Breakaway 12/21/2014 - Just Back

[MACE]

A quick review of our Christmas 12/21/14 cruise:

 

This is our 2nd NCL cruise, last one was on the Sun in 2002, our 23rd cruise overall. (10 CCL, 10 RCI, 1 Premier Big Red Boat aka Oceanic)

 

Embarkation-Arrived @ Pier 88 at 10am, checked in and waiting for boarding by 10:25 (we scored boarding #7). Ship cleared to board around 11:45

 

Cabin: Our Mini-Suite MA balcony cabin 14196 Port side was ready and we met our Cabin Stewart Renson who was 'spot on and brilliant' for the duration of the cruise. I actually recommend him as our "Hero" for our cruise to the Assistant Hotel Director, and that night he sent us a nice plate of decadent chocolate samples to our cabin. The cabin and balcony is smaller than we're used to compared to CCL and RCI, but it sufficed with no problems, especially with the extra large double sink bathroom and a large shower with 6 Jets...always had hot showers which matters a lot to my wife and daughter.

 

Food: No lines in the Garden Cafe for and very easy to find a window seat for our first meal, Embarkation Day, not so easy the rest of the cruise during main eating times for all meals, though eating off hours from everyone else, usually promoted smaller lines and available tables. Just keep walking around as the stations repeat and you'll find smaller lines. We thought the buffet food was above average for the duration of the sailing. Also thought the MDR food (tried all 3) was just average, though our last meal and service Friday in Taste was just excellent, and IMHO, the Surf&Turf Dinner for the Saturday night Cirque Dreams Jungle Fantasy produced one of the best steaks I've had in a long time! O'Sheehans Wings were disappointing, their Chicken Pot Pie was ok, but I do have to say their Meatloaf and Corned Beef Sandwich on toasted Rye, were really good.

 

Free Style Dinning: I give it a 8 out of 10, we had reservations @ 8:30 the first night in the Manhattan Room and it was chaos because NCL had only one line for everyone who made reservations, mingled with all the Freestyle folks with no reservations. No signs stating how the line works, nor no staff the first night walking the line, explaining how it works and/or asking for those with reservations to step up. However, that never happened the rest of the cruise with our reservations for all the MDRs, never had to wait in a line longer than 5 minutes, sometimes we were able to walk right in

 

 

**NOTE: NCL rearranged a couple of shows to fit in their Holiday Christmas At Sea Performance for Christmas Night on Thursday and it did mess with with our pre-cruise reserved MDR times, we went with the flow, did Freestyle once and decided to have dinner in the Garden Cafe another time -vs- our reserved Savor time, in order to make the rearranged show times for Burn the Floor and Rock Of Ages.

 

Shows: Our Teenage Daughter said Rock of Ages was her favorite. I liked Cirque Dreams Jungle Fantasy, Second City, and Dance Like a Norwegian Show in the Atrium (IMHO, too small a venue to hold all the shows NCL staged there...but get there early, and you'll find a seat). Rock of Ages was good (damn, was my butt sore after sitting in those Theater seats for 1HR45MIN!), Burn the Floor was just ok.

 

Ports of Call- Sorta winged it @ all 3:

-Port Canaveral: Rented a car (tuned out to be a 2015 model and only spent $2 on gas, total cost $49) and went to Brevard Zoo, the Ron Jon Surf Shop, swimming at Cocoa Beach, and got some lunch at the Cocoa Beach Pier

--GSC: Got on the island around 10am, snorkeled, enjoyed the BBQ lunch, shopped, and got back early to the ship to enjoy some empty pools and hot tubs

---Nassau: All shops closed for Christmas, even quite a few in the straw Market, got a taxi @ $4 a pax and went to Atlantis and bought the Aqua Adventure pass for access to everything on the property. Very crowded but also very enjoyable, the Leap Of Faith and Rapid River Ride were awesome.

 

Christmas: The BA was decorated really nice for the Holidays-Trees, X-Mas displays, wreaths, staff wearing Santa Hats, the Christmas Show, Santa handing out presents in the Atrium, Christmas music and videos playing through out the ship...a very nice Holiday touch, not to mention sipping tropical drinks with warm Bahamian breezes blowing through the palm trees, while lounging around Atlantis and then offset by visiting the NCL Ice Bar at a cold 18 degrees, once back on board. Truly a Christmas Day we'll remember!

 

Officers and Crew: Many chances to see and meet the Officers and crew during the various shows, all quite personable. Met the performers of Rock of Ages hanging out @ the Lagoon on GSC. One day after a show, I was wearing a RCI T-Shirt and when leaving the theater, the officers were lined up on both sides of the hallway, with the Captain being last in line on the left: he saw my RCI shirt, laughed, and wagged his finger in the No No Gesture at me and smiled...I thought that was pretty funny and cool.

