Breakaway New Years Cruise Review

[drb116]

My family and I are just off the Breakaway today and I felt like sharing some thoughts, partly because there are so many harsh critics of the Breakaway, but it is a very nice boat.

 

Before I begin, let me give you a little background. This was our 17th family cruise, 2nd on NCL. Most of the others have been Disney, RCL, and a few Carnival. My two boys are 9 and 7 and have been cruising for the past 5 years.

 

Let me start with the one thing that consistently blows us away: the Splash Academy (kids club) staff. I cannot say enough good things about them. As I mentioned we have been on all the major family cruise lines, and this is the only one where my kids ask to go to the club and never want to get picked up. The staff knows their names, are very friendly with the kids, and professional with the parents.

 

The other thing that we absolutely find top notch is the entertainment. From top to bottom, the Breakaway has great entertainment. We love Rock of Ages and Howl at the Moon and saw both multiple times. They also had a top notch headliner with Donna Vivino singing Broadway show tunes. I appreciated Burn the Floor, but it is not my cup of tea (although my mom loves it). The lounge singers and the performers in the Manhattan room also add to the level of entertainment.

 

I usually never get into food, because I think it is subjective and it depends on what you ordered. I would say that I found the selection of items in the main dining rooms felt 'cheaper' than other cruise lines. For example, on our last few RCL cruises, you would find escargot every night, but you don't see anything like that. We just found the selection much less impressive. The other dining compliant was that the service at the specialty restaurants felt very ordinary. Maybe this is the norm for NCL, but on other cruise lines, when eating at a specialty restaurant, you felt like you were in a top notch restaurant. Drinks were slow/forgotten, dishes missing items, etc. On NCL, it felt like the main dining room of other cruise lines.

 

On the positive side, I thought the buffet was better than other cruise lines. I feel like they are trying to encourage people to eat dinner in the buffet and they do a good making the food comparable. I also thought the food at O'Sheehan's took a big step up since the last time. One of the bartenders mentioned to me that they increased the quality to make up for the lose of the Uptown Grill, and in our experience this was true.

 

I also want to give a positive plug to Margaritaville. Yes, I missed the uptown grill, but this was one of our favorite hangouts. Most days we just got a drink at the bar where we found the best/friendliest bartender on the ship. it was never crowded and she did a great job with the drinks. We didn't order burgers, but got some appetizers a few times.

 

Ok, here are a couple of complaints that I have, and some of them may be minor, but I wanted to mention them because it is a lot of small things that add up to make a difference. First, outside of the Youth Counselors, I don't think any of the staff ever say good morning, or even Happy New Year. This is in stark contrast to a line like Disney, where you can't walk past a staff member without getting a smile and a pleasant greeting.

 

The family programing got much worse since the last time we were on the boat. Last time was when they still had the Nickelodeon contract and they had things like Nick family crafts, Nick family trivia, Nick TV channels, etc. I figured they would be replaced with general activities, however there were no family crafts that I saw (other than balloon twisting), no family trivia, and not a single kid oriented TV station.

 

Along similar lines, they devoted a large amount of programming staff to activities that they know are not going to be well attended or canceled. Both the first and last day it was too cold and windy for the ropes course, yet they had they activities scheduled and didn't offer any alternative programs when they were canceled. That along with the lack of family activities made it a little hard to find things to do together.

 

The Breakaway continues to be a great ship, however with some of the cuts in the programing that we saw, it is no longer one of our top ships. We have been on the Anthem and the Breakaway and rated the Breakaway better than the Anthem before this cruise, but would now put the Anthem ahead of the Breakaway. The Breakaway is the clear winner on entertainment, but the Anthem now has a small edge on programming and all those little things help make the Anthem a little better experience.

[irishcoll]

Hi thanks for the review I've been on the breakaway just a few sailings after its maiden sailing and enjoyed it tremendously and saddened to hear that it may have suffered a set back especially in its hospitality! I'm currently booked on the anthem 4/2/2017 can you give me any advise? Or for that matter tips on making it extra special.

