Just Back from the Breakaway

[bubba11686]

Hi All! I've been following cruise critic for months as we planned our trip on the Breakaway June 19-26. I found other's reviews so helpful, and wanted to give some feedback. I've been a member of cruise critic for 4 years, but this is my first time posting, so bear with me if I jump around a bit. I'll try my best to keep it organized. A little background to our group.. we were a group of 12, with ages ranging from 10-90 (my grandmother doesn't pass up a vacation, even at 90). I, myself am 29, and roomed with my cousin who is 26.

 

Arrival

We hired a private bus to take our group down to the pier. We arrived around 10:30 a.m., quickly sent our luggage away with a porter and headed to check in. The check in process was quick.. 10 minutes at the most. They started letting guests on board by 11:30 a.m. My cousin and I had received #21 to check in, but others in our group were blessed with "Anytime Boarding" so we just jumped in with them, and were on board by 11:45 a.m.

 

Per other reviews, we went to Taste/Savor for lunch as soon as we got on the ship. They opened right at noontime, but lunch took FOREVER! Literally about 90 minutes, and it ended up just being OK. I wish we just went up to the buffet, ate a quick lunch, and could have used the extra time to explore. While we were waiting for our lunch, a few of the younger kids in our group ran off to see if rooms were ready, and they all were! This surprised me because I've been on other ships where you are waiting until 2 p.m. to drop your bags off in your room.

 

Muster was quick, and we ended up heading to Maltings, outside to watch the boat depart, and pass by the Statue of Liberty. It wasn't busy at all and we had great views.

 

The Ship

My legs still hurt from all of the walking we did getting around the ship! It's incredible how big it really is.

 

I must say that the bar areas on this ship are better than any ship/all inclusive I've been to. The options were great. We found ourselves at Maltings or Shakers every evening before dinner. Both of these bars provide nuts and snacks, too, to enjoy with an evening cocktail. We did all have the UBP, and we found out it was good for any drinks up to $16.00. It boggles my mind, though, that I could order Johnny Walker Gold on the rocks and it's included, but I couldn't order a cappuccino without having to pay for it.

 

We also really loved O'Sheehan's, and thought the wings were awesome. It was great late night too. They serve a limited menu until 5 a.m. when they switch over to breakfast.

 

This ship had the biggest casino I've ever seen on a ship, and it was great! You never felt like you were packed in the casino area, or really in any of the bars. Where you did feel like you were packed in like sardines was the pool areas. I cannot understand how they designed this ship for almost 4000 passengers and put in two of the tiniest pools I've ever seen. Forget trying to actually get in the pool to cool off. It was easier to wait five minutes and go on one of the waterslides instead. This has to be my biggest complaint of the trip/ship. On those sea days, it was incredibly packed. We ended up on Deck 17, all the way forward, next to Vibe. This area had a shower to cool off in and a bar as well. It seemed to be the place that was the least crowded

 

Food!

Speaking of crowds, on sea days, the buffet and the Garden Grille were always packed. But the staff did a great job keeping up with the tables so you were never waiting to find a seat. I ate at the Garden Grille once, and if the burger hadn't been cold, it would have been one of the best I've ever had. My uncle ended up doing the ship tour on the last day ($80 to take the tour) and they mentioned they make the Garden Grille burgers from scratch. Although the other burgers on the buffet, or in O'Sheehans were fine, you could definitely tell the difference.

 

We did end up at the buffet for breakfast and lunch which were both fine. There's plenty to choose from. I'm pretty sure we ate our weight in chocolate croissants in the morning. And as weird as this sounds, the hot dogs were Sabretts and they were delicious. Someone had mentioned the hot dog cart in another thread, and not being able to find it. It is always either by Spice H2O, or in between the main pool bars.

 

On to the dinners...

 

Prior to boarding, I reached out to NCL and got in touch with a special events coordinator, since we were a group larger than 8, I needed to work through them to make our dining reservations in advance. I've sailed NCL one other time, and dinner was always chaos. I knew from that cruise that the main dining rooms were just ok, and the service was really slow. So we all got the UDP, and ate at specialty restaurants every night. We had very slow service at Cagney's. The first night was about 3 hours for dinner. After that, we had NCL put a note in our other reservations saying we had to be done in less than two hours because we had show tickets. After that, they were pretty good about getting us done. I recommend telling your maitre d that you need to be out in good time if you're not one to sit for over two hours.

