Norwegian Breakaway Cruise Reviews - Reviews

Too many people on ship

Dining room meau always the same

Room services not vacuum for 7 days

Barkey sent birthday cake to restaurant but restaurant stuff could not found

My wife and I were extremely  pleased with the room and the overall facilities on board the cruise. Being on a ship that is mainly New Yorkers it would have nice to have The Yes channel or even the Mets baseball game available on TV. We as New Yorkers are not interested in critic. Other wise i will cruise again the staff was supperb. You could use a few more people at the customer service and tours scheduling desk. loved the food and the shows also. 

We had a good time on the Breakaway for our first time cruise but were happy to return home after a week of overeating & drinking. Norwegian definitely does nickel & dime you for everything. Casino was way too smoky and located in the middle of the ship so you had to walk through it very often. I would have gambled more if not for the constant stench - which also floated into other areas of the ship. Disgusting and so bad for the kids.

Menus were identical in all 3 main dining rooms so there wasn't much choice for food. Most of the food there was better than eating at the buffet. O'Sheenans was fairly good. Noodle bar food was too greasy and not hot enough. Buffet had lots of choices but a lot of the food had little flavor but we still ate thIere every day for breakfast and lunch and some dinners. They clearly want you to pay extra for the specialty restaurants in order to a better selection of food - but I refused since I had already paid about $6000 for the 3 of us. I also dislike that everyone in the room has to buy the drink package. I wanted to just get it for my husband since he is a big drinker and I don't really care to drink -but we ended up getting the drink package for the both of us. So I mostly ordered virgin frozen drinks for myself.

Ship staff was very good. Not obtrusive but very attentive and friendly. Ship was kept very clean. Overly crowded on the pool deck that it kept me away. Got my suntan when we went to Bermuda - which was an awesome island even though it rained part of our stay.

Games (Bringo, Deal/No Deal) are a rip-off. Too expensive and very few people win. We did win $50 but most people won nothing even though they charge a lot to play. Trivia & family games in the Atrium were fun but it was crowded. Probably because they need more activities (free). Very obvious they want you to spend extra money.

While the Norwegian Breakaway is a beautiful ship and we had a great time, the ship was not designed for the number of people on board.  There are not enough pool chairs and the pool and pool deck were packed on all three days at sea.  The atrium and other bar areas featured games and shows, but, again, did not have enough chairs to accommodate those who wanted to watch or participate.  Service at bars and specialty restaurants was slow.  Off-duty employees wear their name tags and hang out in these areas, taking bar tables and pool space from paying guests.  The wine lunch and musical, which cost an extra $25 per person, was a huge disappointment and I would not recommend that.  The unlimited drink package and soda package are truly unlimited and well worth the cost.

The cruise was very nice to Bermuda.  There was not enough time actually spent in Bermuda though.  If we could have had more of a full day on our 3rd day that would have helped instead of it being cut back to 2:30.  Or if the ship could get there as fast as it returns, that would also be nice. 

It did feel crowded on the ship at times especially around the pool area, the elevators and just walking around.  I do have to say that the complimentary meals had something to be desired but I did not starve.

The good: Ship has everything we want (we're not drinkers or gamblers, but those folks appeared happy too). Good entertainment. CLEAN! After 21 cruises, we believe this ship had the best food service overall that we've found at sea, with special note about the huge Garden Cafe and its wide selections. (How I miss those breakfasts!)

The not-so-good: TV channel selection was limited. A USA sports addict won't be satisfied with cricket, soccer, and rugby. The gym is well-equipped but too small for a ship that is supposed to accommodate 4,000 passengers. No attendants were present to help when equipment malfunctioned. I have read and understand the expense of WIFI at sea, but why can't ships hook up with local service while in port? Check in was a hassle, as we arrived early, waited like they said, sat where they told us, got in line when they told us, only to be told when attempting to board that the person checking us in didn't put our photos on our key cards and we had to go back and get in line.

The oh-well: Rained a good part of the time we were in Bermuda. We received refunds on some excursions and you can't control the weather. Too bad, because Bermuda is a great place. I guess they need the rain like the rest of us though.

With the Breakaway, NCL hit it just the way we like it, if they could just learn how to check us in.

Pros. 

1. Food- Free dining excellent

2. Cirque de dreams, burn the floor, rock of ages was a must see!

After that everything else you have to pay for and advertised all inclusive cruise ship

Cons

On a boat of 5,000 people and over 2,000 employee. How exactly one small adult pons

1. Only 1 adult small pool

2. After paying $181.00 in gratuities for two people prior to boarding the ship. The cruise liner hit us with hidden fees and service charges when you board the ship.

3. Complimentary drinks you receive you will hit with service/processing fees

4. They charged us $20.00 for a transportation 1-day pass. When we boarded the island to board the bus and ferry it was only 4drs.

