Breakaway 3/22/2015 Sailing Pictorial Review, Dailies-FAQ/Tips-Extras- 10712 BD

[trex-de]

Simply an awesome review!

[mking8288]

Lunch - Day 7 in Taste, MDR with rising waves & quick peek into Moderno

 

The daily MDR lunch menu is pretty much the same, unchanged - the Atlantic Crab Salad is one of my favorite, ordered it again & the Vietnamese Chicken "Pho" Soup is today's special, checked - and, it was nice & in good serving temperature (between warm & hot) before my favorite, the Salmon Burger on a Pretzel bun & waffled potatoes (onion rings lookalike) and DW has the Shrimp & Penne pasta, just the perfect portion for us. Gotta have dessert - a (small) pc. of cheesecake to be shared & coffee, of course - perfect ending to a meal watching the waves just outside our window table.

 

It was a light lunch but we're still too full so let's check out the Bavarian lunch buffet actions 1 deck up at Moderno, live music playing & looks like the rush is over - nicely setup unlike our last visit a year ago. These lounge chairs are nice & soft to sink into for a cat nap ... if only we got another week on her. There are those doing B2B and staying on the Breakaway for another week - but, it's not us and it is all sold out.

 

Spent $20 more this afternoon passing thru the Gift Shop area - time to do a quick (near) final mobile APP check of charges & OBC adjustments, net balance with everything in order to avoid surprises in the morning or to stand in a line at Guess Services (the lines there is very, very long - all day). We are getting close to home - crossing the Norfolk, VA coastal water in the Atlantic into Maryland this afternoon, seas remained rough with 14.5' waves (4.5 meters) so in our forward balcony, you feel some motion and hear the now empty metal coat hangers inside the closet rattling. Deck 10 is really feeling like deck 6 or 7 on the smaller Dawn/Jewel class ships - motion sickness should not be a problem for most cruising. We looked to be on course, ahead of schedule doing a slow cruise at 17 knots toward NY ... rumors of it being snowing now, yikes.

Edited April 4, 2015 by mking8288

[mking8288]

Gadgets & tech. setup -

Whether you are using an iPhone or Android device (Nexus 5, ours in this case - it should be on Airplane mode first, turn back WiFi on and connect to the NCL_Internet_Breakaway (without internet access unless you are on paid plan) Samsung devices should look very similar on the (top) Status bar area - this is one of my tech. software to analyze, and most end-users don't need to worry about it. Pic #2 showing my non-smart LG flip phone (5 years old & travel around the globe) connected to BTC signal (Bahamas) yesterday - the Nexus 5 on T-Mobile 4G is used for tethering when there is a good to strong "home" signal, locking it to 3G only do help at Cape Canaveral. Deep inside the steel hull of the BA, i.e. it's a challenge to good a reliable cellular signal even at Pier 88. Step outside or go near the balcony door made a difference for me. Look closely at the reflections of the 2 micro-LED bright lights powered by any USB sources, it works nicely as the nightlight for us on the dresser.

 

Time for Snoopy and the 3 butterflies (magnets will stick to this section of the wall panels, but not just anywhere inside the cabin - there's no joint above between the wall panels & the ceiling to hook or hang anything off it, stay away from the fire sprinkler head or smoke detector, please !!) to be packed away, going home with us tomorrow morning - plan is to get Carmel on our mobile APP once we are cleared out of CBP (immigration/custom) downstairs with all of our luggage & belongings.

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/64025118/2015%20NCL%20BA/IMG20150327_1629%20%28768x1024%29.jpg

 

Dinner - Taste @ 6:30 PM (reserved) We arrived 5 minutes for our reservation and bypass those walk up ones, and were quickly seated by the hostess - another excellent table for 2 next to the window, port side - perfect for watching the sunset (still look a little stormy with the waves, now a bit less at 12.5 ft. or so. A pretty sunset coming up - starter & soup in between, looks good - hungry !!

[mking8288]

Dinner & Sunset - last one on the Breakaway & luggage ready to go

 

DW's breast of chicken from the Every Day menu, and mine - today's special, prime rib w. baked potatoes, sweet corn & broccoli (can easily sliced it with a regular knife, unlike the lamp which needed a steak knife to cut)

 

Sun fading behind the clouds again, still a pretty good sunset as we dined.

 

Last chance for dessert this week on the ship - ice cream, mine as a chocolate chip sandwich, with coffee. Not missing the buffet, really.

 

Here we are, all our bags are packed w. the colored priority tags on it, and ready to go (except, we really don't want to leave in the morning, but ...) - place them outside our door before 11 PM cutoff to get taken down to deck 4 for transfer to inside of the terminal. Not doing our own "Express Walkoff" with the 22" (side expanded) and 25" rollers (packed with 2 bottles of wine). Carrying the 3rd. one with us as carry-on. Next, fill out the customs declaration form & emptied out the mini-safe first, ok - checked. Set the alarm & time to go to sleep early (it's already 11 PM plus)

[mking8288]

More loose pix of Food onboard the Breakaway, including Shrimp Salad burger, Mini Egg (Spring) Rolls, Fish, Sweet-n-Sour Pork w. Rice, Tilapia, and, dessert in the non-specialty restaurants, some are lunches but most are dinners. Almost all of them are good, 2 or 3 dishes are difficult to describe or recall in what it was - but, they're served mostly warm (not "hot" in temps) to us with the covers on coming from the gallery.

 

Edited April 4, 2015 by mking8288

[mking8288]

Coming home finally, disembarkation at Pier 88 - the process -

 

Timing - midnight, we're approaching Toms River, NJ and slowing down the ship's speed - the waves are now nearly gone, under 7 or 8 ft. at most. When I was awaken by the alarm clock at 5:45 AM, we're sailed past Sandy Hook, NJ's ex-Lighthouse at the entrance to Lower Bay and clearly see lands off to our starboard side, off the shores of Coney Island - smartphone's cellular signal begin to come to life again, still fading in and out. We will be at the Statue of Liberty soon, maybe 30 minutes and then the Upper Bay, before turning into the Hudson River to dock at Pier 88 again. Time to get dressed & eat our traditional disembarkation full breakfast at the Savior MDR first - we left our cabin around 7 AM (ready to turn onto the pier by now) and lots of people vacating the cabins, as the stewards begin to do the major cleaning up and turnaround.

 

Savor MDR is actually quite busy for breakfast at 7:15 AM and apparently, many have the same ideas and not in a hurry to leave the ship either, enjoying another big breakfast first. We got a nice window view again with table for 2. Pastries, juice, fruit & hot items with coffee would be a treat.

 

Servers are busy taking orders @ 7:20 AM - today's menu is a little simplified, eggs benedict not available & it's okay. We are already docked at Pier 88 and things are buzzing already down below decks.

 

Around 7:35 AM, it was announced that ship has been cleared by local officials and those with Express Self-Walkoff can proceed up to the FWD and AFT gangway to leave the ship, after having passports & Guest Keycards ready along with the completed U.S. Custom Declaration Form (#6059B) ready. By now, we had finished our breakfast, gone back to our cabin to grab our luggage and headed down to the public area on Deck 7 near OSH, freeing up the cabin so that our nice Steward can do the turnaround - having already tipped her cash yesterday. At 7:50 AM, we can clearly see folks rolling their suitcases & luggages onto the Rooftop parking lot via the giant elevators, getting into their vehicles and begin leaving the cruise terminal. That's an excellent sign, there's no delays inside the building and folks are able to get on the roads soon, especially good if they have a long drive home to places north of the border or even upstate NY, Boston, CT and down to southern NJ & Maryland ... or, to catch a late morning/midday or afternoon flight.

