Cruise comparison Breskaway vs Anthem

[CasinoCruzGirl]

On the Anthem right now. Will be doing a short comparison tomorrow. Right now all I can say is Ncl blows Royal out of the water in many areas. Be back tomorrow.

 

 

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[Keith1010]

Look forward to your comparison.

 

Keith

[kchiumento]

Ohhhh I want to hear this...

[Barb Nahoumi]

Breakaway hasn't ended cruises early.

[nycmode]

Been on both ships, personally ...

 

1. The Anthem is a gorgeous ship .. with lots of great amenities/stuff to do (loved the bumper cars, North Star, skydiving simulator and surfing simulator)

2. I like the food on NCL better .. oddly I though the RCL food was kind of bland ...

3. I like the shows on Breakaway better than Anthem .. again, more of a style vs substance thing (We Will Rock You felt way longer than Rock of Ages .. the late night cabaret on RCL looked cool but was a bit more of an acquired taste for me than the Cirque Dreams show on Breakaway)

4. The robot bar on Anthem is pretty awesome ... too bad Breakaway doesn't have that!

 

I guess I just like the Breakaway a tad better .. but they are both great ships

[CasinoCruzGirl]

Finally home so here goes. It will be a quick review. I know this is on the anthem and im posting here on NCL because im giving my opinion on what I prefer.

 

First I'll say the Anthem is a beautiful ship clean and staff was great. The one thing Anthem has over the Breakaway is the Solarium which is and enclosed pool area for everyone not just haven suite guests. More pools and jacuzzis and probably more things for young active cruisers like bumber cars. For me not so much.

 

Food - yes food taste is to each their own and subjective but my opinion is NCL kicks Royals hiney with food. First day on anthem for lunch went to the cafe 270 it had pre made wraps and sandwiches, soup and a salad bar where staff makes what you pick to put in it. Salad was ok not many choices but edible. Sandwiches a total joke the Cuban had literally one piece of ham, a piece of cheese I think, mustard and one pickle chip really? The soup tastes like something I never tasted before and never hope to again. Really really bad. Another day had lunch in Chic a MDR again they have a salad bar just like 270 and we ordered steak. I ordered mine medium my friend ordered medium rare. Hers was still mooing and mine was like a hockey puck and tasteless. We didn't eat and told them when they asked why we didnt care for it at all it was terrible. Dinner because we were suite guests we were able to eat in a suite only restaurant called Coastal Kitchen. Ok so I'm determined to get a good steak. I had shrimp cocktail which was good then a filet. I asked for medium but now it was mooing lol. It was covered with some kind of sauce and on top of a potatoe truffle mash. Sigh I dont like sauce on my steak and certainly not on top of potatoes - bust on dinner. The next night went to one of the MDR and im really wanting a good steak and they have surf and turf on the menu - yay finally im gonna get my favorite thing. A nice filet and grilled shrimp. Or so I thought. Again filet that was paper thin was on top of mashed potatoes and 2 tiny little shrimp all covered with some type of brown sauce. Omg where am I gonna get a good steak? It was so bad. I love shrimp but could t even eat it. Yesterday we got a little hungry around 4 pm figured we would try the buffet well it's closed ok where to....Ahhh they have a hot dog place up on 15 great. Get there oh sorry no more hot dogs until half hour or so. So NCL in my opinion makes Royal look like amateur hour with food. I have always had a good meal in any MDR on the Breakway. And there's always O'Sheehans that's open. Last night we went back to the suite restaurant and I got a sirloin and specifically told them NO sauce and NO potatoes on the same plate and yet it had the sauce on the steak but at least not on top of potatoes. On the Breakway there are many more options at off peak times to eat. Oh and there was a pizza place (complimentary) awful. Before getting off the ship this morning we went to the MDR. Scrambled fake eggs yuck and cold coffee.

 

Cabin - we had a spa suite which was really nice and roomy and a great balconÿ with comfortable chairs. Same kind of astetic as NCL Decorating wise. The beds were just not as comfortable as NCL. I always said I get a great night sleep on NCL. Not so much on the Anthem however.

 

Ship motion was very bad. Rocking and rolling. I think there is a flaw in the design of this ship I have been on the Breakway in December, November, May and also March, never felt anything close the movement I felt on the anthem.

 

Show - saw we will rock you on the anthem - I left after a half an hour. On Breakway saw Rock of ages twice and loved it. I will say the theater seats are much more comfortable than the Breakaway. The Other show they had planned was cancelled.

 

Casino - oh so not a fan. As most of you know I get comps on NCL through CAS and they treat me very well. There is always a host you can talk to on Breakway I saw the anthem host once who was anything but helpful. And they give you nothing. They also didn't have my favorite game (4 card keno) available to play. They have the ability to because it's listed on the multi games but wouldn't turn it on for some stupid reason.

