MITSUGIRLY BREAKAWAY's 1 last time for the year-review/pictorial

[mitsugirly]

So here we go again. I have the first days pictures done and ready to start again. I'll get as much done as I can tonight since I have a few hours to spare before bedtime.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

So why we decided to do the Breakaway.

 

We had just cruised on the Dawn to Bermuda (our first time ever to Bermuda) back in June. I knew I wanted to squeeze in 1 last cruise before the year was up and I was planning on a November cruise (since we always seem to do our last cruise in November or December). Kendra managed to talk her older brother into joining us on a cruise and decided that she wanted it to be the most spectacular ship (in hopes that he would enjoy it so much that he'd cruise again with us in the future). So, she picked the Breakaway. I of course agreed since it was on my "list" of ships I had not sailed yet. Also, Kenny is prone (so he "says") to a lot of motion sickness and I knew that if there was someplace he should cruise to, it would be Bermuda...where the ship would be parked for a few days...just in case. :p

 

So now, it was only a matter of picking when to go. We REALLY enjoyed Bermuda in June, so figured we would just go ahead and go back on the Breakaway, which would limit us on only being able to sail up until mid October when the BA left Bermuda for the season. We picked the cheapest date and booked. :D

 

So this is how we ended up on the Breakaway only a few months after our Dawn cruise. :p

 

 

Now...on to our regularly scheduled program. Our cruise story.

[mitsugirly]

While we were still in the port before boarding, they had handed us a piece of paper. I was busy doing something and shoved it in my carry on.

 

Once we boarded, they handed me another paper and I decided I had probably better read it this time. Hey, if it's important enough to hand it to you twice within hours, they obviously take into account for people like me that didn't bother to read it the first time.

 

Here was the announcement:

 

 

 

So...bummer that it was not going to be your "normal" sailaway. Things were racing through my mind: Would they still have a sailaway party with dancing and everything if we weren't really going to sailaway? This would mean I would not get any pictures of the Statue of Liberty and everything would just be night pictures. Obviously this means the stores would not be open for shopping. It also means (gasp) that the casino wouldn't be open either. :eek: What are we going to do with ourselves?

 

I honestly didn't know what to expect, but it is what it is. I'm glad the Captain decided to do what he needed in order for us to stay safe. Let that mean old hurricane pass by and then we'll safely head for our destination.

 

The next set of papers we were handed consisted of the map of the ship. Hasn't NCL learned yet that no map is going to do me any good? I need a GPS to get around the ship most of the time and only learn by the end of the cruise which way I'm actually supposed to turn, once I get off the elevators, to get to my room.

 

 

Here is your Day 1 Daily:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now the one thing I hate about these big ships (Getaway, Epic and now Breakaway) is the entrance to get on the ship. I just love the WOW factor of stepping onto a beautiful ship and seeing an open atrium with the glass elevators soaring up to the heavens with no end. These ships...forgetaboutit. You step on to the ship and you are in a hallway/room setting. Nothing to look at here! Move along. So disappointing as always.

 

At least there's a bright side to being on the Breakaway, I just might not need that GPS after all. I feel like I have already sailed this ship...and I basically did with the Getaway. It only took me about 2 days to get acquainted with the ship instead of the full 6 days. Hey, I'm making progress these days! Now I understand why some like to sail a particular ship over and over again. It has to be for the GPS factor of knowing your way around. Right? (Just agree with me and make me feel like I'm not the only one that gets lost).

 

 

 

[mitsugirly]

The kids were super excited (although the entire family went on the Getaway with us last time with the exception of my oldest, Kenny and his gf, so they already knew what to expect).

 

We were off to explore the ship and of course...take tons of pictures.

 

 

 

The kids always love it when the ships have these cameras to take pictures and post to their fb account for others to see. Me, yes they are neat, however I don't find them neat when we are still sitting in port and that can be done with your phone. I like when you can do it while actually sailing and in the middle of nowhere.

 

 

 

I'm busy snapping pictures of the area only to turn and see this...

 

 

Yes, that is my son Kolin lifting Sakari up by her head to make sure she was tall enough for their next picture. Oh my goodness...kids.

