Breakaway 12/15-12/22 Review: Noob Tips, Myths, Etc

[cruisebear84]

Hi Everyone!

I have been telling myself I am going to write this review for over a week, but between Christmas and vacation-mode laziness, I never got around to it. So I figure if I at least get the thread going, I will have no choice but to complete it in the next few days!

 

I decided to add to the multitude of reviews because I am so grateful for Cruise Critic and all the information I gleaned from these boards in getting ready for this cruise. FYI, I was supposed to be on the Aug 25th sailing to Bermuda, but had to cancel at the cut off date for financial reasons. I was granted an extremely rare week off in December and booked this sailing during a promotion my PCC sent me. I don't normally plan vacations so last minute, but I am so grateful I was able to go on this cruise! I learned so much from so many CCers that I feel it's only right to keep the flow of information going. I work in education, so learning and sharing knowledge is a key value for me. I'm the type of person that actually looks forward to filling out surveys at the end of a trip, meeting, information session, etc, lol.... feedback is important! How can others learn if you don't share what you know? I will do a brief formal member review after I've finished this one as well, and I encourage others to do so!

 

The way I will structure this review is a brief overview of things that stood out for me, rather than a day-by-day review. I'd like to target it to new cruisers or I guess new cruisers to the Breakaway at least, since I imagine they are more likely to read this. I will mention myths I read on these boards-- myth is probably the wrong word for it, but I couldn't think of anything catchier! Basically I'd like to address some of the things I read on the boards that turned out not to be true for me. Just to highlight how individual experiences may vary!

 

BACKGROUND

I traveled with my beau, who I shall refer to here as the Joker-- his fave villain and key personality trait :rolleyes: We are late 20s- early 30s. This was the first cruise for both of us. We are not the type of people who get hammered or pile on the drinks-- so no perspective on that here. He hates dancing so I only got him to go to a couple of parties. Most of the time we spent lounging about on this cruise. That's why a day-by-day review from us would be pretty lame, lol. We do enjoy theme parks, water parks, and things like that so we did hit up a few of those activities. We live in NYC, hence why we chose a cruise from NYC. We watch baseball and he drove me nuts because all they showed at O'Sheehans was football! Poor Joker was disconnected from winter trade talks for a whole week, lol.... I am a crazy-obsessive planner and basically spent every day on these boards when I booked in September 2012 (for August 2013 cruise) and then again in November 2013(for the cruise we actually took). The Joker essentially follows my lead-- I ask for his input and then set things in motion. As a result, I had some expectations before I took this cruise, while he had NONE. I will insert his insight here when necessary-- I found it to be an interesting take. I've been dying to take a cruise for years, and chose NCL for cost, proximity, and the fact that it seemed not too "kiddie" (Disney, although we LOVE DisneyWorld) but not aimed entirely at older groups (the way I felt when researching Celebrity). We are also really laid-back and don't really like dressing up, so I figured freestyle would work really well for us.

 

That's all I really have time to write about tonight, but I look forward to sharing my thoughts with you all!

Edited December 30, 2013 by cruisebear84

[Mrsjones0202]

Subscribing! Look forward to hearing your review.

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

[meatball_nyc]

Same here. Looking forward to your review!

 

Happy Cruising!

 

 

 

~Every Day at Sea is a Great Day~

[limeyalchemist]

Yes, please keep going and share with us your perspective. I love hearing others' views on the Breakaway after just traveling on her a month before you did. We are going again for a two nighter in January, so the excitement gets extended a little.

 

Can't wait to hear what myths you have uncovered. There are a lot of opinions that I agree with on here, and some that I completely disagree with, but since they are just opinions, that's ok. Most facts posted here, though rare, have mostly turned out to be true. And very helpful.

 

I agree with you 100% that sharing what we have learned is a great thing to do for those who come after us??? I have learned so much from these boards.

 

Keep the reviews coming...

Edited December 30, 2013 by limeyalchemist

[GGBNJ130]

What the hell happened on your cruise? We were delayed boarding on 12/22 pending a lockdown/investigation of the ship for "persons of interest"...I'm reading now some chick got dragged into an inside cabin and was rapped...Can you confirm any of this?

[TVLady3]

What the hell happened on your cruise? We were delayed boarding on 12/22 pending a lockdown/investigation of the ship for "persons of interest"...I'm reading now some chick got dragged into an inside cabin and was rapped...Can you confirm any of this?

