Bigger is not always better

One of the biggest ships in the Norwegian fleet, I was a disappointment. This was our first "super ship" cruise and we were eager to compare it with our experiences on other Norwegian ships (Dawn and Spirit). Breakaway is a very large vessel with many amenities however many of them are extra $$$. Of the 22 bars and lounges on board many were only open during specific hours and most were always overcrowded. I spent 45 minutes trying to get a drink at the atrium bar during one of the cruising game shows held in the atrium. With the place packed with people trying to see the show and only 2 bartenders working, well you see my point.

The  ICE BAR at $20 per person for 30 minutes standing in a walk-in freezer to have 2 martinis, there was 1 large ice block chair and no tables except for the bar surface (definitely not like the photos in brochure) .PRIME MERIDIAN situated between two of the "specialty dining $$$) restaurants had seating for about 12 people and was only open after 5:30 for the dinner crowd.

With so much centred around their atrium it is far too noisy to enjoy a quite drink in O'Sheehan's neighborhood bar with the sound of the Arvin and Emily banging out their interpretation of Neil Diamonds Sweet Caroline with the music so loud you can't hear yourself think.

i got the feeling at the Second City comedy show that someone had mixed up all the cues and lines on a TelePrompTer, but this was not the case, the participants had no flow and no connection with each other (Left after about 20 minutes)

likewise ROCK OF AGES was a disappointment because we had heard such great things about it. This production seemed to be like a puppet show with half the strings cut. The performers were over embellishing their movements and did not seem to know when to stop. 

It reminded me of an elementary school play where the teacher is off stage giving instruction to the actors, except in this case the teacher was not there.

my biggest complaint was the smoking on board. It seemed to be permitted everywhere in the casino, which with its open concept to above and below, meant that the smell of smoke was everywhere. We had just finished a nice meal in the dining room only to be faced with the smell of smoking when we exited the dining room(Savor). The casino itself was unbearable for me as the smokers were everywhere.

The only bar at spice is surrounded by the smoking area, however I found out midway through the cruise that smoking is allowed everywhere at Spice H2O.

Although mathematically the ratio of crew to passenger is the pretty much the same on different size of vessels. This vessel seemed to be really short staffed the bartenders seemed especially overworked.

we shall give Norwegian another shot on a smaller vessel, however I hope that they have not taken this approach throughout their fleet. 

One last thing, double-wide strollers have no place aboard a cruise ship.