Is the NCL Breakaway as bad as almost all of the current reviews say it is?

[RWK1952]

MJSailors - Absent you providing any explanation whatsoever of why you feel your experience was so poor on Breakaway, I will choose to instead follow the numerous shared, positive experiences that many other posters here have provided.

Edited July 15 by RWK1952

[RWK1952]

I appreciate the honest feedback, especially when you cite some of the reasons for your feelings.  

 

I am really looking forward to our cruise, and then to our stay on the east coast of Spain afterward.  I'll try to remember to make at least one post here to relay our experiences on this cruise.

[Seas2mountains]

7 minutes ago, RWK1952 said:

Absent you providing any explanation whatsoever of why you feel your experience was so poor on Breakaway, I will choose to instead follow the numerous shared, positive experiences that many other posters here have provided.

Why was it poor. 
 

1. Cabin steward was not motivated to clean cabin to normal NCL standards. Worst experience for us on any NCL ship. 
2. Thermal spa was loud and no one cared for it to be a quiet experience as signs were removed reminding guests it was a quiet environment. Spa manager and assistant manager were too focused on surfing on their computers to care. 
3. Dining experiences were good. Not great for food and service. 
4. Bar servers were too overwhelmed to help bartenders and weren’t able to take orders in lounges and with limited service in atrium. Same in pools. 
5. Shakers and Atrium were beyond crowded for the excellent entertainment options but there were probably 25-50 people standing in each location. 
 

The online reviews for Breakaway are a good warning to have concerns. I tend to promote NCL but cannot promote Breakaway given our very recent experience. If you go ahead with Breakaway and have a poor experience, please give another NCL ship a chance. This was the worst experience for us. 
 

Feel free to dig your head in the sand and ignore our warning pretending we have no recent cruise experiences. It was a kind warning. 
 

[RWK1952]

Seas2Mountains.  My reply was intended specifically for a poster just prior to you who provided no reasoning.  I appreciate that you did in fact try to explain why you felt as you did.

 

I am still not quite certain how to reply directly to a specific post in this forum.

[KKB]

19 hours ago, RWK1952 said:

Wow.  I just looked at your signature block.  You have been taking a LOT of cruises.  I appreciate your feedback even more so because of your many experiences.

 

A lot has happened since I first posted back in March.  We made our decision to initially take the one way, 10 day Breakaway cruise from Southampton to Barcelona in a Club Balcony Suite, mid ship on the 12th deck.  Then about a month later, the cruise was cancelled.  

 

My thought during the next month or so was that something very similar would need to fill in that gap because the next Norwegian cruise on the Breakaway continuing on from Barcelona was unchanged.

 

Sure enough, the dry dock just prior to our initial departure was due to be finished 4 days early.  So they basically just added on 4 days making it now a 14 day cruise.  We start with an extra stop in Belgium and added a few stops in France.

 

They released the new itinerary and I was able to book a very similar stateroom in a similar location.  I was concerned about the extra price because I thought I had a really good deal on the original 10 day cruise.  Well, I was not only able to get all of my original discounts, but the extra 4 days only ended up costing about $200/night.  So I am very pleased with that.

 

The only slightly disappointing thing is that we will no longer be stopping in Gibraltar.  I was looking forward to seeing the monkeys!  😁

 

We are planning to stay an extra 2 weeks on the east coast of Spain at the end of the cruise.  Friends of ours from Marrakech Morocco may even be joining us in Barcelona.

 

Our only previous experience with a cruise was on the Celebrity Millennium in Alaska.  We enjoyed that a lot but it was on a quite smaller ship than the Breakaway.  So all the extra people on the Breakaway is a slight concern, but obviously not enough to dissuade us.

 

It sounds like we will enjoy our experience on the Breakaway.

 

Thank you again for your comments.

Glad to help. Retired 2 years ago & have been taking full advantage of that time!

 

IMO Celebrity is a small tick above NCL in service & food, so go in prepared for those differences.

 

Yes, Breakaway is bigger, but you will likely find more activities because of it. (tho hard to say based on recent reviews--just remember, complainers are always more likely to write a review than those who were happy). 
I used to say NCL had better shows...while this is true for a few ships, they are removing most of the Broadway shows, sadly.

