Cruising with Zay - A Breakaway Review

[TnomadX]

I hope you guys are enjoying the review, and that I'm not boring you with so much details. I just want to ensure you get the full experience. Please feel free to ask questions. I want to make sure I answer all of your questions about the experience.

 

--

Zay

[TnomadX]

I'm glad you are "weird" then! Laurie

 

LOL....Me too. It's how I live life. It makes for a happy Zay ;)

[TnomadX]

Thank you for the great review! Love the pictures and the helpful tips!

 

Thank you so much. There's more to come. Only three more days left to post. I'm so glad I took notes. :)

 

I'll try to post some actual pictures of our sailing as well. Stay tuned.

[TnomadX]

Love your review so far! Thanks for being so detailed and with lots of tips. We're sailing BA this summer (with my son Brian 18). We promise to be at muster ON TIME !!

 

 

~robin and brian

 

Carnival Legend 2008

Carnival Miracle 2010

Norwegian Breakaway 2014

 

PLEASE be there on time...lol. You will have lots of fun. There's lot of things to do onboard.

[chars]

I am not so familiar with the Breakaway, do all of the shows require reservations, and do you book them before boarding?

[TnomadX]

I am not so familiar with the Breakaway, do all of the shows require reservations, and do you book them before boarding?

 

You don't have to make reservations, but they highly recommend them to ensure you get the time you want. Many times you can just walk in about 10 minutes before show time. They DO start them on time and do not allow latecomers in for most of them.

[TnomadX]

I am not so familiar with the Breakaway, do all of the shows require reservations, and do you book them before boarding?

 

Also, you can make your reservations online 45 days before you sail.

[2inTul]

I hope you guys are enjoying the review, and that I'm not boring you with so much details. I just want to ensure you get the full experience. Please feel free to ask questions. I want to make sure I answer all of your questions about the experience.

 

--

Zay

 

Not bored at all! Keep 'em comin'. We sail next Sunday and I hope I get to read the rest of your saga. Thank you so much for posting.

[TnomadX]

 

 

 

[TnomadX]

Not bored at all! Keep 'em comin'. We sail next Sunday and I hope I get to read the rest of your saga. Thank you so much for posting.

 

I will definitely be finished by then. Thanks for your patience.

[OnTheGoMom921]

Zay ~ Loving your review so far, and all the details just make it BETTER!

Sounds like they have really done a lot on GSC since we were there last year on the Gem. We also did Universal when we stopped at PC, it is nerve wracking to get to the theme parks and back in such a short time, but we actually rented a limo, which worked out really well (details are in my Gem review in my signature).

I also didn't get to have the pot pie in O'sheehan's and I'm sorry I missed it. However, we did get to see the awesome view of the Statue of Liberty from our aft PH (photos in my Breakaway review in my signature)

Can't wait to hear about the rest of your trip! Thank you for the fabulous review!

[TnomadX]

Bare with me guys. I accidentally posted day 5 as day 4 :(

Edited November 4, 2013 by TnomadX
Correcting my post.

[TnomadX]

Today I purposely woke up late because I really didn’t want to get off the ship at Nassau. I’ve been there several times, and there wasn’t anything I wanted to see. In case you’re interested, many people tend to visit Paradise Island where Atlantis is. You can either take a taxi there for $5 per person (one way) or book through the cruise line. At Atlantis, they have an aquarium that is huge. It literally takes about 45 minutes to get through it. It used to be free, but now they are charging $45 pp for adults, and about $35 pp for kiddos. Is it worth it? Depends on the individual. When I took my kiddos in March, they loved every minute of it. I would caution you that the locals are very persistent here. If you really don’t want to buy anything, just keep walking. They have stories that will just break your heart, and sometimes they even have their children to sell as well. It’s really hard to pass by the children. Just be cautious.

 

There are also local hotels you can stay at for the day as well. Please check out resortforaday.com for more details about it. Just remember that they do not provide shuttle service, so you are responsible for getting there and back to the ship. You can stay at Paradise Island Resort or the Sheraton, and they both provide meals. The cost is about $70 pp for one of them, and $75 pp for the other. There might be other suggestions from others who have gone there several times as well.

 

I got up and went to the pool area just to lounge around a bit since most people were off the ship. For those who might be interested, the pool area is actually nice. My only gripe with it is that it is rather small for the number of guests they have on board. Anyway, I saw one of the other passengers that was in a studio as well. She was LOTS of fun. We sat and talked for a couple of hours about everything. She was a very good listener, and I appreciated that.

 

I then went to check the schedule to see what was happening on board. I found two of my friends playing trivia in the atrium, so I joined them. Afterwards we went to the studio lounge so that I could show them around. We met with one of the Cruise Director’s Staff (Zack) who is awesome. Zack is such an energetic guy. You will definitely see him somewhere on board, and you will know exactly who he is.

