Cruising with Zay - A Breakaway Review

[doylecat]

Hi Doylecat! I was wondering if you can tell a little more about your spa experience and can you explain to me what a salt room is? I hope to snag a spa pass and wonder if the 200 price is equal to the value/benefit.

 

Coka

 

We always buy the spa thermal suite option on cruises as there is nothing more we like than to soak in a hot tub. So the $200 price is worth it for us. On the Breakaway we had a spa balcony so it was included in the price of the cabin.

 

The Breakaway spa had by far the most number of lounge chairs so you always had a place to lay down and relax. Because the cost and limited number of spa passes available, it was never overcrowded.

 

The thermal suit has 2 saunas, a steam room and the salt room. The salt room is room temp (so it actually felt a little cool compared to the rest of the spa) and supposedly you get benefits from breathing in the salt air for 15 minutes. I didn't notice any difference, but I did go in as it was a cool & tranquil place to sit.

 

The whirlpool is very large with different hot tub and jetted areas. There are some good video tours of the spa on You Tube that show the whole spa.

[snorklinbarb]

Hi Zay,

You wrote a very detailed review with lots of great info in a fun style that had us right there with you on Breakaway!:D

 

Having cruised Norwegian many times, I love reading reviews from someone trying the line for the first time. You presented things in a very balanced way.

 

We are going on Breakaway for a 12 nighter so the schedule will be different but thanks for posting the Dailies. You seem to have covered the shows but did you have a chance to experience any of the lounge entertainers? Of course, they will probably have changed by the time we board in Jan.

 

Did you or any of your growing family of friends (!) catch Fire & Ice's future schedule? Heard they'd be getting off sometime next month but wonder when they might be back?

 

Wonder if anyone can tell me when they changed the wait "team" to just one person in the main DR's? Last we were on was Jewel and they had both the "front" and "back" waiters. You mentioned spotty service and understaffing several times from your own experience and other CC'ers. Did they give out the key officers' personal numbers (sometimes on a card) at the Meet & Greet - sometimes they also have their pictures and contact info on TV. Just curious if anyone contacted the Restaurant Mgr. or Food & Bev. Dir. about service issues and what kind of response you might have gotten?

 

Again, thanks for taking the time to post such a complete review!:)

[TnomadX]

Hi Zay' date='

You wrote a very detailed review with lots of great info in a fun style that had us right there with you on Breakaway!:D

 

Having cruised Norwegian many times, I love reading reviews from someone trying the line for the first time. You presented things in a very balanced way.

 

We are going on Breakaway for a 12 nighter so the schedule will be different but thanks for posting the Dailies. You seem to have covered the shows but did you have a chance to experience any of the lounge entertainers? Of course, they will probably have changed by the time we board in Jan.

 

Did you or any of your growing family of friends (!) catch Fire & Ice's future schedule? Heard they'd be getting off sometime next month but wonder when they might be back?

 

Wonder if anyone can tell me when they changed the wait "team" to just one person in the main DR's? Last we were on was Jewel and they had both the "front" and "back" waiters. You mentioned spotty service and understaffing several times from your own experience and other CC'ers. Did they give out the key officers' personal numbers (sometimes on a card) at the Meet & Greet - sometimes they also have their pictures and contact info on TV. Just curious if anyone contacted the Restaurant Mgr. or Food & Bev. Dir. about service issues and what kind of response you might have gotten?

 

Again, thanks for taking the time to post such a complete review!:)[/quote']

 

Thank you so much for your comments. I did my very best to capture everything I could. There are still some things I have forgotten to mention, and I'll do a small post about it soon. One of those things being the lounge singers. In the Manhattan Dining Room, they have live music there. I thought the singers were great (with the exception of one who appeared to not really want to be there). I saw some of the same singers in the atrium near the big screen television as well. While they were singing, there was some beautiful pictures being displayed on the television monitor. Some of the pianists at some of the bars were some of the best I've heard as well. As I would be passing through, and I would actually stop and listen to them for a little while.

 

I didn't catch Fire and Ice's schedule, but I do know that people LOVED them. They did give out key officers names and numbers at our meet & mingle, and they are also listed on the television screen as well. Some people did call, and sometimes it made a difference. I never bothered to call because I could see they were very busy. My only major problem was with guest services.

 

Let me know if I can answer more questions for you. Sorry it took me so long to get back with you. I hope you enjoy your 12-day cruise on her.

[Luckynana]

Hi Zay:)

 

Pete and I have been enjoying your review of our cruise on the Breakaway! We had a great time and it sounds like you did too....too bad we didn't run into each other again after the first day. Thanks again for the tour of the Studios!

