Live info from the Breakaway (Rome round trip - Greece and Italy)

[Jetsetter2023]

22 minutes ago, CCTES said:

According to NCL excursions, the cruise lead tours are exempt from the time stamp rule, I hope that is the case, I would be less than impressed to be turned away!

Oh yea make sure the excursion says the Acropolis entry is included- not just “seeing” it - the selfie tour “saw” it from a distance    So if you go on your own, then go to the website   

[CCTES]

59 minutes ago, Jetsetter2023 said:

Oh yea make sure the excursion says the Acropolis entry is included- not just “seeing” it - the selfie tour “saw” it from a distance    So if you go on your own, then go to the website   

Gahh! I just called the excursion line back and our excursion does include the admission, but that was a really great tip as the wording is quite vague, thank you!!!

[Jetsetter2023]

Also, we did Pompeii and Sorrento today   Our day was cut by 3 hours(return at 3pm instead of 6pm, not sure why)  If you’ve never been to Pompeii- we are thinking we should have focused on that rather than try to do 2 places in 1 day (but we didn’t know our day would be cut in advance!) Pompeii is huge and in the middle of the city. I’ve read websites that made it seem it’s in the middle of nowhere.  It’s actually a really nice area with shopping kiosks, restrooms and drinks. I wore active wear and would probably have worn a dress and good walking sandals.  An older lady did trip over the cobblestones so be careful. And make sure you go to the museum at the end. We were extremely rushed today. First, we drove 20minutes to a tourist trap where they sell handmade paintings/carvings on jewelry out of shells.  My partner bought something even though it was kind of pricey and pointless to stop there.  Then, we drove to Sorrento and because of the time cut, we only had about an hour, which included a Another 5-10minute tourist trap of handmade music boxes, which we ended up buying a small one- ugh- haha- then we didn’t have time to really eat or anything so we just walked around, then we had to backtrack back to Pompeii, (which they should have taken us there first to beat the heat since we started at 7am), but we got there around 1230(?) and had to leave at 2:30!! The place is massive and there’s a lot to see. I really wish we would have had more time there.  It would have been nice to at least sit and have a drink in Sorrento, too.  The whole day was rushed and we were either the last bus to come in or one of the last ones, and we had to be on the ship at 3.  We have some great photos but we pretty much speed-walked through Pompeii. On the bright side, they separated our group and we had a different tour guide who was absolutely amazing and ensured we saw as much as possible in the small amount of time we had while explaining everything. Because of time, im really happy she was our guide, since we usually do everything on our own. We learned a lot and the drive to Sorrento was beautiful. 

[schmoopie17]

On 9/10/2023 at 8:05 AM, KeithJenner said:

Today in Messina we took the “Taormina on your own” tour.

 

I would certainly recommend a visit.

We're on a similar cruise a year from now and NCL currently has no excursions listed for Messina. Maybe we're too far out (even though other stops have tours listed) but we're hoping they add this one. Of course, there's always the option to book with an outside tour company.

 

Edited September 11, 2023 by schmoopie17

[CCTES]

41 minutes ago, Jetsetter2023 said:

Also, we did Pompeii and Sorrento today   Our day was cut by 3 hours(return at 3pm instead of 6pm, not sure why)  If you’ve never been to Pompeii- we are thinking we should have focused on that rather than try to do 2 places in 1 day (but we didn’t know our day would be cut in advance!) Pompeii is huge and in the middle of the city. I’ve read websites that made it seem it’s in the middle of nowhere.  It’s actually a really nice area with shopping kiosks, restrooms and drinks. I wore active wear and would probably have worn a dress and good walking sandals.  An older lady did trip over the cobblestones so be careful. And make sure you go to the museum at the end. We were extremely rushed today. First, we drove 20minutes to a tourist trap where they sell handmade paintings/carvings on jewelry out of shells.  My partner bought something even though it was kind of pricey and pointless to stop there.  Then, we drove to Sorrento and because of the time cut, we only had about an hour, which included a Another 5-10minute tourist trap of handmade music boxes, which we ended up buying a small one- ugh- haha- then we didn’t have time to really eat or anything so we just walked around, then we had to backtrack back to Pompeii, (which they should have taken us there first to beat the heat since we started at 7am), but we got there around 1230(?) and had to leave at 2:30!! The place is massive and there’s a lot to see. I really wish we would have had more time there.  It would have been nice to at least sit and have a drink in Sorrento, too.  The whole day was rushed and we were either the last bus to come in or one of the last ones, and we had to be on the ship at 3.  We have some great photos but we pretty much speed-walked through Pompeii. On the bright side, they separated our group and we had a different tour guide who was absolutely amazing and ensured we saw as much as possible in the small amount of time we had while explaining everything. Because of time, im really happy she was our guide, since we usually do everything on our own. We learned a lot and the drive to Sorrento was beautiful. 

