I have just been on the New Norwegian Breakaway, what did I think of her ?

I had been looking forward to this visit for a long time, I really love visiting ships and I hadn’t been on an Norwegian Cruise Line ship before so I was keen to find out what it was like.

My passengers have had good things to say about Norwegian Cruise Line in the past so I was optimistically hoping that I would be impressed by the ship and the brand.

The thing with Norwegian Cruise Line, if you didn’t know already, is that they are a “Freestyle” cruise company.  This means that rather than having the more traditional approach to cruising with formal nights and set dining times, they are a lot more relaxed on board.  The dress code is “resort casual”, which is basically smart casual.  Dining times are not set at all, allowing people to dine where they want, when they want.

Norwegian Cruise Line are a 4 star American cruise line.  Before I went on board I wasn’t sure how the “Freestyle” policy would affect everything in terms of over all quality.

The Norwegian Breakaway is a large ship, she carries 4500 guests and 1600 crew.  If you don’t like large ships then this one may not be for you.

Fortunately I do like large ships.  I like the fact that a large ship has more things to do on board.
This type of ship is designed to have something for everyone.  There should be something for people of all ages, whether singles, couples or families.

Norwegian Cruise Line have many different dining options on board the ship.  Plenty are included in the cruise fare but there are others that carry a supplement for dining in that venue.  I personally like this approach, it would obviously be great if everything was included in the cruise fare but this would obviously push the cost of the cruise itself up.  This way you can just choose for and pay for what you prefer.  Have a look at this list showing all of the venues (click to enlarge)

have to say that the Norwegian Breakaway has far exceeded my expectations.  The ships design was high quality, well thought of and laid out.  The crew were all very pleasant and the service all over the ship was faultless.

One of the many outstanding features of this ship is the fact that a lot of the food and entertainment venues extend out onto the promenade, it is such a good idea and works so well.

I went to Cagney’s Steakhouse for dinner and I have to say that before I went there, I was dubious to whether it would be worth a $30 per person surcharge.  After all I am sure that the food in one of the main restaurants which is included is very good.  Well I can honestly say that after dining in Cagney’s I would happily pay a $30 surcharge for what you get in terms of quality.  I had a 16oz rib eye steak, it was perfect, I can’t remember having one that good for a long time.  Some of my colleagues ate in other speciality restaurants and I didn’t hear anything but glowing reports from them.

There is so much to see and do on this ship, it is incredible.  It would take a long time to list everything that you can see and do on-board.  You can visit this link to find out more about them.

If you were to ask me whether I would go on the Norwegian Breakaway for a cruise personally, then the answer would be yes, without a doubt.

I took quite a few photos with my camera phone whilst on-board to share with you.

Please click a picture to visit my album.