Trip report/review: Breakaway March 20-27

[uncjenny83]

Y'all, I just finished writing this and it is SO long, haha. For those that like details, you're gonna love this. Others- you might just want to look at the pictures 😂. 

 

Hi all, I got lots of great info from reading through other posts so I wanted to do a recap of our trip. For background info I (Jenny, 39) travelled with my daughter (Maddie, 13). Before this, I had only been on one cruise in my life, Carnival Paradise in college. I knew Maddie would love it, so when her spring break coincided with my birthday week, I decided to go for it.

 

Pre-trip:

I didn't book until about 2 weeks out. Partly because I wanted to make sure no crazy covid variants popped up, but also I wanted to see how low the price would get. I decided I would wait until either a Balcony cabin was listed for $599 or I was within 2 weeks. At 16 days out, balcony cabins dropped to $599 (sail away price), so I booked a family balcony for $640 (this was the cheapest balcony option other than sail away). This included premium beverage package for me, soda package for daughter, 2 specialty dining credits for each of us, 150 minutes wifi for each, and $50 excursion credit per port. I went ahead and did our online check in and pre-paid gratuities.

 

A couple of days after I booked I got the upgrade email. I didn't really care about a club room, and since my daughter can't use the spa, it wouldn't have been worth the upgrade price. The cheapest Haven upgrade was for a Courtyard Penthouse suite and the minimum bid was $650 (pp). I decided to go for it, and bid $670, knowing that I would be fine if we didn't get it. Lo and behold, the Tuesday before we were to leave, I got confirmation that our bid was accepted! This was more than I really wanted to spend, but still a DEAL for the Haven, so I was pumped. We tested at CVS on Friday morning before we left.

 

Day 1 - Sunday- Embarkation Day:

I decided we would just drive to New Orleans from our home in Greenville, SC. It's about 9 hours so we left on Saturday and stopped about 2 hours out. Drive wasn't too bad, and we arrived in New Orleans around 10:30 on Sunday morning. We dropped our suitcases off at the port and then proceeded to our reserved space in the covered section of the Fulton Garage. The shuttle line was a mess, so we just walked to the port, which was an easy walk with just our carry on bags. The security line looked long, but it moved quickly and we were through in about 15 minutes. After that, it was off to the Haven check in line (woohoo!). This line was MUCH shorter than the general line (like hundreds of people shorter). After we checked in and got our pictures taken and our key cards, we were escorted to the Haven waiting room. It was almost noon by this point. They had snacks and drinks available, but we were only there for maybe 3 minutes before a butler came to escort us to the Haven.

 

As we were walking into the Haven, there was an announcement that all the cabins were ready and open. We dropped our bags in the room, which was great. Everything, room, bathroom and balcony, were bigger than I expected.  The Haven beds do not separate but it was a king bed so we just shared. We decided to take advantage of the free lunch for Haven guests at the American Diner. As reported, it was not great, haha. It was fine, but I would never recommend spending a specialty dining credit there. Even the milkshakes were crazy thin.

We headed back to our cabin and met our steward, Ludwin, who was super sweet and had our luggage. Our butler, Allan, also noticed we were in and came to introduce himself. I had put all of our request in letter form (as I read about on this board) and included half of his tip in it as well so that he could know our preferences right away (nothing crazy, just our food/drink preferences and asking to clear out the fridge). Allan wasn't the most personable, I never really felt like I got to know him at all, but he was great about fulfilling our requests and took great care of us. After that we just explored the ship a bit and checked Maddie into Entourage. She ended up going a few times and met a few friends, but didn't spend nearly as much time as I thought she would there or hanging out with other kids (which was fine with me- she still did her own thing a lot of the time).