 

[CCTES]

My mother has been there before (even camped at the base of mt Vesuvius in the '60's-hahaha) so we are just going on the "Pompeii on your own"  and I will buy entrance tickets online, that way if she can't manage it, it's not as big an expense. She's 80 and forgets that sometimes.....There is apparently a "Pompeii for All" walk so that is probably what we will do but thanks for the advice on the museum, she will enjoy that. If we can book a guide I will do that too.

I'm not sure if we will be on the same bus as the other Pompeii tours or not, but I suspect we will be shown some tourist traps, for what it's worth, those cameos are impressive!

My son is itching to go on a similar cruise when he graduates high school, so this will be a taste test for me 🙂

Sorrento is high on my to do list as well I'm sure photos don't do it justice!

[CruiseMH]

 

Sorrento is nice but not THE place to go. I`d rather prefer to go to Capri again or the amalfi coast again then going to Sorrento again.

And i`m really wondering why Jetsetter2023  complains about the time waste at tourist traps and at the same time buying things from there.

If nobody buys anything these tourist trap wouldn`t be a part of the tours anymore.

Maybe they would be 5 USD more expensive but at least you would see more from the country.

 

[KeithJenner]

Ok, catching up again, here are day 9 dailies.

[KeithJenner]

Today we did the Pompeii on your own tour. We have been before with a guide so wanted the opportunity to explore by ourselves.

 

After the free at sea and latitudes discounts the tour cost us 1p each, so it made sense. We had 2 and a half hours at Pompeii, which was plenty in the heat. Buying tickets  for entry took about 10 minutes.

 

We got there just as it opened at 9am so it was relatively quiet to start with. We managed to get quite a few pictures without anyone else in them.

 

A good day, but we didn’t take enough water with us. Also forgot the suntan lotion, but we seem to have got away with it.

[KeithJenner]

Just a little more about last night, as it was a very interesting day.

 

The waterfront bar was a great place to be. Soon after sail away we passed an aircraft carrier and a couple of other warships, and then passed Stromboli as it was getting dark. We had quite a good lava show from the Island. 
 

We went to Taste for dinner, and had the worst service of the cruise. Overall we have found the service to be good, but it took 90 minutes to get two courses. They changed where we were going to

sit due to latitudes, and it was quite a nice table, but I think that it meant that we were an extra person for the server and he struggled to cope.

 

The food was good though.

 

Then o’Sheehans. We had been talking to this guy before the game started and he was really nice. I wastched the game with a couple of other people who were sitting at the bar and when there was about 5 minutes left on the clock the guy came back completely drunk. He was banging on the bar and shouting obscenities. We ignored him, and the. He took off his hat and kept telling me that he was bald, whilst putting his bald head in front of my face. We asked the barman to call security and then he punched me (not hard) on the arm and reached over and grabbed by beer, which he took a mouthful of 

 

That’s when I walked away and I spoke to security when they came. He went away with them and we watched the last bit of the game, but I had missed quite a bit.

 

A truly bizarre experience, and not something I have experienced before on a ship. I was all set to go to guest services today to discuss it with them, but have decided to just put it down as one of those experiences.

