Breakaway 13 Day Southern Caribbean Review with lots of pictures (plus Haven) again

[the_redhead]

Very much looking forward to the rest of your review once you're feeling better! It's amazing how people can have such different experiences on the same ship and still both enjoy it. The Haven is definitely out of my price range, but that level of luxury sure does look wonderful. Really excited to hear about what else you did and your time in the ports.

[js]

Loving your review. Thank you very much for including pictures!

 

We have sailed on the BA three times and loved each of our trips.

 

Was Edgar still overseeing the Haven restaurant? He was absolutely my Vacation Hero!

 

I heart Edgar LOL

 

Our cabin was right after the Haven lounge and each morning I would go to the gym very early while my family slept. I would come back, get my DD travel mug, put on a long sleeve work out shirt and go to the Haven restaurant and order breakfast. Edgar kept a table for me each morning by the window and EVERY SINGLE MORINNG had my iced pressed coffee waiting for me. Heaven....

 

My inlaws are on the Breakaway now on 2 week Southern Caribbean.

 

Hoping to recreate the same next month on the Getaway but Edgar was fab!

 

Can't wait to read more and hope you are feeling better!

Edited January 23, 2017 by js

[js]

What's the crowd like during a two week cruise not during a school holiday?

 

We're going with out pre-school aged son, are there many other families on such excursions?

 

My kids are older but I only sail during summer and holidays due to my dh's job so haven't been on a ship during this time but we just dropped my inlaws off last week for the two week Southern Breakaway cruise. They are 71 and 75 and they looked like the average age of the passengers. My dh and I are 49 and 53 and looking at all the passengers waiting in line to give their luggage and getting dropped off, it looked like we would have been on the younger side for the cruise but that is just what I saw at that time, not sure if that is truly the case.

[Gregor4500]

Was Edgar still the Haven Restaurant Maitre'd?

 

I wasn't in the Haven this sailing but I also asked about Edgar when on board. He wasn't there.

[js]

I wasn't in the Haven this sailing but I also asked about Edgar when on board. He wasn't there.

 

Thank you. I hope he moved to Getaway or Escape :) or promoted to a higher position.

I never remember anyone from cruises other than Lanie as a butler one year and Edgar. Both outstanding, oh and of course Adrian. He is in a category all by himself. They are all gems.

[AP1016]

When I was on BA in August, Edgar said he was traveling home for the holidays and would be back in February. This is the first year in over 15 years he has traveled home for Christmas!

Edited February 6, 2017 by CobyTA

[UnaPalomita]

Hey everyone. We returned from our cruise on Sunday, so I figured I should get this review started already. I've had a lot going on and I was having issues getting my pictures uploaded and ready, but I now have the first 3 days done.

Please forgive me if I take a break here and there from posting. My father was just diagnosed today with either bone cancer that has spread to his lungs and liver, or lung cancer that has spread to his liver and bones. Either way, it's not good. My family just can't get a break.

For those of you that know me, or read my other reviews you would know that this cruise was supposed to be a relaxing, recharge our batteries type of vacation. My Mother-in-law passed away in November from dementia. And I had recently undergone 2 more surgeries for my post breast cancer reconstruction (Build-A-Boob). The first reconstruction was right after our 14 day cruise in January 2016, and then the reconstruction ruptured and tore apart, so I had to have them redone in June 2016. You know I took advantage of it and had them made just a little bit bigger. :p

So, we really needed this cruise to be relaxing and fun for all of us. Would that happen? Stick with me and you will find out!

 

So sorry to hear about illness in your family :( Sending you prayers!

 

Very excited to read your review of the Breakaway though, we will be on the ship for the same 14 day Caribbean trip this Sunday! Love all your pictures from the raw bar! Can't wait to do the same :) Keep the review coming! I am excited about seeing the daillies.

[PhoenixCruiser]

JoAnn,

 

Our group of 22 will be traveling together. To give you some background - we travel together a lot and are used to sharing space/bathrooms.

 

Would you put a family of 6 adults in a two-bedroom suite?

