Need help deciding - Breakaway or Quantum out of New York

[sdmike]

Found this thread with someone who did both and gives a highlight of pros / cons for each

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2278498&referrerid=0

 

Good luck!

 

Thanks for the link!

[Turtles06]

Cagney's, La Cucina and Le Bistro are now a la carte, not just a flat fee.

 

 

Sorry to go OT here, but how does this work if you have the UDP (which we got many months ago as a promo for an upcoming cruise on the Gem)? Or is this just on Breakaway?

 

Thanks!

 

Edited: never mind, I've found the answer:

 

https://www.ncl.com/udp/faq

Edited November 28, 2015 by Turtles06

[TraJon9]

Anthem of the Sea looks beautiful.. I do love the Breakaway. We will be heading back to Bermuda on her this June again..

 

Without a doubt check out the Haven. Then you would get all promotions. You would have nothing to worry about with seating, they will do it. And you have the Haven restaurant as well.. Inside the courtyard the food is very casual. You will enter and exit the ship privately with little to no waits which would be great with kids and your Mom. They will wait on you as much as you want. Arrange requests, or as little as you need them. We loved the staff there..

 

Now if you do regular rooms.. I would recommend getting a dining plan for say 3 nights.. With tip included it is 69 per person. Then make reservations for 3 nights in advance for the 3 speciality choices, say sea days.. You get exactly what you did before, app,entree, dessert, anything extra but more then one entree, tip included..

 

We normally do balconies or mini, this past November we had the chance at Haven. The room, oh it is so enjoyable..

 

Another suggestion if the Breakaway, and a regular room, maybe Aft for the huge balconies if any are left..

 

I think the key to any great cruise are a few extras here and there..

[Cardex]

Mike, I'm an NCL fan as you can see from my cruise history below, but my spouse and I recently returned from the Anthem TA and were just blown away by this ship. We aren't big fans of mega-ships, and were surprised we enjoyed Anthem as much as we did, but we did. She is stunningly beautiful and has incredibly unique public spaces, like Two70, which has to be seen to be believed. And North Star is just amazing.

 

And for the kids -- Anthem is pretty much an amusement park at sea. North Star, bumper cars, flowrider, simulated sky diving (Ripcord by iFly). Incredible.

 

I agree with Turtles06. The Quantum is stunningly beautiful!!! Loved it!

I have sailed on both the Breakaway and Quantum. Not a fan of the Breakaway. The pool area is way too small and the ship felt crowded. I would recommend Anthem. Loved the solarium - a wonderful, quiet space which is almost impossible to find on the Breakaway.

I kept a blog of our Quantum cruise with lots of photos http://quantumoftheseas2015.blogspot.com/

Edited November 28, 2015 by Cardex

[bellevuemountain]

I agree with Turtles06. The Quantum is stunningly beautiful!!! Loved it!

I have sailed on both the Breakaway and Quantum. Not a fan of the Breakaway. The pool area is way too small and the ship felt crowded. I would recommend Anthem. Loved the solarium - a wonderful, quiet space which is almost impossible to find on the Breakaway.

I kept a blog of our Quantum cruise with lots of photos http://quantumoftheseas2015.blogspot.com/

 

Wow! Love love love your blog!

[BugsyCruiser]

Mike just thought I'd throw my two cents in here. I have been on Quantum so Anthem will be pretty much the same kind of ship with a few minor differences. I have not been on Breakaway or any NCL ship for that matter. I would love to go one but with the changes Frank Del Rio is making I'm balking at sailing on them for now. I'll just leave it at that.

 

I enjoyed Quantum a lot but as Dave pointed out there is a lot of reserving in advance that needs to be done.

 

If you get a chance check out the live thread I did from Quantum earlier this year. The link is in my signature... hopefully it will give you a pretty good idea what Anthem will be like

[Cardex]

Wow! Love love love your blog!

 

Thanks :)

[13seth]

I have my first NCL trip booked on the Breakaway Jan 3, we originally were going to book the Anthem as we loved our RCCL cruise earlier this year but my wife wanted to try something new and it looked a bit cheaper. We are already regretting our decision and will probably book Anthem for next year.

