Full Review: NCL Breakaway, December 4, 2022--A Detailed Review from Experienced Long-Term Cruisers by SthrnGary

[Jayhawk]

7 hours ago, Sthrngary said:

I am sure you can but don't worry about it.  Just do it on your cabin TV when they let you into your room. No issue at all if you do it early.  

 

Hugely bad idea.  The Specialty Dining Reservations are super hard to get on a fully booked ship.  That is the priority not the show.  Do what I do and book your Dining reservations at 06:00 PM for a 07:30 PM show or 07:00 PM for a 10 PM show.  Six is Second and third night; Burn the Floor is the 6 & 7th night.  

 

Yes

 

Our ship was completely full.  The ice bar was next to the Martini Bar.  A waste of money.  Every ship has an oldies night.

 

Cruise well and enjoy every moment. 

 

Thanks so much! Last question... are there formal nights anymore? Or at least nights where most people dress up and they have photos around the ship? Not sure if the Christmas version is different with the Christmas eve day on ship as a bit more formal too...

[Sthrngary]

Just now, Jayhawk said:

Thanks so much! Last question... are there formal nights anymore?

No not really.  Many folks dress up for pictures still.  Country Club Casual is usually what is acceptable for dinner in most of the nicer restaurants.  

 

Cruise well and enjoy every moment. 

[Topdog52]

22 hours ago, Sthrngary said:

This is Gary, I fully understand your thoughts.  Please help the person who asked about the area's.  Funny thing, everyone has a different option and everyone is right for them.  

 

Cruise well and enjoy every moment. 

I need help with excursions. I am on the NCL excursion site and every time I click on an excursion a different one pops up such as clicking on the ruins and zip lining pops up. Or you will see the same excursion on 3 different islands. Can anyone suggest some NCL tours that we can take in Harvest Caye, Cozumel, Roatan or Costa Maya? NCL needs to clean up their site so cruisers can maneuver through it without problems. I feel safer if we take an NCL tour just in case there are problems getting back in time. 

[Sthrngary]

18 minutes ago, Topdog52 said:

I need help with excursions. I am on the NCL excursion site and every time I click on an excursion a different one pops up such as clicking on the ruins and zip lining pops up. Or you will see the same excursion on 3 different islands. Can anyone suggest some NCL tours that we can take in Harvest Caye, Cozumel, Roatan or Costa Maya? NCL needs to clean up their site so cruisers can maneuver through it without problems. I feel safer if we take an NCL tour just in case there are problems getting back in time. 

What is happening to you has never happened to me.  It is a computer Glitch.  Use a different browser and or try later.  There usually is over 100 options for excursions.  All I or anyone else can do is suggest a few that we liked.  It would help others to give you a better answer if you shared what kind of excursions you like.  Just reply to this again with the things you like or would like to do.

 

The issue of only take NCL Excursions is something most cruisers agree with.  Everyone is scared of missing the ship and if you are on an NCL Excursion, that can't happen.  The reality is if you google excursion on the island you are on, there are lots of extremely well rated providers.  I will try to help you with the NCL sponsored excursions I have taken to give you a start.  

 

• Harvest Caye:  The Super Man Zip line is a great experience.  If you have an open budget, the Beach Villa is expensive but provides a luxury experience.  The reality of Harvest Caye is even when there are more than a couple of ships on the island, it is still easy to get a lounge chair and umbrella by the pool.  Save your money and chill by the pool.
• Roatan:  The Jolly Roger Snorkeling is rated one of the best and I enjoyed it very much.  Not the best Snorkeling I have ever done but nice.  The Over the Water All Inclusive bungalow was also very nice.  The right to the place and back is awful but the place it self and the bungalows were an experience. 
• Cozumel:  Just do any beach day.  Nice beaches.
• Costa Maya: I like this place because just off the ship is all you really need.  We did the Health Relaxation spa which was very nice.  

 

Again, my experiences and yours will differ.  The site will fix it self sooner or later.  I hope I was helpful.

 

Cruise well and enjoy every moment. 

[Topdog52]

25 minutes ago, Sthrngary said:

What is happening to you has never happened to me.  It is a computer Glitch.  Use a different browser and or try later.  There usually is over 100 options for excursions.  All I or anyone else can do is suggest a few that we liked.  It would help others to give you a better answer if you shared what kind of excursions you like.  Just reply to this again with the things you like or would like to do.

