May 4th Breakaway to Bermuda Cruise

Traveled to Bermuda beginning of May with Mom, almost 94 years old, sister and self (both in our 60s).  I've been on 6 cruises with 3 other major cruiselines; this one on NCL was a first.  Hugh ship, but honestly, there isn't much difference between having 3,000 or 4,000 other passengers.  Places where I would have expected crowd problems - elevators, dining rooms, show spots - were fine.  

Saw Cirque, Rock of Ages, Burn the Floor, Magician shows; all were fun, especially those fabulous dancers and singers at the Burn show.  

Ate in the main dining room (Manhattan, very elegant with a fine singer to set the urban mood), other made-to-order dining rooms (Savor, Taste), and 3 specialty restaurants (La Cucina, Le Bistro, Tappanaki).  Food quality was uneven - some very good meals, others less than desirable.  I don't think the (reasonable) cost for specialty restaurants was particularly well spent given the cuisine.  We ate at the Buffet 3 times; lots of choices, but food was pretty awful.  We consistently had good experiences in the Manhattan.

The biggest problem for us:  Mom is pushed in a small, folding wheelchair.  The hallways are very narrow so we had to wait until a steward moved the cleaning cart out of the way before proceeding - and there were lots of carts.  Also, the entrance to the room was so narrow that we couldn't roll it into the room; it had to be folded in the hallway, picked up & carried sideways into the suite-make sure you have someone strong enough in your party to do this.  We were in an upgraded mini-suite on Deck 10 and there wasn't any room for it to be safely stored.  (We left the light on at night so we wouldn't trip over it.)  

As others have mentioned, the balcony is very tiny - room for only 2 deck chairs.  Large, comfortable bathroom.  Room itself is pretty narrow.  It would have been fine for 2 persons, but with 3 it was tight. All things considered, we enjoyed our 7 day cruise with NCL.  The various service persons were great, appropriately & sincerely pleasant.  Although I didn't like to spend another $ 199 for use of the spa, it was a wonderful daily activity.  It did seem like we had to (over)pay for some things which other cruiselines include, i.e. spa pool & movies for $ 10 each on t.v.  Bermuda was warm

& beautiful.

And, If you like gaudy, this isn't the ship for you.  It's more like a floating hotel-decor is very subtle, actually pretty vacant.  I've enjoyed the art work done on other ships, in hallways and common areas.  The Breakaway has some standard photographs- the kind you'd fine in hotel rooms- on the walls, but a little more sophistication could have been put into the ship's design style.