Breakaway Review 11/2-11/9

Hello,

Our family of 4 just off the Breakaway, we are veterans of 20 cruises and 5 with NCL, feel free to ask any questions;

Embarkation - Waited on line for 75 minutes to check in then walked on the ship.

Food- Overall average at best, had only 3 dinners that were very good-Chateaubriand, Lamb, and Prime Rib, all else was forgettable in the main free dining rooms. Also if you have kids or just do not want to spend 2 plus hours for dinner, I wish you luck, ever dinner was between 2 to 2.5 hours. Had to take my son to buffet as he did not want to miss all of camp to sit at dinner forever. We also had to make reservations every night as the wait was 30-60 minutes between hours of 6:30-8pm. We ate in O'Sheehans a few times and it was solid, pretty good wings pot pie and fish and chips. The meatloaf looked and tasted like some frozen concoction, stay away. Did not eat much other than breakfast in buffet and could not get a burger at the Uptown Grill which looked great but the wait was an hour every day at lunch.

Entertainment - Just excellent. Rock of Ages is by far the best production we have ever seen at sea, so well done and fun. Met the actors on the ship and they could not be nicer. Burn the Floor is good as well if dancing is your thing, you can tell they are way above the normal dancer u see on ships. Howl at the Moon were incredible as well, the 3 some of John, Ben and especially Nikki who was an excellent female singer, saw them every night, not many repeats and took any and all requests, the groups were so good and friendly as well. The last night was so much fun as the cast of Rock of Ages got up and sang a ton some different tunes.

The Ship- As a big ship it was easy to get around so no worries there. The pool setup is by far the worst I have ever see, if you have small kids it is so small and crowded and little sun in the area so felt cold always, the main pool which is kid free has no room either, no stage for activities and just poorly designed. We found chairs on 2nd deck which was fine. Many activities were in Atrium we fits about 100 people so it was utter chaos and another poorly planned idea when they had a theater available.

Youth Camp- My 11 yr old gave it 7/10, he went every night, the counselors were great but some activities were very lacking

Activities- The Ropes course was great and miniature golf was well kept

Ports- Did Space Center, good for 1 visit, ship missed private island so pool area was chaotic and had perfect day at the Atlantis

Stateroom- Had a balcony on 14th floor, pretty tight for 4 if you have to spend any time in the room. Room steward was great in Esther

Overall would give cruise around a 6.5 out of 10 and would need a great deal to come back on but if we did it would be due to the entertainment

We just got off the Breakaway this morning also. Wow. We never had a dinner last more then 1 hour. We ate in the Manhattan Room 3 nights and Speciality restaurants the rest. We joked around how we are the fastest eaters ever because we barely even made it 1 hour. Maybe it was the time you went?

Our checkin was quick, from the parking garage to the check in, maybe 1/2 hour and it was packed checking in.

I guess we had a week of luck! This morning we were off and thru the Lincoln tunnel stopping for coffee in Hoboken Dunkin Donuts before getting on the Turnpike by 7:25 am

We live by Toms River ( exit 80) and we were home by 9:00 am. Fastest Disembarktion ever. ( we did self service walk off)

We had a great cruise. We are mainly RCCL cruisers but we for the price we paid for the Breakaway, we could not possibly complain about anything. We think its an excellent value for the money

What time did you get there for embark time?

Regarding dinner - I always avoid 6-8pm because that when everyone wants to eat. So, if the wait times and service is better after 8pm, then I guess I'm eating after 8...

Regarding the ship - Guess I'll be doing most of my swimming at the port stops since the pools are too small during the sea days. Hope not too many chair hogs, right?

What time did you get there for embark time?

 

Regarding dinner - I always avoid 6-8pm because that when everyone wants to eat. So, if the wait times and service is better after 8pm, then I guess I'm eating after 8...

 

Regarding the ship - Guess I'll be doing most of my swimming at the port stops since the pools are too small during the sea days. Hope not too many chair hogs, right?

We got there at 11am for embark.

