Breakaway 8/7-8/14 - Great Trip!

We are back from the Breakaway! We sailed 8/7-14 and had a great time! This was our second time on the Breakaway - sailed last year at the same time in 2 balcony rooms(adjoining). This time we (me, DH, DS 12, DD 9) sailed in an Aft PH Suite (12304). We have sailed in a suite twice on the Jewel but never in the Haven so we were looking forward to it after reading all the reviews. I was a bit nervous in general after reading some not so great reviews in general about the Breakaway.

This is a long review but I will break it into sections...

Embarkation - We arrived at the pier at 9:45. There were about 75-100 people in line. Haven line had 3 families in front of us. Security line opened at 10 and we went through very quickly. Were directed to the Haven check in. Check in took 5-10 minutes and we waited in the lounge where they serve snacks.

There was an issue with the guest from the previous sailing disembarking - we heard that there were not enough customs agents so it slowed down the process. There were still people getting off(a steady line of them) at 11.

We embarked at approx. 11:30 and were escorted to the Haven Lounge where Anoop, the concierge, gave us a short information speech. They were handing out sliders and fries and the bar was open. We got our sliders and first drinks and hung out for awhile before going to our room.

Cabin 12304 This was an Aft Penthouse which was an amazing cabin. Large bathroom where you could see the ocean from the shower, very comfy king size bed, nice size living/dining area where the kids slept on the sofa. The sofa opened to a surprisingly large size - I would say it was queen size when open. My kids slept very comfortably with room to spare.

The room is a walk from the Haven but we didn't find it to be an issue at all. We would take the aft elevator to 15, walk across the pool area and use Haven access on deck 15 to get into the Haven area. I would say it took 5-7 minutes (depending on how crowded the pool deck was) to get there so not a problem at all. I think we would've used the Haven area (bar, etc) a little more if we were staying in the Haven but I would not have traded our room.

PreConcierge I received a card in the mail several weeks prior to sailing with the email for requests. I know from reading Cruise Critic that this is hit or miss. We requested that the fridge be emptied so the water we purchased through NCL and some milk could be kept cold in the fridge. We also requested a few different pillows from the pillow menu. I was not expecting much, but when we got to our room, pillows were there, and our water and some milk were in the fridge which had been emptied.

Concierge Anoop was our concierge. As most people have noted on here, he is not warm and cuddly but seems to do his job well. In all honesty, we didn't use him for much. We had reserved everything prior to boarding so we didn't need him. We did have a question about iConcierge (reviewed separately below) which he tried to answer.

One request we did have the assistant who answered the phone was not able to help us with and didn't really seem to try. We booked Cagney's for Friday. When I called to find out on Friday morning what time dinner was for because I lost the paper I had printed at home, the assistant told me our res was for the night before and we had missed it. I asked if she could try and get us in and she immediately told me that there was no space. She didn't call the restaurant or even say that she had just spoken to them and knew it was full. She just said it was full. A couple times walking by I heard Anoop speaking directly to restaurants to try and fit people in, so I guess I expected the girl who answered the phone to at least try. Really not a big deal, but just an observation.

Butler Our butler was Ramona and I cannot say enough good things about her. She was really wonderful. She brought us snacks everyday. M&Ms and Gummy Bear bowls were always full. Cookies everyday. And each day something different - chocolates, chocolate covered strawberries, mini sandwiches, cheese plate, etc. Always smiling and very pleasant. She served us breakfast one day on our balcony and dinner from Cagney's one night also on the balcony. Ramona makes every guest feel special.

Room Steward Our room steward was Ryan and he was great too. Very pleasant and kept the room perfectly spotless. He was not obtrusive at all but very pleasant when we saw him in the hallways.One night we left our do not disturb button on accidentally and he left us a message and a card in the slot to call for turn down service(he cannot knock or enter the room if the do not disturb is on). We saw him the next day and he was upset that he could not tidy up and do our turn down - you can see that he really cares about doing his job well.

