Overall, we enjoyed the cruise experience. We were concerned about both the breakaway and the Gem embarkation process occurring at the same time while the NYC half marathon was also taking place. We arrived earlier than ususl and waited an hour to advance 1000 feet at the terminal area. NCLcould have commmunicated this expected traffic condition to all passengers prior to the sailing. Luckily we got advanced info through the Cruise Critic roll call discussion.

We have been on the Breakaway before, and am still amazed to hear passengers discovering some aspect of the ship on the final day of the cruise. Even though NCL offers a ship tour prior to departure, I think first time passengers are a little overwhelmed by the ship initially and miss the opportunity. It would be beneficial for NCL to offer this tour the next day when the ship is at sea and things are a little more relaxed for the passengers. This could be mentioned at the mustering stations so people are fully aware of the opportunity.

We used a full window cabin for the first time to try it out. Deck 5 is very convenient to get to 6-7-8 by stairs and to the upper decks by elevator. Since we like being on the upper decks rather than the small balcony, we felt we got a good value and didn't miss out on seeing the ocean views when in the room. Read more