Another Sunday Review- Breakaway Aug 25th

[Staci0615]

Since I enjoyed reading everyone before me...I will now add my experiences.

 

Background...It was my husband, my daughter -9 and me. We are both in our later 40's and she is an only child.

I had originally booked an inside guarantee for this last week before school started because it was the least expensive option. Was assigned an inside cabin on deck 11 towards the aft. Three weeks prior to sailing got a call from NCL offering me an upgrade to a balcony for 350.00 more. After hemming and hawing with my husband(I'm the cheap one) decided to go for it. It was the Best decision ever. So at sailing we were in Cabin 14326...Deck 14 considered a BA-which is mid ship but it was closer to aft. We were near the aft elevators.

 

The Good and the Okay

Our cabin location-Loved being close to the elevators and the buffet-Cabin was not noisy, Except for fireworks.

The Food...It varied from very good the first night in Taste. Very good in the specialty restaurant Moderno and usually very good in the Garden Cafe. Okay most other places...selection was not that good though.

The Entertainment- I loved Rock of Ages, but then I have seen the Broadway version 2x as well as the movie. Not quite as good as Broadway but an extremely impressive effort. Burn the Floor was pretty and the dancing superb. Cirque Dreams was AWESOME- but I hated looking down to cut my food( meal was okay- you are paying for the show). Second City was good if you like inprov..but the design of Headliners sucked. Unless you were in the front row you ended up watching screens and you missed half the jokes. We paid for the Dysfunctional Family reunion lunch-Not a good value in my opinion. Meal was eh..only two choices chicken or salmon. And It was like all the other second city shows. Only saw Howl at the Moon the last night wasn't impressed and left after about a half hour. Slam Allen was not on our sailing-did not go see the the replacement. We participated in trivia and did a digital scavenger hunt-that was actually pretty fun. Also did an arts and crafts project.

 

The Bad...

Lack of information- Heard there was cupcake decorating and cake decoration classes - But by the time I found out where and how much, They were sold out.

Wanted to eat at Le Bistro but they were also booked solid. (Even though another guest was comped a meal there, after I was told no way and I was going to pay) This Really irked me enough that I went to guest relations. No satisfaction was given to me and I left the ship with that bad taste in my mouth from the experience.

My poor daughter waited on line for the Rock Wall for an hour only to have it rain(she was next) they shut it down and never reopened it. It only rained for 10 minutes. and they could easily have opened it again. The sports stuff was never open long enough and the lines and waits were unbearable.

The Manhattan Room...Loud and not enjoyable. Food selection sparse, meals slow and when arrived not very tasty at all.

 

I went into this with an open mind-I am a gold latitudes member and an experienced cruiser.. but I am a bit soured after this vacation.

 

 

Bermuda was beautiful and we explored it on out own. We did the Bermuda triangle night cruise in a glass bottom boat on Wednesday night-it was the best night of the trip. Explored St George on Thursday and the dockyard on Friday. Even with the sporadic rain showers it cleared up quickly and the sun would come out fast.

 

Feel free to ask any questions.

 

Oh and my daughter did go to the kids club- she only enjoyed it on the rock of ages night because they opened early -the other time it was too crowded and she didn't get to participate in the activities.

[islandhoppingfool]

Wow. After last weeks reviews (major improvement) and now back to "bad" again. Leaving Sunday, so some what sad about this review.:(

[bluesea777]

The Bad...

 

Wanted to eat at Le Bistro but they were also booked solid. (Even though another guest was comped a meal there, after I was told no way and I was going to pay) This Really irked me enough that I went to guest relations. No satisfaction was given to me and I left the ship with that bad taste in my mouth from the experience.

 

I went into this with an open mind-I am a gold latitudes member and an experienced cruiser.. but I am a bit soured after this vacation.

 

 

That guest probably was platinum latitude member. The Platinum get a free meal in Le Bistro.

[Staci0615]

I wasn't mad they were comped - I was mad because they were allowed to make a reservation after I was told no they are fully booked ...

[NYcruzzer]

Wow. After last weeks reviews (major improvement) and now back to "bad" again. Leaving Sunday, so some what sad about this review.:(

 

Do not be concerned. I was on the same sailing. We had an excellent cruise. As soon as I boarded I mage dinner reservations for Le Bistro and Moderno. Second night grilled lobster tails and steak were served in the buffet. They were tiny, but very tasty. They served you two at a time. Enjoyed 4 with drawn butter. I though the food in all venues was better then my January cruise on the Gem. Shows were fantastic. Have a great cruise.

[tempura]

I wasn't mad they were comped - I was mad because they were allowed to make a reservation after I was told no they are fully booked ...

 

Yes, but as a Platinum member, they would be entitled to their meal whether the restaurant was fully booked or not. (It's never really "fully booked" but there is a quota on reservations - some slots need to be kept open for VIPs.)

[SuiteCruiser]

OP, did you try to get into Le Bistro one night, or did you try to book it for ANY night of the cruise and it was booked the entire cruise?

 

I'm just curious. Sorry everything didn't go perfectly.