Ship Staff I had read numerous reviews about a decline in staff service and was concerned because last year one of the things we loved was the staff on the ship. No concern necessary. All around the ship we found pleasant, smiling crew members who would always smile and say hello as we walked past. Service in the restaurants, bars, etc was all generally very good.

In the entire week, there was one crew member who was not as positive as the others. We ordered room service late one night and the gentleman who delivered it looked angry when he came in. Not sure if he was having a bad night or what, it just seemed so different from what we had encountered from every other crew member we came in contact with.

Haven The Haven is everything we read about and more. Quiet, relaxing and fun. The kids swam in the pool and used the hot tubs with DH. Depending on how windy the sea days were (we didn't stay on board on port days), we grabbed loungers either outside or inside and spent the day there. A quick trip downstairs to the Haven restaurant for breakfast or lunch and back up to our spot we went. Really nice. Cold towels were passed around to cool us off. Fruit skewers were served several times. NCL definitely does this right. This was not a cheap vacation by any means but worth every penny!

On the last sea day, it got crowded and there were some chair hogs. I did see some people moving people's books etc when they didn't come back for awhile so they could sit.

Haven DiningFor the most part we ate in the Haven dining room which was consistently very very good. They aim to please and the quality of the food is great. Yes, it is true there is no more lobster. The surf and turf is now filet and jumbo shrimp. Though we were looking forward to the lobster, we didn't miss it. The surf and turf and the scallop dish were our favorite entrees. The boullabaise soup and risotto were our favorite appetizers. The only time it got crowded was the last sea day for breakfast and disembarkation day breakfast. Other than that, it was always a nice quiet meal. They are also accommodating - two nights the kids wanted to get to Splash Academy so we told the waiter and we were out in 45 min. Other than that, dinner in the Haven took between 60-90 minutes.

Ship Miscellaneous

Photos - We had a 50 photo package perk from when we booked. That's a lot of pictures! I wasn't sure we'd have that many to choose from but the photographers are pretty good at taking a bunch in one sitting so there are a bunch to choose from.

Arcade - We had an arcade credit also so the kids had fun with that. Arcade is not very large but there were a few games they liked. They liked the games at O'Sheehan's better but those were not included in the Arcade credit which stinks. We didn't use the whole credit but would have if O'Sheehan's games were included.

iConcierge - DH, DS and myself downloaded the app prior to boarding. For texting it worked fine. For phone calls, there was a problem with the microphone and you could not hear so the phone call function was unusable the entire week. Anoop tried to fix it the first night and then let us know there was a problem. We got a call on the last night that they were crediting the iConcierge charges for all of us.

Other Dining

We had SDP for 3 meals. Used it at Teppanyaki and Cagneys(delivered to our balcony). We didn't use the 3rd meal.

Teppanyaki - As always, great show and great meal. The lobster is still on the menu here and it was very good.

Cagneys - We had it on our balcony and were surprised that temperature was perfect - we though the food would be cold but it wasn't. This is always our favorite restaurant on NCL ships. It didn't disappoint. Porterhouse and Filet were amazing - cooked perfectly. Side dishes are very good.

Uptown Grill - It is a shame this is going away. Great burgers and salad bar. This is a nice place for a quick lunch during sea days and we enjoyed it.

O'Sheehans - We did late night snacks here a couple of times. Wings are great. They haven't improved the spinach dip, but it's a good place for a quick snack.

Buffet - For all the negative comments people have for the buffet, I am always impressed. It's not fine dining but there are a ton of choices and the food is fine. We ate lunch in the buffet a couple of times and breakfast on 2 of the port days when we wanted to get off the ship quickly and thought Haven would take too long. It was perfectly fine.

Splash Academy We have always had a great experience with Splash Academy counselors. This time was no exception. We usually use Splash Academy at night for a couple of hours so they can have fun and we can get some time too. My kids were both in the higher age of their group so I wasn't sure how this would go. My daughter is 9 and in the 6-9 group - would it be all 6 year olds? They wanted to go every night. I was really surprised by my 12 year old - I thought he might feel too old for it - but he had a great time. They made friends and really had a great time. The counselors really do a great job of engaging them and making them feel welcome - they knew my kids' names by the 2nd night.

