Norwegian Breakaway Latest Reviews not good

[Jetsterkitty]

I sailed on the Breakaway in October 2017 and was NOT impressed. :( I sail NCL exclusively and have had many great experiences but the Breakaway this past October made me really wonder if I should keep my reservations for 2018 on the Escape. Luckily most people have told me the Escape is much better... I sure hope so!

 

So, my issues with the Escape are first and foremost BEYOND DISORGANIZED when it comes to ANY type of disembarkation! Be it for ports of call OR when returning back home. Have NEVER experienced the chaos and sheer disorganization of this ship. It was a complete and total safety hazard trying to get off the ship in port. People were packed in like sardines and it was literally a safety hazard should there have ever been an emergency. You are told to go one place and when you get there they send you someplace else... only to be told to go back to the first place. :rolleyes: And to exit back home we were literally routed through restaurants and the stinky casino and it took an eternity to get off the ship. I've sailed the bigger ships and it's never been as bad as it was on the Breakaway. What ever happened to turning people away that don't have the correct disembarkation tags?

 

Our particular muster drill was a JOKE! We were sent to the games room of O'Sheehans!!! No place to sit, we were all packed in there standing and random cruise guests were walking through our drill yammering and dragging along their screaming kids... why they weren't at their own muster drill is beyond me!

 

They also HOUND YOU at every elevator for spa services... GIVE IT A REST ALREADY!!! If I want to go to the spa I'll go, I don't need to have a pushy salesperson in my face every time I exit an elevator. I felt like I was at a darn timeshare.

 

The service was lackluster as well which was very disappointing. Our room steward was wonderful but the dining staff was terrible overall. They were slow and messed up our orders multiple times. This really shocked me as again, we've had great experiences on NCL many times.

 

The boat does shake a bit as others mentioned but that didn't really bother me. I travelled on the Dawn in October of 2016 between hurricanes Matthew and Nicole :o now that was an interesting cruise! lol But even with an entire day in bed (it was sooooooo choppy trying to outrun Nicole from Bermuda) we had a GREAT time. Yes, the boat shook a bit during that but it wasn't the end of the world. I laughed at the people who "feared for their lives" during the recent winter weather... trust me, the Captain doesn't want to die anymore than you do, he will re-route the ship if he feels there is real and present danger. :')

[lg rover]

Just booked the Breakaway March 4 th sailing deck 9 aft. I have sailed the breakaway twice before. Once in B6, another time in Haven. I am wondering about aft deck vibrations and wondering if I should change location. Ma

100% agree with one of those reviewers mentioning the vibration on the Breakaway. Aft part of the ship it's really bad.

[newmexicoNita]

I sailed on the Breakaway in October 2017 and was NOT impressed. :( I sail NCL exclusively and have had many great experiences but the Breakaway this past October made me really wonder if I should keep my reservations for 2018 on the Escape. Luckily most people have told me the Escape is much better... I sure hope so!

 

So, my issues with the Escape are first and foremost BEYOND DISORGANIZED when it comes to ANY type of disembarkation! Be it for ports of call OR when returning back home. Have NEVER experienced the chaos and sheer disorganization of this ship. It was a complete and total safety hazard trying to get off the ship in port. People were packed in like sardines and it was literally a safety hazard should there have ever been an emergency. You are told to go one place and when you get there they send you someplace else... only to be told to go back to the first place. :rolleyes: And to exit back home we were literally routed through restaurants and the stinky casino and it took an eternity to get off the ship. I've sailed the bigger ships and it's never been as bad as it was on the Breakaway. What ever happened to turning people away that don't have the correct disembarkation tags?

 

Our particular muster drill was a JOKE! We were sent to the games room of O'Sheehans!!! No place to sit, we were all packed in there standing and random cruise guests were walking through our drill yammering and dragging along their screaming kids... why they weren't at their own muster drill is beyond me!

 

They also HOUND YOU at every elevator for spa services... GIVE IT A REST ALREADY!!! If I want to go to the spa I'll go, I don't need to have a pushy salesperson in my face every time I exit an elevator. I felt like I was at a darn timeshare.

 

The service was lackluster as well which was very disappointing. Our room steward was wonderful but the dining staff was terrible overall. They were slow and messed up our orders multiple times. This really shocked me as again, we've had great experiences on NCL many times.

