nycmode

Yeah I wasn't a huge fan of the shopping area. It's odd but I didn't like the "main drag" layout on decks 4-5 on the Anthem either. Maybe it was the lighting or the combination of lighting, store layout etc .. but the extra space made me feel like I was hanging out in Garden State Plaza.

I do have to say, the wi-fi on the Anthem was way better than on the Breakaway lol ..

Teppanyaki .. everything up to the dessert tasted really good (very Benihana esque for sure) .. but agree dessert was lousy ...

^ fully agree with your thoughts and nice comparison review!

I felt the style aspects of the Anthem (related to food, shows, amenities even the casino) trumped the Breakaway, but if you get to the crux of it, I simply felt like I ate better, enjoyed the shows more and had more fun at the casino on NCL than RCL

edit: oh and I slept better on the Breakaway too :)

Been on both ships, personally ...

1. The Anthem is a gorgeous ship .. with lots of great amenities/stuff to do (loved the bumper cars, North Star, skydiving simulator and surfing simulator)

2. I like the food on NCL better .. oddly I though the RCL food was kind of bland ...

3. I like the shows on Breakaway better than Anthem .. again, more of a style vs substance thing (We Will Rock You felt way longer than Rock of Ages .. the late night cabaret on RCL looked cool but was a bit more of an acquired taste for me than the Cirque Dreams show on Breakaway)

4. The robot bar on Anthem is pretty awesome ... too bad Breakaway doesn't have that!

I guess I just like the Breakaway a tad better .. but they are both great ships

There is a section reserved for guests, but I usually just go early to shows to get more front/center seats.

The Haven restaurant is not outdoors. It has a set menu that doesn't change during the duration of the trip though they have daily specials, not unlike what you see at the Manhattan room, but the items on the regular menu are actually really good. By the private Haven pool you can order from a limited menu (or the full breakfast menu).

For me, it's definitely ..

1. Ocean Blue

2. Teppanyaki

3. Le Bistro

Been to all three multiple times and felt the quality of food is definitely on par with what you pay for. I also like Cagney's and the Churraschuria but honestly the steak that I get when I eat the Haven Restaurant (which you need to be a guest on the Haven or a special guest of NCL to access), I was less inclined to do any of the "meaty" options myself. But that's just me. :)

Ocean Blue was pretty awesome .. reminded me of some of the really nice seafood joints I visit on land ...

Paul was the best, but I do have to agree with the poster who says: people change companies by the millions everyday. That being said, I am sure this is important to many of you...or a sad time at least.

We had Paul when we took the Celebrity Silhouette during their inaugural season (second sailing I believe). He was one of our favorite CDs for sure. Really funny guy. My favorite memory was when he followed my DW and I around whenever we were playing in the officer's poker tournament. My DW joked with him about mentioning us on one of his cruise TV broadcasts and he did lol. Great guy.

Mine was like 3 or 4 weeks before the cruise. I had called my cruise representative to ask about something else and happened to inquire about the cabin status and he was able to tell me where I was (I was able to move to a different deck thanks to the early notice).

Maybe I was lucky though

I actually find sea days to be the most relaxing. Less "running around" to and from places in the port.

The things I do on sea days:

Wine tasting

Casino

Watch shows on the ship

Dip in the pool/jacuzzi

Eat

Nap

Read/relax

Listen to music

Shop

Play mini golf

Do the rope course/rock wall

I'd bring a light jacket or a sweatshirt but right now the weather is fairly decent and comfortable. Might be a bit cool in the evening for some so just pack appropriately. However, for the most part shorts and T shirt should be fine now.

I really like the steak/shrimp combo at Teppanyaki.

Decent amount of food and great flavor :)

Above post sums it up.

I may only offer some color in that the Haven restaurant on the Breakaway was excellent. Even though they serve the same breakfast/lunch/dinner menus throughout the cruise, I found the food there to be excellent and better than anything I had in the MDR.

And yes - you can order "off menu" as long as it's something they can get from another kitchen. I wouldn't say you can ask them to make something from scratch that's not really on their overall menu list. You can also ask for companion items, such as when we asked for some fruit and dates for breakfast. They grabbed it for us from the Garden Cafe and brought it up along with the rest of our breakfast that was from the menu.

Been on the Breakaway twice (Bermuda in May, Bahamas in March)

To answer your question:

On both sailings with the ship fully booked in Bermuda and almost sold out in Bahamas ...

1. MDR waiting time was never an issue. The reason this was the case was a lot of people actually went to eat at Taste and/or Savor - which are smaller/alternate MDRs one deck below the Manhattan room. That helped ease the congestion. The Manhattan room is also quite large and can accommodate a lot of diners. The only issue was the somewhat slow service.

2. There were plenty of entertainment options. If you booked your show in advance, you can spread it out throughout a 7 day cruise easily. The first night is the preview/variety show, so that takes care of day 1. Rest of the way if you did Burn the Floor, Rock of Ages, Cirque Dreams, Second City, Dueling Pianos and Fat Cats that will easily cover you through the week. There's also plenty of secondary entertainment options like the game shows, not-so-newlywed game, live bands around the ship etc. You won't have much duplicity unless you actually see the exact same show twice.

3. Elevators were not crowded except for embarkation and disembarkation day. They are plenty of elevators forward and aft. I never ran into any issues during the duration of the cruise, except for obviously when people were all leaving a show at the same time or on the rare occasion a big group of people returned from port at the same time.

I like NCL for the overall experience but I did find their food to be short of what I experienced on Celebrity. However, I did also find that the food in the Haven restaurant and speciality restaurants were better than what was served in the MDR.

