My mom and I sailed on the Breakaway Christmas week 2016. By way of background, I have been on about 10 cruises and she has been on about 6. I have sailed on Norwegian (twice), Carnival (once), Celebrity (3 times), Holland (once) and RC (3 times). I am a youthful 50 year old and my mom is in her early 70s (she's also youthful for her age).

If I had to summarize this cruise in 2 words it would be: NOISE and CROWDS. There did not seem to be many quiet areas on the ship to chill out when we were looking for some peace and quiet. The loudspeakers were blaring day and night, especially in the Atrium which is the center of all the action on the ship, and where most of the activities are held. In our opinion, although this is a mega ship, it seemed poorly designed to accommodate the 4,000 guests on board. For example, the Atrium has seating for about 150 people, so if you didn't get there early, you had to stand. Similarly, other public areas were too small and overcrowded, for example the comedy club, the main pool area (very small pool for a ship this size). The Breakaway did not have an open, airy design like the Allure of the Seas (an RC mega ship) so we really felt cramped and crowded. Worst of all, in my opinion, was NO SOLARIUM! I have never been on a ship that did not have an adults-only solarium for its guests. I think there was one for the "Haven" guests (i.e. people who paid extra), but it was not available for regular guests.

Which brings me to another downside to this ship - the non-stop nickle and diming. So much of the offerings on board cost extra and so much of the ship's real estate is dedicated to money making, that if you just wanted to pay the cruise fare and nothing else, your options for food and activities are pretty limited. Even the premium beverage package which costs (I believe) $79 a day, does not include bottled water, premium coffee or fresh-squeezed juices. I think if you are paying that much per day for a beverage package, you should not have to pay extra for those items. Read more