Tiger55

We had access to it on our last cruise on the Breakaway. I believe I enjoyed it more than she did. During sea days its very busy during the day. We found the perfect time was early evening. We always did dinner on the early side, then go back to the room and change, then hit the spa. Almost every evening we had the place to ourselves.

It was there a month ago, very little people playing it. The hot penny machines were 88 Fortunes and Fu Da Le on the smoking side during our cruise. Good luck!

[quote name='windjamming']Thanks Tiger55! Wasn't it a great week? Definitely a positive experience, so much so that we're looking for our next Norwegian cruise. Although we have sailed mostly RCI in the past, Freestyle really won me over!


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It was a great week, loved the Breakaway! Enjoyed the extra time in Nassau! It only felt crowded the day boarding the ship. Love Freestyle cruising, I'm loyal to NCL just for that reason. Not sure when or where my next one will be, but it can't come soon enough :)


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A wonderful review of a very great vacation. We were on the same sailing dates as you. Seems as you had a very positive experience as we did on this wonderful ship (except finding loose slots):)

We had a Cabana back in March, and you do get $100 off, but keep track of your account and if it post. We went to the Guest Service desk a few days before to ask why the drinks we purchased in Vibe have not shown up yet and they ensured us it would be on our final statement. Final statement arrived with nothing credited. The desk for credit doesn't open up until 6am, and there was much confusion about this credit. After 10 minutes, they finally contacted a supervisor that took care of it. Just be aware of this, and possibly go down the night before to square up your bill so it shows.

 

Food, I'm not sure, as we spent the $100 in drinks at the Vibe bar.

Really enjoyed the Gem, it was nicely laid out. The theater was nice, the casino wasn't bad. Loved the Blue Lagoon. Loved the Great Outdoors for eating breakfast, also it was a great spot for sail-aways. We had Sinan as a cruise director which really enhanced the overall experience of the trip. The upper deck Forward on the Gem has nice couch type seats.

 

The Breakaway, I was nervous that it carried so many passengers, but all in all, it never felt busy or crowded. Never did we have to wait to get into any of the MDR restaurants (we did on the Gem), The only time the Breakaway seemed crowded was on embarkation day. Every time at the Buffet, it was simple to find a spot to eat. At first I did not really care for the reservations for the shows, but it works and really enjoyed that procedure. The shows in the Atrium were funny, just get a seat outside of O'Sheenan's early to really enjoy. I liked the layout of the casino on the Breakaway, although it is smokey, but laid out nicely. Loved the Comedy Club. The only downfall we thought on the Breakaway were the seats in the theater were very uncomfortable (I actually sat in two in different locations that felt like they were broke), and I thought the beds were alittle firm for our likings. The biggest positive for the Breakaway was the Vibe Beach Club and Cabana.

did you enjoy it? Was Courtney still the bartender? I really wish I was there right now!

 

Courtney was great, along with Loan when we sailed at towards the end of March. Had the most interaction with them compared to any other cruise member all week long. Great people! Watching the fireworks from Vibe was nice as no one else was in there.

Looks great! Thnaks for the info and I hope you are right about getting one no problem! I believe we will be on a full boat since it's the week kids are off from school. Can I ask you if you boarded fwd or aft and how long of a walk is it to the Credit Desk? Thanks again :)

 

I really want to say you board on deck 7 FWD, but I truly do not remember as I had only three things in mind, find deck 6, find desk, then find Savor for lunch. I had tunnel vision to score the prize. The folks that were sitting across from us in the terminal were heading there as well, and they had the same boarding number. We got separated from them in some 'traffic'. They ended up being only two couples ahead of us. Just look at the layout of the boat and become familiar with it. I know they were trying to lead people up to the buffet. I can say when they disembark, they have both FWD and AFT options available to get off. I would suggest getting off with the AFT option as its closer to the entrance to escalators to get your luggage (if you don't do easy walk off).

It's a very simple ship to become familiar with.

 

The only other tip is that the FWD elevators, half only go up to deck 15, then the others go up to deck 16. Not a biggy, but we got confused the first few times heading up. The other thing that stinks, is if its nice out, the public area on deck 17 becomes a maze of chairs as people move them all over the place.

Would you still suggest a cabana in the Vibe Club if we're already booked in the Haven?

 

From what I've seen for pictures of the pool/lounging area for the Haven guest, I probably wouldn't, your area is nicer =) Maybe someone who has does both can chime in on this on.

Can the top of the cabana be lowered?

 

Could it, yes, if they removed the cotter pins on each side, but they said we were not allowed to do it.