 

The end result:

 

 

 

Don't worry, she thought it was funny and the only reason I probably even caught it was that she was giggling so loud about it.

 

So here we are...with Sakari's head still attached and functioning perfectly.

 

 

 

This was taken in one of the elevator halls. I really loved the colors they had there and I wish I would have taken the time to take a better picture there instead of a snap and run. Sakari even came equipped with a spot on her face for this picture. Oh my.

 

[mitsugirly]

More exploring to be done.

 

 

 

 

 

Sisters...only 20 years apart.

 

 

The hubby feeling lost not being at work, so he felt the need to get behind a counter. I told him he was more than welcome to sit the next cruise out. He didn't seem to think I was funny.

 

 

 

 

The kids stopped at the coffee shop to get a Mocha Chocalata ya ya Creole lady Marmalade something or other drink. (I have no idea what they're called since I don't drink coffee, but it reminds me of the song when they say it). Let's just say whatever it was they got (and paid extra for I might add), got passed from kid to kid because none of them would drink it.

 

 

[Mrs.C05]

Love this review! Going on NCL for the first time next March, so we're excited to try something new.

 

Thanks for the comments. I hope you have a wonderful time on the Breakaway next year. :)

 

We're actually going on Spirit out of Port Canaveral.

[mitsugirly]

The most beautiful part of the ship (other than the water slides of course) is the 678 atrium. Now that's the wow factor I expect to see when I walk on to a ship! It's my favorite area and I really wish they had a seating area at the "6" to just sit and enjoy this magnificent view instead of dining.

 

 

 

Here's the entrance to the ice bar. We did do the ice bar on the Epic and loved it, especially the sour apple drinks, and I might add it loved me as well. We ran out of time to go to the Ice Bar on the Getaway and it always seemed full. The one thing I hate about the big mega ships...having to book everything. It kinda takes away from the "freestyle" concept to me. So, I'll admit now, we did not get to do the ice bar this time either. Sigh. I fully intended to, but there just wasn't enough time and when there was time, it wasn't open.

 

 

 

Time to head upstairs to explore a little bit and take some awesome photos of the city skyline.

 

 

We had a Carnival ship beside us. I'm not sure where they were going (I'm pretty sure it wasn't Bermuda since I knew that only the Sunshine was due in Bermuda while we were there and they diverted to the eastern Caribbean because of the hurricane and was leaving from a southern port instead of NY). I want to say maybe it was the Sensation (if that's even one of the names) or something like that. It's not one of the ships that's on my radar to sail, so I didn't put much effort into really checking it out.

 

 

 

The hubby ask if I thought they flew that plane in there and landed it in the right position for display. What do ya'll think?

 

 

The one neat thing they added to the BA and the GA was these "floor windows". You look down below and it's the ocean under you. Sakari found them interesting (even though she seen them on the GA, I'm not sure she remembered).

 

 

 

I have to say the crackled glass kinda makes it hard to see out of them. Then add all the salt water and it becomes a hot mess for the most part. It's also not too much fun looking down at ropes tying off the ship.

 

 

 

****EDITED TO SAY IT WAS THE CARNIVAL SPLENDOR THAT WAS BESIDE US. I PUT IT IN MY NOTES THAT I'M NOT READING WHILE WRITING THIS REVIEW. OOPS!****

Edited October 23, 2015 by mitsugirly

[mitsugirly]

So since we were already upstairs, we decided it was time to grab a bite to eat from the buffet area. We easily found some of the high top tables that all 10 of us could fit at and we would remain there until we needed to be rolled out of there with full bellies.

 

My husband laughs because it seems like every time I take a picture of Kolin during a meal, he always tilts his head back. The hubby commented that I have more pictures of Kolin at home on the computer with a tilted head than anything. The look on Courtney's face says it all. Then we have Kenny in the background with his mouth open. My kids will do anything to spoil a picture.

 

 

I yell for Kendra...yep, she's the same way:

 

 

 

My first pretzel roll of the cruise...and definitely not my last!

 

 

 

After eating, we went out to relax by the pool. Well, at least the munchkins did. We all decided it was time for a drink!

 

 

I always like the Dirty Banana/Monkey, so that's what I would start my cruise with. They always made such cute like designs in them during the entire cruise. It was always different.

