Breakaway to Bermuda: Looooooooooooong Haven Review: Is it a Luxury Cruise?

[Dr. Cocktail]

My cruise history will tell you which ships I’ve been on but it won’t show that I was getting a bit …. bored. My partner and I are 51 and 49 respectively, have high stress jobs

and like to disappear every few months and have been trying to vary our cruise experiences.

 

We won’t return to RCI,Celebrity or Princess and only like HAL for The Retreat on their newer ships. We enjoy our Oceania sailings but find the evening lounge entertainment and atmosphere to be a bit too sedate. We liked Azamara but they’re not in the Caribbean that often.

 

Our good friends who have sailed on Oceania about a dozen times and are big Princess fans were also looking for a change. We decided to try Norwegian Breakaway in a Haven Suite that would give us full access to the Haven complex while enjoying the “nightlife” downstairs.

The per diem was about equivalent to O on a Caribbean sailing in a veranda cabin. As Norwegian partially shares the same corporate parent as O, I thought it would be fun to compare their premium product with their mass market one.

 

So … is it possible to have a luxury cruise experience on a really big ship? Sort-of!

Embarkation in New York was conducted with military precision and Haven guests were escorted on the ship around 11:15 and given a small welcome speech by the

Concierge and informed that our accommodations were ready.

 

We had Forward Facing Penthouses located apart from the Haven. It required very loooooooooooong walks through extremely narrow corridors from the stairwells. Elevators were slow so we frequently took the stairs. OK - not so luxurious.

 

The suite was beautiful - contemporary decor with a small dining table with four chairs, a bar set up with Lavazza coffee machine and a living room with a small balcony. The ceiling treatments had neat architectural details with different levels and surfaces and good use of direct and indirect lighting. The bedroom had a full king size bed with crazy amounts of storage. We unpacked our two suitcases and could have easily unpacked another three. The bathroom was huge … double sinks, stall for toilet, ginormous shower stall with body sprays and rain shower heads and a decent sized bathtub and dressing table. The room measured 419 square feet with a 35 square foot balcony. There were separate thermostats for the three rooms and good dimmers and light controls. The butler introduced himself and gave the all important lesson on how to operate the coffee machine. He brought milk for us daily so that we could make our own cappuccinos and organized a birthday party for my sister-in-law who happened to be on board (that’s another story).

 

Our cabin was cleaned adequately but the stewards have a lot of cabins to clean and they receive the same amount per cabin whether it is a suite or an inside cabin.

I think it might be better to increase the autotip amount for suites as they do on other lines or perhaps give a few extra dollars to the attendant at the start of the cruise.

 

We were disappointed that there were no hook-ups or docking stations for our iPads or iPods so that we could listen to music. Similarly, we were also surprised that there weren’t a couple of music channels on the TV just to provide some ambient music like on the Solstice class.

 

We had a nice lunch in The Haven restaurant which serves breakfast, lunch and dinner and seats 58 people. The menus never change but daily specials are offered and there is also a breakfast mini-buffet available. The staff were lovely and the food quality extremely high.

Based on the temperature of most of the items (nuclear hot!) with the accompanying wait times, we were convinced that most items were made to order. On two separate occasions, there were only the four of us having dinner in the restaurant at 9 at night.

 

We only had one bad item the entire week. Coffee was good and strong - french presses at each table. Plates and cutlery were sparkly clean but not of the same standard as O with only one wine glass offered for red and white.

 

The Haven had a retractable covered roof and an open sundeck on the upper level with comfortable chairs. The main problem in the covered pool area was the presence of screaming children on a couple of occasions with the parents not doing too much . Herein lies the Catch 22 of The Haven … it is sold as a sophisticated retreat for travellers as well as a family vacation destination. The Restaurant and outdoor areas where always quiet. Smoking is allowed on the outdoor decks but wasn’t a problem on our sailing.

 

The outdoor non Haven public decks (Havenots?) (our friends’ expression

!) are overcrowded and noisy as is the buffet. We never actually ate there.

 

The decor on the three main entertainment decks is reminiscent of The Solstice Class ships of Celebrity which were all built by the same shipyard but there is little or no public art in the corridors or in the public areas at large.

