Breakaway Review - President's Week Back to Back Years

[geegee1]

Hi all

Here is a quick review of the Breakaway from this past week. We did the same cruise (Wife and 2 daughters) during the same week last year.

 

The weather from last year to this was night and day. While last year we had 4.5 days of nice outside weather, we probably had a 1/2 day of nice weather. Which just means we explored the ship more.

 

This year we went with a B6 Large Balcony compared to the MB Mid Ship Mini Suite. We didn't notice any difference with the in room space. I would definitely book the B6 again.

 

Just like last year we booked the UDP. We went to Cagney's 3 times, Moderno, Teppanyaki and La Cuccina once each. The best meal by far was Teppanyaki. Cagney's was decent enough and the other 2 were not memorable. In our opinion the only reason to book the UDP is to get reservations in advance.

 

We ate breakfast at the Garden Cafe and Uptown Grill. Lunch was mostly at Savor or Taste. On embarkation we ate in O'Sheehans. One afternoon we had burgers at the Uptown Grill which were the best of the trip by far.

 

I've never been one to notice a difference between Cruise Director's. But this time there was a definite difference. I don't remember who it was last year on the Breakaway, but the person did a much better job than Julie on this cruise. Where there was live music in lots of places last year during the day, that was not the case this time. Most glaring was last year, when we were pulling in to Port Canaveral they had the band playing, making it a big party. This year they had a DJ, but not until after we docked.

 

We booked spa passes for ourselves and we're glad we did as the weather made outside swimming not a comfortable choice.

 

People on other threads were commenting that they were afraid that the UBP would lead to a lot more people being drunk and belligerent. I can honestly say that we did not notice that again.

 

Our kids loved the Splash Academy again. Always a great time and since it was so cold it made it so much more of a necessity.

 

The worst part of the cruise was disembarkation. Customs only showed up with 5 agents to check everyone out. This caused a backup of over 90 minutes.

 

Besides that, the cruise was enjoyable enough even though the weather did not cooperate at all.

 

Let me know if you have any questions.

[cage keeper]

We also went spa this time because of the weather. We are going in March and last March we only had maybe 3 1/2 pool days. Did the spa get very crowded? We have done this on other ships where the spa was much smaller and very few people bought the passes. Looks like lots of chairs. DH lover the heated loungers.

 

Thanks

[orangejeepgirl]

Hi all

Here is a quick review of the Breakaway from this past week. We did the same cruise (Wife and 2 daughters) during the same week last year.

 

The weather from last year to this was night and day. While last year we had 4.5 days of nice outside weather, we probably had a 1/2 day of nice weather. Which just means we explored the ship more.

 

This year we went with a B6 Large Balcony compared to the MB Mid Ship Mini Suite. We didn't notice any difference with the in room space. I would definitely book the B6 again.

 

Just like last year we booked the UDP. We went to Cagney's 3 times, Moderno, Teppanyaki and La Cuccina once each. The best meal by far was Teppanyaki. Cagney's was decent enough and the other 2 were not memorable. In our opinion the only reason to book the UDP is to get reservations in advance.

 

We ate breakfast at the Garden Cafe and Uptown Grill. Lunch was mostly at Savor or Taste. On embarkation we ate in O'Sheehans. One afternoon we had burgers at the Uptown Grill which were the best of the trip by far.

 

I've never been one to notice a difference between Cruise Director's. But this time there was a definite difference. I don't remember who it was last year on the Breakaway, but the person did a much better job than Julie on this cruise. Where there was live music in lots of places last year during the day, that was not the case this time. Most glaring was last year, when we were pulling in to Port Canaveral they had the band playing, making it a big party. This year they had a DJ, but not until after we docked.

 

We booked spa passes for ourselves and we're glad we did as the weather made outside swimming not a comfortable choice.

 

People on other threads were commenting that they were afraid that the UBP would lead to a lot more people being drunk and belligerent. I can honestly say that we did not notice that again.

 

Our kids loved the Splash Academy again. Always a great time and since it was so cold it made it so much more of a necessity.

 

The worst part of the cruise was disembarkation. Customs only showed up with 5 agents to check everyone out. This caused a backup of over 90 minutes.

