Let me start by saying that Norwegian is our favorite cruise line. We find that it is the most flexible and this meets our needs for cruising. The Breakaway is an enormous ship! But we found the common areas to be smaller than expected. However it really never seemed crowded in any of the venues. The ship holds 4000 plus passengers but most of the time it didn't seem crowded. The main Atrium on this ship is not as grand as on other ships I have been on. There is no "grand" feeling with the glass elevators and a wide open space. It is much smaller. The theater is also smaller than on other ships. The main shows were Rock of Ages and Burn theFloor. Both were excellent but I missed having a different show every night. These shows require you to make a reservation ahead of time. In fact a lot of events and dinners need planning and reservations.

We had a balcony state room and it was exactly what we expected. Although the balcony e itself was rather small. The bathroom was roomy enough. I would have liked a bit more storage space. There was the closet and a few shelves under the tv, but no drawers. Our luggage easily stored under the bed.

There are many restaurants on the ship that are not included in your initial cruise fare. The 3 main dining rooms offered a variety of delicious selections and the menu changed daily so you could easily avoid the restaurants that have a fee. We had 4 specialty dining restaurants and the ultimate beverage package included in our fare, so we did make use of the specialty restaurants. I am not sure I would have eaten at some of them if I had to pay an additional fee. Read more