Norwegian Breakaway to Bermuda Review 4/24-5/1 Family Moon <3

My husband and I were married on embarkation day on this ship (I did a review on the wedding on wedding/honeymoon board). I had been on a few cruises before this one on both Carnival and Norwegian and my husband and I had been on one Carnival and one Norwegian cruise together before the wedding. This review is from my perspective and includes mostly pics of us and our family since it was our honeymoon :)

EMBARKATION:

Ok so my take on embarkation is definitely bias as one of the perks of getting married on the ship was a speedy embarkation as we had to get on the ship before the crowds to avoid any confusion for our non sailing guests. I did hear that there was some sort of hold up due to the coast guard which actually worked in my favor as I was a bride running and hour behind..eek!

When we arrived at the pier I will say that the porters were super helpful. They got our tags on our luggage for us and sent us on our way. Check in was also very speedy but again we were able to cut through the line.

CABIN

I absolutely loved our cabin. My bridesmaids and I were brought straight up to our room and I could not wait till later when my husband would be able to see. We were in 12310 Aft balcony and after this experience we are spoiled and will have to book at least and aft balcony. Typically my husband and I are homebodies which is part of why we find cruising so appealing. We love to just relax in the open seas, hang out on our balcony with a drink and a book and get dolled up for a nice dinner in the evening. I would take a smaller room to have a bigger balcony although I will say we were satisfied with both in this case.

Heres a group shot with the girls on our balcony

After the Ceremony/reception the photographer brought my husband and I around to a few different spots for photos. That would have been a perf time to snap some pics of the ship but everything was so overwhelming that day it totally slipped my mind. One of the spots he brought us to was the Haven which was empty because the rest of the guests were at the muster drill. We actually weren't over whelmed by it to be honest and like I said before we are more about the balcony anyway, however later on in the review I will touch upon the haven restaurant ans some of the other suite perks that would maybe possibly be worth it!

That evening we had dinner reservations with our sailing guests in the Manhattan Room. The downside to this was that they were unable to put us all together so my husband and I, my sister, her bf, my nephew, my dad and fellow bridesmaid, and niece sat at one table. And my in laws, sister in law and my husbands Aunt and Uncle sat at the table behind us. They did put in the contract that we may be at separate tables but I do think it really wouldn't have been that much trouble for them to have put two tables together especially for the first night. I also didn't love a lot of the menu options and I am by no means picky so I went with the lobster for the extra charge which was delicious. This however would be the last time we ate at the Manhattan Room as the service was awful...they brought the kids meals out first and fast which was great but it was another 40 min until our food came so naturally the kids were getting restless. My in laws were done with their meals before we even got our drinks and we were seated before them. It just didn't make for a fun experience especially being our wedding night.

Congratulations on getting married! Looking forward to your review. This will be our first NCL experience come June 12th. Celebrating our 1 year anniversary.

Looking forward to this, and congratulations!:)

My husband has a cruise ritual where he must have his room service every morning to get his day started. Since NCL has the convenience charge in affect..I think it was maybe $7 or $8 for certain items...his new ritual became Free room service every morning which would consist of usually coffee and a muffin or croissant and juice for him. To be honest the convenience charge really wasn't a big deal to us. If he wanted to be lazy and eat a full breakfast in bed we would just go ahead and get a whole bunch of items off the menu as well as lunch or dinner. Usually he just requires a little pick me up if you will haahaa to get him motivated. I thought the croissant was delicious, however, I do go on and off low carb diets a lot so it could be that any type of bread gets me excited when i'm not on it :D.

