I have sailed on NCL more than 20 times. However, this was my first cruise on one of NCL’s mega-ships. Overall, I was very disappointed. Based on my experience on the Breakaway, I will not be sailing on any of the other large NCL ships, and may not even on their smaller ships.

I am sure that many people will feel different from me, but I found that NCL has cheapened the cruise experience on many levels with their large ship strategy. In round numbers, NCL tries to pack twice as many passengers on ships that are about 50% larger. This makes for crowded and noisy public places. The public spaces are also very smoky because NCL has integrated their large casino into the mid-ship atrium area. Their outdoor "Waterfront" spaces are also very smoky.

Aside from concerns about the design and layout of the ship, I found that the overall service was not as good on "smaller" NCL ships. My cabin steward was fine, but restaurant service is often very slow. Also, the public restrooms were not very well maintained on a number of occasions. I cannot help but think that there just isn't enough employees to handle the hoards of passengers on the ship. Read more