Norwegian Breakaway Review
Rating by category
Additional details
This was our seventh NCL cruise. By far the smokiest! Love the ocean front bar/restaurant concept and did enjoy it despite the smoke. We had a balcony and couldn't even fully enjoy it without smoke, as some guests ignored ship rules of not smoking on balconies. Certainly not the cruise line's fault on that one, but still impacts the experience. Would have given this a higher rating if it weren't for that.
The shows/entertainment on the ship is fantastic. On sea days, would love to see more activities to spread out the crowd (especially in colder months when most people are indoors). The atrium activities are so swamped you have to get there an hour early just to participate. Some of the same gameshows/trivia, etc. on other (smaller) ships are done in more spacious areas of those ships, and are much easier to get there a few minutes early and still get a good seat. The larger entertainment shows were, for the most part, easy to get a seat for, except for the final farewell (talent show with crew).
Food was wonderful. I read many reviews here disagreeing, but to our taste most of the main dining (included) food was excellent. Some nights didn't have as great a selection, but that's not much different from other cruise experiences we've had. Ocean Blue and Cagney's are well worth the extra charge. Wonderful food!
Cabin Review
Balcony Stateroom
The balcony state room was okay. It was a bit more cramped than previous NCL ships, particularly in regards to storage. The drawers under the couch helped with that. Balcony was tiny, but still enjoyed having it (despite the smoky times). Odd position for the TV--really hard to change channels while on the bed or the couch.
Port Reviews
New York (Manhattan)
Like the Miami cruise port better for efficiency of embarkation. Certainly like not having to fly though. Beautiful floating out of port with the skyline/Statue of Liberty for sites!