Breakaway review Oct 26 - Nov 2

[Melbourne84]

All things considered, a nice cruise. Sailed a near perfect cruise on Independence of the Seas in April, so it was tough for the Breakaway to have to follow that. There were a lot of small disappointments that added up.

Sunday

Arrived LaGuardia 11:30am. $50 taxi (crazy drivers!). Embarkation as smooth as Royal Caribbean (RC). I think noisier, but once you knew where to go, it was fine. Embarkation photo. Nice weather (sunny, about 56, not really windy), so sailaway on Deck 16 was bearable (I hate the cold). We found our room - 12770, a family balcony cabin, I believe. Disappointed: bed not by balcony, small balcony, quite smaller room than lowest category balcony cabin on the Indy, but we quickly got used to it and it was simply something that we acknowledged one day 1 and didn’t really mind during the rest of the cruise. Interesting – you insert your room key to turn on lights/TV/charge electronics. At first we thought something was broken b/c we didn’t realize this! You also push a button near the door for “Do Not Disturb” or “Make Up Room.”

We were onboard about 30 min before the first bad impression. The Garden Café can be a nightmare. It was unpleasant eating there, not the best variety (only day 1 had veggie pizza; every other day was just cheese or pepperoni), too small perhaps, and not designed well. I wondered if the reviews could be that bad, and on some days, it was. I think they tried to fit too much on the ship, so everything is smaller (rooms, rock wall, pool/lounger area, buffet) and I agree that the ship has a ‘narrow’ feel, especially in the buffet and in hallway corridors. The issue is the design: a cafeteria-like U-shape that goes around the sides and back of the ship. Unlike the stations on some other ships (which allow people to mill a bit and pick and choose what they want), this design makes one long line that is difficult to penetrate when you reach the food you want. So you wait a while in line, passing the foods you don’t want, to get to what you do want, because people will NOT let you in line. It was better certain days and times, but I actually dreaded going there; I just wanted to get a bite to eat and sit down. Also annoying: small beverage cups, and they weren’t filled. Took forever for people to get a cup, get ice, pick what beverage, fill the cup. And small cups meant going back sometimes, into the crazy lines and crowds. People had trouble reaching some of the cups on the very top/back of the tray, and didn’t know how to work the ice machine or couldn’t figure out which of the 4 beverage options to get. A significant delay that we didn’t experience on RCI. The muffin/fruit/dessert display case, 3-shelf high, has an annoying plastic ‘door’ you must lift and then reach inside. I don’t understand the need for the doors because they don’t stay open, and if three people want one item on each level, you’re waiting a long time. Never a problem or complaint at RC’s buffets. Also disappointed in lack of vegetarian options…cheese pizza was always gone, and no salads like RCI (greek salad, 3-bean salad, artichoke salad…all these neat options I never eat on land, but on NCL they all had meat, besdies the potato salad). FYI the silverware is on the tables; I was not the only confused person looking for silverware. I couldn’t believe how many people (adults and children alike) picked up soup/ice cream spoons and touched it all over, only to put it back. Some children would take a plate (parents weren’t paying attention) and set them on the floor, drag them along the walls, smudge their hands all over them, then put them back…

Lifeboat drill: our station was in the Atrium. Relatively painless.

Sailaway: Snapped some pics from Deck 16 then ran indoors, as it was quite cold. The WTC Memorial will be on the left and the Statue of Liberty and Ellis are on your right (Port side). Side note – I always like to hear the ship’s horn. Never once did I hear it on this trip.

Dinner – We dined early in Savor so we could see a show. Very quiet, empty. My husband was disappointed that we were never sat with other couples, which we enjoyed on RC; I don’t think NCL does this. Menu – slightly disappointed again with the variety throughout the cruise. Every dish I ate was very good, and all were the vegetarian, but I missed the variety of RC (for example, there was never a meat-less pasta and two nights were Indian dishes on NCL). No chilled fruit soups. Funny, because I think the best food I ever had was on the 2003 NCL Sun cruise, but something’s changed and I can’t quite put my finger on it. Dress code: shorts allowed in Savor and Taste, and not Manhattan, tho we saw some men in shorts/bball caps in Manhattan.

