SliceofLife's 5/19 Breakaway to Bermuda Review

[Gershep]

Thank you!

[GypsieMom]

Thank you Slice, for your review and your helpful tips, especially about disembarking (taking our own luggage and leaving via the aft route) and that was great. Almost felt sorry for those standing in that long line from the forward area... almost... but if they had read your review, they'd have been off the boat much sooner as well. So... happy continued cruising to you as well as everyone else.

[SliceOfLife]

Thank you Slice, for your review and your helpful tips, especially about disembarking (taking our own luggage and leaving via the aft route) and that was great. Almost felt sorry for those standing in that long line from the forward area... almost... but if they had read your review, they'd have been off the boat much sooner as well. So... happy continued cruising to you as well as everyone else.

 

Lol, I am glad you benefited well from my review. I wish I would have gone the aft route, that was a very long walk with a lot of luggage!

[GypsieMom]

Where are you from in Maryland? We're in the Baltimore area, and our first cruise a few years back was Baltimore to Bermuda, out through the Chesapeake Bay. That was fun. Took the GPS on board to see what we could see. So much easier getting home from downtown, although NY wasn't too bad.

[SliceOfLife]

Where are you from in Maryland? We're in the Baltimore area, and our first cruise a few years back was Baltimore to Bermuda, out through the Chesapeake Bay. That was fun. Took the GPS on board to see what we could see. So much easier getting home from downtown, although NY wasn't too bad.

 

I'm from the Baltimore area as well.

 

If you cruise out of NYC, I highly suggest Amtrak. It was great and our train trip was a lot cheaper than driving, tolls, gas, and parking at the NYC pier. It was less than $190 for both of us.

[PathfinderEss]

Thanks for the great review of your cruise.

[GypsieMom]

Slice... will try Amtrak next time. Thanks for the info. We wanted the car this time because it was the easiest place to put our luggage while we visited the 911 Memorial. If you have the chance, this is a worthwhile visit, very well done, but go when they open because a long line forms quickly.

[christinalvt]

Thank you very much for your very detailed review! I haven't even looked at your photos yet, but I'm sure they are great! I'm going on the Breakaway in July with my daughter and granddaughter, it will be our first time on NCL, we've previously cruised on Carnival and Royal.

I have a couple of questions:

 

I've heard from the boards that for the Cirque show, its better viewing to sit up on the upper level. If you went to this show, did you happen to notice if this was true?

 

The other lines don't need reservations for the shows, so I was wondering, does reservations mean having specific reserved seats?

 

Thanks!!:)

[SliceOfLife]

Thank you very much for your very detailed review! I haven't even looked at your photos yet, but I'm sure they are great! I'm going on the Breakaway in July with my daughter and granddaughter, it will be our first time on NCL, we've previously cruised on Carnival and Royal.

I have a couple of questions:

 

I've heard from the boards that for the Cirque show, its better viewing to sit up on the upper level. If you went to this show, did you happen to notice if this was true?

 

The other lines don't need reservations for the shows, so I was wondering, does reservations mean having specific reserved seats?

 

Thanks!!:)

 

Thanks! I hope you enjoy the pictures when you get to them.

 

I didn't go to the Cirque show, but I have also heard the same thing.

 

When you reserve shows it does not reserve a specific seat. It's like buying a movie ticket before you go to the theater, first come first serve seating.

[Red-Sol]

 

I've heard from the boards that for the Cirque show, its better viewing to sit up on the upper level. If you went to this show, did you happen to notice if this was true?

 

 

Thanks!!:)

 

For the cirque on the Breakaway there is no upper level. (There is on the Epic) So you will be seated on the same level as the performers. It is really a great show though and you might want to try and get as close to the performing area as possible.

 

It is a very entertaining show! :)

[justschuttme]

I am having a hard time searching via the forums app for your picture review....can you perhaps post the link here? Enjoyed your review. Thanks! =)

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[SliceOfLife]

I am having a hard time searching via the forums app for your picture review....can you perhaps post the link here? Enjoyed your review. Thanks! =)

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

The link is in my signature below.

[justschuttme]

Ah, I can't see it on the app version...guess I'll have to pull out my laptop. Thanks again for the review and for your response. =)

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[PathfinderEss]

Thanks for your great review.

[conandrob240]

A 16oz domestic beer came to 6.33 with tax so x 5= $31.65 for a bucket of 6 beers.

[SliceOfLife]

Ah, I can't see it on the app version...guess I'll have to pull out my laptop. Thanks again for the review and for your response. =)

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

I didn't know there was an app version.

 

Here's the link so you don't have get your laptop out.

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1851890

[justschuttme]

Thanks for putting the link here for me! Loved seeing all the pictures. The app is great, however will earn you a lot of "stink eyes" from your other half since you can ALWAYS have CC with you. ;-)

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[antsnanny]

Sunday May 26

 

I slept like crap, the motion of the ship made it hard for me to fall asleep and stay asleep. I think it was 3am before the seas started to calm down and I could get to sleep. I had asked guest services the night before what time we were expected to pass the Statue of Liberty, they said between 4:00am – 4:30am. Imagine my surprise at 6:00am when we were coming into view of the Statue. I quickly grabbed my camera to snap some pictures of the Statue and skyline.