[OceanBlue123]

I know what you mean about the Rock Wall. I waited in line wondering why there were only 2 people belaying when the wall is set up for 3. Finally a third guy showed up, so I know all three ropes could be used at once, only to have one of the others disappear a few minutes later. There is a long line and NCL does not fully staff the area nor have it open for enough hours.

[pattycakes]

Everyone can have a different experience on the same cruise. Just the nature of the beast.

 

IMO: The food was best at the Garden Cafe for free food. Manhattan was salty as written by a number of people beforehand. Had a good meal at Taste. Bistro was good -- some things were ok, some were not eaten (lobster and duck) and some were worth the $. In fact, lobster everywhere other than the Garden sucked -- go figure. Cucina is blah. But I noticed the same thing -- restaurants not full but no reservations available -- why not have a waitlist?

[islandhoppingfool]

Do not be concerned. I was on the same sailing. We had an excellent cruise. As soon as I boarded I mage dinner reservations for Le Bistro and Moderno. Second night grilled lobster tails and steak were served in the buffet. They were tiny, but very tasty. They served you two at a time. Enjoyed 4 with drawn butter. I though the food in all venues was better then my January cruise on the Gem. Shows were fantastic. Have a great cruise.

Thank you......we are so used to RCCL and Celebrity. This is our first NCL cruise and after reading all of the initial bad reviews, we were actually going to cancel.....As the weeks have passed, the reviews seem to have improved substantially. Very happy to hear you had an excellent cruise.:o

[roe2ship]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts. I agree with you about the Manhattan Dining room being very loud. I thought I would have liked this dining room better but it turned out that we much preferred Taste and Savor.

[tiffygirl]

Since I enjoyed reading everyone before me...I will now add my experiences.

 

Background...It was my husband, my daughter -9 and me. We are both in our later 40's and she is an only child.

I had originally booked an inside guarantee for this last week before school started because it was the least expensive option. Was assigned an inside cabin on deck 11 towards the aft. Three weeks prior to sailing got a call from NCL offering me an upgrade to a balcony for 350.00 more. After hemming and hawing with my husband(I'm the cheap one) decided to go for it. It was the Best decision ever. So at sailing we were in Cabin 14326...Deck 14 considered a BA-which is mid ship but it was closer to aft. We were near the aft elevators.

 

The Good and the Okay

Our cabin location-Loved being close to the elevators and the buffet-Cabin was not noisy, Except for fireworks.

The Food...It varied from very good the first night in Taste. Very good in the specialty restaurant Moderno and usually very good in the Garden Cafe. Okay most other places...selection was not that good though.

The Entertainment- I loved Rock of Ages, but then I have seen the Broadway version 2x as well as the movie. Not quite as good as Broadway but an extremely impressive effort. Burn the Floor was pretty and the dancing superb. Cirque Dreams was AWESOME- but I hated looking down to cut my food( meal was okay- you are paying for the show). Second City was good if you like inprov..but the design of Headliners sucked. Unless you were in the front row you ended up watching screens and you missed half the jokes. We paid for the Dysfunctional Family reunion lunch-Not a good value in my opinion. Meal was eh..only two choices chicken or salmon. And It was like all the other second city shows. Only saw Howl at the Moon the last night wasn't impressed and left after about a half hour. Slam Allen was not on our sailing-did not go see the the replacement. We participated in trivia and did a digital scavenger hunt-that was actually pretty fun. Also did an arts and crafts project.

 

The Bad...

Lack of information- Heard there was cupcake decorating and cake decoration classes - But by the time I found out where and how much, They were sold out.

Wanted to eat at Le Bistro but they were also booked solid. (Even though another guest was comped a meal there, after I was told no way and I was going to pay) This Really irked me enough that I went to guest relations. No satisfaction was given to me and I left the ship with that bad taste in my mouth from the experience.

My poor daughter waited on line for the Rock Wall for an hour only to have it rain(she was next) they shut it down and never reopened it. It only rained for 10 minutes. and they could easily have opened it again. The sports stuff was never open long enough and the lines and waits were unbearable.

The Manhattan Room...Loud and not enjoyable. Food selection sparse, meals slow and when arrived not very tasty at all.

 

I went into this with an open mind-I am a gold latitudes member and an experienced cruiser.. but I am a bit soured after this vacation.

 

 

Bermuda was beautiful and we explored it on out own. We did the Bermuda triangle night cruise in a glass bottom boat on Wednesday night-it was the best night of the trip. Explored St George on Thursday and the dockyard on Friday. Even with the sporadic rain showers it cleared up quickly and the sun would come out fast.

 

Feel free to ask any questions.

 

Oh and my daughter did go to the kids club- she only enjoyed it on the rock of ages night because they opened early -the other time it was too crowded and she didn't get to participate in the activities.

 

Is there a reason why you didnt make your reservations online in advance to guarantee your space?

Even if you had to change the date you would at least have had a booking.

 

As far as the other passenger getting the comp booking , if they were plat latitudes members they are guarantee so that really is neither here nor there. Im guessing they have to wait until they are on the ship before they can..just a guess(?)

