Kroozen

8116

It's nice there. There aren't as many amenities as there are at Atlantis, but it's also half the price as Atlantis. It's close to the port so getting back and forth is easy.

Just got off the Breakaway this morning. I was in an M6 on the 8th deck, FWD, port. Our cabin was right above the theater, but we didn't have any noise. We were the 4th cabin back from the front, so it was quite the walk down to the atrium. I'd certainly get an M6 again, but maybe a little closer to midship next time. The balcony was great. We have 2 lounge chairs, 2 regular chairs and a large table. It looked like it was 3x the size of a regular balcony.

I've been to GSC twice before, but I noticed that they've done a lot of upgrades since then. However, it was so crowded that we couldn't find lounge chairs anywhere...and we walked to a few different areas of the island. I don't think the island is capable of handling 4000 + passengers, so it was overcrowded. We only stayed long enough to grab a burger, walk around and then we went back to the ship.

No noise from the theater at all, and we were right above it. The only time we had noise was when the anchor was being dropped at GSC...it was loud!

Just got off the Breakaway today. Shorts were allowed in 2 of the 3 main dining rooms, and in all the specialty restaurants except for Le Bistro. And when I say it's allowed, I mean it says it allowed in the Freestyle Daily.

Just got off the Breakaway this morning. I had a great trip, and I would recommend the Breakaway to anyone. Here is a brief review of our trip. Any questions, let me know.

Embarkation:

We stayed overnight in NYC at the Grand Hyatt New York. The Grand Hyatt is connected to Grand Central, so it’s very easy to get to. When you get off your train, you just go to the top level and the hotel is right there. The hotel is very modern, and the rooms were nice. The morning of the cruise we took a taxi to the port. Including tip, it was only $20. We arrived at the pier at 10am, and there was no line at check-in. The ship was late arriving that morning, but that didn’t tell us until we arrived at the terminal. This caused a lot of problems because they didn’t start boarding until 12pm. The terminal isn’t that big, and it couldn’t really accommodate all the passengers that were arriving. There weren’t enough chairs for everyone, and this was causing frustration for a lot of people. After waiting for 2 hours, we were allowed to board.

Main Dining Rooms:

This was my 4th cruise on NCL, and the service in the main dining rooms has really gotten quite poor. We ate several dinners and breakfasts in Manhattan Room, Taste & Savor. The food was very, very good, but the service was lacking, especially in Manhattan Room. The waiters/waitresses barely spoke at all, and they never checked in after your entrée was served until it was time to clear the plates and order dessert. However, I cannot comment enough at how good the food was in all the main dining rooms. We ate dinner between 6p-7p, and we only had to wait once, and it was only 10 minutes.

La Cucina:

La Cucina was delicious. Service was very good, and the food was even better.

Modernos:

Modernos was great. The salad bar was fantastic, and all the meat was served hot.

Raw Bar:

We went to the Raw Bar on the last night of the cruise specifically to get the Seafood Plateau. Once we were ready to order, we were told that they had run out of oysters and clams (Oysters and clams are half of the seafood plateau). However, we were never told this when we were walking in. We decided to just get drinks instead.

Wasabi:

The sushi was very good, and the prices were not bad. It was $15 for 3 sushi rolls and an appetizer.

Buffet:

The buffet was one of the best buffets I’ve seen on the sea or on land. Everything was hot and tasty. There were lines, but there were a lot of stations so everything moved quickly.

Bar:

We had the ultimate drinking package, so our alcoholic drinks were covered. Most drinks were $10 or under, so we didn’t run into any issues.

Stateroom:

We had an M6 Mini-Suite with a large balcony on the 8th deck. Being on the 8th floor is very convenient because you’re near the waterfront, the casino, the theater, shops and all the restaurants on the 6th, 7th and 8th floors. The balcony was huge! We had 2 regular chairs, 2 lounge chairs and a large table. The bathroom was huge, and the shower and multiple jets…Very nice!