BUT if you are a late 70s-80s music fan, Syd Norman's is NOT to be missed. It is a small venue & very popular, so arrive early to get a good seat. We were usually in line 30-45 min. early (but we are picky about where we sit) You CAN sit on the deck outside the venue & they pipe the music out so that is an option too. 

Speaking of that deck--deck 8, Waterfront. We fell in love with this concept on the Getaway & wish every ship had it. The deck has bars, seating & restaurant seating all around it. Much more pleasant area to be on when sailing, as opposed to upper decks, which tend to be windy.

 

We find the lines we have sailed to all be more alike than different & would sail most of them again. (probably not MSC--the reviews had pattersn, should have paid attention). 

We are firm believers that attitude is everything--we have a great time because we thinks we will!

Have a wonderful time!

 

[RWK1952]

KWB.  I have read about the Waterfront area and am looking forward to taking advantage of it.  I agree about attitude.  We are going in predisposed to enjoy the cruise, and not to look for faults.  We will find areas we enjoy and try to stay away from those we do not.  Seems like a generally good approach to take with most things, and not just cruises.  🤔 😊

[firstmickey]

Based on previous posters:

Agree with Syd Norman's - It's awesome.  Go early to get a seat. Lined up an hour in advance for the last night. 

 

Agree that Waterfront is also an awesome area. Visit the Chocolate Cowboy at the outdoor bar outside Martini's.  He's amazing. 

 

Agree that bar staff in Headliners, Syd Normans, and other smaller venues were limited and long lines. We learned to bring our drinks with us. 

 

Agree that the entertainment is not what it used to be but I've heard that is on all the ships, not just Breakaway. There is so much emphasis on games - Wheel, Price is right, other games. Atrium fills up quickly.  Much of the entertainment is scheduled at same time instead of staggered.  

 

That being said - the cruise is what you make of it.  Choose to have fun and let little things go and it will be great! 

[cruiseny4life]

Love, love, love that you had so much fun on your cruise!!! Not everything's perfect, but sounds like you had a wonderful time. I wish I could pull up a Haven bar stool next to you and talk through the day. You sound like some fun folks to travel with! 

Welcome back to the not so fun reality. 

[The Traveling Man]

@RWK1952 We have sailed on the Breakaway twice, a 14 day Caribbean cruise from NYC in January 2016 in the Haven and an 11 day Caribbean cruise from New Orleans in January 2019 in a Balcony stateroom.  We had a great time on each cruise.  I truly can't recall a single major disappointment with either cruise, but lots of wonderful memories come to mind.  Maybe we were just lucky, or maybe I'm just easy to please, but if the itinerary were appealing and the price was right, I wouldn't hesitate to sail on the Breakaway again.

[MJSailors]

@RWK1952 Well, since you asked.

A little background. Before the first cruise on the Breakaway, we had sailed on numerous cruises on Princess,a few on Celebrity and one on Cunard and enjoyed them all. A friend recommended the Breakaway cruise-NYC to Bermuda.

This  was about ten years ago when the Breakaway was relatively new.

On that cruise, we found that the Atrium was always crowded with difficulty finding seats there for activities. It was also smokey  given smoke that emanated from the casino onto decks6,7,8 midship. Very unpleasant.

Service at Cagney’s was not competent compared to the Crown Grill on Princess or Moderno on Celebrity. Side dishes were brought out many minutes after the steaks were served. Waitress seemed inattentive at best.

We exercise on cruises , mostly on walking deck/promenade decks. The walking deck on the. Breakaway was ridiculous. It went past the rock wall, an entrance to an open air restaurant and in front of lounge chairs. After several morning walks interrupted by people exiting the restaurant, placing loungers in the way of the path and inconsiderate people stopping on the track-not walkers-to take photos, we gave up and walked on the Waterfront instead, but that wasn’t ideal either.

We did book the 2nd cruise on the Breakaway basically because we wanted to get to Bermuda. We knew about service and public accommodations on the ship, but we wanted a fairly inexpensive vacation without airplane flights, so we thought how bad could it be?

