Breakaway Review 10/30-11/6

[Heckah]

PART I of (who knows)..=)

 

We just returned home from the Breakaway sailing on 10/30. This was our fifth NCL Cruise but our first one in five years, and also our first cruise with our kids DD8 and DD5.

 

This was also our first cruise as Silver Latitudes members, and our first time in a “family mini suite”. I consider myself happy go lucky and I realize “Ship Happens” from time to time and I don’t sweat the small stuff, so if you are a crabby person and get upset and expect OBC over a 2 minute wait at an elevator, then this review probably won’t be useful for you.

 

Overall we had a great time and we didn’t have any major issues other than Port Canaveral, which I will get to later on.

 

First off, we had beautiful weather the entire time. It was in the 70’s in NYC on during sail away and we had rain overnight the second to last night. It started to get a bit chilly on Saturday, but otherwise perfect all week. It was probably the smoothest cruise I’ve ever been on, which I know is an aberration for cruises out of NYC.

 

Let’s start with some of the things I was on the lookout for based on some of the previous reviews her.

 

“It’s too crowded” – Disagree. There were waits at elevators but I didn’t find it worse than any other cruise I’ve been on. Maybe the Garden Café was a bit more of a zoo than usual at peak times, but I wouldn’t consider the cruise “overcrowded.” We never spent an unreasonable amount of time in line anywhere (other than disembarking today, that sucked, I’ll get to that later on)

 

“The staff isn’t friendly” – I somewhat agree. No one was close to rude, but on other ships the majority of that staff was happy to see you, or at least acted that way. That’s one of my favorite parts of cruising, walking down the hall and getting “Good morning”ed to death. Some of the staff was very friendly but the majority we’re just going about their jobs, again, no one was rude, they just weren’t overly friendly.

 

“It takes too long to get a drink” – Getting a server at the tables in the casino was challenging sometimes. The dealer would ring a bell to try and get a server over, and several times, I chuckled as someone at the table would steal the bell from the dealer and start hitting it. Sometimes if you were in a high traffic area, like in the bar in the theater just before a show, getting a drink could take a while. We would just get our drinks elsewhere and bring them to theater. 95% of the time we had no problem getting a drink.

 

“The food isn’t as good” – I agree, I would have rated it “Very Good to Excellent” five years ago, I think it’s just “good to very good” now. I’ll get into the food more in a bit.

 

“There’s too much smoking” – I’m a smoker (I know…I know) and the last time I sailed smokers had half the ship to smoke on. There are very few places on the ship to smoke. The Casino, which I thought did a pretty good job keeping to smoke out of the non-smoking section, yes there was a hint of smoke, but it did go from thick stale smoke to almost not noticeable, though maybe I’m not the best judge of that. I never noticed smoke in O’Sheehans. You could also smoke in “the cage” poolside, it’s almost literally a cage for smoking. The bar at Spice H20, but our favorite spot was Maltings on the outside deck. I was initially annoyed at such few places, but there were only really a handful of chairs grouped in fours. If you were a couple, another couple would almost always ask to sit with you, if you were alone, you could find an open seat and it led to terrific conversations with people from all over the country. We got to meet some Canadians too. Turns out the Canadians are like teenage girls at a Justin Bieber concert when it comes to our election, they can’t get enough of it. I get up early and my wife and kids sleep later so it was great to head to Maltings with my coffee and talk with a bunch of different people. Even the very last night I went to have a quick smoke before bed and ended up in an hour long conversation with Rob from Howl at the Moon about sports and entertainment.

 

Embarkation – We arrived around 10:30, was given boarding number 18, and around 11am they started boarding the ship. We got through the line around 11:15 and they were on number six. We got our embarkation photo taken and went to go have a seat to wait for our number and someone tapped me on the shoulder and pointed me to a door near the back of the ship, where we were allowed to walk on. The room wasn’t ready but we were able to drop off our carryon bags and headed to the Garden Café for lunch.

 

Splash Academy – After Lunch we headed to sign the girls up for Splash Academy, we didn’t realize this would be one of the last times we would see them on the cruise. They absolutely loved being there and were always upset when it was time to leave. They open at 8pm to 1:30am on the first night, they open 9am-12pm, 2pm-5pm, and 7pm-1:30am on sea days. They are open from 9am to 1:30am on port days. You are charged after 10:30pm each night, and they charge you $6 on port days if your kids have lunch or dinner with them (they go down as a group to O’Sheehans). They do a show at the end of the week with all of the kids. The entire Splash Academy experience was awesome, from the fun nicknames all of the counselors have to all the activities and movies and just how well they treat the kids. It was an unbelievably positive experience.