 

For sail away, we checked out Spice H20, decided that was too crowded, headed to the Haven Sun deck, but it was SUPER windy that day. I also really hate the way the smoking section on the Haven sun deck is at the very front of the boat, so the smoke blows right back to the rest of the sun deck. While I was enjoying a lovely drink from the Haven bar, my daughter decided nothing would  make sail away better than a cookie, so she ran to call Allan. Then she came back up to find me, and we decided to finish sailing away from our balcony (felt a little like Goldilocks, haha...the balcony was juuuuust right). By the time we got back to our room (less than 10 minutes), there was a platter of cookies waiting for us! We enjoyed and then unpacked for the week. For dinner we decided do try the Haven restaurant. We didn't arrive until maybe 7:15 and the restaurant was full so they sat us in the courtyard. I didn't love sitting out there, we were right beside the pool and service out there was quite slow. But the meal was tasty!

 

After dinner Maddie went to Entourage and I went to Howl at the Moon at Headliners. At first I sat towards the back and wasn't too sure if I liked it, but decided to just go for it. I got a drink, sat myself in the from row, and ended up having a BLAST. So much that I went to every other Howl at the Moon show that week! They are so talented, and especially after about 10 when people start loosening up and participating, it's a lot of fun. You can hand them requests, and you don't have to tip, but they play tipped requests first. Cruise was off to a great start!

 

Day 2 - Monday - Sea Day:

We had breakfast at the Haven restaurant, which was fantastic. You can always choose to sit in the courtyard if you wish, but after that first night we always had the choice of the dining room, which we preferred. Love when we sat right next to the windows and overlooked the ocean while we ate. This was our first full sea day, so we did a lot of fun boat things! Maddie did the waterslides and pool for a while, we played at the arcade a bit, and I spent most of my time hanging reading either in the upstairs Haven courtyard (delightful space with wonderful bar service), or on our balcony (preferred when that one really loud family was in the Haven pool, lol). I will say, even thought the Haven was full, the courtyard NEVER felt crowded, and most times it felt almost empty. The sundeck was usually a little more full, but because of the smoking issue I didn't spend much time there. 

 

We ate at the Haven for lunch, it was great. Maddie requested truffle fries instead of regular and they accommodated her and they were delicious. I honestly can't remember where we ate dinner that night. We weren't super hungry for dinner, so we grabbed some appetizers at O'Sheehans and were able to sit along the overlook and watch the fun happening in the Atrium. The food wasn't great there. 

 

I was VERY excited for Day 2, because that was the first 2 showings of SIX! In case you don't know, SIX is a musical about the six ex-wives of Henry VIII and it is SO much fun. Maddie and I saw it on Broadway last October and we absolutely love it. This show is the reason that I decided on this cruise, as we were previously looking at Royal Caribbean. I also found out before the cruise that a friend of a friend is in the show, so I was super excited to see her. We got there about 40 minutes before the show because I was worried about it being crowded. This was unfounded, haha. The ship was at around 45% capacity I think, and when the doors opened 30 mins before the show, there were maybe 10-15 people ready to go in. The show had a good crowd by the time it started, but there were plenty of extra seats. We got to sit in the from row, which made me SO happy. The show was FANTASTIC. Seriously, Broadway caliber talent, it was SO good. After the show, I went to the Atrium to grab a drink and Maddie went back to the room to watch a movie (free for Haven guests!). Then I went to the second showing of SIX and enjoyed it every bit as much! You are allowed to film the final number, hence the pictures.

 

 

Day 3 - Tuesday - Cozumel:

Our first port day and my BIRTHDAY! Woohoo! We did breakfast in the Haven and then headed down to exit the ship in Cozumel. We had booked a cabana at Cabana Beach at Chankanaab. DO NOT sleep on this place people. It's new, and I think it's not super well known yet (because I don't know how it wasn't sold out), but it was actual paradise. There are 12 cabanas, spaced out nicely with lots of palm trees and hedges for privacy. Completely uncrowded and just beautiful. They have a bathroom, bars and cabana service, They also have snorkel gear and life jackets. For $100 (yes, you read that right), you get the cabana for the day and that included a fruit platter and some guac/chips/pico. They also serve food that is better than you'd expect. The cabanas have a couch, fan, table and two loungers. They also have towels if needed, and hammocks all around the beach. Your price also includes entry to Chankanaab if you want to walk to the other side of the gate, but we were perfectly happy staying there. I LOVE snorkeling, and this snorkeling did not disappoint. I saw tons of cool fish, several little squid, and two HUGE spotted eagle rays. This was just the perfect day and we were super sad to leave. It's about a 15 minute cab ride from the port. This is not a paid advertisement 😂, but I just can't recommend this place enough. I think the price is low right now because of covid, I think it's normally more like $300, but that would also be completely worth it. The website is thecabanabeach.com. 

