Norwegian Breakaway Cruise Reviews - Reviews

There was a change of intinary at beginning of cruise , because of Hurricane Nicole we were re routed to Cocoa Beach (nothing there except for Sea World and Universal ) , we were there for 9 hours and then off to Nassau , one of the saving graces was that every stateroom received $200 OBC , which i used full advantage of , Nassau was ok thanks to deal I was able to me made by Shopping Consultant Shannon . Minor hiccup in Manhattan and thanks to Resturant Manager Liluan , situation was resolved quickly . Overall cruise was very good and definitely going back to Norweigan , now I know not to go during hurricane season because that is something Norweigan has no control over and passenger safety is most important to them .

 My entire group was very disappointed that our cruise destination had to be changed. We kept calling prior to our travel date and time to see if we would still be able to travel to Bermuda . We were told over and over again, yes. I believe that they knew that it was an increasingly  real possibility that the hurricanes were rapidly changing their course. The trip should have been postponed .

  Our port stops were horrible. The $239.00 of on ship credit per cabin was not enough compensation. We are all still waiting to hear more from the company. We were left feeling like the company just took our money and ran away with it.

We were scheduled to sail October 9th out of New York for a 7 day cruise, which included 3 days in Bermuda.  Due to weather, the port of call was changed from 3 days in Bermuda to a partial day in Port Canaveral, Florida and a partial day in Nassau, Bahamas.  The cruise line refunded $200 of a $3,000 cruise cost.  The ports we visited were far inferior to Bermuda and we had previously been to both substituted ports.  The $200 credit was very insufficient for the change in destination.  This was particularly disappointing since we had been saving for this trip to celebrate our 40th wedding anniversary.  The cruise portion of the trip was good, as well as cruise staff and food.  Entertainment could have been more elaborate (more dance shows).  Arvin and Emily were awesome!    

I hated the cruise. I hated the sneaky way we were trapped on a boat for almost 7 days riding around the hurricane infested Atlantic ocean. I hated going to not one, but two hurricane ravaged places, where the clean up was not even completed. I hated being on land for only about 8 hours. I hated that you assumed that you could rip off the paying cruise people and get away with it. I am furious and I  do not want to talk about your lousy boat. I want my money back! That's what I  want!

I have been on cruises with Carnival before, and also enjoyed every moment. I was a first time NCL cruiser, and my boyfriend a first time cruiser altogether. I will say this ship was amazing. However, we got rerouted because of hurricanes matthew and Nicole. We found this out once we were on the boat, unable to use our trip insurance. The alternate itinerary left much to be desired, as they brought us to Cape Canaveral, FL and Nassau, Bahamas- both were just hit by Matthew themselves. The shore excursions were pretty much a walk around flooded, boarded up streets- in both situations. The staff on the ship was hit or miss. Drink prices were hiked in ports. There were sewage draining issues. A lot of the time, the outside activities were roped off (pool, slides, ropes course..) Needless to say, I think this trip of cruisers were robbed of their vacations. NCL handled everything very poorly.

Stressful experience mother in law fell ill, my son got rashes and my husband start coughing allergic to something on board...expecting this vacation for long time...it was horrible 

This cruise never happened.  Actually we did leave N.Y. on Oct. 10 bound for Port Canaveral and Nassau Bahamas instead of Bermuda due to Hurricanes Matthew and Nicole.  I would not have chosen those ports as alternatives especially since there really is not a lot to do in Port Canaveral and Nassau was devastated from Hurricane Matthew (they offered no excursions in Nassau and we left after 5 hours in port).  Norwegian did not give us an option to leave the ship in New York.  Right up to October 9 departure, they were still planning on going to Bermuda, and it was either take the new itinerary or leave it.  I was told you should have known that there would be no refund or option to rebook when you signed your contract.  This was our 6th Norwegian cruise, and it will probably be our last.

Ship was clean and beautiful, but way too many passengers.

Attitude of many service personnel was lacking in friendliness.

Would maybe recommend this cruise, but unfortunately we did not make it to Bermuda due to weather, so a recommendation is not applicable.

Also, we having trouble contacting servicerefunds@ncl.com - perhaps a bogus email address.  We get the concept, but always tip service our personnel in cash.

As all Americans new there were two hurricanes during this period of what was going to be our cruise. Hurricane Matthew & hurricane Nicole! We wouldn't of ran into Matthew but Nicole was heading to our destination and I have to say this Norwegian break away absolutely  New it before we aboarded this ship and that's where many like me are pissed!  The destinations they picked were not worth the amount we paid for the trip! The destinations where   Desolate dreary 😔 we arrived mid afternoon so we actually didn't have any time we were on ship and at sea most of the time!  For me I would of rather postponed my trip and used later. I am pissed I had no option! And the places we went I would never had gone! There was nothing nice about any of the ports Port Canaveral Fl or Nassau Bahamas booo gross! 

