Question re crowds on Breakaway

[rc1973]

We have a cruise planned to Bahamas and FL on the Breakaway in April. It looks like the ship will be pretty full. I am wondering how crowded the ship will be? How long of a wait should we expect for dinner in the complimentary restaurants? Will the buffet be packed? Will it be hard to get a lounge chair on sea days? Fwiw, we have a 5 year old and we eat early. We will likely be eating lunch by noon and dinner at 5:30.

[mjkacmom]

Easter week? If so, it will be full. However, our family of 7 has never waited for a table, and we eat later than 6, and go during school breaks. There aren't many chairs by the family pool anyway. Settle elsewhere.

[BirdTravels]

We have a cruise planned to Bahamas and FL on the Breakaway in April. It looks like the ship will be pretty full. I am wondering how crowded the ship will be? How long of a wait should we expect for dinner in the complimentary restaurants? Will the buffet be packed? Will it be hard to get a lounge chair on sea days? Fwiw, we have a 5 year old and we eat early. We will likely be eating lunch by noon and dinner at 5:30.

 

At 5:30 there will be no wait for the MDRs. The buffet will be busy on port days. Crowded, but everyone is looking to eat fast and get their day ashore started.

[rc1973]

Thanks! We will not be traveling Easter week. We are going the week of the 2nd.

[ncklhaus]

The main pool is adults only so your 5 year old will not be allowed in it. You will have to take her to the children's pool and splash pool. They do not have lounge chairs right near it, but they will have some straight backed chairs nearby. It will still be fun. Enjoy the cruise and enjoy the quality time you will get with him her. You should also take advantage of the Splash Academy programming. My daughter absolutely loved it every time we have cruised.

[Gershep]

If you know that you will be eating at 5:30 you can make reservations now for the MDR's.

[midori0780]

We will be on the April 2nd cruise as well. We have a 4yo and had the same question about dinner!

 

 

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[Crusin6]

Thanks! We will not be traveling Easter week. We are going the week of the 2nd.

 

 

Good choice of week

 

The ba will still be crowded as it holds 4000 and sails full every week and is so poorly designed that you will feel like you are in a sardine can. Sorry but true

 

On the bright side the buffet has lots of seating

 

5:30 main dining room will not be a wait

 

 

 

 

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Edited January 29, 2017 by Crusin6

[SwimmingDragon]

If you are looking to drop of the kids at the Splash Academy, be warned. We went and didn't realize how many kids had off that week. They had to over book because of how many children were onboard. They will not be doing the regular stuff they list on the site. They did a good job, but the kids just sat around in a circle and did various games that could be done with that order in mind. No arts and crafts or video games, no dressing up and doing character stuff. There were character breakfasts, but you would need to pay for that. Our Daughter was 9 at the time. That age range was the fullest. So plan on the possibility of keeping the kids with you a good bit. Overall, as a family group, you will have a blast! Lots of fun things for the kids and you to do together.

[traveler1980]

Our kids are 7 and 4 traveling with us. Guess I didn't realize there are not true lounge chairs available around a pool that we could all use. Is there an actual pool in the kids area, not just the fun splash zone stuff? Also, is the Spongebob stuff still on the Breakaway or did they already take it out?

[mjkacmom]

Our kids are 7 and 4 traveling with us. Guess I didn't realize there are not true lounge chairs available around a pool that we could all use. Is there an actual pool in the kids area, not just the fun splash zone stuff? Also, is the Spongebob stuff still on the Breakaway or did they already take it out?

Yes, there is an actual pool. Sponge Bob is long gone!

[thatjoeguy]

Good choice of week

 

The ba will still be crowded as it holds 4000 and sails full every week and is so poorly designed that you will feel like you are in a sardine can. Sorry but true

 

We sail on the BA last spring and never felt like we were in a sardine can.

[luvtheships]

We sail on the BA last spring and never felt like we were in a sardine can.

 

 

The atrium

The pool deck

The theater

 

Are all too small for this ship

 

Those areas are always crowded

 

 

 

 

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[Son of a son of a ...]

We sail on the BA last spring and never felt like we were in a sardine can.

 

If it is raining or cold on deck, then the interior public places will be crowded and, to some, over crowded. It depends on the venue, time, and personal perspective. There are some folks who don't mind queues or wait times, and there are others who avoid them at all costs.

 

I don't live in a dense, urban location with lots of people. Nor will I spend 45 minutes waiting in line at an amusement park for a two minute ride. Nor will I wait 15 minutes to get a Starbucks coffee. I would rather drive 5 extra miles than wait in traffic for 5 minutes.

[Moby0215]

Good choice of week

 

The ba will still be crowded as it holds 4000 and sails full every week and is so poorly designed that you will feel like you are in a sardine can. Sorry but true

 

On the bright side the buffet has lots of seating

 

5:30 main dining room will not be a wait

 

 

 

 

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I love the BA. I Do not think it is poorly designed at all. Nor do I feel like I am in a sardine can. I've never experienced a wait at any restaurant or bar. And I have never had a problem finding loungers on the pool deck. To each their own but I just want the OP to hear all opinions.

