Breakaway Review 6/28-7/5

HI, just back from the Breakaway. We are a fasmily of four that consists of my husband and two children; D18 and S15. We traveled on this cruise with another family of four. This review is completely my opinion.

We arrived at the pier around 11am on Sunday. We were on the ship by 1pm. The ship is beautiful and very clean. I found both the other travelers and staff very friendly. We had the unlimited beverage package which was a plus.

We had two balcony cabins at the very back of the boat. Cabins 9918 and 9920. The balcony's were huge but almost completely covered. We had two lounge chairs, two regular chairs and a table on each deck. The cabin size was very spacious, one of the largest I have seen for a standard balcony cabin. Much larger than the EPIC. Room had lots of storage and the bathroom shower had lots of water pressure. We did not have any shaking or noise in the cabin. We heard no noise from the upstairs decks other than occassionally someone moving a chair.

My S(15) arrived at the ship saying he did not want to join the Entourage Club for 14-17 yr olds. I told him we would sign him up but not force him to go. Well, we hardly saw him the rest of the week, I had to force some family time. He made many friends and they had lots of activities and lots of fun.

Food is very subjective but overall I thought it was good. We ate at Taste and the Manhattan Room for dinner which were both good. We had breakfast at the Garden Cafe, Taste and Savor. My preference is one of the dining rooms for breakfast. The buffet was on par with other ships we have been on. I dont particually care for buffet style food. We loved the ice cream machine and I still like the pretzel rolls they serve.

We ate at LeBistro which was by far our favorite and also the best value to us. Cagney's was ok but the steak was better at LeBisto and the shrimp were not cleaned properly for the shrimp coctail my daughter received. La Cuchina was good.

Noodle bar had good food but service was awful. All our food came at different times. We finally told my husband to start eating as his was getting cold. He was done by the time the rest of our food arrived. The wait was running 1.5-2 hrs per night for a seat. They do not take reservations.

Uptown Grill had really good burgers. We found ourselevs there frequently for lunch.

O'Sheehans was my least favorite from a food perspective. I remember the food at O'Sheehan's being much better on the EPIC.

Maltings and the Shaker Martini bar had wonderful performers every evening. Our favorite bar every evening was outside Maltings. The bartenders Santos, Renaldo and Archie were wonderful.

Rock of Ages was great. My son and I just saw this on Broadway in November. The show on the ship was on par with the Broadway production. It is not, imo, for small children. Lots of young children in the audience.

We went to Howl to the Moon and Second City, both were not bad, not great. Fat Cats was fun and the music was excellent. We played Deal or No Deal, Trivia and Bingo. All were fun.

The kids loved the sports complex. They did it all and loved every minute of it.

The pool decks were crazy busy on sea days but the same as every other ship I have sailed. I felt sorry for the joggers on board, the jogging lane is so small and there is no area for other passengers to walk around so everyone is lumped together in a small space. Not a good area for anyone. D went to the gym, it was very crowded in the morning but opened up in the afternoon. She took a kickboxing class that she said was excellent.

We took the Ferry to Hamilton one day in Bermuda. We purchased day passes at Coco Reef. Cost was $69 per person and included lunch and either one glass of wine or beer. IMO, the resort was a bit run down. Food was good but service was very, very slow. There are long wooden steps to get down to the beach. This may be an issue for anyone with mobility issues. There is no other way down to the beach area. The beach was incredibly beautiful. There is no food/drink service on the beach. The pool was nice. Overall the place was very sedate. It was restfull and it was nice to have use of the bathrooms and towels while we were there but I am not sure I would go back. Cost for a cab from the ferry to the resort was around $14 with tip.

We were always able to get seats at dinners or shows and many times we were the full party of 8. Like other posters have previously stated the boat did not have enough areas for shows or games. The Atrium gets too crowded and there are not enough seats. This is one area in need of improvement.

When traveling with our kids we have always preferred Royal Carribbean slightly over NCL. This trip might have changed that opinion. The staff were extremely friendly except for one incident where my husband fell because the floor was wet in the theater.

I hope this review helps. Feel free to reach out with any questions.

Hi tk, thanks for taking the time to write the review - it was very helpful. I am leaving this Sunday on Breakaway. Did you have reservations for the times you ate dinner in the main dining rooms ? What time did you have to be at the pool to get a chaise ? A special thanks for the Coco Reef review - I'm going to skip that.

We pre-booked Teppanyaki before we left for the trip as it was only the four of us. The online system would not allow us to prebook for 8. We made reservations once on board for Cagney's and LeBistro. We did not have reservations for La Cuchina which had an hour wait. We went to Maltings across the hall and had drinks while we waited. Noodle bar was the longest wait for anything. No wait at all for Taste, Manhattan or Savor and that was for 8 people.

We got chairs on the upper deck around 9 every morning. Seats were completely taken around the pool by then but it you went upstairs close to the Vibe there were plenty of seats every morning. On port days there were plenty of chairs even by the pool.

