Kids enjoyed it, adults, not as much.

Item: Norwegian Breakaway
Rating: 4.1
Author: willyorca

Norwegian Breakaway Cruise Review

willyorca

Contributor Level: Purser

Cruises: 7+ cruises

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 57

Overall rating:

4.1 out of 5

7 Night Eastern Caribbean (Port Canaveral Roundtrip)

Sail date: December 14, 2019

Ship: Norwegian Breakaway

Cabin type: Suite

Cabin number: 8732

Traveled as: Family (young children)

Reviewed: 4 years ago

Review summary

While we won’t return to the Breakaway, it was a vacation and we were on a cruise. It’s kind of hard to be mad about that!

Embarkation

4 out of 5

We got on super fast, AFTER we had to educate the gentleman checking us in about Priority Access. Had I not stood my ground about having this, we would have been in group 16 instead of walking right on. He had to ask a supervisor, who confirmed it and then all was swell! On board by 1115am!

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

3 out of 5

Overall, food was ok but always cold! It was worst at O’Sheehans, where we got cold wings every time. The buffett was decent for breakfast and lunch. Le Bistro was good but service was quite slow. Cagney’s was ok but our waitress was the highlight of that evening. Ocean Blue was unfortunately a letdown food-wise but the presentation, staff, and restaurant itself was great. The one night we didn’t have reservations, we tried to go to Moderno but were turned away. The three main dining rooms were only average and service was agonizingly slow all three times and places. Actually, I take back the average about Savor, as I had the best meal of the trip there. Teppanyaki... we had a 930 reservation. They called us at 8:30 and asked if we could come at nine instead. As I was trying to get myself and two children ready and had planned on being there at 9:30 it simply wasn’t possible and we told them we would do the best we could. We managed to make it there at about 915. It was a quite rushed affair and then they didn’t even offer dessert and when my husband asked they seemed surprised! Room service breakfast was pretty decent (no cost for hot options with Priority Access but only 3 hot options: veggie or ham omelet or French toast) but when we tried to order room service on several different occasions we never could because the phone rang and rang and no one ever answered. I think you were able to order through the TV or supposed to be, but ours didn’t work—the tv worked but not the ordering screens.

Onboard Activities

4 out of 5

Kids were happy with the activities and the water slides. They were not happy with the kids pool nor was I. It was definitely not a friendly pool for younger kids still learning to swim or just not terribly confident.

Entertainment

5 out of 5

Six was great and my kids are still singing the songs! We enjoyed Burn the Floor as well.

Children's Programs

4 out of 5

They enjoyed it. Our kids really liked the staff and were so excited to see them when we were at the Dunkin’ Donuts in Nassau.

Service and Staff

3 out of 5

My husband would say our cabin attendant was awful, but I don’t agree. He wasn’t perfect but definitely not awful. I will say that once he had turned the sofa bed into a bed he never turned it back into a sofa, something that was always done on our past cruises. Yes I know I could’ve bought it up but never opted to. He did make towel animals for our kids every night without even being asked. A lot of the other staff seemed hurried, hectic, and just annoyed. The bars were understaffed so it was hard to get a drink and one particular night at the bar between the two main dining rooms, I patiently had waited and when it was my turn, I ordered a drink for myself and my husband, the bartender literally rolled his eyes and gave an exasperated sigh. I had no words. The bars were so crowded that with my unlimited drinks, I literally drank no more than a dozen drinks the whole seven days.

Ship Quality

2 out of 5

Personally I thought the ship could use a good scrub, especially the public rest room areas. I wasn’t a big fan of the layout or dark decor. I’m also used to wide open pool deck areas, so Breakaway really disappointed me and I had been worried that it would based on a year of watching videos of her.

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5

Cabin was fine, and we loved our extra large balcony and spa shower.

Ship tip

Book your dining ahead but realize you will still have to wait in line! If you have only been on Royal ships previously, prepare yourself for the differences because they are there.

Thumbs up

Ports of call

Tortola, British Virgin Islands

4 out of 5

I was pretty peeved that I had booked an excursion to the Baths through NCL with the understanding that it was OK for children over two. Imagine my surprise when we got a letter in our state room stating that it was really for kids over 12 and giving us the option to cancel. That trip was the primary thing I was looking forward to on this cruise. We ended up catching a cab to Cane Bay Beach which I equate to Magens on St. Thomas, beautiful but crowded.

Thumbs Up 0

Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas

5 out of 5

We love St. Thomas and were just bummed that we were there such a short time. We finally went to Coral World for the first time and really enjoyed it. We’ve been to Coki Beach before but just never opted to buy the tickets for Coral World.

Thumbs Up 0

Port Canaveral, Florida

5 out of 5

Disembarkation

5 out of 5

Easy peasey, although the luggage area was a bit chaotic. They could’ve had clearer directions about where certain colors tags were.

Traveler Photos

7 Comments

Fiesta83 4 years ago

Glad you enjoyed your cruise

Thumbs Up 0

Flag

beautywithn07 4 years ago

I never had a problem getting a drink. I made sure to never attempt one at a crowded bar.

Thumbs Up 0

Flag

brat81978 4 years ago

I wasn’t overly enthused with Ocean Blue, but def a shame you missed out on Moderno because that is my absolute favorite restaurant on BA. I’m super disappointed they didn’t put one on Encore! It’s too bad the service wasn’t that great. Both times we were on her, I always tipped an extra dollar or two, and we were NEVER lacking drinks lol! I’ve heard complaints recently that BA is understaffed? This could be part of the issue, but still doesn’t fix your experience.

Thumbs Up 0

Flag

Killercruiser 4 years ago

Just curious as to why you chose Breakaway after watching videos for over a year & having reservations about the ship?

Thumbs Up 0

Flag

cruisereckoning 4 years ago

Glad you enjoyed and will cruise again.

Thumbs Up 0

Flag

kpalmer1 4 years ago

We just got off her Saturday and we had a blast! Ocean Blue was our favorite restaurant! Service and food were excellent! Just proves everyone is different! Glad your children had fun

Thumbs Up 1

Flag

bobduck1993 4 years ago

Glad that you enjoyed your ports of call!

Thumbs Up 0

Flag

Other reviews of this sailing

Awesome, relaxing vacation

Great cruise

Nice Cruise