Background Information: We returned from our Breakaway seven night cruise on July 13th. This is our seventh sailing on NCL. We have sailed on the Spirit, Dawn, Jewel, Gem, Star and now the beautiful Breakaway, twice. My husband and I have loved each of our NCL cruises and this one was no exception!

Embarkation: We arrived at NY Pier 88 early around 10:15 by a family member, gave our luggage to the porters at the pier and proceeded through the screening area without any problems. We like to arrive early to get a low number and to board the ship early. We can’t wait for that first step on the ship. Instead of entering the Gold/Platinum/VIP line, we entered the Casino check-in line, as we qualified for both check-in lines and waited only a couple of minutes to be processed by helpful NCL staff. We processed through the CAS line, as we booked with a Harrah’s discount, and received #2 as our boarding number. We boarded the ship at 11:15, the second number to be called. A wedding party with guests and visitors were before us as well as the suite guests with their concierge. We entered the ship with cheerful staff welcoming us and went to our cabin just to drop off our carryon luggage. We then met our cabin steward, Mario, who took great care of our room all week. I must say that he was the best cabin steward we ever had and made us the absolute best towel animals we ever had. As he was still making up his rooms, we left, explored the ship a bit and then went to Savor for a relaxing first meal. We were not disappointed in the food, the wait staff or the décor of the room. Savor and Taste are very similar except for the color decor and they serve the same food, in fact now all three MDRs serve the same food. The rooms were extremely attractive and we sat by the window at a table for two overlooking the port. As we finished lunch, an announcement was made that the cabins were ready for us.

Cabin: We had a 13th deck mini-suite cabin that was midship and on the portside. The bathroom was very roomy, the shower was great and the comfortable bed was by the balcony. There was no problems with the AC, got as cold as we liked. A card must be in the slot for power to be on in the room. Our balcony on the Breakaway was a bit smaller than the other NCL ships we were on, but we still enjoyed it and especially on the night of the fireworks. What a great view right from our own balcony! We knew that the upper deck where they were shooting them off would be very crowded. We had plenty of storage space in our room. I did bring extra hangers so that I could hang up all I needed. There were shelves in the closet as well as under the TV cabinets and drawers under the sofa. Also there was storage in a cube seat that was at the desk. We had our muster drill in the Atrium and I must say this was the only congested area we came across during the entire cruise. We received our luggage shortly after, unpacked and eventually went to dinner in Teppanyaki. That night we also saw the performance of Cirque Jungle Fantasy. It was excellent. We had the Ultimate Dining Package and it included our first night to see Cirque Jungle free. It was excellent. We had seen this last year also. The Ultimate Dining Package was free to us when we rebooked during a NCL promo. Read more