sdmike

Clever tech but if they want to data mine their guests they shouldn't be charging for the privelege.

It's no different than using your card. What extra information do you think they are "mining"

Thanks everybody for their feedback, especially those that have sailed both and those that linked reviews of the Quantum class. As always, the folks here on CC are top notch.

Sail on!

Mike

If this is your honest impression of a typical Breakaway cruise you should not even consider it, regardless of cost.

 

Go with the Anthem.

It wasn't an impression, it was a concern/question because I read about this being an issue on other ships during this promo. Thankfully, the folks here that have sailed the BA haven't seen an issue with this.

I agree with Turtles06. The Quantum is stunningly beautiful!!! Loved it!

I have sailed on both the Breakaway and Quantum. Not a fan of the Breakaway. The pool area is way too small and the ship felt crowded. I would recommend Anthem. Loved the solarium - a wonderful, quiet space which is almost impossible to find on the Breakaway.

I kept a blog of our Quantum cruise with lots of photos http://quantumoftheseas2015.blogspot.com/

Thank you!

Found this thread with someone who did both and gives a highlight of pros / cons for each

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2278498&referrerid=0

 

Good luck!

Thanks for the link!

Hey Mike!

 

Great to see you again!

 

There have been A LOT of changes at NCL since you left, and with the promos for dining and booze packages, it's gotten to the point where you really need reservations in the specialties way ahead of time, or you'll be stuck with 6:00 or 9:00 dinners, especially for a big group.

 

The specialties now have an 18% service charge on top of the bill, Cagney's, La Cucina and Le Bistro are now a la carte, not just a flat fee.

 

I won't go on as I'll get beaten up, but there are a lot of differences, so it's worth a good read to see if they will affect you or not.

 

I've never been on the Quantam Class ships, so can't help you there either. I'm still happy sailing NCL for the time being, but I just wanted you to be aware that things are different now with the new leadership in place.

Thanks for chiming in! Nice to see you're still around :) I appreciate the info on the changes, and it tells me that I need to do a lot more research over the coming months before going on whichever ship I end up on. It's a catch 22...I love surprises, but I hate them on a cruise :)

Mike, I'm an NCL fan as you can see from my cruise history below, but my spouse and I recently returned from the Anthem TA and were just blown away by this ship. We aren't big fans of mega-ships, and were surprised we enjoyed Anthem as much as we did, but we did. She is stunningly beautiful and has incredibly unique public spaces, like Two70, which has to be seen to be believed. And North Star is just amazing.

 

And for the kids -- Anthem is pretty much an amusement park at sea. North Star, bumper cars, flowrider, simulated sky diving (Ripcord by iFly). Incredible.

 

Dave above is correct that with ten people, you really will want to have dinner reservations, but we found them easy to make in advance on line. The key is getting everything to work around the three shows that need to be reserved, but I suspect you'd have similar issues on Breakaway.

 

Anthem is not perfect; we found the food and food service in some of the "complimentary" venues to be subpar. RCI really needs to make improvements there.

 

We haven't sailed Breakaway (have no interest, really, given what I've read) so I can't give a comparison, but in case this is helpful to you, here are my detailed comments (by subject), with photos, about our Anthem sailing:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2277588

 

Enjoy whatever you decide!

Thank you! I will check out your thread and ask any questions. Thanks for taking the time to respond. :)

I will be going on the Breakaway for the 5th time next month. I really haven't seen bar fulls of drunk people in spite of the drink package. Since it will be a large family cruise and money isn't an issue, are you planning to cruise in the haven? If so, I think you will have a great time. I can't comment on the RCCL cruise, but have not been disappointed on the Breakaway. The haven area would be a great area for your entire family, and is pretty quiet, compared to the rest of the ship.

Thanks Chars. Good call. I'll price out the Haven and see how crazy the prices get. That would certainly up the experience. I appreciate the feedback.

Hi sdmike

 

Our first trip on Breakaway was a family group of 10. We made no reservations for any dinner MDR. Showed up at the Manhattan Dining Room at 7:30pm and were seated all together at a table for 10 about 10 minutes later.

