NCL Breakaway Haven Suite Review | Lots of Pictures

[brian99]

Atlantis by brian_2199, on Flickr

 

Brian & Tiffany at Bahamas by brian_2199, on Flickr

 

Breakaway docked in Nassau by brian_2199, on Flickr

 

Lighthouse Nassau Bahamas by brian_2199, on Flickr

 

Sunset in Nassau by brian_2199, on Flickr

 

Sunset in Nassau by brian_2199, on Flickr

[brian99]

Day 6 & 7 are kind of a blur so I’ll finish the review with some random pictures plus my thoughts on the haven, shows, restaurants, etc…

 

Video of the Halloween Parade:

 

We hit some really rough seas on the last day. It was as bad or worse than out last cruise on the jewel during hurricane Sandy. Here are two short videos of the wake from our balcony, the first one early in the trip with perfectly calm seas and the second with very rough seas.

[brian99]

Ready for dinner by brian_2199, on Flickr

 

Breakaway chandelier by brian_2199, on Flickr

 

Breakaway chandelier by brian_2199, on Flickr

 

Time change by brian_2199, on Flickr

The time change is supposed to be at 2am Sunday but NCL changed the ships time Saturday at 2am. I suppose this is to cause less confusion during disembarkation Sunday morning.

[brian99]

Breakaway Halloween Parade by brian_2199, on Flickr

 

Breakaway Halloween Parade by brian_2199, on Flickr

 

Breakaway Halloween Parade by brian_2199, on Flickr

 

Breakaway Halloween Parade by brian_2199, on Flickr

 

Breakaway Halloween Parade by brian_2199, on Flickr

[brian99]

Breakaway Halloween Parade by brian_2199, on Flickr

 

Breakaway Halloween Parade by brian_2199, on Flickr

 

Breakaway Halloween Parade by brian_2199, on Flickr

 

Breakaway Halloween Parade by brian_2199, on Flickr

 

Breakaway Halloween Parade by brian_2199, on Flickr

 

Breakaway Halloween Party by brian_2199, on Flickr

[brian99]

Some random pictures I didn't include in the review:

 

Teppanyaki by brian_2199, on Flickr

 

Teppanyaki by brian_2199, on Flickr

 

Moon by brian_2199, on Flickr

[brian99]

Healthy snacks from butler by brian_2199, on Flickr

 

Snacks from butler by brian_2199, on Flickr

 

Plenty of coffee pods by brian_2199, on Flickr

 

Happy Anniversary Cake by brian_2199, on Flickr

[brian99]

Final breakfast on balcony by brian_2199, on Flickr

 

Towel Animals by brian_2199, on Flickr

 

Waterfront by brian_2199, on Flickr

 

Deck 8 Aft by brian_2199, on Flickr

 

Deck 8 Aft Signage by brian_2199, on Flickr

[brian99]

Breakaway chandelier by brian_2199, on Flickr

 

Breakaway chandelier by brian_2199, on Flickr

[L-in-CLT]

Thanks so much for all the great photos!!!!

[brian99]

Entrance to Haven by brian_2199, on Flickr

 

Entrance to Haven by brian_2199, on Flickr

 

Concierge Desk by brian_2199, on Flickr

 

Haven Bar by brian_2199, on Flickr

[brian99]

Haven Pool Area by brian_2199, on Flickr

 

Haven Sun Deck by brian_2199, on Flickr

 

Haven Roof by brian_2199, on Flickr

 

Entrance to Haven by brian_2199, on Flickr

[brian99]

Cirque Jungle Fantasy – I mentioned this earlier in the review, by far my favorite show.

 

Rock of Ages – Great show, I’m not a fan of most Broadway shows but I thoroughly enjoyed this one.

 

Burn the Floor – This was a very well performed show. An hour of Latin dancing was too much for me but my wife loved it.

 

Howl at the moon / Dueling Pianos – Loved it. We stopped by for about an hour three times, always entertaining.

 

Alcohol Tastings – There was a tasting each sea day at Shakers and we did all three, Martini, Mojito and Margarita. For $15 you get 4-6 different drinks over the course of about an hour as well as a lot information about each drink.

 

Alcohol Tip – Standard mixed drinks (like a Captain and Pepsi) are $7.50 and include 1.5oz of alcohol. You can ask for a double (3oz alcohol and double the soda) for only $10.50. You’ll either save money buying half as many drinks or get twice as drunk.

 

Aft Elevators – At first we thought the aft elevators were really slow. Then we realized half of them only go to the 15th deck and half go to 16. If you push the button on one side, it only calls those elevators, if you push the button on both sides it will call all the elevators. This is a poor design because the elevators were constantly stopping at floors when no one was there, people pushed both buttons but got on an elevator on the other side.

 

Bingo – I suppose this is a cruise staple but I didn’t enjoy it at all. You pay $30-$60 for three games and it looked like they paid out about 10% of the money they brought in.

 

Dining – We purchased the ultimate dining package and had dinner at specialty restaurants six times plus Cirque the first night so the package more than paid off. My favorite restaurant was actually La Cucina which was a complete surprise because I hated it on the Jewel. Le Bistro was my second favorite, we ate there twice. Moderno, Teppanyaki and Cagneys were all great. If you want an extra special dinner get a reservation for 30 minutes before sunset and request a table on the waterfront, book early since those times sell out fast. At Le Bistro there are three menu items that cost an extra $10, those are free with the UDP. We would have spent $179 if we didn’t have the UDP.

 

Concierge – Anoop was great, we made all of our dinner reservations through him and only once he was unable to accommodate us for the time we wanted. We also changed our dinner reservations and show times several times, never a problem. Most nights he would stop by while we were having dinner to check in and see is we needed anything.

