Monster Photo Review of NCL Breakaway Cruise 7/31 to 8/7

[oceanqueen101]

Following like a kid at Christmas!! Thank you. And the pic size looks great. Glad your daughter is feeling better. My family will be on the Breakaway on 9/4 so thanks for posting the kids activity sheet. One thing I noticed different from our cruise on the Gem 2 years ago is that I don't see them practicing for the kids circus :(. It was surprisingly special; each group practiced "circus acts" daily and at the last sea day they put on a kid circus show in the main theater. I purchased our thermal spa passes a few weeks back :D being that we only booked and ocean view our angels LOL ages 6&7 are quite busy so a balcony would be pretty unnerving for us. Cant wait!!!!

[Kealy]

Nice review, looking forward to hearing more about your trip.

[easyboy]

following your posts.

[Sprasa03]

Haha, you touched on an internal debate I'm having. I have ALOT of pictures of drink menus. Enough pictures to warrant them having their own thread. I want them in this thread for completeness, but I don't want to bury information in this thread that I Know others would want to debate and discuss on its own outside this review.

 

I think they should all be in this thread. Anyone who has interest in the Breakaway will read this ENTIRE review anyway. I've read 70 page reviews with delight!!

 

So no matter how long your review goes, I'll probably want more at the last page!

[poffles]

Booked on the Getaway so really enjoying your review. Can't wait to hear your thoughts compared to Carnival. Went on one Carnival cruise (Victory) and liked it so little that I am reluctant to book any other with them but I keep telling myself a newer ship would be totally different experience. The Victory was a nightmare design, line ups to buffet were the worst and I think the itinerary timelines likely attributed to this. That said, I wasn't thrilled with NCL Epic ... design and service ... so can't wait to hear your experiences on this 'somewhat' altered design.

 

Oh and your pictures are beautiful!

[garebarepups]

Following. Great review so far, waiting for more.

[rocklinmom]

Considering booking the Getaway so this is great! Keep it coming!!

[Smitty74]

Day 1 continued.......

 

finally, The Statue of Liberty

 

going under the bridge.

 

Time for Dinner, the first night we went to Teppanyaki. Its a premium restaurant so there are extra charges to eat there. we were on the dining package, and as part of that package, we get unlimited appetizers, one entree, and unlimited desserts. The dining package was a freebie that we got for booking early. It only covered My wife and myself.

 

At the specialty restaurants, If my daughter ate from the children's menu, she ate for free. If she ate from the main menu, we would have to pay for her meal out of pocket. The kids menu consisted of Buttered noodles, chicken fingers, macaroni and cheese, and not much else. my daughter was NOT happy with the kids menu, so we always paid for her meal when eating at a specialty restaurant.

 

The good news is the wait staff always charged us for her entree, and added any appetizers or desserts that she ate to one of our bills since we didnt get charged for them.

 

 

 

Here are the two signature cocktails. the Wasabi cocktail is the red one, and it was great. the Green one is the shauku shaku. It was undrinkable. three of them were ordered at my table, and after valiant efforts to drink it, all three got sent back. It tasted like pine scented after shave lotion.

 

Heres a picture of the show. the food is good, but its no better than the teppanyaki place down the street from your house. If you book this reastaurant, your booking it for the show. Our chef spent alot of time with us. He flipped eggs, twirled knives, and made jokes for atleast 45 minutes. Its worth eating here just for this show.

[garebarepups]

Day 1 continued.......

 

The kids menu consisted of Buttered noodles, chicken fingers, macaroni and cheese, and not much else. my daughter was NOT happy with the kids menu, so we always paid for her meal when eating at a specialty restaurant.

 

 

 

 

Wait, hold up. I saw a pic of the kids meal not long ago. I thought it had burgers, hotdogs, Chicken fingers along with the pasta stuff? This is not going to work. We cruise 11/6/16 and I just booked our specialty restaurants with our 12 year old daughter eating with us twice at the specialty dining. I was hoping to have her eat off the kids menu then. Do you happen to have a pic of the kids menus?

[Smitty74]

Day 2, our first Sea day!!

 

I love sea days. its the perfect time to people watch, go see a show, do a trivia competition, drink a cocktail, etc.. and theres no rush to go anywhere. sea days are the best.

 

My daughter realxing on the balcony watching the waves go by.

 

Breakfast at Taste. the service was good, and the lines were short.

 

After Breakfast, we went to an informational session about the island.

 

After that, my daughter went to the kids club for the rest of the morning, and I went looking for my official hang out bar for the rest of the cruise. I found it on deck 8 at Maltings. Its a good location, and Elliot the bartender was a nice guy.

[Smitty74]

Day 2, sea day continued....

 

While Im talking about bars, let me explain the drink menu situation on the ship. Each of the bars has a couple of specialty drinks that are only available at that specific bar. they also have a list of drinks that are available at all the bars. I mention this because Im about to post all the drink menus I collected. I will limit the duplicates as much as possible, but there will be some drinks that are in multiple pictures because they are available at multiple bars.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Smitty74]

Day 2 Sea day continued...

