opalinem

Great pics, thanks!

I really want to try those scallops now :)

I don't even believe that the guy in the video is actually in the cooking or baking business because the dessert he ordered was "flambe". What "flambe" means is that it is doused in alcohol and it creates a burst of flame when you ignite it. It's a well known process for anyone in the field (like for instance crepes Suzette are a "flambe" dessert). Well, his main complaint is that the dessert has TOO MUCH ALCOHOL on it. Obviously, the complainer knows nothing about pastry or being a pastry chef, which makes his arrogant tirade sound even more idiotic and pointless.

My daughter is 16 and she loved it. She didn't go to the teen club much though. She found other teenagers she liked and they usually spent time together. They loved the Irish pub late at night for snacks.

I can confirm that a fight broke out in the theater during a Rock of Ages show. I read about it on FB. They had to stop the show for 20 minutes! (2 young guys from New Jersey apparently, no idea what they were fighting about). Other than that, I love the Breakaway. Leaving for my 2nd cruise on her tomorrow (can't wait :)). There are rowdy and non rowdy people but it's easy to find quiet spots on that ship if you wish. Personally, it's my favorite ship. Of course, no one can control who's on it but I can't imagine getting bored of having a bad time there. Just so many options!

Ha ha this is hard to believe. It looks like hidden camera or something. At first, my only thought was "omg the poor wife, having to live with this guy...", and then she started talking and I switched to "hum I guess they deserve each other..."

What's mindboggling is the patience of that waiter. Wow how can he keep his cool so well? We, passengers, really don't realize the type of incredible stuff the staff has to deal with. Day in, day out, one has to wonder how they manage to keep their sanity intact (I'm starting to understand the need for wild crew parties better :))

Wow this package looks awesome! I'll definitely do it in the future. Does it really include all alcoholic drinks?

I would not say that about other NCL ships but in the specific case of the breakaway, I would recommend using buffet a lot. We loved the choice and preparation there even for dinner. We found it better than the free dining rooms. If you want to splurge, we loved the bistro and ocean blue.

I agree Cagney is OK but nothing special. Le bistro OTOH is a "must". (And the cover charge is very reasonable). Doing the breakaway for the 2nd time in 3 weeks!! Soooooooo excited :)

I thought the sheer size would be a massive drawback. It turned out to be a huge asset. Very easy to find cozy, relaxing places and escape the crowds on the Breakaway. I thought the pools would be too small and overcrowded. The "wave" pool turned out to be my favorite pool on a ship ever. I thought maybe the food would not be as good as previous ncl cruises but it was excellent. I thought the theater seats would not be comfortable (there were some complaints about that) but they were just fine. The Breakaway turned out to be my favorite ship after all ! Would love to go back!!

I agree completely - we loved it! So funny that you thought the spa was hot and the salt room comfortable - I thought the spa room was the perfect temperature and the salt room too cool. DH would probably agree with you, since he gets hot much easier than I do - he couldn't spend more than 20 minutes on the tile lounger without getting uncomfortably hot!

Yep, I'm just like your DH :) I thought the place was gorgeous but I couldn't have stayed too long either... Another thing I wanted to add is: I liked the buffet as much or better than the free dining rooms on the Breakaway (so , no need to stress about lines) and for the specialty restaurants I was blown away by le Bistro. Better than a lot of French restaurants in NYC . That's the one I would recommend to people if they were to try only one of the extra charge dining options. The window take away from Ocean Blue was worth it too. Once again, I love your review! (and I loved the Breakaway as much as you did!)

Yeah the breakaway is the best :)

We had a ball on it and I definitely want to sail it more than once. We watched the fireworks from spice. I was afraid of the crowds but it was just fine in the end. I was impressed at how well organized everything was..

Wow great review, thanks for sharing! We sailed the Breakaway in December: best cruise and best ship EVER!!! We simply had the time of our lives! I expected to prefer medium size ships but soooo not... The breakaway is an absolute riot, impossible to get bored + tons of quiet spots to relax and also tons of possibilities for just walking around, mingling or avoiding crowds are equally easy... Food, drinks, entertainment and activities, all a blast, we took 10 lobster tails to our cabin on lobster night, lol, best mini-golf at sea, best drinks, atrium giant screen high definition and awesome, specialty coffees top notch, burn the floor and jazz club, just fab, we loved impac too, the wave pool: most fun pool ever and rarely crowded (it's not the main pool but the one next to the kids pool, all pools heated at perfect temp), deck 7 promenade: best view when the ocean is rough, don't miss it, deck 8 promenade and all the top decks: best couches and seashell beds to lie around, so comfy and romantic, cabins and balconies a dream, amazing views all around, the ship itself is stunning. One thing: the spa is fantastic but also very, very hot- I had to escape to the wonderfully cool and refreshing salt room from time to time(and very, very expensive). I was happy with my one day pass (jut make sure you at least visit it). We loved spending maximum time outdoor, loved that you can watch some rock climbing from the jogging track. Tours (Atlantis) were great too.

