Norwegian Breakaway Cruise Reviews - Reviews

I have  cruised on a number of different cruise lines for many years.  This was the worst cruise that I have ever, ever taken.  Never again!  For 12 days I felt like I was spending a Saturday night at the mall with crowds of people roaming around, a la carte restaurants displaying their menus, and photographers begging to take my picture.  The food was not only badly prepared and presented (sauces and, in most cases, dressings were mixed into a dish with no opportunity to have them served on the side...you had to take it as it came, like it or not...) but worse, the quality was unbelievably poor.  Meats were so tough they were almost inedible.  Disembarking from the ship took several hours, and the taxi lines, across the street (!), wound around the block.  That said, the crew was the finest that I have seen on any line, and my cabin (disabled) was spacious and comfortable.

Cigarette smell in ship. Beautiful water. Ports smoking restrictions were great! Plan on an hour wait for everything. Bring a watch. Disappointed compared to other ships. Minimum cost for taxi rides per person were $40 no negotiating below the price. Behind the scenes tour was extremely expensive for a ship attraction. Everything is $ on ship. 10 photos for only prints ($160). They had great laundry deals/price and folded very well. Buy a specialty dining pass package ahead of time. The steak and Italian was not worth the price. 

We had a great time on the Breakaway and really enjoyed the shows.   Wondered why they did not have a matinee movie 

They music on the navigation channel was the same every day, perhaps they only had one disc.

We take 3 to 4 cruises per year but do not have the luxury of choosing based on ship, we choose based on convenience of dates and departure ports, so we were really looking forward to being on NCL's newer ship. We liked some things about the new ship and didn't like others. While the "waterfront" is cool, it eliminates the direct view down to the water from stateroom balconies. I don't think that's a good trade off. Also, unlike every other NCL ship we have been on, this one does not do poolside lunch BBQ's. That was disappointing. Haven takes up way too much of the ship and seems to be under-used space, however, finding deck chairs was easy unlike some ships. Loved the Jazz & Blues club. Happy to see that NCL has finally added a comedy club (ala Carnival Cruiselines) We had a balcony cabin that happened to be directly over the jewelry store. Several of the 12 nights we heard loud drilling beneath our floor that started around midnight. No-one on the ship would take ownership of this loud noise. Housekeeping would send someone up after we complained and of course the sound would stop while they were there so they wouldn't hear it. It would start again several minutes later and it would take another 30 minutes for housekeeping to come back to hear it. This would take hours to try to resolve. Guest services actually told my "general contractor" husband that he doesn't know what a drill sounds like and that all we are hearing is the sound of the movement of the ship. Comical for guest services to say this to Platinum Latitudes members who obviously have been on a ship before. 

Not one of our best, 20 cruises and this was our first winter cruise, weather was very windy this time of the year in the Bahamas, This was our 5th time on this itinerary and the fourth time we missed Stirrup Cay (Cruiseline Private Island) because of high waves, seems like this is the only private island with this problem, will never book this itinerary again, cruise line would not ever listen to our concerns because they say they can't predict the weather, I know that but when I book a cruise so that I can enjoy that Island and 4 of the 5 times and can't make it that just ruins our vacation and should  somehow be compensated for this inconveniences. Beware of this itinerary.................

Norwegian Breakaway | Nov 22, 2015 | 7 Night Bahamas & Florida (New York Roundtrip)

Norwegian Breakaway | Nov 22, 2015 | 7 Night Bahamas & Florida (New York Roundtrip)

I really enjoyed the trip. I'm just sorry we couldn't go to the private island, due rough waters. I enjoyed Atlantis aquarium and water park. Also due strong currents we could go to the beach in Nassau Bahamas. They closedown the beach.  

Overall the experience was fantastic. Clean staterooms, plenty of activities on board and delectable cuisine onboard made this experience special.

Horace, Sameer who were the Managers of the Manhattan room made special food available to us that we will not forget for a long time.

Live shows were broadway quality, and the live music was par none that I have attended in NY city.

The only areas that were left wanting were the pools which were a little too small for a ship of over 5,000 people and the check-in process for embarkation took over 2 hours and left us straggling with bags and kids. NCL should try and change those if possible.

I highly recommend this cruise to families that want to leave their cellphones and emails behind and enjoy cocktails listening to music, trivia and a fantastic dance club or two!

The Norwegian Breakaway is a beautiful ship. We had wonderful time, the service was great, the food delicious, and most of the entertainment was superb.

Could not make a stop at Great Stirrup Cay because of the weather, winds of almost 50 miles per hour, and 20 foot waves, but the ship handle it quite well.

The entertainment was great, but the Rock of Ages shows was too "mature" for us. Not proper for a family cruise with something like 800 kids on the ship. Burn the Floor was wonderful and Le Cirque extravaganza a spectacular production.

We also enjoyed the Ice Bar, if only for 20 minutes, it was really cold, the drinks were delicious.

We would definitely go back on the Breakaway.