 

 

 

there are more menus that this, but some of my pictures didnt come out unfortunately.

 

I also noticed this sign hanging in every bar.

 

I asked if they allowed any exceptions for young couples on their honeymoon, and they told me that they do not.

[Smitty74]

 

Wait, hold up. I saw a pic of the kids meal not long ago. I thought it had burgers, hotdogs, Chicken fingers along with the pasta stuff? This is not going to work. We cruise 11/6/16 and I just booked our specialty restaurants with our 12 year old daughter eating with us twice at the specialty dining. I was hoping to have her eat off the kids menu then. Do you happen to have a pic of the kids menus?

 

sorry, I dont have a picture. The kids menu probably also had a cheeseburger and a hot dog on it as you mentioned. If your 12 year old will eat a hot dog while your eating lobster, then more power to you, your doing better than me. My Daughter is an adventurous eater, and macaroni and cheese is not on her menu. especially not when Im eating a 24 ounce steak at Cagny's.

[garebarepups]

sorry, I dont have a picture. The kids menu probably also had a cheeseburger and a hot dog on it as you mentioned. If your 12 year old will eat a hot dog while your eating lobster, then more power to you, your doing better than me. My Daughter is an adventurous eater, and macaroni and cheese is not on her menu. especially not when Im eating a 24 ounce steak at Cagny's.

 

Ok thanks. She absolutely loves lobster but she wouldn't like anything but that at Teppanyaki. She will be eating a lot of Lobster Rolls at Ocean Blue.

[Smitty74]

Day 2, first sea day continued. Time For Lunch

 

We went to Sheehans for lunch, I took a picture of the menu, but it turned out fuzzy. the food was pretty good pub grub though.

 

Spinach dip and chips

 

Chicken wings (only come in orders of 6)

 

Open faced Roast Beef sandwich.

 

 

Bangers and Mash (sausages and mashed potatoes)

 

Shepards Pie

 

And best of all, the Brownie cheesecake. this was one of the top 5 things I ate on the entire ship. and it wasnt even in a specialty restaurant.

[Smitty74]

Day 2, first sea day continued.......

 

while the wife went off to an art auction, and the daughter went to the splash academy, I wandered the ship until about 2:30 when I saw the following sign, and a cheeseburger beckoned to me.

 

 

Uptown grill was VERY good. they made a killer burger. Its an 8 ounce patty on a very good country bread roll. I highly recommend this place for lunch or as I called it "second lunch"

 

this one was called the cowboy burger with bacon, and homemade BBQ sauce.

 

I am hearing that they are turning Uptown grill into a Margatetaville in September (dont quote me on that). and that you will have to pay for the food. If it happens, its a shame. this burger was really very good, and I liked that it was included with no extra charge.

 

I spent almost no time on the pool deck during sea days. It was a madhouse out there.

 

Not only was there a 1000 people on a pool deck designed for 400, and a pool designed for 50 (my opinion). There were no deck chairs available anywhere near the pool. Im not saying all of them were occupied, there were entire rows of chairs with towels on them that never had anybody sit on them. Maybe Im wrong, but I think the "northern" attitude of the majority of the cruisers had something to do with it. Remember when I talked about embarkation, and how lots of people were trying to game the system, and break into lines to get an advantage in boarding? well, that same mindset was on display when it came to loungers. Im used to "chair hogs" on the other cruises I have been on leaving from southern ports, Southerners can be chair hogs too, but the amount of it going on during this cruise was over the top.

 

I know this is cruise critic, so let the angry replies to my last paragraph begin.

Edited August 11, 2016 by Smitty74

[DeeT]

I'm loving your detailed review and all the pics! Glad your daughter was feeling better. We leave in 10 days!!! I'm very excited but not looking forward to the chair hog situation. It does sound like there's other outside seating/lounge chairs options so that makes me feel better. I don't have little kids and don't need to sit right next to the pool. I would like to be able to take a dip to cool off occasionally so would prefer to be kind of nearby.

 

The food sounds great!

 

Looking forward to more pics and review. Thank you!!

[BrandoMan13]

Day 2, first sea day continued.......

 

Not only was there a 1000 people on a pool deck designed for 400, and a pool designed for 50 (my opinion). There were no deck chairs available anywhere near the pool. Im not saying all of them were occupied, there were entire rows of chairs with towels on them that never had anybody sit on them. Maybe Im wrong, but I think the "northern" attitude of the majority of the cruisers had something to do with it. Remember when I talked about embarkation, and how lots of people were trying to game the system, and break into lines to get an advantage in boarding? well, that same mindset was on display when it came to loungers. Im used to "chair hogs" on the other cruises I have been on leaving from southern ports, Southerners can be chair hogs too, but the amount of it going on during this cruise was over the top.