 

The boat does shake a bit as others mentioned but that didn't really bother me. I travelled on the Dawn in October of 2016 between hurricanes Matthew and Nicole :o now that was an interesting cruise! lol But even with an entire day in bed (it was sooooooo choppy trying to outrun Nicole from Bermuda) we had a GREAT time. Yes, the boat shook a bit during that but it wasn't the end of the world. I laughed at the people who "feared for their lives" during the recent winter weather... trust me, the Captain doesn't want to die anymore than you do, he will re-route the ship if he feels there is real and present danger. :')

wow, though we are not lovers of the mega ships as I have said many times. we never had a problem with anyone trying to sell us spa sessions by the elevators. We did have the normal attempted to sell them on day one, which we have learned to accept and just walk away. The one thing I will agree with you about is the life boat drill. It was a total wiste of time. We were sent to the aturim with maybe a couple thousand people. Then just trying to get back to our cabin was a bigger joke. Otherwise we didn't have any real problems except rain and cold weather which isn't the fault of the ship or NCL. Mother nature just wanted to play a trick on us.

[Laszlo]

I literally got home about an hour ago from the 2-2-18 Sailing. Good cruise but far from problem free. Entertainment overall was very weak. Burn The Floor and the Manhattan Band along with Dizzy were good. Most of the other entertainment was poor. The Highway Rock Band playing in Fat Cats were terrible, I love the 80's and 90's music but they were just bad. The juggler and his wife were pretty bad also.

 

On this cruise their were a lot of older people, many people in scooters and some people who should have just stayed at home. Certain decks had a gauntlet of scooters to wade thru. The large pool in the thermal spa was closed about 50% of the cruise. The sea's were a little rough at times but I was told by the staff since they had so many older people on board they did not want to take any chances.

 

 

Boarding on 2-2-18 was a Cluster Puck to say the least, people still coming off at almost Noon. We left about 3 hours late because their was "So Much Baggage To Board" Leaving late was fine because I was able to get a Time Lapse video at night going down the river.

 

 

 

 

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[choirleader]

I literally got home about an hour ago from the 2-2-18 Sailing. Good cruise but far from problem free. Entertainment overall was very weak. Burn The Floor and the Manhattan Band along with Dizzy were good. Most of the other entertainment was poor. The Highway Rock Band playing in Fat Cats were terrible, I love the 80's and 90's music but they were just bad. The juggler and his wife were pretty bad also.

 

On this cruise their were a lot of older people, many people in scooters and some people who should have just stayed at home. Certain decks had a gauntlet of scooters to wade thru. The large pool in the thermal spa was closed about 50% of the cruise. The sea's were a little rough at times but I was told by the staff since they had so many older people on board they did not want to take any chances.

 

 

Boarding on 2-2-18 was a Cluster Puck to say the least, people still coming off at almost Noon. We left about 3 hours late because their was "So Much Baggage To Board" Leaving late was fine because I was able to get a Time Lapse video at night going down the river.

 

 

 

 

.

 

I'd love to know why they should have stayed at home

[Laszlo]

I'd love to know why they should have stayed at home

 

When you are unable or unwilling to get out of the way of others you have a problem. Blocking the hallways to the point other people must backtrack and go around you is a real problem. On one of the decks their were 11 scooters parks in the hall between the bow and the forward elevators making it almost impossible to get around. This was not a one time occurrence, it was daily. Sorry if I sound a bit harsh

[beachys]

We sailed the Breakaway in December.

 

No ports were missed, my cruise wasn't ruined, I didn't ask for a refund, but we won't sail the Breakaway again.

 

I'm am infrequent poster and this is a negative review, so it must be bogus, however here are our thoughts.

 

We had an angled balcony directly under the buffet. We loved the proximity to the buffet and spice h20! Loved that area in general. Loved Le Bistri, Ocean Blue and noodle bar! I love the Moderno lunch buffets. Loved the specialty dining' s lack of crowds.

 

The ship is not well designed for use in cold weather! During the cold days it was really crowded. The smoke was horrendous! I have asthma, we could not use the balcony because the smoke wafted up to our balcony. Could not use the areas around the open stairwell because of the smoke. The main dining rooms were excessively crowded during breakfast and dinner.

 

I've been on the Getaway and loved it, but our take is even though we had fun being with each other, we won't sail Breakaway again.

 

Sent from my SM-G950U using Forums mobile app

[NLH Arizona]

Blocking the hallways to the point other people must backtrack and go around you is a real problem. On one of the decks their were 11 scooters parks in the hall between the bow and the forward elevators making it almost impossible to get around. This was not a one time occurrence, it was daily. Sorry if I sound a bit harsh

This should have been reported to the Hotel Director and if it doesn't change, to the Captain. SOLAS Regulations require scooters be stored one's your cabin, not in the hallways where they are a safety hazzard..

