We’ve now completed our 10 day cruise tour of Italy, Greece and Malta (see itinerary below) and had time to reflect on the journey and report on the experience.

Staff: Grade A+

The staff & crew on the Norwegian Breakaway were hard working and friendly. We were frequently greeted with good mornings or good evenings and we disembarked or embarked on the cruise ship and various other places we went around the ship. Alexis said there was only one unhelpful person when trying to change an excursion but overall we thought the staff and crew did a great job in keeping us fed, entertained, welcome and safe.

Entertainment: Grade A-

We attended a magic show by J Alexander which was entertaining, funny and magical and we attended two musicals Burn the Floor and Six. We had a good time at all the shows and it was great to have something to do while at sea. We also enjoyed the live band that played at the main foyer during our Starbucks coffee runs as well as the Jazz singer and band at The Manhattan.

Excursions: Grade B+

Our excursions, overall, went well. The biggest complaint we have is that there has been no technological advancement in on-boarding or off-boarding such large numbers of people on the ship. Over 10 years ago, we went on a western Mediterranean cruise on Norwegian Epic and the process to go on excursions was the exact same way: wait in an area, get your assigned group number called, walk to the exit point and get your card scanned to get off. A second complaint and a huge forthcoming issue for all cruise lines is that many of the excursions do not offer people with mobility/disability issues the ability to visit sites. In the US, there are 50 million or so baby boomers that will continue to grow old and develop mobility issues and if cruise lines don’t address disability and excursions they will ultimately lose business.

Services: Grade C

We utilized the spa for several massages and while the massages were great, the cruise gets a C for deceptive pricing. We had signed up for a $199 massage special that included an extra half hour when we boarded the ship. Much to our surprise, they did not disclose a $40 service charge so we essentially ended up paying full price for the massage. We also dinged Norwegian on this grade because of the constant and never ending up-selling that takes place everywhere from pushy photographers to art sales and additional services at the spa. We also had the ‘unlimited liquor’ package but struggled to get more than 1 drink every 30 minutes at bars like O’Sheehans because they were clearly understaffed and had too many drinks to prepare.

Dining/Food: Grade C-

There is no way to sugar coat this (pun intended) but the food at just about every ‘free’ restaurant and buffet on the ship was mediocre. The ‘paid’ restaurants that we visited, Moderno Churrascaria and Le Bistro weren’t much better. Le Bistro was a french themed restaurant was the best meal we had on the ship and it was likely because it probably had an actual French chef cooking food. The ‘Brazilian’ themed Churrascaria cooked the worst picanha I have ever had as the meat was overcooked, was heavily seasons with pepper and no salt. Other cuts of meat were over cooked, poorly seasoned, rubbery and tasteless. The traditional sides were really the only things edible at the restaurant.

Bars: We went to several bars asking for local wines or Greek/Italian cocktails and were informed that only certain liquors and alcohols would be served on the ship. What’s the point of going on an Italian/Greek cruise and not get access to Italian and Greek booze?

Wine Tasting: We went to a single wine tasting expecting to sample some Greek or Italian wines but the wines we tasted were from California, Oregon and Portugal. WTF? If we wanted California wines, we would have just stayed home!

We gave the dining experience a C- instead of an F because while the food was terrible, we didn’t get ill from eating it the 10 days we sailed.

Infrastructure: Grade C+

When we boarded we had to request several fixes to our cabin. First, the shower wouldn’t drain properly so we had to get an engineer to make a visit so it would drain properly. After a couple of days the issue was fixed. Secondly, while we don’t expect to have great internet access while out in the ocean, we did expect that when we paid $10 per passenger to utilize Norwegian’s internet app that it would work consistently but that wasn’t the case (see image below).

Norwegian ‘banned’ radios because they want to force people to use their unreliable app and service. We really didn’t have a choice but to buy it because it’s difficult to communicate with others if you don’t have cell service onboard the ship. We may consider bringing our own Starlink Satellite Internet the next time we cruise but I’m sure the cruise lines will find a dumb reason to ban them as well.

