Breakaway July 19th Review (including food allergy experience)

[bangzoom6877]

Hello everyone! I'm Bonnie, and I'll be reviewing our cruise to Bermuda onboard the Breakaway. We just got back yesterday. I'll start with a little background info about our group of 11 people...

 

1. Me: 38 years old, from Brooklyn, NY, mom of 2 boys. I have been on 16 cruises total, starting in 1990 when I was 13. This was my 5th cruise on NCL. Past NCL ships included the Norwegian Sea, Dawn, Spirit and Jewel.

2. DH (Eric): 38 years old from Brooklyn, NY, dad of 2 boys. This was his 7th cruise, 5th on NCL (all the same NCL ships as me).

3. DS10 (Philip): 10 years old, this was his 4th cruise (3rd on NCL). He is allergic to shellfish, tree nuts and peanuts. More on food allergies later.

4. DS8 (Jonathan): 8 years old, this was his 3rd cruise (2nd on NCL). DH and I refer to him as the best souvenir from a cruise EVER. ;)

5 & 6. My mom and dad: 65 years old, this was their 28th cruise (6th on NCL). They are addicted to cruises, no doubt, and they are a lot of fun!

7. My sister: 40 years old, this was her 24th cruise (7th on NCL). She took her honeymoon a couple of years back on the Jewel and described it as the perfect honeymoon.

8. My brother-in-law: 40 years old, this was his 5th cruise I think (2nd in NCL). He agrees with my sister about their honeymoon on the Jewel.

9, 10, and 11. My nieces (11 and 14) and my nephew (1 and a half): they all love cruises, including the baby! One niece started cruising at a year old, and my other niece and my nephew started at 6 months old. Second cruise for the little guy already (first on NCL), and my nieces have been in many.

 

We love to have fun, and we all love to spend time together. That's why we try as much as possibly to vacation together! We live very close to each other too. My sister lives across the street from my parents, and I'm only 4 blocks away. The kids are all very close with each other as well. I know this is rare, and all of us treasure how close we are. We are truly blessed to have each other.

 

We also love to eat. We all watch what we eat the majority of the time, but we enjoy going out to eat on weekends. We enjoy all different types of foods from a good burger and fries, to diner breakfast food, to fine dining. And everything in between! I could eat a slice of pizza one day and foie gras the next, and enjoy both equally! We also enjoy wine, and cocktails most weekends, but not too many. A drink or two, that's it. Everything in moderation right?

 

I'm very into fitness and working out too. I actually use the gym on cruises!

 

DH and I are both teachers. My sister is an assistant principal. My brother-in-law is a court officer. My father is retired now for a few years, but he used to be a neon glassblower for a living. He and my mom take care of the grandkids when my sister and I are working, and my dad takes all of them to and from school while my mom stays with the baby. So our kids see each other every day and they're more like close knit siblings than cousins.

 

I will get this review started real soon, with lots of positives along with some bumps along the way. Stay tuned...

[bangzoom6877]

Late afternoon the day before the cruise, DH received an alert on his cell phone that the Henry Hudson Parkway would be closed going northbound from 57th street and north, due to the triathlon, from 4am-12pm. We knew this would impact us, since the original plan was to leave home in Brooklyn between 8:30 and 9am. New plan...leave home at 7:30. All of us agreed that we would much rather wait longer inside the cruise terminal, rather than either wait in excess traffic or wait in an incredibly long line to board the ship and end up boarding later than we would prefer. We drove to the ship and parked for the week ($280 for the week but well worth it to us, not to have to wait for a cab after the cruise ended). As it turned out, we hit absolutely no traffic! We drove into Manhattan via the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel (it's renamed now but I always forget the new name), and we breezed down the West Side Highway to the cruise ship terminal, no problem. We proceeded up to the parking lot, DH dropped off me and the boys near the elevator with our bags, and then the 4 of us managed to bring everything down to the correct level.

 

We were directed to wait in a certain area before they started the security check. After a short while, we were directed to proceed through security and to the check-in area. Staff was very friendly, and there weren't a lot of people there which surely helped make it less chaotic than it could have been. Before we knew it, we were taking our welcome aboard photo and then directed to a waiting area. We were all booked in inside cabins, so no haven area for us to wait, but the regular area. It was about 10:00. People were still getting off the ship. We were told that boarding should begin at 11:45. We were fine with this. Like I said, better to wait this way than in stressful traffic or standing in line.