 

We ate at the steakhouse Cagneys outside on a balmy Bermuda night and the Certified Angus steaks were excellent. Moderno Churrascaria with their giant salad bar was a traditional Brazilian steakhouse where they come around with various skewers of meat and again, it was terrific. Everything fresh and beautifully prepared - the steaks lacking that weird “cruise ship flavour” that is sometime present. The Bistro, their French restaurant was solid - not our favourite and we didn’t try the Teppanyaki, the Italian, the Raw Bar, the Seafood restaurant or the Noodle bar.

 

On most evenings, one could wander from club to lounge, all with unique and interesting decor and listen to a variety of live lounge acts, again all of excellent quality. You would have your choice of at least 4 and usually 5 venues that were playing music at the same time. We were up much later than usual as we literally went bar hopping among the various venues.

My partner, who has a degree in music as well as his others became addicted to the dueling piano bar and was highly impressed by their playing ability. While it’s not our thing, the outdoor disco looked like a lot of fun and was well attended. The mainstage shows were the musical Rock of Ages (not our thing and poorly performed) and the dance spectacular, Burn the Floor. There was also a Spiegel Tent which had a for pay circus show.

 

Now to some more delicate matters … many in the overall crowd did not appear to be particularly sophisticated. It was not the “country club” crowd that we saw (sometimes for better, sometimes for worse) that we experienced on O or A. But we also didn’t see any egregious examples of rude behaviour and most people were friendly and there to have a good time.

 

Does it provide the casual elegance of O or A with a gracious, quiet atmosphere?

No, but for those seeking a 7 day cruise, The Haven provides excellent accommodations with a lovely area with private pool, sundeck, bar and restaurant. It also you importantly gives you access to the most dynamic entertainment options we have ever had on a ship on over 60 cruises.

 

I would have no hesitation recommending it to those “luxury” cruisers who might want a bit of a change on a lively and vibrant ship.

[punkincc]

Thanks for a thoughtful and very balanced review.

 

One of the reasons NCL is our line of choice is that, IMO, it is possible to find areas on the ship to experience that quiet elegant atmosphere if you so desire, while also having that dynamic entertainment available when the mood strikes.

It seems to be the best of both worlds, not possible on O or A.

[Coastalbreezes]

Wonderful review, thank you. I love the Breakaway and love the privacy and comforts afforded by The Haven. Am considering a forward penthouse in the future and curious as to how much you felt the motion of the ship?

 

Tracy

[peg013]

While I haven't been on A or O, I think you presented a well thought out Haven review.

[Chesneygirl]

Thanks for taking the time to write a well thought out and balanced review!

I hope you enjoyed Bermuda!!

 

We have a reservation at Cagney's (while in Bermuda) for our upcoming cruise and we would love to be able to sit outside on the Waterfront. Did you have to make a special request in advance for that seating?

[david_sobe]

Thanks for the review! I am booked in a forward Getaway penthouse so I really enjoyed reading this. I agree about the docking stations. But every NCL ship I have been on has had music channels on the TV. But the music channels are on the bridge cam channel and another channel.

[Dr. Cocktail]

Thanks for all of your comments!

 

TraceyE: Ship didn't move. Period. You would have never known that you were on the North Atlantic.

 

Chesneygirl: Yes: The Concierge (the wonderful and hyperorganized Adrian) made the request. I'm pretty sure you could also make the request but I would probably make it in person at Cagneys on the first night.

 

David: Thanks! There was indeed music on the bridge channel (sort of the type they play when boarding a plane) but it would be nice to have a pop, a rock, a jazz, a classical and similar choices available. As much as I've turned off of Celebrity, their Solstice Class Ships have amazing cabin entertainment systems powered by Apple. You have literally thousands of choices available. Not enough, of course, to lure me back!

Edited June 8, 2014 by Dr. Cocktail

[blueline7]

Many thanks for a review that was particularly helpful for me as I am about to embark on our first cruise, in the Haven, and had wondered about the differences between that and true "luxury" cruising.