Welcome Aboard Show (Kiss Cam was fun), slightly dull show b/c if you research the cruise ahead of time, the show tells you what you already know (shore excursions, dining options, etc.). The dance by Dora, Spongebob, Patrick and Diego was pretty funny. JC Sanchez was cruise director, he was pretty good. They gave a gift (jewelry and wine) to the couple married the longest. Howl at the Moon was entertaining, but after a few nights they started playing the same songs, so make sure you give them good suggestions (they did Sound of Music nite 1, then changed the lyrics to make it all about beer, was hilarious). Majority Rules gameshow was fun. You get an activity card initialed for every activity you go to. You get a prize at the end of the cruise based on the number you did. 10 signatures or less was luggage holders, then, in no order, water bottle, shirt, and something else…

Monday – Day at Sea

The walls are thin on this ship. We heard neighbors coughing and talking. The stewards in the hall were NOISY and it was highly annoying. We didn’t really ‘sleep in’; this was at 8:00 in the morning, they were laughing and talking and slamming doors. Very nice weather – sunny and warm by 9:30am. Crazy breakfast in the buffet, with line-cutting and rude people. I miss the huge bowls of pre-cut fruit on RC – especially pineapple. Here, just one bowl of mixed fruit, it didn’t taste great, like it had been frozen and then thawed. I liked NCL’s muffin selection more.

Ropes Course –a photographer will be up there to take your picture while you walk the course and when you zip line (I was surprised how many people got stuck in the middle! You really need to run and leap to zip line). Side note – finding photos was better than on RC. Your room keep has a number, and your photos are in a binder with that number. Very simple, they’re all there. Seemed to be A LOT more photo shoots in the evening than on RC – good I suppose, if you don’t have trouble making decisions J Ropes was fun, I think we got lucky with the crowd/line. I read that someone felt a 30 min wait was perfectly reasonable. On the Indy, I never had more than a min or two wait to do the rock wall. Longest wait for Ropes was maybe 3 min, but I seemed to luck out and beat the crowds. Basketball court: It is a level above putt putt and the bungee trampoline. There is no shade or seating, which is too bad. Disappointed they never had volleyball (only on GSC) but had 2 basketball and 2 soccer tournaments, also no rock wall climb competition, so disappointing. I also missed playing for the medals that RC hands out. Dodgeball was fun though. My husband didn’t like that the entire court was closed for hours at a time so the children’s groups could do freeze tag or whatever on it. They certainly didn’t need the entire court, and there were quite a bit of grumbling and complaints about that; didn’t happen on RC; the Freestyle Daily doesn’t say that the court will be closed. Lunch in the buffet, swam a bit. Loungers are mostly in the shade unless you go up a deck. Four hot tubs by main pool, always crowded. Swimming pool actually not too too crowded when we were there. Luckily, most people seemed more interested in sunning than swimming. We did find out later there is a second pool by the water slides/kids aqua park but it’s partitioned kind of weird…

Walked the Waterfront – many good quiet spots for reading or napping – nice big comfy couch/chairs you could lay down on.

Checked the shops: nothing too great, but the photo shop sells a Breakaway scrapbook and accessories, excellent idea. The bejeweled lanyards were all the rage – most people seemed to have it around their neck with room key attached, throughout the cruise.

Fitness Center – 5pm Total Body Conditioning. Only 15 min… instructor didn’t know she was supposed to teach... I missed the big Indy gym. Breakaway’s is in two rooms: treadmills/ellipticals facing out the side to the sea, and machines/fitness rooms on the inside. No where to pull out a mat and do stability ball or situps unless no class in the fitness room, and there were frequestly personal training sessions and I was told the room coupldn’t be used…Only two free workouts: a.m. abs and 5pm conditioning; all others cost; I have the sheet with costs if anyone is interested.

‘Formal’ night: many people looked nice, tho we saw many shorts and jeans.

Dining rooms are too dark. We heard several people mention this. Moderno is so dark I couldn’t even record the food, as I always do, to share with people back home.

