10/16/16 BA to Bermuda extensive review

48 year old and 35 year old bf/gf. Both first-time Cruisers. I appreciate all the information I learned on this forum and I wanted to give back, especially to the newbies here. Some things have been covered before on the forum and other things have not been. I will first have a ‘quick’ summary of what we did and then go into painstaking detail further down the review and this is written for the first time cruiser so you experts may be bored. Get out your Advil. You’ve been warned!

Sections are : quick summary, port/sailaway, room, haven, food, ship, Bermuda, internet, thermal spa

I was on the Breakaway October 16th in room 14128 Spa Haven Suite for 2499 per person. That's about 5400 out the door and in case anyone is wondering, you cannot get these prices in October anymore since in 2017 they aren’t going to Bermuda. Free gratuities, free drinks, free internet ,and three free specialty dinners. Since this will probably be our one and only cruise ever, or at least in a long time, I decided to splurge. This was the first cruise back to Bermuda after the hurricane.

Quick summary paragraph in case you don't want details:

Having the Haven Lounge in the terminal was nice and being first on the ship was nice as well, especially because we didn't know what to expect. Lunch in the Haven Restaurant was pleasant and quick and then we went exploring around the ship. For anybody that has not sailed before, please note that the ship moves. I know this is a silly statement but even though it was tiny 5 foot waves and very mild, you still do notice things moving. We were on Deck 14 forward and so things were worse later in the week when we had bad weather. As in even standing up to shower or going to the bathroom worse (that’s why there are bars mounted on the walls). I was pleased with the specialty restaurants that we chose. Teppanyaki, ocean blue, and La Cucina. I would go to all 3 again. And wish that I had a few more specialty dinners, assuming the plan price made sense of course. The cabin steward Ging made our trip fantastic. The butler Hippolito (sp) was also there when we needed him but we did not use him too much. He was very professional and on the last day, breakfast to the room was exactly at 7 which was greatly appreciated. For the first-time Cruiser if you are interested in the Haven I think you should go for it. Then after you are done, come home and make a spreadsheet and find out what you could live without or what you must have. I did not spend much time in the haven lounge or the courtyard but I definitely used the restaurant a lot for breakfast. It was nice to have an option for lunch and dinner as well if you didn’t want the other food. Bermuda is fantastic to visit and I recommend it for a first-time Cruiser. It is worth the extra money. You can sit on the beach all day or you can go to museums or even go through the jungle. There is a lot to do and if you have a few months to plan you will get a good idea what you want to do. Things are expensive on the island but the two restaurants I ate at were the hog Penny and the Swizzle Inn and I found them to be worth the money considering where I was. The two days sailing home were very rough with 50 mile an hour winds and 15 ft waves. Some of this was hand rail- holding type of weather. When I visited a friend up in 16 forward I barely could stand without leaning and standing took effort. It was that crazy. So if you think you will have a problem with the sea moving the boat you should definitely get a lower room in the middle of the ship. From The Haven Lounge to my car was a little over 15 minutes on Sunday morning. Get the porter to take your luggage and it goes through very quickly. The service is available to everybody on the ship. I came home in the next day already started looking at prices for cruises but cannot do the Haven again anytime soon and it turns out even an inside cabin turns out to be about $1,300 for a guarantee. So I will have to wait until more money is printed. But my girlfriend and I were very thrilled and very happy with 99.8% of everything.

I tried to keep the paragraphs organized but there may be some overlap in topics:

Details about the ship and Port Terminal

There is a thread in the east coast section of this forum and I recommend you look at pictures and follow them if you have not been here before. Coming out of the Lincoln Tunnel and I believe it was 10th Avenue and then 55th and you were right on the terminal. Very easy directions and on the Sunday morning we were early because no traffic. We actually got in around 9:15 and sat in the car until about 10:15. Watched the crew open all the balcony dividers and clean everything. Good job! Something I thought was weird is that when you take the elevator down from the parking garage you have to go back outside in order to give them your luggage. This seems kind of silly but I guess overall not that many people park upstairs for $280 a week. Also the elevator tells you not to leave your receipt and your car. If you are Haven you stay to the left initially and then go to the right hand side where the Haven lounge is and there are plenty of people and signs to tell you. Just have your boarding pass to show them. There are some light Beverages and light sandwiches/snacks there and it is nice to have a somewhat quiet place to relax. You can also see the people coming off the ship. We saw people on there as late as 10:30 I think. It is incredible anticipation when it is your first cruise and you're headed up the gangway. Everyone is friendly when you are boarding and there is an elevator that is held for the Haven guests and I can understand why this would irritate other people. It was roped off for a few hours after boarding.

