I have cruised on a few different lines but I am comparing this particular ship to Carnival because this ship offered all the kid friendly stuff that Carnival offers. I had pushed for NCL this time because the last time I cruised NCL 10 years ago, I felt it was better than Carnival. I was wrong. First of all NCL will nickle and dime worse than Carnival. Compare their drink, WiFi and meal packages. They are all more money for almost the same product. I say almost because we purchased the NCL WiFi package for $200 and had nothing but problems all week on the Breakaway. I don't recall having such WiFi problems on Carnival. All of the good shows cost extra money. Even the app that allows you to communicate with other passengers while onboard is $10 each device and has terrible reviews saying it doesn't work. So we had no way to communicate with family members once we separated.

Breakaway cabins are not well equipped. Very small balconies. No drawers or good areas for intimates, swim suites, socks, etc. Beds were uncomfortable. I ended up blowing a fuse the first night with my hair dryer getting ready for NYE. Had to wait 30 minutes for an electrician to come reset the fuse. He told me I could not use my hair dryer again. I have NEVER had this problem on any other cruise or hotel in my previous travels. I was shocked and very upset! The only thing I liked better than Carnival was the showers. They have glass doors instead of shower curtains.

Smoking areas are far and few. NCL's website says that smoking is allowed on the waterfront areas. Not true. There's only 4 places to smoke on this very large ship. One was a very small and crowded outdoor area on the 15th deck. The second was at the very end of the ship in the H2O area, but it was closed for private parties every night I tried to go up there. You can only smoke in the casino if you are gambling. Fourth area was a small indoor room with literally zero ventilation. It was horrible! You can not breath in this room. There is a door leading to the outside that most of us tried to keep open, but we would always get yelled at by staff to keep the door closed. There were many smokers who were very upset with the situation. Read more