Just back - Breakaway to Fla & Bahamas, Haven with Kids

Hi all,

I always enjoy reading reviews so I thought I'd write one.

We are 44 and 45 years old, with 2 kids (7 boy, 5 girl). We live in NJ, and were on the Breakaway to Bermuda last summer in a balcony cabin. This was our first time in the Haven, partly due to the "off week" (except for NJ) and the 3rd & 4th passenger free promotion. Last year, our cruise was about $5400 including taxes, fees & insurance; and this year the Haven cost us about $6800. Couldn't pass up trying the Haven for an extra $1400 more, plus all 4 promotions.

Pros:

The most important perk for us was the priority embarkation and disembarkation, also for Florida disembarkation, GSC tender, and Nassau disembarkation. Rightly or wrongly, we really loved skipping the lines while there were hundreds of people waiting. (That was us last year!) For most of the disembarkations, we were able to meet the concierge at the Haven lounge, and he escorted us down the crew elevators to the front of the line.

Haven Restaurant, lounge, and courtyard - even though the menu doesn't change, we ate at the Haven restaurant 3 nights and always found something we liked. Quality and service were top notch. Only had to wait once for a table, every other time walked right in. Never had to wait more than a minute or two for a drink at the lounge. Having the indoor courtyard space with the pool & hot tub was great on the cooler & rainy days. A few days it was so windy no once could sit outside, but at the Haven there was plenty of seating inside.

Kids - After reading complaints about kids in the Haven, I was determined to NOT be the ones people complain about. So we really stayed on top of our kids. They were well behaved at meal times, and while they were in the Haven pool, I sat right on the edge watching them / keeping them from splashing. Most of the kids we saw were pretty well-behaved. There are always a few exceptions. There are always a few large groups who think they're the only passengers, but that's true for any place with 4000 people, lol.

Butler / Concierge - we didn't use the concierge, other than the group disembarkations. I made all my dining & show reservations online at home so we didn't need them for reservations. The butler brought us the afternoon treats each day, and tailored the snacks to the the couple of requests we had the first day (chips, gummy bears, BLT's, chocolates). We had breakfast in the room once because the kids wanted to do room service. Other than that, we didn't ask the butler for much.

Haven room - we were in the 9916 aft facing penthouse with the large balcony (200 sq ft). It was almost like having another room. We really enjoyed the views, and the fact that the kids had more room to play with their legos & barbies that we brought from home. The master bathroom was beautiful, with 2 sinks & a lot of storage space (and a lot of storage space throughout the cabin, so much that we didn't use half of it even though we unpacked). The 2nd bathroom was tiny, like if you are on the larger side you would have trouble maneuvering. We also enjoyed have the free movies (there is no DVD player, we could order on demand for free from about 25 movies. Only about 3 or 4 kids movies, so we watched Smurfs & Cars a couple of times each in the evenings while the kids were winding down.)

Specialty restaurants - we chose Cagneys, La Cucina and Teppanyaki. Cagneys was just the 2 of us. Filets were cooked perfectly, sides were small, creme brulee, which is our go-to dessert, was undercooked and grainy. La Cucina - for the 4 of us - just OK. Bread was warm & crusty with the olive oil and was probably the highlight of that meal. Maybe we are spoiled by so many great Italian restaurants in NJ? Teppanyaki - for the 4 of us - fantastic! Lots of food, great, very entertaining chef. Kids loved the up-close cooking, but we ordered them pizza from the kids menu because otherwise they would have been full price at $35 each. We were able to give them some of ours to try for no charge obviously; they wouldn't try most of it so I'm glad we did not have to pay for them.

MDR's - had a couple of lunches and 1 dinner at Taste / Savor. Highlights were the cheesesteak at lunch and the spring roll appetizer. Service was slow.

Splash Academy - my 5 year old daughter went everyday (WANTED to go every day) and loved it. She liked the princess parade, pirate night, jungle adventures, kids circus show and the pajama party on the last night. The Kids Club was packed most of the time, with the registration line winding up the staircase a couple of times. There were 1200 kids on board, after all! My son only went twice to the 6-9 year olds, but he really enjoys reading, drawing and playing with legos in the room or courtyard anyway. This is more his interest, not a reflection on the Splash Academy. Very pleased with the security of the SA, plus the constant cheerfulness of the staff there!

FLA - we took a taxi on our own to the Kennedy Space Center and saved about $100 off the ship excursion price ($400 for ship excursion; tickets on our own were $190, taxi was $120 round trip, which is high and would have been cheaper using Uber). We were at KSC from 1:30 to 5:00 (thought that that would be enough time for the kids), but we really could have stayed longer. More interactive than what I was expecting. The shuttle bus ride out to the launch pad & Apollo / Saturn museum was about 45 minutes long and very interesting. We saw the real Atlantis on display. We did not have enough time for the IMAX shows or to see the Challenger memorial. We could have used another 90 minutes.

