Breakaway 7/7 - 7/14 just some thoughts

[bskmom]

There is a lot out there on the breakaway so I will not go into too much detail but feel free to ask. I have read a lot of reviews and thought I would comment on some things and give overall thoughts.
Travelers: me 52, husband 52, kids 17 and 20, MIL 70s, 2 SIL 50's

Overall: Cruise ok... Enjoyed other NCL cruises much better. Feeling ship too big and too crowded.
Pro:
NCL will still be our favorite cruise line due to freestyle (or whats left of it since I feel you have to make reservations for everything now)

Food was good (way too salty though). For the first time on NCL I did not enjoy the MDRs. I did not like their menus at all. This is me. Our family found ourselves using the buffet. The buffet had a lot to offer and was very good. To answer the question again...there is no lobster in Main Dining Room at all.

17 year old enjoyed Entrourage (teen club) and made a lot of friends.

Entertainment: Rock of Ages (and yes not for younger audiences) was very good. Fire and Ice (singer in Atrium) was excellent but why use the Atrium as a venue (will get back to that in Con). Cirque de Soleil good but as others have commented dinner is a distraction.

Water slides/Ropes Course etc for kids: They enjoyed them and used them the first day (got on board early.) Didn't really use them much after because of lines.

Food Allergies: Did a great job on accommodating my daughters food allergies.

Cabin: Mid inside deck 5.... I thought the cabin was fine. I do not need a lot as I really only sleep there. The shower (real shower) was great. We did have a problem with the shampoo dispenser but it was fixed by next day. Didn't bother me that there were no drawers but only shelves. Closet was good size. As noted hair dryer is ridiculous in that the cord only reaches so far but oh well.

MOTION of ship: I was very nervous about this as I had read people really found it to be bad. I brought everything sea bands, bonine, etc didn't use one thing. I actually found myself in the middle of the night wondering if the ship was even moving. I don't know if it was because I was on deck 5 but even during day I really never noticed it on any decks.

Embarkation/Debarkation: Easy on ....Easy walk off!

Well unfortunately those are the only pros

Cons:

Pool is too small - and yes they tried to monitor the ADULT pool. I actually felt bad. There is a small sign that say adult pool...but what is adult??? This one guy would blow the whistle and ask kids to leave and a lot of people would cheer! My daughter is 17 and a lifeguard. She looks young and was worried she would get whistled at the whole time. She never did but I saw some kids prob 15/16 get thrown out. There is a pool next to the splash area but it is small and not deep. I really think it is unfair the layout and lack of pool (s). The trip was very hot!!!! So first you can't find chairs and when you do you are two decks up. So to cool off you have to walk to the pool with your sandals or your feet would burn....leave your shoes everywhere to find an inch of water maybe. Then you didn't want to be gone too long because they did have people removing towels. I really feel like NCL nor the passengers can win because it is such a poor design. I also felt like the chairs are just crammed in and it is very awkward to climb into one when you are bumped right up next to people. Really ridiculous.

Layout of the ship: Very choppy....didn't like it at all. Never felt like there was a main area. Pool activity didn't really support crowds (too small) and the H2o area is just awkward to get too. Never really felt like I was in the mix of things.

Entertainment venues: Too small... Why have things in the Atrium (dancing with the stars etc0 when no one can see. Fire and Ice are fantastic but again venue is too small. Headliners (get there early or you are behind a pole). Everything is very too small. I don't know if NCL is trying to make it feel like a cozy ship but it fails... And the fact that you are reserving shows and then need to get there so early to sit together wasted a lot of time etc. It also failed in the fact that there were still seats open because I think people didn't feel they would get a seat standby etc which is a shame.

Entertainment (my opinion) will have to wait...need to work...will post more later.
Sorry
Patti

[Highboy90]

Thank you for sharing Patti. Looking forward to the rest of your review.

[Cruisegirl6]

Thank you Patti for your review, I totally agree with all you said.

[SissasMomE]

You don't have to make a reservation for everything. Show reservations are only for Epic and the larger Breakaway class.