[www3traveler]

Are you going to watch the New York Jets- Buffalo Bills game at 2:20 A.M. your time and 5:20 P.M. my time?

A bit of background on the game for you: Aaron Rodgers quarterback for the Jets has been for many years the quarterback for the Green Bay Packers.  The Buffalo Bills have a defensive player that had a heart attack on the field in the middle of a game last Fall.  He has been cleared to play and will probably some tonight.

Enjoy

 

 

[Jetsetter2023]

1 hour ago, CruiseMH said:

 

Sorrento is nice but not THE place to go. I`d rather prefer to go to Capri again or the amalfi coast again then going to Sorrento again.

And i`m really wondering why Jetsetter2023  complains about the time waste at tourist traps and at the same time buying things from there.

If nobody buys anything these tourist trap wouldn`t be a part of the tours anymore.

Maybe they would be 5 USD more expensive but at least you would see more from the country.

 

Haha I’m not complaining; a lot of people on the bus bought things, but it would have been nice to know about the stops in advance so I could have explored other possible excursions based on random stops  Capri is beautiful, but we didn’t have much time   Enjoy your trip! 

[KKB]

4 hours ago, Jetsetter2023 said:

Also, we did Pompeii and Sorrento today   Our day was cut by 3 hours(return at 3pm instead of 6pm, not sure why)  If you’ve never been to Pompeii- we are thinking we should have focused on that rather than try to do 2 places in 1 day (but we didn’t know our day would be cut in advance!) Pompeii is huge and in the middle of the city. I’ve read websites that made it seem it’s in the middle of nowhere.  It’s actually a really nice area with shopping kiosks, restrooms and drinks. I wore active wear and would probably have worn a dress and good walking sandals.  An older lady did trip over the cobblestones so be careful. And make sure you go to the museum at the end. We were extremely rushed today. First, we drove 20minutes to a tourist trap where they sell handmade paintings/carvings on jewelry out of shells.  My partner bought something even though it was kind of pricey and pointless to stop there.  Then, we drove to Sorrento and because of the time cut, we only had about an hour, which included a Another 5-10minute tourist trap of handmade music boxes, which we ended up buying a small one- ugh- haha- then we didn’t have time to really eat or anything so we just walked around, then we had to backtrack back to Pompeii, (which they should have taken us there first to beat the heat since we started at 7am), but we got there around 1230(?) and had to leave at 2:30!! The place is massive and there’s a lot to see. I really wish we would have had more time there.  It would have been nice to at least sit and have a drink in Sorrento, too.  The whole day was rushed and we were either the last bus to come in or one of the last ones, and we had to be on the ship at 3.  We have some great photos but we pretty much speed-walked through Pompeii. On the bright side, they separated our group and we had a different tour guide who was absolutely amazing and ensured we saw as much as possible in the small amount of time we had while explaining everything. Because of time, im really happy she was our guide, since we usually do everything on our own. We learned a lot and the drive to Sorrento was beautiful. 

Sound much like the one we did.

Sorrento--same wooden box demo. We power shopped for 45 min...would have loved more time there.

Then we hit a dairy farm. Mostly ho hum BUT the most FABULOUS ricotta I have ever eaten. We all wanted a big bowl of that & nothing more!

Then Pompeii; by that time DD & I were over our bus of 50 people. Saw the shell demo. (I think they do this to give us access to bathrooms). Then she & I opted out of the Pompeii tour & sat & had a cold drink, shopped a little then had an Aperol. It was lovely.

 

[KKB]

1 hour ago, KeithJenner said:

Just a little more about last night, as it was a very interesting day.

 

The waterfront bar was a great place to be. Soon after sail away we passed an aircraft carrier and a couple of other warships, and then passed Stromboli as it was getting dark. We had quite a good lava show from the Island. 
 

We went to Taste for dinner, and had the worst service of the cruise. Overall we have found the service to be good, but it took 90 minutes to get two courses. They changed where we were going to

sit due to latitudes, and it was quite a nice table, but I think that it meant that we were an extra person for the server and he struggled to cope.

