Everyone Deserves a Little Breakaway

Last year as a reward for being one of the top performing store managers for Thomas Cook/Co-operative travel I was lucky enough to be invited along to be onboard the NCL Breakaway the night before her maiden voyage.

Now, as I was very proud of this I spoke to quite a lot of people about my up and coming trip to which most replied “ you are going all that way just for 1 night? “  Yes I am and I can’t wait, I explained. I got a few funny looks but nothing that could curb my enthusiasm.

So after a very early start, getting picked up by coach in the centre of Leeds the journey seemed to fly by, probably because us travel agents are a very sociable bunch when we get together.

A few things struck me as we made our way to Southampton Port. One; how nice the centre of Southampton looked and would be worth a night or two to explore before any cruise and Two; as we approached the ship the sheer size blew me away.

When we left the coaches we went straight through to check in, which I have to say for the volume of people was a very fast, polite experience and a lot less stressful than many airport check in’s.

As we only had carryon luggage we were given our cabin details in order to drop our belongings so our adventure could begin.

I was a little taken aback when I got to my cabin as I knew I had been allocated to share with another guy and I found we had a lovely double bed made up on arrival.  After a little panic I picked up the phone and made a quick call to explain that I would like the bed changing to two single beds and as I was leaving the cabin no more than two minutes later, housekeeping arrived to change this for me. Fantastic service!

I met up with the rest of my team and we set about seeing what the Breakaway had to offer; well where I start: the ship is amazing.  Firstly we grabbed some light refreshments up by the pool bar which had a live steel band and a fantastic buzz about the place we then went to check out the fantastic outdoor water park where some hardy souls had decided to bring swim shorts and brave the weather and give it a go. (Think I would have stayed in one of the hot tubs).

Next we went off to visit the kids zone to see what that would be like for families and I have to say it was very impressive, a lot of space over two floors that had everything to cater, for all ages. We then made our way to see the onboard Spa’s which offered every treatment you could possibly wish for and more (I had to put my foot down with the ladies and tell them we had so much more to see). As we were wandering and chatting we noticed that we had arrived in The Haven courtyard which we found was an exclusive area for guests staying in the Haven Suites.  It has a private beach club ambiance, private pool and butler service day and night.  Before we knew it, it was time to check in for our evening meal.

On arrival at the restaurant I was advised that the group had been given different times to dine, however we asked if this could be changed so that we could all eat together and in only a few moments we were given the option to dine there and then with another 2 guests, we were fine with this, once again NCL came shinning through with excellent customer service. Due to the change in time at the restaurant we realised that we would be able to catch the show Rock of Ages.

The food was fantastic and the couple we shared a table with had cruised many times before, as a group we shared lots of stories.  Our good conversation ran on a little later than expected and we missed the show.  We did however manage to see the Rhythm and Blues Show, meet Tony Blackburn who is a very nice guy, have a little trip to the casino, have a drink and a dance at the outdoor disco (my favourite part of the night) which had fantastic music and lots of glow sticks (taking me back to my youth). We then managed to grab some snacks and just creep into the nightclub before it closed.

I then went back to my cabin with my lovely single bed for some well earned sleep. Next morning we were straight up and away as we had a special breakfast arranged in Southampton.

All of this took place from around 3.30 pm so can you image if I was able to cram all of this into around 18 hours, what could you fit into your cruise?

What I am trying to say is give shorter cruises a try, especially if you have never cruised before or would like a fun break away. I can guarantee you will be blown away by what you can see and do.

Don’t you deserve a little Breakaway?