We're first time cruisers (probably one and done), and these are my impressions of our time on the Breakaway….

Embarkation - Truly a nightmare. We embarked from NYC, and from the cabbie trying to get to the drop off area through to getting onto the boat, it was evident that whoever is in charge of organizing embarkation never took a course in Operations Management. The whole thing was loud and disorganized…..One hint - a member of our party who boarded at the last minute had no problem getting on….So there's that, if you don't want to deal with the crowds….

Wine - If you bring aboard wine, be sure to get your corkage fee taken care of at Embarkation. You'll then see a fee attributed to the Manhattan Room on your room bill. Read more