 

The food was good though.

 

Then o’Sheehans. We had been talking to this guy before the game started and he was really nice. I wastched the game with a couple of other people who were sitting at the bar and when there was about 5 minutes left on the clock the guy came back completely drunk. He was banging on the bar and shouting obscenities. We ignored him, and the. He took off his hat and kept telling me that he was bald, whilst putting his bald head in front of my face. We asked the barman to call security and then he punched me (not hard) on the arm and reached over and grabbed by beer, which he took a mouthful of 

 

That’s when I walked away and I spoke to security when they came. He went away with them and we watched the last bit of the game, but I had missed quite a bit.

 

A truly bizarre experience, and not something I have experienced before on a ship. I was all set to go to guest services today to discuss it with them, but have decided to just put it down as one of those experiences.

We had the same issue at Taste!

Never an issue at Manhatten; we hit it off w/ a server the 1st night to requested him nightly.

Too bad about the difficult passenger...bound to happen once in a while.

[DCGuy64]

1 hour ago, KeithJenner said:

A truly bizarre experience, and not something I have experienced before on a ship. I was all set to go to guest services today to discuss it with them, but have decided to just put it down as one of those experiences.

That man's behavior was boorish and rude. You are a fine person to brush it off like that.

[CCTES]

1 hour ago, KeithJenner said:

Today we did the Pompeii on your own tour. We have been before with a guide so wanted the opportunity to explore by ourselves.

 

After the free at sea and latitudes discounts the tour cost us 1p each, so it made sense. We had 2 and a half hours at Pompeii, which was plenty in the heat. Buying tickets  for entry took about 10 minutes.

 

We got there just as it opened at 9am so it was relatively quiet to start with. We managed to get quite a few pictures without anyone else in them.

 

A good day, but we didn’t take enough water with us. Also forgot the suntan lotion, but we seem to have got away with it.

1p! Holy cow, that is quite affordable-haha. Thanks for the info, that is very helpful as I wasn't sure whether I need to buy tickets in advance or not so I might hold off, I just don't want to spend time standing in line with such a short period of time. Was it much of a walk to the entrance of Pompeii from the bus drop off point?

[KeithJenner]

Finally day 10 dailies. I will catch up with some general comments later.

[Pghcrews]

Thanks so much Keith.  Your posts have been really helpful.  We're set for the same itinerary on the Breakaway leaving October 23.  Hope that your cruise was wonderful (notwithstanding the psycho in O'Sheahan's).

[schmoopie17]

On 9/11/2023 at 1:52 PM, KeithJenner said:

They changed where we were going to sit due to latitudes, and it was quite a nice table, but I think that it meant that we were an extra person for the server and he struggled to cope.

 

 

Not sure what this means. They changed your table due to latitudes...as in the loyalty program?

[KeithJenner]

51 minutes ago, schmoopie17 said:

Not sure what this means. They changed your table due to latitudes...as in the loyalty program?

Yes, a perk of higher levels is "priority restaurant & entertainment seating", which most of the time is a phantom perk, but once or twice a cruise it does seem to work. When they see your card they will sometimes try to find you a nice table. On this cruise there were two occasions where they obviously tried to seat us in nice tables, and this was one of them.

[KeithJenner]

So, just some general observations to finish off. I was planning on doing this yesterday, but the journey home unravelled once we reached Heathrow and sat in the plane for an hour whilst they found us a gate. Than meant that we didn't clear the M25 before Ruch hour, and then when the next motorway on our journey was closed in a place it really went downhill from there.

 

Anyway, first thing to cover is the ship generally. This is my third time on the Breakaway. The first was the first transatlantic 10 years ago and then we also did a Caribbean cruise in 2019.

 

I like the Breakaway a lot. The waterfront is one of my favourite places at sea, and we spent a lot of time there. We didn't go up top very often, mainly just to grab a snack from the buffet if we wanted breakfast or lunch at a time it would be quiet. We did go to Spice a couple of times, but kept well away from the pool area.

