Crowfoot Travel: Norwegian Breakaway Inaugural and NEW YORK

This is our first "Travel information" Blog...composed by Loraine Laustsen, Franchise owner

Expedia Cruiseshipcenters, Aspen Landing and Dalhousie Station

It was exciting to be included in the inaugural sailing of the Norwegian Breakaway AND get to go to New York! Who could pass that up!

Norwegian Breakaway

Ken and I love the Norwegian Epic

the Breakaway has a lot of things
we LOVE about the Epic,

and some extra things thrown in!

The Plank off the Obstacle course
(You just go to the end...
You don't jump off!)

           (check out
      the obstacle course
        on the top deck!)

Obstacle Course

Italian Restaurant

The main restaurant still has entertainment...and it is all included. There are a lot of places to eat that don't cost extra.

We really liked the location of the specialty restaurants.

They are situated on the outside of a deck

so that people can sit on the patio or indoors

with a view to outside. What a nice feeling!

Here you can see a picture

from the inside of the Italian Restaurant...Nice View!

Fat Cat's blues and Jazz club was a must for us

and just made the evenings!

We ran into "Slamin Sam" When we were

taking a tour of the restaurant Deck

in the afternoon

(Yes, it has a patio too

and you can hear the entertainment from outside!)

...and then there was New York. On our bucket list, was

a baseball game

We Saw the Mets

A Jazz club

lots of those to choose from...check out who is playing the night you go
My Neice, Jennifer saw Kurt Elling at the Birdland Jazz Club (http://www.birdlandjazz.com/). He's a grammy award winning jazz vocalist and was fantastic. The club itself was nice and well located, close to Times Square.

Broadway Show

we saw The Lion King
There seems to be lots of half price tickets on show day for some shows, and hotels have a booking screen in their lobby. For very popular plays, you might want to book tickets ahead of time. (Tom Hank's show had was booked into July, and we were there in May)

Ground Zero. You need to get a "ticket" to go to the memorial. You can do this one of three ways

Go to the location a few blocks away where they have a number of artifacts and stand in line for a free ticket (they will ask for a donation) You then have to walk a few blocks to the memorial.
Go directly to the memorial and stand in a long line there to get your free ticket. (again, they will ask you for a donation)
or...go on line and print a ticket off. Then go directly to the memorial and stand in a shorter line.

Two Pictures

taken at Ground Zero

The first is looking into the windows
of the memorial museum

The second is one of the memorial ponds

Empire State Building

This was not the romantic tour
I thought it was going to be as I remembered

"Sleepless in Seattle"
(apparently, that was filmed on set
in the back lot of the movie studio!)

Worth going up, but it IS crowded

Rent an audio system

(available as you wind yourself around in the line)

...that really gives you a lot of
information about where you are looking.
I bought the DVD if you want to borrow it!

Don't get caught like we did by buying a package from a street busker to do the Empire State Building AND the Hop on Hop off bus...it may be too cold for an open air bus ride!
DO buy a pass that gives you faster access to the observation deck (you can get these tickets from your hotel) LOTS of standing in line, and it would pay to cut that a little shorter
DO buy the pass that takes you beyond the observation deck.

(We didn't and I wish I had)

Bay Tour (There are a number of companies offering harbour tours, we took the "Circle Line tour. This kind of tour gives you a good idea of the lay of the land and where you might like to go!)

Next on our bucket list was to "Ride the subway" Quite easy, but probably best done in the daytime and with someone! You can buy two way passes from your hotel for 10 bucks

(I found it a little scary and was glad to have Ken beside me!)

We also did the hop on hop off bus...which is great in most cities around the world...and would be wonderful on a warm sunny day. This was not....it was rather cold this May (the coldest May New York has had in a long time)...and not the greatest to be on the top of an open bus with the cold air blasting by! Brrrrr

Statue of Liberty

Due to Hurricane Sandy, the statue was under renovation and the island was not open. We did manage to sail by her both on our circle tour and on our way out to sea on the Norwegian Breakaway (That was the best weather and best sights!)

I will leave you with these sights...