Breakaway Review 9/13-9/20

[samgrab]

This was my first time cruising. I spent so much time before this cruise reading the threads and I loved all of the reviews and helpful hints that I found on this site so I thought that I would add my own first timers review in the hopes that someone will find it helpful like I did. I cruised the Breakaway 9/13-9/20 with my girlfriend and a four of our friends plus their family. I am 32 years old and my girlfriend is 29.

The room

We had a balcony room (13740). It was forward starboard side of the ship. I loved the room. It obviously is not as big as a hotel room but my girlfriend and I had plenty of room and storage for all of our things and we never felt cramped or on top of one another. The balcony is small but we were both able to sit outside and we took full advantage of the beautiful views we were afforded every day and night. The bathroom is also quite small with a small shower but it also has plenty of storage for all bath products. The only complaint I would have about this room is that the shower has horrible water pressure so if you are a female with long or thick hair it will be hard to really wash your hair. Other than that the beds were super comfy and I loved everything about the room.

Sunday, Embarkation Day

We received a ride to the pier and were dropped off a few blocks down from the pier to avoid all of the traffic. We got to the pier around 11am. The embarkation process I found to be very easy and rather quick. We did not have to wait long to be given our room cards and sent on our way onto the ship (yay!). I would say that the whole process took about an hour. If everyone has their documents out and ready like you are asked then the lines seem to move rather quickly. After running to our room to check out our home for the week we were greeted by our room steward Johnny. Johnny was very nice and explained to us how to work everything in the room and assured us that our room would be ready shortly. After dropping off our carry ons in the room we went up to the pool deck and met up with our friends. We had a few drinks waiting for the whole group to get settled. The pool bartenders were very nice and while it was busy I never felt like I had to wait long for a drink. We went up to deck 16 to sail under the Verrazano Bridge and say goodbye NYC, Hello vacation!!! We ate dinner in the buffet which was ok; your typical buffet food; and then spent the rest of the evening exploring the ship.

Monday, Sea Day

I woke up early today excited to explore the ship and relax in the sun. My girlfriend and I woke up and went to the gym. The gym is very small for the size of the cruise. Getting on a cardio machine can be hard and trying to lift weights in between the men in the weight room is even harder so this was the only day I went to the gym. After the gym we showered, grabbed some breakfast and made our way to Spice H2O to get some sun. We never went near the pool as it was always packed. Spice H2O was a nice place to relax and hang out. The have 2 hot tubs and a waterfall to hang out in. I was very windy and chilly at times so we spent most of the day in the hot tubs and got to meet a few of our fellow cruisers which was fun. We all had a quick lunch at Uptown Grill. The burgers were very very good; I got them two other times while on the ship. My girlfriend did the ropes course and she loved every second of it. She did it 3 times over the course of the week. The walk the plank part seemed a scary but she was a trooper and did it. For dinner we made a reservation for our big group at the Manhattan Room. I found the food and service to be good. We did not have to wait too long for our food or drinks. The food was also good, not great but good enough. Everyone in the group was able to find something that they liked. A few of my friends made reservations for Burn the Floor and so while they were there myself and my other friends played ping pong and mini golf. My friends said that Burn the Floor was excellent and recommended that everyone see it.

Tuesday, Sea Day

Woke up early again today and went out to Spice H2O. There was much better weather today but everyone definitely felt the boat rocking. A few of my friends got sea sick. We spent most of the day there and it was nice because it never go too crowded. Today was the day to try the slides and they were a lot of fun. I never got up the courage to do the free fall slide but my friends did and they loved it. For dinner we went to Taste and even though the menu is the same for the Manhattan Room the service was most certainly not the same. Service was very slow here and the food was just ok. In the evening we went to see Rock of Ages. I have seen the musical on Broadway and the movie and live both of them so I was excited for this. Rock of Ages was ok. It can be compared to an off-Broadway version of the actual musical but it was still entertaining and I loved the music.

 

Wednesday, Bermuda!!!

I woke up early again today as I was super excited to finally be in Bermuda. We docked around 730am. My girlfriend and I split from the group for the most part while in Bermuda as we are more active and they just wanted to see the beaches. We bought the 2 day bus/ferry pass for $31.50 and we got our monies worth for sure. We caught the ferry into Hamilton and then walked to the bus depot and took the #11 bus to go see the Crystal Caves. The caves were beautiful and it was a cheap excursion ($30 to see two caves). The ferry and bus rides were both quick and the staff at both were very nice. After the caves we took the bus back into Hamilton and did a glass bottom boat/snorkel tour that left right from the ferry terminal. This was another amazing excursion and only cost $55 for 3 hours which included snorkeling.

Thursday, Bermuda

We caught the 9:30 ferry again and went back into Hamilton to take the #7 bus toward Horseshoe Bay Beach and visited the light house. The light house is absolutely beautiful and for only $2.50 you can climb to the top. Amazing views. Horseshoe Bay Beach is only about 4 stops away from the light house so we went to go check it out. It was so beautiful and we loved every second of playing in the crystal clear blue waters and laying on the soft pink sand. There is a huge rock you can climb up and take some really great pictures.

Friday, Bermuda

We knew that we had to be back on the ship by 230 so we stayed close to the boat today. We went on a 75 minute Jet Ski tour and it was the most fun I had the whole week. The speed, the sights, everything was perfect. The tour guide stopped us so that we could swim in the Bermuda triangle. It’s definitely something to check out if you can. After that we went shopping a little bit around the area and then went to Calico Jack’s where we walked the plank into the water and slid down slide. Both super fun. We were back on the ship by 1:45pm and we got a farewell drink and headed to deck 7 to see if there were any runners. Luckily there were none this time but a family did get off and took a taxi somewhere. Some of my friends spent the evening at the Cirque Dreams show and they said that it was pretty good.