A few nights we had to dine quickly to make a show; staff were always very accommodating and got us out on time. Dinner portions are biggger than RC.

Battle of the Sexes with Christine was hilarious. 8:30pm in the Atrium. Some people commented the Atrium is too small a venue for some of the shows. I agree, but I think it was a bad idea to have those bulky armchairs there. More people could fit if smaller chairs or a better arrangement was used. (If you’re small, you can share a chair with someone.) The second story of the atrium has chairs too, but almost always taken. Be in Atrium at least 30 min early to get a seat.

Burn the Floor 930pm – glad I brought ear plugs; very loud, sometimes it’s difficult to understand the singing. Reservations are taken for the evening shows as well as the Second City comedy hours (up to 3 shows an evening), but besides the first Second City show (standing room only) and Burn the Floor (every seat was taken), there didn’t seem to be an issue with crowds. I’d recommend the reservations though. I don’t know whether the ship was filled to capacity or not (I’m thinking it was close). Odd thing about theater seats: there is a very uncomfortable, hard bar that runs through the back of the seat, so I always had to slouch. Weird.

11pm Second City – their adult shows are hilarious! They made up for the ship never featuring a comedian.

Tuesday – Port Canaveral

Look below as the ship glides in – we saw many jellyfish float by.

Kennedy Space Center tour (arrived by 1pm and back on ship by 630). Short 20 min drive. We felt rushed due to only 4 hours there. We met at 5pm (closing time) at the IMAX theater for a special 3D showing of the International Space Station film, only for Breakaway guests. The bus drivers were very informative and I learned a lot. They’ll suggest what you might do during your stay, but it can be a bit overwhelming, so I’d suggest researching this ahead of time (not a guided tour). We did the bus tour of KSC, which is actually several buildings over many acres, which I somehow didn’t realize after scouring the KSC website. The tour is really cool. We saw 3 alligators in the swampy areas beside the roads. You may want to Youtube what an eagle’s nest looks like; we passed it twice but didn’t see it: the driver will point it out, it’s the size of a king size bed and 700 pounds! We did only two ‘exhibits’ really: Apollo/SaturnV and Atlantis. Atlantis is a bit more hands on than Apollo. We did the Flight Simulator at Atlantis, awesome. The video prior to the ride is hilarious and again, very informative. It’s hard to take time out to eat; by 4:45pm it seemed some of the food stations closed (one was being remodeled) so choices were limited. The IMAX film was great. 20 min ride back to the ship. The port is not like St. Maarten, for example, where there are shops and souvenirs; I was a bit disapopinted as I hoped for some Florida souvenirs.

8pm Second City

845-1030 Moderno for dinner ($20 each, plus tip). Husband eats meat and meat only, and said he wished there was more variety (I guess there were 2 or 3 different rib options; me not being a meat eater was fine with the buffet). Nice surprise: not on menu, but we were brought a slice of fried (?) pineapple, with butter and cinnamon. Delicious. The coconut dessert was wonderful.

70s Disco Party at Spice H20.