Bermuda

The first day, we did a day pass at Coco Reef Resort on Elbow Beach. Day pass is $69 for adults and includes lunch and a glass of wine or soft drink. Kids are free but you pay for their lunch. We have done this before and love it here. Pool area is fun for a quick dip. Beach is perfect. Water was very wavy and we had a great time. Lunch was good. It took a very long time but was a good meal and we were in no rush. Taxi is about $43 each way. There is a bus that goes there but drops you off on the main road and you have to walk up the hill to the hotel.

The second day we went to Horseshoe Beach which is always amazing. Because of the wind (which had died down from the first day), they were not renting umbrellas which makes it much hotter. But we spent a lot of time in the water and exploring the coves which are beautiful. We learned from our taxi driver(about $35 each way), that there is no more shuttle taking passengers from the beach to the main road(used to be $2 I think). He said they stopped running it this year.

The third day we debated a return to Horseshoe or a fishing trip. The kids chose fishing so we booked it the week before we left with Jolly Roger Bermuda. I booked it with Barbara via email and paid when we got there which was convenient. If the wind had kept up I would have cancelled Friday morning. The tour is from 9-1 so it is perfect for the last day when all aboard is at 2:30. It is a 20 minute boat ride about 3 hours of fishing and 20-30 min back. Fishing time was a little less for us because we were not catching anything so they moved to a different spot a couple of times. The kids each caught a couple which made them happy so the trip was good. It was $99 for adults (and kids 12 and over) and $69 for kids.

Note re Sunscreen: Even if it is cloudy and there is no sun(which was the case in the morning on our first day), use sunscreen! My son learned the hard way that sunscreen is a must!

Disembarkation We ate breakfast in the Haven restaurant and as soon as we were done Anoop took us down to deck 7 to walk off the ship. Retrieved luggage, went through customs and were outside waiting for our ride home in 15 minutes.

Another great NCL cruise. Love this ship, the crew and Bermuda!

I have read a lot of negative comments but I really think (barring major catastrophes) that attitude has a lot to do with it. You can go into your vacation (on a cruise or anywhere) looking for the negatives. Or you can go in with an open mind and enjoy the adventure!

Thanks to those of you who have made it this far!

Great positive review, thanks for sharing. We'll be in an H6 room on the 9/18 cruise and appreciate the information you provided.

Great positive review, thanks for sharing. We'll be in an H6 room on the 9/18 cruise and appreciate the information you provided.

I see you had Ramona - is that the Ramona from Romania? If so, we met her too on the BA in 2014. She was a washy-washy girl when we first saw her a couple days around noon and then we had her as our server in LeBistro one night. She mentioned at the time she was a night butler or sub if someone got sick.

She was so full of energy and such a pleasant person. I saw one other mention of her name lately and she definitely deserves to be a butler - hopefully she was promoted full time.

Great review...we will be there in 2 weeks and cant wait.

AGREE...Attitude is Everything!

That's her! Ramona from Romania! She does a phenomenal job!

Thanks for the review! We leave in a few weeks! Do you happen to know which night was the 80s party?

We were on same cruise in the Aft penthouse on the 11th floor, room 11308. We also had Ramona as our butler. She was just great. We had breakfast on our balcony ( what a balcony) three times. She would bring us the usual snakes plus extra that we asked for. I have to say Anoop was just great. He made all our excursions for us. We wanted to eat in Ocean Blue on night and told no openings. So we asked Anoop and he got us in. He also got us in the Cirque Dream Jungle show on short notice for 6 people.

Your right the room was amazing mans the balcony was great.

Never meet one band crew member,

All were very helpful and friendly.

Had a great time, can't wait to go again. And yes the Haven was fantastic

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Great review, thanks. I am in cabin 12304 next month. Can't wait.

