jerseyralph

Thank you. However; what if I don't want to make any reservations at all? I prefer to 'free-style' entirely and choose when/where we want to eat while getting ready for dinner. I understand we can get into Savor and Taste or the Buffet without being turned away entirely, but is there any chance of showing up at 7:00 to let's say Le-Bistro or Tepannaki and be turned away entirely (even if we are willing to wait)? If so, the UDP is not for us :(

I believe the chances of showing up at 7:00 at Le Bistro or Tepannaki without a reservation and getting a table are slim to none. Especially at those 2 locations.

We are boarding the Breakaway for the third time this year on 10/19. All of my reservations are complete and my dining times are ranging from 6 pm to 9 pm.

I have purchased UDP twice this year. Both times I had no trouble accessing the full array of reservation times on the NCL site. I am not sure what you are experiencing. I am wondering if they are limiting availability for those who have not yet purchased UDP. It would not surprise me!

Do yourself a favor and make the reservations before boarding. We found a few disappointed cruisers on our last Breakaway adventure. The two restaurants you mention are the most likely to be fully booked.

Also book your entertainment. Looking at the entertainment schedule helps plan dining times.

Have fun!

We are on the Breakaway Oct 19 with the UDP. I was able to make all Dining and Entertainment reservations. Have fun!

What great news! Thank you for letting us know!

Cruising in a suite is often cheaper than Disney ;)

So true!

With our daughter with us we usually take a suite. With DH and I alone, usually a balcony with a location of our choosing.

Interesting stuff:

I just ran a search on a major online agent's site. The Norwegian Sun departing Tampa on !/4/15 for 7 nights in an obstructed ocean view visits Belize, Roatan and Cozumel. The total cost right now for 3 adults?

$1569.32

Less than 2 days at Disney for our last January trip. And we love the western itinerary!

Also thinking about the nine day Gem for Feb, just DH and I alone. Emily working on her final semester of college. No plane required. Valentine's day at sea and president's day makes taking less vacation time....... Right now the price is right!

I am boarding the Breakaway for the third time this year in October. I think I will keep my wallet shut today........

We have done Disney World combined with a cruise quite a few times (cruise lines: Carnival, RCCL, Disney). We have also done day trips to Disney World when sailing from NYC, Cape Liberty and Baltimore, on both Carnival and RCCL ships. Not easily done on NCL.

Me, my DH and our daughter are the travelers. Our daughter took her first cruise out of Port Canaveral at age 6. It was the Disney Wonder combined with the Grand Floridian Hotel. Expensive stuff. Worth it with kids the right age.

She is now 21 and was last with us in Disney World this past January. Overall we spent a bit more than $6000. Also expensive stuff, but we try to get to Disney at least once a year...... if only for a day or two.

The truth about the last January trip is that we would have done better and spent less money if we had stayed 3 days at Disney and then boarded a seven day cruise in a balcony stateroom. We also would have come home more relaxed, feeling a bit more pampered. Our hotel and our park admission totaled a bit more than $700/day (Art of Animation: finding Nemo). Dinners ran between $80 and $258.00 (w/o tips) (Citricos- not worth it:( Breakfast ran between $25 and $100.00. Lunch came in between $30 and $90.00. A bottle of water is around $3.50. It adds up big time.

I would encourage you to price out cruises from Port Canaveral that might be combined with a day or two at Disney. You will likely find

that the cruise is cheaper. You get the best of both worlds. The crazy parks we all love and the relaxing ships with full dinner service.

Cruising, even from NYC, is cheaper than Disney.

Whatever you decide, have a blast!

I hear everyone saying don't miss Rock of Ages, is there any other shows my wife and I should not miss? Can you just walk into shows or do you need to reserve your seats ahead of time?

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I could have missed Rock of Ages! I know in another post you asked for comparisons between RCCL and Breakaway. The theatre in the Breakaway is SMALL. Much smaller than any other ship we have experienced and we have taken many cruises. The theatre was full when we saw it. But.......quite a few left the theatre well before the finale and comments afterward indicated that some people found Rock a little bit to risqué.

We had made reservations online before we boarded the ship. There is a box office onboard for reservations, too.

My husband and I made it through the entire production. Afterward my husband said it, "is not for the faint of heart. Too loud and not very compelling".

That being written we had a blast on Breakaway at the smaller venues. We loved Howl at the Moon! We were singing and dancing and having a truly great time. We also truly enjoy Slam Allen. He and his band are not longer on the Breakaway. I hope they have been replaced with someone as good. We make our third trip on the Breakaway in October.

