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Norwegian Breakaway Cruise Review

Cruises: 2-3 cruises
Reviews: 2
Helpful Votes: 80

Overall rating:

4.5 out of 5
Norwegian Breakaway

7 Night Western Caribbean (Port Canaveral Roundtrip)

Sail date: February 01, 2020

Ship: Norwegian Breakaway

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 14230

Traveled as: Large Group

Reviewed: 4 years ago

Review summary

This cruise was good, but I will probably avoid this ship in the future. It was not bad by any means, and I had a great time, but something felt "off" with the ship and crew. I can't put my finger on what it was but it was there. Grand Cayman and Cozumel were wonderful ports, but give Jamaica a miss. I had a great time over all and can't wait to sail with NCL again!

Embarkation

5 out of 5
Embarkation went very smoothly, we arrived at 10a, filled out the health form at 10:30, got checked in, and were on the ship by 11:15. Very easy process!

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

5 out of 5
NCL's food is very good, quality, great flavor, and fresh! My favorite is the Garden Cafe, great variety and quality buffet, available almost all the time!

The Manhattan Room Restaurant

5 out of 5

Excellent staff, excellent food, excellent atmosphere. This beautiful dining room is great for dressing up for a night out, as they have a dance floor and live music. We went there for dinner twice, and both times I left impressed. I reccomend the Crispy Cream Cheese Ragoons and the Cajun Chicken and Sausage pasta! The best part is it is included in your fare!

Teppanyaki

5 out of 5

GO HERE! Our chef was very funny, and the food was INCREDIBLE! I had steak and chicken, both were very good, but the rice was amazing, I have been dreaming about it ever since! You will not be disappointed when you go here, it is so good!

Garden Café

5 out of 5

Buffet food was identical to my previous NCL cruise a year ago, but I have no complaints about that! It is always fresh, delicious, hot, and they keep the buffet lines very clean(not am easy task with 4000 people on board!) Great breakfast spread! I ate here at least once a day every day and always looked forward to it!

Taste Restaurant

4 out of 5

Taste was great food and service, but I would suggest going to the Manhattan room over Taste or Savor.

Onboard Activities

3 out of 5
Pool was good, but too small for 4000 people, why they didn't make it bigger or put in two different pools I do not understand. Hottubs are the same story. Nice set up, but there are only 4 main(2 in Spice H2O), for 4000 people. Major design flaw capacity wise. My group did find times we could be in there, but it was always a battle. Did not try the rock wall, but the exhaust from what smelled to be the bathroom's came out near there and made me want to not spend much time there.

Aqua Park

2 out of 5

Water slides were fun, but the joints in the slide were painful when you slide down. Thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack all the way down the slide. I would suggest giving these a miss.

Guest Services

5 out of 5

Helpful and prompt! These people have their work cut out for them, I saw guests be rude to the staff here and the staff always remained professional.

Entertainment

5 out of 5
Go see VELVET, it was an amazing show! Funny, entertaining, and moving. Dinner was also great!

Bliss Ultra Lounge

3 out of 5

Clean club, music was good, but a bit dated(late 90s/early 2000s), and you weren't allowed to request songs until after midnight. It has great atmosphere, but I new music would bring it all up a notch.

Dance Floor

3 out of 5

I had really high hopes for this, and maybe that is why I was disappointed. It is not bad by any means, I just expected more from this area.

Service and Staff

4 out of 5
Staff was great, with the exception of 1 or 2. (I don't recall his name but the bar tender at the Atrium Bar with the shaved head always seemed angry and annoyed by drink orders). Never saw our room steward, but they kept the room clean and neat, no complaints! They did not make any towel animals, which is not a deal breaker for me, but added a special touch to our last cruise.

Ship Quality

4 out of 5
Cleanliness: 5 stars Design: 3 stars Keeping a ship that size as clean as they do with 4000 guests on board blows my mind. Everything was always very clean and orderly, very impressive! The ship design is not bad, but pool/hot tub size/quantity is far to small for 4000 people. I have heard people discuss the smoke smell from the casino. It was not as bad as some have made it out to be, but you could smell it in the areas immediately around the casino. Why you wouldn't have the casino closed off is beyond me, but it did not ruin the cruise for me.

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5
Cabin size was avg for a cruise ship, and definitely adequate. Room was clean and steward always kept up with everything! No towel animals which was ok, but added a special touch last cruise.

Ship tip

Pack your patience! This is a large ship, with 4000 guests, it is going to get a little crowded, but make the most of it!

Thumbs up

Ports of call

Cozumel, Mexico

5 out of 5
Great port, by far my favorite of this cruise. We went into town, rented a few little cars, and drove the loop of the island, I highly recommend this! There were a lot of beaches, restaurants, bars, etc, to stop at along the way. The back side of the island was INCREDIBLE, I highly recommend visiting there.
Thumbs Up

Ocho Rios, Jamaica

2 out of 5
Unless you have an excursion planned, avoid this port. Going into "town" or the beach are both a major disappointment. Did not feel safe, restaurants were very dirty, beaches were also dirty and water murky. If I go on another cruise with this port I will just stay on the ship and enjoy the view from the hottubs. Why this is a port is beyond me.
Thumbs Up

George Town, Grand Cayman

5 out of 5
Took a cab to 7mile beach, the water was beautiful! Rented some jetski's, 1hr for $130, well worth it. The rest of the day we wandered up and down the beach. It was beautiful!
Thumbs Up

Port Canaveral, Florida

5 out of 5
I think saying this is a "port" is a bit misleading, but I know all cruise lines do.
Thumbs Up

Great Stirrup Cay (Cruise Line Private Island), Bahamas

5 out of 5
Was not able to tender due to weather. I have been there in the past and it was beautiful, although definitely a sandbox environment.
Thumbs Up

Disembarkation

5 out of 5
We took our luggage off with us about 8:30a/9a, the whole process was maybe 15mins long. Very very quick! The facial recognition for customs really speeds things up.
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4 Comments

Fiesta83    4 years ago

Glad you enjoyed your cruise
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cruisereckoning    4 years ago

Glad you enjoyed.
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Cruiserike0322    4 years ago

Sounds like a great ship
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peaceonearth1    4 years ago

Was on the Norweigan Escape and the Garden Cafe was great in terms of both quality and variety. Although it was neatly always crowded, it was not challenging to get a table for two or four and they sure clean the tables and reeniah the napkins and cutlery real fast. Agree with you completely on the Hoyt Tubs and we had the same issue on the Escape with some of the hottubs havi g the same folks in almost all day every day.
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