The reasons for feeling like maybe we made the wrong choice are as follows

We have had a really bad experience trying to have changes made with the NCL customer service.

We found out that there is an extra charge for room service and enjoy room service regularly on our cruises.

I like to work out when on a ship all day and on this ship there is a much smaller fitness room than RCCL, and to use the locker room and sauna we had to pay an additional $600.

We have also read reviews and not as many people love the Breakaway, lots of reviews say it is a bit crowded, set up inconvenient, and some menu items that you would expect to be included will cost additional.

I may feel differently after actually experiencing this ship but after adding everything up, it would have been cheaper to cruise RCCL and it looks like we they the ship would be more enjoyable.

I should have taken my time, planned earlier and did the research you are doing well before booking.

Hope you all have a wonderful cruise on whatever ship you end up on!!

[Dave85]

Well, we just switched our May cruise from the Escape to the Breakaway, so that tells you we liked her enough to return a second time! ;)

[AdGuyMG]

Here's my view of things so far:

Breakaway - It's cheaper and I prefer freestyle dining. There is a current perk where I can get free specialty restaurants, drinks, $50 off excursions, etc., and while this sounds great, I'm afraid of a ship of drunks and specialty restaurants so packed that I can't get a table.

 

If this is your honest impression of a typical Breakaway cruise you should not even consider it, regardless of cost.

 

Go with the Anthem.

[sdmike]

I agree with Turtles06. The Quantum is stunningly beautiful!!! Loved it!

I have sailed on both the Breakaway and Quantum. Not a fan of the Breakaway. The pool area is way too small and the ship felt crowded. I would recommend Anthem. Loved the solarium - a wonderful, quiet space which is almost impossible to find on the Breakaway.

I kept a blog of our Quantum cruise with lots of photos http://quantumoftheseas2015.blogspot.com/

 

Thank you!

[sdmike]

If this is your honest impression of a typical Breakaway cruise you should not even consider it, regardless of cost.

 

Go with the Anthem.

 

It wasn't an impression, it was a concern/question because I read about this being an issue on other ships during this promo. Thankfully, the folks here that have sailed the BA haven't seen an issue with this.

[sdmike]

Thanks everybody for their feedback, especially those that have sailed both and those that linked reviews of the Quantum class. As always, the folks here on CC are top notch.

 

Sail on!

 

Mike

[MotherofTrips]

I was in the Jewel @ 5 years ago (1st time on NCL). Booked for Breakaway June 2016. Loved our room on the Jewel (2 bedroom family suite with an adjoining mini suite). Let's just say it wasn't my favorite cruise. I look back and believe it was because I wasn't use to the freestyle way. I didn't prepare ahead of time what where we would be eating or what time. I think that contributed to not enjoying it as much. Also I wasn't thrilled with the itinerary. 1st stop being Port Canaveral. I was use to cruising out of that port not cruising to it. I have had my doubts about the Breakaway after reading some of the reviews.... but I am going to plan ahead ( book 4 nights of specialty dining, one night at cirque dreams and eat in the main dining room the other two nights when we are in Bermuda) and not have such a freestyle mentality. I think I took that too literally the last time and felt kind of lost. I am planning on a great vacation with 2 Aft balconies booked!

Edited December 8, 2015 by MotherofTrips

[MotherofTrips]

I was in the Jewel @ 5 years ago (1st time on NCL). Booked for Breakaway June 2016. Loved our room on the Jewel (2 bedroom family suite with an adjoining mini suite). Let's just say it wasn't my favorite cruise. I look back and believe it was because I wasn't use to the freestyle way. I didn't prepare ahead of time what where we would be eating or what time. I think that contributed to not enjoying it as much. Also I wasn't thrilled with the itinerary. 1st stop being Port Canaveral. I was use to cruising out of that port not cruising to it. I have had my doubts about the Breakaway after reading some of the reviews.... but I am going to plan ahead ( book 4 nights of specialty dining, one night at cirque dreams and eat in the main dining room the other two nights when we are in Bermuda) and not have such a freestyle mentality. I think I took that too literally the last time and felt kind of lost. I am planning on a great vacation with 2 Aft balconies booked!