 

 

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[amydandrea]

We also love the breakaway and never feel like we are in a sardine can! Can't speak to the little kids activities as my two traveling with me are 15 and 18. The only time I felt crowded was at Rock of Ages because so many people wanted to get in. Next cruise is two weeks out and can't wait!

 

 

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[luckyinpa]

unless kids do the kids clubs, we found it a tad challenging on rainy days to keep them occupied.

since you asked about crowds, here are the issues i personally had in december

 

buffet at peek times, you had to go around the entire thing and get lucky to find a seat.

 

tendering for GSC is a joke. strictly first come first serve. get there early.

 

late nite hot tubbing is fun..we'd go after the show with the kids and they loved being in there till midnite some nites.

 

atrium crazy busy

 

waits for the MDRs arent bad at all. but the meal takes 90 to 120 minutes regardless of time of day.

 

ive never tried them but nachos in margaritaville are supposed to be good and pretty sure ever crowded.

 

i left AFT elevators for self disembark and fought through the casino traffic. do NOT do this!

[Heather1972]

Sign up your kids for splash Academy while waiting in the port terminal. There will be a table with a couple of NCL staff to assist.

[RBDPT]

This may be on a separate thread, but since a couple people mentioned they are sailing on April 2 I figured I would ask:

 

As far as weather goes I know it will be cold on Sunday April 2, but does anyone have any insight on when it should warm up? My guess is probably by late Monday.

 

Thanks in advanced.

[Budski54]

We have a cruise planned to Bahamas and FL on the Breakaway in April. It looks like the ship will be pretty full. I am wondering how crowded the ship will be? How long of a wait should we expect for dinner in the complimentary restaurants? Will the buffet be packed? Will it be hard to get a lounge chair on sea days? Fwiw, we have a 5 year old and we eat early. We will likely be eating lunch by noon and dinner at 5:30.

As I was reading all of the various replies, and the crowded pools, and lack of lounge chairs, etc, my suggestion to you is that if you get an email to bid for an upgrade, place a bid on one of the Haven cabins. It looks like a great way to enjoy a cruise with your wife and daughter, without the hassle of dealing with 4000 others.

I placed a low bid for the Haven for a March sailing, and have my fingers crossed. But the more I read reviews and look at photos of the Haven, I'll probably increase my bid.

[luckyinpa]

This may be on a separate thread, but since a couple people mentioned they are sailing on April 2 I figured I would ask:

 

As far as weather goes I know it will be cold on Sunday April 2, but does anyone have any insight on when it should warm up? My guess is probably by late Monday.

 

Thanks in advanced.

 

in december it was tolerable outside temp wise on monday except for the 40 mph winds and rain lol.

 

meaning, if the wind and rain stopped it would be ok to walk around outside. i think it was around 50 degrees

 

id imagine april is much warmer than dec.

[PippenBooBoo]

I live in the NE and we've had anywhere from snow to sunny and hot weather during April. I would plan for both. Monday afternoon should def. start to warm up as the ship would be off the coast of North/South Carolina by then unless there is some freak cold front in the area.

[RBDPT]

in december it was tolerable outside temp wise on monday except for the 40 mph winds and rain lol.

 

meaning, if the wind and rain stopped it would be ok to walk around outside. i think it was around 50 degrees

 

id imagine april is much warmer than dec.

 

Thanks for the insight!

[luckyinpa]

Thanks for the insight!

 

YW

 

i took one of the 8 yr olds out in the wind and rain and said put your hand in the kiddie pool. i asked him if the rain stops would he go in. he say no way, its freezing.

 

which is kinda sad because i'm 85 % sure i read on the NCL site on the official forum that pools are heated. i can verify the kids pool is definitely not.

 

this year in december i'm giving serious consideration to the Anthem of the seas. i think anyone that sails in cold weather needs to look at her and the videos online. i can say with certainty if i was aware of the anthem and the setup there, that unless the prices was bad, id def have tried anthem in december vs the BA. there's an enclosed adults only pool area with a multi tiered water feature then a main pool that is inside then another pool that is outside. the hot tubs are so much bigger than BA

 

and rumors are NJ is easier to em/disembark. i may have found a new ship

[jessyka182]

We cruised the breakaway last year, I think the sailing date was April 3rd. No schools were on break at that point, however, there were still a ton of kids on board. The small kiddie pool area was usually pretty busy, but by no means packed. There are 2 small-ish pools over there as well, in between the slides and one was deeper than the other (I think). Most parents sat along the edges of the pool, however, most parents just seemed to wander off and leave their kids unattended.

 

The main pool ALWAYS had kids in it, and the staff did NOTHING to get them out of the pool. The hot tubs were filled with kids and teens, who clearly didn't read the sign "ADULTS ONLY". On days when the weather was cloudy, the pools were empty, so that is when we snuck in our swimming.