 

When we got to my room, I noticed there was a letter waiting on me from Guest Services. Thinking nothing of it (because I got several letters all week), I opened it to find that they were billing the gratuities back to my account. They indicated that they had contacted NCL in Miami, and that I indeed had not paid my gratuities. The letter also stated that I should wait until I get off the ship to contact my travel agent and / or NCL to correct the issue. This is the first time I had gotten upset onboard. After calming down first, I went back down to guest services to speak with them about this issue. I didn’t want to wait until I got off the ship. The person I spoke with allowed me to call my travel agent. After a few minutes, NCL Miami sent an email to the ship asking them to reverse the gratuities. The person at guest services told me that I received the letter in error, and that all the charges were reversed. I was very pleased and thanked her for allowing me to call the Travel Agent.

 

I headed back to my room, but some of my cruise critic friends in the singles lounge, so I stopped in. They shared some of their dining experiences with me as well. Their dining experience had been awful since they boarded the ship. Their main complaint is that they had to pay for service in specialty restaurants that they should be getting in the main dining room. As mentioned before, this was quite a few of the passenger’s complaints. I say this over and over so you can be prepared.

 

My next stop was the Rock of Ages show. It’s an adult show about a couple of kids who both have dreams of being stars. Many people complained that the show was too adult. I must say that it wasn’t nearly as bad as I thought it would be. If some people could just let their hair down a little. In reality, we all hear language (and probably use it too) that is pretty strong around us. I honestly didn’t find it to be that strong of language. In fact, I kind of found it to be romantic. I will warn you that there is quite a bit of skin showing during the show, so I don’t advise this show for children. There is a bit of striping like behavior, so take caution. The only thing I would really change about the show is turning the music down a little. It was hard to understand what the characters’ lyrics when they sang. There were some very talented singers, but the music almost drowns them out. The show does start off a little slow, but it does pick up about 10 minutes into the show. WARNING!!!!! Do NOT take your camera into the show. They really mean no photography or videos during the show. If they see you taking pictures or recording, they will ask you to either put it away or to leave. They are not so friendly when they ask you to put it away.

 

I decided to try the Garden Café for dinner since I hadn’t been there yet. This is the buffet style dinner. I put a lot of food on my plate to ensure that there was something I could enjoy, but I didn’t at all. I’m not sure what the problem was, but I was disappointed and left. I decided to go to the Manhattan Room for Dinner. I can honestly say that this was the worst service I had received while on board. The server waited 30 minutes to come and take my order, and only brought the main course. I wasn’t too worried about that. The entrée was Jerk Chicken, but was not as good as the one at Great Stirrup Cay. The flavor was good, but it was much too salty for me. I just decided to leave again, but boy was I hungry.

 

I decided I would go see the Second City show again, and it was funnier than the one I saw before. Again….their show is based on the audience. If you’ve got a good audience, you’ve got a good show. This was more adult as well, but I enjoyed it a lot. My hats are off to the cast as I thought they did an outstanding job.

 

After leaving the show (it was about 45 minutes long), I decided to try that dinner once more. This time I had a much better experience. I went to O’Sheehans and they sat me down very quickly. One of the Matre’ D’s came to me very quickly to see if I had been served yet. While I hadn’t, I told him that I had. Three minutes later, my server came and apologized for the wait. It was all of five minutes. His name was Michael, and he was a very nice server. He offered me drinks, an appetizer and an entrée. I decided to have the hot wings and the chicken potpie. The wings were good, but that Chicken Pot Pie is really good. If you have it, I really hope you enjoy it as much as I did. It really tastes like it’s homemade. I LOVED It. I was very happy with the meal.

 

After the meal, I headed back to my stateroom. When I got to my floor, there was a family standing and chatting in the hallway. I asked them how they have enjoyed their cruise so far, and they said it was okay. They said they were disappointed with the service on board. They were paying extra money to go to the specialty venues, and they didn’t feel they should have to do that.

 

A couple of sisters passed by us and happened to overhear us talking. They joined the conversation by saying, “the service is awful”. They felt the service was better on smaller NCL cruises. This was more than 80% of the people I talked to. I believe many people had very high expectations because it is a new ship. I do believe the service could have been better in many instances. The important thing is that you remain patient and plan accordingly. Expect that there may be delays when dining.

 

What I’ve enjoyed most is the people I’ve met onboard. Most of them have been from New York Or New Jersey. They’ve made me laugh hard, and we’ve shared some really good stories. The shows have been phenomenal. Some of the food has been really good. My room steward has been EXCELLENT!!! He has been the best server I’ve had all week. He’s been very personable and entertaining all wee. He loves his job, and that shines through.

 

Almost done. Just two more days to go. Whew.