 

We ate at Cagney's twice. The steaks were really good, with the Porterhouse being everyone's favorite. The apps, salads, and sides were all really good too. We ate at La Cucina twice and had the best service here. The food was good, and the service was great. We didn't end up making our Le Bistro reservations, which I'm a little upset about because the menu looked great. We ate at Teppanyaki which was really good (except for the green tea cake dessert which I still have nightmares about), and we also ate at Moderno. Moderno was definitely our least favorite. That evening some of us broke off and went to the seafood restaurant and those who went raved about the food.

 

Shows

We did not pay for the Cirque show. We did see Rock of Ages which was good. We reserved tickets to the comedy shows but never actually made it. My absolute favorite entertainment was the dueling piano bars. The guys were great, and you could spend hours listening to them and laughing with them. Definitely worth checking out.

 

Bermuda

We spent the first day at Elbow Beach Resort. We bought a day pass for $50 each through Resort For A Day. I cannot recommend this enough. The resort is incredible, expensive (Drinks were $15 at the restaurant, and plan on spending about $25 for a burger), but it was absolutely gorgeous. The beach is pristine, and it's quiet. We chose to do this on day 1, figuring the masses would go to Horseshoe Beach. We took a van for $7 each to Elbow Beach, and asked the guy to come back for us in the afternoon, which worked out perfectly.

 

Wednesday's in the summer is Harbor Night in Bermuda. You can take a $5 water taxi over to Hamilton and they have street vendors starting around 7:00 p.m. We were there just for the beginning, but it was great, and something different to do in the evening. This is why we missed our Le Bistro reservation :(

 

Day 2 we went to Horseshoe Beach, which didn't seem as busy as it did when we drove by on Day 1. It was a $8 taxi ride over. two chairs and an umbrella were $40 and lunch was reasonable.. $8 for a burger instead of the $25 at Elbow Beach Resort. Some of our group wasted $39 to do the Horseshoe Beach transfer. So not worth it since it limits your time there. Just pay the $8 each way for a taxi.

 

Day 3 we booked the Rising Son Catamaran through the ship. It was really nice, just not the best snorkeling. We say a few grey fish and that's about it.

 

A few other thoughts based on things I learned from reading everyone's wonderful reviews...

-I brought an old Dunkin Donuts Gift Card to use in our room to turn the power on

-Definitely bring a powerstrip so you can plug more than two things into your room.

-Don't bother bringing your own hair dryer. If you use it, you'll just blow the circuit in your room. Just use theirs.

-Absolutely loved using the Norwegian App on my phone to pull up dining menus, and look at the dailies to see what was going on.

 

I think that's about all I have to say! Please feel free to ask questions and I'll try to be helpful!

[Sizzlechest]

Your review pretty much aligns with the good and bad most people have to say about the Breakaway. It's a shame you missed your reservations at Le Bistro. This is why I suggest people get a copy of the dailies prior to their cruise to better schedule their days. After a few NCL cruises, you'll begin to see a pattern to how things work and scheduling becomes second nature.

 

I had the same experience with a SLOW lunch on the first day. The buffet is crowded, but the food is plentiful and ready to eat. I heard Modernos is open for lunch on embarkation day. I think they have a limited buffet menu there. Can anyone confirm? I think we will try O'Sheenans if Modernos is not available.

[JAMESCC]

Hi All! I've been following cruise critic for months as we planned our trip on the Breakaway June 19-26. I found other's reviews so helpful, and wanted to give some feedback. I've been a member of cruise critic for 4 years, but this is my first time posting, so bear with me if I jump around a bit. I'll try my best to keep it organized. A little background to our group.. we were a group of 12, with ages ranging from 10-90 (my grandmother doesn't pass up a vacation, even at 90). I, myself am 29, and roomed with my cousin who is 26.

 

Arrival

We hired a private bus to take our group down to the pier. We arrived around 10:30 a.m., quickly sent our luggage away with a porter and headed to check in. The check in process was quick.. 10 minutes at the most. They started letting guests on board by 11:30 a.m. My cousin and I had received #21 to check in, but others in our group were blessed with "Anytime Boarding" so we just jumped in with them, and were on board by 11:45 a.m.