 

 

I just realized I posted this on wrong thread... Sorry

[Jenjer]

When are you looking to go? because that makes a HUGE difference.

 

We sailed Quantum before she went to China (now its Anthem) and Getaway. My kids where 13 and 10 at the time of sailing.

 

Both ships have amazing features and their cruise ships so its not like your going to have a bad time on either.

 

Quantum is built for cold weather sailing, she has the sports plex with tons to do inside. Basketball, Bumper cars, Trapezes school, my DS favorite the x box room. All worked great for a ship sailing in March since it was too cold and windy out of Liberty for day 1-2 and day 6-7.

 

The "adult" area in the solarium was the most beautiful I had every seen and I loved all the different pools and Hot tubs. While I loved the spa on Getaway it was my escape it cost extra on NCL. I feel as if RCCl gives you more for the money and NCL is more a la carte pricing, lower entry cost but you start adding stuff on like dinning package s and dinner show it adds up.

 

Breakaway is built for outside stuff to do Ropes course, water slides. My kids lived on both of them.

 

I felt more crowded on Getaway but truly enjoyed her. We sailed with my IL's and my MIL was actually very sick but didn't know it. Staying on Deck 8 gave us HUGE balcony's and easy access to the main area.

[mizLORInj]

Both!

Breakaway is a great ship, and so is Anthem (we went on Quantum--its sister).

 

[barnacle_boy]

I've been on Anthem and Breakaway, and I thoroughly enjoyed both. They are very different products, one suited for cold weather and the other suited for warm weather, which makes a comparison difficult. However, my personal preference between the two would be Anthem. Anthem is bigger, faster, more powerful, more technologically sophisticated, and far more costly to build than Breakaway. In terms of facilities and fittings, Anthem is a better ship in many regards. There are more elevators, bigger theaters and lounges, better passenger flow, nicer public pool areas, etc.

 

The biggest difference, and the only area in which I would pick Breakaway over Anthem, is the spa. Although it's not quite as large or as lovely as the one on Epic (no outdoor area and no saunas with a view), the spa on Breakaway is fantastic. The thermal suite on Anthem is almost an afterthought. It's tucked away into a small corner with small shoulder-level windows that look out onto the feet of passing joggers. There are six heated loungers, sauna, steam room, and one shower. It's almost ridiculous how poorly featured it is.

Edited December 8, 2015 by barnacle_boy

[12times]

I really don't know how much help I will be to you,but when I saw this question I had to reply. I believe the Quantum is in China,now. A good place for it!!!!! My dh and I have been on 25 cruises. All with RCI or Celebrity. The Quantum was BY FAR THE WORST SHIP IHAVE EVER BEEN ON. The staff was extremely non caring and officers didn't even acknowledge you as they walked around. The dynamic dining was a disaster and the food overall was not good. not much entertainment. We spent three hours before we cruised trying to book our restaurants for 8 people and finally had to call the crown anchor society to help us and it took her another hr and a half.

 

One night there was suppose to be big band music played in the dance hall. It was all recorded.Always have had live bands before. the temperature was always freezing and the ship was very poorly laid out.

Had to leave the dining room,because I was freezing and I am usually warm.Very crowded on the main floor. Couldn't even move at times.

 

the bumper cars were fun,but they only had them open about three times during a 12 day cruise and a very long line. I feel kids would be extremely bored on this ship. I was!!!!

 

We are going on the breakaway this April for our 50th anniversary and taking our whole family. I have never sailed

Ncl,but it looked like it would entertain all of the various ages of our group.

 

I don't know how much this really helps you,but I wouldn't go NEAR a sister ship of the Quantum.

 

Have a fun trip,whatever you choose. Attitude plans a big role in how much you enjoy yourself.