A few words of our Breakaway Trip

[riclop]

Thanks for the few words.

[aubreyc1988]

how about smokey-ness of the casino/decks 6-7-8? I was on the escape in Jan and it was reaaaaaaallly smokey on these decks - I want to do a bermuda cruise and Breakaway right now is my best option for value, since Anthem only does a 5 day and is more expensive than Breakaway

[mking8288]

On the *Away class ship's casino and smoke - nothing has changed in these 3 years and every time we sailed, I make sure to mention that in the post-cruise E-Surveys that NCL need to come up with a mitigation to address their design shortcomings - find a way to enhance/add extra exhaust fans or ventilation to filter and pull the tobacco odor ... nothing against those that choose to smoke while gaming, it's their lungs - except NCL can do a little more about second hand smoke. We got most of the clothes washed cleaned onboard (free - Platinum perk) before leaving the ship/repacked but the other day, we finally washed the remainder of the dirty clothes from our last 3 days worn on the BA and it surely smell awful. DW spend a lot more time playing there as well compared to yours truly in the supposingly, non-smoking section, behind the smokers, of course - LOL.

 

We are down in the Jersey shores this weekend and they have wonderful portable machinese that help "fix" the lingering smell - in the hallways and sometimes, even in the rooms vacated by heavy smokers.

 

Tweeted AS directly about this last year and never heard an ackowledgement beep about it, to this date.

 

A quick sentence or two about sharing paid WiFi inTERnet on the Breakway, it can be done with customized nano-sized travel router for some of us - being tech geeks - but the latency & speed isn't worth the effort, and without getting into technical details ... some of the previous "loopholes" about SMS/text message headers getting thru are, apparently closed for those not on the paid option. Solution for heading to Bermuda (only for those) on the Breakaway as I personally used it - (Project) Fi Network on Digicel's network on the islands, very good 3G/HSPA & H+ coverage, west end to east end, all the way up to deck 15 and deck 16 on the BA (dockyard's WiFi barely reached deck 8's Waterfront on the side facing the pier/Wharf)

[cruise4family]

prg2101, thanks for the review. We're in an H6 aft penthouse haven in August, 10th floor. Can't wait! What is the best and easiest walking route from the aft room to the Haven on 16? Thank you.

[darlene62]

Weird, I was on the same cruise and was told they were only 3/4 full. Empty tables at both Savor and The Manhattan Room around 6:30. We had reservations for 4 at Teppanyaki on the last night. We were the only people in the entire room off to the side. We had a "private" dinner.

 

Bartenders were somewhat rude I thought. First bartender I encountered said it was difficult and a lot of work to make a Miami Vice (because it requires mixing two separate drinks). He recommended we ordered a Bahama Mama, especially at the busy times of day...

 

My mother and I were on the 5/22 sailing. The only real service issue we found was all the restaurants we ate at including the haven seemed to be very slow but staff in all but one place seemed to be working very hard to please. Now my funny bar story...we were in atrium for mustard drill. She has issues so i said to her just sit yourself down and have a virgin cocktail and then we will go to elevators. For the record my cocktail was NOT virgin. My mom ordered a virgin strawberry daiquiri. The server promptly brought out our drinks. My mom barely had the drink to her lips when our server comes running to our table NOOOOOOOOOOOO! and takes the drink from her. She explains its not a virgin.....she states with a tude I will make this drink myself and promptly delivers my mom her virgin cocktail that my mom really enjoyed. Now a sip would not have been disastrous and the server was just so funny and sweet. sometimes well mistakes happen.

[aubreyc1988]

On the *Away class ship's casino and smoke - nothing has changed in these 3 years and every time we sailed, I make sure to mention that in the post-cruise E-Surveys that NCL need to come up with a mitigation to address their design shortcomings - find a way to enhance/add extra exhaust fans or ventilation to filter and pull the tobacco odor ... nothing against those that choose to smoke while gaming, it's their lungs - except NCL can do a little more about second hand smoke. We got most of the clothes washed cleaned onboard (free - Platinum perk) before leaving the ship/repacked but the other day, we finally washed the remainder of the dirty clothes from our last 3 days worn on the BA and it surely smell awful. DW spend a lot more time playing there as well compared to yours truly in the supposingly, non-smoking section, behind the smokers, of course - LOL.

 

We are down in the Jersey shores this weekend and they have wonderful portable machinese that help "fix" the lingering smell - in the hallways and sometimes, even in the rooms vacated by heavy smokers.

 

Tweeted AS directly about this last year and never heard an ackowledgement beep about it, to this date.

 

 

Thanks, that is what i thought, having sailed getaway and escape - the escape was worse on smoking, but could have been just a lot of smokers on my sailing

[julescruisin]

Cruise was great and I'm sure you can find a spot or two..... my thought is that a pool is not a revenue generator and there's only so much real estate on a ship that can bring in money.

 

Have a great cruise yourself!!

 

You are so right, never thought about it that way~we will definitely be up early and grab a few loungers. We are so excited about the BA, we have never been on a ship this size and can't wait to see all she has to offer!! Happy Cruising!