They give out free non-alcoholic drinks and very good finger sandwiches and sliders in the lounge and when the restaurant opened we went in to eat and I got the veal for lunch. It was very thin and I thought there was more breading on it then there was actual veal. Unfortunately one of the windows in the restaurant was full of condensation and remained so for the cruise and that is sad because of the amount of money that is paid by haven guests. And yes I do think it was a minor annoyance but not the end of the world. The hostess and Edward the maitre d' were always very nice and very attentive and the service was very quick. After we were done we went out to explore the ship. At first it seems like a very big ship but by the end of the week it was very familiar. There seems to be bathrooms everywhere that you would hope they would be for the most part. There are definitely a lot of bars everywhere. We are not pool people but we did sit in a lounger next to the pool because we knew this would be the only time all week we could do that. However I did find out in the evening no one is around. Unsure why as its empty then!

At 3 o'clock you are to go to muster but ours was late at 3:30 in the Breakaway Theater. We were in there and then they said they had some kind of crew meeting going on at 3 and kicked us out. Really poor planning. The drill is quick and you really should listen. They told us we were lucky because we could sit and not everyone at the other stations can do that. Then we went out to deck 15 on the starboard side for the Statue of Liberty. We were not concerned about being on port side for the New York City skyline because you can still see a lot of it from the other side. And then you passed under the bridge after the Statue of Liberty but be warned this is not a quick trip. If you can't stand for a while then make sure you get a seat. Also since the elevators were packed after muster, we walked up 8 decks to the top. Talk about burning off your lunch. Not fun.

Photographers are all over the place and when you are boarding the ship I recommend that you actually get one taken because I regret not getting it taken. As long as they are not too annoying I have no problem taking a picture. And in the end we actually wound up buying three of the pictures and this is from a person that said they would never spend $25 for a picture. I also wanted to let you know that if you want a picture from anybody you better make sure that they have your room number. We had a good picture taken a Teppanyaki but never had the opportunity to buy it. 150 is the cheapest package for 10 pictures and the USB drive and rights to copy the pics. Yes people, you don’t own your own pictures. I’ve learned a lot during my research. Also you will meet some bizarre people on board. We ran into the same guy at least 4 times in an elevator and he would say where are you going, I don’t know where I’m going. we called him the drunk elevator guy but aren’t sure if he was. 99 percent of everyone we met was friendly. The errant person fighting with a spouse or disgruntled vacationer can be had on any trip. Broke my heart to see how one dad was punishing his kids in the buffet and how he treated his wife. But I just looked out my aft view and tried to ignore.

Details about the spa suite:

I forget what time the luggage was in the room but we weren't in a hurry for it so it was okay. Since we had seen video of our room online we knew what to expect. However I wanted to point out for anybody in the spa Suites that there is indeed a power outlet on the one side of the bed but on the other side of the bed is just controls for the lights. I do think the way they did the lighting in this room is fantastic. I'm not sure if it is this way with all of the rooms. The control panel has many different settings and there is 1 through 4 with 1 being the brightest and 4 being the dimmest and everything is appropriately bright or dim as you need it. The controls are on the wall and also next to the bed. It is very convenient. If you’ve ever been stuck in a motel 6 with 3 dim table lamps you will appreciate this lighting. Also I don't know if it's that way for every room but they left a blank key card in the slot for us to use all week but we didn’t need the power on while we weren’t in the room. I never did find out what the two hooks were right next to the door. Perhaps a coat hook or a lanyard. There is more than enough space and I am not typically one to empty out my suitcase into drawers but if I wanted to it would be no problem. tons of room! Also slippers and robes magically appeared in our closet after the 1st day.

