Norwegian Breakaway vs Norwegian Escape

The Norwegian Breakaway was built in 2013. It was renovated in 2024. It's 2 years older than the Escape, which was built in 2015 and renovated in 2019.

Comparison Overview

• Ship Size
• Number of Passengers
• Food and Restaurants
• Bars and Drinks
• Pools and Hot Tubs
• Ship Features and Activities
• Cruise Costs
• Onboard Costs

Ship Size

The Breakaway is considered a medium size ship. Coming in at 1,068 feet long and 169 feet wide, it's roughly the length of 3 football fields, as wide as 3.2 tractor-trailers and the same height as a 15-story building. Compared to the Norwegian Escape, the Breakaway is 12% smaller in terms of overall tons.

Number of Passengers

Norwegian Breakaway holds about the same number of passengers as the Escape based on double occupancy (two people per room). When you look at the "Space Ratio," or the total tonnage of a ship compared to the number of passengers, the Breakaway has less space per person compared to the Escape.

	Norwegian Breakaway	Norwegian Escape
Class	Breakaway	Breakaway Plus
Gross Tonnage	145,655	165,157
Length	1,068	1,069
Beam/Width	169	179
Passenger Decks	15	15
Passengers (double occupancy)	3,963	4,266
Crew	1,657	1,733
Passenger to Crew Ratio	2.4	2.5
Space Ratio (tons of ship per passenger)	37	39

Food and Restaurants

Food is a big part of any cruise, and the ship you choose can make a huge difference in your food experience.

The Breakaway has nineteen different dining options like The Raw Bar, Le Bistro French, and Ocean Blue. Of those options, eleven are complementary, or included with your cruise fare. The other fifteen options have an additional fee.

The Escape has the same number of dining venues. Some of its popular venues are Le Bistro French, American Diner, and Food Republic. ten of these restaurants are complementary and the other sixteen have an additional fee.

The Norwegian Breakaway has about the same number of dining options as the Norwegian Escape.

If you're looking to avoid extra money while on board, the Breakaway might be a better choice then the Escape. More of the dining options are included in the base cruise fare, potentially saving you money.

Restaurants on Norwegian Breakaway & Escape

Restaurant	Norwegian Breakaway	Norwegian Escape
Included
American Diner	✓	✓	Learn More
Garden Cafe	✓	✓	Learn More
Main Dining Room	✓	✓	Learn More
O'Sheehan's Neighborhood Bar & Grill	✓	✓	Learn More
Shanghai's Noodle Bar	✓	✗	Learn More
A la carte
Atrium Cafe	✓	✓
Bayamo	✗	✓
District Brew House	✗	✓	Learn More
Dolce Gelato	✓	✓
The Bake Shop	✓	✓
Flat fee
Cagney's Steakhouse	✓	✓	Learn More
Food Republic	✗	✓	Learn More
La Cucina Italian	✓	✓	Learn More
Le Bistro French	✓	✓	Learn More
Moderno Churrascaria	✗	✓	Learn More
Ocean Blue	✓	✗	Learn More
Pincho Tapas Bar	✗	✓
Silver Screen Bistro	✓	✗	Learn More
Spiegel Tent	✓	✗
Teppanyaki	✓	✓	Learn More
The Raw Bar	✓	✗	Learn More
The Supper Club	✗	✓
Wasabi	✓	✗	Learn More
Exclusive (open to select guests only)
Studio Lounge	✓	✓
The Haven	✓	✓	Learn More

Bars and Drinks

The Norwegian Breakaway has 1 more bar than the Norwegian Escape.

	Norwegian Breakaway	Norwegian Escape
Atrium Bar	✓	✓
Bar 21	✓	✗
Bliss Ultra Lounge	✓	✗
Cellars Wine Bar	✗	✓
District Brew House	✗	✓
Garden Cafe Bar	✓	✗
Headliners Comedy Club	✓	✓
Maltings Beer & Whiskey Bar	✓	✗
Mixx Bar	✓	✓
O'Sheehan's Bar & Grill	✓	✓
Pincho Tapas Bar	✗	✓
Pour House	✗	✓
Prime Meridian Bar	✓	✓
Shakers Martini & Cocktail Bar	✓	✗
Skyline Bar	✗	✓
Skyy Vodka Ice Bar	✓	✗
Spice H2O	✓	✓
Starbucks	✓	✗
Sugarcane Mojito Bar	✗	✓
Syd Norman's Pourhouse	✓	✗
The Haven Bar*	✓	✓
Tobacco Road	✗	✓
Vibe Beach Club Bar*	✓	✓
Waves Pool Bar	✓	✓

* = this bar is exclusive and not open to everyone.

