Norwegian Breakaway Cruise Reviews - Reviews

We had a wonderful time cruising from March 28th-April 3rd. The amenities on the ship were great, wish there was an inside adult pool for guess not in the Haven. It rain while in Florida and then we could not go to the private Island due to the weather, however the Bahamas was lots of fun and the weather was great.

We had the opportunity to visit Atlantis which was beautiful, will definitely go there again.

The ship, shows & staff were amazing!!! We highly recommend and so organized definitely a tight ship.  My daughter 10 and son 7 loved all of the activities they could do on the ship especially on not so good weather days.  The slides and zip line course was so much fun.  Majority of the staff was friendly however there were a few not so happy cruisers. It was our first cruise and I would def do again but leave in warmer weather and not April.  The food was great weather it was in the buffet or restaurants we enjoyed everything we ate and kids even tried different things out side of the box and realized they loved trying different things. Enjoyed the ports and islands we stopped at only wish we were there longer.  A must due if you want to be able to relax and allow the kids to be independent.  The kids club was great allowed us to have much needed date nights.  The kids staff was great and my kids didnt want to leave a pick up time so that was a HUGE plus!!! 

The Thermal Spa was great - we had a pass for the entire week - and on a full cruise ship of 3500+ it is a great way to escape the crowds.  The staff was wonderful - but that time of the year is not the best to travel.  I did not plan the vacation - it was a family gathering, but I would not travel that week in the future, and definitely not on a ship that size.

Well, as a teacher we're told to start out with the positive so...A to entertainment, if you were lucky enough to get it (who knew reservations are supposed to made at complimentary events). A to cleanliness of ship. B to food in common areas. A if you pay more for upgraded restaurants. Bar staff, especially in the Atrium, were excellent. Wait staff were much better in the upgraded restaurants. The excursion staff followed their own agenda even though it was opposite of our request (fail)! Why poor rating if mostly good service? Not enough ship for the number of passengers. You get closed out of everything complimentary. You can't find a chair anywhere you want to be. If there's a band, the 100 seats are being saved. If it's by the pool, forget about it. I never got a toe near the pool as its capacity overflowed at under 100. With 5,000 passengers on board you had to pay extra to breathe. We paid $400 extra to gain access to spa pool, which sufficed at getting us wet but became unbearably rowdy with the echo the last few days as no one enforces rules anywhere on the ship. We even paid for a dinner one night when we ate at a complimentary restaurant because they added a section to the menu that isn't included. Of course no one told us until we inquired about the check at the end of the meal. Beware. If you're over 40 you can't read the menu let alone the fine print. Out of 7 days we got off the ship only twice. We couldn't early morning tender at the private island because NCL's spot wasn't as calm as the Royal Caribbean's spot who managed their tender that morning just fine. Nassau being an hour away would have been a nice fix to this problem but they drove in circles until 6pm so they didn't incur an additional charge above the 24 hour slot that was already scheduled. A glorious day stuck in a heated spa pool after a near stampede exit from the auditorium where they were holding the 200+ people scheduled for excursions when the cancelation was announced. Not to worry the cruise director got out in a flash. Overall, the price we paid for a chance at a vacation was too high only made ridiculous after the extra costs. I want my spring break back! D+

My wife and I had among the best Cruises ever on the Breakaway. The addition of the Drink and Specialty Dining package was a true value. The aft balcony was priceless.

Entertainment staff really did great, kept me entertained and laughing the whole trip. had a lot of fun. endless things to do. definitely doing it again.

*only complaint Srdan from photo department was rude and unprofessional  

Leaving out of New York in March the weather was back & forth, which we knew would be the case. On one of the nicest days, we were scheduled to stop at Great Stirrup Cay but was unable to get off the ship because we were told that the tender boats could not get hooked up to us safely. I understand that safety in the first priority but being that this is a cruise ship & this is what they do everyday we were surprised that the couldn't make it happen.

This is a fun trip for the family.  Everyone had a wonderful time, but we were disappointed that we didn't get to stop at The Great Stirrup Cay due to strong wind. 

Really enjoyed the Breakaway cruise.  Always something to do and be entertained by.  The shows were very exciting including the Cirque dinner and show.

Although the weather was a little less than ideal, we LOVED the Breakaway.  The ship itself had everything a family could want.  There was something for all 5 of us.  Our steward was helpful and so friendly.  The restaurants were excellent and the staff extremely fast and courteous.  We have cruised other lines but NCL is our favorite.