 

Kathy

 

 

Zay, I agree with Kathy and Pete. Jim and I also had a pretty good time, and I wanted to read your review to find out what you did on the cruise, since I never saw you after the Meet and Greet and cabin crawl!! Hopefully we will meet again on a cruise sometime in the future..you did a great job arranging our Meet and Greet. BTW, did you ever decide where you and your family will relocate? It was great corresponding with you on CC for all these months:D:D:D!

Maryann

[TnomadX]

I don't think I'll be done before you take off tomorrow. Let me give you a few key points before you head off.

 

There may be a few delays in service. The ship is definitely understaffed.

Take your documents with you so that you'll have proof of what you paid for in advance. The staff onboard may not have an accurate record.

Remember that you're on vacation, so no matter what, have fun.

Go to all the shows you can. Many of them are enjoyable.

They may possibly make staff changes when you reach Port Canaveral. Don't be alarmed if you have a new room steward on Tuesday night.

Please go to the muster drill so the ship is not delayed.

Don't forget to tell us all about your vacation when you return.;)

 

--

Zay

 

Hey there. So what did you think about the breakaway? Did you have a good time?

[TnomadX]

Zay, I agree with Kathy and Pete. Jim and I also had a pretty good time, and I wanted to read your review to find out what you did on the cruise, since I never saw you after the Meet and Greet and cabin crawl!! Hopefully we will meet again on a cruise sometime in the future..you did a great job arranging our Meet and Greet. BTW, did you ever decide where you and your family will relocate? It was great corresponding with you on CC for all these months:D:D:D!

Maryann

 

Would you believe I still haven't decided where I would relocate? LOL. I'm having a hard time deciding. I was glad to see so many people at our meet and greet. I will tell you that I just got of the Jewel of the Seas with Royal Caribbean, and they do a GREAT job with Cruise Critic Meet & Mingles. I'm getting ready to do my review of it right now.

 

It has been great corresponding with you as well. Please, please keep in touch. I can be reached at zayxdp@gmail.com.

[TnomadX]

Hello All,

 

I just wanted to come in and say hello to you. I hope that those who have sailed on the breakaway since this review had a great time, and I hope to hear about it soon :).

 

Happy Holidays to all of you, and I hope the new year brings a lot of love, joy, and happiness. You may always stay in touch with me at zayxdp@gmail.com.

 

--

Zay

[meatball_nyc]

Hi Zay!

 

A very Merry Christmas and a Happy and Healthy New Year to you and your family!

 

We haven't taken our Breakaway cruise yet but I enjoyed hearing about yours so much!

 

Good luck with your travels.

 

Happy Holidays and Happy Cruising !

 

 

 

~robin and brian

(summertime jersey shore beach bums)

Every Day at Sea is a Great Day

Norwegian Breakaway 2014

Carnival Miracle 2010

Carnival Legend 2006

[boopsahoy]

Wonerful trip report Zay! Thanks for posting.

[Bella,Kona & Flora]

Thank you so much for sharing all the details of your trip. Leaving on Breakaway for 12 nights next month and then for a week in April as well.

 

Embarrassed to say this but I never attend the Muster Drills. Usually just remain in my cabin. You say however, that they will not start the drill until everyone is there. Can you say a little bit more about this?

 

Thanks again for your review

[TnomadX]

Thank you so much for sharing all the details of your trip. Leaving on Breakaway for 12 nights next month and then for a week in April as well.

 

Embarrassed to say this but I never attend the Muster Drills. Usually just remain in my cabin. You say however, that they will not start the drill until everyone is there. Can you say a little bit more about this?

 

Thanks again for your review

 

Hi there,

 

During our sailing, the room stewards kept knocking on our door to ensure we were not there. They would open the door just to be sure it was empty. They had to put red tags inside the door to show the rooms as empty. They have designated areas for everyone to be, and held up our sailing because people were not where they were supposed to be. I'm not sure if it will be the same for your sailing or not though. That's just how it was for us. Hope this helps.

[Barb Nahoumi]

Would you believe I still haven't decided where I would relocate? LOL. I'm having a hard time deciding. I was glad to see so many people at our meet and greet. I will tell you that I just got of the Jewel of the Seas with Royal Caribbean, and they do a GREAT job with Cruise Critic Meet & Mingles. I'm getting ready to do my review of it right now.

 

It has been great corresponding with you as well. Please, please keep in touch. I can be reached at zayxdp@gmail.com.

 

Hi Zay,

 

I truly enjoyed your review of the Breakaway. I have only cruised on the Jewel class ships, the Dawn, Sky, and the good old Magesty which has been sold.

 

Most of our experiences with NCL have been very good.

 

 

Would you be able to compare and contrast your experience with Royal to the Breakaway. I am curious, because we will be aboard one of their ships soon.