 

OMG!!!:eek::eek::eek:

[cruisebear84]

Good evening All!

Just wanted to address this really quickly:

What the hell happened on your cruise? We were delayed boarding on 12/22 pending a lockdown/investigation of the ship for "persons of interest"...I'm reading now some chick got dragged into an inside cabin and was rapped...Can you confirm any of this?

 

It's true that our disembarkation was delayed. I think the self-disembark folks didn't get off until 8:45AM or something. Joker and I didn't walk off the ship until 10:45AM, and then had a huge line at customs. While in line, we heard some people complaining about being awoken at 7:30AM with knocks on the door and dogs. Someone on our roll call posted that one or two persons may have been raped (they kept saying kids, but no verification about the ages). Rumor was that someone also went missing and that there was a police presence on the ship. Emphasis on the word RUMOR. The Cruise Director didn't mention anything like this (of course), and was vague about why disembarkation was held up; just apologized for the inconvenience. To this day, I have no idea what happened... followed the boards for a few days to see if there was any mention (I didn't expect there to be a news report or anything about it). I hope that this was a terrible rumor... if it wasn't, what an awful ordeal for the family. Since you were on the cruise right after us, maybe you can confirm whether there was an increase in security measures? I am only interested in the occurrence because we should know if there was any way to prevent what occurred and keep people safe. It was sad to end the cruise on such a sour note :(

[cruisebear84]

Moving forward!!

 

For the new kids out there, some things to consider before your cruise, specifically if you're going on the Breakaway:

PORT AND EMBARKATION

I can't comment much on transportation to NYC's Manhattan Terminal. I had my dad drive us... straight shot on the West Side Highway and no tolls :D We live in the Bronx and had a late start (okay, okay... we didn't start packing until 11PM the night before. And then I stayed up until 4AM finishing up some work for the office and some stuff for the cabin crawl I was organizing. TOTALLY OVERSLEPT. GUILTY.), so we didn't leave until 11:25AM. Even the day after a snowstorm (the Bronx was hit the hardest!), we were at the terminal by 11:45AM. NICE :cool: I can tell you that the terminal is as far west in Manhattan as you can get. I would have taken the subway if it weren't for the snow, and probably could have made it in under an hour, including the cab ride (the closest subway leaves you on 8th Avenue, still four avenues aka 8 loooonnngg blocks away). Will cost you probably $6-8 plus tip. You can also take the MetroNorth to Grand Central Station and take a cab; I'd say have a $20 handy for that in case you hit traffic, I highly doubt you will spend that much. If you want to do public transportation the whole way, there's a bus that will leave you on the corner of 42nd and 12th and you can walk the rest of the way. And of course, there's the parking at the terminal, which I've read is something like $35 a day. The people directing traffic were pretty rude (my dad, who speaks little English, asked the officer to repeat himself because he did not understand him the first time; to which the officer shouted "Move it along, buddy, let's go!" Ahhhh, New York...), but there will be signs everywhere, so just slow down a bit if you're confused and you should find what you need.

 

Crazy packed in the terminal, since it was going on noon. We just got on one line after another. Followed the signs and instructions. Everyone feels lumped together except people needing special assistance and people with priority embarkation. So if you're neither of those, you just followed everyone else until you got to the end. We were walking on the ship by 1:06PM.

Noob Tips

*Ignore the chaos! As soon as we got out the car, it felt like craziness. Everyone's shouting, pulling porters in every direction, wandering around aimlessly. I kept looking for a line or someone to direct me before we walked in, but no dice. There are porters everywhere, and you just kind of grab one and go. When you get inside, just get on line and go! Once you get to the end of that line, get on the next line and GO! No need to be frantic. I imagine part of the crazy is just like the airport... everyone's go the jitters.

*Have your docs on you and easy to take out. They want your cruise ticket and ID the second you get on line. I kept our docs in a folder, and just carried it in my hand until the end of the crazy hour.

*You don't need to print luggage tags. The porters will have one million of them. If it makes you feel better to have it done, go for it. If not, it will take you 30 seconds to do yourself.

