Norwegian Breakaway Cruise Reviews - Reviews

This was the biggest mistake I have ever made. I did not get anything that I was promised. I was supposed to receive anniversary cake on November 15, 2015 and I did  not receive the cake nor the wine I purchased until the next day. There was a funky smell in our stateroom and our shower continued to back up every time we used it. We also broke out with a skin infection due too something on the ship. We have hospital bills to prove it. I am very disappointed and I did not get to enjoy my vacation, We spent everyday in our stateroom. We did not get to swim due to what our skin looked like from the infection. I am hoping a supervisor will contact me because of this. I will continue to reach out until I get my money back!! I have cruised before and did not have this experience, I spent over $2,500 between the cabin and everything we purchased. I WILL NEVER SAIL ON THE BREAKAWAY AGAIN!!

I have arthritis and couldn't use the pool. It had a ladder instead of steps to enter the pool. My daughter is 13 years old and weighs 85 pounds. She couldn't do part of the water slide because of her size. We went to Maine this past summer and she was allowed on a comparable slide then.  The excursion to Atlantis was misleading. I purchased it online in advance. I paid $67 per person (total of 4) and had to leave the tour early because we couldn't keep up.  We saw a few fish but couldn't go to the beach and other things mentioned in the excursion. Other than that it was fantastic. The entertainment and food was great. I took 2 teenagers and the teen program was

amazing.  

Ship was beautiful the food was good just wish that the adult pool was bigger and  that the child pool was heated like the adult pool was, and it also could have been a little bigger. I had a stateroom with balcony which was a great size for a family of 4 very nice.

Breakaway Nov 15 2015  I had sailed 13 times with NCL  1 -2008, 1- 2009, 1- 2010, 2- 2011, 3- 2013, 3-2014, and 3-2015 I have guided many people to sail with NCL due to my experience with your cruise line. I cannot say that now.  On the November 15 cruise on the NCL Breakaway, I had a extremely troubling situation occur.  Ashley the NCL port representative gave the three of us a charm and told us if we came to her talk we would get a bracelet.  We went the next day and did not receive the bracelet but was instead told of where to get in on the port ? Truthful ? I don't think so.  Ashley said that interested guests would have to wait on line to get a VIP card to get the discounts she promised. We waited 2 hours and ten minutes. One hour for the talk then 1 hour and ten minutes on line to get the card. While we were waiting other guests came into the theater for a game show deal no deal and left while we were still waiting on that line.  Everyone at the back of the line was complaining about how long it was taking. Many left some went to eat and returned and others stood with complains of aching back foot etc.  NO effort whatsoever was made to see how we were doing, if assistance was needed or any update on why it was taking so long to get a VIP card. No one came to explain why it was taking so long.   When it finally was our turn, I saw what was happening. There was not one VIP card there were several. The reason it was taking so long was Ashley had cards for all the stores and she had to sign each card and write what the people were buying. She had to coach guests on what to say about what to buy so she could write more and more.  Tell me is there any reason she couldn't pre sign these card?????? When it was my turn I told Ashley, I couldn't believe it took one hour and 10 minutes standing on line for a card. And that she had several cards not one, and she had to sign all of them. Her answer was "NO ONE TOLD YOU TO STAND IN THE LINE " you could pick up card any time. We told her SHE SAID SHE might run out of card to stay in the line. I handed her my paper to get my card and she refused to give me a card and returned my paper. She didn't like our complaints so she refused to give us a VIP card. Do u get it?  After waiting 2 hours and 10 minutes she refused to give me a VIP card.  Since I didn't need the paper she returned to me , I tossed it on her table saying I don't need this.  Ashley preceded to ridicule and mock me to the few guests who were left and they were all laughing at me.  First of all why did she say "NO ONE TOLD U TO WAIT ON THE LINE", in the most snotty childlike tone. What happened to guess experience like Ashley could have easily said I am sorry u had to wait, let me speed u through now, or let me give u something rather than yelling "NO ONE TOLD U TO WAIT ON THE LINE".  I was willing to drop this whole experience but then something more astonishing happened. The next day when my sister a cancer survivor 5 surgeries, 4 rounds of chemo 25 days of radiation, loss of her husband to cancer, and being wiped out by two hurricanes was picked out of boarding guests by site by a crew member.  I cannot remember his name ?steve?john a former cop and scared her not knowing why she was asked to step aside. Apparently the crew captain asked him to look into the disagreement we had with Ashley. The only way he could have found her was with the paper that I tossed on the table. It had my name on it. We were asked to meet with this crew member after 9 pm.  We went to the guest services as instructed he wasn't there we had to wait for him to be called. He took us to a private room to discuss what happened.  I asked him point blank did Ashley report us he said no. He said the captain of the crew asked him to look into this. Again I asked him who told the crew captain he said he didn't know he was asked to investigate this he was a retired cop. He said he knew nothing about it and wanted to get our side. The he mentioned something about paper throwing. As I said earlier Ashley refused to sign the paper gave it back to me and I tossed it onto the table.  We told him what I wrote above I will not explain it again except to say why didn't Ashley simply say I'm sorry u had to wait ? Instead she said " NO ONE ASKED U TO WAIT IN THE LINE" Is that really how u want your employees to speak to guests?   What really troubles me is the way we were treated like criminals. He said he recognized my sister picture ? So my privacy was invaded someone took my name and looked at my information??????   Did he really pick her out remembering her picture or was a copy of our pictures distributed ????   He said no formal complaint was made yet he invaded our privacy looked at our pictures and picked my sister out in front of other guests asked to step aside for what? A questioning ordered by the crew captain about what ? About hearing rumors about what?  This is how u treat guests with 13 cruises up to 3 a year for the last 3 years ??????  This whole incident ruined my vacation that my sister had to be treated this way with all she had been through. I didn't use my free dinner cards for the 4 free special meals I was so upset. I stayed in my room trying to figure out what could have cause NCL to treat all of us like this.   I have seen many horrible behaviors by guests and we were not horrible, we only complained!!!!  By the way,  I ran into a few of the people who were standing on line with us and told them what happened to us, and they couldn't believe it and were talking about going to guest services themselves to support us.  You should teach your employees to say sorry !!!!  That would have been the correct response not set us up for what a investigation? Inquire? What ? For What?  This is the worst I have ever been treated on a cruise ship in all the cruises I've taken. I am going back to work with knee and back pain and will always remember the horrible way you treated my and my family.  Lesion learned you seriously don't care about guests there are just too many of us.  With great disappointment Barbara PS    I voice tapped our interrogation with your officer.

