NCL Breakaway
- Thread starter RedSox68
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Pixie Dust ✨
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These are from December 2013.
This was taken at the dock in the Bahamas. It's really a massive ship. When the cab pulled up to the pier, my friend and I both said, "Wow..."
I don't remember what deck the room was on. It was a balcony room... I think it might have been deck 14?
The atrium was very nice. The stairs were cool to look at but were just not conducive to either heels or late nights.
Important information: Absolut Sea Cruise Edition can only be bought at sea, and then only on certain ships. Breakaway is one of them. There's virtually no difference between what's in this bottle & what's in a bottle with no fancy "Sea Cruise Edition" script on it, but you can enjoy impressing people back at home with your super cool LE liquor.
The headline musical was Rock of Ages. It was okay. It couldn't hold a candle to the Broadway version, but it was a lot better than what you'd usually think of as cruise ship entertainment. The best show, though, was the International Crew Talent Show on the last night. Don't miss it.
The Manhattan Room was the nicer of the two included dining rooms. It was like a supper club with live music & dancing. The dance floor is empty in the picture, but people really did use it, especially kids. Warning: if you sit close enough to the floor, you might get pulled into dancing the Hava Nagila with a very enthusiastic family of strangers.
There is a ropes course on the top of the ship. If you are so inclined, you can even "walk the plank." It extends out over the side of the ship, about 18 stories up, & is thinner than a playground balance beam. If you make it to the end of the plank, you can activate a camera with your foot & receive a photo like the one above so that you will always have something tangible with which to prove your insanity. (You can see the guy behind me clinging to the pole, contemplating life, wondering what happened to him & how he even got here.)
This was taken at the dock in the Bahamas. It's really a massive ship. When the cab pulled up to the pier, my friend and I both said, "Wow..."
I don't remember what deck the room was on. It was a balcony room... I think it might have been deck 14?
The atrium was very nice. The stairs were cool to look at but were just not conducive to either heels or late nights.
Important information: Absolut Sea Cruise Edition can only be bought at sea, and then only on certain ships. Breakaway is one of them. There's virtually no difference between what's in this bottle & what's in a bottle with no fancy "Sea Cruise Edition" script on it, but you can enjoy impressing people back at home with your super cool LE liquor.
The headline musical was Rock of Ages. It was okay. It couldn't hold a candle to the Broadway version, but it was a lot better than what you'd usually think of as cruise ship entertainment. The best show, though, was the International Crew Talent Show on the last night. Don't miss it.
The Manhattan Room was the nicer of the two included dining rooms. It was like a supper club with live music & dancing. The dance floor is empty in the picture, but people really did use it, especially kids. Warning: if you sit close enough to the floor, you might get pulled into dancing the Hava Nagila with a very enthusiastic family of strangers.
There is a ropes course on the top of the ship. If you are so inclined, you can even "walk the plank." It extends out over the side of the ship, about 18 stories up, & is thinner than a playground balance beam. If you make it to the end of the plank, you can activate a camera with your foot & receive a photo like the one above so that you will always have something tangible with which to prove your insanity. (You can see the guy behind me clinging to the pole, contemplating life, wondering what happened to him & how he even got here.)
RedSox68
Retired 2021 -- All the Time to Travel Now!
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Fantastic pictures. Thanks so much for the information.
Question: Did you find problems (as I have read on Cruise Critic) about the crowds for shows and buffets? The reviews I read said they didn't plan enough spacing to accommodate that many people in some of the venues. Thanks.
Question: Did you find problems (as I have read on Cruise Critic) about the crowds for shows and buffets? The reviews I read said they didn't plan enough spacing to accommodate that many people in some of the venues. Thanks.
Pixie Dust ✨
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We never went to the buffet, so I can't answer for that. Too many restaurants to try!
The shows, much like Disney parades, seemed to be more crowded at the first performance & less crowded at the second. We would eat dinner around 7-8 PM & then head to the 10 PM show. I never heard anyone complaining that they couldn't find a seat, even at the first show. Just try to show up early.
The shows, much like Disney parades, seemed to be more crowded at the first performance & less crowded at the second. We would eat dinner around 7-8 PM & then head to the 10 PM show. I never heard anyone complaining that they couldn't find a seat, even at the first show. Just try to show up early.
disney4us2002
Tagless by choice!!
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We sailed the Breakaway twice since our oldest son was a tech manager onboard. We absolutely loved it. We also went to Bermuda and had a great time exploring that beautiful island.
We thought the buffet area was extensive and a great selection. If you are interested in Cirque type of shows, definitely go see Circqe Dreams. It is amazing that such talented performers can do crazy, balancing and such on a moving vessel. Our favorite dining venue on every NCL ship is Le Bistro. It is delicious and worth the upcharge. Do not miss the Waterfront on Deck 8. It is beautiful and a relaxing place to grab a drink, read a book, or just lounge and take in the ocean sites.
Martini tastings are a ton of fun.