*Have a pen handy! You're supposed to fill out a health questionnaire (which we did during our hour + on the line), which I didn't know. I was digging around for a pen in my bag like a nut (Joker is more organized in this sense). Also, you have to fill out your luggage tag if you didn't print one out. Had to borrow one from the porter, which made me feel bad since they are already dealing with the insanity and don't have time for my writing utensil woe, lol

*There are no seats while on line. Lots of cranky kids because of this. I think some parents had an adult sit on the side in the waiting area while the other parent stayed on the line. Can't confirm that.

*Have your deck, cabin number, and location memorized (or know where to find on your cruise doc). For marking down on that luggage tag you didn't print, and because they direct you on certain lines depending on one of these factors. I say memorize so you don't have to keep checking your cruise docs over and over.

Myths from CC

NONE. Most CCers report having a quick embarkation process.... most CCers also show up to the port at 10AM! So I can't debunk this theory. Took me about an hour and change. May have been less if I showed up earlier.

 

 

CABIN

We were located in a BA Mid-ship balcony cabin, number 13766 (funny story about that later). It is a few steps off the forward elevator on deck 13, starboard. A quick walk up to the Garden Cafe buffet area most mornings, as well as the pool and sports decks. Since this was our first cruise, no expectations about size pf the cabin here. Loved it, every square inch of it, including our little balcony. HELLOOOO, we live in a box of an apartment-- balcony = heaven, automatically! We lucked out that the bed in this room is by the balcony instead of the couch. LOVED waking up, drawing the curtain, and staring at the sea everyday. We had lots of storage, and the two suitcases we brought fit easily under the bed once emptied. Bathroom was spacious enough, although I imagine a taller person would have trouble fitting in the shower. Even though the room is set for 3, it probably would have felt crowded with more than 2 people, unless the 3rd person is a child. There is sleeping space for 3, but moving around may be a struggle. There were two chairs and a teeny table on the teeny balcony that we used less as a table and more as a foot prop. There is a chair under what we dubbed the "coffee desk" (that's where the coffee maker was) that we used for the one breakfast we had on our balcony on Nassau day. It is larger and better suited for that task. Privacy was good, as long as no one is peering around partitions (no one ever did).

Noob Tips

*It's not traditional storage the way you think of storage. For some reason, I kept imagining drawers for clothes. It's basically a bunch of shelves. There are two drawers under the couch, but they were taken up by the extra sheets, pillows, and comforter. In retrospect, I could have had this removed, but ended up dumping our socks in one and ignoring the other. Anyway, it was just a weird thing I noticed that was never mentioned in my research. Made me remember that we all make assumptions.

*Watch your step! Tripped over the little step into the bathroom and the balcony like 6x. Total klutz.

*If you get a bottle of wine, you will get a corkscrew with the NCL logo to open it with. Found out recently on this board that you get to keep this! TOO LITTLE, TOO LATE! No one told us!!

*If you're doing your research, you will no doubt know that on the Breakaway, the electricity will go off if you don't have your key card (or any card) in the slot. Not found in my research, and I learned from my room steward, is that the Make Up/Do Not Disturb lights are one of the only exceptions to this rule. The other exception is the air conditioning, although it's supposed to be regulated to room temperature(?)

*Air conditioning does get turned off when the balcony is open. We preferred the ocean breeze for cooling off usually :)

*This link---> https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/pub?key=0AkRUeqCmOMnGdFZWTVVzZndrc0NkN1N0TGpZb2ZYU2c&single=true&gid=0&output=html is your best friend. Thanks to CCer who started it up (bear34512? something like that) and the contributing CCers for helping complete it. Also used it for reference while setting up the cabin crawl.

*Statue of Liberty is on the starboard side for sailaway.

Myths from CC

*The balcony size is not that big of a deal (for us). This is one of those expectation things, where I guess if we had been on other cruises with larger balconies, we may have been annoyed. But even when we saw some of the HUGE balconies on our cabin crawl, we were still happy with ours. It really is perfect for two people to sit, drink wine, and bask :D More than two people, and you're in trouble!

 

 

*****

I think this is all I have energy for tonight. I will continue tomorrow, hopefully before the ball drops! If not, Happy New Year to you all. Be safe and loved :) :)

Edited December 31, 2013 by cruisebear84

[fabnfortysomething]

glad you got to cruise Breakaway after all-remember when you had to pull out from the Aug 25 cruise

[nutley chick]

Great review so far. Can't wait for more.

[tiffygirl]

Excellent review so far.

