A week on the Breakaway Feb 28- March 6 2016

[JustCRuSIN37]

Day 1.....arrival time was 9:30am so we parked the car a few blocks away and they drove us to the terminal to begin the check in process. They also gave us huge apples upon arrival, I guess that's what you get in the BIG apple.The service to the terminal was great. Check in, once we left our bags curbside after we hand wrote our luggage labels (I suggest pre printing them so you can drop and go) we waited in line to get through security for sometime maybe 30-45 minutes. It was a stand still line and the security lines were not ready for us to come through yet. Once the security personnel were in place it went quickly. We then headed to the service counter to receive our key cards which also moved slow but nothing too bad! We then started to board the ship at 12pm. Once on board we headed right to the room to drop off our carry on and check out the much talked about AFT room and balcony (9918) Our cabin steward Maria came to meet us and was perfect from start to finish, she knew our names from day one and never forgot them! We went to O'Sheehan's for a quick lunch and of course some drinks! My favorite was the rebellious fish!!! YUMMY We explored the top deck and walked around taking many pictures to last a life time. For sail away our entire group headed to the AFT balcony and hung out and made friends with our HAVEN neighbors who popped some bubbly and shared with us for sail away! They also showed us their room which was impressive, I was most envious of the bath tub and view from it! The views from the AFT leaving NYC were simply AMAZING! We enjoyed some hot tub time before dinner which was great fun! We went to the Manhattan room for dinner and it was good but we found that the we were sitting for hours at dinner.

 

 

 

 

 

Day 2.....woke up to go to the gym and WOW what a busy place. Every machine was taken and there was a wait. The gym was small and very hot to the point where I could not tolerate working out. Way to crowded and no ventilation for so many people on the ship. It was too windy that day to use the jogging track so that was out for that day but proved to be somewhat of a better choice in comparison to the stuffy gym that felt more like a sauna. The weather was mild today so we decided to find a spot in h20 and we did after much rearranging of the deck furniture! We tucked our group away next to the women's room and it was the perfect spot. The service was great here and we found ourselves a waiter to come back and forth with drinks (a little $$$ went a long way and you could tell he appreciated us acknowledging his service!) Yes tip are included but we found a little extra didn't hurt to get the service that we wanted (who wants to get up and get a drink while on vacation!?!) After sitting in our new found area we decided to go to UPTOWN for lunch and this was the place to be for lunch! The BEST burgers made to order and the salads there are not to be missed it was my favorite meal of the day, everyday! We spent a little time in the hot tubs before dinner at savor and it was okay but again we sat for 2 hours which just made us tired and cranky.

 

Day 3 Florida.....

 

Breakfast to start the day at uptown then to our spot on H20 by the women room so we can enjoy the sun and waterfall wadding pool. Our friendly bartender returned and made life so wonderful for us that day. The waiter kept the drinks coming and along with our drinks he brought us water to keep us hydrated! We arrived to Port Canaveral on time at or a little before 1pm. We decided to stay on the ship and enjoy it with less people. In my opinion not enough time to enjoy any of the parks and if I would have went to Cocoa beach but I have spent a lot of time there during my college years. We had the perfect day on the ship and really enjoyed the service we received all day from Shareesh!!! (I’m not sure I spelled his name correctly) We had lunch again at the garden that day and brought it to H20. Buffet was really good this day. Mixed steamed veggies and some really great Asian dishes. After the pool we headed to the hot tubs and enjoyed our time for about 2 hours. When we first got there the hot tubs were flooded with kids even though it states clearly on a sign “adults only” After about a half hour the kids moved to an empty hot tub. We received great drink service while in the hot tub too! After the hot tub it was dinner time and again we sat for HOURS (it felt like) the food was okay but the time wasted while sitting and eating was unreal.

 

 

Day 4 Great Stirrup Cay, Bahamas…..

 

