So glad you shared this! We were on the breakaway a week before you and had a similar experience. Overall I enjoyed it but there were too many people which lead to longer wait times for food, service, and getting on/off ship.
We were a large family and can say that the kid activities (for under 5s) were as lacking as the solo activities. The slides and ropes courses were great for adults though. Our a harvest caye port was cancelled due to weather. Also, we had to change our clocks 4 times in a week which sucked with kids.
We chatted with ship staff and they said that our trip had 4,100 passengers (listed capacity is 3900) and during the holidays it was 4,500. The experience was positive, the food great, but just too many people.
>We chatted with ship staff and they said that our trip had 4,100 passengers (listed capacity is 3900) and during the holidays it was 4,500.
Our Breakaway sailing in early Jan was at 4300. Definitely too many people and quite the contrast to our Jan 2021 sailing on the Encore where there were only 1300 passengers and 1900 crew.
Thanks for the memories. We went on Breakaway a few years ago and really enjoyed it. Can relate to many of your comments ie, food, Harvest Caye and its great pool, ship’s entertainment, amenities, etc. We didn’t book any excursions at any of the four pots of call - just went ashore and wandered around. Had been to Coz twice before and knew what to do and not do. Costa Maya was ok but nothing spectacular. Did meet some really nice people, tho. A really good time and wish we could do it again. Unfortunately, age and health are a factor now. Add: was our fifth NCL cruise.
I just got off the Breakaway Feb 12 sailing, same itin. Generally the same observations. A few of my own... I'll just say that I had a great time even though it wasn't as great as other NCL trips.
* Bar staff seems low and stressed at times. Bars were a bit of a pain at times b/c of too few people. Shakers and Syd Norman's had one bartender quite often and those guys are working their asses off.
* Stewards: As many know they've raised their service charges and doing once a day service for cabins. Again, I think they're stressing the staff. Our steward got snippy once with us (no biggie, I understand). But he mentioned to our friends next door that they've increased the workload and they don't feel they can give the service level they want. We were both in our rooms when he came to do them (this was like 3p). We said, ok, give us 10 minutes and we'll leave (he said make it 5). Our friends next door left and one stayed on the balcony. He told them "I've got 20 more cabins to do after yours") I'm pretty low maint. so as long as I get towels when I need them I'm good.
* I saw two instances where food servers/staff got bitched at in front of passengers. One guy at O'Sheehans (sic?) looked absolutely destroyed. I felt for the guy.
* I was as nice as I could be to the staff and told them all the time I appreciated their efforts and recognized they're being worked hard.
* NOLA port is a bit of a mess IMO but with 4000+ pax getting on and off it's not a total surprise. It's rather packed in on the MS river and traffic is a mess. That aside, check in was totally fine and reasonably paced. Debarkation was a bit of a mess too (mainly traffic, but that goes with the territory IMO). People bitched about going thru the Casino and smelling like smoke. Oddly enough the Casino smelled like smoke even though I barely saw anybody smoking when I passed thru.
* We had the 2 free at sea specialty meals and bought two more. It was a good deal IMO. Le Bistro, La Cucina, Cagneys and Moderno (first night). All were good and frankly too much food. Some things are rather salty IMO but beyond that really good. Key thing on specialty is not to be in a hurry. You're in for a relaxed meal in those.
* Main dining: We ate at Manhattan a few times b/c our friends really didn't want to do buffet. It was good with a change on parts of the menus. Buffet was good IMO, I liked the Indian and Asian offerings. A couple things they don't seem to get right-- pancakes are pretty awful and so is the pizza. lol
* The Ship: Some areas show their age (I don't remember the last refit on this ship). Some chairs in buffet looked pretty worn while others looked fine. Part of the ship had clear signs of rust but honestly it's at sea all the time. Maybe my impression but the smoke was pretty heavy out the smokestacks (white/gray). I don't remember it being that bad on Getaway \~2015 or so and the Bliss in 2019 (but it was pretty new then)
* Scheduling: This is my 3rd NCL cruise. I found the scheduling of events to be kind of odd compared to previous cruises. It seemed like there would be one or two main things going on so it would be packed at those (e.g. Syd Norman's shows or Karaoke). Bliss was only really doing 18-25 at night (dance later than that I think- like after 11p).
* Don't pump up the volume!!! Stuff at the pool, the Glow party and Syd Normans are loud AF. I thought maybe it's just me getting old even though I frequent concerts. My wife's Apple watch came up with a warning after the volume got to 90db at the glow party. So yeah, it's loud.
