Norwegian Breakaway Review

4.5 / 5.0
3,880 reviews

Ocean Blue and onboard activities were great but poor service

Review for Nowhere Cruise on Norwegian Breakaway
User Avatar
Cupcakesmmm
10+ Cruises • Age 30s

Rating by category

Value for Money
Embarkation
Dining
Public Rooms
Entertainment
Fitness & Recreation
Service
Cabin

Additional details

Sail Date: Jan 2015
Cabin: Mid-Ship Inside Stateroom
Traveled with children

We just returned from a 2-night sailing aboard the Breakaway this past weekend. Normally, my family prefers sailings with 7+ nights to really get to know the ship and the staff on board. We loved our first cruise with NCL in 2004, but each sailing has been getting progressively worse. It seems as if NCL is shifting its focus from passenger satisfaction to purely profit. After the absolutely dreadful experience aboard the Epic last March, we were issued onboard credit and decided to give NCL one more chance by trying something new with a cruise to nowhere. Unfortunately, although the experience was better than the Epic (it is hard to think of how it could be worse), I cannot say that I want to cruise with NCL again or even recommend it to anyone.

My first impressions were that the cruise itself had an entirely different atmosphere from longer Caribbean or Mediterranean as it was (1) during the winter so all of the guests were concentrated inside, (2) sailing out of NYC so most of the passengers were celebrating long weekends (drinks all around), and (3) a holiday weekend so many families were onboard as well. In other words, it was a giant party ship (not necessarily a bad thing). However, as a result of the concentration of people inside, the quality of service, especially in the main dining areas, suffered. At the buffet, we felt rushed as servers cleared our dishes while we were still eating or using them. In some instances, I would drink my coffee and turn to see my breakfast plate halfway off the table before I could call it back. Other times, when asked if I was finished, I replied no, and my plate was still taken. It was as if they were going through the motions of asking but not even waiting for a response and moving on. In the main dining room, service was slow and seemingly confused – as observed on other NCL ships, the freestyle model results in a lack of accountability on the waitstaff’s part, especially on a 2-night sailing. Unlike the traditional model with a main server, assistant server, and bar server for the table, the single server himself has to walk back and forth from the kitchen and bar to retrieve the food and drinks.

Without a doubt, one of the highlights of our cruise was Ocean Blue. One of our favorite parts of cruising is the fine dining so of course, we had to try Ocean Blue (we also love Jeffrey Zakarian – he was so friendly when we ran into him at the airport!). Service was outstanding – welcoming, knowledgeable, and incredibly attentive. The food was also phenomenal; each dish was well balanced, flavorful, and quite unique. At first, we wondered why we were limited to choosing one menu item from each section, but the portions were quite large, and we couldn’t even finish our main entrees (but we finished dessert!). Without a doubt, we would have dined there again if the cruise were longer. O’Sheehan’s was another great dining option. We always go for their buffalo wings (haven’t let us down yet), but service was a hit or miss. At the bar tops, within five minutes of snagging a table, four waiters came to the table to ask if we were helped yet. However, due to the craziness, when our food came, all the plates were missing blue cheese. When asked for some, we were told that blue cheese was a separate order (… huh). Sounds nitpicky, but it was an odd response since it was untrue, and after saying it, our waiter rushed off. It was another 5-10 minutes before we flagged him down to ask for an ‘order’ of blue cheese. Nevertheless, service at the high tops was markedly better than that at the tables, which even though we were some of the only people there, seemed sluggish and inattentive.

Cabin Review

Mid-Ship Inside Stateroom

Cabin IE

For such a short sailing, we opted for an interior cabin since we figured we wouldn’t spend much time there. Our first mistake was choosing a cabin on the 5th floor below the Atrium (what were we thinking!?!?) – since it was so cold outside, the party in the Atrium was still booming at 3 AM. Speaking of which, the meeting rooms and library were right next to the Atrium so sounds of the raucous crowd and instruments came right through the walls (horrible design and planning!). The stateroom and more importantly, the bathroom, were quite roomy, especially for a newer ship. There was a noticeable lack of drawers (as my mom noted, where do people keep their undergarments!?), but I didn’t find it to be a problem.

previous reviewnext review

Find a Norwegian Breakaway Cruise from $278

Any Month

Get special cruise deals, expert advice, insider tips and more.By proceeding, you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.

© 1995—2024, The Independent Traveler, Inc.