Breakaway Review 05/31/15

[codered]

This was our fourth trip to Bermuda, 12th cruise and first with NCL.

 

We drove from Virginia and stayed at the Hampton Inn Elizabeth NJ the night before the cruise. The drive from the hotel to the Manhattan Cruise Terminal was about 40 minutes (with light Sunday traffic). We arrived at the terminal at about 10 a.m., paid our $280 to park and there was only a short walk to the terminal elevator to drop off our luggage. After checking in, we waited in a large holding area for about an hour before being let onto the ship. I recall that we were able to board around 11:30 a.m. One of the things I liked about the boarding process on this ship was that we were able to drop off our bags in our stateroom as soon as we came on board. We were told that we could only enter the room for the purpose of dropping off the luggage. Our steward was cleaning our cabin when we did so.

 

Our cabin was a mini-suite with a large balcony on deck 8 (8130). We were port side. Staying with my wife and me were our 12 year-old nephew and 9 year-old niece. The rest of our family (6 adults) stayed on deck 9.

 

Pros:

 

The ship was remarkable in terms of its size and the number of things to do. We also liked the appearance, cleanliness and décor.

 

Though we mostly read negative to unenthusiastic reviews of the food, we found it to be very good overall. We liked Moderno the most and La Cucina the least though the food at the latter wasn't bad, it just wasn't worth the up-charge. The Manhattan Room was the best of the free dining venues. The live entertainment and dance floor were nice. O'Sheehan's has a fairly limited menu and appetizer portions are small. The Garden Buffet was the best ship buffet we have encountered thus far. The variety of food was definitely broader than the other cruise lines and the quality of the food was superior. Though it seemed crowded at times, we never had problems finding a table, often for a group of 6 or 8. We had lunch at The Uptown Grill twice. The burgers and waffle fries were great. They also offer salads but we were never able to get past the burgers.

 

The wait time at the main/free dining rooms was pretty short, even at traditional dinner times. All in all we liked the flexibility of Freestyle Dining compared to being assigned the same table, same time, same restaurant, same server and same table-mates every night.

 

There are countless entertainment options. We saw Rock of Ages, Burn the Floor, Cirque Jungle Fantasy and really enjoyed Howl at the Moon. Howl at the Moon is mostly family-oriented, even at night, and always had a festive atmosphere. We saw Rock of Ages on Broadway several years ago and didn't remember it being quite as raunchy as the on-board version. Nevertheless, the music was great. We also saw the Second City Improv group (the family version) which was fun.

 

Though the kids in our party only took limited advantage of Splash Academy, their parents and we were impressed with the facilities and the calibre of the staff there.

 

We made good use of the large balcony which easily held 2 lounge chairs, 2 standard chairs and a small round table. The bathroom had a full-sized shower with multi-directional shower heads, double sink and plenty of floor space. The kids had a pull-down bed and a sofa-bed and actually enjoyed the pull-down. As other reviews have mentioned, you have to put some kind of card (we used a Costco card) in a slot near the door in order to keep the lights/AC on. We left ours in place for the entire cruise. Our location on deck 8 was convenient to a number of restaurants, bars and shopping.

 

The recreational areas are outstanding. The kids liked the ropes course, the bungee-trampoline, mini-golf, water slides and pools.

 

Other than the room steward, the service was on par with what we encountered on Celebrity and RCL. It wasn't quite to the level of Disney.

 

We booked a snorkeling excursion through NCL and did two others on our own. This is the first cruise on which we've been able to purchase Bermuda Transportation Passes on board. This saved quite a bit of time standing in line on shore plus it was charged to our ship account. We booked the Hartley's Helmet Dive and a fishing trip aboard the Jolly Roger on our own. This is our second time on the Helmet Dive excursion and we can't say enough good things about it. We did some day trips to Horseshoe Bay and Hamilton and others in our party did excursions to St. George.

 

Disembarkation was as smooth as embarkation. Unlike most cruises in which you are assigned a time, you can pick your time with NCL. The ship docked ahead of schedule and though our chosen departure time was 9:30, we were off the ship by 9:00. There were no unusual delays in getting luggage or going through Customs and Immigration.

 

Cons:

 

We tried room service for breakfast 3 days and the order was correct on only one of them. Two days we were shorted silverware and other times we were missing food. With tip I spent about $11 per breakfast. If NCL is going to charge extra for room service, they could improve the menu and definitely improve the attention to detail.

 

Our room steward covered the basics but was not personable. I didn't expect him to be our best friend but he really didn't seem to enjoy what he was doing.

 

The seats in the Breakaway Theater are quite uncomfortable. They dip downward and there is some kind of a bar at the back of the seat.

 

The cabin AC control was a little counter-intuitive in that pressing the snowflake button and illuminating it actually seemed to turn it off. Storage was a little tight for 4 people. Others have mentioned using the space under the couch but ours had pillows and blankets in it.

 

The iConcierge app needs a lot of work. The reception/signal was terrible, there were only limited views of activities on the ship and text messages/calls went through only some of the time. If the bugs get worked out, it would be a great tool and the cost is certainly reasonable.

 

The casino area was smoky and we skipped the Noodle Bar in that area because of smokiness.

 

Though I wouldn't consider this a con, it pays to plan ahead and book your dining and shows before sailing. We attempted to go back to Moderno on a second night, without a reservation, and found that they were 100% booked.

[janetz]

Nice review! What did you think about the fishing trip? Was it the reef trip? :)

[bangzoom6877]

Thank you for your review! I can't wait to sail Breakaway next month!

 

Did you have a really long wait at Uptown Grill for lunch? What days did you eat there?

[postie1980]

Thanks for you review. Do you recommend your pre cruise hotel the Hampton inn in Elizabeth ?

[codered]

Nice review! What did you think about the fishing trip? Was it the reef trip? :)

 

 

It was fun! The boat was called the Jolly Roger and was docked at King's Wharf. A half day was $100. There were about 20 people onboard and everyone seemed to enjoy it.

[codered]

Thanks for you review. Do you recommend your pre cruise hotel the Hampton inn in Elizabeth ?

 

It was OK, not spectacular, but I would probably stay there again. The price seemed pretty fair for being 40 minutes from the port. You might want to see the reviews on Trip Advisor.

[codered]

Thank you for your review! I can't wait to sail Breakaway next month!

 

Did you have a really long wait at Uptown Grill for lunch? What days did you eat there?

 

I was in a line with about ten people ahead of me but the food comes in a few minutes once you order. I think the ordering process takes linger because there are so many options and people can't make up their minds... I think we ate there on Weds and Fri.

 

Hope you enjoy your cruise!

[hansolosmom]

Thanks for the review. I like to hear them from people who've done different line and are trying NCL. We're trying the Breakaway for the first time in March

[ncklhaus]

We were also in 8130 and have it booked again. We had Louisa as our room steward and she was fantastic. She loved our daughter and was always going out of her way to make sure she was happy. Hopefully we won't have the steward you had when we go back on.

Glad you enjoyed your cruise, I enjoyed reading about it. :D

[janetz]

It was fun! The boat was called the Jolly Roger and was docked at King's Wharf. A half day was $100. There were about 20 people onboard and everyone seemed to enjoy it.

 

Thanks! We are considering it but book it on our own. :)

[danyel]

Thank you for your review! Which snorkeling excursion did you use through the ship?

[cathyoo]

Thanks for your review. In Nov. I will be a first time Norwegian cruiser on the Breakway. I am actually a Carnival fan with RCI being my second choice. I love trivia games and think Carnival does the best with them.

 

I am grateful for all information I can get on the Breakaway

 

I appreciate your share of your experience.