Norwegian Breakaway Review
We had a good time, but have had better.
Rating by category
Additional details
Just stepped off the Norwegian Breakaway this morning, and left with relatively mixed feelings about our trip. We chose the Breakaway because it had been 4 years since we sailed on NCL, and the port was convenient, as we live in NYC and it was only a 30-45 minute ride for us. Embarkation and debarkation were both easy and painless, no complaints here. We arrived at Pier 88 in NYC around 3pm. No line, checked in, and was onboard within 30 minutes. Debarkation was easy as well. We chose the self-assist option, woke up at 8:30 AM, and was off the ship and was in a cab a little after 9 AM.
I also liked that you didn't have to carry around the daily itinerary with you all the time. They had computerized stations where you could get information and book for shows, and there were more than plenty throughout the ship, so that was a nice touch.
Nightlife was great! There were two clubs, Spice H2O outdoors on the 16th floor, and Bliss Ultra Lounge. Had a good crowd on most nights and the music (unless it was a theme night) was pretty much Top 40 songs, with some variety mixed in there. Nice theme parties, too! The Glow party was a lot of fun. There was also an 80s party, a 'Night Out' party, and the Grand Ball on the Dress up or Not night.
Cabin Review
Mid-Ship Oceanview Stateroom with Large Picture Window
We picked an Oceanview room on the 5th floor. Nice and roomy, and the bathroom and shower were larger than we were accustomed to (until this trip, we'd stayed in inside cabins, where it always felt really cramped). The window was nice and big and gave us a good view of the outside. Lots of nightstand, cabinet and closet space, and we were able to store 2 weeks' worth of clothing, shoes, and luggage without a problem. Bed was comfortable and we got a good nights' sleep every night. I can't speak much for rooms on the other floors, but ours was always quiet. The TV was a nice flat-screen, and had movie/show/news channels, as well as the regular "view from the bridge" and navigation channels. Was also nice that you could make reservations through your TV instead of having to call or go outside to one of the kiosks.
Definitely no complaints about the room, and just nitpicking here, but it would have been nice to have more variety in movies and TV shows, or some more variety in channels. There were some days where we didn't feel like partying or staying out all night, and wanted to just stay in and watch TV. Watching the same 5-6 movies over and over on a 2-week cruise got repetitive. To their credit, they did have movies available for purchase for $9.95.