notes21

I took this cruise in May & one day it was 80 in St. Petersburg with next being 58. I’d definitely recommend layers. I ended up regretting not having more short sleeve stuff but sea days were quite cold.

Thanks for taking the time to write this awesome review. It is really helpful for planning our days on our upcoming (August) RCCL Baltic cruise -- we stop in almost the same ports.

 

Also, you really helped me dodge a bullet. I was packing more summer clothes for this cruise because weather dot com says the temps in the ports will be mostly in the 70's. I hadn't really thought about Sea Days, and how those days would be colder. A picture is worth a thousand words--- when I see your fellow passengers on ship shopping for souvenirs in heavy fleece & down puffy vests--- I realized I need to MODIFY my packing to add a some cold weather things. haha

 

Thanks again!

You probably want to find your roll call as that is where most people on your cruise sailing will be talking, etc

We used Barcelona Day Tours as well and had a good experience. I would also recommend going to Park Guell.

I don’t remember show times & didn’t bring home the dailies due to luggage weight but you should be able to see them on ncl.com as njkate mentioned

The drinks on the train are not covered by any beverage package as it is a separate entity that is selling them. The description on NCL tells all or many of the places that you go. It goes to brandenburg gate, a memorial for the book burnings by ****s, checkpoint charlie, the berlin wall monument, memorial for murdered jews of europe, Charlottenburg palace, and a shopping stop. There were also more places that we saw from bus during the tour, etc.

It was the Best of Berlin mentioned by pe4all. I personally wouldn't pay the extra money for the exclusive, b/c their bus was at all the same places as ours every time. It was significantly more money & their crowds really weren't any different than ours. There is a guide that goes with you on the train & helps you get to the bus outside fo the train station. On the way to Berlin, they provided waters, cookies, and fruit. On the way back, they offered pretzel sticks and water...possibly some fruit as well and also had soft drinks and alcohol for sale.

Sorry hit reply too quick. The 2 days and evening at Peterhof included a tour around the house but also around an hour to hour and a half in the gardens. Our guide helped us get a great spot at 11 for when they turn on the main cascade/ fountain. after that 3 minute show, we toured more of the gardens & fountains including some of the trick fountains. Really enjoyed Peterhof & the gardens.

Pe4all - it was typically a group of about 35 people on a 45-49 passenger bus. I never felt like it was super crowded, and many times found that the private tours were at places at the same time. Ncl or those tour companies did a good job of staggering locations so that it wasn’t 5 busses all trying to enter somewhere at same time or anything.

Iceangell2335 - we stopped at multiple places on best of Berlin for photo stops or exploring including about an hour for a traditional German meal which was really good. The Checkpoint Charlie stop was a little short to get through the other things around there but at same time it was very touristy so happy to leave when we did. There was some time for shopping as well. I said on the train ride back that that day was worth the whole trip. I learned so much & it was so interesting. If you’ve never been to Berlin before like us, it was absolutely worth the long day & not too much time on bus.

Be prepared for a long wait at St. Petersburg customs. It took us 45 minutes to get through but for some in our group it took almost 2 hours. Hopefully that will get smoother with time as well. Also the agents are definitely not friendly that first morning; though they were a bit nicer the other 2 times we passed through & lines were shorterThey were being pretty picky on the night tours. Our guide told us to head there at 6 for our 7 pm meeting time but they wouldn’t let us through until about 6:20.

SharonAnn - we found with our discounts that the ship’s weren’t really more. We are a bit shy about using others in Europe after 2 late situations out of our control on our ncl spirit morroco/ Canary Islands a year 1/2 ago. But the nice thing is that there are so many options available for tours on ncl , other companies, &/ or doing them on your own. Most of the ports are really industrial & dont really have much in the way of vendors or tours right there at the port. Most seemed to be s pretty good walk to city centers, etc. but hopefully someone who did things on their own will post about that as well.

We never got to the pour house. We did hear the singer/ guitarist Melvyn several times and also entice duo several locations on the ship. Entertainment &what we did see performance wise was well done. Went on a carnival cruise during New Years & their entertainment made me cringe & leave several times. Never felt that way about the entertainers on this ship.

JenJohnCourt - If you do an NCL excursion to Berlin, they have an entire train rented; so, we did the train. Only 1 stop on the way in to Berlin to let some people off who were seeing the concentration camp, and no stops on the way back. They provided some snacks and drinks both ways. It was a good experience. Have fun on your cruise. The balcony is so nice to see the ports and things. I'm sure you'll enjoy it.

rslinky- you should be good. There is a $19.95 laundry fill the bag special on day 4 I think

Sayer-kraut. - well, it’s officially listed as a Baltic capitals cruise so commonly abbreviated as just Baltics. The tour guides also referred to it as the Baltics throughout our time there. Thanks for your input.

