Bigger is not Better - NCL Breakaway disappointed

[medicalma'am]

There is value to me in the tastings besides just the alcohol. You are entertained, learning about what you do/don't like, meeting new friends, and having a wonderful time in general. Love them.

 

We happen to love lingering over our dinner in the main dining rooms or specialties. We would often have three hour meals, but it was much due to enjoying each course, the company and conversation. Dinner is an occasion, not something to get through or just feeding our face.

 

I love the choices on NCL an consider the 'nickle and diming' totally different than others do. It is choices to me, yea!

[Susie51]

Sorry you didn't enjoy your cruise. I hope there were some things enjoyed.

 

One time on Carnival Victory, the ship wasn't what I liked and I had a very negative attitude. Then I thought this state of mind is going to ruin my cruise. So then I chose to look for the good things about the ship, I found lots of positive aspects.

 

Thank you Sizzle for your info about the extra charges.

[graphicguy]

I have to say that for all the years I have been reading CC as well as all the years I have been cruising going back to the 1970's.....if I have experienced in my estimation less than 5% of the complaints that I have read about here, it is a lot.

 

 

I have gone on some cruises completely clueless...and had a fabulous time

 

I have gone on some cruises with concerns based on reading these boards...and had a fabulous cruise with none of the issues mentioned on the boards

 

I have gone on cruises with everything totally laid out from daily clothing to hour by hour port schedules.....and had fabulous cruises

 

I have gone with little planning..and been totally satisfied and safe in port and managed to still get a day pass at a resort! LOL

 

 

So what I guess I am saying is that:

 

1. Some people just should not cruise or travel in general because they can't appreciate or handle it

 

2. Some people should stop thinking that cruising is like the "days of old" and either take it for what it is or just book Cunard where they still have somewhat of a class system.

 

and finally...which I actually have always done anyway..

 

3. Read reviews with a grain of salt, realizing that some folks just don't understand cruising and that many cruisers and their reviews are from people who are on their "cruise of a lifetime" and just have incredibly impossible to meet expectations of what a cruise should be.

 

4. However, I do know that many longtime, savvy cruisers can have a bad cruise, and will review as such. Fortunately, those reviews are easy to spot because they are clearly written and pinpoint the problems accurately and also give suggestions for improvement.

 

 

You're the smartest person here!!!!:)

[jackson bernard]

We were on the Breakaway in March and it never took more than 1.5 hrs to eat at the MDR and to say "it took 3 to 4 hrs to eat each night" just pure exaggeration. Since this is a 7 night cruise why would you go back night after night if you knew "it took 3 to 4 hrs to eat each night"? Makes no sense. People are constantly complaining every little thing about the cruise instead of enjoying the cruise. There are many free great shows on the cruise such as "Burn the Floor" and "Rock of Ages" and etc.. Also, just to say the "Guest Service..... Below average" also makes no sense because not all services are a like and some services are better than others and not all of them are "Below average". We had great services from the casino to most everything which we had no complains.

 

We have been 30 + cruise and 6 of them on NCL and will be going again on the Gem in September and no such thing is a bad cruise. Life is short so enjoy while it last.

 

How would you know how long the dinners took? Were you eating dinner on the ship with the original poster?

 

Things change from one sailing to the next you know.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I317 using Forums mobile app

[cruise_alot123]

How would you know how long the dinners took? Were you eating dinner on the ship with the original poster?

 

Things change from one sailing to the next you know.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I317 using Forums mobile app

 

I have been on 30 + cruises all over the world and we had a seven courses dinner on the Cunard QM2 and that did not take two hours. The original poster said "3 to 4 hrs each night" and that's a bunch of BS. No cruise line will take that long to serve you dinner and if that happens, heads will be rolling. However, even with a party of 12 which we did and that did not take more than 2 hrs. Also, you can go to a second dinning room for dinner and they have the same menu and I doubted it will take 3 to 4 hrs. Why I said that? Because I was there during my Spring cruise and I know it did not take "3 to 4 hrs" to be served in both dinning rooms.