This was my 8 year son and I first cruise. He loved Splash Academy.  The food in all the complimentary restaurants were were great but we really enjoyed eating in the Gaden Cafe. Our room steward and all the staff were very friendly. We had an excellent experience and cant wait to do it again.

Excellent experience. :)We enjoyed the cruise to the maximum. Plenty of food, activities and places to explore on the cruise. Staff is very helpful. But, Disembarkationn process is very disorganized and was a chaos. Overall , Excellent experience.

I've been on this boat before, but this time there seemed to be a very limited crew.  Maybe it was because it was the last cruise out for the season.  Also it was cold and very rocky.  Wouldn't do it again. 

I've been on 10 cruises, some of them NCL, and this is by far the worst customer service I have ever experience at sea. The staff, all the way from the guest service desk to the library attendant acted like every time you asked them a question or for help that you were bothering them. I don't think NCL corporate would like how this ship is operated, even the muster drill was disorganized as I witnessed a family with small children get yelled at because the youngest child was playing on their parents phone while waiting to be dismissed. The weather was horrible and the staff made no effort to create additional indoor activities so much of the time we stayed in the room as the public areas were crowded with people staring at trivia on the big screen. The ship is very nice and the food was fantastic, that's about all I can say that was positive. But I doubt I will be taking NCL again for a long time. 

We are experienced Cruisers and decided to give Norwegian Cruise Lines a try on one of their newest ships, the Breakaway.  We found our room to be small with no drawers to put clothes in. Instead there were open shelves inside the one closet in the room, above and below the safe. It made for an uncomfortable experience every time we dressed. No light in the closet. Just awkward and open shelves on either side of the beds not end tables. Didn't like seeing my night stuff out on these shelves.      When dining there was the "Manhatttan Room", the main large dining room. It's modeled after famous night clubs of the past from NY City.  The first night we eat there, a piano player was trying to set a mood in the room but I couldn't help to notice how loud the diners were. And the best was there were 4 little kids running around the dance floor playing tag the whole time this poor woman was trying to play the piano.  And I was choking down my food because I thought this was totally outrageous. But no one said a thing and my entire meal was disturbed.  In addition I couldn't help notice how dressed down people were in all the dining rooms. Shorts, tees and sandles  seem to be the norm.  I really believe NCL carries the meaning of Free Style to the extreme.  You shouldn't dress in the main dining room the way you would in McDonalds.  I thought there was a basic dress code on the ship but that wasn't the case at all and I believe  it brought down the overall look and feel of the cruise. It was real low brow and low class as far as I'm concerned. There were two other medium size dining rooms which happened to be directly opposite each other on the same deck with the exact same decor.  Only their names were different.  One was " Savor" and the other was "Taste".  After about a day I realized that the menu was the same in all three dining rooms and the menu changed very little from day to day. That was a big disappointment for us.  The food was OK, nothing spectacular and I ate way too much beef because the menu was so mundane.     The buffet on the top deck was also a big disappointment. It was overly crowded, loud, without much of a selection.     O'Sheehan's pub at breakfast  was a welcome change from the madness at the buffet  because you got served by a waitress and ate at a leisurley pace but that menu was exactly the same every day.  And would you believe they didn't even serve pancakes for breakfast.       The pools and hot tubs appeared way too small for the crowds that jammed the decks on the couple of sunny days we had.  We had to really struggle to find a couple of empty lounge chairs even on the upper decks.        Our room was situated a few floors above the theater.  So during most days and most nights when the theater was putting on a production or practicing, there was a bass drum beat that rocked and vibrated through the entire room.  The ship was full and no where else for us to go. I spoke to Guest Relations and they did comp us one of the shows but that was another strike against this trip.  I could go on but I've said enough.