[April42749]

I literally got home about an hour ago from the 2-2-18 Sailing. Good cruise but far from problem free. Entertainment overall was very weak. Burn The Floor and the Manhattan Band along with Dizzy were good. Most of the other entertainment was poor. The Highway Rock Band playing in Fat Cats were terrible, I love the 80's and 90's music but they were just bad. The juggler and his wife were pretty bad also.

 

On this cruise their were a lot of older people, many people in scooters and some people who should have just stayed at home. Certain decks had a gauntlet of scooters to wade thru. The large pool in the thermal spa was closed about 50% of the cruise. The sea's were a little rough at times but I was told by the staff since they had so many older people on board they did not want to take any chances.

 

 

Boarding on 2-2-18 was a Cluster Puck to say the least, people still coming off at almost Noon. We left about 3 hours late because their was "So Much Baggage To Board" Leaving late was fine because I was able to get a Time Lapse video at night going down the river.

 

 

 

 

.

 

I thought I was on the 2/2-2/16 sailing, but I must have been on the BA clone ship. (Our 5th BA cruise).

 

I thought the entertainment was great (and I'm an entertainment snob). The opera singer was fabulous as was Joshua Young, as well as the tribute to Buddy Holly. Arvin and Emily were, as always, wonderful. I liked one band in Fat Cats (a Jamaican band). I can't say anything about the other bands there.

 

We finally tried Cagney's and I wouldn't go back if they paid me. A side dish of asparagus had five pieces. What a joke....and people pay for this!!!! The Brazilian grill's salad bar was OK. But, who ever eats chicken wrapped in bacon??? Being platinum we got these for free, so I won't complain. I just don't understand why people get these meals when there's a fabulous buffet with unlimited choices. And just about everything there was delicious. You can eat 100% healthy or 100% junk....and everything in between.

 

Of course there were older people....because retired people have the time for a 2 week cruise. But I didn't seem more scooters than usual. Actually, there were lots of young (20-60 year olds) people on the cruise. Luckily not many (gifted because they don't need school) kids were on board. There was one group (looked like middle school kids) who were running wild in the buffet one day and almost knocked a woman down. The parents were probably enjoying their last day of unlimited drinks.

 

We made all the ports and for the most part the weather was good. Each day it rained for a few minutes, but that's the Caribbean in February.

 

I have nothing but good to say...........

[Laszlo]

This should have been reported to the Hotel Director and if it doesn't change, to the Captain. SOLAS Regulations require scooters be stored one's your cabin, not in the hallways where they are a safety hazzard..

 

Believe me it was reported by myself and others. The room stewards had a heck of a time at times dealing with them. As everyone knows the hallways are pretty slim on the BA. Deck 14 forward port also had some kind of leak which I was told would not be fixed until dry dock. 24/7 their was a carpet dryer and a dehumidifier out. I'm not sure where the person got the scooter they had but it was the size of a small 4X4, at times it would take him 5-6 tries to get around a corner. Something like this can't be safe

[rmurray847]

Blocking the hallways to the point other people must backtrack and go around you is a real problem.

 

No, starvation, chronic illness, living in fear of violence are examples of real problems. Yes, having your forward progress thwarted can get a little FRUSTRATING...but a sense of perspective is needed, I think.

[NLH Arizona]

Believe me it was reported by myself and others. The room stewards had a heck of a time at times dealing with them. As everyone knows the hallways are pretty slim on the BA. Deck 14 forward port also had some kind of leak which I was told would not be fixed until dry dock. 24/7 their was a carpet dryer and a dehumidifier out. I'm not sure where the person got the scooter they had but it was the size of a small 4X4, at times it would take him 5-6 tries to get around a corner. Something like this can't be safe

I would have taken pictures of it and when I got home, send them to every agency. This is a safety hazzard and just imagine what would happen if the ship had to be evacuated.

[DeltaOne]

Believe me it was reported by myself and others. The room stewards had a heck of a time at times dealing with them. As everyone knows the hallways are pretty slim on the BA.

 

I don't know if the hallways on the Breakaway are narrower than other cruise ships, but I do know that steward's carts lining the hallways during the morning and early evening hours create many problems for wheelchair users.

 

Last March, on the Breakaway, we had an accessible room on deck 13, all the way forward. So it was a pretty long trek to the elevators. A member of our party, in a power wheelchair, had problems with steward carts every day. Someone would have to accompany the person to and from our room so they could move the steward carts ahead of or behind the door insets -- it was the only way the wheelchair user could get past the steward carts.

