Oct 6th aboard the Breakaway

[mrwilliamt]

We are currently on the Norwegian Breakaway, docked in Bermuda. I thought I would share some our week.

We drove to the Pier on Sunday in heavy rains, which made my wife and I a bit nervousness about the week to come. Check in was a breeze, we were early as usual. We were given boarding #20. They called 2,4,6,20. First number was called around 11:30.

First impression of the Breakaway once inside? Massive and clean. After being on the Gem three times and the Star once, this ship proved to be extremely up to date and fancy.

We went to Savor for lunch (food reviews and pictures will be in a different thread). After that, our room was ready and we were excited to check it out. A little history, we are barely in our room except to shower, change and sleep. We once had a balcony room, once a room with a window. We realized we could save quite a bit of money if we just got an inside cabin, so that's what we do now.

We have an IX room on the 5th floor aft. Three rooms down from the elevator. I cannot hear the elevator from my room, nor do I hear anything above or below me day or night. The room is smaller than an inside cabin on the Gem or Star. Smaller, yet prettier. The bathroom is actually a bit larger, and is bright with a large mirror. There is no dresser in the room, but built in shelves in the closet and little storage nooks here and there. The flat screen tv is fully interactive, and is fun to play with. You can make show reservations from it, restaurant reservations, order a pizza or movies, book shore excursions, see your account, and a lot more.

We went to see Howl At The Moon twice. Both completely different shows. They were great. Lots of audience participation. Dueling Pianos and then some. What a talented bunch of musicians. They took song requests from the crowd, and if you tipped them while requesting, they were guaranteed to perform your request. Aside from the uncomfortable wooden chairs, the shows were amazing. They went on for hours, we only stayed for about an hour each time.

One great feature on the Breakaway is the outdoor deck on deck 8. All the restaurants on deck 8 had outside tables, and some bars were out there too. Many areas for smokers and loungers. Smokers will have a ball in the casino as well. The casino is huge. I mean Huge! My wife was lucky on Day 2, and won over $500 in one sitting playing penny slots. The smoke is pretty heavy in there, but there were small non smoking sections, and bearable for non smokers.

On day 2, we watched part of a movie in the atrium. They were showing OZ. Some other movies shown were The Hobbit, Grown Ups. They also shoed NFL games on Sunday, Monday night and Thursday night.

Something awesome on this ship is O'Sheehans. This pub replaces the Blue Lagoon on other NCL ships. This place actually had dinner specials each night, unlike The Blue Lagoon. First night featured Prime Rib, second night Bangers and Mash, third night Wiener schnitzel . There are also pub games there. Darts, air hockey, pool, basketball shoot, some video games. A large dining area and a wrap around bar that overlooks the Atrium. Great for when football is being shown, or a movie.

On the second night, the Garden Buffett featured "seafood night", including lobster. This is the first time that I noticed overcrowding. There were extremely long lines at 5:30 of people waiting for this thing to open. There were hundreds of people on line, no fooling. No way in hell I was going to wait on line to eat. I must say though, there was ample amount of seating at the Buffett.

Watched the Jets game on Night two. Awesome seeing it on the big screen, which is two decks tall. Deck 7 had the wrap around bar and deck 6 in the atrium. They were passing out bags of fresh popped popcorn in the atrium during the game.

Our room steward is outstanding and very friendly. All of our waiters have been very sociable and chit chatty. Ran into cruise director Dan once and he was welcoming. Gotta hand it to the staff on this ship, they are professional and curtious.

We did receive a free bottle of wine at Moderno on night 1. No, it was not Tinsdale. It was Santa Catalina Merlot, a Chilean wine.

Spice H2o is a great feature on the Breakaway, and my favorite spot on the ship. This is an outdoor deck with a huge tv screen. It houses a couple of whirlpools and showers. Also has a wading pool with water falls and fountains. This is an adults only area during the day and evening. We went there at 8 am on day 3 and 5, and 7 am on day 4 on were the only ones there for hours. The whirlpool was relaxing. I needed it after all of the incredible walking that's has been done the last few days.

The Uptown Grill on Deck 16 is a great alternative to the Garden Cafe for both breakfast and lunch. At lunch, they have a made to order deli, and I saw people eating huge deli sandwiches. They also had made to grill items, even meatball parm heroes. And they had Curley fries that tasted just like Arby's.

We saw a late night performance of Rock of Ages. It was the best production that I have seen on a ship to date. This being said, the show is not appropriate for children, and it don't think seniors will appreciate the themes. We saw well over a dozen people, mostly seniors get up in disgust and leave. I was amazed to see so many kids at the show. We saw Rock of Ages on Broadway, and this was pretty close to the original, a bit shorter.

