Design of the Breakaway

[CanadaJulie]

Hi all,

 

We are just back from the Breakaway and I'm wondering if anyone who's sailed this ship had the same thoughts as I did on the odd design or layout of the ship.

 

First is the noise: The Atrium is 3 floors - 6, 7 and 8. On the 8th floor, there is a bar with a singer on the piano, on the next floor down O'Sheehans and the Casino, on the 6th floor there is the Atrium/Bar which they use for some really noisy events - Battle of the Sexes, Karaoke. All this noise was insane together. But the weird part is - that's right where they decided to stick Guest Services ! I had an issue with missing OBC (600$ that I had purchased) and I had to go down there 6 time to sort it out - but the amount of noise from the surrounding activities made it impossible to hear the person standing right in front of you at guest services. Why not use the lounges or theatre for these events ?? Nope, right in front of guest services !

 

The Balcony rooms were another head scratcher. The beds are about 6 inches from the closet. You have to shuffle in sideways to get to the closet. As a comparison, the Carnival ships I've been on have the closet at the entrance which also made it easier to get dressed when others where in the room. The CCL closet is more of a hallway with the bathroom on one side and hangers on the other - making it a bit of a walk-in. Breakway closet is in a real weird spot.

 

The pools are another weird design. For one thing, there were over 500 kids on our sailing - an 1 tiny, tiny pool. In the evening, when there were no adults in the adult pool, they would station a guard outside the empty adult pool who would blow a whistle if a kid so much as stepped on the tiled surface. Again, no adult in sight of this empty pool all evening. Why not let the kids use the big pool after 8pm rather than squeezing them into a tiny bathtub sized pool ? Frankly, they are the only ones who needed a pool at that time.

 

Then the waste of space between the adult pool and kids pool. "The Marketplace" is an absolute waste of prime deck space. Same gadgets as the gift shop but in a covered area on prime "sun deck". That is bizarre use of space.

 

Then they put the Entourage Club (17 and under) right beside the H2O entrance which is for adults only. And they have a tiny sign, only on one side that specifies that this area is adults only. Kids were getting kicked out of there all day and likely didn't know they were not supposed to be there. Also, the Sabrett's hot dog cart was often in H2O - so if you are under 18 and want a hot dog - too bad !

 

The buffet is weird too - a big long cafeteria line, with some items repeated throughout. It looked like a hospital cafeteria - all white and straight lines. Weird.

 

I enjoyed the cruise, the staff was wonderful (except for guest services, but that's another story) but I just could not wrap my head around the design or layout of the ship. Are all the NCL ships designed in the same "thrown together" way ? Tell me the other ships have a better flow to them and they just missed the mark on the "Away class" ?

[bjtravelnews]

While I preferred the Breakaway over CCL (overall, at least), you assessment is correct. It seems someone didn't think the layout through before building the ship.

We had a balcony on both CCL and the Breakaway. The CCL room seemed to be so much larger, with a much bigger balcony. The bed on the Breakaway is so close to the closet, it was hard to maneuver to get at things inside. Overall, there is much less storage in the Breakaway rooms.

The Breakaway design is similar to that of the major grocery stores in my area. When designing the spaces, they see how much they can cram in so people still have a few inches (and no more) to maneuver!

[Moby0215]

I have never had a problem hearing at guest services. Can't comment on your balcony room as I have never had one. I stayed in an inside and had no problems with the amount of space or its closet. Also disagree with your comment on the pool. I'm glad there was someone there not letting the kids in the pool. For one if they say it is adults only then that is the rule and doesn't make sense to have a rule without enforcement. And two, could be for the safety of the kids. I did not feel like there was any waste of space on the decks. Can't just have a deck with a sea of loungers. It's nice that it was broken up. As for the hot dog cart? Come on! It sounds like you are just making things up to complain about. It is a cart. It is meant to be mobile. How would you suggest they setup the buffet? When I think of the definition of a buffet I think long straight lines. Sure they could have made stations and islands but really what's the difference? I can assure you the design was not "thrown together" and there are logical reasons for the placement of everything.

 

 

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[richg35]

I don't have any real issues with the design of the ship aside from the atrium, which I think was poorly thought out.

 

As for the rooms, we were in a family oceanview (deck 5 - 2 adults, 3 kids) and found it to be spacious enough.

 

Pools have never seen big enough no matter what ship I've been on. This is just a fact of life with cruising.

[CanadaJulie]

 

Pools have never seen big enough no matter what ship I've been on. This is just a fact of life with cruising.

 

I agree with you there, but having a guard with a whistle keeping teens out of the big empty pool seemed odd. They could easily remedy this by allowing kids after say 7pm - like they do with the H2O area which is adults only 7am-7pm. Easy fix that costs nothing and does not take away from anyone.

[Gotts123]

Veering off topic but I am just glad that they do enforce the "no kid rule" at the adult pool and that hopefully this prevents drownings... also, there should always be someone "else" at the pool who in not in the water but watching those in.

