It has now been six months since
Norwegian Breakaway entered service. She is one of the most
innovative ships to debut in recent years so I decided to return and
see how the ship was doing after half a year in service. After all,
there is no guarantee that doing something different will make people
like you.
Having sailed on Breakaway last June,
we were not surprised to find that the ship is working out as well as
Norwegian Cruise Line had hoped. People seem to like the ship. She
offers a lot to do and the format of the cruise allows you a lot of
choice in deciding what to do and when.
This is even more so than the other
Norwegian ships, excepting Norwegian Epic, which was the forerunner
of Breakaway. Under Norwegian's Freestyle system, you always had
plenty of choice with regard to when and where to eat. However, the
evening's entertainment centered around the shows in the theater as
on other cruise ships. With Breakaway and Epic, you have several
quality choices as to entertainment as well so the evening does not
revolve around the show times in the main theater.
There are other innovations on
Breakaway such as her outdoor promenade that has bars and restaurants
on it. Another bold move was to station Breakaway year-round in New
York rather than in Florida. Such ideas seem good but I was
interested in finding out how they are being received by the cruising
public. So we spoke with Breakaway's Hotel Director Hugo Vanosmael
about Breakaway at six months. It is at
http://www.beyondships2.com/norwegian-breakaway-six-months.html
To go along with this article, we
have added a new photo essay of Breakaway sailing out of New York on
her first Bahamas cruise. Fall days can be particularly good for
photographing ships sailing from New York because there is less
humidity and haze. The photo essay is at
http://www.beyondships2.com/norwegian-breakaway-photos.html
Switching topics, we have added a new
shore excursion experience to the Northern France section of
Beyondships.
http://www.beyondships3.com/northern-france-overview.html
This one is about touring the Alabaster Coast region of Normandy. In
particular, we stopped at Fecamp and Etretat.
In Fecamp, we went to the Benedictine
Palace. This elaborate building was erected in the late 19th
century to house the factory that makes Benedictine liqueur. A visit
takes you through the process of making the liqueur and there is an
opportunity to taste some at the end. However, the Palace also
houses a fine arts museum that focuses on Renaissance and Medieval
art. Thus, a visit is more than the typical tasting experience that
you have at most wineries and distilleries. The page on Fecamp is at
http://www.beyondships3.com/france-alabaster-1.html
While the experience in Fecamp was
enjoyable, the highlight was Etretat. Etretat is a popular resort
town located by the sea. It lies in a depression in a coastline
that is otherwise made up of vertical chalk cliffs that tower over
the sea. You can climb up onto the cliffs or admire them from below
on the stone-covered beach. Thus, if you like natural beauty and/or
hiking, Etretat has much to offer.
For art lovers, this place is of
special significance. The cliffs have been painted by many famous
artists. However, they are best known from the numerous studies done
by Claude Monet, the leader of the Impressionist movement. Signs
indicate where Monet stood to make some of his paintings. Moreover,
there has been little change to the area in the century or so since
Monet did his paintings.
Our page on Etretat is at
http://www.beyondships3.com/france-alabaster-2.html
If you are cruising to Northern
France, you will probably call at Cherbourg or Le Harve. We have
added a new cruise port page about these ports.
http://www.beyondships3.com/northern-france-cruise-ports.html
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