Great ship!

Norwegian Breakaway Cruise Review to Caribbean - Bahamas

tangeresa

Contributor Level: Third Mate

Cruises: 1 cruise (first)

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 26

Overall rating:

4 out of 5

Verified Review

7 Night Bahamas & Florida (New York Roundtrip)

Sail date: December 13, 2015

Ship: Norwegian Breakaway

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 14184

Traveled as: Singles/Friends

Reviewed: 8 years ago

Review summary

This is a huge and fabulous ship with tons to do. The kids were well entertained and mostly stayed out of our way. The balcony room was totally worth the upgrade. The food was great, but I'd recommend the buffet over the included sit down restaurants because service was slow and unfriendly. The extra-fee restaurants were fabulous. Watch out for the energetic salespeople at the spa! They'll get every penny you have.

The ports were lackluster - touristy and uninteresting - but the boat more than made up for it and we were happy to explore and enjoy the activities.

The pool is small - too small for laps - which was disappointing, but the decks are very walkable and there was a ton to do when the weather got iffy.

I highly recommend this ship! The staff was incredible.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

5 out of 5

Onboard Activities

5 out of 5

Entertainment

3 out of 5

Children's Programs

5 out of 5

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

Ship Quality

5 out of 5

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5

Fantastic! We had lots of room and everything we could need. Our cabin steward was fantastic.

Ship tip

The piano singers are a hoot - check out Shakers at night.

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Ports of call

New York, New York

5 out of 5

Port Canaveral, Florida

1 out of 5

Great Stirrup Cay (Cruise Line Private Island), Bahamas

3 out of 5

Nassau, Bahamas

3 out of 5

16 Comments

Gwbigdog 1 year ago

Thanks for sharing your cruise with us.

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alioop 8 years ago

Yes, they can all be booked as early as 90 days out

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brat81978 8 years ago

You can go on as early as midnight on that 90th day correct? And can Cirque be booked early?

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japrocaccini 8 years ago

I've heard it's best to eat in the specialty restaurants early in the cruise because they aren't too busy! But as long as you have a reservation you won't have any problems at all. The only time we waited was for the noodle bar but it didn't matter because they give you a buzzer that works anywhere in the ship.

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alioop 8 years ago

We watched for the day we could start reserving and did just that. We had no problems at all, as a matter of fact my husband was a little confused about booking one of the shows, called a representative who booked it for him. (Sometimes it takes a woman ..ha ha 😉). We ate at 3 specialty venues , one was the first night, then first night in port then 2nd to last night

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brat81978 8 years ago

I think it depends on when you sail also. I'm counting down til I can reserve shows and dining lol! I've heard it's best to do specialty dining on the first night (if you're willing to do dining plan etc) due to restaurants being crazy busy with ppl trying to check things out. Any thoughts on this?

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alioop 8 years ago

Some people wake up in the morning disgruntled..just the way they are. We didn't wait in long lines either , as we were prepared ahead of time as well. We found lots of relaxing quiet places to enjoy as well which others complained about not finding..who knows, if you have half a brain cell these things shouldn't be so difficult

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japrocaccini 8 years ago

I booked all of our dining and entertainment ahead of time online and that was great, we didn't wait longer than 2 minutes for any meal and we showed up to the shows about 20 minutes early and could choose from any seats we wanted. Even the ropes course, water slides, and rock wall didn't have long lines to our surprise.

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slcorriveau 8 years ago

The entertainment is great and energizing The only complaint was we couldn't go to stir up cay due to rough ocean Why can't NCL build a dock ? And why are photos so expensive?! But still have had a great stay Love the decor for the holidays and food we thought was great

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alioop 8 years ago

It will don't worry ! I'm an avid cruiser & the breakaway was my husbands second cruise. First was on carnival with calm seas & great staff/food etc.. Breakaway we actually out-ran a hurricane , terrible weather & high seas & my husband said it was better than his first cruise due to all the activities, dining choices, laid back atmosphere..we loved it !

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slcorriveau 8 years ago

I have read so many negative reviews it is sickening The entire crew I found was very friendly We had fabulous service in all the restaurants They were very accommodating to my gluten allergy Our cabin steward was fantastic! Made our room special everyday

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japrocaccini 8 years ago

It will be great! I was in the same situation as you brat81978! I actually planned on proposing to my fiancé on the cruise and everything went perfect! And alioop couldn't have said it better.

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brat81978 8 years ago

I'm hoping that's the case. After I booked I joined shipmate and these negative reviews have me really worried. It's my husband's first cruise and I really want it to go good for us. 😕

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alioop 8 years ago

I can't understand the tons of negative reviews...I guess waiting in line or having one or 2 meals that may not be as hot as fire won't ruin an entire trip for us. I think there are too many people who feel entitled to perfection

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slcorriveau 8 years ago

We had a great time on the trip as well We spent the Christmas Day at sea and it was very entertaining and festive

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alioop 8 years ago

What a great positive review ! So glad you had such a wonderful time !!!

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Other reviews of this sailing

Overall good experience with some disappointments

Wonderful vacation

Cruise was good but a little disappointing