 

While waiting, a quick check of our free & pre-installed mobile Carmel App (1 of 2 popular & reliable city/region-wide car service - established account with them) showed that several cars nearby are within 6 to 10 minutes to pick us out if & when we are ready - the flat-rate for the trip home would be just $39 (plus tipping, of course ) Last year, we walked across the street & waited for our turn to take a yellow taxi home, cost us about $49 plus tips with minimal traffic.

 

By 8:35 AM, those of us with Priority Disembark tags were informed that we can now proceed to the gangway. We're off the gangway in about 10 minutes and inside the building, looking for our 2 pc. of luggage, found them easily and stood in line for another 10 minutes to be quickly cleared by the CBP officer - about 10 lanes & almost all of them opened & staffed. Porters have an exclusive lane to use to speed thru, and, guests with special needs (wheelchairs) also get to use another shortcut without snaking thru the regular line, which is also separated for those on NCL tours and/or bus & airport trips via NCL. We made our way past the exit checkpoint area beyond CBP by 9 AM and slowly walk toward 12th Avenue. Step off to the side & book the Carmel ride for 9:20 AM pickup across the street - and resume walking out to local street. By the time we cross the Avenue on a green walk sign, it was 9:15 AM and the driver called us on my mobile # to reconfirm the exact pickup location. Carmel's app showed the driver coming cross-town & turn south on 12th Avenue and turning onto W. 48th Street - and within 2 minutes, our luggages loaded & we're on our way home in the leather backseats of a black Lincoln Towncar - charged as a full-sized 4 door sedan, for up to 3 people and 3 pc. of luggage - now zipping east crosstown to Queens via the Ed. Koch/59th Street toll-less Bridge, via local streets onto BQE to get us safely home again. Carmel delivered for us again !!

[EvilBanker]

DW's breast of chicken from the Every Day menu, and mine - today's special, prime rib w. baked potatoes, sweet corn & broccoli (can easily sliced it with a regular knife, unlike the lamp which needed a steak knife to cut)

 

Would that be considered a light meal?

 

Seriously - thanks for the awesome review and pictures!

[mking8288]

Would that be considered a light meal?

Seriously - thanks for the awesome review and pictures!

Nice "catch" on the typo/spell check - that's what happend late night doing cut-n-paste from digital notes, it goes to show those aren't faked views reading the review. Actually, scan all the photo images will yield I think, just a "little" more useful info to make the next Breakaway sailing fun - plus, feeling very hungry looking at (most of) the mouth-watering food pictures. Yes, "lamb" and not "lamp" but on 2 nights, dinner was supposed to flameless candlelight tableside, except that someone forgot ours - wasn't going to be a fuzz about it & call the "manager" over to adjust the DSC (or, to send back that tough piece of imported Australian (baby? it was small) lamb rib roast - I had lamb again in the MDR 2 days later and it was better than speciality, go figured !! Tried to give a broader overview & skip over the minor details, like ordering steaks and not getting the proper utensil (steak knife) - LOL.

 

EXTRAS >>>>>>>>>>GSC Map & Info, Shanghai Noodles Menu & Laundry Specials/Prices

 

Here, as a bonus for you (and other's benefits, thanks for reading - if you wish to credit back a "convenience" charge to us in scanning these images, please apply a nominal portion of your OBC to account # .... just kidding) The "nice" prime rib served in the MDR on Day 7 is practically the same as the one served in OSH on Day 1, 2 chances to order it.

 

The most current, subject to change w/o prior notice, BA MENU for Shanghai Noodles - these are excellent prices for a surcharged, a la carte menu - for the price of 2 drinks, you get 2 entree items (the starters aren't as good of a value - you get only 1 pc. of egg/spring roll per order only & that's overpriced, IMO)

 

Robin/meatball_nyc, we're very impressed to the enhancements and expanded GSC, which we last visited in 2011 & missed in 2014 due to choppy sea conditions. I believed you aren't going yet but the map & descriptions should help you plan & dream ahead - click here GSC Island Map & Guide and also here.

 

On Day 1 - Embarkation Day, there is a 50% off "deal" for Pressing Service (you can also request an iron & board as DIY) and on Day 4 (Wed) is the Bag Special for Laundry - all you can fit for $27.99 (current price, subject to change ...) we had 23 itemized pieces returned to us in that oversized basket as picture, not bad (free for us as Platinum, would've cost almost $95 counted by pieces) Send ours midday Thursday & they're back mid-morning on Saturday ... came home with 2/3 clean laundries (overpacked again) Coupon info is here and the Laundry Special promo is here.

Edited April 4, 2015 by mking8288

[ncklhaus]

Thank you for this fantastic pictorial review!

We were on the Breakaway in October 2014 and are going again in November 2015. Same itinerary again and we love it. We only get off at GSC and like to enjoy a pretty empty ship when we are in Port Canaveral and Nassau.

[meatball_nyc]

Thank you for the GSC map, mking. Love being able to plan. We will be getting a clam shell with a mesh back (hopefully). Plan on securing one at the ships excursion desk.

Happy Sailing!

 

~Robin

[mking8288]

Breakaway is coming home to NYC again, tracking it on marine traffic site so I'm going to try to wrap up - with our thoughts - and, an overview of our cruise on the BA from 3/22/2015 to 3/29/2015; and, leave plenty of unanswered questions for the fresh & new perspective of those following us - if these pictures served its purpose to illustrate some of the best or better features on this mega-ship that was important to us - without reading the narrative and our subjective comments & opinions about food & services, it would've done its intended job, mission accomplished. Thanks for reading & a joy for us to share our thoughts.

 

Overall speaking, we had a very good time on this cruise, except it was too short for us - the itinerary is stale & if we are to repeat this again, we will not be getting off the ship at all (except, at the end of our sailing)

 

For others, Canaveral is an important stop & I know that some of the friends we met & chatted briefly from Canada spend a good chunk of Canadian dollars, including going to Disney/Epcot, etc. for 6 hours + travel: it's important to them. Nassau, yes and no - our 2 shopping runs to John Bull was, suffice to say, very expensive but a good investment.

 

This isn't about Haven or the Suite life, plenty of those around - not here. The average couple, family & friends sailing on the Breakaway is a close match to our life style & what we do while on vacations and everyday - looking for values and getting the best bang for our dollars - we owned plenty of "cheap" watches & they are highly functional yet I treasured my two Rolexes that appreciated over time, acquired the first one almost 30 years ago.

 

To us, UBP and UDP aren't important so we skipped those and having reached Platinum level already, 2 evenings of dinner at LeBistro or equivalent is more than enough. The 2 comp'd bottles of wine are nice plus the bubbles, and the extended family is happy as we re-gifted them. The mints are cool & 6 years old grand-niece finished it in a flash, she's a Chocoholic & first cruised with us when she was 2 years old - at least, grand-nephew & she each got 2 pc. of Godvia each, as it got downsized. We kept the strawberries & ate it.

 

It's no secret that we are frugual, DW always called me being Jewish but she has learned a few things & has been checking her receipts ever since, even the ones from Macy's on pricing & proper adjustment of credits, when it is due and refunds when it is called for. We are less than happy with what NCL has been doing lately under its new management, and my other posts clearly reflected that - and, in no uncertain terms - expressed our opinions using each of our 1,000 characters on the post cruise e-surveys. We also voted with our wallet 10 days ago as a symbolic protest, and, yes - it has virtually nothing higher than 0.000000000020440001 impact on NCLH's bottomlines.