 

Debarkation: It was noted you had to be out of your cabin by 8:30AM. Renson allowed us to stay till 9:30AM if we wanted, so we chose the Green colored tags for 9:30 "Independent" debarkation, put our luggage out Saturday night, and Sunday morning, we had a leisurely sit down breakfast in Savor around 8:15, leaving our carry offs in our cabin, went back to 14196, and had our color called about 30 minutes early. Perfect timing. Slight wait for the elevators from deck 14 to deck 7 aft, and out to the terminal to claim our luggage, pass through customs just showing one declaration card for our family plus photo IDs for each, took the outside elevator to floor 2 for curb side pickup by our son (who also timed it just right) and was waiting for us, and away we left to go home from a really good cruise on the NCL Breakaway!

Edited December 28, 2014 by MACE

[MandyMommyof2]

Sounds like a great way to spend Christmas! We were actually talking about doing the same thing for next year. :) I really enjoyed reading your review.

[ncklhaus]

Welcome back MACE.

Thanks for your review. Glad you had a good time.

Do you feel the Atlantis water park was worth the $$? Would you have gone there if the rest of the island wasn't closed for Christmas? I keep debating whether to go there or not.

[MACE]

JoAnn, after we found shopping was closed, the choices that interested us where: a Island Tour, Blue Lagoon, and Atlantis.

 

IMHO, my ladies would have shopped till they dropped if the stores where open, then would have wanted to go over to Atlantis for some fun in the sun, which I would have totally supported.

 

I do believe for our day, the Atlantis Aquaventure was the best choice that satisfied all of us and the $$ spent was a really good experience! You also get to see the the many Aquariums and pools, the Dig, the Dolphin Pen, the Predator Lagoon, swim @ the Atlantis Beach, and SHOP at the Coral and Royal Towers (did I say my ladies love to shop...lol)

Edited December 28, 2014 by MACE

[megals12]

I was on the same trip (thanks Matt for organizing the wonderful meet & greet). As someone who has read A LOT on cruise critic (love the information shared and never posted), thought I'd join the conversation.

 

This was my first time on NCL (I've been in multiple Carnival and RC), first time sailing during the holidays and first time departing from NYC. I was traveling from my parents, adult siblings and boyfriend-- six of us total (in 3 cabins).

 

Parking/Arrival- We were arriving from the suburbs of Philadelphia and after MANY hours researching transportation options to NYC, decided to drive and park at the port. It was $280 and although pricey, the ease and convenience of parking at the port was well worth it. We arrived by 9:30am, had no lines or waits to check-in-- and received group 7 boarding.

 

Boarding/Vibe Purchase- Boarding was simple and easy. We walked on the ship around 11:45am. We immediately went to Guest Services to purchase the weekly Vibe pass (more on that later). Because they only sell 80 passes a trip, it was important for us to do that immediately. We were the 4th group in line and easily secured our passes. Rooms were announced ready at around 1pm. We had lunch at Savor, no wait-- it was a perfect way to sit, relax and start the trip with a good meal.

 

Cabins- Our group had 3 cabins. We purchased two outside cabins with a balcony upgrade. By some Christmas miracle, those two cabins were assigned to an AFT BALCONY (11914 and 11314). And room 11914 was disabled accessible and was a palace in comparison to other rooms. While I would never purposely book a disabled room-- being assigned to this cabin was absolutely wonderful. We highly enjoyed being on the AFT. Especially on the at sea days traveling back north-- when the rest of the ship was cool and windy, our balconies were warm, sunny and quiet. My parents were in a spa balcony on deck 14. While they found their balcony room small, they highly enjoyed the spa access (the rest of our group ended up purchasing spa access for the week, as well, more on that below).

 

Entertainment- I thought the entertainment was fantastic. Bringing in outside "brands" offered a lot of options and the best talent I've seen on a ship. Julie was our Cruise Director-- she was been with the Breakaway since it entered the fleet. Her team seemed like a well-oiled machine. I was impressed. Rock of Ages-- a little long, uncomfortable seats in the theater but top-notch talent and if you grew up listening to 80's rock, it was fantastic. Burn the Floor-- I enjoyed it more than I thought I would. High energy, 1 hour show. Second City-- LOVED this. Talented cast and fun, great venue. Howl @ the Moon-- if you love audience participation and sing-a-longs...you'll be in heaven. We also did the ropes course, water slides, bingo, art auction, staff talent show etc. My only negative of the entertainment was the uncomfortable seats of the Breakaway Theater and the Atrium (where many smaller shows were staged). The Atrium is crowded and not set-up well for a lot of people.

 

Spa & Vibe Passes- Our group purchased the weekly spa passes ($199) and the Vibe ($79). We all agreed, these were well worth it. Having access to the thermal spa (especially when leaving from NYC in colder months) made our days at sea wonderful. The Vibe (a private section of deck 17) allowed us a quiet, uncrowded space for time in the sun. It was never full (and the ship was at capacity). If you want to avoid the crowds and drama of saving deck-chairs-- Vibe is the way to go!

