This was our first cruise on Breakaway and our 8th cruise together. We have sailed on the Norwegian Dawn and loved it. The Breakaway we liked but did not love..

The life boat drill is a joke. No life jackets required. You go to a restaurant or lounge which is your muster station and watch a NCL employee put on a life jacket. No other instructions on what procedures are in place if emergency. After seeing the lifeboats I wondered if there were enough for all the people on board. If there is ever an emergency, with 5,500 people on board it would be mayhem. I thought of this especially in rocky seas how it could be a very bad situation on the ship if something were to go wrong.

The atrium is only 3 floors with the middle floor having the casino wrapped around the center of the atrium. The cigarette smoke was too much for us. It lingered all throughout the 3 floors near the atrium. We avoided this area a lot especially with our two kids! Not a good design at all with the cigarette smoke being so bad. We were told by an NCL employee that the atrium is only 3 floors because they can squeeze in more cabins above the atrium.. more cabins = more revenue. Read more