Norwegian Breakaway: Drinks and Dining
Built in 2013, the Norwegian Breakaway class has a lot to offer its passengers. With 6 ships in its class (Norwegian Breakaway and Getaway being the first two), Norwegian has found a design and layout that has met the needs and wants of many cruisers. The Norwegian Breakaway ship hold almost 4,000 passengers at full capacity and has some really great restaurants as well as fun venues to explore.
While I have never been on the Norwegian Breakaway, back in early 2017, Chris and I went on her sister ship, the Norwegian Getaway. There were a lot of aspects to the ship and the cruise line that we really enjoyed, such as the complimentary Noodle bar, yum. And, we found that with the Free at Sea Program that allows cruisers to receive free drinks, dining, internet and money off excursions (all that’s added is the gratuity) that the atmosphere on board is lively and enjoyable.
Recently, a friend of mine went on the Norwegian Breakaway on a 7-night cruise out of New Orleans. Since this is a ship and a port that I have never been out of, I was very interested to hear how he enjoyed his cruise. Regan is a seasoned cruiser with Norwegian has a lot of insight into what was new and different about this class of ships compared to others that he has been on.
One aspect that Regan and his family really enjoyed about the ship were the bars and the dining. On Deck 8, they added a wrap around deck that allows for al fresco dining and drinking. They found a great bar that they visited each evening and became familiar with the bartender, which added to their enjoyment of the space. *It’s always a good idea to find a bartender you like and keep going back to him or her so that she not only gets your drink the way that you like it but also you might get preferential treatment. We usually tip our favorite bartender at the end of the cruise.*
As part of the Free At Sea program, you can choose 1 or 2 nights (depending on your cabin category) of specialty dining. While sailing on the Norwegian Breakaway, you have quite a few options to choose from. There’s the steak house, Italian restaurant, sushi bar, Brazilian steakhouse, French restaurant, Hibachi, and Seafood restaurant. You can and should make your reservation beforehand so that you get the places and dining time that you prefer. Your travel agent can even take care of it for you.
There are, as well, a variety of complimentary restaurants available on board the Norwegian Breakaway. For the main dining room, there are three different venues that you can choose from each evening. Whichever of the three you choose, you show up each evening and wait to be seated. *One downside to this kind of dining, in my opinion, is that you don’t get to know your wait staff, as it differs every night.* You can as well try out the Garden Cafe, which is their buffet, the American Diner, Shanghai’s Noodle Bar, and O’Sheehan’s Bar & Grill. O’Sheehan’s is seen as a great alternative to the buffet as it provides tasty American bar usuals, such as wings, burgers and hotdogs, with a sit down casual atmosphere. Also, according to Regan, O’Sheehan’s is open late, which is a huge plus when you are traveling with hungry, growing teens.
Many ships are moving away from having so many specialty dining areas and increasing their complimentary dining options, so it is great to see that Norwegian is ahead of the curve in this area. The specialty dining that they offer as well provides a nice variety for cruisers. With the drink package included with Free at Sea, cruisers have the luxury of being able to try out all of the bars so they can figure out which one they want to spend most of their time at.
With as expensive as cruising has become, it is nice that cruise lines are widening their complimentary options and including deals like the Free at Sea. On our Norwegian cruise, we found that while the Free At Sea was great but that they found other ways to “nickel and dime” us, so the promotion wasn’t quite as great in the end. Regardless, with all of the insider tips from our friend, sounds like we need to get on board again real soon.
