Never again on Norwegian

Norwegian Breakaway Cruise Review to Caribbean - Bahamas

Cruises: 4-6 cruises
Review: 1
Helpful Votes: 18

Overall rating:

2 out of 5
Verified Review
Norwegian Breakaway

7 Night Bahamas & Florida (New York Roundtrip)

Sail date: November 01, 2015

Ship: Norwegian Breakaway

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 11128

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 9 years ago

Review summary

This was my 6th cruise but 1st on Norwegian.  Never again will we cruise on Norwegian.  The ship was large enough to hold over 5,000 people but not large enough to entertain that amount of people.  We were herded like cattle in the terminal and then put on the ship to eat without enough room to sit and eat the food.  There was always chaos in the buffet every meal because lines were forming at each end of the food station.  Norwegian touts  "freestyle cruising" but it is far from freestyle.  The theater is on one floor and holds about three hundred people.  I have to point out the chairs were the most uncomfortable chairs I have ever sat in.  Cushions were worn out and if you sat up straight in chair, you were sitting on a metal bar across the back of the seat.  Remember, there are over 4000 guests so you must make reservations for all of the shows.  The other 3600 people are trying to watch the entertainment in the two story atrium which definitely does not have enough chairs or room.  People are leaning on the backs of the chairs you're sitting in, standing so close their clothes are brushing your face, or standing in front of you so you can't see.  We were unable to get off the ship in Great Stirrup Cay due to winds so everyone was at the one and only free pool on the ship.  To get a drink at the one bar that was open, you had to wait in line for over an hour.   There are about 25 chairs, maybe less, that are actually in the sun around the pool.  All other chairs are under the cover of the floor above.  To actually get a chair in the sun, we had to go two floors above the pool.  The stateroom hallways are very narrow.  Two people cannot pass each other and there are always cleaning carts in the hall all through the ship.  You are constantly ducking into alcoves to allow someone to pass.  There were too many restaurants and other services that required a fee in order to participate.  There were too many kids and it was rumored that we saw so many of them because they could not accommodate them in the kid section.  Staff in the restaurants did not understand the English language well and were very soft spoken making it difficult to communicate.  The floor in the pool area is wet all the time and is very slippery.  You must walk through this area to get to the buffet so you must be very careful.  There was no consistency in how drinks were made.  Each bartender makes drinks differently so you might get a Bahama Mama made with rum one time and vodka the next. There were many staff who did not seem to like their jobs including the bus boys in the buffet, the waiters in the Howl at the Moon club, to the Fire and Ice singer.  On the last night it was very obvious that she did not want to be there.  Last bit of advice, do not let the porters take your luggage to your room.  This was the second time a wheel was broke off our luggage.  The difference between Carnival and Norwegian was that Carnival told me to get the luggage fixed and submit the bill to them for reimbursement.  Norwegian wanted to glue the wheel back on and call it a day.  It took three phone calls to finally get a $40 credit to my account.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

3 out of 5

Onboard Activities

1 out of 5

Entertainment

1 out of 5

Children's Programs

1 out of 5

Service and Staff

1 out of 5

Ship Quality

1 out of 5

Cabin / Stateroom

3 out of 5

Ports of call

New York, New York

3 out of 5

Port Canaveral, Florida

1 out of 5
we needed to go to Walmart for a few things. It was $50 for 4 of us to take a shuttle to Walmart.

Great Stirrup Cay (Cruise Line Private Island), Bahamas

1 out of 5

Nassau, Bahamas

3 out of 5
Free beach within walking distance of boat.
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8 Comments

Gwbigdog    1 year ago

Thanks for sharing your cruise.

Gwbigdog    1 year ago

Thanks for sharing your cruise with us.

martock76    8 years ago

Some of these comments are interesting. ppl's point of view as per they're experience gives us things to watch out for. We are sailing for the first time ever next in May of next year on this ship. I hope it's drama free. lol

jimena78    8 years ago

We had a fantastic time with Norwegian and we are booked for a second. Some of the things you mention happen on every ship that size, not just NCL. I find it hard to believe you found so many things wrong with it, sometimes having a positive outlook helps and just being thankful that you get to go on vacation!!!

beaners12304    9 years ago

Just got off the ship this morning and I couldn't DISAGREE WITH U MORE!!!

aubreytucker    9 years ago

You're entitled to your review, regardless if it's negative or positive.

mimi1778    9 years ago

Right!!!!! Keep that negative review to yourself cause you giving people the wrong impression of the ship....maybe it didn't work for you but might work for the next person to cruise on the ship.....I'm just saying

dawnro    9 years ago

dang. maybe you should have stayed home.

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