 

 

After we got back on the ship, Allan had left an array of birthday treats in the room, so we snacked on those, showered and got ready.....to go see SIX again! Yes, I did attend all three shows. Yes, I would have attended more if they had been offered 🤩. It was again fantastic, and since we hadn't eaten dinner we decided to try the main dining room after the show around 9:00. I can't remember if we were in Taste or Savor, but we were very impressed with the service in there as well. We didn't eat much, but we both got soup that was very tasty and we split an entree that was not a stand out, but it was fine. After that Maddie and I both went to Howl at the Moon. What a great birthday...one I will never forget!

                                                                                        

 

Day 4 - Wednesday - Roatan:

This day was a bit of a bummer because our stop in Roatan got cancelled. We had a sloth/monkey hangout followed by snorkeling excursion planned, and we were both really looking forward to it. We were literally walking out of our cabin to grab a pastry and get off the ship when the announcement was made. Obviously I never want the ship to do something unsafe, but it was tough seeing other ships already docked there, and the weather was gorgeous that day. Oh well, we'll have to come back I guess! We decided to do a leisurely Haven breakfast and then got down to the business of relaxing! I used this day as another reading/relaxing day, and Maddie took full advantage of the waterslides and ropes course (this was her favorite part of the ship). I ended up purchasing unlimited internet on this day, as I had been working a little bit each day and ran out of my free minutes. I don't think we ate lunch that day, we probably just got some ice cream at the buffet. We aren't used to eating that much food all the time, so sometimes we just had to skip a meal. Plus I knew we had a big dinner that night!

 

After more relaxing for me, and pool/waterslides/ropes course for Maddie, we got fancy for our reservation at Le Bistro. This was hands down my favorite meal of the week. I got the beef tartare, french onions soup, steak and chocolate dessert. The soup and dessert were some of the best I've ever tasted. I also splurged on a glass of Veuve with dessert, which was nice. A photographer came and took our picture before the meal, and then showed up with a printed version in a folder that we could buy for $25. I felt bad saying no, so I bought it, but next time I would say no pictures, lol. The picture is fine, but we have so many good pics from the trip I certainly didn't nee to spend $25 on another one. 

 

After dinner we went to the comedy show in Headiners. Maddie has never seen stand up comedy and thought it would be "cringe" (typical 13 yr old), but she LOVED it. So much that she immediately wanted to know when the next show would be so she wouldn't miss it. After that we went back to the room and she convinced me to watch Scream with her, haha. Not the day we expected, but a good day nonetheless. 

 

Day 5 - Thursday - Harvest Caye:

 

Today was our Harvest Caye day. We did breakfast in the Haven and then loaded up our beach bag and headed off the ship. It is a long, humid walk to the beach, but once we got there we were able to walk down and find a nice couple of chairs in the shade with an umbrella that wasn't too crowded. Didn't love the beach here. The sand is very rough and the water is just ok. We were right in front of the zipline tower, and when Maddie saw the superman zip over the water she was pumped. I agreed to walk her over there and sign her up. I would've like to do it too, but $75 for a 1 minute zip seemed like a lot so I just decide to let her do it. She loved it! From the time we walked up, she was in the air maybe 15 minutes later, so it was not busy. I realized later looking at my on board charges that they applied my $50 excursion credit, so that was really nice and unexpected. 

