Live info from the Breakaway (Rome round trip - Greece and Italy)

[KeithJenner]

1 hour ago, DCGuy64 said:

You are a wealth of information, I can't thank you enough for being our eyes and ears. And yes, since we're on the same cruise in November, my wife and I have selfish reasons. 🙂 We do not have Latitudes status yet (we are lowly Bronze members so far), so I was curious whether the brunch buffet you mentioned was free for everyone, or was it just for Haven guests or maybe higher Latitudes passengers? Looking at our reservation, it seems the Oia excursion is no longer available-probably sold out. We may try for an independent tour company. You offer great advice as far as making sure to have a tour booked in order to avoid the crowds. I am sorry the weather isn't good in Athens. We have a walking/food tour booked so our fingers are crossed for that. Thanks again, @KeithJenner, especially for the Freestyle Dailies.

The brunch at Moderno/Cagneys is open to everyone. Last time we were on the Breakaway (2019) they had breakfast in Moderno every day but they seem to have stopped that.

 

The food is fairly standard buffet food. It is just a nicer experience there.

[KeithJenner]

The weather brightened up for a while earlier, but it’s taken a turn for the worse again now. Storms all around us again.

 

I was going to do the ropes course this afternoon but I’m assuming that it is closed. The view from the bar is slightly different to yesterday.

 

All aboard is in 30 minutes. I bet there are some wet people coming onboard now.

Edited September 6, 2023 by KeithJenner

[AstoriaPreppy]

23 hours ago, DCGuy64 said:

Thanks for this! It's so nice to get a "man on the street" perspective with these things. Yes, the cable car issue was actually what I am worried about. A good friend of mine did this cruise about a month ago and it was disastrous: 1 1/2 hour queue for the cable cars so he and his companions took the slow and stinky donkey way up the hill. We're trying to avoid that. Did taking the Oia excursion spare you the agony of that? I've read online that some excursions avoid that particular ascent and pick passengers up elsewhere. Thank you so much!

 

Not to hijack, but we’re just off the Gem, and can speak a little bit about the Santorini cable car/donkey situation. 

 

There’s actually two tender docks in Santorini: the old port and new port. The old port is below Fira (Thira). This is where the cruise ship tenders drop you off if you don’t have an excursion, and where the cable car/donkey trail terminates. There is no vehicular access to the old port. If you don’t book an excursion, you’ll need to wait for the cable car or take the path up.

 

The other option is the new port. The new port is up the coast a bit, and is accessible to vehicles via a *very* twisty road. If you have an excursion, you’ll take a special tender to the new port, and take your bus from there. This can be a huge benefit, as you don’t have to deal with the cable car up to Fira. At the end of your Santorini excursion, (like going to Oia), you’ll be dropped off back in Fira and given a cable car ticket for the trip back down to the old port and tender back to the ship. All tenders back return from the old port. 

 

The cruise lines are militant about sorting out excursion people from non at Santorini, as getting to the wrong port would be a major issue. All tenders are run by locals (not cruise ship lifeboats). Locals also ran the tenders in Mykonos… both were incredibly efficient compared to NCL staff and lifeboats. 

 

The issue arises with multiple ships in port, and everyone trying to leave simultaneously. The cable car can only hold 36 passengers per trip, so thousands of people trying to leave at sunset is a major issue. The other issue is the donkey path, which (poop aside), is steeper, more slippery and more dangerous than it looks. Several passengers on the Gem who decided not wait for the cable car took nasty spills on the way back down the donkey party after sunset; the medical center was busy post-Santorini. We’re younger and more fit than many cruise passengers and still almost wiped out multiple times, so caution is warranted.

 

Just be prepared that a wait is likely on the cable car, but it really is the only safe/sane option back down. 

[DCGuy64]

1 hour ago, AstoriaPreppy said:

The issue arises with multiple ships in port, and everyone trying to leave simultaneously.

Thank you for this in-depth description! I'm only quoting you partially, due to this: the day we are scheduled to visit Santorini is November 6. According to a couple of websites, there are only 2 other ships there on the same day: The MSC Musica and the Celestyal Olympia. We are there 7:00am-10pm, the Musica 8:00am-6pm and the Olympia 4-9pm. The Musica holds about 2500-3000 pax while the Breakaway is nearly 5,000, and the Olympia is much smaller. For comparison's sake, there are SIX cruise ships there today, 4 of them large vessels. So I'm hoping we won't have quite so many people the day we call at Fira.

 

1 hour ago, AstoriaPreppy said:

The other option is the new port. The new port is up the coast a bit, and is accessible to vehicles via a *very* twisty road. If you have an excursion, you’ll take a special tender to the new port, and take your bus from there. This can be a huge benefit, as you don’t have to deal with the cable car up to Fira. At the end of your Santorini excursion, (like going to Oia), you’ll be dropped off back in Fira and given a cable car ticket for the trip back down to the old port and tender back to the ship. All tenders back return from the old port. 

 

This is super helpful! We are looking at a number of independent excursions for Nov 6.

[KeithJenner]

40 minutes ago, DCGuy64 said:

Thank you for this in-depth description! I'm only quoting you partially, due to this: the day we are scheduled to visit Santorini is November 6. According to a couple of websites, there are only 2 other ships there on the same day: The MSC Musica and the Celestyal Olympia. We are there 7:00am-10pm, the Musica 8:00am-6pm and the Olympia 4-9pm. The Musica holds about 2500-3000 pax while the Breakaway is nearly 5,000, and the Olympia is much smaller. For comparison's sake, there are SIX cruise ships there today, 4 of them large vessels. So I'm hoping we won't have quite so many people the day we call at Fira.

When we were there on the Jade last year there was one other ship in port (mid sized, from memory). There were no problems.

[KeithJenner]

My phone just started buzzing and I got his warning. It says to limit unnecessary movement and I’m at the bar, so I guess if

better stay here. 🙂

[littlebull]

On 9/5/2023 at 2:45 PM, KeithJenner said:

The last tender arrived at the ship at about 9.20. They have just put a call out for about a dozen people who I assume are not onboard yet.

 

[littlebull]

Thanks for your posts Ken! Wondering which side of the ship would be best for dining/ viewing the sunset once back onboard in Santorini? 

[Happy_Traveler_2008]

Thanks for all the updates! How is the WiFi speed on board the ship as compared with other NCL ships?

[Brewster]

On 9/5/2023 at 10:01 AM, KeithJenner said:

We took the Oia excursion in Santorini (on the bus back to Thira now). With so many ships in port there was always going to be a long queue for the cable cars, and it looked like the queue was indeed very long as we went past the old port. It is the cable car that is the issue here rather than the tenders.

 

They use local boats for tendering rather than lifeboats so they are more comfortable.

 

They seemed to be getting through the tender groups fairly quickly.

 

As for the bar service etc, there were no restrictions that I saw in Rome, including for people without the packages. I will check for restrictions here later. We don’t sail away until 10pm so it’s the one that would potentially be a problem if anyone can’t get a drink onboard.

Hi, first off, thank you for providing this information. It's much appreciated. We also booked the NCL OIA excursion on our cruise in Santorini. Approximately, what time did the bus drop you back in Thira? Thanks. 

Edited September 7, 2023 by Brewster

[KeithJenner]

4 hours ago, littlebull said:

Thanks for your posts Ken! Wondering which side of the ship would be best for dining/ viewing the sunset once back onboard in Santorini? 

It depends. We were on the waterfront port side and had a great view of the island. The sunset would have been the other side.

 

However, the staff said that the previous few times the ship had been the other way round. I suppose it depends on the anchoring location.

[KeithJenner]

1 hour ago, Brewster said:

Hi, first off, thank you for providing this information. It's much appreciated. We also booked the NCL OIA excursion on our cruise in Santorini. Approximately, what time did the bus drop you back in Thira? Thanks. 

Pick up from Oia was at 4.45 so it must have been soon after 5pm. Our tour start time was 1.45 in case yours is different.

 

You basically get about an hour and a half in Oia, which is just right to take some pictures and do some shopping or grab a drink,

[KeithJenner]

Tendering at Mykonos seems to be going well. 40 minutes in and they have just called group 18.

[KeithJenner]

6 hours ago, Happy_Traveler_2008 said:

Thanks for all the updates! How is the WiFi speed on board the ship as compared with other NCL ships?

The wifi is good. I would say noticeably better than other ships.

[KeithJenner]

The speed that they were getting through the tender groups slowed down as time

progressed. I expect that lots of people who had lower numbers weren’t actually ready when they were called so more people were arriving later.

 

The first group was called at 7am. Our group (26) was about 9am and they finished all the groups at 9.30.

 

We didn’t request tickets until quite late yesterday so if you want to get in the first hour then I think it will have been very easy to get tickets for that time.

 

Last tender back is at 2pm so I expect there will be quite a queue near that time.

[KeithJenner]

Weather was much nicer today. Not too hot with a nice breeze. Tendering was painless, although we did leave after the initial rush and came back an hour before last tender.

 

Mykonos town itself was busier than I have seen it before. There is a Royal Caribbean ship docked and another smaller ship tendering. 
 

My wife seems happy with her shopping. 🙂

Edited September 7, 2023 by KeithJenner

[KeithJenner]

Forgot to post the dailies earlier.

[DCGuy64]

5 hours ago, KeithJenner said:

The wifi is good. I would say noticeably better than other ships.

 

Good to hear this. If my memory serves me, the Breakaway was the first ship fitted with Starlink.

[cruiseny4life]

I'm a little upset you didn't start this live a month before the cruise. 😉

 

But really, I don't currently have plans to cruise the Med (too many port days, not enough sea days), but I'm really enjoying you mentioning the highlights/the questionable areas/etc. It's informative and just enough to give us all a sense of your cruise. Plus you're helping our friend @DCGuy64 before his November cruise. Your posts are short, but more informative than a lot of us who just drone on and on about...well, whatever during our lives!

 

I hope you continue enjoying, drinking, and exploring! 

[bluesea777]

Your live thread brings back memories of our Oct 2014 Jade cruise to the Greek Isles. Pre-mega-ships days and it was quite easy to get around in both Santorini and Mykonos - we just took the cable up to Fira (10-15 mins wait) and hired a Smart car and zoomed around the island, ending up in Oia for sunset dinner, and drove back to Fira to return the car and went to a restaurant for dessert, greek coffee and ouzo with views of ship. Then took the cable back down - a few mins wait.

 

Oh, those days! Now, we're afraid to go back, waste of cruise. 😢

 

 

[KeithJenner]

1 hour ago, bluesea777 said:

Your live thread brings back memories of our Oct 2014 Jade cruise to the Greek Isles. Pre-mega-ships days and it was quite easy to get around in both Santorini and Mykonos - we just took the cable up to Fira (10-15 mins wait) and hired a Smart car and zoomed around the island, ending up in Oia for sunset dinner, and drove back to Fira to return the car and went to a restaurant for dessert, greek coffee and ouzo with views of ship. Then took the cable back down - a few mins wait.

 

Oh, those days! Now, we're afraid to go back, waste of cruise. 😢

 

 

Yup. Things have certainly changed. I wouldn’t say it’s a waste though. We’re having a great time.

 

They do need to limit the ships in Santorini tough. It’s crazy.

[DCGuy64]

I was shocked to see 6 ships docked there at once. I'm glad there are only 3 when we go later this year.

[Eggs2Go]

Not to brag, but as luck would have it when we sail next week on the Breakaway we'll be the only ship in port at Santorini on the 15th. So nothing could be finer. But one ship or six ships, sunshine or thunderstorms, I aim to have the best cruise ever (and I go back a ways).

[Jetsetter372]

We are on board the ship now.  We’ve had quite a few interesting experiences. I would not recommend the Selfie Tours.  We had 1 in Santorini that was so quick that we barely had time to view the domes. The traffic walking up and down was insane and time-consuming; our tour guide rushed us in and out.  We tried the same tour again in Athens. It was raining so the guide wanted us to take photos of the Acropolis from the window! We jumped off the bus, leaving the group, and explored Athens on our own, including going inside the Acropolis. I heard a lot of Acropolis ticket-holders were denied, including the tour guide, because their tickets did not have a time-frame on them.  If you go to Athens, you must see the Acropolis and make sure your ticket is time-stamped.  We have incredible photos from doing our own exploration day! 
I’ve cruised NCL many times and it’s usually my favorite cruise line, however, this cruise seems to have random flukes, almost as though the staff are still in training. It’s little things like not having a pen or robes inside the cabin, our room wasn’t made up and when we called to make it up, they somewhat fought us on it?! It was so strange because 100% of the time they’re very accommodating or apologetic. They also forgot to charge us for our Cagneys photo and hunted us down in the Atrium an hour or two after dinner was over.  Just very strange tiny things, like we added a small tip for room service and the attendant was like, no don’t, we don’t get the tip anyway.  We already pre-paid tips, but it was unexpected he would say that. Anyway, we’re having fun but research your excursions again before committing! 

Edited September 8, 2023 by Jetsetter372

[BoundForSea]

4 minutes ago, Jetsetter372 said:

We are on board the ship now.  We’ve had quite a few interesting experiences. I would not recommend the Selfie Tours.  We had 1 in Santorini that was so quick that we barely had time to view the domes. The traffic walking up and down was insane and time-consuming; our tour guide rushed us in and out.  We tried the same tour again in Athens. It was raining so the guide wanted us to take photos of the Acropolis from the window! We jumped off and explored Athens on our own, including going inside the Acropolis. I heard a lot of Acropolis ticket-holders were denied, including the tour guide, because their tickets did not have a time-frame on them.  If you go to Athens, you must see the Acropolis and make sure your ticket is time-stamped.  We have incredible photos from doing our own exploration day! 
I’ve cruised NCL many times and it’s usually my favorite cruise line, however, this cruise seems to have random flukes, almost as though the staff are still in training. It’s little things like not having a pen or robes inside the cabin, our room wasn’t made up and when we called to make it up, they somewhat fought us on it?! It was so strange because 100% of the time they’re very accommodating or apologetic. They also forgot to charge us for our Cagneys photo and hunted us down in the Atrium an hour or two after dinner was over.  Just very strange tiny things, like we added a small tip for room service and the attendant was like, no don’t, we don’t get the tip anyway.  We already pre-paid tips, but it was unexpected he would say that. Anyway, we’re having fun but research your excursions again before committing! 

He is correct. If you added it to the room it will go into the big ‘pot’ of the service charge and be divided among everyone. Just give them cash. I’m tempted some times to cancel my service charge and just tip directly everyone who provides us a service (except bar tenders and specialty restaurant tips which are included in your package as a separate service charge that can’t be waived). We don’t because I always feel

like I’m shorting someone but I do t trust the cruise lines with money. I just don’t. Cash is king when it comes to showing appreciation guys. Not gifts, cash.