NCL Breakaway Baltic Cruise Review July 13, 2018

[jimbri]

Great review and photos!

[morry2121]

Not OP but just got off Breakaway today

Guest services or box office will provide you with disembark letters which are coded on keycard however no one checked and from the lines forming to get into theatre never mind being seated Nd then led out row by row that took an hour

Then another hour to get through immigration

After 9.30 it was to be open disembark where didn’t have to pass through theatre and if had to do it again I would do that option and leave ship once the scrum was over

Second day was easy

 

 

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Thanks fab, we have an excursion booked so we need to get out asap, any suggestions on how to get in that first group?

[nycfa]

Thanks for all the details on your cruise. We leave on 9/8 for BA’s 9/14 departure. Now that you’re back home what are your thoughts on what to do? What not to do? Things you wished you’d taken or things you wished you hadn’t. In other words advice for Us future Breakaway Baltic Cruisers!

 

Thanks again!

 

 

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You will have a great trip but be ready to be TIRED! Its a fun be exhausting trip with a lot of walking involved.

 

Make sure you start walking NOW so your legs and feet are ready. Break in any shoes you will be wearing BEFORE you leave.

 

Bring Band Aids for blisters and I wish I had brought Bio Freeze or Tiger Balm for sore muscles. My kids had achey legs.

 

Don't expect to have too much time of the ship.....I feel like I barely saw it as the port days were long. By the time we finally got on the ship I just wanted to kick back and relax. :)

[nycfa]

Does the ship sail past the little islands i.e Stockholm archipelago even when it docks in nynashamn port. Really hope it goes past those islands it will be lovely to watch. Have booked for next year. The ship is supposed to dock in Stockholm but it seems it does not mostly. Thanks in advance

 

 

Not really. Thought I wasn't really paying attention when we set sail.

[nycfa]

Thanks for a super review. Were on the 27th August sailing and can't wait. We're also staying at the wake up in Copenhagen and your photos confirmed my fears on how small it is and that the bed is up against the wall! Hate that. Will have to suck it up for one night I guess!

 

 

Yes it was small but I'd totally stay there again. The bed was comfortable and it was VERY clean. Location is amazing! Plus the price...I got two rooms for two nights for what I would have paid for one room for one night at a different hotel.

[Clay Clayton]

You will have a great trip but be ready to be TIRED! Its a fun be exhausting trip with a lot of walking involved.

 

 

 

Make sure you start walking NOW so your legs and feet are ready. Break in any shoes you will be wearing BEFORE you leave.

 

 

 

Bring Band Aids for blisters and I wish I had brought Bio Freeze or Tiger Balm for sore muscles. My kids had achey legs.

 

 

 

Don't expect to have too much time of the ship.....I feel like I barely saw it as the port days were long. By the time we finally got on the ship I just wanted to kick back and relax. :)

 

 

 

Thanks! We got the walking thing down. Been traveling since March and averaging 2.5 miles a day which is typically achieved by 5 miles every other day. We have asked the MIL to start walking but not sure whether she is or not so we shall see how she does.

 

Thanks again!

 

 

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[nycfa]

Thanks fab, we have an excursion booked so we need to get out asap, any suggestions on how to get in that first group?

 

 

I booked a time on the Kiosk around 8;30 pm on the Germany day. I was able to get Group B at 8 am.

 

We went down to deck 7 around 7:30 am when they started letting people enter the theater.

 

NO ONE checked to actually see what letter you had.....

 

They just had you file inside and fill up all the rows and then let us out one row at a time.

 

We were off by 8:10 and in the van for our tour by 8:45 am.

[nycfa]

Thanks! We got the walking thing down. Been traveling since March and averaging 2.5 miles a day which is typically achieved by 5 miles every other day. We have asked the MIL to start walking but not sure whether she is or not so we shall see how she does.

 

Thanks again!

 

 

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Good plan!! My kids didn't listen to me and their feet paid for it! :')

 

We walked on this trip 8-10 miles a day.

[Clay Clayton]

Good plan!! My kids didn't listen to me and their feet paid for it! :')

 

 

 

We walked on this trip 8-10 miles a day.

 

 

 

Wow! We won’t be doing that much (I hope). At my age (and lack of physical fitness) after 5 miles in a day I start to feel it. Will be refilling the Aleve bottle just in case!

 

 

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[njkate]

You will have a great trip but be ready to be TIRED! Its a fun be exhausting trip with a lot of walking involved.

 

Make sure you start walking NOW so your legs and feet are ready. Break in any shoes you will be wearing BEFORE you leave.

 

Bring Band Aids for blisters and I wish I had brought Bio Freeze or Tiger Balm for sore muscles. My kids had achey legs.

