Question on Breakaway Bahamas versus Bermud

[traveller00]

Hi,

We are first time cruiser and thinking of a trip on the relatively new Breakaway ship from NY.

 

The prices for the Apr 27th 2014 to Bahamas and early May 2014 to Bermuda seem cheaper, so we are looking at these 2 options.

 

I would like advice from previous travelers if the weather during that time is warm enough on the cruise for outdoor activities on the ship (pool, slides etc), taking wind factor into account. Is it windy when cruising at sea?

 

Between Bahamas and Bermuda, which one is better for first time cruiser? The Bahamas one covers more ports, which suggests possibly more things for us to visit, but we are concerned the weather may be too cold.

 

Also, we are both susceptible to sea-sickness. Is the ship for both trips relatively stable, and which cabin type/location is better to reduce sea-sickness.

 

Lastly, which site(s) should we use to get the best deal for the Breakaway trip (the sites we have seen seem to have the same price)?

 

Thanks.

Edited March 16, 2014 by traveller00

[MCAT48]

We've gone to Bermuda beginning of May and it was chilly the first day and chilly the second day. Bermuda wEather was beautiful. There is plenty to do in Bermuda for the three days it's there.

 

Bahamas would be warmer usually mid day the second day.

Although it does depend on the weather.....the weather this year has been very unpredictable.

 

It does get windy on the ship. Especially the last day when it's going full speed ahead to get home!

 

It really depends on whAt you want to do/see. I love Bermuda and would go back again and again over Bahamas.

[ColinIllinois]

I would absolutely choose the Bermuda itinerary over the Bahamas. The latter may be the worst itinerary that NCL offers in my opinion. Bermuda is a great vacation and would be a very nice experience for first time cruisers.

 

Mid-ship would be a good location if you are prone to sea-sickness.

 

Folks wont be able to recommend which sites to book on, that's against forum rules.

 

Good luck with your choice.

[Highboy90]

The Bahamas one covers more ports, which suggests possibly more things for us to visit, but we are concerned the weather may be too cold.

Not really as time is not on your side on the Bahamas cruise which is the opposite for Bermuda. Nice to have a couple days in one place should weather be a problem.

 

My first cruise was to Bahamas. Second, Bermuda. Did more in Bermuda. Did more on the Breakaway also.

 

Going a cruise for the first time will be nice no matter which you pick. Good luck!

Edited March 16, 2014 by Highboy90

[russianmom]

The warmth and weather leaving NY can be unpredictable. In 2012 we did Jewel to Bahamas in April. It was warm enough for my son to be in the pool on embarkation.

 

I also did Dawn to Bermuda Aug 2010 and it was chilly, windy and raining the day we sailed.

 

All 3 trips from NY I have had the good fortune of seas like glass but again it can go either way.

 

Having done Bahamas twice and Bermuda once (headed there again in Sept on BA) I can say hands down Bermuda is the better choice. Very beautiful there, clean, friendly, public transportation is easy. Lots to see and do.

 

The Bahamas is a stop at Port Canaveral- ho hum. Try to race to Orlando or visit Kennedy Space Ctr, Nassau again oh hum- spend a ton at Atlantis and Great Stirup Caye which may turn into a missed stop due to weather....

 

Low deck mid ship is best for dealing with the potential of sea sickness.

[Demonyte]

Hi and welcome to Cruise Critic!

 

I haven't been on either itinerary so I can't comment on those but I can offer information about few other questions:

 

Nobody can predict the weather up in the north (when cruising, anything above Florida is north to me ;)) during late spring, in 2012 we cruised on a reposition cruise from Tampa to New York on the first days of May and at least the last sea day towards NYC was really cold and windy and when we arrived, it was raining water/sleet on and off.

 

What comes to sea sickness, go to a Walgreen's or similar and get generic meclazine (active ingredient in non-drowsy Bonine but cheaper), start taking it either day before or day of embarkation and you should be fine even with a bit stronger winds. If you don't take the medicine in advance and happen to get sick and take (chew) the pill only after that, it takes quite a while to affect.

 

I too am a bit prone to sea sickness (our first cruise was in Atlantic in January and I wasn't prepared) so in my opinion on the first cruise it is better to be safe than sorry - after that when you have gotten some experience, you can judge yourself if the medicine is needed at all.

 

As said already, cabins with least movement feeling are midship and on lower decks. Be aware that cabins close to public decks can have noise problems at night from public venues like theatre, bars etc - so research (at least ask here for help) for the cabin selection.

 

As said, asking or giving out TA (Travel Agent) information here is forbidden so can't help you there.

 

Happy cruising!

Edited March 16, 2014 by Demonyte

[smeyer418]

I have been to Bermuda 5 times and the Florida run 6 times. In general the Florida- in April/early May- run will be warmer if beach and sun is you desire. I personally don't like the Bahamas at all but I do like Great Stirrup Cay. For Port Canaveral I stay near the ship at Cocoa beach,,,(you take a shuttle bus there and back)

 

PS I don't get sea sick but in general the Bermuda run is less bumpy but not always...

 

weather

http://www.weather.bm/climatereport/climateReport.asp#jsAnchor

 

http://www.weather.bm has historic data for all months...

Edited March 16, 2014 by smeyer418

[Tralfie]

I was on the Breakaway March 3-9, doing the Florida/Bahamas/Private island route. We had cold weather for arrival and departure, as one would expect sailing out of NYC in winter, but for the middle days of the trip, we had gorgeous weather. You could totally "feel" the change in the ship starting on the third morning, when folks woke up to sunshine and warm temperatures! People hit the pools, the water slides, etc. Given that you're looking at late April, there's a good chance you'll have even better weather than we did, even on those first few days.

 

We did have one REALLY wavy night coming home. Friday night, I believe it was. Despite a tendency toward motion sickness, I didn't have a problem at all... and the ship was REALLY rocking. I took Bonine every morning and night, starting two days before the trip. I also took Nauzene chewables once or twice a day as a precaution. As a result, while I didn't really sleep the night we hit the 30-foot waves, I also didn't get sick. (Honestly, it was kinda fun... I felt like I was in a disaster movie, but I was never seriously afraid... )

 

When booking, I went through my travel agent. Not only was she really great at helping me get exactly the type of room I wanted (an aft-facing balcony), but she also got me more on-board credit than I would have if I'd just gone through NCL's site.

 

I'm in the middle of writing my review now (I've written about the first four days so far). It's a pretty lengthy look at the ship/itinerary, so if you look for a post in the forum called "Happy Birthday To Me", you'll find it. Hope it helps!

 

Richard/Tralfie

[smeyer418]

I was on the Breakaway March 3-9, doing the Florida/Bahamas/Private island route. We had cold weather for arrival and departure, as one would expect sailing out of NYC in winter, but for the middle days of the trip, we had gorgeous weather. You could totally "feel" the change in the ship starting on the third morning, when folks woke up to sunshine and warm temperatures! People hit the pools, the water slides, etc. Given that you're looking at late April, there's a good chance you'll have even better weather than we did, even on those first few days.

 

We did have one REALLY wavy night coming home. Friday night, I believe it was. Despite a tendency toward motion sickness, I didn't have a problem at all... and the ship was REALLY rocking. I took Bonine every morning and night, starting two days before the trip. I also took Nauzene chewables once or twice a day as a precaution. As a result, while I didn't really sleep the night we hit the 30-foot waves, I also didn't get sick. (Honestly, it was kinda fun... I felt like I was in a disaster movie, but I was never seriously afraid... )

 

When booking, I went through my travel agent. Not only was she really great at helping me get exactly the type of room I wanted (an aft-facing balcony), but she also got me more on-board credit than I would have if I'd just gone through NCL's site.

 

I'm in the middle of writing my review now (I've written about the first four days so far). It's a pretty lengthy look at the ship/itinerary, so if you look for a post in the forum called "Happy Birthday To Me", you'll find it. Hope it helps!

 

Richard/Tralfie

 

When you pass Cape Hatterous its almost always pretty bumpy...BTW a rear facing balcony is one of the worst places to be if you are prone to motion sickness...its because the ship when it pitches(up and down) will have more travel the farther away you are from its center...and you can't go any farther in the rear.

Normally it warms up enough by the time you get to Cape Hatterous going down and until you get there going up to be outside in the Sun..

[Tralfie]

BTW a rear facing balcony is one of the worst places to be if you are prone to motion sickness...its because the ship when it pitches(up and down) will have more travel the farther away you are from its center...and you can't go any farther in the rear.

..

 

 

Very true! I knew that going in, but given the samller balconies on the Breakaway (and my love of sitting and staring off into space), I wanted the aft-facing balcony. And I have to say, looking through the glass at the waves on the night of the pitching was wild. It looked like something out of The Perfect Storm... without George Clooney!

 

Tralfie/Richard

[spidybabe]

We have done both itineraries and neither will disappoint you for a first cruise, Bermuda has become one of our favorite ports, but for a first cruise it is fun to do multiple ports. We sail mostly in January , and are outdoors on second day..swimming in florida, and tendering at GSC.....but you can never predict mother nature. Sea sickness pills from front desk, and you will be fine(yes we drink while taking them) Lower midship least movement ( think of a see-saw)

ENJOY

Safe Sailing

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

Edited March 16, 2014 by spidybabe

[Ilovesailing]

I would absolutely choose the Bermuda itinerary over the Bahamas. The latter may be the worst itinerary that NCL offers in my opinion. Bermuda is a great vacation and would be a very nice experience for first time cruisers.

 

Mid-ship would be a good location if you are prone to sea-sickness.

 

Folks wont be able to recommend which sites to book on, that's against forum rules.

 

Good luck with your choice.

 

I have to agree with comment on Bahamas, we are sick of it there is nothing there other than Atlantis so we don't get off the ship

[Prinycesa07]

Weather at the end of April/beginning of May should be just fine. But this is coming from a Buffalo girl. It will feel like summer to me. To someone from Texas i'm sure it would be chilly. All relative ;)

 

We debated the same cruises. Ive done the Bahamas one 3 times. The private islands are awesome but port canaveral sucks IMO. Nassau is okay. Bahamas itiniterary is probably my least favorite. I've never done the Bermuda but i hear its gorgeous. I also hear the ocean is pretty chilly at this time. We went with the Bahamas for this reason. My kids really want to go to the beach more than anything so the warmer beach played a big role in our decision. Also i did not like that the ship is in port for multiple days. My kids are 3 and 4 yrs and would like to sail the ocean more and see different places instead of staying at the same place for 3 days. We also would have no carseats to get around Bermuda so we'd be confined to places near the ship for those few days. All of these played a big factor in our decision so we went with the April 27th trip. If it were just DH and I we may not have made the same decision. Good luck :)

[HowardK]

I did the Bermuda run on the Breakaway in September- now, I know this is a totally different season then when you are going but one of the nicest things of it was being in one place for a few days and doing a night excursion on a boat out to the bermuda triangle area. This is the type of thing one wouldn't get on a one day port visit.

 

However, I did the Fla/Bahamas/GSC route on the Jewel (in fact doing it on the Breakaway in the fall) and one of the nicer things is of course it is at sea more. In addition GSC is nice in the sense the boat tenders there and you can just get off the ship with just your key card and not worry about carrying around your wallet etc...

 

Port Canveral is not as exciting as Bermuda in my opinion, but you could do a local beach or the Kennedy Space Center.

 

I think 2 things to consider are if you want to visit just one place or if you would prefer being at sea more.

[sailingnut]

I have been to Bermuda four timea and each time a different month~~I would say May is best! April is a little chilly, July~~way too hot and October is best also. I went on the Breakaway last October and had a ball. I always take the AFT back of the ship~~balcony~~so I rock and roll a little but do not mind (I used the pressure bracelets you put around your wrist~~they are really good for seasickness) I also went on the Gem on the Bahamas route and it was O.K. Bermuda is beautiful! Happy sailing!:)