Breakaway Fl and Bahamas with photos

[dcollette]

First of all, sorry this has taken so long, but I really took forever to organize the photos I took. There are a bunch of videos on You Tube as well, if I can figure out how to link those, I will later.

For this trip, it was myself (forty something) my DD1 (15) DD2(turned 13 on the trip) and DS3 (3). We have previously sailed NCL, RCCL, and Disney. I really wanted to get the chance to do a walking tour, but never did. We stayed in a balcony cabin on deck 13, midship. Four of us in the room, plenty of room, storage and we never really felt overly cramped. Unfortunately, I did not get too many pics of the room, and most are not good quality. Sorry. Feel free to ask me any questions!!

 

 

Embarkation Day (Day 1)

 

Took the train to Grand Central station, then a cab to the pier. Note to others: if taking a cab from pretty much anywhere coming in—get dropped off across the street and walk, as it probably ended up costing an extra $5 waiting in traffic to go all the way down whatever avenue that is and turn around to be on the same side as the pier.

 

Gave our bags to the porter, went inside, everyone was super helpful and guided us effortlessly to where we needed to go. We were completely checked in and given boarding number 21—entire process about 15-20 minutes. No joke. We arrived at the pier at around 10am.

 

Sat in the waiting area we were “assigned” to due to what deck we were on. We were the third group called, they started general boarding (of non handicapped and non haven guests) at 1115. We were on board right around 1130. Absolutely the best and most efficient embarkation ever. Note to others if you are setting up your account with cash, you have to do that once onboard at guest services. That was a little bit of a bummer, but not bad.

 

We were told that we could drop our bags in the rooms upon arrival, but rooms were not yet ready. Well, the room stewards apparently were not told the same thing and were not exactly thrilled when we were walking down the hall to put our carryons in the room. Oops.

 

Nov 17 Getting ready to board 1130am by deborah.collette, on Flickr

 

We then went to Savor for lunch. So did half the ship it seemed. Well, I’m not sure if they have been listening to guests or if they have just perfected what is going on, but we were seated rather quickly (called by first names by the maître d) given plenty of time to choose our meals, the girls used their soda package effortlessly. Had a fantastic waitress who checked on us several times. Everything came out hot and perfect. Amazing. Oh, and for those who have been complaining about over salted, didn’t happen. I honestly thought after looking at hundreds of food pics others have posted, that the portions would be too small and we would end up hungry most of the time---not even close! We had appetizers, me the fried calamari, dd1 had the crab salad and dd2 had the chicken nachos. We all sampled each one and they were all amazing!! For lunch, ds had the chicken strips and fries (which, they served with our apps—totally genius, and we didn’t even have to ask them to!) I had the sirloin medallion, dd1 had the fish and chips and dd2 had the roasted chicken leg. All of it was terrific!! I even tasted the chicken strips that Ds had, they were moist and tender. I did not, however taste the fries, those looked run of the mill to me.

 

Nov 17 Sirloin Medallion in savor by deborah.collette, on Flickr

Nov 17 Lunch Savor Fried Calamari by deborah.collette, on Flickr

Nov 17 Crab Salad Savor by deborah.collette, on Flickr

Nov 17 Chicken nachos Savor by deborah.collette, on Flickr

Nov 17 Roasted Chicken Leg in Savor Catie by deborah.collette, on Flickr

 

The emergency drill was quick and painless, only taking literally 5 minutes once they actually begin. This is the time when you really feel how many people are onboard, even though everyone does not go to the same place for the drill. Even trying to get to the stairs was a challenge.

 

More to come......

[boopsahoy]

Looking forward to more!:D

[dcollette]

We decided to have dinner in the buffet, there were plenty of seats available, but only half of the buffet was open for dinner. The meat carving station was wonderful, and I asked for a more rare piece of meat and it was very tender and delicious. Sorry, I did not get a picture of this. You could almost cut it with just your fork, honest. We attended the welcome aboard show, which was hosted by Dan the Man and showcased some of the talent onboard. We were able to see a sampling of fire and ice, absolutely awesome- The creole band from Fat cats—also very talented; Magician Michael Finney, who was pretty funny and I could see how his full show could be pretty funny, not so sure about the magic part, but he is good at the comedy at least. Then they brought out some of the burn the floor dancers. Let me say, before sailing I thought this would be something to skip. However, after the sampling from the show, WOW these folks are AMAZING. I am completely not into dancing with the stars or any of that, but this is a show that even my teen daughters now wanted to see! (maybe that had something to do with the fact that there were some rather handsome young men dancing, I don’t know)

 

Ok, so I know this is weird, but I really liked the ceiling in the theater:

Nov 17 Ceiling in theater by deborah.collette, on Flickr

 

Nov 17 Dan the Man Cruise director by deborah.collette, on Flickr

 

Fire and Ice--this lady is incredible!

