Cruised out if new Orleans. Embarkation was easy and quick. Overall, ncl food was pretty good. Better that carnival dream. Ncl Taco shells on Mexican night buffet were perfect... Crunchy at fist bite and then melts in your mouth. Ricotta cheese cake was amazing. There other cakes were a bit dry. Service in dining rooms were slow. On carnival dream, each server addressed us by name and service was speedy. On the breakaway, only the host seating us greeted us by name. Lots of activities available for kids and adults on both ships. I think breakaway ship had more sport activities such as a ropes course, climbing wall and jump pad. The carnival dream had a high energized party atmosphere. Ncl had plenty of activities and lots of choices but was not as energized. Hiwver, the quality of the shows in the theater was significantly of higher quality. Dream shows were tacky. Our primary choice of activity is the thermal spa. Although smaller, we liked the thermal spa set up much better on the carnival dream. The ncl thermal spa was noisy and it was difficult to relax on the heated lounge chairs. Guests put there belongings on the chairs and prevented others from using it. On the dream, we didn't experience that. On the dream, the various features we're in separate rooms and it was much quieter and relaxing. However, the dream spa staff were constantly trying to sell services. The ncl staff did not push at all. If I were to sail out if new Orleans I would choose the carnival dream simply because of the better spa features. However, for better food, more activity choices and higher quality theater shows I would choose ncl breakaway. Read Less

We choose this cruise because our friends son’s senior trip. We were all celebrating. This cruise has us wishing we’re were back on the boat. We had so much fun. The boat was very clean. We had a balcony cabin and it was just perfect.we went to a little bar early in our trip called Sid Norman’s the Guilty Pleasures was playing 80’s music. This show was amazing and we went back every night they were playing. It was so much fun and the kids on stage are amazing. We left with wanting more. They did a great job it was fantastic. Debra, Grant, Niki and Billy put on an amazing show time after time. I also want to pay kudos to the Japanese restaurant we eat at. The name started with a T. The food and entertainment was really good. The island of Belize also won us over. The white sand beaches. We can’t wait to go back. Read Less

My husband and our two kids decided to take our family vacation on a cruise this year... after much research and obviously not enough reading of reviews, we chose to sail on the Norwegian Breakaway. We prepaid all the service fees and pre booked all our excursions so that we could relax and not have to worry.... wrong! We booked with several promotions included in our trip...or do we thought. Our $50 onboard credit was nowhere to be found on our bill so after several trips to the customer service desk, sand two other people beside us having the same issue, we left disappointed!! $50 is not the end of the world but we expected the cruise line to honor their promotions..beware of these promotions. We all had the drink packages....my husband and I the liquor package and the kids had the soda package... what a joke. We could have at least saved the $70 we spent on the kids because they couldn’t get a drink from the bar without us... and well let’s face it... this ship is nothing but bars. Speaking of bars, I hope you like standing in line... the service is atrocious! These employees avoid eye contact at all cost. And you pay a heavy service fee for no service. Even the sit down restaurants leave everything to be desired... cafeteria food at its best and again atrocious service! The excursions were amazing... after we waited in line for 30 minutes at guest services to get our passes that were supposed to be left on the room since we prebooked. The service of our room was touch and go... out room was always cleaned but we had to search the hall for someone to get us toilet paper... there is never anyone available at the housekeeping number and it will tell you to call back.... very frustrating! We preordered water bottles... yes you should do this since only a couple of the bars actually have water bottles... but they are warm... and no need to have them empty the mini bar to store your water like we did because the refrigerator was room temperature. All in all this was the most disappointing family vacation I’ve ever taken... thank the lord the islands and people there were amazing! Read Less

Went with a group fro HS spring break. Had a great time. Got our money's worth from drink package, lot of top shelf.booze was we figured out how to order. Tipped bar tender first night and he took care of us. Specialty dining was okay overall. The Teppanyaki and Cagneys were excellent. The Brazilian steakhouse was just okay. Dining in Mannattan Room was fine and we could have ate there every night. The house band at the pour house was awesome every night! The comedians were good the one night we went. Rock of Ages was not very good. The talent was okay but the story stunk, not sure why it was a Broadway hit. Since Costa Maya was short day just hung out at Tropicante. Had a great time. The only bad part was trying to watch NCAA tournament games. On previous cruises it was on the big screens. This time it was an afterthought on small TVs with no sound !l Read Less

