We made the best of it despite all the bad

Item: Norwegian Breakaway
Rating: 2
Author: kharman

Norwegian Breakaway Cruise Review to Caribbean - Bahamas

kharman

Contributor Level: Purser

Cruises: 4-6 cruises

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 32

Overall rating:

2 out of 5

Verified Review

7 Night Bahamas & Florida (New York Roundtrip)

Sail date: March 20, 2016

Ship: Norwegian Breakaway

Cabin type: Suite

Cabin number: 13828

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 8 years ago

Review summary

Where to start, when you get into NYC it is chaos and I don't mean that by the traffic. The peer has no organization, lines everywhere, luggage all over. We waited for about an hour in lines to get on the ship. Before we got to the room the romance package was to be delivered to our room. We only had the dozen of roses in our room. Not only did we have to stand in a line again but we had to stand in line to look for the rest of our package. So I thought we had it all figured out. Again I was wrong, we had to go back and stand in line once again in guest services. Guest services was unsure of how to help us so we had to make a phone call to get further assistance. Finally after TWO days we got everything that was in the package that we bought. Norwegian did not win us over. The hot tubs on deck 15 clearly state that it is for adult use only, it was always full of children and not teens but like 6-12 year olds. There was really no quiet place on the ship. The intercoms did not work in our room so we had no idea what the announcements were. Food was always room temp or cold. The only hot meal we got was at La Cucina. Many things required you to pay extra. What we did LOVE our room stewardess Freddie he was great!!! We also loved the staff at Taste and Savor, as well as the men who worked at the shakers martini bar. There was a woman who worked there but she was always rude and never smiled. We ordered most of our drinks from this bar.. ONCE we ordered a strawberry daiquiri from the Irish pub place it was HORRIBLE it was just like a child's icee. Half way through the drink it was just ice... It was like kool-aid.... not impressed at all on the Norwegian Breakaway!

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

3 out of 5

Onboard Activities

3 out of 5

Entertainment

5 out of 5

Children's Programs

3 out of 5

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

Ship Quality

5 out of 5

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5

We loved out room!!

Ship tip

If you want to eat breakfast in the Garden Cafe' with out waiting for a table get there at 6am.

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Ports of call

New York, New York

5 out of 5

Port Canaveral, Florida

3 out of 5

Great Stirrup Cay (Cruise Line Private Island), Bahamas

1 out of 5

Nassau, Bahamas

5 out of 5

Traveler Photos

48 Comments

Gwbigdog 1 year ago

Thanks for sharing your cruise.

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apechtel 8 years ago

NYC is always crowded and busy, it doesn't matter what you do., where you do it, or the time of day. We were there a few days beforehand and had a blast, also from the area so we are used to the crowds. You always need to be a little rude and pushy in NYC or the crowds will trample you. I agree on the kids but deck 15 is all access, deck 16 is adults only and the hot tubs were cranked and great.

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sandheichert 8 years ago

What's a Peer?

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gllwave 8 years ago

Did N J once, know all about it! Thanks for telling me!🚢

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cruziopa 8 years ago

Update: If you are not a CaS member join up, it is free this way you will have a card to show next cruise. From NCL site: It's free to join the Casinos At Sea Players Club. Simply sign up at the Players Club Desk in the casino. Must be 18 years of age or older to join.

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cruziopa 8 years ago

Good to know. Thanks.

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esm54687 8 years ago

Word of caution on the casino tip..... I went in March and was a Casino at Sea guest... they not only check for the "color coded boarding card" but they ask you to have your CaS Players Club card out as well. Couple people didn't have the second piece and were asked to step aside and handed a boarding number in the 30s. May work for you or it may not depending on who's at the gate.

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cruziopa 8 years ago

Every port is crowded no matter where it is located. NY port was recently renovated not too long ago. It is laid out very well. At the slip you have porters outside the doors of the building, then the check-in lines, seating/waiting areas (you are assigned a numbered color coded card), then customs before/while boarding. NCL has a good attitude during this process. Tip: If you want to board faster be extra nice to the check-in person and ask if you can get into the casino quickly. The casino makes them money and anyone holding a casino boarding card will be boarded right after any Haven passengers.

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Kristiscraft 8 years ago

I have been in many ports. NY will be our first. I personally think they are all crowded and people are anxious.

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cruziopa 8 years ago

I've left from NJ before, it looks like an abandoned fish packing district. Definitely not as crowded. My camping tent looks more inviting than the shack you have to pass through to board the ship. In major need of renovations.

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gllwave 8 years ago

That is exactly why I am going out of New Jersey this year, did Manhattan so many times, getting on is great it is getting off that is bad, I always go solo and have a car service!🚢

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brat81978 8 years ago

Thx Dawn. Not overly concerned but now that I know what to expect I can plan better. Haven is definitely a different animal lol! I'm sure many ppl wished they were in your line 😆😉

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kathyd193 8 years ago

We can't either

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jeanie6280 8 years ago

No but a lot of my group are 1st timers, I can't wait

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kathyd193 8 years ago

So are we. We have a group of 27. The more the merrier. Is this your first cruise?

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jeanie6280 8 years ago

I am really looking forward to it,I have 3 grandchildren all over 21 except 1we have 24 cruisers in our group .

