Overall great trip. I wouldn’t sail the Breakaway again, we had 4,800 guests on board a ship that felt like it was designed for 2,000 at most. Compared to our last NCL cruise in 2020 and especially my last Carnival cruise in 2022 this one fell short and was a bit disappointing at times. However when I compare to my experiences traveling on land in regular hotels and resorts over the past year NCL is doing a way better job than others in the travel industry.
Embarkation
3 out of 5
Outside was a bit hectic. There seemed to be a shortage of workers so we had to sit in the uber for 20minutes before we could unload. Once outside its not clear who actually works for the port and we were asked just to leave our bags at the side of the road which felt risky. Once inside it was fast and easy.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
3 out of 5
MDR food was good but not great. Menu descriptions often didn’t match what was served however. For example bacon wrapped shrimp came without bacon. Sometimes ingredients were swapped due to supply constraints.
Buffet was great quality. But terrible layout with the same food station after station before coming across something different. Absolutely packed no matter what time you went even when in port.
Cagney's Steakhouse
2 out of 5
No better than steaks in MDR. Huge disappointment after our last meal here on the Sun which was excellent.
O'Sheehan's Neighborhood Bar and Grille
4 out of 5
Love having this casual full service venue. Great wings. Servers often seemed overwhelmed however.
Taste Restaurant
4 out of 5
Our favourite MDR. Its smaller and less hectic than Manhattan. Servers seemed more experienced than Savor. Food was consistently good but not great.
Ocean Blue
5 out of 5
By far the best meal of the trip. One of the best meals anywhere on land or sea.
American Diner
1 out of 5
By far the worst meal of the trip. Definitely not worth the up charge.
Onboard Activities
3 out of 5
Entertainment
1 out of 5
The performers were incredibly talented. However the shows in the main theatre were not our style.
Atrium shows were mostly good and more our style. However this venue is poorly designed with horrible acoustics and very limited seating. If you sit in the back on the right side, the internet help desk is located here. Instead of hearing the show/performance we often got to listen to the internet manager yell over the show to explain how to connect to wifi and sell internet packages.
Syd Normans requires showing up an hour before hand. Way to small.
Service and Staff
4 out of 5
Our room steward Arta was especially nice and always asked about our day and made suggestions about the ports.
Most staff seemed new and overwhelmed. However they were very friendly. Compared to general service levels on land resorts, hotels and restaurants NCL improved and did great.
Ship Quality
1 out of 5
Ship was very clean and well maintained. Ship design and layout is terrible. Our hallway on deck ten was three feet wide. All the venues are in the same area so the ship always felt crowded even in port. Atrium is terrible venue for entertainment surrounded by guest services, internet cafe, etc. we had 4,800 on this sailing ship felt like it was designed for 2000 at most.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
Club balcony is a standard balcony room with larger bathroom and shower. Worked perfect for us.
Ship tip
Pick another NCL ship or go Carnival. Book your shows and restaurants as soon as you can. Entertainment books up on the first day and dinner reservations for popular times do as well.
One of the most memorable places we have been. Sailing in the pilot wished everyone a happy new year. Music and dance performance as the ship docked. Beautiful island and friendly locals. Highly recommend gumbalimba park.
Lots to do in this port. However the vendors, particularly at Dunns River Falls refuse to take “no thank you”. That and pot everywhere made this a completely unenjoyable stop.
Incredible performers but the shows we did not care for were Six, Burn the Floor and the Vegas crooner they had onboard. I normally love the comedy shows but not this time. New Years is a popular time but at 4800 passengers onboard per NCL we were at 121% occupancy which is not uncommon. Staffing may have contributed there as they kept very few venues open at the same time, but the ship felt small everywhere we went. Still a great time though.
Syd Norman's is way too small, even last year when ships were less than half full that venue would fill up FAST every night for the Beatles cover band.
What were the stage shows you didn't like? Six and Jersey Boys?
Fair point about the cruise ship service still being overall better than a lot of hotels/land-based trips. I'd like to take a New Year's cruise someday, but yep it sure is a popular time to sail and the boats get full, surely that was a factor in the service.
Did you try the little Noodle Bar onboard?
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