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Breakaway begins the Baltics Review


notes21
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I have to start by saying that overall, I loved this cruise. The ports are so interesting, and well worth the time in each one.

 

I cruised this time with my parents, and we got to Copenhagen 2 days ahead. During that time, we went to Tivoli, and did the grand day trip around Copenhagen with Hamlet Tours. Both were very enjoyable! We stayed at Scandic Copenhagen through NCL as we had booked the cruise as a distinctive voyage. The transfer process to the port was smooth, but embarkation told a long time. They were using 2 terminals (one for odd floors, one for even), but there were some computer glitches and long waits that I think were primarily from it being the first NCL cruise back of the season. The nice thing was that the rooms were all ready by the time that we got on the ship.

 

This was my first time on Breakaway, but it was obvious that many of the carpets were new. Otherwise, I don't really know what was new or not. There were still only 4 outlets above the desk (2-240 needing European plugs/adaptors and 2-110). We were worried about storage space when we initially saw our room, a large balcony, but it worked out well. The room was fine for us, and we loved the balcony as always though it was a bit chilly on it some of the time. Our steward was always friendly and greeted us by name which I didn't realize until back on NCL that I had missed on my most recent Carnival cruise.

 

Food -- We ate at the main dining rooms, O'Sheehan's, Cagney's, Le Bistro, and Cirque Dreams show/dinner. As I'd heard, the Manhattan room was nice, but just a bit too noisy for us which is ironic since we are all music teachers. We preferred Taste/Savor for the atmosphere though the food was good in all three. Cagney's was very good again as was Le Bistro. I was looking forward to the cones appetizer in Le Bistro and didn't realize that it was not on the larger ships, but the other food more than made up for it. (Sorry, I can't remember exactly what I had other than the french onion soup at the moment). I had read enough reviews to know that the Cirque dreams dinner was not necessarily going to be my favorite, though the steak was very good, but the show itself was very enjoyable. I've seen other Cirque Dreams and Cirque du Soleil shows, and was not left feeling like this was any lower in quality for the size of the venue.

 

We ate at O'Sheehan's a lot for lunch b/c after walking around on a tour it was nice to be waited on, etc. and the dining rooms were often either not open on port days or closed earlier than we got back on tours. I loved the size of the O'Sheehan's on this ship compared to the smaller ships I've been on before.

 

 

Shore Excursions -- Having distinctive voyages, silver discount, and my mom worrying about being left, we chose to do all ship shore excursions. The actual tours were wonderful, and we enjoyed each of them. We did Best of Berlin, Highlights of Tallin, 2 Days & an Evening in St Petersburg, Discover Helsinki, Beautiful Stockholm & Vasa, and then the City & Harbor tour (ending at the hotel) today when we left the ship. The process for getting people their stickers and to their buses was some of the most unorganized that I have ever seen. I don't know if that was b/c of the size of the ship, first time doing this cruise, or what, but as a former band director used to organizing groups of people, it drove me crazy until I just said -- I will not let this bother me. It did seem to get better as the week went on.

 

I was a bit frustrated at the fact that I had to go twice to the shore excursion desk & stand in line for quite a while before getting my 10% silver discount applied. In some locations, it wouldn't have been worth it, but 10% of the cost of some of these tours was significant. It did get fixed the 2nd time though thankfully. For going to Stockholm, it is a significant bus ride, and I get extremely car sick along with taking medicine that makes nausea worse even on a good day. The 2nd shore ex desk visit I was told that a seat would be reserved near the front of the bus, but when I got down to the bus, there was no paper and people had already filled the first half of the bus. There were a frustrating few minutes, but the NCL staff did get it fixed though it meant switching buses. I was very thankful that they worked on it, and I'm also very thankful for a couple on the other/now our bus who volunteered to move back. It made a huge difference in me being able to have an enjoyable day in Stockholm rather than being sick the whole time.

 

Entertainment - - I already mentioned Cirque Dreams Jungle Fantasy which was enjoyable. We watched some game shows in the atrium & yes, others are correct that the space should have been made bigger. We also watched Burn the Floor and Rock of Ages. I had only seen the movie version of Rock of Ages and felt ho hum about it, and really didn't like the Broadway version though the performers did a good job in their execution of it. It just wasn't my thing. We never got to the comedian or howl at the moon, though we had hoped to. Some of that was conflicting with our reservations, and the other was just the full itinerary and jet lag.