 

The Breakaway is my second favorite ship next to the Epic. I love sailing on the Breakaway and leaving from NYC.

 

Agreed with you, I thought the balcony was very spacious. I wasn't trying to have a picinic party so it was all I needed for the little time I spent.

 

I would have had a panic attack if I got to the pier at 11:45am LOL..I would be at the pier at 7am if I could. LOL :D:rolleyes:

Enjoying the read! Thanks for posting!

Edited December 31, 2013 by tiffygirl

[Medtech2]

Great review!

 

So far all of your tips have been posted before but probably hard to find using the search function so great that you are listing them all here!

 

FWIW we arrived around 10-ish and did not even have time to fill in the health questuinnaire before check in. We also used the bus to arrive and walked the 8 blocks to the subway when leaving.

 

Instead of thinking of it as a hassle it was great exercise! Didn't gain an ounce on this trip, lol!

 

Subscribed...

[meatball_nyc]

Happy New Year Cruisebear!

 

Thank you for the first installments of your Breakaway adventure. Loved reading all so far!

 

We live 9 miles from Pier 88 (NICE:) so my husband will be dropping us off on 12th ave probably and my son and I will just walk over.

 

After hearing about your embarkation (yikes...never experienced that kind of chaos on our first two cruises out if Pier 88) we will plan on getting there as early as possible.

 

Thanks for your take on the balcony cabin. We will be in one on deck 12 (gonna loooooove our angled balcony!! Thanks to CC for that info!) and it will be perfect like you mentioned. We live in an apartment as well with only a fire escape as an outside "venue".

 

Looking forward to the rest of your review! Want to hear about the Waterfront, Spice H2O and all the food!

 

Happy NCL Cruising!

 

 

 

~robin and brian~

Norwegian Breakaway 2014

Carnival Miracle 2010

Carnival Legend 2006

Every Day at Sea is a Great Day

[jdvmd]

Loving your review and your different perspective. Keep it coming!

[parasailor]

Entertaining and helpful reviews--I sail Sunday so please finish before then and cover dress code and tipping in specialty restaurants

 

Happy new year

[cruisebear84]

Thanks for all the love, friends!

 

In response to a poster above, I agree that most of what I've written is not new. I debated whether to include any tips that have already been discussed (and often), and decided that since people often post the same questions over and over, it may help just to have the information in as many places as possible. Then it's much easier to find in a search. I'm also writing things that I didn't think to ask before I left, like what the cruise terminal is like and the fact that you will have an underwear shelf, not drawer, lol.

 

A brief post before I head over to the family's for New Year's Eve:

 

FOOD

Saw that some people are wondering about this, so I will hit it in one fell swoop. We really liked the food. Joker and I are also really not that picky... yup, not all New Yorkers are food connoisseurs! As long as we could find some sort of staple (and you always can), we're okay. For me, that staple was pasta-- I could have mac and cheese or pasta alfredo every single day of forever. I didn't have it everyday, of course, but I could! Joker likes steak, and there is always some type in the MDR. We did try two specialty restaurants-- La Cucina (came free with booking promotion) and Teppanyaki (cuz Joker likes hibachi). FYI, NCL was really great about Joker's seafood allergy. We called our PCC about 2 weeks before we left when I realized from these boards that I should call ahead of time for that sort of thing. Filled out a special request form and emailed it back with instructions to see the guest services when we boarded. We totally forgot to do that in our excitement, and what do you think is waiting for us when we noticed a flashing light on our room phone? A message for the Restaurant Manager, inviting us to come downstairs and meet him! I thought that was a really nice touch. We never did get around to doing that, but we informed every server we had when we went to the MDR and the specialty restaurants, and they were totally cool and made sure to take care of us. They ask that you check in the day before.

 

Regarding tipping, we didn't do it in the MDR, mainly because I forgot to bring cash with me. I did fill out the comment cards for my server in Taste the second to last sea night, who was awesome. Benedicto is so nice! At the specialties, because they actually ask for your room card at the end, we did tip. I did the normal 20%, like I would on land. They earned every cent of it; very attentive, and at La Cucina night, gave us some awesome advice for where to go in Nassau.

Noob Tips

*As mentioned, do make sure you inform your server of allergies. In fact, overinform (without being annoying). You can never be too careful, and everyone is really nice about it.

