SMerritt

This is the best part of the Breakaway. Having a privet bar and restaurant. It was nice to sit for a drink in the late afternoon with new people who you just made friends with. Having a restaurant where there no waiting. And the food is done better then the MDR.

The Haven complex on the Breakaway was Amazing!

The Bar (think of "Cheers"), concierge desk, and beautiful entry to the sundeck is all in one - we met so many nice cruisers! The Haven Restaurant is on the same deck, right by the bar.

We have not stopped talking about the Breakaway Haven areas

Thank you, all! Our butler on the POA was nice enough, but I always felt like I was inconveniencing him if I asked for anything special. I need to get over that, if I'm going to take full advantage of the suite perks. ;)

 

I'm definitely not demanding in the least, but dinner in our suite sounds lovely after a long day. I will be sure to give lots of notice. :)

I used to feel the same way albertamom until one of our Butlers trained me and said "let him earn his keep"

We have even ordered from two different restaurants on the same night - he has Steak, I want Italian:D

The food arrives cooked perfectly, our Butlers set a beautiful table. I used to fear meals would arrive "room service" in the days or yore...sterno, steam tables etc.........NOT!:D

We do have extra tip $$ ready;)

We have used SAS Transportation from FLL to POM many times, they are always there for us. We learned about SAS from other CC Members.

If we have to return to FLL from MIA to fly home, we usually pay the approx $85.00 cab fare....All vans have to fill up before departing, then stop at every terminal, unload a trailer of luggage, then continue on, not too bad, but I sometimes book early flights.

We really enjoyed the Breakaway. We sailed her last year and we are getting married onboard her later this year. We enjoyed good food, great service, and lots of laughs.

 

Some people think that being critical means that they are a seasoned pro with the final word on a ship or cruise line. At the end of the day, we all enjoy different foods, cruise line styles, etc.

After our cruise on the Breakaway, we booked the Getaway

We are taking our Son, DIL, and 3.5 year old grandson, after checking out all of the children friendly activities, meals, sponge bob pools - the Getaway won the vote over Disney......

As above, lot of laughs and entertainment for everyone

aimathy you have way more patience than I do, and I usually never "blow". Two hours on the last night dealing with Customer Service should not have happened. I would pursue it with NCL more.

Now......I will get a little "Off Topic"

I am a fan of a hand cleaner called GOOP - ONLY GOOP, sold at Walmart etc. usually the automotive department

Our family has been using it for over 20 years, this mild "cream./cleaner" is magic. Removing old stains, paint stains, and even baby formula on some baby clothes that were stored for 10+ years. And yes, I even had a sweater with a peach stain that I had dry cleaned, hand washed, etc., after all that, figured the stain was really "set", I gave in, smeared with Goop - dam stain gone!

I know it sounds crazy, but worth a try, just smear with Goop (only goop, I have tried others), let sit 24 hours, then wash.

Great for cleaning woodwork, walls, paint grass stains.....this commercial was brought to you by......the crazy lady that doesn't ever run out of Magical Goop

I am another one in favor of the shoe bags. DH and I hate shoes lying on the floor so I found a cheap one that folds flat but hold 5 or 6 pair of shoes. Works perfect for us.

Darn! Never thought of using one for shoes!:D Back to the Dollar store

** My fancier one with zippered pockets for cosmetics, pills, & sundries avoids 1 or 2 junk drawers

Thank you for all the great ideas. We are truly looking forward to not only Hawaii but the ship

We had a WONDERFUL cruise on the POA!

I do not know why, but the evening "Cruise By" viewing the active Kilauea Volcano was only posted at the bottom of the daily activity announcements, some cruisers actually missed it.

The ship sailed by twice, we viewed it from our veranda. If you are outside on the decks, there is a great "tour" of what you are viewing over the ships PA System.

The sail-by of Kauai is also amazing, again - the ship sailed by twice so that cruisers on both sides of the ship could enjoy the amazing scenery. If you do not have a veranda, find a nice place to sit a little early and enjoy!

Happy Anniversary!

We are leaving on Cruise #13 (hopefully lucky 13) in 4 Days 9Hours 12 Minutes 39 Seconds

The "Butterfly's" have begun!