Wednesday – Great Stirrup Cay

Scheduled to arrive at 10, but at 755 I was rudely awakened to passengers cheering in the hall to the announcement that they could begin tender service. I’ve never slept so poorly on a cruise. Between the paper walls, hall noise, and our loud European neighbors who smoked and chatted at 430am every morning, it was impossible to feel rested. And I’m a pretty deep sleeper. Take a white noise machine or ear plugs if you are a light sleeper. The island is similar to RC’s Labadee, minus pushy sellers. Water was surprisingly cold, so we didn’t really swim, although many people seemed to think the temp was fine. Played beach volleyball, you need to sign up in advance. They had a lot of activities, would have liked to see the tug-o-war but we decided to eat a quick lunch and get on the ship to enjoy the empty water slides, ropes course, etc. Island buffet not as good as RC’s – only 2 meat free salad options, and the fruit/dessert were in another line. Same single-file line set-up L, and I didn’t feel like waiting in line with obviously agitated people. So that was pretty disappointing. I also didn’t like that you have to tender. Not a huge inconvenience, but we waited like 30 min in the tender to go back onboard, so slightly annoying. (Although I’m glad we were able to come, as some cruises forego the island due to weather.) Maybe 2 other people besides us at the waterslides, great time to take advantage. My husband won’t let me live it down, but I got stuck in one of the free fall slides lol. The guy working it said I must have tensed up, but laughed and said no one else had done that before. You get in the tube and the floor drops beneath you after a 3-2-1 countdown, and you start curving over the edge of the ship and kind of go upside down. I felt myself slow down, and then I’m going backwards, and I’m in panic mode like Oh crap I don’t think this is right. I settled at the bottom of the slide and panicked about 30 seconds. I literally couldn’t see – no contacts and sprays of water made it nearly impossible to keep eyes open. I finally discovered a little hole on the top to climb out of. Then I was stuck inside a locked gate (this was so bizzaarre!) and I stood for 5 min not sure if someone had to let me out, then I just jumped over it. I did it twice more with no problem. Quick bite at buffet (after day 1, they only had cheese pizza as the meat-free option; disappointed they didn’t have the veggie pizza again). Ropes course was empty, putt putt too.

530 did early dinner in Manhattan so I could get to the Thriller dance class at 7:15 while husband saw Second City at 7. 80s Dance Party at 815 to 9/930 was great. Fireworks were very nice. A ton of activity tonight: Howl at the Moon, Michael Jackson tribute, World Series at O’Sheehans.

Later we prowled the ship searching for a dark and quiet spot like the helipad on RC ships. There aren’t any. I was surprised the dim glow of light from the ship made it so difficult to enjoy the constellations in the sky. If you’ve never laid out on the helipad late at night before, I don’t think you can comprehend how not quiet and not dark the Breakaway is.

Thursday – Nassau

HOT burning sun. We explored on our own, it was all easy to find:

1. Pirate Museum – not that great at all, pretty disappointed. The reviews seemed 50/50, but it was mostly recreated scenes (dummies dressed as pirates, the inside of a pirate ship (the ship itself was a painstaking replica, so that was neat)) with a few wall plaques of information and a few T/F questions with the answer under a flap. Very underwhelming. Just a few display cases of artifacts. $12 each.

2. National Heritage Museum – this was VERY COOL. $12.50 ea, the website hadn’t listed a price back home, so we were surprised and a bit nervous whether it was worth it. But if you love history (I have my master’s in history and I love old things!) then I highly recommend this museum. It’s located at Greycliff, on the second floor. You get an MP3 player with earbuds that narrates for 37 min. There are several themed rooms. You first start by the 4.7 billion y/o iron meteorite. This was amazing, simply because most are rock, not iron, and to think it was so old and just whizzing around in space, it was neat. Natural history room, Columbus Room (they didn’t clean or fix many of the objects; they are presented exactly as they were found, which lends a very authentic feel to it; I love the wood/leather chair from the 1500s), through to the 19th and 20th centuries.

3. Queen’s Staircase – very cool retreat from the scorching sun. Lovely waterfall. Though I certainly didn’t feel like climbing all 66 stairs after our morning of walking!

4. Fort Fincastle – we wanted to do Ft. Charlotte, but were wary of the distance. 10 min and we’d seen everything. Reviews on TripAdvisor got it right – it’s small, really no exhibits, a few signs with information. $1 admission each, no one pushed us for the guided tour (which supposedly you then have to tip). Nice views of ship and harbor.

We were pretty tired, and I wasn’t really up for shopping, although there are a lot of shops by Fincastle and by the ship in ‘Festival Place’. Lunch at buffet.

345pm Arts & Crafts in Atrium. We decorated a ‘treasure box’ – it’s a cardboard box that you put self-adhesive paper and stickers on. Kind of dumb, but they wouldn’t pass out scissors. Told us just to fold and tear, which produces ugly jagged uneven lines. So I’m designing it at home with pictures from the cruise. Disappointed with lack of arts and crafts. I only recall seeing origami on Fri or Sat, but I overslept and missed it.