We were on same cruise in the Aft penthouse on the 11th floor, room 11308. We also had Ramona as our butler. She was just great. We had breakfast on our balcony ( what a balcony) three times. She would bring us the usual snakes plus extra that we asked for. I have to say Anoop was just great. He made all our excursions for us. We wanted to eat in Ocean Blue on night and told no openings. So we asked Anoop and he got us in. He also got us in the Cirque Dream Jungle show on short notice for 6 people.

Your right the room was amazing mans the balcony was great.

Never meet one band crew member,

All were very helpful and friendly.

Had a great time, can't wait to go again. And yes the Haven was fantastic

 

 

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I was on this cruise too (and I noticed it on my December Breakaway cruise as well), the restaurants I was in or walked by were never full, but I kept seeing people turned away. This was especially weird to me because I ate late 8:00 and it never filled up while I was dining. I ate at Ocean Blue twice, both at 8 p.m., the 2nd time people got turned away and there were definitely empty tables the entire time I was there.

(me, DH, DS 12, DD 9) sailed in an Aft PH Suite (12304).

nice review...looking forward to the Breakaway 9/18

what does DH, DS, DD mean? I see others use it...no idea.

Did your kids enjoy the Teppanyaki. I'm considering taking my three year old who would likely enjoy the show but not sure he will sit still for the entire meal. Are the chefs with you most of the time?

Great review, thanks for sharing.

nice review...looking forward to the Breakaway 9/18

 

what does DH, DS, DD mean? I see others use it...no idea.

DH - Darling Husband

DS - Darling Son

DD - Darling Daughter;)

Excellent review, thanks!

Great review! Thanks! We are planning a cruise on the Breakaway to Bermuda for next year. We went to Horseshoe Beach about 7 years ago when we were on the Dawn. Where are these coves you speak about? We just sat on the pink sand and enjoyed the waves in the main part of the beach. We'd love to explore the coves at Horseshoe Beach the next time we go. Can someone point us in the right direction?

Thanks for the great review, tantine. I was wondering, with your day pass to Coco Reef Resort at Elbow Beach, did you get that through NCL?

Awesome review. Definitely getting me even more excited since we board in nine days (cabin 12706).

Love Elbow Beach and the Coco Resort sounds like fun. Thanks for the tip!

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Thanks for the review.

Thanks for the report.

Did your kids enjoy the Teppanyaki. I'm considering taking my three year old who would likely enjoy the show but not sure he will sit still for the entire meal. Are the chefs with you most of the time?

My kids loved it. We have done Teppanyaki each time on NCL - even when they kids were really little and they've always enjoyed it. You get your drinks, order dinner, have soup and salad and then the chef comes to the table and begins. He is there until all the food is cooked. They are there for a good portion of the meal.

Great review! Thanks! We are planning a cruise on the Breakaway to Bermuda for next year. We went to Horseshoe Beach about 7 years ago when we were on the Dawn. Where are these coves you speak about? We just sat on the pink sand and enjoyed the waves in the main part of the beach. We'd love to explore the coves at Horseshoe Beach the next time we go. Can someone point us in the right direction?

When you are at Horseshoe, facing the ocean, you walk to the right or left(we went to the left so I can only speak for that). At the end of the beach you can walk through the rocks to a little cove. You can keep walking(depending on the tide) into the next cove or you can walk the path. You can go to one or two or keep walking and end up at Warwick Long Bay(we didn't get that far). They are beautiful little spots for swimming or pictures. If we hadn't rented chairs and left our stuff we would've just claimed a spot in the sand and hung out there - it's beautiful.

Thanks for the great review, tantine. I was wondering, with your day pass to Coco Reef Resort at Elbow Beach, did you get that through NCL?

Not through NCL, we emailed the resort directly reservations@cocoreef.bm. We let them know what day we wanted and they reply to you whether there is availability. No payment needed prior; we paid when we got to the resort. You can book the Elbow Beach chair rental through the site resortforaday .com.

We were on the same cruise....it was a great week!! We stayed in a regular balcony room on deck 10. We had VIBE passes, well worth it! Everything was amazing!!