 

At about 11:15, they made an announcement that there was a sign-up table for Splash Academy. My sister and I went to sign up the kids, but the line was super long already and not moving. My mom called me at 11:30 and said they were about to start boarding in a few minutes and they're doing it by row. We were close to the front, so we went back and as soon as we got back there, we were told to board. No big deal, we could sign up the kids after lunch.

 

We went straight to Savor for lunch, the MDR. I informed the server about DS10's food allergies and she immediately got the maitre D for us. He wasn't super helpful. I had a copy of the allergy form I had emailed to the access desk as instructed when I contacted NCL. He mentioned a few items DS could eat from the lunch menu, and he said at dinner anything with chicken or steak should be fine. He said the first day is the busiest so there wasn't much else he could do for us. I found this dismissive behavior surprising, as our last NCL cruise in 2011 on the Jewel, the Maitre D had the record of the allergy form and he took the time to explain things to us. However, I'm a patient and forgiving person, and I just turned to the maitre D and asked if my son could safely eat the foods he would like from the lunch menu. He said they were perfectly safe. He also said in the MDR every night they will bring the next day's menu and DS could pick what he wanted. Despite requests day after day in the MDR, this was never accommodated. We felt dismissed much of the time by the maitre D, except for one evening (more on that later).

 

Food was good at lunch. I had the chicken salad sandwich but requested it on pretzel roll and request was accommodated. It was very good, as was the roast peach dessert.

 

Next up...cabin, sail away, dinner!

[bangzoom6877]

By the way, if anyone has any questions in between my posts, feel free to ask away! :)

[Cruzncutie]

No questions yet, but looking forward to reading the rest of your review.

[bangzoom6877]

No questions yet, but looking forward to reading the rest of your review.

 

Thank you, and welcome! :)

[Sparkygirl]

Please contact the access desk regarding your experience with the Maitre D, that is absolutely not how food allergies should be handled particularly when food allergy meals are made in their own Kitchen.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[bangzoom6877]

Right after lunch, the cabin was already ready so we headed there to put our carry-on inside. DH and I had 2 connecting inside cabins with our boys, and my sister had the same for her family. My parents had one inside cabin. We actually had 5 cabins in a row, first time for that on a family cruise! Our cabin numbers were 12615, 12619, 12623, 12627 and 12633. The cabins were tiny. As tiny as I remember them on the Norwegian Sea in 2002. They were much smaller than I remember on th Dawn, Spirit and Jewel. We were so glad that 4 of us had 2 connecting cabins instead of just one. But the size didn't bother us because we had two, and because we only use the cabin to sleep and to shower and change.

 

The beds were super comfy, with terrific bedding that I've come to expect on NCL. We met our cabin steward, Richard, who was very nice to us throughout the week, but he did the my sister a hard time. When she first went into her cabins, one of the bathrooms was definitely not cleaned (I saw it, and I wouldn't have tolerated this either). She nicely asked him to please make sure to clean the bathroom (I was there when she asked him, she was very polite). He said sure, he would do it right away. However, when she returned to the cabin just after dinner, the beds were turned down but th bathroom untouched. She had to ask him again and he finally did it. Throughout the first few days of the cruise, even though they left the "Make up Room" light lit, the cabin steward didn't clean one of their cabins each day. We found this strange. Finally, my sister said something to guest services on the 4th day and they made sure to take care of it. they also sent chocolate covered strawberries to their cabin the next afternoon.

 

The next thing we did after checking out the cabins, was go to Splash Academy on th same deck, 12, to register all the kids. A counselor sits down with one family at a time to be attentive to any special needs, to answer any questions and to give some general information about the activities. They handled my son's allergies exceptionally well, even though they're food allergies and they don't eat in the Splash Academy. They were still cautious, had us drop off the Epi-pens each time DS10 went there, and gave us a special pager in case there should be an issue. We loved the staff at Splash Academy and our kids were happy to go there every day and for a couple of late nights as well ($6/hour per child, $4 each additional sibling). We tipped them extra at the end of the week because they're not included in the DSC, since they don't serve all passengers. This is the fairest way to handle this, as people cruising without children shouldn't be responsible for tipping youth staff. But they certainly deserved it, in our opinion.