What a great experience we had while on the private island!!!! We took the first tender (A) and were the first to arrive to the beach. We booked this tender the first day on the boat! Front row seat to enjoy the crystal clear water. We rented mats and floats and had to be security for everyone else who wanted to take them all day long. Annoying to say the least. We decided to see if there were any spots left for jet skiing that day and we lucked out!!! The process was long and annoying(paper work and safety videos) BUT so worth it in the end!!! The tour was amazing and the guides brought us all around and even stopping for a quick swim in waist deep water. The guides pulled live star fish out for us to hold, they were huge! I would say that this tour is not for people who have never been on a jet ski before as they don't like going under 25 MPH. I was frustrated several times at other people’s inexperience even though they try to line you up according to experience people do not get in line the correct way. A must do if you’ve been on a jet ski before and want to have some fun! We went back to the beach after our excursion and had a couple of drinks and a very attentive server to keep the drinks flowing! He was excellent! We had a quick hot dog at the stand to hold us over until the buffet line slowed down. After our “snack” we floated on our mats and enjoyed some time in the water. It was crystal clear in the morning but once more people were swimming and wadding in the water it became mucky but still very enjoyable! We sat and lounged and headed up to the buffet at 2pm with no line and really awesome food! We resumed the usual drinking and lounging after lunch and even took a nap before heading back to the ship. Waiting for the tender took about 15 minutes and once you were close they had water and cold wash cloths for you to wash off with. It was quite nice to have at the end of a long day of fun. When we got back on the ship we explored our dinner choices and decided to go to Le Bistro for something different. Let me just say that is was not worth it at all. Food was super salty, almost not edible. French onion soup was so salty I had to drink water with each bite. My husbands meal of scallops was as small if not smaller than the appetizer he only received 4 :(!!!! My meal of veal was not bad but after a couple of bites I found a hair!!!! SO GROSS. I informed the server and she was so sorry, I cant blame her but i was so disgusted! The manager came out apologized and took my meal off the bill and gave us a complimentary bottle of champagne. We took it with us after we got the bill and enjoyed it the next night!

 

 

Day 5 Nassau Bahamas

 

We decided that we really wanted to have a beach day in the Bahamas rather than go to Atlantis and spend a ton of extra money. Prior to getting on the ship I did a lot of reviews on what beach to go to. Cable beach seemed great but everything was extra and many reviews said the water is not always safe to swim in. So we did a ton of reviews on Junkanoo beach and the Tiki Bikini Hut and decided to give it a try. We walked off the ship and were hounded by locals trying to get us to all different places so we just said no thank you and continued our walk to Junkanoo. There were a lot of shops along the way and decided to check them out on our walk back. Once we arrived to the Tiki Bikini Hut the owner Byron greeted us and asked us what we wanted. We told him that we saw all of the great reviews on trip advisor and he gave us an unbelievable deal!!!! for $65 we received 2 beach chairs, an umbrella, lunch for 2, 12 drinks, 4 shots and a view of the cruise ships in port and crystal clear water. Byron then introduced us to our waiter for the day DIVA…..wow what service he provided us for the day!!!!! He made us feel like royalty and we tipped him for his amazing service! The lunch was awesome I had the jerk chicken with rice and plantains. They every gave us a sample of fried conch for free just because we were curious if we would like it. It was good just not what I wanted to eat. We were so glad we found this place and will be back if we ever visit Nassau again! There were locals selling items on the beach but if you said no they left and did not bug you at all. We bought a couple of things for our children back home. Once we had enough of the beach we decided to hit Señor Frogs for an appetizer and drink, we were seated in a nice spot and enjoyed our time there. The walk back to the ship was fine but the locals this time were awful at hounding us. The straw market was the WORST I was sorry I even entered it. I do not like pushy people and these people were breathing down your neck to buy. I left all of my jewelry on the ship and I was glad I did because I didn't feel safe on the walk back, I felt like I was being profiled the entire time. Arriving back to the ship was fun and they had water and ice pops and also the cool cloths. They had loud music and a line of NCL workers greeting you as you arrived back, it was a lot of fun! We went back to our rooms and showered and the whole crew met on our AFT balcony for a sail away party. We sure do know how to have fun! Remember that bottle of champagne we got???? we popped it open as we were sailing away and saying until next time Nassau….the cork flew into the water and we had a great time with our friends. Rather than waste hours at dinner we decided to eat at the garden buffet so we didn't have to sit and eat all night. The food is good and they even have a bar to order drinks at. We then spent the rest of the night exploring the ship and going to different places and looking through our photos. We ended our night at O’Sheehans where we played ski ball, basketball and darts. The drinks were good and Bliss was fun when we popped in to check it out!

