Breakaway Cons- are they true - please HELP!

We are experienced RCCL( Allure & Oasis) & Celebrity Solstice class cruisers considering the Breakaway to Bermuda end of May 2015. My brother & wife who will be traveling this trip are in their late 50's & celebrating their 25th anniversary.

Some of the biggest negatives that I read about is the lack of deck space, deck chairs( even on the upper deck away from the pool), so so food in the main dining rooms, lines to get into the dining rooms( even with reservations in advance confirming a table for 2), very very small balconies& venues, crowds everywhere & so so service. To get around this we thought of the Vibe Beach Club( hear there are only 80 passes for purchase, so that may not happen) and to book the Specialty Restaurants( the real good ones excluded from the Ultimate Package).

Would like to leave from NY & sail to Bermuda but if all of the above are true we may simply sail RCCL from Bayonne on a 5 night Bermuda.

Would appreciate your honest feedback & possible suggestions.

and to book the Specialty Restaurants( the real good ones excluded from the Ultimate Package)....

There are NO real good ones excluded from The UDP. It only excludes Ocean Blu...and that's probably OK. :cool:

Sailing in May vs sailing mid-summer is quite a difference as it relates to crowds, etc.

We were just on Breakaway to Bermuda last month and had a blast. Was our favorite cruise so far.

IMHO we would choose the 7 day on Breakaway over a 5 nighter out of Bayonne any day.

May will be very cool for swimming in Bermuda, if you are beach goers.

Yes the pool deck gets crowded on sea days, but if you go up a deck it's just fine.

Go away from the flow and it's all good.

Food for us was very good in every restaurant we ate at but that's our opinion.

The Waterfront on deck 8 is a really lovely spot to have dinner, drinks and to watch the ocean go by.

Bermuda is a beautiful place to visit. We plan on doing this cruise again next year because we ran out of time. So much to do and see on both the ship and island.

Have fun whichever ship you choose.

Hope this helps.

~Robin

Every Day at Sea is a Great Day

There are NO real good ones excluded from The UDP. It only excludes Ocean Blu...and that's probably OK. :cool:

 

Sailing in May vs sailing mid-summer is quite a difference as it relates to crowds, etc.

Thanks Ron - understood that there will be less kids the 1st week in June. If you have sailed on Oceania and are OK with the Breakaway that says a whole lot. While a totally different experience, but still OK makes it still worth considering. Any other suggestions?

Paula

We were just on Breakaway to Bermuda last month and had a blast. Was our favorite cruise so far.

IMHO we would choose the 7 day on Breakaway over a 5 nighter out of Bayonne any day.

May will be very cool for swimming in Bermuda, if you are beach goers.

Yes the pool deck gets crowded on sea days, but if you go up a deck it's just fine.

Go away from the flow and it's all good.

Food for us was very good in every restaurant we ate at but that's our opinion.

The Waterfront on deck 8 is a really lovely spot to have dinner, drinks and to watch the ocean go by.

Bermuda is a beautiful place to visit. We plan on doing this cruise again next year because we ran out of time. So much to do and see on both the ship and island.

Have fun whichever ship you choose.

Hope this helps.

 

 

~Robin

Every Day at Sea is a Great Day

Thanks so much Robin! Do you think they will be OK with warm enough waters in Bermuda the first week in June?? Can you get reservations to dine outside at the waterfront restaurants? Did you dine in the dining room at all? Regarding the cabins I am contemplating a BA midship balcony. Did you have port or starboard side? I know the aft balconies are larger, but they are more expensive and hard to come by.

Appreciate your feedback! Paula

We also really enjoyed our Breakaway Cruise to Bermuda, had a great time!

We traveled right after school let out so the ship was full! So yes the sun decks and pool were crazy, we were not able to get Vibe tickets but found H2O to be the perfect relaxing place to be! I did miss not having a pool like on the Epic but the waterfall area was neat! Plus the hot dog stand rolling in each afternoon was a nice touch!

Yes small balcony but still enough room for us to have our morning coffee and evening drinks on!

The sail away is wonderful! Be sure to get up early enough to see the city when sailing back into it

We don't do a lot of up-charge dinning but did one night to be able to eat outside on the waterfront and loved it!

Food is subjective, but we have never starved on any NCL cruise we have been on!

Thanks Ron - understood that there will be less kids the 1st week in June. If you have sailed on Oceania and are OK with the Breakaway that says a whole lot. While a totally different experience, but still OK makes it still worth considering. Any other suggestions?

 

Paula

We do love Oceania... but 20+ cruises on Norwegian shows you we love 'em also.

I am sailing on the Breakaway again this coming week. Robin nailed it... you CAN avoid the crowds. There are so many different sundecks around the ship...easy to find a nice spot.