First off, I’ve taken many cruises with Princess, RCCL, and Celebrity. This was my first with NCL and my wife’s first ever. The NCL Breakaway Cruise on 11/22-11/29 was bad from the start with few bright points. Ship design and layout is terrible. Customer service was horrible from the Customer Service desk, to the wait staff, to the bar staff. Something was always being thrown in front of you to buy (reminded me of the straw market in the Bahamas), or you were getting nickeled and dimed for basic services. It started as soon as we got on with my credit card not being linked to my room key, only to my wife’s. After 3 trips to customer service, 2 hours standing in line and 2 days, we finally got it corrected. Ordered a cheese tray to be delivered to our cabin on 11/22 for our anniversary and didn’t get a call about it until Tuesday, asking when we wanted it delivered. This was pre-ordered through NCL, where I have the confirmation of all the details to include the delivery on 11/22. Luckily, we had forgotten it and with some more rude customer service, we were able to get it credited to our cabin after showing them the confirmation (luckily I had printed everything I pre-ordered). Next was the internet package we decided to purchase to stay in touch with the kids at home, one word, DON’T!! It was so slow and intermittent, by Tuesday we demanded we be credited back the $209 we spent for the week of service because we could never get on and stay connected to their Wi-Fi. I’m technically savvy, so it wasn’t on my end, but they couldn’t keep the TV signals either. The weather, which is no fault of NCL, was pretty bad. So bad we couldn’t go to their private island. No big deal, we made the best of an unfortunate situation they had no control over. Communications could have been better about the situation. The Captain needs a lesson on talking on the intercom. Not sure if he’s trying to be Barry Manilow or eating the thing. Either way it was so low it was mostly inaudible. The main dining rooms fill up quick, be early or make reservations in the Manhattan Room nightly. The service is so slow they can only turn a table 2, maybe 3 times before the 5 hours is up and they close. This pushes most people to either pay for upgraded dining or go to the buffet where you receive the recycled food from the dining rooms. If you want lunch at the main dining rooms, forget it, they only open for an hour before closing. Entertainment was almost non-existent except for the raunchy Rock-of-Ages which used second rate 80’s songs and a lot of sexual connotations. Thankfully our kids weren’t on board. It was also about 50 minutes to long as the theatre seats are the most uncomfortable things I’ve ever encountered. Highlights of our cruise were the Fire and Ice show and the Spa. We enjoyed our spa pass and well worth it. Although the spa did fill up near the end because there was so little to do elsewhere. They may only sell 120 weekly passes, but they sell unlimited daily passes and people were using them since the weather was bad and pools couldn’t be enjoyed. Bottom line, I won’t sail with NCL again, no matter how many freebies they throw at me. I will stick to what I know and what I’ve come to expect. When lines start throwing free drink packages or up to 4 packages your way, it only means they’re skimping somewhere else. In this case, customer service.

As this was my 8th cruise, I must say cruising has turned me off, it was always something to look for in advance and especially a cruise on a big ship the NCL

Breakaway. The ship was clean staff and crew polite, food excellent, we ate only

once in the large restaurant, it was not worth it making reservation and waiting in lines, the buffet at the 15th floor had all the good food you could choose from. One day they had a Bavarian lunch in one of the restaurants, since I was born in Germany I had to try this food they served, it was terrible, if you liked red cabbage and German hot dogs, that was it all others was a shame. One of the Staff was present a gentleman from Germany, ok Bavaria whom I called over to have him taste to try the potatoe salad, he said what was wrong with it, I said it had no taste, no vinegar, he tried to make a joke to tell me vinegar was no good it would loosen our teeth, I urged him to try a bit of it, but he refused. Desert was ok they had Black Forest cake but all others was a zero as per taste.

We were suppose to land off shore from an Island owned by NCL, but bad weather prevented us from going on shore, people all dressed in bathing suit ready to get off, but finally we heard from mouth to mouth this was off, to be honest the speaker system was never clear to hear these announcements. Entertainment we seen a few times, one which should had bin scheduled for the theater was in a mall area, totally over crowded. If you are an older person, let me advice you never go when children have off, some parents left theirs running wild, leaving them alone to eat, they filled up their plates, took a bite and left it standing, sat at another table and done the same, these kids never went through bad times I assume, just very waste full.

Sailed out of NYC 11/22 thru NY Harbor past the Statue of Liberty--- a gorgeous site for sure!

Positive comments--

Nice cruise for families and great non-stop activities for everyone especially the children.

Great entertainment and friendly helpful staff. Excellent food in main dining rooms

Excellent show of Fire and Ice, Howl at the Moon and Cirque Fantasy Dinner Show--highly recommend seeing all of them.

Negative comments--no variety in food at the buffets--same every day.

Too many announcements daily by the Cruise Director.

Very little soundproofing between rooms and decks.

Uncomfortable seats in the theater--there was a space at the back making it uncomfortable

Overall nice cruise

I've had enjoyed 10 cruised with NCL, however, the Nov 22, sailing was the worst for customer service. The laundry service had lost my knit blouse and sweater and the Exec Housekeeping, Junior, had taken over for another associate, Rick, which dropped the ball. He immediately compensated for the poor customer service, but promised to keep looking for the missing items and settle up prior to disembarkation.  I had tried over three times to contact the Hotel Director, PREM, but was deferred every time. At the night before last day, I was offered $50 to not complete an incident report. I asked about the reimbursement of the lost items and he could not answer. I then requested the report, which he so conveniently had on his persons. When he never got back to me, I tried one more time to reach PREM @ 10pm. To my surprise, PREM answered the phone and indicated what was offered was the only compensation that will be given and if I had a problem to speak with the folks on the main land. I was so shocked and disappointed that I stood there and said good bye.

A word of caution to the cruisers: Don’t expect much from the senior officer’s!

All employees were very courteous and friendly.  I was very dissapointed that the private island stop was cancelled...I will definately not take a cruise with a private island again because that really upset our plans...and I am amazed how they charge for almost all activities...paying that much for a cruise should include more entertainment choices...and the ice bar (which was an extra $20) is nothing more than a meat cooler...packed in like a can of sardines!! 

Ship is geared to please young families in activities and surroundings. No quiet areas, even the library was far too small. My cabin was my refuge. I am an older person who wanted to see a good show at the end of the day, or listen to some good music.