 

Back on the primary focus, the cruise review of ours on the BA:

On food, we only ate twice in the buffet and not as impressed as before - it's fine but could be better with variety & choices, not serving (unlimited AYCE) lobster tails not being our reasons to "boycott" seafood night. Sure, we don't missed the midnight buffet or White Hot Party but we all know things are changing all the time & costs are rising everywhere, except our pay increases lately so no lectures on the cutbacks.

 

O'Sheehans - service is still slow but improved over a year ago, we ate about 4 times there, food is served hot but wished it has more choices, free !

 

Only order late day Room Services once while it was still free, tipped cash directly as I dislike autogratuity on top of tipping, plus the newly piloted ?? delivery charge for those doing a B2B on our sailing. Again, less is more value ?? not even getting juices unless paying extra, fine.

 

Otherwise, we ate mostly in all 3 MDR and found the food to be improved, again few choices - but 3x or more of French onion soup & Salmon tartae is a bit too much in variety - Montfish is gone from the menu. The wait staff worked hard but they seemed to lack that synergy and inattention to details, not that we lost our appetite but twice, forget to switch our steak knives and candlelight-less dinner wasn't too romantic. Service was good in general but speed wasn't - taking into consideration how busy it was, issues behind the scene in the gallery is our understanding.

 

LeBistro has been our favorite for over 10 years on different ship & even in 2014, earned our highest regards, this time - it slipped & sinked lower. The food just isn't the same, the lamb was edible but tough to slice, without a steak knife until I asked, sorry - not something to call the manager over. The mussels were tiny but not enough to protest, just eat it & shut up - luckily, I ordered extra starters. French press coffee was great with dessert, next time - I'm going to bring my oversized mug & keep the unfinished pot for the next morning, saved money so that we can continue to tip cash for services - not writing in the amount to add up the difference to 20%, or whatever magic #. If UDP was this popular, how come there're still so many empty & unoccupied tables on both nights and yet, the live APP shown no availability - tricks again or computer glitch ??

 

Shanghai Noodles was mostly a ghost town for dinner, except for late hours supported by off-duty ?? crew members eating on their own dimes, I think. Feel bad so we ate there once & find it to be a good value - not tipping 18%+20% for exceptional service, however.

 

UBP must be a great value, all the bars looked very busy unlike 2014 - from dawn to dust, breakfast on the rocks as they say - not going to drink $50 worth of soda to get our money's worth. 3 larger bottles of Ginger Ale costed us $4 plus tipping at the pier to bring onboard and lasted all week - as we only drank them in the cabin. We did "ordered" soda while dining but did not got charged 3 times due to server errors & other issues.

 

F&B as a whole, I give a B+

 

iConcierge worked as advertised, no surprises on the free features. I don't watch much of Fox News channel but still, missed the option as well as CNN, and had to rely on BBC World News to stay current on the ship - and most other channels weren't of much interest. Still funny to watch Sheehans on shipbuilder's video - where is AS & FDR going to do theirs ? Fortunately, carrying an HDMI cable & Google Chromestick was great to cast videos onto bigger screen with my own WiFi signal, or else ... Paid satellite internet worked too and I gave it a trial run, pretty acceptable speed with the tweaks & workable to stay in touch, if one must.

 

 

- - getting late - - to be continued / finishing up later on (today)

[white-1]

Loved your review! As far as disembarkation, which gangway brings you off closer to the customs area? I will be doing easy walk off with my luggage, and would like to choose the best route if possible...

 

Thanks!

[bangzoom6877]

So they did have a Latitudes cocktail party for silver members and higher? Our entire group of 11 going are silver members, and we were under the impression that NCL no longer does the cocktail party. It's not a big deal for us, but we would go if there is one.

[mking8288]

Wrapping up the Breakway review, key areas & some of the pro's & con's with matters for improvement or changes:

 

Our Ship - Hallways - Elevators & Stairs - Our Balcony Stateroom (10712)

being 2nd. time on the BA, we use one of the decks on Ocean-6-7-8 to our advantage in getting around the crowds faster and most of the time, it worked. We hated the location of the oversized slot machine just past O'Sheehans as it blocked easy passage during peak times. Elevators can be slow & full when it stopped for us so we walked down the stairs whenever possible (burning off a few calories is good) and take the elevators up from the lower deck. We didn't spend much time this time on deck 15 or 16, so it helped too. Our starboard side hallway (same for portside) was quite NARROW, especially when the hallway is effectively blocked by service carts & cleaning gears - learn to twist (not dancing) and squeeze thru sideway, unless you are ultra slim. I can understand the concerns by those in wheel chairs or motorized scooters trying to get around the ship - older ships are better, period. DW counted - 140 plus steps from the closest FWD staircase & elevators to our forward balcony (regular sized) stateroom, passing the Studio Lounge each time to/from the more forward section with the inside staterooms - ours being the 4th one with balcony on deck 10.

 

Our Steward worked all by herself and she has no assistant to help, when asked but she liked the work she's doing. She also service the Fwd corner suite 4 doors ahead of us but we never saw the butler or concierge (yes, they can come & go via the middle sets of corridors, thru the Studio or crew-only access area, where there are stairs and elevators for their use. She did an excellent job with our needs, filling our ice buckets, extra coffee pods, saying hello & introducing herself on the evening of Day 1 when things settled down as we met her just outside our door (knowing our Latitudes status, of course with the inside setup). We gave her a cash tip directly toward the end of the week for services above & beyond, heck with the pooled (increased) DSC and she seemed surprised but thanked us - I dunno what's been going on lately among the crews, but ...

 

Our balcony stateroom was ready when we finished lunch & went up with our carry-on luggage, the sofabed is away from the entrance & the bed is next to the closet, with about 12" of floor space - very tight, for most adults. Slim nightstands (refer to pictures) with 2 open shelves stood next to the side of the full/queen-sized bedding, which can be relocated to make a little more room for getting into the closet. We didn't move it or asked the steward to do it. Sofabed has a firm cushion and with the backrest removed, convert with sheets & paddings into a single bed for the 3rd. passenger in the cabin >>>>> this is the major advantage for the regular/standard baconies, the sofa and extra room to move around. Spare pillows & comforters are stored in 2 oversized drawers, along with the mini-bar's liquor bottles (tied closed inside a white pillow case) when we left a written note for it to be emptied out for the steward on Day 1 as we left for dinner, and promptly taken care of.

 

Our Latitudes Pentinum "Welcome" Packet was already placed inside our room, along with the box of Godvia (it's now just a 4 pc. gold box instead of 8 pc.) and a smaller plated size of 4 or 5 chocolate covered strawberries with the room service clear plastic cover plate - no fancy wrapped with a bowed ribbon & card with a message. Plus, one bottle of bubbles (no glasses included, so use the water glasses !!) There should be 2 Latitudes BA ship pin - missing and not included (money saving since we this is our 2nd. time on the BA & we both got one last year) Otherwise, coupons for dinner, laundry, reception & the "exclusvie" (shortened) Behind the Scene Ship Tour are all there (Monday @10:30 AM, which conflicts with the established CC Meet-n-Greet schedule @11 AM, La Cucina - choices (and, has to RSVP only between 3 and 5 PM today or else) Note - it is possible to ... and HD on the ship at her/his discretion might put one on the "regular" expanded BTST later in the week. How nice, huh.

 

CD on this sailing - J.C. Sanchez, first time sailing him.

 

The bathroom works & plenty of storage, there is sometimes a slight odor from the floor drains next to the toilet, likely from backflow - a little air freshener that we always bring on cruises help freshen up the room (not a big deal otherwise.) We left our tri-fold hanging toiletry organizer at home, more than enough shelves & storage to keep everything neat & organize. Used a Woolite packet to washed our swimwear from GSC and hanged it on the retractable laundry string inside the shower area to drip dry.

