aslevy

We did the Escape last spring break and just came off the Breakaway in March so I can compare the two. We enjoyed both ships - I liked the Escape a bit more, but it didn't take away from our enjoyment of the Breakaway. A few differences we did observe:

- The pool area on the Escape was a bit better for older kids - they had a climbing structure and spray area and slide. The one on the Breakaway was just large animals that sprayed water. It ended up being a small issue since our kids ended up using the Haven pool most often 

- We liked the District and Food Republic concept on the Escape, but there were still plenty of great options on the BA. We did not eat at Noodle Bar on the Breakaways due to its proximity to the casino and it was very smoky. We liked the Shakers Martini bar area on the Breakaway. We never made it to Syd Normans, but it was always packed and seemed to be rockin! 

- The Splash Academy space on the Escape was much larger. On the Breakaway it because am issue because it was spring break week and there were lots of warnings by the staff to get the kids in within 1/2 an hour of when SA opened or risk not having space for them. 

-Ropes course on the Escape was larger / better, but a minor nit. The kids still loved the BA ropes course. BA also had a rock wall, climbing structure and giant trampoline, which kids enjoyed 

Overall, both ships felt new / fresh / clean. While you can't help but make comparisons, I don't think you would be on the BA and feel like it is a "lesser" version of the Escape. 

Thanks @TheBenStarr for sharing your experience! Ugh - I really want to do this. I agree that it is not in the tour operators' interest at all to have people miss their departure time. My main concern is that our time in port is an hour less (8-4). Do you think that hour makes a difference in terms of the excursion (e.g., too short to enjoy it?). I would much rather get off manufactured Harvest Caye. It's a shame NCL is fear mongering and making it difficult for people to enjoy Placencia and heaven forbid not spend all their $$ with the cruise line. 

Thanks for taking the time to share your observations and for addressing some of the criticisms from this board and ship reviews. I was reading some of the recent CC reviews of the Breakaway and they are fairly negative. I know you have to take reviews with a grain of salt, but had we never cruised on NCL before, I think I'd be pretty nervous. 

I was looking at Jamie's at Blue Reef (trying to decide between that vs. Tropicante and Krazy Lobster) so glad you had a good experience there! 

On 1/4/2019 at 10:43 AM, ninamb1973 said:

We did the snorkel tour with Placencia Wildside Adventures and it was a perfect day. We purchased out ferry tickets as soon as we boarded the ship. The NCL rep kinda tried talking me out of it saying they have nothing but problems with this ferry and people are missing their cruise ships. I figured it's a tactic to keep us on Harvest Caye so we would spend a bunch of money there. I wasn't buying it. The earliest ferry they offer is at 10am (boarding at 9:45 ship time). Local Belize time is one hour ahead ship time so definitely keep that in mind. We got off the boat first thing and went straight to the marina (15 minute walk). When we arrived the ferry crew said they were trying to fill up the ferry and get us out asap. We ended up leaving the marina at 9:00 ship time. We arrived in Placencia at 9:30. Our snorkel guide was there to meet us and understood our concerns for getting back to the ferry on time so we could make all aboard time. We had an amazing day snorkeling. I can give you more details on that if you want. They had us back at the ferry marina by 3:00 ship time and we were back on Harvest Caye by 4:00 ship time with a half hour to kill before boarding. Both the ferry crew and tour crew completely understood how important timing was. There was one lady on our snorkel boat who said she tried purchasing ferry tickets the first night of the cruise and NCL told her the ferry was sold out. Luckily she was able to purchase at the marina.

Thank you for reporting back on your experience! Ugh - I am so on the fence about this. We actually have one less hour in port than you (8-4 vs. 8-5), which I worry will make a lot of difference. 

I am a little confused about the difference between Belize time and ship time. Belize is an hour ahead of the ship? (so if it's 10:00 AM in Belize, it's 9:00 AM ship time?) Is the ferry on Belize time or ship time? So you are boarding a 10:00 AM ferry (Belize time ), but it's only 9:00 ship time? 

I would be interested to hear more about the snorkeling. We are traveling with our 2 kids, 10 and 7. Both are very strong swimmers and have snorkeled before. Do you think they would enjoy it? How choppy was the boat ride? 