 

After some beach time we went to the grill for lunch. The food was ok, although the service was sloooow and definitely not what we were used to on the boat. I don't know if the ketchup was an off brand or just really old, but I thought  it was bbq sauce when I saw it because it was so dark and it tasted gross. Then we moved over to the pool, and every single chair was taken, 75% of them just with towels and no people. Sigh. After circling several times, we stumbled upon someone leaving and snagged a chair. Maddie played in the pool for a while and I read (the theme for our week). Then we headed back to the ship. I didn't care for Harvest Caye and would be happy not to return, but Maddie enjoyed her day, so I guess it was time well spent.

 

 

We got back to the boat, showered and got ready for specialty restaurant #2, Teppenyaki! We were right on time for our reservation, but had to wait almost 20 minutes before the rest of our table was full (and someone mentioned that they were early, so I'm not what happened there). We got our soup and salad quickly, but then waited a while for a chef. And then 2 people at our table were vegan, so the chef cooked their entire meal before starting on everyone else's. I appreciated that they were so accommodating for dietary needs, but we were very hungry 😅. We ended up being there almost 2.5 hours and that was us rushing through dessert, so it was too slow. With that said, the food was absolutely delicious. They have garlic friend rice that is SO good, and all the meat was good as well. I'd go back and hope that we didn't get unlucky with timing again.

 

The reason we were hurrying was that the comics were doing a show in the main theater that Maddie wanted to get to. We were about 30 minutes late, but were able to sneak into the last row and enjoyed the last half of the show. After that Maddie headed to bed and I headed to Howl at the Moon (of course)! It was nice going there so frequently as you saw a lot of familiar faces and the bartenders knew me.

 

Day 6 - Friday - Costa Maya:

This was our Costa Maya day. We were only at port from 7 - 1, so we decided to sleep in and skip this port. We did breakfast and lunch at the Haven, and I went to the ropes course and watched Maddie show off her skills. We did our standard relax/read/waterslides/pool/arcade combo all day, which was really nice. For dinner, Maddie wanted to try the buffet, and I wanted to go back to Le Bistro just for a bowl of that french onion soup (SO GOOD). When I showed up, the hostess said they were full and I could try back later, and asked for my room key. When she saw my Haven card, she told me to hang on, went inside for a moment, and told me if I didn't mind eating at an outside table, they could accommodate me. So that was great! Quick meal since I just had soup.

 

 

Then Maddie met up with me and we went to one last comedy show at Headliners before making our way over to Syd Norman's for family karaoke. It was on the way there that I realized I really hadn't even seen every part of the ship yet! We loved watching the karaoke, and even signed up, but time ran out before we were called. We moved to the Spiegel Tent to try the Escape Room. I wasn't sure what to expect here, but it was a lot of fun! We had a great group and came SO close to winning but ran out of time. This was another thing that Maddie initially didn't want to do, but had a great time doing it. Super chill day overall, which was much needed after a busy week!

 

Day 7 - Saturday - Sea Day:

Our last day, noooooo! After sleeping in a bit, we decided to do breakfast in our suite. We called Allan and he had our breakfast there in less than 30 minutes, it was awesome! After some pool time, we decided to try and get a seat at Shanghai's. We had tried earlier in the week and they were completely full with a long wait. We got there about 15 minutes before they opened and got a seat right at opening at the counter, which was really cool. The food was yummy and we really loved it. I have to say though- the smoke smell was AWFUL here. I had my KN-95 on when I wasn't eating and it still bothered me (I have lung disease and I'm very sensitive to smoke). I never even saw anyone actively smoking the few times we had to walk through the casino, but the smell was always bad. 

 

After that, Maddie actually convinced ME to do the ropes course with her. I have to say, the staff at the ropes course (with the exception of 1-2 people) were the only staff we encountered on the entire boat that weren't the best. I may not have even noticed if we hadn't just spent a week being surrounded by outstanding service. Anyway, the ropes course was terrifying, haha. With the boat moving and the wind picking up, it was definitely a challenge for this old lady, but I did it! I think I will stick to ropes courses on land from now on though. 