 

So going forward will I sail Royal again? Maybe, I'll put it this way if there is a cruise I want on the same day same itinerary it's NCL all the way.

 

Any questions please feel free to ask.

[nycmode]

^ fully agree with your thoughts and nice comparison review!

 

I felt the style aspects of the Anthem (related to food, shows, amenities even the casino) trumped the Breakaway, but if you get to the crux of it, I simply felt like I ate better, enjoyed the shows more and had more fun at the casino on NCL than RCL

 

edit: oh and I slept better on the Breakaway too :)

Edited March 7, 2016 by nycmode
addition

[CasinoCruzGirl]

^ fully agree with your thoughts and nice comparison review!

 

I felt the style aspects of the Anthem (related to food, shows, amenities even the casino) trumped the Breakaway, but if you get to the crux of it, I simply felt like I ate better, enjoyed the shows more and had more fun at the casino on NCL than RCL

 

The casino was quite small and tables were very high. They had two $200 black jack tables and none less than $25. I was very surprised how small it was

 

Another thing is on deck 4/5 I felt like I was at a mall and not a ship. I personally want to feel like I'm on a cruise and not a mall.

[spidybabe]

Thank you for the reviews. Very informative

Safe sailing

[nycmode]

Yeah I wasn't a huge fan of the shopping area. It's odd but I didn't like the "main drag" layout on decks 4-5 on the Anthem either. Maybe it was the lighting or the combination of lighting, store layout etc .. but the extra space made me feel like I was hanging out in Garden State Plaza.

 

I do have to say, the wi-fi on the Anthem was way better than on the Breakaway lol ..

[jusstice]

I totally agree with you on your review.

 

The ship is the most beautiful thing, compared to others. It is more upscale than NCL- both in looks and in the quality of the onboard shops (Armani, Bulgari). Sitting in the main area outside the pizza place (the only place I could find a late nite snack), I kept telling my hubby that I felt like I was in the Short Hills Mall (which is an upscale mall in NJ).

 

I thought the rooms were bigger than the BA balcony room. The insides were too. The decor is about even. The beds are not to my liking either.

 

The enclosed pool area and solarium are great. The activities for kids are pretty spectacular. I would go again to take the kids.

 

The food was pretty meh, to me anyway. I can't say that I had a meal that knocked my socks off. The desserts were non-spectacular. I liked the buffet. I think NCL is better on regular food. I didn't pay up for food on RCL, so I can't compare the specialties.

 

The casino to me was ok. It was small. Different machines to play so I had a variety. Tables however, not enough. One craps table, that they close down during the evening??! And the limits on some tables were out of this world. The casino was the best paying casino at sea that I have ever exepreincfed though. Lots of handpays, mostly on small denom machines. Very nice to see for a change.

 

Overall, I like NCL better so far. I want to be on a cruise and feel like I'm cruising. If I wasn't outside on deck, I wouldn't' know I was cruising. Also, I don't know if its because it was a short cruise, but some greetings, announcements of activities or something would be nice. Again, adds to the cruise experience.

 

Also, that ship needs to be fixed. There is no way the stabilizers are working on that bad boy. The ship was moving back and forth even when the sea was smooth as glass. There were two times I though I was going to fall out of my chair backwards in the casino.

[NYcruzzer]

Thank you for taking the time to write a comparison . I agree with everything you wrote . NCL product is much better . I have been in Breakaway several times and really enjoyed the ship . Didn't care for food on Anthem. Also though the drinks were horrible . I may be a little biased as I was on the 2/6 sailing that got caught in the storm [emoji15][emoji15]

 

 

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[CasinoCruzGirl]

What's very funny is I was just on facebook and someone wrote almost the same exact review I did. Ncl wins with them also

[mizLORInj]

Hi all. Just back from Anthem's 3 nighter also. Loved the ship.

 

The Anthem balcony was HUGE with 2 chairs that reclined AND had footstools. NCL Breakaway majorly loses this one for me as most of their balconies are tiny (though I've had a larger one on Breakaway-they are not the majority). I love my balcony. And would book Anthem again for this reason alone! The cabin itself did feel larger than say a BA on Breakaway, but I'm not sure it actually was.

 

Comparing food, both are to my tastes and I always found something that was really good. AND they served LOBSTER in the included restaurants on Sunday night which was a nice surprise.

 

This ship would be more a comparison with Escape I think as it's more that size than Breakaway.

 

It was very cool to see Breakaway on Saturday afternoon out at see heading north to NYC! I was about to enter the Anthem's North Star--observation pod that rose way above the ship.

 

People seem to like to pick on NCL for "nickle and diming." Anthem had many places that were NOT included in your cruise fare too.

 

This experience did not sway me to become a RC loyalist or to love NCL more. I still think both are great choices and I thoroughly have enjoyed my cruises on both lines. :)

Edited March 8, 2016 by mizlorinj