*if you don't know, the MDRs all serve the same exact thing. Definite drawback for me; I think that's one of the few things Joker and I didn't like.

*There was a thread a few weeks back about lukewarm food, which I gotta say I thought was true. I like my food to be HOT, but Joker doesn't, so this is a personal thing. Go for the make-your-own-whatever at the buffet if you want hot food-- omelet station in the morning, carving station at lunch, pasta station in the evening. MDR food was adequate, but you can send it back if it really bothers you. It will never be cold.

 

Myths

*There is nothing to eat-- UGH, I hated reading this from some people before my cruise! Don't worry, you won't starve.

*The food and/or service in the specialties is always better-- for me, this was totally false. I kept seeing this comment debated, and even on my cruise, other cruisers would say this. I must have hit the jackpot, cuz I enjoyed everything. Again, I am not hard to please, but also, I'm on vacation! I am laidback about everything, and definitely had good food and great service everywhere.

 

 

****

My ride is here, but I will say really quickly that I LOVED Spice H20, and will let you know why tomorrow.

 

Happy and blessed New Year!!

[bear3412]

Great detailed report. And yes, those rarely mentioned deadly raised thresholds. lol

Glad you found the Spreadsheet helpful.

Following along.

 

Happy New Year

[coka]

Enjoying your review cruise bear! I like how you have the noob tips and the myths. Very helpful! Looking forward to reading more! Have a Happy New Year and safe travels!

 

Coka:D

[parasailor]

Thanks Cruisebear. One question--when you say you tipped 20% in the specialty restaurants, am I right that means 20% of the surcharge, such as $6 of the the the $30 combined surcharge in La Cucina for you and your husband?

 

Happy 2014!

[windjamming]

Enjoying your review cruise bear! I like how you have the noob tips and the myths. Very helpful! Looking forward to reading more! Have a Happy New Year and safe travels!

 

Coka:D

 

My sentiments exactly! We are looking at the Breakaway but "don't know what we don't know." Your review lays it all out perfectly for a noob. Much appreciated, and happy new year!

 

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

[Juvesgirl]

Thanks for all of the tips so far, Cruisebear! I am surprising my husband with a cruise to nowhere at the end of January on the Breakaway and we might sail to Bermuda this summer, so your post are very helpful! It's actually funny, I think you and Joker are twins of me and my husband :) We live in the Bronx, are mid 30s, he doesn't like to dance and loves baseball, I am a super type A planner, and we enjoy ourselves but aren't big drinkers. I felt like I was reading a description of us!

 

Can't wait to hear about your future posts. The last cruise we went on (not ncl) had a show each night. I understand that there are different things to do in the evenings on the Breakaway (cirque show, rock of ages, comedian, etc.), but would love to hear about any other entertainment options you used, either at night or on the colder at sea days when you were leaving NY.

 

Thanks!!

[Demonyte]

Thanks for the detailed review, a nice read!

 

However I do need to correct you on one thing:

 

*if you don't know, the MDRs all serve the same exact thing. Definite drawback for me; I think that's one of the few things Joker and I didn't like.

 

Unless there are also new dinner menus being tested on Breakaway (I know only of new lunch menus not used anywhere else, normally menus are fleetwide), then the menus are not exactly the same in all venues as you said. Traditionally on NCL there are different "Always available" menus for aft and midship MDRs, the differences are not major but they definitely are there - like New York Strip and Lamb Shank in one and Rib-Eye and Pork Tenderloin Medallions in another. Also the form of pasta and the sauces are different. The other half of the menu changes daily and that is same for all MDRs.

 

One version of the menus mentioned can be found there (I just noticed that second one is 6 months newer revision than the first, but you'll get the point):

 

Aft MDR: http://www.beyondships2.com/uploads/8/2/4/5/8245255/mdr_t_classic.pdf

Midship MDR(s): http://www.beyondships2.com/uploads/8/2/4/5/8245255/mdr_a_classic.pdf

 

Since usually there is only one midship MDR, Breakaway is an exception as the midship restaurant is divided into two sections because of the corridor in between - while they have different names, they are essentially the same restaurant and both of those do share exactly the same menu.

Edited January 1, 2014 by Demonyte

[EBONI325]

Thanks for the detailed review, a nice read!

