Breakaway ny to bermuda june 29 2014

[teseo]

LOVE TO FIRST SIGHT

 

1 week after returning from our amazing cruise on board the beautiful breakaway I finally got time to write this review.

 

EMBARKATION

 

We live in northern NJ, only ½ hr. from the port, so transportation was really easy, once at the port we dropped our bags and case of water, yes you can bring your own bottle water, and went ahead for check in around 12.30 noon.

 

we were invited by CAS (Casinos at Sea), after passing the security screening we asked about the VIP line for CAS and we were directed straight to one of the front desk ladies and checking was done in less than 10 minutes; we were giving #3 and at that time they were calling #5 to board so we went straight to take our embarkation picture and got on board before 1 pm.

 

We had cruised 7 times before, all of them on NCL, 3 on the Gem, 3 on the Jewel, 1 on the Dawn, but never on the BA so it was totally new for us, so we start going around seeing all the beautiful areas of the ship. We knew for previous sailings that the muster drill will be held at 3.30 pm and all the activities and eating places will be closed, we went for a quick lunch at O’Sheehan’s and then we went for a tour of the ship.

 

CABIN

 

We were in a midship balcony on deck 9. Room was a good size, queen size bed next to the balcony with a couch. Balcony was small, just plenty of room for 2 chairs. There was a coffee maker and refrigerator and safe in the room. Just enough room for 2 adults, plenty of storage room for your clothes and stuff, no so much for your bags, but we stowed them underneath the bed and used them to keep the dirty clothes. Overall we were happy with the room, and the truth is we are never in there, just to sleep and shower; this ship has so many things that will be a waste to stay longer in the room just watching TV or drinking coffee by the balcony.

 

ATRIUM ON DECK 6

 

They were pretty smart with the design of this area, very functional, multipurpose, every day and night they have so many different events there that for many guest this is one of their favorite areas. It has a super big screen so that allow them to project anything. During our cruise the World Cup of Soccer was going on, so they play several matches there.

 

This area has been designed as a 2 open levels, with balcony style viewing from O’Sheehan’s on deck 7. Here you will find most of the customer services areas, Front Desk, shore excursions desk, Cruise consultant, Internet Café, the library and card room and the Lavazza Coffee Shop. Connecting the Atrium with 678 Ocean Place is a hallway that hosts the Art Gallery with a very smart design to keep the paintings out and to storage all the Art collection when not at auction.

 

678 Ocean Place is a space designed to connect deck 6, 7 and 8 with a beautiful staircase and a huge and beautiful chandelier hanging from the top, during the day is white and at night change colors all the time. On deck 6 you also will find Le Bistro French restaurant and Headliners Comedy Club.

 

CASINO

 

Located on the center of deck 7, wrapping around the big chandelier; designed as an open space that forces people to walk through it when going from Forward to AFT on the ship. Can be really noise and smoky at sometimes but personally I do not thing that is a big of a deal since is located at the center of the entertainment area, with many bars and restaurants around. I think they were very smart with the location of the casino right on the middle of the ship as I said before forcing people to walk thru almost all the time. Also on deck 7 is Bliss Ultra lounge were some parties are being held especially after midnight.

 

WATERFRONT ON DECK 8

 

The design of this section of the ship is super smart, is a really nice area to walk around, sit down and look at the sea or land while on ports, having the chance to dine outside is great when weather permit it. Overall we loved the Waterfront, so many things to do there and so many small areas to sit.

 

MAIN RESTAURANTS

 

The Manhattan room on deck 7, Savor and Taste on deck 6 are the main dining restaurants, they are complimentary. Despite we were sailing at full occupancy, they never seem to be over crowded, we eat almost every night on Savor or Taste, the most informal ones, and one night at the Manhattan room, more formal. Dress code for Savor and Taste is Resort style, Shorts and t-shirts are ok. Manhattan room is Casual, long pants are required for men; Polo shirts and Casual shirts are ok. Not formal dressing is required (no suits need, but this is the place if you want to dress up).

 

Overall food was good and all 3 of them, service at Savor and Taste was OK, we found only one waiter that really stood out for his good service, George. We are not demanding people and not looking for royal treatment, but we felt that overall service was lacking the good service we had encounter on the other NCL ships before.

 

SPECIALTY RESTAURANTS

 

We only visited Ocean Blue, the seafood restaurant, service was great, starting from the Hostess which was very engaging, and the Cesar the Maître D and his staff, they were AMAZING, attempting to every detail. Food was great, I ordered the Wild Salmon, which was perfectly cooked, but I did not care for the Crispy Potatoes on top, really? Potato chips on top of salmon in an upscale restaurant? I was expecting something more refined like truffles or even mushrooms but not fried potato chips, that was a bit of disappointment. Other than that everything was perfect, for appetizer I ordered Mussels Tom Ka Gai, they were wonderful, sauce was superb. My partner ordered Black Sea Bass for main course and Crispy calamari for appetizer and although he is not a Seafood person, he liked them.

