Breakaway (7/30) mini review

[Bra_BE2014]

Thanks for the review!

Can you tell us a bit about the 'creepy' steward? What was creepy about him?

 

 

 

 

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[KT Cruiser]

I was on this sailing also. Another lunch option was the free buffet at Moderno every day from 12pm to 2pm. Very lightly attended and a different food theme every day. One day was Asian, another was Mexican, BBQ on day, etc. Very good food and desserts.

 

Also, for future BA cruisers don't freak out about the lack of lounge chair availability. :) If your heart is set on having to be right by the pool on deck 15 or the next deck up overlooking the pool area, then yes there are chair hogs galore early in the mornings. But we found lounge chairs all 3 sea days between 9am and 10am on forward decks 17 and 18. Deck 17 also has a small bar that was very convenient and lightly used, bathrooms also. :D

[Heronymous]

Hmmm...so, when you used IMessage, were you using the ships wifi? Did you set your phone to "airplane" mode so that your phone would not be roaming? I thought NCL did not intend for IMessage to be a connection of texting to home...just for texting between passengers. So I am confused.

NCL can't control who you can communicate with via iMessage. If they allow iMessage to work without paying for WiFi, it's going to work for everyone who has iMessage, not just people on the ship since all messages flow through Apple's servers and back out to the recipient. It's interesting that they officially provide this though, I thought it was an accident that it was working when I was on the Escape last time.

-Keith

[Maraprince]

I think that you may find the Regal.Princess more to your liking than the Breakaway.

My DH and I have sailed on the Breakaway twice and three times on the Regal.

Although the Regal Princess is a large ship with over 3,000 passengers, it does not feel crowded because of the design.

The central area,called the Piazza, is very pretty and open. We found the atrium on the Breakaway to be dark,crowded and smokey.

The Regal Retreat pool is adult only and there are plenty of loungers nearby,a good number in the shade.

I would be interested in reading your impressions of the Regal. Perhaps you will write a review on thePrincess forum when you return from your cruise in November.

 

 

The major problem with the Breakaway is poor traffic flow. Unlike the Royal Princess which truly has a magnificent Attruim, on the Breakaway people tend to bunch up due to the narrow decks in the center of the ship. Deck 5 in the aft is very wide and then narrows to the point that 2 people cannot walk next to each other.

 

The buffet on Regal Princess has everything you can imagine and then some and is so much bigger than Breakaway!!!! You will love the Regal Princess and its openness.

 

For some reason, the Breakaway feels very closed in/small for a ship of its size in many areas of the ship.

 

MARAPRINCE

[mjkacmom]

NCL can't control who you can communicate with via iMessage. If they allow iMessage to work without paying for WiFi, it's going to work for everyone who has iMessage, not just people on the ship since all messages flow through Apple's servers and back out to the recipient. It's interesting that they officially provide this though, I thought it was an accident that it was working when I was on the Escape last time.

-Keith

I don't think they officially provide this though, we discovered it on the Gem 2 or 3 days into our cruise. I think it's a glitch.

[riddle]

I'm on the Breakaway in 5 weeks. As a cruisaholic I just want to be on a ship - any ship!

It's been about 2 months since my last one and I am facing withdrawal. Lol

[Aldeya]

What was your cabin# which had an extended balcony? Thanks.

[coolcruiser777]

What was your cabin# which had an extended balcony? Thanks.

You can see which cabins have it based on the deck plans, it shows that the balcony is larger. For example, cabin 12238 and 12872 have it. The extended balconies cost the same and have a lounge chair, too.

[coolcruiser777]

Thanks for the review!

Can you tell us a bit about the 'creepy' steward? What was creepy about him?

 

 

 

 

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He would just give us this weird look whenever we walked past him in the halls, and then whenever he made a towel animal a conversation like this would take place...

 

"Did you see the animal I made?"

"Yes."

"Did you like the animal I made?"

"Yes."

"What was the animal I made?"

"I'm not sure."

"What was the animal I made?"

 

"I just said I'm not sure, was it a crab."

"It was not a crab. What was the animal I made?"

 

"I told you twice that I don't know. What was the animal?"

"You'll have to figure it out. What was the animal I made?"

*walks away*

"Hey, you still never answered me. What was the animal I made?"

[coolcruiser777]

I'm on the Breakaway in 5 weeks. As a cruisaholic I just want to be on a ship - any ship!

It's been about 2 months since my last one and I am facing withdrawal. Lol

 

I agree, a bad cruise is better than no cruise.

[Two Wheels Only]

You can see which cabins have it based on the deck plans, it shows that the balcony is larger. For example, cabin 12238 and 12872 have it. The extended balconies cost the same and have a lounge chair, too.

Those are commonly referred to as "angled balconies".

 

 

When people describe "extended balconies" they usually mean something like a B6 or M6 which cost more than the standard/angled balconies.

[BlueHonu]

I'm on the Breakaway in 5 weeks. As a cruisaholic I just want to be on a ship - any ship!

It's been about 2 months since my last one and I am facing withdrawal. Lol

Are you on 9/17/17?

We are going then for the slot tournament. We live near Toledo.

[BlueHonu]

We just had an angled balcony on Escape in June. Loved it.

