Norwegian Cruise Line has a diverse fleet of 19 oceanliners, ranging from small, basic ships to giant ones with action-packed amenities.
While I have yet to experience the company’s extremely attraction-heavy Norwegian Prima class, I have sailed on the more bare-bones Norwegian Sky and Norwegian Breakaway.
The ships were built 14 years apart. Sky, Norwegian’s second-oldest and second-smallest ship was unveiled in 1999. Breakaway launched in 2013 and is tied as Norwegian’s sixth biggest ship at about 145,600 gross tons.
Breakaway isn’t new by today’s standards. But at twice the size of Sky, it has modern attractions and plentiful dining that offer a fair amount of added fun that the tinier ship lacks.
After sailing on both, I think I’d have a hard time sailing on Sky for any more than a few days — but Breakaway is a good middle-ground for longer sailings.
I sailed on Sky in January and on Breakaway in September.
My one-way, three-night Norwegian Sky voyage traveled from Miami to the Dominican Republic. I sailed solo in an inside cabin for about $300.
My mom and husband joined me on Norwegian Breakaway. We sailed for seven nights across New England and Canada in an oceanview family room, spending about $3,000 in total.
For the longer sailing, I opted for the “More at Sea” perks, which included free drinks, 150 minutes of Starlink WiFi, $50 off excursions, and some complimentary specialty dining.
Breakaway can accommodate twice as many guests as Sky.
The 18-deck Breakaway is a huge ship with space for nearly 4,000 guests in double occupancy across about 2,000 cabins. The 12-deck Sky, by comparison, holds about 2,000 people across some 1,000 cabins.
The crowds were more obvious on Breakaway, with people fighting for seating in the atrium and main bars. However, I think Norwegian could rectify this by redesigning its Breakaway atrium with smaller chairs to optimize the space, or holding popular events in the theater.
Breakaway has more family-oriented amenities.
Both ships have been refurbished since launch — Breakaway in 2020 and Sky in 2024, according to Norwegian. The ships got updated public spaces, with Breakaway adding a new entertainment venue.
Sky and Breakaway have pool decks with chairs and lounges, but the latter also boasts waterslides and a ropes course. Meanwhile, both have pay-to-play arcades, clubs specific to kids and teens, and a sports court.
Breakaway’s kiddie pool is better.
Sky has a small, basic pool on deck 12 near the front of the ship for kids. You won’t find any flashy colors or toys.
Breakaway, by comparison, has a larger kids areas with miniature slides and aquatic animal decor.
Both ships sport Norwegian’s free buffet and all-night pub.
The Garden Cafe is common across many of Norwegian’s ships and offers breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Although the food options were repetitive, I liked the convenience.
On Sky, there is a second outdoor buffet, as well as a poolside bar and grill called Topsiders. The American Diner on Breakaway is also outside, but guests order from a menu.
The ship’s all-night pubs have different names — it’s the Local on Sky and O’Sheehan’s on Breakaway — but they serve the same purpose. Guests can enjoy bar food like burgers and chicken wings at nearly all hours of the day.
O’Sheehan’s on Breakaway was more flashy than Local.
Local proved to be a great place to catch NFL games when I cruised on Sky, but the space was smaller and I found people were regularly fighting for a seat when other food venues were closed.
O’Sheehan’s, by comparison, was much larger and had a bowling alley, arcade games, and a billiards table. Still, there was a long wait to eat during the sea day, but most times, we got a seat immediately or only waited a few minutes.
The larger Breakaway has 3 main dining rooms to Sky’s 2.
Breakaway has the Manhattan Room, Savor, and Taste. The food offerings are the same but rotating among the three gives guests some day-to-day variety.
Sky’s main dining rooms are called Crossings and Palace — I liked the latter’s decor better. The service on both ships, however, were long — I had to wait almost an hour for my entrees.
Breakaway has more specialty dining.