 

The issue of only take NCL Excursions is something most cruisers agree with.  Everyone is scared of missing the ship and if you are on an NCL Excursion, that can't happen.  The reality is if you google excursion on the island you are on, there are lots of extremely well rated providers.  I will try to help you with the NCL sponsored excursions I have taken to give you a start.  

 

• Harvest Caye:  The Super Man Zip line is a great experience.  If you have an open budget, the Beach Villa is expensive but provides a luxury experience.  The reality of Harvest Caye is even when there are more than a couple of ships on the island, it is still easy to get a lounge chair and umbrella by the pool.  Save your money and chill by the pool.
• Roatan:  The Jolly Roger Snorkeling is rated one of the best and I enjoyed it very much.  Not the best Snorkeling I have ever done but nice.  The Over the Water All Inclusive bungalow was also very nice.  The right to the place and back is awful but the place it self and the bungalows were an experience. 
• Cozumel:  Just do any beach day.  Nice beaches.
• Costa Maya: I like this place because just off the ship is all you really need.  We did the Health Relaxation spa which was very nice.  

 

Again, my experiences and yours will differ.  The site will fix it self sooner or later.  I hope I was helpful.

 

Cruise well and enjoy every moment. 

Thank You. We are older and are looking at the Ruins, and the chocolate and the Spice farms. The problem is that the same excursion comes up for the spice farm on most of the islands. NCL told me that is because the islands are so close that you can take that same excursion from different islands. I find that hard to believe, but it really does not matter. I would be helpful a few suggestions that people really like .Scuba and snorkeling are out.  I do like your suggestion for Costa Maya. 

Edited December 18, 2022 by Topdog52
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[rnfulk]

 

8 hours ago, Topdog52 said:

Thank You. We are older and are looking at the Ruins, and the chocolate and the Spice farms. The problem is that the same excursion comes up for the spice farm on most of the islands. NCL told me that is because the islands are so close that you can take that same excursion from different islands. I find that hard to believe, but it really does not matter. I would be helpful a few suggestions that people really like .Scuba and snorkeling are out.  I do like your suggestion for Costa Maya. 

We just disembarked the Breakaway and I can comment on the Spice Farm and the Chocolate Tours. The Spice Farm (and Ruins) excursion was fantastic. It is a beautiful property and you get to smell, feel, and taste spices along the tour. I wasn’t impressed with the Chocolate tour. Our tour also went to a tequila tasting and bee farm, but we spent way too long at each place and the requests for tips were pretty heavy-handed. I imagine there are better tours in Cozumel. 

[graphicguy]

3 hours ago, rnfulk said:

 

We just disembarked the Breakaway and I can comment on the Spice Farm and the Chocolate Tours. The Spice Farm (and Ruins) excursion was fantastic. It is a beautiful property and you get to smell, feel, and taste spices along the tour. I wasn’t impressed with the Chocolate tour. Our tour also went to a tequila tasting and bee farm, but we spent way too long at each place and the requests for tips were pretty heavy-handed. I imagine there are better tours in Cozumel. 

2nd your thoughts on The Spice Farm…..very good!

[PATRLR]

On 12/12/2022 at 4:43 PM, Sthrngary said:

We also paid a little bit more for a Vibe Cabana which by the way comes with two; week long Vibe Beach Club passes. 

Oh my, I just learned something very important.  I thought the charge for the cabanas was on top of the entrance fee to the vibe.  I admit for my recent Encore cruise, I didn't look closely, my bad for assuming.  I've booked Viva for next Dec, I now need to double check the cabanas.  

Thank you for the great review.

[Sthrngary]

15 hours ago, PATRLR said:

Oh my, I just learned something very important.  I thought the charge for the cabanas was on top of the entrance fee to the vibe.  I admit for my recent Encore cruise, I didn't look closely, my bad for assuming.  I've booked Viva for next Dec, I now need to double check the cabanas.  

Thank you for the great review.

@PATRLR I thought the same thing until I had an NCL member tell me what it included.  This information is important because when ALL the week Vibe Passes were gone on my last cruise, several Cabana's were still available on embarkment day.  Glad the review helped you.  May I ask if you could look up the same review on CruiseCritic.com review section and check it as helpful.

 

Cruise well and enjoy every moment.