Where to start, when you get into NYC it is chaos and I don't mean that by the traffic. The peer has no organization, lines everywhere, luggage all over. We waited for about an hour in lines to get on the ship. Before we got to the room the romance package was to be delivered to our room. We only had the dozen of roses in our room. Not only did we have to stand in a line again but we had to stand in line to look for the rest of our package. So I thought we had it all figured out. Again I was wrong, we had to go back and stand in line once again in guest services. Guest services was unsure of how to help us so we had to make a phone call to get further assistance. Finally after TWO days we got everything that was in the package that we bought. Norwegian did not win us over. The hot tubs on deck 15 clearly state that it is for adult use only, it was always full of children and not teens but like 6-12 year olds. There was really no quiet place on the ship. The intercoms did not work in our room so we had no idea what the announcements were. Food was always room temp or cold. The only hot meal we got was at La Cucina. Many things required you to pay extra. What we did LOVE our room stewardess Freddie he was great!!! We also loved the staff at Taste and Savor, as well as the men who worked at the shakers martini bar. There was a woman who worked there but she was always rude and never smiled. We ordered most of our drinks from this bar.. ONCE we ordered a strawberry daiquiri from the Irish pub place it was HORRIBLE it was just like a child's icee. Half way through the drink it was just ice... It was like kool-aid.... not impressed at all on the Norwegian Breakaway! 

This is a huge ship.  It was very tastefully decorated, but some areas were too dark for my liking. It is modern and basically very clean.  The Sunday we left was a bit chilly and you couldn't swim comfortably until the ship got to Florida two days after debarkation. The hot tubs were clean but NOT hot- no way near 104 degrees as most are.  They must have set all of them lower for some reason. We had to choose March due to our kids spring break- would have preferred May of June though.

The bathrooms in our cabins were not carefully cleaned after the last guest because there was personal soap etc. left behind in the showers in both of our room.  The cabin and balcony were otherwise great.  Aft was a good choice for many of the restaurants and the garden cafe, which was only one deck up from us.  I was not happy to have to pay for some of the entertainment- it should have been included.

The shows we did see were good quality and the food in the specialty restaurants were great. Some waiters were great, other were average- but the food was over all very nice and in general they tried to accommodate and please you.

Getting on and off this huge ship was the slowest I've ever experienced- it's  just too many people.

Shore excursions were great-loved Kennedy Space Center, at the private island we swam with the stingrays and that was excellent.  We just walked around in Nassau because we were there before a few times.

I was with my husband and our three kids who are in their twenties.  We loved to dine together and see shows together daily.

All in all it was convenient to leave from Manhattan because we live 30 minutes away- one of the reasons we chose this itinerary.  Usually we prefer to leave from Florida and see more of the Caribbean.

....a very nice cruise and a good time was had by all...

Overall, this is a great cruise which I highly recommend to people who like cruising. It was particularly convenient to be starting and ending from New York City.  The cruise is in very good condition.  The shows were entertaining and very high quality.  The premium restaurants were all great except for the Italian one.  The teen club for our son was a great way for him to meet others his age. And we spent our free time in the thermal spa which was very relaxing with heated ceramic chairs facing the front of the ship and all sorts of rooms from 2 types of saunas, steamroom, and even a salt bath room.  Not to  mention jacuzzis galore.  We also felt treated exceptionally well as we are Gold Latitudes members, so we got priority embarkation and disembarkation as well as priority tender boats.  We LOVE NCL and will cruise with them as often as we can.  

Many places to eat and lots of bars to choose from- the entertainment options could have been better and If you want a more relaxing environment dont go during spring break! Ha ha good people watching tho. Spa was very nice and everything was kept very clean. Very happy with the balcony room very sound proof. 

I sailed on The Breakaway 3/6/16.  My cabin (aft balcony) was great.  There were 2 lounge chairs and 2 regular chairs on the balcony.  However, every night around 10:30 the outside party on the top deck would start.  The bass in the speakers made the room vibrate.  This went on to 1 or 1:30. Not good. The ship is well laid out and you rarely ran into crowds of people. 

The specialty restaurants were excellent but the regular ones did not have much choice and the food was bland.

My brother enjoyed the water slides and ropes course.  I was disappointed to only get into a hot tub once due to crowding, esp on sea days.

I felt that Cape Canaveral was a dud. If you didn't spend the money for excursions there wasn't much to do.  The NCL island is well developed and comfortable but the almost $13 pina colada on the beach was a bit much.

