Just off Breakaway's first sailing to Bahamas 10/13-10/20/13

[youngestof9]

Just off Breakaway's first sailing to the Bahamas. Not going to do a full report, but I'll do some highlights.

We are me (44) and DH (47). Booked this in March 2012 as a surprise for DH. Ended up sailing with 4 other couples as well.

Embarkation: Easy. Arrived at port at 9:30. Stood in line before security, then went through security. You board forward or aft based on your room floor. Supposed to begin boarding at 10:30, but in reality didn't start boarding general boarding until about 11:20. Had boarding group 5. Went right to Deck 6 for Vibe passes. They were selling 40 passes.

Our room was 11910 on the aft. It was spacious and the balcony was huge. Jomar was our room steward and he was like a ninja - our room was always spotless. He accommodated everything we asked for (which wasn't much) but always with a smile.

We immediately went to the Uptown Bar & Grill on 16 to see our favorite bartender Julio who was only on board until Port Canaveral. Spent some time with him, purchased our Ultimate Beverage Package and then went to quickly unpack. Later in the week we met his wife. Norwegian is lucky to have such great people working aboard.

Dining: We ate in Savor and the Manhattan Room as well as twice for the buffet for dinner (because we just wanted to grab something quick). Had chicken breast in Savor that was excellent and had NY Strip in Manhattan Room once and a chicken dish the other. Also had cream of broccoli soup, onion soup and Caesar salad, salmon (between me and hubby). Had warm bread pudding for dessert twice and no dessert in Savor (too full!). In all main dining room cases, food was hot and done well. Steak was done perfect. Great service. Last night in Manhattan it was a little slow to get our entree, but other than that, good service all around. Had prime rib in the buffet on embarkation night that was excellent - rare and juicy.

Ate a specialty dinner in Teppanyaki and it was fun with 8 of us at the same table (other couple went somewhere else that night). Food was excellent - filet was tender and flavorful.

Ate at Shanghai noodle bar - best potstickers. Went to Raw Bar and they need to get more help! There were 5 of us and it took almost 50 minutes to get 6 littlenecks. The first 2 in our group were served and finished before the last one served. The girl shucking clams and oysters was working her tail off and the food was excellent, but they needed more help!

Spent a lot of time in O'Sheehan's shooting darts - that was fun. Chicken Pot Pie and Wings were both great there.

Grabbed some pastries at Carlo's a few times - pecan shortbread was our favorite.

Ports: Not thrilled with itinerary, however it ended up being much better than I even expected. In Port Canaveral we decided to hit Coconuts on the Beach, a beach bar/restaurant in Cocoa Beach. Asked the taxi stand and it was $8 pp to bring us there. Our driver gave us his card, so we called when we were done, he drove us to the Cocoa Beach pier where we went to the Mon Tiki Bar for some drinks. Then we called him again to bring us back to the pier. It was great having his card. All in all, we really enjoyed ourselves. Still think it's a weird stop, but we did have a great time.

Great Stirrup Cay - beautiful! We reserved a private cabana and had Cabana #7. It's quite a walk, so be prepared. There was a buffet served from 11:30-2:00. It was very crowded and I think they may have to figure out another serving spot. I heard there was food past the cabanas but didn't see it. Service in the cabana could have been better, but that didn't ruin anything. In fact I may have been overserved a little (ha ha). Met some nice people in the water but may not actually remember the conversations - so if you're here...HI! LOL. Water is gorgeous here. Sand is like cotton balls. Last tender back was 5:30, but we headed out around 5. This is the night they did the 80's party and the Fireworks. We watched them from our balcony. They were great and timed to the music.

Nassau - we took the Jitney #10 to the Sheraton Cable Beach. It was gorgeous. We bought the silver pass, which was $40 and included access to pool and beach as well as lunch and 2 non-alcoholic drinks. There was a mistake at first - they thought we didn't get the silver package so our lunch bill was $33. They figured out we paid the lunch so that's a good deal - we basically paid $10 each for lunch with the package so instead of it being $33 for 2 off the menu price, it was only $20. We also walked down to the Windham and had a drink there. Nice beach and very relaxing. Jitney picks you up right there to bring you back to port $1.25 pp. Stopped at Tortuga Rum factory for some Nassau Royale rum to bring back.

Shows: Saw Rock of Ages and loved it. I love 80s music, so it was great. My only complaint was the God-awful seats. There is a metal bar across the back of the cushion. To avoid it you sort of had to lean forward otherwise it pushes into your lower back. For a new theater we couldn't believe how uncomfortable the seats were. But the show was entertaining for sure.

