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Cruising on Norwegian Breakaway
This past
May 8 to 10 I had the opportunity to do a pre-inaugural trade cruise on the
latest ship from NCL, the Breakaway. Two days is hardly enough time to really
experience this ship as she offers a lot including 27 food and dining options
and 22 bars and lounges. At 146,600 gross tonnage carrying 4,028 passenger
(based only on double occupancy) and 1,640 crew there is a tremendous amount to
see and do in such a short time.
Let me start
with the cabins which are nice change from the Epic. The standard balcony
cabins that most groups would use are back to a more traditional design with
ample space, a balcony with 2 chairs and a table. The bathrooms have an
enclosed shower and ample storage space plus the shower bar that the ladies
love. The bedding is great by anyone’s standards and the soft is comfortable
for watching the large flat screen TV. A very nice feature is the coffee and tea
machine in each stateroom. The décor is contemporary and very appealing.
There are of
course numerous cabin categories but of particular notice are the Haven Suites
and the Studios which are for single occupancy. The Haven Suites is a ship
within a ship concept that offers many private key card only access to Haven
guests. They include a private dining area, private bar, pool, sun deck are and
more. The cabins are all basically suites of varying sizes. Great for a small
group, VIPs or even a takeover. Of course these passengers get preferred access
to all dining venues etc.
The Studios
are basically a small inside cabin with all the necessary facilities and even
their own private lounge. A unique concept to Norwegian and great for sales
meeting with single occupancy being a major concern are the Studio cabins.
In my
opinion the biggest Wow factor is the totally new concept “The Water Front”.
This is a very large area cover over half of deck 8 that features indoor/outdoor
dining on both sides of the ship featuring 5 restaurants, 3 bars and lounges and
a cigar room. This is going to be wildly popular so much so Mickey Arinson
called the President of NCL to comment why didn’t we think of this before.
Located on this deck is Iron Chef Geoffrey Zakarian’s designed Ocean Blue and
Raw Bar. Seafood is the star here and it is a signature dining event. Also
being offered is a take away menu which is a new concept as well.
Of the total of 27 food and dining venues, not including room
service, 11 are offered at no additional charge while 16 carry additional
charges. I had the opportunity to dine at Moderno Churrascaria Brazilian style
steak house which is as good as any similar land side top notch steak house. It
was excellent and the service was great. I also had lunch in Savor which is
one of 3 main dining rooms which is stunningly decorated with a nice menu as
well. Of course your typical buffet dining is available and the not so typical
New York style hot dog carts.
The Spiegel Tent offers both lunch and dinner with the Cirque
Dreams Jungle Fantasy. This is a most do event for any group. This is an
visually eye-popping Broadway Show happening all around you while you enjoy a
great dinner.
Other
entertainment venues of note include 2 Broadway Shows Rock of Ages and Burn the
Floor. These certainly aren’t your boring production shows of past years.
Other lounges feature Fat Cats Jazz and Blues Club which I highly recommend, The
Second City improv lounge and Howl at the moon. These three night spots offer
top acts nightly. To cool off after a hot night of fun go to the Ice Bar,
parkas are provided.
Now water
slides, robe courses, mini golf and a sports complex might seem to appeal to the
kids well on this trade only cruise it seemed we had 3,000 kids lining up to use
these facilities that cover a staggering amount of space. The 4 water slides
are the wildest I have seen at sea.
The
Breakaway will operate year round from New York offer 7 night Bermuda Cruises
May to October and 7 night cruises going to Orland and the Bahamas October to
April.
This ship
and her sister ship, Getaway, coming to Miami in 2014 have just raised the bar
again in cruising. Highly recommend you consider them for your groups.
This review is the personal opinion of Steve Bloss and
does not
ncessarily reflect the opinion of WWTCA May 2013 |