We thought the buffet area was extensive and a great selection. If you are interested in Cirque type of shows, definitely go see Circqe Dreams. It is amazing that such talented performers can do crazy, balancing and such on a moving vessel. Our favorite dining venue on every NCL ship is Le Bistro. It is delicious and worth the upcharge. Do not miss the Waterfront on Deck 8. It is beautiful and a relaxing place to grab a drink, read a book, or just lounge and take in the ocean sites.
Martini tastings are a ton of fun.
My daughter and I just sailed her over the New Year's Holiday. We enjoyed it. I thought the restaurants were really just ok, but the entertainment was much better than an our prior NCL and Carnival cruises. If you want to go to Second City, make sure to make reservations. We also made reservations for Rock of Ages, but I don't think the show was full. Burn the Floor, Howl at the Moon, and the blues combo (sorry, forgot their name, but I think both the performers in the blues venue and Howl at the Moon have changed now) were all excellent. Apparently I have been remiss in my 22 year old's musical education, because after we were in the blues venue for a few songs, she said, "this is great! How come i never heard this stuff before?"
The buffet can be crowded, but we always were able to find a seat when we went, and if you are traveling with kids, there is such a wide variety of food that even picky eaters will find something to eat. After a couple of days, we discovered the lunch buffets in Moderno. They were smaller, but much more relaxed, and always had a theme, such as Mexican or German.
The ship is very large, and our sailing was full, but yours may not be. The only time it FELT crowded to us was the last sea day, because it was cold and everyone was inside. We had unseasonably warm weather when we left New York. Oh, and catching a tender was a pain, but in Bermuda I don't know if you will have that problem. The pools were probably crowded, but we didn't hang out there. We would just go up a deck or two to avoid the chair hogs and find a private spot. There is also an adults only area, spice H2O, but we only went once or twice, because it was pretty windy when the ship was moving.nThere is also a pay private area, but since it was outdoors and December, we did not even consider paying for that. Those passes I think you have to buy onboard, so you have to try to board early.
You might want to consider a spa pass, especially since you are going in October, which we did, and used a lot. It doesn't get you spa services, but it gets you access to an area with heated stone loungers in front of floor to ceiling windows, a thalassotherapy pool, hot tub, salt room, rain showers, steam room, and sauna. The stone loungers can be hard to snag, so we went early in the morning for a while and then returned later at night. I think the spa was closed one evening of the cruise. My daughter and I fell in love with the sauna. If you decide to go for it, buy the pass online as soon as you are able. I forget if it was available 60 or 90 days ahead. Suite guests are able to purchase the passes even earlier. I think there also may be a limited number of passes available onboard, and I heard that sometimes they sell day passes onboard, but I'm not sure if they did that for our sailing. Never saw it listed in the dailies.
We were midship a few floors higher than you, so I can't really comment on the cabin, except to say that ours was smaller than prior cabins we've had. Do you have a balcony? If you do, look on the deck plan and check where your beds are. There are two configurations, one with the beds closer to the balcony door and one with the beds closer to the closets. You want a cabin with the beds closer to the closets. It makes it difficult to get into the closets, but gives you much easier access to your balcony.
Oh- thought of one other tip. The elevators after the shows are extremely crowded. There were a couple of times when we wanted to go up multiple floors after the shows. We actually found it much easier to catch an up elevator if we walked down a flight or two, rather than waiting on the same floor as everyone else.
Enjoy your cruise.
Eta: just read the post above me which was posted while I was writing. We didn't go to Cirque, but we met a contortionist from Ethiopa and a juggler from Chile several nights in the sauna. They have more privileges to go places on the ship than other crew, and it was interesting to talk to them.
The buffet can be crowded, but we always were able to find a seat when we went, and if you are traveling with kids, there is such a wide variety of food that even picky eaters will find something to eat. After a couple of days, we discovered the lunch buffets in Moderno. They were smaller, but much more relaxed, and always had a theme, such as Mexican or German.
The ship is very large, and our sailing was full, but yours may not be. The only time it FELT crowded to us was the last sea day, because it was cold and everyone was inside. We had unseasonably warm weather when we left New York. Oh, and catching a tender was a pain, but in Bermuda I don't know if you will have that problem. The pools were probably crowded, but we didn't hang out there. We would just go up a deck or two to avoid the chair hogs and find a private spot. There is also an adults only area, spice H2O, but we only went once or twice, because it was pretty windy when the ship was moving.nThere is also a pay private area, but since it was outdoors and December, we did not even consider paying for that. Those passes I think you have to buy onboard, so you have to try to board early.
You might want to consider a spa pass, especially since you are going in October, which we did, and used a lot. It doesn't get you spa services, but it gets you access to an area with heated stone loungers in front of floor to ceiling windows, a thalassotherapy pool, hot tub, salt room, rain showers, steam room, and sauna. The stone loungers can be hard to snag, so we went early in the morning for a while and then returned later at night. I think the spa was closed one evening of the cruise. My daughter and I fell in love with the sauna. If you decide to go for it, buy the pass online as soon as you are able. I forget if it was available 60 or 90 days ahead. Suite guests are able to purchase the passes even earlier. I think there also may be a limited number of passes available onboard, and I heard that sometimes they sell day passes onboard, but I'm not sure if they did that for our sailing. Never saw it listed in the dailies.
We were midship a few floors higher than you, so I can't really comment on the cabin, except to say that ours was smaller than prior cabins we've had. Do you have a balcony? If you do, look on the deck plan and check where your beds are. There are two configurations, one with the beds closer to the balcony door and one with the beds closer to the closets. You want a cabin with the beds closer to the closets. It makes it difficult to get into the closets, but gives you much easier access to your balcony.
Oh- thought of one other tip. The elevators after the shows are extremely crowded. There were a couple of times when we wanted to go up multiple floors after the shows. We actually found it much easier to catch an up elevator if we walked down a flight or two, rather than waiting on the same floor as everyone else.
Enjoy your cruise.
Eta: just read the post above me which was posted while I was writing. We didn't go to Cirque, but we met a contortionist from Ethiopa and a juggler from Chile several nights in the sauna. They have more privileges to go places on the ship than other crew, and it was interesting to talk to them.
S. C.
The mitten state
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Not mine. A fantastic very detailed review with lots of great pics, menus, drink and restaurant prices, and daily's. Scroll down a few for review to start.
Breakaway NYC to Bermuda with an AFT cabin
http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1851007
Breakaway NYC to Bermuda with an AFT cabin
http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1851007
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RedSox68
Retired 2021 -- All the Time to Travel Now!
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Thank you all so much for taking the time to post such great tips and experiences! All of these will help me greatly, but also alleviate some of the nervousness I had about sailing on such a big ship.
Those that did Bermuda, did you indeed have to get a numbered ticket to get off the ship each day in port? One rep told me you do because of the number of passengers, but another told me you don't because we aren't tendering
How do you make reservations for the shows. We have seen Burn the Floor three times on tour, and really don't want to miss that one. I am also thinking of booking the Cirque dinner show -- so thanks for that review too.
Those that did Bermuda, did you indeed have to get a numbered ticket to get off the ship each day in port? One rep told me you do because of the number of passengers, but another told me you don't because we aren't tendering
How do you make reservations for the shows. We have seen Burn the Floor three times on tour, and really don't want to miss that one. I am also thinking of booking the Cirque dinner show -- so thanks for that review too.
RedSox68
Retired 2021 -- All the Time to Travel Now!
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OMG -- your report and links are amazing. So much valuable information -- things I didn't even think of.
Two questions: do you have to make reservations for the ice bar? And how do you get the coupon book?
RedSox68
Retired 2021 -- All the Time to Travel Now!
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We will miss you by two weeks! We leave on 10/2.
disney4us2002
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You can book shows and dining ahead of time online - I think it's 90 days out so you're looking too early yet. I know we made some reservations onboard as there are touch screens in all the stairwell landings. We cruised to Bermuda in summer 2014 and it was very crowded but we still got all the reservations we wanted. We didn't get numbers upon exiting the ship but that system may have changed in nearly 2 yrs. Our second cruise was in November and the ship felt much less crowded and we saw the shows again. Between our August cruise and the November cruise, many of the talent entertainers had changed so it was interesting seeing the difference in performances.
My absolute favorite was Howl at the Moon. The 3 pianists are always so talented and funny and it's a blast with good audience participation. We never tried Fat Cats since we're not into Blues music but I know it stayed packed.
I know we were on Deck 12 and Deck 10 in balcony cabins but nothing in particular stands out about the decks or cabins. I know it seemed a long walk up to the buffet in the morning for breakfasts.
My absolute favorite was Howl at the Moon. The 3 pianists are always so talented and funny and it's a blast with good audience participation. We never tried Fat Cats since we're not into Blues music but I know it stayed packed.
I know we were on Deck 12 and Deck 10 in balcony cabins but nothing in particular stands out about the decks or cabins. I know it seemed a long walk up to the buffet in the morning for breakfasts.
DanceswithDisney
Mouseketeer
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We sailed on her in a Haven cabin and laying in a bathtub as you sailed past the statue of Liberty was just wonderful. The public areas are very crowded and the pools are small. The only way I would ever sail her again would be to go in a Haven. The fireworks were fun to watch as well! Concierge service was great. Rock of Ages blew away the Broadway version by a country mile!
S. C.
The mitten state
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Not my review, I love all of his reviews he has sailed on quite a few different lines. He recently sailed on Royal Caribbeans Oasis and is doing a review on it. I've never sailed on Breakaway sorry I don't know the answers to your questions. He gives his Facebook link in the 1st post you could ask him there he is great about answering questions.
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Sleepy425
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We did a two night cruise in Dec 2015. We were concerned about crowds since it was Dec in NY and would be cold. The weather ended up in the 60s so crowds were dispersed well.we are at the buffet twice and never found it crowded. We really enjoyed the ship and the entertainment.
The vegetarian meal at Cirque left something to be desired, but other than that I had no complaints.
The vegetarian meal at Cirque left something to be desired, but other than that I had no complaints.
RedSox68
Retired 2021 -- All the Time to Travel Now!
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Did you think the Cirque show was worth the extra fee?
Sleepy425
DIS Veteran
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I'm glad I did it because I had never seen a Cirque show. But honestly it wasn't too great. I'm assuming the shows on solid land are much more engaging. I would not pay to do it again.
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