The cruise was two years after the first one. We realized the Breakaway was not for us, but we made the best of it.

It started when we entered the cabin for the first time and were met by a stale odor, like filthy gym socks, in the cabin. Shortly after, the steward appeared and I mentioned the odor. He took care of it with some Febreze spray and apologies. I noticed that he used the spray after every freshening of the room for the rest of the cruise.

We found the demographics on the cruise to be interesting. There were many passengers onboard , obviously from a culture that does not recognize people’s places in line as they barge into a line without regard for others or their personal space. We observed this at the buffet and in the elevators.

While we were having lunch, there was a group of young ladies, not of the mentioned cultural group, nearby having a loud conversation interspersed with F bombs.

Not a pleasant way to spend an embarkation lunch.

Service in Taste  and Savor  was spotty for most dinners. We chose to avoid Cagney’s. The French restaurant provided the most enjoyable dinner. 
The most disappointing aspect of this cruise was observing how staff was treated by their supervisors.

The first incident involved a server in the buffet being reamed  out by a supervisor in front of passengers at various tables in the buffet. The supervisor was loud and dismissive to the young server who tried to explain her position. The supervisor’s rant ended by the supervisor telling the server to see her in her office after her shift. I felt so badly for the young server who fought to compose herself as she went about her job clearing the tables.

The second incident involved  a cleaner near one of the stairwells. He was spoken to harshly by a supervisor well within earshot of passengers using the stairs. The cleaner listened to the supervisor and valiantly went back to work when the supervisor left him to finish his job.

In both cases, if a staff person was not doing their job correctly or if there was something that needed to be addressed to the staff person, the supervisor should have taken  that person aside, away from passengers and used  a respectful tone of voice while addressing the staff person.

i have held supervisory positions in my career and worked with many staff members. I would never have spoken so harshly to those two individuals as they were spoken to on the ship.

One day, my DH was wearing a Princess t shirt. We were approached by an officer who asked us questions about our cruise experiences with Princess and how they compared to NCL.

We offered fair assessments of both lines and he was appreciative of our input.

Since our two experiences on the Breakaway, we have chosen not to sail with NCL again.

Covid did put a crimp in our cruising days, but we did take a Celebrity cruise to Bermuda last year and enjoyed it.

As to sailing on Breakaway or with NCL,YMMV.

MJ

[RWK1952]

16 hours ago, Seas2mountains said:

I think your cruise from Southampton to Barcelona will have a very different vibe than our experiences on Breakaway with a NY to Bermuda cruise and a recent May/June 2024 cruise in the Caribbean with two canceled ports. One was legitimately canceled due to weather reasons and the other was due to BS reasons for “fuel optimization and environmental reasons” after final payment was made. 
 

Every cruise we have taken has been fun and we have always had a great time but we had a not so great experience on Breakaway recently. Some has to do with the loud thermal spa experience and despite the great entertainment choices, it was crowded in Shakers and the atrium. They had a private group that had Bliss lounge booked during the day and early evening for dancing. 
 

On a typical cruise, my husband will write 5-10 Vacation Hero cards. On the recent May/June 2024 Breakaway cruise, it was the only cruise ever he wrote ZERO Vacation Hero cards. For comparison, he wrote 15 Vacation Hero cards for our June/July cruise on Prima. And we have more crew to mention on the survey. 
 

Again, I think your experience in Europe will be very different from ours. I have no idea why we couldn’t identify one crew member for a Vacation Hero card. Food was good and service was good but not great and the crew didn’t seem as happy as we have experienced on other ships. No one went above and beyond like we usually experience. We had to go to the bar to get drinks as the bar servers seemed too overwhelmed in the lounges. Same with the pool.  Not what we are used to on other NCL ships. The May/June 2024 cruise on Breakaway was probably our worst NCL cruise and we canceled three 2025 NCL cruises after that cruise and booked on Celebrity. Thankfully, our June/July cruise on Prima resulted in one 2025 NCL booking as it was an amazing experience.
 