We loved the Epic! I'm going on the Getaway with my entire family, so we will have fun no matter what ;)

I switched our scheduled Breakaway cruise over to the Dawn, not really because of the reviews, but moreso because it was my first choice to begin with. We are going on Getaway in April and it just doesn't make sense to do the same exact ship 2 months later.

How come you guys didn't utilize Spice during the day? We will be one 17-year old and the rest of the family are old farts. We are going to do that for our Getaway cruise in April. Any main pool area on any ship is crowded. I've been cruising for 30 years now, and it's always been like that. Even as a young kid.

[sailingnut]

Why did they not put more pools in~~at least three~~when they knew how many passengers would be on the ship~~it sounds to me that they could have used the space much better in all area's of the ship~~will see in October!:)

[coaster]

Great review. I wonder if NCL will consider reducing the capacity of this ship as crowding seems to be a common complaint. Just having less third and fourth berths might do it.

[mrf]

Was also on this cruise. Agree to crowded around the pool area. Very difficult to find a chair and if so to close together. I will not go on the Breakaway again. Much prefer the Epic.

[Fins2theleft]

Thanks for your thoughts.

[bskmom]

Entertainment: Again only my thoughts....
Burn the Floor - Let me say I love to watch dancers etc. I know they were very talented and I really feel they were wasted. I think they should have done some more high energy stuff. There wasn't much burning going on as far as I could tell. There were some good numbers and the slow stuff was great but just too much of it. It seemed like it dragged on and as I said it was a shame because the talent was definitely there.
Comedy/magic guy - sorry just awful... maybe had a bad day but no magic and comedy was not funny.
2nd city - first show we saw was sub par. 2nd show was better but neither was great. A couple of the people were very good and some just didn't seem on. Didn't pay for it so I will say I got my moneys worth.

Never really went to the other things - again I felt they were off the beaten track ...it may have just been me because my husband and SIL would go and said they were good --- jazz stuff etc.

Spice H2O - bad location.... 70s show started to rain a little cancelled... fireworks - crowded so left and missed them as I was trying to find better vantage point. Didn't seem very long so I don't think I missed much. Glow party???? Everyone wearing white - didn't see any staff and no glow except for some people wearing glow necklaces (must of gotten them early). I remember being on Jewel for White hot party and the cruise director was there and other staff with angel wings taking pics as you went in. The angels would dance etc. Glow didn't seem like anything. I left so maybe it got better??? But again in all never really went. I feel like "DECK" parties should be centrally located. There was never any feeling of we are on a cruise ship for me ....not sure how to explain it but that is how I felt. When we left Bermuda it was like oh we are moving!! Was there any fanfare...I don't know. When we left NYC there was stuff on H2O but I am used to it being by the pool deck again its just my feelings but I really don't feel like there was the usual excitement. Maybe I needed to try harder, but usually on cruises it is right in your face (not in a bad way)

Neutral and or general comments:

Staff: There were some great staff and some not so great (very few but they were there). I really feel bad. I think they were told to be more vocal because you could see that everyone tried to greet you, but there were definitely some unhappy staff. I really think they may be overworked and I don't envy them so I won't harp on this point. If I found a bartender that wasn't particularly nice I just asked a different one. My cabin steward was usually no where to be found and would forget to leave towels etc, but the cabin steward (NICKY!!!!) that was near ours always took care of us.

They must read cruise critic because at breakfast they had WASHY WASHY people so they are trying.

Overall again we had a good time. Weather was great and very hot, but that is July. There is plenty to do on ship, I just feel that the ship doesn't lend itself to that. I may just be one of those people who should not travel on mega ships. I really hope people enjoy their cruises. One thing that you can tell from reading reviews is that some things bother some people more than others etc. I just wanted to give my view point because I get so much help from these boards and maybe it will help or not...
I will certainly check back for specific questions.
PS The parking tip at Alliance that I got from cruise critic review worked out great and saved us over $100.00
PPS Get to the ship early and use the water slide, ropes course features early on.
Have fun!!