Also wanted to add real quick -- pack for any weather if you are doing this cruise! We had 80 degrees in St Petersburg one day & 63/rainy the next. I forgot sunscreen, and I can't believe I'm going home sunburned from the Baltics. Our tour guide in St Petersburg said that this same time last year that they were dealing with snow; so, it was unseasonably warm. Being from Florida, I was surprised how hot 65& sunny could be in some of these places. I packed in layers, but only wore a sweatshirt or jacket 2 or 3 times the whole cruise (other than on my balcony when we were on the move). So, my suggestion is to definitely pack for anything!

I have to start by saying that overall, I loved this cruise. The ports are so interesting, and well worth the time in each one.

I cruised this time with my parents, and we got to Copenhagen 2 days ahead. During that time, we went to Tivoli, and did the grand day trip around Copenhagen with Hamlet Tours. Both were very enjoyable! We stayed at Scandic Copenhagen through NCL as we had booked the cruise as a distinctive voyage. The transfer process to the port was smooth, but embarkation told a long time. They were using 2 terminals (one for odd floors, one for even), but there were some computer glitches and long waits that I think were primarily from it being the first NCL cruise back of the season. The nice thing was that the rooms were all ready by the time that we got on the ship.

This was my first time on Breakaway, but it was obvious that many of the carpets were new. Otherwise, I don't really know what was new or not. There were still only 4 outlets above the desk (2-240 needing European plugs/adaptors and 2-110). We were worried about storage space when we initially saw our room, a large balcony, but it worked out well. The room was fine for us, and we loved the balcony as always though it was a bit chilly on it some of the time. Our steward was always friendly and greeted us by name which I didn't realize until back on NCL that I had missed on my most recent Carnival cruise.

Food -- We ate at the main dining rooms, O'Sheehan's, Cagney's, Le Bistro, and Cirque Dreams show/dinner. As I'd heard, the Manhattan room was nice, but just a bit too noisy for us which is ironic since we are all music teachers. We preferred Taste/Savor for the atmosphere though the food was good in all three. Cagney's was very good again as was Le Bistro. I was looking forward to the cones appetizer in Le Bistro and didn't realize that it was not on the larger ships, but the other food more than made up for it. (Sorry, I can't remember exactly what I had other than the french onion soup at the moment). I had read enough reviews to know that the Cirque dreams dinner was not necessarily going to be my favorite, though the steak was very good, but the show itself was very enjoyable. I've seen other Cirque Dreams and Cirque du Soleil shows, and was not left feeling like this was any lower in quality for the size of the venue.

We ate at O'Sheehan's a lot for lunch b/c after walking around on a tour it was nice to be waited on, etc. and the dining rooms were often either not open on port days or closed earlier than we got back on tours. I loved the size of the O'Sheehan's on this ship compared to the smaller ships I've been on before.

Shore Excursions -- Having distinctive voyages, silver discount, and my mom worrying about being left, we chose to do all ship shore excursions. The actual tours were wonderful, and we enjoyed each of them. We did Best of Berlin, Highlights of Tallin, 2 Days & an Evening in St Petersburg, Discover Helsinki, Beautiful Stockholm & Vasa, and then the City & Harbor tour (ending at the hotel) today when we left the ship. The process for getting people their stickers and to their buses was some of the most unorganized that I have ever seen. I don't know if that was b/c of the size of the ship, first time doing this cruise, or what, but as a former band director used to organizing groups of people, it drove me crazy until I just said -- I will not let this bother me. It did seem to get better as the week went on.

I was a bit frustrated at the fact that I had to go twice to the shore excursion desk & stand in line for quite a while before getting my 10% silver discount applied. In some locations, it wouldn't have been worth it, but 10% of the cost of some of these tours was significant. It did get fixed the 2nd time though thankfully. For going to Stockholm, it is a significant bus ride, and I get extremely car sick along with taking medicine that makes nausea worse even on a good day. The 2nd shore ex desk visit I was told that a seat would be reserved near the front of the bus, but when I got down to the bus, there was no paper and people had already filled the first half of the bus. There were a frustrating few minutes, but the NCL staff did get it fixed though it meant switching buses. I was very thankful that they worked on it, and I'm also very thankful for a couple on the other/now our bus who volunteered to move back. It made a huge difference in me being able to have an enjoyable day in Stockholm rather than being sick the whole time.

Entertainment - - I already mentioned Cirque Dreams Jungle Fantasy which was enjoyable. We watched some game shows in the atrium & yes, others are correct that the space should have been made bigger. We also watched Burn the Floor and Rock of Ages. I had only seen the movie version of Rock of Ages and felt ho hum about it, and really didn't like the Broadway version though the performers did a good job in their execution of it. It just wasn't my thing. We never got to the comedian or howl at the moon, though we had hoped to. Some of that was conflicting with our reservations, and the other was just the full itinerary and jet lag.

This was my first time on a ship as large as the Breakaway, and the cruise as a whole was very good. I do think I prefer the slightly smaller ships that have the more traditional, different entertainment every night without a reservation over having to make reservations in advance and only having a couple of things playing for multiple nights in a row. Would I turn down a cruise on a large ship if it had an itinerary I was interested in? Absolutely not! For the right ports, I would definitely sail the Breakaway or a sister ship again.

