Just off the Breakaway

[funredhead]

We sailed on the Breakaway 10/27-11/3. Overall, we had a great time. The ship is beautiful. I loved the waterfront area and 678 oceanplace.

 

Some background:

 

This was a family vacation. Its our 2nd cruise this year (1st was in Feb. on the Dawn out of Tampa) with our kids ages 9 & 11. We travel a lot and we enjoy cruising. We are platinum latitudes members. This cruise started out as a comp from a land based harrah's casino. We did upgrade before sailing because of dropping prices from 1 inside to 2 adjoining outside cabins. We also received the drink cards.

 

Embarkation: Surprisingly, this was incredibly efficient. We were able to check in as CAS guests. we were in the 1st group to board. Rooms were ready at noon.

 

Our Room: As I said we upgraded ourselves to 2 outside adjoining cabins. We do normally stay in insides. Yes all 4 of us squeeze into the little room. We really spend no time in the room so it works for us. I have to say on this ship I would really recommend the outside rooms. We saw the insides and they are significantly smaller. The bed is practically in the doorway. the set up in the family outsides and balconies with the bunks separate from the master bed is very nice. And, I think a much better use of the space.

 

Some initial first thoughts: On the first day, the casino bar was out of many domestic beers. I believe they had Bud and Coors light. This is at the beginning of the trip. The shops had no cigarettes for sale until they restocked in Florida. NCL this is a very poor business plan. The ship should start out ready to serve and sell your items. I understand that it is cheaper to restock in FL but, it looks like you are poorly managing your inventories. This is just my opinion.

Smoke in the casino... First let me say that I have read all the reviews too. But, I tend to go into things with an open mind. My husband is a social smoker, so I have a tolerance for it. Having said all of that, everything you have read is absolutely true. The smoke is horrendous! Pack extra clothes if you spend any time at all in the casino or on deck 6 & 8 because it clings to you.

 

The breakaway difference...

This is our 10th cruise and 8th on NCL. What is different about this ship, is the nightlife. On other ships dinner is probably the biggest event of the night followed by some casino time. In my opinion, the shows and various entertainment are just ok on the other NCL ships. Not so on the breakaway. We loved "bar hopping". Each venue actually felt like a separate entity. And you can make a night of going from one unique venue to another. We loved fat cats and howl at the moon. Rock of ages was excellent. So was the abbreviated Burn the Floor in the Manhattan Room. La Cucina which in my opinion has been underrated was excellent. We had our favorite meal of the cruise there.

 

Kids club: My kids loved the programming. They felt that this was the best kids club they have ever been to. The show they put on in the theater is excellent. There were 700 kids on the ship for out sailing. Kids crew told me they have had as many as 1500 kids in any given week. 700 is the lower end for any given week, I was told. so, unlike other ships, there really is no combining of ages.

I would highly recommend sailing the Breakaway. I did not care the itinerary, but I would sail her again (preferably on a better schedule of stops). We missed GSC because of the swells. We did dock overnight in Nassau instead. But, we couldn't get off the ship until 9pm. So that was kind of a waste (in my opinion). My husband and I did get off the ship alone at night. We left the kids in kids club while we were off for about an hour. we had a drink at Sharkeez. It was one of 3 places open. I highly highly recommend that you avoid this place. Its outrageously expensive. The drinks were more expensive than the ship. So Beware.

 

If you have any questions, I will do my best to answer. Thanks for reading.

[Coastalbreezes]

Great review - thanks for posting. I have been on BA twice now and the outdoor Ocean Place is one of my favorite areas. We always had pre-dinner drinks out there at Maltings. It was so pleasant, enjoying our cocktails and staring at the sea.

 

Strange about them having limited beer and no cigarettes for sale. Wonder what happened?

 

Tracy

[rlgtan]

Thanks for the review. We will be on the Breakaway on 12/15/13.

 

What time do they start letting passengers disembark?

 

Thanks.

[funredhead]

Passengers were able to disembark right around 8am. We did the easy walk off. And it was really easy. We were thru customs and in a cab in about 30minutes. And the lines moved swiftly the whole time.

[funredhead]

I forgot to post that the casino bar also ran out of the same domestic beers on our way back. By Thursday, my husband was back to drinking Heinekens. Which isn't a bad thing. But, it is poor planning on NCL's part.

 

Also, buyer beware on the I concierge app. We both have iPhone 5's and the app would not stay connected to their wifi. It also does not store messages, so if you sent one to the other person and their phone was not online it never got delivered. Having said that, I did go to the front desk and tell that that the app was not working. They refunded my purchases.

