Review - Breakaway - March 12-19

[acruisingcouple]

Hi...we just got off the Breakaway and I have to say that it is now my favourite ship.

 

My DH, DD, DS and I had previously been on 9 cruises of varying length and ship size. This was our third cruise with NCL and the second out of NYC.

 

After reading other reviews we started our cruise on the Breakaway with moderate expectations and some reservations about it would be like. These reservations were for the most part unfounded. I will go into detail below. Please feel free to ask questions. I would also like to thank previous Breakaway CC posters for providing some very helpful tips.

 

Embarkation- as it was Spring Break for many Canadian schools and American colleges, the cruise had a lot of passengers. Because of this, we arrived early at around 9:15. It took us about 45 minutes to go through security and check-in. We did not actually start boarding until 11:45 which was actually pretty good considering passengers from the previous week were still disembarking at 11:20.

 

Cabin- we stayed in balcony cabin 12238 which is a category B2 that has an aft-facing angled balcony. I loved the location of the cabin and the angled balcony and would try to get the same cabin again. The cabin itself was a little smaller than cabins I have had on other ships. The closet isn't very big, however, there is a lot of storage in various nooks and crannies within the cabin. The TV programming is quite limited. I know you're not meant to be in the cabin that much but sometimes it is nice to be able to unwind and watch a little TV. It would have been nice to have a few more channels especially for sports and news.

 

Ship itself- The Breakaway is an absolutely beautiful ship and the decor is very nice. There are some areas that were very busy- Atrium, pool deck, Garden Cafe buffet. Luckily, the Breakaway has so many other places to go that you can avoid the crowds. It was easy to find loungers on deck 16 that overlooked the pool deck and we always found places to sit inside and outside on deck 8. I will say, however, that I felt bad for those wanting to use the hot tubs but could not as they were always filled with college kids. I have never seen so many college kids on a cruise before, however, given the UBP promos, I am certain that this trend will continue.

Smoke- I did find the smoke somewhat bothersome and what surprised me the most about it was how badly the smell lingered even when the casino was closed. I have mild asthma so smoke does bother me. It may not bother others as much.

 

Dining- in a nutshell, the food was amazing. We only ate a complimentary restaurants but the food was very good. We tended to avoid the Garden Cafe except for the odd dessert and/or beverage. We ate all of our dinners in the main dining rooms. I found most meals to take about 1.5 hours which I consider reasonable. Our last meal was in the Manhattan dining room and it took a little longer due to the Burn the Floor cast performing as the dining room was very busy. We made dinner reservations for each night and am glad that we did as there were often lines.

 

We ate our breakfasts in the dining room or the buffets set up in Margaritaville of Moderno so that we could avoid the crowds of the Garden Cafe. I loved having breakfast in Margaritaville- it reminded me of the Great Outdoors on the Gem.

 

Lunches- we went to O'Sheehans, Moderno for the Mexican buffet, the dining room and once we ordered room service.

I found O'Sheehans to be very busy and noisy. It was here that I had my one bad meal. The salad I ordered was dripping with dressing (I recommend ordering it on the side) and the burger I had was dry and had some thing hard in it (I am thinking a piece of bone or fat). We did go back later in the week and had some very good chicken wings.

Room service took about an hour but it was worth the wait and convenience charge to be able to sit on the balcony as we sailed into Port Canaveral.

Dining room - menu selection was decent and the food was good. I especially liked the spinach Caesar salad. The dressing is very garlicky and spinach is a nice change from romaine.

 

Ports-

Port Canaveral - we went to Cocoa Beach. We did used the local shuttle company at a cost of $13 per person round trip. The company was good and reliable, however. we had a heck of a time trying to find them when we first got off the ship. The line is actually located not far from the terminal - we had walked too far.

 

Great Stirrup Cay - we didn't stop there due to the winds and rough seas. I wasn't very disappointed as the weather was just so so and I wasn't looking forward to dealing with the crowds trying to get on the tenders. Speaking of tenders, you can book tenders via your TV.

We ended up sailing to Nassau that night instead of the next morning. We got off at about 8pm but almost everything was closed so we got back on right away.

Nassau- this was our 5th time in Nassau but we were still able to find new things to do. We walked up the Queen's Staircase to Fort Fincastle and then along to Watling's Distillery where they give free tours and samples of Piña Coladas that were so good. You can also get 3 large samples of their rum for. $6.50. We went to Arawak Cay for lunch and had conch fritters. I recommend going there just for the experience.

 

Entertainment- Burn the Floor is great- the dancers are extremely talented.

Rock of Ages is a great show, however, NCL is absolutely correct in saying that it is not appropriate for minors as there is crudity and foul language.

Howl at the Moon - absolutely loved it. Highly recommend watching it.

 

Disembarkation- was a breeze. We did self-assist and lined up at 7:15. Disembarkation started at 7:45 and we through customs and out the door by 8:05.

 

General observations-

We sailed through a small storm and the ship handled it beautifully. The Breakaway is the most stable ship I've ever been on.

Cleanliness- the ship is very clean. We did see the odd plate or drink lying around but all in all the crew does a great job.

Crew- were all very friendly and hard working. We always got a smile and a hello.

 

I would definitely sail the Breakaway again.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[bbryan5]

Nice review. Looking forward to my Breakaway cruise in a couple months! Couple questions if you don't mind.

 

Did you do Vibe, if so how was it?

Any good spots on the "waterfront"deck to chill and grab a drink that you'd recommend?

Any don't miss meals in the free main dinning rooms?

 

Thanks!

[renjrusa]

Nice review. Did you drive down and park? Anything you would change?

[acruisingcouple]

Nice review. Looking forward to my Breakaway cruise in a couple months! Couple questions if you don't mind.

 

Did you do Vibe, if so how was it?

Any good spots on the "waterfront"deck to chill and grab a drink that you'd recommend?

Any don't miss meals in the free main dinning rooms?

 

Thanks!

 

We didn't do Vibe which was a good thing as the weather was so-so. Spice H20 was nice. I wish I had bought the spa pass as it would have been a good week for that.

 

We aren't big drinkers so we didn't go to the bars. I will say that there are a lot to choose from. We did enjoy walking around the Waterfront.

 

I loved the Chicken Kiev and the Basil Chicken. The After Eight mousse was good too.

 

 

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[acruisingcouple]

Nice review. Did you drive down and park? Anything you would change?

 

 

We drove down and parked at Port Imperial. We stayed in Manhattan for a couple of nights before the cruise. I really like the convenience of cruising out of New York as it is only a 7 hour drive.

 

I think I may get a spa pass next time. The weather wasn't great and I think I would have enjoyed relaxing in the spa.

 

 

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[easyboy]

Thank you for your review.

[Clarea]

Appreciate the feedback.

[skittlebug83]

Appreciate the review!

 

Could you tell me a bit more about Port Imperial? How much is the parking there and how often does the ferry run?

 

The parking at the port is pretty steep (especially with our exchange rate:loudcry:) and I would like to avoid it if possible.

 

TIA

[luckyinpa]

that is a great disembark story and so different from many others. good to see a positive one for once.