 

Love this ship!

[dman72]

I've only been on 3 ships (Disney Magic, Norwegian Dawn, and Breakaway), so take what I say considering that.

 

I like most of the ships design. I thought there was a decent amount of storage space in the room and we had 4 people in there. If you take everything out of your bags and put them under the bed, you are in good shape.

 

My main issue is that the casino and the subsequent cigarette smoke dominates the area around the grand staircase..that should have been put in a separate closed in area.

 

The main pool is definitely too small for sea days...there is room underneath the slides they should have put in a lazy river or something.

 

The buffet is designed exactly as it is on other Norwegian ships (the Dawn for instance)...it's just much bigger. I have no issue with it, it was better than the buffet on the Disney Magic in every way.

[maywell]

Other than the small pool, which is easily remedy by port stops (its the Caribbean -pick a beach and enjoy) - really didn't have problems with layout of the Breakaway even with Casino in the middle. But then again, I purposely don't cruise in the summer time where the number of people including kids make everything look worse than it really is. (Not the kids' fault - some adults use them as an excuse for bad behavior even when they don't have any).

 

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Edited September 1, 2015 by maywell

[mjkacmom]

We were on the BA in 2013, with over 1000 kids on board. At times. They would have signage in place stating the adult pool was adults only, and sometimes not. That was before the drowning.

[Got Tequila?]

I liked the design of the buffet on the Breakaway and Getaway, better than the Jewel class ships.

 

As for the closet in the balcony cabins, I agree if you get one of the balcony cabins that has the bed near the closet door. Luckily after reading here on Cruise Critic and looking at the deck plans there is another option.....choose a balcony cabin that has the bed near the sliding door and the sofa near the closet. That option is much better as far as getting into the closet. :)

[CanadaJulie]

As for the closet in the balcony cabins, I agree if you get one of the balcony cabins that has the bed near the closet door. Luckily after reading here on Cruise Critic and looking at the deck plans there is another option.....choose a balcony cabin that has the bed near the sliding door and the sofa near the closet. That option is much better as far as getting into the closet. :)

 

Yes I suppose this is a "work around" for the poor design. Unfortunately, we didn't have that option - we were 3 people in our room (with our bed up against the closet) and my brother next door was 4 in a cabin (sofa bed and pull down against the closet). Someone's bed was going to be against the closet

 

Maybe I should try it again with no kids ? :D

[CanadaJulie]

I have never had a problem hearing at guest services.

 

I had to go down 6 times and my brother 4 to solve a problem. We had purchased OBC from the NCL website and despite our printed confirmation, the ship had no record of it. They kept having us come back later so it took us both a total of 10 trips to guest services to sort it out. They even had me call MasterCard (not sure why, I had the printed confirmation and my online banking statement proving it was purchased and paid for). It was super noisy ! They had a dance competition going on with lots of people watching and cheering to the music - and guest services is 20 feet away.

[Moby0215]

I had to go down 6 times and my brother 4 to solve a problem. We had purchased OBC from the NCL website and despite our printed confirmation, the ship had no record of it. They kept having us come back later so it took us both a total of 10 trips to guest services to sort it out. They even had me call MasterCard (not sure why, I had the printed confirmation and my online banking statement proving it was purchased and paid for). It was super noisy ! They had a dance competition going on with lots of people watching and cheering to the music - and guest services is 20 feet away.

 

 

Yes that sounds silly that they made you go there 6 times! And I am glad you finally got that straightened out. I was just commenting that I did not have a problem hearing any time I was there. I actually like the noise. Makes it feel lively and entertaining. And I'm sure that is their intent and that most people feel that way. They would not put on such events if people were not interested in them.

 

 

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[CanadaJulie]

I actually like the noise. Makes it feel lively and entertaining. And I'm sure that is their intent and that most people feel that way. They would not put on such events if people were not interested in them.

 

I agree. People were having a blast. I watched the "battle of the sexes" in the Atrium and cheered everyone on. I just think the idea of putting those events in the same space as guest services, where people are trying to sort out problem is an odd choice.

 

Like I said, the cruise was great. But the ship was just not my favorite. Le Bistro and the casino in the same space (one floor up, but you could smell the smoke on the "terrace" of Le Bistro) - who though that was a good match ?

[liveonbeach]

Yes CanadaJulie my husband and I agree with you on everything but the adult pool. We don't want kids in the adults only pool. There aren't enough pools on ships as it is. A lot of times the kids will be in the hot tubs when they are not allowed due to age requirements, but they are always in there anyways. Can't stand it! The Breakaway was the worst style of ship we have ever been on. We said we would never do NCL again because of it. But, then I heard a lot of great reviews about the NCL Gem, so long and behold we are going on it in December. We got a super good deal with free ultimate beverage packages, so we couldn't pass it up. Carnival is known for having bigger rooms. Breakaway was very obvious that they were just trying to make more rooms on the ship so they could pack more buying cruisers in like sardines to make more money.