 

This was my first time on a ship as large as the Breakaway, and the cruise as a whole was very good. I do think I prefer the slightly smaller ships that have the more traditional, different entertainment every night without a reservation over having to make reservations in advance and only having a couple of things playing for multiple nights in a row. Would I turn down a cruise on a large ship if it had an itinerary I was interested in? Absolutely not! For the right ports, I would definitely sail the Breakaway or a sister ship again.

 

Sorry this review doesn't have pictures and isn't more detailed, but I was still having to teach my 5 online classes throughout the cruise. My only true week off is Christmas to New Years, but thankfully the online teaching allows me to work from anywhere in the world & helps pay for trips like this, lol. Oh, speaking of that, the internet: I got the unlimited wifi plan, and the service was very good most of the time. Of course, it was a bit slower than home and a couple of days had some spottiness, but overall, I felt it worked as well as I could expect.

 

Hope this maybe helps someone who is looking forward to this cruise. I know I searched for reviews and read as much as possible; so, I wanted to give back a little :)

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Also wanted to add real quick -- pack for any weather if you are doing this cruise! We had 80 degrees in St Petersburg one day & 63/rainy the next. I forgot sunscreen, and I can't believe I'm going home sunburned from the Baltics. Our tour guide in St Petersburg said that this same time last year that they were dealing with snow; so, it was unseasonably warm. Being from Florida, I was surprised how hot 65& sunny could be in some of these places. I packed in layers, but only wore a sweatshirt or jacket 2 or 3 times the whole cruise (other than on my balcony when we were on the move). So, my suggestion is to definitely pack for anything!

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rslinky- you should be good. There is a $19.95 laundry fill the bag special on day 4 I think

 

Sayer-kraut. - well, it’s officially listed as a Baltic capitals cruise so commonly abbreviated as just Baltics. The tour guides also referred to it as the Baltics throughout our time there. Thanks for your input.

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Thank you so much for the awesome review. My daughter and I are going on the Breakaway in June. We are doing all NCL excursions as well. We decided on doing the castle tour in Germany instead of going all the way to Berlin. On your Berlin tour did you ride the train or did you get there by bus?

I’ve been on the Breakaway before in an inside cabin and it was super tiny. We bid on a balcony this time and got the upgrade. Very excited about having more room.

I really appreciate you taking the time to give a review. Safe travels home!!

 

 

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JenJohnCourt - If you do an NCL excursion to Berlin, they have an entire train rented; so, we did the train. Only 1 stop on the way in to Berlin to let some people off who were seeing the concentration camp, and no stops on the way back. They provided some snacks and drinks both ways. It was a good experience. Have fun on your cruise. The balcony is so nice to see the ports and things. I'm sure you'll enjoy it.

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JenJohnCourt - If you do an NCL excursion to Berlin, they have an entire train rented; so, we did the train. Only 1 stop on the way in to Berlin to let some people off who were seeing the concentration camp, and no stops on the way back. They provided some snacks and drinks both ways. It was a good experience. Have fun on your cruise. The balcony is so nice to see the ports and things. I'm sure you'll enjoy it.

 

 

 

That’s great! The train to Berlin sounds like it was a good way to go. Did you like the entertainment on the ship? NCL usually has really good performers.

 

 

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That’s great! The train to Berlin sounds like it was a good way to go. Did you like the entertainment on the ship? NCL usually has really good performers.

 

 

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Sorry I just read your review on the entertainment!! Did you go to Syd Norman’s Pour House? We like listening to love music.

 

 

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I loved your review! We will be on the July 13 sailing. This will be our 2nd NCL cruise and 2nd on the Breakaway. Last year was Bermuda. We are in the Haven and it is an awesome experience. We are choosing to do most ports on our own, with the exception of St. Petersburg where we have booked through Alla Tours. That will be both St. Petersburg and Stockholm. The only NCL tour I think I will book will be the Copenhagen tour when we return, primarily because it includes transportation to the airport. We have one day in Copenhagen before we embark so I think it will be a nice way to end. I found the NCL tours to be expensive and would prefer to do other things. I look forward to hearing about any other changes made while in dry dock.

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We never got to the pour house. We did hear the singer/ guitarist Melvyn several times and also entice duo several locations on the ship. Entertainment &what we did see performance wise was well done. Went on a carnival cruise during New Years & their entertainment made me cringe & leave several times. Never felt that way about the entertainers on this ship.