Nov 17 Fire and Ice close up by deborah.collette, on Flickr

 

Youngest son actually fell asleep during the burn the floor part, which was the loudest and we were only two rows back from the speakers. We did not get a chance to see anything else for the evening, as we were tired and the little man had fallen fast asleep.

We did earlier sign up the toddler for splash academy, and the process was very slow. They didn’t seem very engaging or informative if you did not ask tons of questions. They did ask about his allergies, which they documented and asked if I wanted a pager, which I most certainly did as he doesn’t do well with new situations.

 

Notes: Asked to have our fridge emptied out, not a problem. Realized our fridge door wasn’t closing properly, left a note for our steward and she had the situation fixed quickly—they simply put in a new fridge! Now that’s service.

End of day 1

 

Carlo's in the Atrium

Nov 17 Carlo's Bakery by deborah.collette, on Flickr

 

Uptown Grill, this place is almost never busy, very quiet, comfy and a great place to grab snacks or light meals. (we often felt like hobbits, having first and second breakfast, and many times a second light "dinner") I think they are open during breakfast and lunch only.

 

Nov 17 Uptown Bar and Grill by deborah.collette, on Flickr

[meatball_nyc]

Love it all so far!

Thank you much for taking time to share with us!!

Food sounds and looks wonderful :)

 

Looking forward to more.

 

I am getting so excited for our turn aboard the Breakaway !!!!!

 

Happy Cruising !!

 

 

~Robin

Norwegian Breakaway July 2014

Carnival Miracle 2010

Carnival Legend 2006

[dcollette]

Love it all so far!

Thank you much for taking time to share with us!!

Food sounds and looks wonderful :)

 

Looking forward to more.

 

I am getting so excited for our turn aboard the Breakaway !!!!!

 

Happy Cruising !!

 

 

~Robin

Norwegian Breakaway July 2014

Carnival Miracle 2010

Carnival Legend 2006

 

You will absolutely love sailing Breakaway. I will say that after reading some reviews prior to our sailing, I had my doubts. You will not be disappointed! She is amazing (not to mention huge) They have to treat her as if there are two ships in port in NY because she is so big. (She doesn't fit in the pier, exactly, the aft of the ship hangs past the end of the pier) Beautiful ship, amazing crew and so much to do, it's nearly impossible to see it all. My son and daughter in law are onboard right now. They were amazed from the moment they got to the pier.

 

Thank you for the positive comments!! I will be posting more this evening. I have tons of pictures, but I am trying to pick out some of the ones I think people might be interested in. Some did not come out so well (as the one of Fire and Ice) but most are ok.

 

We are going to be sailing her again in the next year or so.

[meatball_nyc]

Thank you for these comments decollette. I was getting a little discouraged hearing so many complaints. You have taken care if that!! I knew this ship was going to be for me. As to your comment on how big she is compared to the pier, I will show you a pic I found (not to hijack your review!!!)

 

 

 

~Robin

Norwegian Breakaway July 2014

Carnival Miracle 2010

Carnival Legend 2006

[dcollette]

Robin,

 

I love that shot!! That is really cool. She is pretty huge! I actually got goosebumps when I caught sight of her for the first time while we were in the cab. Silly, right? Well, just as an FYI, even though I think I do cover it later on--if you want to eat in the Manhattan room--get there early. There were about 4400 people on our sailing and the line later on in the evening for Manhattan would get insanely long! We went early (5:30 ish) and didn't have to wait. We were lucky enough to go there on a night when Burn the floor was performing-- they danced right next to our table! I will say with that restaurant being in the aft of the ship, be prepared for some vibrations when she pulls out of port-- you will feel it.