5. The fitness and gym area was REALLY REALLY small for boat that size and for that many people. I had to get up before 5:30-6am to be able to use the equipment and most of the time there was a line. Although I woke up that early.

5. There is a fee to go into the steam room and sauna. Before getting on the ship I called Norwegian if it was free. They said yes. Access to those rooms are free after you pay 100 dollars to enter the spa room. They conveniently placed it all in one location. Norwegian has a lot of deceptive cost. 

Online they shows spacious rooms for everything when you go into them they are barley a size of a studio room. So you feel like a cramped fish in a bowl.

6.  Yes it is a big ship but you can see where they compromised space for things that most people would frequently use. 

7. We were charged a cork bottle fee of $15.00 dollars. Although I called the cruise liner and they informed me that the 1st bottle is allowable.  The 2nd bottle is a price charge. Lie we were hit with a $15dr charge.

8. The workers are overworked!! I mean OVERWORKED!!! And I completely understand. 80% we had excellent service. But at times the other 20% of the time we encountered staff he were snippy, short or rude. But Understand they get very none to limited breaks. So I understand serving a boat about 5k people. Your server is a jack of all trades. I would see housekeeping be the pool attendant, gym keeper, maintenance worker, food server, cleanup crew etc. They smile through being exhausted and very helpful. But you can tell they are indentured servants and miserable. 

9. My bill was always confusing with some unexplainable fees. If you wanted anything that was free on other cruises not on the NCL breakaway be prepared to be  charge for whatever you are having , plus gratuity added, plus a processing fee. 

10. Most of everything that fun events started so early in the morning from 7am-11am. So me and my sister felt rushed all the time. Breakfast finished around 10:30-11am. So if you didn’t get up early you missed a lot in the day. 

11. The arcade room, bowling was a fee plus more fee for every game and activity. It was ridiculous… I understand sometimes you have to pay for but come on. To play ____ you had to pay for it. Bingo was $ 20 dollar each per small card 

12. There are a lot of families and kids!!! I mean a lot!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So be prepared to hear screaming kids with a temper tantrum, rude misbehaved unsupervised kids on a moving ship. I had kids run and step on my toes 

13. Me and my sister are in the 20s range and it was super loud music to the point where it is extremely unbearable. The party guys are drunk and reckless. May I add the pretty dish of a pool the drunk guys hung out all the time and threw up in the pool.

14. We were served filtered sea water to drink. So it was not good or refreshing. Coffee was not good. 

15. Our room was not as clean it looked used when we first arrived. I understood when I left the ship. Our dembarkation was at 10:30am and embarkation for new arrivals was 11am. So now it makes sense why I had hair on my sheets and the bathroom wasn’t so clean. Which made me not trust my sheets were changed. So I was not pleased about that. Which is no fault of the staff. How is anyone logically supposed to turn around a whole floor in less than 30min.

We had taken this cruise last May of 2014 and our kids loved it.. as well as us. This year we decided to go in July. It was unbelievably crowded and unorganized. To get a chair near the pool you would need to be there by at least 6am... and that didn't guarantee a seat as people had already come and claimed their area by throwing towels on 10-16 chairs at a time. Most of them never even came back. But we didn't feel it was our duty to move belongings. We also had the full drink package. You are only able to order 2 drinks at a time for some reason... The bartenders were fantastic.. but they could not possibly keep up with the orders as they had to constantly fill out receipts for every person that came to the bar... We were 16 adults so that meant that 8 people would need to come order drink for the the bunch...  Dinner reservations were always booked to capacity, unless you wanted to eat at 10:30pm. Very disappointed.  We were told last May that the boat was at full capacity, but there wasn't nearly as many people as this time... The boat is also getting extremely run down. Stateroom  had a lot of minor things that were broken in the room... i.e. drain plugs, lights, drawers cracked, breakers tripping, TV remote broken, shower door.

It was my second time on the ship in 2 years we love to cruise esp from New York. Plenty of food and bars not much places to dance for the middle aged. Never felt like we were on a ship great smooth sailing. I highly recommend it!

OUR CABIN SERVICE WAS EXCELLENT AND MOST OF THE RESTAURANT STAFF WAS GREAT AS WELL AS THE BAR STAFF.  THE ENTERTAINMENT WAS WONDERFULLY ENJOYABLE.  WE PURCHASED SOME PHOTOS BUT WAS DISAPPOINTED SINCE MOST WERE NOT AS PROFESSIONAL AS ON PREVIOUS CRUISES.    WOULD SAIL NORWEGIAN AGAIN BUT NOT TO BERMUDA.

service, crew workers, were excellent. The main Pool is too small for five thousand people.  Very crowded.   Not enough of free shows.  Food and upscale restaurants delisshhh.

i was not thrilled to be going on such a huge cruise ship but I love the idea of being in Bermuda for 3 days so I gave it a shot. Let me say the pool area on sea days is CRAZY!  There are 100s of people in the pool and all the chairs are always taken. That being said we stayed away from that area all together except when in port. We did manage to go in the pool and slides on a port day in the evening we also enjoyed the obstacle course on a port day as well. I have been on ncl before and was very impressed with the food this time. Even the free restaurants had decent food. We rented scooters and boats in Bermuda and had a blast. There's nothing like going to beaches where you are the only one there. We had the free drink package and that worked out awesome as well. All in all a great cruise. 

