A Different Kind of Breakaway Report 07/31-08/07 Review

[mcsb11]

Background

Family of 15 on the BA. Two of us have been on the BA in 2014. We also have a chef in the family and have a we what some may call a relatively high expectation level food-wise.

 

I hear a lot of complaints about this ship, and while some are validated, most simply can be avoided by planning and research. I'm not going to post a stereotypical day by day/minute by minute review, as theyre boring. My goal is to outline a lot of things (good, bad & inbetween) and debunk a lot of BS complaints to help future cruisers maximize their vacation.

 

It may seem like there's more bad then good listed here, but it was a great vacation. The good outweighed the bad by a big margin, since as soon as I found something bad I avoided it & went about having fun again on vacation.

 

The Good

Cagney's - This was hands down the best meal on the ship. 32oz porterhouse was on point!

Teppanyaki - While this wasn't the best hibachi meal I've ever eaten, the show was by far the best hibachi experience any of us have ever had! They let one of my nephews behind the grill and allowed him to flip an egg on the spatula. They sang, made jokes, etc. It was a great experience. Ask for Alex the chef.

Moderno B'fast & Lunch - This one I cant stress enough. Screw the Garden Café. Seriously, it's a crowded headache! I never had more than 2 or 3 people in front of my waiting for an omelet. We never had to search for a table (remember, there was 15 of us). It's a small scale version of whats upstairs. Unfort., it closes while in port. Seriously, this will save your family so many headaches!

The Waterfront - The pool has a serious crowd... so head down to the waterfront on 8. It's like being on an entirely different ship when on sea days. There's no crowds, its relaxing. Plenty of places to eat, sit, drink, smoke & relax.

Howl at the Moon - The Matt Damon lookalike and the red haired guy with the chops were incredible! The other guy was good, but these two stole the show every night. If you want a song sung, make sure you bring money. Their songs ranged from the obvious Billy Joel to Notre Dame fight songs to Nikki Minaj, Dr Dre, Charlie Daniels Band, Beatles, etc. Kudos to them for kicking arse.

The Casino Nights 1 - 3 - Let's just say that the dealers are more friendly and "lenient" the first few nights.

Rock of Ages - Sure the story line is corny, but the songs are great and they do a great job all around! I've seen this on Broadway as well. It's nearly as good.

Dessert at Le Bistro - Easily the best on the ship. And you get a French press for coffee!

Glow Party - Kudos to NCL for all the giveaways... glowsticks, lights, facepaint, etc. The kids loved this!

Manhattan Room - I regret going to Taste or Savor. Any free dining room meal should be at the MR.

Noodle Bar - I'm happy it's free now. It's a great meal.

Ropes Course / mini-golf / rock wall - Kudos to NCL for making these all free. Do yourself a favor and try to take advantage of them early on in the cruise, as the lines get loooong the second you pull away from Bermuda.

Grant at Mixx - hands down the best bartender on the ship.

Ronaldo at Maltings - Best waiter on the ship

Uptown Burger Bar - The burger bar & waffle fries are on point! At first I was annoyed that there was another "wait in line" place, but it really wasn't that bad of a wait. Don't hesitate to order extra waffle fries. This is also the only spot on the ship w Brooklyn Lager.

The Kiddie Pools - enough area for the little ones to splash around in and have fun, and were never too crowded.

 

The Bad

Dan Dan - I'll give DD kudos for being high energy, but he was never seen. And he was often difficult to understand. I hate to play the ethnicity card, but 3/4 of the employees on the ship are Philipino, as is DD and the assistant director Luz, so they blend in a lot. Contrast that to Julie, who you saw and heard everywhere on the ship. I'd swear she was a twin and there was two of her.

Second City - I love improv. I came close to joining the Upright Citizens Brigade in NYC in 2001. Their unscripted show just wasn't funny. It's like waiting 8 mins through a SNL skit in 2011 waiting for the joke to happen that never really happens, or maybe it does and you missed it cause you yawned. The adult show was as funny as a plate of rice.

Coffee - If you enjoy Kerug you might enjoy the coffee here. It's really bad coffee flavored water that gives you horrible agita. I think it's all a ploy to get you to buy coffee in the atrium.

Caesar Salad at the Manahattan - Nothing like Caesar salad soup. holy dressing batman...

iConcierge App - It crashed day 3 and never returned. I wonder how many people paid for this and didn't bother asking for a refund. They probably made thousands off of people's inability to text each other. You know NCL wont issue a unsolicited refund.

The screen at Spice H20 - Two words. Dead pixels. There's a TON of dead pixels on the screen and it's looks bad.