 

If you have the free laundry for latitudes, do it earlier in the week. We sent a bag on Tuesday and one on Friday. Tuesday's laundry was returned pressed and on hangers. Friday's was folded in a basket. Nothing was pressed. Everything was c lean, but the pressing is a nice perk.

 

I loved the behind the scenes tour. Its an abbreviated tour. But it does take over 90 minutes. You see the laundry area and the kitchens. I was really impresseed. If you have the perk, make the time to go. Its totally worth it. Someone on these boards said that the baked goods from Carlos bakery were only brought on in NY so they were stale by the end of the week. Actually, Carlos bakery has its own pastry kitchen. Everything is baked daily. And we enjoyed the mini chocolate mousse cake. The biscotti was a bit soft (probably from the sea air) but still very good.

 

Moderna was excellent. The atmosphere here and at Cagney's is great.

 

Before leaving, I had planned on buying a vibe pass. I changed my mind when we got to the ship. I wasn't sure I would really use it. At least for this sailing, I never felt like I had missed out. I suppose that is partly due to how busy my days were. But, I also felt like I could get a seat anywhere pretty much at any time. I loved spice in the afternoon to just relax. And the parties were a lot of fun. The giant screen playing videos was great.

 

The ropes course and water slides are for me a must do! We had a blast. I loved the plank! It's a little disconcerting to turn around once you get out there and come back. But it is a very cool experience.

 

The kids club check in needs some fine tuning. It takes a long time at drop off and pick up unless you use late night. This is probably because they write a name tag for each kid each time they come. A necessity with 700 kids. But, if I did not have kids and I was on deck 12 it would get very old very quick.

 

My kids loved the late night activities. We used the service 3 nights and it worked out great.

 

I love the new photo system. They take your room number and put your photos in a binder in the photo shop. There is still some of the old system with misc. photos, but the search is much shorter. I really think ncl did this well.

 

I hope this helps.

[funredhead]

Oops! One more thing. There was a fire on deck 4 the night before we missed GSC. We heard a couple of different things. But, we did hear the alarms ringing in the middle of the night. I think around 3 am. I'm not sure if this had anything to do with the real reason we missed GSC. But, the RCCL ship at the island next door (you can see it) was able to enjoy a nice day.

[opalinem]

Thanks for all the info! Do you know if the pools were heated?

[jdvmd]

Thanks for your comments!

[funredhead]

Yes pools are heated. The water in the water slide tubes are heated as well. It was very nice.

[markf]

I was thinking baout renting a car and travelling to EPCOT.

What time did you realy dock , and what time were you able to depart?

Do you know if there is a car rental place at the pier? if so which one

[funredhead]

At Port Canaveral they began letting guests leave the ship at 12 noon. There was a line that began forming around 11:15. It takes a few minutes to get thru the terminal and then you can walk to the car rental place. I do not remember which companies are right there. Sorry! But, for what it's worth, unless you are traveling with a large group, I would not recommend this. There were people who missed the ship at this port and in the Bahamas. It's quite a drive (45mins to an hour) to Orlando. The ship offers transport to the parks for $79. With tickets $179. It is a lot of $. But the ship will wait for you.

 

If you are looking for a more affordable alternative, coco beach was very nice. We took a cab or $20. There were 4 of us.

 

Enjoy your cruise!

[Travelgirl6]

Glad I came across this. We too are traveling on the breakaway through harrahs casino offer on an inside with 4 although my kids are now 18 and 20. How hard was it to switch to connecting outside cabins, how much more was it and how close to sailing did you make the change? We also weren't sure if we wouldn't get the drink card if not listed in same cabin. Thanks for your help, I look forward to your reply :)

[opalinem]

Yes pools are heated. The water in the water slide tubes are heated as well. It was very nice.

Sounds great! Thanks.

[youngestof9]

I was thinking baout renting a car and travelling to EPCOT.

What time did you realy dock , and what time were you able to depart?

Do you know if there is a car rental place at the pier? if so which one

 

Mark - you may want to read Zay's review - he mentions going to Epcot. Seemed to me wasn't worth the time and money even though he had fun

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1938232

 

 

Funredhead: that plank is crazy - isn't it? I am generally not a scaredy cat at all but that had me unnerved a bit. But I'm glad I did it. Loved the freefall waterslides.