Was it difficult to get a table by Uptown Grill? How long did you have to wait during lunch to order and receive your food?

Uptown Grill was always busy but we did not have a difficult time getting a table. You place your order up front and then a waiter will bring the food to your table.

We were on the same cruise, and your review was right on. LeBistro- amazing. I'm still thinking about the Lobster! Teppanyaki so good and such a fun show!We had the ultimate dining package and would do that again in a minute. Ship was really clean and service was good except for a few minor incidents. Agree totally about O'Sheehans, not so good.Although I enjoyed the fish and Chips there. I would however highly recommend the Vibe. It was my first time doing it and absolutely loved it. We had to purchase the whole week, but was so worth it. I sailed Royal 3 times last year and just don't care for that line- entertainment was so bad. Love the nightlife on The Breakaway. We saw Howl with the Moon June 2013, and it was great- this year just ok, but I really think they have the best entertainment that I've seen on a ship on any line. We had such a great trip and can't wait to go on again

Marshals1963, question for you, how difficult was it for you to get Vibe passes? Was there any shade available?

Glad you had a good cruise

Couple of questions, were the burgers from Uptown grill flat to/griddle cooked or char grilled? How was the disembarkation process for you?

Thanks for sharing your thoughts about your cruise. We have an aft balcony on deck 9 and good to hear you had no issues with noise from the parties held at Spice H20.

Besides Second City, are there any other comedians perhaps in the theater?

We were at the port by 10 and on the ship by 11 and ran for our lives to get the passes- we needed 6. I was told they only give out 60, but the funny thing is there were never more than 20 of us in there at a time. There are umbrellas for shade

That sounds like our plan, but I hate the 'running like hell' part. I have done that before, so I guess I will get ready to run. BTW, you go to the customer

service desk on board, correct?

You go to guest services. There was someone there that asked how many spots you needed and gave you that many tickets, then you got on line and purchased. I know the running part is not fun, but a necessity!! Hahaha

What type of show is Howl the Moon? Do you make reservations on line?

You go to guest services. There was someone there that asked how many spots you needed and gave you that many tickets, then you got on line and purchased. I know the running part is not fun, but a necessity!! Hahaha

We are taking a bus in from the NCL sight from Hartford CT. I think we get in by 12:30. That will probably be too late to get passes huh?

I think the uptown grill burgers were charbroiled.

Levaing the boat was very easy. We elected to carry our own luggage. We waited in a brief line near o'sheehan's. We started exiting the boat at 8am. Customs was very easy, no lines. Our ride picked us up outside at 8:45am.

Howl to the Moon was a dueling piano show. They take song requests and "battle" it out. It is a lot of fun. The female performer on this cruise was fabulous, the guys were ok. We did not need reservations, we were able to walk right in. Reservations were needed for the Second City commedy shows. I did not see other comedians on board but there may have been.

Marshals1963, question for you, how difficult was it for you to get Vibe passes? Was there any shade available?

It is extremely difficult to get. We were on this same cruise, we on board by 11:30 (we had priority boarding), and got some of the last Vibe passes remaining. We had a group of 10 and it was worth every penny. Private bar, no crowds, plenty of space, always access to a deck chair/bed etc. I would not sail on the Breakaway during the summer without Vibe. I felt so so so bad for the people who didn't have it. They were bunched up (quite literally) on top of each other and didn't look like they were enjoying their time. Also, there is only one pool on the Breakaway (but I heard that they may be adding another to the back of the ship where Spice H20 is during the first dry dock.)

Shade is available in Vibe via umbrellas, but not so much on the non-vibe deck----only sporadically.

Was the line very long at guest services when you ran there? We aren't getting vibe passes, but just in case there's an issue with the amount of onboard credit we have (long story), we might have to go to guest services. I'm wondering if we need to plan on spending a lot of time waiting in line there just in case.

We did not get the Vibe passes. Are kids allowed in or is it adults only?

We did not get the Vibe passes. Are kids allowed in or is it adults only?

Adults over age 18 only.

Was the line very long at guest services when you ran there? We aren't getting vibe passes, but just in case there's an issue with the amount of onboard credit we have (long story), we might have to go to guest services. I'm wondering if we need to plan on spending a lot of time waiting in line there just in case.

When you first get on, yes, it is very long.

What type of show is Howl the Moon? Do you make reservations on line?

Howl At The Moon is great fun. We have been to the one in Boston. If you look under locations, there might be on near you. :)

http://www.howlatthemoon.com/

Was the line very long at guest services when you ran there? We aren't getting vibe passes, but just in case there's an issue with the amount of onboard credit we have (long story), we might have to go to guest services. I'm wondering if we need to plan on spending a lot of time waiting in line there just in case.

FYI, the vibe line is usually on its own, with a separate line for other non-vibe guest services issues.

FYI, the vibe line is usually on its own, with a separate line for other non-vibe guest services issues.

Great, thank you!