 

Butler – Carlos was the best. We ordered breakfast each morning and it was usually delivered within 30 minutes. He also brought us treats each afternoon and kept us fully stocked with our favorite coffee pods, milk, ice, limes, pepsi and diet pepsi to go with our bar setup. There was also a fruit bowl in the room that was replenished as we ate it.

 

Haven – The Haven area is beautiful and there was rarely anyone there. The small pool was never used and one of the two hot tubs was always empty, the sun deck was also usually empty. There was a table with juice, water, cookies and candies all the time and servers would regularly walk around with fresh fruit on a stick. Several of the staff knew us by name which was very welcoming.

 

An amusing story about the haven restaurant maitre d – We had lunch there on the first day and he asked our name and room number. That night for dinner he greeted us by name and a few days later he saw us elsewhere on the ship and greeted us by name. My wife was very impressed that he recognized us. On the last day I went to the haven by myself to take some pictures. When the maitre d saw me he asked “Can I help you sir?” he had no idea who I was. I guess my wife is more recognizable than me.

 

Compared to the Jewel I liked the Breakaway much better, although you can’t beat the Jewel’s garden villa. There was always something to do and it never felt crowded. I think I’m hooked on mega ships from now on.

 

That’s all I have to say about that…

 

If anyone has questions feel free to ask.

[JMHAM1]

Great review and I would guess that they would all recognize your wife. Maybe it's the blonde hair. I do think you look a bit like the late, great Christoper Reeve....aka Superman so not too shabby.

 

The room looked great and that balcony! It would take a lot for me and DH to ever leave the room!

[dexddd]

Was Jellyrose working as Haven bartender? Rowena working in there too? They were great. We went in March and Haven area was pretty busy most of the time other than after dinner.

[gerry1.10]

Great review and I would guess that they would all recognize your wife. Maybe it's the blonde hair. I do think you look a bit like the late, great Christoper Reeve....aka Superman so not too shabby.

 

The room looked great and that balcony! It would take a lot for me and DH to ever leave the room!

 

I think more like Seth Macfarlane. check it out ladies. lol

[cmdchiefthom]

Spectacular photos and a great review......thanks so much for sharing.:D

[grandpa1961]

We had an aft facing penthouse on the starboard side in OCT of 2013 when we sailed to Bermuda. The room is to die for and the Staff was incredible from beginning to end. Going on our second cruise in Feb, a 12 day on the breakaway...penthouse is $14000 and a little steep for me....hoping the price comes down to $8000. I'm currently booked in a Spa suite.

[Cruise a holic]

We had an aft facing penthouse on the starboard side in OCT of 2013 when we sailed to Bermuda. The room is to die for and the Staff was incredible from beginning to end. Going on our second cruise in Feb, a 12 day on the breakaway...penthouse is $14000 and a little steep for me....hoping the price comes down to $8000. I'm currently booked in a Spa suite.

We will be sailing on the Breakaway in August. We also got a great deal on a forward facing penthouse- since it was so reasonable (compared to the Celebrity Suite on the summit) We took the "all inclusive package".

 

Looking forward to our first NCL cruise! Would have loved the aft facing penthouse- but the price was significantly more. Like you, if the price does drop to a more affordable rate- we will switch.

Edited November 27, 2014 by Cruise a holic

[fuzzel]

 

That is quite some liquor :)

 

I understand that one just calls up the PCC and get this arranged, but do you have any more detail on what this set you back and what got along with it?

[brian99]

That is quite some liquor :)

 

I understand that one just calls up the PCC and get this arranged, but do you have any more detail on what this set you back and what got along with it?

 

I think we spent about $500. The Captain Morgan was around $90 and the sparkling wine was $35 each. We got Pepsi and diet Pepsi plus lime wedges with the Captain and ordered OJ each morning to make mimosas. $90 for a liter of alcohol sounds expensive but it's a little cheaper than ordering one drink at a time at a bar, and you can't beat the convenience of mixing drinks on your room.

 

If you do a search for "bar setup" you'll find a thread with a complete selection of alcohol and mixers.

[fuzzel]

I think we spent about $500. The Captain Morgan was around $90 and the sparkling wine was $35 each. We got Pepsi and diet Pepsi plus lime wedges with the Captain and ordered OJ each morning to make mimosas. $90 for a liter of alcohol sounds expensive but it's a little cheaper than ordering one drink at a time at a bar, and you can't beat the convenience of mixing drinks on your room.

 

If you do a search for "bar setup" you'll find a thread with a complete selection of alcohol and mixers.

 

Thanks. I had found the bar setup links already, but it seems that per-ship it kinda varies what they actually deliver along with it, hence why I was wondering.

 

We'll definitely order a bottle or two of Amaretto (will be only for 12 days thus should be more than enough for two especially as my lady does not drink too strong drinks) and then likely just bring a few bottles of Rose's Lime onboard ourselves to mix it with next to Coca Cola of course for other purposes (indeed I am not a fan of Pepsi, but Pepsi out of a tapwater mixer is even worse, though it can do when needed).

 

The primary reason is not pricing (though they do list a bottle of Amaretto at 100 instead of the 30 that it normally goes for over here), but simply that the mixes they make on the boat are subpar to that combination, kind of depends of course to what one is used to.

[cruisesXO]

Thank you for the dailies & pictures. Dec 13 is ourweek!!

[cruisesXO]

EOS_1285_PC by brian_2199, on Flickr

 

EOS_1286_PC by brian_2199, on Flickr

 

EOS_1306_PC by brian_2199, on Flickr

 

EOS_1314_PC by brian_2199, on Flickr[/QUO