Went to the glow party for awhile and it was fun - we could hear it from our aft balcony. Also went to Howl at the Moon and it was Steve and Chris who we saw on Epic in February. They're fun. This show depends on the audience and I would say the demographic on this ship was definitely older. Not a lot of families. We enjoyed but have seen better audience participation. They are amazing performers though. Also went to the late show of Second City which was noted to be Adult. It had some adult themes for sure and improv is hard - not sure if people realize how hard it really is. I thought they were great. There were a few older women who walked out when the comedians started talking about vaginas. LOL. Guess they don't understand "adult themed".

Did the waterslides and the ropes course. The freefall waterslide is freakin amazing. Did the corkscrew too. Ropes course is fun and got out there and walked the plank. Holy crap that's a weird feeling. But I did it and ziplined to the end. It was fun.

We're not gamblers, but I wandered through a few times. They need to do something about the smoke, especially on 7. It's gross.

Ultimate Beverage Package was great for us. Tried all sorts of drinks and it was easy to use.

Disembarkation was a breeze - crowded, but had breakfast at garden buffet and got off the ship around 9:15. Was home at 10:30. Customs took about 15 minutes or so.

Not sure if I forgot anything, but ask any questions. I totally missed the M&G - it was 11:45 when I remembered and it started at 11. I felt so bad. But did meet Tim & Kristen in Vibe!

Overall: we loved the ship. Epic is still our favorite as I liked the layout a little better. The Garden cafe leading out to the pool deck on Epic just seems to flow better. The pool deck is very choppy on breakaway. But if given the opportunity, we'd sail her again. We have her booked for Thanksgiving 2014, but may have to change due to work schedules. Considering getaway. We found the service to be excellent. Everyone said hello and was working so hard. We really enjoyed some of the bartenders and filled out Vacation Hero cards for them. When I mentioned to him I filled one out for him, he was genuinely thankful. He said how important they were to them.

I have dailies but no scanner, so I can take pics and post, but not for a few days. Gotta get back to my kids! I missed them and they're coming home from "Camp Grandma" LOL so I need booze and food detox and they need Grandma spoiling detox.

[Infiniti820]

Great review!! I cannot wait to see great stirrup cay! How was the tendering to get there? If you rent a clam shell, do you know if it gets you any kind of prioty tendering? I am on the 11/3 sailing, deck 9 AFT balcony- was planning to be at the port for 11:00- do you think that is to early? Do you get a boarding number as soon as you check in at the pier? And does that number go by the time you get there or your location on the ship? Like if I arrive at 11 and you arrive at 12, do you board before me even though I was there an hour before you because of our cabin location? Thanks for posting soon!!

[mickey557]

Hello thanks for your review it sounds like you had a great time. We are sailing out of NY on the Breakaway for the 2013 Thanksgiving cruise and we can't wait. Very excited. I will watch now to see anything you post about the trip since I can never get enough and the only thing that I am really disliking about the Breakaway at the moment is it is so new there is not much on it yet LOL. I have never been on anything new so was always able to find tons of reviews good or bad but not this time :(. Again thank you and I will look forward to more information when you are done with the detoxing process LOL :D.

[youngestof9]

Great review!! I cannot wait to see great stirrup cay! How was the tendering to get there? If you rent a clam shell, do you know if it gets you any kind of prioty tendering? I am on the 11/3 sailing, deck 9 AFT balcony- was planning to be at the port for 11:00- do you think that is to early? Do you get a boarding number as soon as you check in at the pier? And does that number go by the time you get there or your location on the ship? Like if I arrive at 11 and you arrive at 12, do you board before me even though I was there an hour before you because of our cabin location? Thanks for posting soon!!

 

11:00 is NOT too early. In fact, it's late. Remember you leave at 3. I was there at 9:30 and by the time we were boarding at 11:20 it was absolutely packed!!! I'd say get there as soon as you can. You get boarding numbers based on when you check in - your floor is just which area you go to check in. If you get there at 11 you'll board before someone who arrives at 12.

 

Did you book the clamshell as a shore excursion? If you have a shore excursion (which is what my cabana was called), you get priority tendering. Tendering was simple. They call you by group (you can sign up on your TV) and tender over. Very easy.

[Infiniti820]

As far I know you have to wait until onboard to book the clamshell..thanks for advice - I will be there by 10am at the latest!! One more question..was it warm enough on Monday (1st sea day) to be laying out in the sun and same question for the return- was it warm in Friday and Saturday?? Thanks for the quick response.