 

Breakfast – Garden Café

 

Today’s dining options were the Garden Café, Uptown Grill or Savor. It was really cold out so off to the Garden Café for the usual breakfast fare. Considering we got to breakfast around 7:00am it wasn’t slammed with people. I wonder if some passengers were still feeling green from the night before?

 

We were out of our rooms at 8:00am and killed some time by sitting in the Atrium. Our train was leaving Penn Station at noon so we had some time to waste. At 9:00am we decided to start to make our way to get off the ship. We did the self-debarkation. We did get held up a bit because the escalators in Customs was getting backed up and only one escalator was working. I am so glad we always do self-debarkation, the sea of bags was overwhelming to look at! I cannot imagine trying to find your bag down there!!!

 

We sailed through customs, the guy barely glanced at our customs forms and he didn’t even want to look at my passport. I’ll take it, best customs experience ever!! The customs people in Miami are so rude so it was a very nice breath of fresh air to deal with NYC customs.

 

Oh, a tip on getting off the ship, choose the aft of the ship to disembark, you won’t have to walk forever to get to the customs escalator.

 

We took the elevator to the second floor of the pier to catch a taxi. There was a long line of empty taxis waiting for us so we got in the first available one and we were off to Penn Station. Our taxi driver drove like a crazy man! We were flying down streets. It didn’t take any time to get to Penn Station and our cab fare was only $8.50.

 

Hints/Tips/Suggestions/Overall Feelings

 

If you are a latitudes member make sure you get the ship pin! They were supposed to be in your cabin but for some reason mine were not. All it took was a quick trip to the Cruise Consultant desk to fix that problem.

 

Go to Guest Services and ask for the Breakaway lanyard/card holder. They're free!! Get one before they run out!

 

I tried out the NCL iConcierge App on my iPhone. It was really hit or miss when it would work. Gambee and I were talking about it at the Meet & Greet, his was working and mine was not. Or mine would work for a few minutes and then stop. When it's working, it is the great app of all times. You can book dinner reservations, shows, check your onboard account, and look at what's going on. I managed to book Modnerno on the app, but it didn't show up on my vacation planner. I made a trip to the Restaurant Reservation desk and they confirmed I did have a reservation.

 

If you have been on the Epic you'll pretty much know what to expect on the Breakaway. These mega ships are not like the others in NCL's fleet. It is important to make dinner and show reservations in advance. When the Breakaway is sailing at full capacity I can see it will be near impossible to get standby seating for the show.

 

Overall I think the food was really good, very similar to the Epic. The service was slow in the MDR's and I'm hoping over time when the crew gets used to each other it will pick up. Try to make reservations for the specialty restaurants before you board the ship. The prime dining times filled up quickly.

 

I would also make sure you book all shows at the 45 day mark. Most of the shows were sold out. You can stand in the standby line and 10 minutes before the show starts all the reservations are released. I will tell you, the theater fills up so if you want a good seat, book your reservation in advance.

 

Ropes Course/Freefall Water Slide - you cannot wear jewelry of any kind. I saw people get turned away. Trust me, you do not want to climb a million steps just to have to walk back down because you have jewelry on.

 

The Breakaway really does take the best of the Epic and combines it with the Waterfront for a truly remarkable cruise. You feel much more connected with the sea on the Breakaway. I look forward to seeing the design of the Breakaway Plus!

 

I don't know if I mentioned it here, I didn't think the Waterfront was ever overcrowded. During sea days there was plenty of room to walk around and not run into a million people. This might change when they're sailing at full capacity. I think next week's reviews will truly be the test of how crowded things can get. I know they're expecting 1,300 kids!

 

I did not care for the location of Shanghai, it is right in the casino! If you're a smoker, then the location will not bother you. It was a bit smoky over there so it would not have been an enjoyable meal for me. The casino does get smoky, the layout is just about the same as the Epic. I did not notice the smoke smell wafting up the open atrium, but you could smell it before and after the casino. I would like to see a design where you don't have to travel through the casino to get to other parts of the ship.

 

I'm sure I'm forgetting some things so I'll post them when I remember!

 

I hope you enjoyed my review. I thought the ship was beautiful and so full of awesome things to do. If you get bored on this ship, there is something wrong with you!! I will admit sometime's there were lull's in fun activities that appealed to us, so we would just walk around the ship or sit on our balcony and watch the world go by.

 

I worked on this review every night before I went to bed to make sure I wouldn't forget anything.

 

I'll be posting pictures in a separate thread once I download and sort them all out.

 

You are so sweet to have taken the time each night to write your review for our enjoyment! I loved it!

[cruisin0504]

Great info! Thanks!