Both ships sport Norwegian’s lineup of specialty restaurants, including Cageney’s Steakhouse, Le Bistro, La Cucina, a sushi bar, and Starbucks.
Breakaway ups the ante with a Japanese hibachi steakhouse, raw and seafood bars, ice cream and pastry stands, a Brazilian steakhouse, and a noodle bar.
Breakaway and Sky have similar production shows.
Despite Breakaway being five nights longer, it only showed two main production shows — the same as my Sky sailing. Breakaway showed “Burn the Floor” and “Broadway Cabernet,” while Sky showed “Rock You Tonight” and “Showdown.”
I, and other guests I spoke with, were disappointed in Breakaway’s number of performances considering the length of the cruise. Still, the vocals and dancing on both ships were excellent — especially on Sky, which was just a repositioning cruise.
There were more entertainment venues on Breakaway.
Although Breakaway disappointingly only had two main production shows, it also offered nightly rock concerts at Syd Norman’s Pour House and dueling pianos at Headliners’.
Live music and events like Bingo were hosted at the Speigel Tent.
Sky lacked these special venues but still offered live music in its various bars and lounges.
The casinos were big but smokey.
Both ships had the problem of smoke-filled casinos, and they were essentially impossible to avoid walking through since they sat in the middle of the ship.
Guests could walk up and down a level to avoid them, though.
Breakaway had an Ice Bar.
The Skyy Vodka Ice Bar was a $15 cover per person, but was easily worth the add-on. We donned the colorful hooded jackets and headed into the icy oasis, where the bartender handed out vodka-inspired drinks (there was also a non-alcoholic version).
We were only allowed 30 minutes inside and had to have a reservation. I’d recommend bundling up though, despite the provided coats — and don’t mistakenly wear open-toed shoes, my mom regretted that.
There is no shortage of alcohol onboard either ship.
While the smaller Sky has fewer bars, it has enough inside and poolside to keep people hydrated, including one specifically for mojitos.
Breakway has a martini-specific bar called Shakers, which was my husband’s and my favorite drinking spot. The larger ship also had a cigar lounge and a whisky bar.
Both vessels had a Bliss Ultra Lounge for nighttime parties.
Guests can enjoy a Thermal Suite on Breakaway.
Although I didn’t try it, the Thermal Suite spa appeared to be a fan-favorite, according to the guests I spoke with on Breakaway. It has amenities like a hot tub, heated chairs, a sauna, and a steam room.
But access is not free. Guests will pay a few hundred dollars for a week, but the price varies depending on the length of the sailing.
Sky has basic massage and fitness offerings but no amenity-heavy spa area.
Breakaway had more grandios decor.
Breakaway had a large chandelier that overhanged an open-air pavillion, making the ship feel spacious and luxe. The Mixx Bar between the Savor and Taste dining rooms and the circus-like Speigel tent were other standouts on the newer ship.
Sky’s decor, by comparison, was more rustic and lacked the giant lighting displays and fancy bar areas.
I enjoyed both ships, but Sky would get boring after a few days.
Sky’s pool, bars, and lounges were fun, but there wasn’t much else to do. Despite the trivia and gameshow events, I imagine I’d start getting restless on sailings for more than three or four nights.
Meanwhile, Breakway had the more fulfilling pool deck, the ice bar, and the noodle bar that gave my family more variety on the ship.
O’Sheehan’s bowling and billiards, the giant top-deck television screen that showed NFL football games, and the dueling pianos also added to the experience.
Breakaway had enough to do without paying for pesky add-ons.
To attract cruising families, Norwegian has been building increasingly amenity-heavy oceanliners, like the Prima, Viva, and future Aqua. On Prima, for example, a round on the go-karts is $15 per person, while the VR arcade costs $29 for one hour.
Breakaway doesn’t have these same glitzy perks, meaning guests can largely enjoy the ship’s offerings without being lured into paying for costly add-ons.
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