 

 

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[shelnj18]

I also was on the same cruise. We were two adults so I can't say much about Splash Academy other than the fact that our room was on 12 and there was always a long line of excited kids waiting to go in. We had some issues with cancellations as well. We were scheduled for Cirque at 7 one night and were informed that that show had been cancelled and we were rebooked on a different night. We were also signed up for The Second City on Saturday night at 9 and that was cancelled (Howl at the Moon played from 9-1) and rebooked. It wasn't a major deal for us, however I was never sure why Cirque was cancelled and when we asked, we never got a straight answer. Other than that, we had a great cruise and learned a lot from last year when we did this same cruise. We didn't fight the crowds getting off at GSC and chose to stay on the ship. My biggest complaint is the theater seats. They are awful and I don't enjoy sitting in them to watch the shows. Aside from that, we had a really great time!

[Nola26]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts. We haven't sailed the Breakaway yet, but have sailed the Getaway. My mother expressed interest in the Bermuda sailing so we'll sail either the Breakaway or Dawn for that trip.

 

I was on the Dawn for the Christmas cruise and although it isn't something I would order escargot was on the MDR menu as an appetizer, not sure why it missed being on a Breakaway menu.

 

As for planning alternate activities we had a pretty rainy day at Harvest Caye so more people remained on the ship than normal on a port day. There were a number of activities added onboard for the day, sorry you didn't have a similar experience.

 

I also found the crew attentive to saying Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays. Hopefully that wasn't a downer for your trip.

 

The food at OSheehan's was much better on the Dawn than on the Getway in 2015, hopefully it is a trend.

 

I joined in an origami session, family activity. We made frogs that could jump and then had a race at the end.

 

Thanks for sharing your experiences.

[easyboy]

Thank you for your objective review.

[Casino Comp Chick]

I was on this sailing and could not believe what I was seeing in Bliss on New Years Eve. A kid no older then 10 years old was going around drinking people's left over drinks. After chugging a drink he found 2 chairs over from me (& that's what caught my eye) He looked at the 3 glasses of cheap champagne I had on the chair and I said to the little brat "Don't you dare" and he kept on walking. As I was leaving the club I spot the kid with 2 adults and I asked one "is this your son?" She said yes and I told her he was going around drinking everyone's leftover drinks. She looks dead at me and said "OH NO, NOT MY SON" I put my hands up and said "oh my mistake" I walk two feet and ran into my friends and I said loud enough for the mother to hear "I hope that kid pukes all over her bed tonight". It seems a lot of people were talking about that kid (as well as another incident I won't say because it involves criminal charges) the next day because the only person that did not see what the kid was doing was his dear darling mommy dearest.

What annoyed me most about the mother is I am not a teenager or child and come on.....how many random strangers would come and tell you something like this without it being true.

Edited January 4, 2017 by Casino Comp Chick

[luckyinpa]

. I appreciated Burn the Floor, but it is not my cup of tea (although my mom loves it). The lounge singers and the performers in the Manhattan room also add to the level of entertainment.

 

I usually never get into food, because I think it is subjective and it depends on what you ordered. I would say that I found the selection of items in the main dining rooms felt 'cheaper' than other cruise lines. For example, on our last few RCL cruises, you would find escargot every night, but you don't see anything like that.

 

 

First, outside of the Youth Counselors, I don't think any of the staff ever say good morning, or even Happy New Year. This is in stark contrast to a line like Disney, where you can't walk past a staff member without getting a smile and a pleasant greeting.

 

 

Along similar lines, they devoted a large amount of programming staff to activities that they know are not going to be well attended or canceled. Both the first and last day it was too cold and windy for the ropes course, yet they had they activities scheduled and didn't offer any alternative programs when they were canceled. That along with the lack of family activities made it a little hard to find things to do together.

 

 

i'm not a dancer person but went to see it this time and thought it was very good. also the nites they are in the MDR they are literally on top of you if you have the rear seats. one lady even got a kiss. then again, them staring at you just 3 feet from you may freak some people out.

 

you are correct about food being subjective. if i have to read whats under the title of the food to figure it out, then cannot even figure it out, then it's not for me. too much of that going around on their menus. i did try new things but there wasnt enough regular stuff for the varied tastes of who i was with.

 

i was on in oct and dec and everyone says something to you, even the person sweeping the steps. kind of bizarre everyone thought you were invisible. i wouldnt say it annoyed me but it almost made me not want to look at anyone for fear of them being nice to me :)

 

agreed about the family stuff and bad weather. 1st 2 days out of NYC sucked for us and nothing to do. cant hide in atrium for obvious reasons. we woudl go outside every few hours just to see if it stopped raining to dip in the pool. regardless of temp. never did. unless you do kids clubs theres really not much for the kids to do inside. or if you can fund an arcade day!