Despite the 2 successive hurricanes bearing down Bermuda and the Caribbean, still it was a fun cruise onboard the ship. It could have been a lot more if we reached the destination port in Bermuda after missing the shore excursion in another cruise last May, also due to bad weather. I'll recommend this particular cruise ship and destination but never in the months where hurricane season in the Atlantic and the Caribbean basin is at its peak.

I have now experienced going during hurricane season and won't ever do that again.  Understanding that the weather dictates where we go I don't want to plan a trip somewhere with a 50/50 chance we won't wind up there.  First time on NCL and I will say I like not having to pack dress clothes and I like the dining options. I don't like going into a specialty restaurant though and seeing someone in jeans while we at least dressed appropriately w/o suits and dresses. I might go back again on this ship or another NCL because of our family who we travel with prefer NCL.  We will most likely, maybe next year get back on the Celebrity because it's still the best even if we have to dress up for one cruise. 

I was truly disappointed that we never made it to Bermuda. We paid for two balcony staterooms and saved up 2 years to take all my five children on this Cruise. All that was given back to me was Port Chargers that I had to use on the boat. They were non-refundable funds I had to use before I left the cruise or I would lose them. So I couldn't even take that money and put it to what I paid for the cruise. They took us to Florida where it was cold and rainy. Then they took us to the Bahamas. We arrived at Nassau at 3 in the afternoon not being able to leave the boat to 4 p.m. giving us a couple hours to enjoy some time by the ocean. We had to take taxis that brought us to the wrong location and we had a mile walk to get to an beach that was destroyed by the last hurricane. There's no excursions available. I was hoping to get money back because this is not what I paid for. A couple hours in the evening at a beach. I wish they could have taken us right to a location like Nassau and we could have had more then a couple evening hours to enjoy. We spoke to the boat staff and they sent snacks to our rooms and gave us a complimentary dinner with 2 bottles of wine (food is free on the boat and we had paid for the ultimate drink pachage). I wish I could have gotten money back or money off my next cruise, so I actually could bring my kids to Bermuda. 

Also, evening entertainment was a repeat of the same shows. So no Bermuda and watching the same show multiple times. Also this was supposed to be freestyle cruising and you had to reserve your Show tickets. I had to stand in the standby line for 40 minutes waiting to see if you we can get seated. I have been on many cruises and i loved the nice sit down dinners and going to a new show every night. I This is my third cruise Norwegian Cruise Line... This was my was not what I paid for.  

This was a cruise that my wife and I took out of NYC to Bermuda.  This was our 6th cruise and second on a Norwegian ship.  First time on a ship of this size.  We both enjoyed the cruise very much and were excited to have a longer visit in one port where we did not feel the rush to get back to the ship before sailing each day.  Bermuda exceeded our expectations as a cruise port.  The Royal Naval Dockyards were clean and well kept, unlike some other ports we have visited.  The locals were extremely friendly and offered home grown insight on our shuttles to the beach.  Speaking of the beach.  Horseshoe Bay is one of the most beautiful beaches we have experienced.  Ranks right up there with Trunk Bay in St. John and 7 Mile Beach in Grand Cayman.  We liked it so well that we spent both of our beach days right there.  The ride to and from has some wonderful sights to see.  Now getting back to the ship itself. There are a lot of things that we truly enjoyed.  We felt check in was orderly and went smooth.  We got on board and found our way around rather easily.  Ship maps and deck listings by the elevators were easy to understand.  We started off our cruise in the sports bar watching football.  What a great way to start!!  Good food, drink and the Cowboys on TV.  This is a great place to grab a snack of the usual sports bar fare.  The Atrium is on the deck below and has a large video screen that can be seen from both decks.  The Atrium seems to be a central meeting place on the ship and I think that it's design and use is well thought out.  There were many activities taking place here and you didn't always have to go to a theater or lounge to take part.  Bingo, games, singing, karaoke, and movies, etc.  The movies shown were great!    Not to take anything away from the clubs or lounges.  We enjoyed those as well.  The production of Rock of Ages is very well done.  Howl at the Moon (dueling pianos) was great and the skits in the comedy club were very funny.  Overall entertainment on board is excellent.  We would have to say that overall the food was just o.k.  It wasn't bad, and lord knows we ate our fair share, but we didn't have any meals that we thought "wow".  Whether it was the main dining or specialty restaurant.  I don't mind a leisurely meal, but the courses were very slow sometimes.  So slow in fact that dessert was skipped at times.  We just felt that there were other things we would rather be doing.  Do love the Freestyle Dining.  But enough about that.  Back to the good stuff.  The pool areas were very nice.  Kids seemed to enjoy the slides, climbing wall, and ropes course. We never found it difficult to find a deck chair in a spot we wanted and the pool side games were fun to watch as always.  The crew was very attentive, whether it was filling drinks, clearing plates, or what ever.  They work extremely hard.  Our cabin steward was fabulous and we were surprised when he called us by name after first meeting us.  The captain and his officers were very accessible.  They could be seen out and about on many occasions.  They all seemed very happy while mingling with the passengers.  Shaking hands and thanking those on board for cruising Norwegian.  I thought that the captain did a great job of keeping us informed about the weather.  There was a Category 5 Hurricane hitting the Bahamas while we sailed, but we were never affected and the Captain was very reassuring.  The only thing that happened was we had to leave Bermuda a few hours early on the last day to get ahead of the storm heading home.  We were worried that this might put us back in cooler weather sooner, but it did not.  Whether the ship changed course, we don't know, but it was nice to soak up another day of sunshine before we ported.  Leaving early was a small price to pay for what could have been a disastrous week with the weather that was around us. Overall this cruise gets high marks and we will definitely look at another cruise on the Breakaway. 

