Spring Breakaway: Cruise Excursions and Activities (Part 3)

 

If you were to go on a cruise, 

would you choose it for the ship's destinations, 

or just for the experience of cruising?

One of the reasons we were reluctant

to commit to this cruise,

was that the ports-of-call didn't excite us.

The Norwegian Breakaway was to make three stops...

one in Florida, and two in the Bahamas.

Not that there's anything wrong with those places...

they just didn't float our boat, so to speak.

But, ultimately, we decided that leaving from NY,

and the ship itself,

trumped the destinations.

Nevertheless, we still took advantage of some of the land excursions.

After 48 hours on board, our feet needed to feel solid ground. 

On Tuesday afternoon, we arrived in Port Canaveral, Florida. 

  We booked an excursion to go to the Kennedy Space Center.

It's pretty contained, and it was not at all crowded.

First stop was the Rocket Garden...

   

Even though Junior Goo Shoes does his best 
to make us think he's so grown up,

it makes me smile that he can 

still act like a kid and climb into stuff 
when the opportunity presents itself.

The Atlantis Space Shuttle exhibit 
was the highlight of the space center.
I'm glad we saved it for last. 

I don't want to ruin it for you,
but let's just say it's akin 
to watching a documentary about Bruce Springsteen,
and when it's over, 
out he walks, onto the stage. 
Alright, maybe not that exciting,
but very well done, and quite dramatic.

The Atlantis exhibit was right after it poured down buckets.
And of course, as soon as I bought three rain panchos, it stopped.

On Wednesday, our destination was Great Stirrup Cay, 
in the Bahamas, which is Norwegian's private island.

I took this photo of it from the ship.

We were not docked, 
so we had to take tenders to get to the island. 

It took only few minutes, before we had our toes in the sand.

There's the ship in the background.

 This is as much of me on the beach
that I'll ever show you.

 
 We didn't stay long. 
The weather looked kind of threatening.
It was worth going, though,
if only to get fun pictures of the Breakaway.

Our port-of-call on Thursday, was Nassau, Bahamas. 
It was the one and only gorgeous, sunny day all week!

Paradise Island, Bahamas

 We didn't book an excursion for that day.
Our plan was to walk over to the Hilton Hotel 
and spend the day at their beach.
But, we decided to enjoy the ship while everyone else was off.

We did disembark and walk around Nassau for a bit.
 I had to cajole Junior GS into posing in front of the Breakaway 
to get some perspective on its size.
He didn't want to, but when he saw it, he said, "Whoa."

Junior Goo Shoes went off to be with his friends.
Mr. Goo Shoes and I hung out for the rest of the afternoon 
on The Best Spot on the entire ship.

And we had it all to ourselves!

We had a beautiful view of Paradise Island.

 The next two days, we were back at sea,

headed up the coast to New York.

There was plenty to do on board the ship...
Bowling, shopping, trivia contests;
seminars on everything from how to apply beauty products, 
to how to use a digital camera;
and classes, such as how to fold napkins to

cake decorating, which was a blast.

But, Friday...

oh, Friday was the best day of the entire cruise!

Would you believe that I was the Jackpot Bingo winner?

Yup, I was! 

I won the whole enchilada!

And it was a gigantic enchilada!

See that red card I'm holding?

The game was to get an X, 

and I was the only one who got it!
Oh, Happy Day!

Thank goodness Mr. Goo Shoes was with me...

I was so stunned, I almost forgot to yell 

" BINGO!"

But he yelled it for me.
I think you could hear him 'round the world!

 Not a bad way to end our Spring Breakaway!

 

Oh, and as for how we rated our vacation on this 
"gi-gunda" floating city?

On a scale of 1-10, we had two 9's and an 8.5,

with points deducted mostly because of weather, 

and a few minor glitches we encountered.

Would we do it again?

The short answer is a qualified Yes.

Mr. Goo Shoes and I would actually prefer 
a smaller ship, cruising through Europe, perhaps. 
But as far as a family vacation...
mega-ships are sure please a teenager, 
which is no easy feat.

Aye-Aye, Captain!

 

(I was not compensated in any way for this post). 

You May Also Like:

  Spring Break-Away: Our Cruise Ship Departs (Pt. 1) 

  Spring Break-Away: Touring The Cruise Ship (Pt. 2)