I made a point to allow myself to not overplan anything-- I didn't make any reservations ahead of time--we just went with the flow, did things when we wanted and never had any issues doing or seeing anything we liked. I am the type who usually has most everything planned and decided this time I would do whatever. It was terrific. This ship is amazing. Was everything perfect? No, but what small things that needed attention, when we mentioned them were corrected. I don't sweat the small stuff. For such a large ship with so many people on board, it really only ever felt crowded during the safety drill and when the ship would pull into port and everyone was trying to get off at the same time. We had no issues finding a good spot for watching the fireworks (they last about 5-6 minutes) but we did not attempt to get into spice for that. I took a video of the fireworks that I really need to attach the link, so hopefully I will figure out how to do that soon!

[medicalma'am]

dcollette, great pics. Looking forward to the rest of your review!

 

I had to laugh at your ceiling picture - I did the same thing on the Epic otrside of Bliss Lounge!

[dexddd]

Robin,

 

I love that shot!! That is really cool. She is pretty huge! I actually got goosebumps when I caught sight of her for the first time while we were in the cab. Silly, right? Well, just as an FYI, even though I think I do cover it later on--if you want to eat in the Manhattan room--get there early. There were about 4400 people on our sailing and the line later on in the evening for Manhattan would get insanely long! We went early (5:30 ish) and didn't have to wait. We were lucky enough to go there on a night when Burn the floor was performing-- they danced right next to our table! I will say with that restaurant being in the aft of the ship, be prepared for some vibrations when she pulls out of port-- you will feel it.

I made a point to allow myself to not overplan anything-- I didn't make any reservations ahead of time--we just went with the flow, did things when we wanted and never had any issues doing or seeing anything we liked. I am the type who usually has most everything planned and decided this time I would do whatever. It was terrific. This ship is amazing. Was everything perfect? No, but what small things that needed attention, when we mentioned them were corrected. I don't sweat the small stuff. For such a large ship with so many people on board, it really only ever felt crowded during the safety drill and when the ship would pull into port and everyone was trying to get off at the same time. We had no issues finding a good spot for watching the fireworks (they last about 5-6 minutes) but we did not attempt to get into spice for that. I took a video of the fireworks that I really need to attach the link, so hopefully I will figure out how to do that soon!

Would you be able to post the summary sheet for the week? I've asked the past couple weeks from those who have returned and not seen it yet.

 

TIA.

[dcollette]

Tia,

 

If you are referring to the week at a glance sheet, yes I have literally every piece of paper they gave me, so I do have those, I will post them later. They did offer the midweek laundry special for $24.95 as well, if anyone is interested. They might change things up, I'm not sure, but I do know that Michael Finney is not on right now, as my son and daughter in law are on and they noticed it on the daily they received while waiting to board.

 

Debbie

[SissasMomE]

Great review!

[dcollette]

Thank you very much.

[Tatka]

We were lucky enough to go there on a night when Burn the floor was performing-- they danced right next to our table!

 

Is there any schedule for their performance in the restaurant?

[meatball_nyc]

decollete,

 

We are going to go with the flow like you guys did, and not reserve anything. We are not show people, but will take your advice to catch some of them. You made them sound so good!

 

When we saw BA docked last summer while driving down the West Side Highway one Sunday, we were in awe of her!! I got goosebumps just like you, so I must be silly, too :)

 

If you can't figure out how to post the fireworks, don't worry! I've already seen video of them from other reviews.

 

Cannot wait to hear about the rest of your trip!

 

Happy Cruising!

 

 

 

Robin

Norwegian Breakaway July 2014

Carnival Miracle 2010

Carnival Legend 2006

Every Day at Sea is a Great Day

[BritChickBN1]

Loving your review. We had an amazing time on the breakaway. This is bringing back some good memories. :)

[dcollette]

Day 2

Overnight, let me say, was very interesting. We left in very dense fog, not the best for sailaway. Well, overnight was ten times worse! We finally managed some clear skies, but then found later on, some time after 1 am or so that the fog got even worse. I also discovered that we had some rather rude neighbors. Wow, kids yelling and jumping around after 1am. Oh well, what can you do. The fog was so thick, that apparently it required the blowing of the ship’s horn several times at about 5-10 min intervals, I’m guessing as the ship moved through shipping channels, but I’m not sure. It was one long blast of the ship’s horn. Maybe someone else with nautical knowledge can enlighten me as to what exactly that means. I know for smaller vessels, that is generally what is done when in poor visibility and going through tight passages, under bridges or through commonly used routes so as to avoid collision. I did see another ship very far (more miles than I can estimate) in the distance off to our port. We were on deck 13 mid ship and with the balcony door slightly open (I like the fresh air) I could hear the music from there, not loud enough to keep me awake, and not loud enough to hear what the music was or make out the lyrics. I am a light sleeper, and it didn’t bother me at all. I don’t believe they had a party in Spice, so not sure if we will be affected by that.

