Norwegian Breakaway Review
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We sailed on Breakaway - our first cruise without our kids! We didn't want the hassle or cost of flying to another port so we decided to sail to Bermuda, even though we have been there before with Norwegian. We figured, if nothing else, we could enjoy the ship as it was supposedly abundant with new features and activities. The activities on this ship is what makes it so enjoyable and memorable. Water slides (esp. the Freefall), Rock climbing, Ropes Course (Walk the plank - the plank actually sticks 8 ft out over the water)are just some of the fun things to do. Of course there are bars (Ice Bar is especially noteworthy), 24-hour restaurant - O'Sheahan's and other eateries. There are speacilty restaurants that we did not go to but having them on The Waterfront was a particularly neat idea. THe bar on the Waterfront was especially comfy and served some nice drinks. The Waterfront is a promenade on Deck 8 that goes around the entire ship and has "sidewalk" style seating for the specialty restaurants and bars.
My favorite dining place was Manhattan Room. Opulent, yet classy and elaborately designed, this restaurant is gorgeous. The service and the food match the decor. Equally nice are the two other complimentary restaurants - Taste and Savor. The menu in all three is the same, so it doesn't matter where you sit. The ambience in each is slightly different and we dined in all of them and never had to wait more than 15-20 mins. to get a table.
The food in Garden Buffet was always well presented, hot and fresh. Being vegetarians, the choices were slightly limited than what we've had in other ships. This is one area that Norwegian needs to get it right; being that the ship is primarily a "big city" ship and more veg. are likely in bigger cities. For example, the prepared sandwiches for lunch NEVER had a veg. option. WHile there were two Soups at every meal, there were days when both were vegetarian, while on other days, neither one was. Even though the ship had around 4500 passengers for our sailing, we never had a difficult time finding a table with a view! Made-to-order omletes for breakfast, Pasta for lunch and dinner and crepes for dinner - what more could you ask for. One thing we missed was the Chocoholic Buffet but that has gone away a long time ago.
Cabin Review
We were in an Inside stateroom and that was pretty spacious. The bathroom was particulary well-laid out and had enough room to stand, shower with your arms wide apart and actually change clothes without bumping into walls. Shelf space, although, is very limited.