Hope this helps. Hope you enjoy your cruise no matter which you choose!

Happy Sailing!

Thanks. I agree with you. I've not had issues with a larger group (we had 14 on the Epic) as walk-ins to the more formal dining room. We're also not above a good buffet :). I guess that's where I have a bit of concern about the RCI ship because we quite often don't know what or where we want to eat until we're hungry. :)

The systems are similar, but the biggest difference is the RCI system is far more dependent on reservations and I would certainly recommend making reservations if you decide to go on Anthem. We made reservations ahead of time for each night on Anthem and we were always seated within 5 minutes, and usually immediately. The system ran smoothly in all but one of the restaurants (the Grande) where we didn't care for the food or service. Some people complain about having to make the reservations, but in actuality they are very easy to make and you can change them on board either using the Royal IQ app, or the low tech solution of visiting the staff member at the podium outside each restaurant.

 

As far as the quality, my DW Is a foodie and she strongly disliked the included dining fare on the Breakaway. We did think that the specialty dining on Breakaway was quite good. On the other hand, we had far more hits than misses with the included food on Anthem, and overall the choice of menus among the five included dining rooms (including the smaller Devinly Decadence) was far superior to what NCL is offering on Breakaway. Restaurant service was about the same. As far as specialty dining goes, we ate at Jamie's Italian on Anthem which was excellent.

 

I hope this helps, and I'm happy to answer any further questions!

Thanks Dave. I appreciate the feedback. How flexible do you think dining will be with 10 of us? It might be a bit hairy to move reservations around, I would think.

Oh, I think RCI is offering $300 per stateroom OBC if I read the offer correctly. This would help bring the cost down a bit versus BA.

Hey Mike

Long time no see. Welcome back!! have not sailed Breakaway but sailed her sister ship Getaway. I know you are a big lover of NCL Epic and me too. I thought Getaway was actually a step down from Epic on almost every level except the waterfront. The spa, gym, Bliss, and restaurants are bigger and better on Epic. Even Spice is better on Epic. Having said that $5k is nothing to sneeze about. That is HUGE and is such a difference that Breakaway would be hard not to book. RCCL has something called "anytime" dining which is identical to freestyle. I would vote new ship but the savings would lure me to Breakaway. Breakaway also has Rock of Ages which is something I would love to see. On the flip side RCCL has some amazing innovative things on Anthem. I saw a video of the ship and was blown away. I would love to Sky dive at sea.

Good luck with your decision and keep us posted.

Hey David!! Thanks for the input. I appreciate it. One concern I have about those "innovations" is that they can be crowded/full, pay, or broken. I remember the bungee thing on the Epic that my kids never got to use because it was broken. Thanks for your perspective on the Breakaway. We truly loved the Epic, and I'd almost hate to go onto the BA or GA and be let down.

I could have made a lot of assumptions, but I choose not to. Instead I choose to give you the benefit of the doubt and take you at your word by answering the question that you asked.

 

FWIW...the "mistake" could have just as easily have been the Breakaway...for all I know you could have been planning a cruise in China. Also, technically correct is still correct.

ok, let's try this again. Since you now know that I'm referring to a summer cruise out of NYC/NJ (specifically June 30 on the Anthem out of NJ) versus a trip out of NY on the Breakaway (on July 1), do you have any opinions to share on the options? Thanks

Not misleading at all...I simply answered the specific question that the OP asked. He didn't ask about the Anthem, nor did he ask about the Getaway. Taking it upon myself to assume and answer based on other ships in a class...not THAT would be misleading.

While you are technically correct, you could have assumed I had the wrong ship name since I was referring to a specific cruise. Do you have an opinion on the options? Thanks

 

At the end of the day it comes down to how big a deal the money is for you. You're getting a higher quality product on Anthem, but if the money is too much to justify go on the Breakaway and you'll have a blast.