 

 

Day 6 at SEA……

 

Well what can I say about his day…..we woke up to have breakfast and the ship was moving BAD, thank god I brought dramamine with me or I would have been in trouble. I ate and headed back to the room and lounged on the balcony in the sun and read my book. It was tricky walking around the ship so I stayed put until lunch. When lunch time came we headed to UPTOWN for salads and burgers (MY FAVORITE PLACE FOR SALADS AND BURGERS) :) I spent most of this day in bed and on the balcony as the movement of the ship was really getting to me. The weather was nice and the sun was warm so having a quite day wasn't so bad. Tonight we were celebrating a birthday so we decided on Teppanyaki’s. It was awesome and one of the best meals I have ever had!!!!!! The atmosphere was great and made the time fly by. The fried rice was fantastic and the filet melted in your mouth! Others with us had the lobster and they said it was amazing. We ended our dinner with a cake from Carlos Bake Shop and it was very good despite people saying its not! I was pleasantly surprised on how fresh the cake was being it was loaded on the ship when we left port on day 1. If you do a specialty dining this is one not to be missed!!!!!

 

Day 7 at SEA…….

 

Another choppy day where I thank god I had dramamine to get me through it. Lots of lounging around. We went to UPTOWN again for lunch as it sure not to disappoint. It was such cooler today so we stayed inside for the day. We had dinner at O’Sheehans but sat down and had food off of the full menu. Portions were small so we ordered a couple of things off the menu and then went to the dueling piano show for our last night on the ship! The dueling pianos was located in the headliners club and was so much fun. We had a blast and went out with a bang. We also bought our alcohol this night too as we didn't have to have it checked and could bring it right back to the room. The ship wasn’t moving as much that night so that was a relief too. Hubby and I left around 12am grab some food at O’Sheehans and went to bed.

 

DISEMBARKATION……

 

We decided to carry our own luggage off which was a way easier process in my opinion. We took the elevator down and got into line which was pretty long and wrapped through the casino. The line did move quickly and the process wasn't bad at all. Once we got into the terminal we had to wait for costumes to be ready for us we did a lot of waiting to get down the escalator. Once we got down the escalator things moved quickly because we had our luggage and didn't have to wait for it. Going through customs was a breeze! We then walked 5 blocks to get our car and waited for our car for about 2 hours. We parked here to save money but it was not worth it all, I would much rather pay the extra $60 to be able to get right into the car and leave rather than wait the amount of time that we did. We would never park at this location again!

 

Entertainment that we enjoyed….

 

*Dueling pianos

*Bliss Night Club after 11pm

*Dance parties at H20

*Rock of Ages

*Shakers martini bar….AWESOME chocolate martinis! (not on the menu)

*The gelato at Carlos was very good, melted quick but I managed to keep up with it!

*waterslides were a lot of fun!

[Clarea]

Enjoyed the report, thank-you.

[Yorkvillain]

Loved your review. Thanks.

Edited March 30, 2016 by Yorkvillain

[Keith1010]

Thank you for your very nice report.

 

Keith

[KirkNC]

Thanks for your report, we find self disembarkation to be the way to go as well.

[darrengs]

Great review, sounds like you had fun. Where did you park? Trying to figure where to park next week.

Edited March 30, 2016 by darrengs

[Cruise-mom]

Nice report :)

[JustCRuSIN37]

Great review, sounds like you had fun. Where did you park? Trying to figure where to park next week.

 

It was called Park Right

670 W 43rd St, New York City, NY 10036

(between 11th & 12th Ave)

Office Telephone: (212) 247-7303

AVOID it all all costs!

[JustCRuSIN37]

Thanks for your report, we find self disembarkation to be the way to go as well.

 

Absolutely! It seemed like chaos to get your luggage once you got there!

[cruiserider444]

how was was Junkanoo beach? how long did it take to walk?

[JustCRuSIN37]

how was was Junkanoo beach? how long did it take to walk?

 

Junkanoo beach was small but we enjoyed it. We went to the tiki bikini hut and Byron took amazing care of us for the day. Walk took about 10 minutes. Leave valuables in safe as I feel profiled on the walk over. Once we were there the locals were fine no one harassed us, but they did show us some jewelry and such. We did say no a couple of times and no one took offense to it. Our waiter DIVA was great and we did tip in small amounts throughout the day. Our thought was we paid so much for the cruise why pay hundreds more for extras. If we went to Atlantis it would have been 300 extra, I could justify it.

[cyndepet]

Nice review - we sailed the week after you and had a great time as well!

[April42749]

I've been to Junkanoo Beach many times. It's a short walk and I never felt "profiled" (whatever that means) on the way over.

 

The walk is on a relatively busy street, so if anyone attacks, just scream for help. :)

 

You're always going to get locals trying to sell you their stuff, no matter what island you're on.

 

It's safe, convenient and nice.

[darrengs]

It was called Park Right

670 W 43rd St, New York City, NY 10036

(between 11th & 12th Ave)

Office Telephone: (212) 247-7303

AVOID it all all costs!