We have never had a bad meal in Manhattan MDR... we make a point of not eating in prime time.

Yes... the verandas on standard balcony cabins are tiny. You do have the choice of Cats with Large Balconies... or also look at Aft Facing balconies... they have extended verandas.. and a great view.

For two in a cabin, there is not much advantage to upticking to a minisuite...the cabin size difference is not so significant....and the veranda is the same size as a balcony cabin.

We do love Oceania... but 20+ cruises on Norwegian shows you we love 'em also.

 

I am sailing on the Breakaway again this coming week. Robin nailed it... you CAN avoid the crowds. There are so many different sundecks around the ship...easy to find a nice spot.

 

We have never had a bad meal in Manhattan MDR... we make a point of not eating in prime time.

 

Yes... the verandas on standard balcony cabins are tiny. You do have the choice of Cats with Large Balconies... or also look at Aft Facing balconies... they have extended verandas.. and a great view.

 

For two in a cabin, there is not much advantage to upticking to a minisuite...the cabin size difference is not so significant....and the veranda is the same size as a balcony cabin.

Thanks again Ron!! You have provided some valuable info. Enjoy your upcoming cruise on the Breakaway!! Would love to see a review when you return! Thanks again - Paula

I would suggest looking at booking a Haven suite.

Unforutnately the Haven Suite is out of their price range.....:-)

Some of the biggest negatives that I read about is the lack of deck space, deck chairs( even on the upper deck away from the pool), so so food in the main dining rooms, lines to get into the dining rooms( even with reservations in advance confirming a table for 2), very very small balconies& venues, crowds everywhere & so so service. To get around this we thought of the Vibe Beach Club( hear there are only 80 passes for purchase, so that may not happen) and to book the Specialty Restaurants( the real good ones excluded from the Ultimate Package).

Deck Space: As has already been noted, you can find lots of deck space on the water front if you're just looking to relax or walk, but not really sun yourself.

Deck Chairs: Most days we saw deck chairs available above the pool. There is also Spice H2O on the back of the pool deck (adults only) or Vibe, as you noted.

So-So Food: We had good to very good food everywhere we went - MDR, O'Sheehans, Buffet, & Specialty Restaurants. Of course food is pretty subjective, so your mileage might vary. As was noted before, only Ocean Blue - and ala carte restaurants such as Wasabi, Raw Bar, & Noodle Bar - are excluded from the UDP but even in those venues the UDP gives you a 20% discount.

Lines for Dining Rooms: We didn't experience any lines when we ate, but we didn't head to the MDR for dinners (only lunch) because we happened to have the UDP included under the promo offered when we booked.

Small Balconies: Yes, we had the smallest balcony of any cruise on the Breakaway. However, it didn't negatively impact our experience as we found plenty of other places to be outside when we needed it. And even on the small balcony, my daughter was still able to set up her easel and do a watercolor of the sunset.

Small Venues: Some venues are smaller than others but the only place this seemed to be an issue was in Headliners. This was more of an issue on the C2N back in January than last week on the way to Bermuda - perhaps because everyone wasn't trying to cram experiences into just two nights!

Crowds Everywhere: Yes, there are areas that get crowded (elevator lobbies after theatre shows let out, the Atrium during some events, the pool deck during sea day afternoons, etc).

So-So Service: This we only experienced once - in O'Sheehans. I reached out to the Hotel Director on board to address the issue quickly. In all other cases the service was good to fantastic.

Hope that helps!

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The Breakaway is a great ship with more activities and entertainment than you will be able to experience in a week. If you cant find something you like on the Breakaway then the problem is probably you and not the ship. Give it an open minded try and you will have a great time. Don't have enough time to go into how great Bermuda is. Early in booking you should be able to upgrade to a large balcony on deck 9 for a nominal fee.(I think for us it was $50 for the week) This is definitely something to look for as your balcony will be huge. Good Luck!:D

We do love Oceania... but 20+ cruises on Norwegian shows you we love 'em also.

 

I am sailing on the Breakaway again this coming week. Robin nailed it... you CAN avoid the crowds. There are so many different sundecks around the ship...easy to find a nice spot.

 

We have never had a bad meal in Manhattan MDR... we make a point of not eating in prime time.

 

Yes... the verandas on standard balcony cabins are tiny. You do have the choice of Cats with Large Balconies... or also look at Aft Facing balconies... they have extended verandas.. and a great view.

 

For two in a cabin, there is not much advantage to upticking to a minisuite...the cabin size difference is not so significant....and the veranda is the same size as a balcony cabin.

Thanks Puddles99 for the great feedback & to all who have replied thus far. What was not an option before may be one now & yes 2 1/2 day in Bermuda beats 1 1/2 days! Happy Sailing!

