We are veteran cruisers, hundreds of days at sea. and have never written a negative review before. We live in NYC, and looked forward to cruising on the new Breakaway. We have enjoyed a number of cruises on NCL This one was very disappointing. if you are under 50, and love being surrounded by hundreds of young kids,often screaming or crying, this is probably a great ship for you, regardless of the itinerary. It caters to a younger age group - families with young children. There isn't a quiet spot oin the ship, other than the Haven (quite pricey) and the spa. The Atrium was the venue for most of the activities on board, as there are no lounges to accomodate the people., and always loud. You could even hear it in the library and the card room.

The entertainment left a lot to be desired - if you are into loud, raunchy, often vulgar shows, you might enjoy 'Rock of Ages' or the 'Howl at the moon' dueling pianos. Not a magician or or enrichment option or comedian -other than second city (with the same show as 4 years ago) to be found. The one good entertainment was the Cirqe de Soleil dinner show - excellent! As far as the other dining venues, Le Bistro was wonderful - and the manager, Fortunata, lovely. We also ate at Teppanaki, which we have enjoyed on other ships, but on this ship, the individual rooms are so crowded together, the decibel level detracted greatly from the meal. the cafe was so mobbed the first day, we opted to not return. Meals in the dining rooms were often cold, repetitive, and the service sporadic. The spa was nice but crowded, as many people were escaping the rest of the ship.

Overall, it felt like the ship had been designed by a committee that had never cruised. Everything was jam packed to accommodate as many passengers as possible, and it really detracted from the enjoyment of the cruise. Even the corridors were narrow - impossible to walk past a room steward's cart unless you crabwalked. Forget about passing someone in the hall. At 173sq ft . the spa balcony cabin felt more like a closet. The tiny balcony (2.5 ft x 10 ft) was a joke, The only electrical outlet is by the desk, so make sure you bring several extension cords. There was only a 220 outlet in the bathroom. nice shower, but how much time can you spend in it? We will go back to the NCL ships we love.