I thought we would run out of hangers but I wound up having enough. I brought nine shirts for the week. And it pays to bring that many. There are some days you will want to change for the evening. I've been told that these balconies are small but since I have no comparison I was okay with it. You definitely cannot stretch your legs out if you are facing the ocean. This was not a concern for me but I just wanted to note to it. Also these beds sit up very high so that you could fit your large suitcases underneath, along with the life jackets. I believe the one suitcase was 14 or 15 inches high with no problem whatsoever. The vanity mirror also opens up for space and there were many open shelves for us. This is where I stored my $60 case of water. It turns out I only needed 6 bottles of water so I brought some very expensive water home. I will serve it at my finest parties. Also there is lighting underneath the vanity cabinet in the cabin which I really did not realize until the last day but I never really needed it. The fancy coffee machine is nice but I do not drink coffee however towards the end of the cruise we made some tea and I have to admit it's fantastic. I really enjoyed it.

We asked for the refrigerator to be emptied when we got there because they had not done it before we arrived. Then we put our expensive water in there along with the champagne sparkling wine that they gave us. For those who have never been on a ship before please note that the toilet makes a very loud noise when you flush it and there's no way the whole world will not hear that every time you do it unless you have a huge cabin or have lined your bathroom wall with thick blankets. Also you may have to press the button several times. It's like winning on a slot machine when it actually flushes. Cha ching! I do like the glass doors for the shower and for those who are thinking about showering together two bodies will definitely fit in there but we never actually tried it. It would be very tight. In the hot tub we are 5 7 and 5 3 and it was very cumbersome with 2 people in there so I don't know if I would call it romantic or not. But we use the hot tub a few times. The curtains to the balcony have an extra little compartment where when they are closed it goes into the wall so you will not be bothered by daylight as long as you close the curtains all the way. This is a very good design. There are two chairs and a small table to dine at and we did have breakfast on the last day and we did not find it too small for our liking. But it really is a small table. We got room service a few times and we pretty much just ate on our bed while we watched TV.

One specific note about this room is that even on moderate sea days there is a creaking in the bathroom above the light that I could not figure out how to fix. Also even with the bathroom door closed, it rattled so we jammed some paper in the crack around the frame every night. We did not need any lights. Between the haven phone ( you can carry this through out the ship to call your room or butler), the coffee machine and the LEDs on the light switches, there was more than enough light. I also wanted to note that across from 14136 there is a crew access door and across from 14140 is where they brought up the luggage. I don't know what that is used for on a daily basis during the day when the luggage comes they would be not wise to sleep in that room. It would be very noisy. I did read another post where it was active through the day so note that. On the port side Haven Spa rooms I am happy to report that the rest of the rooms do not have anything across from them regarding doors/noise. When I was researching what room to be in this was important to me. I wanted things as quiet as possible. Note that rumors are starboard has the fitness center above and 6am is not fun there! We were on the bridge level 14 and ran into many employees throughout the week. I guess they are told to move over for you or are just naturally courteous because the hallways are so narrow and it was a little bit embarrassing at first but it is something they do. I just thank them every time. I’m personally happy to just turn sideways if we won’t fit. Also I regret that I did not get to take a full survey of which Spa Suite has poles in them. I meant to ask my Steward to write that down for me but I forgot. Ging was our steward and I have to say he was fantastic. It is one reason I will go back to the ship and hope to get him again. He was so warm and welcoming and just wonderful. Of course everybody does the towel animals but he did a special request and also told my girlfriend how to do the elephant. He always asked if we needed anything and was visible when he was supposed to be and he was never intrusive.

