NCL Breakaway poor reviews

[Crusin6]

You will have a good demographic mix on a May Bermuda run

 

Just cross your fingers for good weather as it is still early in the Bermuda season temp wise

 

Doubtful that a hurricane will divert you as it's still too early for that

 

 

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[Kenlorz]

The only "public" covered pool area that is usable when it's cold is in the Spa. We bought Spa passes in the terminal before boarding in order to use it. It's not your typical pool, you don't swim in it. It's heated and has jets that you can turn on.

 

Wow! You were able to buy spa passes in the Breakway Terminal???? The question on whether or not that is even possible has been raised multiple times and almost without exception people have reported that there was no place in the terminal to buy them. May I ask WHERE in the terminal you found to purchase them? It must be a very secret location :p;) that is very easily missed. As we plan to purchase a pass, we would LOVE to know where to be looking for the opportunity to purchase before boarding. Please and thank you :D

[nycrewz]

reading the recent reviews of this ship has me getting nervous - especially the complaints of overwhelming cigarette smoke everywhere. I'd love to hear some positive experiences!!

 

 

The smoke smell is present at the stairway above and below the casino, as well as by the cigar room [near maltings]. It can be unpleasant, but not something that should ruin the cruise. Unless you must be in those areas, you can either avoid them or walk through quickly.

 

There's enough other spots to hang out on the ship that it shouldn't worry you.

 

Positive experience: I thought the GLOW party was an absolute blast. I only stayed for the first half hour as my daughter is only 7 and she was exhausted by that time of night [we danced a bunch and it was getting late].

I really enjoyed Rock of Ages [never got around to seeing it Off-Bway or on Broadway before it closed], but partly because I love theater and partly because I grew up on 80s music....

We had one meal in the Manhattan Room while Burn the Floor performed there. I thought that was pretty cool.

The ropes course, wall climbing and the water slides were a lot of fun.

 

While the ship was loaded with passengers over the Presidents' week cruise I was on [Feb 15,2015] it never felt particularly crowded. We did eat at a few of the specialty restaurants, but also spoke to the overall restaurant manager, who told us that if we went to the main dining rooms before 6:10, we would likely avoid any crowds or wait time. So, we never ended up having to wait for a table for more than maybe 3 minutes.

[lisara]

The muster drill should of been short and sweet. However, people were just roaming around and it just seemed like no one knew what was going on. Mine was held at the atrium. All I remember it was a large open area with total confusion. Other than that our trip was fantastic.

[sarajean]

Stop reading reviews and go enjoy Breakaway to Bermuda.

She's a big beautiful ship and Bermuda is a fantastic place.

We went last year and loved both.

We are booked for this fall again.

It's your vacation...make the most of it. Life is too short.

Have fun!

 

 

~Robin

Every Day at Sea is a Great Day

Thank you I keep hearing negative reviews and was

Getting nervous too. Booked for sept. When are you going.

First time on NCL

[sarajean]

We sailed on Breakaway 9/13 and are booked again for October this year. We loved this ship best of all six different ships of three different lines we have sailed on. Not everything was perfect but we had very few complaints.

How was the weather in September?

[meatball_nyc]

We went in July last year to Bermuda. Going to do the Florida/Bahamas trip early November.

Also have a family beach vacation way before that.

Have fun!

[ceomom703]

Gambee's blog review is incredibly detailed. Thank you to Gambee for taking the time to write and to the others for posting about it. My family will sail on the BA for the first time later this month and we can't wait! Thanks again.

[cathyoo]

You wanted us to sugarcoat or to tell you the truth, only kidding.

 

Like some already said, 'A bad cruise is better than a day at work'. :D

 

I have never gotten the "better than a day at work". When I work someone pays me. Whether I have a good day or bad someone is giving me money that I can use to take a wonderful vacation.

 

I've been lucky to enjoy all 10 of my cruises but I have heard some horrid stories. Broken air conditioning, toilets that don't flush, etc. Believe me I do not want to pay for to have living quarters worse than I have at home. If I did camping would be a lot cheaper.

 

The thing that would bother me the most if I had a bad cruise would be the vacation days I wasted. Nothing is more precious to me than the little time I get paid to not work. Maybe when I retire I will have a different POV but for now I would rather be home or at work as opposed to be stuck on a bad cruise.