The weather when we woke up was kind of crappy although the skies did clear up by early afternoon. I read on the balcony for a bit then by about 10 or so we decided to hit the garden cafe and then go explore the ship. I would say for a breakfast buffet the food was pretty good. I had bacon, sausage and eggs benedict and of course a bloody mary. We had the unlimited drink package so when in Rome! My hubby had sausage gravy and biscuits which is also one of his cruise rituals. Now I have to say I read a lot of reviews before hand where people complained about the breakaway being to large and confusing..Well let me just say we chose ncl specifically so we could pick and choose when to see our family which you would think would be easy for a ship so large..well within the first hour we ran into my sister and crew leaving breakfast lol. And about an hour later we ran into his parents and my dad lol. We joked a lot about it but honestly it was nice to keep randomly bumping into everyone especially since they all seemed to be having such a good time. We honestly did not find the ship that hard to navigate, after about a day or so we had it down for the most part. After brunch we explored the ship for a bit. We had also purchased the spa passes before the cruise so I was super anxious to check it out. To me the spa passes are totally worth it if you are someone who really likes to just relax as myself and the hubby do. It was perfect for us bc we were able to spend a lot of quiet time together and since it was spring and we didn't always have perfect weather we were able to utilize it a lot. After we checked out the spa we had to meet at either Taste or Savor I believe for the make up muster drill which was quick and painless. And after that we headed to the casino where long and behold we ran into the rest of our fam :)

My hubby was starting to not feel so well so he decided to hang out back in the room and my bridesmaid that was traveling with us and I decided to go to the martini tasting at shakers..yum :)

The cost for the tasting is $20. We had a nice time and a nice buzz even though we maybe enjoyed 1 or 2 of the martinis. I wish I could remember all of the flavors, I believe one is like a citrusy flavor almost reminded of a margarhita, one was apple which was my personal fave, a coconut something which I also enjoyed, cosmo which also wasnt too bad and I cant remember what the blue one was just that we all thought it would be good and it was not lol. We sat with another couple from Long Island and ended up chatting it up with them for quite a bit after the tasting. They actually got us both a round which was super nice of them. We then decided to head to the hot tub and enjoy our buzz which was also nice as we had it all to ourselves and the temp was perf for me..not too hot and not too cold.

After my friend and I parted ways I went back to the room to shower and get dolled up for dinner. It actually was a bit of a bummer bc we had reservations for Le Bistro and I was excited to have a nice romantic dinner alone with my husband but I started not feeling well. I was going to try and muscle through it for his benefit but our reservations were for 8:30 and by about 8:50 or so we still weren't seated so my hubby brought me back to the room. Later that evening I started to feel better so we went to the Buffet where we ran into his sister and niece. Day one and we had now officially run into our whole group lol. I cant remember what I ate, I think I made a nacho plate. Im pretty easy to please when it comes to food, I do love a good lobster and filet mignon but give me a salad bar with some lettuce and nachos and im just as happy lol.

Tuesday Second Sea Day up next....

Thank you!! Im excited to hear how the weather is in Bermuda in June..you will have to fill me in! We were thinking of changing our cruise next year to a later date!

Congratulations! I'm looking forward to the rest of your review!

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

Congratulations to you and your new husband! What a fun way to get married :) I'm looking forward to your review.

Can't wait to hear more!

So call us crazy but my husband and I had planned a little play date for this day with our 7 year old niece and and 4 year old nephew that were traveling with us..yes on our honeymoon lol. We are super close to the both of them and have sleep overs at the house so honestly it would have been weird not to get some quality time in with them. It was still a little chilly but the sun was out so we started the day out by the kiddie pool. I ordered myself a drink of the day which I believe was the pain killer and hung tight with my nephew while he played in the pool. I didnt really enjoy the drink which ended up being the theme of the trip whenever I tried any of the drinks of the days. I like my drinks a little stronger and I don't know if they were watered down from having the UDP or what but they always seemed watered down to me.

