Norwegian Breakaway Review

Not the best, but definitely not the worst!

Review for Bermuda Cruise on Norwegian Breakaway
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krs10s
10+ Cruises • Age 60s

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Sail Date: Jul 2017
Cabin: The Haven 2-Bedroom Family Villa with Balcony

Ok, where to begin. First off, if sailing out of NYC- get there early if you want to park at the port- there are plenty of parking garages in the area, but the convenience of parking at the port is worth the extra $$. We saw people struggling with their bags, trying to keep an eye on little kids, pushing wheelchairs, etc., having to schlep a few city blocks thru crazy NYC traffic. It's not worth it, just to save a few $$.

We have sailed NCL on 4 other cruises- all having been in The Haven. With that being said, we tend to not be your typical cruisers we do not have high demands or expectations. I do however expect a tad bit more attention when sailing in a Villa in the Haven. In the past, we have only sailed in the Owners Suites. One of the "perks" of this suite is that you are provided your choice of 3 bottles of liquor/Wine for your room, and of course, sodas and water. When we made the initial reservation we were going to book an owners suite and another room for our 18 year old son. But, the NCL cruise consultant we spoke to- Javier, suggested that we consider the Family Villa Suite, as it has 2 bedrooms, it was smaller square footage wise, but it would be nice to have our son in the same cabin. So we opted for the Family Villa- NOT realizing that by doing so, we were going from an H2 category suite to an H4, category, thus changing the "amenities" that were offered. We didn't know this, and I feel it should have been explained to us prior to our final decision. It didn't occur to me that the amenities would be so different for the different rooms within the Haven, lesson learned. The big difference was not having the liquor available in our room. This might not sound like a big deal to most cruisers. But, it is a HUGE convenience for us. My husband enjoys spending time in our cabin, thus the reason we always travel in the larger suites, so having the bar set up in our cabin is a nice touch. Another thing taken away was unlimited sodas and water. Really NCL??? Someone pays $30,000 on a cruise and you are going to deny them a can of Pepsi in their cabin? Honestly, how petty can you be?

We were not overly impressed by any of the staff as we have been on our previous cruises. The staff in the haven this go around seemed to be on "auto pilot." The bartender in the bar area- blond, female- was the absolute worst bartender we have ever encountered. And this was not just our opinion, but the opinion of many other passengers, who disliked dealing with her so much, that they were leaving the haven area to go to another bar just to get drinks from the much friendlier more energetic pool bar staff. She got to be so uncomfortable to be around that I alerted the Food and Beverage manager to complain. He was great, by the way, and quite prompt to listen to our concerns. I am sure that something was said to this bartender, because the next day after expressing our complaint, she couldn't have been nicer- almost to the point of being ridiculous for the rest of the cruise. The staff in the Haven dining room were great and so was the food. My husband could eat there every night, but I like a bit more variety, I do wish they would alter their menu somewhat over the course of the cruise.

Cabin Review

The Haven 2-Bedroom Family Villa with Balcony

Cabin H4

It's unfortunate that in NCL's attempt to build a larger ship, they forgot what's important to the passenger. If you are to provide a balcony, then having one large enough to relax comfortably on is a must. Don't put a bathroom with a tub/shower where more balcony space could be or a view from your bed would be more appreciated. Don't make the room so small that the person who is sleeping on the side closest to the wall has to crawl from the foot of the bed in order to get into bed-

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