Enjoyable but would never leave from NYC in the winter

Item: Norwegian Breakaway
Rating: 3
Author: mrstravelbug

Norwegian Breakaway Cruise Review to Caribbean - Bahamas

mrstravelbug

Contributor Level: Purser

Cruises: 2-3 cruises

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 36

Overall rating:

3 out of 5

Verified Review

7 Night Bahamas & Florida (New York Roundtrip)

Sail date: March 04, 2018

Ship: Norwegian Breakaway

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 13166

Traveled as: Family (older children)

Reviewed: 6 years ago

Review summary

Not sure I would cruise with Norwegian again. It's too bad, have seen Discovery Channel shows and many trailers for the Breakaway but once on board, it did not impress me.

Embarkation

2 out of 5

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

4 out of 5

Main dining room Taste, Savor and Manhattan Room were very good.

Garden Café

2 out of 5

The Garden Cafe food was okay, but we disliked the cafeteria style of the buffet. It was not appealing and always busy with not enough seating. We constantly circled the area looking for tables for our large group. When seated, on many occasions there was no cutlery/napkin set. We had to constantly search at other tables or ask waiters. Tables were not cleared fast enough, and when they were the tables were not wiped down.

Onboard Activities

4 out of 5

Glow party and Throwback 90s party was great! Kids enjoyed the rock climbing and the sports complex.

Entertainment

5 out of 5

Enjoyed the shows very much! Just wish there were nightly/regular shows...that we didn't have to pay extra for.

Children's Programs

2 out of 5

Children 8 and 9 years old thought the Seals age 6 to 9 was too babyish and catered more for the younger kids. They were very bored.

Service and Staff

4 out of 5

Very friendly!

Ship Quality

3 out of 5

Cabin / Stateroom

2 out of 5

We talked to other guests about their stateroom steward and our steward did not do nearly the same amount of cleaning/tidying up! Bunk bed and sofa was never put away. Towels were never folded or placed nicely. Towel animals maybe 2 out of 7 days - inconsistent. Timing of cleaning...most days it was done very very late in the day when we were returning to the cabin to get ready for dinner.

Ship tip

Never leave from NYC during winter! Two days going down was cold. Three days at port (one which was cancelled!!). Then two days back up was cold.

Thumbs up

Ports of call

New York, New York

1 out of 5

Port Canaveral, Florida

3 out of 5

Not enough taxis at port. Shuttle was a long line. Did not take any excursion. Ended up taking an Uber.

Thumbs Up 2

Great Stirrup Cay (Cruise Line Private Island), Bahamas Did not visit port

The sole reason why we booked this cruise was to go to GSC (we have been previously to Port Canaveral and Nassau) and we did not go due to inclement weather. Extremely disappointed we did not go, especially since we only had 3 days in the warm sun and 4 days of cold.

Thumbs Up 0

Nassau, Bahamas

4 out of 5

Disembarkation

1 out of 5

Rude staff at port. Luggage claim was fairly easy.

3 Comments

Gwbigdog 2 years ago

Thanks for sharing your cruise with us.

Thumbs Up 0

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esm54687 6 years ago

If it makes a difference..... staff at embarkation and disembarkation are not NCL but contract workers hired by the Manhattan Cruise Terminal.....

Thumbs Up 2

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markandde 6 years ago

Our last cruise was on the Breakaway. You don't give any details on what did not impressed you so it's hard to respond. We had a great time and especially enjoyed all the different venues for entertainment in the evenings. The Cirque show was wonderful as always, and the stage shows we're also really good. Cruising through all the lounges listening to all the different styles of music made for fun and interesting evenings. We love the Manhattan Room and never had to wait an unreasonably long time. Other than a couple of breakfast items that weren't as warm as they could have been in Taste and Savor the food was always very good. We did not eat meals in the Garden Cafe, but did go for late evening coffee and dessert. For part of our cruise the weather was wet and a bit chilly so folks that would normally be at the pool we're also cruising around the ship, but it didn't feel claustrophobic and we could always find a quiet spot somewhere when wanted to. The staff was friendly and our room steward was great. We loved mornings reading, napping, looking out at the sea, storing up energy for a later night than we're used to. For us, we prefer the vibe and rithym of the smaller ships, but we were impressed with the Breakaway none-the-less. Guess it comes back again to a cruise being just what you make of it. We're cruising the Dawn out of Boston in June and can't wait.

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