Review of the Breakaway 10/13-10/20

[Vinegarjoe10]

This review is being completed by first time cruisers. We decided to cruise for our honeymoon and about 14 months ago decided if we were going to take a cruise out of NYC, it had to be the Breakaway, as it was a brand new ship, and what better way to celebrate a brand new marriage than on a ship that was also brand new !

 

Background: We are from upstate NY, and have friends that live 1 1/2 hours north of the cruise port, who graciously agreed to allow us to leave our vehicle at their home and drive us in and pick us up after the cruise, saving us the hassle of driving in NYC and dealing with parking.

 

Embarkation: With nothing else to compare it to, we thought the embarkation process was painless. From the time we were dropped off at Pier 88 until we boarded the ship was about 2 hours. When you fly you are supposed to arrive two hours ( sometimes more) early, so having a two hour wait didn't affect us, afterall this was our vacation.

 

We talked to a nice couple after we received our boarding passes and were waiting for our number to be called and they were experienced cruisers who gave us some great info - Thanks Peter and Andrea.

 

Upon boarding the ship we tried to go up to our stateroom on deck 10, but it wasn't ready yet, so we went down to Mixx Bar on deck 6 and picked up our Ultimate Beverage Package (UBP) stickers.

 

We then had a few drinks at Mixx Bar and met our favorite bartender - "Dale". He was very friendly and answered our, "I've never been on a cruise questions" and was very appreciative of a tip, and we believe in tipping for good service regardless of whether or not a gratuity was already included in the UBP.

 

We then went up to our stateroom, a mid-ship mini-suite on deck 10 and dropped our carry on luggage off and checked out the stateroom. The bathroom was larger than we had thought and the bed was very comfortable. There was plenty of storage space. The stateroom was very clean, and still appeared to be in new condition, even though the ship had been in service for several months. Our stateroom steward kept our room clean throughout the week, he always found time to turn down our bed and we had a different towel animal each evening.

 

We then headed to O'Sheehan's Pub where we ended up watching the sail away on the jumbo screen and enjoying a few more libations while talking wtih the bartender (sadly, his name escapes me).

 

The rest of the week was filled with lots of activites and just relaxing.

 

Activities:

 

We attended the Meet and Greet and met some folks who were also from upstate New York and they were also experienced cruisers. They answered some more of our, "I've never been on a cruise before" questions and it was nice to have run into them a few more times throughout the cruise.

 

We then went to the slot pull and although there were 38 participants, there were no BIG wins on the machine, but it was fun to watch everyone try to get a jackpot.

 

Thank you to Carol for organizing the Meet and Greet and to Susan for setting up the Slot Pull.

 

We went to Rock of Ages and enjoyed the music. We found the theater to be comfortable and there didn't really seem to be a bad seat in the theater.

 

We saw the Second City Comedy show and it was funny, shorter than we had thought it would be, but funny nonetheless.

 

We went to the "Newly Wed and Not so Newly Wed" game, and there was a couple who were married a week before the cruise so they were the "newest" newlyweds and got to go up on stage ( we were married 2 weeks before the cruise). The couple that won were married for 65 years, together for 71 - God bless them, we can only hope to have a marriage for that many years.

 

We played "Deal or No Deal" and also tried Bingo. No prizes, No bingos, lol.

 

We attended several of the parties offered at Spice H2O, and watched the fireworks.

 

Ports:

 

Florida - We didn't leave the ship. We have a time share in Orlando, so we have been to Florida many times. We liked having an almost empty ship and explored and had a great day.

 

Great Stirrup Cay- We went ashore in one of the first tender groups, picked out some loungers and spend the day in the sun and water, enjoying the warm temperatures, blue skies and some tropical drinks.

 

Nassau- My wife wanted to shop, so shopping we went. We didn't make it to a beach or to Atlantis, - we will do that next time we cruise to the Bahamas.

 

Dining:

 

We ate at Cagney's, La Cucina, Teppinyaki, Taste, Savor, O'Sheehan's, The Garden Cafe, Uptown Grill and took advantage of Room Service several times. We thought the food was good, the only average meal we had was at La Cucina ( when you come from an Italian family it's hard to beat homemade Italian food, especially when you are on a cruise ship).

 

We never had a long wait at any restaurant, and our waiters/waitresses were all courteous and accommodating to any requests made.

 

We spent some time in the evenings in the casino and sitting at Maltings Bar and Mixx Bar having some drinks.

 

It went by very quickly and we couldn't believe that a week could go by that fast.

 

Disembarkation:

 

We chose to carry our luggage off and we left our stateroom at 7:40 am and were clear of customs by 8:35 walking across 12th Avenue to wait for our ride and already talking about booking our next cruise.