[coka]

Wow! You were able to buy spa passes in the Breakway Terminal???? The question on whether or not that is even possible has been raised multiple times and almost without exception people have reported that there was no place in the terminal to buy them. May I ask WHERE in the terminal you found to purchase them? It must be a very secret location :p;) that is very easily missed. As we plan to purchase a pass, we would LOVE to know where to be looking for the opportunity to purchase before boarding. Please and thank you :D

 

I can tell you! The table is set up right across the first set of public restrooms. The first set of rest rooms is on the right as you walk through the terminal to find a seat. Directly across on the left in front of the seats will be a table selling spa passes. If you do not see them...wait...they might not have set up yet. On my last sailing the price was 199 per person for the week. My mantra is that a spa pass is only worth it if you plan to use the spa every day.

 

coka

Edited March 3, 2015 by coka

[bellabaloo]

We had such a great time on the breakaway that it is the first ship we are sailing again! Last time to bahamas, this time to bermuda! Enjoy your cruise!

[nancynana9950]

We went at the end of September and it was hot. Well for me it was hot. Low 80's. That's great for the beach but not so good for touring around St George's or climbing the stairs at the lighthouse! So this year we are going back the third week of October. The water will still be warm at the beaches but we're thinking of biking the rail trail so cooler temps would be nice. So long as there are no big storms we should be good!

[albean99]

Re: the Muster drill. Ours was in the big dining room and was so easy. They just scanned your cards and you sat at a table in your section waiting for the drill which was just listening & watching the staff demonstrate. Ours was quick. So much better than the one on a recent RCCL where you had to go out on the deck and squeeze in.

[mking8288]

On the mandatory muster/safety drill, folks hated it & felt it is unnecessary just like the pre-flight safety demo done by airline's FA before takeoff - but, over the year's - it's been simplified, short & sweet. There is also a video demonstration on stateroom TV, channel 2x that's repeated/run almost continuously in case anyone wanted more of it, along with other info like the ship's environmental systems.

For those relatively new to cruising, we used to be required to bring and put on those life vest, yes - WEAR them for the duration as headcounts are done (or roll calls by name/cabin #' - now just a quick swipe of guests' key cards) until the demo is officially over & "released" to resume / go back to sailaway partying, etc. (or, do the luggage hunt - wait for checked bags to be delivered or, :D visit the naughty room, LOL :p)

[RikkuCat]

Don't worry about the bad reviews - people complain about everything. It's hard to please everyone. The Breakaway is a lovely ship, but it's huge and some people don't like that. Maybe you'll come out of the experience and decide that you prefer smaller ships, but even if that's the case, I can't imagine not finding something to like. Of course, your mileage may vary!

 

FWIW, we cruised on the Breakaway last year and loved it so much that we booked the Getaway for this year. We took the FL/Bahamas itinerary on the Breakaway, which isn't the most exciting cruise, but it ended up being very relaxing and a ton of fun. I'd love to take the Breakaway to Bermuda sometime, since it's a fun ship and we love Bermuda. My biggest issue with our cruise to Bermuda in the Star was that the ship was a bit boring (for us) for three sea days and I think the Breakaway would solve that problem since there's so much more to do.

 

As far as smoke goes, we're both fairly sensitive to smoke and didn't have any issues on the Breakaway. However, I understand that smoke can be more of an issue in the casino and we don't spend much time there. I did not find (at least on our sailing) that smoke permeated other areas near the casino - in fact, we had a late dinner one evening at the noodle bar, which is essentially IN the casino, and didn't smell any smoke at all.

 

Personally, my only complaint about the Breakaway is true across the NCL fleet: for the most part, the food in the complimentary dining rooms is bland and boring (in my opinion). I thought the new menus were an improvement, but the food still isn't great. Of course, NCL offers a solution to this: you can eat at one of the speciality restaurants. We've generally been much happier about the food in the speciality restaurants, enjoy having options, and don't mind the upcharge - so my only complaint is easily solved, at least for me.

[travelerblue]

[quote name='coka']I can tell you! The table is set up right across the first set of public restrooms. The first set of rest rooms is on the right as you walk through the terminal to find a seat. Directly across on the left in front of the seats will be a table selling spa passes. If you do not see them...wait...they might not have set up yet. On my last sailing the price was 199 per person for the week. My mantra is that a spa pass is only worth it if you plan to use the spa every day.

coka[/QUOTE]

Good to know. We made sure to head straight to the spa when we boarded in Oct 2013. We didn't see anyone selling spa passes but we will look more closely in May. Thanks!