 

Shortly after registering, it was time for the life boat drill. We had to sit inside the casino which stank of stale cigarette smoke. It didn't take long though. We then attempted to go to the family sail away party at Spice, but it was way too crowded. However, on our way out, SpongeBob and Patrick were on their way in, so we snapped some pics with them and the kids were happy!

 

We decided to go to deck 16 for sail away and get drinks at th Uptown Bar. Extremely slow service for our first bar experience, and we were hoping it wouldn't be that way for the rest of the cruise, and it was much better at other bars. Thank goodness. This was just one example where the ship felt understaffed for the number of passengers. Also, this was the first cruise I was ever on, where we didn't see bar waiters walking around the deck so you could buy a drink without going to an actual bar. Never saw any in the deck area, and it was needed for sure. The ship seemed to have a skeletal crew for the number is passengers. I wonder if NCL, in order to cut costs and save money, isn't replacing crew members once their contracts are up and they go home, but I really have no idea how that works.

 

We didn't enjoy sail away as much as usual because of the crazy crowds. This ship is very crowded with too many people for the public space it has. It seems as though they squeezed in as many cabins as they could when the ship was built, in order to get more money by having more people onboard, rather than consider space for people. The hallways by the cabins are also much narrower than on any other ship we've been on, and there are usually cleaning carts out in these narrow halls all day and evening, so getting around isn't easy. I feel very badly for disabled passengers who use wheelchairs or scooters. My dad has difficulty walking, but he didn't seem to have a problem and said it was actually good to be able to touch both walls while walking through the hall!

 

I will review dinner in my next post, promise! :)

 

And yes, there are a whole lot of great things about this cruise despite the bumps in the road I've described so far. Stay tuned... ;)

[bangzoom6877]

Please contact the access desk regarding your experience with the Maitre D, that is absolutely not how food allergies should be handled particularly when food allergy meals are made in their own Kitchen.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Thank you, I will. I did speak to Guest Services and they filed a report the last day, after an unacceptable incident at lunch in Moderno. I was going to save this for later in the review, but here goes...

 

There was a Bavarian buffet at Moderno for lunch the last sea day. I spoke to the chef and he walked us around the buffet. According to him, every item was safe including all the desserts. About 10 minutes later, he found us and came to tell me that only one out of the four desserts was safe, as the rest were made with almond flour. Thank goodness it was early and we weren't on dessert yet because DS10 was planning on having some of those desserts. I went right to Guest Services and they filed a report. That was the worst food allergy experience I've ever had, thank goodness because things could be much worse than that.

[emmak8]

We were on the Breakaway last January. I doubt we will sail her again. We didn't care for the food . It was always too crowded in the area with the huge screen where they did trivia. No seats! I also did not like having to make reservations for most of the shows and for the dining rooms. Freestyle? Not really!

 

Looking forward to the rest of your review. Thanks for posting.

[bangzoom6877]

I emailed the Access Desk about the food allergy issues. Now for more review...

 

MDR Dinner, first night and beyond:

We ate most of our dinners in the Manhattan Room, with the exception of O'Sheehan's one night, Cagney's one night (the whole family) and Le Bistro one night (just me and DH). I will review specialty restaurants and OS separately from the MDR dinners.

 

The first night was in the Manhattan Room. Since we had 11 in our party and the online reservation system only allows tables up to 8, I booked our dining through Group Events. It worked out perfectly. I brought the printout of the confirmation they had sent me, but it was unnecessary because everything was in their computer. All group dinner reservations were for 5:30pm.

 

We were seated promptly at 5:30 every evening we dined in Manhattan Room. Many evenings in there, they had some entertainment going on. We did enjoy when there was simply some live music, however when Burn the Floor performed, it took about 45 minutes and we didn't particularly care to have this go on in the middle of dinner. This is our personal preference, but we enjoy having conversations during dinner and simply enjoying the food and the company, rather than see a live 45-minute show. Others might enjoy this very much, this is just our opinion of course.