 

The ship appeared well maintained, and overall the staff were good. We haven't cruised since a year ago, and I was expecting a reduction in service, but other than a couple of isolated examples, the service was generally very good or excellent.

 

We got the aft balcony as I don't like the tiny standard balconies on the Breakaway/Getaway. We usually pick a club suite with large balcony, but the deck 9 arts are excellent. Quiet and close to decks 6,7 and 8. The balconies are huge and we sat out there quite a lot, although it did get too hot at times. I love the aft location anyway and would certainly pick those rooms again.

[DCGuy64]

@KeithJenner Thank you once again for such a comprehensive and detailed review. I'm grateful to you for providing an ongoing travelogue. We're sailing on the Breakaway for the very first time, just 49 days from now, and your review is making me look forward to our trip more and more. It will be our first time on a ship with a waterfront.

[KeithJenner]

4 minutes ago, DCGuy64 said:

@KeithJenner Thank you once again for such a comprehensive and detailed review. I'm grateful to you for providing an ongoing travelogue. We're sailing on the Breakaway for the very first time, just 49 days from now, and your review is making me look forward to our trip more and more. It will be our first time on a ship with a waterfront.

If you haven't been on a ship with a waterfront before then you are in for a treat, especially on an itinerary like this. It will obviously be a bit cooler then, but still nice to be able to sit out there.

[KeithJenner]

Next up, the itinerary.

 

Now my experience is obviously quite different from many people who were on this cruise. We have done many of the ports before so could be much more relaxed during the days. However, it really is a very good itinerary.

 

There is a nice mix between the islands and the big city ports.Personally, there are Eastern Med ports that I prefer to these, but as a group they really hit the spot.

 

Of the new ports, I liked Messina a loot (well, Taormina really, but Messina looked nice as well). I forgot to mention this earlier, but I would recommend taking a walk to the gardens (Villa Comunale), which are a really nice place with great views.

 

Valletta was nice, but didn't wow us. I think that it is more a place to pick some specific places to see, rather than just walk, and we will plan things better next time.

 

Of the others, I like Mykonos as a place to wander and stop for a drink when you fancy. We had considered doing the tour to Delos, but it sold out whilst we were deciding. It can be done on your own, but the port times weren't perfect for that. Next time.

 

Santorini has been discussed on this thread already. All I will say is that it is worth seeing if you can. Check which other ships are in port. The queues can be avoided heading out, but getting back onboard you will have the cable car/tender bottleneck. We fixed that by heading back early but that won't work for everyone.

 

Athens is a fantastic city. We have been a couple of times, including a weekend before a cruise last year. There is plenty to do there. The Acropolis is the obvious star, but I really enjoyed the Panathinalko Stadium, followed by a walk across the National Gardens to the Parliament where the changing of the guard is always fun. If you have the energy then a hike up to the top of Lycabettus will give you the best views in the city.

 

On to Italy, and Naples. I don't particularly like the city itself, but the surrounding area has some real highlights. We have been to Pompeii a couple of times and in many ways I prefer Herculaneum. We haven't yet been to Capri, and intend to head down to the Amalfi Coast on a non cruise trip at some point soon to explore the area better.

 

Finally, Livorno. This has never been a particularly successful port for us. We have been many times, but the weather hasn't been good on a few occasions (including once not docking). We have done Pisa and it is a nice city. We haven't yet made it to Florence (which again we intend to visit separately some time). Everyone we spoke to onboard who went to Florence enjoyed it, and many were tired, and not particularly enthuiastic, beforehand.

 

We were going to do the Cinque Terre on your own tour, but decided to keep that for next time, as we have Livorno as the final port on our next cruise, with a slightly quieter few days beforehand.

 

And I nearly forgot Rome. One of my favourite cities in the world. We have been there a few times, including extended stays, and there is still quite a list of things we haven't done yet for the next trip.