 

Thank you.

[Barb Nahoumi]

Thank you so much for sharing all the details of your trip. Leaving on Breakaway for 12 nights next month and then for a week in April as well.

 

Embarrassed to say this but I never attend the Muster Drills. Usually just remain in my cabin. You say however, that they will not start the drill until everyone is there. Can you say a little bit more about this?

 

Thanks again for your review

 

How did you get away with skipping muster? They take attendance.

[TnomadX]

Hi Zay,

 

I truly enjoyed your review of the Breakaway. I have only cruised on the Jewel class ships, the Dawn, Sky, and the good old Magesty which has been sold.

 

Most of our experiences with NCL have been very good.

 

 

Would you be able to compare and contrast your experience with Royal to the Breakaway. I am curious, because we will be aboard one of their ships soon.

 

Thank you.

 

I can do my best to compare and contrast the two Cruise Lines. To be fair, I'll compare the Breakaway to a Similar Ship with Royal, which in this case would be the Liberty of the Seas or Oasis of the Seas to give you a good idea.

 

The first thing I'd like to compare are the shows. The shows on each of the ships is excellent. The singers and dancers put their hearts into their performances and really entertains their audience. You would enjoy the shows no matter which ship you choose. What I enjoyed about Royal Caribbean is that I could take my kids to the shows as well, and they even enjoyed the shows (and they're hard to impress). There was one show that wasn't so kid friendly on the Breakaway. It didn't take away from the show though, especially since I was traveling solo.

 

The service, however, is a bit of a different story. If you read the reviews in the main area of cruise critic, many people talk about the service not being the greatest on the Breakaway. I believe the service isn't as great for a couple of reasons. The Breakaway is understaffed. The ship holds more than 4,000 passengers, and doesn't really have the staff to accommodate that many people. You have only one server in the main dining room, and in many of the specialty restaurants. Those servers have many tables to wait on also, so service can be a bit slower than one would like. On Royal Caribbean ships, you have two servers: a main server and an assistant server. The assistant server ensures you have water and bread, and helps with bringing out your meals as well. They are very attentive to you. I didn't feel it as much on the Breakaway. I felt the staff was spread way too thin.

 

Another reason the service may not have be as good is because of the length of the contracts the workers have. With Royal Caribbean, the staff have 6 month contracts, but NCL has 9 months. That's a long time to be away from family. I suspect that the staff was home sick. Many of them have their own families at home, and being away from them that long can certainly make them home sick.

 

The cruise director staff was excellent on both. The cruise director staff likes interaction with the guests, and do all they can to entertain you. I found the entertainment staff on the Breakaway to be more approachable than on any other ship I've been on. If you see any of the cruise director staff just walking around, don't be afraid to say hello. They seem to love it. On any ship, the staff has appeared to be outstanding though.

 

The food is definitely different for me. On the Breakaway, I didn't enjoy it as much. I felt I had to go to a specialty restaurant just to get good service and food. Many times the Main Dining rooms the food was a bit salty. This happened frequently. The Breakaway had three main dining venues, but they all serve the exact same thing. You are forced to pay gratuities, but you don't usually get the same server each night. You can make reservations for the same time each night in hopes of having the same one though. On Royal Caribbean, you'll have the same servers unless you opt for My Time Dining (which I don't like). If you do My Time Dining, you can make reservations for the same time each night and get the same server. I know this may sound silly, but I really enjoy having the same server. They get to know you and what you like, and most likely be prepared before you arrive. They also make recommendations based on what they've learned about you. The food overall was much better on RCL than NCL. Ohhh….When you go to a specialty restaurant on NCL, and you want to try two of their entrees, there's a fee for the second one. There isn't a fee on RCL. I will tell you that you probably will not need a second entrée at Cagney's. They give you so much food, and it's great there.

 

On the larger ships, there is a LOT of things to choose to do. The smaller ships have less to do. I found myself entertained on the Jewel of the Seas, but there wasn't a lot to choose from. There is LOTS of live music and singers throughout the ships. The one thing I noticed immediately is that they all do 70's, 80's, and 90's parties. NCL used to have a White Hot Party, but recently changed to a "GLOW" party. It's basically the same thing except you wear some type of bright color. There are late night parties for those who like to stay up late.