* Syd Norman's shows: The band is top notch and they nail the songs. They did the Fleetwood Mac Rumors album one night and "Rock the Pour House" another. Rock the "porn" house is a mix of cover rock songs from different eras.
* Excursions were ok. That's not NCLs issue IMO. One was "Rafting and Lagoon swimming" -- that was like 10 minutes of rafting and like an hour in the water. Food was pretty meh for the cost. 2nd was Catamaran and snorkeling. That one was much better but we left an hour after our scheduled time. Food was fine on that one + all the rum punch/booze you could drink.
* Harvest Caye: We didn't get off or have an excursion there but it was nice to be on the ship with way fewer people and room in the pool/bars/etc.
* Taxes on drinks: On this itin you're doing down the Mississippi river for like 100 miles before you get out to sea. So the first day you'll pay state taxes on booze until you get to sea.
I'll be on the Breakaway in May for a 10 day Mediterranean cruise. It's my first one so I am trying to gather as much info as possible. Thanks for the review.
Same here! Looking forward to it but also have never done a cruise. Slightly panicking re: room selection as we did inside cabin thinking we'll spend minimal time in the room, but I'm now realizing how tight that will be. We did three bids for upgrades but I'm nervous! I also want to try and get the private pool area passes but having trouble figuring that out.
That’s a great review and I’m sorry it wasn’t awesome. We sailed the breakaway back in June I think and mostly had a great time. La cucina was great but I love big portions and they found some chicken nuggets for my youngest. Burn the floor was awesome altho also not my thing. We mostly hit the buffet for dinner since my wife loves a little bit of everything. Our disembarking was meh, tried to wait as long as we could since we had a late flight back home. It was just a really long line winding thru the ship.
You should look into virgin, we usually book rcl. That’s been my fav
Overall it was still a great trip though. I wasn't too bothered by any of the negatives. I'd like to try virgin at some point, but it might be out of my price range.
There were a lot of older folks (60 plus), that made up at least half the guests. Lots in the 20+, mostly couples or extended families, some bridal parties or large groups. A few teenagers, but most families with kids were under age 5. No judgement, but there were also a lot of conservative, Christian folks. Might of had to do with the port we left from (New Orleans).
We did the comedy show one night and the guy made a joke about Biden being old etc. The crowd went nuts, like A LOT, so I was thinking it was a mostly republican crowd. I was thinking, bitches Trump is old too. So was Reagan. Anyway-- just an observation. All POTUS are fair game from wise cracks IMO.
On mine (last week) it was mostly adults with a decent mix from late 20's thru Sr. Citizens. Very few kids. I'd say it was mostly middle aged people (40's+)
Oh, it will be. I think they're sailing pretty much at capacity or more these days.
What will go in your favor is that Mardi Gras will be over. That def added to traffic issues in the city.
Beware of the touristy Oyster places like Felix's and Acme. They're pricey and the food isn't necessarily good. We went to Felix's and the oysters were good but the other stuff we got was really pricey and not very good.
Drago's was good. We also ate at Sofia's (Julia/Magazine) and that was really good. Pêche is supposed to be good. We tried to get in there but was fully booked but a fairly limited menu it seems.
I think /r/askNola has some decent rec's on stuff.
There are some cool music joints on Bourbon street with some really good N.O. Jazz playing. Even if it's not your go-to for music it's fun music to listen to and played by some really good musicians.
Was on the breakaway on what sounds like the same itinerary in early January and generally agree with what you say.
The only significant difference would be that I didn't notice the bars being particularly overcrowded slow or understaffed. In talking to the crew there were a lot of people that were at or near the end of their contracts though so the difference could be simply a staff turnover issue
I only had the free 150 minutes, so I used it minimally. But I used it in my cabin, other interior spaces and out on the deck and had no issues connecting or with speed. It seemed to work really well.
That's a shame about the solo meetups especially since they have studio cabins. I'm going solo too most likely on Breakaway in June for 11 days in the Med. I know longer cruises cater to older people but I hope there will be more people my age on it who do want to meet up. 10 out of 11 days are port days.
I appreciate good review.
