This was my 1st time on the Breakaway, 6th time on NCL, and 9th cruise overall. When I read the bad reviews of the Breakaway, I have no earthly idea of what people are talking about when it comes to the bad food or the unhelpful staff. I was a little nervous after reading the reviews but what very pleasantly surprised.

I was on the 8/31 sailing. We arrived around 10:30 and found plenty of parking at the Manhattan Cruise Terminal. It was pricey ($40/night) but super convenient. There were relatively few people in line for check-in and within 15 minutes we were sitting in the waiting area, waiting for our boarding number to be called. We were able to use that time to register our daughter in the Splash Academy kids program. Within 20 minutes, we were called to board the ship.

We boarded the ship and headed up to the Garden Cafe. My family and I were joking about the bad reviews and were wondering if the quality of the food had taken a dive since our last 5 NCL cruises. We found the food to generally be good in the Garden Cafe. They had several staples daily (i.e. grill items, salads, etc) but had a constant change-up of entrees through the week. They had a Mexican night and a seafood night. At dinner, they would make you a dessert crepe with a filling of your choosing. Most buffet entries were very good. With that many offerings, you are bound to get a dud once in a while or something that doesn't suit your tastes. I will agree with the reviewer who said that the pizza was sub-par. That said, we generally found things to be good and with plenty of variety. I really want to go eat at the homes of the people who found it to be inedible. Read more