5pm Fab Abs – turned into Total Body Conditioning, same exercises as a few days before, so disappointing.

Dinner at Manhattan Room – could happen anywhere, but seated by table of adults and table of 8 children. Sometimes I felt the adults behaved worse than the kids, and the reprimanding of the shrieking kids took way too long. Nearby guests were also irritated. FYI the menus don’t denote which is the vegetarian so it’s good to check with the waiter when ordering.

Second City was great, my favorite skit was Cirque du Sol Laundry. I couldn’t explain it if I tried. They perform at Headliners, and if you get cold easily, put on jeans and a sweater before coming here.

930pm Rock of Ages. I enjoyed what I saw, but it was too long. A lot of people left before it was over. It’s like an hour and 40 min, and conflicted with Second City at 11, so my husband left too. Rock of Ages is not appropriate for kids (tho they weren’t stopped from watching), you’ll be warned in the Freestyle Daily and just before the show begins, but I thought it was the most explicit show I’d seen on a ship.

Friday – Sea Day

I tried the Bungee Trampoline, weight limit is like 220 I think. Get there right at 10 when they open and there probably won’t be a line. It was thrilling to do double backs at sea J It really fatigues your arms and legs. The kids are hilarious to watch. Ropes course until noon. Later did some laundry in sink (those Tide packets are lifesavers!). Manhattan Room – we were seated in back by the windows and got to see a beautiful sunset. 7pm Second City. Got a new towel animal, I’d never seen this one before! 8pm O’Sheehans to catch some of the Cavs game. A lot of people dressed for Halloween some very innovative and funny costumes. There was karaoke in Atrium below us, they were quite good. 9pm Second City. 11pm Second City – again hilarious, partly because it was the adult version. It is getting much cooler outside…

Saturday – Sea Day/Storm Day

Chilly but sunny in the a.m. The day was nice up until about 3:30, when we hit the storm. The nausea lasted the rest of the day and some of Sunday and even Monday at work I swear the floor was moving beneath me. Since our first sea day was warm, I assumed the final day would be shorts and sweater weather, but I had my jeans and tennis shoes and fleece coat on at 10am. Did the bungee trampoline again. 1115am fruit and vegetable carving demonstration. 1215 watched the tango class (Atrium wasn’t big enough for all who wanted to try), stuck our heads in on the art auction ($4,900 to start ?!). Best lunch of the week at Taste. Wish we’d done the restaurants more. We tried restaurant lunches on RC before but we’re very active and didn’t want to give up 45 min, so we stuck to the buffet. Taste played Big Band and it was just a million times nicer atmosphere than buffet. We saw the skies turn dark and white caps increase. The captain came on and advised passengers to use the railings. There was noticeable rocking/pitching of the ship. 2pm crew talent show was fun to watch (JC listed his top 10 favorite questions passengers ask: “Which elevator takes me to the front of the ship?” and an appearance by the Washy Washy Happy Happy band haha) and we really felt the ship moving even more. Around 330 I felt sick and just layed in bed until dinner. It was a shame they served gnocchi as I love that dish and never make it at home because I’ve no clue what sauce to use. Took me about 30 min to eat ¼ of the plate. Skipped dessert. At one point the ship jumped out of the water and everyone in Manhattan Room gasped. The storm truly ruined the rest of the day, from dinner, to not enjoying Burn the Floor in the Manhattan Room, so not wandering the ship one last time, to having Burn the Floor’s 9pm show cancelled (replaced with Spiderman 2 in 3D). So we went to bed at 9, neither of us feeling that well.