 

The staffs inability to know a grey area - They know black & white, which is totally fine. As a collective whole, black & white is needed, but at times the grey are is ok. For example, the guy with towels all set up and waiting til the exact minute to give them out... the ropes course guy who aggressively tries to find moisture in a neoprene bathing suit and wont let you on even though you are 99.5% dry... Not letting a 9 y/o in with his older brother in splash academy because he was not 10 before the cruise. He turned 10 during the cruise. There's plenty of other examples of little things that would make the experience much better for cruisers.

 

The intro for the Glow party - Picture a video game in 1995 with graphics on your 486 (pre-Pentium) processor. It was painfully bad.

 

Pool Waitresses - Their knowledge of English was really bad. It made ordering a drink difficult. They were also mia most of the time.

 

Bliss - I have never seen a club stop the music and put the house lights on for 10 minutes every time a drink spilled. It was the most bizarre thing I have ever seen in any club. The DJ also wasn't the best, and it was teen night all night every night. They let the 15 y/o's in early in the night and from what I can tell make little effort to kick them out. Nothing worse then dumb kids yelling "I'm waaaaasted" aimlessly.

 

The family who horded the band at Howl at the Moon - Hey we don't want to see your son play drums every night. We also don't want to see your younger son hand in song suggestions every three minutes. Maybe you could stop hogging the band and pay attention as I witnessed your son get into a fistfight in HatM while you stood around banging a tambourine. Share the love. thx.

 

Tough Guy at Shakers who wanted to fight me the last night - Kindly teach your significant other to accept an apology and not be a stereotypical housewife and cackle to her friends. When a sincere apology is offered and you keep being a chatty Kathy, of course I'm going to smugly sip my drink that I "cut in front of you" for. Apparently tough guy wanted to come to fisticuffs over this, as I insulted his wife's honor. Lol. You're on vacation.

 

The Indian food at the buffet - Seriously, why are there not Americanized Indian staples on that buffet every day? Tikka Masala, Tandori, Saag Panner, Naan, etc.

 

Ranch Dressing - They pass off tartar sauce as ranch, and its bad.

 

The wine by the glass - Two years ago, different restaurants offered different wines by the glass to match closer with the theme of the restaurant. No longer. It's the same ship-wide. A lot of the good wines by the glass are no longer, sadly.

 

The OK

The Pool - I loved dancing in the pool, relaxing and going in the hot tubs. BUT it gets realllly crowded. Every non-Bermuda day, we'd go to the pool at 7/8am and save seats. Sorry seat police, but seat holding is NOT enforced and I'm going to do what I could to ensure a good time for my family. We'd save about 5 chairs (there's 15 of us), go get coffee in the atrium, come back and go to the buffet and eat at our seats. At that point other members of our group would arrive and we'd have the seats for the day as we did pool activities. Sorry, but pool seating is a joke on the BA and it has to be done.

 

The pool band - At first I loved you, then the next day I found my zone as I almost knew what you were going to play next. Then by the end of the cruise I knew your entire setlist & skits/quips almost verbatim. Please mix it up. aaaaaa-men

Carlos at the pool - Dude...you were the leader of your group of friends and it was a lot of fun for everyone by the pool. Then you got on the mic for 4 hours and that fun went away. A career as a hype man is not in the cards for you. Hearing you scream & curse at both the adult & kid pool was pretty painful. You were fun to drink & hang out w though

The drop slides - The blue one was closed all week causing long lines. And for no real reason. The water was flowing, they just refused to operate it. Still, it's a fun ride & worth going on!

 

Tips

Rooms on the bottom of the ship are better. You're closer to most of the action and the quieter part of the ship, except for the pool.

 

Rent a scooter on Bermuda, if... If you have good vision, consider yourself a good driver & have good proactive instincts. It's much more enjoyable than public trans.

 

Find Ronaldo the waiter at Maltings outside on Deck 8. He's one of the few on the ship with personality and he does a great job!

 

Don't be shy ordering sides at Cagney's.

 

The dessert & apps at Le Bistro were better than the main courses.

 

MODERNO - spend your breakfast there and avoid the crowds of the main buffet. I cant stress this enough.

 

Sailaway - spend it on Deck 8. You wont get the crowds that are on the top of the ship, but it'll be a much more relaxing experience. Maltings for the SoL, Shakers for NYC Skyline.

 

Save seats by the pool early. Sorry seat police, but there is ZERO enforcement of the no saving rule. If you want a spot on the pool level or close by on deck 16, this is an absolute necessity.

 

Enjoy coffee outside on Deck 8. They put out coffee and Danish at Maltings in the AM. The coffee is bad, but it's a nice relaxing way to start your day.