 

The bottom line, with all the 30 + cruises, we had yet to encounter servers that took 3 to 4 hrs.

[roe2ship]

I have been on 30 + cruises all over the world and we had a seven courses dinner on the Cunard QM2 and that did not take two hours. The original poster said "3 to 4 hrs each night" and that's a bunch of BS. No cruise line will take that long to serve you dinner and if that happens, heads will be rolling. However, even with a party of 12 which we did and that did not take more than 2 hrs. Also, you can go to a second dinning room for dinner and they have the same menu and I doubted it will take 3 to 4 hrs. Why I said that? Because I was there during my Spring cruise and I know it did not take "3 to 4 hrs" to be served in both dinning rooms.

 

The bottom line, with all the 30 + cruises, we had yet to encounter servers that took 3 to 4 hrs.

Perhaps you should re-read the original post. He/she said that dinner was “3 hours for the 4 of them” not that dinner lasted “3 to 4 hours”. While I agree that even 3 hours every single night may be slightly exaggerated, I don’t think it is impossible either that some nights this occurred. The OP never mentioned what times they went for dinner and that can make a huge difference. Our experience on the Breakaway was somewhat similar to the OP. We normally went for dinner 7:00 pm or before and on some nights, dinner lasted up to two hours and one night a little over for just the 3 of us. Once the waiters took our orders, it was like they disappeared for a while. The time between courses were usually way too long. I can’t imagine what it was like at later peak times. One night when we arrived there was a large table of maybe 8-12 people and they were handing their menus back to their waiter. When we were finished and ready to leave which was two hours after that, their entrees were just being served. We also had waiters that never recommended any dishes nor did they introduce themselves. Between this, the slow service and not so pleasant staff, it does taint the dining experience a little bit.

 

With all that said, I don't see why the blame is because the Breakaway is a bigger ship. Maybe if NCL had the proper number of trained staff on this great ship, these type of service issues would not exist.

Edited July 4, 2014 by roe2ship

[Jay Sam]

Perhaps you should re-read the original post. He/she said that dinner was “3 hours for the 4 of them” not that dinner lasted “3 to 4 hours”. While I agree that even 3 hours every single night may be slightly exaggerated, I don’t think it is impossible either that some nights this occurred. The OP never mentioned what times they went for dinner and that can make a huge difference. Our experience on the Breakaway was somewhat similar to the OP. We normally went for dinner 7:00 pm or before and on some nights, dinner lasted up to two hours and one night a little over for just the 3 of us. Once the waiters took our orders, it was like they disappeared for a while. The time between courses were usually way too long. I can’t imagine what it was like at later peak times. One night when we arrived there was a large table of maybe 8-12 people and they were handing their menus back to their waiter. When we were finished and ready to leave which was two hours after that, their entrees were just being served. We also had waiters that never recommended any dishes nor did they introduce themselves. Between this, the slow service and not so pleasant staff, it does taint the dining experience a little bit.

 

With all that said, I don't see why the blame is because the Breakaway is a bigger ship. Maybe if NCL had the proper number of trained staff on this great ship, these type of service issues would not exist.

 

I agree. On both NCL cruises I have taken, service doesn't appear to be their strong suit. They have their moments, but not consistent.

[dongordon]

I have been on the Breakaway and many of NCL's smaller ships.

 

I agree that big is not always better and I would prefer the smaller ships.

 

That being said, entertainment (Blues Club) and the shows IMHO on the Breakaway were spectacular...loved them. :) Probably better than on the smaller ships.

No Spinakker Lounge was also a bit of a disappointment. :(

 

I do miss the Great Outdoors in the aft for my morning breakfast.

But dining outdoors in the specialty restaurants was a nice touch.

 

Doing the Transatlantic on the Star in April and hope I enjoy this ship. I am pretty sure I will since I did like the Dawn very much, but I will certainly miss the Great Outdoors (my favorite morning hangout) on the NCL ships.

 

It seems that there are trade-offs and one must choose based on the pluses and minuses.

Don

[OCMS Fan 2]

Good, better, worse, worst, worth it, not worth it are all highly subjective and different for each of us.

