Day 1 - New York city Embarkation

Although it has only been a few weeks, we are back at it again already.  This time it is a 7 day cruise on the NCL Breakaway to New England and Canada.  Joining Chris and I for this voyage will be my parents.  We are both using a cruise reward given to us from Bally’s in Atlantic City.  
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Chris and I both commented today how much less stressful it is for us to leave out of New York City.  It is about a 2.5 hour ride from our house to the terminal in Manhattan.  The traffic was pretty light and we arrived to the port around ten.  The line for security and check in moved really quickly.  There was no line for Casinos at Sea so we received our key cards in record time.  We did have to wait until about 11:20 to board and the priority boarding area was full, but we decided to stand nearby since we had been sitting so long.  My dad found a seat though nearby.  We all decided to wear our Eagles attire and already attracted attention of workers in the terminal. My mom was really hoping to be able to to watch the game today.  After the assistance-needed boarding was called, we were next.  We headed straight to our assembly station and after a quick scan of the cards, it was off to lunch.

For lunch, we decided on O’Sheehan’s instead of the buffet or the main dining room.  It is a great option that is pretty unique for cruising.  They offer pub style food with quick service and it is included in the cruise fare.  My first drink was a Matador and Chris had a Mai Tai.  While we waited for drinks, Chris and I went to get our wine tasting coupons for platinum Latitudes members and higher.  The line was pretty long but we were back before our food was delivered.  We started with three orders of wings and my mom ordered the fish sandwich while I opted for the Ruben.  My dad and Chris both ordered one of Chris’ favorites, the sausage sliders.  This Ruben was much better than the one I had on the Joy this summer.  It was fantastic!  

We did some exploring after lunch and walked through the casino.  The next mission was to find a bar for our second drinks.  We settled on the outside bar at Syd Norman’s.  The weather was absolutely perfect for late October and it felt so nice in the sun.  Chris and I took a lap around the Waterfront to the Sustainable bar on the other side of the ship where I ordered a Pineapple Surplus and Chris had the watermelon drink of the day.  Both were made fantastic.  The announcements were made that our cabins were ready so we went to check out our homes for the week.  Our suitcases arrived while we were in the cabin so I unpacked in record time thanks to my straegic use of packing cubes!  

We went back to the sustainable bar for another drink after the hard work of unpacking.  I had an Aperol spritz and Chris had a Negroni.  My parents were unpacking so we went for a walk to explore more of the ship.  The pool had live music and we sat in the shade for a bit there.  We walked more and the ropes course was just opening so Chris hopped in line.  He was the first passenger of the cruise to navigate the course!  I chose to skip it as it is higher and tougher than MSCs plus someone had to film it to document!  Chris did an expert job on the course and even walked out on the plank.  We decided to go to the front of the ship to see the view of the city.  Climbing the stairs, we saw a very deserted Vibe area.  When we got to the front of the ship, we spotted a person who looked passed out on the bow.  I could not tell if they were face down or up at first.  It was a funny sight that gave us a laugh that we shared with a few other passangers.  Maybe it was a rough night in the Crew Bar?  

The sail away party for Cruise Critic and Facebook group was at 4:00 PM in Spice H20 so we headed over there a little early and grabbed seats at the bar.  Since it was so warm, I tried a frozen Rose and Chris had a bourbon and ginger.  We met a few people from Facebook including Maria who was the admin, and Stephanie, a prolific poster who shared lots of knowledge on Facebook since she was onboard the previous week as well.   

Before our dinner, we met up at Shaker’s martini bar for a pre-dinner drink.  We had a nice seat by the window and watched Manhattan pass by through the window.  New York City will always rank high for a  sail away as the views are spectacular.  The server, Allan had already seemed to bond with my parents and he was giving us the best service.  I think we have found our before dinner locale for the week.  We enjoyed our drinks and conversation while only a few steps away from our dinner tonight in La Cucina.  

Since we are all either platinum or sapphire level in the NCL loyalty program, Latitudes, we are entitled to a free meal at La Cucina. The bread service is delicious, hot fresh bread served with olive oil and vinegar.  For a starter we had antipasto and my dad had pasta fagioli soup.  For entrees, I had the shrimp ravioli and Chris had the fra diablo.  My mom tried the pasta carbonara and my dad had the veal entree.  Everyone enjoyed their appetizers and entrees.  For dessert, my mom and I both ordered the panacotta and Chris had the tiramisu.  I felt that the panacotta was better on the Joy this year as this one wasn't as flavorful.  

After dinner, Chris and I went to the show.  Tonight’s entertainment was comedy magic of Brent and Sarah.  The tricks were mostly standard classics of magic yet the show was very entertaining due to their comedy and storytelling.  Their personalities pulled me into their act and I enjoyed it even with one of my least favorite effects, the linking rings, being one of the tricks.  Towards the end, Brent appeared with a ukulele and I felt like this could have been an act Chris performed as he loves magic and ukulele.  They wanted people to volunteer three men so I pointed to Chris and he was chosen.  He had to draw a song from a bag and Brent would play that song without them saying what the song was.  He made Chris dance like he was the artist performing at the Super Bowl.  Of course though, Brent knew the song was Wrecking Ball by Miley Cyrus.  I was pretty tired after a long day but managed to stay awake for the whole show.  We decided to head back to the cabin afterwards to get some sleep before our day in Newport, Rhode Island.