 

For our last dinner, we ate in the Haven. I think if we did this again, we'd choose a specialty for the last night. The Haven was more crowded than usual. I ordered the tomahawk steak and was told it would take 30 minutes to prepare because it was so thick. No problem! That sounds delish! I got the porcini risotto app that I'd had previously in the week and really enjoyed. When my steak arrived, it wasn't really that thick, and it was overcooked 😭. I ordered it medium-rare, and it closer to medium-well, so that was very disappointing. I'm not usually one to speak up, but in this case I probably would have except for the fact that we didn't have time to wait another 30 minutes for another steak. Oh well. The mashed potatoes were really good. The corn was terrible though! 

 

After dinner we went to Burn the Floor. What a talented group! The cast did a fantastic job, the dancers were incredible and the singers blew us away. Overall, the show itself is not something I'd see more than once, but I'm glad we saw it. After the show we hung out in the atrium a bit before heading over to the buffet for one last round of soft serve. Then to Howl at the Moon for one last night of fun! 

 

Day 8 - Sunday - Debarkation:

 

Saddest day of all! We were up early this morning, writing thank you notes to go with tips to our butler, concierge, steward, and our favorite Haven staff member, El. We packed the day before and put our luggage out, so we just had to get dressed and grab out toiletries in our carry on bags and make our way to the Haven for one last delicious breakfast around 8:30. After breakfast, the concierge got a group together and sent us down a back elevator and got us into the exit line. From there, it was a sloooow line down to the luggage. I unfortunately couldn't find a porter, so struggled a bit with my (way overpacked 😬) suitcase, but we made it to the shuttle line and headed back to our car. And spent the next 11 hours there haha.

 

Final Thoughts:

 

So that's it! If you made it through this, you deserve a personal pan pizza from Pizza Hut. Overall, it was an exceptional vacation, and so many things exceeded my expectations. Notably the level of service from almost every single staff member (in and out of the Haven), the incredible level of talent of the performers and entertainers, and the overwhelming amount of things to DO on the boat. With the exception of Le Bistro and a few items at the Haven restaurant, the food didn't blow me away, but it didn't generally disappoint either (except O'Sheehans, haha). I'm not a big drinker, but I think I got my money's worth out of the drink package and I enjoyed many of the drinks (Rebellious Fish was my fave!).

 

My biggest complaints all center around smoking. Smoking on cruise ships is the reason I have gone so many years without cruising (the one cruise we went on when I was in high school was a non-smoking ship at the time). I have cystic fibrosis and I just can't be around it. I thought it was pretty unbelievable that smoking was allowed not only indoors (in 2022!) but in an open space that filtered to so many other areas in the ship. I wasn't able to enjoy the Haven sundeck or Shanghai noodle bar because of it. I wish there was a cruise line brave enough to do away with smoking altogether, but until then I will probably only go on a ship that only allows it in select outdoor spaces.

 

I'm glad I got to spend this time with my daughter, and we will likely cruise again in the future, thanks to how much fun we had on the Breakaway!

 

Edited April 9, 2022 by uncjenny83
picture in the wrong place

[sprez33]

Thanks!  Very nice review.  It looks like the Haven restaurant is the place to go for breakfast!!

[dwr777]

Thanks for posting, it was a great review. Looks like you had a wonderful time. I’m on the Breakaway in July, and now can’t wait to see Six. 
 

[dmms]

Sounds like you had a great time!

We were on the Breakaway the week after you and had loads of fun as well!

The staff was fantastic-we loved El too  - gave her a nice parting tip also!

Was fun reading your review - next time we may try the Cozumel cabana outing you described- looked wonderful!

What a nice memory for you & your daughter;)

Thanks for sharing😊

 

[bigrednole]

I will have to read more because we are preparing to fly to NOLA now to embark tomorrow. One question because I saw it in a picture. You both had masks on. Is this required or something you just did?

