gizmo911

Excellent review so far.

 

The Breakaway is my second favorite ship next to the Epic. I love sailing on the Breakaway and leaving from NYC.

 

Agreed with you, I thought the balcony was very spacious. I wasn't trying to have a picinic party so it was all I needed for the little time I spent.

 

I would have had a panic attack if I got to the pier at 11:45am LOL..I would be at the pier at 7am if I could. LOL :D:rolleyes:

Enjoying the read! Thanks for posting!

What time did you get to pier. We are coming from upstate NY and trying to figure out when we should be on the road based on arrival time. I was thinking about getting to pier by 10am. This is my first time on such a large ship and a little nervous.

So after holding for 20 minutes she came back and said handicap rooms only accommodate 2 people. Needless to sat there are 3 of us will have to figure out something

We booked our HC balcony cabin several months ago. For some reason I thought that the room did accommodate 3 but her mom did not want to share with us so she booked inside.

I was actually talking to our room steward outside of a handicapped balcony cabin, he had the door opened, the room is VERY EMPTY, and has a huge space where you can do 360's in your wheelchair or scooter w/ a ramp that leads up to the balcony door...Multiple wheelchairs can prob. fit into that room and you can have your own demolition derby o' wheelchairs if you wanted too!

LOL. I don't think that we will be doing derby stuff but she will most certainly spin around and around with excitement being it is her first cruise. By any chance did you get to see the size of the balcony. Wondering if only chairs can fit or one chair and lounge.

B1 balcony handicap on the Breakaway. Notice the neat ramps to go up and over the lip to the balcony outside. That divider wasn't in my dad's cabin, he was aft-facing B1 on deck 12, his included a full wall of floor to ceiling sliding glass doors.

 

 

The sink is to the right (notice no counterspace?) (the shower seat comes down from the wall in the shower on the left. There are plenty of handbars that come down around the shower and the toilet.

 

 

I don't have a picture but the bed faces a wall that includes a fridge, TV, and plenty of closet and drawer space. To the right of that is an easy chair and to the right of that the door to enter/exit.

 

There was PLENTY of room to move around. My dad had a wheelchair, walker, and was attached to a 24-foot tube from a full-size oxygen machine I rented, and he was still able to move around with ease.

OMG this is so helpful. It looks like plenty of room for the both of us and easy access to balcony. She is going to have a walker and we are renting a scooter. We can put our toiletries in the over the door shoe thingy. Thanks.

Thank you so much for sharing this info. We will be toward the back on the side right next to the aft elevator.. That aft HC cabin was not available when we booked, it is huge. I was wondering how large our balcony is and if she can lay out and not just sit up when out there. Also, we can probably bring the shoe thingy to hang over the door for our toiletries.

We will be in a HC Balcony cabin. Does anyone have pics of cabin and balcony. Would like to get some idea what we can expect in terms of space and balcony access. Thanks

I am so looking forward to the hotdog stand. There was not fixings? Was this on island or on ship as well?

Thank you for your review. I am in mid 50's and I usually travel solo so I do like the line dancing because I would probably be doing more watching. I can understand your point however, because if I were with someone I would like to just "dance" most times as you say. Did you use spa or vibe areas. I was thinking about getting spa pass. I am traveling in March and would think there would be several cold (cooler) days. Also, did you check out some of the other nightly music venues. Thanks.

In July we were very lucky to be able to purchase VIBE passes for all of our sea days. These sell out fast so important to buy as soon as u get on the ship.

 

At this time of the year with the ship going to the carribean instead of Bermuda, how many days on both ends do u lose the ability to use the pools due to cold weather? Was the ship warm enough during these colder days?

I was also thinking about Vibe passes but with cost of Spa being $199 I am not sure if I want to purchase both. Can I pay a daily rate and are there always available loungers/space in Vibe area.

With Freestyle Cruising I'm assuming that you get a different server every time you dine in the MDR for dinner. Can you ask to be seated in the same section each night so you get the same serving staff knowing that you might have to wait for a table? Also, can you get with the Maitre d' and actually set a reservation the same time each night with the same staff? DW likes to eat at the same time and have the same staff each night while sailing. Yes, we are throwbacks to the olden days of cruising :)

I hope someone who really knows will answer this question as I too would like to know. On the Gem last year a self proclaimed "seasoned cruiser" advised that if I wanted to sit at the same table/wait staff I would need to make a reservation for the entire week. I am not sure if this is correct but I decided against it because we had planned to dine at a few specialty restaurants.

Lets keep this thread going. I know many of you have sailed Breakaway since this one started and may have some interesting info to share.

Hello scuba girl,

You seem to be the "go to" person when it comes to Bahamas. I will be visiting Bahamas in March and traveling with a good friend and her mother who is a true philanthropist and has a heart for the children of the world . She would like to visit an orphanage and/or a school. Do you know of a orphanage and school that we can request to be taken to upon our visit. We also would love to participate in a lively church service if one is going on. Also, we would prefer to eat locally and not where all the tourist go. I keep reading Fish Fry and Twin Brothers. Are these two different locations/ restaurants and are they places where the local Bahamians frequent. Thanks for you help and any other suggestions you may want to share for our visit. A question: Are you a participant of this wonderful program ?

Note: I participated in PTP last year and while my host and daughter were really nice, I did not really get to expierience the more local side.

We've been to Nassau about 15 times over the last 10 years. We decided to do the People to People Exchange last week and had the best time.

 

I applied on their web site and got a reply about a week later. We had several emails back and forth with our host Jacquie. I let her know ther would be 4 of us (Myself, DW, and DDs ages 11 & 9). I also told her we would like to visit a school and bring some supplies for the students. Jacquie arranged everything.