[Cubechick]

Bigger is not better was a lesson many of us learned four years ago after the Epic (disaster). BA and GA are just more of the same.

 

The BA and GA are a product of what worked well on the Epic and the Jewel class ships. A vastly improved experience over what the Epic offers (imo).

[DrNora]

So glad they were knowledge about the dietary needs of your daughter, as some who is in the medical field I can't stress how important that is, kudos and I applaud them.

 

The food was good, great, awesome, service was slow. I personally don't think they have enough staff for the number of dining options.

 

I also believe when cruising started the daily service charges, the service in food and beverage dropped.

 

I realize they read the terms and conditions of the corks and caps, but are you telling me NCL is going to force my sister in law at 20 weeks pregnant, with documentation and showing to purchase a corks and caps? Spoke to the food and beverage manager as well about the concern - no dice....

 

 

 

Ouch!,,

I met a fun-loving couple on our last RCL cruise . Husband had the plan, she was pregnant. And had letter from OB/gyn and was exempt. The husband explained this all to me as we played adjacent slot machines- he was certainly making good use of his beverage plan!

 

 

An earlier poster says that all in the room don't need to purchase on RCL,, but that must be a new policy.

Edited July 5, 2014 by DrNora

[OCMS Fan 2]

So glad they were knowledge about the dietary needs of your daughter, as some who is in the medical field I can't stress how important that is, kudos and I applaud them.

 

The food was good, great, awesome, service was slow. I personally don't think they have enough staff for the number of dining options.

 

I also believe when cruising started the daily service charges, the service in food and beverage dropped.

 

I realize they read the terms and conditions of the corks and caps, but are you telling me NCL is going to force my sister in law at 20 weeks pregnant, with documentation and showing to purchase a corks and caps? Spoke to the food and beverage manager as well about the concern - no dice....

 

 

No they do NOT make people who have a medical reason not to drink buy the alcohol package. They are required to buy the soda package though. We had this exact situation happen in 2011 and all went well. Of course we did take care of it though our PCC prior to the cruise.

[KeithJenner]

Ouch!,,

I met a fun-loving couple on our last RCL cruise . Husband had the plan, she was pregnant. And had letter from OB/gyn and was exempt. The husband explained this all to me as we played adjacent slot machines- he was certainly making good use of his beverage plan!

 

 

An earlier poster says that all in the room don't need to purchase on RCL,, but that must be a new policy.

 

 

The policy on NCL has been the same since the UBP was introduced, but it is inconsistently applied. Some get exceptions, some don't.

[Jacy613]

Sorry to the OP that your cruise was somewhat disappointing for you. You are certainly entitled to have your opinions and your own personal perceptions of what is and is not acceptable to you. Everyone has a different level of acceptance, especially when it comes to cruising.

 

I am taking my third cruise in September, on the BA. This is my third time on NCL, I have nothing else to compare to NCL. I am looking forward to this cruise very much, and I plan to take things as they come. I cruise to escape from stress, not to endure more of it!

 

I have never felt that NCL "nickel and dimed " me in any way. I was presented with options, either pay for the extras or skip them and just take what was offered in the general cruise fare. They don't make you pay extra for things, it is a choice that every single passenger is free to decide for themselves.

 

Personally, I enjoy the specialty restaurants, I go see all the shows, free or not, and if there is something I want, I will pay for it if I have to. I plan to enjoy every minute of my cruise, and I hope that the next cruise you take will be a great one!

 

J

[Mrs. Squirrel]

OP, I am sorry that your cruise was disappointing.

 

I can say that if my dinner went beyond the 2 hour mark, I would have left, unfinished, and spoken to the Maitre 'D. If I got nowhere with him/her, I would have then spoken to the Food and Beverage Manager. Did you try this? If so, what was the response?

 

I agree that bigger is not always better. I wish, fervently, that all the cruiselines would consider building new, jewel class sized ships (or their named equivalents) so that those of us who like the mid-size ships could also enjoy the newest technology, design, and decor. Don't think it's gonna' happen, though. :(