in case you were unaware, there are three lights above your door outside and the 1 indicates you have your card in the slot and the other one indicates to make up the room and the other one indicates do not disturb. Only once in the afternoon did somebody ring the doorbell when the Do Not Disturb was up. They were bringing afternoon snacks. Ging always seem to know when we left the room and things were done quickly after we left. It's almost like they had a remote control in their pocket and knew when we were not in the room. Even when he was not visible in the hallway he knew we were gone and fixed up our room nicely. I was very impressed with how clean the room was and when I went looking for dust the only thing I could find is on one hinge inside of a cabinet. Also one morning Ging was on his hands and knees using a special brush that was meant to clean between the floor and wall carpet. Being on Deck 14 forward was very nice as far as location and I found that I like the location. It was close to the thermal Spa which we had a pass for and two flights up to The Haven Courtyard. I also wanted to let people know that by pressing one of the elevator buttons you only activate half of the elevators and some of the elevators do not go up to 16 so you need to be careful and you will learn these tricks very quickly. Of course for regular elevator trips when you press both sets of buttons it annoys the other people in the other set of elevators that has to open the door and nobody is there.

Details about Haven

Earlier in the review I covered what happens for embarkation so I won't go over that again. But it was very nice for us as new people to get on the ship first. 6:15 on Monday night was the captain's reception which basically is the captain and the officers lining up shaking your hand and saying something nice to you like nice to meet you. Then you are served drinks. I didn’t know if it’s appropriate to talk to the captain or ask questions so I didn’t do that but I wanted to. It is a nice atmosphere and I was not sure about getting a picture with a captain but because another couple tried before me so I figured I would just join in and ask too. Just wait for the end of the line to make sure nobody else is coming. Then hand your butler your drinks and somebody else will take a picture for you (thanks Linda!). The Haven Courtyard is a nice escape from the busy hustle-bustle. We did not use it much but we did get in the hot tub once and dip our feet in the pool. It was a nice place to have in reserve even though we did not use it a lot. We were up in the Haven deck to see passing under the bridge the first day and that was very nice. Also there are umbrellas up there and as long as nobody is hogging them you can sit in the shade. They had very large loungers for two people and it just seem like a very pleasant area to be in if you wanted to sit out and sun yourself but we are not that type of people. The Haven bartender was good in that he could remember five or six orders at the same time and get them correct. We did not use that bar for much at all though. It was definitely the closest bar to get a soda or other drink when we wanted it in our room. And I still think it's kind of crazy that you pay all this money and cannot have a drink delivered to your room for free. But I understand why they do it. They would be overrun. We were not demanding as far as snacks and the one day we requested chocolate covered strawberries and gummy bears and M& Ms. On the days in Bermuda we just let the standard stuff be brought to our room. We did try out the room service menu and I have to say it was better than I thought it would be except they brought my hamburger and it was very red but I just ate it even though I like well done. My girlfriend got the chicken nuggets and thought they were very good I got the New York cheesecake and did not think it was that great and the Strawberry Pound strawberry pound Cake was not good at all. However the pizza with onions and mushrooms was fantastic even though the cheese was not melted correctly and maybe that's what made it so great.

All of the pay-per-view movies were free and I think we watched one or two of them. Also there was a DVD player in our room. The Haven Restaurant was used at least 5 or 6 days for breakfast and on the last day the butler brought us breakfast promptly at 7 o'clock in our room. I felt that for breakfast alone The Haven was fantastic. The one haven dinner that we had I got a sea bass and it was fantastic and I did not like the veal at lunch because it was very thin with lots of breading. But every morning I loved the buffet that was in The Haven. I got fruit and some prosciutto and salami and it was very good. Of course they know your name and they pretty much know what you like to eat as long as you don't change your order and they made a change to the filet for me and remembered that the next day. The staff remembers everything. They are quick with customer service, only in the last night that there was a big crowd for dinner did we get a delay but of course that would be expected in any food restaurant. Otherwise they were very quick and everything was at the expected pace. One time the hostess was making up a table then had to return up front and within 3 seconds another woman was there to finish up the table.