Disembark was solid left room at 8 and was on the street by 8:30am

I was able to get 4 chairs for family on 2nd deck but you have to be out there b4 10am

We ate in Taste, Savor and Manhattan room, around 6:30 every day, we do not eat dinner late plus having kids who want to get to camp eating that late would not be feasible. We had a party of 6 and the pace of dinner was just awful at best

I'll have much more to report but I disagree about MDR wait times as well. We ate there twice on this cruise with a party of 9. Service was prompt and well-paced both times. Dinner was roughly 70-85 minutes and we had 3-4 courses. Both times, we commented that service was excellent and that we ate quickly ( but not rushed) 6:15 pm both times

I'll have much more to report but I disagree about MDR wait times as well. We ate there twice on this cruise with a party of 9. Service was prompt and well-paced both times. Dinner was roughly 70-85 minutes and we had 3-4 courses. Both times, we commented that service was excellent and that we ate quickly ( but not rushed) 6:15 pm both times

We did notice one of the smaller dining rooms, (can't remember if it was Taste or Savor) was much slower then the other during breakfast and lunch. One morning it did take us 1 hour for breakfast and we only had egg white omelets. But it didn't ruin our day... had no where to go that day, I think it was a sea day. Overall we were very pleased with the service especially with a full ship and LOTS of families and kids. We thought they did a good job

1172 children on board. 4700 people total

We got there at 11am for embark.

 

Disembark was solid left room at 8 and was on the street by 8:30am

 

I was able to get 4 chairs for family on 2nd deck but you have to be out there b4 10am

 

We ate in Taste, Savor and Manhattan room, around 6:30 every day, we do not eat dinner late plus having kids who want to get to camp eating that late would not be feasible. We had a party of 6 and the pace of dinner was just awful at best

So I guess I need to leave my place at 7 or 8am to get there before 11am for early boarding and avoiding the lines, then.

Thanks for the info!!

I'll have much more to report but I disagree about MDR wait times as well. We ate there twice on this cruise with a party of 9. Service was prompt and well-paced both times. Dinner was roughly 70-85 minutes and we had 3-4 courses. Both times, we commented that service was excellent and that we ate quickly ( but not rushed) 6:15 pm both times

I guess we just had the worst luck in each dining room. We would have loved 70 minute dinner and made our cruise experience more enjoyable

Yeah, we were surprised it moved along so nicely and was actually quicker than the Haven dining room.

How did you get to Atlantis ? Did you pay to use Facilities while there ? We are on Breakaway

next Sunday. Thanks for Posting so quick.

How did you get to Atlantis ? Did you pay to use Facilities while there ? We are on Breakaway

 

next Sunday. Thanks for Posting so quick.

We actually did the excursion through the ship for the 1st time ever as they lowered the price before the cruise and we paid $400 including transportation

They are still doing the burgers at uptown grill where you pick the burger and bring it to you? We waited over an hour the first day they started it on our October cruise I'm suprised it's still such a long wait and they haven't figured out a way to make it a shorter wait time.. Burger was good but shouldn't take so long for a burger and fries!

They are still doing the burgers at uptown grill where you pick the burger and bring it to you? We waited over an hour the first day they started it on our October cruise I'm suprised it's still such a long wait and they haven't figured out a way to make it a shorter wait time.. Burger was good but shouldn't take so long for a burger and fries!

Yup it takes an hour during the 12-2 timeframe

One way to speed up dinner is to not order appetizers or dessert. When you go to a stateside restaurant and order all three courses you are likely looking at the same amount of time. For me, the dining is wonderful. It is an activity that adds to the cruise. I would not want three courses shoved at me to get me out in 40 minutes. I like that they wait for the last person to finish the course. Stateside, how many times have you been eating a salad and had to put it aside for your entree. Again, Rush, rush, rush.

One way to speed up dinner is to not order appetizers or dessert. When you go to a stateside restaurant and order all three courses you are likely looking at the same amount of time. For me, the dining is wonderful. It is an activity that adds to the cruise. I would not want three courses shoved at me to get me out in 40 minutes. I like that they wait for the last person to finish the course. Stateside, how many times have you been eating a salad and had to put it aside for your entree. Again, Rush, rush, rush.

Well I never asked for 40 minutes but was hoping 70 should cover it, and for our family 70 minutes is not rush rush rush

I enjoy a 2 hr dinner but most little kids ( especially those anxiously awaiting the opening of Splash academy) do not. We generally had the kids meals come it hour first app course, they ate their ice cream while we were doing soup or salad and then someone would bring them down to splash, allowing the adults to eat entrees and dinner leisurely. They should have a dinner pick up program like Disney does.

I enjoy a 2 hr dinner but most little kids ( especially those anxiously awaiting the opening of Splash academy) do not. We generally had the kids meals come it hour first app course, they ate their ice cream while we were doing soup or salad and then someone would bring them down to splash, allowing the adults to eat entrees and dinner leisurely. They should have a dinner pick up program like Disney does.