The Breakaway is a great ship with more activities and entertainment than you will be able to experience in a week. If you cant find something you like on the Breakaway then the problem is probably you and not the ship. Give it an open minded try and you will have a great time. Don't have enough time to go into how great Bermuda is. Early in booking you should be able to upgrade to a large balcony on deck 9 for a nominal fee.(I think for us it was $50 for the week) This is definitely something to look for as your balcony will be huge. Good Luck!:D

Thanks culinarc! I thought of the large balcony cabins, but they are foward on the ship which I've known to be the roughest locations - especially to Bermuda! I will now do some serious research!!

Average water temp for June in BDA is 78*. Just right for us but then we are used to 72* in August at the Jersey Shore.

Yes on reservations to dine outside for dinner!

As for MDR, our group of 10 had dinner in the Manhattan Room the 1st night about 7:30. A 10 minute wait and we were all seated together at one table. Food was hot. My steak was very good.

We had dinner in Taste 2 nights. Also very good.

BA balcony should be fine. We had a BD angled balcony deck 10, port side aft. Loved it.

Afts for our sailing were still available up until 2-3 weeks before sail date. Beware, while docked in Bermuda if your balcony gets sun it will be HOT.

Enjoy Spice H2O and it's bar and fountain water feature.

Also, sit outside Malting's for after dinner drinks. There is a very good bar waiter named Dacho. We called him Nacho. Excellent service every night.

Breakaway really is a special ship that we hope to sail on again. Great ship.

Have fun!!

~Robin

Every Day at Sea is a Great Day

Hi bandp407!

My wife and sailed the Breakaway to Bermuda last fall and it was our favorite cruise! (out of a total of 11 cruises)

To address a few of your concerns:

-As others have already stated, yes the pool deck can get crowded at times but we always managed to find a relaxing spot with loungers one deck up from the lido.

-We found the food in the buffet and the MDR to be excellent! :)

-We never really had to wait for a table in the MDR at night, but we tend to have dinner a little later (after 7:30 PM)

-Indeed the regular balconies are small, but I suggest you look at possibly booking a category B6 large balcony cabin on deck 9 near the front of the ship. They are a little bit more expensive but the balconies are MUCH larger. (the cabin itself is the same layout as a regular balcony cabin)

-We never had a problem with crowds inside of the ship and the service was generally top-notch.

Other than that, the Breakaway is a beautiful ship and Bermuda was great! I would recommend spending a day at Horseshoe Bay Beach and exploring both the Crystal and Fantasy caves.

I hope this helps! :)

We are experienced RCCL( Allure & Oasis) & Celebrity Solstice class cruisers considering the Breakaway to Bermuda end of May 2015. My brother & wife who will be traveling this trip are in their late 50's & celebrating their 25th anniversary.

 

Some of the biggest negatives that I read about is the lack of deck space, deck chairs( even on the upper deck away from the pool), so so food in the main dining rooms, lines to get into the dining rooms( even with reservations in advance confirming a table for 2), very very small balconies& venues, crowds everywhere & so so service. To get around this we thought of the Vibe Beach Club( hear there are only 80 passes for purchase, so that may not happen) and to book the Specialty Restaurants( the real good ones excluded from the Ultimate Package).

 

Would like to leave from NY & sail to Bermuda but if all of the above are true we may simply sail RCCL from Bayonne on a 5 night Bermuda.

 

Would appreciate your honest feedback & possible suggestions.

We were on Breakaway in January in Haven, and in a suite. We had prepaid our specialty restaurants and had reservations, they couldn't honor them for various reasons and on 4 evenings we just didn't eat. Told our conceirge and it fell on deaf ears.

We were on Breakaway in January in Haven, and in a suite. We had prepaid our specialty restaurants and had reservations, they couldn't honor them for various reasons and on 4 evenings we just didn't eat. Told our concierge and it fell on deaf ears.

hmmm. That is strange and quite unusual. 4 nights, eh?

Couldn't you eat in the Haven Restaurant? They can get entrees from the specialties for you...?

Hi bandp407!

 

My wife and sailed the Breakaway to Bermuda last fall and it was our favorite cruise! (out of a total of 11 cruises)

 

To address a few of your concerns:

 

-As others have already stated, yes the pool deck can get crowded at times but we always managed to find a relaxing spot with loungers one deck up from the lido.

 

-We found the food in the buffet and the MDR to be excellent! :)

 

-We never really had to wait for a table in the MDR at night, but we tend to have dinner a little later (after 7:30 PM)

 

-Indeed the regular balconies are small, but I suggest you look at possibly booking a category B6 large balcony cabin on deck 9 near the front of the ship. They are a little bit more expensive but the balconies are MUCH larger. (the cabin itself is the same layout as a regular balcony cabin)

 

-We never had a problem with crowds inside of the ship and the service was generally top-notch.

