Great ship, awful weather
Norwegian Breakaway Cruise Review to Europe - Northern Europe
9 Night Scandinavia & Russia (Copenhagen Roundtrip)
Sail date: September 23, 2018
Ship: Norwegian Breakaway
Cabin type: Balcony
Cabin number: 9128
Traveled as: Singles/Friends
Reviewed: 6 years ago
Review summary
First the good; The ship is lovely, having recently been dry docked it is pretty much spot on. The crew were really good and friendly, except security who always look like life is very serious (would it hurt to smile), the waiters, bar staff, cabin stewards and officers were all lovely. The not so good; When we embarked we were informed that the first stop, Warnemunde, was not going to possible due to weather, so we stayed tied up at Copenhagen not departing until 2pm the following day. We got to Tallinn and the weather really closed in, stuck there for two days meaning we were a day late for St Petersburg and we couldn't go to either Helsinki or Stockholm on the return leg. This meant we only make it to two out of the five scheduled stops due to weather conditions. I have to say at Tallinn when we were tied up the place was rocking and rolling even then! I have absolutely no issue with the decisions that were taken, as the Captain said a couple of times, these were dangerous seas and not to be messed with. What it did mean however is that all passengers were confined to the three inside public decks, the shine quickly wore off that. A couple of things that would have made a difference in my opinion. Firstly make the movies on the state room TVs free, most of the films on offer are $10. It would have at least given people something else to do, to keep them occupied and in their cabins. Secondly, I fully expected to come home to an email from NCL, just something to say 'We are sorry that your experience was not great'. Weather is weather and it cannot be helped, but no acknowledgement at all is pretty poor. Would I recommend NCL - Until this experience, yes, I like the way they do things. However not to get any communication from them is poor so that has taken the shine off. Would I recommend the Breakaway - yes, great ship. Would I recommend the Baltic cruise - yes, but NOT in September!Embarkation
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
Onboard Activities
Entertainment
Children's Programs
Service and Staff
Ship Quality
Cabin / Stateroom
Ship tip
Breakfast is not just at the Garden Cafe! Savor/Taste also do breakfast
Ports of call
St. Petersburg, Russian Federation
Helsinki, Finland Did not visit port
Nynashamn (Stockholm), Sweden Did not visit port