Breakaway 9-Day Cruise July 1-10 Review

[Sizzlechest]

It’s been a fun ride cruising with NCL over the last few years. I’ve been on the Star, the Gem and Breakaway (twice). There are patterns that are common to all NCL cruises, but also striking differences in the cruise experience depending on the ship chosen. I looked at my past reviews and saw how many of those experiences simply don’t apply anymore. Things change sometimes for the better, but many times for the worse. Spoiler alert: I enjoyed my cruise, but it will be my last on NCL for a while. There’s still a lot of value in what NCL provides, but not enough to compensate for the all the value lost over the years.

 

The Breakaway

 

This is my second cruise on this ship. There are a lot more activities on this ship than on the older Jewel class ships (e.g. , Gem). There’s a Ropes Course, Rock Climbing Wall, Miniature Golf, Basketball Court, Freefall and Whiplash Water Slides, etc. The downside is that the pool areas, theater, and atrium are very small for the number of passengers that the ship holds. Some of this can be mitigated by proper planning. Making reservations for dining and theater shows in advance can remove some of the sting. Of course, this seems antithetical to the whole concept of “Freestyle Cruising.”

 

The biggest defect of the Breakaway design is the Atrium, or rather, the lack of a Spinnaker Lounge like on the Jewel Class ships. Planning ahead and arriving early isn’t always a feasible strategy for the Atrium. There is a whole swath of cruisers who basically plant themselves in the Atrium for the whole day. These folks don’t look healthy enough to partake in any of the more physically demanding activities on board. They usually have some combination of physical disability, morbid obesity, or are enfeebled due to old age.

 

Main Dining Rooms

 

All three had great food selections. You don’t need a dining package to enjoy the food on an NCL cruise. The vibrations in The Manhattan Room while the ship was moving were sometimes shockingly rough. I’d suggest avoiding it on “at sea” days.

 

Modernos

 

This is my favorite specialty restaurant. The menu items have changed…again, but it’s still great. The salad bar offerings are fewer, but now include sushi rolls (and not just California rolls), so no real complaints here. Many people have said that the meats are too salty, but they seemed fine to me. In fact, there were many other foods in the MDR that were made FAR saltier than anything in Modernos.

 

The only real complaint that I have is the fried yucca. They took away the fried bananas and replaced it with plantains a couple years ago, which weren’t as good. Now those were replaced with these flavorless roots. Terrible.

 

Teppenyaki

 

The miso soup and salad weren’t as good as on the Gem last year. In fact, they reminded me of the ones served on the Breakaway a couple years ago. Perhaps different food and beverage directors on different NCL ships yield different results? Something to ponder. However, make no mistake; the overall meal was great.

 

Le Bistro

 

The menu has changed significantly since going to a-la-carte. The mushroom soup and crème brulee are still there and just as good. However, the muscles are a pale imitation of what they once were. The creamy broth is gone. The Fruits De Mer is gone. I tried to order the ribeye, but they strictly enforced the “for 2” policy! I had the lobster tail instead and it wasn’t as good as it used to be. Le Bistro took a huge step backwards. In hindsight, I would have liked to try the tomahawk steak at Cagneys. I heard good things about it.

 

Themed Lunches

 

One of the no-so-publicized perks on the Breakaway is the complementary lunch buffets served at Modernos and Cagneys on certain days. There is a mini-buffet available on embarkation day and a Mediterranean, Indian, and German themed buffet on sea days. The German one was my favorite.

 

O’Sheenans

 

I loved this place! Everything on the menu was great. Only thing missing is brown mustard. I forgot to bring some with me, but I did see someone had the foresight to bring little packets from Nathans! Smart!

 

Uptown Grill

 

I never got around to checking out this place on my previous Breakaway cruise, but I made a point to visit it this time. I hear a lot of great things about it and wanted to try it before it gets converted into an a-la-carte Margaritaville. The burgers and salads were great! If you’re able to visit Uptown Grill before it gets converted, please do so.

 

Shanghai Noodle Bar

 

I also heard great things about the Shanghai Noodle Bar and wanted to try it, too. It’s located right next to the casino and offers a number of Asian themed foods. The place is extremely popular and the food is really good. What comes as a complete shock to me is that the noodle bar is ONLY open for dinner! This would be a perfect place to go for a light lunch.

[mom2tcdx2]

My son will be disappointed to hear of the noodle bar not being open for lunch. That seems so strange. I know when we sailed on the ship a very long time ago it was open as my son had lunches there quite often. He will already have places for dinner, it was perfect for lunch.

[DeeT]

Thank you for your revew. We are looking forward to our trip on the Breakaway next month. I will hopefully remember to check out the German buffet!

[Sizzlechest]

Entertainment

 

This is where the newer NCL ships shine. The entertainment is much better on the Breakaway than Gem. Burn the Floor is very modern and high energy dance performance. The dance shows on the Gem are stale and uninspiring. Rock of Ages is great, and magician/mentalist Greg Gleason was one of the best performers I’ve seen on any cruise. He was so impressive, that people flocked to his 12pm seminar on memory techniques. I don’t want to spoil any of the show, but his methods really do work! It’s the basis for many of his magic tricks.

