Willowmina

We were on the Allure in April with our 2 teenage daughters and had two Junior Suite adjoining rooms. It was awesome! Two bathrooms - balcony divider opened - the girls bed were separated - two walk-in closets - and enjoyed dinner in CK. We were on deck 8 which was very convenient for access to Central Park for breakfast. Great location!

If on Oasis, get a cabin on deck 8 mid. You can walk right outside to a bar to grab a drink and you'll be back in your cabin in no time.

 

 

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Exactly! That's why we booked deck 8 on the Allure - can't wait to send my hubby to get me another drink!

I am taking my girls on the Escape...they are also 10 and 12. Did your 12 year old enjoy the kids club? I am worried she might find it a little young for her.

My 12 yo enjoyed the club most of the time, but my 10 yo enjoyed it more. They had a session where the 10-12's went to the Entourage Teen club and my 12 yo really liked it there. Not all 12 yo's are the same - mine happens to be on the more immature side. I think whether your 12 yo will like Splash Academy depends a lot on if they make a friend right away.

Check out Maya Chan! My whole family loved it!

Getting To the Boat - Very easy! We live on Long Island (Suffolk County). After dropping off our dog at the sitter, we headed into the city. The line to park was long, but went pretty fast. We were in the terminal by 11am and on the boat at noon.

Splash Academy - Since there were so many children on board this week, ages 10-12 Splash Academy was held in the Bliss Lounge. I gave my girls permission to check themselves in and out. The rules are… if your child checks themselves in they must stay 2 hrs or until the end of the current session. We downloaded the iconcierge app so they could text us when they left. With the 2 hr rule, they generally end up having to stay until the end of the session so most of the time we just met them in the room.

Burn to the Floor – definitely not for 10 & 12 year olds. My girls enjoyed the first 15 minutes, and then they were bored – and so was I. But my goodness – people are so incredibly rude & disrespectful. The show was about 45 minutes long. You could see that the performers were very talented, hard-working people. What would make anyone feel it’s okay to get up and leave in the middle of a performance? By the time the show was over, the theatre was ½ full. And yes – the bar on the back of those seats is really annoying!

Rock of Ages – I had read previous reviews that this show was not appropriate for children. I had reservations for all of us to see the show, knowing that I probably wouldn’t take the girls. A few of their friends were going, and they wanted to also go, but I decided we would go see Second City Family Improv instead. Friends of ours said they had to walk out of Rock of Ages because it was over the top inappropriate.

Second City – this was the only show we enjoyed as a family! We attended the all ages improv show – it was great! FYI – you need reservations. And get there early to get good seats.

Cirque Dreams Jungle Fantasy – we loved the cirque show on the Epic. The show on the Epic had a great MC who made us laugh and there was audience interaction. This was not the case on the BA. My issue with the show was that it was non-stop performances, no audience interaction to break things up a bit. The food was okay – don’t go see this show for the food!

Atrium – I read many comments that the atrium is not big enough for the activities. It takes a little getting used to, but I liked the ability to come and go to the atrium events as I pleased. It was definitely cozy at times!

Ropes Course/Rock Wall/Breakaway Bounce – If these activities are what is supposed to make the BA great for kids, then why such limited hours??? I do not understand. This only leads to long lines and gets everyone frustrated.

Pool – okay this was a surprise to me. There are two pools on deck 15. One is adjacent to the slides and kids aqua park. Then there is a pool adjacent to the waves pool bar. The pool next to the waves pool bar is adults only?? Seriously?? Is Spice H2O not enough for adults? The kids pool was jam packed with people while the adults pool was empty.

Video Games/Bowling – my girls had lots of fun in the arcade. We all enjoyed bowling and playing games at O’Sheehan’s. But the games add up quickly $$$$!

The Waterfront – I can see how this area is great during nice weather. Unfortunately we were not able to enjoy it on this cruise.

Weather – we were not lucky with the weather and had to miss Great Stirrup Cay. It was a bummer, but nothing you can do about the weather! Kudos to the captain who gave daily informative weather updates.

Food – By day 4 I was tired of figuring out what to eat next! Eating becomes a chore for me on a cruise. But, I thought overall the food was really good.

Taste – yummy! Had dinner once and lunch once there. Enjoyed both meals.

Haven Restaurant – We ate breakfast there everyday. And dinner most nights. One night I asked them for a meal from the MDR that I had in Taste – no problem! It would be nice if the HR would change the menu every few days.

Uptown Grille – Very tasty! Enjoyed the salad bar.

Buffet – The girls enjoyed lunch there with their friends almost every afternoon. My husband and I ate there once and it was really good. Service was great. Everything was clean and organized.

O’Sheehan’s – as always the wings were great! This is a great place to grab a late-night bite before bed.

Unlimited Beverage Package – Wonderful! The only bar that I felt was ever crowded was O’Sheehan’s. There are so many other bars in a minute walk with no wait.

With the UBP, a majority of the time they would just swipe your card and hand you your drink. No signing. Bring cash if you want to tip extra!

