Thoughts on NCL and Breakaway

[jormot]

Hello all. We are looking at the 9 day Scandanavia & Russia cruise from Copenhagen in 2018 on the Breakaway. We are not big cruisers and have only sailed once on Carnival and we'll be sailing this summer on Princess to Alaska. I have a few questions however that hopefully you guys & gals can help me with. The reviews on the Breakaway are fairly poor here on Cruise Critic and I am hoping you can shed some light on why and would you recommend this cruise or not? Yes, we want a decent experience but honestly we want to visit these ports. It's a port intenstive cruise with only two sea days so entertainment etc is not our top priority. Good food would be great but again we'll be eating in port as often as possible. What would be your opinion on this? The alternative is a Princess cruise but this works a lot better for our work schedules. Thanks for all your help!

[mugtech]

Read that people on the Star had long waits to get off the Ship to visit St Pete, Russia. Breakaway carries twice as many passengers. We enjoyed the BA on a 7 day NYC to Bahamas, it was not enough time to enjoy the entire ship. We were considering the Baltic cruise, but both BA and GA may be too large for a port intensI've cruise, we prefer Jewel class and smaller. Will probably wait some years before making it to the Baltic, depending on which ships are scheduled, waiting to read some GA reviews from summer 2017 cruises.

[denatravels]

Reasons why I didn't like breakaway: pool area was too small. Pretty much that's it. 4000 people for 1 tiny pool going out of NYC freezing cold weather to Bahamas in February. In the Baltics, that really won't impact you.

However, here is why I didn't choose getaway (same itinerary in 2017) for my upcoming Baltics cruise-- itinerary and time. I made a spreadsheet of all port times for Holland america, NCL, princess, royal Caribbean, and celebrity-- NCL had the shortest cruise (9 days vs all others 11 plus). Ultimately, I chose HAL-- overnights in THREE ports vs one on most others really made the difference for me.

 

 

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[dexddd]

The Baltics are great and you'll have a great time. Look at one of the private tours for St. Pete.

 

Also, take the time to go to Berlin - it is well worth it.

[jormot]

Ideally I would love to take one of the longer cruise this however it doesn't work with my husband and my work schedule which is why I was looking at the shorter route. It still has an overnight in St. Petersburg and visit several other ports but cuts out some of the sea days which is fine with us. Does anyone else agree that the ship is too big for this cruise itinerary? Should we wait until a later year and see if another option would be better? We'd like to go sooner rather than later but not at the expense of an overall good experience.

[luvtheships]

Hello all. We are looking at the 9 day Scandanavia & Russia cruise from Copenhagen in 2018 on the Breakaway. We are not big cruisers and have only sailed once on Carnival and we'll be sailing this summer on Princess to Alaska. I have a few questions however that hopefully you guys & gals can help me with. The reviews on the Breakaway are fairly poor here on Cruise Critic and I am hoping you can shed some light on why and would you recommend this cruise or not? Yes, we want a decent experience but honestly we want to visit these ports. It's a port intenstive cruise with only two sea days so entertainment etc is not our top priority. Good food would be great but again we'll be eating in port as often as possible. What would be your opinion on this? The alternative is a Princess cruise but this works a lot better for our work schedules. Thanks for all your help!

 

 

For a port intensive cruise in the Baltic the BA is fine

 

You won't be using the pools much and you will be exhausted from the ports so the minuscule atrium and massive smoke from the casino should really not be a deterrent nor should the poor design of the overall ship layout

 

Yup I don't care for the BA and when I recently had a choice of gem or BA I choose the incredible Gem. 3x now

 

However...if price itin and dates worked for me and the BA filled my needs...and I wanted to sail the Baltic

 

I would bite the bullet and hold my nose and sail her again

 

Understand though that I would do it because on a Baltic itin there is little chance of spending excessive time on the ship as it would essentially be a floating hotel for my needs

 

 

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[BirdTravels]

The breakaway is a beautiful ship. We have sailed on the "breakaway" class ships 6 times and would not hesitate to sail on her again. Broadway entertainment, lots to see and do in the ship. Modern cruise accommodations.

 

The breakaway is a mega ship. Every cruise line is building mega ships. Long time cruisers long for the days of waiting for the 10 people sitting at your dining table to show up and eat at the table's pace. Talking about everyone's aches and pains and hospital stays. They long for the days of singing completion rejects and comedians who can't make it in vegas. Those are the people who would give you negative reviews of a mega ship.

 

We have sailed for many many years and don't miss the "old days" at all. We love to have entertainment options and things to do on the ship.

 

Go, have a great cruise.

[Sauer-kraut]

The Baltic itinerary is ALL about the ports, the ship is just to bus you around. If the dates fit and you don't have a lot of flexibility the choice is a no brainer.

[MJSailors]

To the OP-

Before you book NCL to the Baltic area, take a look at Princess cruises there.