Next April we will have an aft balcony. Can't wait.

[sunny2runner]

It is so interesting how you can be on the same ship and have totally different experiences. We sailed Breakaway the same week and had beyond a fabulous time.

 

We had low expectations going as I read a few crappy reviews the week before. We had also sailed NCL Epic, Princess (Royal Princess) and Disney 12 times so we thought **** this cruise might suck after all the really poor reviews on CC and having the bar set high with wonderful trips on other cruise lines.

 

We had 2 inside staterooms on deck 5. They were perfect! Quiet, clean and super room steward.

 

We had breakfast at O'Shennans most of the days as it was close to our rooms on deck 5. Only went to breakfast buffet (Garden cafe) one day and than on the last morning. O'shennans had speedy service, great breakfast options and we enjoyed all the wait staff.

 

The buffet for us was quite nice! We always found seats and never had problems with the size of the crowd. We always went to the very back of the cafe for the view out the back. It was lovely and quiet back there. The only time it felt tight for us was at 2-3pm the day we were leaving port (Bermuda). We had to look for a sit as everything was taken. I think everyone had the idea for a late lunch on that day.

 

After boarding we went to pool deck and enjoyed the pool/sides before the crowds descended on that deck. Yes we didn't love pool deck set up in comparison to other ships but still we enjoyed ourselves very much. The pool deck on a sea day in the late morning to late afternoon is craziness but it's like that on all ships. People always complain about Disney's pool deck size as well. We have been 7 other ships and sea days are always crazy on pool deck. We try to go early or go late afternoon/early evening before dinner. In fact the last sea day, we did the pool deck from 5 pm to 7 pm and my kids had the slides and pool almost to their selves as well as were able to get in a hot tub with just our family. It was a lovely evening. There were only a few families and people using the pool deck that evening.

 

We never encountered more than a 20 minute wait on the obstacle course either. My kids did it maybe 6-7 times throughout the week. My kids used the mini golf and sports court and were very happy with that.

 

We loved going onto the top deck at the very forward of the ship before dinner. It is quiet and hardly anyone up there. Very nice family time watching the sun drop into the horizon.

 

We did find the Atrium area cramped and dark as compared to Princess and Disney ships but it wasn't a deal breaker for us.

 

We had a blast on the rainy day. We were going to take the ferry to St. George but it was pouring so we walked over to Snorkel park beach and my kids snorkeled there for 4-5 hours. There were only a handful of other people on the beach and in the water. It ended up being one of the best snorkel opportunities of the trip. We had a couple of drinks under the covered bar and enjoyed the small crowd. By 3pm people were streaming in so we left and had lunch on the boat. Than we came back out for a dry, lovely late afternoon to visit the shops in the Dockyard. On the way back, we went to that Jolly Pirates ship. My kids jumped off the boat and did the plank for 3 hrs. It was awesome!

 

We found all the staff so friendly. The bar staff were the only ones that seemed stand offish but they are overworked and slammed most of the time because of the UBP.

 

I think a lot is timing on everything. We have found that after 15 cruises that it is best to go where the crowds aren't and sometimes that takes doing things in reverse of the pattern of most cruisers.

Edited August 9, 2017 by sunny2runner

[SoCA6ft5]

It is so interesting how you can be on the same ship and have totally different experiences. We sailed Breakaway the same week and had beyond a fabulous time.

 

I think a lot is timing on everything. We have found that after 15 cruises that it is best to go where the crowds aren't and sometimes that takes doing things in reverse of the pattern of most cruisers.

Thank you for this other view! We've found that each ship has its own set of "wrinkles." We approach each ship with a different set of expectations. When we choose a mega ship for the variety of entertainment, we know crowds and more planning come with the territory. When we choose a smaller ship we don't expect the variety that a smaller passenger count can't support. Larger pools generally mean less deck chairs and/or no water park (there's only so much space).

Sunny2runner's advice about breaking the general pattern is sound. If on port mornings you think it's a good idea to grab a quick breakfast before going ashore, just realize a lot of other folks think it's a good idea too, and go enjoy a quiet breakfast in the MDR.

[Readington]

Hi! I'm sailing on NCL's Breakaway in December to Eastern Caribbean - a little nervous now! I sailed on Regal Princess last year & absolutely loved it!! Everything about the Regal was thoughtful & beautiful - I'm sure you're going to love your cruise!!:cool:

[jkpetronis]

I was on this same cruise, I felt the buffet was never that crowded always found seats enough for 11. I did find dinner in the Manhattan dining room very annoying as it took over 2 hours to eat dinner. I also found the pool area very crowded and had to get up by 6:30 to even get a chair on second deck. Im an ex smoker and I still found the casino to be very smokey. Loved the free texting but it only worked iphone to iphone. The weather was beautiful in Bermuda 2 out of the 3 days. The rainy day we rented a private driver who was the best and he took us all over the island and it was hardly raining. Feel free to ask any questions. Its what you make of it, we had a ball.

 

 

 

Can you FaceTime for free?

 

 

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[coolcruiser777]

Can you FaceTime for free?

 

 

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No, just regular iMessage. Audio messages might have worked, but I don't remember. I know pictures and videos through iMessage do not work for sure.