Breakaway Bermuda cruise Haven September 10-17 Review

I came home today and wanted to jump on this review right away. When I originally booked this cruise I booked a mid ship balcony but then I started reading about the Haven which was a lot more money than we usually would spend. After tons of research, questions on Cruise Critic and discussions with my husband, we decided that since we weren't flying to the port or have to spend money on a pre cruise hotel we would go for it. I fell in love with the H6 aft balcony and booked it.

We weren't sure if Irma or Jose would affect our cruise but we were so very lucky, Bermuda it was!!

I'm going to review each aspect of the ship that we used/visited. Also the private tour we took and what we did on our own in Bermuda.

First the ship. Haven...oh my goodness! They treated you like royalty as soon as you walked into the terminal. All I had to say is Haven and it brought me to a special security line. Said that word again, it brought us to a special room off the side with a special check in. We got there at 9:45, security opened at 10 and we were checked in by 10:10 having coffee and snacks. The ship came in late so we didn't get onboard until almost noon since we were still waiting for the others to leave the ship. We were escorted onboard directly to the Haven where we were treated to sliders and fries and introduced to Patrick our concierge for the week. We then went to check out if our cabin was ready and it was. We met Carlos, our room Stewart and then went to explore the ship. We didn't meet our butler Willie until the next day. Holy cow was this ship big! We started on deck 16 and worked our way down. Along the way we found a hot dog vendor, grabbed one and kept exploring.

I will first start with food. We ate breakfast in the Haven( I had seafood eggs benedict which I have found out I don't like seafood for breakfast and my husband his old standby 2 fried eggs bacon, sausage and toast), buffet and room service throughout the week. All was very good. Love the little hash browns! We didn't alway eat lunch but we did eat in the Haven once ( I had Cobb salad, yum and hubby had the French dip sandwich which he loved), buffet and once at O'Sheehans which we were disappointed in. Husband had the open face turkey which he didn't like at all and the wings that I heard was great were nothing more than frozen wings fried. Dinner we at at Moderno which was excellent, room service Cagneys also excellent, Margaritaville which we loved and buffet which was hit or miss.

Shows- we only got to see Second City one night and loved it. We played a Deal or no Deal which was fun.

Casino- we spent a lot of time in the casino, we lost. No winners this cruise.

Thermal spa- OMG! The best spent money ever. We used it a lot. Salt room, Thermal pool....Heaven. I need that in my house. 😆 If you are on the ledge on whether or not you want to pay the $199.... do it! You won't be sorry.

Spa- my husband went for a massage, which he enjoyed but he said they were really pushy about selling items and for you to come back for other services.

Bermuda- 1st day we spent at Horseshoe Bay Beach. We used the $7 shuttle to get there and back. $45 for 2 reclining chairs and an umbrella. They set it up anywhere that you want. There are bathrooms and a food stand. The beach was beautiful. Pink sand.

2nd day we had a private tour with Winsome tours. We had Ralph, the owner. He showed us EVERY part of Bermuda from the dockyard to, St. George, to Hamilton and every little town in between. We stopped for the reenactment in St. George, very funny. We did the Crystal Cave ( beautiful) and the aquarium and zoo. Ralph came in with us and explained all the Bermuda fish and animals in detail. He was so proud of his and his wife's Bermuda heritage and it shows in his tour.

3rd day we spent at the dockyard. Went shopping, visited the blown glass factory and the museum. At the museum we went over to look at the dolphins which always puts a smile on our face.

To sum it up. We loved the Breakaway. We loved Bermuda. It rates right up there with our top cruises.

So happy to hear you had a good time!

would you mind telling me more about the 'Deal or no deal game'? if there are many players, does it take forever for everyone to take a turn? how does it work? thanks.

Great! Happy you had a good cruise. We were on that cruise a couple of months back and had a wonderful time (in the Havens).

So happy to hear you had a good time!

would you mind telling me more about the 'Deal or no deal game'? if there are many players, does it take forever for everyone to take a turn? how does it work? thanks.

Ok, so everyone takes a turn. There are 2 games each show. You buy game cards beforehand. They will randomly pick 2 players to play and if you aren't a player you can play along using your card. If you match 2 cases you win a scratch off ticket, 3 cases a photo, 4 cases $50 , I'm not sure after that. It was lots of fun. It takes about 1/2 hour

I booked a group tour with Ralph for meet & greet members on our last cruise to Bermuda. He was fantastic. I would recommend him to anyone. He is a wealth of knowledge about Bermuda.

I booked a group tour with Ralph for meet & greet members on our last cruise to Bermuda. He was fantastic. I would recommend him to anyone. He is a wealth of knowledge about Bermuda.

He was amazing! I totally would recommend him!

Ok, so everyone takes a turn. There are 2 games each show. You buy game cards beforehand. They will randomly pick 2 players to play and if you aren't a player you can play along using your card. If you match 2 cases you win a scratch off ticket, 3 cases a photo, 4 cases $50 , I'm not sure after that. It was lots of fun. It takes about 1/2 hour

It's kind of like playing bingo but any card can be a winner if it comes out right. It was kind of addictive.

would you mind telling me more about the 'Deal or no deal game'? if there are many players, does it take forever for everyone to take a turn? how does it work? thanks.

It's actually two games in one: one on stage and one for the rest of the audience.

The stage game plays pretty much like the TV game, only with 20 briefcases (and, obviously, less money). The 10 lower briefcases are fixed, and the higher 10 fluctuate depending on how many people are playing.

