garnet115

I am soooo tempted to book a summer cruise. I just got back from a Breakaway cruise and would love to book again, but finances are a little tough right now. There are reasonably priced Haven suites on Getaway during that time period that really makes this deal attractive when you consider that with a spa suite you would get spa passes, UDP and UBP included. Just have to factor in the cost of airfare and one night hotel stay since I'd have to fly to port, which adds another $700 - 800 total trip cost for two of us.

Maybe if my bonus comes through before the promotion expires.

If I understand correctly, this is an adults only venue, correct? So anything that takes place there is not available to kids, even the fireworks party? I'm looking through the dailies and it seems that there's not a whole lot that families can do together at night. The shows don't even seem appropriate for kids. Am I right or am I missing something? Thanks!

The evening events are open to everyone, including children, so kids can go to the fireworks party. On my sailing they also had a "Family Deck Party" at SpiceH20 one night. There is kids programming through Splash Academy both day and night. The only show that is not kid-appropriate is Rock of Ages. My dd LOVED Burn the Floor and the Cirque show. We didn't go to Second City, but I think that only the late night shows are "adult only." I saw plenty of kids at Howl at the Moon and other live entertainment venues throughout the cruise.

Where's no way you can transfer your son's spa pass to your friend. There isn't a separate physical pass...the fact that you're entitled to use the spa is encoded on your room key...which will have your son's name on it, and if swiped will bring up a picture of your son on the computer screen.

I don't know whether they will allow OP to transfer the pass, but this is not how it worked on my BA cruise. I went to the spa and have the my cabin number after which they put the regular spa pass sticker on my card. They asked me if a second guest would also be taking a pass and I said no, since dd was too young. They did not swipe my card when I returned to the spa - just checked the sticker before giving me a locker key.

I think it is a fair question to ask your TA or PCC. It is not like you get extra haven amenities in the spa - just access to the thermal suite. Since the room comes with access for 2 passengers, I think it would be reasonable to allow the transfer to another guest.

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Do you know if at the pier while you are waiting to board, is there an excursion counter where you can book? I'm debating on booking the universal pass for the day we are in Florida. May droit online but I have so much on board credit. Also I don't want to have to rush to the excursion desk when I board

 

 

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I don't know if it could be purchased at the pier. If excursions weren't full, they could be purchased onboard, either at the guest services desk or through the iconcierge app (and I assume through the interactive TV although I didn't check). I did look at the excursions that I had booked and saw that the KSC excursion was sold out, so you do run some risk if you don't pre-book depending on how crowded your sailing is.

Not all of my TA OBC showed up on MyNCL, and I had some late NCL OBC that was issued due to a price drop, but never showed on my account. At the suggestion of others on this board, I had my TA obtain an Amenties Sheet from NCL, which clearly listed all of my OBC. Although there were vouchers in my room upon embarkation for some the credits, I never had to take them to guest services. Everything showed up on my account by the end of Day 2 of my cruise. Having the Amenties Sheet as documentation made me feel better so that in case there was a problem, I would have something to show to prove it. In any event, I got all of my OBC. As a result, at the end of my cruise I wound up only having a balance of $25 charged to my credit card (although I had pre-booked my excursions and specialty dining). :D

Quick question ... when you get around to it.....any shady areas around the pool, promenade deck, etc. that you recall? We have sailed recently on ships that had an indoor pool or on Princess with the Sanctuary area. We always look for shady spots. Any help is much appreciated!! Can't wait for the next installment in your diary!

Around the pools on deck 15, there are plenty of shady areas that are set back and covered by the sundecks on 16.

Ok, call me stupid, but is it a Jacuzzi or a bathtub? Seems strange

that they would put a bathtub right in the room.

It is a jetted tub. In theory quite nice, but we barely used it since we found it took about 40 minutes to fill it!

 

The Spa Suites have a king bed that can't be separated into two twins, so I suspect you will not find this a satisfactory sleeping arrangement for you and your 8 year old son.

I just got back from a week in an S9 with my 10 yo DD. We shared the massive king size bed without any problem. It might as well have been two separate beds we had so much space between us. I don't think OP would have any problems sharing with her 8 yo son if that is what she chooses to do.

I just got back from my stay in. 14138. No noise issues. I would choose it again in a heartbeat.

