NCL Breakaway not handicap friendly

Returned this past Sunday. The overcrowding on the Breakaway was ridiculous. Restaurants and entertainment were based on reservations so everything was blocked out quickly. There was no way to accommodate over 4000 people in the 3 complimentary restaurants so they corralled people to the Garden Cafe which was noisier and more crowded than Times Square.:mad: People who had canes and scooters couldn't get anywhere near the serving stations.

The hallways were just over 3' wide and the clearance was reduced to less than 2' when the stewards' carts were in the hallway. It was difficult to get by & you had to turn sideways but scooters, wheelchairs, strollers & walkers were impossible. I watched a woman move each cart into the doorway nooks so her father could squeeze past in his narrow scooter. She stated her mother's wider scooter could not fit. The carts were in the hallways from 8am - 2pm and again in the evenings. The upper decks were so crowded with chairs, I could barely pass with my cane and I'm skinny.:eek:

The room service debris remained in the hallways for at least 8 hours. Stewards did not remove them and apparently neither did anyone else. Those dressed in beautiful gowns for photos were skimming their dresses past dirty plates and cups. We had a decent time but will never do NCL again.

P.S. It's supposed to be a family cruise but the Rock of Ages show was all about mimicking sexual acts on stage & beastiality. I was so embarrassed with all the kids there. The theatre served watered down drinks. My Bahama Mama tasted nothing like the one I'd had earlier at a bar near the bakery. Will review general stuff about cruise separately.

Returned this past Sunday. The overcrowding on the Breakaway was ridiculous. Restaurants and entertainment were based on reservations so everything was blocked out quickly. There was no way to accommodate over 4000 people in the 3 complimentary restaurants so they corralled people to the Garden Cafe which was noisier and more crowded than Times Square.:mad: People who had canes and scooters couldn't get anywhere near the serving stations.

The hallways were just over 3' wide and the clearance was reduced to less than 2' when the stewards' carts were in the hallway. It was difficult to get by & you had to turn sideways but scooters, wheelchairs, strollers & walkers were impossible. I watched a woman move each cart into the doorway nooks so her father could squeeze past in his narrow scooter. She stated her mother's wider scooter could not fit. The carts were in the hallways from 8am - 2pm and again in the evenings. The upper decks were so crowded with chairs, I could barely pass with my cane and I'm skinny.:eek:

The room service debris remained in the hallways for at least 8 hours. Stewards did not remove them and apparently neither did anyone else. Those dressed in beautiful gowns for photos were skimming their dresses past dirty plates and cups. We had a decent time but will never do NCL again.

P.S. It's supposed to be a family cruise but the Rock of Ages show was all about mimicking sexual acts on stage & beastiality. I was so embarrassed with all the kids there. The theatre served watered down drinks. My Bahama Mama tasted nothing like the one I'd had earlier at a bar near the bakery. Will review general stuff about cruise separately.

Hi. We sailed with you! Im not a NCL cheerleader, actually we love RCCL, but also loved our Breakaway cruise. So sorry you encountered these problems.

What deck were you on? We were on Deck 13 towards the aft and didnt have any crowding in the hallways, although they were narrower than usual.

We always had room Service or took plates back from Garden Cafe and if it was before dinner the plates were always gone by the time we got back from eating.

We went to Rock of Ages and enjoyed the show and bar lol. But I did notice I did prefer some bartenders to others, just like in real life lol

I would be SO upset if my weeks vacation with my family was summed up as yours "decent". You must really not have enjoyed yourself. So sorry it wasnt for you and hope you had fun in Bermuda.

ive seen room service trays left out over night ( when the stewards are sleeping) even tho they work alot they are not on 24 7

Sorry, on phone and didnt finish. Im sure it was difficult for you with the cane and others with scooters. The only bigger hallways for those that may want to book in the future that I saw was wider was deck 5. Im thinking there werent any balconies though there. Again sorry it didnt work so well for you :(

NYBlonde I believe you read my review and perhaps made a comment or two, we totally agree nomore NCL that ship is ridiciously packed and too many other negatives. We were fortunate to have made our reservations 45 days prior to our cruise but have heard many complaining about not being able to get their reservations. Too many negatives not for us and totally agree horrible for the handicapped! :rolleyes:

OP - my father-in-law was a quadriplegic for 16 years before he passed away so I can sympathize with you. A general question for anyone who knows, do cruise ships have to be ADA compliant? Or, can they skirt compliance because, other than POA, they aren't US flagged vessels?