 

The food in Manhattan Room ranged from good to excellent. They offered a few every day appetizers (Norwegian smoked salmon, a different type of Caesar salad every night, French onion soup, garden salad, and burger slider). I had a couple of the different Caesar salads and they were all excellent. I had the French onion soup one night and really enjoyed it. DH liked it too. The Norwegian smoked salmon was excellent as well and I ordered it more than once. It was mixed with cucumber and avocado, and hash a lemony sauce on the side which complemented it very well. My son enjoyed the burger slider a couple of times. Some of the more unique appetizers throughout the week included fried Brie which was delicious, crab and cheese soufflé which DH loved, shrimp ceviche which my mom enjoyed, and several others I can't remember right now! They definitely get two thumbs up in the appetizer category in the MDR.

 

Every day entrees include striploin steak with potato wedges and onion rings. This was out of this world good. They cooked the steak perfectly, the onion rings were crispy and not greasy, and the potatoes were delicious. Quite a few of us enjoyed it throughout the cruise and everyone loved it. They also had roast chicken with mashed potatoes which my nephew enjoyed a few times, meat lasagne which my niece really liked. Other we didn't try were vegetarian lasagne rolls, turkey sausage lasagne, spaghetti bolognese and founder Milanese. Every night they had about 7 entrees that changed nightly. Some I had were Caribbean pork which was excellent with perfectly fried Maduros (sweet plantains which I always enjoy), prime rib which DH and my dad loved, chicken parmigiana which my niece said was delicious (and she is picky because she loves our family's Italian food and always compares it to other Italian food!), spaghetti carbonara, potato gnocchi which I loved, braised lamb shank which was outstanding, and always a couple of nice fish or shrimp dishes which my mom enjoyed. The kids' menu consists of the usual kid fare...chicken fingers, pizza, hot dogs,burgers, Mac and cheese, chicken noodle soup, etc. The kids sometimes enjoyed foods from the kids menu, but sometimes ordered from the regular menu.

 

The Indian food was delicious on this ship. If you enjoy Indian food, definitely try it on this ship. I had a vegetarian curry dish one night in the MDR that was wonderful, and the Indian food at the buffet at lunch is also delicious.

 

Desserts are the one area they could use improvement. The nightly chocolate volcano was by far the best dessert on the ship, in my opinion. It comes with a strawberry compote, and delicious stracciatella (vanilla chocolate chip) gelato. It explodes with warm fudge from the inside when you open it up. Fantastic! I had it every time we had dinner in Manhattan Room, even if I ordered another dessert or two to go with it! ;)

The whole family enjoyed the chocolate volcano. Including the kids. When they serve it to you, it looks tiny, but it is so rich that you really can't eat more than the serving they give you. It truly is the perfect size and a wonderful dessert. We were glad it was offered every night.

 

The same menu is offered at Taste and Savor every night if you prefer to dress more casually and wear shorts to dinner but still want to enjoy the MDR food!

 

Overall the food was great in the MDR for dinner, in our opinion. Service was nice, but very slow most times. Plus the dismissive manner of the Maitre D from lunch the first day, was received from the same Maitre D in the Manhattan Room at dinner. I told him what Philip wanted to eat, and I asked him if the bread was safe. He said he would get him plain French bread from the galley. He never returned. Philip was upset, but I explained to him that it's just bread and he would be enjoying some good food at the dinner. Still, he's a kid, and he was upset. I felt bad for him. We asked again for the bread but they never brought it. I also asked the Maitre D for the following night's menu so Philip could place his order, as promised he would be able to do every day. He never brought it. We asked for this a couple of more nights, but no one ever brought it to us to take his order. We were just yessed to death. He did ask for the cabin number, which I gave him, but nothing was ever done with it, and no record of it when we returned to Manhattan Room. Unacceptable!

 

There was one Maitre D that was actually really good, but still never brought the following night's menu. This was on the second night. I immediately asked for the Maitre D when we sat down. He came right over, and was very attentive to Philip. He took his order himself and promised it would be made in a special area of the kitchen away from the allergens. He also said he would bring some French bread as it is safe for Philip. He quickly returned with a whole basket of it. Philip was very happy. He even cut Philip's steak for him, and my niece's steak as well! He was very sensitive to Philip's allergies and this is what we expected for the whole cruise, but only received it this one time. I wish I remembered his name, but I do remember he is from Jamaica because we were talking to him a little about Jamaica.