Staff/Service – The entire staff was amazing! I’m really not sure how people can complain about bad service. If you feel the service is bad – just walk away and then try to imagine yourself in their shoes. These are hard working men and women. Treat others how you want to be treated and you will have no complaints.

Overall – The shows were my biggest disappointment of the week. Part of the reason I love cruising is for the nightly family entertainment options and the BA was definitely lacking. We didn’t luck out with the weather and that definitely impacts your cruise experience. Cruising in and out of NY is awesome! Not having to get on a plane and deal with all that nonsense is priceless.

After reading countless reviews before our cruise I wanted to write a brief (maybe not so brief) review of our Thanksgiving cruise on the Breakaway. A little background – it was my hubby, two daughters (ages 10&12) and me. We stayed in a 2-bedroom suite in the Haven.

Took a look at MSC Yacht Club - looks pretty nice! Might have to give it a try!

The prices are very reasonable - especially when compared to the Haven.

I have enjoyed my time in the Haven on the Epic & Breakaway. We currently have reservations for the Escape in 2017, but I'm not sure that we will be sailing with NCL for a 3rd time.

My question is - are there any other cruise ships that can provide the same service and amenities as the Haven - and entertain my 10 and 12 year old daughters?

I've started looking at Celebrity - are the pools as crowded as NCL??

Thanks in advance for your help!

Sorry I don't have any pictures of the room that don't include my daughters being silly! All the rooms are pretty much the same.

I do remember the shower - it was amazing! Loved the views especially at sunset.

Enjoy the Haven!

@bnorris10 - we sailed in the Epic in 16016 for Easter 2014. Great room and great location. Close to the bar & restaurant. Easy access to the courtyard area. We LOVED it!

I wouldn't want only 1/2 of us to have Haven privileges and still all sleep in the 2-bedroom. Seems sneaky and unfair to the other Haven guests.

Along similar lines... we'll be a party of 4 in an inside cabin on the Escape. Are we allowed to set the kids up with blankets in a public restroom stall so we'll have more room to spread out? Alternatively, I was thinking we could leave them up on deck 17 with sleeping bags, as everyone will just assume they're camped out in line for Margaritaville.

@TheDougOut - LOL!!! Great response! But I'm thinking the kids might get cold sleeping out on deck 17!

Thank you. It really doesn't make any sense.

I had booked two adjoining mini-suites, but deep down having stayed in the Haven before, I was hoping to upgrade.

The thing I didn't realize, is you can't just change a booking from two rooms to one (even if you are upgrading). Seems like it would be easy, but NCL sees one as a cancellation. Which I now totally understand.

In order to get everyone in the Haven, I had no choice but to book two Haven rooms.

Only I will be getting the spa access - since I will technically be booked in the spa room with my DD(12). Might be a nice place to escape from hubby & the girls!

Thanks for setting my mind at ease. I was starting to panic that we wouldn't all be able to sleep in the same room!

Looking forward to a great cruise!

We were offered an upgrade of our two mini-suite rooms to Haven Rooms. In order to avoid cancellation fees, etc. we booked two Haven Rooms (I know totally nuts). . . .An H9 (Haven Spa Suite) and an H4 (2 Bedroom Suite). We would have only booked an H4, but they couldn't put all of us in one room - because we are too close to the sail date & again fees.

So my question is, since both rooms are Haven rooms with full access, is there any problem with all of just staying in the H4? Me, DH, DD(12) & DD(10).

Thank you in advance for your response!

Thank you jkneern for your quick response... my girls are going to be very disappointed since I've been telling them how much fun the slides were going to be!... not that I would have enough guts to go on them! LOL!

We will be on the Breakaway with your 10 & 12 year old DDs. They are both over 48" tall... is there a weight restriction on the slide that the floor drops out? (I hope you know which slide I'm referring to!)

I thought I read there was a minimum weight of 100lbs in one thread, but then I remember reading only a height requirement.

Thank you!

Thanks for posting your review!

Great review - Thanks for posting!

Looking forward to reading the rest of your review/story!

Great review!

Very true that I never think about who gets the tip on land restaurants/bars. It's kinda funny that I'm so worried about who gets the gratuity on the cruise. I should probably pay just as much attention to who actually gets the tips at my favorite local restaurant.

It would make sense if tips are pooled and distributed accordingly. The dishwasher / waitress / hostess / chef, etc all work together as a team.

We have the UBP which I understand includes gratuities. My question is, when you leave an additional gratuity on the check to bartenders/waitresses, etc, does the individual receive the money? Or is it pooled among the staff?

Should we leave the gratuity in cash to insure that the money goes to our server?

Thanks in advance for your response!

I had the same issue - fixed it today by giving the reservations department a call. Gave them my new reservation number and they fixed it right away.

I'm going to book either a Getaway or Escape 2-bedroom suite for 3/2016… My MIL says she wants to come with our family on our next cruise, but ya never know with her!!!

My question is…. am I better booking 4 people then adding her as the 5th as it gets close…. or booking 5 people than removing her from the reservation in case she changes her mind!?!?!

Thanks for your help!

We recently stayed in 16016 - much better on the 16th floor than 17th - eliminates the need to go up and down the flight of stairs for the pool, restaurant, bar, concierge, etc.