"Elevator Idiots" as I like to call them, have been in full force. These are the people who believe their party of 5 can fit into the space of a half person. "Oh yeah, we can fit...come on Marge, bring your sister and her kids". These are the same people who get on the elevator last, yet cop and attitude when they have to shuffle about to let people behind them, out.

Latitudes party is a must if you have traveled on NCL in the past. 4 glasses of wine later, some words from ship officers, and a generous raffle. Good times, and a chance to drink free liquor and eat hors douvors for 30 minutes.

Have I mentioned how much walking there is on the monstrous ship? lol

We had our best meal to date at Le Bistro on night 4. Delicious. Our waiter, Ronnie was very sociable and entertaining. He practically begged us to order more than one of each item. He was our favorite crew person on the ship thus far.

On our first day at Bermuda, we went to play mini golf at Fun Golf, next to Snorkel Park. It was a short walk from the ship. This was an amazing mini golf course. The views of the ocean backdrop, and the challenging and beautiful course outlay provided for some excellent play, and terrific photos. It was pricey at $15 per person, but it is a MUST DO!

Prime Rib in the main dining rooms tonight, and I am looking forward to it.

[KroozeKid]

She is a great ship IMO, glad you are having a great time. I have about the same opinions as you so far. Dueling piano's was great, but I watched from the bar on several nights.Staff is great as well. Entertainment overall is best we have ever seen on a cruise.

Safe travels home, enjoy the rest of it.

[youngestof9]

awesome - so glad you're having such a great time. Weather for Bermuda didn't look good on paper (er, online? LOL). Glad to hear you were able to get out and about.

 

Have a great rest of the week - bring her home safe and sound. I leave on Sunday!

[flhawkeye]

I too am on this cruise and having an amazing time. The Aft Penthouse suite balcony is fantastic! Today spending the day in a cabana at Mandarin Oriental. Lovely deserted place. Very expensive! The Haven is magnificent. Best cabin steward ever of 27 cruises. Outstanding meals in the Haven and specialty restaurants except I was very disappointed in the Brazilian Steakhouse last night. Ocean Blue was amazing! We got the chef's table tonight....very excited. This has been absolutely a fantastic experience. The pool area is horrible in my opinion. Horrible! Music so loud and crowded. I am so grateful for the Haven. I really think NCL has done well with so many aspects of this ship. I will cry on Sunday morning.

[KroozeKid]

I too am on this cruise and having an amazing time. The Aft Penthouse suite balcony is fantastic! Today spending the day in a cabana at Mandarin Oriental. Lovely deserted place. Very expensive! The Haven is magnificent. Best cabin steward ever of 27 cruises. Outstanding meals in the Haven and specialty restaurants except I was very disappointed in the Brazilian Steakhouse last night. Ocean Blue was amazing! We got the chef's table tonight....very excited. This has been absolutely a fantastic experience. The pool area is horrible in my opinion. Horrible! Music so loud and crowded. I am so grateful for the Haven. I really think NCL has done well with so many aspects of this ship. I will cry on Sunday morning.

 

Don't say the "S" word when it's only Thursday!!!

Enjoy every minute, and Party like a Norwegian.

[VickiD59]

"Elevator Idiots" as I like to call them, have been in full force. These are the people who believe their party of 5 can fit into the space of a half person. "Oh yeah, we can fit...come on Marge, bring your sister and her kids".

THAT made me laugh so hard I snorted :D

[Journey11]

Mrwilliamt, I am so glad you are having a wonderful cruise. I hope it just gets better and better.

[Journey11]

I too am on this cruise and having an amazing time. The Aft Penthouse suite balcony is fantastic! Today spending the day in a cabana at Mandarin Oriental. Lovely deserted place. Very expensive! The Haven is magnificent. Best cabin steward ever of 27 cruises. Outstanding meals in the Haven and specialty restaurants except I was very disappointed in the Brazilian Steakhouse last night. Ocean Blue was amazing! We got the chef's table tonight....very excited. This has been absolutely a fantastic experience. The pool area is horrible in my opinion. Horrible! Music so loud and crowded. I am so grateful for the Haven. I really think NCL has done well with so many aspects of this ship. I will cry on Sunday morning.

 

So glad you are having a great cruise too. Those aft suite balconies are getting rave reviews. What deck are you on?

[flhawkeye]

Deck 11....11908 S6. Amazing balcony.

[youngestof9]

Deck 11....11908 S6. Amazing balcony.

 

is Jomar your steward? I'm in 11910 next to you next week.

[mrwilliamt]

Day 2 in Bermuda took away a lot of people from the ship. We spent about 3 hours at Spice H2o early in the am enjoying the whirlpools, lounger beds and waterfalls. Hardly anyone there. The sun gets hot early in Bermuda, and by 11am, we decided not to fry. We went to exchange wet towels for dry ones on deck 15, and noticed the main adult pool was vacant. This was our best opportunity to try out the pool for the first time. It doesn't seem very big until you get in it. The water was 6 feet, 8 inches. It is a salt water pool, and pretty warm.