 

Just a note, since we hadn't left port yet, that meant that any and all drinking done until 2am that next morning when we finally set sail, we would have to pay taxes on. Did that hinder anything? Absolutely not. If anything, we would be paying from .53 to 1.09 or something like that for our drinks. Something we were all willing to do and it really wasn't too bad. We weren't going to let that UBP go to waste! :D

 

 

 

After awhile (and a few drinks in our system), we decided to head back to the rooms to check them out before having to go to the "mustard" drill.

 

 

[Misskitty72]

Forget Netflix. I'm in the middle of a binge of all your great reviews!

 

Now this is how you get a gal excited for her first cruise :D

[mitsugirly]

About our rooms:

 

We originally booked interior rooms (3 of them) along a side hallway on the 12th floor. We had a room, Kendra's family had a room (their own for the very first time and not sharing with anyone else) and then the boy's (with their girls) had their own room.

 

After booking, Kendra's bf decided he HAD to have a balcony and they upgraded. Suckers! Why do I say that? Because right before the cruise, the prices dropped and we were able to upgrade our room for around $500 less (I believe it was...or close to) than theirs was. So, being the good mom that I am, I decided to upgrade the boys room too...and of course, NOT tell them!

 

So we headed to the rooms and quickly found them. I always manage to try to pick a room that's pretty close to the elevator. We stayed on the 12th floor and were actually right in front of the side hallway that we had originally booked.

 

They opened their door (of course they always have the blinds pulled in the room) and my son automatically went to the blinds.

 

 

 

Everyone was silent...finally I yelled "surprise!!"

 

 

They were super excited but yet stunned. You see I had done a lot of "fibbing" over the last few weeks right up until sitting on the ship eating lunch. I had told them that I upgraded myself to a suite and I wouldn't be seeing much of them in their hallway. LOL They are so gullible.

 

So then I went next door to my room:

 

 

 

Of course the questions starting flying "Wait, you said you were in a suite"....

 

Then I sprung this on them...

 

 

Not only were they stuck with a room right beside their mother, but mom now had access to their room by this wonderful thing they call a connecting door. :D I would be able to keep an eye on them now...or maybe we would all get into trouble together. That was yet to be determined...

[mitsugirly]

I had told Kendra the day before the cruise what I had done and of course I got the "that's not fair because I paid $700+ more for my room". I told her "you need to learn patience young grasshopper".

 

Off she went to see her overly priced balcony room.

 

I will show you around the room now (obviously from the pictures, a lot were not taken when we first walked in).

 

One thing about NCL, they create storage everywhere possible. With 3 of us traveling together in a room on every cruise, I have yet to NOT have enough space to unpack everything. Well, with the exception of the Sky and I'm not even sure what happened to the storage on that ship. Thank goodness it does short cruises!

 

Here is the closet with plenty of shelving

 

 

 

I do have to complain about this safe that was basically unusable. This safe was SUPER SMALL. Like smaller than other safes in the NCL fleet. I'm not sure if the Getaway had a safe this small (since they are the same ship, I guess it probably did, but I sure don't remember it) but this safe was definitely smaller than any of the others on the ships. You couldn't even put an ipad in it if you wanted.

 

I have folders for every cruise I go on. It's how I stay organized. My folders would not fit in here. I guess if you just wanted to put only your cash, wallet and maybe small cameras in it, you'd be fine. But not the stuff I brought that I normally put in there. This would be the first and only time I decided to just leave everything out and not even use the safe.

 

 

 

The closet area to hang clothes:

 

 

 

There's a night stand on each side of the bed. One is bigger than the other. I'm not sure why.

 

 

Tv area and shelving/desk

 

 

 

Plenty of shelving behind these doors as well with the corner one being really deep.

 

[mitsugirly]

Don't forget the little stool chair you sit on at the desk. The seat part comes off and there's storage down in there too if you need it.

 

 

Also for those that might not realize it...

The wooden part on the top can stay on it and it can be used as a small table to put things on. Or, you can also remove the wooden part and you have a cushion to sit on as a chair at the desk.

