Never again with NCL

Norwegian Breakaway Cruise Review to Caribbean - Eastern

taramarie930

Contributor Level: Third Mate

Cruises: 7+ cruises

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 28

Overall rating:

2.6 out of 5

7 Night Eastern Caribbean (Port Canaveral Roundtrip)

Sail date: February 22, 2020

Ship: Norwegian Breakaway

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 10842

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 4 years ago

Review summary

The service was very bad. We didn't find any of the staff to be friendly, just overworked and overwhelmed. We were overcharged by hundreds of dollars, and happy that we thought to check before we left on the last day. We got a finalized bill that was $250 less than they tried to charge us. We requested our gratuities back (and got them) because the service was so subpar. Edited to add: checked my credit card today and they put an additional $50 charge in my card AFTER receiving my final bill. I've disputed it with my CC company. They have no idea what they are doing at NCL.

Embarkation

2 out of 5

It was fine. The lines were long but that was ok.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

1 out of 5

We never had a hot meal. Eberything was room temperature. Getting drinks was nearly impossible unless you tipped with cash. They were understaffed.

Onboard Activities

1 out of 5

Boring compared to Carnival. Not nearly enough to do.

Entertainment

4 out of 5

Six and Syd Norman's were great. Couldn't get into Howl at the moon or the comedy shows.

Service and Staff

1 out of 5

Terrible service. 2 1/2 hour dinners, 90 minutes breakfast and buffet staff who never cleared empty plates. Again, either understaffed or they just didn't care.

Ship Quality

3 out of 5

Mostly clean (tables in O'Sheehans were always sticky and the buffet tables weren't wiped down regularly)

Cabin / Stateroom

4 out of 5

The room was fine. Not enough storage.

Ship tip

Don't go.

Thumbs up

Ports of call

Tortola, British Virgin Islands

3 out of 5

Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas

3 out of 5

Great Stirrup Cay (Cruise Line Private Island), Bahamas

4 out of 5

Villa was wonderful, except for the overflowing toilet.

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Disembarkation

3 out of 5

12 Comments

Gwbigdog 1 year ago

Thanks for sharing your cruise.

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RamblingWaves 4 years ago

We were on the Breakaway a few weeks ago. Great time relaxing awesome service and wonderful food. Of course the buffet was not the best but no matter where you go buffets are iffy. It's all about expectations. Some expect to be spoiled. That's not their job. Their job is to make sure you are safe and sound and your basic needs are met. You get what you pay for. Want more go on a more expensive cruise.

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fele 4 years ago

I hope your future vacations are better for you. I love Norwegian and my brother loves Carnival. We all have our preferences...even with cruise lines.

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cruiselover64 4 years ago

Carnival plant or hack whichever you prefer...

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Cruiserike0322 4 years ago

That's shocking

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WRS31 4 years ago

We have a cruise on this in July, hope everything is better

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Pawandgranda1 4 years ago

We cruised on the Breakaway twice and found the opposite to be true. We loved the staff and thought the food was very good. Can’t wait to cruise again. Sorry for your experience. Hopefully you’ll find a cruise you’ll like much better.

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lindabender 4 years ago

I have been on NCL twice. Never experienced this. Going on this ship on July. I hope to have another good experience.

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Melalugosi 4 years ago

Very different experience than I’ve had previously on this ship. We have an upcoming sailing on this ship, I hope whatever is making their service subpar goes away.

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cruisereckoning 4 years ago

Thank you for the review.

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djkolp 4 years ago

I’ve been on 7 NCL cruises in the past 6 years and I’ve never experienced anything even close to what you’ve posted.

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mrsTAM 4 years ago

Very similar experience to ours- but we were only overcharged $140. We love their small ship, the Sun... but will never sail a large NCL ship again. My Mom is currently on the Dawn (similar to Spirit Class ships), we would definitely give her a try.

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Waste of money

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