Very disappointing! 3 of the 5 ports were cancelled.

Item: Norwegian Breakaway
Rating: 2.3
Author: cvk6543

Norwegian Breakaway Cruise Review to Europe - Northern Europe

cvk6543

Contributor Level: Purser

Cruises: 4-6 cruises

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 45

Overall rating:

2.3 out of 5

Verified Review

9 Night Scandinavia & Russia (Copenhagen Roundtrip)

Sail date: September 23, 2018

Ship: Norwegian Breakaway

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 14784

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 6 years ago

Review summary

It's disappointing that there were so many days without any ports, having lost three of the five ports. Instead of taking one day at sea at the end of the cruise, it was two days at sea. No explanation, beside weather conditions, was provided. Ship cruising speed was greatly reduced to fill the two days. A knowledgeable passenger (his father was a sea captain) said the ship could have been going faster, which would have allowed a stop at Finland. I guess we will never know the logic behind the decisions (e.g. why St. Petersburg wasn't changed to one day instead of two so that we could have gone to another port).

Embarkation

1 out of 5

This was the first disappointment; we were told that we would stay in the harbor for an additional day before leaving. 1st port cancelled!

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

1 out of 5

Mediocre. No other word to describe it.

Onboard Activities

1 out of 5

Fitness center overcrowded; pools and deck unavailable most of the cruise due to winds. Card room had only five small tables which were always filled. Need I go on?

Entertainment

2 out of 5

Not impressed.

Children's Programs

Service and Staff

2 out of 5

This was the last cruise of the year; you definitely got the feeling that the crew members were ready to be done!

Ship Quality

2 out of 5

The ship is too big with too many people, creating overcrowding everywhere you went.

Cabin / Stateroom

3 out of 5

Ship tip

Make sure you understand the risk; this cost a lot of money and to never go to three of the five ports (Germany, Sweden & Finland) was shocking, especially with no compensation at all! One staff member said this happens every year on this last cruise; he said that after mid-September, there are storms that affect the ports to be visited. Why then do they offer this cruise at this time without any disclosure?

Thumbs up

Ports of call

Copenhagen, Denmark

3 out of 5

It was cold and rainy the entire time we were there, but it's a beautiful city.

Thumbs Up 1

Warnemunde (Berlin), Germany Did not visit port

Thumbs Up 0

Tallinn, Estonia

3 out of 5

A beautiful city. We were scheduled to be there one day, but because we were kept in the port an additional day, we had another day there. One day would have been perfect.

Thumbs Up 1

St. Petersburg, Russian Federation

4 out of 5

We had scheduled tours with Alla Tours. This was definitely the highlight of the trip. The tour guide (Anna) was great, so knowledgeable and very personable. We did a 2-day private tour (choosing exactly what we wanted to see - as an example, spending more time at the Hermitage than the other tours provided) and the night tour (we had Russian dinner).

Thumbs Up 2

Helsinki, Finland Did not visit port

Thumbs Up 0

Nynashamn (Stockholm), Sweden Did not visit port

Thumbs Up 0

Disembarkation

1 out of 5

We were still in shock with leaving the ship, having not been to Finland and Sweden as expected. In addition, the line for taxis was an hour long. Again, too many people doing everything at the same time!

7 Comments

Gwbigdog 2 years ago

Thanks for sharing your cruise.

Thumbs Up 0

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Kkitty44 6 years ago

I remember having to skip Sweden last year. To get to the port requires the careful navigation through an archipelago. Swedish maritime authorities regulate that if the winds are above a certain speed, no ship may enter those waters. Those winds cancelled the port stop.

Thumbs Up 4

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funwithhun 6 years ago

I love the breakaway. Ports or no ports. Weather happens. I enjoy my vacation no matter what happens.

Thumbs Up 5

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beth5865 6 years ago

Every time I read about this cruise I just shake my head. I can't imagine all of these posters believe that NCL and the captain would just arbitrarily cancel these ports without LOTS of thought and consideration!! Those missed ports represent a huge loss of income to the ports skipped and a huge customer satisfaction problem for NCL. I believe they are trying too avoid that at all costs whenever possible. I'm sure if all these people had been stuck in a port or injured due to weather, we'd be reading much different opinions.

Thumbs Up 8

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esm54687 6 years ago

and if these ports were "tender ports" then the weather would've impacted things even more....... but I seldom take info from another passenger who has a relative who was in a profession...... my 3rd cousin is a world renowned neurosurgeon but I refrain from giving advice on how another neurosurgeon should handle a case...

Thumbs Up 5

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chadley77 6 years ago

I agree with Gina.

Thumbs Up 3

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gina0820 6 years ago

You need more explanation then weather conditions? Knowledgeable passengers aren’t in charge, the captain is and I’m pretty sure he didn’t just decide to skip ports just because he felt like it. If he had gone ahead and you got caught in bad weather, you’d complain that he didn’t make the decision to skip the port. This is a chance you take when you cruise, weather can change instantly- maybe you should stick to land based vacations.

Thumbs Up 7

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Other reviews of this sailing

Horrific time. Worst travel experience ever!!

Total Frustration!

Disappointing cruise on NCL Breakaway