Enjoy whichever you choose!

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Interesting. I'll do some research to see how widespread it is, just out of curiosity. I'm in Indiana, and we close for 2 weeks around Christmas, then a week for Spring Break in April. School was set to end on May 19. (Extended this year due to making up snow days.) I have friends in various states, and none do this, but I have none in the NY area. I wish we had that nice break!

If it makes you feel any better, New York schools (at least in the city) go until the last week in June, so there is a trade off for these extra vacation days...

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Thanks for posting a really helpful and even handed review. My DK's 13 & 16 are especially interested in your DD's experiences.

 

Great review!

Glad it was helpful. From what I could tell, the teens onboard, who generally had more freedom than my 10 yo, were having a blast!

. So maybe it isn't truly a 7 hour excursion like NCL claims, but I think the astronaut makes up for that.

From the time that you are told to meet in the theater until you arrive back at the ship after the tour, it probably is 6.5 to 7 hours in total, including travel and waiting time. The real live astronaut was definitely one of the highlights for us. He was great.

One observation that I meant to make in my review -

I have seen a lot of debate on these boards about whether one must be a Haven guest to be able to enjoy the Breakaway given the size of the ship and number of passengers. Having now sailed in both a studio and a suite, I can say that I enjoyed both of my trips and did not have vastly different experiences based on my cabin location. While the Haven perks are very nice, I don't think that they changed our use of facilities throughout the ship (other than our tendency to head to the Haven restaurant instead of the MDRs). The crowds are what they are, and unless you plan to never leave the Haven, you are not going to avoid them. Since dd was interested in all of the outdoor activities (waterslides, rock climbing, etc.) and we enjoyed the ship entertainment and specialty dining, I don't think our onboard experience was too different by virtue of being Haven guests. Yes, there were some disappointments being closed out of Splash Academy and SpiceH20 for the fireworks, but those disappointments were not the focal point of our vacation. We had a great time - as did most of the passengers I encountered and spoke with. Don't be scared off by the complaining reviews.

Read through real quick - did you pre book Cirque for the first night and did you get a discount?

I did pre-book for the first night. They were running the 25% off special, and I was refunded the difference to my on-board account, so yes - I received the discount even though I pre-booked.

Thanks for your review. Did you find that the KSC excursion was worth the $$? DH and I are leaving on the 3/16 cruise, and debating whether we should book it since he's never been (I went when I was a toddler with my parents and sister). Also, did the Atlantis excursion feel rushed? We booked that after reading mixed reviews about not having enough time to see everything, and hoping we can retrace our steps if we want to explore on our own once the tour commences.

 

Thanks!:cool:

The Space Center is a tough call - I really did not feel that we had enough time there, but still think it was certainly preferable to going to one of the major theme parks. If you are going just you and DH (no kids) you might be able to cover more ground that I could with my dd who tends to move slow and need a lot of breaks. Others will say that you can get a better value if you buy tickets yourself and take cabs to/from KSC, but remember that with the shore excursion you get an extra hour after KSC closes for a IMAX screening, so you get more time for exploring the other exhibits.

I did not feel rushed at Atlantis. I think you can stay until 4:30 or 5pm (which is when the water park closes). We left around 3 pm because we'd had enough. I guess if you are combining it with the dolphin swim or some other similar activity you might feel you don't get enough time at Aquaventure, but to just do Aquaventure it is plenty of time. We didn't do the formal tour of the Atlantis grounds/aquarium exhibits, so I can't comment on time there.

Enjoy your cruise!

Loved your review, will be on the Breakaway in 2 weeks and I have a few questions:

 

 

 

1- We are trying to decide what type of clothes to pack in addition to summer wear. Will we need at least 3 or 4 warm outfits for leaving and returning to NYC port. What was your experience.

 

 

 

2- Do they let you go directly to your cabin to drop off bags.

 

 

 

3- We are traveling with someone who is handicap and she can't tolerate sun. I wonder if we will be allowed to get off ship on first tender to private island in order to find a shaded area.

 

 

 

Thanks.

