Our first few cruises were with NCL, but the majority of our cruises have been with RCCL. We finally got to try the Breakaway bc the timing worked out for us (Jersey Week). There were a lot of people on this cruise, especially kids and a lot of New Yorkers/New Jersey folk. While we expected the demographic- we were still somewhat shocked by some of the attitudes and poor manners. I didn't feel there were enough public spaces to hold all the people/functions, especially the small atrium and pool/hot tub areas. The barstaff were definitely overwhelmed; it seems everyone had UBP. Also, I don't think freestyle works for us- we like set dining times and same dinner staff. More often than not, we couldn't eat in the MDR bc it was already packed and the wait was too long. Also, it seemed like the staff were less happy than we've observed on previous cruises. We left our mandatory gratuity unadjusted, but the additional tips we usually allocate to staff at the end of the cruise was much less than on previous cruises. I'm guessing that most people don't tip extra bc the waitstaff are rarely the same twice. Maybe that's why the staffers seem less happy?

We had some friends staying in the Haven suites. From what I understand that is the way to cruise NCL. The Haven folk get a lot of perks, but of course it adds to the cost of the cruise. For our money I think I prefer the RCCL experience.

Overall, we still had a good time. The food was decent and the entertainment was better than some of the other lines. There were only two big shows during the week: Burn the Floor and Rock of Ages. The singers, dancers, actors and musicians were top-notch. We really enjoyed Howl at the Moon. Read more