 

###

[ncklhaus]

JoAnn,

 

Our group of 22 will be traveling together. To give you some background - we travel together a lot and are used to sharing space/bathrooms.

 

Would you put a family of 6 adults in a two-bedroom suite?

 

###

 

Honestly, no. There are 2 bathrooms. One in the Master bedroom and one in the 2nd, much smaller bedroom. That is fine for 4 adults. But the 2 other adults will be staying in the living room and to use a bathroom will have to walk through the other bedrooms. Plus the master bedroom only has a curtain separating the bathroom from the bedroom so it is possible to hear what is happening in the bathroom from the bedroom. It is a thick curtain, but not thick enough.

[cage keeper]

Loving your review. Amazing.

[ncklhaus]

So sorry to hear about illness in your family :( Sending you prayers!

 

Very excited to read your review of the Breakaway though, we will be on the ship for the same 14 day Caribbean trip this Sunday! Love all your pictures from the raw bar! Can't wait to do the same :) Keep the review coming! I am excited about seeing the daillies.

 

Thanks so much. I still haven't put together the dailies, but I will soon. I'm still feeling quite horrible with a nasty cold and cough. You will love the Breakaway. Make sure you say Hi to Sandy at the Raw Bar.

[ncklhaus]

Enjoying reading your review very much. Last year, we boarded on Jan 31, 2 weeks after you got off, I think. This year, we board this Sunday, Jan 29, 2 weeks after you got off. Someday, we will meet. Was Edgar still the Haven Restaurant Maitre'd?

 

By the way, are these pictures taking forever to come up for anyone else, or is it just me? They displayed very quickly last year. Is anyone else having a problem?

 

Enjoy your cruise on Sunday! The Haven Maitre D was Gretel. She was wonderful. Last year we had JoAnn as Maitre D but she has been moved to Cagney's as Maitre D. She just boarded again on January 15th when we got off.

I don't know what's happening with the pictures. All is fine on my side.

[ncklhaus]

I waited up for the last installment, lol! Think I'll head off to bed and check back in the morning, as I am enjoying your review. Hope you feel better soon.

 

So sorry. I'm still feeling bad, but I will try and post some more tonight.

[PhoenixCruiser]

Honestly, no. There are 2 bathrooms. One in the Master bedroom and one in the 2nd, much smaller bedroom. That is fine for 4 adults. But the 2 other adults will be staying in the living room and to use a bathroom will have to walk through the other bedrooms. Plus the master bedroom only has a curtain separating the bathroom from the bedroom so it is possible to hear what is happening in the bathroom from the bedroom. It is a thick curtain, but not thick enough.

 

Just the details we needed! Thank you :)

[ncklhaus]

On our first cruise with the kids (Jewel 2015), I forgot to pack under radar for my (then newly potty trained) daughter. It was a nightmare,the Mega in cozumel only had one s that were really snug, and she was really picky at that time in her life - neither wearing the Mega pants or going commando were options.

 

But she was 3, your DH could pack himself!

 

LOL. I know right! But I said I would pack and he didn't need to worry about it. My bad. :p

[ncklhaus]

What's the crowd like during a two week cruise not during a school holiday?

 

We're going with out pre-school aged son, are there many other families on such excursions?

 

There were between 400-500 children on board although it didn't seem like it. The kids all seemed to enjoy splash academy.

[Enavigo]

Enjoy your cruise on Sunday! The Haven Maitre D was Gretel. She was wonderful. Last year we had JoAnn as Maitre D but she has been moved to Cagney's as Maitre D. She just boarded again on January 15th when we got off.

I don't know what's happening with the pictures. All is fine on my side.

 

I am on the 2/26 Breakaway sailing and shoreside concierge confirmed for me that Edgar will, in fact, be back on board. :)

[ncklhaus]

Thanks to all for all of your questions and comments. I apologize if I missed any as I do like to respond to everyone.

Now, back to the review.

[ncklhaus]

Day 2 Tuesday January 3rd, 2017 Sea Day

 

This morning we wanted to sleep in a bit, but not too late as I had the Cruise Critic Meet and Greet at 11am.

