Norwegian Breakaway Cruise Reviews - Reviews

My husband and I enjoyed our cruise and experience on NCL ( Breakaway ) from beginning to the end. The ship was wonderful, the staff and crew was excellent! We were traveling while there was 2 hurricane's in the Atlantic, and the capt. made us feel at ease the whole time. He informed us everyday on what was going on. We left early on the day of our departure from Bermuda to unsure that we were safe. The ship was adult friendly and also kid friendly, lots of activities going on all day. The only thing that I would say I didn't like on the ship was the main buffet. It was really busy during meal times and was hard to find a table, move through the line and the food wasn't the greatest ( due to sitting under the warmers ).  We ate mostly at the sit down restaurants that were included in our freestyle dining. But, when you have 3 to 4 thousand ppl on a ship you would expect the buffet to be a busy place. I would recommend NCL to anyone!

I live in Queens, NY, so being able to take the train to the ship is great and hassle free.  I like the casual dining and love that I can hang out by the pool (where most people gather) or hang out on deck 8 (where they have chairs for lounging, reading or napping).

The favourite part of the cruise was the destination. I am 68 single and have a walking disability. I found the size of the ship overwhelming to get from one place to another. I.e. to get from stateroom near front of the ship (13716) to the dining room aft level 6  and then from the  dining room to the theatre forward,level 7  to see the evening show. Or to get from the stateroom forward,  to the buffet aft on level  15. I realise the majority of the 4200 passengers were younger with families who were able to move easily around but there were quite a number (10% )  of elderly people with canes, rollators and electric scooters. .( Unfortunately I was unaware till the last day that these could be hired on board)The lines for embarkation and disembarking were horrendous and I was very grateful for the wheelchair assistance I was given for both when I requested it.

I am young at heart and see that families do love it but found this ship and the freestyle too noisy and boisterous for me.

The only reason this vacation gets 4 stars is because of the constant cloud of smoke inside or outside the ship. The Breakaway has far too many smoking areas, even outside. if you want to enjoy a drink on the waterfront, just know you will leave there smelling like an ashtray and feeling like you just smoked a pack of cigarettes. 

However, that being said, this vacation was one of the best I have taken. Rock of Ages was such a fun show!  If you are a hair band loving 80's enthusiast, you will love this show. Wine Lovers:The Musical was super cute. You "taste" 6 different wines during your hour long show, needless to say, my mom and I left feeling great! The food is fantastic at that show and the wines were ok. It is educational too if you want to learn about wines. The food all over the ship is tasty. We ate at these specialty restaurants: Tepanyaki- standard hibachi restaurant. Dilicious. Moderno- standard Brazilian steakhouse. Get ready to overeat. Ocean Blue-upscale seafood restaurant. They didn't have crayons for my niece to draw to pass the time, they lend kids iPads at the restaurant!  The standard restaurants The Cafe, Savor, Taste, etc- all had fantastic service and just as dilicious food. 

Bermuda is an island I never really gave much thought to going to. After being there three days, I'm already thinking about going back!  It's clean, it's friendly and it's historic. Everything I look for in a vaca. A few highlights of our trip, 1- the crystal caves. Gorgeous. Don't be afraid of the steps, both my parents did it without much difficulty. The guides were knowledgeable and funny. If you are eating lunch at their cafe, get the fish sandwich!  You won't regret it. 2- the Bermuda Maritime museum- if you like history, don't miss this. The shipwreck area was impressive and the commissioners mansion- beautiful. The architecture alone reminds me of a southern creole plantation. They have turned this building into a museum and its awesome. The mural on the back staircase is artwork by a local artist. Don't miss this!  The artist has a great sense of humor as he painted Bermuda's history. 3-The Frog and The Onion Pub- if you like craft beers, go in and get their beer flight. Their porter is fantastic!  4-Calico Jacks- this is a floating pirate ship bar where you can walk the plank. So fun!  It's convenient as it's right in the Royal Naval Dockyard. My mom says that they make awesome piña coladas. 5-Warwick Beach- everyone says to go to horshoe bay to the beach, DONT. Go to Warwick Beach. The sand is pink, the water is a gorgeous crystal clear aqua and walk right in warm. There are plenty of bluffs to explore and small bays to wade in and snorkel, if you bring your own snorkel. This beach was quiet, not over run by tourist. Hands down, the most beautiful beach I have ever been to in my life. 6- Restless Native Catamaran- I loved this snorkel adventure. We went cliff jumping, explored sea caves on kayak, paddle boarded on the bay, walked the beach for sea glass and of course enjoyed the complimentary rum swizzles. The crew was knowledgeable about local folklore, history and economy. Ask locals about the housing market in Bermuda. I love how they limit celebrities so they can keep a small town feel to the island.    

Overall, this was a great vacation coordinated by an awesome representative. Thank you Christina Costello for getting us the best deals on the ship and in exploring Bermuda!

This was my 10th cruise, 9th with NCL. The Breakaway is a truly amazing ship and the staff on the ship were professional as usual. The 678 Waterfront area of the ship was breathtaking. The amount of places to eat was overwhelming, in a good way. Bermuda was also fantastic, as usual (this was my 5th time cruising there). However, for the first time ever, I have a complaint about a cruise. The lack of enforcement regarding smoking on the Breakaway was completely unacceptable. There are several designated smoking areas on the ship that I identified immediately upon embarking the ship so I can avoid those areas as I was traveling with my one year old son. The entire cruise I observed passengers smoking all over the sun deck, including at the bars, in the pool areas, and even next to the kids splash area. I called the customer service desk numerous times to report these violations. They thanked me for reporting the violation and stated they would immediately send security to investigate. I never once observed a security member address the issue. Other than this issue, my cruise was flawless. The smoking issue is the only reason I gave the cruise 4 stars. I thought it was such a great trip it didn't deserve less than that. 

