My Norwegian Breakaway Family Cruise Review - April 7, 2019

[AmyJA]

Yep...what everyone else has said.  Your report is so fun because you all look like your having a blast.

Don't get me stared on Cirque leaving.  Loooove those shows and was one of the reasons I booked Breakaway. 

Guess I'm gonna make lemonade.

 

[tripleboom]

16 hours ago, TPgal said:

"With three ships now in port including the Breakaway, the pier was full of passengers still coming and going,"

 

That was us on the Jade.  We were pretty shocked to find that indeed you CAN see into the fancy bathroom windows in the suites/haven.  (We made sure to close ours up for the remainder of our trip when we were in port.)    Thanks for the show!

 

We only had 30-40 kids on our ship and while my kiddo loved the kids club they didn't have enough to do the clown/circus show at the end of the cruise.  

 

In Costa Maya, we went to the waterpark and based on your review we clearly did not make the right choice.  Thank you for sharing your photos and your review.   We'll be on the Breakaway next August and are counting the days (and trolling CC to kill time. )

 

When we got back to our cabin after Costa Maya, Connor was all too happy to start waving and saying hello to all those aboard the Jade, so hopefully he served as a deterrent to anyone getting too comfortable in their suites! 😂

 

I think the kid complement on the Breakaway was probably lower than average as well, but I still think there were at least 80-90 kids of the Splash Academy age based on what I saw at the Extravaganza event.  It never felt like the staff was overwhelmed by the number of kids, but I can't imagine what it's like during the high traffic times!

 

I've looked at the water park each of our last two times in Costa Maya, but always opted for other activities.  How would you rate your experience there?  In videos and photos it certainly appears like it would be a fun way to spend the day!

[tripleboom]

16 hours ago, AmyJA said:

Yep...what everyone else has said.  Your report is so fun because you all look like your having a blast.

Don't get me stared on Cirque leaving.  Loooove those shows and was one of the reasons I booked Breakaway. 

 Guess I'm gonna make lemonade.

 

 

There certainly is plenty of lemonade to go around on a ship like the Breakaway, but I'm with ya. The loss of Cirque shows is quite a blow.

[tripleboom]

After the dinner show was over, we needed to head back to the cabin before the boys' final night of Splash Academy. Tonight was pajama night, so they were all too happy to dress the part.  The boys were also quite pleased with the final towel animal that awaited them when we returned.

 

 

As we waited for 7 PM to roll around, we were treated to a wonderful sunset on our side of the ship, so we took full advantage of the views and soaked up every minute we could.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[tripleboom]

Connor asked me to take a sunset pic of his duck. ☺️

 

 

I haven't mentioned my amazing wife nearly as much as I have mentioned the kids, but let me say it now.  Stacy is an amazing woman, and I am incredibly blessed to be able to call her my wife.  We've now been on four cruises together, and I'm so excited to see what the next 60 years of our lives together will bring.  Hopefully lots more cruises together!

 

 

 

Just a couple more moments of sunshine before sending the boys off to Splash Academy as the ship slips into the evening.

 

 

 

 

Edited April 25, 2019 by tripleboom

[TPgal]

2 hours ago, tripleboom said:

How would you rate your experience there?  In videos and photos it certainly appears like it would be a fun way to spend the day!

 

My rating is a B-, the kid says A+.  It helped that when we arrived there were only a handful of people there, so we waited in line for nothing.  They had elevators to get you to the top of the tower which was handy, the hike up the stairs would be fine while waiting in line, but with no line, it was great to be able to get back to the top as quickly as possible.  

 

The slides were fast and fun, but a bit bumpy and the drop pools at the bottom were small, so getting out of the water at the bottom felt like an 'emergency'.  I can't imagine how fast they would make you move if there was a line at the top waiting to slide.  

 

We didn't eat there, so we used the need to eat as a great excuse to leave around 1 when the park started to get busy (I think that's when the people from the third ship arrived.)  

 

Hubs and the kid did the zip lines and seemed to enjoy it, but they weren't interested in going again once they made it thru the gauntlet.  I hung out at the family pool while they zipped. It was a bit murky and I was happy to leave it to the kids from the Breakaway playing "Marco - Rollo"   Sorry Signore Polo.

 

I wished we had done a beach day, but the kid endured a 7-hour excursion thru the Panama Canal with someone talking the whole way, and a 4-hour tour of the jungle in Costa Rica with a similar guide and she needed and deserved to move around in a 100% kid based activity.  

