Breakaway Review : May 7-14 Bermuda

My alarm going off on Sunday at 7 am was a not so subtle reminder that it has been over a week since we came home from our cruise and a) I still hadn't reset my alarm for a NORMAL time to wake up on a Sunday and b) I still hadn't started posting my review of this cruise!!

I found Cruise Critic to be a very big help when planning out my vacay and thought I would add in my two cents on my experience since I learned a lot about what to expect on the Breakaway and in Bermuda from reading other reviews on here.

Pre-Cruise:

Things I did right: booking most of our dinners, Burn the Floor and Cirque Dreams in advance. You could totally do all these things on the boat, but I was happy to have that all out of the way before boarding.

Things I didn't do right: getting sucked into the guessing game that is the "Upgrade" bidding process! Not a nice feeling to be disappointed right before going on vacay. Of course I brought it upon myself, no one is forcing you to bid. It turns out I low-balled it too much and I received the "Unable to Confirm Your Upgrade request" email the Friday before we sailed. Perhaps if I had upped my bid when several on our Roll Call were celebrating their new staterooms on the Wednesday it could have been a different story. So Inside room it was for us (which is most likely better in the end given my irrational fear of falling overboard :o)

Another thing I missed the boat on were purchasing Spa passes in advance, we ended up paying $219 on board. (It was still soooo worth it though, more on this later!!!)

Will post more soon, and hopefully I will figure out how to post pics!

Thank you. We'll be on the Breakaway soon and will use any pointer you can give us. Especially those that involve getting around in Bermuda.

I sailed the Getaway in January, and I, too, low balled my bid for an upgrade--and got the same email as you. I am sailing the Getaway again this coming January and have no intentions of even bothering with it. I will keep my inside cabin on deck 5, thank you very much! Lol! We were quite comfy there on our last cruise, so no need to spend the extra cash. I can't wait to read your review. Will be following.

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Looking forward to your review.

Sent from my iPad using Forums

following

Looking forward to more!

Our pre-cruise hotel was the Hotel Indigo in Newark, which we picked for it's close proximity to Manhattan. We really wanted to see Times Square and it was an easy trip from Newark Penn station to Penn Station.

I probably should have done a bit more research, the hotel itself was beautifully decorated and clean but the area surrounding it.... I would describe as a bit too sketchy for my taste. I dont think I would have felt safe to walk around at night without my DH.

Our room was also facing a church clock that chimed every hour lol. At least we didnt have to worry about sleeping in!

A few pics

https://s25.postimg.org/sadj2lanj/20170507_103237.jpg

https://s25.postimg.org/6ch28svn3/20170507_103101.jpg

https://s25.postimg.org/apk74ytrj/20170506_173210.jpg

https://s25.postimg.org/p7hecyl2n/20170506_213232.jpg

https://s25.postimg.org/mspisj4tr/20170506_230454.jpg

Nice start, looking forward to the rest.:)

We sailed on 5/14 and were delayed boarding since your returning cruise still had passengers disembarking. Did something happen that made your cruise return late or was there an inspection at the port?

Just curious. We had #1 boarding and were fortunate to have a seat in the terminal while many did not. Also, check in was delayed more than once since there was no space in the terminal.

MARAPRINCE

Looking forward to hearing more. We sail in 2 weeks. Debating the spa passes... your review is appreciated!

We sailed on 5/14 and were delayed boarding since your returning cruise still had passengers disembarking. Did something happen that made your cruise return late or was there an inspection at the port?

 

 

 

Just curious. We had #1 boarding and were fortunate to have a seat in the terminal while many did not. Also, check in was delayed more than once since there was no space in the terminal.

 

 

 

MARAPRINCE

I was on this sailing as well. The captain said because of strong currents in the river due to rain they had to take it very slow.

Embarkation and Disembarkation:

Original plan was to park at Port Imperial, take the ferry across and walk to the cruise terminal but since the forecast was looking a bit iffy we decided to bite the bullet and just park right at the cruise terminal for $280.

Embarkation was busy, but I wouldn't say we had any excessively long waiting. We parked around 1130 and were on the boat by 1215-1230.