In terms of drinks and cocktails, you have a variety of choices. Both ships serve the Coca-cola family of products. That means Coke, Diet Coke, Sprite and Barqs Root Beer, although the selection can vary by ship.

You can check out recent the bar menus for the Breakaway and the Escape below.

Pools and Hot Tubs

Nothing beats relaxing by a pool with a nice drink in hand as you feel the fresh sea breeze pass by you. The Norwegian Breakaway has a total of 4 pools and 10 hot tubs. 1 of the pools and 4 of the hot tubs are exclusive access, which means there's either an extra charge to access them or you need to book a certain class of cabin to have access to them.

The Norwegian Escape has the same number of pools as the Breakaway and the same number of hot tubs.

Tired of loud kids and splashing? One of the pools and two of the hot tubs are adults only on Breakaway.

	Norwegian Breakaway	Norwegian Escape
Total Pools	4	4
Pools - General Access	2	2
Pools - Adults Only	1	1
Pools - Exclusive	1	1
Total Hot Tubs	10	10
Hot Tubs - General Access	4	4
Hot Tubs - Adults Only	2	2
Hot Tubs - Exclusive	4	4

Ship Features and Activities

Both ships have lots of activities to keep you busy throughout your cruise. Below you'll see a list of some of the major features on these ships. On the Breakaway, 62% of the activities below are included in the cruise fare. On the Escape, only 60% of the activities are included, meaning you might spend more money while on board.

	Norwegian Breakaway	Norwegian Escape
Adult Only Relaxation Area (extra fee)	✓	✓
Adult Only Relaxation Area (free)	✓	✓
Arcade	✗	✓
Casino	✓	✓
Comedy Club	✓	✓
Escape Room	✓	✓
Fitness Center	✓	✓
Horizon Park	✓	✗
Ice Bar	✓	✗
Mini golf	✓	✓
Ropes course	✓	✓
Shows - Broadway play	✗	✓
Shows - musical review	✓	✓
Spa	✓	✓
Splash park	✓	✗
Sports Square	✓	✓
Thermal Suites	✓	✓
Water slides	✓	✓
	Learn more	Learn more

Cruise Costs

Norwegian is a mainstream cruise line. Mainstream cruise lines cater to a variety of guests, hoping to provide something for everyone. These typically cost about $100 - $350 per person per day.

Cruise pricing is dynamic and varies for each specific sailing based on factors such as departure point, ports of call, and time of year.

Onboard Costs

Another way to gauge the cost of a cruise is to consider how much you'll spend on board. Even though a lot is included in the base cruise fare, you may still spend money on things like spa treatments, specialty dining, drinks, and excursions. In addition, guests can also have to pay for things like gratuities and tips.

Typically guests can expect to spend about 25 - 40% of the cost of the cruise on onboard expenses. In other words, if the cruise fare is $1,000 per person, you might spend between $250 and $400 on extra expenses.

The table below will help you understand what you might spend onboard a Norwegian ship.

	Norwegian
Base Daily Gratuities* (Per Person Per Day)	$20.00
Tip added to drinks & services	20%
Soda Price	$3.50
Domestic Beer Price	$7.50 See drink menus
Drink Package Price	106 Learn more
Internet Plan	$29.99 - $39.99 per cabin per day, with $5 for each extra device
*Daily gratuities for a standard cabin. Suites or specialty rooms may have higher rates.

Norwegian Cruise Line offers a More at Sea fare. Through this program, guests receive open bar, a discount on excursions, some free internet, and some meals at specialty restaurants. If you book using this promotion, you'll be responsible for the gratuities on the dining and drink package. If you won't be using these options, booking a "sail away" rate that doesn't include the More at Sea benefits is considerably cheaper. Also, most of these benefits are the base packages; you can spend more to upgrade to better alcoholic drinks or faster/more wifi.

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