 

We were rocking a bit and they had put out seasick bags by the elevator.

 

 

[ncklhaus]

I went to the Meet and Greet at 11am. It is usually in La Cucina but since we had such a large group, they put us in the Spiegel Tent.

 

They give out a card with the officers names and contact information. If you go to the Meet and Greet for nothing else, it is worth your time to get this card. They encourage you to call them if there is something they can help with. They would rather hear it from you while you are on the ship when they can fix it than when you complain about it for the first time on Cruise Critic.

 

 

The Captain was a very entertaining man.

 

 

 

 

Alvin the Cruise Director was really nice and a lot of fun as well.

 

 

[ncklhaus]

The weather still wasn't great, but we made the best of it.

 

 

 

 

After the Meet and Greet, I went to the Slot Pull. There were a lot of us. We each put in $15 for 3 spins a piece on the Wheel of Fortune machine and we also had a side bet of $5 which would go to whoever had the best spin. My friend won the side bet, and we all walked away with $11 after all the spins. The casino also gave us 2 bottles of wine that we were able to use as a door prize.

 

I'm not certain what we did after that, but I'm pretty sure Melissa went to Splash Academy for a while.

 

We went to the Haven restaurant for dinner.

 

Beef tartare with a Quail egg

 

 

Shrimp Cocktail

 

 

Butternut Squash Soup with Duck confit

 

 

Pepperoni pizza from the children's menu

 

[ncklhaus]

Grilled Shrimp Skewers with asparagus and potato (I forgot to take the picture until after I ate quite a bit)

 

 

I didn't catch what Mike ate.

 

A chocolate mousse dessert

 

 

I was so full that Melissa and I split some lemon sorbet

 

[ncklhaus]

While we were eating dinner, we were talking to a couple at the next table. They were onboard with their baby and he was just the sweetest thing. The wife gets up to go to the bathroom and the husband tells us that his wife is performing tonight in the Breakaway Theatre. Wait. What? It can't be! This morning I was watching the Welcome Aboard Show on the TV and I saw that there was a Broadway performer onboard that was doing a show only one night. Tonight. She was in Wicked. We loved Wicked.

It was her! We were completely starstruck. Then he tells me that she was also the original young Cosette in Les Miserables. I saw it 5 times! Holey moley.

Melissa and I had already planned on going to the show at 7pm and then she would go back to Splash Academy.

 

We saw the show and she was fantastic! I loved it so much that I took Melissa to Splash and then went back for the 9pm show. I was in tears the entire time.

This was the only night she was performing.

Usually, she gets on the ship in NYC, does her shows on a sea day, and then flies back to NY from Puerto Rico. Or if the trip is in the reverse order, she flies into Puerto Rico, does her shows and gets off in NY. Usually 3-4 days on board max. This cruise was different. Her husband and son were onboard to celebrate the husband's birthday. She usually stays in a crew cabin on Deck 5 (one that is usually given to higher ranking crew) but her husband had booked the cruise for them in balcony and then surprised her with the Haven upgrade.

We would become friends throughout the cruise and are keeping in touch. Our husband's are very much alike.

 

As far as the shows, I think it may be a Haven thing but they have a list of the main shows for the entire cruise. The ventriloquist, the hypnotist, etc. I'll post that as well.

 

When we got back to our room that night, we found this guy on our bed.

 

 

 

Time to set the clocks ahead!

 

 

 

 

 

Once again, we were rocked to sleep. Oh so comfortable in that bed!

 

End of day 2

[rocklinmom]

Great review so far! Love your food pictures.

[js]

I'm sailing on Getaway and guessing that I can get the raw bar seafood plateau next month.

What time is it open? I think this would be nice for lunch with a salad and a glass of wine but would like to do in the Haven. First question, is it open for lunch? Second question, I think I could ask in Haven for it and have at the outside tables with Haven lunch and just give them my card for charging for the plateau.

 

Thank you for your help! :)

Edited January 24, 2017 by js