[funredhead]

Travelgirl6:

 

For upgrading there is a bit to it. First, with a comp offer they have a set pay scale generally for upgrades and honestly they can be steep. Having said that, when we booked our cruise and added the 3rd and 4th passengers the fee was $500 each. When the inside rates went to that amount, I called and asked for an upgrade. They told me I could go to side by side rooms (not adjoining) insides. And they offered me a refund of $55. It was actually cheaper to have 2 rooms.

 

I really wanted the adjoining rooms. My kids are 9 & 11. So I continued to call every couple of days to see if they had any. There were none available. So, then I would ask if there were any in a higher category. I got lucky! We upgraded for a total of $145 from 1 inside to 2 outsides adjoining.

 

As far as the drink cards, I don't see that as a problem for you. Your kids are old enough to be in their own cabin. When we upgraded there was some confusion about my drink card. My husband is the gambler. His was all set. He asked the casino host and she immediately issued me a card.

 

The casino card is a very nice perk! As far as the casino goes, my best advice to you is plan that an outfit can only be worn once if you spend more time than just passing thru the casino. The smoke really is brutal.

 

Let me know if I can answer any other questions. And have a great trip!

[funredhead]

Funredhead: that plank is crazy - isn't it? I am generally not a scaredy cat at all but that had me unnerved a bit. But I'm glad I did it. Loved the freefall waterslides.

 

Crazy? Yes! But absolutely a must do. For those that are planning their trip, there is a white square on the plank. When your foot touches it you have about 5 seconds before the camera takes your picture. The camera is the one on the right. I did see people take multiple pics up there.

 

The free fall slides were too scary for me. And they take your picture in there too. That was probably the straw for me. Lol

 

Hope that helps!

[Travelgirl6]

Funredhead:

 

Thanks for the reply. I looked to double check what I paid for 3rd and 4th passenger and at the time it looks like it was $399 so the prices would need to drop some more although my sailing isn't until 12/15 so there is still hope. The one thing I could possibly do now is maybe upgrade to balcony for the difference which is much lower than their normal $600 charge to help gain a little more sf. I knew when booking that 135 sf would be tight for us, but figured I would rather use that $600 towards other things as the thermal spa sounds very tempting due to the weather issues I think we will have on the cruise sailing out of NY in December. We are looking forward to sailing the Breakaway and spending time with our older 2 kids while they are home on college break (other 2 kids is HS and play sports) so they get to stay home with the grandparents. Any thoughts or suggestions greatly appreciated.

[804]

Great review. Do you have any information about opportunities for dancing other than disco late at night??? Which bars have dance floors? Did you dine at Manhattan room other than night of Burn the floor show? I understand that they offer dancing during dinner. Thank you for any information. Also can you post your dailies?????

 

thank you 804

[Willowmina]

Was the boat rocking? I'd like to take the Breakaway in December but I'm nervous about my daughter who gets sea-sick very easy.

[funredhead]

Funredhead:

 

Thanks for the reply. I looked to double check what I paid for 3rd and 4th passenger and at the time it looks like it was $399 so the prices would need to drop some more although my sailing isn't until 12/15 so there is still hope. The one thing I could possibly do now is maybe upgrade to balcony for the difference which is much lower than their normal $600 charge to help gain a little more sf. I knew when booking that 135 sf would be tight for us, but figured I would rather use that $600 towards other things as the thermal spa sounds very tempting due to the weather issues I think we will have on the cruise sailing out of NY in December. We are looking forward to sailing the Breakaway and spending time with our older 2 kids while they are home on college break (other 2 kids is HS and play sports) so they get to stay home with the grandparents. Any thoughts or suggestions greatly appreciated.

 

I would call CAS and weigh out your option. I would imagine that splitting into 2 cabins would be ideal. (giving you the best of all world when traveling with a family). I would think that rates will come down as you get closer to your sail date. But, I would start calling now. At least you'll have a better idea of what your options are. I will say I think it will be a lot easier (cheaper) to upgrade within your inside category or to an outside than making a jump to the balconies.

 

I did visit the spa and it was wonderful. As I said, my kids are much younger so I would not have been able to use the spa as much as I would have thought warranted the expense. But, I think you will love it especially for your sailing date. I would absolutely budget it in and purchase as soon as you get on the ship. They only sell 150.

 

As far as other suggestions, I would buy the slot play coupons for everyone in your party. And, I would buy the Bon voyage $20 in slot play for $10.

 

I hope this helps. Good luck. I hope everything works out for you.

[funredhead]

Great review. Do you have any information about opportunities for dancing other than disco late at night??? Which bars have dance floors? Did you dine at Manhattan room other than night of Burn the floor show? I understand that they offer dancing during dinner. Thank you for any information. Also can you post your dailies?????