 

After dinner, we went to look at our Welcome Aboard photo. I will review the photo gallery separately, but we had the package with 20 photos for $199 and we got 3 free additional bonus prints because we ordered the package online before the cruise. So we were excited to see how they would all come out!

 

The Splash Academy opened at 8:00 that night and the kids went and had fun. They normally reopen at 7:00 the rest if the evenings, after closing at 5pm. While the kids were at Splash, we did some exploring of the ship. We walked around the waterfront, hoping to sit outside the Jazz lounge and enjoy some music which they indicated was piped in, so people could sit outside and still enjoy the music. There was no music piped in outside! We even checked inside to make sure they were playing live music, which they were. So we decided instead to go to Shakers on the waterfront, the martini bar. They had the live music from inside piped in, and we enjoyed it very much. We spent several nights there! It was very relaxing. Kishore the bar waiter was wonderful, very friendly and made great drinks as well when he was working behind the bar. I had a Bermuda drink, Tropic's Time Out. It was delicious! Gosling's rum, pineapple juice, and cinnamon! I had several more throughout the week. DH had Dark & Stormy, another Bermuda drink, and he loved it. One night I had a French raspberry martini which was really good too. The Bermuda Triangle punch is also delicious. It's goslings rum,pineapple and passion fruit. Delicious!

 

More to come! Spa thermal suite, breakfasts, lunches, Bermuda, shows, and more! Stay tuned...

[bangzoom6877]

We were on the Breakaway last January. I doubt we will sail her again. We didn't care for the food . It was always too crowded in the area with the huge screen where they did trivia. No seats! I also did not like having to make reservations for most of the shows and for the dining rooms. Freestyle? Not really!

 

Looking forward to the rest of your review. Thanks for posting.

 

We noticed the crowds in the atrium as well and found ourselves wishing for a Spinnaker lounge like they had on the Jewel! We felt like this ship was poorly built for the amount of people they are trying to accommodate. I think they made sure to cram in as many cabins as possible without taking into account the lack of public space. Sometimes less is more, in the sense of having fewer venues but more space in each one.

 

We liked the food, that didn't bother us. I don't mind making reservations for dining or shows, but my sister didn't care for it. I'm a crazy planner when it comes to our vacations, but a lot of people prefer to be more spontaneous and that's not always possible on this ship if you want to do certain things.

[Sizzlechest]

We noticed the crowds in the atrium as well and found ourselves wishing for a Spinnaker lounge like they had on the Jewel! We felt like this ship was poorly built for the amount of people they are trying to accommodate. I think they made sure to cram in as many cabins as possible without taking into account the lack of public space. Sometimes less is more, in the sense of having fewer venues but more space in each one.

 

We liked the food, that didn't bother us. I don't mind making reservations for dining or shows, but my sister didn't care for it. I'm a crazy planner when it comes to our vacations, but a lot of people prefer to be more spontaneous and that's not always possible on this ship if you want to do certain things.

 

You're not the only one to feel this way. From one crazy planner to another. ;)

[bangzoom6877]

You're not the only one to feel this way. From one crazy planner to another. ;)

 

Lol, I'm even worse when it comes to planning our Disney World trips! We go there every other July (and cruise every other July), and I have it down to a science! I always have an itinerary printed out with specific times we should arrive at each attraction in each park. I do a lot of research and spend a lot of time on it, but I really enjoy the planning part. It's a lot of the fun for me, and my family always thanks me when we don't wait more than 15 minutes in line for a ride! ;)

[Sizzlechest]

Lol, I'm even worse when it comes to planning our Disney World trips! We go there every other July (and cruise every other July), and I have it down to a science! I always have an itinerary printed out with specific times we should arrive at each attraction in each park. I do a lot of research and spend a lot of time on it, but I really enjoy the planning part. It's a lot of the fun for me, and my family always thanks me when we don't wait more than 15 minutes in line for a ride! ;)

 

Ha! Don't get me started on Disney. Last trip was in 2013. I was going to plan one for 2016, but some of the rides like Soarin' won't complete their upgrades in time.