After taking the Princess cruise to Alaska,you may appreciate what Princess offers.

My DH and I have taken many Princess cruises. We have also been on the Breakaway twice.

We do not anticipate taking another Breakaway cruise,but we look forward to more Princess cruises.

Enjoy Alaska-it is an amazing place!

[luvtheships]

The breakaway is a beautiful ship. We have sailed on the "breakaway" class ships 6 times and would not hesitate to sail on her again. Broadway entertainment, lots to see and do in the ship. Modern cruise accommodations.

 

 

 

The breakaway is a mega ship. Every cruise line is building mega ships. Long time cruisers long for the days of waiting for the 10 people sitting at your dining table to show up and eat at the table's pace. Talking about everyone's aches and pains and hospital stays. They long for the days of singing completion rejects and comedians who can't make it in vegas. Those are the people who would give you negative reviews of a mega ship.

 

 

 

We have sailed for many many years and don't miss the "old days" at all. We love to have entertainment options and things to do on the ship.

 

 

 

Go, have a great cruise.

 

 

I'm a long time cruiser and nope not longing for the days of 10 strangers eating together and I actually like mega ships as well as mid sized ships

 

I just don't understand the thinking behind the design of the BA

 

Mini atrium where they hold all the events

 

1 pool versus 2

 

Lots of wasted pool deck space and I'm not talking about the slides and rope course. I'm talking about the huge area called the marketplace that is rarely used but is unusable for pax

 

I miss the deck BBQ on the BA but there isn't any space for it anyway thanks to that marketplace

 

I don't smoke or gamble but have no problem with a casino except that the BA casino is totally open which makes the deck 6/7/8 ocean atrium area and le bistro plus several bars and other food venues (noodle bar for example) unusable for great numbers of cruisers because no matter how many posters dispute this...the fact is that yes the smoke spreads far and wide especially in the evening

 

 

Spice h2o is nice except the smoke from the smoking side is smelled all over and there are not enough cooling waterfalls

 

Oh and the best yet....the theater...absolutely no design element at all unless you like gothic style plus those seats!!!! You know the ones with the metal bar going across them that push right up against the bottom of your spine.

 

To the op...what I posted is totally correct...but that's not saying it's a terrible ship and most likely newbie cruisers will love it

 

It's massive and has plenty to keep you occupied but it is very poorly designed and one would need to be totally oblivious not to see it

 

Fortunately I have lots of cruising experience and while the entertainment and food is actually above par the design and lack of open space and relaxing indoor seating areas and the massive casino smoke negates the good stuff about the BA for us

 

The only reason I would sail the BA again is if we took all the kids to Bermuda because the other choice is celebrity but would want the kids to enjoy the slides and ropes course on the BA

 

 

 

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[luvtheships]

The Baltic itinerary is ALL about the ports, the ship is just to bus you around. If the dates fit and you don't have a lot of flexibility the choice is a no brainer.

 

 

This I agree with even though I'm no fan of the BA

 

 

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[cruise pup]

Just make sure that the ship is in Port on days the important attractions are open. A few years ago I found a bargain Baltic cruise but when I emailed an indy tour operator to book they informed me that one of the palaces in St. Pete would be closed the day we would be there. So there went that cruise.

[Son of a son of a ...]

This I agree with even though I'm no fan of the BA

 

 

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No up vote button, but 100% agree ... it is about the ports, not the ship

[jormot]

Our biggest concern is getting off the ship in a timely manner at each port. Has anyone had issues with this on these larger ships? We don't want to just be reaching the port an hour after docking.

[riclop]

Thanks for your thoughts.

[easyboy]

Hello all. We are looking at the 9 day Scandanavia & Russia cruise from Copenhagen in 2018 on the Breakaway. We are not big cruisers and have only sailed once on Carnival and we'll be sailing this summer on Princess to Alaska. I have a few questions however that hopefully you guys & gals can help me with. The reviews on the Breakaway are fairly poor here on Cruise Critic and I am hoping you can shed some light on why and would you recommend this cruise or not? Yes, we want a decent experience but honestly we want to visit these ports. It's a port intenstive cruise with only two sea days so entertainment etc is not our top priority. Good food would be great but again we'll be eating in port as often as possible. What would be your opinion on this? The alternative is a Princess cruise but this works a lot better for our work schedules. Thanks for all your help!

The Baltics is really a port intensive cruise and quite an experience. Greater part of the day are spent on excursions, especially St. Petersburg (2 full days) and Berlin (3 hours travel time each way from port). Some ports didn't take us the whole day though. While we had lunch mostly on land, we also wanted good food on breakfast for your needed energy on activities ahead, and on dinner and after dinner relaxation after a busy day.

 

I guess it is a matter of preference on how non-port hours are spent. We still try to be on vacation mode after a day's learning excursion. So you probably have to choose which ship will serve your needs in this regard.