GSC - we were able to tender to the private island. With the Haven reserved seating, we were able to get a few loungers in the front row to the water. We did not rent mats or do any water sports or excursions. We were happy to be in such clear blue warm water! Perfect for the kids because there were no waves. Shallow area was a little rocky but not so rocky that we needed water shoes. Food & drink were included. Food was basic burgers, hot dogs, and then there was a pavillion with a more extensive buffet, and a taco bar which we did not get to. We enjoyed ourselves from about 9:30 to 2:00 and then made our way back to the ship. I heard later that someone had a heart attack and passed away on GSC, don't know if it's true or not. (Separately, on another day, the Coast Guard helicopter picked someone up and took them back to the VA / MD area, heard that was also a heart attack. Not sure what happened to that person.)

Nassau - we booked day passes to the British Colonial Hilton through the resortforaday website. When we booked, passes were $80 for adults with a $40 food voucher, and $40 for kids with a $20 food voucher, 5 & under free. Subsequent to when we booked, the price at the Hilton went up to $100 for adults & 4 & under free. Our passes were honored, so we saved a little there. Hilton was a 15 minutes walk past the harbor, the pool was big & nice (but no water slides, etc.), and the beach was clean. Lots of great seating areas - palapas, hammocks, etc. Great oudoor restaurant. Prices were high, so we wound up spending $50 more than our voucher. We got 2 kids meals, jerk chicken sandwich, BBQ pork sandwich, maybe 4 sodas, maybe 6 alcoholic drinks. Came to about $150. It was NOT crowded at the Hilton (I thought it would be, especially when I saw 3 other cruise ships docked that day.)

Rock of Ages - This is the second time I've seen it, and I think it's A+. Listen to the announcements when they say it's not for kids! Still there were a few kids there, hopefully most of the lewd humor went over their heads. I'm a child of the 80's so I really enjoyed the music.

Burn the Floor - definitely worthwhile, although I think the show is the same as last year. High energy. My 5 year old daughter liked it but fell asleep half way through because we went to the 9:30 showing.

Magic & Mayhem show - I believe this is new this year; there were 2 nights for this show, 2 showings each night. Great for the kids. Magic & jokes, kid-friendly. In the Theater so plenty of room.

Didn't do Howl at the Moon or the improv shows. Enjoyed family karaoke in Fat Cats - very welcoming even when the singing was terrible, lol.

CONS: Because we were in Haven, we were able to avoid most of the negatives, which were crowd-related. It was just so packed this week because of teachers convention, and I heard there were 1200 kids on board. The buffet was a madhouse the one time we went, but that's a function of the sheer number of people, not NCL or the quality or variety of the food. The atrium was also always standing room only, so they need more seating or they need to move some shows to the Theater.

Other con - the kids never got to do Spider Mountain, bungee jump or ropes course. We should have tried earlier in the week. By the end of the week, it was so windy they were closed most of the time. They have limited hours, and can't seem to shift hours due to staffing.

People comment on the smoke in the casino. It didn't bother us, maybe people have more sensitive noses, but I wouldn't have even thought about it if I hadn't read so many reviews mentioning smoke.

SUMMARY - The cruise was fantastic for us but a lot of that was due to us being able to use the Haven amenities & perks. For the difference in price from our last NCL cruise last year, it was definitely worth it. We are thinking of our next cruise in a few years, maybe 2019, but we would need a 3rd / 4th free promotion again to book the Haven; otherwise, we might look for a smaller NCL ship, on a week other than NJ teachers convention week in a non-Haven room. Regular price for Haven would be more than we want to spend as a family of 4.

Ask me anything. I will be be back tonight.

Susan

Thank you for the Haven info. Great help in understanding embarkation/disembarkation.

Thanks for your review. We are on the Breakaway same itinerary on December 15. We also have the Resort for a Day booked, so I'm happy to hear you enjoyed it. Did you use cash or a credit card to pay the extra costs? I just want to be prepared.

Hi, we used a credit card to pay the remainder of the fee (since you likely only paid the deposit through resort for a day) and for the overage for food & beverage over our voucher amount. The Hilton also has a giant chess board, giant checkers and a ping pong table by the pool. Also, decent bathrooms by the pool. You were also able to use the kayak and paddleboards for free if you wanted. They supplied towels (although we brought a couple from the ship in case we were wet walking back.)

Thx.

Great review!

Great review! Did you happen to see what movies are available on demand in the room? Thank you.

Terrific review/report and glad you had a wonderful time.

Keith

any idea on the progress of haven on GSC?

when i was there a year ago i walked to the 'third' beach from the tender and it was very very rocky. long trip to buffet but great that it wasnt crowded so it's a tradeoff. have to get a clamshell or you'd die in the sun there.

Great review! Did you happen to see what movies are available on demand in the room? Thank you.

There were about 20 movies - I can remember these: Spiderman, the recent King Kong movie, Cars, Smurfs, the Big Sick, The Beguiled, Baywatch, Guardians of the Galaxy. Sorry, can't remember any more.

any idea on the progress of haven on GSC?

 

when i was there a year ago i walked to the 'third' beach from the tender and it was very very rocky. long trip to buffet but great that it wasnt crowded so it's a tradeoff. have to get a clamshell or you'd die in the sun there.