[TnomadX]

Today I purposely woke up late because I really didn’t want to get off the ship at Nassau. I’ve been there several times, and there wasn’t anything I wanted to see. In case you’re interested, many people tend to visit Paradise Island where Atlantis is. You can either take a taxi there for $5 per person (one way) or book through the cruise line. At Atlantis, they have an aquarium that is huge. It literally takes about 45 minutes to get through it. It used to be free, but now they are charging $45 pp for adults, and about $35 pp for kiddos. Is it worth it? Depends on the individual. When I took my kiddos in March, they loved every minute of it. I would caution you that the locals are very persistent here. If you really don’t want to buy anything, just keep walking. They have stories that will just break your heart, and sometimes they even have their children to sell as well. It’s really hard to pass by the children. Just be cautious.

 

There are also local hotels you can stay at for the day as well. Please check out resortforaday.com for more details about it. Just remember that they do not provide shuttle service, so you are responsible for getting there and back to the ship. You can stay at Paradise Island Resort or the Sheraton, and they both provide meals. The cost is about $70 pp for one of them, and $75 pp for the other. There might be other suggestions from others who have gone there several times as well.

 

I got up and went to the pool area just to lounge around a bit since most people were off the ship. For those who might be interested, the pool area is actually nice. My only gripe with it is that it is rather small for the number of guests they have on board. Anyway, I saw one of the other passengers that was in a studio as well. She was LOTS of fun. We sat and talked for a couple of hours about everything. She was a very good listener, and I appreciated that.

 

I then went to check the schedule to see what was happening on board. I found two of my friends playing trivia in the atrium, so I joined them. Afterwards we went to the studio lounge so that I could show them around. We met with one of the Cruise Director’s Staff (Zack) who is awesome. Zack is such an energetic guy. You will definitely see him somewhere on board, and you will know exactly who he is.

 

When we got to my room, I noticed there was a letter waiting on me from Guest Services. Thinking nothing of it (because I got several letters all week), I opened it to find that they were billing the gratuities back to my account. They indicated that they had contacted NCL in Miami, and that I indeed had not paid my gratuities. The letter also stated that I should wait until I get off the ship to contact my travel agent and / or NCL to correct the issue. This is the first time I had gotten upset onboard. After calming down first, I went back down to guest services to speak with them about this issue. I didn’t want to wait until I got off the ship. The person I spoke with allowed me to call my travel agent. After a few minutes, NCL Miami sent an email to the ship asking them to reverse the gratuities. The person at guest services told me that I received the letter in error, and that all the charges were reversed. I was very pleased and thanked her for allowing me to call the Travel Agent.

 

I headed back to my room, but some of my cruise critic friends in the singles lounge, so I stopped in. They shared some of their dining experiences with me as well. Their dining experience had been awful since they boarded the ship. Their main complaint is that they had to pay for service in specialty restaurants that they should be getting in the main dining room. As mentioned before, this was quite a few of the passenger’s complaints. I say this over and over so you can be prepared.

 

My next stop was the Rock of Ages show. It’s an adult show about a couple of kids who both have dreams of being stars. Many people complained that the show was too adult. I must say that it wasn’t nearly as bad as I thought it would be. If some people could just let their hair down a little. In reality, we all hear language (and probably use it too) that is pretty strong around us. I honestly didn’t find it to be that strong of language. In fact, I kind of found it to be romantic. I will warn you that there is quite a bit of skin showing during the show, so I don’t advise this show for children. There is a bit of striping like behavior, so take caution. The only thing I would really change about the show is turning the music down a little. It was hard to understand what the characters’ lyrics when they sang. There were some very talented singers, but the music almost drowns them out. The show does start off a little slow, but it does pick up about 10 minutes into the show. WARNING!!!!! Do NOT take your camera into the show. They really mean no photography or videos during the show. If they see you taking pictures or recording, they will ask you to either put it away or to leave. They are not so friendly when they ask you to put it away.

 

I decided to try the Garden Café for dinner since I hadn’t been there yet. This is the buffet style dinner. I put a lot of food on my plate to ensure that there was something I could enjoy, but I didn’t at all. I’m not sure what the problem was, but I was disappointed and left. I decided to go to the Manhattan Room for Dinner. I can honestly say that this was the worst service I had received while on board. The server waited 30 minutes to come and take my order, and only brought the main course. I wasn’t too worried about that. The entrée was Jerk Chicken, but was not as good as the one at Great Stirrup Cay. The flavor was good, but it was much too salty for me. I just decided to leave again, but boy was I hungry.

 

I decided I would go see the Second City show again, and it was funnier than the one I saw before. Again….their show is based on the audience. If you’ve got a good audience, you’ve got a good show. This was more adult as well, but I enjoyed it a lot. My hats are off to the cast as I thought they did an outstanding job.

