We chose this cruise because of the itinerary. We'd never been to any of the ports, never been to New Orleans and the timing meant we could then do a mini road trip around some of the southern states we'd not seen before. All worked well.

The Breakaway is one of the largest cruise ships afloat, we'd been on the NCL Epic before - this was a better experience. Although there were over 4,000 passengers on board it rarely seemed over crowded. The procedures for getting on and off ship went well - initial boarding was a little slow - and the one tender port was well managed.

The food was good, cabin fine, apart from the absence of drawer space. NCL continue to struggle with differentiating their speciality restaurants from the main dining options. This time we ate in both the Bistro and La Cucina - both were fine but not really worth the extra costs. We liked the outside dining and bar areas on deck 8. The main issue for us was the lack of a large space for the trivia quizzes, which we enjoy. These were held in the Atrium which is never a good space for trivia. The atrium space itself is compromised by poorly designed and clunky furniture. Having raised these issues at the cruise critic event at the end of the cruise it was clear that the entertainments management were well aware of the problems. The entertainment was fine, we'd seen Burn the Floor a few times before but each time it is different. Rock of Ages was good. Not sure that having another rock themed main show was the best choice and the tribute band were average. Service was good throughout and the ship seemed to be well managed. Read more