 

Per other reviews, we went to Taste/Savor for lunch as soon as we got on the ship. They opened right at noontime, but lunch took FOREVER! Literally about 90 minutes, and it ended up just being OK. I wish we just went up to the buffet, ate a quick lunch, and could have used the extra time to explore. While we were waiting for our lunch, a few of the younger kids in our group ran off to see if rooms were ready, and they all were! This surprised me because I've been on other ships where you are waiting until 2 p.m. to drop your bags off in your room.

 

Muster was quick, and we ended up heading to Maltings, outside to watch the boat depart, and pass by the Statue of Liberty. It wasn't busy at all and we had great views.

 

The Ship

My legs still hurt from all of the walking we did getting around the ship! It's incredible how big it really is.

 

I must say that the bar areas on this ship are better than any ship/all inclusive I've been to. The options were great. We found ourselves at Maltings or Shakers every evening before dinner. Both of these bars provide nuts and snacks, too, to enjoy with an evening cocktail. We did all have the UBP, and we found out it was good for any drinks up to $16.00. It boggles my mind, though, that I could order Johnny Walker Gold on the rocks and it's included, but I couldn't order a cappuccino without having to pay for it.

 

We also really loved O'Sheehan's, and thought the wings were awesome. It was great late night too. They serve a limited menu until 5 a.m. when they switch over to breakfast.

 

This ship had the biggest casino I've ever seen on a ship, and it was great! You never felt like you were packed in the casino area, or really in any of the bars. Where you did feel like you were packed in like sardines was the pool areas. I cannot understand how they designed this ship for almost 4000 passengers and put in two of the tiniest pools I've ever seen. Forget trying to actually get in the pool to cool off. It was easier to wait five minutes and go on one of the waterslides instead. This has to be my biggest complaint of the trip/ship. On those sea days, it was incredibly packed. We ended up on Deck 17, all the way forward, next to Vibe. This area had a shower to cool off in and a bar as well. It seemed to be the place that was the least crowded

 

Food!

Speaking of crowds, on sea days, the buffet and the Garden Grille were always packed. But the staff did a great job keeping up with the tables so you were never waiting to find a seat. I ate at the Garden Grille once, and if the burger hadn't been cold, it would have been one of the best I've ever had. My uncle ended up doing the ship tour on the last day ($80 to take the tour) and they mentioned they make the Garden Grille burgers from scratch. Although the other burgers on the buffet, or in O'Sheehans were fine, you could definitely tell the difference.

 

We did end up at the buffet for breakfast and lunch which were both fine. There's plenty to choose from. I'm pretty sure we ate our weight in chocolate croissants in the morning. And as weird as this sounds, the hot dogs were Sabretts and they were delicious. Someone had mentioned the hot dog cart in another thread, and not being able to find it. It is always either by Spice H2O, or in between the main pool bars.

 

On to the dinners...

 

Prior to boarding, I reached out to NCL and got in touch with a special events coordinator, since we were a group larger than 8, I needed to work through them to make our dining reservations in advance. I've sailed NCL one other time, and dinner was always chaos. I knew from that cruise that the main dining rooms were just ok, and the service was really slow. So we all got the UDP, and ate at specialty restaurants every night. We had very slow service at Cagney's. The first night was about 3 hours for dinner. After that, we had NCL put a note in our other reservations saying we had to be done in less than two hours because we had show tickets. After that, they were pretty good about getting us done. I recommend telling your maitre d that you need to be out in good time if you're not one to sit for over two hours.

 

We ate at Cagney's twice. The steaks were really good, with the Porterhouse being everyone's favorite. The apps, salads, and sides were all really good too. We ate at La Cucina twice and had the best service here. The food was good, and the service was great. We didn't end up making our Le Bistro reservations, which I'm a little upset about because the menu looked great. We ate at Teppanyaki which was really good (except for the green tea cake dessert which I still have nightmares about), and we also ate at Moderno. Moderno was definitely our least favorite. That evening some of us broke off and went to the seafood restaurant and those who went raved about the food.

