Breakaway Review 11/13 to 11/20

I went on the Breakaway on the 11-13 to 11-20 cruise. I went in with low expectations based off the reviews. I actually enjoyed it a lot--and while there are some warts, overall I felt the cruise was well worth the money, and as I live on Long Island, certainly worth not flying anywhere. Keep in mind that I enjoyed this cruise a lot as you read the negative thoughts.

This ship is huge--however it's a ruse--the overwhelming part of the size are rooms not facilities. So it doesn't seem as large as say..... the Adventure of the seas which I have been on twice and is smaller. That said the ship is impressive. Like many have mentioned, the atrium is too small, most of the other common areas did not seem overly small. I will say the elevators also need to be larger!

Food---I felt the restaurants were very solid. I have to feel that all the negative comments about food had to be made by those that ate most of their meals (especially breakfast and lunch) in the buffet and not the main dining rooms. The Manhattan room with entertainment was very nice and I felt better than Taste or Savor. It was nice as a dad to dance with my 5 year old daughter during dinner:)

The Tomahawk Chop at Cagneys was one of the best steaks I have ever had. Teppenyaki was undoubtedly the best "show" of it's kind and the food was excellent. There were a lot of asians on this cruise, and Norwegian must cater to them because all the asian food I had on the ship was superior. Moderno was a total disappointment and Le Bistro was mixed. To anyone at NCL that reads this, why would you not have a better selection of French Wine at Le Bistro??? It's the same wine list for every other restaurant?? One other negative is that the wait staff just doesn't know the menu as well as other cruises I have been on in the main dining rooms. Basic questions were not able to be answered. I wonder how much of this has to do with Freestyle vs Traditional dining--maybe they just don't have a vested interest in doing so.

Kids club--if you have been on Disney you may be disappointed in the facilities. BUT my kids loved it, the counselors were fantastic, and I thought they did a great job.

Entertainment--Rock of Ages was pretty good, but I felt Burn the Floor was boring. My wife loved it though so this is obviously subjective. One big negative was the lack of TV shows--especially if you are a sports fan. And before you give me the "why are you watching TV on vacation" you need something to do while he wife and kids get ready. One sports channel in the bars? Cmon...The Ice bar was a lot of fun--a must do. The cover charge includes 2 drinks, and it will be much more expensive to do this on land. Ropes course was fun--but there were a lot of scared kids on it--if you child just makes the height limit, make sure they're in--once your on it's hard to get off if they are scared. If you like ping pong, be prepared to wait...every table (4) had waits almost all day long. As far as Dan Dan....I hate to say this but he came off as a poor game show host, but was not as poor as some of the other comments I have read. But the job of the Cruise Director is to keep people entertained, and in this sense he is an effective manager, if not one who does it himself. I hope this makes sense. The fitness center is a total travesty. Way to small for this size crowd. Less than 20 weight machines? A debacle...

Excursions-this is the perfect itinerary to NOT book through the cruise line. When in Port Canaveral, you can walk to Enterprise/National and Alamo and rent a car. Buy tickets at Kennedy, and you will save $200+ dollars vs booking on the ship. It's an easy drive, and since you aren't on a tour you can do whatever you want. Well worth it. Sames for Freeport--take a cab yourself to beaches etc--there's tons right there when you dock, so no need to book through the ship. We did the Dolphin swim at Atlantis. Cut the excursion price on the ship in half if you book on your own. a cab is only $4 per person--you will save literally hundreds!!

As far as Junkanoo beach, I know why it is called that...there was tons of debris in the water!! A lot praise this beach, but not me. If you have been to the Caribbean often, or Bermuda, this beach is a dump.

Some other random thoughts:

The ship does nickel and dime you as others have mentioned...so be it.

New Yorkers get a bad rap--this ship was full on NYers and everyone for the most part was pleasant and amiable. This excludes the heathens who use the elevator to go one floor when they are clearly capable of walking!!

Overall though I loved the cruise despite some warts. A cruise is what you make of it. Despite the litany of negative reviews, I would recommend this cruise. Less

Appreciate the feedback.

Thanks for the review... I was on the Breakaway last fall and this spring. I am sailing in less than 2 weeks on it and I concur with your review. By the way, you are correct about Dan Dan... I was not impressed.

Good call out about the servers; I was also surprised they weren't more informed.

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Thanks for sharing your review with us.

What happened to Scott? He used to be the cruise director on the Breakaway and seemed to do a pretty good job.

Thanks for the review.

Glad you enjoyed your cruise. Thanks for the feedback.

Thanks for the review. I have been on a few cruises wherein DanDan &

Luz led the cruise team and found them to be quite enjoyable...an added

talent is that they both can sing.

ty for the review. is burn the floor just the 45 min it says on the reservation site?

i'm not into dancing but the other 3 in my party are so i'm stuck going :)

i've heard that about junk beach and i'm sure after bermuda it would be disappointing.

regarding KSC you said rent a car so you can do whatever you want. do you mean the ship tour has a set thing they do once at KSC vs on your own? i'm trying to nail down how i'm doing this in a few weeks.

 

New Yorkers get a bad rap--this ship was full on NYers and everyone for the most part was pleasant and amiable. This excludes the heathens who use the elevator to go one floor when they are clearly capable of walking!!

We were on the same sailing and I'd say your review was spot on.

We had a great time and didn't get off the ship.

One reason we didn't get off is even though to look at me I appear generally healthy, I can't walk up one flight of steps without having to take a break. So walking any distance is difficult.

ty for the review. is burn the floor just the 45 min it says on the reservation site?

 

i'm not into dancing but the other 3 in my party are so i'm stuck going :)

 

i've heard that about junk beach and i'm sure after bermuda it would be disappointing.

 

regarding KSC you said rent a car so you can do whatever you want. do you mean the ship tour has a set thing they do once at KSC vs on your own? i'm trying to nail down how i'm doing this in a few weeks.

The ship tour at KSC does have set times, and there is soooo much to see there that I appreciated the flexibility I had going ourselves. Plus we save a small fortune. It is very easy to get to by car, and the roads are empty--not the same as say, renting a car in the Bahamas or Caribbean where it's much more congested and stressful.

The ship tour at KSC does have set times, and there is soooo much to see there that I appreciated the flexibility I had going ourselves. Plus we save a small fortune. It is very easy to get to by car, and the roads are empty--not the same as say, renting a car in the Bahamas or Caribbean where it's much more congested and stressful.

this is good info. i'm hoping once on ship they can tell me what you do see on the guided tour. i'm not against it if i see what i want. but even if you do the self tour is it possible to get out to the launch pad and walk around.