 

Besides that, the cruise was enjoyable enough even though the weather did not cooperate at all.

 

Let me know if you have any questions.

 

Hi ! Going on Breakaway next week and I was wondering if you had copies of the Breakaway Dailies from your cruise ? I'm an obsessive planner so I've been going of copies of old Dailies.. just wondering if there were any significant changes or things added/different?

[Dave85]

I've never been one to notice a difference between Cruise Director's. But this time there was a definite difference. I don't remember who it was last year on the Breakaway, but the person did a much better job than Julie on this cruise. Where there was live music in lots of places last year during the day, that was not the case this time. Most glaring was last year, when we were pulling in to Port Canaveral they had the band playing, making it a big party. This year they had a DJ, but not until after we docked.

 

Thanks for your review, and sorry to hear that the weather didn't work out for you this year. Out of curiosity, was the onboard band this time around named IMPACT or something like that? We were on in November with a different cruise director and much better weather than you had and they were still virtually invisible... They would frequently be scheduled to play only to not showup or have the DJ show up instead, and the weather wasn't that cold until the last day. Just curious if you had the same band on board. The whole thing was rather odd... I didn't get to see them perform until day 6 I believe despite constantly showing up for their scheduled appearances.

Edited February 23, 2015 by Dave85

[geegee1]

Thanks for your review, and sorry to hear that the weather didn't work out for you this year. Out of curiosity, was the onboard band this time around named IMPACT or something like that? We were on in November with a different cruise director and much better weather than you had and they were still virtually invisible... They would frequently be scheduled to play only to not showup or have the DJ show up instead, and the weather wasn't that cold until the last day. Just curious if you had the same band on board. The whole thing was rather odd... I didn't get to see them perform until day 6 I believe despite constantly showing up for their scheduled appearances.

 

Impac was there. They barely performed compared to last time. With what you are saying I wonder if their contract got changed to have them play less?

 

We also went spa this time because of the weather. We are going in March and last March we only had maybe 3 1/2 pool days. Did the spa get very crowded? We have done this on other ships where the spa was much smaller and very few people bought the passes. Looks like lots of chairs. DH lover the heated loungers.

 

Thanks

 

It was the most crowded on the last day. The other days there was a crowd, but not anywhere near capacity, the heated loungers were always the first ones gone.

[geegee1]

Hi ! Going on Breakaway next week and I was wondering if you had copies of the Breakaway Dailies from your cruise ? I'm an obsessive planner so I've been going of copies of old Dailies.. just wondering if there were any significant changes or things added/different?

 

Sorry. I do not. One thing I learned though was not to trust the weather forecast on them. Every forecast was so optimistic that it became a joke. For the first sea day they said the weather was going to be in the mid/upper 60's. One would just have to check any weather app to see that the temps in the Carolina's that day (equal to where we were) were forecasted to be in the low/mid 40's with rain. This happened at every port we went to.

[cage keeper]

Impac was there. They barely performed compared to last time. With what you are saying I wonder if their contract got changed to have them play less?

 

 

 

It was the most crowded on the last day. The other days there was a crowd, but not anywhere near capacity, the heated loungers were always the first ones gone.

 

Do people tend to hog them like the deck chair or do they limit the time spent on them? Other cruise lines tell you to limit use to 20 minutes. Haven't seen any info that NCL does this.

[Goodteam]

There were a lot of drunk people on board. I actually heard of a few fights that broke out in the elevators.

[Goodteam]

We had fun but I'm not sure if NCL is the cruise line for us. I will definitely give it a second chance bc the food and service were great.

[geegee1]

Do people tend to hog them like the deck chair or do they limit the time spent on them? Other cruise lines tell you to limit use to 20 minutes. Haven't seen any info that NCL does this.

 

Personally only saw one instance of people hogging chairs. There were 2 chairs next to us on the last day. A woman came over asked if we have seen the people who put the towels down, we did not. She moved their towels.

There was a sign asking you to limit your time to 30 minutes. But wasn't clear if that was for the entire time you were there, including lying in the chairs or when you were away from the chairs.

[geegee1]

There were a lot of drunk people on board. I actually heard of a few fights that broke out in the elevators.

 

We did not notice that. Definitely did not hear about or see any fights.

