Norwegian Breakaway Review Bermuda 4-23-17

[NYCGAL529]

Summary: We were a family of six adults ranging in age from 25 to 50. All of us had a fantastic time on the Breakaway and would cruise her again.

 

 

The ship was kept extremely clean and it was easy to get around.

 

Boarding:

We got to the terminal and parked around 10:30 am. Boarding was supposed to start at 11 am. The line was very short and we were checked-in in minutes. This was the fastest (at counter check-in) that we have ever experienced – way to go NCL!!

 

The Coast Guard was performing a drill, which seemed to take forever. I believe we didn’t start boarding until after 12:00 or so. NCL actually stopped checking people in because the waiting room was packed. We had #29 and once they started calling numbers, we were on board in less than 30 minutes.

 

We dropped off some stuff in our rooms and met our room attendant – Cedrick. He was fantastic; he knew and remembered our names from that first meeting.

 

We looked around the ship a bit and then we had dinner reservations at MODERNO.

 

Moderno was awesome. One person in our party was a vegetarian, but there was plenty to eat from the salad bar. None of us went home hungry! This was our only “pay” restaurant for the trip.

 

Room: Balcony 9278 Port Aft

The room was spacious. The bed was a bit too hard and I had some issues sleeping. There are two outlets over the desk/vanity area. Warning: Don’t bring your hair dryer. The two other rooms blew fuses after trying to use their hair dryers and had to call maintenance to fix. The hair dryer that is supplied (under the vanity) is 1800 watts and worked fine.

 

Pool and Chairs – The one and only pool is way too small when the weather is hot. It is very hard to find a chair as well. Most of the trip the slides, the rock wall and rope course were closed.

 

Breakfasts:

We ate at SAVOR two mornings. It was nice to be served instead of getting your own food. Also, the Garden Café is noisy. It was pretty much the same food as in the Garden Café and didn’t come hot (temperature) most of the time. (Getting hot food is sometimes an issue at some of the restaurants.) So after 2 days, we went back to eating at the Garden Café.

 

O’Sheehans – Several in our party ate here many times since it was open 24 hrs. Mostly, no one had a problem. The first night, the chicken wings weren’t so good. We all ate here for an early dinner (5 pm) one night and the food took forever (though the restaurant wasn’t really that busy). When the food came it was barely warm. We ate here another time (later at night) and all food came hot and delicious. So this is a hit or miss sort of place.

 

Garden Café – Compared to other cruises we’ve been on the food here is very good. This is always a hot dog/hamburger/fries station; a pasta station and chicken tenders in addition to whatever is the ethnicity for the night.

 

Lunch:

Moderno’s had a themed buffet every day that you were not in the port. We ate here every day for lunch. It was always fresh and hot.

 

Shanghai – LOVED IT!! I think I tried almost all the dishes at one time or another and they were all delicious. Service is quick (usually) and the food is fresh. I’m so glad this is now included instead of a la carte.

 

Manhattan Room – We made our reservations for the 2nd night of our trip prior to boarding. The dining room is nice and so is the live entertainment. I would definitely book here pre-cruise as there was a wait for people without reservations. I wish we could have eaten there again, but we were too busy doing other things. Next time!!

 

 

Entertainment:

 

Carla Stickler – AMAZING!! The Breakaway is so fortunate to have such a talented singer. I still feel tingles when I think of her singing “On My Own” from Les Mis as well as several songs from Wicked.

 

Rock of Ages – FUN! I saw it in Broadway, so I knew what was to be expected. It was better than the usual cruise ship shows. It was nice to see a Broadway show on board a ship. PARENTS – DON’T BRING YOUR YOUNG CHILDREN. This is not a Disney show. I saw a few children at the show. I did see some families leaving the venue about 15 minutes after the show started.

 

Burn the Floor – We didn’t get a chance to see it. Sadly, we pre-booked it and saw there were other things we wanted to do instead on that night. I wish we had copies of the Dailies to see what was going on pre-cruise. Another thing to do “next time.”

 

The Quest – Sadly, it was on the iConcierge App for Friday night, but then disappeared. We did the Quest on RCI and loved it. When I saw this on Dailies for prior sailings, I was excited. But now I am a little disappointed.

 

Second City – We went to at least 4 shows, maybe 6. Improv is “hit or miss.” Some shows were funnier than others. I could barely sit through “Stare, Gaze and Swoon” one time. Game Night and Totally at Sea were funny. I would have liked to see a stand-up comedian instead some nights.

 

 

HOWL AT THE MOON. It was a lot of fun, the singing and playing was great.

 

Some Cons: The seating in HEADLINERS is uncomfortable, to say the least, and the venue could be better in general – better seating and table set ups. It is used for the SECOND CITY COMEDY shows as well. The room is a lot smaller (especially for this large ship) than other ships for comedy clubs that we have been on.

 

Breakaway Theater – The seating here isn’t that great either. There is a bar in the back of the chairs that is painful after 30 minutes. Even the 25 year olds in our party were complaining.

 

BINGO – Expensive! 3 cards for 3 games - $39; 6 cards for 3 games $49; 9 cards, scratch offs and free cruise raffle tickets $69; 18 cards, scratch offs and FCRT $89. Oh, I almost forget -- a free T-shirt for the 2 higher packages – unfortunately, I hope you are a size medium, because that’s the only size they had. (Maybe they’ll get some larger sizes in for future cruises.) There was also a discount bingo game on one of the days – One game only – 3 card for $20 – Can someone explain how that is a discount. (Just being cynical! No reply necessary.)