Saturday, Last Sea Day

We finally got to sleep in today. Around 11am we made our way back to Spice H2O to meet up with our friends. It seemed like everyone else had finally found out our little secret because it was packed today. This was the first time that I noticed the chair hoggers back here and it was rude and annoying. It was very hot today so we only spent a few hours there and then went to nap and relax. We had a giant family dinner together for our last night at the Manhattan Room. The Burn the Floor crew was dancing there tonight and it was very entertaining. The food here was very good tonight. We played one last round of mini golf with our friends and then we went back to our room to pack and get ready to leave tomorrow.

Sunday, Disembarkation

We decided to do the early walk off and so we grabbed breakfast and were ready to leave by 8. We waited for one of our friends who was leaving with us and by 8:15 we were walking off the ship with our belongings. We only had one suitcase and a book bag each so we just took the stairs down to where we needed to go. The elevators were crazy. This was the quickest process I have ever been through. We were through customs and out on street level by 8:30. It was great.

 

Overall I had an amazing first cruise experience. The staff were all very friendly and helpful. They were always cleaning and fixing things. If you needed something you could ask anyone and they were more than willing to help. The ship was very clean. The pool and gym were very small but those were the only issues. There is always something to do on board so you can never really be bored. I would definitely cruise Norwegian again. I think I may have caught the cruise bug 

Tips

• Have all of your paperwork and document out and ready during embarkation and debarkation. It will make everything so much quicker.

• Get the drink package if you can. I am not a big drinker but it was nice to not have to worry about the cost of the few drinks I did have throughout the day.

• Book your excursions in Bermuda and save a ton of money!

• The Iconcierge app was a great way to stay in touch with our group

• Go to Spice H2O if you want to tan and have a place to cool off. Much less crowded then the pool.

• If you are going to make dinner reservations do it early because they fill up quick.

• If you can do the easy walk off do it! Looking for your luggage among thousands of other peoples luggage did not look like fun

• Smile, relax and have fun. You are on VACATION!!!!

If you guys have any questions I will do my best to answer them. Thank you so much to all of the previous posters. I hope you guys enjoyed my review.

[lauren0309]

Thanks for you review. It sounded like you had a nice time. We will be in Bermuda exactly one year from today.

 

Questions, what was the temperature there this time of year?

 

We too are getting dropped off by a family member coming from over the George Washington bridge. Where is a good drop off point so we don't get caught in all the traffic congestion and yet not too far away so we're lugging our luggage through the streets?

 

How do you know what buses and ferries to take to your destinations? Is it all a matter of researching and reading up on cruise critic? Otherwise how would you know.:confused:

[samgrab]

The weather was perfect while we were in Bermuda. We really lucked out. My best friend went last year and said that it rained every day she was there last time. It was sunny and low to mid 80's while in Bermuda. There was a quick shower or two that lasted maybe 10 mins. Ot was sunny and warm on sea days as well with the exception of day one which was chilly.

 

I came in from Staten Island and was dropped off about two blocks away by the Circle Line on 46th. Im assuming you will be coming from the opposite direction so I do not know a good drop off point there.

 

As far as the busses and ferries i did read up a lot on the bermuda forum on this site. It has a lot of useful information. But i also used google and tripadvisor to look up the busses and ferries as well as what excursions i wanted to do. All of the information was very easy to find. Also, once on board you can go to guest services to get a map of bermuda and information for busses and ferries.

[janetz]

You did an excellent review! We board next Sunday and can't wait. :)

[janetz]

Thanks for you review. It sounded like you had a nice time. We will be in Bermuda exactly one year from today.

 

Questions, what was the temperature there this time of year?

 

We too are getting dropped off by a family member coming from over the George Washington bridge. Where is a good drop off point so we don't get caught in all the traffic congestion and yet not too far away so we're lugging our luggage through the streets?

 

How do you know what buses and ferries to take to your destinations? Is it all a matter of researching and reading up on cruise critic? Otherwise how would you know.:confused:

 

Here is a link to the Bermuda board. :)

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=196

[Gershep]

Great review. Glad you had a good time. It only takes one sailing to catch the cruising bug, lol.

[janetz]

Great review. Glad you had a good time. It only takes one sailing to catch the cruising bug, lol.

 

You aren't just kidding about that.

[samgrab]

Thanks guys! And so true i am already thinking about how to get on another cruise asap

[Ericktina]

Thanks guys! And so true i am already thinking about how to get on another cruise asap

Take the last ever 2 night party cruise on Breakaway Dec 11 !!!!

[bbryan5]

Nice review!

[buzzygirl1]

enjoyed the whole review, we can only add that if traveling with kids, SIGN THEM UP for the kids programs, whatever their ages. Upon arrival at the pier on Sunday to embark, we encouraged he and his father to sign him up for the Entourage Teen program, he just turned 13 in January. Knowing that he would not KNOW any other kids on the cruise we were a little apprehensive for signing him up, but they had a schedule of things that were planned available right at the pier before boarding, so he was signed up ahead. Turned out to be as he puts it:" the best vacation ever". He soon made friends , they hung out together until LATE, he loved the freedom to come and go, and even go to the buffet and grab something if he wanted it , any time . hE EVEN got the chance to go to O'Sheehans and get a chicken pot pie, which he said he LOVED it. We did insist that he join the family for the dinner meal each night. One day we were entering the elevator as he was exiting, started to ask a " question", his reply " GOTTA GO TO ENTOURAGE--- SEE YA LATER " !!