 

Ports/Excursions- We chose to stay on the ship for Port Canaveral. We were disappointed with the tendering process at Great Stirrup Cay. It took at over an hour from the time we got in line to depart and actually sit in a beach chair. I was excited for the private island experience (loved Labadee, Royal Caribbean) but this seemed like much more of a process and VERY crowded once you arrived. Part of our group choose to do the Atlantis Aquapark excursion. While it was pricey and VERY crowded (the resort was sold out and two other cruises were also in port), we thought it was worth it. If you enjoy water slides, it was a blast!

 

Holidays at Sea-- I thought NCL did a nice job getting in the holiday spirit. Christmas trees, decorations, gingerbread houses throughout the ship. Holiday music played on the general speakers starting Tuesday through when we departed. They organized a special holiday show for Christmas night (a nice addition). Santa visited the ship. Special holiday menu on Christmas night in the dining rooms. Fireworks were on Christmas Eve (a nice timing touch). Lots of crew in Santa hats, etc. You could tell Julie (Cruise Director) and staff put a lot of thought in how to celebrate and make the week a festive one. We appreciated it!

 

Other misc. things-- I thought the accessibility of the crew (I saw the Captain, Hotel Director, Cruise Director) many times throughout the trip was wonderful. The crew, even during a holiday week, was upbeat, friendly and enjoyable to be around. Burgers/salad/waffle fries at Uptown Restaurant were fantastic. Buffet breakfast (after 9am) in the Moderno is a secret gem. Water slides on the ship were surprisingly fast and fun! We walked off with our luggage (off the ship around 7:40am) and had a very fast and easy debarkation process. The ship still looks fantastic/new. The modern decor was a welcome change from the older ships I've been on with Royal Caribbean and Carnival.

 

All in all-- our group had a wonderful time and are already planning our next cruise (thinking about Quantum of the Seas).

[xcell]

Was it cold on the sea day there?

 

How much was the Atlantis adventure? Through the ship or on your own?

[megals12]

We paid $159pp through the ship for Atlantis-- but my understanding is that price changes based on the capacity of the Atlantis (we paid on the high side).

 

It was chilly on the first/last sea days (in the 50's). Our weather the rest of the time (in FL, Bahamas and first day back at sea coming north) was wonderful. Sunny and in the 70's. We lucked out.

[Dave85]

Greatly enjoyed reading both reviews on this thread. I've never done a Christmas cruise before but fully expect to do so one day. Thanks for sharing -- glad to hear you both had a great time on Breakaway.

[dcollette]

Thank you for your review. We have previously been on BA and will be sailing again September/Oct 2015 and was wondering what recent guests have been experiencing. Sounds like you had a wonderful holiday and thank you again for sharing with us!!

[MACE]

Megals12: forgot about the breakfast Buffet available in Moderno every morning from 9-11am on deck 8/Aft...I imagine the food was the same as in the Garden Cafe but probably a lot less crowded for finding a seat!

 

A couple of mornings we just walked up from our deck 14 Aft cabin to the Garden Cafe on deck 15, and filled up a tray that our Cabin Stewart provided to us, with some plates and brought breakfast back down to our cabin to enjoy on the balcony.

 

Agree about the weather on Sunday and Monday being cold. The ship was really rocking part of Monday with some rough seas. The sea days Friday and Saturday were sunny and warm enough to be out on the decks or our balcony for tanning.

 

My wife and daughter tendered ashore to GSC around 10am and told me they were able to walk right onto the tender with no wait. I left at 10:30 and did have to wait in the Theater for about 15-20 minutes for a tender to become available, then wait another 5-10 minutes for the tender to fill up before we left. FWIW, we really enjoyed the Jerk Chicken and BBQ ribs provided for lunch, the burgers and hot dogs (with all the trimmings) were fine as well, plus NCL had their Sabrett Hotdog cart on the island

 

In regards to Atlantis, we didn't make any reservations pre-cruise in case the weather was bad and/or my wife and daughter just wanted to stay in Nassau and just went to the Atlantis Experience desk in the Coral Towers and purchased their all access pass for $139 each, admit it was pricey, but as you said, we thought it was worth it, especially after visiting all the different activities and attractions available.

 

My wife was busting my chops all day today as every 3 hours or so, I kept going to the fridge looking for something to eat...she said I was in food detox...lol...she then made us a large chicken pot pie for dinner. (I wonder where she got that idea from?)

 

All in all, a great cruise on the BA!

Edited December 29, 2014 by MACE

[MACE]

For my fellow BA 12/21/14 Cruisers:

 

May have missed it but was there a Latitudes/Repeater party and a Lobster Night in the MDRs?

[lisakoivu]

...she then made us a large chicken pot pie for dinner. (I wonder where she got that idea from?)

 

All in all, a great cruise on the BA!

 

Ha ha. We are having chicken pot pie tonight after spending last week on BA. I wonder where I got the idea