[Dawg67]

Hi  Cruisers, 

 

We were on this cruise and really disappointed that they ran out of red wine on the second to third day.  The only red wine offered was Chanti.  My wife really looks forward to a glass or two of Pinot Noir for dinner.  While the wine list was long it does no good if non are available.  The service in Cagney’s was rude and condescending.  It seemed to us that the service around the ship was very reserved and not really friendly. I did mention to NCL my concerns but as of this morning they have not responded.  Cabin was clean,  food was good and entertainment was very good.  Embarkation and Debarkation was excellent.

[tampadee]

Thanks so much for your review!  We are sailing on Breakaway May 1, also in a haven.

[cruisinpatmo]

El is fantastic!

[uncjenny83]

17 hours ago, sprez33 said:

Thanks!  Very nice review.  It looks like the Haven restaurant is the place to go for breakfast!!

Yes! I'm not usually even a breakfast eater, but we really enjoyed the choices and everything was yummy.

[uncjenny83]

7 hours ago, bigrednole said:

I will have to read more because we are preparing to fly to NOLA now to embark tomorrow. One question because I saw it in a picture. You both had masks on. Is this required or something you just did?

Masks are required in the port in New Orleans, and while we were advised to bring them every time we left the ship, I didn't see any other time when there was a specific requirement. We wore them a few other times just for personal preference.

[NolaBliss]

Thanks so much for your review. I’m definitely going to check out the Howl at the Moon. I missed this when I was on this ship 3 years ago- actually 4.

Your daughter will remember this wonderful time with her mom for her whole life. She will tell her grandkids how great her mom was to enable her to fly like superman!

[graphicguy]

What a great review.  Thanks.  Agree about the smoking issue.  I've been on the Encore, where the smokers are given their own enclosed space in the casino.  That seemed to solve the issue.

 

But, the "-Away" ships don't have that.  

 

That said, I've been on both "-Away" ships.  They really are great ships.

[SeekingKillerWhales!]

What a great review - thanks! 

[Rick-n-Lisa]

fYI…I believe Azmara is totally non smoking and I ‘think” celebrity does not allow it indoors including the casino.

[cmecruise1962]

Thanks for such a detailed review!  I'm going solo in May, and I will definitely be going to Howl at the Moon and Six!

[soonernick]

So glad to see the shout out to El - we were in the Haven on Breakaway in March and she made it so fun. "Is this what you want, what you really really want?" 🙂

[rbird]

Thank you for taking the time to submit a review.  I agree about the smoking section being far forward.  It is disappointing to still smell the smoke when just trying to relax on the sundeck.  I'm looking forward to returning to cruising in May.  

 

[UKstages]

great review, thanks for taking the time to post.

 

i, too, go to "six" multiple times, after having first seen the original west end (london) production. i saw it twice on the bliss back in 2019 and i was on the breakaway in december, 2021 and went another two times.

 

i also agree about the smoking! i do play in the casino, though... in fact, my cruises are comped by the casino, but the smoke smell is completely out of hand. apart from the carcinogens in second hand smoke, it just gets in your hair and clothing and is really unpleasant. i much prefer the newer ships with the enclosed smoking section. so many other things that every guest uses are on that floor... it's hard for anybody to avoid smelling the smoke.

 

smoke-free gaming is the future and has been ridiculously successful in every jurisdiction in which it has been tried or imposed. that's because fewer than 18% of casino patrons (in america) smoke.

 

curiously, i ate in the asian restaurant adjacent to the casino and didn't have a problem with smoke, but i sat at the counter, which was a little farther back. also, the ship was only at about 30% capacity back in december, so that helped, too.

 

i don't mind the outdoor smoking, which is usually confined to one small portion of an upper deck, but i do choose my cabin carefully to make sure my balcony is on the opposite side of the ship from that smoking area. i'll be in the haven later this week on another ship and i'll be interested to see (and disappointed to learn) if the sun deck has wayward smoke.