Decided to go to the Western Carribbean (Cozumel, Costa Maya and Belize). We left from New Orleans. The excursions were fun and a way to get a feel of the areas. The Spice Farm and Botanical Gardens in Belize was informative and interesting but I would not do it again. We had a 40 minute boat ride then and 1 hour long bus ride to get to the location. Once there, we rode in a tram pulled by a tractor for an hour, had lunch and purchased spices. We were dog tired when we returned to the ship. The Isla Passion excursion was fantastic! Beautiful area with a restaurant, gift shops, entertainment and bars. The service there was spot on. Everything is included in the trip. Just hung out in Costa Maya, shopping and eating. Beautiful area. About the ship, comfortable bed in cabin, immaculate. There are plenty of restaurants, bars, and entertainment. The Humidor room on the ship, is meant for cigar and pipe smokers but my husband couldn't enjoy for the cigarette smokers. He went 1 day and we had to double bag his shirt because of the stench. We never made in the pool due to the crowds. We booked a couples massage at the spa. Friendly and professional, but honestly I have had much better massages for a third of the price. Staff was pushy about products and other massages and treatments. The Breakaway is a beautiful ship. The staff was outstanding. It felt like a vacation and not a trip. We will be cruising with Norweigan again. (I'm hooked). Read Less

Service was horrible which in turn made our review bad! I was told on numerous occasion it was due to not having enough staff to serve all the passengers or to open all the attractions such as slides, rock wall etc... My son was only able to go on rock wall once due to it never being open and when it was there was only two staff rather than 4, line was always over an hour. Slides were shut down numerous times either due to malfunction or lack of staff. It took between 45-60 min to even get a beverage while on lido deck. They would close the second bar early on day due to need for the staff elsewhere on the ship. This was the first time I didn’t pay the service fee, and just personally tipped steward and staff that was attempting to keep up. Hope this is not how everyone spring break was!!!! Read Less

We chose this cruise because of the dates, itinerary and value. We received free airfare, internet, dining and beverage packages as well as a casino credit and photography package. Our room was dirty with peeling paint and grime in areas, and stains on the carpet, furniture and towels. The room key card took several attempts to operate every time and the toilet was equally difficult to flush. The food was unremarkable, the length of time for service was unnecessarily long and the bars always seemed to be closed or woefully under-staffed. Even the smoke-free area of the casino reeked of smoke and we were unable to enjoy time on the balcony due to other passengers smoking on theirs. The WiFi was slow and unreliable. The staff lacked friendliness. We weren’t able to fly for free from our home city (Detroit) and we weren’t informed of flight times until 30 days prior to sailing, making our connecting flights (from Chicago) more expensive. Our flight times were too early on embarkation day so that we had to overnight in Chicago to make the morning flight. Our return flight was cancelled after having waited in the airport nearly 8 hours due to the booked time of the return flight. We missed are non-refundable connecting flight and had to pay for another. The airline booked us in a noisy hotel with no shuttle service so we had to pay for an Uber to get back to the airport for the rebooked flight, arriving home a day later than planned. The entertainment and shore excursions were quite good. We were very disappointed in the cruise overall. Read Less

This was my 8th trip on this ship alone. Now, I love the Breakaway and it will always hold a special place in my heart. However, had this been my first trip, I would have been greatly disappointed by a lot of the service I received and things I saw around the ship. Ship - It needs a touch up here and there but overall it is ok. It has gotten on in years and you expect the normal wear and tear. Cabin - See below. AWFUL Dining - a few hiccups here and there but overall dining was good. I ate in the Manhattan Room primarily because of one server who I have had the pleasure of sailing with before. Food was better in the MDRs than it has been in the past. Moderno was okay but very rushed. (Sides for the meats brought before we even came back from the salad bar.) Le Bistro was its typical greatness but also rushed. Entertainment and Activities - JC was ok as the cruise director. Luckily the rest of his staff was outstanding. Jeff, the Assistant CD, was amazing. I can see him leading his own ship in the very near future. With the exception of JC, the rest of the staff could be seen everywhere and they remembered you (or at least pretended very well that they did.) Syd Norman's was packed everynight as well. This to me was a big change from when it was Fat Cats and not a lot of people went there. Service - This is my biggest issue. Have I had poor service on NCL before, yes. Is this the norm, absolutely not but on the BA is seemed to be all you got from the gentleman officer at the Onboard Accounts desk and from an incident involving someone falling and security. The Onboard accounts desk person who initially was trying to help me use two AMEX gift cards on my account was lovely. We tried they were declined. She thought there may have been an issue because we were in international waters. She told me, once we are at the Mississippi to come back. I did, and I had to deal with someone who spoke down to mom like I was a stupid girl. I do not like be condescended to and dismissed. Before telling me I am basically a moron, listen to what I am telling you was already done and lets see if there is something new to try. Also, I am so sorry, I am disturbing you, but it is not my fault your staff kept charging me for someone else's orders. I should not have to pay taxes on something I did not do. (Tried to get this rectified all week, still not corrected.) As for the man falling...I was with new friends I had made in O'Sheehan's early one morning (2 am - after Bliss closed) for a lite bite. The floor outside of the pub was mopped and wet floor signs set up as we got there. 20 minutes later an older gentleman was walking through, slipped, fell and hit is head. I was appalled at the way he was being treated by security no less when they showed up. He was told "you tripped", "you can get up", "there is nothing wrong". This guy was out of it before they showed up. He had to be put on a stretched to medical. Did I mention they starting vacuuming right next to where he was laying? Those were the two big incidents. At the CC wrap up we mentioned the person falling, as well as the thirty minute waits to get a beer (not even a fancy drink) at 90% of the bars and the overall feeling of a lack of good staff. Ports and Shore Excursions - Went to Mr. Sanchos in Cozumel. Would do it again. Did Zip lining in Harvest Caye. It was great but never have to do that again. Costa Maya - just shopped at the port. Wish we were in that port the whole day instead of a couple of hours. Read Less