Epilogue: Overall Grade: C

Overall Norwegian Breakaway scored a C which gives it an average rating. There was nothing particularly exceptional about the ship except for the staff. Would we cruise on the Breakaway again? Probably not and we were leery of booking this cruise after reading the reviews of it on CruiseCritic.com but booked anyway as it was the only cruise that fit our tight schedule.

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We arrived at Valletta Malta at sunrise like a ship scene in an episode of Game of Thrones, just wow.

Our initial impression of this place was just wow. Just looking around we instantly felt we needed at least 3 days here instead of one. While we arrived early we wont be able to get off the ship till 11 or so for all the “bureaucratics” to take place but we are eager to get going. We are doing the beach here but that is a 40 minute bus ride away.

We arrived at Ghadira and plunged right into the perfectly temperatured water.

The time flew by and we needed to head back and on the way we saw some magnificent sites!

There are plenty of things to see and do in Malta and we barely scratched the surface. There are some downsides though, the traffic is bad and the overall infrastructure needs improvement. At the beach there were no places that we could find to wash off the sand. The food at the beach was mediocre and there were people peddling goods on the beach right at our beach chairs, very annoying.

While we were at the beach, Alpha Team and the 10th fleet headed elsewhere parts unknown…

It goes without saying that the first thing we do when we board the ship is hit the showers. It is too hot and everyone is sweating profusely. Next summer we will likely do a Norway Fjord or Scandinavian cruise but not on Norwegian…

We will be off to Italy soon…but here is the view from Alpha team

Today, I had an enchanting experience exploring Medina, the City of Knights. The limestone streets whispered tales of valor as she wandered through the historic pathways. The beautiful blue sky above added a touch of tranquility, creating a picturesque setting that connected the past with the present. Medina’s timeless charm left her in awe, immersing her in a journey where history meets the heavens.
Following that, she found herself in the breathtaking city of Valletta. There, she stepped into one of the most stunning co-Cathedrals she had ever laid her eyes on, St. John’s Co-Cathedral. The tour left her captivated by the grandeur of the historical setting.

As the noon sun blazed down, I sought refuge at a charming café outside St. John’s Co-Cathedral, facing a pivotal decision. The historical ambiance and a delectable brownie provided solace and contemplation. Lost in her thoughts, she savored each bite, finding comfort in the bustling city. The weight of the moment lingered, and the world awaited the outcome of her journey under the unyielding gaze of the sun.

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Another early start today, we boarded a small boat at 7:40 am sans half the team (due to illness) to the island of Delos. This is the birthplace of Athena and one of the most important archaeological sites.

Lots of walking and ancient history from 3000 to 8000 years ago…

We were given ipads which had 3D virtual simulation of what these structures were supposed to look like..

Amazing color from 3000 years ago!

After our Delos visit we had a treacherous 10 ft seas in Gilligan’s boat to Mykonos, there were a few people puking their guts out.

We visited a small church where we were dropped off and then opted for lunch at a restaurant named Kadena.

The lamb chops at Kadena were amazing. They were served with a refreshing arugula and strawberry salad with a sweet strawberry puree. I asked the waiter if he knew the seasonings and he said salt, oregano and olive oil. So simple but he added the the lamb was fresh from the island. I stripped the bones bare on this tasty meat.

So far Mykonos is far more enjoyable than Santorini. Although the winds are strong it has far cooler temperature. The city center is right on the beach with plenty of restaurants and bars along the bay. We noticed several people using the beaches too.

After a little shopping we sadly had to return to the ship for departure this afternoon around 3 pm to our next stop.

Here is my view as I publish this post…

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Our day started at 6 am since our bus to Athens left at 7:30 although we didn’t actually leave till 8 am.

As you can imagine, the traffic in Athens was as bad as any typical city.

We arrived at the Acropolis and had over an hour wait – too many people visiting at the same time. The line stretches about half a mile.