1. We lucked out with great weather. The first sea day was beautiful and I sat outside comfortably in jeans and a tee shirt with a cardigan. By the time we reached FL people were wearing shorts. The first sea day after the Bahamas was also warm and beautiful - plenty of people in shorts and the pool. The last sea day turned chilly. I was back to jeans/tee/cardigan and was still cold outdoors on the upper decks. When it is cold out, you can still be in the indoor spaces of the ship comfortably. I would worry about bringing too many "warm" clothes.

2. I think they prefer that you not go to the cabins until they are ready. When I was on in January they were ready by 1:30 and I dropped my bag off after lunch. This trip they were ready upon boarding and we could go straight to the room.

3. You may want to call the access desk in advance to see what options are available. I didn't see much shade, so if sun exposure is a problem, I would recommend renting a clamshell on the beach.

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Arrived home yesterday from a great week on the Breakaway. About us: I am a single mom traveling with my 10 yo dd. I should also mention that a month ago, I was on a Breakaway CTN in a Stuido cabin, but this trip we stayed in an S9 Spa Suite (more on that later) so I have experienced both ends of the spectrum on the ship.

Embarkation: We live in Manhattan and arrived at the pier around 11 am. Checked our bags and were through security in no time. We were greeted after the security line by a Haven representative, who directed us to the Haven lounge area at the other end of the terminal. Upon arrival in the Haven area, we were given a number and told to sit until our number was called to check in. The lounge area was small and PACKED with suite guests waiting to check in/board. We were told we could begin boarding around 11:30, and once on the ship were taken up to the Haven lounge, where the concierge gave a brief talk about Haven access and amenities. Rooms were ready early, so we headed to Deck 14 to drop off our carry on bags.

Cabin: We were in S9 cabin 14138, which was beautiful. I had originally booked a B1 aft balcony, but about a month ago, when prices began to drop, I paid to self-upgrade to a suite and surprised my dd on embarkation day. Dd and I shared the enormous king size bed without any problem. She LOVED the in-room hot tub, but we only used it a handful of times since it took a good 40 minutes to fill the tub every time we wanted to use it. There was tons of storage space, and even with my over-packing we didn’t use all of the space provided. I ordered the “bon voyage” party cake, which we enjoyed during sail away.

2:30 was the muster drill. Our station was in the theater. I had the same station (different section) during my CTN, so knew what to expect. Organized, fast, and painless. So much better than the disorganized mess that we had to stand in when we were on HAL in 2011.

First night: We had reservations for the 5:15 Cirque show. We met the concierge in the Haven lounge at 4:30 so that we could enter early and have our pick of seats. While waiting in the lounge, we met KweezyCruiser and her lovely daughter, who we also sat with at the show. We had our pick of seats, but I don’t think it was full and we probably would not have had trouble finding good seats had we arrived at the regular time. The show was truly spectacular – we enjoyed every minute of it and were talking about it for days after. Although the food was only so-so, it was well worth the price of admission. I think a lot of the food that was served went uneaten anyway, since people were so absorbed in the performance that they didn’t miss anything. I took DD to Splash Academy that night. There were over 1600 kids on board, and as a result, her age group met in the Bliss Lounge instead of the Splash Academy space. Check in at Splash Academy was terribly long despite the fact that we had pre-registered earlier in the day. I went down to Headliners to see Howl at the Moon, which seemed a lot of fun, but about 20 minutes in, dd started texting me on the iconcierge app that she was unhappy because there were too many kids, which resulted in her spending time sitting on the sidelines. I eventually went and got her since she was clearly not happy there.

Day 2: we had a leisurely morning and a nice breakfast in the Haven restaurant. We then walked around the ship checking out the various public spaces and taking pictures. We went to the CC Meet and Greet at La Cucina (shout out to whereisthemidnightbuffet? for organizing), which was well attended by CC members and several ship officers. It was wonderful to put faces with names, and a good time was had by all thanks to a fellow-CCer (RickinNYC) who prepared some ice breaker/trivia games. After, DD and I spent some time in the courtyard pool, and had lunch poolside. DD decided it was warm enough for the outdoor pools (I’m guessing it was around 60 degrees?) and had a blast going down the waterslides. At one point, when she was in the big pool, I noticed a crew member stop dd to ask her if there was a grown up watching her, and she pointed to me. The crew member made eye contact with me and wanted to know that she had adult supervision before moving on. That night we had dinner in the MDR (Taste), which was fine. We skipped dessert in the MDR and decided to grab a few Carlo’s cupcakes in the Atrium Café. Big disappointment – the cupcakes were cold and hard and mealy. L We then went to the theater for Burn the Floor. What a great show! We really enjoyed it. After the show we stopped and took some formal pictures with the ship photographer, who was lovely and really took her time to get some great shots (I even bought the prints!).

