Breakaway 11/10-11/17. Fabulous! (long review)

[rimom71]

Just back from the BA yesterday, and thought I'd share some thoughts. I've so enjoyed reading everyone's reviews as I prepared for my cruise!

Who we are: Early-40s married couple with an 8 year old son. We are pretty well traveled, and appreciate quality in food and service. We are recently hooked on cruising, and this was our third since last December. We have also sailed on Ruby Princess and Celebrity Summit. We had the misfortune of being among the cruisers who were bilked by the travel agent who became infamous on this forum over the past couple of months, so we were extremely happy to be able to take this trip despite all the turmoil!

Cabin: 10806, midship minisuite. We found this to be a fantastic cabin in terms of proximity to the forward elevators, and quiet due to its location between two floors of staterooms. Sure, the balcony was small, but it was large enough to sit on and enjoy the views. Décor is very attractive, and the cabin was spotless. It was quite spacious, and though the bed was near the closet, we had no difficulty accessing the closet. There is probably about 18 inches of space between bed and closet, which is plenty for pulling out or putting away clothes…no need to have a dance party there. Storage was more than ample, between large closet shelves, hangers, open nightstands, drawers beneath the sofa, and cabinets under the desk. The bathroom was pleasantly roomy, and the double sink arrangement is perfect for a family. We had no trouble fitting all of us in there at once to brush teeth, shower, etc, and we are not particularly small folks! No, there is no bar soap or hair conditioner, so if that’s important to you, bring it along. It was also helpful to bring a power squid for all our various electronics chargers (two US outlets above the desk) and a “dummy card” for the slot by the door to keep the power and a/c on even when we left the room. Being able to check our account, make reservations, see what’s happening around the ship, etc, from the TV was a super-useful feature as well.

Embarkation at Port of NYC: A disorganized mess. Our bus from Rhode Island arrived at 10:30am and we sat, waiting for a parking space to open up to unload us, for over 45 minutes. The terminal was a mass of confusion, lines going every which way, nobody giving directions, no clear signage…just a royal pain in the butt. We were boarding number 32, and we were on board by about 12:30pm. Is it a deal-breaker? Of course not, just be prepared to be patient.

Dining: My best-laid plans had us avoiding the siren song of the specialty restaurants for all but one or two special dinners. Well…suffice it to say, we wound up eating at specialties five times. We experienced Teppanyaki, Le Bistro, La Cucina, and Moderno (twice). With the exception of La Cucina, they were outstanding (and even La Cucina was certainly not bad, it just didn’t “wow” us). The adults in our party eat a lower-carb diet, so it was with some trepidation that we faced the menus. Our worries were for naught—there were plenty of excellent meat dishes, and servers were happy to accommodate our requests for extra veggies instead of starches, large portions of salad, burgers without buns, etc. Our favorites were Le Bistro and Moderno, well worth the upcharge, imo. Servers were pleasant and attentive. We had dinner at Savor one night, which was very good as well. We happened to chat with one of the chefs after the meal, who asked how we had enjoyed it. He commented that they had just this week “gone up two grades in the beef, to the middle of choice” quality, and was happy that our steaks were cooked to the proper temperature. When I joked “and we’re picky!”, he laughed and responded “I like picky!”. My sense was that they are truly making an effort to raise the quality and perception of the food, and are coming along nicely. We ate lunch in either Taste or Savor several days, and there was no variation in the lunch menu, but it was very tasty and well-prepared, even the much-maligned lunch steak. Nicely seasoned, nicely cooked.

We visited the buffet on multiple occasions, and it was fine. The layout is a bit tricky, because it’s more of a cafeteria feel than individual food stations. It’s a good idea to scope out the whole thing first, and plan your strategy accordingly! You may find that they have multiple stations serving the same type items if you just walk to the rear of the room, past the crowds. Seafood night was hilarious…people were nearly coming to blows over their places in line for a couple of measly lobster-tail halves. It was just not worth the madness.

O’Sheehans was our venue of choice for almost every breakfast, because we could get custom omelettes without having to wait in the buffet line behind people ordering three at a time….It was quick and tasty. The coffee is pretty awful, but there is a wonderful selection of teas, and juices are complimentary at breakfast as well.

Spa/Thermal Suite: DH and I sprung for the spa pass for the week, and we were so thrilled to have done so. What an oasis of calm and tranquility! We never once had to jockey for seating, and found people to be very considerate about taking their things with them when they were leaving. The T-pool was divine, as were the seated loungers. We happened to be in there when we were docking in Port Canaveral, and we had the best seat in the house. Yes, it’s pricey, but if you’re going to make a point to use it, go for it!

Kids Programming: My son is eight, and a laid back, easy kid. He was somewhat disappointed with the programming at the kids club, finding it a bit too rough and tumble for his tastes. Most of the evening activities centered around very active, PE-type games which just aren’t his cup of tea. Perhaps because there were so few children on board (only 400, ranging from infants through 18 yrs), there was no variety of activities offered within each age group. We received a schedule upon registration, but found that they stuck to it very loosely, and my son wound up skipping the club altogether for the last couple of days at sea. That being said…there is PLENTY to do aboard Breakaway, so nobody was ever bored.