 

Shows

We did not pay for the Cirque show. We did see Rock of Ages which was good. We reserved tickets to the comedy shows but never actually made it. My absolute favorite entertainment was the dueling piano bars. The guys were great, and you could spend hours listening to them and laughing with them. Definitely worth checking out.

 

Bermuda

We spent the first day at Elbow Beach Resort. We bought a day pass for $50 each through Resort For A Day. I cannot recommend this enough. The resort is incredible, expensive (Drinks were $15 at the restaurant, and plan on spending about $25 for a burger), but it was absolutely gorgeous. The beach is pristine, and it's quiet. We chose to do this on day 1, figuring the masses would go to Horseshoe Beach. We took a van for $7 each to Elbow Beach, and asked the guy to come back for us in the afternoon, which worked out perfectly.

 

Wednesday's in the summer is Harbor Night in Bermuda. You can take a $5 water taxi over to Hamilton and they have street vendors starting around 7:00 p.m. We were there just for the beginning, but it was great, and something different to do in the evening. This is why we missed our Le Bistro reservation :(

 

Day 2 we went to Horseshoe Beach, which didn't seem as busy as it did when we drove by on Day 1. It was a $8 taxi ride over. two chairs and an umbrella were $40 and lunch was reasonable.. $8 for a burger instead of the $25 at Elbow Beach Resort. Some of our group wasted $39 to do the Horseshoe Beach transfer. So not worth it since it limits your time there. Just pay the $8 each way for a taxi.

 

Day 3 we booked the Rising Son Catamaran through the ship. It was really nice, just not the best snorkeling. We say a few grey fish and that's about it.

 

A few other thoughts based on things I learned from reading everyone's wonderful reviews...

-I brought an old Dunkin Donuts Gift Card to use in our room to turn the power on

-Definitely bring a powerstrip so you can plug more than two things into your room.

-Don't bother bringing your own hair dryer. If you use it, you'll just blow the circuit in your room. Just use theirs.

-Absolutely loved using the Norwegian App on my phone to pull up dining menus, and look at the dailies to see what was going on.

 

I think that's about all I have to say! Please feel free to ask questions and I'll try to be helpful!

 

Great review, we are doing our first NCL cruise on Breakaway this Oct. to Bermuda. I read ALL these reviews just so I can gather as much info as I can. Anything I can pick up is helpful. Thank you for taking the time to post this. We have only done RCI cruises [4] before this. We have Anthem booked for next year as well.

[Gershep]

Nice review

[Sprasa03]

Your review pretty much aligns with the good and bad most people have to say about the Breakaway. It's a shame you missed your reservations at Le Bistro. This is why I suggest people get a copy of the dailies prior to their cruise to better schedule their days. After a few NCL cruises, you'll begin to see a pattern to how things work and scheduling becomes second nature.

 

How do you get dailies prior to your cruise? I've called before about dailies - because I'm sailing in August and didn't know if anything was changing from now till then and the Norwegian rep said nothing is changing unless weather changes our course and never offered to send me any dailies early - I didn't know it was an option!

[Sizzlechest]

How do you get dailies prior to your cruise? I've called before about dailies - because I'm sailing in August and didn't know if anything was changing from now till then and the Norwegian rep said nothing is changing unless weather changes our course and never offered to send me any dailies early - I didn't know it was an option!

 

You'd think NCL would be more forthcoming about the dailes, but they don't. People who review their cruise often post them here on the forums. Here's some basic patterns:

 

• Sea Days have more events scheduled during the day. There are things that are available constantly, like the spa events, etc. Other things like themed trivia or wine tastings usually come around only once. Don't miss those if you are interested.
  
• Try to schedule the main production shows (main theater events) for at sea days. Don't rush back from your port to wolf down a meal and see a show. Reserve the nights when you're at sea, if possible.
  
• Get to know your ports. For a Bermuda cruise, you're probably going to be out late the first two days. Schedule your dinners accordingly.
  

Don't try to schedule EVERYTHING around the dailies from a past cruise, even if it's a recent one. Things move around a lot. However, it will give you a heads up for things you might be interested in. Also, do read the reviews people post. You can learn a lot from other people's experiences, both good and bad.

 

 

Freestyle isn't dead, but it's misleading to give people the impression they can show up whenever they like and never miss out on anything. You do need to plan and schedule carefully so that you don't end up playing "Sophie's Choice" between doing two things you really want to do.