 

If you have an issue with anything, write a letter to prem the hotel manager. He addressed an issue the next morning and called me to remedy the situation. He even sent us a bottle of wine for no reason. nice work!

 

Book an excursion ahead of time. The trips in the port fill up fast!

 

Theyre only going to be open til September, but you MUST go to SurfSUP stand up paddleboarding. You paddleboard or kayak with sea turtles... its incredible and only a 7 min cab ride away from the port.

 

There's a hidden late night buffet in the casino behind one of the craps table. It'll have crudité and wings or spring rolls. Its great for a quick snack if you don't feel like waiting at Osheehans.

 

The movies in the atrium are great. Esp if you can get a seat on the rail at OSheehans.

 

There's a liquor tasting the first night in the duty free that's good, and a Johnny Walker tasting on Tues night that's also a great time. Both are free.

 

If youre on deck 16 by the pool or even at the pool, don't fight the crowds at the pool bar, head up to the bar by Vibe on 16. It's rarely ever crowded.

 

There's a great outdoor lounge area at the front of the ship on 16 that hardly anyone knows about.

 

If you want to dance, get your dance on by the pool, not at Bliss. The DJ's are better there.

 

Book your shows ahead of time. It's better to have a reservation then left scrambling.

 

Even if a show says sold out, just show up. A ton of people no show (see above) and you can always get a seat. Esp in the theatre. The comedy show will be difficult, but youre not missing much there.

 

If you're an old school cruiser, you'll enjoy the Manhattan Room over Taste/Savor.

 

I prefer the Fwd of the ship compared to the Aft. It's easier to get off the ship in Bermuda and the Fwd seems to have more going on, relative to the Aft.

 

Take the Aft elevators when disembarking in NYC. It'll put you in a shorter line, and you wont have to wait in a longer baggage line when you get off the ship and on the pier.

 

Don't try to take public transportation in Bermuda on Day 1 unless you want to wait in line for a long time. I'm talking 1-2hrs to get on a bus, then if you go to Horseshoe, another 60-90 mins in line to get back. DONT DO IT

 

Speaking of Horseshoe, skip it Day 1. Go to Elbow instead. It's a much nicer & quieter beach.

 

If you go to Horseshoe, take the mini-bus, as they take you to the bottom of the hill.

----------------

 

That's about all I have for now. I'll be happy to honestly answer any questions you may have.

[TheDougOut]

Rent a scooter on Bermuda, if... If you have good vision, consider yourself a good driver & have good proactive instincts. It's much more enjoyable than public trans.

 

I've cruised three times to Bermuda, and on at least two of the trips there were passengers that sustained serious injuries from scooter accidents. On our last trip, our private tour was stopped in traffic for close to an hour due to a local sustaining serious injury from a scooter accident.

 

I'm not arguing with your suggestion - just want to make sure the other side is shared. Most cruisers to the island are aware of the risks.

 

That is all. Nice review! :)

[mcsb11]

Understandable... I wouldn't recommend it to anyone with slow instincts, reaction time or vision. You also have the ability to remember to look in the opposite direction each and every time.

[easyboy]

Thanks for your honest review.

[mirp]

Great info. Thank you.

[redsox_nation]

Great review - laughed at various parts. Other than the scooter, what options besides public transportation exist?

[mcsb11]

Great review - laughed at various parts. Other than the scooter, what options besides public transportation exist?

 

Thanks! Your other options are bus, ferry, taxi or mini bus.

You can get a daily pass that allows you to use the bus and ferry as much as you want. Just don't do that day 1. You will absolutely regret waiting in line.

 

The mini bus aka minivan taxis are $7 pp each way. It's more $, but def worth it day 1.

 

The thing most people don't realize about the busses is that they're the island bus system. They don't add extra busses for the cruises & they also stop at all the stops. Some don't have AC. it's not a good experience.

 

If you have the confidence and the things I mentioned above, a scooter is the best bet.

[mom2tcdx2]

Nice review, we will be going in October and really looking to sailing on the Breakaway again.

 

At least I know we don't really like hanging out around the pool, personally huge packs of people just aren't my thing and I am not crazy about swimming. I have purchased though the thermal spa passes for hubby and I, hoping that will help to give us a nice place to relax.

 

Do you happen to recall if the Noodle Bar was open for lunch, I have seen a few reviews that said it wasn't and some of the dailies didn't seem to show it open, while NCL shows it is available for both lunch and dinner. My son will be really disappointed if not open for lunch.

