TRIP REPORT Fresh Off Breakaway to Bermuda {First Time NCL, Upsell, Spa, Vibe}

[Lisalk12]

Wonderful review!!!

[17cruisesnsl]

I am Celebrity fan who is sailing NCL for the second time. We are sailing to Bermuda in a Haven. We sailed on NCL Escape last year with the kids. We were disappointed in the food. I TOTALLY agree with your comparison. We are hoping the Haven experience will tip the scales. We are also booked on the Summit in a suite in 2017- Bermuda. I heard good and bad about the Summit. In your opinion , is the lively vibe on the Breakaway more to your liking than the vibe on the Summit? Do you think the spa would be worth 179 PP

 

We were wondering if the Vibe pass is worth it. You compared it to the solarium on Celebrity. Does the vibe have a more special feel than the free solarium?

 

 

Sailed on the Escape in a mini in February and three weeks ago in the Haven to Bermuda on the BA. I agree, the MDR food on the Escape was disappointing as was Moderno. The food in the Haven is a definite upgrade but the menu remains the same all week; not an issue for us as we also had the UDP and used it 3 days. We found the Haven food far superior to Moderno and La Cucina and better or par depending on what you ordered in LaBistro or Cagneys. Food is a very individual choice but they will cater to you in the Haven. Lobster, prime rib and rack of lamb are available daily on the Haven dinner menu. My mom wasn't feeling well and wanted chicken soup and although not on the menu, they brought it for her and then asked daily if she wanted it again. While all the Haven BA servers are good, Alex is excellent

 

I am a fan of Vibe as the crowds at the main pool are too much for me. I've been lucky to snag Vibe passes when not in the Haven but for an October sailing on the BA in the Haven, I would not purchase a Vibe pass. The weather can be iffy and you have the covered pool and deck in the Haven plus the Haven sun deck. It's also during the school year,so the Haven should be mainly adults. We did not have an issue with obtaining drinks on the Haven sun deck, which is one if the reasons Ive heard for also having Vibe. In February, we also had a loud person in Vibe, I expect with the UDP it occurs more frequently throughout the ship. I used my earbuds and music to help.

 

Enjoy the Haven; we sailed in a H4 and I don't think my mom, age 87, will ever be happy in a mini-suite again. The Haven was perfect for her and we did not take advantage of all it had to offer - we did not have any meals en suite nor have breakfast or special snacks delivered to the suite. We used the expression machine every day as we are both coffee lovers. Our only snack request was M&Ms and that was promptly filled. We have Escape Haven reservations in February and plan to have breakfast delivered one or two mornings and to be more specific with the snacks as there was unnecessary wastage with the amount and types of snacks brought daily. This trip, I was curious how and what the service would be without any special requests. I booked all our dinners and shows online when the reservation window opened (day 100) for Haven guests, so we had no need for Concierge services beyond his validating that a wheelchair escort would be available for disembarkation. I did see the Concierge desk busy daily making dinner, show and shore excursion reservations and changes.

 

Enjoy your cruise

[Kattus]

I want to share a few reflections on the whole trip, a lot contributed by my DH, Marc. I’ll probably post just this portion in the forum for those that don’t want to wade through all the details.

 

The Freestyle Concept:

 

We were looking forward to this after the sometimes-too-structured feel of Celebrity. I actually enjoy dressing up, but DH does not! Turns out, even I love to be able to go to a MDR dinner in shorts every once in awhile! Thumbs up to NCL for a nice balance with the freestyle wardrobe requirements - you’re required to be more dressed up for Ocean Blue, but other places it’s relaxed.

 

Freestyle entertainment is another story. Right after booking and researching, I was dismayed at the hype around reservations. . . .to everything! That, to me, kind of defeated the whole purpose of freestyle. I booked a lot of things that I ended up cancelling. I would always cancel within an acceptable window, but I hate feeling like I need to book stuff. DH will not even touch this process, it’s all up to me, which makes it more of an agitating task. I know you don’t “have” to reserve, but the HUGE line outside the comedy we went to drove the need for reservations home. I don’t want to spend my vacay time standing in a line because I didn’t plan in advance. Maybe smaller NCL ships are different? Somebody fill me in.