Activities: You name it, they’ve got it, from origami to the ropes course. If you can’t find something to do on this ship you’re just not trying. The casino is a little smoky, but I didn’t feel that it pervaded the entire atrium at all. The pools are heated salt-water, and there were people in them by the first morning. There were tons of loungers available every time I walked past the pool. My son and husband had a ball on the water slides. Interestingly, the dark pink slide (twin to the yellow) was out of service because it had started to separate at the joints and was bruising the backs of sliders. Not sure how it’s going to hold up long term if that’s already an issue.

Entertainment: We saw performances of both “Burn the Floor” and “Rock of Ages”. Contrary to many reviews I’ve seen, we thought “Burn the Floor” was absolutely terrific. Those dancers are phenomenal, and I didn’t observe anyone walking out of the theater. I actually thought “Rock of Ages” was kind of weak (as a teen of the 80s, it wasn’t a question of my not knowing or appreciating the music, either), and while there were some “racy” parts, they were pretty subtle. It was very loud, almost uncomfortably so. We saw The Second City twice, the first time doing pure improv, which was awful. The second time was a scripted show (I had reserved tickets, so I took my son) and it was better, but nothing great. I really wanted to get to Howl of the Moon, but never made it. The solo pianist was enjoyable, and we had a fun hour singing along during his set of John Denver and Simon & Garfunkel tunes. We didn’t attend any game shows or bingo, nor did we see Fire & Ice or the blues band. Next time!

Ports: Afraid I can’t be much help here, as we mostly stayed aboard to enjoy the quieter ship. Got into Cape Canaveral about 1pm, I believe, and I know some people did do the treks to the theme parks, etc. We missed Great Stirrup Cay again this voyage, due to inclement weather making tendering unsafe. The captain did make this decision ahead of time, which allowed us to get a berth in Nassau a day earlier than planned. So we overnighted in Nassau from Wed-Thurs. The main drag for shopping is just a few blocks away, and easy to find from the docks. We found some good deals there, and enjoyed the shops (with the exception of the Straw Market which was just too aggressive for my taste). Despite some high winds and a bit of a swell in the sea, the weather was warm and pleasant for the entire trip.

Debarkation: Loved being able to choose our own debarking time and selected the last one, due to exit at 9:45am. Very much appreciated being able to enjoy the ship’s seating areas while we waiting to be called. Our color was called at around 9:30am. We tried to let the masses proceed us, but still wound up in an enormous line waiting to go into the customs building. There are two escalators and a staircase going down into the area where you pick up your luggage and go through customs, and they were only allowing one person on the escalator for every six steps or so, and the staircase was completely off limits. This made a huge bottleneck at the door. Pet peeve: why does every member of a party with one person in a wheelchair feel that they have the right to shove past all the waiting people? A companion or kids, sure, but an entire party of over a dozen people because one needs access? Tempers were flaring by the time we reached the stairs. Finding luggage and going through customs itself was a breeze. We were outside waiting for our bus by 10:30am. Unfortunately, said bus did not pick us up until about 12:15pm. It was cold, and drizzling, and there is nowhere to sit at all. We probably will not use the Academy Bus transportation next time we travel out of the NYC port (even though it was perfect going in and out of Bayonne this summer).

Overall: What a gorgeous ship, and what a wonderful time we had! We would cruise on BA again in a heartbeat. Of course there were a few minor glitches or annoyances, but certainly nothing that was insurmountable. Patience, kindness, and a good attitude—for pete’s sake, you’re on a CRUISE!—go a long way!

I didn’t keep the dailies or menus, but can probably recall if you have anything specific you’re wondering about. Happy Cruising, all! :)

[Vinegarjoe10]

Thanks for the review rimom71.

 

We sailed BA 10/13-10/20 and like you, we had a great time as well.

 

We were in a mini-suite, 10228 and loved the location ( my wife had never been on a ship, so we played it safe with a mid-ship location) and it turns out she has sea-legs and even though we had one rough sea day she didn't get sick.

 

If the BA offered different 7 day runs we would book her again, but we want to see more of the caribbean so we booked the Gem in January of '15 for the 9 day. Looking forward to it.

 

After reading soo many poor or negative reviews of the BA, ( both before we cruised and then after) it was refreshing to read that someone else also had a great time.

 

Regards,

 

Vinegarjoe

[kato92]

Thank you for the review. Was theere anything open in Nassau overnight?

[Medtech2]

Wonderful to hear the MDR steaks have improved. That was the one big disappointment we had with the food. Previously we had always enjoyed the steaks in the MDR. Our BA sailing in September they were awful. Glad to know they are listening.

 

I am all for experimenting to keep costs down but if a choice turns out to be bad, it is good to know it will be corrected.

 

Now for the coffee....

[turquoise 6]

Hi. Thank you for your review and happy to see many Rhode Islanders sailing

on the Breakaway!

We sailed on the September 1 cruise on Breakaway to Bermuda

From my opinion the food was excellent !

Edited November 19, 2013 by turquoise 6
adding thoughts

[Keith1010]

Thank you for taking the time to write and share this review.

 

Keith

[tammy531]

Great review! We will be on in December and have a 9 year old boy (as of tomorrow!) . Sorry your son did not enjoy the kids club. Mine is into sports so hopefully he will have a different experience. We have not had luck with him going to the kids club in the past (at 3 and 6) so was hoping for a different outcome this time.

 

sent from my Samsung galaxy s3

[tchrsbnz]

We were on that sailing as well. We LOVED every minute of the trip. We, too, had the spa passes. Perfect for cool weather. I probably saw you in the spa, because my husband and I were there all of the time. I couldn't have asked for a better experience and will definitely sail the Breakaway again!