 

I develop my own itinerary based on the park times and dining reservations. I figure out traveling paths to minimize walking. (Especially Epcot.) I never buy the park hopper since there's plenty to do in each park and leaving to go to another one seems crazy to me. (The only exception might be to dine in Epcot, but with all of the other great dining options at Disney, I never had the need.) Disney puts the menus of all the places to eat online, so while looking for places to eat, I even have an idea what I'd like to order ahead of time. Yes, it's a sickness, but I'm okay with it. :)

 

To this day, I still remember where in the Magic Kingdom you can get a kid's sized burger and where to get a cherry slushie. (Frontierland and Big Top in Fantasy land, respectively. Tomorrowland only has blue. Picky kid.) If you ever want to swap Disney World/Universal tips, hit me up through the forum's private messaging.

 

I booked a 9 Day cruise on the Breakaway next year. I'm already worried that the first port stop is in San Juan on Monday, July 4. It's a double whammy since many places are usually closed there on Sundays and Mondays, plus it's a holiday. In fact, I'm surprised NCL is offering a food tasting tour on that day considering the port times and date.

[bangzoom6877]

Ha! Don't get me started on Disney. Last trip was in 2013. I was going to plan one for 2016, but some of the rides like Soarin' won't complete their upgrades in time.

 

I develop my own itinerary based on the park times and dining reservations. I figure out traveling paths to minimize walking. (Especially Epcot.) I never buy the park hopper since there's plenty to do in each park and leaving to go to another one seems crazy to me. (The only exception might be to dine in Epcot, but with all of the other great dining options at Disney, I never had the need.) Disney puts the menus of all the places to eat online, so while looking for places to eat, I even have an idea what I'd like to order ahead of time. Yes, it's a sickness, but I'm okay with it. :)

 

To this day, I still remember where in the Magic Kingdom you can get a kid's sized burger and where to get a cherry slushie. (Frontierland and Big Top in Fantasy land, respectively. Tomorrowland only has blue. Picky kid.) If you ever want to swap Disney World/Universal tips, hit me up through the forum's private messaging.

 

I booked a 9 Day cruise on the Breakaway next year. I'm already worried that the first port stop is in San Juan on Monday, July 4. It's a double whammy since many places are usually closed there on Sundays and Mondays, plus it's a holiday. In fact, I'm surprised NCL is offering a food tasting tour on that day considering the port times and date.

 

You sound a lot like me with the Disney planning! I could tell you the direction to walk in Magic Kingdom in order to get a dole whip! Agree that Epcot has some of the best dining. The resort restaurants are also very good. We are considering park hoppers for the first time for next summer, just to be able to dine at Epcot several evenings. We always stay at Boardwalk Villas, our favorite! We have a Disney Vacation Club timeshare and that is our home resort. Love it!

 

I might private message you regarding Universal. Going there next summer for the first time since high school. 21 years ago!

Edited July 28, 2015 by bangzoom6877

[richg35]

I'm the same with our Disney planning. With FP+ and dining reservations, it's pretty hard to just do a spontaneous trip now. Some advance planning definitely leads to happier kids (and parents). Last year I had to coordinate plans for a group of 16. That was quite the undertaking.

[bangzoom6877]

I'm the same with our Disney planning. With FP+ and dining reservations, it's pretty hard to just do a spontaneous trip now. Some advance planning definitely leads to happier kids (and parents). Last year I had to coordinate plans for a group of 16. That was quite the undertaking.

 

Wow a group of 16 for Disney...that's quite the challenge! I book for 11 of us but everyone trusts me so it makes things easier. We also have similar tastes in dining and attractions, so it makes it easier as well.

[beandippa]

Thanks

[bangzoom6877]

For this part of my review, I will report on our experience using the thermal suite. About a month before we sailed, I noticed when I logged on to MyNCL, there was one item under "spa". Hmm, this was new, something I hadn't seen before! Since DH and I were planning to go to the spa as soon as we boarded to buy the thermal suite pass for the week, I clicked on this link. To my amazement, they had the thermal suite pass available...at a $20 discount if purchased online in advance! So instead of $199 each, it cost $179 each. I immediately bought two of them! A $40 savings, and now we didn't have to run to the spa as soon as we boarded the ship just to make sure we got a pass! I called my sister immediately and she also bought them for her and her husband. We were all very happy! :)

 

On the first evening, we went up to the spa and checked in to let them know we purchased the passes in advance. When NCL sent me the email confirmation, I printed out the confirmation that we purchased them and brought it with me, but it wasn't necessary. They simply asked for the cabin number, they checked our cruise card to confirm the name, and they put a sticker on our cruise cards. We had unlimited use of the thermal suite during spa hours, which were 8am-10pm every day except the last day when it was open 8am-8pm. We didn't use it on sail away day but we went every day thereafter and it was worth every penny we spent on it!