 

Balcony - small but functional, a free upgrade for us (nicely surprised so no complaint) and even with 15 ft. waves - motion not a problem for DW. It overlooks the extended balconies below us on Deck 9, and can also look down into Deck 8's extended ones (saw nobody doing semi/nude sunbathing, they knew better, LOL) Our friendly neighbors were quiet all week but sitting outside, it took no efforts to overheard their conversations - closing the door & coming back inside effective shutoff the noises - interior walls are thin & poor in sound proofing for loud parties (well, no "honeymooners" next to us - unlike 2014 with the oooooh's and the OMG at 5 AM ...) They & others left their "dim" balcony lights on overnight on several occassion but it didn't bother us at all and it's quite clear many were doing the same - easy to leave ON the unmarked button next to the 220 outlets. Our featherweight butterflies from Nassau managed to cling onto a section of the wall panel next to the TV/mirror glass - unlikely to hang up anything heavy & for it to hold. Thankfully, our jumbo plastic clips gave "Snoopy" the stuffed dog to hangout on the wall, along with our lanyards for the keycards.

 

For nightlights on the road/cruise, we use a dual LED usb-powered tip (about the size of a standard Sim card, but much thicker) as semi-bright light to avoid being in pitch darkness) and will last for years, if not lost. Plug that into any available low-powered USB outlets or battery pack (lipstick) & you got a bright light source (i.e. reading LeBistro's dinner menu is always a challenge) - good enough to read the Dailies

 

Noise & Vibrations, and, Smoky Atrium, etc. -

Our previous 2014 sailing was Deck 13 AFT with an Inside, and felt little to no engine/steering noises and/or vibrations. We only felt the ship's steering fully on while turning around at Port Canaveral for docking sideway with the slide, and, again when backing into Nassau pier's berth, furthest away from the terminal. (which has a free shuttle to/from ship & security gate area; and, my "bad" knees thank you for the ride, tipping 100% optional and entirely appreciated by the driver)

 

With peak ocean waves of 15 feet on Day 7 at sea, the motion was clearly felt but well managed with the ship's stabilizers and DW had no problem, especially inside the casino or while playing on her iPad. We cruised mostly with 5' to 7' wave, sometimes much less with 1' to 3' wave so a great ride for sleeping & spending time in the cabin, plenty of space for just 2 of us. SIL usually sail with us but due to work, stayed behind or else would be using the couch/sofabed (no climbing up to the Pullman bed on the wall bracket)

 

This reaffirmed our choice to originally book an Oceanview cabin for doing 7 nights, we hardly used or spend time sitting out there, except briefly - and on Day 1, 2 and 7 - it was not really usable for various reasons.

 

MISC. Footnotes on little details noticed by end of our cruise or sooner - "no" white cotton bathrobes inside the closet for us (DW likes it but usually too small for person with XXL or XXXL sizing); one of the two wall-mounted LED ?? lights above the bed didn't work (likely from loose contacts on the relay switch as I got it to work one day) to be fixed by maintenance, "reporting" notes given to maintenance on Day 6; and, both Breakfast Room Service Order Form & 24 Hour Room Service Menu missing - only found Laundry & Mini Bar prices itemized on the list - asked Steward on Day 2 and got 24HRSM afterward by dinner time (# # now it made "almost perfect" senses for what was likely going on in switching out to run the tests last week on turnaround day as we disembark.

 

The (now, obsolete) old/original "limited" 24 Hours Room Service Menu & the 18% gratuity and the subsequent rollout of the "new" Enhanced (but still less limited) 24 Hours RS Menu with the BA's $7.95 (test) Delivery Charge or convenience fee plus 18% gratuity, and additional tip for exceptional service. Sure - NOT, not the way for all these rolled out unannounced with no clear & direct customer communications.

RSM - page 1 (being replaced as of last week ... maybe permanently changed)

RSM - page 2 (continued)

 

Unlike our 2014 BA sailing, it seemed that there're lots of UBP sailing this week, and, practically all the bars looked busy all week long - making good use of their benefits, except that our PCP (family doctors) will NOT be pleased if we're drinking 10 to 12 cans daily each (well, it's dispensed from the soda fountain into a glass filled with ice, no longer in a 12 oz. can, with exceptions for 2 diet ones) for getting values. Several "regulars" sitting next to us inside the casino (CAS guests) commented about the diluted drinks with their cards but I have no meaningful way(s) of challenging theirs. Iced/water from the buffet and/or OSH is fine (okay with sodium level, taste not a problem for us) and actually drank fewer of those free "flavored water as we're hardly in the buffet area all week - both times crowded with people - 3 large bottles of soda we took with us lasted all week and we got a few sodas during the week with our meals. No, we are not big spenders at all - should be obvious if you are still reading the review here, just frugual & "smarter" than average, not uninformed sheepies blind to "deals" when it isn't.

 

Communications from high seas and foreign ports are always going to cost more & higher, regardless of your home carrier - check it before leaving and know how to configure your devices. VZW offered free classes for how-to, seriously. Calling directly from stateroom via satellite relay to land-based or mobile/cellular # is $4.99 per minute on the BA, billed to OBA (Onboard Account) If and when it is a real emergency, costs of the call is NOT important - SMS or texting is always going to be cheaper with its low bandwidth requirement. Stateroom telephone has integrated voice mail and checking for any incoming messages stored on it is free (airtime already paid for by the calling party if they are trying to reach you from land, billed to their credit card) - no passcode used and no remote access, the instrument set has alarm clock function and the volume can be set higher or lower, but not OFF (well, just unplug it ??) Cellular usage on the ship & in non-USA ports will usually be extra roaming charges, relayed by the satellite towers when floating at sea and the data usage, if not monitored, can be a shocking 4 digit figures if it's on with background data & WiFi downloading enabled ... pingping the Exchange email server every 15 minutes is going to drain your wallet fast at the next billing cycle or two.

 

iConcierge is a nice APP with many free & usable features and connect at 2 tiers, without internet access and with paid internet data packages. For the casual user and not on social media 50MB for $19 might do but $39 fo 200MB data would be "safer" and the 800MB for $59 is the highest tier offered on the BA ($10 higher than the $49 plan with only 400 MB - doubling the allowance, with a meter - always signed off to avoid idle usage & charges.

iConcierge does NOT list all pre-booked events on the free App and it does NOT have the option to canel a booking made, one must call to do so.

To simplify the tasks of keeping up with changinng technologies, carry a small USB external battery pack w. the cable (the better ones served as a mini LED flashlight) and a power strip for using multiple outlets (and/or a Belkin USB charging cube; unplugg it when not in use). Bring a 220-240 volts power plug adapter and you can then tap the extra & often unused 220 outlets in the cabin with your tablet/ipad or notebook PC's dual voltage charger. effectively have 3 outlets (2 at 110V and 1 at 220V) plus a low power one inside the bathroom (maybe for battery charging only)

[goofy4mickey]

Excellent review. Thank you.

[mking8288]

... disembarkation, which gangway brings you off closer to the customs area? I will be doing easy walk off with my luggage, and would like to choose the best route if possible...

 

The ship docks in NY facing 12th Avenue so the AFT elevators & stairs ***** are closest to the immigration/customs area as they made us who exited the front gangway with priority disembark to walk back to the rear of the terminal building (into the Hudson) - you will need to get into the lines as early as 6:30 or 7 AM to be among the first group off as depending on the sailings, hundreds of people are jockeying for their spots to catch their pickup, buses, trains and flights, etc. in the morning - if there are no delays with arrival timing. Check the port schedule of sailings to see if there is a 2nd. or 3rd. ship that date as taxi lines would be a mess.

