We chose this cruise because of the itinerary and also the cost. We booked a family O/V on deck 5 forward. The location of the cabin was perfect especially when we were in ports and it was centrally located to everything. My have sailed over 20 times and, prior to this, our largest ship was probably the Grand Princess. We love the Gem class ships and have to say was very skeptical going in. While I understand the Breakaway class is much bigger there are also a lot more people. The easiest thing is to list what I see are the pros and cons:

Pros: Obviously being a larger ship they offer a lot more things to do. Bars, things for kids like rope course and water slides. The ship is beautiful and massive and still in excellent shape even though it is scheduled for refurb next year. The shows were excellent especially Rock of Ages, Howl at the Moon. The hypnotist was good but have seen the same routine done by others on other cruises. Getting on and off the ship was fairly smooth as long as you did not try and get off as soon as they docked. The food In Osheehan's and the specialty restaurants was very good. We only breezed through the buffet once and the selection and quality looked good also. The Ice Bar was a neat experience. Cruise Director Alvin is very good and the majority of the staff is excellent also. We had a couple of issues that were quickly addressed by the Hotel Director as they always request you advise them before just bashing them on CC.

Cons: They hold a lot of events in the atrium due to the lack of other suitable locations. As such the seating is very limited and it is difficult to accommodate a lot of people there comfortably. Whoever designed the seats in the theater should be dragged behind the ship. They have a wooden edge at the back of the seat bottom that is higher than the cushion so when you try and sit upright your tailbone is right on that wooden rail and it is torture. Especially for a long duration like Rock of Ages many people bring a beach towel to sit on. This is to be addressed during the upcoming refurb. Read more