Not much to do in Port Canaveral itself except to take a taxi to Cocoa Beach, which is a nice area. However, the taxi company that appears to have a monopoly over the port is also the most expensive one in the area, so be prepared to shell out. We took a free shuttle to a rental car center (reserve your car in advance if you want to do this, many people take this option), rented a car, and drove out to spend the day in Orlando, which is about an hour drive away, and we had plenty of time to stroll around in Downtown Disney and hit the Orlando Premium Outlets for some shopping. If you're not booking a shore excursion with the cruise line, renting a car is probably the best option in Port Canaveral, as long as you're willing to drive, and disciplined enough to get back to the ship on time. The rental car centers close long before the ship departs, so there's no free shuttle to take you back, but taxis are a mere phone call away, and are less expensive than the ones waiting for you when the ship docks.

Port Canaveral (Orlando)

GSC is a great island that has undergone a significant transformation in only the past 5 years or so. It's a relaxing, fun place, with lots of activities, good food, and plenty of room. Great port. If you can get there. And half of the cruises I've taken that were supposed to stop there skipped it, usually due to weather. GSC doesn't have a dock for cruise ships, so guests are tendered ashore (for the unfamiliar, this means that a small boat comes alongside the cruise ship and takes people to the island). This means that weather is a major factor, and it seems as though missing GSC is a very common occurrence, including on this cruise.

Great Stirrup Cay

Many of the slides were closed, at least for access from the not-so-lazy lazy river. But the river is fun, with plenty of splashes and rapids. Booking this excursion gives you access to the rest of the Atlantis property, which includes a pretty nice underground aquarium and sprawling tropical grounds with abundant shade, spectacular vistas, and overall pleasantness. The slides that we did go on were plenty enjoyable, especially the one that goes through the shark tank.A note on all Nassau excursions: the process of getting to your excursion is extremely disorganized, and passengers from all the ships in the port (usually at least 3) appear to all be combined into the same buses. That said, it's no much worse than trying to go out in Nassau by yourself.

Worth doing once, if you've never hugged a dolphin before. The first half of this excursion, however, involves photographing everyone in the group with the dolphin (approx. 15 minutes of photos). Then the dolphins make some noises, do some fun and whimsical tricks, and you go back on land, where you remove your wet suit and walk over to the gift shop, where you have the opportunity to purchase your photos in packages (not individually) starting at a mere $70 and going all the way up to $350. Suggestion: break your group up into two tours, so that you can take pictures of each other from the beach.

Nice room, well-designed and spacious, but small balcony and lacking shower pressure.

The menus on most of the NCL cruises we've taken were relatively identical, so when we went to one of the main dining rooms for our first dinner of the cruise, we were pleasantly surprised.The Breakaway is undeniably a gorgeous new ship, an impressive-looking mega-liner, decorated by one of the most prolific pop artists of our time, sailing with promises of big-name entertainment, state-of-the-art amenities, and high-class specialty dining.

Norwegian Breakaway Review

Sub-Par With A Dash Of Spectacular

Rating by category

Additional details

Cabin Review

Find a Norwegian Breakaway Cruise from $278