 

If you are traveling light & don't mind it, do that with a 22" roller/spinner and a good backpack for ease of mobility - I feel bad watching those just ahead of us struggling with 28"+ heavy suitcases and 2 other big bags each with their gifts & kid's gears, etc. Once you cleared CBP, you can get porter's help with luggage if you feel the needs for it then, but not before as I think they do it a little different to present the Self Assist group to go thru the luggage area & "cheat" the systems in place at the terminal.

 

**** For Self Assist & walkoff, I recalled those long gangways are setup differently at least once, to "funnel" the pax directly & closer to the CBP manned stations or booths inside the building - maybe someone who did this recently can share that with you.

 

... Latitudes cocktail party for silver members and higher? Our entire group of 11 going are silver members, and we were under the impression that NCL no longer does the cocktail party. It's not a big deal for us, but we would go ...

 

Yes, there is one but nothing like those of years long past, with door prizes & drawings - NCL even gave away a free cruise for 2 for attendance (way, way back in 2003, of course ... no such generosity these days)

 

Ours was for Silver, Gold & Platinum on Friday evening at 7:30 PM (for about 20 minutes) hosted by the Captain & the onboard Cruise Consultant - about 75 people attended out of 4,000+ and it's a relatively small # of people. Supposingly, there were several of them scheduled to spread out the bigger audience - no Q & A after the presentation/welcome, etc. but chase down the available officers & junior/senior staff hanging around, briefly, before & afterward to ask or chat one-on-one. I did that with several of them afterward. The "best' takeaway is really the free & unlimited wines & free cocktails for the duration - I took one to the MDR for DW afterward as she didn't feel like going to mingle or socialize even busy on her iPad gaming. They also had some finger food floating around from the round serving tray, but no lobster claws, jumbo prawns or fancy ones. If any of you are in Haven or in the suite, there should be a separate cocktail or reception as well and the invite should be placed in your cabin.

 

Just plan your shows & dinner plans around it but check the Dailies on Day 1 ASAP - while you are still waiting to board inside the terminal, as copies are distributed on request - to check out the latest changes. There's been plenty of surprises lately, as you know from all the "debates" & discussions around here.

 

 

<< In blogging & writing out this lengthly & detailed review, was hoping to keep it shorter, as I hate to read too - typos & spelling errors, etc. are inevitable - apologize but once the 20 minutes clock timed out, can't be undone so leave it as is. If catched in time, I try to "fix" them all - the substantive info are here to help others plan & make the most out of those short 7 days on the Breakaway. Please feel free to pose followup questions & will do our best to help, friendly details and "assist" from others who've sailed on the Breakaway are always appreciated & welcomed. Keep in mind that nothing is definitive and food/service are most certainly subjective by nature. I fully believe the group returning today has more, better & even newer info to share - and stories to tell about their week. >> As always, thanks for reading & if a picture or two here made you hungry - I am NOT responsible for it and if you dream of having a good time, smile as nothing is impossible.

Edited April 6, 2015 by mking8288

[mking8288]

Luggages & NYC Pier/Terminal - it was chilly when we went inside Pier 88 and upon returning, but for the rest of the cruise, our winter jacket stayed inside the closet. Our check-in this time was faster than 2014 and we arrived later than last year due to unexpected local traffic on the bridge (Queens to Manhattan) that delayed us by 15+ minutes. Our boarding Zone # was 2, even lower than before and using the far end inside the terminal for Haven to check in meant that we have good/fast access to the AFT gangway & elevators once on board. Even VIP/Special Needs boarding was running late this year but not terrible, somewhat disorganized with 750+ people in our area alone. MDR lunch was the plan & worked out nicely.

 

Mandatory boat & fire safety with life-vest demo drill was in a section of O'Sheehans for us, with all guests' keycards being swiped to record attendance - and, quickly over. What we did not appreciate, is one young female junior "officer" in a white uniform & hat, yelling out of her tiny lungs for all to be quiet with about 500 restless "sheepies" in the area ... memo to NCL, use a portable PA speaker/bullhorn or a whistle (I can the latter mine for use, but don't carry the former not on the job at the office/in the field.) It bordered on being discourteous and didn't command respect - maybe she was the ship's ranking safety officer, IMO, you do not yell at the guests or customers to demand attention - but if happened to go to the Muster Station & see this again, please feel free to "inform the Captain or the Staff Captain (which I had a brief conversation with at the Latitudes Reception later in the week about other matters ... but not this non-incident)

 

Having an extra set of (lighter) clothes with us as carry-ons & other essentials meant that we're able to relax/change, setup our gadgets & toiletry and get comfortable after lunch - too short for nap time, LOL (or, run for the heated hot tubs) Nice to begin the transformation of one's stateroom for the next 7 days, before getting underway - going to Muster Station in my Bermuda shorts for the drill as transition into warmer weather. DW's luggage was delivered by 3:30 PM and she efficiently unpacked in 15 minutes. Mine came about 45 minutes later, and everything else was put away as we slowly moved past VZB & Lower (NY) Bay by then - and, cellular signals began to fade in-n-out. Time to switch (most) smartphone & cell devices to airplane mode & "offline" for next 2 days, unless ...

 

Changes in "no shows reservations necessary, except for ** " written in letters by the BA Box Office Team, not a big surprise due to CC's intel. It did somewhat disrupted our preferred times for dinner on 2+ nights now, and didn't feel like calling in to change before embarkation day - in case the hog is wild again on the loose. With LeBistro booked & using our 2 vouchers, went ahead to cancel MDR dinners already booked for 2 nights and left one evening open as the "Joker" card as in Freestyle and not Feestyle cruising ...

 

In retrospect, the choice to eat mostly in the MDR was a good one for us and OSH was the closest to our cabin and the alternative when we didn't feel like going up to the buffet, which closed dinner services at 9:30 PM nightly - with a lighter selection until 11:30 PM, and then, it's only water, coffee & tea service, and ice only - just remember to BYO.

 

We traveled with our 20 oz. water bottles & small insulated thermos - those cups on the ship are small, tiny & hold about 6 oz, less with ice (even the paper cups in OSH are smaller than average - still free for now)

 

Shows - the "objectives" for our week's worth of cruising is to relax and enjoy some serious vacation time - in the end, we only attended one show, Rock of Ages on Wednesday night @ 9:30 PM - after a MDR dinner. We arrived about 25 minutes early and the small theater with the most uncomfortable seating fleetwide for NCL is about 80% full already, and about 4 rows of seats on starboard side, midway down (not even center column seating ... hmmm) roped off & reserved by the concierge/butler for Haven/suite guests - most of them strolled in together & hustled to fill up the remaining seats. Latecomers scattered & took up all the remaining seats against the walls & by curtain up time, practically all seats taken. Very good to excellent, although we saw it a year ago - it seemed some of the scripts & scenes had been changed - parts of it adult-themed but not terrible, did see a few guests walking out earlier, maybe to catch dinner reservations. We decided to not see the shorter Burn The Floor again and seeing the Cirque once was enough for us too. Later in the week, we sat & chatted with 4 guests that just finished the dinneer show, still hungry and came to the MDR for soup & more food, etc. - concensus among them, the food was okay but nothing to be excited about - small portions, which we agreed & previously written on.

 

For MDR lunch & dinner time, we had our own small tables for 2 all the time and only twice, maybe 3 times, didn't get a nice view sitting next to those huge windows to look out. Day 2 at Savor for breakfast, one of the hostess/manager on duty came around to check on us 5 times, yes, 5 times to make sure everything was fine - and, we had no special requests, etc. and aren't VIP in any sense - except for being Platinum members & associated with CC.