My hubby brought our niece on the slides for a bit..Tristan was too small for them. He had fun but he was freezing so we bribed the kids to go have lunch at the garden cafe by promising them Arcade time after. They were actually pretty well behaved. Tristan had his usual lunch plate of fries and chips (he is the worst easter), Ava had pizza and mac and cheese I believe and I probably had my usual mess of salad and random items. After lunch we went to the arcade which def can get a little pricey but it was worth it, the kids had so much fun. My only complaint about the arcade is that the bathrooms are not close enough or at least I couldn't find one close enough. Tristan is not the best at holding it and I got stuck running all over the place with him ready to wet himself. I believe there was a restroom down the stairs outside by the pool which was the closest however, the line was crazy and there's no way he would have made it. Luckily we did find one just in time but I would think since mostly children would be hanging out at the arcade you would have a restroom closer to it. Also I noticed there were a lot of unsupervised children in the arcade. Now mind you I don't have any children yet but I do work at a daycare so trust me I get wanting some mommy time but one child kept following us around trying to get me to use my card so he could play games with my niece and he had to be maybe 8 years old. He said his mom was in the spa and I don't like to judge but I did find it strange for this kid to be by himself and unable to even play anything on to of it.My hubbys a sucker so he did swipe a few games for him lol.

After the Arcade we dropped the kids off to our sisters. And after that fun filled afternoon we decided it was perfect timing to take care of our thermal spa passes. I wish I had taken pictures. I absolutely loved the spa. From the hydrapool, the hot tub, the salt room and the heated chairs. It was so serene and relaxing. On a side note my hubby and I are two ding dongs and at one point we were sitting in the hot tub with no jets bc we thought "oh maybe its on a timer", until someone with brains joined us and asked if we minded if they turned on the jets lol.

After our spa time I showered and enjoyed some Champagne on the balcony.one of my cruise rituals :)

That evening we had planned a dinner at Teppanyaki with our whole group. At his point some negotiations had begun between my in laws and guest services/ hotel director due to the issues we had from the wedding so let me just tell you they were laying it on thick at this point. Continuously checking on us, refilling drinks and at the end of dinner a bunch of crew members came out with a cake for my husband and I singing "Let me be your Sweet Heart." It was cute and to be honest it was appreciated but it really didn't rectify the anything at this point, the issue we had was that we paid for a certain amount of food for our wedding guests and they basically did not have enough to the point that we had people that ate NOTHING. Huge problem which is still not fixed yet in my book.

Anyhow dinner was really great. Our chef was super entertaining and we all had a great time. I got..you guessed it..surf and turf. My bridesmaid that sailed with us ordered these udon noodles that she shared with the table and they were amazing. I keep trying to find a place home that makes them as good, no luck yet. My hubby was less impressed with the meal but hes not really a big fan of hibachi.

After dinner we went to the casino for a bit where I played 3 card and some clots and gave ncl another $200 lol. After the casino we went back to our room for the night where apparently our room had thrown up honeymoon style. Again another cute gesture but I don't really understand why its not something you wouldn't just do for a couple getting married on your ship anyhow. This would have been nice to walk into the first night after dinner.

First Day in Bermuda UP NEXT!!!

We didn't book any excursions ahead of time. We figured since we would be docked for three days we would just wing it and explore on our own. By 9:30 we got up and ready and grabbed some breakfast at the buffet. We bumped into our family as well which was nice because we liked hearing what everyone had planned for the day. Ryan's (Hubby) parents, sister, nice and Aunt and Uncle were just finishing up breakfast, they had plans to go to the caves. My family was lost in the sauce and had no idea what they were doing as usual lol.

After we ate we got off the ship and walked around the dockyard for a bit. We located snorkel park and the mall which I wanted to hit up at some point. I didn't want the day to be a waste so we decided to go to Horseshoe Beach. We inquired with one of the little tour booths about easiest/cheapest way to get to and from the beach. We decided on using the white vans that are located to the side of the booths. They will take you to the beach for $7 and bring you back for $7 as well. Once the van filled up which didn't take long we were off. The ride was about 20 min or so and the van was air conditioned and also had wifi which was a plus as I was having social media withdawals at this point.

Once we arrived at the beach we waited on line for and umbrella and two chairs, I can't remember the price..I'm sure it was over priced but what else were you gonna do. My hubby and I actually got into our first little tiff as a married couple as he was hot and frustrated and there was confusion with chairs bc we just wanted the small folding chairs to carry off and they thought we wanted the lounge chairs, Im not really sure exactly what the confusion was but hubby was agitated and yelling lol so I walked off with the umbrella. Shortly after he cooled down and joined with the right chairs lol. The beach was gorgeous. I wish the weather was a little warmer because I would have loved swimming around the rocks and caves. There were a lot of people there but I wouldn't say it was over crowded. We didn't order any food while we were there but there was an area for food and drinks, we just bought water. We stayed at the beach for a few hours and then headed back to the ship for lunch.

the issue we had was that we paid for a certain amount of food for our wedding guests and they basically did not have enough to the point that we had people that ate NOTHING. Huge problem which is still not fixed yet in my book.

