Breakaway cruise was a mostly positive experience. Not sure any ship can fix my complaints.

Item: Norwegian Breakaway
Rating: 3.8
Author: blazerus

Norwegian Breakaway Cruise Review to Caribbean - Western

blazerus

Contributor Level: Purser

Cruises: 4-6 cruises

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 18

Overall rating:

3.8 out of 5

Verified Review

7 Night Western Caribbean (New Orleans Roundtrip)

Sail date: January 28, 2024

Ship: Norwegian Breakaway

Cabin type: Suite

Cabin number: 10808

Traveled as: Family (older children)

Reviewed: 9 months ago

Review summary

I would do this cruise again but knowing that it will just be chill and not exciting. Entertainment options and venue size needs work. It could have used 3 more pools for 4k guests, but there is no where to put them.

Embarkation

5 out of 5

Seemed fast less than 30 minutes.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

4 out of 5

The main dining rooms were very good. The buffet was okay. We ate at Cagney's and Ocean Blue which were both great.

Onboard Activities

2 out of 5

This is the problem area for this ship and possibly all ships vs. a resort experience. The pools are too crowded and of course not enough loungers in the good sunny areas. The fitness center was great and my son loved the ropes course.

Entertainment

2 out of 5

This is the next big area of opportunity. The theatre is way to small and doesn't have multiple levels. The entertainment offered also wasn't diverse enough as they just cancelled Six and threw in Wheel of Fortune but only ran it once. The rock bar was a joke and it was something I was really looking forward to. Not enough seating and the house band played for 5 hrs total in 7 days.

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

Everyone was friendly and offered good service. Yes the bars are overly crowded but the bartenders are working hard to serve everyone. I think the people that have offered poor reviews have never worked in the service industry and have unrealistic expectations. The cruise potentially could staff better but the individuals did great.

Ship Quality

4 out of 5

With the Haven up front it does close off the front of the ship a bit so you cannot truly walk around the whole thing but overall it was clean.

Cabin / Stateroom

4 out of 5

We are used to a lot of room at big resorts so I was concerned with the size of the cabin before sailing. It worked out just fine. 3 of us slept good and the bathroom was the best I have had out of 4 cruises. For all cruise ships, TVs need to get bigger and allow USB drives game systems or ROKUs etc.