You will get in no problem. We got to the pier around 945am, and they started boarding around 1100. I took a nap out in the cabana almost everyday. Got better sleep in the cabana than I did in the stateroom

 

 

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Yes the credit desk is on the right side of the guest service counter. Are you Latitude Members or first time sailing NCL? The last two times out of NY we got boarding group 5. Friends of ours who checked in with us at the same time got boarding group 21. The bar staff is great. Loan went all the way to the cafeteria to get bananas for my drink :)

 

 

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We just got off the Breakaway yesterday and had a Vibe pass for the week. We were lucky enough to get one of the Cabana's. Make sure you go directly to the Credit Desk when you board the ship on deck 6. The will give you a number and wait in line. We were in boarding group #5 to get on the ship, and received numbers 21 and 22 for the Vibe pass.

 

This area was very empty for most of the cruise. You cannot hear the loud music from the pool area. It was so relaxing! It was a nice spot to view the fireworks as well. It was a very peaceful area and well worth the extra money. We had the hot tubs to ourselves a few mornings after breakfast, and evenings as well after dinner before our nightly activities The Cabana was well worth the money. Its only about $20 a more a person for the week compared to the pass. When you purchase the Cabana ($299), they give you a wrist band, and will give you a $100 on board credit for drinks purchased IN Vibe ONLY. I kept asking about this over the cruise as the drink credits were not showing up and they ensured me that it would be taken care of by the end of the cruise. Well on the final bill, it was not credited, so off I went to the Credit Desk at 6am yesterday morning. The girl I dealt with had no clue what I was talking about and had to get a supervisor (the only stressful moment of the whole cruise). It was all verbal dialogue from the girl who signed us up, no where is it stated in paper work that we saw stating the $100 on board credit for drinks at the Vibe bar.

 

The two bartenders we had Courtney and Loan were wonderful. Let us relax and didn't bother us for drinks too often while we were in the Cabana. Came around with the Fruit Skewers. The only thing they never had was the chilled towels, nor did we ever receive the water spritzers.

This was a very good cruise, really enjoyed my time on the Breakaway for the last week. I didn't mind skipping GSC as it gave us time to visit Atlantis that evening. I have a few cons overall, but all in all, it was wonderful. Heard many people taking a lot of negative comments while we were waiting to disembark, most made me just shake my head (the seas were too rough, the ship was too rocky, the food was horrible, etc) I thought the Breakaway was one of the smoothest NCL ships I have sailed on.

 

We picked RED tags, got off the ship around 9:30, and it took about 30 minutes to get luggage and go through customs. Waiting for the bus to arrive for 45 minutes in the cold and win beat the heck out of the 3+ hours we did on our post Sandy Gem cruise, (as we thought we would beat the rush to get off the ship)

 

I will attempt to do a full review by the end of the week.

We made it. Boarding group 5 and got a cabana :)

 

 

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@meatball- we will bring back some warm weather, weather can't get any worse after this winter lol

@mking-we will try to make it, thanks for the heads up. We are about 40 miles outside of the city as we took a bus from Albany

 

 

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Woohoo. There she is waiting :). @mking- I didn't sign up for the roll call/meet and greet this time, I forgot to look for one (just too busy-ughh work)

 

 

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@MCAT. Thank you for the info!

@Nutley chick hey hey don't be rushing it yet, my legs are still feeling the cold, but we will keep it in good shape for you :)

 

 

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Hello. So I'm a few hours away from boarding the Breakaway and very unfamiliar with this ship. When I board the ship how hard is it to locate the desk to attempt to sign up for the Vibe Beach Club (what deck is this on)? Also which MDR is open when we get on to have lunch and what deck is that on? We want to stay clear on the buffet and would like to have a nice sit down lunch to unwind. Thanks!

Any other tips would be helpful I will do a review upon return

 

 

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Keep her clean - we go next week.

 

^^ what they said^^ :D

We chose not to get one as we were a group of 5 couples and wanted to hang on the loungers. You can't people watch or shift yourself when the sun changes, so unless it was my only way into vibe (meaning regular passes were sold out), I wouldn't get one. But that's just my opinion. Lots of people love them.

 

Here's a picture

 

 

Thanks again Youngestof9! Thanks for posing a picture as well. If we cant get the standard pass, we will go for the Cabana.

A cabana is $299 for 2 people, which includes the entrance fee - so no $79 pp charges. There are only 5 and when I was there, the people who got cabanas got the same one every day. If they weren't there, it remained empty.

 

Thank you Youngesto9. Are the Cabana's worth the price (comfy,etc?).

With the cabana rentals in the Vibe Beach Club, do you pay the $299 plus the $79 per person as well? If you are lucky enough to rent the Cabana, are you guaranteed to get one whenever you want to use it? Is it opened at night as well or just during day hours? I just learned about the Vibe Beach today and really hoping we are able to get passes to use it for the 7 days

Wonderful photos and review! Spent 16 nights on her back in 2009 and loved every minute of it. Really would love to go on her one more time!

We ran into this fellow last week in Old San Juan, one street behind the casino near the pier. Girlfriend stopped to listen as soon as he started rambling I told him 'sorry heard about this scam' and walked off. The only real description I can give of this guy is he had cauliflower ears, like he was a wrestler or something at one time....shouldn't have gotten mugged with that type of background:D