[DaddyFox]

What is the Alliance parking tip you mentioned?

[bskmom]

[B]Someone posted about parking garage that you could reserve and prepay for $19 tax included. We parked at the 560 West 43rd Street location and it was great. Go to the web site[/B]
[URL]http://www.allianceparkingservices.com/[/URL]

reserve for your dates so you are paying 7 X $19. for the cruise. For embarkation my husband dropped us and luggage at the pier and he went and parked the car. He handed the confirmation. When we returned, we all just walked to the car. It is a little bit of a walk but for over $100 saving over pier parking it was worth it. I would rather spend the money on something else.
Hope this helps
Patti

[bskmom]

I can't believe I almost forgot to mention the biggest plus to cruising (especially if you have kids!!!) Download the NCL iconcierge app before you leave. It is free. If you wait till you are on ship I assume you would have to get Wi-Fi etc. You can access what is going on, make reservations etc. If you pay $7.95 per device which you do once onboard by following instructions on your tv in stateroom you can call or text anyone on ship that you have added and has paid for this ability. It was great. It worked almost perfectly. A Few times it seemed to go offline but I shut off my phone and turned it back on and it was fine. Like the commercial says... cruising great, knowing where your kids are better, being able to text and talk to your kids on the ship priceless!!!

[Leosmom]

Thanks for your review and the info about iconcierge and parking. How far in advance did you reserve parking with Alliance?

[BruinsFan08]

[quote name='coaster']Great review. I wonder if NCL will consider reducing the capacity of this ship as crowding seems to be a common complaint. Just having less third and fourth berths might do it.[/quote]

We are currently on the Breakaway and I can say that we haven't noiced any issues with crowds, other than the expected hunt for deck chairs. And yes, the pools are tiny. But other than that, the venues, bars, dining room lines, etc. have flowed without any major delays. We did the slides and the rope courses and neverf waited more than 10 minutes or so. This is just my two cents, but I have found the crowd issues to be much ado about nothing.

[bskmom]

Leosmom,

We only booked the parking the week before we left. Had no problems. Just print out receipt and turn it in.

Bruinsfan,

Glad you aren't having the crowds. A few staff members mentioned that we had close to 4800 on board (their words...they overbooked). I know the teen club had over 550 kids. I was told that when we signed up my daughter. Maybe we just had a very crowded week. Glad you are having fun...

[david_sobe]

Thanks for the review and welcome home!

I have yet to hear from one person who has sailed both Epic and Breakaway that said Breakaway is better. Too bad. How can NCL come out with a new ship and most prefer the older model ;) Do you think they put profit before people? Instead of giving people what they want, they asked... how do we make more money??

[mdwcruises]

Thank you for the very helpful review, Patti. I will go research the parking option.

[SuiteCruiser]

[quote name='david_sobe']Thanks for the review and welcome home!

I have yet to hear from one person who has sailed both Epic and Breakaway that said Breakaway is better. Too bad. How can NCL come out with a new ship and most prefer the older model ;) Do you think they put profit before people? Instead of giving people what they want, they asked... how do we make more money??[/QUOTE]


Give it some time. Let's ask the question in a year when things have settled down and it's not sailing packed to the rafters. It may still be Epic, which I LOVED, but remember the early reviews on Epic were really bad, very similar complaints plus all of the bathroom complaints as well. I'm not on Breakaway until March and will find out for myself then.

The 2 biggest complaints from Epic were addressed 100%. Normal bathrooms and more connection to the sea. Waterfront is more connected to the sea than any of their other ships and the bathrooms are reported as lovely. Did they mess up some new stuff, yes it sounds like it, but it's different and new and those things may settle.

[BruinsFan08]

[quote name='david_sobe']Thanks for the review and welcome home!