 

The only negative comment I would make would pertain to some of the other guests on the ship. It just seems like some folks are never happy. I watched one couple go off on the hostess at Taste because at 6:15 pm they would have to wait for 10 minutes to get a table. Really ???

 

I watched another woman, who was yelling at a bartender because she thought alcohol was included in the cost of her cruise and didn't want her credit card charged for a Bud Light... Oh boy......

 

I guess some folks like to nit-pic about the smallest things, and to those folks, perhaps free style cruising on NCL with almost four thousand other guests isn't the cruise experience for you..... Enough said.

 

We had a great time and look forward to our next cruise on the Gem in January 2015 the 9 day eastern Caribbean.

 

Thanks to all the posters on CC who we were able to glean a lot of information from, what to pack, what to expect, cruise ship lingo, etc, etc.

 

Regards,

 

Joe and Erin

[kittykittygrrl]

Thanks for sharing! About to go on my first cruise on Sunday and an white excited about it. I too live upstate and will be dropped off and picked up, talk about convenient. Your review was much appreciated.

 

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[gizmo911]

Thanks for sharing. I will be on Breakaway in March and will make my 8th NCL cruise. The Gem however, is my favorite ship to date and I plan to get back on her asap.

[Rhea58]

Congratulations on the marriage...you did well for your first cruise.

And you will absolutely love the Gem (I've sailed her 3x) and the 9-day

itinerary. She's not called the Gem for nothing!

[indigosoulchild]

Congrats on your marriage!!!!!!!! My fiance and I will be sailing on the breakaway in a little over a week for our honeymoon and it makes me so happy to read another couple just had such a great time! We are staying in the same type of room on the 10th floor, would you mind sharing what room number you stayed in? Also, do you think the UBP was worth it? We def plan on getting it.

The marriage game show sounds fun, but I am shy so we might have to just watch that one :)

Again congrats and thank you for sharing your review!

[Vinegarjoe10]

Indigosoulchild- Congrats on your upcoming marriage. We were in stateroom 10228. Port (left) side of the ship.

 

As far as the UBP goes, we actually took the time to add up all the drink receipts and if we had to pay for drinks we exceeded the cost of the UBP.

 

We didn't "try" to make sure we drank enough to cover the cost of the UBP, rather we just did what we did and didn't have to worry about how much we spent on alcohol.

 

If you do get the UBP - you can call NCL prior to your cruise and pre-pay for it, that way when you get aboard you just have to go and get your stickers for your room key cards. (you can go to several places aboard the ship to get the stickers, we went to Mixx bar on deck 6). My strongest suggestion is to TIP those bartenders, ( first round give them 5 bucks, you will be surprised how well that is received) find one or two bartenders that you guys like and take care of him/her and you will be surprised how well he/she will take care of you in terms of how good the drinks they make for you. You may order something that wasn't covered by the UBP, but all of a sudden it is covered. ( This happened to us all cruise)

 

The bartenders rotate working at different bars throughout the ship, but if "Dale" is working at Mixx bar, deck 6, go see him. He was there on embarkation day and then evenings from 5 pm to 10 pm. He is a great bartender.

 

Congratulations on your upcoming marriage and we hope you have as much fun on your honeymoon as we did !

[chiapet]

The only negative comment I would make would pertain to some of the other guests on the ship. It just seems like some folks are never happy.

 

Thank you so much for review ... it's always very nice to hear about *others* who just *enjoy* their cruise ... and not *look* for things to complain about ... or feel *entitled* :p

 

Nothing in life is *perfect* ... and I'm always just *happy* being on a *ship* ... even with the cold & rain ... or a *rouge wave* ;)

[NJ Pharm]

Thanks for the review Joe. Sailing on Nov 24, first time on NCL, really looking forward to it.

[Bars7816]

Great review. I usually don't like to read reviews -- like to make up my own mind -- but yours is positive and helpful. Didn't know we could watch sailaway from the big screen. Good to know if the weather is harsh in November when we sail.

[Tralfie]

Thanks for this great review! As a fellow never-yet-cruiser (my first trip is aboard the Breakaway in March), I love reading what other first-timers have to say. And you sound like my kind of people: Hey, it's vacation... don't sweat the small stuff!

 

Richard/Tralfie

[Vinegarjoe10]

Thanks to all for reading the review.

 

We hope you all have great cruises on the Breakaway.

 

Tralfie- Thanks. And with your "it's vacation" attitude you will LOVE it....