We will keep cruising on NCL but I don’t think we will go on Breakaway anytime soon. Our cabin steward was not good and the cabin was not as clean as we experienced on other cruises. Like there was nasty stuff not cleaned from the previous occupants and we were disappointed and disgusted. Sorry for my honest feedback as I’m sure this may leave you with some concerns. 
 

I hope you have a wonderful cruise. And I hope it is very different from our recent experience.  

 

15 hours ago, Seas2mountains said:

Why was it poor. 
 

1. Cabin steward was not motivated to clean cabin to normal NCL standards. Worst experience for us on any NCL ship. 
2. Thermal spa was loud and no one cared for it to be a quiet experience as signs were removed reminding guests it was a quiet environment. Spa manager and assistant manager were too focused on surfing on their computers to care. 
3. Dining experiences were good. Not great for food and service. 
4. Bar servers were too overwhelmed to help bartenders and weren’t able to take orders in lounges and with limited service in atrium. Same in pools. 
5. Shakers and Atrium were beyond crowded for the excellent entertainment options but there were probably 25-50 people standing in each location. 
 

The online reviews for Breakaway are a good warning to have concerns. I tend to promote NCL but cannot promote Breakaway given our very recent experience. If you go ahead with Breakaway and have a poor experience, please give another NCL ship a chance. This was the worst experience for us. 
 

Feel free to dig your head in the sand and ignore our warning pretending we have no recent cruise experiences. It was a kind warning. 
 

 

1 hour ago, MJSailors said:

@RWK1952 Well, since you asked.

A little background. Before the first cruise on the Breakaway, we had sailed on numerous cruises on Princess,a few on Celebrity and one on Cunard and enjoyed them all. A friend recommended the Breakaway cruise-NYC to Bermuda.

This  was about ten years ago when the Breakaway was relatively new.

On that cruise, we found that the Atrium was always crowded with difficulty finding seats there for activities. It was also smokey  given smoke that emanated from the casino onto decks6,7,8 midship. Very unpleasant.

Service at Cagney’s was not competent compared to the Crown Grill on Princess or Moderno on Celebrity. Side dishes were brought out many minutes after the steaks were served. Waitress seemed inattentive at best.

We exercise on cruises , mostly on walking deck/promenade decks. The walking deck on the. Breakaway was ridiculous. It went past the rock wall, an entrance to an open air restaurant and in front of lounge chairs. After several morning walks interrupted by people exiting the restaurant, placing loungers in the way of the path and inconsiderate people stopping on the track-not walkers-to take photos, we gave up and walked on the Waterfront instead, but that wasn’t ideal either.

We did book the 2nd cruise on the Breakaway basically because we wanted to get to Bermuda. We knew about service and public accommodations on the ship, but we wanted a fairly inexpensive vacation without airplane flights, so we thought how bad could it be?

The cruise was two years after the first one. We realized the Breakaway was not for us, but we made the best of it.

It started when we entered the cabin for the first time and were met by a stale odor, like filthy gym socks, in the cabin. Shortly after, the steward appeared and I mentioned the odor. He took care of it with some Febreze spray and apologies. I noticed that he used the spray after every freshening of the room for the rest of the cruise.

We found the demographics on the cruise to be interesting. There were many passengers onboard , obviously from a culture that does not recognize people’s places in line as they barge into a line without regard for others or their personal space. We observed this at the buffet and in the elevators.

While we were having lunch, there was a group of young ladies, not of the mentioned cultural group, nearby having a loud conversation interspersed with F bombs.

Not a pleasant way to spend an embarkation lunch.

Service in Taste  and Savor  was spotty for most dinners. We chose to avoid Cagney’s. The French restaurant provided the most enjoyable dinner. 
The most disappointing aspect of this cruise was observing how staff was treated by their supervisors.

The first incident involved a server in the buffet being reamed  out by a supervisor in front of passengers at various tables in the buffet. The supervisor was loud and dismissive to the young server who tried to explain her position. The supervisor’s rant ended by the supervisor telling the server to see her in her office after her shift. I felt so badly for the young server who fought to compose herself as she went about her job clearing the tables.

The second incident involved  a cleaner near one of the stairwells. He was spoken to harshly by a supervisor well within earshot of passengers using the stairs. The cleaner listened to the supervisor and valiantly went back to work when the supervisor left him to finish his job.