Outside activities:

We did the water slides several times. The water in the slides was heated, so you didn’t freeze. We tried to play mini golf, but there were no more golf balls. There is a huge ropes course, but by the time we had decided to do it, it was too windy so it was closed. However, I saw many people doing it throughout the week. The waterfront was great…probably my favorite feature of the ship. There were many outdoor dining areas, as well as many chairs, loungers and couches.

Inside activities:

There were always a lot of trivia games, game shows, etc going on. However, a lot of these were done in small areas and there was nowhere enough seats for everyone. People ended up sitting on the floor, or standing in the hallways which caused a lot of traffic jams.

Click on vacation summary. When you look at each individual day, you should see it on the bottom.

UBP for us. We're not heavy drinkers, but it will be nice not having to pay anything for drinks. We'll visit a few specialty restaurants with the money that we save from having the UBP.

European ports may be different, but in US/Bahamas/Caribbean ports, cash can only be used in the casino. You have to use your card for the duty free shops.

I've done both itens, but different ships. I did Jewel (Gem's sister ship) to Bahamas/Florida, and Spirit & Grandeur Of The Seas to Bermuda. Personally, I prefer Bermuda. There is so much to see and do there, and you'll have a lot more time. Now, if you'd rather see different ports on different days, then you'll prefer the Bahamas/Florida cruise. Weather sailing from NYC in May should be fine. It might be a little chilly the day you leave, but you'll be in the pool by the next day. I sailed out of Baltimore this past May, and the weather was fine. Baltimore isn't much further south than NYC.

I've never done an all inclusive vacation per say, but I have done a lot of regular land based vacations. No matter where I am, if I see a cruise ship sail by, I always wish I had taken a cruise instead. I like the feeling of being on the open water, and a cruise seems like an adventure to me. I also like being able to wake up in the morning and being in a different place. Now, cruises do have their down side. You're usually only in port for 6-10 hours, so you can't really do and see all the things that you can do on a land based vacation.

I agree--Plenty of time.

I'm cruising on the Breakaway in 2 weeks! I live in Western Ma, and we have 2 feet already, with another foot coming tomorrow. This is my first cruise in winter, and I think I'll make it a yearly tradition to escape the weather.

You can generally get into the terminal 5 hours to departure. BA departs at 3pm, so you should be able to get in at 10am. I'm sailing on the 22nd, and I plan on arriving between 10-10:30am. I'd rather beat the lines and then relax in the terminal until boarding.

I've done the Bahamas/Florida cruise twice before, and I'm going again in 2 weeks on the Breakaway (Feb 22). I'm not overly excited about the ports, but I'm mainly going because I wanted to go on Breakaway. If I had more time, I would have done the Gem 10 night, but I was limited to 7 nights due to work.

It's been a while since I've been there, but I don't recall seeing them on my last two visits there.

I'm on the 22nd cruise as well. We're staying overnight in NYC the night before. I was planning on getting to the pier around 10-10:30.

Yes, the package carries over to GSC.

I'm right down the hall from 8130. Did you have a mini suite with a regular balcony, or a large one? I have a mini suite with a large balcony, and I'm wondering what kind of furniture is on the balcony.

Thanks for all the info. It sounds pretty nice to me. We have a mini suite on deck 8, so it sounds like we'll be close to all the action!

I always book late...within 60 days of sailing. Prices have always gone up after I booked. However this time, I booked around 45 days out, and then the price started to drop...and then it dropped some more...and then it dropped some more. I was able to get upgraded to a mini suite, but I think I would have preferred to save a few bucks. Long story short, you never know. Once you've passed the final payment date, you usually can't get any more back, but you might be able to be upgraded.

What exactly is the waterfront on the Breakaway? Is it a promenade deck, but with bars and restaurants on it? My favorite place on any ship is the promenade, so I'd be disappointed if they got rid of it. Can you still walk all the way around the ship? Thanks!

As others have said, the promotion makes it worth it. However, if the promo weren't available, I don't think it would be worth it. Ocean view is nice and all, but I don't think it's $200 nice.

Thanks for all the info. I'm glad I switched...looks like the bigger balcony is almost 3x the size of a regular one.