 

Other than that, the Breakaway is a beautiful ship and Bermuda was great! I would recommend spending a day at Horseshoe Bay Beach and exploring both the Crystal and Fantasy caves.

 

I hope this helps! :)

Thanks again to all my fellow cruisers!! Great info to work with !!

We were on the Breakaway last week - Bermuda cruise -

Our balcony cabin deck 12, port side - cabin size and storage fine, balcony width fine but depth was too small. Smallest balcony we've ever had

Food - we were disappointed with the quality. Also disappointed with the blah decor in the buffet and main dining rooms. The specialty places had great decor - NCL knows how to decorate a ship, so why not make the included restaurants also look nice?

Crowds - the only place we felt crowded was during the muster drill. We feel they really did a good job managing the crowds. All ships are crowded in certain areas (outside theaters etc after shows, last morning buffet), the sun deck chairs were really packed but we don't usually hang out on the sun decks

If you like to walk laps on an open deck with ocean views, you are out of luck on this ship. On deck 8 you can walk both sides and in the back to see the ship's wake, but the sides are not good for walking because it's just a narrow area with most of the deck being used for the 'waterfront restaurants', and the lifeboats are perched off the ship between decks 7 & 8, completely blocking ocean views on 7 and providing not clear views on deck 8 (unlike all the other ships I've been on). Also no deck chairs on 7 or 8. A few (very few) seating areas on 8 and you can sit at the waterfront chairs / tables when those restaurants are closed but it's not the same as relaxing on a deck lounge chair listening to the ocean. Also sometimes there are LOUD bar patrons during the day using the waterfront bars. Deck 7 outside has shuffleboard and nothing else - the lifeboats block the ocean view - there actually is room for a few deck chairs near the back end of each side but there are none.

I just feel since this is a cruise ship, there should be a designated deck where you can sit and relax instead of being bombarded with the inside hubbub - but NCL has taken this away.

I think NCL has forgotten that they are a CRUISE LINE not a land resort, and are trying to get passengers away from the water (free areas) - passengers who are doing laps etc are not buying drinks etc.

If you want a quiet area, good luck. Lots of loud music in public areas (we love music, we are musicians, but please NCL, get ride of Fire and Ice in the Atrium....).

Our balcony was small but there wasn't good deck space where you could see and hear the ocean - I suppose if you are sitting on your balcony you are not spending extra money - so NCL made the balconies small so people will go to other areas and end up spending extra money.

We would not sail on the Breakaway again unless it was the only option for our selected destination or time frame. We like hearing, seeing, and walking by the water on the sailing days and NCL has eliminated that from this ship. We signed up for a cruise, not a land resort.

OP: have you considered the Celebrity Summit out of Cape Liberty? Much more manageable size than the Breakaway (imho).

We have sailed Allure twice and Oasis and Freedom once. We just got off the Breakaway two weeks ago. Here is my opinion:

Deck Space/chairs- I expected worse based on prior reviews but didn't find outside decks to be more crowded than Allure/Oasis. However, the only way to get a chair near the pool was to get out by seven am and reserve. Chair hogs were out of control.

Food- Food was ok in dining room (Manhattan Room) for dinner but service was awful. We ate dinner at prime time 7:30 both nights. Once with a reservation and once without and our party of three was seated right away both nights.

We found service overall to be just ok and below the levels on Allure/Oasis. The Breakaway is a beautiful ship, although it doesn't have the wow factor of the Allure/Oasis. It does have the Waterfront , however, which we enjoyed at night immensely. We enjoyed the Breakaway and would not hesitate to sail her again.

Hi Neptune18-

Great to hear from someone who has sailed Oasis & Allure!!

We know the chairs by the pools are always the first to go. Not where we want to be anyway. However, there was never a problem getting a chair on one of the top decks no matter what time you arrived . We also had the Solarium which was wonderful! Just hoping that Breakaway will have chairs available on the top decks as well. Unfortunately the adult club on Breakaway is Vibe with limited passes FOR PURCHASE. Seems like they get you on NCL with a lot of added costs for your options.

We know the food & service & wow will not be the same, however, it is nice knowing that going in. Agree, the Waterfront will probably be very enjoyable for my brother as well. Yes, I am doing all this research for him & his wife!! My DH & I are booked for the Oasis again next July.

Now trying to decide on whether it is worth the additional $200 for an aft cabin with the larger balcony. Sounds like it is, especially if you get the lounge chairs shown in many of the photos. Sailing to Bermuda first week in June should be rather nice back there- not to hot from the sun. Anyway will be his call with still Liberty of the Seas as an option. From all the wonderful feedback here Liberty is sounding more and more doubtful!!

Thank you again! Paula

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