Sunday – New York

Woke several times during the night and feared every bad jerk of the ship. I did a transatlantic before, and the ship moved more violently (I recall being thrown into the walls, but found it an amusing adventure) but the Breakaway’s movement was just more sickening to me. The sea outside was fearful. One last buffet breakfast. Luggage: Try your hardest just to carry on if you can and carry off as well. On RC, we were allowed to carry it to our room ourselves, which was reassuring as I’ve had luggage lost before. Terminal staff said I couldn’t bring the larger suitcase aboard myself, although we had in April. I assumed debarkation would be similar, so I set it outside at 9pm with the TOUR tag, as we were doing the NY tour. Go figure, my bag was no where to be found when the tour group got their luggage. Took about 10 min to locate mine and about 4 other people were missing some or all their luggage. The tour guide kind of criticized me for not just carrying the bag off…but I was told I could not carry it on, so why should I assume I could carry it off? I read about debarkation being a little crazy, and to just bring your own luggage off the ship. We’ll carry all our luggage in the future. The NY tour was great, I highly recommend. It’s only for those with late flights. We started about 30 min late due to the luggage fiasco, so it was nice they extended the tour 30 min so we got the full time. We met at Fat Cats onboard at 8:45 and by the time luggage was loaded on the bus, it was 9:40. We were dropped at LaGuardia about 12:40, so a nice 3-hour tour, but time flew. I didn’t even try to film any of it, as we were told so much info it would have been difficult to swing the camera left! Then right! Then look down that street! Oh too late! Lol We made 15/20 min photo stops at about 4-5 locations, including Rockefeller Center/ice rink, WTC Memorial, and Flatiron building and Chrysler bulding (or Woolworth?). Freezing and windy, I think the sea storm had made its way to land, although it was bright and sunny. Definitely bring warm clothes for the tour!

Whew, I’m ending this now. I’d be glad to answer any questions you have!

[bensartimsmom]

Thank you so very very much for the time you took to write this! I am going in 3 weeks and it was very helpful to read your review! If I think of any questions I will post again. Thanks again!!

[mjkacmom]

Nice review. Just a couple of dining tips - never eat at the buffet for that first lunch. Taste and Savor are open, so you can have a nice, relaxing lunch. As for the buffet, keep walking past the lines. The food repeats, and the further you get from the entrance, the shorter the lines.

[olya1972]

Hi, Melbourne84. We were on the same sailing in the room connected to your cabin (12768). They just posted my review and I actually mention you in there when talking about no noise in our cabin with very quiet young couple in the connecting room (:)). Sorry, you didn't enjoy your cruise. We thought it was great. This was our second sailing on the Breakaway and we liked it even more than the first time around. Now that my review is posted, I was able to check my previous review from November, 2013 sailing (couldn't get to that page before due to my limited navigation skills on CC) and saw that I have rated the ship higher in numerous categories this time around. Anyway, it was very interesting to read your review, very informative.:)

[Howlev34]

never eat at the buffet for that first lunch

We discovered that O'Sheehan's was open for lunch as we were going to our cabin. We had a nice lunch there.

[Melbourne84]

I've tried the buffet for many first lunches in the past, but I think getting on relatively late (2 hours later than we usually do) really made the difference.

 

I did figure out the buffet eventually, but it was odd with this ship that I was still feeling lost at times mid-way through the cruise :o, and it is the first ship that I've left without having found everything (never did find the gelato place!).

 

I did enjoy the cruise, just not as much as previous cruises (due in part to some things I'm trying to cope with, so I actually just wanted to do a stay-cation at home rather than cruise). We would try NCL again, although we would try a different ship. I really like the Jewel-class ships and have family members who said good things about them. I'll have to read your review :) I'm always interested in how other people rated the cruise!

[mjkacmom]

I think the gelato place was on the waterfront right outside of the bakery (we found it). There were so many things I missed (late second city, dueling pianos, lobster rolls...). Next times...

[diamondback2013]

Was on this cruise and had an amazing time. Saw most of the guests in the Garden Cafe as well as restaurants with loads of foods. From our perspective, you will be hard pressed to find a more friendly crew and the management readily available to answer questions. Great transparency which we appreciate.

[CasinoCruzGirl]

Got up to day 2 but wanted to respond now. Sounds like NCL is not for you and maybe you should stick to RCL. But thanks for the review. Complete opposite of my cruise on breakaway last March.

 

 

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[PathfinderEss]

Enjoyed your review.

[CLASEN]

I was wondering how the seafood specialty restaurant is, did you go or have you heard any comments on this? By the way, this is a great review thanks for the info!