Norwegian Breakaway Review
Rating by category
Additional details
We chose this cruise because of the itinerary. It started in Copenhagen with stops near Berlin and in Tallinn, Estonia, on the way to spending two days and a night in St. Petersburg, Russia. On the way back to Copenhagen, we were scheduled to stop in Helsinki and Stockholm. Unlike similar cruises, the dates allowed us to see the Russian ballet. We were excited about it.
The line canceled the stops near Berlin and then holed up in Tallinn for an extra day, ostensibly because of the weather. I'm a sailor – I understand weather issues and I would never suggest that the captain ignore that risk. But I do think it was the responsibility of the captain and the cruise line to juggle the remaining schedule to maximize stops in the promised places.
Instead, stops in Helsinki and Stockholm were canceled as well. We spent most of our trip onboard ship – without the addition of entertainment, day trips or really anything. An hour-long ferry ride to Helsinki from Tallinn could have been easily arranged. A brief stop in Stockholm was clearly possible – we could see the city as we crawled toward Copenhagen so we didn't arrive too early. There were no apologies and no compensation was offered for the diminished experience.
Cabin Review
Balcony Stateroom
A month before the cruise we were asked to bid on a cabin upgrade. We bid $200 total – $100 each – for a larger room with a larger balcony on a higher deck. The bid was accepted. I'm usually content to be in lesser accommodations, but because of the shrinking of our itinerary and the amount of time we ended up spending in our room, we were grateful for the upgrade.
Port Reviews
Copenhagen
I had been to Copenhagen before. We stayed at the Phoenix Copenhagen, which is an old, very well located hotel. We took an hourlong river cruise and enjoyed it, but mostly we walked and shopped and ate at wonderful places – and had a great time.
Tallinn
I had never been to Tallinn and was gratified to find – because we had an extra day here – that it was charming. The walled old city has cobblestone streets and medieval architecture. We enjoyed the churches and the castle – no guide but most things were well labeled in English. We also liked the many arts and crafts galleries – beautiful and unusual things to view and for sale. The second – unplanned day – we went to the modern part of the city, which was less charming but still interesting. Beneath a large hotel built during the Soviet era there is a bustling shopping mall. While some of the stores had familiar names, many didn't and we enjoyed seeing how the "real" people lived and shopped.