Day 3: Another breakfast in the Haven restaurant, and then a lazy morning waiting for arrival in Port Canaveral. We had booked an excursion to Kennedy Space Center, and were instructed to meet in the theater to wait for our tour to be called. The theater was packed, and I felt sorry for the poor crew member who was solely responsible for getting everyone settled and organized for the tour. We were ashore and on the tour bus by 1pm. There were several buses from NCL to KSC. I think we got on the third one, and we arrived at KSC by 1:30. We were told to meet back at the IMAX theater at 4:45, so that left us 3 hours to explore the space center. We opted to skip the bus tour out the vehicle assembly building and Saturn V exhibit, and instead went straight to the shuttle Atlantis exhibit, which is not to be missed. We had a cafeteria lunch, and explored the other main areas at KSC. KSC closed at 5pm, but the tour group was given a special showing of the IMAX show along with a brief Q&A with an astronaut. DD loved seeing a real astronaut and was disappointed that there was no opportunity to meet him and take pictures. We left KSC a little after 6pm and were back on the ship by 6:30. We went to dinner at La Cucina, which we thoroughly enjoyed. Dd had no interest in the kids club, so we went up to Spice H20 for the “Happy Family Deck Party” where there was lots of fun, music, dancing, face painting and balloons.

Day 4: Since we were scheduled for an early arrival at Great Stirrup Cay, we had breakfast delivered to our room. We met the concierge at 8:20 so that we could get on the first tender to the island. The island is very nice, and we were very happy with our chairs in the main beach area. We rented a floating mat for dd, and she was thrilled when she met another girl her age on the beach, who she played with the rest of our time on board the ship. We had BBQ lunch on the island, got our fill of sun (it was in the low 80s!) and headed back to the ship around 2pm. Later that afternoon, dd met up with her new friend for some time in the ship pool/slides. We had a nice dinner in the Haven restaurant, and met dd’s friend at Spice H20 for an outdoor screening of Pitch Perfect.

Day 5: I woke up early and watched from the balcony as we pulled into port in Nassau. We again ate breakfast in the room before heading out for our shore excursion to Atlantis. Leaving for this tour was very disorganized (tour operator’s fault, not NCL) and it was a mob scene as everyone tried to pile onto shuttle buses to the resort. Once at Atlantis, we had a good time in the pools/water slides. A nice lunch at one of the poolside restaurants. Once we were tired from all the walking (that place is enormous!) and water fun, we spent some time walking through “the Dig” and aquarium areas of the resort. We headed back to the ship around 3:30. Once back on the ship, we spent some time relaxing, and then headed to dinner at Cagney’s. I LOVED my meal at Cagney’s. I had the baked potato soup, the filet mingon – which was one of the best steaks I have ever had – and the oreo cheesecake for dessert. Much to my chagrin, dd refused to eat off of the steakhouse menu, instead opting for chicken tenders and French fries. Oh well, at least I wasn’t charged for that! We headed up to Spice H20 for the fireworks, where dd had planned to meet her new friend, but were turned away because it was already full. Instead we went to deck 16 above the kid’s pool, where we had a fantastic view of the fireworks.

Day 6: We were exhausted from the prior 3 port days, and decided to sleep in and have a late breakfast at the Haven restaurant. Dd made plans to meet her friend at the pool, and with friend’s parents supervising the girls, I had a chance to escape to the spa for about an hour. I had been to the spa during my CTN and was soooo happy to go back. The Thermal Suite was practically empty, and I had no trouble using whichever facilities I wanted, including those incredible heated tile loungers. Had lunch at Uptown Grill, which was ok. During the afternoon we did some shopping in the ship stores for souvenirs to bring back for a few friends. That night we had dinner in the Haven restaurant. Dd and her friend had planned on meeting at Splash Academy that evening, but when we arrived they were turning people away because they were already at capacity. Instead, I brought the girls to our room to watch a DVD.