 

Too bad not eating at le bistro ruined your cruise. Hoping your next cruise will be a lot better experience. Thanks for sharing your experience. You hear so many so they can always get reservations when once on board. But i see now that is not always the case...

[karoo]

Did you want a specific time slot for Le Bistro? or was it solidly booked out every night, every time slot? I've usually managed to book Le Bistro the night before. I might not get the exact timeslot requested, but they alays managed to give me a booking.

[jdvmd]

Thanks for your comments. What did you mean when you wrote "I hated having to look down to cut my food" during the Cirque Dreams meal?

[Highboy90]

Nice review Staci. :)

[Staci0615]

We didn't book online because we weren't sure when we wanted to eat there. I tried to book it Friday when we got back on the boat for either Friday or Saturday. Was told nothing for either day. Went to the dysfunctional family lunch on Saturday and our table mate....whom was not a platinum member but had complained about some problems on the ship was telling me she got comped a dinner at le bistro on Saturday night , early that Saturday morning And I guess that was what upset me the most. I had to keep trying....which involved at least 10 min on the phone each time to be told no and a guest who complains loudly gets in. It didn't ruin my vacation but it did end it with a bad taste from guest relations.

 

The cirque dreams show is non stop action and when they deliver your food you have to look at it to eat it...which takes your eyes off the performers

 

Oh and I forgot to mention it is smokey in the atrium......we avoided the casino altogether because of it

[MsTabbyKats]

We didn't book online because we weren't sure when we wanted to eat there. I tried to book it Friday when we got back on the boat for either Friday or Saturday. Was told nothing for either day. Went to the dysfunctional family lunch on Saturday and our table mate....whom was not a platinum member but had complained about some problems on the ship was telling me she got comped a dinner at le bistro on Saturday night , early that Saturday morning And I guess that was what upset me the most. I had to keep trying....which involved at least 10 min on the phone each time to be told no and a guest who complains loudly gets in. It didn't ruin my vacation but it did end it with a bad taste from guest relations.

 

The cirque dreams show is non stop action and when they deliver your food you have to look at it to eat it...which takes your eyes off the performers

 

Oh and I forgot to mention it is smokey in the atrium......we avoided the casino altogether because of it

 

I'm not sure what a "dysfunctional family lunch" is...but I never heard of this as an activity...so I can only assume that you found your table mate dysfunctional.

 

Because she was telling you that she was comped a dinner...does NOT mean that she was actually comped a dinner.

[NYGirl1002]

I was on this same cruise. We booked Le Bistro on Thursday afternoon for Thursday night. We ended up having to wait about 15 minutes to be seated but that was it.

 

I thought one of the best meals we had all week was in the Manhattan room on Friday night.

 

I thought all 3 dining rooms were pretty good.

[pattycakes]

I'm not sure what a "dysfunctional family lunch" is...but I never heard of this as an activity...so I can only assume that you found your table mate dysfunctional.

 

 

It's a Second City act.

 

Because she was telling you that she was comped a dinner...does NOT mean that she was actually comped a dinner.

 

 

Even if that woman was "mistaken" about being "comped" she was still given a reservation, which the OP was not, which is what the OP was upset about

 

******

.......and which was clearly stated as not ruining her cruise but leaving a bad taste in her mouth.

 

and on that note I'm out of here before this turns into a stupid bashing party.

[MsTabbyKats]

It's a Second City act.

 

 

 

 

Even if that woman was "mistaken" about being "comped" she was still given a reservation, which the OP was not, which is what the OP was upset about

 

******

.......and which was clearly stated as not ruining her cruise but leaving a bad taste in her mouth.

 

and on that note I'm out of here before this turns into a stupid bashing party.

 

 

LOL....my misinterpretation. I thought a "dysfunctional" person was bragging about getting comped for complaining (which may or may not have been true).

 

OP said it left a bad taste in her mouth....I would have been annoyed too.

 

Just my opinion but, based on "the conglomeration of reviews" I'd stick with the smaller ships.

[NYFirstTimeCruiser]

I know what you mean about the Rock Wall. I waited in line wondering why there were only 2 people belaying when the wall is set up for 3. Finally a third guy showed up, so I know all three ropes could be used at once, only to have one of the others disappear a few minutes later. There is a long line and NCL does not fully staff the area nor have it open for enough hours.

 

I spoke to a few workers there. The reason why they don't reopen after 10 minutes of rain is for safety reasons. It gets slippery. Same goes fore the beams on the rope course.

The workers also mentioned that they are understaffed and work different areas of the ship sometimes 12 hours with little break. It is kinda tiring to stay in the sun for 12 hours. Bad NCL for not staffing enough.

 

Our group of 8 loved our cruise though. I read cc posts so i knew what to avoid to have a great time... We did.

[jdvmd]

 

The Second City's Dysfunktional Family Reunion

 

The extended Fullerton family has come together for a week on the Norwegian Breakaway and the audience is privy to every inter-family squabble and soiree. Filled with audience participation and no shortage of laughter about cruising with family, The Second City's Dysfunktional Family Reunion is a one of a kind show built exclusively for Norwegian Cruise Line.

 

 

• ADULT$20
  
• CHILD$20