 

Freestyle dining was OK because we only did specialty dining one night - our best meal by far - at Ocean Blue. We reserved it 90 days ahead of time and still couldn’t get anything other than 8:30. If we had wanted more specialty dining, we would have been SOL. We heard the maitre d’ turning people away in front of us at Ocean Blue because of it just being too booked. Again, makes it not really “freestyle”, or it’s at a high cost of a long wait.

 

Food:

 

The food was never bad, but sometimes the sides didn’t seem well thought out or well done. The stacks of food in the MDRs were disconcerting and reminded you that you were essentially eating in a big cafeteria.

 

It’s hard going on Celebrity first if you’re a foodie, because you have the expectation there for the food. I liked the relaxed feel of the boat, but I wanted the food to be something less like a chore like they had to give it to you and ore like they enjoyed giving it to you. Case and point, at Ocean Blue, they took pride in telling you all about what you ordered and how it was prepared. Everywhere else it was just like at McDonald's, here’s what you ordered.

 

Buffet was not as good and no sense of direction as far as where you needed to walk. Very crowded. People cutting in and out, bumping into people. Yes it’s freestyle, but there needs to be some order with how you’re getting the food. Otherwise there is no structure. Celebrity has them beat on the buffet food “big time”.

 

The buffet was essentially the same every day, at least for breakfast and the one time we went for dinner, it was essentially the same as lunch. This was disappointing. The food that was there wasn’t bad, but it lacked variety and there wasn’t anything too exotic. There was usually a curry dish of some kind and also an asian dish, but not much to choose from. I missed Celebrity’s excellent indian food and also the sushi available at the buffet itself.

 

With desserts specifically, Carnival wins by a good amount, followed by Celebrity, then NCL.

 

I will say that NCL’s specialty dining prices are much better than Celebrity’s. We ate for half the price at Ocean Blue than we would have eaten at any of X’s major specialties, even with a discount they often offer. That being said, the quality of the “free” stuff on X is miles better, so you don’t really need to go as often.

 

Service:

Service was was excellent, better than Celebrity, especially the bartenders. NCL is the best so far for bartenders.

 

Drinks:

We shouldn’t have to go hunting for wine; again, spoiled with this from Celebrity where there was a sommelier at every meal pairing your food with a wine from the beverage package. Wine on NCL was not drinkable, at least not the merlot.

 

I missed Cafe al Bacio on the Summit. The Atrium cafe is not a relaxing space at all.

 

Entertainment:

NCL has this one hands down. I really enjoyed “Burn the Floor” and the improv comedy troupe was something different than other lines offer.

 

We obviously had a wonderful vacation. Our highlights were the wonderful service of the NCL team. They really took care of us, especially sending us chocolate covered strawberries and champagne for no reason that we could figure out. We loved spending time in the luxurious Vibe and the outstanding service and attention that came with, as it was put on our bill, “The Vibe Experience”. The relaxation of the spa was fabulous. Bermuda was terrific, even with some rain. We loved the new feel of the boat and our large room and bathroom.

 

All and all, we spent a lot more money on our vacation this year on NCL vs our vacation two years ago on the Summit, and from looking at both this year and following the prices, it would have been cheaper this year as well to go on Summit. We also had a balcony on the Summit that was roughly 3x as big, but we weren’t suite, aqua, or concierge class on X, just regular folk ;-). I think our spa mini-suite on NCL was for sure nice, but I can’t see paying that much again for that small of a balcony and to not have special dining like on Celebrity with their Aqua (spa) class restaurant "Blu".

 

We loved NCL and will certainly go back when we have kids, but Celebrity was less expensive and offered more value. The things that made our NCL voyage so awesome were Vibe and the spa, both added cost and at least for Vibe, not at all a guarantee until you walk on the boat and have the passes in hand. I have no regrets at all and would absolutely purchase spa and Vibe again, but maybe not on the same sailing unless the spa was included like it was for us this time. We did feel nickel and dimed a bit more on NCL. For example, no sodas, water, or coffees with the beverage package and having to pay the service fees on the beverage package and the taxes while in NYC. It adds up and when other lines offer the packages without these extra fees, it helps. That all said, we'll go wherever the best value is. A cruise will be enjoyable to us no matter what line it's on, so we'll be strategic with our hard-earned money.