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OP - my father-in-law was a quadriplegic for 16 years before he passed away so I can sympathize with you. A general question for anyone who knows, do cruise ships have to be ADA compliant? Or, can they skirt compliance because, other than POA, they aren't US flagged vessels?

 

 

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Im not sure but I do know you can rent the hoyer lifts and such for the cabins. My moms dh became a quadriplegic before he passed too and they had an Alaskan cruise booked before he had his surgery. Once this all happened to him I do remember looking up how best they could still vacation while cruising. I think I found most of my information on cruisecritic.

Thank you for the review. Could you tell me on which deck you stayed?

I have family members who will be needing wheelchairs so narrow hallway is a real concern. I have noticed deck 5 has wider hallways. Wonder if you had a chance to go on that deck?

Restaurants and entertainment were based on reservations so everything was blocked out quickly.

I don't see the problem with reservation system being used for restaurants and entertainment. How else would they handle?

There was no way to accommodate over 4000 people in the 3 complimentary restaurants so they corralled people to the Garden Cafe which was noisier and more crowded than Times Square.:mad:

They aren't trying to accommodate over 4000 people in 3 restaurants. They have 16 dining venues (actually more if you count the Haven restaurant), including 6 complimentary options (Taste, Savor, Garden Cafe, The Manhattan Room, O'Sheehans, Uptown) plus room service.

P.S. It's supposed to be a family cruise but the Rock of Ages show was all about mimicking sexual acts on stage & beastiality. I was so embarrassed with all the kids there.

According to who is every entertainment option on the ship for families?

Without addressing your comments on handicapped deficiencies -

Who the heck said that every activity on the cruise had to be family friendly? They SPECIFICALLY tell people ROA is an adults only show. If you want everything to be kid friendly, go on disney! Adults should not have to roll over for families and kids!

Thank you for the review. Could you tell me on which deck you stayed?

 

I have family members who will be needing wheelchairs so narrow hallway is a real concern. I have noticed deck 5 has wider hallways. Wonder if you had a chance to go on that deck?

We got off at Deck 5 to disembark in Bermuda last week and yes the hallways are much wider. Perhaps its because the rooms lack the balconies but really not sure.

Sorry your cruise was not what you expected.

I cruised on the Carnival Fantasy earlier this year with DD and we specifically noticed that the Fantasy would not have been good for my parents who both need canes. Too many steps and areas you would have trouble getting to unless you were totally mobile.

As for the ROA show, I just saw the movie on cable and it is indeed raunchy but there has been a lot put out NOT to take kids to it. Surely parents should be aware and not take their kids to the show.

Hopefully you will be able to find which ships are better able to accomodate your needs in the future....

I like ncl for many reasons but I think they are really making a mistake with these mega ships. They learned nothing from the Epic. Bigger is not always better. I would never book the breakaway. Double passengers doesn't sound like fun to me! Especially getting on and off the ship! I'll stick to the Gem or go to Boston on the Dawn if I want to go to Bermuda. I'm even considering jumping ship to celebrity summit.

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I agree with you that the breakaway is a tough sail for those using wheelchairs and scooters. My dad uses a wheelchair and felt that the hallways were indeed narrow and it was very challenging to get around the sun decks. In addition, due to the fact they only put in chair lifts- he was ins le to use the basketball courts, mini golf and get up to watch the ropes course. Nor could he get to vibe. The buffet area is tough to maneuver as well. I actually wrote a review regarding access and the breakaway from the June 30 sailing.

All of that being said though, I have breakaway an overall good review. There were so many more positives than negatives and its what you make if it. We chose not to focus on the negatives and have a great family vacation.

All cruise ships, regardless of flag, that home port in the US must be ADA compliant, so I am sure that the Breakaway was designed to meet these requirements. Whether or not they went beyond the minimum required, or whether the requirements of the ADA need reviewing with regards to cruise ship, I cannot say.

Returned this past Sunday. The overcrowding on the Breakaway was ridiculous. Restaurants and entertainment were based on reservations so everything was blocked out quickly. There was no way to accommodate over 4000 people in the 3 complimentary restaurants so they corralled people to the Garden Cafe which was noisier and more crowded than Times Square.:mad: People who had canes and scooters couldn't get anywhere near the serving stations.

