RCCL Explorer vs. Norwegian Breakaway

I am planning a cruise to Bermuda in September or October. We are considering the Royal Caribbean Explorer or Norwegian Breakaway. We haven't been on either of these cruise lines. It will be myself, husband and son. My husband and I are in our mid 40's and my son is 10.

Initially I had narrowed it down to Explorer as I thought it would be more family friendly for children. However I am now re-considering Breakaway as it's a newer ship and offers 7 day cruise instead of 5.

Both cruise lines are offering KSF.

Which cruise ship would you recommend and why?

Thanks!

Not sure why you would thing the Explorer would be more family friendly. Both lines cater to families and the Breakaway has all the latest gadgets, bells and whistles for the kids while the Explorer is an older ship in need of the drydock she's going to undergo after she's replaced by the Quantum.

I've cruised on both, and I would pick the Breakaway for the additional time she spends in Bermuda. The downside of the Breakaway is that it can feel crowded at times.

Thank you for your reply. I don't know much about Norwegian Cruise lines, I thought they were similar to Princess. We sailed on the Crown Princess 4 years ago and although it was a beautiful ship, there were only a handful of children on board and not much for my son to do.

I just looked at videos of Breakaway and wow! the water slide is pretty impressive. I'm leaning towards Breakaway now.

We've always wanted to sail on Royal Caribbean, however I would prefer a new ship which they don't offer to Bermuda.

We haven't been on either as we're Carnival fans and unfortunately CCL doesn't visit BDM for overnights. But we have enjoyed smaller NCL ships to BDM. We too are considering another cruise there and are torn between the limited options. We're shying away from the Breakaway after talking to passengers in another port who all say the ship just feels too crowded. They love NCL ships but these newer ones are just a different experience. But as NJ said she has many great features the kids young and old would like.

But you have to go with the longer time in port as it's never long enough!

Which ever you choose I recommend booking in early in Sept. if possible. The weather is best and the days are longer. Looking at prices for these two cruises in early Sept. I see Explorer balcony rooms at $599 and Breakaway at $1200. The Breakaway carries 1000 more guests and has lower ratings in the review section for overcrowding, entertainment, public rooms. I'm sure you'll love Bermuda either way. I've cruised there 5 times a (both 5 and 7 day) and look forward to getting back ASAP. The 7 day gets one more day on the island. I wouldn't pay double for the extra day - but that's me. Have fun!!!

I have done both and loved both, although Explorer was 5 plus years ago.

I would lean towards Breakaway for the newer ship, extra days, and slides. We also loved the "Waterfront" - Deck 8 and the outdoor dining.

We enjoy both cruise lines.

Have fun!

I have done both and loved both, although Explorer was 5 plus years ago.

 

I would lean towards Breakaway for the newer ship, extra days, and slides. We also loved the "Waterfront" - Deck 8 and the outdoor dining.

 

We enjoy both cruise lines.

 

Have fun!

I see you were on Breakaway last September. I am considering it for this September, but was wondering if you could tell me what the weather was like, in general, at that time of year. It will still be hurricane season, but I know it should still be warm in Bermuda. How were the days at sea?

The extra day in Bermuda is always nice. In September or October, you probably won't have a lot of kids onboard because they are all back in school. We sailed out of Boston last July with 14 members of our family and there were lots of kids on that cruise. The Boston trip is on the NCL Dawn and has better prices then the Breakaway because it is an old ship, like the Explorer, but still in good shape. The prices should be comparable to the Explorer but it is a 7 day cruise with three days in Bermuda.

Just got back on the 5 days cruise on Explorer OTS. We were pleasantly surprised that ship was in tip-top shape, no evidence of wear and tear. It was an excellent cruise. We cruised with NCL before. Here's what our subjective opinions:

The food/service, especially MDR, RCCL is superior (Explorer's MDR was the best among the 6 ships we've been on).

entertainment/kids stuff - Explorer has no water slides, or most updated X-box/Wii games, but it has an ice rink and climbing wall which our kids enjoyed. It's ice capade show was outstanding.

the 5 days itin. worked for us, b/c we wanted to spend some time in NYC, and 1.5 days in Bermuda, while short, with careful planning could still provide a comprehensive visit of the island.

Finally, as with another poster pointed out CC's useful ship reviews, Explorer has a well deserved 82% approve rating by fellow cruisers, while Breakaway only has 60+% - a surprising low number for a new ship.

We WERE booked on the Breakaway but had to cancel due to illness. We have been on the Explorer to Bermuda and though it was only 5 days we really enjoyed the ship. Yes, it was years ago, but even older ships are kept up and look fairly new. I personally would pick the Explorer as I don't like what I've heard so far about the Breakaway (it looks awesome though!) and really love the Explorer class of RC. I've been to Bermuda many times so just going on a cruise works for me. There isn't anything in Bermuda that I just have to do. On the other hand, if you want to spend time on the island then go with the Breakaway or NCL Dawn out of Boston.