 

However I do need to correct you on one thing:

 

 

 

Unless there are also new dinner menus being tested on Breakaway (I know only of new lunch menus not used anywhere else, normally menus are fleetwide), then the menus are not exactly the same in all venues as you said. Traditionally on NCL there are different "Always available" menus for aft and midship MDRs, the differences are not major but they definitely are there - like New York Strip and Lamb Shank in one and Rib-Eye and Pork Tenderloin Medallions in another. Also the form of pasta and the sauces are different. The other half of the menu changes daily and that is same for all MDRs.

 

One version of the menus mentioned can be found there (I just noticed that second one is 6 months newer revision than the first, but you'll get the point):

 

Aft MDR: http://www.beyondships2.com/uploads/8/2/4/5/8245255/mdr_t_classic.pdf

Midship MDR(s): http://www.beyondships2.com/uploads/8/2/4/5/8245255/mdr_a_classic.pdf

 

Since usually there is only one midship MDR, Breakaway is an exception as the midship restaurant is divided into two sections because of the corridor in between - while they have different names, they are essentially the same restaurant and both of those do share exactly the same menu.

 

Yes when I was on the breakaway in Dec the Manhattan room had a slightly different menu than taste and savor.

[cruisebear84]

Thanks to Demonyte for the correction! I guess we skimmed the menu and decided they all seem the same. We were annoyed because Taste and Savor were both showing long waits, and then we go to Manhattan, which had a long wait plus a similar menu. It’s the only night that happened, and one of the few we ate at peak dinner time. Any other day, we either had reservations ate pretty late (after 8PM), or ate at the Garden Buffet.

 

SPORTS AND POOL DECKS

Not going to lie—we didn’t spend too much time at the pool on this sailing. The weather was fantastic by day 3, but we were told we had a full sailing and it showed as soon as the sun came up. Definitely the pools are too small for such a large ship. The hot tubs were always packed in the mornings. We only went into the pool in the late afternoon/early evening (after 2PM until about 5PM); by then, both had much fewer people and more loungers available. The main pool has a neat wave feature every few minutes, which was fun. It is a little over 6ft deep. I did not go into the kids’ pool.

 

Joker and I love water slides, so you know we went to those! They were pretty fun. Even though we did these fairly early (11:30AM), we never thought the lines were too long. The longest we waited was for The Plunge, which was about 20 minutes. I remember during the initial summer sailings of the Breakaway, I read about 45 minute waits, so I considered us lucky. Part of the issue with that slide is that you need some sort of vest to get on it. When you are done, you are actually expected to go back up the stairs and return the vest. I guess that works if you plan on riding it over and over again, but the reason we waited so long is that apparently the last few people who went down the slide didn’t bother to return the vests. With no one at the bottom of the slide to make sure that happens, the vests could easily disappear. Indeed, when we did leave, we saw one or two vests just lying on the ground on the deck. The slides are fun, but we were over it after going on them once or twice. Kids will love going on them over and over, but we are used to more hardcore slides, and you just can’t get those at sea!

 

We did the ropes course three times, and it was so much fun! That line can definitely be a long wait—we waited max 30 minutes. The plank is a lot scarier than it looks, but we skipped it the first time because it was so cold and windy up there! You can stay as long as you like, but don’t! Be considerate of the other people who are waiting to try below. How many pictures do you really need to take on the plank? We all know you’re not going buy 50 of them! The zip line is short but fun; it is not always open, so don’t take your chances by waiting for the last sea day.

 

The basketball court was always full of boys playing basketball. No chance to try it out, but I hate basketball anyway. Mini golf was always full of tiny tots and their parents. This is a place that NCL should really regulate play on—There are only so many balls and clubs, and we just saw kids running around all over the place, not playing golf, but not giving up the equipment either. We waited ten minutes and decided it was more worth it to wait for the ropes course again. The climbing wall opened at 2PM and there was a line 20 deep almost immediately every time. Plus, they only up one or two sections of the wall at a time, even though it looked like there were at least 3 levels of difficulty. Only one staff member manning it when we took a peek.

 

Spice H20 really was a haven for us. Plenty of loungers and adults-only until 6PM. We went two times—once in the morning, and once in the early afternoon. Both times, at least half the loungers were empty… coincidentally, the ones in the shade! Our favorite day was the last sea day, when we watched the sun set from the hot tub. We met some interesting people there and an enjoyable conversation. It was a great way to unwind on our last day before we had to start packing. No sight of any kids there, even though the arcade and teen lounge is nearby. The water in the little fountain area was cold, so I suspect that’s why I never saw anyone using it.