 

Thanks for the heads up, I was looking into using them, but won't now. :)

Edited March 30, 2016 by darrengs

[JustCRuSIN37]

I've been to Junkanoo Beach many times. It's a short walk and I never felt "profiled" (whatever that means) on the way over.

 

The walk is on a relatively busy street, so if anyone attacks, just scream for help. :)

 

You're always going to get locals trying to sell you their stuff, no matter what island you're on.

 

It's safe, convenient and nice.

 

Once we got to the beach it was great, safe and a nice short walk however we had several issues on the way back to the ship, I simply wanted to buy my children a small souvenir and it was a little uncomfortable to do so specifically at the straw market, I had people literally breathing down my neck and trying to grab my hand to look at there things. I wanted to look at my leisure not at their demands! I have been to many islands and this was a first for me. On the dailies it warns of crime on the island I am simply saying to be aware. I would go back again but I would not go through the straw market again. There is crime everywhere you just can't close your eyes to it.

[JustCRuSIN37]

Thanks for the heads up, I was looking into using them, but won't now. :)

 

No problem, my husband and I sailed this ship before and parked at the pier and it was much more convenient not to have to wait for our car. One car came out damaged and the manager had to attend to that issue so maybe that was the reason for the hold up. It would be worth the extra $$$ to be able to throw the luggage in the car and go.

Edited March 30, 2016 by JustCRuSIN37

[AFTerHour]

Very nice detailed report!

[Stress]

Thanks for the nice report - we are in room 9920 to Bermuda in May - did you watch the sailaway from NY on your Balcony? Just wondering if you can see everything..

[JustCRuSIN37]

Thanks for the nice report - we are in room 9920 to Bermuda in May - did you watch the sailaway from NY on your Balcony? Just wondering if you can see everything..

 

Yes, we watched it from

The balcony and we saw everything it was amazing! Our friends were in 9920:) have an awesome trip, we want to do Bermuda some day. I'd love to be in one spot for 3 days. You can enjoy the island that way!

[April42749]

Once we got to the beach it was great, safe and a nice short walk however we had several issues on the way back to the ship, I simply wanted to buy my children a small souvenir and it was a little uncomfortable to do so specifically at the straw market, I had people literally breathing down my neck and trying to grab my hand to look at there things. I wanted to look at my leisure not at their demands! I have been to many islands and this was a first for me. On the dailies it warns of crime on the island I am simply saying to be aware. I would go back again but I would not go through the straw market again. There is crime everywhere you just can't close your eyes to it.

 

In general, the problem with "straw markets" is that 1000 vendors all have the same junk and they all want your business.

 

I don't care for the one in Nassau because it's so large and as I recall, kind of dim inside. If I'm in the mood to buy junk I'd rather do it on one of the shops on the street and pay a little more.

 

I'd actually avoid bringing kids in there (small kids that is) because it's like a maze. If you get separated you'd have trouble finding each other, because every stand looks the same.

[donnaciccolini]

Thanks for all the great info. Just a quick question about Junkaroo. I have an elder dad and an autistic son is it truly a 10 minute walk or should I take a cab? Personally I don't mind walking but don't want chaios before I get there if you know what I mean. lol Do you prepay for everything before you enter the beach? So excited !!

[April42749]

Thanks for all the great info. Just a quick question about Junkaroo. I have an elder dad and an autistic son is it truly a 10 minute walk or should I take a cab? Personally I don't mind walking but don't want chaios before I get there if you know what I mean. lol Do you prepay for everything before you enter the beach? So excited !!

 

I'm a really slow walker...and from the terminal it takes me 15 minutes at most.

 

However....there is a long walk from the ship to the terminal (I think longer than the walk to the beach)

 

You don't prepay for anything. It's a public beach with some concessions.

Edited March 31, 2016 by April42749

[JustCRuSIN37]

Thanks for all the great info. Just a quick question about Junkaroo. I have an elder dad and an autistic son is it truly a 10 minute walk or should I take a cab? Personally I don't mind walking but don't want chaios before I get there if you know what I mean. lol Do you prepay for everything before you enter the beach? So excited !!

 

Is your dad able to walk well? I'm a quick walker but lets say 15 tops maybe 20 if you really take your time. I agree completely about chaos! You want to relax on vacation. I decided to go to the tiki bikini beach bar and Bryon greeted us and asked us what we wanted for the day, we went with the unlimited package for $65 for the day for two people, he had one of his staff members set us up on the beach. They have a nice lounge area outside to sit in while they set up. Feel free to ask more questions. Let me know how it goes :)