[jackie101]

I was on this sailing and could not believe what I was seeing in Bliss on New Years Eve. A kid no older then 10 years old was going around drinking people's left over drinks. After chugging a drink he found 2 chairs over from me (& that's what caught my eye) He looked at the 3 glasses of cheap champagne I had on the chair and I said to the little brat "Don't you dare" and he kept on walking. As I was leaving the club I spot the kid with 2 adults and I asked one "is this your son?" She said yes and I told her he was going around drinking everyone's leftover drinks. She looks dead at me and said "OH NO, NOT MY SON" I put my hands up and said "oh my mistake" I walk two feet and ran into my friends and I said loud enough for the mother to hear "I hope that kid pukes all over her bed tonight". It seems a lot of people were talking about that kid (as well as another incident I won't say because it involves criminal charges) the next day because the only person that did not see what the kid was doing was his dear darling mommy dearest.

What annoyed me most about the mother is I am not a teenager or child and come on.....how many random strangers would come and tell you something like this without it being true.

 

We were also on this sailing. We also saw 2 young kids 14/15 drunk and puking in their state room as we were walking by. 2 other adults must have saw them and they were worried and stopped us and asked if they were my children. We had our 4 children with us and made them do constant check ins. We had a blast, but a lot of the teen were dressed and behaved a little inappropriate

[riclop]

Thanks for the review.

[Casino Comp Chick]

We were also on this sailing. We also saw 2 young kids 14/15 drunk and puking in their state room as we were walking by. 2 other adults must have saw them and they were worried and stopped us and asked if they were my children. We had our 4 children with us and made them do constant check ins. We had a blast, but a lot of the teen were dressed and behaved a little inappropriate

 

I agree with everything you said. I even videoed a bunch of teens "dancing" if you can call it that for the cruise ship shaming site. Even the last night they had stopped the music & turned on the lights in Bliss because someone was puking all over the dance floor (I was in the casino when ppl cleared out of there).

 

What bothered me most about that 10 year old was the mothers "Not my son" comment. I am not a child reporting your kid, I am an adult and if someone stopped me and said the same thing I would have had a different response then the attitude of not my little darling. I reallly really hope the kid puked the whole night, maybe the mom would keep a better eye on what her little darling does.

Edited January 5, 2017 by Casino Comp Chick

[luckyinpa]

there's a cruise ship shaming site? what is on there?

[jackie101]

I agree with everything you said. I even videoed a bunch of teens "dancing" if you can call it that for the cruise ship shaming site. Even the last night they had stopped the music & turned on the lights in Bliss because someone was puking all over the dance floor (I was in the casino when ppl cleared out of there).

 

What bothered me most about that 10 year old was the mothers "Not my son" comment. I am not a child reporting your kid, I am an adult and if someone stopped me and said the same thing I would have had a different response then the attitude of not my little darling. I reallly really hope the kid puked the whole night, maybe the mom would keep a better eye on what her little darling does.

 

just awful ,because it could be anyone's kid. Drugs and alcohol do not discriminate. I was horrified, the only good thing is we had some great talks to the kids about drinking

[Casino Comp Chick]

just awful ,because it could be anyone's kid. Drugs and alcohol do not discriminate. I was horrified, the only good thing is we had some great talks to the kids about drinking

 

Yeah I can honestly say as far as a New Years Eve cruise, I am one & done!

[jackie101]

Yeah I can honestly say as far as a New Years Eve cruise, I am one & done!

 

Not sure if it was because it was out of NY, but this was our 2nd NYE cruise last year was out of Florida and it was nothing like this.

[drb116]

This was our 3rd NYE cruise and from our experience, this was the worst New Years Eve off the three. Previously we had done the Oasis and Anthem.

 

The problem with Norwegian was that there really was not a family party anywhere on the ship, and there were not any great places to hang out with the family (It was cool and a little rainy on NYE, so that may have effected things a little). My guess is that if they had some family spaces, it might have kept a few more kids supervised.

 

I don't think it is a New York thing though. Last year we did a New Years cruise on the Anthem and thought they did a great job with NYE. They have a big indoor sports complex and had a family party in there that was excellent for both teens and younger kids.