 

BUFFET

 

In my opinion they did great with the design of this area of the ship, they did split it in 2, on every side of the back of the ship. Usually in other NCL ships we always had a hard time finding seating at the buffet, that was not the case on the BA, we went for breakfast many times there and we never had to look for more than a few moments to find at seat. Food stations are almost the same in both sides of the buffet with few differences, overall food was OK, but not as good as on the other ships we have been. I miss the different fix stations they have in others; I miss the Asian and Indian Stations. They did have Asian and Indian dishes but only one or so of each, but not as many as on the others.

 

Late night Buffet was a great option, although was almost the same every night. For after midnight eating was O’Sheehan’s, regular late night menu, burger and fish and chips.

 

POOLS AND WATER RIDES

 

Pools are not very big; it is a pool for adults and others for kids; they are always activities and games hosted by the cruise staff people.

 

The water rides are great, the red and blue FREE FALL are awesome, we went down them many times and we had a lot of fun, they are pretty safe and not just for kids; they are a great attraction among adults. The other water rides are also great, a lot of fun. Let your inner child to come out and have fun.

 

Sun decks are always busy but a difference than the other NCL ships we have been on it, we had not much of a difficult time to find a chair, of course on the shaded area but we were always out and about so no really much time to sunbathing, but for those who want to do so, we find it not so hard to find a place for it. Sundecks are throughout deck 14 and 15 and on deck 16 at Spice H2O on the back of the ship.

 

The Vibe beach club is the private sundeck, charge is $78 for the whole week and $30 for a day. Passes are limited and although they are sell out rather quickly, it seems that people who buy them not use the area very often, it looks not so busy all the time. They are sold at the front desk on deck 6 upon boarding of the ship, not sold online.

 

ROPE COURSE AND THE PLANK

 

They are great, we did not have the change to do it because they were always busy and on the last sea day on the way to New York, we had very high wings remnants of hurricane Arthur so by noon they close down the course. We will do it for sure on our next cruise on the BA.

 

KIDS AND TEENS

 

Splash academy for the little ones and Entourage lounge for the Teens seem to be very popular among them.

 

THE SHOPS

 

They are located on deck 8 along with the photo store.

The photo store created a new way to see your pictures taken during the cruise, on you key card you will find a number that correspond to the binder were all your pictures are kept, they do not display them anymore throughout the whole gallery, they do display some of the more recent ones. They also have digital screens were you can order copies directly. A great and smart improvement.

 

PARTIES AND ENTERTAINMENT

 

The Cruise Director and her staff they are always running activities throughout the whole day; From bingo, Deal or No deal, Pool games, etc. and of course the nightly parties on deck 16 at Spice H2O.

 

Everything start with the Sail away party at 4 pm on the first day, and every night is a different party with different themes, Night Out, 70’s, 80’s, top 40’s and the farewell party on the last night.

 

Spice H2O and the parties held every night here are a big success. Out of all the cruises we had been on, this is the first time we have seen this parties so packed. Of course is twice the people than the other ships, but I believe the reason for the high attendance to this parties is because is an open space and children and teens are allow, so this bring the whole family together. It was really nice to see so many people on the dance floor, really entertaining.

 

We attended the Farewell party, the Night Out party, the Glow party (also known as the White Party) and the 80’s party. Fireworks were display at the 80’s party, was amazing to have this event at sea.

 

Some reviews complain about the noise coming from this parties that can be heard from the balconies AFT, especially after midnight. We were in a midship balcony on deck 9 and one night I opened the balcony door and I could hear the music from the party at Spice H2O, but once the balcony door was locked, was hardly easy to listen anything, just a distant beating. But as I said, we were midship so I cannot speak for the balconies closer to the party.

 

SHOWS

 

Theater is beautiful; it has a Box office at the entrance for reservations and questions you may have about the shows. They are touch screens all over the ship where you can do yourself reservations for shows and restaurants. Theater is smaller, just one level, different than the 2 levels the Stardust theater has in other ships. Now is called the Breakaway Theater.

 

Rock of ages, Burn the floor and Second city are free shows, although you need to make reservations if you want to guarantee to get a seat at the desired time, they are always seats available and you can get them at the stand by line before the show start. Cirque Dreams Jungle Fantasy is a pay dinner show, $40.