 

One warning I will give (and often do on these European itineraries). Just consider what you have planned and make sure that you have some down time too. We met many people who were on tours, some of them very long, for 9 consecutive days. People react to this differently and many have no regrets, but I have had people say to me at the end of cruises (including this one) that they felt they had too much planned. "I don't need to see another ruin" was something we heard many times, which was particularly unfortunate when the next ruin was Pompeii, the best of them all.

 

I'm not saying to anyone to miss a port or anything like that, but just consider what you have planned, and whether it is right for you.Naples and Livorno can be hard days and you don't want to start them fatigued.

 

But most importantly, enjoy them.

[KeithJenner]

Dining.

 

We have always enjoyed the food on NCL ships. We have very rarely had anything that we thought was bad.

 

We don't tend to have a big breakfast, so generally grabbed something from the buffet. I have mentioned the Brunch buffet at Modern on Santorini day, and that was very good. When we did go upstairs for breakfast we tended to go to the American Diner instead of the main buffet at busier times. There isn't as much choice there but it is much quieter.

 

We went to o'Sheehans once for breakfast, and it was good. We had also been intending to have breakfast at Taste, but for one reason or another never got round to it.

 

For lunch we generally went to the Buffet, or on days when that would be busy, o'Sheehans. We generally have a snack for lunch and these options are fine. I was more imporssed with the food in o'Sheehans than on recent cruises, although as reported elsewhere it was not quite as hot as would be ideal at times.

 

For evening meals we had 6 speciality meals, ate at the noodle bar once, Manhattan and Taste once each and on the other day we went to o'Sheehans,

 

Manhattan - Very good service. Food was good, but not exceptional.

 

Taste - Slow service as previously mentioned, but the food was very good.

 

Noodle Bar - We went on Santorini day so could get in easily. Otherwise there were long queues. We really like the Asian restaurants on older ships, and prefer the choice there to the Noodle Bar. However, it was still good. We would have probably gone back if it wasn't so busy.

 

Moderno - We went twice, as there isn't a Moderno on any of our upcoming cruises. The first visit was very good, but on the second the meat wasn't great. I wasn't feeling great on that day anyway (I had one day where I felt a bit run down, probably due to over consumption the previous day). We didn't eat much, but I'm not sure I would have even if the food had been great. Service was good both times.

 

Cagneys - This gets mixed reviews lately, but we still like it a lot. I agree that it isn't as good as it used to be, but it still does the job for me. I had the Lamb and really enjoyed it. Service has been very mixed recently, but was very good this time. The lack of non seafood appetisers is odd for a steak restaurant and continues to be a problem for my wife.

 

La Cucina - I really like La Cucina, and think the venue itself on the Breakaway ships is really nice. We were seated in the middle section which is open to the outside but covered. The weather was perfect for that. Food was great as usual as was the service.

 

Ocean Blue - I think I mentioned this earlier, but it was our first time at Ocean Blue, and we both really enjoyed it. The service was excellent. My wife just had soup and fish & chips but she enjoyed them both, whilst I liked all of mine (scallops, chowder and linguini).

 

The best selection of desserts on the ship, but we only had room to share the key lime meringue which was great. I'm looking forward to going back next year on the Joy.

 

Teppanyaki - We enjoy Teppanyaki a lot, but have seen the show so many times that it can be a bit of a drag. We went whilst the ship was still in Livorno so it wasn't too busy or noisy, and the cook was one of the better ones we have had lately.

 

The move from Fillet to Strip (and the removal of Calamari from the seafood) mean that the menu isn't as attractive, but the steak was better than I expected. The reason I tried the steak is that we shared our table with four older ladies who didn't have big appetites so our plates were filled by the cook with large amounts of the food he had cooked but they didn't want. We left most of it, but it does continue a trend in Teppanyaki of us ending up with much more food than we could possibly eat (and than we had ordered). Not a problem, but I hate to see the waste.

 

Overall, the food of a similar quality to our other post covid cruises, with a slight downgrade on a couple of the menu items. I do believe that the food generally isn't as good as it was, say, 5 years ago, but I don't think the difference is significant. I was very happy.