 

Cruise Director and Staff – I had Dan Dan on the Pearl about 6 years ago and I was not impressed (I’m in the entertainment field so I pay attention). He just doesn’t bring a ton of energy to the table and I was “meh” on him the first couple of days. I went to the perfect couple game show and my opinion started to turn, he was hilarious, then I heard him sing and I was all in. What really impressed me was how well all the shows were produced, even Bingo to a degree is well produced. The CD staff was excellent and they are all very talented.

 

I’ll have more later, please jump in with any questions, as I realize we were the first ones on this itinerary for a while.

 

I’ll throw a tip in every post also. It’s a huge ship so it is important you know where you are heading forward vs aft especially if you are staying midship. The worst feeling on this cruise was when you stepped off the elevator and realized you ended up on the wrong side.

[easyboy]

Great start. I like your approach on addressing previous review concerns.

Looking forward to the next Part.

[ncklhaus]

Enjoying your review already. Looking forward to more.

[Clarea]

Nice start, enjoying the review so far.

[chris694]

Great review! Will be patiently waiting for more. :)

[Two Wheels Only]

I’ll throw a tip in every post also. It’s a huge ship so it is important you know where you are heading forward vs aft especially if you are staying midship. The worst feeling on this cruise was when you stepped off the elevator and realized you ended up on the wrong side.

 

Did you use the fish that are "swimming" forward on the carpet?

 

 

The fish help to tell if you are walking forward or aft.

[mirp]

Nice review.

 

I'd didn't know about the fish on the carpet. Very cool.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[Heckah]

Did you use the fish that are "swimming" forward on the carpet?

 

 

The fish help to tell if you are walking forward or aft.

 

That's a great tip. I did know about the fish. I was talking about knowing whether your destination was forward or aft.

[NH Cruisers]

Was on the same cruise as the OP. It does seem like the ship should have an extra set of elevators "more forward". And I agree, especially on the upper decks while in port, it is easy to get turned around and loose your perspective.

 

I know, I know too... Food is subjective. I had 4 meals on the UDP, so other meals were in the complementaries. All I can say is, since my last cruise last year, the food quality has definitely improved. Cant get lobster tail with out an up charge? Well I did get a Tomahawk Rib steak one trip, and a 32 oz. Porterhouse on another to Cagney's. Wife got a 32 oz King cut Prime Rib that I "Had" to finish for her. They were done as ordered "med rare". Awesome. Those steaks were never available last trip. The sides were good also, I recommend a couple sides of the sautéed broccoli as they are small. You can get all you want of sides. Well any way, we did the UDP for the 2 Cagney nights. We could have done a la carte, and the meal was of a quantity and quality that we would never find for as a reasonable price in a New Hampshire restaurant! La Bistro we shared the 32 oz Chaterbraund (sp?). That too was awsome. Last years cruise that meal had a $10 upcharge. Included in the UDP now. Moderno was very much similar to our last time, I did enjoy the shrimp in a big bowl over the shrimp cocktails of the past. Much more "clean tasting". We did attempt to go one night to La Cucina, but they were booked and went to Shanghai noodle bar. What a gem in the rough. No one talks about that place, we had 3 meals there, and wish they were open for lunch. The asian pax love that place too. At Margarritaville we were asked if we wanted to use 1 of our UDP credits. I said "no, I will use that credit on the $39 Tomahawk in Cagneys". I paid the $6.99 + a gratuity. Good move... It was exellent, by far best burger on ship. The drinks in Margarritaville are only availiable there and are covered by the UBP. We ate ate the Garden Buffett once as a after show snack. It was typical Buffett food. Good. Other meals that we had were in the Haven Restaurant and "Wine Lovers the Musical". All our meals were great, and all in our party were impressed. If the specialties going A La Carte has anything to do with that? I don't know. If so, I am all for that!

 

Also as I write this I realize I may have Hi-Jacked this thread. If so I am sorry and the moderator please delete my post if you feel the same.

