Momof3

This is my 5th cruise and the newest ship I have been on.  I had connecting balcony rooms on the 11th floor.  The balconies are very small.  If you sit on the chair your knees touch the glass. In general I find Norwegian ships to have the smallest cabins.  Rooms are smaller and have less storage room than the Carnival Victory which is 14 years old.   That being said, the 2 rooms were perfect for a family of 5.  On the Breakaway a family of 5 can not fit in a balcony room so I was forced to get 2 rooms to have a balcony but it was well worth it to have the extra bathroom!  The food was good.  We ate in the specialty restaurants, Cagneys, Moderno and Teppanyaki.  All were great.  Service in Teppanyaki was not the best.  It is very hard to get a lounge chair near the pool if you are not there by 9am.  This ship should really have more chairs to accommodate the amount of people on board. The burgers at O'Sheehans are the same as the ones in Taste and Savor, nothing great.  Rock of ages is great but not appropriate for children under 17.  Cirque dreams was excellent and great for the whole family ($$).  Burn the floor was OK but put me to sleep.  The Second City Comedy Club was awesome!! Bring magnetic hooks for the room, put on the walls so you can hang things up.  There is a glow party on board.  Bring white clothes for this event.  It's a lot of fun.  Ropes course is awesome, bring sneakers or you will not be allowed on.  The camera on the plank is no good, horrible images and you have to go through everyone's photo to find your own.  Rock climbing provides shoes.  The Slide Spider Mountain requires socks and has a 120lb max weight restriction.  The water slide where the floor drops has a 100lb min requirement.

This was my first time cruising Carnival.  I have cruised Holland America and Norweigan before and this was definitely the most fun.  My children enjoyed camp carnival and all the food choices onboard.  DJ poolside was great.  We had a balcony room that slept five and it was roomier than I had thought it would be.  Three closets and VERY comfortable beds.  The ship was a little dated and my room (9270) could have been dusted a little better but nothing worth complaining about, after all the ship is 14 years old.  The room was in a great location (Lido deck).  Close to pool, laundry room and elevators.  All the staff was very nice especially our waiters at dinner.  Clive and his team were unbelievable.  The entertainment during dinner was great.  They had everyone up and dancing.  My kids had a great time.  I would definitely cruise Carnival again but I would choose a newer ship.  Carnival's private island Half Moon Cay was unbelievable.  The ship uses tenders for this island as it cannot dock there.  Get on island early and leave early to avoid tender lines of 1 hour or more!  On another note, the only thing I did not like about the ship is that you must pass through a smoke filled casino to get to the Pacific Dining room or go through the hot pool area to get there.  Not so convienient or healthy.