[bookmama22]

It is interesting to see everyone's perspective but I will agree that this ship is "work" because you do need to plan. I had a colleague who had been on this cruise last October tell me to reserve Second City but inexplicably you cannot do that in advance. On boarding day, we were told to use the kiosk but that did not work. Then we were directed to the Box Office but had to go back because they were not there until 6 PM or so. Enjoyed Second City but were only able to get reservations once. We really enjoyed Fat Cats, the blues and jazz club and ended up there every night. Did not enjoy Howl at the Moon at all, lasted about 10 minutes as it sounded exactly like people Howling. Rock of Ages was fine, happy to see it as I had no interest in seeing it on Broadway when it was on. The dance troupe was very talented, just not very interesting. We saw them Friday night but had I known that they were appearing on Saturday night in the Manhattan Room I would not have gone Friday night.

The Muster drill was terrible and I cannot believe that NCL considered that to be adequate. We had to muster in Sheehan's no life jacket required. You could not see or hear anything and people who were already drinking just continued to do so. Since there were video screens in Sheehan's why not show the information as they do on the TV in your room.

[Momofcandk]

Le Bistro was horrible that week for us. Ate tgere Thursday night. Waited 30 minutes for drinks and a total of 45 minutes to order dinner. For was terrible. Lamb was cold and tough. Was very disappointed in food and service. Lamb was amazing in La Cuchina Friday night. Cagneys was amazing two nights. We enjoy the 2.5 hr dinner though. We knew to book our shows and dinners three hours apart.

 

Moderno was open for breakfast and lunch. Most people don't realize it.

 

 

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[Momofcandk]

Great review, we are doing our first NCL cruise on Breakaway this Oct. to Bermuda. I read ALL these reviews just so I can gather as much info as I can. Anything I can pick up is helpful. Thank you for taking the time to post this. We have only done RCI cruises [4] before this. We have Anthem booked for next year as well.

 

 

Go to moderno for breakfast and lunch and u can eat outside on the waterfront. U can use one dining credit to eat at the raw bar or sushi. On sea days from 12-2 lobster rolls are available for $10 on the waterfront.

 

 

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[Momofcandk]

It is interesting to see everyone's perspective but I will agree that this ship is "work" because you do need to plan. I had a colleague who had been on this cruise last October tell me to reserve Second City but inexplicably you cannot do that in advance. On boarding day, we were told to use the kiosk but that did not work. Then we were directed to the Box Office but had to go back because they were not there until 6 PM or so. Enjoyed Second City but were only able to get reservations once. We really enjoyed Fat Cats, the blues and jazz club and ended up there every night. Did not enjoy Howl at the Moon at all, lasted about 10 minutes as it sounded exactly like people Howling. Rock of Ages was fine, happy to see it as I had no interest in seeing it on Broadway when it was on. The dance troupe was very talented, just not very interesting. We saw them Friday night but had I known that they were appearing on Saturday night in the Manhattan Room I would not have gone Friday night.

The Muster drill was terrible and I cannot believe that NCL considered that to be adequate. We had to muster in Sheehan's no life jacket required. You could not see or hear anything and people who were already drinking just continued to do so. Since there were video screens in Sheehan's why not show the information as they do on the TV in your room.

 

 

We were able to reserve second city while waiting to board in the terminal on the app on June 19tg. Made one reservation and then just showed up for other shows. Have done it this way for all three breakaway cruises

 

 

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[Momofcandk]

U don't need to bring life jackets or wear them bc life jackets are in your muster station. Why should you wear them??never had osheehans as a muster station but Manhattan room has the video playing and audio is loud enough. No one wants to be there and unfortunately they don't take it serious.

 

 

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[FM]

Thanks for the review ... re: the Casino, was there a strong smoke smell?

[stacy3047]

This is our first time cruising with our kids (ages 8 and 14). What were the kids' menus like at the restaurants? Our youngest will probably choose from that menu since she is more of a picky eater. Thanks for the great review!

[17cruisesnsl]

Thanks for the review ... re: the Casino, was there a strong smoke smell?

 

Was on the BA 6/12-6/19 sailing and there was a strong smoke smell in the casino and you could smell the stale smoke smell walking thru the casino for the muster drill. I could only play in the non-smoking area. This was my second BA cruise and the smoke wasn't as bad last time. My experience has been that it varies by sailing.