 

For the PARENTS out there worried about traveling with young children and having a balcony. This is how you keep your little ones in the room and they can not sneak out.

 

The handle twist up and down to open and close:

 

 

 

Then up at the very top where the doors slide, you have this lock...out of the reach of little hands:

 

 

 

Here's the OH-SO-SMALL balcony that you will climb over each other if you try to sit down and then have to move again to go back in. These balconies are small and I have tried every configuration from moving the chairs to one end, putting them sideways, moving them to the other end...there's just no configuration that makes it easy. Maybe some day I'll upgrade to a larger balcony and see what it's like. I like to take baby steps.

 

 

On our last cruise (Dawn) I FINALLY turned Platinum. Go me!!! So, this would actually be the first time I cruised as a platinum member. The hubby is still gold and he finally turns Platinum on this cruise.

 

 

 

Along with the platinum status, we had chocolate covered strawberries waiting in our room when we first arrived and also a bottle of booze! Now what are we going to do with that since we already have unlimited booze to begin with? LOL There was also a box of chocolates (said in my best Forrest Gump voice) as well.

 

 

I really wish we had some type of choice to pick from when we turn platinum, but I know that would just be too confusing and create more work for the employees. I just don't like chocolate (so that eliminates both chocolate items) and we don't like wine or champagne either. Scratch that off the list of platinum goodies as well. Sigh. I would be much happier if they could just give added OBC or something...anything...other than those items. Send me a plate of bacon, leave me a piece of cheesecake, throw in a few cans of pop...just anything I can personally make use of.

 

Oh well, I guess it's the thought that counts. I'm sure I'll find someone that will eat the items.

[perfect match]

Love your balcony surprise! Bet your kids appreciated it. :D

[udamom]

Thanks for the comments. I hope you have a wonderful time on the Breakaway next year. :)

 

 

 

Hi there and happy to have you here for my review. I completely understand your feelings about the Breakaway and such a big ship.

 

Glad you had a good day with H20. Did you end up doing the jet skiing or renting a boat?

 

We rented the Boston whaler type boat. Had a good day...only saw one sea turtle from the distance...was hoping for a swimming one nearby!

 

off to read more!

[mitsugirly]

Here's the restroom.

 

 

Don't mind the towels on the floor. There's a story behind that.

 

This ship is in magnificent shape (as it should be, after all, it's basically new) and it was really hard to find anything that didn't work or was broken. However, my shower door was the ONLY thing I found on the cruise with a flaw. The plastic stripping that went around the door on the side had came off and was just hanging. I tried to push it back on there a few times, but it would not stay. I'm not even sure if there is supposed to be a strip along the bottom (since it wasn't there) and whenever you would take a shower, water would get all over the floor. The small floor towel they give you would be soaked within minutes, so I always had to dry off and put the towels down on the floor to soak up all the water.

 

 

 

 

 

Love these shower heads that can be moved up and down for any height. It makes it nice for Sakari when she showers and we move it down to her height and she thinks she's a big girl.

 

 

 

Does anyone know the purpose of this bar on the wall below the drain? The only thing I could come up with was something to put your foot on to shave??? But to me, it was just down too low for that.

 

 

 

When we were on the Getaway, we had upgraded from a balcony to a mini suite. Everyone always ask what the difference is and you are pretty much looking at it. The bathroom! The bathroom in the mini suite is a pretty nice size (compared to this), with a very nice sink area (very pretty with the tile) and 2 sinks. The other difference is the shower stall is huge compared to this. It goes along the entire wall and has a shower head to die for! The shower head goes up and down the wall with multiple areas that water comes out. It's heaven when you want a good massage.

 

Other than that, the rooms are exactly the same. Did I miss that shower? You bet I did. But I wasn't willing to pay the price (or change our location by the kids) to get one. Oh well.

[mitsugirly]

Just a few other things and we'll finish the room up.

 

Most people know what this is:

 

 

But for those newbies that might not...you pull the knob out and it's a drying line for your wet clothes. The line pulls across the shower and attaches to this:

 

 

While it's a great concept, I personally find in unuseful for me. I'm a Pisces...which makes me a fish, which means I like water. I like water a lot. I take a shower in the morning. If we swim or go to the beach during the day I take a shower when we return. Then I take a shower before I go to bed. So, hanging any type of wet clothing on this line does me no good because I'm constantly taking them down, putting them up, taking them down, putting them up. There's absolutely no way to shower with anything hanging in there.