I woke up very early, 430, so I sat out on the balcony until it got too cold for me. Yes the balconies are smaller than we are all accustomed to but not so small that they are unusable, like many claim. All four of us stood out there on embarkation, waving madly at the splendor passengers (and getting half the aft of their ship yelling and waving at us) with no problems, so it really isn’t that bad. If you want a balcony with space for a lounger, splurge for a large balcony. Simple enough, we all have choices.

 

View of the Carnival Splendor from our balcony. (my kids had almost the entire aft of that ship yelling and waving as we left port--I have a video of that, pretty funny)

Nov 17 View of Carnival Ship by deborah.collette, on Flickr

 

I went back to bed to try to get a little more rest, which I did. Then woke up much later than anticipated—at 715am!! Oh my. I knew this meant that breakfast would be a disaster! We went to the buffet, usually my favorite for breakfast—yikes. After showering and everything, we arrived around 830 or so—to a very crowded buffet area. Most tables were occupied, but there was an employee, I wasn’t able to catch his name, as he was wearing a suit and moved around so swiftly that you didn’t have time to read his badge- who was helping people find seating—what a blessing! Several omelet stations open, really helped things move along. Each omelet station is able to make four at a time, so it really moves very quickly. Not many options though, only cheese, ham, onions (that didn’t look very appetizing) and sautéed mushrooms. I was happy with mushrooms and cheese, and you had the option of regular eggs or egg whites. Very nice. Cooked perfectly. The bacon looked anorexic, but was tasty nonetheless. Ds had cold cereal, bacon, sausage and yogurt. Let me say the yogurt was very tasty. Surprising. DD2 had a banana, cold cereal, and yogurt—as well as the bacon. DD1 had scrambled eggs, bacon, hash browns and something else I can’t recall. All in all pretty good, but very crazy.

 

Nov 17 Watermelon carving at buffet by deborah.collette, on Flickr

 

We attended the m&g, which went well. None of the department heads spoke, only Dan the Man. It was informative, Dan was more than happy to answer questions. Unfortunately, we had to leave rather quickly because I had to pick up DS from the splash academy by noon.

So dd1, ds and I decided to hit the pool. Yeah, the weather was a little on the cool side, but the pool was warm, so all was good. Not very busy on pool deck, many loungers available. It was nice. Didn’t like the $25 deposit for the towels since we left ours in the room—I thought you could get the “regular” striped ones they had without doing that, but I guess not. If you don’t bring your blue towels with you, they make you sign on a form for your towels with your room number and a $25 deposit that will be charged if you do not return said towels before 6pm. We went back to same towel location to return them, just to be safe. While I understand it, it is a silly thing in my book. No big deal, though, not to me anyhow. As for the pool, we were in what I took to be the “adult” pool, but failed to see any signage to that effect, and there were many kids in there already. So in we went. Just after getting in, I realized I forgot something in the room so left (15 yr old) DD1 with DS while I went back, not five feet from my own kids, I see a boy about 9-10 in the deep water, struggling. Not sure if he was kidding with his brother, I watched him, and he obviously was in deep trouble. As I got ready to jump in, his mom who was sitting on the “upper” edge dove in to get him, but she was clearly not that great at swimming, either. So, I pulled the young man out and sat with him to make sure both he and mom were okay. She thanked me profusely for helping, and I made sure the son knew he just added about ten years to mom’s life. So, even with parents right there, it is very easy for anyone to drown. This young man was lucky. Please take caution around any pool, anywhere.

 

This is the more shallow pool, around 4' deep I think.

 

Nov 17 Main pool near waterslides by deborah.collette, on Flickr

 

Burger from O'Sheehan's

Nov 18 Osheehans Pub burger close up by deborah.collette, on Flickr

 

We barely made it to the Gelato before it closed—let me say OH MY GOODNESS. This place is terrific!! We had coconut, well worth the extra. Don’t miss it.

Also sampled a cupcake from Carlo’s, pretty good but not anything special, if you ask me.

Decided to have dinner in Savor tonight. Just to let everyone know, we were informed that the ship had some 4400 passengers aboard with about 300 or so children. Only had a very short (roughly 10 minute) wait one time in the MDRs. Sat at a nice table with Pamela as our waitress—she is amazing. We were fairly hungry since O’Sheehan’s was a rather huge disappointment. The salmon tartar is fantastic.