 

Jon

Edited November 7, 2016 by NH Cruisers

[Heckah]

As far as I'm concerned, the more perspectives the better.

 

While we are on the subject....

 

FOOD - Again, I thought it declined from my last cruise five years ago. We had the four UDP for me and my wife and I ended up buying a 4 UDP package for DD8 because she's an adventurous eater and wouldn't be happy with the kids menu while we were eating steaks. We ate at Teppenyaki which I thought was good. I tried the Wasabi drink which wasn't bad, but it wasn't something I would drink a lot. My kids loved it (we do have something similar right down the road so we do hibachi a lot) and the Filet Mignon was outstanding. We did Taste the second night which was fine. We ate at Cagney's, I got the Tomahawk as well, which I thought was just OK. I had a lot of fat and grizzle on mine, but the good portion was more than enough. My wife had the Filet Mignon, which again was great. We also ate at La Cuccina which I thought was OK and not as good as the Italian place we have in town and Le Bistro. I did that one for my daughter who wanted to try escargot. I'm not a big fan of french food. I ordered the Veal and my daughter ordered the duck. I ended up with the duck which I wasn't a big fan of but my daughter loved the veal. As far as dining times, we read that we should allow at least two hours for dinner. I think we clocked in almost everywhere at about an hour and twenty minutes. La Cuccina was longer because we did our daughter's birthday cake there.

 

I thought Margaritaville was perhaps the dumbest thing I have ever seen on a cruise ship. NH Cruisers said the burger was great, we never bothered to try anything there. To me, at a place like Margaritaville the food is secondary to the experience, you go to Margaritaville for the music, the drinks, the atmosphere. You go because it's fun! I've seen hospital cafeterias with more personality than this Margaritaville. It just seems stupid, it feels lazy. Throw a couple of TV's in there and play some Buffett tunes, make it a good time. Everytime I've gone to a Margaritaville, I don't think I've ever said "wow the food was great," I've said "wow, we had so much fun!" Another note though, a scaled down version of the breakfast buffet is available there in the morning, and I think they do a scaled down version of the dinner buffet as well.

 

Sports Coverage - It's a cruise ship, who cares about the sports coverage. I do a little and I see a bunch of questions about what is carried so I'll discuss. We got NFL games at 1pm and 4pm, both games were the Fox games, I don't know if it was a coincidence or that's just what you get. We got Sunday Night, Monday Night and Thursday Night football. There was no college football, plenty of soccer and tennis. Each night we would get a 7pm NHL or NBA game and a west coast NHL or NBA game. We did not see one second of the World Series. Instead of Game 7, we got Penguins and Ducks. There was a woman on the ship who wore a Cubs jersey who was forced to venture into Nassau at night to see the game. So if you are planning a cruise during the MLB playoffs, don't expect to see any of it on the ship. Rumors on the score and the highlights would make it's way across the ship. What was actually happening in the game was so unbelievable you didn't know what to believe. It was funny that in 2016, a day of instant information we had no idea what was going on in Game 7 of the World Series.

 

IConcierge App - There have been mixed reviews, but I thought it was great. You always had access to what was happening on the ship. We paid the $9.99 for me and my wife to be able to communicate with each other and it was worth every penny. Like I said earlier, I like to get up early and experience the ship and she likes to sleep in. Previously, I would have to check back in the room every hour or so to she if she was awake, but this time she would text me when she was ready and we could figure out where to meet. You can also keep an eye on your tab there (though sometimes it was disjointed in telling you where the charges came from. It would say you were charged $30 at the Atrium Cafe, but you were really charged $30 somewhere else and it just came up Atrium Cafe for some reason, it eventually would resolved itself, but it could lead to a lot of confustion). You could make some restaurant reservations and book shore excursions through the app. It's a great start, but it didn't have anyway to view your reservations which seems like a no brainer. You could in theory view restaurant menu's but it was very clunky to accomplish.

 

Next post I will get into Port Canaveral and Nassau.

 

Again, any questions, please ask.

[Poipu04]

I'm not surprised by the lack of sports coverage. I was on an NCL cruise when there was an important Patriot's game. We sailed out of Boston. People staked places out in jerseys to watch the game in the atrium, only to learn that the tv feed was from another part of the country. The director announced scores from the internet. People were very disappointed.