For a few of the nights, I just fed him in buffet, he sat at dinner till 7 then I took him to the camp, but even w/o kids my wife and I are not 2 hour dinner people

Hello,

 

Our family of 4 just off the Breakaway, we are veterans of 20 cruises and 5 with NCL, feel free to ask any questions;

 

Embarkation - Waited on line for 75 minutes to check in then walked on the ship.

 

Food- Overall average at best, had only 3 dinners that were very good-Chateaubriand, Lamb, and Prime Rib, all else was forgettable in the main free dining rooms. Also if you have kids or just do not want to spend 2 plus hours for dinner, I wish you luck, ever dinner was between 2 to 2.5 hours. Had to take my son to buffet as he did not want to miss all of camp to sit at dinner forever. We also had to make reservations every night as the wait was 30-60 minutes between hours of 6:30-8pm. We ate in O'Sheehans a few times and it was solid, pretty good wings pot pie and fish and chips. The meatloaf looked and tasted like some frozen concoction, stay away. Did not eat much other than breakfast in buffet and could not get a burger at the Uptown Grill which looked great but the wait was an hour every day at lunch.

 

Entertainment - Just excellent. Rock of Ages is by far the best production we have ever seen at sea, so well done and fun. Met the actors on the ship and they could not be nicer. Burn the Floor is good as well if dancing is your thing, you can tell they are way above the normal dancer u see on ships. Howl at the Moon were incredible as well, the 3 some of John, Ben and especially Nikki who was an excellent female singer, saw them every night, not many repeats and took any and all requests, the groups were so good and friendly as well. The last night was so much fun as the cast of Rock of Ages got up and sang a ton some different tunes.

 

The Ship- As a big ship it was easy to get around so no worries there. The pool setup is by far the worst I have ever see, if you have small kids it is so small and crowded and little sun in the area so felt cold always, the main pool which is kid free has no room either, no stage for activities and just poorly designed. We found chairs on 2nd deck which was fine. Many activities were in Atrium we fits about 100 people so it was utter chaos and another poorly planned idea when they had a theater available.

 

Youth Camp- My 11 yr old gave it 7/10, he went every night, the counselors were great but some activities were very lacking

 

Activities- The Ropes course was great and miniature golf was well kept

 

Ports- Did Space Center, good for 1 visit, ship missed private island so pool area was chaotic and had perfect day at the Atlantis

 

Stateroom- Had a balcony on 14th floor, pretty tight for 4 if you have to spend any time in the room. Room steward was great in Esther

 

Overall would give cruise around a 6.5 out of 10 and would need a great deal to come back on but if we did it would be due to the entertainment

All the reviews I have read I have never ever seen one person say they had to wait over an hour for checkin. Sorry that you had to deal with that that would be frustrating

All the reviews I have read I have never ever seen one person say they had to wait over an hour for checkin. Sorry that you had to deal with that that would be frustrating

It happens, I think the backup was due to delayed on boarding, I dont think they started till around 11:30 or so

It happens, I think the backup was due to delayed on boarding, I dont think they started till around 11:30 or so

I think it depends on what time you get there. Our last cruise was this week (and we knew it would be packed), so we got to the pier around 9:30, breezed on through, and waiting until noon when they started boarding. I'd rather not stand in line, and spend the time sitting with my family.

Thanks for the reviews and comments.

Glad you had a good cruise.

Too bad you had to miss GSC.

Love Breakaway and can't wait to sail her again!!

~Robin

Every Day at Sea is a Great Day

IMO, the calls to people telling them about a 9:30am time plus the early (3pm) departure were the issue. The line was really long at 9:30, got terrible by 10:30 and was chaos until boarding started. Another reason the Haven was a blessing this week for our extended family.

They are still doing the burgers at uptown grill where you pick the burger and bring it to you? We waited over an hour the first day they started it on our October cruise I'm suprised it's still such a long wait and they haven't figured out a way to make it a shorter wait time.. Burger was good but shouldn't take so long for a burger and fries!

We just got off also and it seemed like a long wait but actually it was 20 minutes tops. There is a salad bar while you wait but I wasn't in a salad mood.

It was probably quicker because it was around 1:00 on Nassau day.

We just stumbled upon it. Wasn't planned.

We just got off also and it seemed like a long wait but actually it was 20 minutes tops. There is a salad bar while you wait but I wasn't in a salad mood.

 

It was probably quicker because it was around 1:00 on Nassau day.

 

We just stumbled upon it. Wasn't planned.

Maybe quicker on port days, we were not on the ship for those 2 days so it would make sense a shorter line those days.

That salad bar was pretty good but I had ti beg the guy to gte more of some toppings and he showed he was not happy..oh well