I had in mind that the Breakaway was a mega ship and discovered that it seemed smaller than Royal's Navigation of the Seas.  The food didn't seem as up to par as Norwegian cruise taken before, including one of the specialty restaurants, Le Bistro.  I think I just ordered wrong & wanted the duck (a pate, then settled for chicken.  However, having the drink package was great & didn't disappoint.  Wish they served the Stratigella gelato in the parlor as they did with the desserts at dinner.  The shows were great!  The service was great!  Radwell took good care of us!  Our NCL excursion on Friday got us back an hour late, within 15 min. of final boarding time which was scary & didn't leave any time for extra shopping at the Clocktower.  Didn't like the smoking in the casino, but didn't gamble anyway.  Not sure if we'll take another NCL cruise.

The cruise director Dan-Dan and his staff are FABULOUS!!

there was plenty to do.

Food was good...not great...good....I would do it again.

Ship was very clean.

Staff was friendly.

Loved it! Fun! Relaxing.  Social.  Crowd was a little on the older side. Only complaint, they are more concerned with keeping the adults out of the teen lounges them the teens/kids out of the adult lounges.

All in all a great cruise. Ship is great, staff is friendly and helpful. Bermuda is beautiful. I would like to stay more than 3 days.(Norwegian, get the hint) 

The only con was the main dining room Menu was very limited. Food was good, but choices limited.

Also, entertainment in the comedy club was not good.

Still, I would reccomend this cruise to anyone.

We had a balcony room and it was obstructed.  Deck 9 has a roof off their balconies and they do not list these as obstructed but they are you cannot look down into the water.  It is an obstruction.  Also,  we are silver members and did not get any of the perks for that.  Not crazy about the ship either way too many people.  Very disappointed.  Like the Gem much better!

My favorite part of the cruise was the destination "Bermuda".  I will consider another cruise company “Not Norwegian Cruise Line”.  I will NOT recommend Norwegian Cruise Line. 

 The ship is way too crowed for the amount of time you spend on board. The pool area is not very well laid out. Why does it take two and a half days to get there and one and a half to get back? More time on land would be better. The food we experienced was fair at best. I would not take this cruise again.

They have a lot of entertainment options that seemed fun but the seating in the the theater is horribly uncomfortable. The food was okay, they seemed more interested in getting people to eat at the specialty restaurants.

We had plenty of time on shore for shopping and golf.  Store keepers were courteous and helpful in finding specific items even in other stores.  There are plenty of things to do within a short walk of the dock -beach and sight seeing and shopping

To me the best thing this cruise has going for it was the Shows, and quility of the entertainment staff.  That alone would get my recommendation.  The food was above average,and they had plenty to do onboard.  

Minus is the nickle and diming that NCL is doing.  I had dinner and drinking packages and still had extra charges galore for who knows what.  Id rather prepay this type of stuff, and its not really offered.

The food in all restaurants was excellent.  Even the buffet was great!  We loved that one place was open 24 hours.  It was a great trip ,we will be back, however...the ice bar sponsored by svedka was absolutely a giant waste of money!  We were all very disappointed with that.  It was horrible......it should be free!  We also agreed that certain staff or bartenders were very rude.   Other than these things........everything was great!

Great trip for the most part getting on and off in NYC needs to get better. Some bartenders were a bit crazy monitoring the beverage package and that got annoying. Food was spectacular as always.

My favorite part of cruise was the bingo and fine dining food the only issue was that the staff seemed to be very unorganized I terms of remember food orders and one bar was on point with preparing the drinks but the rest seemed to be missing items that were supposed to be in the drinks.

the wait staff are a cut above Carnival; a server recognized me from last october.

we have been on the Breakaway for the 3rd time, in 3 years, to Bermuda. convenient N.Y.C. port plus easy parking next to the ship. $$$$

the food has surprisingly improved through the last 15 years

of our experience with NCL.

all the shows are repeats from last year, no big loss, because we have seen them on our first two cruses with this ship.

One Complainant - left a Gold & Aquamarine Ring in #11659 (cabin steward "harlee") reported same next day to NCL with No Reply !!! 

From the moment of embarkation to debarkation, the cruise was fantastic.  we were treated like royalty, escorted to the Haven Lounge within minutes of entering the ship and the Concierge, Patrick was very informative.  Our suite was wonderful, and our Butler, Marion was great. We had a small balcony, which was a hull balcony, but it was sufficient and cozy.  Although we were not right in the Haven, and the walk was a bit long, it was worth it to experience all the perks.  The bar tender, Erwin was so funny, and made the best drinks.  He even made paper roses.  Great guy.  The restaurants on board were so good, and the food was awesome.  Compliments to all the chefs on this cruise.  We dined in LaCuchina once, and that was also great food.  It is a must to see the Cirque dreams show which was Jungle Fantasy.  This was phenomenal.  worth the price you pay to see it.  The casino wasn't bad for payouts on slots.  All in all, this was a wonderful time.