[Bonobochick]

I was on this same cruise and am wondering if you were able to complete the post-cruise survey? I got two links for it and neither worked.

[dittysauce09]

I did the Breakaway over Easter. Wasn't a fan of the layout of the ship- the smell of smoke from the casino wafts through the levels. Food was ok. Buffet had ample food and ample tables. Breakaway theatre seats were horrible. Burn the Floor was ok but the seats didn't make it enjoyable. Loved Howl at the Moon so I would recommend to do it early in the cruise. Also enjoyed the Second city improv. The adult section needs a pool, not the waterfall. Pools are packed. O'Sheehan's was good for breakfast. When i ate dinner the wings were cold but the fish and chips were decent. Overall it was a good cruise. Looking forward to Bermuda in 3 weeks.

[bookmama22]

Yes we had two emails with links to complete the post-cruise survey and neither worked.

 

I did not download the app because I had already reserved Burn the Floor, Rock of Ages and dinner for the first 3 nights.

 

I originally thought we would have dinner one night in Sheehan's and did not because it was incredibly noisy and unfortunately the Shanghai Noodle Bar which sounded like a fun option was located in the casino which reeked from smoke

[bookmama22]

Regarding the muster drill, things have certainly changed as back on our first cruise on Celebrity, you brought your life jacket and the crew made sure that everyone knew how to use the life jacket. Same on the Holland America cruise we were on to the Panama Canal in 2009 and twice on Princess most recently about 3 years ago.

[darlene62]

Regarding the muster drill, things have certainly changed as back on our first cruise on Celebrity, you brought your life jacket and the crew made sure that everyone knew how to use the life jacket. Same on the Holland America cruise we were on to the Panama Canal in 2009 and twice on Princess most recently about 3 years ago.

My first few Carnival Cruises back in the 90's we had to bring our life jackets to the muster drill. When I started back cruising I was surprised when I was instructed by crew that we didn't need to bring life jackets. I asked why and was told by staff that it was a safety issue and that the benefits didn't outweigh the risks. People were getting injured traveling to their muster stations with the bulky life jackets on....dont know if that was accurate but seemed reasonable to me......people have a different perspective of a muster drill...its planned and they know it's coming and just want to be done with it..I doubt if most have ever taken it seriously whether they had the life jackets or not.

[Brighton Line]

My first Mustard (yah that's how people were saying it) was 1995 on RCCL's Monarch of the Seas just before 10a the day after we set sail from Puerto Rico. Yup muster drill well after departure since it was a 10pm departure.

Drag the life vest to the drill out on the promenade, ship's officer taking roll call on clip board. Now we were going pretty fast as Hurricane Marilyn just passed thru and our first port of call was changed all the way south to Trinidad (1st time ship called there).

While the CD was talking about not throwing things overboard on the PA, the Officer flipped the page on his clip board and all the pages blew over. Perfect timing to the announcement, we all had a great laugh until the Captain got on the PA and said "Muster Station XXX" report muster". And we were starting attendance all over again.

No more life vests at the muster means no more tripping over the waist belts or people playing with the light or blowing the whistle.

Edited July 5, 2016 by Brighton Line

[Maraprince]

Do you have any idea of what the price of gelato is? Is it served by the scoop or by the dish? Also, is a gratuity added to the price for it?

 

Thanks!

 

MARAPRINCE

[Lorinick]

Where does one get a copy of the dailies prior to the trip?

[Sprasa03]

This is why I suggest people get a copy of the dailies prior to their cruise to better schedule their days. After a few NCL cruises, you'll begin to see a pattern to how things work and scheduling becomes second nature.

.

 

Where can you get a copy of the daily sheet before your cruise?? I basically search the threads for any dailies I can find off other people's reviews but I wish I could have the copies from NCL!

Edited August 11, 2016 by Sprasa03

[cincicruisers]

Great review, thanks for sharing.

[Jezo]

Go to moderno for breakfast and lunch and u can eat outside on the waterfront. U can use one dining credit to eat at the raw bar or sushi.

 

Is Moderno free for those meals?

 

For the raw bar, what do you get for your meal credit?