A lurker's first recap: NCL Breakaway Live (Haven) - July 16-23, 2017

[OnTheGoMom921]

Loving your review and your writing style! Keep it coming! Hope you managed to enjoy your Haven experience, even through your untimely illness!

[Irene225]

Loving your review and your writing style! Keep it coming! Hope you managed to enjoy your Haven experience, even through your untimely illness!

 

 

 

Thank you!!

 

 

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[Irene225]

Embarkation day continues-

 

We never plan much on day 1, not knowing when our bag will arrive and what we will feel like doing. On Sunday night, some of us went to the MDR and then hit the casino. I broke a cardinal rule and opened the craps table ... I will usually not play I unless someone else has started. However it paid off because I instantly won $400. Yee haw.

 

We enjoyed one of our bottles of champagne from AmEx, watched the Lego Batman movie and enjoyed our first concierge snacks, which were canapés and a fruit bowl.

 

Side note: We typically don't watch movies on cruises but the perk of getting them for free in Haven turned out to be really nice. Especially when I spent much more time than planned in our room.

 

 

Sea Day 1:

I had pre booked a massage with the concierge before boarding (thanks Haven). Before the spa, we hit the Haven restaurant for breakfast. Anoop greeted us with " Mr and Mrs Morris, we didn't see you at the Haven cocktail party!" Lol. Shamed already. This is just one of the many Haven things we DIDNT do and why I question if it was worth it.

 

Here's what I've decided: the benefits of the Haven are probably best enjoyed if you stay in a Haven area cabin. Since we had the spa balcony and were located away from the main Haven area, I do not think we took advantage of it enough. Yes, it was nice having a concierge for changing dinner reservations and seating at shows (more on that later) but I don't know if the spa balcony makes it worth while.

 

Next time I will probably get a cabin in the Haven area and buy the spa pass, or get a regular spa balcony and bypass the Haven all together - would just depend on the pricing.

 

Anyway, here's the much discussed seafood eggs Benedict

 

 

I am going to express an unpopular opinion- I didn't think it was that great. The hollandaise was not very well flavored. However, the Haven restaurants as a whole is great. We ate several breakfasts there and lunch. Big fan.

 

After my massage, I met the crew at Spice H20. This became our hangout for the week. If I couldn't find anyone in our group, I could usually find someone here.

 

 

Now you may be thinking- "in this age of glorious connectivity, why would there be times when you couldn't find your husband or friends?" Well my friend, here comes the part of the review where I complain heavily about the Breakaway internet. It BLOWS. Very slow. Ncl's whole internet system of logging in/ logging out is dumb and the $9.99 chat function would regularly not work. As the week went on, we resorted to old school messages on cabin phones and contingency plans because the chat function was so unreliable.

 

Escape has better internet. Hell, I escorted a group on Carnival Freedom in March and IT had FAR better internet. This is one of the areas that NCL just really needs to improve IMHO.

 

ANYWAY back to Spice. E and I would get up before breakfast and snag chairs and a table for the group. We were not the only ones, but it was never unmanageably crowded. This seems to still be a hidden area and for that I am grateful!

 

I also thought this guy was dead for at least 30 min. If this is you, I apologize. I waited for your chest to rise at least 3 times before I stopped monitoring you. My husband is an EMT and he totally would have saved you

 

 

 

Monday night dinner was Cagneys and it was amazing as usual. Here is where I think the Haven concierge was really helpful... Mr RBF and I had made all of our dining reservations when this had been a trip for 2. When four additional people joined us, we had to do some re-jiggering. Anoop made this pretty easy when he could. Of course, we ended up with some oddball times a few of the nights but we made it work.

 

We ate early so I could drag everyone to the Newlywed game at 8:15. I LOVE THIS GAME. I look forward to it on every cruise line in all iterations. And hallelujah, NCL picked a pair of ladies for the game! I applaud the staff and the CD Dan Dan for this... well freaking done.

 

The crowd also approved because the applause was out of control. So proud of NCL.

 

Tip for any atrium show: get to O Sheehans early and sit on the rail of the atrium looking down at the stage. Better seating and took longer for it to fill up. Of course we didn't have to worry about seats because I physically dragged the group there like a kindergarten teacher with the rope leash.

 

 

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[amygutman]

Happily following...

You are an absolute hoot, and I love your "reporting style" - so personable.

My thanks to your husband for his service to the country...and for you for serving at home!