 

After leaving the show (it was about 45 minutes long), I decided to try that dinner once more. This time I had a much better experience. I went to O’Sheehans and they sat me down very quickly. One of the Matre’ D’s came to me very quickly to see if I had been served yet. While I hadn’t, I told him that I had. Three minutes later, my server came and apologized for the wait. It was all of five minutes. His name was Michael, and he was a very nice server. He offered me drinks, an appetizer and an entrée. I decided to have the hot wings and the chicken potpie. The wings were good, but that Chicken Pot Pie is really good. If you have it, I really hope you enjoy it as much as I did. It really tastes like it’s homemade. I LOVED It. I was very happy with the meal.

 

After the meal, I headed back to my stateroom. When I got to my floor, there was a family standing and chatting in the hallway. I asked them how they have enjoyed their cruise so far, and they said it was okay. They said they were disappointed with the service on board. They were paying extra money to go to the specialty venues, and they didn’t feel they should have to do that.

 

A couple of sisters passed by us and happened to overhear us talking. They joined the conversation by saying, “the service is awful”. They felt the service was better on smaller NCL cruises. This was more than 80% of the people I talked to. I believe many people had very high expectations because it is a new ship. I do believe the service could have been better in many instances. The important thing is that you remain patient and plan accordingly. Expect that there may be delays when dining.

 

What I’ve enjoyed most is the people I’ve met onboard. Most of them have been from New York Or New Jersey. They’ve made me laugh hard, and we’ve shared some really good stories. The shows have been phenomenal. Some of the food has been really good. My room steward has been EXCELLENT!!! He has been the best server I’ve had all week. He’s been very personable and entertaining all wee. He loves his job, and that shines through.

 

Almost done. Just two more days to go. Whew.

 

Sorry Guys...I'm messing up. It's supposed to be for the Bahamas.

[TnomadX]

 

 

 

[TnomadX]

 

 

 

 

 

[opalinem]

 

I'm loving the opportunity to share our experience and relive the journey all over again. It excites me when people comment and ask questions. I guess I'm a little weird, huh? LOL...

 

 

You're not weird. Just very sociable, for our greatest pleasure! I'm enjoying your blog a lot. And it's awesome that you're posting the dailies at the same time. After reading your review, I'm glad I picked space center for Tuesday (I'm sailing in December), I thought half a day would be too short for the big Disney parks. I'm also hoping that booking through the ship will save time. And you convinced me to walk all the way to the lagoon area in GSC, it seems well worth the 15 minutes walk and I like to escape the crowds. Many thanks for all the details and input. I'm hoping to meet a lot of nice people onboard too! I have sailed ncl before and I've always enjoyed their shows very much. It seems I won't be disappointed again :)

Thanks again for sharing. (ooh great pics too!)

Edited November 4, 2013 by opalinem

[TnomadX]

 

 

 

 

[TnomadX]

 

 

 

 

[TnomadX]

 

 

[TnomadX]

 

 

 

 

This is the lagoon area. See all the empty seats?

 

 

[TnomadX]

 

 

 

[TnomadX]

Hopefully I can find some more of my photos. I took quite a few but can't locate them.

[TnomadX]

You're not weird. Just very sociable, for our greatest pleasure! I'm enjoying your blog a lot. And it's awesome that you're posting the dailies at the same time. After reading your review, I'm glad I picked space center for Tuesday (I'm sailing in December), I thought half a day would be too short for the big Disney parks. I'm also hoping that booking through the ship will save time. And you convinced me to walk all the way to the lagoon area in GSC, it seems well worth the 15 minutes walk and I like to escape the crowds. Many thanks for all the details and input. I'm hoping to meet a lot of nice people onboard too! I have sailed ncl before and I've always enjoyed their shows very much. It seems I won't be disappointed again :)

Thanks again for sharing. (ooh great pics too!)

 

Thanks so much for your thoughts and comments. I'm very happy to share my experiences. Yes, I'm very sociable. You'll LOVE the space center. Everyone I ran into that went enjoyed it very much. You'll also love the lagoon area. As I mentioned before, take your sunscreen. It can get pretty warm at the island.

 

I'm so glad I was able to help you. I have a couple of more days to post. I should finish by Tuesday the latest.

[TnomadX]

Zay ~ Loving your review so far, and all the details just make it BETTER!

Sounds like they have really done a lot on GSC since we were there last year on the Gem. We also did Universal when we stopped at PC, it is nerve wracking to get to the theme parks and back in such a short time, but we actually rented a limo, which worked out really well (details are in my Gem review in my signature).

I also didn't get to have the pot pie in O'sheehan's and I'm sorry I missed it. However, we did get to see the awesome view of the Statue of Liberty from our aft PH (photos in my Breakaway review in my signature)

Can't wait to hear about the rest of your trip! Thank you for the fabulous review!

 

Thank you so much. They have really made some great improvements to the island. I think you'll enjoy it. I will certainly check out your review of the Gem.