 

thank you 804

 

Thank you!

 

For dancing, there was dancing in the Manhattan Room some nights. We had dinner ther late on Wednesday night and there were several couples dancing. The singer in the Manhattan room was just ok. Think wedding singer. Not great by any means and it does get old.

 

I did see people dancing at Howl at the Moon (no dance floor) and at Fat Cats as well (also no dance floor).

 

For dailies, I'm sorry I must have left them behind. :(

 

I hope this helps. Let me know if I can answer any other questions.

[funredhead]

Was the boat rocking? I'd like to take the Breakaway in December but I'm nervous about my daughter who gets sea-sick very easy.[

 

I'm so glad someone asked me this! As I said, I cruise a lot. And I Always get sea sick. BUT, this is the very first ship that I did not take a single Dramamine the entire week. There were high seas in GSC. We were not able to tender there. I would say that the highest I saw (on the tv navigation) were 15ft.

 

I think it's a combination of such a large ship and new stabilizers. But, whatever it is it absolutely worked for me.

 

I hope you enjoy your trip! Good luck!

[centrevillemom]

Hi,

Couple of quick questions, if you don't mind, my dds are 7&9, and haven't been a huge fan of NCL's kids' club (Dawn and Epic, granted both were during spring break, so they were super crowded). They said it was "boring", and really didn't ask to go back.

How did your kids like it? Did they go other times besides late night? Were they asking to go? Were there certain activities that they recommend, as a not to miss? Would love to enjoy a dinner with the hubby a couple of nights alone without the kiddos. We do plan to drop them off to watch ROA, for one of the nights. Hoping that since we're sailing in early Dec, the ship won't be too full of kids. Then again, kids sail free is offered on my sailing, so who knows. I want them to go the first night, at least for a little bit, so they can meet everyone off the bat, and hopefully make new friends.

 

Besides the drink card and check in, any other perks from CAS? Its our first "free" cruise as CAS guests.

 

Did you and your family like Cable beach? How long did it take to get there? Any tips/suggestions on where to eat, etc? Not sure what to do in Orlando.

 

Glad to hear about the rocking situation on the ship. It was strange, because Epic being so big, I actually experienced a little seasickness on that cruise, more so than on the Dawn. My brother felt the same way too.

 

Thanks so much in advance for answering my questions and your review. Really appreciate your help and insight.

[funredhead]

Hi,

Couple of quick questions, if you don't mind, my dds are 7&9, and haven't been a huge fan of NCL's kids' club (Dawn and Epic, granted both were during spring break, so they were super crowded). They said it was "boring", and really didn't ask to go back.

How did your kids like it? Did they go other times besides late night? Were they asking to go? Were there certain activities that they recommend, as a not to miss? Would love to enjoy a dinner with the hubby a couple of nights alone without the kiddos. We do plan to drop them off to watch ROA, for one of the nights. Hoping that since we're sailing in early Dec, the ship won't be too full of kids. Then again, kids sail free is offered on my sailing, so who knows. I want them to go the first night, at least for a little bit, so they can meet everyone off the bat, and hopefully make new friends.

 

Besides the drink card and check in, any other perks from CAS? Its our first "free" cruise as CAS guests.

 

Did you and your family like Cable beach? How long did it take to get there? Any tips/suggestions on where to eat, etc? Not sure what to do in Orlando.

 

Glad to hear about the rocking situation on the ship. It was strange, because Epic being so big, I actually experienced a little seasickness on that cruise, more so than on the Dawn. My brother felt the same way too.

 

Thanks so much in advance for answering my questions and your review. Really appreciate your help and insight.

 

Hi there. Let's start with the kids club. My kids love it! We have never been on a ship that they have not thoroughly loved the staff. And because we cruise frequently with them they ask about their favorites on each cruise. I would try to engage the staff on the first day. Finchy and Eggo are very visible and friendly. And my kids loved spider pig. I think the staff really do a fantastic job.

 

I would guess that you will have upwards of 500 kids on your sailing. I spoke for a long time to the crew and they said that is about the fewest they ever have on any given week. So, I would expect a lot of kids. And, I would "sell" this as a positive. With so many kids making friends will be easy.

 

The circus training is very fun. And survivor night is my kids favorite. Late night (which we have never done on any other ship) was a highlight. they also liked the face painting. The giant light up dance floor is very fun too.

 

My advice is to take them as soon as you can in the afternoon of your first day. And absolutely take them on the first night.