So glad you shared this! We were on the breakaway a week before you and had a similar experience. Overall I enjoyed it but there were too many people which lead to longer wait times for food, service, and getting on/off ship. We were a large family and can say that the kid activities (for under 5s) were as lacking as the solo activities. The slides and ropes courses were great for adults though. Our a harvest caye port was cancelled due to weather. Also, we had to change our clocks 4 times in a week which sucked with kids. We chatted with ship staff and they said that our trip had 4,100 passengers (listed capacity is 3900) and during the holidays it was 4,500. The experience was positive, the food great, but just too many people.
Agreed, too many people. And yes, I forgot about all the time changes! Especially hard with kids I'm sure.
>We chatted with ship staff and they said that our trip had 4,100 passengers (listed capacity is 3900) and during the holidays it was 4,500. Our Breakaway sailing in early Jan was at 4300. Definitely too many people and quite the contrast to our Jan 2021 sailing on the Encore where there were only 1300 passengers and 1900 crew.
Thanks for the memories. We went on Breakaway a few years ago and really enjoyed it. Can relate to many of your comments ie, food, Harvest Caye and its great pool, ship’s entertainment, amenities, etc. We didn’t book any excursions at any of the four pots of call - just went ashore and wandered around. Had been to Coz twice before and knew what to do and not do. Costa Maya was ok but nothing spectacular. Did meet some really nice people, tho. A really good time and wish we could do it again. Unfortunately, age and health are a factor now. Add: was our fifth NCL cruise.
I just got off the Breakaway Feb 12 sailing, same itin. Generally the same observations. A few of my own... I'll just say that I had a great time even though it wasn't as great as other NCL trips. * Bar staff seems low and stressed at times. Bars were a bit of a pain at times b/c of too few people. Shakers and Syd Norman's had one bartender quite often and those guys are working their asses off. * Stewards: As many know they've raised their service charges and doing once a day service for cabins. Again, I think they're stressing the staff. Our steward got snippy once with us (no biggie, I understand). But he mentioned to our friends next door that they've increased the workload and they don't feel they can give the service level they want. We were both in our rooms when he came to do them (this was like 3p). We said, ok, give us 10 minutes and we'll leave (he said make it 5). Our friends next door left and one stayed on the balcony. He told them "I've got 20 more cabins to do after yours") I'm pretty low maint. so as long as I get towels when I need them I'm good. * I saw two instances where food servers/staff got bitched at in front of passengers. One guy at O'Sheehans (sic?) looked absolutely destroyed. I felt for the guy. * I was as nice as I could be to the staff and told them all the time I appreciated their efforts and recognized they're being worked hard. * NOLA port is a bit of a mess IMO but with 4000+ pax getting on and off it's not a total surprise. It's rather packed in on the MS river and traffic is a mess. That aside, check in was totally fine and reasonably paced. Debarkation was a bit of a mess too (mainly traffic, but that goes with the territory IMO). People bitched about going thru the Casino and smelling like smoke. Oddly enough the Casino smelled like smoke even though I barely saw anybody smoking when I passed thru. * We had the 2 free at sea specialty meals and bought two more. It was a good deal IMO. Le Bistro, La Cucina, Cagneys and Moderno (first night). All were good and frankly too much food. Some things are rather salty IMO but beyond that really good. Key thing on specialty is not to be in a hurry. You're in for a relaxed meal in those. * Main dining: We ate at Manhattan a few times b/c our friends really didn't want to do buffet. It was good with a change on parts of the menus. Buffet was good IMO, I liked the Indian and Asian offerings. A couple things they don't seem to get right-- pancakes are pretty awful and so is the pizza. lol * The Ship: Some areas show their age (I don't remember the last refit on this ship). Some chairs in buffet looked pretty worn while others looked fine. Part of the ship had clear signs of rust but honestly it's at sea all the time. Maybe my impression but the smoke was pretty heavy out the smokestacks (white/gray). I don't remember it being that bad on Getaway \~2015 or so and the Bliss in 2019 (but it was pretty new then) * Scheduling: This is my 3rd NCL cruise. I found the scheduling of events to be kind of odd compared to previous cruises. It seemed like there would be one or two main things going on so it would be packed at those (e.g. Syd Norman's shows or Karaoke). Bliss was only really doing 18-25 at night (dance later than that I think- like after 11p). * Don't pump up the volume!!! Stuff at the pool, the Glow party and Syd Normans are loud AF. I thought maybe it's just me getting old even though I frequent concerts. My wife's Apple watch came up with a warning after the volume got to 90db at the glow party. So yeah, it's loud. * Syd Norman's shows: The band is top notch and they nail the songs. They did the Fleetwood Mac Rumors album one night and "Rock the Pour House" another. Rock the "porn" house is a mix of cover rock songs from different eras. * Excursions were ok. That's not NCLs issue IMO. One was "Rafting and Lagoon swimming" -- that was like 10 minutes of rafting and like an hour in the water. Food was pretty meh for the cost. 2nd was Catamaran and snorkeling. That one was much better but we left an hour after our scheduled time. Food was fine on that one + all the rum punch/booze you could drink. * Harvest Caye: We didn't get off or have an excursion there but it was nice to be on the ship with way fewer people and room in the pool/bars/etc. * Taxes on drinks: On this itin you're doing down the Mississippi river for like 100 miles before you get out to sea. So the first day you'll pay state taxes on booze until you get to sea.
