Want to get away from your hectic life without going too far? A cruise to nowhere on the Norwegian Breakaway can break up the persistent NYC winter. I’ll go to great lengths for a glimpse of the New York City skyline at night. And this time, I got two glimpses; one coming and one going.
When it’s cold out in New York City, most people I know nest inside and head out only when necessary. So on a zero degree morning we decided to do something most folks do only in the summer months. The NYC-inspired cruise ship Norwegian Breakaway, when it’s not taking the week-long journey to the Bahamas, cruises out into the sea for just TWO days. You may know of this as “A Cruise to Nowhere”. It offers great food, Cirque du Soleil, theater, entertainment, and the (very important) spa. If you board during summer the ship also has a a huge aqua park, sports complex and great pool.
But I was most interested in seeing this city that I love so much from a vantage point many don’t experience. I perched myself on the top deck taking photos, while the windchill fell below zero. 4,000 other passengers were partying somewhere cozy and warm, inside. We left on Friday, then returned Sunday. The captain assured me if I woke up at 3am on Sunday, I would experience traveling under the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, past the Statue of Liberty and Freedom Tower again, and into port. It was spectacular.
The hull of the Norwegian Breakaway is painted by one of my favorite modern artists, Peter Max.
Norwegian Breakaway sleeps 4,000.
Steve on the top deck. I used to take the Circleliner to get this view. We are over 14 floors high.
Statue of Liberty from the deck of ship.
Freedom Tower from the ship.
Even though the temp was in the single digits, having a balcony view was key.
We didn’t gamble, but I watched.
3:00 am. Snow on the top deck of the cruise ship. Coming back into port they roped off the top so accidents didn’t happen. The winds were whipping and snow was everywhere. I wasn’t supposed to be on the deck, but found one other photographer to take my picture.
3:00 am. I woke up at to cruise under the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge. Then poof, back in port after 2 days “at sea”.
A cruise of any length is not complete without a cheesy photograph like this. The Cirque performance was terrific!
Most images are taken with the iPhone 5s. Some are taken with the Canon EOS 5D MarkIII.
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