There is a spa treatment room in back of the Haven Courtyard if you want to pay to have a treatment back there. Also in the lounge I believe the table that is in there enables you to see all your photographs throughout the ship but we did not try it there. We did not use the concierge Patrick except to ask for one question and he did not seem interested in helping us with it really and we seem like an annoyance to him and thankfully we did not need anything else from him. Well except for getting off of New York and I have to say it was really nice getting off within 15 minutes or so. Going to the elevator and out the Breakaway theater is fantastic. However even the other people did not seem to have too long of a line and customs and it seems to go pretty quickly. My guess is a minute or two for each person. There was one weenie in the haven lounge when it was time to leave. He himself ‘ cut the line’ then told one of the staff about another family that cut the line as well. he was adamant and a real jerk about it. To boot, when we were ready to get in the elevator, he wouldn’t even go in as he said he has to wait for his family. Don’t be a jerk on your cruise and be like this guy. Relax! I have no regrets about spending the money I did to try to Haven out. And I still have not made a spreadsheet but I will be determining what I can live without and what is worth anything. Because you literally are paying double for the cruise. We did try to get a look at the other rooms on the deck and got to look at a mini suite and an inside room. We did not need the Haven card to get any reservations that we wanted last minute but I am told you can usually get them if you want. And as a final note about the room, it was nice having a real king bed and yes we did take naps whenever we felt like it and it was very refreshing. Highly recommend you do so during your day as well! one annoying thing was even if we left the temp at the same setting, one moment we froze, another time we were hot. Unsure why this was. I just remembered on haven deck outside they would come and ask if you wanted to be sprayed down. What a fun job! I also got to visit an O/S at the front of deck 16 and wanted to say pictures don’t do it justice. Thank you to Linda for the chance to see inside this beautiful room.

Details about food:

I regret not keeping a better food journal. The first night we went to Teppanyaki and I thought the filet was very good. It is a very loud restaurant so if you want quiet do not go there. They throw food in your mouth and play with knives and that makes noise! My girlfriend got the shrimp and chicken and said the shrimp was not that good though. Almost every day was the Haven and I did like the fillet for breakfast along with scrambled eggs and sausage and the hash browns were okay. But I love the fruit. raspberries and blueberries for breakfast. And the prosciutto. My gf got eggs and bacon in haven and they always gave her a lot of bacon. Then we had ocean blue and I decided to try dover sole and I never had such a thing before but it was fantastic. I was ready to go back another night and spend $25 on it. She had the grouper and liked it as well. it'll take a while before I can dig out my pictures to post and I forget which restaurant we had it in but there was a chocolate torte that was just way too rich and could not be eaten. We also went to La Cucina and I liked the veal much better than the Haven. My girlfriend got rigatoni and meatballs I believe and she was happy with it. At osheehans she did not like the barbecue wings but did like the Jamaican Jerk ones and fish and chips were good too. Also my reuben sandwich had meat that was thicker than I like but it out over all tasted pretty good. I got the shepherd's pie and thought a TV dinner would taste better. Very disappointing. Also they don’t care about timing of things. We got our app and literally behind the girl was someone else with our dinners. This was about minutes after we ordered. TOO fast service! We tried the buffet twice. On the Asian night they had some nice things to try. I would say it is about as good as the Chinese food down the street at home. The other time we tried to find something for lunch and was not really impressed and I'm not sure if I could live on the buffet alone. But if I was not paying for Haven room I could probably spring for the other restaurants. It would not bother me so much. I just remembered in taste we got potato skins with crab and it was real crab, not filler. Very good stuff. And I wanted to comment that I had the regular water at all the meals and thought it was fine. And im somewhat picky.

General ship comments and observations.

Even if you do not plan on buying pictures let the photographers take a few pictures of you. You never have to buy and you just never know what you may find out. We used one of our specialty restaurants for Teppanyaki. We were seated with a younger couple and an older couple who were celebrating a birthday. It is a very engaging experience and if you are not social then you should not come here. Because they will suck you in. They throw food in your mouth and make jokes all the while you are being given your individual courses. Since I am writing this late after the cruise I cannot even remember all of them, but there were at least two or three things before the main meal. Things were done very unobtrusively and it was a fun experience and if you have never gone to one you really should try it but if you did go to hibachi at home, it is probably just like the one at home. I have to say I enjoyed my filet there more than I did in the Haven Restaurant. But none the less I did have it every morning for breakfast and I did enjoy it. This was the restaurant where they took our picture but did not ask our room number and at the time we did not know how important that was and that is one picture I would have like to buy. They take a picture with the chef behind you holding his Fork like he is going to stab you. The meal was rather quick so if you do want a quick meal this would be for you. I believe we were out and one hour.