For disembarkation we chose the earliest time of the self-embarkation (pink tags) and were ready to get off the ship by 8 o'clock. Unfortunately by that time EVERY single elevator was full of people with the same idea. So we ended up lugging our luggages down from deck 13 to 7 (glad I packed relatively light!). There was a bit of delay with docking so they were advising people to stay clear of deck 7 because it was getting pretty congested. We were already on deck 7 at this point, so I don't feel too guilty about ignoring that. We were one of the first off the aft gangway (note that they were checking for your tags, so if you had a later time, be prepared to wait) and were heading through the Manhattan tunnel by 9 o'clock. Easy peasy! We had a long 6 hour drive back to Canada ahead so were very grateful that it went as smoothly as it did.

Stateroom:

We had a mid-ship inside cabin 13655 and it was very adequate for us! This was only my second cruise, the first time was also an inside room so maybe it's just a matter of me just not knowing any better. We found the location to be convenient, the second room in from the aft bank of elevators and I don't remember hearing any noises from the hallway or from other staterooms. We had a friendly steward Miguel and he was quick to help out with any issues/requests that we had and left us with a wide assortment of towel animals over the course of the week. I tried to brush up on my rusty Tagalog (a lot of the workers on the Breakaway were from the Philippines ) but sadly I didn't learn enough to begin with!

Spa:

One of our first orders of business once we boarded was to get our passes to the Thermal Suite for the week. This had been something I had been back and forth about pre-cruise but with the weather forecast for the week being what it was, it became a must for us. They add a sticker to your card and you hand it over every time you enter the thermal suite. It helps to remember what color your card is because when you exit they will have to go through the stacks to give yours back to you. In total I think we spent about 15 hours in there over the course of the week! There is a hot tub, pool, sanarium, sauna, salt room, steam room and rain showers. My fave was the pool, there was one area that I renamed the "Rumble Rapids", you push the white button and the jets started going like crazy! My DH was making fun of me because it looked like I almost fell asleep in there several times. They also have a station with flavoured water, water and tea. Only thing missing was it's own dedicated bar. The heated stone loungers were popular and usually "saved" with someone's towel or robe. I found the cushioned lounge chairs to be just as comfortable.

Here are a few pics:

Next up dining!

Following :)

Really nice review so far....thank you so much for taking the time to do this!!

I've been on NCL twice, but have not been to Bermuda or sailed out of NY. I'm thinking about taking this cruise.

Out of curiosity, how much would it have cost to park and take the ferry vs. parking at the terminal??

Thank You!!

Really nice review so far....thank you so much for taking the time to do this!!

I've been on NCL twice, but have not been to Bermuda or sailed out of NY. I'm thinking about taking this cruise.

Out of curiosity, how much would it have cost to park and take the ferry vs. parking at the terminal??

Thank You!!

According to what I found on the East Coast departures board, parking at Port Imperial is $16/day. Factor in the additional fee to use the ferry of $9 per trip per person. So in the end it would have saved us $132 for the two of us.

Thank you. We'll be on the Breakaway soon and will use any pointer you can give us. Especially those that involve getting around in Bermuda.

I will try to post on Bermuda next. If you have any specific questions, feel free to ask. Not sure if I will have the answer, but you never know.

Thank you for your review. I have to say that "chair hogs" should never be allowed in a spa you pay for. That is absurd to me. Frankly, I would have complained about it. Glad you enjoyed it regardless.

Looking forward to hearing more about your cruise. This is the exact cruise that I would like to take NEXT May, depending on what is going on in the family. Do you have any pictures of your stateroom? Or maybe you can give an idea of just how big/small it was? [That's actually also exactly the deck/location that I am contemplating.] lol

Urghh....my long write-up on Bermuda just disappeared into thin air....so annoyed :mad:

Will retype and post more tomorrow

For now, here are a few scenery pics I took

Great review so far, can't wait for the rest. Wondering how much did the thermal spa cost for the week and can you pre purchase the pass?

