nice ship, fair food, poor ports

Norwegian Breakaway Cruise Review to Caribbean - Bahamas

auntcw

Contributor Level: Purser

Cruises: 7+ cruises

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 51

Overall rating:

3 out of 5

Verified Review

7 Night Bahamas & Florida (New York Roundtrip)

Sail date: March 06, 2016

Ship: Norwegian Breakaway

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 14274

Traveled as: Singles/Friends

Reviewed: 8 years ago

Review summary

I sailed on The Breakaway 3/6/16. My cabin (aft balcony) was great. There were 2 lounge chairs and 2 regular chairs on the balcony. However, every night around 10:30 the outside party on the top deck would start. The bass in the speakers made the room vibrate. This went on to 1 or 1:30. Not good. The ship is well laid out and you rarely ran into crowds of people.

The specialty restaurants were excellent but the regular ones did not have much choice and the food was bland.

My brother enjoyed the water slides and ropes course. I was disappointed to only get into a hot tub once due to crowding, esp on sea days.

I felt that Cape Canaveral was a dud. If you didn't spend the money for excursions there wasn't much to do. The NCL island is well developed and comfortable but the almost $13 pina colada on the beach was a bit much.

The last stop is Nassau. You don't have to buy the excursions- take a taxi for $4 to Atlantis and enjoy the free things there. You can also take a $20 horse and carriage ride on the pier. Of course the ship doesn't tell you this.

The ship was clean and comfortable. It was very stable in the water. The crew was pleasant. It was disappointing to learn that room service costs $7.95 a time. That took away from some of the usual fun in ordering in and eating in the room.

The TV selection is poor unless you want to pay $9.95 to rent a movie. This nickel and diming is the pits.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

3 out of 5

specialty restaurants excellent, regular ones limited menu and bland food. Irish tavern is good

Entertainment

3 out of 5

Limited if you don't pay extra. Burn the Floor was fine, Rock of Ages ok but seems like a poor choice for a show.

Service and Staff

"She"(can't spell her Chinese name) at guest services is especially nice. I found the crew members pleasant

Ship Quality

5 out of 5

I was worried about being with 4700 people but the ship is well designed and rarely feels crowded. It was clean

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5

This is a great cabin with a large balcony and nice light. Be warned: every night at 10:30 the party starts 2 decks above you. The bass makes the room vibrate- and it goes on till 1 or 1:30 am

Ship tip

The hot tubs are very crowded on sea days. Try to get specialty restaurants included in your fee. they are terrific.

Thumbs up

Ports of call

New York, New York

3 out of 5

It's NYC- busy, crowded, exciting

Thumbs Up 4

Port Canaveral, Florida

1 out of 5

This port was a bust. The gangway is incredibly long (open the rear one people!) and the terminal building walk is even longer If you don't pony up for an excursion prepare to be bored

Thumbs Up 1

Great Stirrup Cay (Cruise Line Private Island), Bahamas

5 out of 5

a pina colada on the island costs $12. rip off!!. The island is nice, bath house well done

Thumbs Up 2

Nassau, Bahamas

3 out of 5

Skip the expensive excursions. For $4 one way you can take a taxi to Atlantis where there is a lot to see for free. Or, spend $20 for a horse and carriage ride in Nassau

Thumbs Up 1

23 Comments

Gwbigdog 1 year ago

Thanks for sharing your cruise.

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momofcandk 8 years ago

Continental breakfast before 10:30am is free. Everything else is $7.95/order. So order once and get everything you want or go to osheehans and grab takeout for free. They will give u a pot of coffee

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CrusinTim 8 years ago

We always order room service in the mornings of the cruise. We love to have our coffee and danishes, sitting on our balcony while we cruise into ports or just enjoy the sea air and sunrise. So to answer your question Tim, MANY people order room service. I guess if you have an inside cabin, you may not want to order room service.

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bigvern81 8 years ago

Have to disagree with you Tim. We always order room service late night and with other carriers not charging this raises a red flag of nickle and dimeing. I love to cruise and love to eat and sometimes that means in the room or sitting on the balcony!!

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TimWagner 8 years ago

The whole point is to eat at the restaurants and buffets. Who sits in their room and orders food? There's a ton of restaurants out there

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kagon 8 years ago

that's right!

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alioop 8 years ago

Anything is better than nothing !!!!

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kagon 8 years ago

lol I'm down in the interiors, I will live vicariously through all you after balcony people lol

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alioop 8 years ago

I had one on deck 9 last year & will be on deck 14 in September ..looking for reviews on that deck

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kellier56 8 years ago

Which deck were you on? I have an aft facing balcony on deck 11

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Brian148 8 years ago

Sounds great I will be on the 14th floor aft but we will be out partying 2 in the morning so it should work out perfectly

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jackiebry 8 years ago

Ok Thanks

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alioop 8 years ago

I was not charged anything additional

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jackiebry 8 years ago

Anyone know if you use your room key in casino to get 20.00 to play machine are you charged 3%???

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sandheichert 8 years ago

Sounds like someone didn't do any homework

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kagon 8 years ago

are drinks on island included with drink package?

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alioop 8 years ago

What deck was your aft facing balcony on ??

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jackiebry 8 years ago

Thanks

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Lovecruisingwithmyhubby 8 years ago

I think the layout might be the same. Enjoy your cruise :)

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jackiebry 8 years ago

Farrahemerson.hotmail.com I was on the NCL Getaway last October and the lay-out of deck 15 looks the same as on that ship and the Pool Casino room was the smoking room on that ship as well. Just was wondering if different on NCL Breakaway we are scheduled May 1st to sail to Bermuda on that one.

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Lovecruisingwithmyhubby 8 years ago

And room service charges each time. It doesn't matter how much you order though. We used it a couple of times, but I think on our next trip we will get our own food at the buffet and bring it back to our room. The room service pizza was awful, but I liked all of the other food I had on the ship. I thought the drinks on the private island were included with the drink package?

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Lovecruisingwithmyhubby 8 years ago

I was on the breakaway in July. I believe that pool casino is the smoking room by the pool.

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jackiebry 8 years ago

Is there really a casino on deck 15 called the pool casino? ?

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