All Things Breakaway (secrets, tibits, to do)

[sabres431]

Do you have to make reservations to eat in O'Sheehans?

 

No you don't.

[emilysmom97]

We stayed in the Haven 2 bedroom. Unlike the Jewel class ships, the second bedroom doesn't have a hairdryer. Also, the Haven lunch has the best hotdogs! Go figure. Get to the Atrium early for shoes or you'll never get a seat. Poor design.

[emilysmom97]

Most important, make dinner reservations weeks before you sail. We did it the week before and couldn't get anything before 8:30.

[emilysmom97]

Can anyone tell me if the balcony in a Haven Penthouse on deck 16 is one of those tiny ones or is there enough space to request a lounger be put out there? thanks to all who have posted such wonderful tips and ideas. It is very much appreciated!

Jacy

 

The balconies are way too small for a lounger.

[emilysmom97]

Who is performing at Fat Cats lately?

 

Who is performing in the Atrium?

 

Thanks we r sailing this Sunday 2/23/14

 

The Atrium is my biggest peeve. They use it for the game shows at night where on the other ships, those are done in the Spinnaker lounge. You have to fight for seating in the atrium. Some end up sitting on the floors. My favorite NCL show is Dancing With the Stars but the floor in the atrium is not big enough so they nixed it completely.

[Eeyoregon]

Hi! I wanted to stop by and give some details on the cabin that I stayed in last week.

 

Balcony category BC #14862 AFT. This is one of the "angled" balconies, starboard side.

 

I chose starboard for the views of the Statue of Liberty as we left Manhattan. The angled balcony was considerably larger than the other BC balconies...but same price :). It provided great aft views.

NOTE: NO PRIVACY for you or the balconies on either side of you, so keep that in mind :p. Sliding glass door provided great views and was easy to open but if you forget to lock it, you'll hear a creepy whistling sound, lol.

 

We chose a BC as we were 4 adult women, sharing one cabin, and wanted 4 individual beds vs. a double sofa sleeper. There were two lower twins, one twin convertible sofa (quite comfy...not like your sofa sleeper at home) and one upper twin bunk that is directly above the sofa.

 

The closet placement sucked. Right at the end of the sofa making it very difficult to get to, especially stuff in the left side of closet. Very small in comparison to closets that I have had in other balcony cabins on Carnival, Royal, Celebrity, Disney or other NCL ships. Standard size safe in the closet.

 

Vanity: NO DRAWERS whatsoever! Wishing I had packed the over-the-door shoe holder after all! There was a one cup coffee maker and small cooling box (doesn't keep things, like medicine, at safe temp).

 

All of our luggage fit nicely under the two twin beds.

 

Bathroom: Very spacious and the shower stall had frosted glass door for privacy if someone else needed to use the sink/toilet while you were showering. The water pressure in the shower was terrible and showering took much longer than necessary, as we attempted to wash soap off and conditioner out of our hair. Lot's of storage for all of our cosmetics and toiletries. Hand soap, shampoo and body wash were available from dispensers.

 

There was a full size mirror in the cabin. A large flat screen TV on the wall. Plenty of lighting throughout the cabin.

 

This was my 13th cruise and the first cabin door to ever open OUT into the hallway. I spent 7 days pulling the door inward...without success :rolleyes:. The door is metal so I used magnetic tape to attach our door decorations.

 

A/C worked efficiently and accurately. Never too hot/cold, unless we forgot to lock the sliding glass door when we were out on the balcony, in which case the A/C turns off until the door latch is locked.

 

Loved the AFT location as we only had to go up one flight of stairs and we were in the buffet :D. Quiet location. Very little foot traffic and we did not hear any noise from above or from the H2o party area. At night, when out on the balcony, you could hear some of the music from H2o but it was very soft and we kind of enjoyed it. Very convenient to the elevators as well.

 

I would absolutely stay in this cabin again...but will bring my over-the-door shoe holder!

 

Happy sailing!

 

Gina

[Eeyoregon]

There's a real lack of electrical outlets in your cabin so don't forget to bring along a power strip.

 

FYI: And bring more than one type, as the power strip (brand new, three prong) I brought last week did NOT fit into the outlet :(. The holes were not compatible. I even asked our steward for help, and he could not make it work either.

 

Gina

[Eeyoregon]

Random thoughts and tips:

 

If you have any ports of call that require tendering, make your tender ticket reservations ASAP once on board. You can do this on your cabin TV or on one of the interactive monitors around the ship.

 

If you are not easily offended, Rock of Ages is a MUST see show. A fantastic cast that kept me entertained the entire time and even had me crying tears of laughter!

 

Cirque Circus show was worth seeing once but the food was mediocre and the "acts" got a bit boring after a bit. Oh, and if you are sensitive to noise, ask for a table away from the huge speakers.

 

Long line at the pool bar? Head to the back of the buffet, where there is a bar that was never busy. The bar tender was excited to have a customer!

 

Not sure which way you are heading on the ship? Look down. The carpet has fish in the pattern and the front/bow of the ship is in the direction in which the fish are swimming.

 

Don't want to rub elbows w/ 3,000+ guests for lunch on embarkation day? Go to one of the dining rooms for lunch. Much more relaxing.

 

At the end of your cruise, it is up to you to go and pick-up luggage tags at guest services, for disembarkation. I was waiting for them to "appear" in my cabin and there weren't many colors to choose from by the time I got my act together.

 

Manhattan Disembarkation: They off-load guest from both ends of the ship. Exit through the aft location. Those exiting forward had to walk all the way forward and then once outside, had to walk the length of the ship back to the entrance of the terminal.

 

Take a Valium just prior to disembarkation!! It is one giant cluster of people, confusion, small spaces and a lot of East Coast attitudes (no offense to anyone...just my observation ;))! And once you exit the terminal, you are on your own to navigate yourself and all of your luggage through buses, taxi's, shuttles, personal vehicles and hundreds of people and a big, busy NYC street! I've never been so overstimulated and overwhelmed.

 

If you're cruising in the next few weeks, stop by the Mixx bar on deck 6 AFT and tell bartender, Joaquim, that Gina (lemondrop lady) says hello! He's going on leave in December and then moving to the Getaway. He is a FANTASTIC bar tender who made my cruise extra great.

 

Happy Sailing.

Edited November 10, 2015 by Eeyoregon

[emilysmom97]

Uptown Grill was horrible. Maybe we went at the wrong time. Long wait, cold burgers and fries. Also, the Waterfront is filled with smokers. The last day was the only time I saw a crew member tell a smoker to stay away from the seats. On embarkation day it was worse than the casino in regard to the smoke. Blech! Also, made reservations at Ocean Blu, which was hard to get. When got there, and the entire time, barely any of the tables were taken. Great service and food but I don't get the difficulty in getting reservations.

 

In all honesty, I will never go on the Breakaway again. I'm sticking with the Jewel class ships.

[Birdnutty]

Has anyone tried to use the iconcierge app for texting each other on board? I read on one of the forums that their phone was not supported. That would be a major problem for me. I gave an older iphone 4 and would like to know if it will work or not.

[sabres431]

We have used the app. If the app works on your phone then you should be fine. It worked pretty well for us.

 

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