Went on this cruise solo as a vacation. I had a great trip. The ship was nice and clean. The room was nice. I stayed in a studio which was plenty of room for me. I don’t plan on spending much time in the room so I don’t see why having a bigger room was an upgrade. I did see the balcony rooms on the ship. They are nice but I’ll just go sit on a deck if I want that view. The staff was great and very helpful for me as a solo traveler. The entertainment staff was great and got the parties started each night. They also ran other events during the afternoons. The bar service was a little slow at certain peak times at the pool bars. The on board shows were very entertaining also. Some you had to pay for but I didn’t mind because I enjoyed the shows. Overall great trip and I will be back. Read Less

Cruised with a large group (over 70 people and families) and planned trip for over a year. Between the stateroom, flights, extras and on board upgrades we spent 8,000 on this vacation and felt like we were cattle the entire week. Getting on the boat: was raining in Nola and process was ok. Many people pointing you in what direction to go but otherwise went smoothly. Once on the boat you are kind of clueless as to what to do or where to go. Staterooms not open yet so do you eat? Drink? Explore? None of the crew was especially welcoming. Playing loud party music as we got on does not suppliment for genuinely happy crew members who look forward to taking care of you. While the boat is still in the Mississippi, you have to pay tax on any drinks you order. Ports were terrible. Not enough time to truly enjoy anything and not a lot of culture or excursion options. We went to a resort in Cozumel, kids had fun but the place was run down and the food was absolutely terrible, no taste at all. Belize was nice but wow do they find ways to nickel and dime you at every corner! If you have the premium beverage package be prepared to pay out of pocket all day for your drinks on this private make believe island owned by NCL. When we docked at costa maya, there were two other ships at the port. 12,000+ potential people walking around a small, crowded money trap and only 3-4 hours to do it. Absolute mess. Dining options: Here’s another chance for NCL to Create and illusion for you! Freestyle dining is anything but. They claim to have upgraded restaurants for an additional charge. The problem is, you can’t get in to any of them. You see, you have to make reservations for most of these upgraded dining options and by the first night of the cruise, our party found it very difficult to book a table at any of these places. When we finally got a table at Ocean Blue and wanted to add a few more to our table, we were told the restaurant was booked for the night. Weird considering that only 2 other tables were seated during our 2 hour meal. The real truth is they don’t want you to eat there!!! They want you at the buffet or main dining rooms. It was the best meal we had on the ship. Buffet was repetitive and main dining rooms were only ok. Also are at the sushi place and Shanghai noodle and sheehans. We also ordered room service which they charge an additional $8 to deliver your order which is nearly guaranteed to arrive way later than quoted estimate and cold. Oh and if you want a pop from room service you have to pay extra for an entire can even if you have the premium bev package. Service at the bars was terrible. Long lines and not enough staff and sometimes waiting 30 minutes for a drink order. Pool deck was crowded and pools were overcrowded. Made room to room calls and was charged $5 for each call. Tried to download the on board app but never successfully got it to work which made communication with our children difficult when they wanted to be up at the sports court or running around with their friends. They also don’t tell you the app costs $10 to download so we were billed $40 for something that never worked the entire trip. Arcade was small and another way for you to spend more money on board. The extra game shows (deal or no deal for example) were fun but again, $25 card to play and you’d think everyone might win a little something but only about 10 people won a chance to win something on the days we attended. The friendliest staff we encountered were in the duty free shopping area. Getting off the boat they herded us through the casino area which smelled terribly of stale smoke, not ideal for children or families. Overall totally unimpressed with the cruise ship, staff, and all aspects of this trip. Read Less