 

Breakaway question: on embarkation day, is there a MDR alternative to lunch at the buffet?

Edited November 7, 2016 by Poipu04

[Heckah]

I'm not surprised by the lack of sports coverage. I was on an NCL cruise when there was an important Patriot's game. We sailed out of Boston. People staked places out in jerseys to watch the game in the atrium, only to learn that the tv feed was from another part of the country. The director announced scores from the internet. People were very disappointed.

 

Breakaway question: on embarkation day, is there a MDR alternative to lunch at the buffet?

 

Like I said, we got two Fox games, the first being Carolina-Arizona. There were better games on the CBS side which leads me to believe that you will only get Fox games. I saw the Chargers-Patriots AFC Championship Game on the Pearl in 08, so I would have assumed the World Series wasn't going to be an issue.

 

I know the Cruise Critic people say to go to O'Sheehan's for lunch on Embarkation day, which was our plan til we ended up on the ship so early. I seem to have all the dailies other than Day 1 so I can't speak for any of the MDR's

[esm54687]

Like I said, we got two Fox games, the first being Carolina-Arizona. There were better games on the CBS side which leads me to believe that you will only get Fox games. I saw the Chargers-Patriots AFC Championship Game on the Pearl in 08, so I would have assumed the World Series wasn't going to be an issue.

 

I know the Cruise Critic people say to go to O'Sheehan's for lunch on Embarkation day, which was our plan til we ended up on the ship so early. I seem to have all the dailies other than Day 1 so I can't speak for any of the MDR's

 

Great review so far - THANK YOU! I am heading on the BA Sunday.

 

Did they show any of the NFL games on the Spice screen?

[Heckah]

Great review so far - THANK YOU! I am heading on the BA Sunday.

 

Did they show any of the NFL games on the Spice screen?

 

I wasn't up there much, but my guess would be no. They would have it on in the bar there though.

 

They didn't show any games in the Atrium.

[Heckah]

PORT CANAVERAL - Before we actually get to Port Canaveral where we had the Airboat Tour and Jungleland Adventures excursion booked, we must go back to the night before we arrived at Port Canaveral. I was sitting in the casino playing blackjack dealing with an incredibly stupid run of cards when the Captain came over the loud speaker and said that there was someone in need of a medical evacuation. We were told the Coast Guard would be boarding with a helicopter to get the person off the ship. We theorized at the table for a bit what it was about, then we went on with our night. From where we were if the Captain hadn't said anything we would have never known anything was happening......

 

Now to the next morning. Around 10am we got an announcement that due to the evacuation the previous night, our arrival at Port Canaveral would be delayed by an hour. The message (which was fairly difficult to hear on the outside Deck on Deck 8) said that because of the late arrival ALL excursions were cancelled. I ran down to the Shore Excursion desk to confirm (because it was difficult to hear) and was told to check back in an hour to see what they could wrangle up.

 

I immediately felt sick to my stomach for all the families that were planning on bringing their kids to Disney that day. I know if I had been telling my girls for months we would be going to Disney and two hours before we were supposed to go I told them it was off and we wouldn't be able to go at all, they would be crushed. I felt terrible for all the parents who had to have that conversation with their kids. At the same time, I realized those parents hit the lottery, but they will never know it. We were originally going to do the Disney excursion, but for what it would've cost to how much time you would actually have in the park, it's completely not worth it. You could easily wait in one line for two hours. An hour later I was in the excursion line to see what they wrangled up and they said the airboat tour was able to be rescheduled and she would go print my tickets with the new time. She then came back and said I wasn't included because I had the airboat AND Jungleland Excursion. She said they would let me know if we could get added to the airboat before arrival. This is where the iConcierage app came in handy again. They immediately credited the cancelled excursion to me account, and about 45 minutes later as we were getting ready to do who knows what, I checked the app again to see some of the credit had gone away and I knew we were good to go for the airboat tour. The tickets arrived about an hour later.

 

The airboat tour was AMAZING! We were transported by bus to the St John's River, with our tour guide giving us descriptions of what we were seeing out the window, and we were taken to this park about 25 minutes away. We were led immediately to our airboat for a 30 minute ride. We saw three alligators, a group of baby alligators, tons of different birds and even cattle in the water. We were taken back to the pavilion to sample fried gator bites (which were very good), and got an animal show from the Care Foundation. At the end the girls were allowed to hold an alligator and a fox, both who have been domesticated (neither would have survived in the wild). From there, we were taken back to the ship.