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kathyd193 8 years ago

Should be a wonderful time

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jeanie6280 8 years ago

Hi Kathy, our date is May 22nd also

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esm54687 8 years ago

In Boston, you have to check-in, yes.... but you don't have a scheduled time that you chose during the online process to "check-in" ....In NYC you actually choose a check-in time that you will arrive at the terminal.. You will be fine in Nyc.... just be prepared for a lot of people

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Kristiscraft 8 years ago

There is a check in for Boston. You can't go in till then. Well I hope by this November things are different. I'm a little nervous going into NY

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esm54687 8 years ago

I love Boston to Kristi but the difference is the expectations NCL sets In NYC..... there's no check-in time in Boston so you arrive and understand 2300 people will be in the terminal waiting..... in NYC, there are scheduled check-in times so your expectation is that NCL will follow their own procedure. Good thing is.... I now know NYC is a first come first serve terminal and will never have a disappointment because I know NCL's behavior.

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kathyd193 8 years ago

When in May jeannie6280? We're May 22nd

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Kristiscraft 8 years ago

We have never used the port in NY. Always Boston. The crowds are always there. We always show up early and we always have to wait in a line. But never have we had a problem with Norwegian. Sorry about your experience.

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magicman1953 8 years ago

BTW Irma is pretty nice you just have to get to know her then she takes really good care of your needs!

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esm54687 8 years ago

agreed..... but it is not

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brat81978 8 years ago

That stinks... At least the boarding time should be whatever it would have been at their proper checkin time. Bummer.

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esm54687 8 years ago

no, they were based on when you checked in... not your check-in time.

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brat81978 8 years ago

Esm did the boarding groups at least correspond to ppls scheduled check in times that u know of?

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esm54687 8 years ago

Boarding began about 1130... pretty much right on time.. Haven, the Casino at Sea, Higher level Lattitude members and then general boarding.

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esm54687 8 years ago

Brat hit the bullseye

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Brian148 8 years ago

What time did you get onboard

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brat81978 8 years ago

Jeanie I guess a good comparison would be if you had a dr's appt at 10 am but when u got there ALL the patients being seen that day showed up at 9 am and even though you have an appointment, the office decides to take ppl on a first come first served basis. I think that is the frustration that is being expressed here.

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jeanie6280 8 years ago

It's just that some people make things more stressful than they really are. I didn't say ALL people are not grateful to vacation but there are people that just complain about everything. I also deal with the public on a daily basis and I do appreciate alone time also but I still can have conversation if it helps time pass while I am waiting for any service .

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esm54687 8 years ago

Hi Jeanie.... please direct me to any place on this thread that any one said they don't appreciate or they don't feel fortunate to go on vacation. Take your time, I will wait..... The thread specifically is about the customer service and process failures that should not be there when paying close to $5,000

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brat81978 8 years ago

Lol Jeanie! Well, keep in mind not everyone is a "people person", but to each his/her own! Heck I've lived in my condo for almost 7 yrs and STILL don't know any of my neighbors names, other than a board member or two. I deal with people all day and look forward to some quality time with my husband. Not too concerned with meeting a bunch of ppl I'll likely never see again. 😁

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jeanie6280 8 years ago

What a shame that people just don't realize how fortune they are to go on a vacation. I am going in May on the Breakaway I can't wait to meet my fellow cruisers as we wait in lne and just chit chat.

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esm54687 8 years ago

and kream, if you want to engage in a discussion.... 1) never tell someone to "chill"... it's rude (especially from the safety behind a keyboard) and 2) at least know that the 4000 unloading passengers are no where near the 4000 loading passengers so don't make it sound like you need patience to deal with 8000 people in a 3 hour window in the terminal .... the check-in process is actually 4000 people over a period of 4.5 hours with 30 minute windows to evenly spread out the load which would be approx 444.44 people per 30 minutes.... When I arrived for my 930 check-in, there were many more than 444 people going through security That's why people showing up at noon walk right on because the rest of the 1200-1230 people showed up at 930. Don't tell me to "chill" and expect nothing back.... I had an opinion based on my own experience about how crowded it was at 930..

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frank212 8 years ago

They actually do have intercoms in the rooms but they only use them to tell you to go to the muster drill or emergencies the rest of the cruise they don't bother you with announcements in the room

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crstine3 8 years ago

If I recall there are no intercoms in the rooms. If you tune to the appropriate channel you're able to hear the announcements. Also, I went on a cruise out of NY in January. I can't complain at all about the ease of embarking.. It went quick and smooth. In the grand scheme of things..if it takes 20min or an hour millions of people are dragging their butts around their jobs while you are on your way to a wonderful vacation...smile! It could be worse!

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esm54687 8 years ago

I agree with frank and kream...... all I'm saying is procedures are in place for reasons and some people feel entitled to do what they want and it's frustrating when companies enable that bad behavior by not holding people accountable

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kream36 8 years ago

Of course it's chaos...you are unloading 4000 people and reloading 4000 more people in 3 hours!!! It takes patience and you are gonna wait, but you are in vacation, chill!!!!

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esm54687 8 years ago

..... but when a check-in time is assigned.... it's my opinion that those who arrive at their leisure and with total disregard for those who arrive at designated times....they should not be rewarded

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frank212 8 years ago

I've been on 5 cruises and waited on all of them.....I waited at security I waited to check in I waited for my group to be called and I waited to get on the ship....some waiting is to be expected they are loading 4000 people...just my opinion

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Brian148 8 years ago

Yes security is first

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brat81978 8 years ago

So u go thru security before checkin?

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esm54687 8 years ago

brat.... you are smack dab in the middle of rush hour!!! It's a mad house at that time because everyone is getting dropped off and porters are busy and going through security is crazy.... the side benefit of long long security lines is it thins out the flow to the check-in counter. They have check-in set up by deck so that may help a little. No one enforces the online check-in time which was designed to ease the process.

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Brian148 8 years ago

What time did you get to the ship. If you don't mind me asking

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brat81978 8 years ago

What time did you arrive at the pier? We are scheduled for a 9:30 check in. I hope that's a good time to avoid too much chaos.

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