Working with has always been a pleasure. I use them exclusively when booking cruises. Overall, we greatly enjoyed the itinerary of this NCL cruise. Major disappointment in cabin “mini-suite” accommodation, disembarkation process, and inability to reserve space at our favorite specialty restaurant (Cagney’s Steakhouse). Thermal Suite spa package is well worth the $$. Cruise staff was outstanding as typical on NCL. We enjoy gambling (slots), but we were very disappointed in the casino lay-out, lack of clear definition between smoking/non-smoking sections, and rather limited slot machine choices.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
Very easy, smooth, and fast embarkation experience.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
4 out of 5
Buffet food generally was good, about what I would expect. Specialty restaurants were excellent. Did not experience main dining rooms.
Onboard Activities
5 out of 5
Didn’t participate, but lots of activities available for everyone, especially kids & physically fit adults. Thoroughly enjoyed the Thermal Suite in the spa every night.
Entertainment
5 out of 5
Viewed only the “Velvet” dinner theater show. Dinner was outstanding, and show was very entertaining. Worth the upcharge.
Service and Staff
4 out of 5
Overall, staff was very pleasant & polite. Cabin steward, Wesley was wonderful, accommodated our every request, & I think anyone would be pleased to have him. Excursion desk staff were wonderful & informative. Service at the Wi-Fi cafe was very disappointing when we went there to print flight boarding passes on last day of cruise. We arrived at the cafe during posted Manager office hours, & watched as she casually walked away from her desk. Did not realize she had to be there (for some reason) in order to print documents (the printer was in plain view). Watched my available wi-fi minutes dwindle down while we waited for at least 30 minutes for Manager to return. She apparently went to get a cup of Starbucks and casually moseyed back on her own timeline. Then she first helped several people who had arrived at the cafe well after we did, so we had to wait even longer. She wasn’t rude, but she was curt and short in meeting our needs. Don’t know her name or would have sent a note to her supervisor.
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
Layout, design generally good except for casino which was poor. Common areas were clean and well-maintained.
Cabin / Stateroom
3 out of 5
Very disappointed in this “mini-suite”. Entirely too small for 3 people. Required squeezing sideways to pass between foot of bed & counter to access sofa or balcony. Balcony barely accommodates 2 people. Would not recommend reserving this category on Breakaway for more than 2 people, especially if 2 single beds are preferred. Sofa is for 3rd person, but the whole set-up is extremely tight, irritating & almost unmanageable. Balcony seemed smaller than standard balcony cabins, and still don’t know what made our cabin a “suite”, mini or otherwise. I have had interior cabins that had more space to maneuver & navigate than this mini-suite.
Ship tip
Norwegian is a wonderful cruise line & 1 of our favorites. Between us, we have sailed 8 times on 4 different cruise lines. This was our 3rd cruise on NCL. But I do not think we will sail on Breakaway again due to concerns in balance of this cruise review.
Excursion to visit reserve to see & get up close/personal with sloths, monkeys, macaws, parrots, and iguanas. Very interesting & checked off bucket list item to actually hold a sloth.
Had to cancel original excursion booked through NCL. Excursion desk provided info that caused me concern about my physical limitations. Enjoyed a wonderful day at Harvest Caye, NCL’s private island. Well worth spending time there. Thought the private cabanas were over-priced at $349, but we enjoyed our time there.
VERY long and confusing winding walk from ship, through gangway, port, snaking through shops to get to street for taxi to our excursion departure point. We were booked to snorkel, beach/swim and were assured by CruisesOnly (including via agent’s phone call directly to excursion company) that snorkeling would be from beach and not off a boat. This wasn’t true. I & a friend cannot climb up/down boat ladder, so we stayed on the beach and swam rather than going out to snorkel from a boat. Excursion company, Guanas Tours, were very apologetic about the boat situation, & took excellent care of us on the beach by providing cushioned lounges, open free bar & free snacks. Turned out to be a lovely day, but we did see other tour operators walking their participants from beach out to reef for snorkeling.
Booked excursion separately (cheaper than offered by NCL/CruisesOnly) to swim with dolphins & manatees. Thoroughly enjoyed Chakanaab park at this port.
Disembarkation process was absolutely the worst I have ever experienced. Took 2 hrs. Long waiting/standing in line with no seating. Physical limitations made it extremely painful experience/process. Totally unnecessary & MUST BE IMPROVED.
Thank you for the review. Why couldn't you book Cagney's? I sail next month but already have it booked. The mini suite is the same square footage as the balcony but from the photos has a nicer bathroom. The balcony size is small. At least that is the info given on NCL's website. Fortunately it is all listed so people don't need to think they are getting a full suite. The price is only slightly higher than the balcony.
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