 

Port Canaveral is really a place you want to have an excursion booked. There didn't seem to be much of anything within walking distance of the port. It's not like in the Caribbean where there's a Margaritaville right there to help you wash the memories of the boring Margaritaville on the ship.

[cruisemill]

does anyone know if there are trips to the space center. Did not see anything listed. Is this something I have to do on my own?

[Heckah]

I'm almost positive it was listed as an excursion.

[friskat]

Not to hijack the thread, but I too was on this sailing. Regarding the question about an MDR open the first day there is one. It is either Taste or Savor deck 6 midship (it could be both). Some staff will try to steer you towards the buffet, but the dining room is open and not that busy on embarkation day.

[luckyinpa]

does anyone know if there are trips to the space center. Did not see anything listed. Is this something I have to do on my own?

 

i know on my dec cruise it's listed. i dont know how much the ride would be by private carriage but to me its worth some research.

[Scorch]

FOOD - Again, I thought it declined from my last cruise five years ago.

 

I think the food on the Breakaway is very good. But I guess it's where you go.

 

Moderno is excellent, (although they keep raising the price). We go Night 1, it's usually pretty empty.

 

La Cucina is average, but always seemed packed.

Tepanyaki is typical Hibachi, but I can get it for less at home.

 

The Noodle Bar is very good, and Complimentary. Food comes out hot and fresh.

 

MDR Offerings like Veal chops and Chateau Briand are delicious. Like any cruiseline, some items are average.

Tip: we check the Dinner menu at lunchtime to find out what on Dinner menu, they are posted outside the MDRs. Manhattan Room food always seems better than Taste and Savor.

 

Buffet is buffet food. Jewel and Gem do a better job.

[luckyinpa]

I think the food on the Breakaway is very good. But I guess it's where you go.

 

Moderno is excellent, (although they keep raising the price). We go Night 1, it's usually pretty empty.

 

La Cucina is average, but always seemed packed.

Tepanyaki is typical Hibachi, but I can get it for less at home.

 

The Noodle Bar is very good, and Complimentary. Food comes out hot and fresh.

 

MDR Offerings like Veal chops and Chateau Briand are delicious. Like any cruiseline, some items are average.

Tip: we check the Dinner menu at lunchtime to find out what on Dinner menu, they are posted outside the MDRs. Manhattan Room food always seems better than Taste and Savor.

 

Buffet is buffet food. Jewel and Gem do a better job.

 

do you know if there's a set schedule as to the specialty lunches in moderno?

[Heckah]

do you know if there's a set schedule as to the specialty lunches in moderno?

 

On this cruise

Day 2 - Mediterranean

Day 4 - (Nothing it seems)

Day 5 - (Nothing)

Day 6 - Taste of Indai

Day 7 - Bavarian Feast

 

I'm missing day 1 daily and half of Day 3 for some reason. It looks like they only do it on sea days so I'm guessing Day 3 is also nothing

[Heckah]

I'm not surprised by the lack of sports coverage. I was on an NCL cruise when there was an important Patriot's game. We sailed out of Boston. People staked places out in jerseys to watch the game in the atrium, only to learn that the tv feed was from another part of the country. The director announced scores from the internet. People were very disappointed.

 

Breakaway question: on embarkation day, is there a MDR alternative to lunch at the buffet?

 

I just found the Welcome Aboard flyer

 

Here's what is open Embarkation day

Garden Cafe

Savor and Taste open at noon

Moderno opens at noon

O'Sheehan's

Margaritaville

[Heckah]

does anyone know if there are trips to the space center. Did not see anything listed. Is this something I have to do on my own?

 

Kennedy Space Center had an excursion that would have left at 1:30 and cost $109 for adults and $75 for children

[Poipu04]

Not to hijack the thread, but I too was on this sailing. Regarding the question about an MDR open the first day there is one. It is either Taste or Savor deck 6 midship (it could be both). Some staff will try to steer you towards the buffet, but the dining room is open and not that busy on embarkation day.

 

Excellent! Thanks for the advice :) Thanks to Heckah for looking at the dailies for me!

Edited November 8, 2016 by Poipu04