Sun Vs Breakaway ?

Hi there:

i hadn´t post in a long time, my parents my brother my wife and my 2 year old daughter are planning a cruise in April, we already booked for the Sun, but i found that the Gateaway sails one day before so changing cruises wouldn't be an issue.

I´ve sailed in RCI cruises like the Voyager, Liberty and Oasis before , and i´ve sailed only the Epic from NCL.

The NCL Sun could be my first small cruise, but the Gateaway watched my eye.

What would be your suggestions, keep the reservation or change it for the Gateaway?

Thanks !

Hi there:

 

i hadn´t post in a long time, my parents my brother my wife and my 2 year old daughter are planning a cruise in April, we already booked for the Sun, but i found that the Gateaway sails one day before so changing cruises wouldn't be an issue.

 

I´ve sailed in RCI cruises like the Voyager, Liberty and Oasis before , and i´ve sailed only the Epic from NCL.

 

The NCL Sun could be my first small cruise, but the Gateaway watched my eye.

What would be your suggestions, keep the reservation or change it for the Gateaway?

 

Thanks !

Your title is a bit misleading as you asked "Sun vs Breakaway." That being said, the BA and GA are virtually identical, so I feel comfortable answering as I have been on both the Sun and BA recently.

They are very different ships, though the things that you would expect from NCL are constant - Freestyle cruising, great crew, good specialty dining.

The BA is a destination unto itself. The water park and ropes course are all fantastic, the ship is huge, and everything is bright, shiny and new. The cabins are very nicely furnished. As a result of its size and selection of venues, there is more to do on the BA than the Sun. There are also many more entertainment options (Jazz Club, Second City, Howl at the Moon, etc.) and the shows on the BA are superior (ROA and BTF). The big downside - the small balconies on the regular balcony cabins. Aft balconies and large balcony cabins are much better (and the Haven, of course).

The Sun is an older ship and much smaller - about half the size. Although an older ship, it is maintained very well and very clean, so I prefer to think of it as "classic." The cabins are among the largest in the fleet. The itinerary should drive your selection, but I will say that because of all that it offers families, the Sun is likely to have fewer kids on board. We sailed on it in August and found the entertainment lacking compared to the BA, but about on par with other cruise lines. The casino on the Sun is actually pretty big for a ship this size, and nicely done.

That's my $0.02 and your mileage may vary. I'm sure you'll get a lot of varying opinions here on the board. Have a great time whichever you choose!

I agree with the previous poster. These are two completely different ships, with two completely different itineraries. If you are cruising for the sake of cruising, and the destination is not as important, then go for the Breakaway, as the ship itself is somewhat of a destination in itself.

If the itinerary is important, and you're not into Bermuda (I think that's about the only place BA goes), then go for the Sun. It's still a great ship, and more of the "traditional" style cruising as far as shows and entertainment goes.

Thanks to both for your answers, I decided to give a try to a smaller ship like the sun, I made a reservation for balcony. I guess I will get better service in a small cruise

Thank you

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The Sun is my absolutely favorite NCL ship. Great, fun crew, the Great Outdoor is fabulous. The forward Observation Lounge is also a wonderful space. There are lots of places to see the sea and know you are on a cruise. We were on her for 11 days last December and we so busy with on board activities we had to remind ourselves we were on vacation. :) It was a great time. I do think it may be possible to have better service because you actually get to know some of the crew members. Have a wonderful time on your cruise!

The Sun is my absolutely favorite NCL ship. Great, fun crew, the Great Outdoor is fabulous. The forward Observation Lounge is also a wonderful space. There are lots of places to see the sea and know you are on a cruise. We were on her for 11 days last December and we so busy with on board activities we had to remind ourselves we were on vacation. :) It was a great time. I do think it may be possible to have better service because you actually get to know some of the crew members. Have a wonderful time on your cruise!

I agree with you 100%. I love the Sun.

I was on a tender from Carnival Magic when I saw my Sun in Belize just last week. I wanted to jump overboard and swim over. :)

If the itinerary is important, and you're not into Bermuda (I think that's about the only place BA goes), then go for the Sun.

BA also has other itineraries... will be testing it soon on the East Carribean trip which goes to Puerto Rico, St.Thomas, St.Maarten, St.Lucia, Barbados & St.Kitts and then back to NYC again.

Having noted that, and having been on the Epic as a 'large ship' compared to the Sun which is considered a 'small ship', both will give you a great vacation, intimacy (repat contact with other passengers) is likely higher on the Sun and thus makes the Sun a bit more cozy, while already on the ship the size of the Epic you might meet somebody on day 1 and not see them again.

That is unless you are up on the top of the boat and everything is in a way smaller with the ship-in-ship concept.

If traveling with kids though, I think the larger ships (Epic/Breakaway/Getaway and soon Eclipse) have a lot more entertainment options for them but also for your self. Thus it might be a better choice, also as there are more other kids that they can play with (the Splash Academy on Epic kept the kids quite busy :) and thus would allow one to have a little bit of a vacation without the kids if one wanted that.... especially useful likely on sea days.

In the end the choice between them is a personal one, I can only suggest to try them both ;)

But we go for the destinations primarily, to be able to sample them and then if we like them take a direct flight back in at a later point, thus the boat is just a very nice way to travel without checking out & in, moving suitcases around every time and doing customs and other such things and thus being able to see a lot of different places almost every day you open the curtains of the room in the morning.

Since your daughter is still so young, I think that it would be a good time for you to try a smaller ship. When she gets older, she will be disappointed with ships that don't have the water park and all the other elaborate features on them. To me, a smaller ship cruise is very different from a larger ship cruise. I go on the Mega ships (Oasia, Allure, Epic, Breakaway, Getaway, etc.) specifically in order to enjoy the ship as the destination. I want these ships to have a ton of entertainment and food options. On these cruises, I don't even care about getting off the ship. The smaller ship cruises are all about the ports of call and I go on those when I know I will be off the ship a great deal of the time touring ports and tired when I get back. In this situation, I'm looking for a ship with good food for dinner and a nice cabin, but I don't care much about the entertainment on the ship or amenities, other than maybe a hot tub or spa pass so soothe my aching muscles. I bring along movies on my IPAD or DVD's (if I am in a suite). I just enjoy relaxing while onboard the smaller ships.

Thanks to all of you I've decided to try NCL Sun, is always good to try something new. I got a Balcony room for the price I could get an inside room in the Breakaway.

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Thanks to all of you I've decided to try NCL Sun, is always good to try something new. I got a Balcony room for the price I could get an inside room in the Breakaway.

The difference in price primarily lies in the amount of entertainment/activities on board (and thus the crew cost).

You'll be having a good time on the Sun; We'll be going back on her for that 14 day around the South American horn trip, and I am really looking forward to that one.