I am 41 and this was a first cruise for myself as well as my parents (64 and 66) and my 14 y/o son and first time to Bermuda. I have been to Jamaica once and Cancun 6 times in the past 22 years. First time to an island for my parents and son.

4 out of 6 personal friends who are seasoned cruisers recommended NCL so we went with it (one of them sailed Breakaway twice and loved it and one of them sailed Breakaway once and won't sail this particular ship again). Here is how it all went down...mostly good experience. Would cruise NCL again, possibly even Breakaway but would try another cruise line also.

We came from Allentown, PA to the NY port and our Trans Bridge bus station is very close by our house so we were able to drive to bus station, park there in secure lot (first 3 days for free with $5 per day parking after) and for 2 adults and 2 senior rates, round trip with parking cost $185 which was a steal as we didn't have to worry about driving our own car into NYC and pay for parking here. Bus dropped us right at port and the porters came on bus to announce their services ($2 tip per person to porter and well worth it; we tipped $10 for 4 of us). Check in was quick; our bus got into port around 1:30pm and we checked in and went directly to room where luggage was awaiting us by 2:30 latest. Checked out our room, unpacked quickly and we went up to Deck 16 for 4pm disembarkment. Asked a cruise employee which side Statue of Liberty was on and he pointed us to the wrong side of the ship, which we didn't realize until it was too late, lol. By this time, we were starving and went below deck seeking out some food. But, restaurants had started to stop serving by this time (the "Welcome Aboard" paper you receive says you can eat a late lunch at buffet until 5pm or at Irish pub "always open"...not true and this is clearly printed as such on the paper you get boarding the ship!) because within the next hour, all cruisers were supposed to report to their designated spot for the mandatory life jacket training course and no food was available. Now, us being first cruisers had no idea where we were supposed to go; many people milling about and it was quite confusing and we went to 2 different areas we were not supposed to be in until somebody finally told us where we should be (the theater for us). We had some time to blow and my son was anxious to sign up for the teen club so again, as first time cruisers, we had no idea where to sign him up, asked 3 different cruise employees who all told us different areas of the ship. For teen club, you still go to the younger kids Splash Academy on Deck 12 or 13 to sign up your teen for the Entourage club and they still offer enrollment until 7pm so don't feel rushed when you first get on ship. The "Welcome Aboard" paper you get says you can sign up for Entourage is on Deck 16...not so. So after the training course was over, it was like the running of the bulls as everyone rushed to get out of area to go eat, I think. The elevator/elevator halls were so congested and some people are just plain rude and were butting and stepping on others (not the ships fault) but there was not one ship employee there to control the crowding. My mom walks with a cane and it was very frustrating. We went to Garden Café for a quick bite, enrolled my son for teen club, walked the ship to familiarize ourselves with it and later went to Irish pub for some wings while listening to Fire and Ice in the Atrium below. Many teens did not go to teen club the first night so my son stayed with us but kept checking the club often. Everything was much better first full day at sea..... Read more