I've sailed with about 4 different cruise lines. Norwegian was by far and away, the worst I've ever dealt with. Trying to communicate with them before the cruise was impossible. And the service, quality, food, and excursions were not quite up to par. If I had to do it all over again I'd never choose Norwegian. We've sailed with Regent Seven Sea before, and the parent company for them is also the parent company for Norwegian. But the cruise lines are like night and day. Do yourself a favor and find another cruiseline.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
The embarkation for the Breakaway was really fast. Directions on where to go and what to do were plentiful. People were nice and we felt welcomed.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
2 out of 5
The food was mediocre at best, especially at the buffet. The main dining rooms were some better, but if you dressed in anything but "nice" clothes, some waiters could make you feel anything but welcome. We were practically ushered out in one of the main dining rooms. The only reason I gave this "food and drink" 2 stars was because the specialty restaurants were fairly good. The service, no matter where you were dining, was extremely slow.
Onboard Activities
1 out of 5
If you don't drink, good luck with finding an onboard activity. When there were "regular" shipboard activities, there was not enough seating for everyone who wanted to participate. On other cruises, I've seen the cruise director in person numerous times, but the one on the Breakaway, I never saw one time.
Entertainment
2 out of 5
I attended 2 of the shows - Six and Burn The Floor. The performers were good, but if you didn't get to the theatre at least an hour ahead of showtime, you were relegated to the poorest seats.
Service and Staff
1 out of 5
The room steward we had was ok at best. He did clean our room twice every day, but was otherwise unavailable. Several times we called to housekeeping (where he told us to call if we needed anything), but we got an answering machine telling us to call back later, all but one time. We were in a suite, so you would think that the attention would be a little better. We didn't need much - just some ice here and there. Guest services was not helpful at all. The people working there spoke such poor English that communication was a problem. The only staff that were truly helpful was the "photography" personnel. My camera settings got messed up one time, and they helped figure it out. One particular young man keep it overnight, just so he could straighten things out, and then explained to me the next morning what I had accidentally pushed to mess things up.
Ship Quality
4 out of 5
The ship was very well maintained. Things were clean. The only complain I have is that there are absolutely NO trashcans located in any of the common areas. And there should be some elevators midship. Having to walk to either end of the ship just for an elevator was quite tiresome.
Cabin / Stateroom
2 out of 5
The cabin was adequate. Space was what we expected, but the "amenities" in the bathroom were not quite what we were led to believe. For instance, the "rain" showered and "jets" were all nothing more than water "spouts" pointed at different parts of your body. The cabin itself was average, to say the least. Nothing too impressive.
Ship tip
Stay in a cabin in the aft part of the ship. Most restaurants, activities, etc. are located there.
We did the Dolphin Encounter at Blue Lagoon Island. The dolphin encounter was a highlight of our trip. After the (short) encounter however, you were relegated to regular beach activities - nor lack thereof.
Ocho Rios is dirty nasty. It was one of those places where you wanted to wipe the bottom of your shoes with Clorox wipes before entering your stateroom. We did take the Jamaica Experience excursion. It was actually quite nice, although the part about "rainforest and fern gully" was very misleading. All we did was ride through these parts and never stopped for pictures or anything.
Seas too rough to dock, although other ships were there with their passengers embarking and disembarking. Never could figure out how they could dock, yet we could not.
Harvest Caye was really, really nice. The "Mayan" people selling their handmade goods was really nice. It gave a sense of the local culture. The only reason I removed one star for this port is because the beach sand was very hard on one's feet. The lifeguard was helping people constantly who were trying to get out of the water. And the water was not the typical clear Caribbean water you would expect.
Honduras, like Jamaica, was quite dirty. One felt a little unsafe leaving the gates of the port. We took the Gumbalimba excursion. It was nice, but was a little long. I had foot surgery and was in a walking boot. When we booked the excursion from the ship, I was told that there would be golf carts available for rent at the Gumbalimba Reserve. This was a little misleading, too. The golf carts were large ones for about 8-10 people, and were not able to go everywhere your guide wanted to take you. I wound up walking the entire 1 1/2 hours of the tour. If you go on this excursion, I suggest bringing lots of one dollar bills. The people at the bird place and the monkey place expected tips when you got to interact with the animals.
Cozumel was the jewel of the ports. Shopping was good, food was good, and people were friendly. I was quite surprised that it was really clean. The only thing that threw us was that you had to pay in order to use public restrooms. There were women sitting outside taking the money before you entered. Yes, there were some people always trying to get you into their shops, but that is to be expected. They didn't harass us. And the taxi fare from the port to the town square was only $8 USD for up to 4 people. The taxis were air conditioned and clean. We never felt unsafe here.
If there was a way to give disembarkation no stars, that would be my rating. Once your color was called, you were in a line that wound through 2 decks of the entire ship. It did move fairly quickly, but once you actually exited the ship and had to claim your luggage, it was a free-for-all!!! The different colored sections where your luggage could be located was only slightly marked. Some colors were evident, while others were in a whole other warehouse - and this was not stated anywhere. Like I said, this was a total free-for-all. It was madness and infuriating. As good and simple as the embarkation was, the disembarkation was that much worse!
You weren’t in a suite, you were in a mini suite which is just a balcony room with a slightly bigger bathroom. It’s too bad they don’t change the name- because people (like you) will think they’re in a suite and thus get the Haven level of service... then get upset that you didn’t have the luxury experience.
I don’t drink and I always have fun!! Sounds like you need to find something else to do for a vacation. I’m going on the Breakaway next month and I know I’m going to have a wonderful time!
Since you’re use to Regent (and btw, no one compares) you should have booked the Haven. Try again, the smaller boutique ships are impossible to beat unless you are after a spring break atmosphere
I totally and completely disagree with your review. We were on the same cruise and it was our 21st. You seem to have boarded with a chip on your shoulder and really shouldn’t write a review with a preconceived notion of what it would be. This cruise was excellent considering the weather obstacles the crew had to overcome. Finally, if you’d taken time to listen to the captain’s announcements at Costa Maya you would have known there were 10 ft swells at the pier and when the ship attempted to tie off it snapped 2 lines plus sea water entered the gangway hatch from the swells. There was only one ship there, Allure of the Seas, not ships. It arrived very early before the seas became as treacherous, but was leaving early.
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