[tripleboom]

3 minutes ago, TPgal said:

I wished we had done a beach day, but the kid endured a 7-hour excursion thru the Panama Canal with someone talking the whole way, and a 4-hour tour of the jungle in Costa Rica with a similar guide and she needed and deserved to move around in a 100% kid based activity.  

 

My kids barely survived muster without trying to call for a mutiny, so I can't imagine how they'd have done with the Panama Canal excursion talk. 😄  Thanks so much for the feedback!!

[kodesthemoose]

great trip report so far - really enjoying it especially as i have young boys myself! 

[Von & John]

Great Photos of both you & your wife, as well as the kids. 

We, too, wish you another 60 years of happiness!

[tripleboom]

After dropping off the boys at Splash Academy, Stacy and I headed back to the room and finally set about enjoying a bottle of wine that we had brought with us. In all the crazy, packed past several days we hadn't made much time to just sit down and chat just the two of us.  Tonight we watched the last few rays of sun slip away while sitting in the balcony loungers, sipping on our favorite wine.  Tough to beat.

 

Is there anything more bittersweet than the final sunset of a cruise?

 

 

With the wine bottle emptied, we headed to O'Sheehan's for our last meal of the cruise, knowing that we still had to get back to the room to finish packing.  This wound up being a lot of fun as Bandaoke was starting up in the atrium below.  I gotta tell ya, there were actually a lot of very impressive singers in the bunch.  Right up until Gary (name changed to protect the very guilty).  Gary decided he'd try his hand at the Neil Diamond's "Sweet Caroline." So much of that song was basically spoken rather than sung by Neil, so I figured Gary should be able to handle this without too much difficulty. 

 

Oh, Gary.

 

What proceeded made me grateful that no service dogs were in the atrium that night, as Gary's off-key bari-ten-prano voice filled the expansive room until the crowd would provide temporary relief in the form of "BA BA BA!!!!" every so often.  It was all Stacy and I could do to keep from having iced tea spew out our noses with each caterwauled line of the song.  God bless the house band that managed to drive the tempo as the song began to drag, bringing it to as speedy a conclusion as they could manage! 🤣  Gary, if you're out there, please know that we really were laughing with you, not at you. We had a wonderful last night due in no small part to you!

 

After dinner we retreated to the room to finish packing up and tagging bags to be set out that night. Stacy also took the time to fill out our Hero cards for the unforgettable staff of the Breakaway.  Again, a huge shout out to Yintao, aka Cici, who made Landon's whole trip!

 

 

With full dark now well upon us, we saw movement out on the balcony and saw that we were passing a large ship, signaling that we had left behind blue oceans and recently re-entered the Mississippi, working our way back to Mississippi for our morning arrival.

 

 

After picking up the Boys from Splash (and the cookies from the buffet of course), the finality of it sunk in for the boys.  To anyone on the balconies around us on that last night, I apologize for my wailing kids.  It took quite a while to calm them and get them tucked into bed that night.  No one wants to leave a ship like this to go back to school on Monday.  I feel ya boys. 😞  With the overly tired boys finally asleep, Stacy and I did the same,  and thus ended our last night aboard.

Edited April 25, 2019 by tripleboom

[debx!]

Fabulous trip report, I've loved reading about your experiences & hope we enjoy ourselves just as much in October.

 

Thank you for sharing 😃

[tripleboom]

Disembarkation Day

 

I had kept meaning throughout the cruise to give a quick walk through of our cabin. Knowing that essentially all of the non-suite bathrooms looked the same, I skipped that area, but wanted people to be able to see the set up of the room with the pullman down and the couch converted.  Cabin 9126 really was perfect for us, and felt just right for our family.  I definitely would have wanted more room if our kids were teenagers, but we found plenty of storage for all our clothes and accessories, and never felt overly crowded, due in large part to the expanded balcony.  The boys were still pretty bummed out, so you'll have to excuse their mopey faces in the video.

 

 

After getting up and about, we gathered up our last few items in the room, and were headed up to the buffet for our last meal.  We had taken one of the last time slots for disembarkation as were weren't in a huge rush.  We ate a leisurely breakfast, sulked...