OUR CABIN SERVICE WAS EXCELLENT AND MOST OF THE RESTAURANT STAFF WAS GREAT AS WELL AS THE BAR STAFF.  THE ENTERTAINMENT WAS WONDERFULLY ENJOYABLE.  WE PURCHASED SOME PHOTOS BUT WAS DISAPPOINTED SINCE MOST WERE NOT AS PROFESSIONAL AS ON PREVIOUS CRUISES.    WOULD SAIL NORWEGIAN AGAIN BUT NOT TO BERMUDA.

I am so sorry to say that the Norwegian Breakaway was the worst ship I ever been on.  It boasts size and beauty. Yes it is sizable, but only because they made it full of staterooms, so much that it cannot handle the occupancy. No room in the pool, no room at the shows. Everything, including freestyle dining needs reservation or you wait. The design of the ship is not accomodating. Library strewn between piano lounge and atrium..NOISY....chinese restaraunt next to casino..SMOKY...the ship is very monocromatic, so I have been on WAY more beautiful ships, including Norwegian DAWN GEM AND CROWN... The ship is clean, the balcony stateroom roomy, but the RULES on this ship are .." pay a lot to book, leave your wallet at the door, and be prepared for horrible service and food in dining room. Room service has EXtra charge, drink package offered,, but after you pay, good luck finding someone to get you a drink.....Would not recommend this ship....Next time I cruise, I'm going ROYAL CARRIBEAN!

The entire staff is awesome. Dining in the free resturants was a wonderful experience . Savoy scallops were top shelf. We also ate at the extra charge resturants and they are well worth the fare. The shows were fabulous, shore excursions, housekeeping , dining, bars, and family fun , front desk and on and on make you feel you are having the best time of your life. 

We tried Norwegian for our second cruise. Well could not stop talking about the breakaway very friendly, service and over all knocked you off you feet. we would do another cruise in a heart beat thank you BJ's and Norwegian.

Overall it was a good experience to get away to Bermuda during by 50th birthday.The cruise and the ship  left pleasant memories.

  However,    i personally did not like the freestyle cruising concep and most likely will never take it again.. The pool area was too small for that size ship and there were too many people and the screaming kids .

The ship was beautiful and VERY clean.  I constantly saw crew members cleaning everything, door handles, railings, etc.  The crew was extremely friendly.  Every time you walked past a crew member they acknowledged you with a greeting and a smile.  They were always asking if we needed anything and were very willing to do whatever was needed.  There was plenty to do on the ship from Bingo and Let's Make a Deal to Cirque de Dreams, which I highly recommend.  Bermuda was  beautiful and the crew was very knowledgeable about excursions, beaches, etc.  We did not plan anything ahead of time, we just winged it once we got there.  The crew was always outside the ship when we were coming and going and provided hot towels, drinks, and even ice pops!  If you have children the kids club is a must.  My two little ones fought me on Day 1 that they didn't want to go.  On Day 2 we made them go and after that they never wanted to leave!  The kids club staff even recognized my children at dinner and made it a point to come and say hello.  

The cruise was very crowded, I mean obviously it's the newer ship.  In order to get a chair to lay out on you needed to put a towel out at like 7AM and no one gives them up throughout the day.  We actually stayed on the ship part of Day 2 so the kids could enjoy the slides and pool without being overcrowded.  The only thing I was disappointed with is that Friday there were supposed to be fireworks but it was raining.  They did not reschedule them for the next night which was disappointing.

From start to finish, our cruise on the Norwegian Breakaway was absolutely wonderful!  The entertainment was top-notch, be sure to see Rock of Ages, Cirque Jungle Fantasy and Burn the Floor.  The food was delicious, I would highly recommend dining at Ocean Blue, Le Bistro and Teppanyaki. The mid-ship mini suite accommodations were comfortable, but the the cabin really wouldn't hold 4 people as stated (2 Adults and a teenager maxed out the space).  The only negative comment is that the adult's only pool is rather small for the overall size of the Breakaway, but the crew was diligent about maintaining that no kids enter the pool which did help from increased over crowding. There's plenty to do on the ship while sailing to Bermuda and once in port, it's easy to get on/off to explore the beautiful island.  I would both go back to Bermuda and sail on the Breakaway again.

we planned this vacation months in advance,my wife and I,my two kids and my two 16 yr old grandsons,some of whom never cruised before. We had a spectacular time,weather was great,ship was the best,food,drinks,staff couldn't be better.everyone wants to go again next year.R.Martin