Wait, I missed this. You mentioned that dinner was 40 minutes late in the Manhattan room, but what was this about and when did it occur?

We decided on O'sheehans for lunch. We got the spinach dip appetizer which I thought was pretty good. I remember reading some reviews where people found it watery but this was not the case for us. I had the fish and chips which was also good and Ryan had the bangers and mash also good. I'm now actually trying to perfect bangers and mash on a weekly basis lol. I kept trying to order a michelada (bloody mary with beer instead of vodka) and I thought the server finally got in until he brought back a pina coloada lol. I decided to just go with it, it was much better then any of the drinks I had ordered pool side so far.

After lunch Ryan was ready for his daily nap lol and I was not so I met my sister and nephew Tristan at the pool for some drinks. We had a good time it was nice to get some quality time in with the sister. She said they attempted to venture off the ship a little bit that day but Tristan fell and scraped his knee and that was the end of it lol. He can be pretty dramatic. I felt bad so we made plans to go to snorkel park beach the next day.

That evening Ryan and I had reservations for Rock of Ages and dinner at Moderno. We would be cutting it close with our reservations so the plan was to sneak out of the show early to make our dinner, however we both agreed about 40 min into it that we were enjoying it so we actually stayed for the whole show, skipped the dinner reservations and ordered room service and a movie afterward. The only bummer was that I never did end up getting the chance to go to Moderno which I was looking forward to. Oh well next cruise!!!

Thursday Day 2 in Bermuda next!!

Best wishes on your wedding. You looked beautiful in your gown! Thanks for doing this review, I was on Breakaway the week after you. Unfortunately we had bad weather in Bermuda. Still and all it was a nice ship except for the casino which was incredibly smokey on our cruise - so much so I couldn't enjoy it the way I normally do.

Wait, I missed this. You mentioned that dinner was 40 minutes late in the Manhattan room, but what was this about and when did it occur?

Oh sorry yea that would help, I forgot I posted that info in the wedding review. Short version is that for our wedding reception we were charged for cocktails / hor derves for the first hour and then an additional cost for the extra 30 min (reception is 1.5 hours). We chose to pay for both the first hour and the extra 30 min and by the time we were done taking photos, maybe 30 min into the reception there was no food left. I had several guests who received no food including myself and my husband.

Congrats. Great review. Nice insight. I'm sailing on 5/29. Looking forward to it.

Congrats on your wedding. Great review can't wait to hear more

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

Enjoying your review. Looking forward to the rest.

Congrats on your wedding .

The plan was to hit Snorkel Park Beach but the weather was not cooperating. We decided to wait it out and play it by ear, in the mean time I met my dad for Breakfast at O'Sheehans. I had a bloddy mary and the country platter.

After Breakfast it was still cloudy and rainy so I decided to take advantage of our spa passes and figured if nothing else it would be the perf day to relax in the spa all day. After about an hour or so the skys started to clear up so we decided to meet up with my sister and nephew after all so they could experience a little time off of the ship.

There is a $5 fee to enter the beach and then additional fee to rent chairs, equipment, ect. We rented a few chairs and umbrella and found a nice little spot by the slide. I enjoyed a rum swizzle while my nephew played in the water.

Dont ask me what the melt down was about, he has them frequently lol. We also rented a pedal boat for 30 min which I thought was going to be so much fun, however I def didn't realize how exhausting it would be. Thank goodness we only rented it for the half hour.

For the most part we had a pretty good time. I know a lot of people have mixed reviews about this beach..is it the best beach in Bermuda..NO..would I skip other beaches for this beach..No..However, if you are traveling with young children its perfect. They are able to play freely in the water, they have a slide and water toys and they also had sand toys that they let my nephew use free of charge.

