Breakaway Review 3/19-3/26 First Time on NCL

[traveler1980]

So interesting to come back and read reviews and comments about the same trip we were all on. We had a great cruise overall. Here are some of our thoughts after our first NCL cruise.

 

We've previously been on RCL (just the three day), and six cruises on HAL. We are 37/39/7/4, so by no means do we fit the typical HAL demographic and with the kids getting older were looking to try something new. For sure NCL is night and day from HAL in so many ways. Some good and some not so good. The biggest difference we noticed (okay besides the obvious age difference) is the crew. Now from what I'm reading, this may not be the standard for NCL. HAL crew is truly just amazing. They go out of their way to be friendly and just always smiling. Get to know your name immediately and greet you every time they see you by name. We did have some friendly crew on NCL especially in the Splash Academy, but overall we both agreed that 3/4 of the crew just seemed like they didn't want to be there or maybe their time was almost up and were ready to be home. On multiple occasions we actually had pretty rude service at different bars.

 

The ship was huge! The largest we have been on. It did feel that way too! Boy did we walk more than we've ever walked on a cruise. Good thing I suppose! I felt like the smoke was the most noticeable in the casino and Maltings. It didn't really bother me too much though as I knew to expect it and they have pretty much designated those areas to be that way, so I can't really complain. We struggled a bit to find a place that was our usual "hangout" as we've had on other ships. I would have probably enjoyed Maltings more as that hangout, if not for the smoke. Seating arrangements just seemed odd in places or it was too loud (atrium area). We really enjoyed the area on HAL called the Crow's Nest that was a huge panoramic lounge. Beautiful spot to see outside. The best part of the ship for us was the activities for the kids! This was an awesome ship for them for sure, which made it awesome for mom and dad as well. Our oldest loved the ropes course and did it 4 or 5 times during the week. Mom and dad each got a turn to try it out as well. Very cool. Lots of miniature golf time was had as well. Our oldest also got to utilize the breakaway bounce and spider web. Unfortunately, our youngest was pretty bummed when he was about a 1/2 inch too short to do those. Going on this ship I was pretty concerned about the swimming pool area and how it's designated adults/kids. We actually only went swimming once and then one time my oldest wanted to make sure he did the slide so we ran down to do that and then left. I am still left unsure of this area. It was so very poorly planned. The kids area might be a good idea to have, but the partitions between the areas there make no sense to me. It also had that large wood edge that made it difficult to get in and out and not convenient when a four year old needs to go to the bathroom and there is no back way around it. I really missed the retractable roof from the HAL ships as well in the pool area. We also spent some time in the arcade, and while not the best use of our money was entertaining for the kids.

 

Both of our kids have been on cruises previous, but this was the first cruise that they'd have real access to a kids club. I was really hoping they'd just love the Splash Academy to give mom and dad some much needed time away from kids!!! IT WORKED!!!!! Well...mostly! One of the things that really blew my mind about NCL is how much is going on around the ship at all times. Even in splash academy, I couldn't really keep up with all the times they could be there. We really just focused our attention on getting them there are night so we could have a few hours to do what we wanted. My oldest was my more reluctant one to go (which I had already figured he would be), but each night even after some protest he had a great time. My four year old probably would have gone more had I figured out all the times he could have gone! Overall, they seemed to have activities to keep the kids entertained. I do think a pager system would have been a good idea as they just ask where you are going to be on the ship and obviously not likely we were going to be in one area for three hours or would they contact us there unless it was an emergency. So on two nights we came back to our room after already getting the kids back to messages from splash academy. One had said our oldest was ready to leave and the other that our youngest was falling asleep, so nothing urgent, but having a pager system we would have known and gone to get them then.

 

Entertainment options seemed plentiful, but again as I mentioned a bit before my head couldn't even comprehend everything going on around this ship. The reason being, I don't even think it is all advertised/written down anywhere!!! Multiple times I found myself asking, what is this going on here or why is this happening here now simply because I would be looking at my daily and their was absolutely nothing in the daily about what was going on. Super confusing! We enjoyed some show in the atrium one night and I kept looking and looking to see where I could have found out about it without just falling upon it and never did I see it advertised. Just seemed strange to me. We did attend Burn the Floor and one performance of Second City. I really enjoyed the Burn the Floor performance and would highly recommend it if you enjoy watching highly talented dancers/singers. The Second City performance was pretty disappointing. We've been to Second City in Chicago, so maybe the bar was set too high, but it just wasn't very funny. I left wondering if the comics got to write their own stuff or just had to go with what was given to them even if it wasn't good.