[NLH Arizona]

 

The staffs inability to know a grey area - They know black & white, which is totally fine. As a collective whole, black & white is needed, but at times the grey are is ok. For example, the guy with towels all set up and waiting til the exact minute to give them out... the ropes course guy who aggressively tries to find moisture in a neoprene bathing suit and wont let you on even though you are 99.5% dry... Not letting a 9 y/o in with his older brother in splash academy because he was not 10 before the cruise. He turned 10 during the cruise. There's plenty of other examples of little things that would make the experience much better for cruisers.

 

I realize that in our everyday life, we have gray areas that we might be able to skip through rules or times, but on a ship there are times and rules the crew have to abide by, because they are instructed to do so and their jobs depend on what they do or don't do. The towel guy could open early, but what about the next day when he is not ready and folks are yelling at him, because he opened up early yesterday. The suit was not 100% dry, so does he let someone go who is 99.5% dry, what about the next person who is only 98% dry, he has to do what he is told to do and what is safe for everyone and obviously he was told 100% dry. The splash academy has strict rules and if they make an exception for one, then they have to make an exception for everyone, where should they draw the line.

[bam1957]

[quote=mcsb11;50748765

 

 

The Bad

Dan Dan - I'll give DD kudos for being high energy, but he was never seen. And he was often difficult to understand. I hate to play the ethnicity card, but 3/4 of the employees on the ship are Philipino, as is DD and the assistant director Luz, so they blend in a lot. Contrast that to Julie, who you saw and heard everywhere on the ship. I'd swear she was a twin and there was two of her.

 

I was on the same sailing and I must agree about Dan Dan and his sidekick. NEVER saw them and everything that they hosted they had absolutely NO personalities. He was the worst Cruise Director that I've had in my prior NCL cruises.

[mcsb11]

Nice review, we will be going in October and really looking to sailing on the Breakaway again.

 

At least I know we don't really like hanging out around the pool, personally huge packs of people just aren't my thing and I am not crazy about swimming. I have purchased though the thermal spa passes for hubby and I, hoping that will help to give us a nice place to relax.

 

Do you happen to recall if the Noodle Bar was open for lunch, I have seen a few reviews that said it wasn't and some of the dailies didn't seem to show it open, while NCL shows it is available for both lunch and dinner. My son will be really disappointed if not open for lunch.

 

No noodle bar for lunch. Sorry. When it was a pay restaurant it was open for lunch... No longer

[mom2tcdx2]

No noodle bar for lunch. Sorry. When it was a pay restaurant it was open for lunch... No longer

 

Well that is really crappy, especially since NCL still shows it as a lunch option on their website. My son has the dining package so no need for that place for dinner. He really liked grabbing a quick bite for lunch or mid afternoon.

[Clarea]

Nicely structured review, thanks!

[mcsb11]

I realize that in our everyday life, we have gray areas that we might be able to skip through rules or times, but on a ship there are times and rules the crew have to abide by, because they are instructed to do so and their jobs depend on what they do or don't do. The towel guy could open early, but what about the next day when he is not ready and folks are yelling at him, because he opened up early yesterday. The suit was not 100% dry, so does he let someone go who is 99.5% dry, what about the next person who is only 98% dry, he has to do what he is told to do and what is safe for everyone and obviously he was told 100% dry. The splash academy has strict rules and if they make an exception for one, then they have to make an exception for everyone, where should they draw the line.

 

I figured I'd get at least one fanboy response to this. Clearly the volume of people on a ship warrants said rules and guidelines and I'm all for it. It's just the little idiotic things that drive me nuts.

 

For example... And I'm going to get a wee bit crude here, so forgive me. The dampness in my under region from waiting in a 25 min line in 90+degree/ full humidity was night and day wetter then the alleged "wet" bathing suit. It's one thing to go up there noticibly wet. It's another thing to kick a kid out of line because you slid your hand under his neoprene bathing suit looking for water. Sorry, but that's a nonsensical power trip.

 

----

And to the other commenter regarding dan dan. I'm glad I wasn't the only person who thought that.

[NLH Arizona]

I figured I'd get at least one fanboy response to this. Clearly the volume of people on a ship warrants said rules and guidelines and I'm all for it. It's just the little idiotic things that drive me nuts.

 

For example... And I'm going to get a wee bit crude here, so forgive me. The dampness in my under region from waiting in a 25 min line in 90+degree/ full humidity was night and day wetter then the alleged "wet" bathing suit. It's one thing to go up there noticibly wet. It's another thing to kick a kid out of line because you slid your hand under his neoprene bathing suit looking for water. Sorry, but that's a nonsensical power trip.

 

----

And to the other commenter regarding dan dan. I'm glad I wasn't the only person who thought that.