Gutman

[Irene225]

Sea Day 2:

 

Basically a repeat of Sea Day 1, but we did Moderno for dinner, which was excellent.

 

Something you should know about me- I am a spa rat. I always do the 10/20/30 promotion and then some other randomness. This cruise, I decided to get acupuncture. I have been researching it for a very specific health issue. It's not readily available in our small little town nor does the base offer it. With 7 days to fit in a bunch of appointments. I also held out some small hope that it might help with my growing cold, but I was already too sick. Yes, it's overpriced compared to doing it on land but I was paying for convenience.

 

I spent most mornings with the acupuncturist (loved her, not too salesy ), then met Mr RBF in the Haven for breakfast, then set out on our plans for the day.

 

Sea Day 2 brought this cloud... crazy looking. It also brought a bit of rain but nothing too bad. The weaklings went running for the hills and it just left more room for us diehards.

 

I also spotted this guy sporting a robe that said "Uncle Eddie"

 

 

Cruising out of NYC definitely brought a different crowd. After living in NY for many years, it took me a few days to notice. Mr RBF pointed it out when we were in the Casino. Everyone was just a little more demanding and the spirit of the ship overall was different. It was more... transactional I guess. These are my people so I'm not complaining, but after Mr RBF pointed it out, I couldn't stop thinking about it. I ran into a lady in the thermal spa who wanted to compare notes on massages because she didn't like hers and wanted to know if mine was better. There was a complete and total meltdown at the craps table over rules about how to throw the dice. Someone has a tantrum about a dinner reservation in the Haven of all places. It's a vacation! Relax! Maybe living in Missouri has changed me ... who knows!

 

To end day 2, we spent some time with Arvin and Emily then went to see Rock of Ages.

 

 

 

Rock of Ages cruise style was fine. I have seen the show on Broadway twice but I love 80s music and wanted to see it again. Talent was fine. Crowd was good. The original production has an intermission that the cut out, making it 2.5 hours of one single show w no breaks. That was a mistake in my opinion. I was expecting them to cut a song or two and shorten it but that didn't happen! The performers all seemed like they were trying a bit too hard.. they were good but I wasn't wowed. Oh look, here I am being a judgy NYer. I guess I haven't changed at all.

 

Oh and this night, all of the women's bathrooms on the port side of the ship stopped working. Disaster.

 

At this point I was desperate for a Neti pot and some DayQuil. I broke down and bought NyQuil on the ship for the bargain price of $17.99, but that wasn't cutting it. Oh well, on the Bermuda!

 

 

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[Irene225]

Happily following...

You are an absolute hoot, and I love your "reporting style" - so personable.

My thanks to your husband for his service to the country...and for you for serving at home!

Gutman

 

 

 

Thank you for reading and thank you for acknowledging both of us! That always makes me so happy :). Have a great Monday!

 

 

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[jimbri]

Great reviews and photos. So sorry you got sick. Looking forward to rest of your review.

[xitappers2bx]

There is definitely a VERY different vibe with the crowd out of NYC, we've done three or four from there, and if you're from the northeast I guess it doesn't bother us, but having done in quick succession a cruise from NY and then a cruise from FL it was like a "wow, oh man" type of thing.

 

Great review! We're boarding our first NCL cruise the day after tomorrow, loving your style of writing (it's a bit like mine, but I don't really do reviews anymore. Those days are long gone).

 

Sea Day 2:

 

Cruising out of NYC definitely brought a different crowd. After living in NY for many years, it took me a few days to notice. Mr RBF pointed it out when we were in the Casino. Everyone was just a little more demanding and the spirit of the ship overall was different. It was more... transactional I guess. These are my people so I'm not complaining, but after Mr RBF pointed it out, I couldn't stop thinking about it. I ran into a lady in the thermal spa who wanted to compare notes on massages because she didn't like hers and wanted to know if mine was better. There was a complete and total meltdown at the craps table over rules about how to throw the dice. Someone has a tantrum about a dinner reservation in the Haven of all places. It's a vacation! Relax! Maybe living in Missouri has changed me ... who knows!

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[Irene225]

There is definitely a VERY different vibe with the crowd out of NYC, we've done three or four from there, and if you're from the northeast I guess it doesn't bother us, but having done in quick succession a cruise from NY and then a cruise from FL it was like a "wow, oh man" type of thing.

