Heaven on earth

It was heaven like experience on earth. This was our second cruise with Norwegian out of three. Very clean and superb comfort . No pressure for tipping. Wheelchair friendly for my wife. Entertainment was mediocre but not bad. Boarding was slightly chaotic but it was orderly. Tea selection and coffee machine were great. Their ginger honey tea was hit. It disappeared the moment the shelves were filled. Deck 8 with walking track surrounding the whole ship and relaxing under full moon on a luxury arm chair was bliss-full exercise. Their Irish pub open 24 hours for free soft drink and food was a bonus on the ship. Their eight elevators were also in great condition. Stairs to their garden cafe on deck 15 from our deck 11 was gentle exercise that I never failed to take. When Guest services became busy, they came over and sat with us in a bar for us to avoid standing in queue. Shore excursions were expensive but had all the answers.

Loved it.

Just back from our second cruise with NCL. Out of 13 previous cruises with various cruise lines our first NCL cruise, NCL Spirit, was the best but NCL Breakaway was even better. I really cannot understand some of the negative reviews we found it difficult to find real fault with anything. The food was outstanding, yes you find the same food in the buffet everyday but the choice is so vast that you can eat something different everyday and still not get to eat every choice available. The food in the main dining rooms is delicious, the service and ambience professional and friendly but it's the speciality dining that is truly special the standard of food and service is excellent and a real treat. The entertainment was great, so many choices, loved the bars, though two of the shows we booked where cancelled due to injury and we where so disappointed as we where told they where very good. Our balcony cabin on deck 12 was spacious, comfortable with loads of storage, larger than normal balcony, huge comfy bed and a decent bathroom which could do with an upgrade but was always kept immaculately clean. Overall there was a great atmosphere on the ship, I loved the Waterfront, the outside deck where you can sit and have a drink watching the sunset, but what made this cruise for us was the paid upgrade to The Vibe Beach club, a private adults only section of the upper deck with gorgeous comfy sunbeds, brollys, jacuzzis, cold showers to cool down and our two fab, friendly. fun waiters who constantly brought us flavoured iced water, drinks and fruit skewers, it was pure luxury, a little expensive, but worth every penny. Our only negitive would be the cost of the excursions which where a little steep but overall an excellent experience and I think we will definitely stick with NCL from now on.

Bucket list itinerary!!

I recently got off a 10 day Mediterranean voyage on the Norwegian Breakaway. It was my 6th cruise on NCL and 9th cruise overall. I am delighted to say it was an absolutely amazing experience! I knew going into this itinerary that it would be super busy and tiring with no sea days, but couldn’t pass up the opportunity to see so many places on my bucket list all in one trip! The ship itself is looking great after the refurbishment. My cabin and all the public spaces felt clean and new. Other than some things on the exterior of the ship that appear somewhat sunbleached (how could they not, that sun in INTENSE!), I can honestly say nothing appeared shabby or worn out. This cruise also felt a huge step closer to pre-pandemic cruising. The quality of service and food were much better than some of the cruises I was on during the cruising re-start. I very much enjoyed everything about this trip! The staff were all amazing! Our cabin attendant managed to get in/out without disturbing us despite our weird excursion and jet-lagged-napping schedule, the cruise staff were hilarious and always present, I enjoyed the Red, White, and British production show as well as the comedian and Howl at the Moon musicians. The staff in Taste, Savor, and the Local were always friendly, pleasant, and efficient. We managed to frequently get tables by the window that I absolutely love! We were even given an aft-window table in Cagney’s during sail away one night which was absolutely spectacular! Nothing says “vacation” more to me than enjoying a nice meal with a great view! The ship photographers got some really great photos that will probably end up becoming my new contact photo! The kind bartender up in Spice H2O saw us coming after a hot excursion and KNEW we needed a refreshing Mango Meltdown! I love it! My only complaint with this class of ship is that they have the game shows and trivia in the atrium. I prefer some of the older/smaller ships where they use a lounge for these activities. I find the atrium gets too crowded and the noise level of other things happening near the space can make it difficult to hear and enjoy the activity you are there for. We were in cabinwhich looks odd on the deck plans. Prior to the cruise I searched for information about its layout and couldn’t really find anything. So for anyone else out there wondering, the cabin is a traditional interior layout and size (not the split sideways layout), it’s just parallel to the hallway instead of perpendicular. The hallway itself is extra wide in many places and the door for this cabin is offset a little (I will try to include a photo, it’s hard to describe). Also for anyone wondering about the dead space on the deck plan, there was a door that said “crew only- locker” or something like that. It was the quietest cabin I have ever been in. We booked our flights and embarkation/disembarkation transfers through the NCL promotion. I know there are a LOT of people who have bad impressions or experiences with booking flights through the cruise line, but I could not pass up the amazing price. This is my 2nd time using NCL for air and transfers and both times I was completely happy with the experience. Would I like to be able to pick my own flights or know the exact departure/arrival times farther ahead of time, YES! Am I willing to more than double my cost to make it happen, no. There were a lot of people on this particular trip who experienced travel issues, some used NCL but many had booked on their own. The problems seemed related to weather and airport strikes, which could happen to anybody regardless of how it was booked. All I can say is both times that I have used NCL my flights were seamless and my luggage arrived when I did! I did miss a connection coming home from the previous trip due to the first flight being delayed, but NCL had already rebooked the connection I would have missed before I even landed on the first delayed flight. They had someone standing there as we got off the plane handing out new connecting flight information to all the NCL travelers. Another amazing adventure and wonderful memories I will treasure!