7 night breakaway review

After reading the reviews for the breakaway I was a little nervous that I did not make the right choice for our trip.  While some of the negative reviews were correct, this is a beautiful ship and we had a great trip!  I was traveling w/ my wife for our 10 year anniversary.  We were able to get babysitters for our children so we were traveling alone.

This may be a little long but I will provide details on most of our experiences.

Check in - boarding.  Pretty painless process.  We were on the ship within an hour from arriving at the port.

Room.  3/5.  We loved that we were able to get right into our room after boarding.  Our checked lugged was not there yet (as expected) but we had 2 carry on suitcases that we were able to take right up to our room and didn't have to lug around while getting familiar with the ship for the first time.  We had booked a large balcony room.  There was plenty of room for the 2 us.  There were not many drawers but plenty of hangers and shelves in the closet for our clothes.  We were on the 9th floor forward, starboard.  There was a slight odor of smoke in the room and most of the ship.  Assuming from the casino which we frequented.  The room was clean but dusty.  The balcony was about the length lounge chair.  Plenty of space and spectacular views leaving NY.

Service.  2.5/5.  I was quite disappointed with the service.  I was expecting much much more.  With the exception of a few, the servers and bartenders were rude.  It stood out to us when a server was smiling and personable.  That should not be the case.  We have only been on one other cruise with rotating dinners and the wait staff knew us by name on the first night and stayed with us throughout our trip. 

Dining.  3/5 overall.  The buffet was horrible, not many choices, not very good food and a little crowded w/ rude passengers.  Uptown Grill salad was excellent but we had to wait over 30 minutes for the cheeseburgers.  The 3 main dining rooms were ok but all 3 had the same menu EVERY night and the options didn't change much from night to night, so again there was not much variety on food choices unless you paid additional money for a specialty option.  Cagney's and Moderno were very good but the servers were ok.  We opted for 2nd night of Moderno on our last night to avoid the 3 main dining options.  The main dining room dinners were good at best.  I was disappointed that I had to pay for a specialty dinner to have a "very good" dinner.  My wife ordered margarita's from O'Sheehan's, the pool bars, restaurants, etc. and never paid the same price for the same drink which was odd.

Onboard activities.  4/5.  there is truly something for everyone from child to adult.  We spent most days lounging in the sun and enjoying some adult beverages.  Bring sneakers if you want to enjoy in the ropes course.  My wife only had flip flops so she wasn't able to go up but it was a lot of fun.  Walk the plank and zip line were cool.  Bingo and Deal or No Deal were just ok since we didn't win.  It was fun watching someone win the free cruise for 2 though even though it wasn't us.

Shore Excursions.  3.5/5.  We stayed on the ship in Port Canaveral.  Norwegian's Island was better than expected.  Food was readily available and the BBQ was decent.  We tried the Standup Paddle Board for the first time and both loved it.  You had a decent amount of area to roam on your own.  In Nassau we went to Atlantis for the first time.  When we docked it was pouring and the forecast was for 70% rain for the day.  We had the option to cancel but decided we were going to get wet doing the slides any way, so we decided to go.  It ended up being a great choice.  The rain kept the crowds down so we had very little wait times on most rides until the rain slowed around 1pm.  The slides were great.  Some of the tube slides were more like roller coasters than water rides.  The "not so lazy" lazy river was a lot of fun and you can get to each section of water slides via the lazy river.  Unfortunately, the conveyer belt that takes you to the top of Power Tower was closed but we still had a great time and for us it was worth the money since we didn't have to wait in any lines.  The grounds of Atlantis large and confusing at times but beautiful.  I read negative reviews regarding the staff, however, everyone we encountered was happy to help with directions.

Entertainment 4/5.  The Casino staff was very friendly and personable.  Rock of Ages was a very good show but inappropriate for children.  Don't bring them.  The Second City was enjoyable.  Howl at the moon was entertaining and fun.  Burn the Floor was scheduled for our last night but we ended up being too tired and full from Moderno.  We decided to pack and go to sleep instead of attending but I heard it is a good show.

Overall we had a great time and I would cruise with Norwegian again.  I liked leaving out of NY which saved us on airfare.  The ride was surprisingly smooth and at times we would forget we were out at sea.  I would like to see some improvements on the waiting staff and food options in the buffet and 3 main dining rooms in the future.

Hope my opinion helped!