 

Our host Jacquie met us at the Department of Tourism (which was a little tough to find, but it's not their fault that the people at the port didn't know which building it was). After some quick introductions, we were off. We started out at a primary school (grades K-6). The pricincipal was there to meet us and gave us some history of the school. We got to visit a 4th grade and a 6th grade. The kids were fantastic and had lots of questions for our kids. My 9 year old just ate it up. After visiting the classes and touring the school, we delivered the supplies to the principal who brought in the prefect (top students) to receive the supplies and take some pictures.

 

After the school, we stopped by an old fort before heading off to the Bahamas Historical Society. Surprisingly, both girls really enjoyed the museum and the curator enjoyed sharing the history of Bahamas with them. She was really surprised when my youngest indicated that Columbus was not a nice person, despite what history likes to think.

 

Jacquie continued our tour of the island, sharing much of the history and the future. We stopped for lunch at Fish Fry and enjoyed food at Twin Brothers. Jacquie ordered some amazing fresh conch, as well as fried conch. I had some really tasty grouper and homemade fruit punch. My non-seafood eating DW and kids had burgers, chicken fingers and mac n cheese.

 

After lunch, our tour around the island continued. We got to see parts of the island that were simply stunning. She dropped us off back at the ship where we took some pictures and said our good-byes. We had brought a cookbook from Georgia to share with her and she had bought a book at the historical society for the kids.

 

We had an amazing time with Jacquie and I'm certain we will keep in touch for years to come.

We are looking to participate in this program in March. One of my friends want to visit an orphanage as well as a school. What supplies did you bring and principal advise what was the most needed items.

I will be on Breakaway in March and was wondering about the private island. I am unable to sit directly out in the sun and was wondering if there are some locations that are shaded. I did this itinerary a year ago and there was very limited shade , wondering if there has been improvement?

Coka - I always look forward to your reviews, I laugh until I cry. But you're surprising me lately. First you shock us by telling us you sail on HAL, then you say you now go to be around 10:00. I can remember all those hilarious posts about you and your sister or friend closing down the clubs all cruise long. I live vicariously through you; you are my Peter Pan. Please don't grow up. :D

Please tell me where I can find those wonderful Coka reviews you are talking about. They are very rare these days and I just love reading good ones. Thanks.

Do you remember the name and location of the Mermaid machine. or can you describe the features. I plan on going to Atlantis. I usually play the Wizard of OZ but would like to try this one also.

I used to get so overwhelmed with trying to see and do everything that I did not just relax and simply enjoy my cruise. When you get your dallies (new/activity sheet) the night before, look it over and decide what you would like to do or where you want to eat. If you don't get to do it all, oh well. You will always have another day and hopefully another cruise. Enjoy the experience.

Also, I like a lot of ice so I brought with me a collapsible ice bucket. Room attendant kept if full day and night for me and I made sure to take care of him for it. Definitely take an extension cord, highlighter, posted notes if traveling with some so you can communicate, and finally dress comfortably.

I am loving your review. I will be on Breakaway in March and I was very worried that it would be to big, to much, to everything but your review has really helped. I just need to go on this cruise and do "whatever". I also am traveling with 2 friend that have never sailed and one is handicapped.

A couple of questions.

1- Have you sailed this itinerary before and got off ship at different ports. I would like to know what suggestions you may have.

2-Also, folks have mentioned you other reviews. I would love to read them. How do I go about getting to them, especially this itinerary.

3- While I like to give my annual donation to the casino, I wanted to know if the smoke is as bad as they say.

I have used this "free cruise" twice so far with NCL and both times I upgraded to a Ocean view. I am traveling again "free" in March and this time we upgraded to a balcony. I figure it is worth it upgrading since I did not have to pay full price for cruise. I don't like inside cabins because it is no sunlight and it disorientates me. It takes me a while to get my mind/body in daytime mode.

Do you have to be a Florida resident in order to take this cruise? Especially if ship not full.

We are cruising in March and planning on Cagney's. Do you think it will be warm enough by second night to eat outside? I love the fact that outside eating is made available?

Also, besides the buffet on 2nd night, what other specialty venues serve lobster tail. We have a real seafood lover traveling with us.

I am reading how the lines for seafood buffet during dinner are extremely crowded. Is this for the entire time dinner is offered or is there a tapering off and a better time to go perhaps. I am traveling with someone in wheelchair and don't want to get caught up in too much chaos. Also what are some of the other seafood items offered on buffet and are they tasty.

I am trying to decide will it be worth the wait and/or effort. :rolleyes:

I have a SPA question..... I am traveling with friend who is handicap. She may or may not feel up to using spa facilities. Can we purchase one pass and share?

No problem getting to Spice. You need to use the aft elevators. The only trick is that there are 6 elevators, 3 on each side. One side goes to deck 16, the other only goes to deck 15. So, if you take the elevator that only goes to 15, you'll need to get out and wait to take the other one up another deck. Spice was our spot for the week. Just loved it there. Enjoy!

 

Everyone keeps mentioning that pot pie. Guess I'm just going to have to make it this weekend since I missed getting it on the ship. If that's my only disappointment, not a bad trip.

 

Everyone with upcoming cruises - have fun! We sure did.

What about private island. She has a walker and I thought this would be a better choice since scooter would probably not do well there. Do you think we can get some assistance (ex. transportation to lounges).

Yes there is a covered area in the lagoon where the food is served. Please bring a hat while traveling to the lagoon area so you'll have some protection from the sun.

Do they have loungers in covered area. I want to be able to lay out, read and even nap (lol). From your pics of Lagoon, looks like limited shade. I saw a couple of palm trees.