TIA

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

Great review so far, can't wait for the rest. Wondering how much did the thermal spa cost for the week and can you pre purchase the pass?

TIA

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

Looking forward to hearing more about your cruise. This is the exact cruise that I would like to take NEXT May, depending on what is going on in the family. Do you have any pictures of your stateroom? Or maybe you can give an idea of just how big/small it was? [That's actually also exactly the deck/location that I am contemplating.] lol

Surprisingly enough I didn't get any pictures in our room!

Here is a good resource though http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1843049

Click on the google doc in the first post, our room was an IA and there are several pictures if you click on the X under Visual Aid Links.

I found our room to be big enough for two adults but any additional people would be a bit snug I would think.

Great review so far, can't wait for the rest. Wondering how much did the thermal spa cost for the week and can you pre purchase the pass?

TIA

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

Spa pass is $199 if you pre purchase it and $219 on board.

I would like more information on that too. We are doing a 14 day. I can't afford 14 days for the spa....so I am hoping I can get "day passes". What is the cost of those if you know?

I heard the day passes were $79 but I believe these were only sold if the week passes didn't sell out. Not sure if the prices would be different altogether on a 14 day cruise.

I know I said dining is next, but I am going to skip onto Bermuda for the moment.

I loved loved Bermuda! It’s definitely one of my favourite islands that I have been to. The weather did put a bit of a damper on the overall experience, it rained quite a bit while we were there. The first day was the worst of it; I learned my lesson and brought my umbrella around the other days. We found it super easy to get around and we used public transportation mostly. I wanted to purchase the 15 ticket booklet to use for the ferries and buses but because the variable weather we ended up purchasing tokens each day after we decided on a day plan.

I have seen that there is a new NCL ferry running to St. Georges. I wish that was available when we were there!

We lost out on some sunny beach time the first day because we were searching for Wi-Fi. This may seem a bit strange to doafter arriving on a beautiful island but our son was staying with my parentsfor the week and by Wednesday I was in need of some Skype time with him.

I had read about a 3 day Wi-Fi pass for Bermuda, but when I asked at the Visitor’s Centre I was informed that this had been discontinued. They did offer one hour free Wi-Fi around the main visitor’s centre and later that morning I learned about another deal where you purchased an item in the gift shop at the Visitor’s Centre for $5 or more and they would punch in their password into your device giving you access for the 3 days.

Once we got all that figured out, we headed to Horseshoe Bay by shuttle ($7/pp one way). Beautiful beach! I hope I can makea return trip there someday. We had about one hour there before the torrential rain started. L At first we contemplated waiting it out, but it kept getting worse and worse. It was a mass exodus from the beach so we had to wait a bit in the heavy rain. We had plans to head into Hamilton for Harbour Night’s that evening, but we were pretty miserable by the time we got back to the ship, so decided to nix those plans.

Day 2 in Bermuda was much more productive. We took the 930 ferry over to St. Georges and then enjoyed a guided walking tour. Some of the spots I remembered visiting: St. Peter’s Church, the perfumerie,the Unfinished Church and Town Hall. Our guide also showed us the road to get to Tobacco Bay beach. If it had been a nicer day we could have headed there but it was another overcast and rainy day. After that we took the bus (#10 or #11 if I remember correctly) towards Hamilton and got off at the Aquarium/Zoo. The zoo is a great size for those travelling with kids and all the animals seem very well cared for. We spent a few hours there and then took another bus into Hamilton. From the bus station we walked to see Fort Hamilton. Some nice views from there and there are lots of interesting trees and foliage growing within the moat. Thought it was worth it just for the photo ops. In the evening we went on a Sunset Swizzle Cruise aboard the Restless Native. We had a nice time although it was pretty cloudy and overcast so not much of a sunset to see! The swizzle drinks and cookies were quite good. I enjoyed both the walking tour and the sunset cruise and found the tour guides of both to be interesting to listen to and informative.

Day 3 was pretty much a shopping day. We took the ferry to Hamilton and shopped along Front Street, checked out Washington Mall. Queen Elizabeth's park and then headed back to do more shopping around Dockyard.