Our second special dinner with ocean blue. And as I stated above the grouper and the Dover sole were fantastic. The third meal at La Cucina was good as well. Many people on here comment about how slow things are for drinks and I only actually sat at one bar The Atrium bar (John was great). I would say that is a relatively full bar all the time and I do not think I waited a crazy amount of time for a drink. You are on vacation after all. But if you expect to sit at the bar and get served within 30 seconds you will be disappointed. Atrium bar is also a great place to see things that are going on behind you. We sat through two or three different things including the Celebrity Dance Off and that was hilarious. I actually recommend trying to get to see that one. Otherwise we never really came to do any scheduled events like Deal or No Deal or anything like that but we did walk through when they were buying the cards for the game and it was incredibly busy. Also I wanted you to know if you are looking for the bowling alley or the pool tables they are in the bar at osheehans. The bowling alley definitely takes some finding. Just know that it is a tiny shot put ball and the pins are held on by ropes so it is not real bowling of course. But for $5 I could say that I bowled on the ocean. The pool deck during the day is something that we really did not partake in but we did walk through a couple times to get to the back of the ship. We were in 14 forward and of course if it was cold or rainy you did not want to walk across 15 so we just walked the whole way down 14 to the buffet. The general comment that the forward elevators are more crowded is true. There are some times where we joked we should just go to the back of the ship because it would be quicker. We had no trouble going down two or three flights of steps but there is no way we are going to walk up eight or nine decks. After muster the elevators were packed coming out of the Breakaway theater and we wanted to get up top for sail away so we actually did have to hoof it. It was very strenuous. It is worth waiting for Lady Liberty to go by and it is a very cool thing to do. And I recommend it. Also going under the bridge is very neat and we were in The Haven Courtyard deck for that one. However in the public area you could actually go up to deck Seventeen. I am not sure if everybody knows where deck 17 is but it is not that big and while I would not say it is private it is definitely more private and peaceful than the pool deck. If you are looking for a public place to escape I would say this would be it.

We did attempt the ropes course but I found out that I have a fear of heights but my girlfriend did a little bit of it so I was very proud of her. There is a baby one underneath it and maybe I could have gone on that one. Also remember you cannot carry anything your pockets like your cell phone so do not try to do that. I did not make it on the water slides because I saved it for the last day so do not save anything for the last day. Do it when the weather is good. I was disappointed. I also never got around to mini golfing. But it looked like a fun way to kill some time. All the cabin halls are narrow and this is the case even up in Haven. So you will just be constantly turning sideways when you pass people. It is not fun when there's a cart in the hallway but this is life. Every time one of the crew past you they would move aside for the most part. Everyone was very polite and courteous. Also I wanted to mention that when you leave the ship to go to Bermuda that you have to of course bring along your documents and do not forget them. You swipe your room key so they keep track of who is on and off the ship and you need your picture ID and card to get back on. Since I've only been to Bermuda it is my only experience but I wanted to say that when you walk off the ship there are Customs people sitting there but I never saw them stop anybody so people have asked can you bring stuff to Bermuda and the question is legally I do not know the answer but nobody stops you for the most part. So if you bring a bottle of water or a bag of potato chips I do not believe there will be a problem but I also believe if you get caught bringing something it is very expensive fine.

