Norwegian Breakaway Review

Rough seas, cold weather, beverages and food aplenty

Review for the Eastern Caribbean Cruise on Norwegian Breakaway
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Bephann17
First Time Cruiser • Age 40s

Rating by category

Cabin
Value for Money
Embarkation
Dining
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Entertainment
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Additional details

Sail Date: Feb 2020
Cabin: Mid-Ship Balcony Stateroom
Traveled with children

While the seas were rough and the weather cold in Florida and the Bahamas, we had a lot of fun as first-time cruisers. Our trip took us from Port Canaveral Florida to Tortola BVI, St Thomas USVI and Great Stirrup Cay (Bahamas). We enjoyed the shopping, history and the beach the most of any of the islands in Tortola. St Thomas is very small and commercialized, but the Jet Boat ride is one to not miss! Great Stirrup Cay was underwhelming with cold temperatures, a beach on the “wrong” side so as to get lots of wind and a beach full of seaweed to step around before getting into the water. There were vendors here, all of which pretty much sold the same stuff and seemed to be set up more life a street faire with the ability to close up and disappear when no ships were in port. Dinner at Cagney’s was not good, the steak was tough and service mediocre, prices exorbitant. Teppenyaki was AMAZING for the money, entertainment value and great food, some of the best food on the ship IMO. Moderno was ok, good value, but make sure you are seated in a main thoroughfare so as to not be missed by the many different offerings. By 9:00 the Moderno buffet was pretty wiped out and not restocked unless you specifically asked for. Taste/Savor were amazing food choices and quality to be included in the complimentary dining. Wait times were minimal. Dress code was changed and you may no longer wear shorts in the Manhattan Room, therefore we opted for Taste/ Savor instead. The Garden Buffet worked best for our family for any meal as everyone could get what they liked, the rotating themes for dinner kept the menu fresh. Poolside music by Natural Mystic was wonderful reggae with some Bob Marley trivia interwoven. Bars seemed to be understaffed, although keep exploring and find your favorite bar with the least crowds, tip the bartender and you will have no problems. We preferred the outdoor Syd Norman’s with Courtney as the bartender. Our room was decent, quiet with the exception of neighbors allowing their doors to slam. Our cabin Steward, Michael, went above and beyond daily with towel animal creations and knew us by name, a little cash each day in gratitude for their service goes a long way! We enjoyed Six, Burn the Floor and Howl at the Moon. The comedians left something to be desired. The Splash Academy did great at engaging the children and encouraging their attendance. I do wish the Splash Academy schedules were available on the NCL app. We enjoyed the family games and game shows hosted in the Atrium. Open smoking in the casino on Deck 8 was a huge turnoff and we often went out of our way to avoid this area on floors 6-8. Embarkation and dembarkation were terribly and seemingly unnecessarily long (hours!) Beware, Norwegian booked our flight home and we had 8 hours to kill in the airport! Ugh! Overall this was a great first cruise and we look forward to more.

Cabin Review

Mid-Ship Balcony Stateroom

Small but well setup for a traditional family of 4. Bathroom was large and shower was great, except that the floor often became wet outside the shower creating hazardous conditions especially with rough seas. Our room steward was top notch.

Port Reviews

Port Canaveral (Orlando)

Not much to do here other than wait in long lines. Minimal bathrooms or seating areas available.

Tortola

Fabulous beach with little to no wind and huge waves. Taxi ride a little iffy through steep hills.

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