[meatball_nyc]

Great review! Thank you. Wondering if you had enjoyed any pools, zip line, slides, etc? Which restaurant would you most recommend? Happy sailing! We'll be on the breakaway next summer. First time cruising with NCL !

[agargoyle]

Joe an Erin,

 

If you end u doing the same route again here are a few tips for both Florida and Nassau. In Florida we go to Jetty Park, it is a small quiet beach not far from the ship...actually you see it when the ship enter the canal and goes past the rock jetty. It costs $6.00 a person for the cab, no entrance fee to the park. There is a small concession stand, a fishing pier, bait shop, small souviner shop, bathrooms and changing areas. You can rent 2 lounges and an umbrella for $15.00. The price of the cab goes up every time we go but the rental for the chairs has stayed the same. LOL. We have st on the rocks of the etty and just done the towels in the sand. You can rent fishing gear if you want. We have seen dolphins, sea turtles, manatee, and lots of sea birds.

 

In Nassau there is nice free beach within walking distance of the ship. Junkaroo beach. Several times we have managed to do the beach and shopping during the stop.

[jdvmd]

Thanks for your comments and congratulations on your marriage!

[Vinegarjoe10]

Meatball- My wife and I are not foodies, however, I would have to say that the food and service we received at Cagney's was first rate. The appetizers were delicious and the NY strip steak that I ordered was cooked perfectly and the sides were also good. The menu is similar to most land based steak houses, but having floor to ceiling windows at the aft of the ship and being able to watch the sun go down while having a meal while on our honeymoon, well, I may have a biased opinion of Cagney's, lol.

 

Teppinyaki was also a good meal and a fun time. You didn't indicate how many were going to be cruising with you, but if its just two of you at Teppinyaki, you will be seated with strangers. Our table had 3 couples at it (including us) and it was cool to talk to some folks who were from different places. The presentation by the Chef was entertaining to watch and our group had everything they offered, and everyone said their choice ( steak, chicken, shrimp or lobster or a combo of two of those ingrediants) was delicious, so if you like Japanese steak house style dining, you will have a good time and a good meal at Teppinyaki.

 

We went to the pool a few times and were able to find loungers. We didn't have prime real estate locations,( we didn't go up and "reserve" our loungers at zero -dark -thirty) but the sun was still up and we only had to walk a short distance to jump in the pool. The pool is not very large, but it never seemed overly crowded when we were there. The hot tubs were not crowded all the time, but again, it wasn't the middle of summer, so I can only imagine that during your cruise there will be a lot more people on the pool deck.

 

We didn't go on the water slides so I can't comment on those.

 

Agargoyle- Thanks for the info- If we cruise that run again that is helpful.

[meatball_nyc]

Joe thank you much for the info. Sounds absolutely wonderful. So glad you and you're bride had such a great experience on breakaway. Congrats and all the best. Cheers for many many more future cruises together.

My son (18) and I will be with a party of 10 all together so Teppinyaki will work for sure. We will try cagneys as well.

Thank u for the great info!

 

 

~robin & Brian

 

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[N747KT]

This review is being completed by first time cruisers. We decided to cruise for our honeymoon and about 14 months ago decided if we were going to take a cruise out of NYC, it had to be the Breakaway, as it was a brand new ship, and what better way to celebrate a brand new marriage than on a ship that was also brand new !

 

Background: We are from upstate NY, and have friends that live 1 1/2 hours north of the cruise port, who graciously agreed to allow us to leave our vehicle at their home and drive us in and pick us up after the cruise, saving us the hassle of driving in NYC and dealing with parking.

 

Embarkation: With nothing else to compare it to, we thought the embarkation process was painless. From the time we were dropped off at Pier 88 until we boarded the ship was about 2 hours. When you fly you are supposed to arrive two hours ( sometimes more) early, so having a two hour wait didn't affect us, afterall this was our vacation.

 

We talked to a nice couple after we received our boarding passes and were waiting for our number to be called and they were experienced cruisers who gave us some great info - Thanks Peter and Andrea.

 

Upon boarding the ship we tried to go up to our stateroom on deck 10, but it wasn't ready yet, so we went down to Mixx Bar on deck 6 and picked up our Ultimate Beverage Package (UBP) stickers.

 

We then had a few drinks at Mixx Bar and met our favorite bartender - "Dale". He was very friendly and answered our, "I've never been on a cruise questions" and was very appreciative of a tip, and we believe in tipping for good service regardless of whether or not a gratuity was already included in the UBP.