Edited December 27, 2016 by easyboy

[luvtheships]

Our biggest concern is getting off the ship in a timely manner at each port. Has anyone had issues with this on these larger ships? We don't want to just be reaching the port an hour after docking.

 

 

Be up and ready as early as possible if you are DIY or have a private tour booked

 

Alternately...

 

Book Ncl excursions

 

 

 

 

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[Heckah]

I sailed BA in Oct. I found the complaints to be on the nitpicky side. It depends on your personality if it will matter to you. I'm more of a go with the flow kind of guy, yes it's different than a smaller ship and the pool design is dumb and the Atrium should have more seating, but those aren't big deals to me. I don't use the pool, and if there is something in the Atrium I want to see, I get there 10 minutes earlier and find a seat. I didn't notice the smoke and I thought they did a pretty good job of keeping it in the casino. Again, it depends on what a dealbreaker is for you.

[hamrag]

Our biggest concern is getting off the ship in a timely manner at each port. Has anyone had issues with this on these larger ships? We don't want to just be reaching the port an hour after docking.

 

Two ways to achieve that, very early breakfast and be ready in line 30 minutes before expected docking time or book a haven suite, and be concierged to the dock!

 

We have sailed on Breakaway and also done a Baltic cruise, and agree entirely with other posts about the ship being your floating hotel to enable visits to these wonderful ports. Key downsides of the ship for us are the extremely poor atrium layout where shows take place, and also the extensive casino area where smoker fumes drift into adjacent non-casino areas. Would any of that stop us from sailing BA to the baltics if that ship was the best option....a very emphatic no, so go for it is my advice!;)

[luckyinpa]

dont be scared of the reviews here. ive been on BA 2 times in the past few months. though i admit these were my only cruises, i find very little to complain about. ill try to give you the negatives

 

i'm not a pool person but if i was i would find the pool deck too cramped.

 

i'm sensitive to smoke but i have to say most of the time i didnt really smell it. even though we went from aft to forward to get to the theater on 7 many times

 

the buffet at rush hour is maddening. i'm guessing this is universal on all ships though?

 

the atrium is a poor place to see skits/events etc. even 30 min early doesnt guarantee you a seat

 

eating in any of the 3 main dining rooms is minimum 1.5 hours. no matter what time you go.

 

the tender process to GSC is just crazy

 

virtually no waiters ask you if you want refills

 

so if any of the above are dealbreakers then you better not go on BA. otherwise i found it to be very clean and 99.99% of the crew are very friendly. both my stewards were fantastic and got hero cards. get a 3 SDP and enjoy 3 fancy dinners to balance out the freebees and slow service you get in every other food place.

 

if you let one or 2 jerks wreck your vacation you will have a bad time. there is always one. but if you just let things slide off your back you will be fine. i found the elevator sitaution a bit of a PITA during peak times but just grin and bear it. or take the steps.

 

dont hesitate to try the BA

[mmscrc's grandma]

About 5 or 6 years ago we did St. Petersburg, Copenhagen, Stockholm, etc. out of Amsterdam on a Celebrity ship - I think the Millennium. They did a great job. We had 2 days in St. Petersburg so we got to see a lot there. We used a non cruise-line affiliated excursion company called Denrus in St. Petersburg and they were superb. We haven't travelled on Celebrity recently (we've been to Alaska and Hawaii with NCL) but have always liked them - just a thought. I know you'll enjoy the ports whatever cruise line you take.

[Sauer-kraut]

Have you looked at the Adriatic cruise dates for NCL you might find a fit date-wise and it will be on a smaller ship. Croatia, Yugoslavia etc. lovely area to visit!

[jhawknj]

Hello all. We are looking at the 9 day Scandanavia & Russia cruise from Copenhagen in 2018 on the Breakaway. We are not big cruisers and have only sailed once on Carnival and we'll be sailing this summer on Princess to Alaska. I have a few questions however that hopefully you guys & gals can help me with. The reviews on the Breakaway are fairly poor here on Cruise Critic and I am hoping you can shed some light on why and would you recommend this cruise or not? Yes, we want a decent experience but honestly we want to visit these ports. It's a port intenstive cruise with only two sea days so entertainment etc is not our top priority. Good food would be great but again we'll be eating in port as often as possible. What would be your opinion on this? The alternative is a Princess cruise but this works a lot better for our work schedules. Thanks for all your help!

 

I am no expert but I have been on the Breakaway and I love the ship. I have been on only two cruises and both with Norwegian. I love the free style service and I feel the BA is a very up to date ship. I stayed in a balcony room and I sailed alone. I had no problem getting a table in any of the dinning rooms and never had to eat with an unknown group.

 

I believe the cruise was pretty much full and had no long waits for elevators all in all I had a great cruise and I am going again in Nov 2018. Hope you like the ship I love it.