Missed a port of call because of waves and they didn't want to tender us.  So we continued sailing and arrived at Bahamas in the dark and stayed over night.  

My solo cabin and the one across the hall sounded like water running.  Both of our

tcabins flooded.  I called immediately and no one came.  Called again after 15 minutes.  No one came. Started looking in hall for someone and found officer in studio lounge and he called

i used every single towel and bathmat to keep water from going onto rug.  Very slow response to an emergency.  The cabin across the hall was worse than mine.

food was good and enjoyed the restaurants

Overall experience was good as a first time cruiser

1) I felt the number of professional shows were very few (I think 4)

2) Last day of cruise, there were no shows

3) Being an Indian vegetarian, food options were few. Restaurant staff tried to help by cooking rotis and some indian curry

4) Great Stirrup cay port was cancelled as we need to go on tender boats and water is rough, I am assuming this might be case always

5) Shore excursions were very costly when purchased from cruise; I recommend to purchase them outside

6) time spent at ports is very little (8 hours), and most time goes in journey to shore excursion. it would be great if they give atleast 12 hours at a port.

Spending $150 to $200 for each person for a 5 hour magic kingdom is not worth

The ship is amazing, the entertainment for the children was great.  The service in the Manhattan restaurant and the Italian restaurant was VERY slow and at times disorganized.  I've cruises before on other cruise ships and the highlight of our trip was always  exceptional service in the restaurants.  But I don't know if it's because of the Freestyle Cruising, it falls short of attention to dining detail and quality service.  It feels as if the wait staff have no incentive to go the extra mile or focus on the task before them.  The room cabin attendant Gary was EXCEPTIONAL.  We were sure to leave him and extra gratuity as a thank you for his attention to detail and professionalism.

The menu/food at the Manhattan restaurant and the buffet is repetitive

Otherwise, we enjoyed the accommodations and the ship.

After having last cruised 4 years ago on the Epic, I was expecting more in terms of service and the quality of the food. The Epic was amazing in all aspects; atmosphere, food, service, entertainment...  I took advantage of the offer to deposit on a future cruise within 4 years, hence my 2015 cruise on the Breakaway. I'm not sure what time has changed or what they've done in 4 years, but I was disappointed at times with the service. The dining room dinner service was not as I remember it. I feel that now that they've implemented the daily service charge some of the staff is less motivated and interested in making sure you're all set; often we had to seek them out. In fact one server told me she was clearing off the tables so I had to wait. Also the food quality has gone down in my opinion. Although this may appear to be negative, it is not. Even with the changes noted, it was a pleasant experience and we're looking to cruise again. 

I am a frequent cruiser on Rccl and Carnival and thought i would give NCL a try.  Food was very disapointing as well as the shows, never enough seats by the pool and was always crowded in hot tubs.  room steward was terrible.  never again my recommendation for all reading this is go to RCCL or carnival your experience will be much better.

The ultimate beverage package was needed. The tile in the bathroom was not in good shape. On the balcony there was strip hanging from the deck below. The other problem I had was when they ran my card they ran it for a bunch of different amounts when I originally was told it would only be a 300.00 hold. I like NCL, but they need to get it together. 

We have been on the Breakaway before and really enjoy the ship and it's amenities. The food was very good and the entertainment  always enjoyable.  The only negative was departing off the boat and going through customs.  We carried our luggage and did easy walk off. This took over an hour and a half. It appeared those who checked their bags were getting through customs quicker. 

Would have given 5 stars, except for crazy way disembarking ship was conducted both on Great Stirrup Cay and disembarking last day of cruise.  Breakway needs an easier and more fluid way of getting folks off the ship.     Putting that aside, the staterooms, stewards, restaurants and servers were terrific. Food was out of this world.  Shows were outstanding.    Even though the ship was enormous, with a lot of kids running around, we would recommend taking this cruise.