The audience game gives you a card also with 20 briefcases, and their contents are the dollar figures for the 10 lower briefcases. So there are two cases with $0.01, two with $1, two with $5 etc. Every time a case is opened on stage, you open the case on your card and hope for a match.

Note: You don't win the amount in the case(s). You win based on the number of cases you match. The top two prizes are $5000 and a Caribbean cruise. (To clarify: These are not given away at every session, they're only won if somebody matches the required number of cases.)

There are two games per session, you use the same card for both games.

Did you have to pay for the spa since you were in the Haven? Also, what time were you allowed to get off the ship on the last day?

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Did you have to pay for the spa since you were in the Haven?

Included Spa access for Haven guests depends on what type of stateroom is booked. A H9 (and H8 on Escape) has included Spa access while other suites do not have it included.

But if you are upgraded to them vs. booking it from the start, will they still include it?

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But if you are upgraded to them vs. booking it from the start, will they still include it?

If you have a spa balcony then upgrade to a non-Spa Haven, the Spa access is removed and it goes to whomever books the now vacant spa balcony.

But if you are upgraded to them vs. booking it from the start, will they still include it?

If you have a standard balcony then upgrade to a Haven Spa suite, the Spa access is included.

I have no clue how this message board works (first timer). I am trying to get a hold of some nice folks that were there the same week as my family. Sept the 10th - 17th. We too, were at Horseshoe Bay and our camera ended up not cooperating. We do not have any photos. I am asking for anyone that has some nice photos of Horseshoe Bay that week, to send some my way. The waves crashing high, gorgeous water and we have nothing. I realize I could cheat and download some, but I'd love real ones of the same time we were there. Anyone willing to help, please let me know. Many thanks.

I came home today and wanted to jump on this review right away. When I originally booked this cruise I booked a mid ship balcony but then I started reading about the Haven which was a lot more money than we usually would spend. After tons of research, questions on Cruise Critic and discussions with my husband, we decided that since we weren't flying to the port or have to spend money on a pre cruise hotel we would go for it. I fell in love with the H6 aft balcony and booked it.

We weren't sure if Irma or Jose would affect our cruise but we were so very lucky, Bermuda it was!!

I'm going to review each aspect of the ship that we used/visited. Also the private tour we took and what we did on our own in Bermuda.

First the ship. Haven...oh my goodness! They treated you like royalty as soon as you walked into the terminal. All I had to say is Haven and it brought me to a special security line. Said that word again, it brought us to a special room off the side with a special check in. We got there at 9:45, security opened at 10 and we were checked in by 10:10 having coffee and snacks. The ship came in late so we didn't get onboard until almost noon since we were still waiting for the others to leave the ship. We were escorted onboard directly to the Haven where we were treated to sliders and fries and introduced to Patrick our concierge for the week. We then went to check out if our cabin was ready and it was. We met Carlos, our room Stewart and then went to explore the ship. We didn't meet our butler Willie until the next day. Holy cow was this ship big! We started on deck 16 and worked our way down. Along the way we found a hot dog vendor, grabbed one and kept exploring.

I will first start with food. We ate breakfast in the Haven( I had seafood eggs benedict which I have found out I don't like seafood for breakfast and my husband his old standby 2 fried eggs bacon, sausage and toast), buffet and room service throughout the week. All was very good. Love the little hash browns! We didn't alway eat lunch but we did eat in the Haven once ( I had Cobb salad, yum and hubby had the French dip sandwich which he loved), buffet and once at O'Sheehans which we were disappointed in. Husband had the open face turkey which he didn't like at all and the wings that I heard was great were nothing more than frozen wings fried. Dinner we at at Moderno which was excellent, room service Cagneys also excellent, Margaritaville which we loved and buffet which was hit or miss.

Shows- we only got to see Second City one night and loved it. We played a Deal or no Deal which was fun.

Casino- we spent a lot of time in the casino, we lost. No winners this cruise.

Thermal spa- OMG! The best spent money ever. We used it a lot. Salt room, Thermal pool....Heaven. I need that in my house. 😆 If you are on the ledge on whether or not you want to pay the $199.... do it! You won't be sorry.

Spa- my husband went for a massage, which he enjoyed but he said they were really pushy about selling items and for you to come back for other services.

Bermuda- 1st day we spent at Horseshoe Bay Beach. We used the $7 shuttle to get there and back. $45 for 2 reclining chairs and an umbrella. They set it up anywhere that you want. There are bathrooms and a food stand. The beach was beautiful. Pink sand.

2nd day we had a private tour with Winsome tours. We had Ralph, the owner. He showed us EVERY part of Bermuda from the dockyard to, St. George, to Hamilton and every little town in between. We stopped for the reenactment in St. George, very funny. We did the Crystal Cave ( beautiful) and the aquarium and zoo. Ralph came in with us and explained all the Bermuda fish and animals in detail. He was so proud of his and his wife's Bermuda heritage and it shows in his tour.

3rd day we spent at the dockyard. Went shopping, visited the blown glass factory and the museum. At the museum we went over to look at the dolphins which always puts a smile on our face.

To sum it up. We loved the Breakaway. We loved Bermuda. It rates right up there with our top cruises.

Celia, If you see or get this, please contact me regarding photos of Bermuda. My work phone is 713.856.8853 ext 105. This is my only posting so I don't know how to get a hold of you or if you even see these. We were there in Horseshoe Bay the same day and our camera did not work. Would love to get some of your photos. From Texas. Thanks so much for any assistance.