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Ship Reviews
Based on 38 reviews
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We personally loved
May
Pros: Food
Cons: Housekeeping
Recommended: Yes
Overall we thoroughly enjoyed our time on the Breakaway. We thought the food was delicious in the MDR, Buffet and the 4 specialty restaurants we visited. We enjoyed the pool and were happy to see staff enforcing the no chair reserving policy. We usually used the chairs and pool from around 8-11 am before it would get too crowded and never had any issues. We are not big on night life so I can't speak to that but we did watch the Burn the Floor show. I enjoyed it very much. My husband isn't a huge fan of dance but said it was good. Housekeeping could have been better but they still came almost daily just didn't seem to be a very thurough job either initially or through the week. I personally think the room stewards probably just have too much to do and not sure how much help they have. No towel animals either which my husband was disappointed about lol. Housekeeping wasn't a deal breaker by any means. We got the extended balcony and that was amazing. We spent a lot of time laying on the recliners out there. The ship did not feel overly crowded. We did not have to wait in any lines to eat anywhere although we did have reservations for all our specialty dining. Once again I can not speak to the night life though. There were a lot of families with children but it wasn't as many as RC and didn't impact our time or enjoyment at all. We found both embarkation and debarkation to be very smooth. And of course staff was wonderful and friendly.
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Mediterranean Cruise
October
Pros: Cleanliness and spa
Cons: Excursions and entertainment
Recommended: Yes
We found the Breakaway very clean and most dining experiences were enjoyable. We never went hungry. I missed speciality night dining that you find on other cruise lines. We purchased the Spa package, and thank goodness. It was so relaxing and such a nice place to relax after a long day of exploring. We did have trouble with our excursions, one was canceled because we arrived later in the port because of the ship’s technical problems. We were refunded our ticket for the excursion, but there were no other options for us to use. We had to travel on our own. Also, we got double booked and I had to prove that I did not take both excursions to get refunded. The ship’s main theater offered three shows, one that was not family appropriate, one that was very amateur, and one that was actually entertaining.
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Italy / Greece Trip
October
Pros: Ports
Cons: Lines, the need to schedule events, lack of entertainment and food quality.
Recommended: No
The cruise itself was good, but NCL does not tell you what you should be aware of prior to the sailing. They failed to tell you that you are subject to a 22% sales tax on all purchases on the ship, they fail to tell you that there are no nightly live shows planned in the theatre, these are expected for those individuals who are frequent to cruising. Over the years we've seen cruise companies cut back on services to improve their bottom line, but NCL takes it to a new level, they nickel and dime you for everything. I won't say all of the staff were rude, but I did meet a number of crew members who were. I also met others who were exceptional, such as Mahendra Bandodker and Janet from Taste and Jeff the manager at the Manhattan, these individuals went above and beyond.
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Home away from home
February
Pros: The crew made you feel like you were wanted and needed.
Cons: None
Recommended: Yes
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A great experience for a first cruise
July
Pros: Dining Options, water slides, Bars everywhere, Music clubs, Service Staff, Thermal Spa, Art Auctions
Cons: The show "Six", on board account billing statements
Recommended: Yes
I will focus on the ship as shore excursions will vary by group and need. I am fulltime single father traveling with my teenage son and his best friend. There was plenty for us to do together and separate. Syd Norman's Pour House, The show Burn the Floor, comedy show, magic show, dueling pianos were all the best entertainment nightly. The show "Six" was not bad, but it was not my cup of tea. My boys were not at all into it and we would have preferred to watch Burn the Floor a second time or another show. After the shows the boys would go back to the room and I headed out for some night life. I love to dance and while I was not looking at this as a singles cruise I found a couple of people to socialize with and dance with until 2am when the clubs closed. Club H2O was the go to and both the latin night and Glow Party night were awesome. It would end at 11:30pm at which point everyone would go to the Bliss club until 2am. Day time activities including the art auctions, finding a chair on the sun deck, slides, high ropes, etc. were all spectacular. I am in finance and so did not have an issue with how billing works daily in the cruise app. However, lines at the service counter were long as I asked and most people would be constantly confused about their bills. The staff were amazing in all areas (dining, bartending, housekeeping, etc). Super friendly, always looking out for the littlest thing you may need. 3:1 ratio definitely works and we never went without. My boys pointed out how their waters would be refilled within 2 minutes of being empty. We made a game of it and confirmed. The staff is on top of things on this ship!! Already booked my next cruise with Norwegian. That should tell you everything.
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Nice ship with friendly staff
March
Pros: Clean, Friendly, Great Food
Cons: Entertainment, Music during dinner in Manhattan Room, Pool, Thermal Spa
Recommended: Yes
Really enjoyed the cruise and the food at the buffet was the best I've had in eleven cruises. All of the crew were extremely friendly. There were only about 2800 passengers out of 3964 capacity. Pools were extremely small and the ship seemed to be geared for families with young kids. Did not like the live music at the Manhattan Dining Room as it was too loud to talk.
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Good, but not great
February
Pros: Service, entertainment
Cons: Embarkation, food variety
Recommended: Yes
The Breakaway does not do particularly well with crosswinds. And we had two days of high winds. Low ceilings, dark paneling, and narrow passageways make the ship seem crowded. Given the large number of passengers on the ship there are relatively limited pools and hot tubs. Boarding was rather chaotic, slowed by extra security introduced to ensure passengers with recent travels to China didn't board. The entertainment was very good, though there was little dancing during convenient times. Musicians were talented, though the band in Syd's Pour House need to learn that volume is in direct opposition to music quality. I doubt more than half a dozen people on the ship understood the history behind "Six". The comedians did a fine job. The mainstage performance by Syd's Pour House band was so loud the performance lasted three stanzas for us. There was little "upscale" food like lobster, shrimp, salmon, steaks, escargots outside of the specialty dining restaurants. Perhaps to encourage people to eat there. Service was exceptional by both the stateroom stewards, wait staff, and hostesses, particularly in the Manhattan and Savor restaurants/ One thing that I noticed is that information was available only if it was asked about. The welcome-back party was announced only 5 minutes before the event was held. Elite-tier events, if they were held, were not announced nor invitations offered. Although tendering tickets were given, it did not appear that they were used. Tender boats were filled by one large line.
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