 

ROCK OF AGES was a good show; I have seen the original show on Broadway in NYC once and twice in AC. It was a good rendition, especially since they edited out some of the slow scenes on the original show to make it shorter. It is a show no just for the adult, but many of the teens seem to enjoy the show and the music.

 

BURN THE FLOOR was my favorite; I saw the original Australian show a few years ago in Las Vegas and was amazing and a couple of years later in NYC. The BA version is a concise version of it but the choreography is great, the dancers are wonderful; we saw this show 3 times during this cruise. Twice at the BA theater and once at the Manhattan room when they performed at the restaurant’s dance floor. We only reserved seat for the first performance.

 

SECOND CITY COMEDY CLUB was OK, I am not a big fan of comedy but they did great, it was a 7 pm show, so it was a family show with a lot of kids and teens attending. The Second City staff did well; I wish I have attended one of the late night shows more suited for adults only.

 

HOWL AT THE MOON or the dueling pianos at headliners was good, although they are not great singers, they pretty good knowing so many songs, and they are funny. A good show to watch.

 

FAT CATS JAZZ & BLUES CLUB, we stopped by for a little while. I am not a huge fan of jazz but I can say that the band is good.

 

SPA AND FITNESS CENTER

 

Spa is beautiful and big, we did a tour of it and were amazed by. Spa is on deck 15 (entrance, beauty salon, spa thermal suit, and the wet area. ) and 14 (treatment rooms). Staff is really friendly and knowledgeable. We talked with some of the Massage Therapist and got quick sample of some of the treatments and made appointments for massages on the last port day (cheaper than sea days).

 

Fitness center is also located on deck 15 right before the Spa. Is split in 2 areas on both sides of the hallway towards the Spa. On the right side is the Cardio area, and on the left side is the weight lifting area and spinning and kickboxing room. In my opinion it is a very smart design dividing the fitness center in 2, If you only like cardio machines you do not have to even step up on the weight lifting area and vice versa. WL area has windows facing the hallway (which make it dark) and Cardio area has windows facing the ocean (which bring a lot of natural light).

 

ROOM STEWARD

 

Our room was always impeccable and ready, cleaned twice a day, although I have to say, I never saw our steward face until the last 2 days when I went looking for him to get some body lotion, but I mentioned before, we were always out and about and we do not think that stewards should be your personal maids as some reviews complain about them no doing anything above and beyond for them. We think that as long the cabin is kept clean and stacked with towels and supplies, we are OK. I made a couple of requests leaving a note and they were promptly attended by him.

 

CRUISE DIRECTOR AND STAFF

 

Julie Valeriotte was our CD and I have to say, out of all the other CD before, she is the most energetic and active CD we have ever encountered. From the Sail away party to the good bye at the door at the end of the cruise, she was always present, always engaging with the guests, whether were kids, teens or adult. She always had time to talk to you and make sure you are having a good time. At the parties she always stayed dancing away and making sure that her staffs entertain the guests. Despite her high energy, her staff is kinda lacking off, they need a bit more training perhaps.

 

DISEMBARKATION

 

We opted for self-carrying our bags out of the ship. We packed the night before and went for breakfast to the buffet before 9 am. It was really crowed as never before especially because most of the passengers brought their carry-on bags with them. We always leave our bags in the cabin and return for them after breakfast. You really do not need to bring them to the buffet with you; it will be easier for you and the other guest if you let them in your cabin while you are having your last breakfast on the ship.

 

After breakfast we left the ship and found the way thru the pier building moving really slow since is only to escalators down for so many people and 1 elevator for the elderly and disable people.

 

Immigration was a breeze; the agent only looked at the passport and blue paper and kept the last one, that was it, not passport stamps, no questions asked.

 

BERMUDA

 

Weather was good, we got some rain on Wednesday morning and we had to change our beach plans, we went to the crystal caves, had a great time there and went to Horseshoe bay beach later. It is a nice beach, very crowed because is one of the few that have changing rooms and showers and a small cafe. You can get there by bus. We also visited the Gibb’s Hill Lighthouse. Great views of the island from there.

 

We visited Hamilton (the capital) the first night, we were told and read so much about the harbor nights but we found to be a big disappointment. It was supposed to be local music, but it was only some kind of flea market with cute Bermuda stuff and also food vendors and on the main stage some performances, but nothing really worth the time. I believe the same Wednesday night it is some kind of music festival at the dockyards.

 

Next day we went to St. George, nice small town, we walked the town, we saw the unfinished church and headed to Tobacco bay and fort St. Catherine. We even so the Bermuda’s Prime Minister on Tobacco bay, as they were in an official visit to the town of St. George.

 

At afternoon we went back to Hamilton and stroll around the city. The main shopping are located on front street, they advertised as same prices than US but not taxes. No so much of an incentive for people like us that live in a state with non-taxes in clothing. Maybe good for watches and jewelry.