[travis_bickle]

great to hear you had a good experience on this trip. i was also on this cruise along with my wife and kid. had an absolute blast!!!

[youngestof9]

As far I know you have to wait until onboard to book the clamshell..thanks for advice - I will be there by 10am at the latest!! One more question..was it warm enough on Monday (1st sea day) to be laying out in the sun and same question for the return- was it warm in Friday and Saturday?? Thanks for the quick response.

 

The 2nd day it was nice and Friday was beautiful. We were in the sun all day on Monday and all day on Friday. Saturday was grey and cooler. I suspect getting into November that even Friday afternoon may be cooler but you never know!!

[youngestof9]

great to hear you had a good experience on this trip. i was also on this cruise along with my wife and kid. had an absolute blast!!!

 

so glad! Most people seemed pretty happy on this cruise. Didn't see too many unhappy people.

 

It also did not feel crowded at all and it's my understanding the ship was full.

[Journey11]

Thanks for taking the time to prepare your very interesting review. So glad you had a great cruise.

[bahamaman]

Great Review! Thanks for getting me the dailies! I sent you a friend request. Glad you had a great time! sincerely, Allan M.

[agargoyle]

HI Youngestof9,

 

Great review--

 

Canaveral -- we love the stop -- we always go to Jetty Park -- cab fair went up again so it is now $6.00 pp/each way. The entry to the park is free. You can rent 2 lounges and an umbrella for $15.00 for the day. The beach is clean, nice waves and fla so youc an walk out quite a way. Alot of people head over to the theme parks for the day.

 

This trip we saw dolphin (again), se turtles, jelly fish - in the canal, and lots of little fish. There is a great fishing pier to walk along and you can rent fishing tackle if you want.

 

We ate mainly in Taste and Savor. We find the Manhattan Room to loud. (we are old farts LOL)

 

There is another food station out past the cabanas near the lagoon. It is a little smaller than the main buffet but has enough and all the same food. Plans are in the works to have a trolly/tram to hlep move people on the island.

 

Nassau we often walk over to the free beach just past the HIlton or just walk around town. DH trys to keep me out of the jewelry shops -- did not work this trip and I added to my collection :)

 

If I had know it was you "hogging" the darts we would have come and joined you.

 

We will be back on the Breakaway in December and can hardly wait to see how the menus changed...the new meals we awesome. I loved the scallps au gartin (sp) and the salmon. We ate one night at the Bistro and had a great meal as always.

 

Good job on walking the plank -- I tried the rope course in May and had to turn around. Did not do it this time -- maybe next trip.

 

I beleive you can book the clamshell ahead of time through the excursions. I would recommend getting on the island as soon as you can to pick out your clamshell. They are mostly on the mail beach to the right and some on the beach to the left. We usually go left. So if you do not want one stuck in the middle of the pack get there early. You cannot move them around.

 

The atached pictre is from the far side of the island but the cabanas are over near the big slide.

[my3princes]

I had no idea that we were going to get fireworks!! I thought that was just on the Bermuda cruises. Could someone explain the difference between a cabana and a clamshell please. Was there a white hot party or is it now the Glow? Was the 80's party something that people dressed 80's for? So many questions and just 5 weeks to go.

[Infiniti820]

I had no idea that we were going to get fireworks!! I thought that was just on the Bermuda cruises. Could someone explain the difference between a cabana and a clamshell please. Was there a white hot party or is it now the Glow? Was the 80's party something that people dressed 80's for? So many questions and just 5 weeks to go.

 

Clamshell is something like $30.00 to rent and from what I understand is just a lounge chair with a shade, a place to keep your beach bag and to find some shade. The cabana is $299.00 with some credit (not sure how much) towards drinks, they are big, with room for a few chairs and a table (I think)..hopefully someone who has rented both will chime in- I would like to know more as well.

[my3princes]

I just read on facebook that NCL is now offering small cabanas on a different beach that accommodate 4 for the same price $299 as the large cabanas:cool: It seems there is much to learn. Teach me fellow cruisers

[agargoyle]

Hi,

 

A clamshell is like a half tent that fits 2 lounge chairs with room between them so it is comfortable for 2 people or 2 people and a small child. They cannot be moved from where they are set up. Nice alternative if you have to avoid the sun.

 

The downside is they can block the breeze if there is one and they are packed together on the main beach. On the first beach on the left, they have fewer of them and they have more space between them.

 

The cabana is a wooden structure with a fan, small refrig, table 4 chairs and a couple of lounge chairs. Most of them also have small decks in front of them.