 

The stewards, if they saw us coming, were very helpful and would help move their cart.

 

Having to deal with the steward carts, in an emergency, would be a nightmare.

[tcruisin77]

I literally got home about an hour ago from the 2-2-18 Sailing. Good cruise but far from problem free. Entertainment overall was very weak. Burn The Floor and the Manhattan Band along with Dizzy were good. Most of the other entertainment was poor. The Highway Rock Band playing in Fat Cats were terrible, I love the 80's and 90's music but they were just bad. The juggler and his wife were pretty bad also.

 

On this cruise their were a lot of older people, many people in scooters and some people who should have just stayed at home. Certain decks had a gauntlet of scooters to wade thru. The large pool in the thermal spa was closed about 50% of the cruise. The sea's were a little rough at times but I was told by the staff since they had so many older people on board they did not want to take any chances.

 

 

Boarding on 2-2-18 was a Cluster Puck to say the least, people still coming off at almost Noon. We left about 3 hours late because their was "So Much Baggage To Board" Leaving late was fine because I was able to get a Time Lapse video at night going down the river.

 

 

 

 

.

 

 

 

I enjoyed watching this video. Thank you for posting it.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[jrsegrl]

It wasn't only the scooters blocking hallways and walkways. I thought the tour groups were worse. This was our 62nd cruise and 6th on the Breakaway If you'd asked me a month ago which was my favorite ship I would have said the Breakaway but at this point I'm not sure I want to even cruise with NCL again. A big part of the problem were groups of extremely rude passengers which is sort of outside NCL's control but nothing was done to alleviate the issues. It was difficult to get coffee in the morning and they ran out of a lot of things - food and bev items that should not have been depleted. Service was not up to usual in any way - in fact our server left part way through dinner the last night. She came by our table and muttered something about others being lazy and then disappeared. Our stateroom host didn't come at all the first day. I found out who he was on the 3rd day only because we ran out of tissues and I had to track him down. Add to that a lot of petty annoyances which required trips to guest services, excursion desk and internet manager. No issues with the specialty restaurants. Food and service in them was a good as usual.

 

 

Mixed feelings about the entertainment. Nothing really great but mostly watchable except for the juggler and miss amber. I could not believe how incredibly bad they were. You felt embarrassed for them and heard similar opinions voiced by others onboard.

 

 

Laszlo - I think there were 2 of those giant scooters onboard. Someone told my husband there were 2 and that might be true. I thought the first one I saw reminded me of a mini=cooper with the top cut off but toward the end of the cruise I saw another that was plainer. Couldn't believe how big it was. It took up the whole elevator.

[April42749]

Except for the fact that I did see huge scooters, I really think I was on a different ship.

 

I had no problem with rudeness (except for the few "gifted children") or rude groups.

 

Yes, they ran out of some things. For example, my husband could not get an orange on the last sea day. But, let's put this into perspective. Seventeen people were massacred that day So, is this even remotely a problem.?

 

We did not meet the steward until Day 3. However, when we needed something, it magically appeared quickly by a staff member. Again....when 17 people are massacred......how is not meeting your steward a problem?

 

As to the entertainment, it was all professional quality, Even the Juggler and Miss Amber, for who you felt embarrassed....said his show was comedic because "juggling on a moving ship was comedic". In general, you aren't paying $200/pp for a B'way show.

 

One of the entertainers was Josh Young. He was nominated for a Tony and he was excellent.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josh_Young

 

I'm not sure of what you expect, but don't expect Lin Manuel Miranda to be performing in "Hamilton" any time soon.

[Giantfan13]

We were on the Breakaway in January and I got a good chuckle out of the scooter posts. We also had, what seemed like and endless line of scooters, Everywhere. What we discussed was they ought to have the people who rent them, pass a driving test because most don't even know how to ride them. We saw two people get their foot run over when these scooters were backing out of the elevators and not even a sorry from the riders. Like everyone must get out of the way because they are coming. I am slightly handicapped in that I walk with a cane, but if I ever had to ride one of these, I sure would pay attention to those around me and not ride like they always had the right of way. Lucky they don't have horns on them, or the riders would be blasting them all day long.

Cheers

Len

[PTC DAWG]

A newcomer to town asked an Old Timer, “are the people around here friendly?” To which he replied, “were they friendly where you used to live?”.

 

I think it’s mostly your attitude.