Again this is subjective ... to each their own

They tried to seat us there once, and we ended up having to wait almost two hours for a table to open up inside. Worth the wait, though, as I really wouldn't like sitting out there (we saw several people seated out there on our sailing last May).

 

Robin

It was worth the wait! :D

So when is lobster night on the Breakaway?

For my March sailing we had it on the second night of the trip (the first night was Prime Rib). Same deal for my friend who sailed 3 weeks after me in April.

Not sure if this changed when they swapped to the Bermuda itinerary last week.

Note this is in the Garden Cafe - not MDR

Oh, and one little note: if you want a nice evening in Le Bistro on the Breakaway, be sure to note your reservation with "Inside Seating Only!" Otherwise you might be seated in the "outside" patio area (not really outside but an indoor patio in the atrium area - noisy with lots of people walking by within feet of you)... We used the concierge to make the note on res, but you could stop by and speak to the Le Bistro Maitre'D the night before to make the note..

 

Robin

Agree on this - it gets REAL noisy by the atrium/patio area. It's no wonder those seats are almost always empty on all the sailings I've been on.

On the Breakaway - LeBistro is right across from headliners - which gets big lines going in, and huge noisy crowds coming out after the second city or dueling piano shows FYI. The stairway into the atrium right above the "patio" seats also lead to the casino - and it gets smoky.

Lol

I was on a similar itinerary and I agree with the other poster that while it was VERY fun - we were kind of pooped by the end.

On my last cruise in March on the Breakaway I spoke with one of the ship attendants who gave me some nice insight on that particular trip (we were considering it as well). He told us that those trips tend to skew on the older side since fewer young folks have the bandwidth to take longer vacations during that timeframe (right after Xmas/New Year). Folks also sometimes do get tired from all the island hopping.

But I do like a lot of the islands on that trip.

Thank you both so much for the information! I'm trying to make dining reservations at speciality restaurants and want to make sure we don't miss out on lobster night! :)

 

 

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I'd just reserve what you want in advance and then as soon as you get on the ship - find out which night is lobster night and make adjustments as needed (that's what we do).

The good thing about the Breakaway is that it's AYCE lobster at the Garden Cafe lol. (I think everyone only ate lobster tails that night :eek:)

My husband and I are considering a cruise to Bermuda in 2016. We have many questions, one being what is the best month for cruising in Bermuda? What did you like? Not like? Etc...

 

 

We did Bermuda on the Breakaway last year.

Here's my thoughts:

1. We went in May and the weather was perfect. Not too hot, though it was a touch on the cool side if you're looking at beach weather. However it was a consistent 70-to low-80s for us.

2. We made a point of avoiding the big touristy beaches and opted for the small local beaches. They are more out of the way but WAY more tranquil. We took the pink bus and it was a snap getting there from the pier. Just make sure you buy a bus pass that covers you for a few days as soon as you get there (you can buy it at the pier)

3. Don't know if you play golf, but Bermuda lives up to its reputation for being a golfer's paradise. Keep in mind - many of Bermuda's world class courses are older/legacy courses - meaning they didn't landscape the terrain (but rather adapted course around natural surfaces like big rolling hills). That means it's not an ideal place for novices to play - unless you like walking around searching for all the lost balls

4. There's not a heap of things to do in Hamilton. St. George is a nice quaint historical town but I recommend taking the express ferry there from the pier to save time.

5. Not a huge fan of the mopeds. I've seen people get into accidents and many of the roads are pretty tight. Just be very careful if you're looking to rent one of those.

6. The pier is a good place to consider excursions that you won't need to book from NCL. The advantage of Bermuda is that you're in port for several days so you have time to evaluate local options.

Just a few of my thoughts, enjoy!

I will add Le Bistro to that book-ahead list as well. Seems they have become very popular.

Le Bistro gets crowded, but at least on my last sailing on the Breakaway, even on a full ship it seemed LeBistro wasn't impossible to get even on short notice compared to Teppanyaki and Cagney's. Then again, it's always good to book early and change later on if you need to :D

I've had the benefit of sailing on regular balcony rooms and also on suites both on NCL and Celebrity.

While I personally LOVE suites (who doesn't love more space, bigger balconies, butler service etc?) - I didn't find that staying on the balcony detracted from my experience. The one thing I do love about being a Haven guest is that I have access to the private pool/hot tub and restaurant - which honestly are huge perks. There's something to be said about not having to fight for space in the Jacuzzi, jostling for prime sunbathing spots and eating in a private full service restaurant that serves food that's honestly better than what you get in the MDR. I also love the priority disembarkations. Nothing is nicer than being whisked away on a separate elevator away from the crowds in the morning. And it helps to have a reserved Haven section for the shows. So I guess in the end, it's less about the actual room for me versus the side perks of the suite life.

But of course there's a steep price for it, which frankly I'm not always willing to shell out for since I cruise relatively frequently now and don't see the need to make EVERY experience feel so plush.

Besides I feel like butlers are somewhat overrated. I felt the service I got in a regular room was just fine. Beds are clean, turndown service. I'm good.

I think it depends on the ship.

When I was on the Jewel I recall we had lobster in one of the early days

On the Breakaway - they don't do lobster in MDR - it's one of the (first few) days at the Garden Cafe/buffet for dinner.

I'd check the day you get on the ship

I do agree some of the cruise reps I dealt with on NCL seemed to be confused about certain things themselves. While for the most part my experiences have been good there's been a few times when I had issues dealing with them regarding getting refunds on pre-purchased OBC etc.