Norwegian Breakaway Review
Rating by category
Additional details
The crew - all of them - were friendly, professional, knowledgeable and helpful. The head chef was great; he showed care, consideration and understanding for my vegan companion's dietary needs, and was genuinely interested in our dining experience. He even explained how she could use the signage color coding to determine vegan vs non-vegan food offerings.
Speaking of which - the Breakaway has the best dining experience I've had in over 10 years and 15+ cruises. The variety, taste, quality and presentation was fantastic no matter if we ate in the buffet or any of the specialty restaurants.
We had a 2-person occupancy balcony room that was more than adequate for our needs. The bed, however, was very firm - fine for me but too hard for my Significant Other. Our cabin steward also made our cruising experience excellent. I cannot say enough about how wonderful her service was.
Cabin Review
Balcony Stateroom
Clean, neat, efficient and very quiet. We rarely heard any noise from adjoining cabins, and what noise we did hear was the occasional "thump" of a heavy object hitting the deck. Bed was very firm - fine for me but not to my Significant Other's liking. Pillows were great, as was the bedding. No bar soap or shampoo bottles; wall-mounted pump stations for hand soap (sink), shampoo and body wash (shower). Towels were soft, absorbent. Lots of mirrors, a generous closet space, several shelving spaces for clothes and such. And, a safe (free use).
The cabin electric service is different from my prior cruise experience - a room key must be inserted into a special slot above the master cabin lighting switch for any of the cabin's electrical services to work - including the duplex outlets that would normally be used for charging Kindles, phones, PCs, tablets, camera batteries, etc. No key, no electricity! So, plan on charging items only when you're physically in the cabin or overnight.
The "cabin key in the slot" does have one upside - you generally do not have to be worried about being interrupted while in your cabin. Once the key is inserted, a light appears outside above your door to let personnel know you're "in residence" in your cabin. There is also a light for "Do Not Disturb" and "Please Make Up Cabin" notifications controlled by switches above the cabin master lighting switch.
Port Reviews
Harvest Caye
Relax on one of the beaches or at the pool. There are various water-based excursions. Nice facilities, great personnel.
Roatan
Just a really great experience - very relaxing.
Costa Maya
Just a really great experience - very relaxing, but watch out for the gypsie taxi drivers and the famous $5 taxi ride that turns into $79. Stay with the ship's shore excursions to avoid being ripped off on local travel.
There's a local marine park that is non-profit and quite amazing. Go see it, and all merchandise profits at their gift shop go to support the park. If you insist on taking a cab, just tell the driver to "drop me off at the cathedral" and to pick you up there at a certain time. The marine park is a short walk from the cathedral and (now that you've proven to the taxi driver you're no amateur tourist) the cab ride will be $5-$7 per person. One of the more popular beaches is less than a 10 minute walk from the port's taxi stand - just keep walking up the sidewalk and into town - you can't miss it.
Cozumel
Just a really great experience - very relaxing, but - as with Costa Maya - watch out for the gypsie taxi drivers and the famous $5 taxi ride that turns into $79.