Details about Bermuda

In Bermuda we went to see the zoo and aquarium and it is small compared to anything back in the States. However I still think it was a worthwhile thing to do. There were a bunch of pink flamingos and there were signs that you are not supposed to touch but they were so close that you could. And the aquarium has some interesting fish. I would say you could spend one or perhaps two hours there. I do not think it would be an all-day experience. The Underwater Museum was very cool with the America’s cup exhibit and with the virtual reality it was really neat. Also there are things like shells and other things that you would expect to be in an underwater Museum. We went to Tom Moore's jungle and wanted to say that if you take the bus 10 or 11 that drops you off at the Swizzle Inn you just walk down the hill to the gas station and then further down the hill towards the causeway is the entrance and a small parking lot to the Jungle. There is another end of the Jungle but we did not make it that far. I did not notice that any of the trails would take us that far. I do not know if it was because of the hurricane or what. But I'm glad we went where we did because we saw many of the caves. Also the deck and the swimming hole where you can jump off the cliff was really cool. So if you are into that definitely bring your bathing suit. We also saw a couple there with a young child so it must be safe to walk through the jungle and I really haven't heard of anything bad happening there. Did I say the caves were cool?

Our first negative experience in Bermuda was just as we got off the ship. One lady asked if we needed help with anything and we did ask about the jungle and she looked at us crazy and said you cannot go to the Jungle alone you should go to the end of the pier and hire these jamz people to take you because you cannot go on alone it is very dangerous. We saw the lady on the third day and I wanted to give her a piece of my mind but decided I better not. It is a public place that anybody can go into and she was just trying to sell something. But I do believe she was probably the only not nice person on Bermuda. The ferries ran on time and matter of fact one was early somehow and so we got to go early over to Hamilton. It is a small town and it is fun to walk around. They have a small indoor mall there to look around and we went to the post office and we had bought a postcard and it was only $1 to mail back home. It is one of the things I like to do when we go away. One time I had a friend mail me a postcard from Thailand and it was pretty neat. All of the bus drivers were very friendly and even joked around. When I asked if he is going to the zoo he said no but you are. We ate at the Swizzle Inn and I had the big fish sandwich and we got the nachos and it was small and I'm glad we only ordered this small because it was not small. It could have been a meal. So if you get the large that is definitely a meal for 2. We also ate at hog penny and I got the shepherd's pie and it was good. It is a small place and things are tight just like everywhere else. But I would say it is worth going there. Also generally there a lot of scooters around and the bus drivers ride right on their butts and I would not want to drive a scooter. And you better take your helmet off because there are signs everywhere when you go inside to take it off.

One experience that you should know about is if you take the bus is the roads are extremely narrow and if you had opened your window you could literally touch the wall or the trees if you are going past. It is that crazy. And I believe they do go faster than 20 miles an hour. But I am glad that we bought the pass for $31 for 2 days for all you can eat and the ferries and buses are included. I also had PDF of the bus and ferry schedules on my phone and recommend you do that as well. There’s also a copy at the visitor center. Back on the ship I forgot to mention that we saw the Rock of Ages and it was very good. And all the warnings about not for children are correct. Any parent that has a child in there is just crazy. You cannot blame your child if they go home and start throwing invisible things over their shoulder. One thing I regret not doing is buying a certificate good for another cruise and getting some credit. It turns out that as I am finishing up writing this review I indeed have booked another trip and going to the Bahamas in a couple of weeks. I really could have used that certificate. On a final note, it was cool to go in the supermarket downtown. The exact loaf of bread I have it home was double the price there. Frozen pizza was 14 bucks. Even the cheap ellios brand was 13. 6 pack of soda was 6 bucks. Case was 30. I always like to look for unique foods where I go and got some cool candy and some weird chips. We did get some Bermuda money as change so if you do want change without being a tourist this would be the place to be. Also this supermarket had what appeared to be pretty good food stations where a lot of workers would get their lunch.

Internet

The free gig was nice. I wanted to warn you that your phone will spring back to life at 4AM on return day and you will get texts and VM that you were out of range for before. So silence your phone or put on airplane mode or you will get woken up!!!!! Ask me how I know. As far as the free internet it was pretty reliable and the speed was good. I left 400 mb on the table and was trying to send pics to friends to use it up. Make sure you log off and on so you don’t burn up your data and don’t miss the deck 8 kiosk to do selfies and email your friends. ! I CCd the pics to myself and it was nice to see.