 

Noob Tips

*No one told us the pool is saltwater! Is that what the pool is like on all cruise ships? I’d never been in a saltwater pool, and I didn’t really enjoy it. It hurt my eyes and I could feel it on my sinuses. This may also explain the little time spent in the pool!

*If you want to use the pool, find a lounger on deck 15. If you want to get on the slides, stay on deck 16—that’s where the entry is. The slides do not empty out into the main pool.

*Stating the obvious, but aim for peak mealtimes to get on the ropes course. We always headed up around 12:30PM or 1PM.

*I didn’t get to see them myself, but it’s worth repeating that there are free clamshells all the way forward on one of the decks.

*If you’ve got a balcony, and you’ve got a sunny day, save yourself the hassle and sunbathe there. At least, that’s where you’d find me most sea days :)

 

Myths

*You can’t find a lounger—I’m going to say this is misstated in our experience. Even when the decks were packed, we saw stacks of loungers hanging around, so if you really needed one, you could get one. What people probably mean is that getting a lounger in a DECENT spot is hard. Everyone wants to be by the pool/hot tubs. The sun worshippers will snag all the great spots to catch some rays. And finding a lounger for more than two people after 10AM is probably darn near impossible on deck 15, but we saw plenty on deck 16 if you were willing to be in a less desirable area. It just takes being a little creative. But yes, if location is key for you, make sure you are early to the pools.

 

We never lingered on the pool deck long enough to find out if chair hogs are regulated or not. I will say we were at Spice for almost two hours and definitely had our things on a chair for a long time. Again, it was pretty empty then, so no one complained. I wasn’t even aware of it until we finally left. No one moved our things, though… probably because there was no need to. I did feel really guilty anyway. Of course Joker did not, knowing nothing of chair hogs!

 

THE WATERFRONT

This will be really short—we went around the waterfront decks once. It was a nice walk in the morning. Definitely I would agree that they are being underutilized. Honestly, there’s so much going on inside the ship that I had to make a conscious effort to even remember to explore them. Since I had fresh air on our own balcony, I didn’t feel any particular draw to walk around the waterfront. I would say it would be nice to have some chairs set up in the aft of the ship—the one place we would love to sit and hang out. We asked to sit there on La Cucina night and our wish was granted… it was very calm and romantic ;) I can see now, though, why people were mad about the lifeboats being placed there. It kind of ruins the mood, or at the very least the photo opportunities. Luckily they don’t take up the whole deck!

 

Shuffleboard was always occupied when we thought of it, so we never got to try. They are on deck 7.

 

Noob Tips

*If you want to get some physical exercise in, walk around the waterfront instead of the jogging track on the higher decks. Those were always crowded and wet. I imagine jogging was difficult after 9AM, but we did see people try!

 

Myths

None. The waterfront is exactly what it is meant to be. It is also as narrow as it was described to be, but didn’t really bother us… perfect excuse to walk real close hand-in-hand :) If you are in an inside or oceanview, I think you should take the opportunity to enjoy the fresh air there as much as you can. I think it is probably an area that is being taken for granted.

 

SERVICE

Let me now tell you the sad/funny story of after we embarked on the ship—how Joker and I got our room keys and took a crowded elevator straight to deck 13, found our cabin, attempted to enter, only to find our room keys did not work. So, we walked back to Guest Services, waited on a short line (maybe 5 minutes), where we were approached by the assistant Hotel Director, who assured us our problem would be taken care of, then to a guest services rep who immediately issued us new room keys. Grabbed a hot dog in the lobby (hooray for Sabrett!!; we had missed breakfast and were STARVING, but anxious to explore our room first), went back up to deck 13, and tried the keys again only to find that they STILL were not working. I sank to the floor in despair. I was on three hours of sleep, on an almost empty stomach, and carrying a bunch of documents and my heavy winter coat. I just wanted to get into my highly anticipated balcony cabin! Why, oh why, couldn’t we get in?? While Joker tried to calm me down, the housekeeping director for our deck happened to walk by. “Excuse me miss, we can’t get in, and we’ve already been to Guest Services once. We really don’t want to go again. Can you help us?” Well, Dewa (sp?) was all too kind, and offered to open our room and even help us call down to guest services once more.