Sorry this review doesn't have pictures and isn't more detailed, but I was still having to teach my 5 online classes throughout the cruise. My only true week off is Christmas to New Years, but thankfully the online teaching allows me to work from anywhere in the world & helps pay for trips like this, lol. Oh, speaking of that, the internet: I got the unlimited wifi plan, and the service was very good most of the time. Of course, it was a bit slower than home and a couple of days had some spottiness, but overall, I felt it worked as well as I could expect.

Hope this maybe helps someone who is looking forward to this cruise. I know I searched for reviews and read as much as possible; so, I wanted to give back a little :)

We did a tour with Hamlet Tours around Copenhagen that was wonderful!

It has new carpets throughout, but the rumored usb ports by the bed did not happen in our room at least. Smoke hasn't been too big an issue that I've noticed so far, and I'm pretty sensitive to it. But, it is my first time on Breakaway so I can only go by what I read not first hand experience. Others probably have more on the updates.

If you have a large group, the set dining times that other lines have could be fine as often your group are the only ones at the table. I travel both with others and solo, and I really disliked my recent dining experience on Carnival as a solo the first night. My seat was at a table for 4, but only 3 people had been assigned. The other 2 people never showed up the first night or any night after. That is of course, their right, but it made me feel awkward as initially I tried to wait for them that first night. After that, I just brought my kindle and enjoyed my dining experience alone as I would at any restaurant locally if I went solo. I will say that my waitstaff was amazing! For going solo, I really prefer the freestyle method as I can either eat by myself or with friends I've made depending on what I feel like doing each night.

I am doing this same itinerary on the Breakaway in May. How did you pack/plan clothing wise? On our trip to England/Scotland last year, I packed short or 3/4 sleeve shirts that could go with a sweater, sweatshirt, and all-weather jacket layered as needed. Would that be sufficient or would it be better to go with a warmer bottom layer? I've looked at the average temps for each area, but I'm from Florida so packing for cold is always a bit hard.

Thank you for all of the suggestions, and I will check with the special needs department.

In regards to just washing hands, unfortunately washing hands does nothing for inconsistent food temperatures and other things like people's hands touching the actual food, sneezing (& the sneeze guards do not prevent everything), etc. . We'd all love to think that no one ever touches the food without the tongs, etc, but the reality is that I've seen kids and adults do it many times. I know having the food served isn't a guarantee, but it does at least help and follows my oncologists directions. I definitely don't want to have to explain how I got sick b/c I chose to eat at the general buffet anyway, especially since a rather "easy" illness for most people has the possibility of being much more serious for me. I'm very thankful she supports me "living" through travel as much as possible.

Thank you for the information on what is open. Regarding why to avoid buffets: many chemos (especially mine) make people immuno-compromised so that you are much more likely to get sick than the average person. It is not the food options that are the issue in the buffet but rather the physical aspect of it being a buffet with hundreds of people touching the serving utensils, etc. I'm supposed to avoid buffets on land and meals where everyone brings a covered dish for the same reason. Packaged options from the buffet as someone mentioned or made to order meals mentioned are things I will keep in mind too; thanks for those suggestions as well.

I am going on a New Years Eve cruise on Conquest which I'm incredibly excited about. The only issue is that I am on an oral chemo. My doctors have approved me going, but want me to avoid the buffet. I know I can do continental breakfast through room service in my room for no fee or pay for hot food. Is there a dining room available for breakfast as well? Last time I was on Carnival you could do lunch in a dining room, but thought I read on a thread that it wasn't an option anymore. What non-buffet option(s) would be available for lunch on port or sea days besides room service? Traveling solo & would prefer to not be stuck in my room all the time, but I did get a balcony in case I need to avoid crowds and still want to enjoy the view. Thanks in advance for your help!

Twinzma - Hoping that each treatment provides the most time possible. I'm in a similar situation as I mentioned, but the last treatment I was on just got FDA approved in 2016, and I got a good 10 months out of it. My current treatment was approved in 2013 for my type of cancer. I know there is a balance of realism and hope, but you never know which one might work.....my original mets were in every lobe of the liver and plentiful, but the right treatment actually took me to no evidence of disease for 3 years.. My wish is that he will find that treatment to produce stable or regression for as long as possible.

As someone with metastatic cancer & trying to travel while I can, my thought would be is there somewhere he always wanted to go? I’ve managed to get in a Morocco, Canary Islands, & Spain from Barcelona last year & have a Baltic’s planned for this summer. Alaska could be a nice option a bit closer if not interested in Caribbean. The nice thing about cruises is that you can see so much with so little effort (no packing & schlepping into a new hotel every night). I’ve become ok with wearing a mask on flights or primarily doing the sit down restaurants instead of buffet if counts are low.

Sanger727 -- Is the site you use a little fishy? I hadn't thought to check there, but see that recent price drops have only been around 1%.

Not sure whether its worth holding out or not then, but even a small drop is more significant when solo.....of course, that means a small rise is more significant too.