Food on Breakaway

[jennyfromtheculdesac]

Hi everyone. New to these forums. I have a hold on two cabins on the Breakaway traveling with friends next month. My husband is leery of the ship from the reviews, specifically the food, the wait for food, quality, etc. Hoping to get some further input. We are a family of 5, cruising with a family of four (kids ages 10,16,17,19 and 20) and typically we like the main dining rooms (aka "free" food) although we will most likely dine in at least one upcharge restaurant.

 

Also, I've heard some of the activities are charged, not sure if this is true, but would like clarification. I'd heard that the rock climbing wall is something you have to pay for, although I can't imagine that to be the case. And being that it's a large ship passengerwise, how are the waits for things like the ropes courses and water slides?

 

Thanks for helping me out - we have until tomorrow afternoon to firm up!

[luvtheships]

Those kids will love the ba!!! Rope course rock wall great food venues

 

Sabrett hot dog cart

 

The food in the mdr is great but the buffet is incredible

 

Good entertainment and they will like rock of ages

 

The pools are small so just save the real swimming for Bermuda

 

Casino area is very smoky though

 

I've eaten in all the up charge restaurants and we just skip them now as they are nothing extra special

 

 

I believe rock climbing is free. My college kids passed on it because of time constraints

 

Ropes course was definitely free and I would imagine the slide lines would be a bit of a wait during the summer crunch. We went during January college break so no waits ever anywhere on the ship and it was fully booked.....but mostly adults and families with college age kids in tow

 

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Edited May 12, 2015 by luvtheships

[meatball_nyc]

Go go go on Breakaway. I agree the kids will love it.

We went last year, kids ages 13-24, and had our best cruise yet.

Food very good. We ate in the main dining rooms every night for dinner. Steaks were my favorite.

Buffet for breakfast and lunch very good. So much to choose from.

Mini golf, ropes course, rock climbing, walking the plank are all complimentary.

We had so much fun we are going again this year.

Wait times for slides and such will vary on sea days vs. port days. I didn't see very long lines and this was last July.

Study the deck plans before you board so you will have a good idea of where you want to go and how to get there.

Have fun!

 

P.S. Funny username!!

Edited May 12, 2015 by meatball_nyc

[jennyfromtheculdesac]

Thank you both! This helps. It's easy to focus on the negative reviews, and we have had little cruise experience, most recent was two years ago on RCL Freedom which we all loved, kids were entertained and we adults had a blast. I appreciate your feedback!

[luvtheships]

Once you get a look at the slides you will understand why there might NOT be long waits

 

Lol

 

Take that comment any way you want but trust me your kids will love the slides🙀

 

 

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[firstprincesscruise]

We also loved the BA. we were 3 families traveling together with kids ranging from. 3 to 17 and they all had a blast. The adults had as much fun as the kids did. This was in November and they never waited for the slides and the ropes coarse never has a wait either. Food was very good, the shows were excellent and the kids will absolutely love this ship. Have a great trip whatever you decide.

[mrobstad]

Just got off on Sunday, and I hate to be Debbie Downer, but service in O'Sheehans was causing folks to scream at the wait staff![emoji17]

I ate in specialities, but noodle bar is also now free and excellent service there.

[Cruise4Real]

We were on Breakaway 4/19/15 to FL/Bahamas.

 

No wait for the ropes course. (Walk the plank was closed, though, perhaps due to wind?) No wait for mini-golf. A longish wait for the rock wall AND I passed on it because the belayers (three of them) were keeping the ropes very taut. I don't know if that's what they're instructed to do, for safety?, but it does make going up a wall a lot easier (and so less fun). I would prefer the ropes be kept slack so you can't get any benefit from them. All that stuff was free.

 

Food was pretty good, downhill from last NCL cruise in 2008 but still perfectly acceptable. No issues with long waits in restaurants but we did have the platinum-colored Haven key card so that might have contributed to the service we received (?) -- we always seemed to get a window table.

 

The water slides were terrifying! The "big drop" one had NO wait, while the "double-helix" one (that SHOULD be called "DNA," but isn't) usually had a short wait, no more than a few minutes. That one is also terrifying. :eek: There are some easier-going ones that would be fine for smaller kids and there was a shortish wait for those, too. Not as terrifying. All are free.

 

Rock of Ages not to be missed though it's quite adult-themed. We got there no more than 30 minutes early and had great seats about sixth row center. Also free. The only show that cost anything was the Cirque dinner show, we didn't do that one. We enjoyed Comedy Central in Headliners and Cajun Cookin' in Fat Cats.

[LadySpoilt]

Just got off on Sunday, and I hate to be Debbie Downer, but service in O'Sheehans was causing folks to scream at the wait staff![emoji17]

.

 

I have been wondering if this might happen. With all the "you can't do this, you can't do that, or there is now a convenience fee for that" that NCL has recently instituted it stands to reason that venues like O'Sheehans will now see an increased volume. I wonder how NCL will handle this new influx of customers? More tables and more staff...I think not. Their way to handle this situation will probably be to add a "new fee" for this as well. They seem to have created a new problem for themselves.

[mrobstad]

I've cruised the getaway twice during Presidents week and last week on the Breakaway, and I can definitely say I've never seen O'Sheehans so packed. Plus Taste and Savor were both closed on at least one sea day (or maybe our day of rain in port)..... Bottom line was 2-3 servers, max at lunch for a packed dining venue.