 

With having the boys with us dining was always an adventure. We pretty much caved and let the boys have their kindles during meals so things went smoother for all of us. We don't allow this at home, but hey we were on vacation and sometimes making it through an almost two hour meal! I definitely give the upper hand on meals though to NCL and we didn't do any specialty dining. Our only real issue on dining was our first night at O'Sheehans (just a very rude waiter) and one morning where we attempted to eat breakfast in the dining room (why did we even try this with kids?!?...bad move mom!) Overall, the food and timeliness of getting food on NCL was much better than on HAL. I would say that I didn't particularly enjoy any of the beef dishes, but everything else was really good. My husband and I had a bit of a running joke about the molten lava cake dessert and on if it was really a molten lava cake. Sometimes yes on "lava" sometimes no. I think the concept of an O'Sheehans type restaurant is brilliant. I wish we would have been able to go back during the week, but just didn't end up back there. We did buffet for all breakfasts, but the one in the dining room, and most of our lunches. It was fine overall. Yes, very crowded almost all the time, but not impossible. It would have been nice had crew volunteered to help get plates/drinks to your table as HAL volunteers to do. I did miss the option of having free room service.

 

We were very pleased with our room choice. We had a "bump out" on deck nine which meant it was supposed to be the tiny balcony, but due to the "bump out" it was much larger for the same price as the tiny balcony. We had a lounger and two chairs which worked out great. We also felt the room didn't feel too cramped with having all four of us in there and liked the style of the room. The bathroom was a bit small, but no issue. Our steward was fine, not great, but did everything necessary. Missed two nights of towel animals and obviously with kids they look forward to that.

 

The ports of call were definitely not what sold me on this cruise. I'm much more a fan of the Caribbean stops, but sailing out of NYC was a bucket list item. We were definitely in the minority having flown in for this cruise (although many had made long drives). We had a great trip renting a car on our own and going to Kennedy Space Center. Private island was our favorite stop. Just a great time had by all. Only issue, when the water wasn't running in the women's restroom. YUCK!!!! Definitely made me appreciate even more having booked day passes at the Hilton in Nassau. A great day of pool day and beach time. We were very pleased with the weather on the trip and were actually very pleased it was as warm as it was for as long coming back to NYC.

 

Our timing was definitely off on both getting on and off the ship in NYC. Boarding we got to pier about noon - we did get lucky though as we had no issue in getting to the pier from our hotel in Times Square, but then we didn't board till 1:30 which meant we ended up missing lunch. Getting off the ship we were in the line to get off a little before nine doing self debarkation, but what a mess. Took almost two hours. Looked to me like it was a customs issue.

 

I really can't thank the kind people in our roll call enough and encourage others to join their roll call or start one. So many great tips/tricks/hints before the cruise and great meetings on board the ship as well. So great to meet many of them in person and hang out on the ship. Sorry that I had to hit and run from the M&G, I think that was one of the many times my oldest was in line for the ropes course.

 

Forgot to add this earlier...I was also going to mention how I thought it was very odd on the last night of the cruise I went to Guest Services so I could change the card I had on file to another card. As we were getting the paperwork done I could overhear both the people to the left and to the right of me taking off some of the daily service charges. Now, I do not fully understand how all employees are paid, but I know these employees work very hard. I've heard people on these boards talk about taking away their DSC after they were upset with something, but to hear two people doing it at the same time around me definitely took me back a bit.

 

Overall, my takeaway right now is NCL is a good choice for us. I would definitely sail them again if the price/itinerary was right. The UBP is amazing! I mean, this is awesome. The kids free yep, awesome! If these are still available and competitive with other cruises when I'm looking again I'd definitely keep them in the mix. I'm so glad I got to take the cruise out of NYC that I have wanted to do since seeing a ship there many years ago and thinking WOW, now that would be awesome. It truly was an awesome sail away (even if my kids were upset that it was cold...it was cold). It was still an amazing sight to see!

 

I think I'm really looking for a product somewhere between HAL and NCL. If you have thoughts/suggestions, I'd love to hear them!

 

Happy Sailing!

[Two Wheels Only]

We struggled a bit to find a place that was our usual "hangout" as we've had on other ships.

Did you try the Waterfront? It's usually pretty quiet/empty during the day with plenty of seating.

 

 

I think I'm really looking for a product somewhere between HAL and NCL. If you have thoughts/suggestions, I'd love to hear them!

Look into NCL's Haven and MSC's Yacht Club.

 

 

They are both "ship within a ship" concepts that offer the quiet/luxury/exclusiveness/service of a "high end" line but also have the fun and entertainment (that most people enjoy) on the rest of the ship.