The last stop is Nassau.  You don't have to buy the excursions- take a taxi for $4 to Atlantis and enjoy the free things there. You can also take a $20 horse and carriage ride on the pier.  Of course the ship doesn't tell you this.

The ship was clean and comfortable.  It was very stable in the water. The crew was pleasant. It was disappointing to learn that room service costs $7.95 a time. That took away from some of the usual fun in ordering in and eating in the room.

The TV selection is poor unless you want to pay $9.95 to rent a movie.  This nickel and diming is the pits.

The breakaway was a very nice ship. But bc of the size I felt it was too cramped alot of the time. Long lines to get in places etc. Also I thought the staff could have been friendlier. Most were not very personable. Our neighbors were very loud and kept us up a few nights, tho I know that is not Norwegians fault. I felt like our bathroom wasn't cleaned very well every day, I roomed with 2 guys and by the end of the week the toilet was gross. I was annoyed I couldn't do the free fall slide bc I have a number of earrings in my ear, but it was ok to do the other slides. I didn't really understand that. The shows were amazing! Great entertainment! Ship was clean, buffet food was great! Loved Modernos! Loves OSheehans food and availability! 

Enjoyed our cruise on the Breakway.  However,  there were a few things that we felt needed help.  There should be more crew - the bars were understaffed and there were not enough bartenders walking around by the pool.  Now don't get me wrong, the people that worked those areas did a great job and we enjoyed them but they did need help.  And speaking of the pool, it is way too small.  Children were in the adult pool and I even saw a baby with a diaper.  Staff should put a stop to that, but there wasn't enough staff.  Also too many children at Rock of Ages - absolutely not for children - we loved the show but really children should not be allowed in and the parents and children should have been escorted out.  Ok that's about all the negatives.  Everything else was wonderful - loved the shows, restaurants, staff - the trip was great.  We would sail on the Breakaway again.

FROM THE MINUTE I STEP ON THE SHIP TO 8 DAYS LATER WHEN I STEPPED OFF,IT WAS A FIVE STAR TIME.THE RESTURANTS ,THE ENTERTAINMENT,THE STAE ROOM AND BALCONY AND MOST OF ALL THE CREW.EVERTHING WAS GREAT.THANKYOU EVERONE AT CRUISE.COM I AM GOING AGAIN NEXT YEAR AND HOPE TO SQEEZE IN A NEW ENGLAND TRIP AT END OFTHIS SUMMER,I WILL BE USING THE WONDERFUL PEOPLE AT CRUISE.COM TO GET THERE

  If you enjoy cruising this ship is pleasant enough. Before I went on this ship I read the blogs of other cruisers. This was how I found out about how you need your room key inserted in a key slot by your door inside your room to get power to your room.

  We had a midship mini suite with a balcony. I found this room to be very narrow. The space between the foot of the bed and the wall was only as wide the width of your suitcase. Two people can not pass one another. There are no drawers  for storage in the room. There are shelves in the closet for storage. I would advise buying a set of packing cubes for travel which would make use of the shelves very easy.

 I found this ship very monotone in it's color scheme throughout the ship. The main dining rooms are small. The menus offer a small variety of complimentary offerings and a variety of entrees for a fee. 

  The entertainment was top notch. The majority of the shows are free but you need to make a reservation to see them because their main theater is very small.

  If you like to eat outside this will be a problem. There are no tables around the pool area. Outside of the atrium there is very little cushioned chairs to sit around in except in a few bar areas.

   The shopping on board is pretty standard. ( Jewelry, liquor, beachwear)  If you like going to the casino their casino is not in one room. It is sprawled along a couple of walkways along the wall and opens up into bigger area.

  If you like to cruise for the sake of cruising this ship will do the trick. I found that the hype of this ship did not meet my expectations.

Small design flaws should be corrected

- Main dining rooms need noise absorbing ceiling tile - noise level is high.

- Virtually no floorspace in gym for floor exercises

- Library located next to atrium dance floor is hardly ever quiet

Should ENFORCE a bare minimum dress code in dining rooms after 6pm

- No flip flops or sneakers; no short shorts; shirts with collar; no hats or caps.

Glass bottom boat excursion in Nassau:

- Guide carried no sign - and stood in dockside crowd next to a guide with sign for another tour - disorganized.

- Scripted commentary delivered in a lifeless monotone. Never smiled.

- sloppy dress - her shirt outside at front.

Hustling for cash at end; holding Tip Box in front of disembarking pax. Unsavory pressure (and undeserved).