 

I know this is cruise critic, so let the angry replies to my last paragraph begin.

 

Loving the review. I'm a born and bred New Yorker. I am also a hater of the chair hogs and do not participate in that type of activity. If I have a chair at a resort, its because I got down there early to get it. I will keep it to sit and also while I'm having a swim. Once I'm leaving the pool area, I take my things and give it up to the next person.

 

I've seen chair hogs from all around the world so I'm leaning towards the idea that its a global issue, not just a northerner issue.

[Lupush]

Sorry, but I'm a native northerner now living in the south that takes exception to your portrayal of us. How would you feel if a northerner came on here and spoke about how the buffet lines were crawling because of the slow southern hillbillies on their cruise? There are jerks in all areas of the country, it's not a "northern" thing. Pretty ignorant IMO.

[thistimeplease]

Sorry, but I'm a native northerner now living in the south that takes exception to your portrayal of us. How would you feel if a northerner came on here and spoke about how the buffet lines were crawling because of the slow southern hillbillies on their cruise? There are jerks in all areas of the country, it's not a "northern" thing. Pretty ignorant IMO.

 

Totally agree with you. I'm enjoying the OP's review but found the stereotyping of us "northerners" unnecessary.

[jm485]

Day 2, first sea day continued.......

 

Uptown grill was VERY good. they made a killer burger. Its an 8 ounce patty on a very good country bread roll. I highly recommend this place for lunch or as I called it "second lunch"

 

I see you have a lot in common with my husband. Second lunch is one of his six favorite meals of the day!

 

We don't have a trip planned on BA, but if there's a Cowboy Burger to be found on the Gem, I'm sure he'll find it.

 

Enjoying your review and love all the pictures! Thanks for taking the time to do this.

Edited August 11, 2016 by jm485

[Smitty74]

For the record, I love Northerners. Heck, My Wife was living in New Jersey when I started dating her. Im just not sure how to word what Im trying to say in a way thats not going to upset somebody.

 

Let me try to word it another way. I have been on ships leaving out of Miami, Charleston, Baltimore, and now New York City, The passengers on the Breakaway are predominately from New York, and New Jersey. Every single one of them I talked to was a nice person. But taken as a whole, the passengers on this ship are different than the passengers that I have met when embarking from other ports. Im just trying to explain the differences I saw. Would it be better if I called it the "New York Attitude".

 

Oh, and to the person that talked about the slow southern hillbilly at the buffet. Yeah, I saw him/her too, but I saw more of that stereotype on my last charleston SC cruise. lol

[BrandoMan13]

For the record, I love Northerners. Heck, My Wife was living in New Jersey when I started dating her. Im just not sure how to word what Im trying to say in a way thats not going to upset somebody.

 

Let me try to word it another way. I have been on ships leaving out of Miami, Charleston, Baltimore, and now New York City, The passengers on the Breakaway are predominately from New York, and New Jersey. Every single one of them I talked to was a nice person. But taken as a whole, the passengers on this ship are different than the passengers that I have met when embarking from other ports. Im just trying to explain the differences I saw. Would it be better if I called it the "New York Attitude".

 

Oh, and to the person that talked about the slow southern hillbilly at the buffet. Yeah, I saw him/her too, but I saw more of that stereotype on my last charleston SC cruise. lol

 

I completely get what you are trying to say. Even living here, I see wonderful people everyday...People helping a couple of lost tourists find their way on the subway, and offering their seats to the older woman, etc.

 

Then this morning the obnoxious girl listening to her music without headphones on a crowded subway car not giving a damn about her fellow passengers.

 

NY'ers can be the best and the worst. So I can understand the idea that everyone you interacted with was great and yet overall enough bad apples make some issues.

 

But specifically to chair hogs, Europeans and Canadians are experts as well. Its a GLOBAL epidemic!

[Smitty74]

i completely get what you are trying to say. Even living here, i see wonderful people everyday...people helping a couple of lost tourists find their way on the subway, and offering their seats to the older woman, etc.

 

Then this morning the obnoxious girl listening to her music without headphones on a crowded subway car not giving a damn about her fellow passengers.

 

Ny'ers can be the best and the worst. So i can understand the idea that everyone you interacted with was great and yet overall enough bad apples make some issues.

 

But specifically to chair hogs, europeans and canadians are experts as well. Its a global epidemic!

 

 

exactly!!!!!!!!!

[tmilak]

Hi Smitty 74,

I have two questions. Can you confirm if Lobster has been removed from the Teppanyaki menu and other restaurants? Secondly have you been able to tell from experience how high some of the Ultra premium liquors now cost? I am a big fan of high end libation i.e Remy Martin XO, Patron or Glenmorangie. It used to cost 2 dollars more but now I can only imagine how much more it will cost based on the new drink prices. Thank for any insight you can provide:):).