After waiting we had a slow hot crowded climb to the top.

After the Acropolis we had lunch at a restaurant named Acropol where I once again experienced a foodgasm.

Well oiled, crisp veggies, feta cheese, black olives, cucumber, tomato, red onion and peppers

During lunch, a team member of elite force sahifu 4 left to visit a local office.

After lunch we stopped at this museum but I was too tired to walk it so I snuck away to have some ice cream and cool off.

Then a few minutes later I spotted Dutch tearing up a mountain of gyro…oh Greece you have done it now.

After the museum visit we headed back to the ship…

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We arrived at Santorini around noon today. We had to take a tender to shore then take a bus up to Santorini. Kudos to Norwegian on this for the sheer efficiency of getting so many people off the cruise ship in a short time. The cruise staff warned us that there were 5 cruise ships trying to offload 12,000 people here. We landed onshore and then took a 30 minute bus ride to the city up on the hill. It is then a 10 minute walk up and another 20 to 30 minute walk up and down various passageways to various spots.

There were far too many people on this island walking the narrow steps and corridors throughout the city.

The pictures above are from Oia but we also visited Pyrgos and did some sight seeing there too.

Our tour included lunch and we were happy to get a break from the Blasphemous Breakaway Buffet.

We ate at a restaurant named Pyrgos and I experienced my first amazing foodgasm in Greece.

From clockwise at the top are tomato balls made with onion and local herbs (exquisite), seasoned red pepper melt-in-mouth flavors, salad with amazing olives and peppers, rice, juicy, moist and tender pork. Bread with cool and seasoned tzatziki sauce (delightful). I wish all my meals could be like this on our vacation. Washed it all down with some local white wine.

We left dinner on our own via private car because Dutch had an appointment at 8 pm and there was no way we would get back to the ship on time if we waited for the tour. We got dropped off at the cable car but the line was HOURS long to get on the cable car so we did the death march down by the donkey trail on foot. It took 30 minutes to walk down about 1000 ft and we slipped a few times due to the cobble stone being slick.

We leave in a couple of hours so we will check in again tomorrow from our next stop…

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We call this day zero because we left Rome at 5 pm and spent a day at sea heading to Santorini. We took advantage of some of the shows onboard to pass the time.

We started with a magic show by J Alexander. J was a bit funny with his magic tricks and the show was entertaining and worth the visit (once).

After the magic show, we headed to O’Sheehans Bar and Grill. It is supposed to be an Irish theme sports bar but the food features was the typical American fare: burgers, wings, nachos, cobb salad…

I ordered the burger and true to form I was thoroughly disappointed. The meat patty tasted and chewed like it came from a frozen slab a beef from the 19th century. The slice of cheese had white streaks which I presume came from frost from a frozen slab of individually wrapped cheese slices.

The tomato and red onion were the only good thing on this burger.

The next morning we headed out to breakfast at the Garden Buffet.

The buffet eggs had that powdered egg look and feel so I opted for an omelette with tomato, ham and cheese. It was edible but not delightful. The eggs werent fresh but from some some liquid state. I later found out you can request fresh eggs so I will try that next time.

The bacon was a bit greasy and low quality and sausage was bland.

We opted to do the wine tasting at noon. You would expect that on a cruise from Italy to Greece we would taste Greek or Italian wines but you would be wrong. We ended up tasting 4 wines and 4 chocolates.

Port – Portugal

Pinot – Oregon, USA

Zinfandel (Kendal) – USA

Cabernet Sauvignon – USA

At the wine tasting we had an interesting conversation about the cruise choices for wine with others and the sommelier. We wondered why if we are on a Italian/Greek cruise are they serving wine from California and Oregon? Further in the discussion is why all the food is “Americanized” on the ship. We have visited 4 restaurants (Savor, Taste, Garden, O’Sheehans) and the menu is primarily “Americanized” food. Yes there are some “Italian” or “Asian” options but hardly anything truly Italian, Greek or Asian.