That’s when I re-read our documents, and noticed we were standing outside of 13776, and not our actual room of 13766, which was literally less than 20 steps away! Oh, I felt like such a fool! But Dewa didn’t treat us like the idiots that we were! She just walked us to our room, opened the right cabin with both keys (just to make sure), and introduced herself. She told us our steward would be in soon, and that we could contact him or her with any questions.

 

What a nice woman! And all of our interactions with the staff went that way that week. I’ve already mentioned how great the food staff was. Our steward Dinkie was so nice over the week. We never asked for ice, but on day 2 it appeared, and then we never wanted for any all week. He dealt with my few silly calls for shower caps, and the other stupid time we asked for body wash even though we didn’t need any, because the label in the bathroom had come off so we didn’t know it was body wash! (I'd brought soap from home and ran out, so I didn't realize until day 5) All the patience of a saint, Dinkie had, with a smile. Our cabin was always made up, and our towels were taken care of. Any guest service interactions were similarly pleasant. I think the “rudest” person we met was on the ropes course who wasn't smiling, but to be fair, it was hot and he had been putting up with some very rude people behind us complaining about things out of his control… I wouldn’t be in the mood to smile either! In fact, I was amazed at how rude some guests were. I watched an adolescent girl walk up to the Mixx bar, call the bartender over for “More Mountain Dew”, and then walk away. Not a please or a thank you! I mentioned it to the bartender and said, “that’s terrible how rude that child was, I’m so sorry you had to deal with that”, and he just smiled and shrugged, then offered advice on a beer that I might like (I hate beer in general, so got a cider).

 

I could go on and on! I loved the staff for the most part. The one guy who tried but I just was not a fan of was the Cruise Director. He made an inappropriate joke the first night when he introduced himself, about growing up in Turkey and selling knock off purses as a kid. Sorry, but I don’t think child labor is very funny. Pretty much lost me after that. I didn’t see him too much except at the end of the shows. He had three interruptions a day—morning, afternoon, night. Frankly, I was glad I did not see him too often. Perhaps it was just me.

 

Noob Tips

*Don’t be afraid to look like an idiot. Just ask. I speak from experience, lol. I don’t think I ever had a denied request, but even if there could be, the staff will do their best to accommodate you.

*Don’t be afraid to complain, either. No, that’s phrased wrong. Don’t be afraid to give feedback, is what I mean. The staff wants and respects it. Our Canadian CC counterparts (as Joker came to know them) were very unhappy about things and went to the Assistant HD, not really expecting anything but to vent a little bit. They were rained with goodies after that. DO NOT EXPECT GOODIES, but do know that your feedback will be accepted. In our experience, the staff was very eager for feedback and took it seriously. I definitely filled out comment cards, Vacation Hero cards, and the survey upon our return.

 

Myths

*Service is too slow—this must be a product of our inexperience. We were in and out of all sit-down restaurants within an hour and some change, with the exception of Teppanyaki which took two hours…it was quite the show! Someone we met complained that room service took 20 minutes… which I guess is too long? All I know is, pizza delivery on land takes 30-45 minutes, so 20 minutes sounds alright to me. We had one room service breakfast scheduled on Nassau day between 8AM-8:30AM, and it showed up by 8:10AM. Dinkie showed up within 5 minutes whenever we called him over. Apparently the number of staff is smaller than on smaller ships, but some reviews I read made me worry. I was very pleased with my experience.

 

 

**********

I will leave it here tonight for fear of boring you all! I’d like to wrap up with the ports, entertainment, and our few forays into the nightlife, unless anyone has any more questions! Thanks for sticking with this review :D

[cruisebear84]

Thanks Cruisebear. One question--when you say you tipped 20% in the specialty restaurants, am I right that means 20% of the surcharge, such as $6 of the the the $30 combined surcharge in La Cucina for you and your husband?

 

Yes, that's exactly what I did. I think I also left a couple of bucks on the drinks tab I had at Mixx, because the bartender was so nice (from my story above!), but as you know 15% is already added and not necessary.

 

 

glad you got to cruise Breakaway after all-remember when you had to pull out from the Aug 25 cruise

 

Hey Fab! I read your awesome review as well, and anyone else from my original Roll Call. Happy you guys enjoyed your trip to the city and your cruise. I am so glad I got to Breakaway this year, too!! :)