In both cases, if a staff person was not doing their job correctly or if there was something that needed to be addressed to the staff person, the supervisor should have taken  that person aside, away from passengers and used  a respectful tone of voice while addressing the staff person.

i have held supervisory positions in my career and worked with many staff members. I would never have spoken so harshly to those two individuals as they were spoken to on the ship.

One day, my DH was wearing a Princess t shirt. We were approached by an officer who asked us questions about our cruise experiences with Princess and how they compared to NCL.

We offered fair assessments of both lines and he was appreciative of our input.

Since our two experiences on the Breakaway, we have chosen not to sail with NCL again.

Covid did put a crimp in our cruising days, but we did take a Celebrity cruise to Bermuda last year and enjoyed it.

As to sailing on Breakaway or with NCL,YMMV.

MJ

This was all from a sailing done 10 years ago?  That was the last experience you had on the Breakaway?  How would that be potentially relevant at all ten years later?

[MJSailors]

@RWK1952 The Breakaway was a new ship when we were on it. 
Maybe it has improved since then, maybe it hasn’t aged well.

Let’s leave it at this-my DH and I were not impressed at all with the ship or NCL in general.

As I noted in my previous post, YMMV.

MJ

[Seas2mountains]

1 hour ago, RWK1952 said:

 

 

This was all from a sailing done 10 years ago?  That was the last experience you had on the Breakaway?  How would that be potentially relevant at all ten years later?

Hi RWK1952. I know you quoted me and MJSailors on this posting. Thank you for clarifying that your comment last night was not intended for me. I realized that after you edited it and with your follow up comment. I think you may have quoted me in error now that you are using the quote option?

 

My most recent cruise on the Breakaway was on the May 26 - June 2, 2024 sailing. As mentioned, I think a lot can happen between now and your March sailing.

 

It is interesting that firstmickey who got off the Breakaway on Sunday noted the same issue with difficulty getting drinks at bars and had to bring drinks with her. I did not experience these extended waits on five other recent NCL cruises within the past 12 months. This was isolated to the Breakaway. I don't know why it was so bad on the Breakaway compared to other ships.

 

Despite the numerous service concerns, we had a wonderful time on this cruise with our family. It was by far not one of NCL's best service delivery experiences and if I were a first time cruiser on NCL after this experience, I would be reluctant to book another one. I hope you have a wonderful cruise and hopefully the service issues that multiple people have noted happening this summer on the Breakaway will get resolved by your March sailing. 

 

Maybe you can come back to this thread after your cruise and report back on your experience. 😀

 

 

 

 

[RWK1952]

Sea2Mountains:  I plan to post here after our return from this cruise. I even put a reminder on my email account.  😛 

[zqvol]

52 minutes ago, RWK1952 said:

Sea2Mountains:  I plan to post here after our return from this cruise. I even put a reminder on my email account.  😛 

Could you please use a different font? This is almost unreadable. Thanks. 

[Pghpensfan]

On 3/14/2024 at 6:27 AM, graphicguy said:

(Sigh)...this isn't only for NCL but cruise reviews overall.  The mere fact that you are here and started this thread tells me you are skeptical of the reviews you read.  Smart move.

 

First, the vast majority of cruisers are Seniors...Virgin and maybe Disney may be the exceptions, but overall, Seniors make up the bulk of cruisers.

 

2nd....you're always going to find someone, somewhere who doesn't like their cruise.  Generally speaking, most do not realize there are 3,000 other guests that the (usually) kind and hard working crew have to also take care of.

 

The fare you're looking at is reasonable because it's not a "round trip".  It starts in one port and ends in another (in your case, Barcelona).

 

I don't know who's telling you the food is bad.  I've sailed NCL 15 times...4x on the Breakaway. ...from a solo cabin to the Haven.  It's a big ship....among the biggest at sea.  There are a wealth of dining options.  If one is crowded, another isn't far away.  The Garden Cafe is their buffet.  If you go there at peak breakfast, lunch or dinner hours, there will be lots of diners, as is true of any cruise line or ship.  Same for bars.  If there's a line at one bar, walk 75 feet in either direction and you'll find another.