After the wine tasting we had lunch at restaurant named “Taste”. I ordered a veggie bowl taco salad. You would think it would be hard to screw up a salad but Taste did it by putting too much ranch dressing on it. The veggies would have been ok were they not drowning in sauce.

The restaurants do a fine job in asking if there are any food allergies but do a horrible job in accommodating those allergies. One member in our group had dairy allergies, we asked if we could get “Chicken Flautas” with no cheese and it was impossible indicating the mixture was preprocessed and bundled chicken+cheese. We asked if we could get the “Milanesa” and the waiter advised it may have dairy! A milanesa is supposed to be breaded cutlet of chicken or beef so not sure how dairy got into it.

The manager suggested we call ahead to accommodate for allergies so we asked for the dinner menu. We asked if they could prepare spring rolls on the dinner menu ahead and manager said no because it was from offshore prepackaged food and could not tell if it had dairy or not. We inquired about another item and received the same answer.

The only item on the dinner menu was filet mignon which came with a $25 up charge.

We decided to try another restaurant for dinner.

The Manhattan Room

This is the largest restaurant on the ship we have eaten so far. The restaurant features live jazz band ambiance but the singer couldn’t be heard over the double bass, cymbals or piano.

Spring rolls – The rolls were crisp and savory but just a tad bit too oily.

Pepper crusted roast beef was a bit tough, unsalted, and not peppery. The spinach was overcooked.

The breaded fried flounder had no seasoning and tasted rather bland.

The tartar sauce did not help the flounder as it lacked a tartar taste. It seems the default option on the ship is to make foods as bland as possible.

Asked waiter for Chianti and we got a Merlot so sent it back and got the Chianti.

Steak and fries – fries tasted as they came right out of the freezer bag.

We finished the evening with a production show at the Theatre called “Burning Floor show” which was truly delightful and entertaining. The show was essentially ballroom dancing but set to modern music. We enjoyed the show.

At this point we wont be doing any more food or restaurant reviews. The pattern of poor quality, poor prep and poor cooking has become abundantly clear, the food is mediocre. FULL STOP.

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We left Rome via a €350 Uber van to take us to Civitavecchia. The ride should have taken an hour but ended up 90 minutes due to traffic and road work but we finally made it onboard our ship. The check in process for luggage was simple enough but security check thru took way longer than it should have and we think its because of staffing shortages.

We were hesitant to book a cruise on this ship after reading some bad reviews, especially about the food so our first stop was to grab some lunch at a ship restaurant named Savor. The place should be renamed Savorless and here is why…

Pork chop – The pork chop was dry, tough, bland and flavorless. Evidently the chef hasn’t discovered something called spices. Or perhaps the chef knows but the ship is too cheap to buy better ingredients.

Fries were unsalted, too crisp (over fried) and featured a hint of burnt oil. We would have preferred savorless over burnt flavor.

Chicken soup – The highlight of the meal was the soup, served with a variety of noodles, basil broth, fresh aroma and seasoning.

Fish and chips

Fish – The fish was slightly over fried cod fish fillet, fries were too salted strangely because the fries that came with the pork chop were not salted at all.

Vanilla ice cream – not properly chilled, a bit too warm and mushy.

Creme Brûlée – tasted rubbery and mushy.

Service – excellent service provided by Sheila. Attentive, dedicated, and professional.

Although the service was excellent we would not return to this restaurant for the rest of the trip.

After lunch we walked around the ship and took a look at all the venues. We will write more about them as we visit them.

Our rooms wont be ready for another hour and we have some massages booked for later this afternoon.

We set sail at 5:00 pm to Greece.

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We’ve been offline for some time now but we’re back online with new travel adventures. Expect new and exciting posts starting on Friday or maybe sooner as we head out to explore the Mediterranean this summer. Here’s a hint of where we’re going!

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Well we finally caught a break to upload thousands of photographs.  They can be found here.

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