Day 7: Another late breakfast at the Haven restaurant followed by some final shopping at the ship shops. Lunch was at O’Sheehans, which was serviceable, but nothing special. That afternoon, dd finally made it to the rock climbing wall (she hadn’t want to wait on the long lines earlier in the week) and also had a good time on the spider slide. I’m not sure why, but the bungee trampoline was closed the entire week, much to dd’s disappointment. That night we had dinner at Teppanyaki, which was a wonderful time. The chef made things a lot of fun, and it was one of the few non-kids-menu meals that dd ate the entire week! DD and her friend met up at Splash Academy (they were able to get in this time) for the final night pajama party. I spent some time in the Atrium watching IMPAC and then went to headliners to watch about half of Howl at the Moon, which was a lot of fun.

Disembarkation: I woke up early and watched dismally as the ship made its way back up the Hudson. We had a final breakfast in the room, and headed up to the concierge for our priority disembarkation around 8:30 am. The priorty helped in that it got us quick elevator access, but once we were at the exit, there was not much of a line so I don’t think we saved any other time with our “priority” status. We headed into the terminal and easily found our luggage. We cleared customs and were in a cab pretty quickly. We made it home to our Manhattan apartment by 9:15 am. Easy peasy.

All in all we had a wonderful, relaxing week. I wouldn’t hesitate to sail the Breakaway (or any NCL ship) again. I would be happier to not go during a peak week, but as long as expectations are reasonable, I think there is opportunity for a good time to be had by all.

I am happy to answer any questions – I am sure there is plenty that I forgot to include.

Very interested to hear about the crowds! Most of the negative reviews pick apart things that don't ruin my vacation, so always happy to hear a positive :)

I was also on this sailing and had a wonderful vacation. Were there crowds? It was a ship with over 4000 passengers during a peak holiday week - of course there were crowds! Did the crowds spoil our vacation? No! There a few moments of frustration, but generally we were able to do the things we wanted to do, relax, and have a great time. It's all about expectations - don't go on a "megaship" and expect a serene, crowd-free vacation.

I noticed most everything has fondant and fudge, does anyone know if buttercream and strawberries are an option? Unfortunately for us we are on the Epic which does not have the specialty bake shop. Thank you for whatever info you can provide!

I just got one of the party package cakes on the Breakaway (not a Carlo's cake) and there was not an option to choose when I ordered, but it came with buttercream frosting and a strawberry filling. There was some chocolate and strawberry garnish on the cake. It was yummy. :)

In January my parents were on the Gem and had their balcony door open while in port in DR. A bat flew in their room. :eek: They had to call the room steward to come help them get it out. That pretty much soured me on keeping my door open during my trip this past week. I love it in theory, but worries of bats would have had me sleeping with one eye open, so not worth it to me!

They were not giving out lanyards on the Breakaway. We brought one with us and had a hole punched for dd. You need both the adult and child cards to swipe at sign out. THey were annoyed on the last night because when I went to pick up my daughter, she had her card with her and I couldn't just hand it over with mine to swipe before they called her down. Made no sense to me - why would I carry around her card? The whole point is that it is HER card!

It was only 1200 kids.... But they seemed contained.

When I asked at Splash Academy during registration on the first day, I was told over 1600, but 600 of those were teens. I think the number that actually registered for Splash Academy wound up being closer to 1000.

Glad it worked well for you. I was on this sailing and had a different experience. My 10 yr dd went the first night, which for her age group was held in the Bliss lounge. There were so many kids that playing games took a long time and she was miserable sitting in the sidelines after getting out in an early round. Within 40 minutes she was texting me to come get her. I could not convince her to give it another try until Friday. It was held at Splash Academy, but when we got there they were full to capacity and we were turned away because there was no space. She went back the last night and had fun, but we were generally disappointed in Splash Academy. I am sure that the staff was great, they were just way over the capacity they could accommodate.

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I just got off the Breakaway and attended the Cirque show. I wouldn't day the food was terrible, but it wasn't anything special. The show, however, was spectacular and I think much of the food served web tun eaten because people were too wrapped up in the performance to stop and eat. I don't know about the food on Getaway, but assuming it is the same, I would go for the show and plan on eating dinner elsewhere that night.

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my understanding is that you need to call to switch. BUt I thought the system wouldn't let you make conflicting bookings?:confused: