Jump to content
Cruise Critic Community

Breakaway Bermuda 5/25 Sailing- REVIEW

conandrob240

By conandrob240,
in Norwegian Cruise Line

 Share

Recommended Posts

conandrob240 "Live from...." Rare

conandrob240

Posted
Posted (edited)

Let's start with introductions. I am a 40 -something woman who travels extensively. I have been all over Europe, to even more far-flung places like China, India, Singapore, Japan and Australia and have been to the Bahamas and Jamaica, Antigua, St Lucia, Turks & Caicos, Puerto Rico in the Caribbean. I have done two NCL cruises (Europe on the Epic, Egypt/Turkey/Greece on the Jade), six 3 or 4 nt Disney cruises and two Princess Cruises (Mexico, Alaska). I tend to stick to AI resorts in the Caribbean and we are big fans of the Sandals/Beaches chain where we have 20+ trips under our belts. In all those travels, I had never been to Bermuda!

 

About 30 days before, I booked a studio cabin with the idea that I was going to surprise my parents who had booked a balcony cabin a few months earlier to celebrate my dad's 70th birthday. It was really hard to keep it a secret, I was so excited but I pulled it off.

 

The Big Day Finally Arrives!

I live about 15 miles west of NYC so it would have been an easy train trip for me but I was bringing a large suitcase and a suitcase with some beach items like foldable chairs, towels, snorkel equipment, etc so my DH offered to drive me. We left our house at around 9:30am and he dropped me off at the pier right in front of the check-in doors on level 2 at around 10:15am. TIP: if dropping off at the Pier, come West across 55th street. You can go straight across there, into the ramp entrance to Pier 88. We came up the West Side Hwy and there was a bit of a wait to make the left turn at 55th St. The Pier itself wasn't really crowded at all, it was just that left turn where only 2-3 cars made each light.

 

The porters took my luggage right from the car and after a quick kiss goodbye to DH (who couldn't come because of work), I was walking into the terminal with just a large purse. I was one of the first there and walked right up to the xray machines and then right up to a check-in counter. Painless and done in less than 5 minutes.

 

They had a dining counter in the terminal so you could book dinner reservations and pay for the various beverage packages and receive your sticker. I booked our three specialty meals at this desk (glad we did- most times/days were completely gone by the time we got on the ship. More on that in the dining section of my review). And I decided to try the UBP just to see what it was like to have it. Paid for that there and got the sticker on my card.

 

I knew my parents weren't arriving until around 12pm so I decided to board the ship first and then surprise them by seeing them board and being there in the area where you get on. Or if that failed, I was going to put a note on their cabin door.

 

They started boarding around 11:15. This process wasn't all that smooth. Depending on where you were standing, it was hard to hear what was being called. I think they were trying to have even decks board in one area and odd another but I don't think that was working out very well. I had boarding group 5 and at around 11:30am, I just got on line and boarded. The line was a little long and it took about 10 minutes. I went right to O'Sheehans area to wait and got my first drink- a very good mojito. At around 12:15pm, I walked over to the gangway ramp that was entering by the theater and there they were! They saw me and they were so excited, they started to tear up! "Are you really coming with us?!?"

 

We then went to eat lunch at Savor.

 

More soon...

Edited by conandrob240
Link to comment
Share on other sites
conandrob240 "Live from...." Rare

conandrob240

Posted
  • Author
Posted (edited)

Initial Impressions/Settling In:

We were all wowed by the look and feel of the Breakaway. The design elements were elegant, beautiful and gone were the somewhat garish touches/colors from other NCL ships. We explored for a while and loved the Atrium (although we all agreed we missed the big sweeping multi-story atrium), the beautiful design of the dining rooms. Colors were great. Good signage to navigate your way around. We really all liked the way the ship looked a lot.

 

Rooms were ready minutes after I met up with my parents and we quickly peeked in to see them and drop off valuables into the safe. I'll do more on rooms separately.

 

Lunch at Savor was good but we were anxious to get up on deck so we headed to Spice H20 where we grabbed three comfy chairs and had a few drinks before the lifeboat drill. The drill itself was very quick and painless but exiting the theater after the drill was total chaos. It was so crowded, everyone pushing and blocking the stairs and elevators. Uh-uh, we thought. If this cruise is going to feel like this for a week- yikes! I am happy to report that it never felt like that again and with the exceptions of the pool decks, the gift shop during a sale and the buffet at lunchtime, the ship never again really felt crowded.

 

Sail Away Honestly, this was one of my best travel experiences ever. Definitely in my top 10. So special. We had such a beautiful day- warm but not hot, completely sunny. Just perfect. We headed back to H20, which was crowded but not overly so. Grabbed a few seats and waited for the show. The view into the Intrepid is just really cool while docked. Then, she started moving. OMG! Pulling out into that harbor and seeing my beautiful city (NY girl!) glistening on the water like that. It was heavenly. Sailing past the Trade Center, seeing the Brooklyn Bridge in the distance and then passing Lady Liberty really choked me up. And going under the Verrazano Bridge was awesome. What an amazing thing to do. Looking up at the bottom of that famous bridge and then waving goodbye to it and the people driving on it as we passed it was surely a highlight.

 

We decided to get changed for dinner and do our unpacking. We said we'd meet back in 90 minutes or so. We had dinner reservations at le Bistro at 7:45pm.

 

In addition to giving this sort of narrative account, I plan to do detailed sections on the major things like food, entertainment, rooms, bars, etc along with a full blown detail on Bermuda (what we did and how we did it)

 

Stay tuned.

Edited by conandrob240
Link to comment
Share on other sites
bermuda lover

bermuda lover

Posted
Posted
Let's start with introductions. I am a 40 -something woman who travels extensively. I have been all over Europe, to even more far-flung places like China, India, Singapore, Japan and Australia and have been to the Bahamas and Jamaica, Antigua, St Lucia, Turks & Caicos, Puerto Rico in the Caribbean. I have done two NCL cruises (Europe on the Epic, Egypt/Turkey/Greece on the Jade), six 3 or 4 nt Disney cruises and two Princess Cruises (Mexico, Alaska). I tend to stick to AI resorts in the Caribbean and we are big fans of the Sandals/Beaches chain where we have 20+ trips under our belts. In all those travels, I had never been to Bermuda!

 

About 30 days before, I booked a studio cabin with the idea that I was going to surprise my parents who had booked a balcony cabin a few months earlier to celebrate my dad's 70th birthday. It was really hard to keep it a secret, I was so excited but I pulled it off.

 

The Big Day Finally Arrives!

I live about 15 miles west of NYC so it would have been an easy train trip for me but I was bringing a large suitcase and a suitcase with some beach items like foldable chairs, towels, snorkel equipment, etc so my DH offered to drive me. We left our house at around 9:30am and he dropped me off at the pier right in front of the check-in doors on level 2 at around 10:15am. TIP: if dropping off at the Pier, come West across 55th street. You can go straight across there, into the ramp entrance to Pier 88. We came up the West Side Hwy and there was a bit of a wait to make the left turn at 55th St. The Pier itself wasn't really crowded at all, it was just that left turn where only 2-3 cars made each light.

 

The porters took my luggage right from the car and after a quick kiss goodbye to DH (who couldn't come because of work), I was walking into the terminal with just a large purse. I was one of the first there and walked right up to the xray machines and then right up to a check-in counter. Painless and done in less than 5 minutes.

 

They had a dining counter in the terminal so you could book dinner reservations and pay for the various beverage packages and receive your sticker. I booked our three specialty meals at this desk (glad we did- most times/days were completely gone by the time we got on the ship. More on that in the dining section of my review). And I decided to try the UBP just to see what it was like to have it. Paid for that there and got the sticker on my card.

 

I knew my parents weren't arriving until around 12pm so I decided to board the ship first and then surprise them by seeing them board and being there in the area where you get on. Or if that failed, I was going to put a note on their cabin door.

 

They started boarding around 11:15. This process wasn't all that smooth. Depending on where you were standing, it was hard to hear what was being called. I think they were trying to have even decks board in one area and odd another but I don't think that was working out very well. I had boarding group 5 and at around 11:30am, I just got on line and boarded. The line was a little long and it took about 10 minutes. I went right to O'Sheehans area to wait and got my first drink- a very good mojito. At around 12:15pm, I walked over to the gangway ramp that was entering by the theater and there they were! They saw me and they were so excited, they started to tear up! "Are you really coming with us?!?"

 

We then went to eat lunch at Savor.

 

More soon...

 

First let me start off by saying, you are one lucky person and your parents are lucky to have you…. oh and I am jealous of all of the traveling…

I have tears in my eyes…..

Lisa

Link to comment
Share on other sites
conandrob240 "Live from...." Rare

conandrob240

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Thank you for the kind words!

 

Day-to-Day on the Ship

We eased into a nice, easy rhythm for the next fees. We slept a little late ( well, me & mom did- Dad is an earlybird so he got us chairs at H2O), grabbed breakfast at Uptown (tip- if you ask, they do made-to-order eggs), sunned for a few hours at H2O, grabbed a delicious authentic NY hot dog from the cart at the H2O entrance, showered, ate lunch and then did some ship activities like Bingo or the Art Auction. Maybe a little nap. Then we'd dress for dinner, catch a performer in Shakers or the Atrium and head to dinner. We did a few specialities but mostly the main dining room, choosing Manhattan Room when the dancers were there or Savor or Taste when they weren't. After dinner, we'd catch a show ( we saw Rock of Ages, Burn the Floor, Howl at the Moon and the magician/comedian and enjoyed Fire $ Ice and Arvin & Emily at various times.)

Then, we'd hit the casino for an hour (IMO, the smoke situation is very exaggerated. It was fine) and head off to bed. Repeat second sea day. So nice & relaxing!

 

The ship was pretty easy to navigate. Never felt very crowded (after lifeboat drill day chaos). I think the ship needs an extra bank of elevators but the waits weren't terrible. It just felt like the fwd elevators were too far back and that there should have been a middle set.

 

In my next segments, I'll focus on food and so on and give more details.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
conandrob240 "Live from...." Rare

conandrob240

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Breakaway- Food & Drink

 

Overall, I thought the food was Very Good to Excellent on this cruise and much, much better than my last NCL cruise 21 months ago on the Epic. My other recent cruises have been on Disney and I honestly think NCL beat Disney on food. My parents agreed that the food was great.

 

Garden Cafe- Buffet was very good. The food was always fresh, hot and tasty. Lots of variety and every day was something new. The lobster tails on night 2 were surprisingly good. They tend to dry out on a buffet but these were cooked to perfection. Every day at lunch and dinner was a pasta station where it was cooked to order. Nice salad bar. Fresh eggs/omelets at breakfast. Lines could sometimes be a bit long even if you went to the back sections. But it was most crowded at peak lunch time. We didn't find breakfast or dinner too bad.

 

Uptown- excellent quick service food. Good breakfast also with cooked to order eggs. Nice sandwiches, meatballs, great burgers at lunch. Never crowded and always plenty of seating. Best place to avoid crowds.

 

Manhattan Room, Savor, Taste for Dinner- I found the food at these main dining venues to be excellent for dinner. Great variety. The new menus are interesting and creative, more "gourmet". There are 2-4 apps and entrees that remain the same and then there are about 3-4 apps and 4-5 entrees that change every night. Savor & Taste have the same menu and it differs more now from the Manhattan Room. Usually 2 apps and 2 entrees were different between the different venues. I tried a lot of different things and the single item that wasn't good was a cauliflower soup that was overly peppered. Everything else was delicious. They had grilled salmon that was probably one of the better pieces I have had in my life. They had lamb shank the last night which was also outstanding. Another night the chateaubriand with truffle sauce was excellent. Desserts were also great.

 

Savor/Taste Lunch: I did not enjoy Savor/Taste for lunch. I did not especially care for the new menu ( mostly sandwiches). I tried a shrimp pasta dish that wasn't very good.

 

Savor/Taste Breakfast- just good. I usually find the sit down breakfast far superior to the buffet. Not the case here. I think the food was generally the same quality as the buffet. Good, just nothing special.

 

O'Sheehans: Excellent pub food. All of the appetizers were great. The chicken pot pie was excellent.

 

Le Bistro excellent. The food was absolutely fantastic. Amazing lamb chops. Great scallop appetizer. Really good mushroom soup. Dad said filet was great and mom agreed with me on the lamb being amazing. Creme brûlée and apple tart were fantastic desserts. Perfect service. They were so attentive here. Parents are platinum so there were comped with a bottle of wine. They could choose the wine from a nice list which I thought was great.

 

Cagneys- very good. Appetizers and sides were fantastic. Steaks were very good. They have a great drink here-speakeasy martini-yum! Warm sourdough rolls were excellent. Best service I have ever had by a cruise ship waiter. (Francis)

 

Hot Dog Cart-excellent, authentic NYC hot dog cart hot dogs. The real deal. Two-one at the entrance to Spice H20 and the other in the breezeway between the two pools. Usually 11-4 on sea days.

 

Drinks-extremely well made. Bartenders were expertly trained. What you ordered at one bar tasted the same as what you ordered from another. Variety of drinks & types of liquor was outstanding. Service was always quick and the bartenders were really friendly and helpful.

 

I did UBP and it was too much for me. I like to drink but there is no way this was a good value for me. Drink prices especially on beer/ wine are low enough that I just don't think this is a great value unless you never leave the ship and drink mostly top shelf, hard liquor mixed drinks. But it was fun to try it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
BwayProducer

BwayProducer

Posted
Posted

Great review so far! I am greatly enjoying reading all the info. Quick question. It has been 5 years since we have sailed on NCL. Last time we were in a suite, so we got priority boarding. We sail on the Breakaway on the 15th. I assume that suite passengers still board first. Do Latitude members board second? Also, is there a separate area for Latitudes when you arrive at the port after check-in? We plan on getting there early in order to, hopefully, reserve a Vibe Cabana. Trying to plan ahead and make a game plan. Thank you for the info.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
conandrob240 "Live from...." Rare

conandrob240

Posted
  • Author
Posted (edited)

Entertainment/Nightlife/Casino

 

Overall, this is a huge A++ for the Breakaway. Everywhere you turned, there was another great musician doing his or her thing. I remember thinking the shows and musical acts were good on the Epic but on this cruise, we were wowed at every turn.

 

Rock of Ages- great, great, great job by this cast. Now, I am an 80s girl, loved my 80s rock so I love this silly little play and all the music. Even if it isn't your thing, I can't imagine how you can walk out of this show and not feel wowed by the talent, energy and effort of this cast. It was funny, sexy and just really well done. If you think this is too risqué, I would suggest you have a pretty low tolerance for that sort of thing. Yes, some bumping and grinding and sexual innuendo but it is light and all in good fun and it is made very clear it is a show for adults.

 

Burn the Floor- excellent. We caught their theater show as well as both performances in the Manhattan Room. They are great. Nice costumes, good looking dancers, great dancing. What more can you ask for. It was like a mini- Dancing with the Stars type routine. Very enjoyable

 

Comedy/ Magician- Michael Finney. He was very good. A few good tricks, some good jokes and just an all around likeable guy. He indicated that that was his last show ( or maybe he said last few weeks) because he was retiring from cruise ship work. Glad we got to see him.

 

Fire & Ice- what an amazing duo these two were. Keyboardist and singer. That woman had the energy of an energizer bunny. Night after night, she never stopped moving. And boy could she sing. Her voice boomed through that Atrium. Very nice lineup of Motown, Tina Turner, Michael Jackson music. You have to wonder how people this talented remain on a cruise ship and don't go onto super stardom.

 

Arvin & Emily- wonderful singers. Both sang and Arvin also played a variety of instruments. Both are excellent singers. She is a tiny, beautiful little thing but she can belt out a song. Her version of " I will Always Love You" was better than any version I have ever heard (after Whitney, of course). She got a standing ovation from about 150 people in the Atrium. What a powerhouse. What a treat to get to listen to them every night.

 

Howl at The Moon- Drew and two other women whose names escape me. These three were great also. So sharp, so funny, excellent pianists and some really great vocals ( especially the older woman). So sad they only played three of the nights. Would have gone to their show every night.

 

Gentrex Creole Cookin band- these guys were in Fat Cats. Jazz isn't my favorite type of music but boy could those cats play. I felt like I was in a bar off of Bourbon St in New Orleans. They were really talented

 

We did not catch Second City. Not my parents' thing.

 

Band called Extreme played poolside and they were also very good. There was also a singer/ pianist/guitarist named Carlos who was good as well. He seemed to play on the " off" shifts so we didn't catch him much.

 

Nightlife- this was a very lively group of cruisers. Great energy all around the ship. People were happy, fun and well- behaved. Lots of large inter generational groups really enjoying each other. The parties at night were really well- attended. People were dancing and having a great time. Bars were always crowded. Casino was always crowded. Tons of people staying up late and partying. Bliss was packed most nights until the wee hours. Loved the Waterfront concept. Lots of people out there at night having a drink in the fresh air. Epic was dead most nights and the parties in the evenings were not very well- attended. Disney's nightlife is also pretty dead. This was a really fun difference on this cruise. We NYers- we know how to stay up late and party!

Edited by conandrob240
Link to comment
Share on other sites
conandrob240 "Live from...." Rare

conandrob240

Posted
  • Author
Posted
Great review so far! I am greatly enjoying reading all the info. Quick question. It has been 5 years since we have sailed on NCL. Last time we were in a suite, so we got priority boarding. We sail on the Breakaway on the 15th. I assume that suite passengers still board first. Do Latitude members board second? Also, is there a separate area for Latitudes when you arrive at the port after check-in? We plan on getting there early in order to, hopefully, reserve a Vibe Cabana. Trying to plan ahead and make a game plan. Thank you for the info.

 

From what I understood, Latitudes did not get priority boarding, only priority check in. Yes, you'll see separate " lanes" for Latitudes check in. I think while security, luggage and check in was smooth as can be, boarding was a little chaotic. My sense is that they were trying to do something new with the odd and even deck thing but that the staff weren't sure how it worked. I checked in around 10:15 and got boarding # 5

Link to comment
Share on other sites
conandrob240 "Live from...." Rare

conandrob240

Posted
  • Author
Posted

No, not officially. We made our own on our speciality restaurant nights. I will say though, most people dressed up for this cruise. A lot of nice evening clothes, cocktail dresses. I didn't see a lot of shorts/ t- shirts in dining rooms at night.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
CruisingCamper

CruisingCamper

Posted
Posted

Thanks for the info. Having not sailed on NCL in the past, I just assumed that it was like the other lines and had semi-formal nights and one formal night. I have already bought dresses...I may see if I can return them, bc they are both long dresses.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing
  • Forum Jump
    • Categories
      • Welcome to Cruise Critic
      • New Cruisers
      • Cruise Lines “A – O”
      • Cruise Lines “P – Z”
      • River Cruising
      • ROLL CALLS
      • Cruise Critic News & Features
      • Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
      • Special Interest Cruising
      • Cruise Discussion Topics
      • UK Cruising
      • Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
      • Canadian Cruisers
      • North American Homeports
      • Ports of Call
      • Cruise Conversations
×
×
  • Create New...