Not children friendly

Norwegian Breakaway Cruise Review to Caribbean - Bahamas

Cruises: 2-3 cruises
Review: 1
Helpful Votes: 47

Overall rating:

2 out of 5
Norwegian Breakaway

7 Night Bahamas & Florida (New York Roundtrip)

Sail date: April 02, 2017

Ship: Norwegian Breakaway

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 10902

Traveled as: Family (young children)

Reviewed: 7 years ago

Review summary

I have been on Florida/Bahama Cruise on different ship when my children were teenagers and had great time. I was very unhappy with this Cruise. I traveled with my daughter and 2 grandchildren under 3. They claimed it was child friendly. My first beef was the stateroom, was to small. But that was the cruise agents fault, not norwegin. "" should have offered a bigger family suite instead of basic balcony room. The so called children play area for children under 3 was a joke! An 8x8 room with 3 toys is not a play area. We did not attend the ONE activity per day for our age group because it wasn't at a convenient time for us. The children's splash area was good, but we only went once in the evening. Didn't go during day due to being in Port or because of weather, so can't comment if gets to crowded with older children. We did do miniature golf, the arcade, and bowling. I did not find restaurants or common areas stroller friendly, or other guest. The wait at elevators was rediculas, some people  really could use stairs. At first Port, Port Canaveral, we had to gather in main theater to disembark and had to push strollers down theater steps than had to remove children from coaches to go down 2 flights of steps while impatient people trampled us. There was not a single show that was children friendly. They had great family movies at 11:15pm, but my children were sleeping. No fireworks, was really looking forward to them. Any activity that was somewhat child friendly was super crowded!! I thought food was good in both main dining area and restaurants. We didn't do any speciality restaurants. I did reserve our dining before trip so there was no wait. I paid extra money for circus jungle show and was very disappointed. They rushed dinner so could start show, which was not so great or worth the money. I was expecting something like the Lion King and got acrobats. Should have been a free show, at least it would be something norwegin could call child appropriate. I did find the boat somewhat dirty, especially the bathrooms. Trash cans were scarce. Not a single paper napkins to be found. Staff was very friendly dispite language barrier. Disembarking was a nightmare!! Norwegin really needs to fix that. They should stick with color system regardless if your transporting your luggage or not because 70% or more people self transported their luggage causing a huge delay. Norwegian really needs to show some courtesy to elderly, disable, and people with small children. We really didn't appreciate the disrespect from other passengers because we had children with strollers. They just trampled you. This particular Cruise was not for small children and I don't recommend taking small children. If your there to eat, drink, and party into wee hours of the night than this will be a good ship for you.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

5 out of 5
Except circus jungle show, not worth the money.

Onboard Activities

1 out of 5
Rating for small children. Way more activities for adults w/o children

Entertainment

1 out of 5
If "rock of ages" removed the sexual innuendos​ from show, it would be a show for whole family.

Children's Programs

1 out of 5

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

Ship Quality

3 out of 5

Cabin / Stateroom

1 out of 5
Cabin was to small. A family suite or higher would have made more sense with 2 small children as we spent a lot of time there

Ship tip

Book restaurants, and shows before leaving.

Ports of call

New York, New York

5 out of 5

Port Canaveral, Florida

5 out of 5
Went to Kennedy Space Center. Was great, but not enough to time to see everything.

Great Stirrup Cay (Cruise Line Private Island), Bahamas

5 out of 5
Bring beach blanket just in case chairs are all taken

Nassau, Bahamas

5 out of 5
Did a boat tour. Place is beautiful. If I didn't have children, I would have opted for another beach day.
Was this review helpful? 47

8 Comments

Gwbigdog    2 years ago

Thanks for sharing your cruise.

bcfl0bb    7 years ago

breakaway is a great ship just not for you i guess vacation is what you make it

KDEES2    7 years ago

Wrong cruise for you. You should've went with Disney.

clferr    7 years ago

Balcony with 2 adults and 2 small kids boldpro not 5.

DeeGemme    7 years ago

When we were on the breakaway we were traveling with our 5 year old and she had a great time... we saw other couples with younger kids who seemed to manage and enjoy the time. There was also a family who was wheeling a double stroller around with young kids, and although it looked awkward sometimes they still managed and were always smiling...when the kids weren't crying. Honestly it's the risk you take when going on any vacation with kids. Independent research on this could have perhaps helped you.

rgruenhaus    7 years ago

go to Disney

Katievp    7 years ago

Some research on your part prior to booking a cruise with toddlers would have solved nearly all of your issues. You would have known to book Disney since you were looking for kid centered cruising.

clferr    7 years ago

We had our son and daughter in law and 2 granddaughters last November. They had a regular balcony room and had no issues. The oldest slept in the pull down bunk and the couch was made into a bed with guard for the 3 yr old. The little one loved the Splash Academy and the older one went too. Yes the elevators wait can be long, but if you go to the other bank you might not have so many. So if you are forward try the ones aft. Getting off at ports, especially if its tendered does take time. Either go early or wait till the rush is over. Fireworks were discontinued a few yrs ago. I dont understand how people call it dirty. I have always seen them cleaning and maybe if people in general werent slobs it wouldn't appear that its dirty. Disembarking in NYC will be tough if there arent enough custom agents. If you went during Spring break you will have more kids on board. A cruise is what you make of it. Have to remember there are close to 4000 people and it will get crowded and busy. Just go and relax and remember you dont have to cook!

Other reviews of this sailing