 

The only skirmishes we witnessed were those that happen between couples. Whether they were drinking or not.

[mjkacmom]

Do you now have to have the UDP in order to make reservations online?

[neptune18]

No.

[RME]

We had fun but I'm not sure if NCL is the cruise line for us. I will definitely give it a second chance bc the food and service were great.

 

Happy to hear that the food and service were good. This will be our first cruise on Norwegian. We usually like Princess but I found the Breakaway intriguing. May I ask what cruise lines you usually use? I know Norwegian Breakaway will be different than Princess and I am looking forward to the new experiences. I am just not sure what people do when they cannot sit by the pool due to either weather or crowds. Do they have many scheduled activities?

[geegee1]

...I am just not sure what people do when they cannot sit by the pool due to either weather or crowds. Do they have many scheduled activities?

 

Must say that for the second year in a row we never felt like the ship was crowded, even though it was sold out.

 

There always seemed like there was something going on in the Atrium to keep people entertained. Whether it is an activity you'd enjoy is a different story.

[Goodteam]

Food and service were great. The crew work really hard and do their best. I did feel Nickled and dimed and wasn't a fan of the youth services.

[Goodteam]

I also was annoyed about the spa. I had a massage and couldn't use the locker room or any of it's amenities unless I paid an additional 45 dollars. I think hats totally ridiculous!

[mking8288]

Thanks for sharing & glad to hear about the food overall & welcome home to the cold - watching the shipcam lately ... When did CD/ship capt. announced that they will be skipping GSC (correct) & then do a slow "fun" day at sea with the casino open before docking at Nassau after dinner? We haven't been to GSC in 4 years so don't mind going but for others, it's a must "wish" - we prefer the quiet ship when the rest is bouncing on those big tenders, LOL.

 

We had just choppy or moderate sea conditions during our BA crossing north-south & vice versa last year - didn't bother us at all, how was it last week ?

We got a deck 10 Fwd going again next month (not soon enough) pretty FWD so expect a little bit motion - the cure for DW is to plant her square & center in the casino with the slots & she will be fine, LOL.

 

We only ate once in O'Sheehans while approaching Canaveral & service was slow, this time - we might do lunch on day 1 to try out the chicken pot pie, any thoughts ... TIA.

[geegee1]

... When did CD/ship capt. announced that they will be skipping GSC (correct) & then do a slow "fun" day at sea with the casino open before docking at Nassau after dinner? We haven't been to GSC in 4 years so don't mind going but for others, it's a must "wish" - we prefer the quiet ship when the rest is bouncing on those big tenders, LOL.

 

They announced it on Tuesday night, the day before GSC. We arrived in Nassau around 3p on Wednesday and spent the night there.

 

...We had just choppy or moderate sea conditions during our BA crossing north-south & vice versa last year - didn't bother us at all, how was it last week ?...

 

We had 9 FWD. Pretty far up. My stomach isn't a fan of too much motion and it didn't bother me once. Last year on our way from Florida to GSC we hit some rough waters that woke me up and had me consider flying home from Nassau if it stayed that way. Did not experience anything as close to that. There were times where you definitely felt it, but nothing that was stomach turning to me.

 

We only ate once in O'Sheehans while approaching Canaveral & service was slow, this time - we might do lunch on day 1 to try out the chicken pot pie, any thoughts ... TIA.

 

That's what my wife had on Day 1 and was a big fan.

[cage keeper]

Personally only saw one instance of people hogging chairs. There were 2 chairs next to us on the last day. A woman came over asked if we have seen the people who put the towels down, we did not. She moved their towels.

There was a sign asking you to limit your time to 30 minutes. But wasn't clear if that was for the entire time you were there, including lying in the chairs or when you were away from the chairs.

 

Thank you so much for the info. The 30 minutes is to limit your time on the tile loungers. On other ships if you got up and left a towel there the staff would remove it within 2 to 5 minutes. DH loves these and I was worried he wouldn't be able to use them much after spending a big chunk of change to upgrade to the spa room.

[NeurosurgeryNP]

Do you have to buy a weekly spa pass or can you buy daily?

[cage keeper]

Do you have to buy a weekly spa pass or can you buy daily?

 

Pretty sure you can but only on port days.