I have yet to hear from one person who has sailed both Epic and Breakaway that said Breakaway is better. Too bad. How can NCL come out with a new ship and most prefer the older model ;) Do you think they put profit before people? Instead of giving people what they want, they asked... how do we make more money??[/QUOTE]

We sailed the Epic in 2010 and just got off the Breakaway today. I actually found them to be quite different. Neither better, it would more depend on what I am after for the cruise. I found the Epic to have a Vegas atmosphere. The ship was always hopping from venue to venue. Not in a kid party disaster type of way, just an energetic buzz where the bars/restaurants flowed into each other and you almost forget that you are on the ocean. We got married on that cruise, so we fed off of the festive energy and had a ball. The Breakaway seemed to be built to have a flow to the waterfront areas. It was fun, but each venue was more of a self-contained atmosphere and that made it more of a beach feel to me. Definitely fun, but more laid back. We actually loved this cruise for that feel. We ate at and completely enjoyed Cagneys, Moderno, Ocean Blue, Le Bistro, Wasabi, the Noodle bar and the buffet. I loved the service at La Cucina, but really didn't care for the food there or at taste/savor. I actually preferred the buffet to the MDRs, but as you can see, we tried just about every specialty.

As far as better.....

Epic:
the Spa
the layout of the bars (flow, energy)
balcony
the shows

Breakaway:
the buffet (by a lot)
the gym
the Atrium
the waterfront area (eating at Cagneys outside was great)
outside entertainment (ropes, slides, mini golf etc.)

Push:
Vibe/Posh
MDRs
Casino "smoke" issues (smoke crushes my breathing, but I never found either really too smokey. Now the smell is always there if you are a non-smoker)
pools

I am by no means a cheerleader. We had problems. However, they were resolved whenever we found the problems enough of an issue to have to bring to NCL staff. We tried Princess a couple of years ago and will try RCI for New Years this year. Hopefully, Celebrity will come up soon. My point is that we want to see what all of the lines have to offer, but for now, we enjoy NCL and the Freestyle concept.

Sorry for being wordy. I was going to write a review, but my wife is the writer in the family, so I'll try and get her to write one instead.

[SuiteCruiser]

[quote name='BruinsFan08']We sailed the Epic in 2010 and just got off the Breakaway today. I actually found them to be quite different. Neither better, it would more depend on what I am after for the cruise. I found the Epic to have a Vegas atmosphere. The ship was always hopping from venue to venue. Not in a kid party disaster type of way, just an energetic buzz where the bars/restaurants flowed into each other and you almost forget that you are on the ocean. We got married on that cruise, so we fed off of the festive energy and had a ball. The Breakaway seemed to be built to have a flow to the waterfront areas. It was fun, but each venue was more of a self-contained atmosphere and that made it more of a beach feel to me. Definitely fun, but more laid back. We actually loved this cruise for that feel. We ate at and completely enjoyed Cagneys, Moderno, Ocean Blue, Le Bistro, Wasabi, the Noodle bar and the buffet. I loved the service at La Cucina, but really didn't care for the food there or at taste/savor. I actually preferred the buffet to the MDRs, but as you can see, we tried just about every specialty.

As far as better.....

Epic:
the Spa
the layout of the bars (flow, energy)
balcony
the shows

Breakaway:
the buffet (by a lot)
the gym
the Atrium
the waterfront area (eating at Cagneys outside was great)
outside entertainment (ropes, slides, mini golf etc.)

Push:
Vibe/Posh
MDRs
Casino "smoke" issues (smoke crushes my breathing, but I never found either really too smokey. Now the smell is always there if you are a non-smoker)
pools

I am by no means a cheerleader. We had problems. However, they were resolved whenever we found the problems enough of an issue to have to bring to NCL staff. We tried Princess a couple of years ago and will try RCI for New Years this year. Hopefully, Celebrity will come up soon. My point is that we want to see what all of the lines have to offer, but for now, we enjoy NCL and the Freestyle concept.

Sorry for being wordy. I was going to write a review, but my wife is the writer in the family, so I'll try and get her to write one instead.[/QUOTE]

That's great, thanks so much for the input. I loved Epic, way more than I expected to, and look forward to Breakaway too.