner.
This was taken at 4:30PM... I did not know the sun would set at 4:58PM.
Evening
I noticed the sun was setting but at 4:45PM, I thought I had enough time to go get dressed for dinner and then come back to the Waterfront. I misjudged the timing and we missed the official sunset but enjoyed the riminents anyway.
I may have missed the actual sunset but God sure does paint a GORGEOUS picture! I love when He uses PINKS!
It's the last night... WHAT A GREAT CRUISE!
We then went to dinner at Savor MDR and enjoyed a fairly quick meal. The service was good and the food was exceptional as it had been most of the trip. We quickly scurried off to the theater as we had "Burn the Floor" tickets for the 7PM show. TIP- Once again, I feel NCL missed it here as you HAVE to have tickets for this show but you must also get your tickets scanned by 6:50PM or they will be given to the Standby Line. Thus only allowing you 1:20 minutes for dinner in the MDR as they do not open until 5:30. It is just my opinion, but the timing seems like it needs some improvements.
Natalie's usual of "Mozzarella Ravioli"! She would order double and even TRIPLE orders!
And as predicted Luke had strawberry ice cream.
The "Burn the Floor" show as good but not as good as we would have hoped. The kids stayed engaged for most of the show but not all of the show. Afterwards we, once again, quickly hurried over to Headliner's for a family friendly Comedy Show. It turned out to be the exact same guy, with the exact same jokes, but the kids loved it so it was all worth it. Again, I am not a fan of how NCL does the comedy shows and comedians.
Selfie time at the Comedy Show!
By now it was 10PM and we knew we would be reaching the mouth of the Mississippi River soon. We grabbed some cupcakes at Carlos Bakery in the Atrium, which were good and reasonably priced, and then went to our balcony to watch the water change. We did not see the Pilot get on board this cruise but it was INCREDIBLY foggy on this evening. The Carnival Dream was behind us and between these 2 ships, the horns were blowing almost every minute. We reached the Mississippi right before 11PM and then we packed up our bags and went to bed. We were all tired and had a LONG day of driving back to Houston the following day.
Here you can see us entering the mouth of the Mississippi River around 11PM.
The kids had a GREAT TIME!
It was a glorious CRUISE! Now... To plan the next one!
This day was a great day of a little bit of this and a little bit of that on board the Breakaway. The kids had a great time and so did the adults. It's hard to believe this cruise is over! We have had SO MUCH FUN!
Here is a RECAP of Day 7!
Y'all stay tuned for our FOOD BLOG and our disembarkation recap!
WOOHOO... We have arrived!
We don't look a day older than 40!