 

Oceania is NCL's smaller cruise sister.  Different type of cruise, and much more sedate.  Looked at Oceania a couple of times but found the fares to be very prohibitive given my cruising budget.  Plus, for me, I think I'd become bored.  Some like it, though.

 

Celebrity...the smallest ship I've sailed with them was the Solstice.  The largest I've sailed is both the Edge and Apex.  Different "vibe" between the Solstice and the Apex, for example.  Solstice is more like the Millenium......smaller ship but can hold fewer passengers.  Apex, bigger ship (like Breakaway) with more passengers (but also more room to spread out).

 

I had a dickens of a time getting EDEN reservations on both the Apex and Edge.  But, I just found another date/time to dine there.  Same goes for the Specialty Restaurants with NCL.

 

Bottom line, temper whatever bad "review" you read with those here who have sailed NCL more often than a reviewer who went to the Garden Cafe at lunch time and found a line at the burger station.

 

 

Thanks for this info......I agree, some of the negative reviews are ridiculous.  I had a couple of complaints from my Encore Thanksgiving cruise last year, but in the grand scheme of things, it was less than 1% of my vacation.  Besides, any day on a cruise ship is better than anywhere else.  Looking at Breakaway now as I like their Southern Caribbean itinerary.  Just in research mode now.  Any advice?

[WorkerBee74]

On 3/14/2024 at 12:01 PM, Crazy planning mom said:

Except you would need to check the UK and European Union school schedule.

A few years ago, we sailed the Epic in August, and there was loads of Spaniard and Italian kids on summer holiday.

 

Definitely.  Kids do get a small break around Easter:

https://www.dein-dlrp.de/en/trip-planning/best-time-to-travel/european-school-holidays.html

[graphicguy]

16 hours ago, Pghpensfan said:

Thanks for this info......I agree, some of the negative reviews are ridiculous.  I had a couple of complaints from my Encore Thanksgiving cruise last year, but in the grand scheme of things, it was less than 1% of my vacation.  Besides, any day on a cruise ship is better than anywhere else.  Looking at Breakaway now as I like their Southern Caribbean itinerary.  Just in research mode now.  Any advice?

Advice?  Whoa Boy...I'm filled with advice.  Not sure it's worth anything.

 

Aruba, Curacao, etc, right?  Probably my favorite Caribbean itinerary.   If you've never been, you'll enjoy it. 

 

Encore is big.  Breakaway is smaller, but not by much.  Ocean 678 (Decks 678) is where everything tends to happen (aside from the pool decks).  Last time I was on Breakaway, they had the cigarette smoke from the casino well in hand.  But, I have sailed her where you could smell it on the deck above and the deck below the casino.

 

Which cabin category are you looking at?  Solo cabin is way different than a Balcony Cabin, which is way different than a Haven cabin.

 

No District Brew House on the Breakaway.

 

While, it is "Freestyle", make your Specialty Restaurant Reservations as soon as possible.  And, if that doesn't net you the reservation you want, go to the Specialty Restaurant you want to dine in and make the reservation there, once on board.  Chances are, they'll be able to seat you if you DO NOT have a large party.

 

Syd's Pour House RUMOURS show is one of the best at sea, on any cruise line.  Get in line 45m minutes prior to the show, but well worth it.  Same goes for Burn the Floor, excellent, but much easier to get in to.

 

THE WATERFRONT....same as Encore but my "go to" for dining al fresco and just "hanging out".  Walking space, couches, bars, etc.  Just a great space for reading, drinking, dining, or just watching the ship sail along the water.

 

Hope that helps.

 

 

[schmoopie17]

On 7/15/2024 at 5:52 PM, MJSailors said:

 

There were many passengers onboard , obviously from a culture that does not recognize people’s places in line as they barge into a line without regard for others or their personal space. We observed this at the buffet and in the elevators.

While we were having lunch, there was a group of young ladies, not of the mentioned cultural group, nearby having a loud conversation interspersed with F bombs.

 

And...this is the fault of the Breakaway exactly how?