 

I am on my laptop and my pictures are on my other computer so I can not post a picture of the cabanas.

 

This time we planned on getting on the island early and got a couple of lounge chairs in the shade.

[CruisingCate]

I'd also like to know about the tendering. Would it be difficult for someone limping/recovering from an ankle injury? I suppose it also depends on how rough the seas are that day as well.

 

If you are not going to lay out on the beach or go into the water, is there anything else you can do? Is it very far to walk to somewhere to hang out and have lunch?

[lgfromdg]

I was also on the same cruise and had an amazing time. On e piece of advice - DO NOT MISS FIRE & ICE - absolutely fantastic shows.

[chiapet]

Thanks for the quick review ... sounds like everyone had a great time :)

[margie1221]

Keep it coming - sailing on the Breakaway after Christmas - sounds like the fireworks have been changed to earlier in the week - very exciting!!

[sekmetamanda]

Hello thanks for your review it sounds like you had a great time. We are sailing out of NY on the Breakaway for the 2013 Thanksgiving cruise and we can't wait. Very excited. I will watch now to see anything you post about the trip since I can never get enough and the only thing that I am really disliking about the Breakaway at the moment is it is so new there is not much on it yet LOL. I have never been on anything new so was always able to find tons of reviews good or bad but not this time :(. Again thank you and I will look forward to more information when you are done with the detoxing process LOL :D.

 

Hi!

 

We are going on this cruise as well. There is a very helpful & friendly FB group started for this cruise. If you're not already a member, we would love for you to join us. (I tried to post the link, but it wouldn't work. Just search for NCL Breakaway Thanksgiving 2013 on Facebook and you should be able to find it.)

[Tyskie]

Just off Breakaway's first sailing to the Bahamas.

Our room was 11910 on the aft.

 

Great Stirrup Cay - This is the night they did the 80's party and the Fireworks. We watched them from our balcony. They were great and timed to the music.

 

 

Thanks for your review, we were all anxious to see how the "first Bahamas run" was. :)

 

I see you had a true aft balcony. We're in an aft balcony - port side, deck 11. Do you think we'll be able to see the fireworks from our balcony? It was said portside is the side to be on. Would much rather be there than with the crowd on deck. Your input would be appreciated.

[rbelfi]

I've noticed some people say you need to check in/or get tendering tickets. That is not the case. I simply walked down to deck 5 last week and walked onto the tender. I know other people waited in Breakaway theater before making their way to the theater, but no one in our group did anything to regester or reserve a tender time.

[youngestof9]

Thanks for your review, we were all anxious to see how the "first Bahamas run" was. :)

 

I see you had a true aft balcony. We're in an aft balcony - port side, deck 11. Do you think we'll be able to see the fireworks from our balcony? It was said portside is the side to be on. Would much rather be there than with the crowd on deck. Your input would be appreciated.

 

We were the first true aft balcony next to the suite on the corner deck 11 and we saw the fireworks from our balcony. If you're truly port and not on the aft, you won't see it. If you head to deck 17 forward right at the top of the stairs (like on your way to Vibe), there's a great viewing spot that has less people than Spice.

[goin-away]

We were the first true aft balcony next to the suite on the corner deck 11 and we saw the fireworks from our balcony. If you're truly port and not on the aft, you won't see it. If you head to deck 17 forward right at the top of the stairs (like on your way to Vibe), there's a great viewing spot that has less people than Spice.

 

We are going to be on deck 12 in an aft balcony 12908 in three weeks, would we have a good view of the fireworks from there?

[marciefree]

We were also on the 10/13 cruise. After reading all the posts and reviews I was very skeptical about this ship. I have virtually no criticism. This is a great ship. Food was better than we expected, as was the entertainment. We ate in Taste (lunch was fantastic), Manhattan room, cagneys and Moderna. All were very good. The wings at O'sheehans were great.

 

Rock of Ages was a great show. I was surprised to see people walking out. We thought Burn the Floor was way too long, got boring. Cirque show was good, dinner was not so good. Problem with the show is the seating. We had a very difficult time seeing the show and would have preferred if it had not been a dinner show.

 

Never had a problem with crowds. No problem getting a lounge chair in the sun or shade.

 

Biggest complaint we had was the smoke smell throughout decks 7 & 8 and in the casino directly. The layout in the casino was terrible, and just walking through we were overwhelmed by the smoke smell.

 

All crew we encountered were great. Our room steward was excellent, gave us towel animals every night.

 

We had a great cruise and while I never thought I would say this, but we would happily sail the Breakaway again.