 

Don't expect to have too much time of the ship.....I feel like I barely saw it as the port days were long. By the time we finally got on the ship I just wanted to kick back and relax. :)

Well that seals it, don't care how stupid it looks, my UGG slippers will be my go to, broken in and comfy

[SClakeliving]

We spend a lot of the walk doing this.....:') Where are we again? But thanks to my 13 year old we made it safely back to the ship! ;)

 

Untitled by Sis, on Flickr

 

 

 

Thank you for the great review! I leave in 25 days for our Baltic cruise so you have given me alot of information. As for GPS and directions....when I travel I use a great app called "MapsMe" Before you leave, download the app and the maps of any city/area/countries you will need. Then when you are there and need directions... just open it and it will show you around...no need for wifi or cellular data! I keep my phone on "airplane mode" (unless I have wifi available) and it works every time. It is a lot like google maps...it gives walking directions, information on restaurants or services in the area, etc. When I get home, I delete the maps. So easy to use. Anyone interested, download it and give it a test drive at home so you are comfortable using it abroad.

-Elaine

[fabnfortysomething]

Thanks fab, we have an excursion booked so we need to get out asap, any suggestions on how to get in that first group?

 

 

 

We had group A so should have been in first batch 8am but everyone else had same idea to get off ASAP and as no one checked letters it was a complete scrum

Good news the tour operators will wait for you but we joined what should have been line first group 8 am it was nearly 10 by time we met our tour guide because thousands of other passengers all wanted to be off ASAP

And disregarded letters they had been allocated for later time

As already suggested save yourself some aggravation and arrange to meet tour guide later and just get back to ship later

You will still get same length of tour day

 

 

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[salzdt]

Thank you so much for your amazing review. We have a Baltic cruise booked for next year on the Sky leaving out of Stockholm 14 day ending in Southampton. We have never sailed any NCl big ships, so we opted for the SKY. My only reservation is that we have to fly one way to Stockholm , and one way form Southampton back to N.Y. Have you sailed any of NCL's smaller ships and could compare the Breakaway to one of their smaller ships. I would prefer to go and leave from same port. Any suggestions or comments appreciated. Again thank you for your photos and review.

[bluesea777]

Thank you so much for your amazing review. We have a Baltic cruise booked for next year on the Sky leaving out of Stockholm 14 day ending in Southampton. We have never sailed any NCl big ships, so we opted for the SKY. My only reservation is that we have to fly one way to Stockholm , and one way form Southampton back to N.Y. Have you sailed any of NCL's smaller ships and could compare the Breakaway to one of their smaller ships. I would prefer to go and leave from same port. Any suggestions or comments appreciated. Again thank you for your photos and review.

 

 

SKY ???? You might want to recheck.

 

It's the SPIRIT and we are on the Aug 2-17 2019.

[nycfa]

Thank you so much for your amazing review. We have a Baltic cruise booked for next year on the Sky leaving out of Stockholm 14 day ending in Southampton. We have never sailed any NCl big ships, so we opted for the SKY. My only reservation is that we have to fly one way to Stockholm , and one way form Southampton back to N.Y. Have you sailed any of NCL's smaller ships and could compare the Breakaway to one of their smaller ships. I would prefer to go and leave from same port. Any suggestions or comments appreciated. Again thank you for your photos and review.

 

 

So I went to look this up: It's the Spirit not the Sky but yes it's a smaller ship.......IMO looking at the itinerary I don't think the ship matters....you are in port every day but one sea day. Its a super port heavy cruise (I"m super jelly!). So the ship is a place to sleep/breakfast/dinner....not much time for much else! In a good way!! I have been on both large and small ships...I actually prefer the smaller ones. But mainly I look for where we are going vs the ship itself. :)

 

Also regarding flights: when you look for flights book multi city tickets vs. one way. It's usually (but not always) cheaper then two one way fare. Make sure to shop around and try out both ways to see what works.

 

Sounds like a wonderful trip!! :)

[bluesea777]

So I went to look this up: It's the Spirit not the Sky but yes it's a smaller ship.......IMO looking at the itinerary I don't think the ship matters....you are in port every day but one sea day. Its a super port heavy cruise (I"m super jelly!). So the ship is a place to sleep/breakfast/dinner....not much time for much else! In a good way!! I have been on both large and small ships...I actually prefer the smaller ones. But mainly I look for where we are going vs the ship itself. :)

 

Also regarding flights: when you look for flights book multi city tickets vs. one way. It's usually (but not always) cheaper then two one way fare. Make sure to shop around and try out both ways to see what works.