 

GSC - NCL's private island in the Bahamas. Among the 3 port stops, this is now our top choice to get off the ship early & get a nice spot to relax and enjoy some fun, under the shades - the clamshell made perfect sense. The lagoon is further away from the tender pier & the main beach / play area, but it is secluded & not over-crowded. Not much for kids & children to play around without proper parental supervision - and careful with the steep drop in water depth steps away from the beach - especially for non-swimmers with no floatation devices with a single NCL lifeguard on-duty for that area. Allow extra time as the tender back to the ship can be long in the late afternoon leading up to the last one.

 

Pulses on the ship - the push for playing Bingo wasn't bad & usually only for full Sea Days. Read up all about Art Auction "deals" first before making the decision as we saw plenty of prospective buyers sitting down with the sales on Deck 6. Drawings for the lucky invite to the Captain's Dinner - there was none for our sailing, unless I missed it. We also missed and/or didn't go to the crew's traditionnal & familial farewell talent show - performance (if there was one) but saw the dancing/spinning gallery & dining room crew making their quick rounds thru the MDR on the last 2 evenings - and, wondered what happened to "Washy Washy, Happy Happy" and "We are The World" - but, it is what it is. Time for this week's disembarking BA cruisers to continue sharing their newest stories.

 

Last but not least - watching pier runners is a cool "event" at sailing time to post them on social media, unless you are the subject of focus acting it on as there is no fun by missing the ship. Saw that in Canaveral & heard that in Nassau - but AFAIK, thankfully, the Captain waited & everyone was onboard coming home. That won't happened to us & hopefully not to you - we've done our shares over the years chasing airplane gates at hub cities & rushing down the jetbridge before L2 or L1 is shut.

 

- - - Time permitting, I will scan key pages of the remaining & detailed Dailies but if there is request for specifics or details for particular day of the sailing week, please post & will rush on it. The Bermuda run is starting soon for the BA, it's a great island (been there a # of times) - some of the core info about the ship should remain valid. Plus, there is paid WiFi at Dockyard where she will soon be berthing at the pier.

[bangzoom6877]

Thanks for the cocktail party info. We will be eating dinner at 5:30 every evening, so that my baby nephew can be on his normal dinner routine (he will be 18 months when we sail). One evening DH and I plan to eat dinner in Le Bistro, and my parents said they'll bring our sons to the MDR with them to have dinner with everyone. We are all eating in Cagney's together one night also, at 5:30. Those are the only two specialties we're going to...I agree with you that at least for all of us, the UDP is not necessary. We don't go for Asian and Italian food on vacation because we eat those all the time at home (we live in Brooklyn, and our main takeout/delivery places are Italian/pizza, Chinese, or Japanese/sushi). Le Bistro is unique and DH and I enjoyed that on other NCL cruises. We've never eaten in Cagney's, one of our son's favorite food is steak, and we asked the whole family if they'd like to join us there for dinner so we are all going. Most of us are steak lovers, but my mom loves seafood more and might end up with fish, although she does like a good filet mignon on occasion.

 

DH and I also looked into upgrading from two connecting inside cabins to two connecting oceanview cabins so we would qualify for the free UBP, but then the cruise would cost us $600 more. We wouldn't drink $600 worth of alcohol to just break even, plus we like certain things not included in the UBP such as martini tastings, and we also want to try the ice bar which is a separate charge anyway...the two drinks included at the ice bar would be my drinks for the whole day. We don't drink soda and neither do the kids. We drink mostly water, and sometimes iced tea on cruises. We do have a couple of drinks each per day, but not $600 worth on a 7-night cruise to justify moving from deck 12 down to deck 5. Everyone in our family is staying in inside cabins, all on deck 12 next to each other. We have two connecting cabins, and so does my sister, brother-in-law and their 3 kids. My parents have an inside cabin too. So no one in the Haven that we're cruising with. None of us have ever experienced the suite life on a cruise...way out of our price range.

 

So for shows...no more reservations at all for Rock of Ages or the other main show? DH and I don't want to have to line up an hour and a half before a show begins. We've seen Rock of Ages on Broadway and we both loved it. While it would be great to see it on the cruise, it's not something I'd wait in a line for a long time to see. I'd rather go to the jazz lounge or the piano lounge and spend a relaxing evening there.

 

Do they do a different theme every day for lunch in Moderno? You mentioned a Bavarian buffet in an earlier post. This sounds terrific and like something we would enjoy. Do they open for breakfast as well?

[mking8288]

... We will be eating dinner at 5:30 every evening, so that my baby nephew ... DH and I plan to eat dinner in Le Bistro, and my parents said they'll bring our sons to the MDR ... We are all eating in Cagney's together one night also, at 5:30. Those are the only two specialties ... I agree with you that at least for all of us, the UDP is not necessary ... Le Bistro is unique and DH and I enjoyed that on other NCL cruises. We've never eaten in Cagney's, one of our son's favorite food is steak, and we asked the whole family if they'd like to join us there for dinner so we are all going. Most of us are steak lovers, but my mom loves seafood more and might end up with fish, although she does like a good filet mignon on occasion.

 

... also looked into upgrading from two connecting inside cabins to two connecting oceanview cabins so we would qualify for the free UBP, but then the cruise would cost us $600 more. We wouldn't drink $600 ... also want to try the ice bar which is a separate charge anyway... We don't drink soda and neither do the kids. We drink mostly water, and sometimes iced tea on cruises ... Everyone in our family is staying in inside cabins, all on deck 12 next to each other ... None of us have ever experienced the suite life on a cruise...way out of our price range.

 

So for shows...no more reservations at all for Rock of Ages or the other main show? DH and I don't want to have to line up an hour and a half before a show begins ... I'd rather go to the jazz lounge or the piano lounge and spend a relaxing evening there.

 

Do they do a different theme every day for lunch in Moderno? ... a Bavarian buffet in an earlier post. Do they open for breakfast as well?

 

BZ6877 - how exciting to be going to Bermuda in July, DW & I like it over Nassau and it's always expensive to sail in the summer. Done 4 cruises already to the islands over the years & loved it, use the Fast Ferries to get around, easier & better than the bus system and depending on your plans on dry land, get the 2 day unlimited pass. BA is your floating hotel base at Dockyard and things would likely be setup a little differently vs. Florida/Bahamas ... use some of the info as a guide only.

 

Moderno was open daily as a free breakfast buffet till 11 AM, although we never went as we're all the way forward & O'Sheehans was the closest or the smaller MDR. Bavarian lunch buffet was open on Day 7 only as complimentary, 12:30 PM to 2:30 PM. As for MDR with 11 of you, it is possible to speak to the host/ess on Day 1 and have them set aside a table daily between 5:30 and 6 PM, and even have the same waiter/ess team for all the days - it's okay if 2 or 3 of you will not attend - let them know ahead so they can adjust the table settings. Your group can then walk in with minimal waiting, sort of like Carnival's AnyTime/MyTime Dining option (we sailed the Spendlor & loved it - very competitive with NCL's recent products)

 

Lamb roast is one of my favorite, however, it was better in the MDR 2 weeks ago vs. LeBistro, which was disappointing - but escargots, steamed mussels, and the cream of 4 mushrooms soup are excellent, as it the duck - salmon better than the swordfish. The beef steak (without the upgrade) is usually good & reliable. MDR food quality has improved bu variety of selection, not so much and go for the Everyday Specials if other items aren't appealing, for a larger group like yours - it's more "civilized" to be pampered in the MDR without worrying about finding tables & chairs.