 

Last day we stayed around the dockyard area. We went to Summerset parish and walked the rail tracks for about 2 hours and finished in Long Park beach. It is a quiet beach, shallow water, very relaxing time.

 

We visited the clock tower shops at the dockyards, as well as the glass factory and the rum cake factory and the Bermuda Museum at the Naval dock yards.

 

We bought the 3 day pass ($35) for the ferries and buses but probably would be enough with only the 2 day pass ($25) since the last day the ship leaves Bermuda by 5 pm.

 

CRUISE CRITIC MEET AND GREET

 

We attended the M&G party at La Cucina restaurant on the first sea day. We had a moderate big group, we met really nice people, and after the meeting we went to the casino for the slot pull. We putted $15 each and had no good luck at all, after everybody did their pull we had won only $3 pp, so we decided to keep rolling and see what happens. Lady luck did not show and we lost all the money.

 

FREE STYLE CRUISING

 

Over all we think that was a great cruise, the design of the ship is amazing and very smart; it seems that they thought about almost every detail and even sailing a full capacity with 4000+ passengers it does not look overcrowded and is due the fact that are so many places to eat, drink and seat. With 29 places to eat and 22 bars and lounges you will always find a place to have a good time. Some reviews complaining about been overcrowded, well, I guess when they booked the cruise, they did not pay attention to that small, detail, they are 4000+ passengers and 1600+ crew members, meaning, it is a small town a float, if you want intimacy, you better look for small ships.

 

I have loved the Breakaway since the moment NCL reveled the details of this ship and I couldn’t wait to sail on her and did not disappointed us. NCL did a great job with this ship.

 

We love free style cruising, we love not to have to dress up, we are in vacation, we want to be relaxed and comfortable. We like to dine anytime we want, not at the same time every night, that’s why we love NCL and free style cruising.

 

We loved the BA so much that when we got home and open the mailbox we found an offer from CAS for another cruise in many other ships but we decided for sailing the BA again in November for thanksgiving week.

 

I only hope that we will have Julie as our CD again.

[rochelle_s]

Thanks for taking the time for your very detailed review. Sounds like you had a wonderful time!! Hope your next cruise is equally as enjoyable. Any luck in the casino?

 

 

Rochelle

[teseo]

Thanks for taking the time for your very detailed review. Sounds like you had a wonderful time!! Hope your next cruise is equally as enjoyable. Any luck in the casino?

 

 

Rochelle

 

Thanks Rochelle.

 

Yes we had an awesome time, we are big fans of NCL and we love the BA. The Gem was always our favorite but BA took over now :D

 

No much of a gambler, but no, no much of good luck in the casino, but i did my "donation", at least enough to pay for the free drinks, lol lol. My partner had better luck.

[MATHA531]

I was on the cruise the following week and you did a great job describing most everything about the ship.

[PathfinderEss]

Thanks for your review and glad you had a great cruise.

[peg013]

Great review. Thanks for taking the time to write it. I'm glad you enjoyed your cruise. We have 75 more days until we'll be on the BA to Bermuda. :)

[meatball_nyc]

Great review. Thanks!

Breakaway is a great ship. It sounds like you did just about everything :)

Happy Cruising!!

 

 

~Robin

Norwegian Breakaway July 2014

Carnival Miracle 2010

Carnival Legend 2006

[camz]

Great Review! It was nice being able to read your entire review altogether with no breaks and comments from other posters in between. Well Done!! :)

[cruisingcasinos]

Great Review. Thanks for taking the time. I sail the BA in 4 more Sundays!!!! Did CAS have a cocktail party?

[lbocola]

thank you for writing the review!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[KirkNC]

Thanks for the report!

[Kayaktom]

We are very interested in trying the new NCL ships. I think you convinced us.

[$hip$hape]

"Julie Valeriotte was our CD and I have to say, out of all the other CD before, she is the most energetic and active CD we have ever encountered."

 

I'll have to agree...

[jrm116]

Thanks for the review! Very detailed and informative! Got me even more excited! Hopefully my cruise will be as fun as yours! :D

[SissasMomE]

Great review!

[Agr8RN]

Great review. I sailed may 11 and it was awesome. Loved the ship and I agree - Julie was a great cruise director.

 

 

Amanda

You're not Living, if you're not cruising!

 

Upcoming cruises:

Celebrity Reflection - 11/15/14 nursing cruise seminar

[Keith1010]

I enjoyed reading your review.

 

Keith

[lessonsinliving]

Reading your review made me even more excited for my cruise (I didn't think that was possible)!! Thank you for sharing :)