 

 

 

... and then headed to Deck 7 to disembark.  We stood on the boat deck for probably 20 minutes or so as everyone shuffled toward the security checkpoint where our cabin cards would be scanned for the last time.  We retraced our steps from five days prior where we had been so excited to board, and gave a last goodbye to our ship; the end of a perfect family vacation.

 

[Greenpea2]

Thanks so much for this review and all the photos and videos. I now feel very sad, too. 😞

 

Not sure if this is good or bad ($$$$), but I now want a GoPro! Spent some time online and am very confused as to what I need in one. I will continue researching, though because MAN they are so cool.

 

 

[tripleboom]

After disembarking, we tracked down our five pieces of luggage, hailed a Lyft, and got our ride back to the hotel where we had left our vehicle. No issues with pick up there, and not long after we were back on the road, heading as far as Little Rock for the night.

 

Pro tip: Don't try to stop for lunch in a town in the midst of a huge strawberry festival. You'll never get back to the interstate.  OOPS!  Lesson learned. After an hour spent trying to get food and gas and back on the road, we did manage to get to Little Rock shortly before dark.

 

With the longer leg ahead of us the next day, we ate breakfast and hit the road early.  We did plan to stop in Ozark, Missouri for lunch and the spectacle that is Lambert's Cafe.  With their famous complimentary "pass arounds" like fried okra, macaroni salad, and piping hot rolls (which they throw to you from across the room in some cases) with sorghum, this place is the perfect way to fall asleep at the wheel right after you get back to the car. 🙂

 

 

Back in long sleeves. 😭

 

 

That's not bacon on my burger, that'd be hog jowl. 🤤

 

Incoming!

 

 

I thought better of trying to add a brownie the size of a dinner plate to my meal, and soon after we were back on the road for home.

 

 

Right around St. Joseph, Missouri was when the boys decided they'd had enough of being in the car.  The past two days in the car, plus being overly tired from such a full week made the adults cranky enough without the boys acting up too.  I pushed the speedometer forward a little further. 🙂

 

We finally found ourselves arriving home to a beautiful sunset on our little country hilltop.  Exhausted, but full of wonderful memories and probably still full of O'Sheehan's wings and brownies.

 

 

 

Thanks everyone for following along during this review of our family's time aboard the Norwegian Breakaway.  Our boys couldn't have possibly had a better first cruise experience!

 

Now...... what do I do with the 372 days before our next cruise??  Hmmmmmm. 🤔

[Samstress]

What a wonderful review.  Thank you for sharing your trip and your wonderful family with all of us. 

I wish you happy future sailings..

 

[BullyLvr]

I really enjoyed your review. We were on Breakaway in late November and  it was nice seeing the trip “with”  your lovely family. Videos and pics were very nice!

[Defhermit]

I really enjoyed reading about your trip. Good job!

[Deeliteful]

So sad this review has finished! 

I don’t know how you packed so much into each day and night! I would need another holiday 

thanks for taking the time to share

[GrammyLove]

Thanks for such an amazing review! This Grammy felt like she was on the ship with you and your family! We leave on the Breakaway May 5th and your review made me even more excited! The time and effort you put into the scavenger hunt made it an experience your kids will never forget! Thanks for sharing!

[1stTIMECRUZER]

We'll be on the Breakaway in February 2020.  Can't wait.  Great review!  We are fellow Iowan's as well so looking forward to getting away in the winter!

[tripleboom]

I kept meaning to circle back and thank everyone again, but a busy weekend got in the way. Thanks to everyone that followed and read along! This was a lot of fun for me to put together, and it brings us to the 368 day mark until the next cruise! Since it'll just be the two of us on that cruise, there will probably be a few more drink and food photos to be had! 😄

 

Until then, from our family to yours, happy sailing to you all!

[Sand and Seas]

Thanks Tripleboom!   We loved every bit of your review.  What a great family😊

[Lovetotraveltami]

Thank you for the great cruise report.  The Breakaway May be in our future.  You have a beautiful family and I loved the excitement in your family journey.

[Ocean Breezer]

Couldn’t stop reading this review.  Thank you!  We will be on the Breakaway out of Miami for a July 14, 2019 sailing!  I am so excited thanks in platt to your wonderful review!

[HoosierShipmate]

This was a great review - thank you! While none of us are cruising right now, hopefully we will be soon!  We are on the Breakaway 12/26/21 (we hope) and this info was very helpful! Thank you for taking the time to do such a great job!!