My Thoughts on the Breakaway-5/12 Sailing

[Carib210]

Here are some of my thoughts about the 5/12 sailing to Bermuda on the Breakaway:

 

Cabins: had an oceanview cabin. Seemed smaller than usual, but was fine. Wished there had been at least a chair, but cabin was too small for one. The only seating other than the bed was the ottoman that is the seating for the desk area and also serves as the coffee table. Not quite relaxing to sit on. Shower was nice in that it had an actual shower door, and not the curtain that always clings to you when showering. No drawers, but plenty of shelves. I take all my "stuff", and plenty of times run out of space, but this time I had shelves I didn't even use. No need to take a hair dryer. A nice one on the side of the desk.

 

Ship: Of course its lovely, brand new. Although the ship is so big, with the way its laid out, never felt that it was too big. There were 2 elevator banks- forward and aft, and even with the volume of people, never waited long and they were often empty. Largest casino we've seen on a ship, and always packed. Heard there were many people on board from the Casinos at Sea program and maybe that is why we never saw an empty slot machine. The Spice H20 area is poorly utilized. If they want it to be this nightime adult lounge area, then they should not hold events such as the latitudes party, dancing with the Breakaway crew and fireworks gathering. There is a VERY small amount of seats and many elderly needed chairs. The crew was seen carrying a few in for the people unable to stand, but it was very poorly planned. I may not be elderly, but I also don't want to free stand for 45 mins either. In the dancing with the crew show, the chairs that are there are placed back towards the bar, so maybe 10 feet in front of them was completely wasted space as no one is going to stand in front of those sitting. Very surprised the entertainment staff did nothing to make people more comfortable. I guess that for all the activities in this area, they see nothing wrong with standing and holding a drink for the whole show.

 

Dining: Very pleasantly surprised. The crew was very nice and friendly, and only a few seemed overwhelmed or confused in the dining room on a new ship. Only service problem was in Moderno, our waitress said someone else would be joining her in service, but it seems they forgot to tell him! Our waitress never came back to check on us and after the salad bar, which was very good, we didn't get a dinner plate for a LONG time. The Maitre D' actually got us our drinks and dessert. Other than that, we felt all the food was very good, better than we expected. In particular the fish on the ship was very nicely prepared...lobster, talapia, shrimp, etc. The buffet offered many selections and was kept open after listed hours, as there were a lot of eaters on this cruise.

 

Entertainment: have never made reservations to see a show on a ship, so this was new to us and did not like it. We have been on large ships before, but if they have enough different activities for passengers to attend, you can always see the show, so don't like getting to the show 30 mins early when I could be doing something else on vacation. Just not for us. Do not like the reservation concept. Other than that, really enjoyed the shows. Rock of Ages, Cirque, Howl at the Moon and really enjoyed the duo Fire and Ice...nice Motown style.

 

For any future cruisers, I think you will enjoy the ship and as always, Bermuda is beautiful. However, specific to our sailing being the first to Bermuda, we were expecting a bit more as far as celebration goes. There was very little in the way of making this cruise feel "special" for its first Bermuda sailing.

[roe2ship]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts on board the Breakaway. I am curious if you experienced long waits at the MDR for dinner?? Can you tell me about what times and which dining room you were using and your overall experience? Thanks!:)

[Carib210]

We are more on the early side of eating...usually about 6:30 pm. Tried all dining rooms...Manhattan Room, Taste and Savor. Enjoyed them all and did not have to wait for a table for 2 at those times.

[MasterLee]

Could you please tell me the boarding process in New York City? How was the waiting area? Did you need to wait long?

[Carib210]

If you are parking at pier, you will need to park car, then take elevator down to street level to check in luggage (on our last cruise out of NY they had a longshoreman right there at parking area taking bags- not this time). Security line was quick, even with the woman in front of me with a LARGE bag, once she lifted it onto security belt. Anyway, once on line, pretty organized and took total of 40 mins from parking car to getting on the ship.

[roe2ship]

We are more on the early side of eating...usually about 6:30 pm. Tried all dining rooms...Manhattan Room, Taste and Savor. Enjoyed them all and did not have to wait for a table for 2 at those times.

I'm so happy to read this...that is about the same time we normally like to go. Thank you!