[baflagg]

Is this room 14872 big enough for 4 people (3 adults & one 10 year old) We are considering upgrading to the Haven for our July cruise. Right now it's just myself, husband and daughter booked but now my mother-in-law will join us and we do not want to cram into a family suite.

 

We were in the Haven H5 last year for the just the 3 of us so are thinking of the 2 bedroom for this year for the 4 of us but it is costly. Being in an aft cabin is a little less expensive but just not sure about the location and space. We really enjoy the Haven courtyard area but not sure we would like being so far away

[cage keeper]

My DW and I just returned last week from our Mothers Day vacation on the Breakaway. This was our first time on the BA and first time in the Haven so just wanted to shed some light on things I have heard on these boards.

 

1. The Haven is as great as everyone says, we had aft penthouse 14872 and it is a good ways away from the Haven but size of cabin and HUGE balcony make up for it in my opinion. We did however only see our bulter 2-3 times throughout the week but we were just fine with that.

 

2. All the blah blah blah about the pool bars being 4-5 people deep, bartenders being rude, waiting forever for drinks. etc.....well, we saw absolutey none of this activity on this voyage. The capt even told us we were sailing at near full capacity. Brought a pack of 50 single dollars to use as tips and didnt even use them all. By the second day, 3 different bars all over the ship all knew my name and what we both liked to drink.. so I didnt see any of the crazy bar problems I have heard so much about.

 

3. We did have the 4 day dining package and we used them all in different restaurants and they were all wonderful. No issues at all with them either. We did make all our reservations before boarding.

 

4. Priority embarkation and disembarkation.....we did hear some people snicker that we were boarding before anyone else and also getting off in a special line that the conceirge escorted us to and here is my response to that. You get what you pay for!!!! enough said about that

 

 

Any questions anyone may have about the breakaway or bermuda please feel free to ask. Thanks and YES!! I would book the BA again!:D:D

 

I like your spunk. Great review.

[CalvinAndHobbes]

Very glad to hear that you had a great time! We are set to cruise next month.

 

Can you tell me if all three complimentary dining rooms have white table cloths? I think I saw from photos that buffet tables do not have table cloths. Reason I am asking is that I plan to bring disposable table covers for my baby to eat finger foods but it needs to stick to bare table and will not work on table cloth.

 

And do we need to pack beach towels? If not, is it easy to exchange dirty towels for clean ones?

[Firsttimecruiser2016]

Do you have any of the papers that you get everyday saying what there is to do and such? I leave in one week and want to know what all the different activities are. TIA

 

 

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[worktocruise610]

Do you have any of the papers that you get everyday saying what there is to do and such? I leave in one week and want to know what all the different activities are. TIA

 

 

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This is a thread that has some pics. Not sure where you're going (Bahamas or Bermuda) or which one this is, but it may help. Otherwise, just search for Breakaway Freestyle daily & I'm sure you'll find tons more. Have a great cruise!

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2435576

[baker03773]

Thank you for your post. We're headed on the breakaway at the end of April. Did you reserve any dining or entertainment before your cruise?

[ilovetotravel1977]

Bartenders were somewhat rude I thought. First bartender I encountered said it was difficult and a lot of work to make a Miami Vice (because it requires mixing two separate drinks). He recommended we ordered a Bahama Mama, especially at the busy times of day...

 

Good grief. The Bahama Mama is likely all pre-made in a pitcher or jug. Miami Vice would have taken them two more seconds to make. That is my favourite frozen drink!

[NEcruiser7515]

Sailed BA in 2015 in a Spa Suite, all the Haven amenities PLUS free unlimited spa access for each guest in the room. The Spa suite definitely worth it, especially if you want to relax.

[C-line]

Very glad to hear that you had a great time! We are set to cruise next month.

 

Can you tell me if all three complimentary dining rooms have white table cloths? I think I saw from photos that buffet tables do not have table cloths. Reason I am asking is that I plan to bring disposable table covers for my baby to eat finger foods but it needs to stick to bare table and will not work on table cloth.

 

And do we need to pack beach towels? If not, is it easy to exchange dirty towels for clean ones?

 

It doesn't look like anyone ever answered your questions.

 

The main dining rooms all have table cloths. O'Sheehans (also complimentary) and the buffet do not.

 

 

You don't need to pack beach towels. There will be beach towels in your cabin and there's a towel exchange near the pool. On our last cruise they were also set up outside the ship at each port of call so you could exchange your dirty towel for a clean one on the way back on board. If you leave a dirty towel with your dirty bath towels in the cabin your cabin steward will exchange it for a new one.

[Firsttimecruiser2016]

This is a thread that has some pics. Not sure where you're going (Bahamas or Bermuda) or which one this is, but it may help. Otherwise, just search for Breakaway Freestyle daily & I'm sure you'll find tons more. Have a great cruise!

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2435576

 

 

This is the cruise I'm going on. Thanks so much!!!

 

 

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