[GoAndHaveFun]

I like the Atrium but I wish there were more seats as the Atrium gets pretty packed during any game show. It was like if you don't show up half an hour before the event, good luck finding a seat.

 

And as for balcony rooms, if you ever take the Epic, good luck trying to slither your way to the balcony when the sofa bed is out.

 

I also agree that the location of Entourage next to Spice H2O is a bit weird. On my Breakaway review, I talked about how I didn't like invasion of underage kids at the 80's Dance Party past midnight as it ruined the vibe.

[Moby0215]

I agree. People were having a blast. I watched the "battle of the sexes" in the Atrium and cheered everyone on. I just think the idea of putting those events in the same space as guest services, where people are trying to sort out problem is an odd choice.

 

 

 

Like I said, the cruise was great. But the ship was just not my favorite. Le Bistro and the casino in the same space (one floor up, but you could smell the smoke on the "terrace" of Le Bistro) - who though that was a good match ?

 

 

People are always going to complain no matter where you allow smoking. If Le Bistro wasn't there then something else would be and you would still have complainers.

 

 

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Edited September 2, 2015 by Moby0215

[flipper32]

To me the design of 6,7,8 is great, I love that almost everything I want to go to is in close proximity. I love walking from dinner, to music, to a bar all in seconds without having to roam around the ship. I have never been on the ship when there were a ton of kids but certainly the Marketplace is a poor use of space. If you don't have kids the design works fine, you have the main pool area,H2O and the Vibe and Haven areas for people to spend sea time at.

[maywell]

To me the design of 6,7,8 is great, I love that almost everything I want to go to is in close proximity. I love walking from dinner, to music, to a bar all in seconds without having to roam around the ship. I have never been on the ship when there were a ton of kids but certainly the Marketplace is a poor use of space. If you don't have kids the design works fine, you have the main pool area,H2O and the Vibe and Haven areas for people to spend sea time at.

You remind me why that 678 area is a great setup - The Waterfront. Can literally bypass most of smoke in the casino by walking outside there and then take the stairs to wherever you want to go.

 

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[maywell]

To me the design of 6,7,8 is great, I love that almost everything I want to go to is in close proximity. I love walking from dinner, to music, to a bar all in seconds without having to roam around the ship. I have never been on the ship when there were a ton of kids but certainly the Marketplace is a poor use of space. If you don't have kids the design works fine, you have the main pool area,H2O and the Vibe and Haven areas for people to spend sea time at.

You remind me why that 678 area is a great setup - The Waterfront. Can literally bypass most of smoke in the casino by walking outside there and then take the stairs to wherever you want to go. Plus the ocean views are great to look at too.[emoji7]

 

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[Barb Nahoumi]

I have never been on the "away" ships, but the Dawn's guest service desk faces the atrium as well. When there is a performance in the atruim, the area is crowded and noisey.

[newcruiser48]

I've been on the BA three times, the last 2 were due to convenience and availability. Each time I asked myself why did I sail it again! Just my opinion....I hate the buffet, hate the pool area, the closet/bed situation is ridiculous.

All the interior public areas are way too small for the events that they try to host in them. The theater is used only for their big production shows, I truly enjoy the variety on the smaller ships.

And such a large ship with only two stair/elevator banks doesn't make sense to me either.

I do like SpiceH20 and the cushioned seating on the waterfront, but would definitely hesitate to ever book it again. Love the Gem layout so much better.

[liveonbeach]

That is great for me to hear about the Gem. Ahhh that's right, I forgot about the silliness of the elevators.

[Ms.Eva]

Yes CanadaJulie my husband and I agree with you on everything but the adult pool. We don't want kids in the adults only pool. There aren't enough pools on ships as it is. A lot of times the kids will be in the hot tubs when they are not allowed due to age requirements, but they are always in there anyways. Can't stand it! The Breakaway was the worst style of ship we have ever been on. We said we would never do NCL again because of it. But, then I heard a lot of great reviews about the NCL Gem, so long and behold we are going on it in December. We got a super good deal with free ultimate beverage packages, so we couldn't pass it up. Carnival is known for having bigger rooms. Breakaway was very obvious that they were just trying to make more rooms on the ship so they could pack more buying cruisers in like sardines to make more money.

 

I agree with you. I think the Breakaway is too small a ship for the number of passengers they have. I've been on the Queen Mary II and that ship is larger than the Breakaway but has less passengers, I've never felt like a sardine on that ship. And why do they just have two elevator banks on that ship? That seemed weird to me.

 

I almost said "no" to NCL, but we were on the Gem last December and had a great time. I love the Gem.

Edited September 2, 2015 by Ms.Eva

[liveonbeach]

Ms.Eva I'm glad you like the Gem. So you enjoyed the Queen Mary 11 as well? Is that ship too fancy though? If so, we would probably feel too out of place. We are just down to earth tee shirt and shorts type of people.