 

Great review! We're boarding our first NCL cruise the day after tomorrow, loving your style of writing (it's a bit like mine, but I don't really do reviews anymore. Those days are long gone).

 

 

 

It's so true! Our last cruise was one I escorted out of Galveston and it was all Arkansas and Oklahoma spring breakers. TOTALLY different vibe!

 

 

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[Irene225]

Great reviews and photos. So sorry you got sick. Looking forward to rest of your review.

 

 

 

Thank you so much!

 

 

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[MK Vacay]

Hello! I stumbled upon your recap today and was instantly hooked! I am also a supreme lurker and this is my first post ever to these boards, so forgive me for not knowing what Im doing. I had a question for you.... were you in the Spa Balcony room or the Spa Balcony Suite room? I ask because I am booked in October in a Spa Balcony (not Spa Balcony Suite) and I am not sure what (if any) perks I get, or if I have any access to the Haven. Any help would be appreciated!

[lucyintheskywithdiamonds]

I'm also sailing on the Breakaway in November with a bunch of rowdy Italians...lol. I'm not responsible for their behavior !! lol.. My first cruise was out of NYC, and I was concerned that it was gonna be a tough cruise with a lot of fights on board, but we were pleasantly surprised... most everyone minded their manners, and it was a lot of fun.. esp. in Puerto Rico when a young thief messed w/ the wrong person... ouch that sure left a mark...NYPD officer almost missed the boat for defending himself.. can't make this stuff up. anyway, I'm sailing out of NYC again, except this time on Norwegian instead of Carnival.. I have cabin 5840, last cabin in the back, anyone familiar w/ this cabin? I'm probably gonna upgrade to a balcony if the bid is reasonable...

 

enjoying your review. thanks

Edited August 17, 2017 by lucyintheskywithdiamonds

[Laszlo]

Hello! I stumbled upon your recap today and was instantly hooked! I am also a supreme lurker and this is my first post ever to these boards, so forgive me for not knowing what Im doing. I had a question for you.... were you in the Spa Balcony room or the Spa Balcony Suite room? I ask because I am booked in October in a Spa Balcony (not Spa Balcony Suite) and I am not sure what (if any) perks I get, or if I have any access to the Haven. Any help would be appreciated!

 

The "Haven Spa Suite Balcony" you get all the perks attached to the Haven and Thermal Spa

 

A "Spa Balcony" No perks beside the Thermal Spa......No access to the Haven

 

The Haven Spa Suite with Balcony

[JustCRuSIN37]

Yes there was a jumper, my husband and I were in the hot tub in H2O and the ship actually went right under him he would have landed on the ship, I have a picture of it too. The police did talk him down and he did not jump.

 

Embarkation continued...

 

We arrived at the Haven area around 11am, waited about 6 minutes and boarded almost immediately. Seriously, I didn't even have time to finish my coffee.

 

This is when the sniffles started. I made a mental decision to ignore feeling sick and enjoy the trip as much as possible. I do not recommend a week of drinking and debauchery with a head cold, but I was going to enjoy this trip dangit! Before leaving NY, I walked to Walgreens and got Zicam and EmergenC, which held me over for a couple of days.

 

Waiting for S/E to board - we beat them onboard by a good 90 min. The NYC triathlon was happening on Sunday Am and traffic to the pier was nuts.

 

 

The kids enjoyed their beers and explores the ship while I left to do my work videos and FB lives. If you havent figured out my job yet, use your imagination because I can't talk about it here! LOL

 

I did a great video of our cabin but I'm not allowed to link to it here because it's on my business page. I will move that to a personal page later and post a link.

 

We are in a Haven Spa Balcony. The cabin is great- the extra space is definitely nice and I love the faux wood floors vs the carpet. The true king bed is phenomenal. E swears that our balcony chairs were more comfortable than their standard balcony chairs but she drinks a lot so who knows.

 

E and S boarded and we explored the ship. Here's a good shot of the six of us under the Verrazano bridge leaving NY

 

RUMOR ALERT: Later In the cruise, E and I met a cute couple at the martini bar (Hi Lois!) who told us that the ship had to divert under the bridge because there was - wait for it- someone trying to jump off the bridge. We apparently shifted to the other side to avoid this person landing on our ship. I have no idea if this is true, I am off to research.

 

Oh and here's some more fruit

 

Mmm. I love Wardorf salad

 

 

 

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