 

We then went up to our stateroom, a mid-ship mini-suite on deck 10 and dropped our carry on luggage off and checked out the stateroom. The bathroom was larger than we had thought and the bed was very comfortable. There was plenty of storage space. The stateroom was very clean, and still appeared to be in new condition, even though the ship had been in service for several months. Our stateroom steward kept our room clean throughout the week, he always found time to turn down our bed and we had a different towel animal each evening.

 

We then headed to O'Sheehan's Pub where we ended up watching the sail away on the jumbo screen and enjoying a few more libations while talking wtih the bartender (sadly, his name escapes me).

 

The rest of the week was filled with lots of activites and just relaxing.

 

Activities:

 

We attended the Meet and Greet and met some folks who were also from upstate New York and they were also experienced cruisers. They answered some more of our, "I've never been on a cruise before" questions and it was nice to have run into them a few more times throughout the cruise.

 

We then went to the slot pull and although there were 38 participants, there were no BIG wins on the machine, but it was fun to watch everyone try to get a jackpot.

 

Thank you to Carol for organizing the Meet and Greet and to Susan for setting up the Slot Pull.

 

We went to Rock of Ages and enjoyed the music. We found the theater to be comfortable and there didn't really seem to be a bad seat in the theater.

 

We saw the Second City Comedy show and it was funny, shorter than we had thought it would be, but funny nonetheless.

 

We went to the "Newly Wed and Not so Newly Wed" game, and there was a couple who were married a week before the cruise so they were the "newest" newlyweds and got to go up on stage ( we were married 2 weeks before the cruise). The couple that won were married for 65 years, together for 71 - God bless them, we can only hope to have a marriage for that many years.

 

We played "Deal or No Deal" and also tried Bingo. No prizes, No bingos, lol.

 

We attended several of the parties offered at Spice H2O, and watched the fireworks.

 

Ports:

 

Florida - We didn't leave the ship. We have a time share in Orlando, so we have been to Florida many times. We liked having an almost empty ship and explored and had a great day.

 

Great Stirrup Cay- We went ashore in one of the first tender groups, picked out some loungers and spend the day in the sun and water, enjoying the warm temperatures, blue skies and some tropical drinks.

 

Nassau- My wife wanted to shop, so shopping we went. We didn't make it to a beach or to Atlantis, - we will do that next time we cruise to the Bahamas.

 

Dining:

 

We ate at Cagney's, La Cucina, Teppinyaki, Taste, Savor, O'Sheehan's, The Garden Cafe, Uptown Grill and took advantage of Room Service several times. We thought the food was good, the only average meal we had was at La Cucina ( when you come from an Italian family it's hard to beat homemade Italian food, especially when you are on a cruise ship).

 

We never had a long wait at any restaurant, and our waiters/waitresses were all courteous and accommodating to any requests made.

 

We spent some time in the evenings in the casino and sitting at Maltings Bar and Mixx Bar having some drinks.

 

It went by very quickly and we couldn't believe that a week could go by that fast.

 

Disembarkation:

 

We chose to carry our luggage off and we left our stateroom at 7:40 am and were clear of customs by 8:35 walking across 12th Avenue to wait for our ride and already talking about booking our next cruise.

 

The only negative comment I would make would pertain to some of the other guests on the ship. It just seems like some folks are never happy. I watched one couple go off on the hostess at Taste because at 6:15 pm they would have to wait for 10 minutes to get a table. Really ???

 

I watched another woman, who was yelling at a bartender because she thought alcohol was included in the cost of her cruise and didn't want her credit card charged for a Bud Light... Oh boy......

 

I guess some folks like to nit-pic about the smallest things, and to those folks, perhaps free style cruising on NCL with almost four thousand other guests isn't the cruise experience for you..... Enough said.

 

We had a great time and look forward to our next cruise on the Gem in January 2015 the 9 day eastern Caribbean.

 

Thanks to all the posters on CC who we were able to glean a lot of information from, what to pack, what to expect, cruise ship lingo, etc, etc.

 

Regards,

 

Joe and Erin

 

Was it what you expected ?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Vinegarjoe10]

N747KT - We didn't really have any expectations, as we had never been on a cruise before.

 

We are "glass half full" people - so we were going to have a good time regardless of what others said about the Breakaway. It was our honeymoon, we got to spend a week together. Cell phones turned off, No emails to deal with, No work drama. It was exactly what we needed.

 

We had such a GREAT time that we booked our next cruise with NCL within a week of returning home.

 

After having sailed on the Breakaway, if our future cruises are half as good as this one was, then all of our expectations will have been exceeded ten fold !

 

Regards,

 

Vinegarjoe

[N747KT]

The next cruise I go on Epic March 9 2014 it will be my honeymoon too.. We are 57 years old 2nd marriages!