 

Passengers

 

I can’t say if this is a more recent trend on cruises, the public-at-large, or if this particular cruise (being that it was a 9-day) made it unique, but I have never seen so many unhealthy and morbidly obese people on a cruise before. I’m not talking about “chubby.” I’m talking 400+ pounds. There were also a lot of people who seemed to be coughing and sneezing quite a bit.

 

Service

 

The most striking thing about this cruise was the SLOW service. I used to tell people if you can get into dinner at 5:30 PM, you can get to a 7:00 PM show in enough time. Not anymore! I don’t place the blame for this on the staff. They are as committed as ever to serve the customers. I can only surmise that they’re simply understaffed. How can I tell? Walk up to O’Sheenans and get told there’s a 30-minute wait. Look in the restaurant and see half the tables are empty. One night there was an HOUR wait at the Noodle Bar with plenty of seats open. The main dining rooms were the same way. Once you were seated, it would take a long time to get served, order taken, and even longer to get your entrees. The only advice I can give is to NOT attempt to be seated in a large group. One morning in Taste, we sat down at 9:00 AM and the food didn’t get served until after 10:00 AM. Other tables of 2-3 were seated, served, and left while we were waiting.

 

Here me now, if anyone on Cruise Critic claims that service time hasn’t taken a hit, put their usernames on ignore. They’re either lying, crazy, or both.

 

Margarita and Martini Tastings

 

These are offered on “at sea” days and were incredibly fun. The margarita one in particular should not be missed. I didn’t get an opportunity to try the beer and whisky pairing one. My only complaint is that they schedule these all together on the same days.

 

The Ports

 

The itinerary of this cruise is what attracted me to it. The destinations were all wonderful. I particularly loved Coki Beach in St. Thomas and Horseshoe Bay Beach in Bermuda. No need to do an excursion through the cruise line. I was a little surprised that the customer service folks didn’t know about the $7 shuttles to the beach. The person I spoke to claimed the only two ways to get to Horseshoe Bay Beach was to take the ferry to Hamilton and get on a bus or take a Taxi for $40. These shuttles have been in operation for almost 2 years now.

 

Soda and water on board

 

This was one of the last cruises where water and soda can be brought on board. This was the “straw that broke the camel’s back” for many people and they’ve responded by canceling future cruises. I had already decided that the number of changes for the worse were too much for me to cruise on NCL again. This was just “gravy.”

 

Summary

 

This will be my last NCL cruise for a while. The never-ending whittling away of benefits combined with the ever increasing nit-picky charges were enough for me. If I do decide to try NCL again, it won’t be on the Breakaway. There are too many downsides with this ship. Most of the issues I had with the Gem were resolved after the last dry-dock renovation. I’ve seen Burn the Floor and Rock of Ages twice. I have no desire to see them a third time. There are some great facilities on the Breakaway, but it’s just way too crowded for things like the pool, theater, and Atrium.

 

One last parting observation: Our cruise director suggested that we talk to other passengers and get to know them while on the cruise. If you think this review has been overly-negative, you haven’t talked to the other people on the ship. I had a complete stranger come right out and tell me on the elevator, “If you want to see the comedy show at Headliners, you’d better show up an hour early, because the place is too damn small.” I heard the phrase “nickle and dimed” more on this cruise than I’ve ever personally uttered. I don’t agree with all the accusations, but it doesn’t matter. That’s the perception out there. Don’t think the people on Cruise Critic represent an accurate sampling of what people really think about NCL right now. It’s a lot worse…and it’s a shame.

[Clarea]

Well written review, thanks.

[NYcruzzer]

Welcome home. Thank you for taking the time to write such a detailed review. This was a unique Summer itinerary brought on by the prior 5 day Charter cruise. Not really sure where your observation of "morbidly obese" passengers fit into your review? Did they some how impede on your cruise experience ?

[Sizzlechest]

Welcome home. Thank you for taking the time to write such a detailed review. This was a unique Summer itinerary brought on by the prior 5 day Charter cruise. Not really sure where your observation of "morbidly obese" passengers fit into your review? Did they some how impede on your cruise experience ?

 

Elevators. Getting a seat at the Atrium. For the most part, I was just shocked at how many people are in tremendously bad shape.

[BoyMommax3]

I was also on this cruise and agree with your most of your assessment. However, I wasn't bothered by "obese" passengers. Not sure why it matters and find your comment a bit distasteful. For the record I'm not one but a little compassion goes along way.

 

My next cruise will not be with NCL. This was my second time on the Breakaway and I didn't enjoy as much. It was just too crowded. The food and service in Taste/Savor was absolutely awful!

[Sizzlechest]

I was also on this cruise and agree with your most of your assessment. However, I wasn't bothered by "obese" passengers. Not sure why it matters and find your comment a bit distasteful. For the record I'm not one but a little compassion goes along way.

 

What part of anything I said was distasteful? There was a surprising number of extremely obese people. If you're uncomfortable with that fact, it's a personal problem of yours, not mine.

 

My next cruise will not be with NCL. This was my second time on the Breakaway and I didn't enjoy as much. It was just too crowded. The food and service in Taste/Savor was absolutely awful!

 

I mostly enjoyed the food, but yeah, the service was ridiculously slow. I also noticed their reservation systems aren't tied to one another. On the last night, I tried getting seated at Taste and Savor, but there was a 30 minute wait. I ran up to the Manhattan Room and seating was immediate. It would have been nice if the folks at the small MDRs would have known and directed some of the overflow upstairs.