 

Sounds like a wonderful trip!! :)

 

Spirit has 2000 ppl vs Breakaway/Getaway 4000+, so it's no brainer which ship to go on. We went on Spirit this past April for 11 day Med cruise out of Rome and although it was a port intensive cruise we managed to find many favourite places on the Spirt to enjoy our time spent on the ship so we are happy to have booked the Spirit for the Ultimate Baltics cruise next year Aug 2019.

 

As for the flights we have discovered several airlines offering one way fares, so we are okay. Hint: we have been on 5 TAs.

[tibby73]

Hello! I was intrigued by your comment about mobility issues in Tallinn. I have bad knees, mostly manifested in difficulty navigating steps without handrails. I’m planning to do just as you did, take transportation to the top and walk down. I am taking walking sticks to be used as needed. Am I dreaming to think I’m going to be fine?

Thanks for your insight.

 

Tallinn Estonia

 

So today was a DIY day for us.....I wanted to get to the top of Old Town and get that amazing view everyone takes photos of!

 

Quite a few ships in port today!

 

Untitled by Sis, on Flickr

 

So there is still a heat wave going on so I decided we would take a taxi to the top of Old Town then walk back DOWN HILL to the ship. I asked several taxis at the port how much....20 Euros. Sigh, according to Rick Steves books that is over priced BUT there was no way we would make it to the top in the heat (My oldest is extremely heat sensitive due to a health condition) so I decided it is what it is and took the taxi to the top for 20 Euros. :rolleyes::')

 

The view was worth it.....

 

Untitled by Sis, on Flickr

 

So the taxi drive gave us a map and the main road back down to the port is Pikk so we decided to just follow this down and stop into whatever shops or whatever interested us along the way..

 

Untitled by Sis, on Flickr

[DeviCat]

Thank you for the detailed review and the invaluable tips! We sail 9/5 on the Breakaway Baltic Cruise!

[Clay Clayton]

Thank you for the detailed review and the invaluable tips! We sail 9/5 on the Breakaway Baltic Cruise!

 

 

Be sure to bring her back in one piece...we board as you are getting off!

 

 

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[riclop]

Thanks for the report.

[kenrod]

Thank you for your review! I really enjoyed it and I appreciate some of the tips that you provided. We will use some of your tips on our upcoming cruise.

[DeviCat]

Be sure to bring her back in one piece...we board as you are getting off!

 

 

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No worries from me and Mr. D, but I can't speak for the other 3,961!:)

[nycfa]

Hello! I was intrigued by your comment about mobility issues in Tallinn. I have bad knees, mostly manifested in difficulty navigating steps without handrails. I’m planning to do just as you did, take transportation to the top and walk down. I am taking walking sticks to be used as needed. Am I dreaming to think I’m going to be fine?

Thanks for your insight.

 

 

It's all cobblestone which makes for uneven ground....so that may or may not be an issue for you?

 

 

Walking sticks will help and going down is definitely easier then going up......

[moonjelly]

hi nycfa,

 

 

thank you for your trip report!

My kids and I loved the trip, as well. What a lot to see in such a short time! We are home now, needing a vacation to recover from our vacation. It was definitely a busy itinerary with a lot to see and do. Amazing!

 

I am in a bit of hot water, though, so wondered if you might be able to help..

 

Did you happen to buy the embarkation photo that had the map, itinerary, ship facts around the small photo taken at embarkation?

 

I was supposed to do so, but when I got home, it saw it was not included in the 20 picture package that I bought. My traveling companion was quite disappointed. If I could get a copy of the surround, I could replace the inset photo with one of ours. If I could get it from the ship, I would, but there is no communication channel to the onboard photographers, so I thought I would see if a fellow cruise-critic member could hep me out and send me a digital version of it.

 

 

Thanks!

Julie

[nycfa]

hi nycfa,

 

 

thank you for your trip report!

My kids and I loved the trip, as well. What a lot to see in such a short time! We are home now, needing a vacation to recover from our vacation. It was definitely a busy itinerary with a lot to see and do. Amazing!

 

I am in a bit of hot water, though, so wondered if you might be able to help..

 

Did you happen to buy the embarkation photo that had the map, itinerary, ship facts around the small photo taken at embarkation?

 

I was supposed to do so, but when I got home, it saw it was not included in the 20 picture package that I bought. My traveling companion was quite disappointed. If I could get a copy of the surround, I could replace the inset photo with one of ours. If I could get it from the ship, I would, but there is no communication channel to the onboard photographers, so I thought I would see if a fellow cruise-critic member could hep me out and send me a digital version of it.

 

 

Thanks!

Julie

 

Hi Julie!

 

I know which one you are talking about but we didn't purchase that photo. I'm sorry what a bummer! Good luck finding it!! Maybe google image search?