Jump to content
Cruise Critic Community

What do you think of "Breakaway" as a name for a cruise ship?

SantaFeFan

By SantaFeFan,
in Ask a Cruise Question

Recommended Posts

boogs

boogs

Posted
Posted
I think a guy named Willie Shakespeare said it best:

 

"What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet."

 

Perhaps. But would you buy a car if it was called "Lemon"? Or eat at a restaurant if it was called "Ptomaine"? How about drinking a glass of wine if it was called "Sewer"? Names are important to convey what the manufacturer or owner wants you to think about the product. "Breakaway" just doesn't work for me for a cruise ship. It doesn't conjure up luxury and relaxation. Instead it makes me think of mechanical problems or structural failures.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Dr. Jack Daniels

Dr. Jack Daniels

Posted
Posted
Perhaps. But would you buy a car if it was called "Lemon"? Or eat at a restaurant if it was called "Ptomaine"? How about drinking a glass of wine if it was called "Sewer"? Names are important to convey what the manufacturer or owner wants you to think about the product. "Breakaway" just doesn't work for me for a cruise ship. It doesn't conjure up luxury and relaxation. Instead it makes me think of mechanical problems or structural failures.

 

I think your examples are extreme and unrealistic.

 

However, it does remind me of the story of the Chevy Nova which was a big seller here in the USA for years. Not so much in Spanish speaking countries as "No Va" in Spanish translates to "it won't go".

Link to comment
Share on other sites
boogs

boogs

Posted
Posted
I think your examples are extreme and unrealistic.

 

However, it does remind me of the story of the Chevy Nova which was a big seller here in the USA for years. Not so much in Spanish speaking countries as "No Va" in Spanish translates to "it won't go".

 

They were meant to be over the top :D, but the point I am making is still valid, and your example of the Nova is a good one. Names are important, and bad names will affect some people's acceptance of the product. Why on earth would a cruise line use a name that could possibly turn away even one customer?

 

Slogans, and even photos in the logos, are a mine field as well. Coors put one of its slogan, “Turn it loose,” into Spanish, where it was read as “Suffer from diarrhea.” When Gerber started selling baby food in Africa, they used the same packaging as in the U.S., with the beautiful baby on the label. Later they learned that in Africa companies routinely put pictures on the label of what’s inside, since most people can’t read English.

 

Sometimes these things happen by accident. In NCL's case, it was deliberate.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
debnjoe1438

debnjoe1438

Posted
Posted
Of course, the company that paints all that ridiculous "decoration" on the hulls of their ships cannot be expected to display any more taste or sense in picking the name to paint on the stern.

 

 

I like the painting on the side of the ships.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
ferfoodle

ferfoodle

Posted
Posted

One word: ludicrous.

 

What are they thinking?!? Name the project "Breakaway" - but rename the ship to something that does not first conjure negative connotations. Who at NCL had that maggot? Look that word up to see what I mean about connotations.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
CraftyEC

CraftyEC

Posted
Posted
Sounds like a chocolate biscuit

.... and reminds me of a certain 1970's television advert (in the UK) for said biscuit, starring a Monty Python member "Nudge, nudge ..."

 

On our recent cruise we chuckled when we saw that the ship next to us was called the 'Costa Fortuna' - presumably MSC didn't check with any native English speakers that this wouldn't make passengers feel they were being ripped off!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
boogs

boogs

Posted
Posted
.... and reminds me of a certain 1970's television advert (in the UK) for said biscuit, starring a Monty Python member "Nudge, nudge ..."

 

On our recent cruise we chuckled when we saw that the ship next to us was called the 'Costa Fortuna' - presumably MSC didn't check with any native English speakers that this wouldn't make passengers feel they were being ripped off!

 

LOL! I had to read your post twice before I got the Costa Fortuna comment. If I read it with an Italian accent, I get exactly what you meant. Funny!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
CraftyEC

CraftyEC

Posted
Posted

... and the other posts have reminded me of how perplexing advertisements can be outside their original country of origin. When I was briefly a student in the US in 1979 it was just when compact cars were becoming popular, and there were lots of commercials on TV for them. However, everyone seemed very perplexed about the one for the VW Rabbit, which centred around grandees on horseback - until I explained that in the UK the car was called a VW Polo!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • 9 months later...
mrsfuzzmo

mrsfuzzmo

Posted
Posted

I like it too. In my mind, it makes me think that at least they were "Breaking Away" from the norm of having the same name on ships of different lines (Fantasy, Dream, Liberty,etc). So done with all the regulars. I can't believe that with all the "words' out there, that cruise lines have to use the same ones!

 

It also means breaking a way from the norm (similar to how the Oasis came along with a different design than the norm) with a brand new open promenade deck design with open air restaurants and lounges facing the ocean! I can't wait to give it a try! They've broken away from the now standard rock climbing wall in favor of a ropes course! Breakaway indeed.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
sail7seas

sail7seas

Posted
Posted

I don't like the name at all.

I think it a poor choice.

Sure, I get it as 'breakaway from your problems, pressures and stress' but still, it doesn't work for me. :shrug:

I have a horrid image of parts and pieces 'breaking away'. :eek:

Link to comment
Share on other sites
bus man

bus man

Posted
Posted
While I am not fond of either name chosen, I do have a fondness for the hull art on each of their ships. It sets NCL apart from the rest of the industry. The detail is quite intricate.

 

I agree; I like the hull art too. However, I'm glad it's limited to one cruise line; I would miss the more classic decor (such as the Disney ships) if no one had it.

 

As for the Breakaway name, it conjurs in my mind three things; one good, one not so good, and one neutral. First, the not-so-good:

 

"Breakaway" just doesn't work for me for a cruise ship. It doesn't conjure up luxury and relaxation. Instead it makes me think of mechanical problems or structural failures.

 

The good (I really like Kelly Clarkson):

 

I think it's a great name! It reminds me of Kelly Clarkson's song "Breakaway," which is about breaking away from your dull life to pursue something better.

 

And for the neutral: my church's high-school group is called Breakaway. My kids aren't old enough to be involved in it yet, but the kids I know who are in it are a great bunch. So in this context, the name is basically favorable, but not hugely so.

 

Bottom line: "Breakaway" doesn't really do it for me as a name for a cruise ship, but it wouldn't stop me from sailing on her, if she's otherwise a ship that I would enjoy. (But don't get me started on the Epic; there's no way I'll ever get on that thing. Call me shallow if you like, but I just can't get past her surface appearance!)

Link to comment
Share on other sites
loubetti

loubetti

Posted
Posted

I think it is the dumbest name I have yet seen. "Journey", Getaway", and others would have been better. We're not out of good marketing names yet.

 

Anyone ever fly into Milan, Italy's "Malpense" airport?

 

Split the word in two; " Mal pense", it essentially means "bad thoughts"! :eek:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Go to topic listing
  • Forum Jump
    • Categories
      • Welcome to Cruise Critic
      • ANNOUNCEMENT: Set Sail on Sun Princess®
      • Hurricane Zone 2024
      • Cruise Insurance Q&A w/ Steve Dasseos of Tripinsurancestore.com June 2024
      • New Cruisers
      • Cruise Lines “A – O”
      • Cruise Lines “P – Z”
      • River Cruising
      • ROLL CALLS
      • Cruise Critic News & Features
      • Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
      • Special Interest Cruising
      • Cruise Discussion Topics
      • UK Cruising
      • Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
      • Canadian Cruisers
      • North American Homeports
      • Ports of Call
      • Cruise Conversations
×
×
  • Create New...