Breakaway is BIG.  First time on NCL.  There was nothing bad about this cruise.  Prefer Princess Cruises style and Grand class ships.  Most problematic on this ship is lack of large enough adult pool area.  H2O zone great but no pool and the hot tubs always crowded.  Forget about main pool.  Cost for Haven not justified in our opinion. That would solve all problems but at a cost.  Food was great but a bit of repetition in buffet.  Specialty restaurants very good but with so many, you loose any relationship with wait staff.  All the staff was friendly and helpful.  With big ship it took 1:20 to leave ship.  Another factor of BIG ship.  Only two elevator banks meant a lot of walking.  Not bad but would be better with third elevator. We enjoyed destination of Bermuda.  Would probably opt for smaller ship in future.

NCL essentially runs a bus service, in this case to Bermuda.  They provide the transportation and you decide how upscale and entertaining you want the trip to be.  NCl offers the bare bones, but for a price you can upgrade the experience.

Much like taking a Greyhound bus, it may not be for everyone but it gets you where you want to go.  Bringing children is not ideal as their kids camp services are limited and were not enjoyed by the 4 children, ages 9-12, that I traveled with but as a parent I could have forced them into the program for the few hours per day it was available (I did not).  The clientele was mostly local NY/NJ couples without kids (young couples or retirees).

The Cruise Director and staff tried to entertain but pale in comparison to other more "full service" cruise lines.  Overall the crew does not seem to be enjoying themselves and it is obvious they are working rather than trying to portray a fun environment for the passengers.  NCL seems to try and create an artificial demand through their reservation system for dining and entertainment but it offers little value and we ended up waiting in line or even have our reservations given away causing us to have to wait for another available table.  We never received and explanation or apology.

Overall, with a little more effort this cruise could be much more enjoyable, but as I said.  It gets you to Bermuda or wherever you are going but it will be up to you to make it enjoyable.

The favorite part was the beverage package. Thank goodness we had that or we may have jumped overboard!  Norwegian nickel and dimed you to death. Charges for everything.  Room was next to a staff area and below the theater. Couldn't sleep from all the noise. People fighting down the hall and eventually their room was guarded by security.  They only had 1 complimentary steak night the first night. No chocolate feast. Carnival food surpasses Norwegian by far. Would we do Norwegian Cruiseline again? Only if we won a free cruise. We would not plan a vacation through them again.👎🏻

The whole trip was great and the employees are great. They treat you like a king  very sad that i had to come back to reality so soon. But weather in bermuda and also people on the island are great. Would defenetly consider going back in the future. 

The captain did a great job to keep us informed and safe during potential major weather threats.

Ship was very large and didn't seem over crowded like many reviews stated.

only negative is the constant upsell on everything.

My favorite part of the cruise was the excellent entertainment.  I found the staff extremely friendly and accommodating.

i was surprised and disappointed to find out the cost of renting a scooter.  I needed it for one day but was told I would have to rent it for a minimum of three days at a very high rate.  I thought that was very unfair.  I settled for a wheelchair for three days even though I only needed it one day when going off the ship.

We enjoy cruising with Norwegian. While we love the freestyle cruises and the enormous amounts of activities on board, we felt like the service on the Norwegian Breakaway could have been better, particularly the amount of time it took in the main dining rooms.