 

If you've eaten Asian on 8th. Avenue or 65th Street strip or even the Bay Ridge/Bensonhurst corridors - you will not be happy with what's available onboard, except for Shanghai Noodles (supposed to be free now) Your ideas are fine - steakhouse should be good for meatlovers too.

 

Depending on how your group plan to travel to the pier, just get everyone an insulated 16 oz. travel mug to hold their beverages - get a cooler & pack some soda to bring onboard as checked luggage to save money. Dont' fall for the $600 UBP deal if you aren't going to spend anywhere near that zone - just PAYG instead. We stayed on an INSIDE on deck 13 last year and it's fine, near the AFT elevators and 2 easy decks from the buffet or easy down to the MDR's. Until further notices, shows except comedy is on a no reservations policy, wait until the latter part of the week to go (while it's at Dockyard if show is ON) as it will be less crowded - arrive 30 minutes early & should be fine, theater is smaller than the Dawn/Jewel class ships and chairs uncomfortable - but, you will endure the 2 hours ROA show.

 

We only did the Suite life on dry land - 2 BR balcony in Waikiki, HI with 1,200 SF - that was serious. BA's cabins are smaller but well designed with lots of cute storage - just design your own vacation & put the details together, BDA is ideal DIY. * * * Will upload the Dailies to cloud storage for all interested. # # # Nearly everything with NCL these days are subject to change, with & without prior notice so play by ears and stay flexible with options.

Edited April 6, 2015 by mking8288

[bangzoom6877]

BZ6877 - how exciting to be going to Bermuda in July, DW & I like it over Nassau and it's always expensive to sail in the summer. Done 4 cruises already to the islands over the years & loved it, use the Fast Ferries to get around, easier & better than the bus system and depending on your plans on dry land, get the 2 day unlimited pass. BA is your floating hotel base at Dockyard and things would likely be setup a little differently vs. Florida/Bahamas ... use some of the info as a guide only.

 

Moderno was open daily as a free breakfast buffet till 11 AM, although we never went as we're all the way forward & O'Sheehans was the closest or the smaller MDR. Bavarian lunch buffet was open on Day 7 only as complimentary, 12:30 PM to 2:30 PM. As for MDR with 11 of you, it is possible to speak to the host/ess on Day 1 and have them set aside a table daily between 5:30 and 6 PM, and even have the same waiter/ess team for all the days - it's okay if 2 or 3 of you will not attend - let them know ahead so they can adjust the table settings. Your group can then walk in with minimal waiting, sort of like Carnival's AnyTime/MyTime Dining option (we sailed the Spendlor & loved it - very competitive with NCL's recent products)

 

Lamb roast is one of my favorite, however, it was better in the MDR 2 weeks ago vs. LeBistro, which was disappointing - but escargots, steamed mussels, and the cream of 4 mushrooms soup are excellent, as it the duck - salmon better than the swordfish. The beef steak (without the upgrade) is usually good & reliable. MDR food quality has improved bu variety of selection, not so much and go for the Everyday Specials if other items aren't appealing, for a larger group like yours - it's more "civilized" to be pampered in the MDR without worrying about finding tables & chairs.

 

If you've eaten Asian on 8th. Avenue or 65th Street strip or even the Bay Ridge/Bensonhurst corridors - you will not be happy with what's available onboard, except for Shanghai Noodles (supposed to be free now) Your ideas are fine - steakhouse should be good for meatlovers too.

 

Depending on how your group plan to travel to the pier, just get everyone an insulated 16 oz. travel mug to hold their beverages - get a cooler & pack some soda to bring onboard as checked luggage to save money. Dont' fall for the $600 UBP deal if you aren't going to spend anywhere near that zone - just PAYG instead. We stayed on an INSIDE on deck 13 last year and it's fine, near the AFT elevators and 2 easy decks from the buffet or easy down to the MDR's. Until further notices, shows except comedy is on a no reservations policy, wait until the latter part of the week to go (while it's at Dockyard if show is ON) as it will be less crowded - arrive 30 minutes early & should be fine, theater is smaller than the Dawn/Jewel class ships and chairs uncomfortable - but, you will endure the 2 hours ROA show.

 

We only did the Suite life on dry land - 2 BR balcony in Waikiki, HI with 1,200 SF - that was serious. BA's cabins are smaller but well designed with lots of cute storage - just design your own vacation & put the details together, BDA is ideal DIY. * * * Will upload the Dailies to cloud storage for all interested. # # # Nearly everything with NCL these days are subject to change, with & without prior notice so play by ears and stay flexible with options.

 

Hello, and thank you for all those details! Yes, I've eaten in Asian restaurants on 8th avenue and the 60s, and I know exactly what you're talking about! That's why we don't go for Asian food when we are away...we can have it any time, plus it is so good here and I would be comparing and setting myself up for disappointment. Every other year we go to Disney World or our family vacation, and we love eating at the restaurants in the countries at Epcot, but we don't go to the Asian restaurants. We go to the german restaurant every time and we love it, and also the Mexican and the french.

 

We enjoy the suite life only on dry land. DH and I own a timeshare on Disney World property (Disney Vacation club, a points system so we can use it however and whenever we want), and we go every other July with the kids and stay in a nice big 1-bedroom villa at the Boardwalk Resort. We spend more time in the room there, as we take an afternoon break on days we are going to the theme parks and we stay in the villa for a couple of hours to relax, so it's nice to have the room to spread out. We also stay 10 nights each trip, so we have a couple of days without going to theme parks and we spend time at the pool and in the villa and it makes it much more of an actual vacation without running 24/7 since disney is tiring especially in the summer.

 

I emailed the Breakaway's group events department about our dining requests and inquired about how to make reservations for such a large party, thanks to a very nice fellow CC'er who directed me to them. The online dining reservation system only allows for a maximum of a party of 8. Group Events already took care of all our dinner reservations, so we are good to go for Manhattan Room every night except the night we all go to Cagney's (the day we arrive in Bermuda). I will make a separate reservation for me and DH at Le Bistro for another evening.

Our group always eats in the MDR or the occasional specialty restaurant. None of us have ever eaten dinner at the buffet, with the exception of my kids in 2011 on the Jewel before DH and I went to Le Bistro. They had requested to eat at the kids' buffet area for dinner before the kids club reopened at 7pm (DH and I went to dinner at 7:30 to work around it), so we brought them there at 6:00. We found a table right by the kids area, but DH and I were looking around and observing how chaotic it looked to eat dinner there. Way crowded, extremely noisy (so is the MDR but in a different way, I can't explain it), and people struggling to find a table. We both said we wouldn't feel like it's a vacation if we had to do that...we like to sit down and be served on vacation.

 

I remember enjoying the duck entree at Le Bistro very much in 2011 on the Jewel. DH tried swordfish for the first time when we were there and he really loved it. The fish soup looks fantastic too, I really love that. I was also considering the lamb as a possibility but it sounds like the lamb is better in the MDR. I don't like tough meat. We did have the escargots last time and also the quatre cornets (appetizer cones filled with various tasty fillings). I would like to try the mussels as well.