We, too, love RCCL's Promenades that offer the little sandwiches and other goodies. A direct comparison will not be found on the Breakaway. They do have a hot dog cart that can be found at different times in different places. Their are many places to eat on the Breakaway and we found ourselves at O Sheehan's almost daily. It is open 24 hours (free) and breakfast is really good. It is a sit down venue that allows you to watch the crowds walk by while getting table service. We also enjoyed the Shanghai Noodle Bar(not free......but not too expensive).

The Breakaway experience is different from the current RCCL experience, although with the launch of Quantum it sounds like RCCL is following NCl's path. Witness the dining on Quantum. (Witness the prices too! They have stopped me from booking!)

We have taken the UDP package and will be taking it again. We enjoyed different venues each night. And yes, we felt reservations were necessary. Others' experiences may differ.

Also know the atrium on Breakaway is also small. Bad weather makes it too crowded.

Enjoy!

If you want to be a complete penny-pincher, and have some time to spare, try this.

 

Drop everyone off at the port, pretty early. Drive over to Sheepshead Bay in Brooklyn, and you can park on the street for free. Tons of parking and no street cleaning. Take the Q train to 47th street and cab to the pier.

 

I park there all the time when I go on a trip. No tickets and free parking.

Seriously?

We used the UDP on our last Breakaway cruise. We are going to do it again on our next (10/19). I enjoy pre-paying it and not worrying about how big our final bill is going to be at the end of the cruise. I like to pre-plan and prepay. By the time we get on the ship I have forgotten how much it cost. Works good for me! I relax and enjoy.

I was stunned during our last Breakaway adventure about two things. First, a few people do book two upcharge dining adventures per night! Yikes.........Second, dining venues do fill up and reservations are a good idea.

In terms of quality...... Le Bistro is VERY good. The best we had on the ship, despite the truly obnoxious drunk at the next table. La Cucina is fair. The atmosphere is good, perhaps the most relaxing. The food is OK, like a moderately priced chain in the US is OK. Cagney's has its ups and its downs. I think the meat quality is good. The service is good. The sides and starters are hit and miss. It seems to be the most frantic. We did not do Blue. I will not eat fish. Teppanyaki is great and fun. We enjoy Moderno. The salad bar is truly good! We also enjoyed lunch one day at the Shanghai Noodle Bar. Not included in the UPD, but worth the few bucks in our opinion.

We cruise a lot and love the Breakaway. Enjoy!

Gina

I had a stem cell transplant in June, 2012. To say I have diminished immunity is truly an understatement. I am given very expensive infusions regularly to keep me going. Anyhow.......I embarked on my first post-transplant cruise, with the sanctioning of my amazing oncologist, on my birthday (11/30/12). That was the first of five cruises my husband and I have taken since the transplant. I am very mindful of keeping my hands away from my face. Washing my hands like we all should be doing....... and staying aware of my vulnerability.

Day before yesterday I got off of a plane that flew from Austin, TX to Newark, NJ. On the other side of the row I was in a really big man sneezed during the entire flight. Talk about vulnerability!

I guess my point is germs are everywhere, not just of cruise ships and you can wipe and disinfect all you want. The reality is that all it takes is a local bartender, fellow cruiser who shakes your hand, or a flight attendant to hand you a drink. Keep you hands away from your face and wash, really wash, regularly. That is what my doctors tell me and I believe them.

Relax and enjoy! Life is too short for minutia!

Gina

My G/F and I are just booked our Bermuda cruise on Norwegian Breakaway. We are looking forward to meeting everyone. I have went on one Carnival Cruise with friends years ago. This will be my G/F's first cruise. Just a few questions we have below.

Pls feel free to offer any advice. We appreciate any suggestions as 1st time cruisers with Norwegian....

 

1) Cabin Preference- We have an option of booking on deck 8,9, or 10. What are the pro's/con's of each of the 3 decks? What is the best cabin location on the ship?

 

2) Dinner Package- I have been researching the reviews of the ship. We love good food. I'm wondering if the dinner package($119/person) is worth it. The reviews of most of the specialty restaurants have been good. Were worried we will get bored of the buffet.

 

3) Drink Package- My G/F is a light drinker. I like to drink(am,pm, late night, haha). Do you guys think the package will be beneficial to us considering we will be at port for 3 days. What drinks are included?

 

Kathy & Steve

You have made a great choice! Breakaway is an amazing ship. It is one of our favorites and we cruise 2-3 times a year.

Deck 8 is a busy deck, but it does offer the huge balconies up front. My husband and I are booked on the Breakaway for the 3rd time: Bermuda, on 9/21. We chose an extended-balcony mini-suite on deck 8 forward. Those cabins are quite separate from all the activity on deck 8.