After dinner, we headed to the theater for burn the floor. Never would I have thought you would catch me watching these guys—but they are fantastic. The girls loved them!! We did hit the pool area earlier in the day, pretty much had the pool to ourselves, very nice.

We started making a (bad) habit of going up to the buffet to bring back snacks to the room for the evening. There is just far too much food available. Most times food at the buffet was good, but there were times when the food was simply not hot enough.

 

Our little friend for the evening:

Nov 18 Towel bunny by deborah.collette, on Flickr

 

We managed to do quite a bit the second day, even spent a good deal of the afternoon in the pool (had mostly to ourselves). They did the men's sexy legs contest this day as well. A little chilly, but there were some really good sports that participated. Our personal favorite did not win. It was lots of fun to watch. I haven't laughed that hard in a long time.

 

I apologize for not having photos of dinner on this day, as I needed to charge my camera battery. Oops. I will say I enjoyed the salmon tartar more than once--it was that delish. We did go through the shopping area, which was crowded most of the time. I did not take any photos of that area, as there always seemed to be people in there.

[rinakop]

Thank you! I love this review!:)

[dcollette]

Since it was my younger daughter's birthday the saturday we sailed, I prepaid for the birthday package (much to her surprise)

 

Here is the cake (just as an FYI, the four of us couldn't finish this cake over the course of a week, it really is quite large)

 

Nov 17 Catie's Birthday cake by deborah.collette, on Flickr

 

These chairs are on the waterfront (somewhere) and they were super comfy. They were empty several times when I wandered by.

 

Nov 17 Comfy Chairs by deborah.collette, on Flickr

 

Just to give you an idea of how narrow the balconies are. Smaller, yes, but still plenty of room to stand or sit outside and enjoy the fresh ocean air. I spend a good deal of time out there and it was fine for me. Just as a point of reference, the little guy stands just over 3' tall.

 

Nov 17 Elliott on balcony by deborah.collette, on Flickr

 

Ok, so I just had to try and see if one could take a photo through those sight seeing binocular things that they have in a couple of locations on the waterfront. Seems as though you can. This is a shot of well, part of the parking next to the pier and the USS Intrepid museum

 

Nov 17 View through binoculars by deborah.collette, on Flickr

 

Ok, now I'm not a big blues fan, it just isn't my cup of tea, but these guys were terrific! Again, this was during the welcome aboard show. I will say, if you are hesitant on seeing some of the shows available, you might want to check out the welcome aboard show. It gives a short sample of only some of the entertainment available, but it might help you decide if there are things you may want to see. I did not notice if they mentioned when burn the floor performs in the manhattan room during dinner, but I will double check the dailies to be sure.

 

Nov 17 Welcome aboard creole band by deborah.collette, on Flickr

 

Day 2 early evening shot from our balcony.

 

Nov 18 Balcony 448pm by deborah.collette, on Flickr

[megsok7]

Loving your review! Thanks! 160ish days until my turn. :D

[dcollette]

You're going to have such a great time! I know how hard the wait is, I booked our cruise a little over 9 months in advance, it takes awhile. Safe sailing!!

[dcollette]

Robin,

 

Sometimes I think I get more excited then the kids! LOL Anyhow, she is quite a sight to behold when she is docked. I wish I had been able to make the trip when both the Getaway and Breakaway were in port together. That must have been exceptional!!

[bingo3]

Thank you!! :D

debbie

[LazyDays64]

Thanks for this review! I can't wait to go on our cruise. I get so excited when I hear what a good time people have had. You'd think I was a little kid waiting for Santa to come. :p

[meatball_nyc]

Here is a pic of both Breakaway and Getaway together during Super Bowl weekend.

 

 

 

~Robin

Norwegian Breakaway July 2014

Carnival Miracle 2010

Carnival Legend 2006

[gizmo911]

I did post these questions on another thread of someone who wrote a review but I would really like your feedback. I loved your review and will be on the Breakaway in 2 weeks and I have a few questions:

 

1- We are trying to decide what type of clothes to pack for day 2 and the last 2 days coming back to port. Will we need at least 3 warm outfits for leaving and returning to NYC port. What was your experience.

 

3- We are traveling with someone who is handicap and she can't tolerate sun. I wonder if we will be allowed to get off ship on first tender to private island in order to find a shaded area. Is there much shade on the island?

 

Thanks.