Thermal spa

We took the tour when first getting on board. When they find you have a card already for the spa there are no hard sells. Matter of fact I think the tour was 3 minutes long. She wanted to get back to her commissions I guess. But they wanted to find my name on the sheet and they couldn’t . then they surmised since in a spa room it wouldn’t be on there. When we went in the spa to use it for the first time we used the lockers. You enter a 4 digit code to lock and it’s easy to use. Also there’s a separate changing room for privacy. It all looked clean and well cared for. We went early but went in the pool and by the time we got out, the thermal loungers were taken. So we never go to try them. We went in the hot tub for a bit. The pool was very nice and had one set of seats made out of jets so you got a good feel from them. Another set of jets against the wall so you back up against it and hit the button and hold on. The main waterfall was very powerful and knocked out my gf’s hair tie. The 2nd time we used the pool it was so rocky on the ocean that one minute the water was at your neck, the next at your waist line. Crazy! always could get a lounger and some very nice views. They had water and flavored water and tea. I don’t think any food there at all. We tried the salt bath and after 15 min didn’t feel anyting. Unsure if you were supposed to. In the wet sauna it was hot. What more can you say. I couldn’t stand more than 10 minutes. Didn’t try the other 2 rooms and I forget what they were. I have to admit that I probably wouldn’t have spent 199 for the pass but I may have been influenced because I had the spa suite and the haven to retreat to if I needed quiet.

Conclusion

I’m impressed you made it this far. Congrats! Apologies for any repetition but my mind went from place to place the past few weeks as I added to this review and I know it’s obvious it was written at many different sittings. Also I will probably even add things to this book as I remember them in the future. Heck I just remembered that on disembark my one luggage strap disappeared. Don’t know if fell off or they wanted it for a souvenir but I was sure it was tight as I was paranoid about losing it. I highly recommend Bermuda and if you have limited cruising or have never been on one I believe it should be the first place that you go. I loved sitting there for 3 days in port. I am not sure I will like going to 3 different places in 3 days on my next one. I also wanted to thank the people that answered my silly questions and I’d love to answer any from someone who has them for me. No detail is too small and I firmly believe by doing research you can minimize surprises and maximize enjoyment.

Great review of the ship, the ports, and your experience.

Cruising the Breakaway in 30 days and it will be my 1st Haven experience. Looking forward to it!

Loved your review. And I totally agree about the bus drivers in Bermuda..it can be one helluva ride:-) My sister kept asking 'what did they say the speed limit was?":)

With your attitude...you will love all of those different cruise ports. I love getting on board, unpacking my 'stuff' and having my floating hotel take me to different places.

Cheers & happy sailing..

Sandy

Extremely well-written review, thank-you!

Great review. Thanks.

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Thanks for the great review!

Thanks for sharing your review with us. Glad you had a nice holiday.

Hey Luckyinpa - great review, I really enjoyed reading. However, I happened to notice your opening comment about not being able to cruise again for a long time. I also caught on that in another post you took the dive on the discounted 11 Dec 7-day Breakaway! Congrats. I feel your pain - if only I didn't have a work commitment that week!! Those prices are great!

thanks i could not go again so soon if not for the 4 way split on the balcony room. bad thing about prices so cheap is there havent been upsells for a month.

just cant wait for the 50 deposit promo to go away because i want to go again next year and lock in the prepaid grats before they expire in 2 days.

heck i even priced out the dawn garden villa for september, mere 22K. anyone wanna join :)

nice review, but what Jungle is there in Bermuda? We have been there 6 times and don't remember anything like this?

nice review, but what Jungle is there in Bermuda? We have been there 6 times and don't remember anything like this?

TY! i regret not trying to get further into the jungle but i didnt do enough research. the caves were VERY cool. if you are a swimmer it would be very neat to do.

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g562684-d207638-Reviews-Tom_Moore_s_Jungle-Hamilton_Parish_Bermuda.html

nice review, but what Jungle is there in Bermuda? We have been there 6 times and don't remember anything like this?

if you have a review id like to read it. i will get back some day and always looking for new things