For our second Breakaway cruise this past March, we chose the UDP. We loved it! It was fun to experience a different dining venue most nights and it was terrific to pay for it upfront.(So my final bill was lower and I can delude myself into thinking I spent less!) We enjoyed the dining experiences we had and find the paid venues a bit more intimate and romantic. We are renewing our vows on the Sept cruise and we have chosen Le Bistro as our post-renewal dinner venue. We will take the UDP again.

As someone else has mentioned, there are other restaurants included for free on the ship, not just the buffet. You will enjoy whatever you choose to do.

Generally speaking we are not buffet visitors and on two different Breakaway adventures, we have not tried the buffet. FYI, we have enjoyed OSheehan's for breakfast.

I do not drink at all. On a cruise my husband might order 2-3 drinks. So, that package does not work for us. I suspect it might not work for either if both of you are required to buy it. I think your point about being docked for three days is a good one and when you factor in that your G/F is a light drinker, you might want to go pay as you go.

Do not forget to visit Howl at the Moon while on the ship and the smaller, more intimate venues that house the duets and bands. Fun stuff!

You have made a great choice in the Breakaway to Bermuda. Enjoy!

This is SO not true. I was on the March 16 Breakaway sailing, and people offered Howl at the Moon $20 to play a song, but if someone else then offered $25 not to play the song, the song wasn't played.

 

I didn't know this was the norm for dueling pianos. But I didn't give them any money, because I didn't want to waste it in case someone else offered them more money not to play the song I wanted to hear.

 

NCL emailed me a questionnaire about the cruise. I told them I found Howl at the Moon offensive, as they spent more time asking for money than they did playing the pianos. That's because I didn't know that things were supposed to be like that.

Too funny! We were on the 3/16 Breakaway and Howl at the Moon helped make it one of our best cruises ever. We had a blast and gleefully tipped them to play what we wanted to hear, sing and dance to! It was soooooooooo much fun. We cannot wait to do it again.

The tip requests are just part of the act. The music and banter were good and plentiful.

It was a good week to be on the Breakaway. It was the last week for quite a few of the musicians. Sitting in with others was rampant and we benefitted from it in a wonderful, loud and very entertaining way.

Hey everyone!

My family (my mother and three teenage sisters) and I (21) will vacationing on the breakaway in early July. We are super excited. We were all just wondering if there was anything we should know before our journey? Anything would help!

 

A wonderful family trip! You are going to love it.

 

I am a mom with an about-to-be-21-year-old daughter. She has cruised a bunch, but not on the Breakaway. Her dad and I have been on the Breakaway twice. It is a favorite of ours.

 

If she asked, this is what I would tell her:

 

The smaller entertainment venues like Fat Cats and the Comedy Club are really fun. They are small and the musicians in them are usually very good. Howl at the Moon can be fabulous!

 

Rock of Ages can be a bit, well, raw. If you know the story line you can imagine what kind of "raw". There were moments when I believe my husband would have been uncomfortable if our daughter had been with us.

 

Burn the Floor is great. Second City is sometimes good and sometimes not.

 

The dining rooms are generally good. The paid dining venues are very good. We would not hesitate to take the Ultimate Dining Package again. Le Bistro is great...... probably the best of the bunch.

 

Our experience with room service for breakfast was good. Just put the order card on the door knob the night before. Continental only, but it works for me. Room service later in the day did not go well for us. They did not answer the phone for more than an hour and when we gave up and called guest services, who took the order, the wrong stuff was delivered.

 

We never ate at the buffet on either cruise. We did enjoy O'Sheehans.... particularly at breakfast. It is also a great place to wait for disembarkation.

 

Enjoy!

I was on the same cruise with Terry and just got my review published!:D If you'd like to read my review, simply select the Breakaway cruise name listed below in my signature and be sure after reading it, you select the ports portion for the ports review!;):cool:

Finally! A few nights ago I was on CC and Ralphie asked me if I had yet read a review by you about your Breakaway adventures! I said "no" and then became concerned. Were is he? Was it good? What did he think? So glad you have turned up! We are even happier that your adventures were great. What a beautiful ship. We were thinking of you and hope that some day we will get to attend another one of your now famous M and G's! Simply the best I have ever been to!

Have fun planning your next go around! Please keep us all posted.......

Gina

Thanks in advance for any input you can give me. :)

 

We are thinking of booking a last minute trip on the Breakaway to Bermuda the beginning of May. We have cruised before but are new to NCL.

 

How hard is it to get reservations to the ship's shows at this late date?

