Not the best, but we had fun

Item: Norwegian Breakaway
Rating: 3.6
Author: kip213

Norwegian Breakaway Cruise Review

kip213

Contributor Level: Second Mate

21 Days Till Next Cruise

Cruises: 7+ cruises

Reviews: 4

Helpful Votes: 64

Overall rating:

3.6 out of 5

7 Night Western Caribbean (Port Canaveral Roundtrip)

Sail date: March 07, 2020

Ship: Norwegian Breakaway

Cabin type: Inside

Cabin number: 13465

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 4 years ago

Review summary

This cruise was definitely not my favorite. We had really bad weather for the first 3 days, wind and big swells. Meant you couldn't really go outside so you had to stay inside and explore. We missed Great Stirrup Cay because it was unsafe for the tenders. We also had Vibe passes but were not able to use it at the beginning because it was closed due to the weather. All of that is beyond Norwegian's control and we knew that. Once the weather cleared up, we did enjoy ourselves more. Tendering process for both Grand Cayman and Cozumel was pretty dreadful. Very slow and unorganized. Partly Norwegian, partly the port of Cozumel. Due to COVID-19 there were healthy practices in place throughout the ship, like no self serve in the buffet, but none of it bothered us or took away from the cruise. Overall, we made the best of our trip, enjoyed lots of competitive games of darts, drinks, food and would recommend the ship and itinerary to anyone.

Embarkation

4 out of 5

We cruised at the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak before they shut down cruising. Embarkation was a little more lengthy because of it, but Norwegian did the best they could. Overall, not bad. Checked in and was able to go right onboard.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

4 out of 5

Onboard Activities

3 out of 5

Entertainment

4 out of 5

Service and Staff

4 out of 5

Junior and Tausha in The Vibe were awesome. Attentive, personable. Made connections and knew guests names. So was Kurt in O'Sheehans.

Ship Quality

4 out of 5

Cabin / Stateroom

3 out of 5

I really disliked this room. You could hear your neighbors all around. There was also water above the room (The Haven pool I assumed) that you could hear sloshing and running.

Ship tip

Don't shy away from The Manhattan room. Food was great and the entertainment was enjoyable.

Thumbs up

Ports of call

George Town, Grand Cayman

3 out of 5

Just got off the ship and walked around. Tendering was lengthy. Ate at Cayman Cabana and had some delicious shrimp and lobster scampi.

Thumbs Up 2

Ocho Rios, Jamaica

3 out of 5

Port we were at was horrible. Lots of confusion in finding your excursion. Taxi drivers are very aggressive. We did an all inclusive day at a resort about 30 minutes away. Jewel Paradise Cove. Great resort. Delicious jerk chicken!

Thumbs Up 0

Cozumel, Mexico

3 out of 5

Cozumel is a great place to stop. This time we were going to do a UTV excursion but unfortunately did not make it because there was congestion at the port due to an excessive amount of ships in port so our tendering was delayed by hours. Very frustrating. We ended up walking around and grabbing some food and drinks at Mandy's Bar. Which was good.

Thumbs Up 1

Port Canaveral, Florida

4 out of 5

Disembarkation

4 out of 5

We disembarked the day after cruises were shut down. Meant a delay in getting off the boat, lines were long. But it was understandable given the circumstances.