Norwegian Breakaway Review
Rating by category
Additional details
Settle in. It’s a long review.
Background: I am a 63-year young female. My boyfriend of 20 years is 71 years young. I have been cruising for many years. I have 12 cruises on Carnival, 4 on Royal Caribbean, 3 on Princess, 2 on Holland America, and 1 on Celebrity. This was my first Norwegian cruise, and the first time I have submitted a review, although I have been a Cruise Critic member since 2005.
Why this cruise: My boyfriend and I live in Fairbanks, Alaska and typically vacation to somewhere warm in January or February to thaw out and see some greenery. After our last cruise we decided that seven days was too short a cruise for the time and effort involved in flying from Fairbanks to a departure port (usually Florida). In planning our January 2019 getaway, we found this 11-day cruise fit our budget and had the added benefit of departing from New Orleans. We had been to NOLA before and were excited about spending a couple days there before the cruise.
Cabin Review
Balcony Stateroom
Nice room with barely adequate storage. Used the drawers under the sofa. Bed was very comfortable. Would have preferred the layout with the sofa closer to the balcony, so we could enjoy the ocean view during chillier times; ours was the other way around. Bathroom is roomy with a shower door instead of a curtain, which helps eliminate fogging up the mirror.
Port Reviews
New Orleans
As stated above, enjoyed beautiful weather and did a lot of walking in the French Quarter. Would definitely cruise from this port in the future.
Ocho Rios
Walked to Turtle Beach, about ten minutes from where the ship docked. This is a publicly maintained beach with a modest entry fee ($3) and chair fee ($5).
Grand Cayman (Georgetown)
Used the public bus (depot located next door to the library) and paid $5 each way for transportation to Cemetery Beach, at the far end of Seven Mile Beach. There are no facilities here, but a reef off shore provides an excellent snorkel experience.
Roatan
We had intended to go to the West Bay to snorkel, but were advised the weather was uncooperative and the water would be rough, so we went outside the cruise port and caught a cab ($5) to Las Palmas resort ($10 pp) where the man in charge of water activities, Lucas, gave us a snorkel tour of the reef. Fantastic day . . . probably our favorite of the cruise.
Harvest Caye
Beautiful facility. We opted to just take a chair in the shade and watch the people and the water. Next time we will visit the wildlife area. We did not spend any money on food or drinks in this port.
Cozumel
We had intended to take a cab to Paradise Beach, but the weather was drizzly and windy when we got there, so we just walked along the main drag and looked in some of the shops. Didn't buy anything on shore.