 

Our cabins are mid-ship on deck 12. We always request mid-ship because we feel less rocking there if we are in rougher water. DH tends to get a little dizzy if it's too rocky but he takes Bonine, as do I, and we are good to go. DS7 (he's almost 8 actually) gets car sick, but we give him childrens Dramamine and he's never had a problem on a cruise. We also sailed the Carnival Splendor, in 2013, and the first day we hit some rough water and all the pools and hot tubs were closed. All of us were fine. Usually we are on a lower deck, but I always just tell my TA to give us the least expensive connecting cabins that are mid-ship and these were the ones! We've never stayed that high up on a ship. But this ship goes up to deck 18 so I feel more like we're in the middle rather than high up. We are down the hall from the kids club which might be noisy, but we will be up and about and bringing our kids there at the ore noisy times like drop-off and pick-up since they close from 12-2 and from 5-7 every day. Those hours work for us too because we love having lunch and dinner with the kids. The boys already asked us if it is ok if they skip the shows on this cruise and go back to camp right after dinner. They said they want to spend as much time as possible there. They're getting older lol.

 

Ok I'm rambling now! Looking forward to seeing the dailies! :)

[mking8288]

Others FAQ for the Breakaway -

iConcierge - currently it does not show any/all reservations, especially dinners booked. My biggest :p - it does not allow for cancellations or changes to be made. Go to your stateroom's Interactive TV menu, find the planner, at least - it should be listed there. Or, call the Restaurant Reservations Desk's extension onboard, they can check & advise, etc.

 

Dutyfree & Gift Shopping - the usual items like magnets, keychains, cups, t-shirts (2 for $20 specials) - always check land prices before chasing those "bargains." DW's cosmetics are priced the same as brick-n-mortar direct retails stores, but is tax/duty-free on the BA and it is also saving money as OBC were used. Cigarette cartons are priced lower (of course, it depends on the ports visited, i.e. USVI got the best deals & exemptions) and compared to New York, paid for with OBC as gifts (not that we endorse or promote smoking ... but) We got 2 cartoons of Marlboro for $78, Parliament @ $42 - discounts for buying more, depending on your eligible exemption status when declaring to CBP. There are the $10 specials and $20 watch deals, etc.

 

Photo Shops - it is linked/indexed with a reference coded on your Guest Keycards, find the binder and all of the photos taken should be there - one of ours wasn't. But, go to the touch-screen TV inside the shops, swipe your keycard & everything should be displayed, including our missing one taken at LeBistro. Actually more pix were taken by the photographers but they must've been unacceptable even to themselves and gone M.I.A. Packages are available, Any 10 for $139 plus for added charge, release & transfer to a USB for you to keep. We did not "buy" many with OBC this time, so cannot confirm whether additional Platinum discount were actually given, it was in 2014.

 

Carlos Bake Shop (cakes & pastries - $ extra) is on Deck 8 AFT. Few times we walked by, not busy at all. MDR & specialty dessert at LeBistro were pretty good, so we do not see/feel the need for it. Sushi place is usually busy whenever it is open, but NOT Ocean Blue or Shanghai Noodles (even at dinner time, open on sea days for lunch - we ate Chinese there once.)

 

Fun & interesting to watch - crew members leaving the ship & reporting at FL - in years past, ships have been known to take on pax boarding at Port Canaveral and sail for 7 days and NYC being a port stop for them. Among the first to disembark at PC are 2 dozens or more NCL'ers no longer in uniforms, pulling suitcases & backpacks, leaving via the Deck 4 gangway - bypassing the inside terminal but thru the security fence/gate near the front in a single line. At the same time, there was an equally large group preparing to report & waiting outside the fenced gate to come onboard, also via the lower gangway. Ship's passengers exited the ship for their shore tours & excursion via the two gangways at this new terminal. Must be exciting for those finishing up their contract on the ship, and getting time-off and going home to see families, friends & their children, etc.

 

 

Here are part 1 of the Daily for 3/22-3/29/2015 from the Breakaway - they are housed on a different DB Cloud account to balance the loads as I can manage these from a Linux server.

 

Specialty Dining Info (with "outdated" prices & DSC, etc.)

SD1 of 2 https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/109650591/2015%20BA%20Dailies/NCL%20BA%20Daily%20032215.jpg

SD2 of 2 https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/109650591/2015%20BA%20Dailies/NCL%20BA%20Daily%20032215_0001.jpg

 

Daily - Day 1 (NY)

D1.1 https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/109650591/2015%20BA%20Dailies/NCL%20BA%20Daily%20032215_0002.jpg

D1.2 https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/109650591/2015%20BA%20Dailies/NCL%20BA%20Daily%20032215_0003.jpg

D1.3 https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/109650591/2015%20BA%20Dailies/NCL%20BA%20Daily%20032215_0004.jpg

D1.4 https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/109650591/2015%20BA%20Dailies/NCL%20BA%20Daily%20032215_0005.jpg

[mking8288]

(continued) Daily - for optimal viewing, download & use your JPG app to open, zoom in closer for clarity.

Day 2 - Sea Day (en route to FL)

 

D2.1 https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/109650591/2015%20BA%20Dailies/NCL%20BA%20Daily%20032315.jpg

 

D2.2 https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/109650591/2015%20BA%20Dailies/NCL%20BA%20Daily%20032315_0001.jpg

 

D2.3 https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/109650591/2015%20BA%20Dailies/NCL%20BA%20Daily%20032315_0002.jpg

 

D2.4 https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/109650591/2015%20BA%20Dailies/NCL%20BA%20Daily%20032315_0003.jpg

 

D2.5 https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/109650591/2015%20BA%20Dailies/NCL%20BA%20Daily%20032315_0005.jpg

 

D2.6 https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/109650591/2015%20BA%20Dailies/NCL%20BA%20Daily%20032315_0006.jpg

[mking8288]

continued - rest of Day 2 and Day 3 (Port Canaveral, FL - 12 noon to 9 PM)

 

D2.7 https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/109650591/2015%20BA%20Dailies/NCL%20BA%20Daily%20032315_0007.jpg

 

D2.8 https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/109650591/2015%20BA%20Dailies/NCL%20BA%20Daily%20032315_0008.jpg

 

D2.9 Norwegian Nights Out & Entertainment's flyer

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/109650591/2015%20BA%20Dailies/NCL%20BA%20Daily%20032315_0004.jpg

 

Day 3.1 https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/109650591/2015%20BA%20Dailies/NCL%20BA%20Daily%20032415.jpg

 

Day 3.2 https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/109650591/2015%20BA%20Dailies/NCL%20BA%20Daily%20032415_0001.jpg

 

Day 3.3 https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/109650591/2015%20BA%20Dailies/NCL%20BA%20Daily%20032415_0002.jpg

[mking8288]

rest of Day 3, including activites onboard, etc.

 

D3.4 https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/109650591/2015%20BA%20Dailies/NCL%20BA%20Daily%20032415_0003.jpg

 

D3.5 https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/109650591/2015%20BA%20Dailies/NCL%20BA%20Daily%20032415_0004.jpg

 

D3.6 https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/109650591/2015%20BA%20Dailies/NCL%20BA%20Daily%20032415_0005.jpg

 

D3.7 https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/109650591/2015%20BA%20Dailies/NCL%20BA%20Daily%20032415_0006.jpg

 

D3.8 https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/109650591/2015%20BA%20Dailies/NCL%20BA%20Daily%20032415_0007.jpg

 

 

Dinner with the Ship's Officers - blank - on Day 1 of the Dailys, there is (was) a blank space, and it is usually a lottery drawing for the lucky chosen, to dine later in the week - on a Sea Day. Unless we missed the announcements or overlooked it, as we didn't get anywhere near Guest Services on Day 1 and 2 with the long lines (also, at ShoreEx and Cruise Consultant's desks) - we didn't put our names into the drawing.

Edited April 6, 2015 by mking8288

[LorraineP]

Do you remember the time that people were actually allowed to walk off with their luggage? I did notice that you posted the disembarkment schedule and it listed it as 8:00 AM but last time we were on the Breakaway coming back from Bermuda we got off much earlier.