Go Sea Belize is quoting me $110 for a private tour, where as PCA is quoting me $65 for the same tour you did. It's a pretty big price difference when you have 4 people. Still, I think I'd feel better if it was a private tour ($200 is not worth missing the boat over)

I agree it sounds like NCL is a fear mongering a bit. If we do this, I'll definitely get our ferry tickets right away. 

Thank you for posting such a detailed review! We are sailing on this cruise in March and my kids are 10 and 7 (and also fair skinned red heads - good to know there are more out there!) so appreciate your perspective as a parent and all the great tips. 

Good to know about SA filling up! We cruised on the Escape last spring break, which was also a sold out cruise and tons of kids  (I think they said they had 1,800 kids on the sailing!). We never experienced SA being closed due to capacity. I wonder if the SA area is bigger on the Escape than Breakaway? We did experience long lines to check in and I agree that the 7:00 PM check in is ill-timed with the entertainment. 

5 hours ago, crewsweeper said:

Does seem like a short time to spend at Maya Chan.  8 AM seems reasonable given that you need to exit the cruise port to catch a taxi and it's a long walk from the ship. 1.5 hours before ship departure seems a bit much.  However, with current construction on the pier, that might be right.  At least an hour before departure would typically place you on board around the 1/2 hour before departure the ships usually request. 

 

Nevertheless, if it were me, I'd be looking at other places and not AI.  Blue Kay, Tropicante, Pitaya, Pez Quadro. would at least give you a beach day and cost less than MC.

Thanks - the 1.5 hours before return was from the information I got from Maya Chan. Maybe that is when they start sending people back to port. Regardless, it, still only 3.5 hours there, which seems sub-optimal. I'll look into some of the other options you recommended - thanks!

Title of the post basically sums it up. We are on the NCL Breakaway and our port time in Costa Maya is from 7 am - 1:30 pm. I wanted to book Maya Chan based on the reviews / reading done here and on Trip Advisor, but I am not sure it would be worth it based on our short time in this port. It looks like you leave Maya Chan 1.5 hours before your ship's scheduled departure, so we would leave the resort by noon. Assuming we were picked up around 8:00 and the trip takes ~30 minutes, that would give us just 3 hours there. Unless I'm thinking about it incorrectly? 

21 hours ago, ninamb1973 said:

So I made arrangements to do a private snorkeling tour with a local company, Placencia Adventure Tours. I expressed my same concerns and the owner sent me a very reassuring email response. He said he operates daily from the ferry pier and knows the ferry captain and schedule well. He guarantees he would get us back to the ferry on time so we don't miss our ship out. We are going to give them a try because he sounds like he knows what he's doing and they have excellent reviews. Another company I was looking into was Go Sea Belize. They are a little cheaper, but weren't able to offer fish for the lunch portion of the tour. Both companies seem very knowledgeable and reputable. We are going the first week of January. I will let you know how it goes.

 

 

Thank you - please do post back and let us know how it goes! And thank you for the leads on the tour companies. I've sent inquiries to Go Sea Belize, Placencia Adventure Tours and Placencia Wildside Tours. I heard back from Go Sea right away. Their standard tour is from 9-5, which would not work for our docking time in Harvest Caye, so I am looking into pricing for a private tour. We have one less hour in Harvest Caye (8-4) than you do, so I am not sure if it will work for us. 

Our cruise is not until March - but am hoping someone who has recently cruised will report back!

Has anyone done the Shore Excursioneer tour from Harvest Caye to Laughing Bird Cay? I normally prefer booking non-cruise line excursions, but for some reasons I am a little concerned about having enough time to take the ferry to Placencia,  do the snorkeling excursion, and then ferry back. Would appreciate feedback from anyone who has done this tour? Our Harvest Caye port times are 8-4. 

Thank you for posting your thoughts - we are going on the Escape in March and reading reviews is really helpful.

Sorry that your weather was not ideal. I had been debating about bringing medicine / sea bands, but I think this confirms that I will (better to be safe than miserable). And sounds like I should bring hand sanitizer!