This was our second cruise with Norwegian and overall our 35th cruise. We were interested in the transatlantic crossing and the 4 ports, as well as Copenhagen. We were very happy with Copenhagen and with the ports the ship visited. We always enjoy cruising, and find you can have a good time no matter what. We had plenty to eat and drink, we were entertained, and we had a relaxing time, so this was a good vacation. Having said that, we find some of the Norwegian practices could be better. So I will comment on the positives and the negatives below.

Staff: Most of the staff on the ship are very friendly and cordial and have been well trained. They say good morning when you pass them and they look you in the eye and are very nice. These folks work an incredible amount of hours, seven days a week and we are very appreciative of their efforts. I am amazed at how hard they work, in order for us to have an enjoyable cruise, and the staff on the Breakaway generally did a good job for us and we are appreciative.

Food: Breakfast always had a huge variety of everything any of us could want. The food was served at the right temperatures and everything was plentiful. They did have trouble keeping up with dish washing and ran out of cups, glasses and plates at times. Lunch was also fairly good. But the offerings are substandard for a large cruise line. (A made to order deli, taco bar and other enhancements would be nice.) Breakfast and lunch do not have adequate seating space in the buffet area. There is overflow seating near the pool, but when the temps are in the 40’s and 50’s, it’s not too appealing. Dinner was somewhat disappointing. Service was very slow in the Taste/Savor/Manhattan dining rooms. (I don’t feel they have enough staff here.) The food options seemed to be lower cost items. Items such as shrimp cocktail, fried shrimp, lobster, and crab were not offered. Salmon was served occasionally. Steaks were cheap cuts and not very desirable. There were plenty of choices, but many were not appealing to the six at our table. One reason for the slow service is the wait staff serves wine and adult beverages, in addition to food. I’ve not experienced this on other cruise lines. We did eat at the buffet one evening, and the food seemed similar to lunch. We did eat at Shanghai, the Noodle restaurant, and were very disappointed. Service was rushed and disorganized. Food came out in random orders. 2 dishes never arrived, and when we mentioned this, the server argued with us, instead of just getting it. We had planned to go twice, but did not go back. While we had plenty to eat, we feel Norwegian has focused so hard on 7 “specialty” restaurants that the “inclusive” restaurants have been reduced to a very basic experience without a focus on great service or quality food. If you want a decent steak or a good piece of fish on Norwegian, plan on spending $50 – 75 per person for a very nice meal, including additional gratuity. Read more