After our little beach day we were starving so we all went to the Garden cafe where Tristan had another melt down as all he wanted to eat this whole trip was bacon lol. We could not get him to understand that the menu changes for lunch. I think he ended up settling on pizza and icecream. Later on in the trip my sister told me the waiters just started bringing him bacon whenever they would go to the buffet lol.

After lunch we showered and I relaxed on the balcony with ..you guessed it a glass of champagne. We had dinner reservations that night with Ryan's family at Ocean Blue for my Father in Laws Birthday :)

Ocean Blue was by far the best dining experience we had on the trip. Keep in mind his parents paid so that might have had something to do with it haahaa. I'm also not sure if they were laying it on a little thick at this point from all of the wedding issues as my in laws were back and forth with guest services a few times by now. Either way it was amazing. They brought out a bottle of prosecco on the house to celebrate. After that I must have guzzled down 2 or 3 glasses of Pinot Grigio..my fave! My sister in law and I love seafood so we decided to order together and split everything. For apps we had the oysters and calamari. Both were delicious, however avoid the aioli for the calamari if you don't like spicy. My sister in law said it wasn't too bad so I tried it but spicey does not agree with me and I was punished it for it the next day :mad: For dinner we split the seafood extravaganza and the surf and turf. We also had potatoes al gratin and asparagus. Everything was so good and from what I could gather everyone else really enjoyed their meal as well. They brought out a chocolate birthday cake for my father in law which was the most appealing choice from what I remember for dessert.

After dinner I convinced my hubby to join me at the Glow Party which he was super not excited about lol. We did not stay too long, just long enough to have a drink or two and meet up with my sister and bridesmaid. We had fun for the short amount of time we were there. They were serving some sort of rum punch in light up glasses and my friend and I had a shot of honey jack (gross)!!! They stayed for a bit and thenI think they spent some time at Bliss Utlra Lounge.

We are party poopers and retired for the night.

Up Next: Last Day in Bermuda and Hello Haven :)

So as part of the negotiations for the wedding mishaps we were given access to the haven area including the restaurant. The Haven area is nice, however that restaurant is where it's at. We were only able to eat their twice due to scheduling but my husband and I both agreed that if we were staying in a Haven Room we probably would eat there almost every meal. The menu options are a complete upgrade from everywhere else in my opinion. Ryan had French toast and I had seafood eggs benedict.

After breakfast we walked around the dockyard and did a little shopping at the mall. I was happy to have finally found the glassworks shop, apparently they were in the process of renovating the shop so they were temporarily in a little shop in the mall. Their work is so beautiful. I didn't end up getting anything as I really want to purchase one of their bigger pieces, hopefully next time. We got a few trinkits for the friends and family and we decided that we would collect magnets as our "thing" every time we travel. We found a cute little hot pink and blue magnet set so we bought those, I also got a shot glass as that used to me my mom's traveling thing so I figured I'd keep that tradition alive as well.

It was drizzling on and off so we bought umbrellas at the drug store as well..I know I know big spenders haahaa.

We headed back to the ship, I wanted to be relaxing on our balcony for sail away. By 2:30 the sun was out so I had my champagne and a turkey sandwich from room service while we sailed away.

I also got that bathing suit cover up at a shop in the mall as well. It took me forever to decide, they had a lit of nice options. And that would be my father in law and sister in law below us

So today was the day of perks as my in laws had also arranged for Ryan and I to receive a complimentary couples massage. We had about an hour until it was time so we went to spa and used the sauna and hydra pool. So remember I had mentioned previously that I would pay for eating that spicey dip, well here's where I paid for it. My stomach was rumbling and I was so uncomfortable during the whole massage. I literally contemplated having to just get up and end it early several times except Ryan was clearly enjoying himself (which only agitated me more lol) and I just didn't want to ruin it for him. The massage was also way too gentle for my liking but I was so physically uncomfortable that I just grinned and bared it waiting for it to be over.

