Will I like The Breakaway if I liked The Getaway and Escape?

[KarimaJ]

Hi. I have seen so many bad reviews of The Breakaway. Is it much different than The Getaway and Escape? We enjoyed both of those ships, yes they were more crowded then the smaller ships especially the Thanksgiving week cruise. We liked all the activities, waterslides, and fun things to do. We always found a spot in the shade on the pool deck so no problem there. The April cruise was much less crowded and we plan to do a shorter cruise in April again so anticipate the crowds won't be too bad. Any thoughts?

[smplybcause]

Breakaway is practically identical to Getaway. Any changes would be from the dry dock - like breakaway now has Syds over the jazz club, but getaway lost the jazz club too on the last drydock. 

 

Also fyi the beginning of April is still spring break time. 

Edited February 21, 2020 by smplybcause

[kayjay76]

Have been on both the escape and getaway and just got back from a sailing on the breakaway. It was fabulous!!! It's almost identical to the getaway. The staff was absolutely amazing and I hope you get the same crew. From waiters to casino staff to servers, all were awesome and really friendly. Also the Food in O'sheenans, and I know im spelling it wrong lol, was the best out of all the ships we've been on. I think crowding has to do with the type of fellow passengers on your sailings. Sometimes you have a ton of people on the boat who like to gamble. So casinos are full. Sometimes you get large numbers who avoid the sun and the sun decks seem less crowded. You never know. But I think you'll love the breakaway!! The only complaint I have, and it's small, is no usb or outlets near the bed like on the escape and getaway. But i'd do this ship again in a heartbeat.

[RHilla619]

Breakaway is almost identical to Getaway and Escape, so if you enjoyed those you will definitely enjoy the Breakaway. They are all in the same "class" of ship so they have the same bells and whistles. If your looking for a "less crowded" cruise during April make sure you don't book the Breakaway the week before or after Easter, public schools are on their spring breaks then so the ships will be packed with families. 

[dexddd]

We hated BA. Just blah but that was a few years ago.  Loved the Escape.

[MagnoliaBlossom]

We have been on the BA and GA. Physically, the ships are twins, but we had terrible service on the BA. surly staff, so any of them seemed to really dislike their jobs, many were new and obviously had not had proper training. I was worried about the GA but our experience was the opposite of the BA. Just the way we have come to expect things with NCL.


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[Georgia_Peaches]

Have been on Breakaway twice...both in Haven, and loved every moment.  We didn't encounter grumpy staff but I guess every sailing is different.  We did encounter a few hiccups in the MDR one night but the M'd indicated that there had been a change over in staff and so some of the people were new.  We try Escape next week.  I was under the impression that Escape was a little different from BA and GA...more like Bliss and Joy but w/o the race track?

[rickcopes]

Biggest difference was in the Shanghi Noodle Bar. Even though it was free, on Breakaway you had to make reservations for it once you go on the ship, and you could also do it on the app at that point. It was filled up for the week by Tuesday morning. Also, the shows are different. Getaway has Million Dollar Quartet, while Breakaway has a show called Six.

 

Other than that, the same class, the same amount of people, same rooms and sizes, same stuff on the same floors pretty much.

[KarimaJ]

Thanks. We will be going April 18 same as last time (MA school break) and found it wasn't crowded and not a ton of kids. Georgia we really liked the Escape, it's a big ship but still didn't seem difficult to get around. We have never had a problem with staff on NCL, only issue can be the pool bars on sea days. I would flag down a waiter instead.

[TenForward]

As others have said, Breakaway and Escape are pretty much the same (I've not been on the Getaway).  The main differences for me were a few of the locations on Escape were more to my liking (brew pub vs jazz club; mojito bar vs. martini bar; Pinchos (my fave) vs. Noodle bar).   

[smplybcause]

1 hour ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

Have been on Breakaway twice...both in Haven, and loved every moment.  We didn't encounter grumpy staff but I guess every sailing is different.  We did encounter a few hiccups in the MDR one night but the M'd indicated that there had been a change over in staff and so some of the people were new.  We try Escape next week.  I was under the impression that Escape was a little different from BA and GA...more like Bliss and Joy but w/o the race track?

 

It's a little different as Escape is the first Breakaway Plus class. So it's a little bigger than BA or GA. I always see people on here refer to the balconies being bigger on the Away+ ships. Escape has a much bigger ropes course. An extra deck so it's a bigger ship. Escape is like a half step between BA/GA and Bliss/Joy/Encore. Escape doesn't have the observation lounge like the latter do, as well as the race track and laser tag. Otherwise it's venue differences between the group with Escape having venues more in line with the ships after (like District Brewhouse) but still has a few left over from the old ones (like it still has Howl at the Moon)

[michele.westphall]

16 hours ago, KarimaJ said:

Thanks. We will be going April 18 same as last time (MA school break) and found it wasn't crowded and not a ton of kids. Georgia we really liked the Escape, it's a big ship but still didn't seem difficult to get around. We have never had a problem with staff on NCL, only issue can be the pool bars on sea days. I would flag down a waiter instead.

We are on the same sailing! See you around the pool..

[KarimaJ]

Another question, this cruise goes to GSC 2 times and Nassau one day. I'm reluctant to book after seeing how often GSC is cancelled. I wouldn't want to get stuck only going to Nassau this entire cruise. Does anyone know how the seas are in Bahamas in mid April?

[PortFees45]

The Breakaway is literally the Getaway with a hot dog cart without the tacky purple carpeting.

 

Balconies on both BA and GA are smaller than the Escape. Also the Escape doesn't have balcony lights, which I love. 

[drvmywifecrzy]

12 hours ago, KarimaJ said:

Another question, this cruise goes to GSC 2 times and Nassau one day. I'm reluctant to book after seeing how often GSC is cancelled. I wouldn't want to get stuck only going to Nassau this entire cruise. Does anyone know how the seas are in Bahamas in mid April?

There will be no problems getting to GSC on this cruise

[KarimaJ]

37 minutes ago, drvmywifecrzy said:

There will be no problems getting to GSC on this cruise

Why is that? Time of year?

[dexddd]

They are pulling your leg.

[KarimaJ]

6 hours ago, dexddd said:

They are pulling your leg.

Ha! Well, thought maybe the time of year had  calmer seas.

[kayjay76]

• We missed GSC on our feb 1st sailing. but since I read these boards I already knew it was a 50/50 shot. But I'm beginning to think it's more 80/20 on getting there lol. I'm looking at shorter sailings to introduce my 20 yr old daughter to cruising and I'm avoiding the double GSC cruises because of this

[dexddd]

5 hours ago, kayjay76 said:

• We missed GSC on our feb 1st sailing. but since I read these boards I already knew it was a 50/50 shot. But I'm beginning to think it's more 80/20 on getting there lol. I'm looking at shorter sailings to introduce my 20 yr old daughter to cruising and I'm avoiding the double GSC cruises because of this

I don't have specifics, but based on reports over many years it is probably more in the 66-75% range.