My wife talked me into trying out the ropes course. It looks like fun, but I honestly didn't see myself actually trying it. There is a 300 weight limit. You must wear sneakers. I got saddled up, and there was no line. There were 2 kids and their mom in front of me. The kids were around 8 and 6. I forgot to mention that I am not a big fan of heights. I locked in and went up the stairs. The first obstacle was to go either straight across a five inch wide beam, or across a bridge where small beams were about 16 inches apart all the way across. Your only support is from the cable attached to your harness, which is attached to a tracking system above you. I took a step on the straight beam, then realized there was nothing to hold on to, so I froze. Took a step back, then stepped towards the bridge. Nope nope nope, wasn't doing that either. My heart started to panic, and my mind told my feet to freeze into place. Within 20 seconds, I was heading back down the stairs. The crew member asked me if everything was ok. My reply to him was "this s#@t ain't for me, get this harness off!". My wife was proud of me for trying. I was surprised I even got up the stairs. Anyways, this thing was on deck 17 above the arcade on 16. The mini golf course is also on 17, and there were a set of stairs to go up to the basketball courts. I did not try any of the 5 water slides, for fear that my big body would get stuck halfway down the tube, like Agustus Gloop in Willy Wonka.

We went to the Clock Tower Mall, which is a short walk from the ship. Quite a few shops in there, selling everything from paintings, Bermudan souvenirs, local stuff, jewelry, clothing. There was also a Hagen Das shop and a pizza restaurant. Prices seemed high. If you want a souvenir tip, check out the pharmacy in the dockyard. It's a couple doors up the block from the Rum Cake and glass blowing building. They have quite an array of souvenirs, plus Cuban cigars, medical supplies obviously, and there was even a deli inside, which I don't remember being there on my last 2 visits.devices

There are 2 octagon shaped buildings a bit passed the ferry. One is a souvenir shop, the other is a yogurt shop. The yogurt shop offers free wifi, but only if you purchase something. My wife bought a Bermaberry yogurt, and I got a soda. We were each given a receipt, with a name and password to sign into the wifi. You only get 30 minutes though, but enough time to post a quick thread on Cruise Critic *hehe* and Facebook. Also got to Face Time with my mother in law and check up on my staff at work.

We went to the Manhattan Room for dinner. It was nice, and there was a performance by Burn The Floor for 30 minutes while people dined. This venue also has live music playing on some nights. It was neat. The food wad excellent.

In our stateroom, there is a slot on the wall. You insert your room key card, you get electricity to the room. You take it out, the electric shuts off. You can stick any credit card or that sized card into the slot to keep it on all the time. Just mention to your room steward that you need it on all the time keep your devices charged.

Also in the stateroom, the air conditioning only stays on for about 5 minutes, which is energy efficient, but annoying as well. You have to keep turning it back on.

We saw the Newlywed/Not so Newlywed game show. It was funny, and Dan the Man was a great host. It was won by a couple who have been married for 51 years.

We saw a performance of Fire and Ice in the atrium. I was not impressed by the lady. She was decent karaoke at best. The best part was watching her do these cheesy dances, made me laugh pretty hard. The couple reminded me of a low budget Vegas act.

We saw a late night showing of Second City family values. This was the worst performance of a Second City production that I have seen on 5 cruises. It was a waste of time, and this cast was not very funny at all.

I don't believe that there was a chocolate buffet on this ship, which was very disappointing. We did catch the end of a fruit carving demonstration, and the final product was pretty awesome. It takes a lot of talent to produce what they did.

For the size of this ship, the theater is very very tiny. There are only two aisles to get to your seats, and a lot of climbing over people to get to an open seat. Every show is sold out, and you are always rubbing elbows with people. The seats are very small as well. People show up for these shows like 45 minutes early, and from seeing first hand, if you arrive 10 minutes early, you have a hard time finding a seat.

We attended the comedian/magician show of Michael Finney. He had a great show. It was entertaining. He wasn't the best magician or comedian, but he was good at both, and they show was enjoyable. I like his dry sense of humor. He also had all of the veterans in the audience stand up, so we could all recognize them and give them a hand. It was a small but generous gesture by him, and I can appreciate that.

On our final sea day, we saw the crew member talent show and Fountains. Very nice show, showcasing some talented staff members.

We got online for easy walk-off disembarkation at 7am and were on the street waiting for our ride at 7:25. That's the easiest, and fastest disembarkation I have ever experienced.

[flhawkeye]

Yes, Joemar will be your cabin steward. I got teary when he hugged me goodbye this morning. You tell him that Trish and Karen and George adore him and miss him, please. You will love the cruise!