 

We've never been to NYC and won't have time to sightsee this trip. Would using Norwegian airport transfers be the best option?

 

Being a last minute trip, we will probably book an inside guarantee. How bad are the worst of the inside cabins?

 

And finally . . . I know this is the NCL board, but would you pay $100 more per person for the same stateroom category on the Celebrity Summit out of Cape Liberty? We're a couple in our forties.

 

Thanks

The Breakaway has bargains to Bermuda for May. Comparing Celebrity to NCL can be tough. Comparing the Summit to the Breakaway makes it a bit easier. I would select the Breakaway. It is brand new. The Summit is older and will likely draw an older crowd. the Breakaway has smaller, more intimate entertainment venues that are great for couples who might want to sing along to some Rock and Blues. Rock of Ages is good. Burn the floor is great. Second City is meh,,, but fun. We would suggest you take unlimited dining. It is truly worth the money. There are good restaurants on that ship. The dining package makes it all guilt free and truly enjoyable.

We love the Breakaway. We sail a lot and it is currently our favorite ship. We have enjoyed her twice since 2014 rang in! We would be joining you on a May cruise it is our 25th anniversary, but too many meetings!

Have fun!

What a wonderful read! What an amazing wife! Cannot wait to read more.... DH and I were getting off the Breakaway as you were getting on. Thank you for making me laugh!

Gina

I was under a mystical spell while I enjoyed Slam Allen? Wow... I missed that. I thought I was just enjoying a good musician who happened to be a terrific, warm and somewhat funny guy. His banters with the audience were memorable. His Louis Armstrong was stunning. We enjoyed our time with him very much. We relaxed, sang along......... and smiled. I wish he could be back on Norwegian.

Be well.

G.

I was on the Epic in early December long after Slam left for the Breakaway. Fat Cats was being used for trivia and often was empty at night. I am not so sure they found a replacement on the Epic. I will be on the Breakaway in September...by then we will be able to assess just how seriously NCL took it!

I am the OP on this thread and DH and I will be on the Breakaway in September, too (21st). If Fat Cats is empty, I will be truly sad and really annoyed.

Then there is Howl at the Moon. We had a blast with them.

I can only hope more than memories will be with us in September. We will have to wait and see, There is always RCCL's Quantum as fall unwinds. It is a bit pricier, but now doing a freestyle dining kind of thing and with cheaper parking!

Gina

I have searched the net but up to now with no joy to find anyone that was also on the Breakaway last week 16th March 2014, that noticed that during sail away the ship actually struck and knocked down a street light and caused damage to the concrete pier wall at the front of the ship, or did I dream it ?? No actually it was definitely not a dream as the pictures we took prove. Did anyone else see it??

You did not dream it! We were on the cruise with you and totally missed the crash. We were only made aware of it when our porter showed us the damage on the way to our car heading home. In fact, you pretty much said just what the porter said and he, too, saw it happen.

What is the latest you can stay your room? (We're in a suite, if that changes anything. I DO understand they need to change over the rooms.)

 

Is anything open while waiting to leave? I haven't been on a cruise in 10 years. :eek: I remember having to stay in a certain area and it was BORING! Lol Of course I didn't have an iPhone back then! ;) I also didn't have children back then! :rolleyes: We do not need to catch a flight and would prefer not to have to wake up early but we do have almost a 2 hour drive home. Just trying to figure out our options.

 

Also wondering about luggage. If I walk off WITH luggage, that's the earliest debarkation? Any other group needs to have luggage out night before? Any chance this is different for suites? Again, just trying to understand procedures.

 

Thanks in advance! :)

For last week's Breakaway cruise, we chose the red luggage tags (9:30 debarkation) and put our luggage out before we went to our 8 pm dinner reservation Saturday night.

We got up Sunday morning at about 7-ish, showered, finished packing, checked emails and left our stateroom at about 8 am.

We went down to O'Sheehan's and were seated immediately for breakfast.

They serve the full menu on departure morning. They stop serving about 9 am, but do allow you to sit there and refill your coffee. There is a large pot with take-out cups and lids on the counter.

The line to get off the ship seemed to keep growing and for awhile, did not appear to move at all. We have no idea why. We just kept reading emails and drinking coffee. They called for red tags to head off the ship around 9:40-:45.

We then literally walked off. Only had to wait at the top of the terminal escalator for Customs. We got a porter to haul the luggage and he took us to the express Customs line and to the car we went.

If you choose to cart your own luggage, you need put nothing out the night before.

We have taken suites on other cruise lines and the procedures were the same except we had earlier debarkation and a place to wait that was private. We have not done a suite on Norwegian and am not sure of their protocols.