Decent value but too much has been taken away from the main dining venues and given to the specialty restaurants.

Mini suite is the best cabin we've had. Fair amount of room and the bath is a significant upgrade.

Balcony is small though,

UBP creates a logjam of admnistrative BS. Each drink has to be separately processed thru the register. It slows the bartenders and frustrates both the crew and passengers. 

Need more waiters on pool deck

Get rid of Second City. Not funny at all. Waste. 

Casino needs better ventilation. Not all is smoking but it permeates the entire deck.

NYC embarkation/disembarkation was fine.  Although "easy walk off" is anything but that.

This had been my 3rd Norwegian cruise and I'm glad to say it'll be my last! I purchased this trip as a Anniversary gift for my Partner who had never been on a cruise before.I thought she would have a wonderful time since this was the newest ships so it has to be bigger than all & lots more to do. I was wrong the breakaway is beautiful but because it's so big the lack of services sucks! The Customer service employees were rude and unhelpful, I booked a balcony suite with a king size bed & got 2 twin beds! Btw we slept like that for 4 of the 6 nights we were on the ship! No one listen not even the Customer service manager Michelle..omg it was the worse! Our tendering to stirrup cay Bahamas was a nightmare there were only 4 tenders & about 2000 people wanting to go to the island. The ship holds roughly 3500 people! I applied for the Credit Card 2 nights before I left and to my surprise they charged my credit card for all my charges plus all the cash I put in to my account so they were trying to stay with all my money. I felt so bad for my girlfriend because this really left her with a bad taste in her mouth. I.made this like it was better than a flat land vacation, nope I was wrong she would rather go on an airplane than a ship again. Thanks Norwegian!!  I CAN'T even continue because there was more! The worst thing of all this is that Norwegian doesn't have a Corporate email , you would have to write a letter and send it to there Corporate offices in Miami Florida. Wow! Some times you think  bigger is better in this case I disagree I went on the smaller ships and the service was 5 out of 5! Carnival and Royal Caribbean here I come. Good riddance Norwegian cruise lines! 

This is my 3rd sailing on this ship. They have the same show like Rock of Ages, Jungle Fantasy Cirque du Soleil. Second City and Burnt the Floor. We sail this ship because we just want R & R. Some of the shows require a fee. This will be good for first time cruisers. 

Cruise was good overall, but food selections could have been better.  Kids enjoyed their clubs.  There were a lot of activities, but limited shows.  It would have been better off if they had more shows in theatre: magician, comedy,etc.  Rock of Ages is more adult oriented. They should have more of a variety.

Boarding the ship was pretty straightforward.  Long lines but that is to be expected.  My luggage made it to the room on time etc. Room was nice. I was very disappointed to see there were only two outlets for 4 of us and MORE in our bathroom. The most disappointing part was the customer service and communication nevertheless staff.  I came to the front desk on two occasions to settle problems with my key card. I was told they were fixed and would work properly,  only to hake to come back again and WAIT in that line again waiting over an hour of my tI me while my family waited for me to finish AGAIN.  

Than comes the broken dish, my son was eating ab sale when he suddenly spit out a piece of a glass like substance.  We had to be risked to medical for a check.  He swallowed some. You would think this would cause management to come see us, NOPE. no check on us by any one once we left the doctor office . I had to ask to see someone in management.  

Terrible.  I had better customer service at a McDonald's

Wow, this boat is very impressive. There are so many areas to explore.  My kids (ages 8 & 9) loved the ropes course and the zip line.  The activities staff was so interactive with the kids and looked like they were really having fun.  the Nick team on board had my kids pumped up for their activities.  The food was great, and they improved the buffet set-up and we had no problem finding seats.  This was our 10th cruise with Norwegian and my only complaint was the lack of cookies (they only had cookies for dessert during lunch. my kids love cookies and milk before bedtime) and you have to pay a service fee for room service.  My husband loved Rock of Ages.  Sail away party was fantastic and the Cruise Director had great energy and always made a point to talk to passengers

The NCL-Breakaway was very large.  Cabins were clean and inviting.  The food was average, I don't think award winning describes the food at the various restaurants.  The buffet had a the same menu most of the time for lunch and dinner.  They did offer some snacks late in the evening which was good.  The convenience charge of ~$8 for room service I felt was ridiculous. The shows were very nice.  Not many shops on the boat unlike Royal Caribbean.  The service was not as good with the exception of our cabin attendant Maria.  No flexibility with the kids camp regarding ages, very strict and inflexible to create a pleasant environment for the small children in our group. Overall a good trip.

Overall this cruise was great. Ship is well equipped with everything needed to enjoy your cruise. Food is always wonderful the staff very nice and helpful.Entertainment was great as usual, something for everyone and all ages. A few things on tendering that could be worked on. Need a better way to get the people off without the long lines and confusion. Also, the departing off the ship with ones luggage was also in need of a better solution. Would recommend to anyone who wants to have fun and have everything included in an affordable price.