Honestly, I do not understand the complaints about this ship AT ALL. It's definitely been my favorite to date, never had a better time on a ship before and I'm trying to save to go back on it this summer!!!

ETA: I almost forgot. The staff/crew absolutely rocked! Had the best chats with the barmen, dancers are adorable if you get a chance to meet them, had to write a "hero card" for our amazing room attendant who went our of her way to please us. Big "wow" and "thumbs up" all around

in that department (Hope some of them read this board haha)

Thanks for the heads-up about the mini golf. I'm definitely packing my own balls!

Wonderful review! the spa looks awesome. You got me worried about the mini golf though. Do they really have 2 balls for the entire ship :eek: or were you joking? we love playing and I'm starting to wonder if we should bring our own balls... (some ping pong balls too maybe??)

B2 is definitely not a suite, it's a balcony room. Good luck with sorting this out!

Wonderful! Those sunsets, ahhhhh....

Thanks for sharing. That beach at GSC looks amazing :)

My ideas for improvement:

- bring back the wrap-around promenade and the control room viewing area

- $150 (the original price) seemed right for the spa facilities. 200 is over the top

- bungee trampoline hours are too limited, it should open earlier in the afternoon.

- Ocean Blue take out window for lunch also has too limited hours. Open it on port days too. In general make the restaurants on the Waterfront (at least the outdoor area) available for lunch and brunch as well as dinner

- Bring back afternoon snack time in the buffet (it completely disappeared from the dailies :mad:)

- Make cabins and balconies a bit wider (not longer or deeper). Also a bigger room would be nicer than a bigger bathroom (think about privacy, don't make balconies that have a view on the balcony underneath. Awkward!!)

- Take it easy with the "privilege" system. Too many restricted areas: Haven, Vibe, Spice, spa lounge, studio lounge... A few is nice but that's starting to go overboard. Add more public areas for everyone instead.

- Teen/family pool: great but add a hot tub near it (some ncl ships have a hot tub adjacent to kids pool, which is fantastic for parents!)

- For shows: I prefer the "first come, first served" system (the one they've always had) to that new reservation business. You have to arrive way early anyway to get good seats, so what's the point?

- Give the mega-ships a breather. Get back to a more humane size. Too many people on a ship is not safe (that goes for all cruise lines obviously, not just ncl)

That's all for now! I'm sure I will think of more after I sail the Breakaway ;)

Yea, but think about a nice breeze, some wine, the moon, stars and nice company. :D

Oh absolutely! I'll definitely try to get outdoor seating (unless it's the last day as it will be freezing then). I like the idea of doing it Wednesday and then watch the fireworks from there. I didn't know what day to pick, so that idea helped!

Depending on the time of year, it could be dark at dinner time!

Good observation! The specialty restaurants open at 5:30pm and in December when I cruise, the sun will already have set. So much for the view! (But still seems like a nice idea). I wish some specialty restaurants also opened for lunch or brunch. I don't understand why they only do dinner, especially on sea days.

According to recent dailies, it's on the 2nd night. (on 1st night, they have a prime rib special)

What must be really tough for staff is that they have no day off in between weeks, the new passengers get on board practically as soon as the others leave. No wonder some "crack" at times. They just don't have time to "re-boot". + not sure how much they're paid but wouldn't be surprised if it was not much. I'm all the more impressed at how nice the ncl staff has always been on my previous cruises. I haven't had 1 bad experience with staff on ncl so far. Judging by what others post, I must have been lucky.

A lot of PJ bottoms look like lounge pants these days. Not that I would do it myself but I probably won't care if others do. Bathrobe with nothing underneath seems downright indecent though.

I think the other pool is only 4 feet deep. I plan on using that one. I'm 5'2 and I don't like the idea of being in a "rocking" pool where I cannot stand anywhere. I'm also not sure about the temperature. Some people say all the pools are heated on the breakaway and others complained that the adult pool was freezing. So, who knows? Thank God for hot tubs :D

ETA: I wish they had a wraparound promenade too but the one they have is pretty long as it is and it looks really pretty and I think it's great to have all those seats there too, so I expect to like it a lot.

He he c'est la vie :) (It could have been worse, at least I got the free upgrade! BTW, the difference of price I mentioned was not "per person" but for the 3 of us, so we're talking only a few hundred per person, it's just that it adds up in the end :o )