On the Breakaway 4/8/18 - 4/15/18. Final Florida/Bahamas run out of NYC. My Thoughts.

Hi all! My Wife (28) and I (32) were on the last Breakaway cruise out of NYC to do the Florida/Bahamas run. I figure I would put down my random thoughts for you all to take in, hopefully it helps somebody. This isour third trip on the Breakaway, we have done 2 runs to Florida/Bahamas and 1to Bermuda. We do try and cruise once a year, we already have our 2019 cruise booked on the Escape. I will break this down into sections to give it some type of structure.

The Haven:

This was our first time in the Haven and we loved it. Our Concierge, Patrick was great and he helped us every time we had a question. The dynamic duo or Loy, our Butler and Johnito, our Steward did an exceptional job at keeping our room looking perfect and keeping in topped off supply wise. Just when you think you are about to run out of something, you would come back to your room and it would be refilled. We absolutely loved the Haven restaurant,so many great waiters/waitresses want an excellent experience that was. We also got a kick out of Kumar at the Haven Lounge Bar. He was witty and fun to talk with and he always remembered my go to drink, the pineapple rum champ. The only issues we had was the noise in the Haven Courtyard. I was told that the week we sailed was the week that Connecticut schools were on spring break, so there were a lot of kids. The kids themselves were not necessarily the problem as much as the echo in the Courtyard of all the kids having a good time. Not sure on the logistics of it but it would be nice if there was some type of sound dampening they could but up to maybe absorb some of the sound. Other than that the Haven was an excellent experience.

Entertainment:

We are going to miss Melvin and Arvin and Emily. They are so much fun to watch and listen to. They are the worst part of the Breakaway leaving NYC in our opinion. Our favorite thing to do on the ship is go to Howl at the Moon. It is such a fun time. I want to say it was Tuesday night when this Drunk women who kept going up on stage and messing with the performers was finally ushered out by her party. As they were leaving some guy made a comment that one of the friends didn’t like so she tossed her wine in his face. We didn’t even have to pay for that entertainment. The next show, which was on Thursday, you could see NCL had plain clothes security at the show. The final show on Saturday, a bunch of the cast of Rock of Ages showed up, one of the Howl at the Moon guys said this was their last night on board. So we got a live performance of “Don’t Stop Believing”, that was probably one of the coolest things I’ve seen on all my cruises.

The Ship:

The ship wasn’t looking too bad from my POV. You can see where she needs some work and I can see why she is going into dry dock but nothing stood out as unacceptable.

Restaurants:

We did Teppanyaki, Cagneys and Moderno. We love Teppanyaki and Cagneys without a question. This was our second time trying Moderno and it just didn’t do anything for us and we probably will not do it again. In our opinion, besides the pineapple nothing really stood out to us taste wise.

The running joke of the trip:

I like to occasionally indulge in a glass of ice cold seltzer. So when I wasn’t drinking the adult beverages I would ask for a “seltzer with a couple of lemons in it” out of the 6 times I asked, one time I got Sprite with limes, 4 times I got seltzer with limes and the other time the bartender repeated my order of “seltzer with a couple of lemons in it” with“seltzer with a couple of limes in it”, which I quickly corrected him about.I’ll tell ya, I wasn’t even mad, my wife and I found it hilarious. I never asked for it to be replaced because I didn’t really care. At one point I started to look around to see if I was being Punked.

This was a sentimental trip for us because this will probably be the last time we sail on the Breakaway. We had our Honeymoon on here back in 2016 so this ship will always mean something special to us. I hope this was useful, any questions please let me know and I’ll do my best to answer them.

Thanks for your review.

I look forward to our first Breakaway cruise in June! Had to laugh at your attempt at seltzer with lemon. The first Amaretto and cream I ordered on a HAL cruise, came with my Amaretto poured and a dollop of whip cream on top. I didn’t day anything either, just laughed and drank it. It came correct every day after though.

We loved Kumar when we were on the BA in March. Very interesting to talk to and very funny!

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Thanks for the feedback.

Nice review. I have learned to ask for "club soda" as many bartenders did not know what seltzer was! You mentioned the Rock of Ages cast was at Howl, and it was their last night on the ship. Do you know if they are just getting a new cast for the Baltic cruise season, or if they are getting a whole new show onboard?

Nice review. I have learned to ask for "club soda" as many bartenders did not know what seltzer was! You mentioned the Rock of Ages cast was at Howl, and it was their last night on the ship. Do you know if they are just getting a new cast for the Baltic cruise season, or if they are getting a whole new show onboard?

I don’t know sadly, I wish I did because it’s been bugging me. I always thought they just cycled individual cast members out and new ones in. I didn’t think they did the whole cast, or that could be due to repositioning.

Nice review!! I look ahead to sailing her in the Baltics this August!

Honestly never get why people go so nuts over the pineapple at Moderno's.

It tastes like a warm piece of pineapple. I like pineapple as much as the next guy, but I just don't get the hype.

Sounds like such a great trip!! Makes me so sad that the Breakaway is leaving NY. I cruised her in March and had such a great time, better than I ever imagined. Now, I can't repeat it next spring!!:(

We are sailing on the Breakaway for the 11 day Caribbean cruise out of NYC in October. That's the last trip from NYC before she repositions. I'm glad we are having a chance to sail on her, since it's our first NCL cruise. Thanks for giving us your thoughts!

I don’t know sadly, I wish I did because it’s been bugging me. I always thought they just cycled individual cast members out and new ones in. I didn’t think they did the whole cast, or that could be due to repositioning.

In general, they cycle the whole cast. When we were on the Escape in February, a new cast for After Midnight had just gotten on the ship. We were told on the behind the scenes tour that they rehearse in Florida (maybe Tampa?) for a while, then get on the ship together.

I don’t know sadly, I wish I did because it’s been bugging me. I always thought they just cycled individual cast members out and new ones in. I didn’t think they did the whole cast, or that could be due to repositioning.

In general, they cycle the whole cast. When we were on the Escape in February, a new cast for After Midnight had just gotten on the ship. We were told on the behind the scenes tour that they rehearse in Florida (maybe Tampa?) for a while, then get on the ship together.

You are probably both right. The ship left 4/15 for her transatlantic, and will be undergoing drydock after she gets to London. They will probably have a whole new cast for the European itineraries, until she comes back to U.S.

I'm going to miss the Breakaway. She was my first big cruise ship that I went on.