 

In a 4 person balcony room, this will be your configuration of beds. Two beds put together for a queen size and then the couch pulls out into a bed and there's a bunk on the top:

 

 

 

For those with a 3 bedroom room, you just have the couch that makes into a bed.

 

 

 

While we were exploring our rooms, Kendra came back down with a grin on her face. "You DID do something for me didn't you?" :D I told her I had no idea what she was talking about. She said "You decorated my room! Or did you?" I told her I didn't, but at this point the kids didn't know what to believe. It was like the boy that cried wolf and then wasn't believed when you finally tell the truth. (Don't worry, this is not a habit of mine I promise).

 

Kendra told me to come look and we decided to go check out what she was talking about.

 

As I came out of my room...I found our doors decorated.

 

 

I wasn't the only one with surprises this cruise. Kendra had decorated our doors when we were inside. The little sneak!

[dazey]

We are taking our two children and their families(5 children ages 5-11) on their first cruise ever NCL and Breakaway(we are Celebrity cruises many times). What do you suggest for dining? Is it hard to eat at dinner together since we are 11 people similar to your group? We have 3 specialty dinners - is it hard to get reservations for 11? In MDR do you think we will have to wait a long time to be seated?

 

So enjoyed your review - made me smile.

 

Any suggested for our group is appreciated as I(Grammy) will probably be planning and hoping everyone is ready and awake when needed.

[mitsugirly]

As we entered her room, we immediately knew what she was talking about...

 

 

After all, you couldn't miss it.

 

 

 

She absolutely loved it.

 

 

 

However, like I had told her...I was not the culprit that did this. I was pretty sure our TA was behind this and told her if she looked hard enough, there was probably a note somewhere stating this. She had paid a pretty penny for this room and I assumed that was the reasoning behind it. Or he just really really likes Kendra and her ability to keep spending money on cruises trying to keep up with her momma! LOL

 

They also received an awesome cake...which I might add she did not share with me because I had totally forgot about going down and getting some later.

 

 

 

I did end up finding the note that stated it was from the TA. He's such a sweet sweet person and we wouldn't trade him for the world. :)

[BingoSlots]

 

On our last cruise (Dawn) I FINALLY turned Platinum. Go me!!! So, this would actually be the first time I cruised as a platinum member. The hubby is still gold and he finally turns Platinum on this cruise.

 

 

 

Congratulations on going Platinum! That's awesome!! :):)

[pathubia]

Thanks for taking the time to post!! I don't think I will be cruising the Breakaway in the near future, looks too big for me!! I love the Dawn...So much that we are driving to New Orleans in a couple of weeks for her Western Caribbean itinerary. (2nd time, cruised it in January!!)

 

I guess we will be stuck with Boston to Bermuda and New Orleans to Western Caribbean for a while.

 

BTW, I booked my excursions last cruise based on your reviews!! Thanks, and please keep them coming!!

[mitsugirly]

We kinda hung out in our rooms for awhile and enjoyed each others company:

 

 

 

I passed out my chocolate strawberries and Sakari ate a majority of them, so those platinum strawberries didn't go to waste!

 

 

 

We went out to explore a little more knowing that we would be summoned to our stations to let us know what to do in case this hurricane decided to play tag with us and we became the titanic. When it was time to head up to the "mustard" drill, we found that we were in the theater for our section. However, it was quite the mess trying to figure out where to go. Usually there are employees in each of the stairways/elevator areas directing traffic and checking your key cards telling you where to go. This time...nada! We were so confused and had no idea where we were supposed to meet. Trust me, we were not the only ones.

 

It did take awhile to figure out we were supposed to be in the theater and that was only after stopping someone and asking them.

 

Before long, the drill was over and we were off to start our vacation...only we weren't off yet and we wouldn't be "off" for many many hours.