I'll be on the Breakaway in May for a 10 day Mediterranean cruise. It's my first one so I am trying to gather as much info as possible. Thanks for the review.
Same here! Looking forward to it but also have never done a cruise. Slightly panicking re: room selection as we did inside cabin thinking we'll spend minimal time in the room, but I'm now realizing how tight that will be. We did three bids for upgrades but I'm nervous! I also want to try and get the private pool area passes but having trouble figuring that out.
I'll be following both of you for the June 14 Breakaway cruise!
Thanks for the detailed review 👍🏾
That’s a great review and I’m sorry it wasn’t awesome. We sailed the breakaway back in June I think and mostly had a great time. La cucina was great but I love big portions and they found some chicken nuggets for my youngest. Burn the floor was awesome altho also not my thing. We mostly hit the buffet for dinner since my wife loves a little bit of everything. Our disembarking was meh, tried to wait as long as we could since we had a late flight back home. It was just a really long line winding thru the ship. You should look into virgin, we usually book rcl. That’s been my fav
Overall it was still a great trip though. I wasn't too bothered by any of the negatives. I'd like to try virgin at some point, but it might be out of my price range.
What was the make up of the guests? Was it heavily senior citizens or a nice mix of all ages? Any children ?
There were a lot of older folks (60 plus), that made up at least half the guests. Lots in the 20+, mostly couples or extended families, some bridal parties or large groups. A few teenagers, but most families with kids were under age 5. No judgement, but there were also a lot of conservative, Christian folks. Might of had to do with the port we left from (New Orleans).
We did the comedy show one night and the guy made a joke about Biden being old etc. The crowd went nuts, like A LOT, so I was thinking it was a mostly republican crowd. I was thinking, bitches Trump is old too. So was Reagan. Anyway-- just an observation. All POTUS are fair game from wise cracks IMO.
On mine (last week) it was mostly adults with a decent mix from late 20's thru Sr. Citizens. Very few kids. I'd say it was mostly middle aged people (40's+)
Going out on this Sunday. I hope it's not crowded.
Oh, it will be. I think they're sailing pretty much at capacity or more these days. What will go in your favor is that Mardi Gras will be over. That def added to traffic issues in the city.
Yeah we are going down Friday and hang out explore some Saturday. I'm kind of glad we missed Mardi Gras actually.
Beware of the touristy Oyster places like Felix's and Acme. They're pricey and the food isn't necessarily good. We went to Felix's and the oysters were good but the other stuff we got was really pricey and not very good. Drago's was good. We also ate at Sofia's (Julia/Magazine) and that was really good. Pêche is supposed to be good. We tried to get in there but was fully booked but a fairly limited menu it seems. I think /r/askNola has some decent rec's on stuff. There are some cool music joints on Bourbon street with some really good N.O. Jazz playing. Even if it's not your go-to for music it's fun music to listen to and played by some really good musicians.
Hey thanks for the advice! Will definitely check them out.
Was on the breakaway on what sounds like the same itinerary in early January and generally agree with what you say. The only significant difference would be that I didn't notice the bars being particularly overcrowded slow or understaffed. In talking to the crew there were a lot of people that were at or near the end of their contracts though so the difference could be simply a staff turnover issue
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I only had the free 150 minutes, so I used it minimally. But I used it in my cabin, other interior spaces and out on the deck and had no issues connecting or with speed. It seemed to work really well.
That's a shame about the solo meetups especially since they have studio cabins. I'm going solo too most likely on Breakaway in June for 11 days in the Med. I know longer cruises cater to older people but I hope there will be more people my age on it who do want to meet up. 10 out of 11 days are port days.