Thanks Dave. How does the new Dynamic Dining Choice approach work? Is it a lot like freestyle, or is it a hybrid. Money is always an issue, but my mother received an inheritance from a good friend who passed away last year and wants to use it for a cruise for all of us. I want to be a good steward of these funds and not go crazy, but it's not a problem. I really appreciate you input having been on both.

Not all that hard a decision....choose the Breakaway.

 

 

RCCL permanently moved Quantum to China.

My bad. It's the Anthem. Quantum class. Same questions, different name. :)

Hey guys. It's been a while since I've posted here. I see many new faces and many old ones (you know who you are!)

I've come for help. My mother is in her mid-70's and is looking to get the extended family together for a trip out of NY either on the Quantum or Breakaway. Now I know I'm on the NCL board, but I know many of you sail both lines :)

Both of the trips we're looking at are 9 days. For the 10 of us the Breakaway is around $5k cheaper overall, but that's not a big deal for reasons I won't get into. I have not caught up on my Breakaway reading, or my Quantum reading, so I'm putting this out there to capture some opinions. Here's my view of things so far:

Breakaway - It's cheaper and I prefer freestyle dining. There is a current perk where I can get free specialty restaurants, drinks, $50 off excursions, etc., and while this sounds great, I'm afraid of a ship of drunks and specialty restaurants so packed that I can't get a table.

Quantum - New ship, but I'm clearly not familiar with how RCI does things, like dining. The kids like the idea of the flowrider, bumper cars, etc., but like I said, it's more expensive.

Anyone sailed both? It's been a long time since I've sailed RCI, and it's been a couple of years since I was on the Jewel, and 5 since we were on the Epic. What's the current thinking on the Breakaway?

Thanks guys

An earlier poster said it best. Cruises are still a great deal, and I'll select the cruise that offers what I want for the best value. I really couldn't give a flying fish what somebody charged last week or last year. If cruising gets too expensive due to changes, I'll choose to do something else. Until then, there are lots of choices in lines, ships, accommodations, itineraries and offers.

Hi Sand and Seas. I have a review of my trip on the Jewel to Alaska in my signature area. I would not miss the Tracy Arm excursion out of Juneau. Highlight of our trip. We also hired a private fishing boat in Ketchikan, which was amazing as well. Rafting? Not so much. The train trip out of Skagway is something to behold. There's some great information on the Alaska port of call boards too.

Enjoy

There are some large balconies with obstructed views of the ocean (hull balconies). These are on decks 9 and 10 forward. Choose wisely. There's a list of these in my signature area

We are scheduled for the 12/7/14 cruise and would like to bring our own wine. Can anyone tell me how many bottles we may bring and how big of a bottle can each bottle of wine be?

 

Thanks!

Shannon

You can bring as much as you want, but you will pay a corkage fee for each one just to get them on the ship. The charge for a standard 750ml bottle is $15. You pay this after security but before you board the ship. You will get a sticker on each bottle saying you paid. You can get a refund on any that you don't drink. Larger bottles cost more

It's not optional. It also doesn't matter if you open it or if they open it. They will store open bottles for you if you want, and bring it to any dining room for you upon request. Also, if you hide the bottle in your luggage they will call you to a room, open your luggage with you there, and then charge the fee.

ship water is purified on board. We find it better than bottled water. As such we don't go through the hassle of taking any water with us, just some refillable bottles

Hello,

 

I was hoping I could get some information on the Epic balcony Cabin 9004. Has anyone ever stayed in this room? What are some pros and cons? I understand it is a hull balcony.

No issues, really. It's an extra large balcony, which is a bonus, and the bed is near the balcony, which is the preferred location

I have a WC Epic review in my signature area, but it's from 2010 when she first sailed there :)

I saw the POA traveling north off the eastern coast of Kauai today around 2:30 pm. I took a couple of pics and will post later. We're staying near Kapa'a on the coast.

doesn't seem to sanitary to me when you use the toilet and have to touch the doorknob to get out and wash your hands.

How is this different than a public restroom with stalls?