[psac]

Thanks for your review. We're in one of those forward facing penthouses next week, and really looking forward to it. I expect the flaming to start any minute now for some of your comments, but I appreciate the honesty of your observations. We're in the Haven and we're NOT country club types, so it really does help to get an overall picture!

[EBONI325]

Thanks for taking the time to write a well thought out and balanced review!

I hope you enjoyed Bermuda!!

 

We have a reservation at Cagney's (while in Bermuda) for our upcoming cruise and we would love to be able to sit outside on the Waterfront. Did you have to make a special request in advance for that seating?

 

When I sailed on the BA. We never made a reservation and sat outside on the waterfront, we asked when we arrived if there were any tables available outside and lucky us there was. But to be sure you can, see if you can make a res. in advance at Cagney's as Dr.Cocktail suggested.

 

Enjoy your cruise.

[meatball_nyc]

Loved your review. Thank you for taking the time out to share.

Glad to hear you had a nice trip and hope you enjoyed Bermuda.

Happy Sailing!

 

 

~Robin

Norwegian Breakaway July 2014

Carnival Miracle 2010

Carnival Legend 2006

[Susie51]

Thank you for sharing your perspective of cruising.

[surran12]

Great review! While I've only been on NCL we are hoping to start expanding and your review gives me a little bit to compare it to, so thank you.

[beachmonkey]

Thanks for the review. It was interesting to hear someone's comparison to some lines that are not as popular on the NCL forum.

 

I am curious what has turned you off of Celebrity?

 

David...we also just returned from the Breakaway on a forward-facing Haven suite. We really liked the room and did not mind he walk. We are booked on an aft-facing Haven on the next cruise so there will be more of a trip to get across the ship to the Haven.

 

Thanks again for the review.

[Dr. Cocktail]

Thanks for the review. It was interesting to hear someone's comparison to some lines that are not as popular on the NCL forum.

 

I am curious what has turned you off of Celebrity?

 

David...we also just returned from the Breakaway on a forward-facing Haven suite. We really liked the room and did not mind he walk. We are booked on an aft-facing Haven on the next cruise so there will be more of a trip to get across the ship to the Haven.

 

Thanks again for the review.

 

After over 30 cruises on Celebrity, I found the food, like every other line, was becoming pretty bad in the main dining room. Poor quality ingredients, rushed service, no more live music and tables increasingly crowded together.

 

I used to have no problems with the specialty restaurants but on Celebrity, they're now about $45 pp and still not that great. Even if I stay in a suite, I'm still stuck with the same food options. NCL offered me the Haven restaurant and reasonably priced specialties that I liked and which were, for the most part, far superior to those offered on Celebrity. But don't print that on the Celebrity board!

 

I was also upset by the extremely bad chair hogging with pool attendants turning the other way and the really poor condition of my cabin in May of 2013 on Summit - mold growing in the shower stall and behind the light fixtures and problems with water running from scalding to cold numerous times a minute in the shower.

[sparkey2030]

Wonderful review, thank you. I love the Breakaway and love the privacy and comforts afforded by The Haven. Am considering a forward penthouse in the future and curious as to how much you felt the motion of the ship?

 

Tracy

 

 

On day 2 it did not matter where your room was, the ship was rocking and rolling, seas were 16 foot rolling waves(per the captain)

A lot were sea sick, and staff provided sea sick pills, green apples, and ginger ale.

 

Quote from Dr Cocktail :TraceyE: Ship didn't move. Period. You would have never known that you were on the North Atlantic. :eek:

[Jacy613]

Thank you very much for taking the time to write such a comprehensive review of your experiences in the Haven.

We are sailing in the Haven in September, and your comments have reaffirmed our decision to take advantage of the amenities the Haven has to offer.

I am looking forward to my vacation, and very glad you enjoyed yours!

Thanks again,

J

[Laszlo]

The Haven … it is sold as a sophisticated retreat for travellers as well as a family vacation destination.

 

An oxymoron if their ever was one. I think its impossible to have both in the same location. The only part of the ship which is a retreat is the Spa. No screaming kids, but you might run into a few very loud adults who don't understand the concept of a Spa.