 

We used the spa either late morning, or mid-afternoon while the kids were in Splash Academy. My parents stayed with my nephew so that my sister and BIL could go as well. An hour a day (sometimes a little more than an hour!) in there makes for total and blissful relaxation!

 

When you first check in, you go to the reception desk at the spa and give them your cruise card which has the sticker on it. They hold onto your card while you are in the thermal suite. You walk down a hall and there are women's and men's locker rooms. In the locker room was bathroom stalls in one area, showers in one area, and a changing area with lockers. You choose your own combination. Before you exit, you could grab a robe and/or towel. I grabbed a robe and two towels...one to dry off from the hot tubs, and one to use as a pillow while on the tile lounger (I wore the robe whole lying on the loungers).

 

Then you walk further down the hall and enter the thermal suite. To your left is a counter with some beverages. There was orange flavored water, plain ice water, hot water and a variety of tea bags. I always started with a cup of orange flavored water...so good! To the right of that is the area where you return used towels and robes, and above it is a shelf with clean towels. For there to the right are cushioned loungers (not heated) with a beautiful view out the huge windows. The thermal suite is in the front of the ship, so if you continue to look and walk forward, you will see a beautiful view out the front. To the left shortly after you walk in, is the hydrotherapy pool. There is a separate hot tub in the corner...I never used that one. I went into the larger part. This consisted of a huge area, with a waterfall toward the front that felt great on the neck and shoulders. If you went all the way to the back of the pool, there was an area to sit on for the back, with small white buttons you could push to turn on the jets. This was my favorite area, as I have lower back issues and this helps me a lot to keep it feeling well. In the opposite corner is an area where there are jets for the legs...again with the little white buttons you push to turn on the jets. I went into there a few times as well, and it was all just heavenly. This pool is warm water and feels great. There is no cool water pool and that was just fine with me! :)

 

After the pool, I would go into the sanarium. This was a sauna with some low humidity added to it. I loved it. It wasn't as overpowering as the traditional sauna, which I spent less time in because after a couple of minutes I was too hot. But I enjoyed the sanarium and used it every day to dry off and warm up again after getting out of the water.

 

After the sanarium I would go into the salt room. This was kept between 70 and 75 degrees and the salt is supposed to be good for the respiratory system and the skin, just being in that environment. I have asthma, although it is well under control, so I made sure to go t the salt room every day for its benefits. I loved it to cool off a bit right after the sanarium, or the occasional time I used the traditional sauna.

 

DH used the steam room every day. I don't particularly care for the steam room but he loves it and he really enjoyed this one. Neither of us used the rain shower so cannot give an opinion on that one.

 

Facing the front of the ship are the heated tile loungers. Lying on those was one of my favorite things to do throughout the cruise. They are just so comfortable and so relaxing! I would doze off occasionally, they were so relaxing. To the left of the tile loungers were more cushioned loungers, not heated. These were great to sit up a bit more and relax with a good book while looking at beautiful views of the sea.

 

Overall we loved the thermal suite. It makes it even more of a vacation for us, to have this beautiful sanctuary to enjoy every single day.

 

There were a couple of minor issues I had with the thermal suite though, but it certainly didn't spoil it for me. One was that on the first sea day, when I first went in I noticed a couple sitting in the hot tub drinking bloody Mary's. I'm not sure if there is a policy on the ship about drinking while inside the hot tub, but in my opinion, alcoholic beverages should not be permitted inside the thermal suite. First, it's not healthy to drink alcohol while being in a heated environment, as it promotes dehydration. Second, there is potential for people to behave in *ahem* certain undesirable ways when consuming alcohol. By no means am I referring to the couple that was drinking while in the hot tub. They did not seem intoxicated at all, I honestly think they were just making an *innocent* mistake by drinking in there. And third, if that drink spills, that is completely unsanitary to everyone in the pool, and creates a huge job for the crew to clean it.

 

The second issue was that the hut tub was so overfilled that once one person went into it, water spilled over and so the floor near many of the tile loungers was covered in about a quarter inch of water at all times. One time I saw a crew member come to clean it up, but it was still always full of water. This was an issue with the hot tubs out on deck as well, and the deck was always wet.

 

I never had trouble getting a heated tile lounger when I wanted to use one. There are signs indicating that people are not to reserve the loungers by placing towels or personal belongings on them, but of course not everyone adhered to those signs. But it wasn't a problem getting one, because they sell a limited number of thermal suite passes to begin with. I did find the thermal suite to feel a bit more crowded in port days. I attribute this to the fact that they were selling $45 day passes to use the thermal suite while in port. My assumption is that they do this because they anticipate fewer people to be inside there on port days. It still didn't feel overcrowded despite feeling a bit more crowded, so this was ok by me!

 

On Friday after using the thermal suite, I booked the Frangipani Hair and Scalp treatment. It's a heavenly 30-minute treatment which is great for the hair, but the best part is that they're massaging your scalp the whole time! Well worth the $29 it cost for sure. The lady tried to sell me the oil she used, and another oil, but I declined as I use my own oils at home (pure coconut oil, olive oil, and argan oil without additives).

 

Any spa questions. Ask away!

 

More review to come soon! :)

[Mrs. Squirrel]

Great review so far!

 

I was just recently on the NCL Sun in Alaska northbound from Vancouver, BC to Seward, AK. I must avoid gluten. All of my prior NCL cruises were before my dx. I am afraid that my experience in the dining room was similar to yours. I was hoping it was a one off, as I just turned Platinum with NCL. :( My first cruise, post-Celiac dx, was on Carnival Miracle and they couldn't have been more attentive, so the difference was stark.

 

I did not know about e-mailing the Access Desk post-cruise. I'll do that.

[cruisin0504]

Thanks - sold me on the spa pass! :)

[buzzygirl1]

We r scheduled for Breakaway to Bermuda in about 2 weeks. We had heard that it was to change menus possibly in July in the dining rooms, restaurants, do you know if that was the case. We know we can look at a website " beyondships" and get that information on menu choices, we had heard however, that menus were to change?

[richg35]

We r scheduled for Breakaway to Bermuda in about 2 weeks. We had heard that it was to change menus possibly in July in the dining rooms, restaurants, do you know if that was the case. We know we can look at a website " beyondships" and get that information on menu choices, we had heard however, that menus were to change?

 

August 9th sailing?

[conandrob240]

Interested in the answer to this. I thought BA was the first adopter of the new menus about 8 mths ago and that the rest of the fleet was slowly switching over. Meaning the menus you see on beyond ships are the more recent ones that BA switched to last fall

[bangzoom6877]

Great review so far!

 

I was just recently on the NCL Sun in Alaska northbound from Vancouver, BC to Seward, AK. I must avoid gluten. All of my prior NCL cruises were before my dx. I am afraid that my experience in the dining room was similar to yours. I was hoping it was a one off, as I just turned Platinum with NCL. :( My first cruise, post-Celiac dx, was on Carnival Miracle and they couldn't have been more attentive, so the difference was stark.

 

I did not know about e-mailing the Access Desk post-cruise. I'll do that.

 

On the Carnival Splendor two years ago, they couldn't do enough for my son, and the hostess came to our table every single night to bring the menu over. I know the major difference is that we had the same table and waiter every night, but every time we checked in for our dinner reservations on the Breakaway, the hostess asked for the cabin number. They need to have something indicating the food allergy, connected to the cabin number. Perhaps they do but it was overlooked. We will never know. But the Maitre D did take our cabin number and promise it will be noted for us. Either it wasn't noted or whoever checked us in ignored it. Either way that is unacceptable.

 

I'm sorry you had the same experience on your NCL cruise. Perhaps this is no longer the cruise line for us, unless they seriously change their practices regarding food allergies. My son's safety is our first concern when we go anywhere.