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SharonAnn - we found with our discounts that the ship’s weren’t really more. We are a bit shy about using others in Europe after 2 late situations out of our control on our ncl spirit morroco/ Canary Islands a year 1/2 ago. But the nice thing is that there are so many options available for tours on ncl , other companies, &/ or doing them on your own. Most of the ports are really industrial & dont really have much in the way of vendors or tours right there at the port. Most seemed to be s pretty good walk to city centers, etc. but hopefully someone who did things on their own will post about that as well.

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Be prepared for a long wait at St. Petersburg customs. It took us 45 minutes to get through but for some in our group it took almost 2 hours. Hopefully that will get smoother with time as well. Also the agents are definitely not friendly that first morning; though they were a bit nicer the other 2 times we passed through & lines were shorterThey were being pretty picky on the night tours. Our guide told us to head there at 6 for our 7 pm meeting time but they wouldn’t let us through until about 6:20.

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Thank you so much for your review! I was hoping someone would post one. We are also going in to Copenhagen 2 days early, and staying at the Admiral Copenhagen. We plan on walking around, doing Tivoli, and the hop on hop off bus. We are also doing all NCL tours, except for SPB, where we are booked BestGuides. After our 10% discount (which was taken off immediately when we booked online) and the $50 per port discount we are getting as a "perk" the price wasn't too bad. We do usually book private tours, but this itinerary was so different we decided to stick with ship tours, and my dh wanted to do the train rather than a car ride to SPB. We are doing the Exclusive Best of Berlin, Tallinn and Old Town Walking Tour, Hop on Hop off in Helsinki, and Stockholm by Land and Sea. Did you find the ship tours overly crowded? I am sure - being you were on the first cruise of the season in the Baltics- things will get smoother as they work out the routines of getting people off the ship. Glad you enjoyed your cruise, and thanks again for posting so quickly.

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Thanks for sharing your experiences, notes21! I am sailing this itinerary July 4 and am very excited to see this part of the world. It's also nice to see information from someone who didn't do any private tours as it seems like almost everyone books privately and not with NCL.

 

I have a few questions about your excursions. For the Best of Berlin excursion, did you feel like you spent too much time on a bus touring the city or was there enough time at each of the stops to really see and enjoy Berlin? Also, in St. Petersburg for your 2 days and an evening tour including Peterhof, were you able to see and explore the fountain gardens or was this primarily an inside tour? It seems like several of the NCL tours to Peterhof only focus on the inside with glimpses of the gardens.

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Pe4all - it was typically a group of about 35 people on a 45-49 passenger bus. I never felt like it was super crowded, and many times found that the private tours were at places at the same time. Ncl or those tour companies did a good job of staggering locations so that it wasn’t 5 busses all trying to enter somewhere at same time or anything.

 

Iceangell2335 - we stopped at multiple places on best of Berlin for photo stops or exploring including about an hour for a traditional German meal which was really good. The Checkpoint Charlie stop was a little short to get through the other things around there but at same time it was very touristy so happy to leave when we did. There was some time for shopping as well. I said on the train ride back that that day was worth the whole trip. I learned so much & it was so interesting. If you’ve never been to Berlin before like us, it was absolutely worth the long day & not too much time on bus.

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Sorry hit reply too quick. The 2 days and evening at Peterhof included a tour around the house but also around an hour to hour and a half in the gardens. Our guide helped us get a great spot at 11 for when they turn on the main cascade/ fountain. after that 3 minute show, we toured more of the gardens & fountains including some of the trick fountains. Really enjoyed Peterhof & the gardens.

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I loved your review! We will be on the July 13 sailing. This will be our 2nd NCL cruise and 2nd on the Breakaway. Last year was Bermuda. We are in the Haven and it is an awesome experience. We are choosing to do most ports on our own, with the exception of St. Petersburg where we have booked through Alla Tours. That will be both St. Petersburg and Stockholm. The only NCL tour I think I will book will be the Copenhagen tour when we return, primarily because it includes transportation to the airport. We have one day in Copenhagen before we embark so I think it will be a nice way to end. I found the NCL tours to be expensive and would prefer to do other things. I look forward to hearing about any other changes made while in dry dock.

Thanks, Notes21, for the review!

SharonAnn...we are going on this cruise in August 27 sailing and doing exactly what you are ...Alla for St Pete and Stockholm, DIY for Tallin and Helsinki. We are doing the "friends of Dave" tour in Warnemunde. I hope you let us know how your tours go so we can prepare!

Thank you in advance!

-Elaine

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