 

And before I forget, I wanted to mention the Cruise Critic Meet & Mingles on both Cruise Lines. Both cruise lines welcome the cruise critic members. They will set up a meeting place and time for you. With NCL, someone will have to contact NCL by email, and someone will get back with you within three business days with a date and time. There is no minimum requirement of people to attend. With RCL, there is a minimum of 25 people, and all each person has to do is register on the website (cruise critic has a direct link to register). On NCL, most of the head staff comes in to introduce themselves to you. They have some snack items available, and the cruise director talks about the activities they have planned on board for all to enjoy. He also gives some pointers on what to do at the ports of call. The Meet & Mingle was on a Sea Day, and was late enough for all to get up and be ready to attend. On RCL, each person will be sent an invitation to the Meet & Mingle once on board. It was on a port day, Formal night, and just right before the second seating. The time is okay if you son't have a large group. The activities manager is going to have everyone introduce themselves so all can know who each other is. They also did a drawing for those who attended and gave away some nice prizes. They seemed to really want to please the group. I thought RCL did a great job with the Meet & Mingle as they put a lot of thought, time, and effort into it.

 

This is all I can think of right now to compare and contract the two. If you have some specific questions, please feel free to ask. Also, if I think of some other things, I'll be sure to post them here.

 

I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas / Happy Holiday.

 

Zay

[Barb Nahoumi]

Thank you so much, and have a very happy holiday season.

[shaharis1701]

I loved the review! Very detailed. Do you remember if there are free juice station on the ship? Free drinks, coffee & teas? I am considering this cruise for Oct next year and am also wondering about the weather, will it be warm? Or should we take our winter jackets.

 

Thanks

[TnomadX]

I loved the review! Very detailed. Do you remember if there are free juice station on the ship? Free drinks, coffee & teas? I am considering this cruise for Oct next year and am also wondering about the weather, will it be warm? Or should we take our winter jackets.

 

Thanks

 

Hi there! They do have free juice (orange and apple) in the mornings, and they offer tea an coffee throughout the day. I know they offer coffee for dinner, but I don't recall there being any tea. For this sailing, the weather was warn at the prots of call. Very warn in Port Canaveral and at the Private Island. When we arrived back to Manhattan, it was very cold then. You may want to pack a coat just to be on the safe side if you travel in October like I did. I know the weather has been unusual this year. Perhaps it may go back to normal next year when you do your sailing. I don't know that I will ever go out of New York again though unless I stop off and see some of the new friends I made first.

[shaharis1701]

Thanks for the info. I have never cruised NCL before, always Carnival or RCCl. I know they have juice dispensers in the buffet and out near the pools. Do you remember if the have free ice cream machines.

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

[TnomadX]

Thanks for the info. I have never cruised NCL before, always Carnival or RCCl. I know they have juice dispensers in the buffet and out near the pools. Do you remember if the have free ice cream machines.

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

 

They do have the soft serve ice cream that was free.

[shaharis1701]

Thanks for the info. :)

[Tralfie]

Great review! I'm somewhat obsessed with reviews of the ship, as I'll be sailing on her in March. Interestingly, you actually gave me a piece of info I've never read before (despite having read a whole lot): I'd seen lots of people mention the hot dog carts, but nobody mentioned they were free! I sort of assumed there would be a charge for them!

 

Thanks again for such an awesome review!

 

Richard/Tralfie

[carsaw]

I just started reading your review since we will be on the Breakaway in February. We were so hesitant with all the negative reviews but still want to try NCL. I am very surprised there is only one server in the dining rooms. I have cruised on Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, Princess and Carnival and they always have a couple servers. I can't even imagine what service will be like being that understaffed. We booked Cagneys, La Cucina and LeBistro and may add a couple nights of specialty restaurants when we get on the ship. Your review is so detailed and I'm learning so much about the ship. Thanks for this wonderful review :)

[bingo3]

Hi there,

 

During our sailing, the room stewards kept knocking on our door to ensure we were not there. They would open the door just to be sure it was empty. They had to put red tags inside the door to show the rooms as empty. They have designated areas for everyone to be, and held up our sailing because people were not where they were supposed to be. I'm not sure if it will be the same for your sailing or not though. That's just how it was for us. Hope this helps.

 

Not sure how NCL does it, but on RCCL, They electronically checked our key cards at the muster, so if anyone was not there, they would know it. ;)

debbie

[limeyalchemist]

I loved the review! Very detailed. Do you remember if there are free juice station on the ship? Free drinks, coffee & teas? I am considering this cruise for Oct next year and am also wondering about the weather, will it be warm? Or should we take our winter jackets.

 

Thanks

 

On the Breakaway, in the buffet, there was orange juice, mango diet, lemonade and fruit punch dispensers. Also many kinds of tea and of course coffee regular and decaf. There are also small cartons of milk available in the morning, whole, 1% and fat free! plus chocolate milk.

[limeyalchemist]

Not sure how NCL does it, but on RCCL, They electronically checked our key cards at the muster, so if anyone was not there, they would know it. ;)

debbie

 

When we did the muster drill in the atrium, the person taking care of each group scanned our room cards to check us in...