First time Breakaway, will do again

[pscozz702]

With regards to the recent tragedy on the Breakaway, the families of those involved and the crew themselves are in our thoughts and prayers.

 

Embarkation day went well. Arrived at the pier early, checked in under platinum latitudes for the first time. We were given a ticket #1 and sent to wait for boarding. Boarding started around 12:00. The ship is gorgeous and huge. Be ready to do a lot of walking. We went to check out our cabin, it wasn't ready yet but we were able to go in and take a peek. We had a mini suite with a large balcony. Cabin was average size with a large bathroom, double sink and a shower big enough for 2 with extra body jets...loved the shower. The balcony was one of the biggest balconies we ever had, however there was paint peeling off the deck. We went to lunch at Savor, service was good, food was also good, drinks were free with the UBP, however had to pay NYC port tax. The muster drill was way too long and crowded.

 

The next day DW went to use her own hairdryer and blew a fuse, issue was fixed in about an hour. Note use their hairdryer not your own. Air conditioning was not cool enough for us. Went to check out the pool and the crowd was about 6 deep to get into the main pool. We decided to go back later on and it was still packed. We went to Spice H2O and it was less crowded and we were able to get in a hot tub.

 

Day three, we ate at Cagney's for our anniversary and the wait staff sang to us and gave us a cake unfortunately dinner took longer and we missed the Rock of Ages show. The ship was very crowded and dinner took twice as long as we are used to. We now know to allow at least 2 hours for dinner.

 

Day four we arrived in Bermuda. Got a couples message which was very relaxing. We opted to stay on board and planned to go off ship later, so we went to the pool and it was like a ghost town. My DW and a few others were in the pool. That evening we took the ferry over to Front St for Harbour Nights, kind of disappointing, the were a lot of vendors and a group of dancers in the street.

 

Day five, we went to St George by ferry, then went to the Swizzle Inn by bus. Had a bunch of Rum Swizzles and then got back on the bust to Hamilton. We should have taken the ferry back to the Dockyard but took another bus instead. Big mistake there, we were in rush hour by then and the bus was packed. There was a motor vehicle accident on the route and that caused a major backup.

 

Day six, we stayed on board being that the area was crowded with all the cruise passengers between the 2 ships that were there. The pool was packed chairs were claimed by the chairhogs, so we spent most of our pool time at Spice H2O. As the bow and stern lines were being released we had 6 pier runners who made it, as we all cheered them on.

 

Day seven was a quiet day at sea. We made good use of our balcony. That night we watched a movie in the Atrium. We did not receive luggage tags and did not want to stand in the long line to get any, so we carried our luggage off.

 

Disembarkation day we ate at O'Sheehans at 6am and walked off at about 8am. My brother had a departure time of 9:15 and got off at about 10:30.

 

To summarize, this was our first time on a ship this size and the second time sailing in the summer. We felt that it was over crowded but the people were very civil. My DW and I decided to give the ship another chance and look to book a trip in February. All in all the ship was beautiful and the cabin was exceptional. The staff all over the ship were incredible, friendly, and outgoing. The crowds interfered with the enjoyment of the ship at times. The UBP was a plus. The only problem with the package is it did not cover specialty coffees, water and room service and mini bar sodas which are all under $10, so why the extra charge, NCL? Room service should not be charged extra and the extra charges on the Main Dining Room menus is a slap in the face...they should go to the specialty dining room menus.

[cincicruisers]

Thanks for sharing your review with us.

[pscozz702]

Just booked the Breakaway for February 2017, will see about a difference between summer crowds and winter. We don't normally sail when kids are out of school. I think we did it three out of twelve times, when our kids were school age.

[Bird in Jersey]

Thanks for sharing your review with us.

 

I agree. It is great to see a positive review of the Breakaway.

[lauren0309]

Thanks for your review. I will be on Breakaway in September, first time to Bermuda.

 

As for disembarking, if we want to take our own luggage off, do we have to walk off early or can we walk off up to a certain time to get off the ship. We would like to relax and then get off with our luggage.

[FM]

Thanks for the review ... how was the pricing re: the massages ... did you notice any strong smoke smell due to the smoking in the casino ...

[pscozz702]

Thanks for your review. I will be on Breakaway in September, first time to Bermuda.

 

As for disembarking, if we want to take our own luggage off, do we have to walk off early or can we walk off up to a certain time to get off the ship. We would like to relax and then get off with our luggage.

 

Short answer is yes you can relax but on this ship my DW and I feel that wouldn't be easy to do. There were just so many people to deal with, so we just wanted off and wait for our SIL to pick us up. We usually wait a while to disembark on the smaller ships however seeing the amount of people lining up to walk off was what changed us from waiting. Again not to sure how many passengers there will be on your trip but there was approximately 5000 on ours. My brother had tagged his bags for 9:15 am he got off the ship at 10:30, he was on line at 9:00 am.

 

As for this being your first time to Bermuda, you'll like it. This was my 5th time there and DW's 6th. We did our own thing, nothing booked. Tokens for bus/ferry may be cheaper than a 2 day pass, depending how many trips you take. The locals are very friendly and will help you willingly. Bermuda is one of our favorite places. Enjoy your trip.

[pscozz702]

Thanks for the review ... how was the pricing re: the massages ... did you notice any strong smoke smell due to the smoking in the casino ...

 

Our 50 minute couples message was $300 with auto gratuity, however we only get messages on ship. So don't really know a price comparison for land based spas.

There was a strong odor from the casino, we just stopped smoking 6 months ago, so we noticed it. Bad news is walking on 7 deck you go through the casino only way around it is one deck up or down. Also in Spice H2O smoking is allowed at the bar and some seating starboard side. The Waterfront

starboard side also allowed smoking, port side was smoke free. We saw a lot of people smoking on the Waterfront starboard, but then again there was very few places they could go.

[bookmama22]

In terms of disembarking you have to be out of your room by 8:30. If you want to see the skyline as the ship comes into NY and up the Hudson you will be up at 6 or so. We were up, we watched the ship pull into the slip, went to the buffet for breakfast and then we anticipated leaving at 8:30 with our luggage but watching the gangway connect to the ship from our balcony, we began seeing people walk off at 7:30 so we hustled down to deck 7 and got on line. It moved quickly, customs took no time and we grabbed a cab and made it to Penn Station in time to be on a train heading home at 8:22.

[pscozz702]

In terms of disembarking you have to be out of your room by 8:30. If you want to see the skyline as the ship comes into NY and up the Hudson you will be up at 6 or so. We were up, we watched the ship pull into the slip, went to the buffet for breakfast and then we anticipated leaving at 8:30 with our luggage but watching the gangway connect to the ship from our balcony, we began seeing people walk off at 7:30 so we hustled down to deck 7 and got on line. It moved quickly, customs took no time and we grabbed a cab and made it to Penn Station in time to be on a train heading home at 8:22.

 

We agree with getting off early, but the question asked was about taking luggage at a later time, which you could, we wouldn't, nor recommend it, the latter you wait to get off the more crowded it becomes and some one may take issue with luggage in the line.