 

Ok, for CAS this ship is great for many many things. The casino isnt necessarily one of them. The CAS staff is less friendly than we've had on other ships. I'm sure it's a product of being so big. It's the trade off for the big ship. Perks? Not many. But, we did have a good time.

 

In port Canaveral. We went to coco beach. I think the cab ride was about $15. We had great weather, so a beautiful day. The current there is strong, so if your kids are not strong swimmers, I would keep them close to shore. In Nassau, we went to Junkanoo Beach. It was fine for a very uncomplicated day. We walked to and from the beach. It's about 10 minutes from where you dock. It's not the best beach, but then again the beach at Atlantis wasn't my favorite either. We just wanted a low key day and this delivered perfectly. We bought some basic sand toys in Walgreens in coco beach. And we found some local kids to leave them with when we were leaving Nassau. My kids enjoyed that.

 

I hope I have helped. I'm sure you will have a great time. Remember that you deserve some alone time with your hubby too. The kids crew will help! Just get to know them. If your kids are shy or nervous just let them know and they will help with the transition. 1 good night at the kids club and they won't want to leave. Good luck!

[newcruiser08820]

We sailed on the Breakaway 10/27-11/3. Overall, we had a great time. The ship is beautiful. I loved the waterfront area and 678 oceanplace.

 

Some background:

 

This was a family vacation. Its our 2nd cruise this year (1st was in Feb. on the Dawn out of Tampa) with our kids ages 9 & 11. We travel a lot and we enjoy cruising. We are platinum latitudes members. This cruise started out as a comp from a land based harrah's casino. We did upgrade before sailing because of dropping prices from 1 inside to 2 adjoining outside cabins. We also received the drink cards.

 

Embarkation: Surprisingly, this was incredibly efficient. We were able to check in as CAS guests. we were in the 1st group to board. Rooms were ready at noon.

 

Our Room: As I said we upgraded ourselves to 2 outside adjoining cabins. We do normally stay in insides. Yes all 4 of us squeeze into the little room. We really spend no time in the room so it works for us. I have to say on this ship I would really recommend the outside rooms. We saw the insides and they are significantly smaller. The bed is practically in the doorway. the set up in the family outsides and balconies with the bunks separate from the master bed is very nice. And, I think a much better use of the space.

 

Some initial first thoughts: On the first day, the casino bar was out of many domestic beers. I believe they had Bud and Coors light. This is at the beginning of the trip. The shops had no cigarettes for sale until they restocked in Florida. NCL this is a very poor business plan. The ship should start out ready to serve and sell your items. I understand that it is cheaper to restock in FL but, it looks like you are poorly managing your inventories. This is just my opinion.

Smoke in the casino... First let me say that I have read all the reviews too. But, I tend to go into things with an open mind. My husband is a social smoker, so I have a tolerance for it. Having said all of that, everything you have read is absolutely true. The smoke is horrendous! Pack extra clothes if you spend any time at all in the casino or on deck 6 & 8 because it clings to you.

 

The breakaway difference...

This is our 10th cruise and 8th on NCL. What is different about this ship, is the nightlife. On other ships dinner is probably the biggest event of the night followed by some casino time. In my opinion, the shows and various entertainment are just ok on the other NCL ships. Not so on the breakaway. We loved "bar hopping". Each venue actually felt like a separate entity. And you can make a night of going from one unique venue to another. We loved fat cats and howl at the moon. Rock of ages was excellent. So was the abbreviated Burn the Floor in the Manhattan Room. La Cucina which in my opinion has been underrated was excellent. We had our favorite meal of the cruise there.

 

Kids club: My kids loved the programming. They felt that this was the best kids club they have ever been to. The show they put on in the theater is excellent. There were 700 kids on the ship for out sailing. Kids crew told me they have had as many as 1500 kids in any given week. 700 is the lower end for any given week, I was told. so, unlike other ships, there really is no combining of ages.

I would highly recommend sailing the Breakaway. I did not care the itinerary, but I would sail her again (preferably on a better schedule of stops). We missed GSC because of the swells. We did dock overnight in Nassau instead. But, we couldn't get off the ship until 9pm. So that was kind of a waste (in my opinion). My husband and I did get off the ship alone at night. We left the kids in kids club while we were off for about an hour. we had a drink at Sharkeez. It was one of 3 places open. I highly highly recommend that you avoid this place. Its outrageously expensive. The drinks were more expensive than the ship. So Beware.

 

If you have any questions, I will do my best to answer. Thanks for reading.

I was told by kids crew it was 1,200 on this sailing. The line to check in on the first day stretched down two floors. My 12 years old said it was the worse kids club she ever been and it her 7 th.