[newmexicoNita]

thanks for a well written and objective review o your ship experience. We will be on the Breakaway next Sunday: I have a question to ask: do you know which restaurants other than the standard Dining room and buffet they served breakfast?

So glad to hear your kids had a great time: I agree HAL is not the best choice for families. Our favorite lines are NCL an HAL, for different reasons and we are much older. Though we have nearly always had great service on NCL, for the most part I have to agree HAL goes above and beyond and we have, like you, had unfriendly wait staff people in O'Sheehan's

 

Now, for you answer to your question about something in between: we have cruised all mass marketed lines: I am not sure there is something between; you may want to give Celebrity a shot? :) Princess would not be a good bet, in my opinion, and RCI isn't much different than NCL. Some might was Carnival, but not me.

[canadian-nurse]

Thanks so much for your review! We are going in May, and it was very helpful!

 

We have been on HAL twice, Royal Caribbean's Oasis Class ships, Disney and Princess. We loved the HAL Koningsdam! It has all the niceness of HAL on a more modern, younger ship. It is definitely an older crowd, but there way more kids on it than when we were on the Veendam. And it has movies under the stars every night, great shows in the theatre (with a wrap around TV screen for very cool effects), and a killer pizza bar! Disney would also be a great choice for you, but it is expensive. The Oasis class ships are amazing too- skating rink, mini golf, flow rider, rock climbing wall, fun shows and a huge kids club. There is never a lack of things to do. But we have never gotten a free beverage package, so if that's important you may want to stick with NCL.

 

Thanks again!!! :)

[traveler1980]

Did you try the Waterfront? It's usually pretty quiet/empty during the day with plenty of seating.

 

 

 

Look into NCL's Haven and MSC's Yacht Club.

 

 

They are both "ship within a ship" concepts that offer the quiet/luxury/exclusiveness/service of a "high end" line but also have the fun and entertainment (that most people enjoy) on the rest of the ship.

 

We did enjoy the time we spent on the waterfront. Awesome concept to have that and on a warmer trip we would have spent even more time outside. Did have some issue with smoke out there as well.

 

Thank you for your suggestions!

[traveler1980]

thanks for a well written and objective review o your ship experience. We will be on the Breakaway next Sunday: I have a question to ask: do you know which restaurants other than the standard Dining room and buffet they served breakfast?

So glad to hear your kids had a great time: I agree HAL is not the best choice for families. Our favorite lines are NCL an HAL, for different reasons and we are much older. Though we have nearly always had great service on NCL, for the most part I have to agree HAL goes above and beyond and we have, like you, had unfriendly wait staff people in O'Sheehan's

 

Now, for you answer to your question about something in between: we have cruised all mass marketed lines: I am not sure there is something between; you may want to give Celebrity a shot? :) Princess would not be a good bet, in my opinion, and RCI isn't much different than NCL. Some might was Carnival, but not me.

 

For breakfast there was the buffet, Margaritaville, O'Sheehan's, and the dining room. They do offer a very limited free room service option for breakfast, essentially muffins/cereals/drinks.

 

Thank you for your insight on cruise lines. Much appreciated!

[WashyWashyHappyHappy95]

people who remove the DSC's are trash, plain and simple.

 

thanks for the review.

[Two Wheels Only]

Did have some issue with smoke out there as well.

 

I think Breakaway's Waterfront has a smoking side and a non-smoking side. IIRC, port is non-smoking.

[cage keeper]

people who remove the DSC's are trash, plain and simple.

 

thanks for the review.

 

We were on this cruise and sitting at the Atrim bar most of the afternoon last day. Hubby commented " wonder why so many people are in line at guest services.". I jokenly said taking off their gratuity's. Guess I nailed it.

[cage keeper]

HAL is by far one of the best cruises we have experienced. Hard to beat them. RCCL or Celebrity would be the closest.

[oneplustwins]

Hilton in Nassau

Can you give some more details on this? Was it an easy walk? Was the beach nice and clean? How was the food? Thank you!!

[ew101]

The British Colonial Hilton is 10 minutes away. This is a $350 per night hotel so everything is neat and tidy. They like you to buy passes online as they do fill up. There is a pool grill and they also BBQ stuff. We have been there maybe 5-6 times.

 

http://www.resortforaday.com/British-Colonial-Hilton-Day-pass-p/nsnabch.htm

[hansolosmom]

Thanks for the review, sounds like a good time and I love how you rolled with the different things that happened.

 

My boys are now 18 & 20 and when they were younger we sailed mostly Royal Caribbean and Disney which are (IMO) great options for kids. My DH (my biggest kid ;p) loved the Anthem out of NJ this past year. We are on Breakaway this coming May and I'm sure they will all enjoy the ropes courses and the slides.

 

thanks again