My main concern is always...the 6 hour flight the night before - and boarding on time

Our first cruise was a 10 Day Cruise out of PR - I was a total wreck! It was good that I did't get crazy until after the refund time had expired :D

The Cruise was so amazing, we came home and booked another

You are lucky, you found Cruise Critic in time, I had not - talk about nightmares and all of the useless stuff I packed etc.

As posted, the second you set foot on your ship, everything will be amazing. Waking up at our very first port (St. Croix) is never forgotten.

Again, just listen to the Veterans here on CC and all will be good. I feel the excitement and apprehension is normal.

I have seen some bad accidents with older ladies in flip flops. Same with dress heels. I wear Sperry deck shoes, Tevas, and Kitten heels. Wear your heaviest shoes on plane. .

Very good point on tripping......

My feet rarely like closed shoes, and I just do too many "stupids" in heels anymore.

THANK YOU SO MUCH for the Tevas on the list! Trying to see if I can get some shipped before this coming Friday......learn something new every day

Ours are thin vinyl from the Dollar Tree and have five or six pockets.

The bulkier ones can be cut.;)

 

When I get the bunk it becomes my nightstand. Once I'm up there I only come down for one reason.

The Dollar Tree ones barely weigh an ounce and are flat as a piece of cardboard, bought the cheapies in case I didn't like them, now do not cruise without them

Opinions Vary :)

I have become a "no frills" packer but I love the over-the-door holders

So far, we have a sheap Shoe Bag for ship cards, cameras, tip$$ etc. etc - avoids clutter all over tables and counter tops and searching every time we get ready to leave the suite.

I discovered a roll-up, clear bag, with zippered pockets hiding in my luggage pile,great for cosmetics, toiletries, and meds. NO MORE "junk drawers" or digging through a "bag" and easy to pack when going home.

I hang the bags on hangers in the closet.

There are some amazing bags offered by LL Bean - just keep forgetting to order or, I am just too cheap:D

I walk all the time in my flip-flops! If you're just going ashore and strolling, and you wear flip flops for that at home, you can do it at your ports! It really depends on what you'll be doing! If you plan on hiking or zip-lining, you will need proper footwear for stuff like that.

 

Daytimes on the ship is, again, flip-flops! I bring dressy heels for nighttime....I wear heels with my capris, even on "casual" nights. Most just wear sandals of some sort.

Saved me a lot of typing!

I do not pack "heels" or closed dress shoes anymore

Silver sandals for evenings

Flip-Flops everywhere else, including extensive island touring - some leather but mostly, colorful Walgreen's specials. :D

Note: Some shore activities might require tennis shoes. I keep packing tennies, 12 + cruises and only used them once - scooters in Bermuda

Thanks Paul and CruiserBruce!

This is great info.

 

Our flight arrives we get in around 7AM, sail time is 4PM

I'm guessing we can board around noon?

Anything we should consider picking up/doing inbetween (to kill some time)?

 

Thanks!

We usually arrive at the FL Ports around 10:45/11:00 am and boarding has started. So, by the time you gather luggage, get a cab, little shopping and maybe a light breakfast - it should be time to head to the ship. I say "light" due to most cruises start with lunch! ;)

We have flown dozens of "RedEyes" from Cali...you will be happy and excited but will not feel like doing much strenuous "time killing" :D

David- not that I don't value your input, but when was your last cruise out of Miami? We cruise last April, and there definitely was a separate line leading to the security scanning table/machine and the security scanner you walk through. The left side was VIP and the right side was regular. This was when we boarded the Epic. After we passed security, then we walked into the VIP room to check in.

Wow....will definitely check this out and report back here in 2+ weeks :D

Departing on the Epic next week.........

I am going to definitely check this out, even though the security lines have always been fairly fast and efficient in Miami

Once inside, the VIP check-in is a high point of embarkation day

We just did the Sun and they opened the salad bar in moderno at lunchtime too

 

I find the salad bar fantastic, I enjoy it more than the meat. They have cold meats, shrimp and well as salad vegatables. Potato salad, coleslaw, olives, palm hearts etc etc

Ditto!