[twruger]

You can have one cruise and many people will have absolutely terrible experiences while others on the same ship have outstanding experiences. It happens, and because yours went good or bad doesn't mean anyone saying differently is wrong. Everyone's cruise experience can have different outcomes due to many factors. So like another poster said, look for consistencies across reviews. I find that most issues go back to customer service.

 

I have had an absolutely horrible voyage on NCL in the past. However, knowing different ships, staff, and times means a completely different experience, I have booked a hopeful journey on the Breakaway in July. Hopefully the drydock this Spring will fix her up nicely.

[jcCruiserNYC]

No, starvation, chronic illness, living in fear of violence are examples of real problems. Yes, having your forward progress thwarted can get a little FRUSTRATING...but a sense of perspective is needed, I think.

 

Come on! The "real problem" referenced here is about situations on a 4k passengers cruise ship, NOT world issues at large ... and blocking important access-ways in any confined area *IS* a real problem (for the reasons others have pointed out.) A sense of context for this discussion is needed! :rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:

[CGinMTL]

It wasn't only the scooters blocking hallways and walkways. I thought the tour groups were worse. This was our 62nd cruise and 6th on the Breakaway If you'd asked me a month ago which was my favorite ship I would have said the Breakaway but at this point I'm not sure I want to even cruise with NCL again. A big part of the problem were groups of extremely rude passengers which is sort of outside NCL's control but nothing was done to alleviate the issues. It was difficult to get coffee in the morning and they ran out of a lot of things - food and bev items that should not have been depleted. Service was not up to usual in any way - in fact our server left part way through dinner the last night. She came by our table and muttered something about others being lazy and then disappeared. Our stateroom host didn't come at all the first day. I found out who he was on the 3rd day only because we ran out of tissues and I had to track him down. Add to that a lot of petty annoyances which required trips to guest services, excursion desk and internet manager. No issues with the specialty restaurants. Food and service in them was a good as usual.

 

 

Mixed feelings about the entertainment. Nothing really great but mostly watchable except for the juggler and miss amber. I could not believe how incredibly bad they were. You felt embarrassed for them and heard similar opinions voiced by others onboard.

 

 

Laszlo - I think there were 2 of those giant scooters onboard. Someone told my husband there were 2 and that might be true. I thought the first one I saw reminded me of a mini=cooper with the top cut off but toward the end of the cruise I saw another that was plainer. Couldn't believe how big it was. It took up the whole elevator.

just got off this cruise and I agree.

I have been on most cruise lines and know that all have good and bad.

I had not been on NCL for many years, but I think they lost me

- staff seems to be hit or miss

- Muster drill was in the dining room and crew was talking

- one morning at breakfast, or server was replaced as "he was on break". Dining room had been open for less then an hour ?

- 14 day cruise - only saw captain once at the Officer Q& A ( last day) . I went only to hope to see him. Maybe he needs to come out of hiding and be aware of the staff behavior.

- they use the atrium too much and it is hard to get seats for actual event as some people seem to spend all day there. Make the chairs left comfy. then you could get more chairs in, they would be easier to move around and people wouldn't use it as a reading area.

- HATED this ship....... and the staff and would not go back

[bmwman]

Don't believe everything you read.

 

Why not - You seem to think that NCL can not do anything wrong.

[newmexicoNita]

I don't know if the hallways on the Breakaway are narrower than other cruise ships, but I do know that steward's carts lining the hallways during the morning and early evening hours create many problems for wheelchair users.

 

Last March, on the Breakaway, we had an accessible room on deck 13, all the way forward. So it was a pretty long trek to the elevators. A member of our party, in a power wheelchair, had problems with steward carts every day. Someone would have to accompany the person to and from our room so they could move the steward carts ahead of or behind the door insets -- it was the only way the wheelchair user could get past the steward carts.

 

The stewards, if they saw us coming, were very helpful and would help move their cart.

 

Having to deal with the steward carts, in an emergency, would be a nightmare.

I had never thought about the halls being more narrow but you are right about the cleaning times and how crowded the halls can get. We had a forward cabin on the BA, yes, it was hard to manover. At the time hubby didn't need any special equiptment to help his move around but now, on ships he is using a walker and even that would be a little bit challenging on the BA in the halls I am sure. He did it fine on the Pearl a few months ago.

Now when I read comments about the people being rude so someone might not ever cruise NCL again, I have to smile.As for being rude, that has more to do with where the majority of cruisers are from,than the ship or the cruise line. We have been on all mass marketed lines, and found nice people and rude people. Some ships much worse than others. We have to remember everyone has a different way of handling things. Some are pushy and rude, some too timid and others inbetween.