 

It’s a bit tough to compare the two cruises since they were so different, but DH and I both agree that for Bermuda next time, we’d choose Breakaway ONLY if it was the same price or less than Celebrity. Our reasoning is that the “extras” we paid for (vibe, spa) are basically included in your fare for X. There is no Vibe area, but there is a whole free adult only solarium thalassotherapy pool that was never crowded.

 

When we have kiddos that are old enough to want to do children’s activities, I’m sure we’d want to pay more for NCL, but until then, we’ll shop around. And if the opportunity comes at the right price, would we sail NCL again? In the words of my awesome hubs, “heck yes”!

 

Thanks for sticking with me until the end and all of your kind words and encouragement. Please let me know if I can answer any questions at all.

 

Happy sailing, everyone!

 

 

Hopefully you're still reading this thread. I've got a question about the Thermal Spa since my DH and I are also in a spa mini for next month and he's very self-conscious about his size. Did you see anyone in there with a t-shirt and shorts? He's not comfortable changing in the locker room, too, and I told him he can have the robe on to cover himself lol TIA!

[khaide612]

Hopefully you're still reading this thread. I've got a question about the Thermal Spa since my DH and I are also in a spa mini for next month and he's very self-conscious about his size. Did you see anyone in there with a t-shirt and shorts? He's not comfortable changing in the locker room, too, and I told him he can have the robe on to cover himself lol TIA!

 

I am a woman & my bathing suit usually consists of board shorts & a tankini top. If I'm just lounging in the chairs, I probably have a dress cover up on over it. When my parents cruise, my dad sits there in shorts, shirt & sneakers & socks. There is no rule about changing in the locker room. You can go back to your room.

 

There are some good videos on that video website that show the locker rooms and thermal suite. I believe there are stalls in the locker rooms and no one is going to stop him from changing in a stall.

 

Here's the thing...what is the worry about what he wears in there? That someone will make fun of him for not being in a speedo? Not going to happen. :)

[Kattus]

I am a woman & my bathing suit usually consists of board shorts & a tankini top. If I'm just lounging in the chairs, I probably have a dress cover up on over it. When my parents cruise, my dad sits there in shorts, shirt & sneakers & socks. There is no rule about changing in the locker room. You can go back to your room.

 

There are some good videos on that video website that show the locker rooms and thermal suite. I believe there are stalls in the locker rooms and no one is going to stop him from changing in a stall.

 

Here's the thing...what is the worry about what he wears in there? That someone will make fun of him for not being in a speedo? Not going to happen. :)

 

 

LOL thank you. I know it's a silly question, and just dawned on me the other day when I showed him video of the thermal spa and lockers. His eyes bugged out of his head and he asked me "Wait, I have to CHANGE in front of people?" :eek:

[Viva_la_Vida]

Hopefully you're still reading this thread. I've got a question about the Thermal Spa since my DH and I are also in a spa mini for next month and he's very self-conscious about his size. Did you see anyone in there with a t-shirt and shorts? He's not comfortable changing in the locker room, too, and I told him he can have the robe on to cover himself lol TIA!

Hello! I am happy to try and answer this. I honestly didn't remember what people were wearing, but DH says he remembers seeing people go in with shirts on. Honestly, you see everything on cruises and there are plenty of people feeling self conscious - probably just about everyone! The robes are great and are given out in the locker room or as you walk in, so he doesn't even have to enter the locker room unless he just wants to :) You guys will have a blast! I'm so jealous! I'm 3 months pregnant so no cruising for me for many months!!

[Sprasa03]

My hubby goes in water with a sleeveless t-shirt and his swim shorts and no on cared. I think everyone is so into enjoying themselves on their own cruise that they aren't oggling anyone else.

We saw people bigger than us in less clothes, and good for them. Enjoy yourself!