After a dozen NCL cruises we finally tired Moderno on the Breakaway

I just told DH that I could skip the meats and just dine on the AMAZING Salad Bar, which we will be doing in 9 days :D

Great tip - start bringing the meats and pineapple with the salad

Yes, rare meat and lamb are available

9 day cruise, at least 2 at Moderno

We dined outside at about 5:30, sunset, quiet - just wonderful

Thanks you guys for all the info. I've seen quite a few on here stating how much they love Jamiaca, maybe they can give some insight. It sounds scary to even dock here.

Thanks to Cruise Critic:

We booked a ship excursion to Dunns River Falls

The Falls were great to see, our bus was small and our guide was fantastic, including the warnings on how to handle the vendors in the "park".

We did stop to shop - back on the bus in 10 minutes

Riding through Jamaica, the shopping experience, etc. we will never return to the Western Caribbean

Others on the bus commented that Montego Bay area was worse than what we experienced on our tour.

As above - check the boards here on how to have a safe and fun visit to Jamaica

Originally Posted by boopsahoy View Post

I believe it is dependent upon the port. In Miami, we checked in, and then the concierge whisked us to the front of the security line. In Vancouver, everyone stood in the same line all the way through security before we even got to the check-in area.

I saw the above post buried in a review

Is there such a service for Haven Guests? Where/How do you find the "VIP Security Line" concierge at the port in Miami?

We always stand in the only security line I have seen, then, after getting "scanned" etc. go into the VIP Check-In room

can't answer about the balcony because we did decide on an aft balcony and loved it. We're trying the B6 (large balcony) on the Getaway even though it's exposed - I actually like that it will get a lot of sun.

 

But as for Carlos - I absolutely LOVED this shortbread thing - it was shortbread, pecans and half of it was dipped in chocolate. It was really excellent. In fact, I bought a few pieces the last day and brought it home! Yum!

 

Have fun - we enjoyed Breakaway.

I had the same thing at Carlos Bakery.....AMAZING! I have now placed Carlos Bakery at the top of my list with my Lavazza

I do not know if it was a good or bad thing, went to Carlos Bakery the last sea day of our cruise - Look Out Getaway - might be a daily visit in my future.

Hi CxxViii -

We would be happy to look into this further for you. Please email your contact information and file number to socialmedia@ncl.com.

Thank you,

Norwegian Cruise Line Public Relations

Wow......and one of the top-ten reasons why we only sail NCL now

Question is: Will the OP find the above and READ this post?

This thread was a lesson learned, DH actually sat down and read all of the "fine print" for our upcoming cruise

If you forgot to tip the porter.....you're luggage might wash ashore a few weeks later.

David

The Manhattan port has been updated but still a little crazy. Make sure your luggage is handed to an official porter, luggage tags firmly affixed, and placed on a cart for YOUR SHIP.

I have never seen so many "have you seen this bag" flyers until our last two sailings out of Manhattan...hmmm? possibly they didn't tip :D

Just arrive on time and take it SLOW.......

Wonderful review! We have been in the Haven on the 16th floor, further back, and movement was very little. Didn't do Cirque last time and am considering it when we cruise again in the spring. Age appropriate for 7 year old?

Your 7 year old will probably love Cirque

We sat across the table from a father & his 7 year old daughter. The little girl loved the Cirque show so much dad brought her again. Cute little date night

Very nice review......some helpful ideas for our upcoming Epic cruise

Now that Ruth and Hugo are on the Breakaway, could someone please tell me who the new Haven Concierge and Hotel Director is on the Epic?

I believe it is dependent upon the port. In Miami, we checked in, and then the concierge whisked us to the front of the security line. In Vancouver, everyone stood in the same line all the way through security before we even got to the check-in area.

 

Where/How do you find the "VIP Security Line" in Miami?

 

We always stand in the security line then, after getting "scanned" etc. go into the VIP Check-In room

Wow. Lesson learned: I will from now on check my paperwork and highlight those dates. Thanks for the heads up and SO sorry this happened to you.

Ditto! and Ditto again!

We were always under the assumption it was 90 days......

We have a Getaway cruise in the Haven booked for Oct 2014 which is "subject to change" for a few more months