The hallways were just over 3' wide and the clearance was reduced to less than 2' when the stewards' carts were in the hallway. It was difficult to get by & you had to turn sideways but scooters, wheelchairs, strollers & walkers were impossible. I watched a woman move each cart into the doorway nooks so her father could squeeze past in his narrow scooter. She stated her mother's wider scooter could not fit. The carts were in the hallways from 8am - 2pm and again in the evenings. The upper decks were so crowded with chairs, I could barely pass with my cane and I'm skinny.:eek:

The room service debris remained in the hallways for at least 8 hours. Stewards did not remove them and apparently neither did anyone else. Those dressed in beautiful gowns for photos were skimming their dresses past dirty plates and cups. We had a decent time but will never do NCL again.

P.S. It's supposed to be a family cruise but the Rock of Ages show was all about mimicking sexual acts on stage & beastiality. I was so embarrassed with all the kids there. The theatre served watered down drinks. My Bahama Mama tasted nothing like the one I'd had earlier at a bar near the bakery. Will review general stuff about cruise separately.

Because I don't care for super crowded mega ships, I usually book the Dawn for Bermuda, or Jewel class ships. They are just the right size, and nowhere near as crowded.(about 2,300 pax)

I saw people on scooters and wheelchairs get by with enough room. The waits for service in the MDRs were rare, even when the ships were sailing full.

OP, Try one of these ships, before giving up on NCL altogether. You will have a different experience.

I do agree about some of what the OP said. I found the same issues on the Breakaway's "unfriendly" to those who are mobility limited. If you HAVE TO HAVE a scooter, wheel chair, walker, stroller, etc, you'll do nothing but frustrate yourself on the Breakaway.

But, that's about the only thing I agree with. Beastiality, really? I never saw any such thing on Rock of Ages. Matter of fact, the show is almost identical to the land based performances of the show. It's just a fun, rollicking slice of what the '80s-'90s were. If you didn't like the '80s or '90s, particularly the music from that era, you probably won't like the show. I considered the show "PG-13", at worst. Then again, I'm not nearly the prude some are.

As far as dining is concerned, I only had an issue with one pay venue, LE BISTRO, where my food wasn't good and there was a mistake on the charges that took me a couple of days to fix. But, the rest of the food and service was exemplary. I never waited more than 5 minutes, for any of the dining venues, even at busy times.

I see the OP only has one post. Not sure they'll come back to post again, but I felt a rebuttal was somewhat in order.

I think that you can blame your fellow passengers for the room service trays/dishes in the hallway. We should not be doing that....just call room service to have the stuff picked up and leave it in your cabin until it is.

In my opinion, placing room service left overs in the hall way is akin to putting your trash at home on your neighbors lawn.

Welcome to Cruise Critic. Sorry the ship was not for you. The Epic has very narrow hallways. Perhaps if you had posted prior to your sailing, some of the ship's deficiencies could have been pointed out.

Sorry to hear about this. With some of the Breakaway reviews, mobility seems to be a problem even with people without disablitites. I imagine a scooter or chair would make things worse.

How wide would you want the hallways to be? Enough that two oncoming scooters can pass? I liked the layout and think it has its advantages for optimizing the hardly used space.

Micm- this was the first time we ever had a problem with a steward cart and a wheelchair not being Able to sneak by. About 4 extra inches would have helped in all honesty. Like I said just take it in stride and enjoy the trip!!

Micm- this was the first time we ever had a problem with a steward cart and a wheelchair not being Able to sneak by. About 4 extra inches would have helped in all honesty. Like I said just take it in stride and enjoy the trip!!

Mentioned this in my Breakaway review. Not only in cabin hallways, but also in public entrances/exits, most areas have been narrowed, too.

I have been in a wheelchair, on crutches, using a walker at one point in my life (due to a motorcycle accident). The Breakaway is not friendly to those who use a scooter, a stroller, walkers, wheelchairs, etc.

I would have been extremely frustrated if I were trying to get around while being mobility limited, or pushing a stroller on the Breakaway.

I see the OP only has one post. Not sure they'll come back to post again, but I felt a rebuttal was somewhat in order.

I agree only one post I am always amazed about people who post once and managed to find cc and then complain

I see the OP only has one post. Not sure they'll come back to post again, but I felt a rebuttal was somewhat in order.

 

I agree only one post I am always amazed about people who post once and managed to find cc and then complain

How many posts should you have before you can post a review that is not a raving review? I didn't know you only had a valid opinion after a certain amount of posts.