Hi, I did not go over to that area but from where we sat in the makeshift Haven seating area, there was still construction going on. I don't know how far along it was.

The current reserved seating area was near the start of the beach but not the absolute first beach. It was between the kayak/mat rental shack and the first bar area. We did not venture much past the buffet pavilion. The Haven seating area was filled up by late morning, and there was an employee checking periodically to make sure you had the Haven card.

Hi, we used a credit card to pay the remainder of the fee (since you likely only paid the deposit through resort for a day) and for the overage for food & beverage over our voucher amount. The Hilton also has a giant chess board, giant checkers and a ping pong table by the pool. Also, decent bathrooms by the pool. You were also able to use the kayak and paddleboards for free if you wanted. They supplied towels (although we brought a couple from the ship in case we were wet walking back.)

 

Thx.

Thank you! My daughter is going to be so excited. She's been wanting to try the paddleboards.

Enjoyed your review.

If you want to try a smaller ship try the Gem. It is a fantastic ship. No bells and whistles like the BA, but still a great ship.

Enjoyed your review.

If you want to try a smaller ship try the Gem. It is a fantastic ship. No bells and whistles like the BA, but still a great ship.

Thank you. I am open to any ships that sail out of NY, NJ or Baltimore right now (or Seattle for an Alaskan cruise). I've been on Royal Caribbean before and might like to try that with kids. They don't seem to have the beverage / specialty dining promotions that NCL has though, from my VERY preliminary research. We'll see! Thanks!

Thank you for this review and insisting your children realize they are not the only folks on the planet. We enjoy the Haven for many of the same reasons you do.

Personally, I think large numbers of children is also influenced by their ages and the size of the ship (try being on a cruise with more than 2000 of them-but that was on the RCCL Harmony which has more places for them to get lost in, but still...)

I think a lot of buffets can be chaotic depending upon when one goes to them but having the Haven space makes you realize the swirl of humanity elsewhere is nice to avoid sometimes.

We are doing it again on the Escape in a couple of weeks and frankly, I am ready for some peace and quiet at the pool, minuscule as it might be.

Thanks for your review. I'll be on the Breakaway next year in an aft penthouse, so I enjoyed hearing about your cabin. You went to my three go to specialty restaurant and glad you enjoyed them. Thanks again.

Nice review; how was a 15 mile cab ride $120 in Florida??

Thank you for this review and insisting your children realize they are not the only folks on the planet. We enjoy the Haven for many of the same reasons you do.

 

Personally, I think large numbers of children is also influenced by their ages and the size of the ship (try being on a cruise with more than 2000 of them-but that was on the RCCL Harmony which has more places for them to get lost in, but still...)

 

I think a lot of buffets can be chaotic depending upon when one goes to them but having the Haven space makes you realize the swirl of humanity elsewhere is nice to avoid sometimes.

 

We are doing it again on the Escape in a couple of weeks and frankly, I am ready for some peace and quiet at the pool, minuscule as it might be.

Hi, yes, we definitely wanted to stay on top of our kids. They tend to be very good in public, and monsters at home, lol. Even with the huge numbers of kids on the ship, there were plenty of quiet places to be found - some of the lounges, the Waterfront. And even with what I assume was a fully booked Haven, with a decent amount of families, my husband was still able to fall asleep on a bench on the 2nd level of the courtyard, and I was able to read, and we were able to enjoy plenty of quiet on the outside Haven area as well.

The problem with the buffet for us is that we pick out the food for our kids & bring it back to the table, one adult at a time, so that our kids are not getting in the way on the buffet line. Then, when you can really only carry either 2 plates or 2 drinks, and you don't want to leave the kids alone at the table, it's 15 minutes before me or my husband can get our own plate, and by that time the kids are done and want ice cream already. I guess I like to be served on vacation :). I like sit down restaurants in general anyway.

Nice review; how was a 15 mile cab ride $120 in Florida??

I know it was totally overpriced. I just never did Uber before, and I would have done that if it were just me & my husband. But, we walked out of the terminal, and were directed to a long line of taxis (but not yellow taxis, they were white minivans or something), and the ladies at the stand quoted us a price of $30 per person roundtrip, so $120. We had the same driver pick us up from KSC (we told her to come back at 5pm, she gave us her card in case we wanted to change the time, etc.) She was waiting for us at KSC right on time when we walked out. Because we knew we were saving money over the ship excursion, we just took the easy/lazy/expensive way out & went with her. I even said to the lady at the stand, is this a real cab, or is this some kind of excursion. Of course, she said it was a real cab. I heard that Uber would have been about $30 - $40 each way.

Thanks for your review. I'll be on the Breakaway next year in an aft penthouse, so I enjoyed hearing about your cabin. You went to my three go to specialty restaurant and glad you enjoyed them. Thanks again.

I loved the cabin, we really felt like celebrities with all that space. We only noticed a small amount of soot on the balcony floor one day. And, people have recently talked about vibrations on the ship in aft, but I only noticed it a little at night.