After the massage he stayed in the Spa and I went to lay down for a bit. Once I started feeling better I went to the atrium to grab the paperwork for future cruises, I had my heart set on convincing Ryan to book another trip while onboard. I also grabbed a bunch of debarkation luggage tags for the group.

That evening I had a little girls night planned with my bridesmaid and sister in law. Ryan took his niece out on a little dinner date I believe they went to either savor or taste and then got icecream and watched a move after. We had reservations at La Cucina which was actually one of the worst dining experiences we had on the ship. Our food and drinks took forever and I ordered a dinner size portion of gnocchi which looked like not even enough for an appetizer. My sis in law complained bc im too quiet with that type of thing but they did end up taking it off the bill so I guess it helps to speak up. I also saw in other reviews that they bring you out bread with the different oils, that did not happen either. Not sure if they still do it or what. After dinner we had reservations at the Ice Bar which I believe was also picked up by Guest Services or by my mother in law, either way I didnt pay anything..I believe normally there is a $20 cover.

You get 2 drinks while in the ice bar. I think we all tried each others from what I can remember, I had an apple something which I enjoyed and I think the other drink was a Yellow cab. It was a fun experience, a lot smaller then I was thinking. After freezing our tooshes off we went to Bliss for a short while where I ordered a rebellious fish. It was a lot stronger then when I ordered one earlier in the week by the pool. It made for the perf nite cap. After getting our buzz on we went to relieve my husband from his babysitting duties, I really wanted to go get some bar food from O'Sheehans but he was not feeling it lol so we ordered pizza, watched a movie and passed out!

Up Next..Last Day @ Sea :(

This is always me least favorite day of the trip. I hate knowing we are this close to the end :( The morning started out pretty bumpy and the boat was swaying quite a bit. Ryan was not feeling well and either was my little nephew. My sister brought him to our room so we could put some sort of oil Ryan had picked up behind his ear to help, I think it was called motion eaze maybe. My dad, sister and her bf were hungry so we let them go to breakfast and kept the little one with us. We ordered eggs, bacon and oatmeal from room service. Tristan started feeling better in no time and had no problem scarfing down the bacon. Ryan was still feeling sick and we had our appointment with the wedding photographer to pick our photos so I brought Tristan instead. He was no help lol but I ended up finding my sister there so she helped me go through the pics. This literally took us 2-3 hours. After I made the final decisions on the photos I met up with Ryans family at the Bavarian Buffet in Moderno. Don't ask me what they had but it was all good!!! All that food with a nice cold beer really hit the spot. After lunch I checked in on Ryan and brought him a pretzel. He still was not feeling so hot so I met my friend for beer tasting which ended up being cancelled so we went to shakers for a few drinks. I got Ryan a ginger ale and he slowly started to feel better. We also went to Carlos to try and get a few treats but at this point they had basically nothing left, apparently this was their last cruise, their contract was up and they would be leaving the breakaway :(.

It dawned on me that Ryan and I had not had a dinner out just the 2 of us this entire cruise until the last night lol. We got dolled up and went to the Haven Restaurant.

We both had butter nut squash soup with duck for an app and I cant remember what I had for dinner but prob surf and turf as I pretty much got that every night lol. After dinner we took care of our account balance, I convinced hubby to put down deposit on anniversary cruise for next year, browsed the shops and bought a few things and went back to room to pack. We called it an early night.

Getting off the ship was an absolute nightmare. The workers just kept saying its never like this, I'm not quite sure what the hold up was. We normally do self assist but we all had way too much luggage for that so we chose 10:00 I believe. We had breakfast at the Garden cafe and planned to meet everyone in the atrium. That did not happen as there was no way to get to the atrium from the level above bc the elevators and stairs were crowded. I have never seen so many ppl choose the self assist option before and this would be about 2 hours before they even started calling any of the other colors. Ryan and I were a level above the atrium by the casino/bar looking down at my family who were sitting in the atrium and I think Ryan's family waited it out in the cafe. Eventually the line started to open up and my family met us and eventually we ran into Ryan's family as well.