 

 

Disembarking - We got on line early and we were some of the first people off the ship. Customs was empty. My advice --- get off very early or get off late!

[Dina7]

Thanks for your review. It was helpful. Thanks also for the Bingo prices. At least we'll know what to expect if we decide to play on our cruise...always such a rip-off, unless you win, of course :D

[ChitownKaye]

Thanks for your review. Nice and concise with lots of good tips. I did not know that Moderno was open for complimentary lunch each day.

[Clarea]

Thanks for the detailed report.:)

[Maraprince]

Do the cabin lights work by putting a card in the slot near the door?

 

How long is "Rock of Ages"? We made dinner reservations for after the early show.

 

Did you get to do the Escape Room?

 

Did you have to go to the Next Cruise Rep to get your benefits package/invites at 9PM on the first night?

 

Did they offer Cirque on the next to the last night of the sailing?

 

We board next Sunday and are hoping for good weather in Bermuda as well. Been less than Spring like weather here in NYC this week and it will continue to be the same for this week.

 

Thanks and enjoy the sailing and Bermuda.:D

 

MARAPRINCE

[NYCGAL529]

Do the cabin lights work by putting a card in the slot near the door? Yes, that's the only way they work. The AC stays on without the card.

 

How long is "Rock of Ages"? We made dinner reservations for after the early show.

Rock of Ages is approximately 105 minutes

 

Did you get to do the Escape Room? Unfortunately, no.

 

Did you have to go to the Next Cruise Rep to get your benefits package/invites at 9PM on the first night? I don't understand this question.

 

Did they offer Cirque on the next to the last night of the sailing? I posted all the Dailies for the week in another thread.

 

We board next Sunday and are hoping for good weather in Bermuda as well. Been less than Spring like weather here in NYC this week and it will continue to be the same for this week.

I live here in NYC, so I know what you mean. You won't know until you get there. The forecast for Bermuda changed daily before we went.

Thanks and enjoy the sailing and Bermuda.:D

 

MARAPRINCE

 

I hope this helps!! -- Cathy

[easyboy]

Thanks for your review.

 

 

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[Maraprince]

I hope this helps!! -- Cathy

Did you have to go to the Next Cruise Rep to get your benefits package/invites at 9PM on the first night? I don't understand this question.

 

 

I'm sorry...meant to say Lattitudes Rewards -- invite to party and other things.

 

MARAPRINCE

[Cruise Girly 88]

Do the cabin lights work by putting a card in the slot near the door?

 

We used a credit card and a room key from a hotel visit so we didn't forget our keys in the room. Only one night did our steward (who we never met) take the card.

[EllieinNJ]

Room: Balcony 9278 Port Aft Was this a larger angled balcony room? It looks that way from the cruise plans? Was it quiet at night, not having other cabins underneath and near elevators? We just booked this same room for our Breakaway cruise next May.

Edited May 8, 2017 by EllieinNJ
wrong info

[NYCGAL529]

Room: Balcony 9278 Port Aft Was this a larger angled balcony room? It looks that way from the cruise plans? Was it quiet at night, not having other cabins underneath and near elevators? We just booked this same room for our Breakaway cruise next May.

 

Yes, this balcony is angled and a bit larger than adjacent rooms. It was surprisingly quiet at night. I was a little nervous when I realized how close to the elevators it was, but thankfully, our fellow cruisers were courteous and did not make any noise. I hope you have the same luck.

 

 

I was also leery since there are no rooms below, but that wasn't an issue either.

 

 

The room is located very conveniently. It is easy to walk down a flight or two when you are going to the dining rooms and you get "first dibs" on the elevators going up to 15. A lot of times the elevators were full going up and the higher floor passengers had to wait for the next one. Not a problem from 9!

 

 

Also, since the room is pretty much mid ship, this was the first cruise that I did not get seasick or have to use the patch. (The boat did rock a bit in the front and back.)

[EllieinNJ]

Thank you so much for answering my questions about the cabin. You have really eased my mind so I don't have to wonder for a year if I made a mistake.

[flyingandcruising]

What time were the rooms ready on embarkation day?

 

 

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[vbjess]

There are 7 of us going on this cruise in 3 different staterooms. We are planning to go to the Cirque show one night. Do you know if we need to connect our reservations for the show or if we can just show up together and ask that they seat us all together?

 

Also, thanks for the comments about room 9278, we just booked that room for the June 18 cruise and didn't know the balcony was bigger until looking at deck plans. I was worried about noise from the elevators but I'm glad that wasn't an issue.

 

Thanks!

[NYCGAL529]

What time were the rooms ready on embarkation day?

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

 

We had 3 rooms. Two were ready, one was not at 1:30. We dropped off our carry-ons in the room and went to eat. Our luggage came before 6 pm. Note - We boarded late due to the coast guard and that might have thrown some times off a bit.

[NYCGAL529]

There are 7 of us going on this cruise in 3 different staterooms. We are planning to go to the Cirque show one night. Do you know if we need to connect our reservations for the show or if we can just show up together and ask that they seat us all together?

 

Also, thanks for the comments about room 9278, we just booked that room for the June 18 cruise and didn't know the balcony was bigger until looking at deck plans. I was worried about noise from the elevators but I'm glad that wasn't an issue.

 

Thanks!

 

We also had 3 rooms and made separate reservations to ROA. I would assume when you show up together, they will seat you together. We didn't see Cirque, so I'm not 100% sure.