[MJSailors]

Not the “fault” of NCL, naturally.

Just something that did not cause a pleasant experience.for us.

My insight-NCL cruises are not appealing to us. However, others are loyalists to the line.

As I have previously  posted YMMV.

MJ

[cruiseny4life]

13 minutes ago, MJSailors said:

As I have previously  posted YMMV.

🤣

[RWK1952]

On 7/16/2024 at 11:26 AM, zqvol said:

Could you please use a different font? This is almost unreadable. Thanks. 

The font used when my reply was posted looks a LOT different than the one I selected when i wrote it.  Guess I won't use THAT one again.

[zqvol]

Just now, RWK1952 said:

The font used when my reply was posted looks a LOT different than the one I selected when i wrote it.  Guess I won't use THAT one again.

Thank you. These eyes are getting old. 

[tscoffey]

On 3/15/2024 at 6:32 PM, n4w said:

 

Spread the word that July 2025 is especially super duper definitely bad.  No cookies or hash browns.  Extra taxes and gratuities.  Minors in their own cabins. Stolen luggage. Guaranteed BOGO air problems. Weather too rough for GSC.  Be like the CruiseNext desk and tell 'em anything.

I'm trying to make my July 2025 Breakaway cruise less crowded.  Anyone pondering about a mid summer cruise (Venice to Barcelona) should really consider Alaska instead.

 

More specifically, July 3, 2025 Breakaway = very, very bad.  Any other ship or itinerary, great choice.

 

"Nobody goes there anymore. It's too crowded." - Yogi Berra

 

Like I said, I'll report back after to let you know if people heeded the warnings 😉.

You forgot to mention the cats and dogs living together. In balcony cabins. 
(and European cats and dogs at that (wink wink, nudge nudge, say no more…))

Edited July 22 by tscoffey

[Pghpensfan]

On 7/18/2024 at 9:21 AM, graphicguy said:

Advice?  Whoa Boy...I'm filled with advice.  Not sure it's worth anything.

 

Aruba, Curacao, etc, right?  Probably my favorite Caribbean itinerary.   If you've never been, you'll enjoy it. 

 

Encore is big.  Breakaway is smaller, but not by much.  Ocean 678 (Decks 678) is where everything tends to happen (aside from the pool decks).  Last time I was on Breakaway, they had the cigarette smoke from the casino well in hand.  But, I have sailed her where you could smell it on the deck above and the deck below the casino.

 

Which cabin category are you looking at?  Solo cabin is way different than a Balcony Cabin, which is way different than a Haven cabin.

 

No District Brew House on the Breakaway.

 

While, it is "Freestyle", make your Specialty Restaurant Reservations as soon as possible.  And, if that doesn't net you the reservation you want, go to the Specialty Restaurant you want to dine in and make the reservation there, once on board.  Chances are, they'll be able to seat you if you DO NOT have a large party.

 

Syd's Pour House RUMOURS show is one of the best at sea, on any cruise line.  Get in line 45m minutes prior to the show, but well worth it.  Same goes for Burn the Floor, excellent, but much easier to get in to.

 

THE WATERFRONT....same as Encore but my "go to" for dining al fresco and just "hanging out".  Walking space, couches, bars, etc.  Just a great space for reading, drinking, dining, or just watching the ship sail along the water.

 

Hope that helps.

 

 

Wow, thanks so much!  This is a huge help!  I'll take any advice you have to give. 

 

There's going to be 4 of us (so far) but 2 of us are doing solo balconies and the other 2 are a couple going in an inside cabin (their preference). I can't do inside, balcony is required. 

 

Everything I'm reading sounds very similar to Encore and I loved that ship.  So, I'm happy to explore a new one like it (as long as it's not that beast, Epic!).  

 

This one is going to Puerto Plata, Barbados, Antigua, San Juan and GSC.  I've been to all of them but some it's been many years and I loved all of these ports.  So, I'm happy to explore them again.  PP and GSC were just last November but happy to return to both.  The others, for myself, I'll probably just look for a beach to go hang out on.  Not sure about the others in my group. Any beach recommendations at these ports?

 

Thanks again for the advice!  I appreciate it!

John