My comments had nothing to do with liking NCL or not, it had to do with rules are rules. Hopefully if you cruise again, they will allow all those who want to do the ropes course with wet bathing suits just go and safety be darned.

[redsox_nation]

Thanks! Your other options are bus, ferry, taxi or mini bus.

 

You can get a daily pass that allows you to use the bus and ferry as much as you want. Just don't do that day 1. You will absolutely regret waiting in line.

 

 

 

The mini bus aka minivan taxis are $7 pp each way. It's more $, but def worth it day 1.

 

 

 

The thing most people don't realize about the busses is that they're the island bus system. They don't add extra busses for the cruises & they also stop at all the stops. Some don't have AC. it's not a good experience.

 

 

 

If you have the confidence and the things I mentioned above, a scooter is the best bet.

 

 

 

Excellent advice, thanks. I've jotted down some names of minibus/minivan taxi companies to use.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[mcsb11]

My comments had nothing to do with liking NCL or not, it had to do with rules are rules. Hopefully if you cruise again, they will allow all those who want to do the ropes course with wet bathing suits just go and safety be darned.

 

 

(yawns)

[mom2tcdx2]

So I gotta say I am mildly curious as to why a bathing suit can't be damp on the ropes course? Nor do I think any staff member should touch your suit to attempt to find out - comes quite a difference when suddenly feeling up a guy or a girl.

[TheDougOut]

So I gotta say I am mildly curious as to why a bathing suit can't be damp on the ropes course? Nor do I think any staff member should touch your suit to attempt to find out - comes quite a difference when suddenly feeling up a guy or a girl.

 

I can think of a couple reasons. First off, you have to wear a tight fitting harness, which will absorb moisture from a wet suit. Not exactly fair for the next person if you're wearing a wet suit. Also... a wet suit could drip... and it's probably not a great idea to leave a trail of water behind on a balance course.

 

In my experience, those that are concerned about being groped have the least to worry about.

[riclop]

Thanks for the review.

[Mandy412]

I get the point that you were displeased that the CD was mia however why does that have anything to do with the cruise staff being mostly Filipino? That first sentence or two about the ethnicity card didn't make sense to me.

[mcsb11]

I can think of a couple reasons. First off, you have to wear a tight fitting harness, which will absorb moisture from a wet suit. Not exactly fair for the next person if you're wearing a wet suit. Also... a wet suit could drip... and it's probably not a great idea to leave a trail of water behind on a balance course.

 

In my experience, those that are concerned about being groped have the least to worry about.

 

Good point... But the sweat dripping off the harness is pretty bad. Esp on hot days

[ilovewdw]

This is a great review! I loved the way you separated it into GOOD, BAD, etc. I have cruised the Breakaway 4 times already, with my 5th Breakaway cruise booked for October. I'm really shocked on your thoughts about DanDan, though! I've had him on the Gem and to date, he was THE BEST Cruise Director we've ever had out of 22 cruises! Maybe he's still getting used to the size of BA? :confused: And funny, I've had Julie a few times and dare I say I can't stand her?!?!? ;)

 

Thanks again for a great review! :cool:

[mom2tcdx2]

I have to say I have never really cared about who the CD's are, though I can say on every NCL cruise I have been on I have no idea who they were and cant really recall anything about them.

 

I can also only really recall like 2 of the CD's on my Carnival cruises that were pretty memorable. Overall they just aren't something I pay attention.

 

Though often depending on where someone is from their can be quite a bit more difficult to understand, and if you have staff that overall doesn't speak English really well or have very strong accents they can be difficult. I work with a lady from the Philippines and even though I have worked with her for 16 years I still quite often have to get her to repeat herself as I don't get what she is saying.

[Aldeya]

This is a great review! I loved the way you separated it into GOOD, BAD, etc. I have cruised the Breakaway 4 times already, with my 5th Breakaway cruise booked for October. I'm really shocked on your thoughts about DanDan, though! I've had him on the Gem and to date, he was THE BEST Cruise Director we've ever had out of 22 cruises! Maybe he's still getting used to the size of BA? :confused: And funny, I've had Julie a few times and dare I say I can't stand her?!?!? ;)

 

Thanks again for a great review! :cool:

 

Same here. I loved DanDan on Gem and I couldn't stand Julie on Breakaway.

 

To us a great Cruise Director makes a huge difference in cruise experience.

 

We had Kevin Spacey on RCL years ago and to this day this was one of the best cruises we took. We still laugh when we remember his Love and Marriage show! I know people who tried to book a cruise when this CD was on board :)

 

There was another great CD on Grandeur, Eric (don't remember his last name). He was everywhere and he was SO much fun!

 

Great memories.