Norwegian Breakaway Review

Breakaway's Second Official Cruise

Review for Bermuda Cruise on Norwegian Breakaway
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baruchgershom
2-5 Cruises • Age 60s

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Sail Date: May 2013
Cabin: Family Mini-Suite with Balcony

Booking on a brand new ship, even its second cruise, we expected to have some issues. What we found was a very enthusiastic senior staff who work very hard to make everyone happy and are excellent at problem-solving. We also found a beautiful ship with an innovative design, most of which works.

Cabins: Our cabin was a family mini-suite. My wife insisted on getting one with a tub and the M3 class of cabins comes with one. The bathroom design is a huge improvement over the Jewel class ships and, I'm told, the Epic. Gone is the claustrophobic walled-in toilet. The tub is also easier to get in and get out and more relaxing lying down. The double sink is a real plus. The cabin seems a bit smaller than the mini-suites on the Jewels. The balcony is definitely smaller, and many folks on our deck grumbled about that. My wife looked enviously at the very large balconies in the 8th deck forward mini-suites. Good thing we didn't book one of those. On the last night a few privacy dividers on those decks broke under 60 mph wind stress. We had no clue about this, however, because the ship rides very smoothly in rough water. I'm told that they had the dividers replaced by the time we got our luggage and got off the ship. Shame that had to happen and give cause to people who want to make fun of the (regrettable) name "Breakaway." The biggest loss in the cabins is the elimination of a privacy curtain between the sitting area and the beds. You would think that in a family setting, parents should be given the opportunity to put their kids to sleep on one side of the curtain and have access to light or the TV on the other side. The Jewels have this and its great. We complained, though and the head of housekeeping, Marites, had a nice curtain erected temporarily with Velcro. She's amazing.

Restaurants -- Rather than having one giant main dining room and an auxiliary room for complimentary meals, like on the Jewel-class ships, the Breakaway has three MDRs, the Manhattan Room on the stern, 7th Deck, and Savor and Taste on the port and starboard sides on 6 -- but not reaching to the stern. It seemed that there were long waits for tables in all three rooms every night. Granted that the ship was full, but how was this not foreseen? We did not partake of the specialty restaurants as we keep kosher and ate only frozen "airline" meals, which were actually too small and lacking in variety. Where there were good options, they quickly ran out as other diners grabbed them. NCL should watch for the trends and order accordingly.

Cabin Review

Family Mini-Suite with Balcony

Cabin M3

Our cabin was a family mini-suite. My wife insisted on getting one with a tub and the M3 class of cabins comes with one. The bathroom design is a huge improvement over the Jewel class ships and, I'm told, the Epic. Gone is the claustrophobic walled-in toilet. The tub is also easier to get in and get out and more relaxing lying down. The double sink is a real plus. The cabin seems a bit smaller than the mini-suites on the Jewels. The balcony is definitely smaller, and many folks on our deck grumbled about that. My wife looked enviously at the very large balconies in the 8th deck forward mini-suites. Good thing we didn't book one of those. On the last night a few privacy dividers on those decks broke under 60 mph wind stress. We had no clue about this, however, because the ship rides very smoothly in rough water. I'm told that they had the dividers replaced by the time we got our luggage and got off the ship. Shame that had to happen and give cause to people who want to make fun of the (regrettable) name "Breakaway." The biggest loss in the cabins is the elimination of a privacy curtain between the sitting area and the beds. You would think that in a family setting, parents should be given the opportunity to put their kids to sleep on one side of the curtain and have access to light or the TV on the other side. The Jewels have this and its great. We complained, though and the head of housekeeping, Marites, had a nice curtain erected temporarily with Velcro. She's amazing.

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