Cruise Like a Norwegian

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Our first full day on board the Norwegian Breakaway cruise (out of NYC, convenient!) was just that- a full day. It was a day at sea, and it was still too cold to use the pools, hot tubs, or water slides in my opinion. Instead, we explored the ship and took part in many of the ships on-board activities.

We went down to the buffet for breakfast, and found ourselves a table. Before you enter, the staff sprays your hands with a disinfectant hand sanitizer to help stop the spread of germs. The food was good, and it’s nice not to have to cook ourselves, I will tell you that. My son, of course, had to use the bathroom halfway through the meal, so I took him out. In the hallway, we came upon quite a sight- a sound, really. Several staff members, one with a guitar, were singing a song about washing your hands. The song was “Washy washy, happy happy, everybody wash your hands”. We stopped for a full minute, it was such a strange song- but they sure put all their energy into it. Then we were off to the bathroom- and we of course remembered to washy washy before we headed back to finish breakfast. (Check out the video below- it’s not a great video, people had no problem walking in front of me, but you will get to hear this insane song. Bonus- it’s the one that will get caught in your head for the rest of your day. You’re welcome.) You need to give it a few seconds. Really- it’s just nuts. And you will love it.

After breakfast, we went to Family Arts and Craft time. Today’s craft was making a SpongeBob bandana. After everyone made their craft, the kids got to put them on and did a little parade around the room.

We then took the kiddo to Splash Academy- Norwegian’s kid’s club. No, they don’t take the kids swimming, no worries. We signed him up yesterday right after we boarded the ship, and he got a bracelet with his ID on it that has our names and cards linked to it in their computer. We also had to make up and give a password so no one could “Fake” being one of us. The kid’s club staff are all very energetic and keep the kids active and having fun all day. They all have silly nicknames as well, like “Boots”, “Tic Tac”, “BBQ”, and etc.

We picked him up in time for lunch (kids club closes for 2 hours at lunch time) and we headed out to eat. After, we took my son to Dora’s Fiesta Dance Party, where he and the other kids on the ship were able to dance and sing with Dora the Explorer and Splash Academy staff.

We made sure to sign up for dinner, as well as all the shows that we wanted to see at the touch screen kiosk (they are located all over the ship) the night before, so we knew we would be seeing Burn the Floor tonight at 7, thus we made a 5 pm dinner reservation at one of the ship’s no additional charge restaurants. Tonight, we signed up to eat at Savor. Before dinner, however, was a Nickelodeon Character Meet and Greet. We got there early, so we wouldn’t be late for dinner. We weren’t sure which characters were going to be there, and were surprised by Wanda and Cosmo from the TV show “Fairly Odd Parents”. We were also pleasantly surprised that we were allowed to take our own photos instead of having to rely on the one’s that the ship’s photographer took- though we can also buy those. I really appreciate that, it’s nice not to be gouged at every opportunity. The staff kept the line moving as well, so that “those parents” (we all know who I mean) didn’t stand there, taking 400 photos of precious junior and princess while everyone else stood around. Get in, take you photo, hug the characters, move along. Perfect. I can tell you that ALL the parents appreciated that (and that we were able to use our own cameras).

We headed to dinner (the food was excellent, everyone ate every single bite) and then off to Burn the Floor. It was awesome to see a show straight off of Broadway- and the dancers are all world class, many have championships and titles of their own. The singers, dancers, and musicians are from all over the world, and you can read all about them on the screens or online. They even came out to take photos with the guests, which I thought was super nice. After the amazing show, we came back to our room and booked our tender for Wednesday’s trip to Great Stirrup Cay, Norwegian Cruise Line’s private island. It was easy to book it right from the room, using the remote and TV.

That’s all for now, time to give the little guy a shower. He wants to use the towel the staff folded into a crab shape and left on the bed . (Did I mention they left plenty of necessitates in the bathroom? They even remembered conditioner- so many places don’t leave that, which is annoying, yeah? Some of us have long hair! LOL. They also have this amazing “calming temple balm”, which smells amazing and really does help calm your headaches. Nice touch.)