Sometimes I feel like debarkation got more complicated when the cruise lines implemented self-debarkation. I am not at all sure what the rush is, but many people choose it and have a hard time getting those big pieces of luggage down those escalators. And in NYC there are escalators!

A few cruises ago we watched a young couple with two tiny kids try to manage all their luggage, the kids and a double wide stroller getting off the ship in NYC. They refused our help and stalled the line for quite sometime. People behind us were getting angry. Finally we quietly asked for help from the staff and they were taken to an elevator.

For those who might be interested........

doublewides do not move well through the Breakaway's narrow hallways.

Thank you for sharing your Breakaway cruise with us. Im still conflicted on the big ship thing. Hubby says no but there are places NCL goes with them that they do not with the smaller ones now and I want to see those places

Please do not be conflicted about the "big ship thing". What is really interesting about the Breakaway is that despite its size, it is VERY intimate. It is full of smaller venues and it does not feel big at all. In fact, I forgot how big the Breakaway is when I was on her for the week. When we stepped foot off her yesterday and walked into the terminal, I turned around and looked and told my husband I had forgotten just how big she really is.

I love that ship and have chosen her to renew my vows with DH in September. We had a wonderful experience and six years ago we vowed never to step onto a Norwegian ship again. Things have changed!

Enjoy,

Gina

We wanted to let others know that Slam Allen and his group left the Breakaway this morning. We had a wonderful time with him and are sad he will not be back on board. (Directly from his mouth).

 

WHAT??? Are you kidding me??? Do you know if it is just for a break or forever???

 

Loved Loved Loved them!!! We are booked and have been telling everyone about Slam and how much fun we have to look forward too hanging in Fat Cats with Slam Allen playing!!!

 

:eek::eek::eek::eek::eek:

 

Hubby and I believe it to be a great loss to the ship. He and his group offered a wonderful and intimate experience that we have not found on any other ship and we have sailed many. The last night he was joined by other musicians and we went to a rock and roll place that was just amazing. Then back to the blues. We were so happy to have had the privilege of being there.

 

I hope we cross his path again and that you do too!

 

Gina

So glad you had a wonderful time; How many choices of steaks did you have at Cagney's?

I see that a menu list has been posted. More info:

The food at Cagney's is good. I loved the wedge salad and had the NY strip twice. I could not finish it. The mushrooms on the side were fabulous. The creamed corn is truly that: corn floating in heavy cream with a mild seasoning. We saw someone send the pea soup back as it as not the traditional American variation. We did not try it ourselves.

Book Cagney's as soon as you can firm up your plans. It did appear to sell out as did Le Bistro.

Also know that the waiter offered to have our dessert delivered to our room. We turned him down, but they had no problem offering.

Enjoy!

Gina

Glad you had a good time! Was the food in La Cucina good? That's the only specialty restaurant we are considering.

La Cucina was probably the one I would not try to get into again. We did it twice only because it was the only one we could switch into from Le Bistro when we had a scheduling conflict. It was OK. It was not spectacular.

If I could choose on and only one, it would be Le Bistro. My husband agrees.

Have fun!

Gina

We are home from an amazing week on the Breakaway. It may have been our best cruise ever and we cruise as much as we can. We will be back on board in Sept!

We wanted to let others know that Slam Allen and his group left the Breakaway this morning. We had a wonderful time with him and are sad he will not be back on board. (Directly from his mouth).

Oh, well. Hopefully the replacement will be good. No info on that.

For those soon to board the Breakaway, be prepared for a great time. Book dining and entertainment online before you board. We did the unlimited dining for $119. each. Each night a different venue, Cagney's and La Cucina twice. Really great dining experiences. Our top pick: Le Bistro!

Howl at the Moon is FUN, especially with drunk spring breakers!

We are happy to answer questions.

Gina and Ralph

You can get a taxi upstairs and the one time my ride was across the highway the porter brought all of our luggage across the street without any problems.

 

 

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Perhaps the porters have some power to cross or not to cross. Who knows? One thing we do know for sure......... the procedures are somewhat dependent upon who you talk to and the "guards at the gate".

One time we parked at the pier for embarkation and the outside elevator would not work. That time hauling our luggage was an interesting adventure. There were no porters helping arrivals on the parking deck or anyone to direct. Everyone was on their own. The drug sniffing dog just kept sniffing, the elevator just kept not moving and the crowd just built and built.

We have also experienced disembarking in NYC at a different pier than we embarked from. People were confused..... especially those who did not realize the change and panicked when there car seemed to not be where they left it.