 

What to do??? Well, this is what we decided:

 

 

We knew that you had to be at least 48" tall to go on the ropes course. Sakari is just at that point. She was so upset on the Getaway that she wasn't allowed to do the ropes course and had to do the "baby" mini ropes course a few feet off the ground. This time we were hoping that it was one of her "tall" days. I swear she goes back and forth. My grandson, Brayden, even though he is 3 months younger than her, is much taller than his aunt and we knew he'd pass the height restriction for sure. But, he's not as adventurous as Sakari...so would he actually do it?

 

We stood in line, the employees went up and down telling everyone "No-ting in pocket, no camera, no phone, no bag or purse no-ting!" as they patted us down like we were in airport security. (Just kidding, but I was waiting on it).

 

Sakari made it up to the front of the line and she was quickly whisk over to the "are-you-tall-enough" stick. Drum roll.......SHE MADE IT! Woo hoo. She was super excited and jumping up and down. They geared her up and she walked over to the stairs where you begin. She didn't even wait on me. GASP! Now I was the one that was nervous! My baby girl is growing up.

 

All that excitement came to a crash once she got up to the top and had so many decisions on which "path" to take. I kept telling her to take the easiest one available...just to get her use to it. But she was doing awesome.

 

 

 

 

I have to say the only routes that made her a little uneasy are the ones that were around the edges of the ship. You know, the ones that when you look down, you see water and not the deck. But other than that, she was doing a great job for her very first time and so was Brayden.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[mitsugirly]

Kolin and Courtney having fun:

 

 

 

 

 

Sakari is still going strong. The only issue she was having was pulling her line along. It would get caught up every so often and I would have to rescue her by coming up behind her and pushing it.

 

 

She was getting brave and insisted on doing this one.

 

 

So Brayden had to try a harder one too.

 

 

 

[mitsugirly]

I have to admit, this was a little difficult for Sakari because of her little short legs. She took it real slow, but she accomplished it and showed it who's boss.

 

 

Billy and Brayden.

 

 

Billy on the zip line.

 

 

Kenny's girlfriend Michelle. This was quite fun for her and her first time doing anything like this. It's also her first cruise, first time out of the US, first time for...well, just about everything. She's a complete newbie.

 

 

Kenny there to encourage her along...or either push her. I would guess push her if I had to.

 

 

 

She got smart and decided to let him go first. That way she could go at her own pace.

 

[mitsugirly]

Kenny is a master carpenter by trade and works for an architect company building high end million dollars homes and renovations. He's use to being high up and having balance. Any chance he got to show off, he would.

 

 

 

Kendra always has a funny face to make when she knows the camera is pointed in her direction.

 

 

 

Being a daredevil. I guess the sibling competition is still alive. Kendra has balance as well. She was a competitive gymnast for many years.

 

 

Kolin rides bikes, like doing tricks and flips and all that fancy stuff...so I guess he's a competitor as well in the skills department and didn't want to feel left out. (Or he was just practicing his titanic moves on the bow of the ship)

 

 

 

Edited October 23, 2015 by mitsugirly

[mickev99]

We are taking our two children and their families(5 children ages 5-11) on their first cruise ever NCL and Breakaway(we are Celebrity cruises many times). What do you suggest for dining? Is it hard to eat at dinner together since we are 11 people similar to your group? We have 3 specialty dinners - is it hard to get reservations for 11? In MDR do you think we will have to wait a long time to be seated?

 

So enjoyed your review - made me smile.

 

Any suggested for our group is appreciated as I(Grammy) will probably be planning and hoping everyone is ready and awake when needed.

 

We are a family group of 13 going on the Dawn in December, and I emailed SpecialEventsDawn@ncl.com to set up reservations. I told them the amount of people and times we wanted for each day and they set it up and sent me a confirmation. Maybe you could just change Dawn to Breakaway and try to send an email?

[mitsugirly]

Only my kids would think of this...

 

I look over and see them all piled on the plank.

 

 

 

Posing for the camera

 

 

 

Then posing for me.

 

 

 

 

 

A video of all of us zip lining...and of course Sakari backing out of it. She just absolutely refused to do it. I wasn't sure what went wrong since they won't allow you up there with another person. She has zip lined in the Belize jungle all by herself at 3 years old. That's way higher up than this and she had no problem. However, today was different.

 

Click for movie: