Cruise Spotlight
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Norwegian Pearl vs Norwegian Breakaway
The Norwegian Pearl was built in 2006. It was renovated in 2017. It's 7 years older than the Breakaway, which was built in 2013 and renovated in 2024.
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 Pearl is considered a small size ship. Coming in at 965 feet long and 125 feet wide, it's roughly the length of 2.7 football fields, as wide as 2.4 tractor-trailers and the same height as a 11-story building. Compared to the Norwegian Breakaway, the Pearl is 36% smaller in terms of overall tons.
Number of Passengers
Norwegian Pearl holds 40% fewer passengers than the Breakaway based on double occupancy (two people per room). When you compare the total tonnage of the ship to the number of passengers, or what we call the "Space Ratio," the Pearl has more space per person compared to the Breakaway. This means that you might have a bit more space to yourself on the ship, although there still could be some crowded areas like buffets, pools, etc.
| Norwegian Pearl | Norwegian Breakaway | |
|---|---|---|
| Class | Jewel | Breakaway |
| Gross Tonnage | 93,530 | 145,655 |
| Length | 965 | 1,068 |
| Beam/Width | 125 | 169 |
| Passenger Decks | 11 | 15 |
| Passengers (double occupancy) | 2,394 | 3,963 |
| Crew | 1,072 | 1,657 |
| Passenger to Crew Ratio | 2.2 | 2.4 |
| Space Ratio (tons of ship per passenger) | 39 | 37 |
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 Pearl has twenty different dining options like Main Dining Room, La Cucina Italian, and Cagney's Steakhouse. Of those options, eleven are complementary, or included with your cruise fare. The other eight options have an additional fee.
The Breakaway has six more dining venues. Some of its popular venues are Ocean Blue, Shanghai's Noodle Bar, and O'Sheehan's Neighborhood Bar & Grill. eleven of these restaurants are complementary and the other fifteen have an additional fee.
If you like having a variety of places to eat, the Breakaway might be a better choice. It has 30% more dining options than the Pearl.
If you're looking to avoid extra money while on board, the Pearl might be a better choice then the Breakaway. More of the dining options are included in the base cruise fare, potentially saving you money.
Restaurants on Norwegian Pearl & Breakaway
| Norwegian Pearl | Norwegian Breakaway | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| American Diner | ✗ | ✓ | Learn More |
| Atrium Cafe | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Cagney's Steakhouse | ✓ | ✓ | Learn More |
| Dolce Gelato | ✗ | ✓ | |
| Garden Cafe | ✗ | ✓ | Learn More |
| La Cucina Italian | ✓ | ✓ | Learn More |
| Le Bistro French | ✓ | ✓ | Learn More |
| Lotus Garden Asian Restaurant | ✓ | ✗ | |
| Main Dining Room | ✓ | ✓ | Learn More |
| Moderno Churrascaria | ✓ | ✗ | Learn More |
| O'Sheehan's Neighborhood Bar & Grill | ✓ | ✓ | Learn More |
| Ocean Blue | ✗ | ✓ | Learn More |
| Shanghai's Noodle Bar | ✗ | ✓ | Learn More |
| Silver Screen Bistro | ✗ | ✓ | Learn More |
| Sky High Bar & Grill | ✓ | ✗ | |
| Spiegel Tent | ✗ | ✓ | |
| Studio Lounge | ✗ | ✓ | |
| Sushi Bar | ✓ | ✗ | Learn More |
| Teppanyaki | ✓ | ✓ | Learn More |
| The Bake Shop | ✗ | ✓ | |
| The Great Outdoors | ✓ | ✗ | Learn More |
| The Haven | ✗ | ✓ | Learn More |
| The Raw Bar | ✗ | ✓ | Learn More |
| Topsiders Bar & Grill | ✓ | ✗ | Learn More |
| Wasabi | ✗ | ✓ | Learn More |
Bars and Drinks
The Norwegian Pearl has 1 fewer bar than the Norwegian Breakaway.
| Norwegian Pearl | Norwegian Breakaway | |
|---|---|---|
| Atrium Bar | ✓ | ✓ |
| Bar 21 | ✗ | ✓ |
| Bliss Ultra Lounge | ✓ | ✓ |
| Casino Bar | ✓ | ✗ |
| Corona Cigar Club | ✓ | ✗ |
| Garden Cafe Bar | ✗ | ✓ |
| Great Outdoors Cafe | ✓ | ✗ |
| Headliners Comedy Club | ✗ | ✓ |
| Magnum's Champagne & Wine Bar | ✓ | ✗ |
| Maltings Beer & Whiskey Bar | ✓ | ✓ |
| Mixx Bar | ✗ | ✓ |
| Moderno Bar | ✓ | ✗ |
| O'Sheehan's Bar & Grill | ✓ | ✓ |
| Prime Meridian Bar | ✗ | ✓ |
| Sake Bar | ✓ | ✗ |
| Shakers Martini & Cocktail Bar | ✓ | ✓ |
| Sky High Bar | ✓ | ✗ |
| Skyy Vodka Ice Bar | ✗ | ✓ |
| Spice H2O | ✗ | ✓ |
| Spinnaker Lounge | ✓ | ✗ |
| Starbucks | ✓ | ✓ |
| Sugarcane Mojito Bar | ✓ | ✗ |
| Syd Norman's Pourhouse | ✗ | ✓ |
| The Haven Bar* | ✗ | ✓ |
| Topside Bar | ✓ | ✗ |
| Vibe Beach Club Bar* | ✗ | ✓ |
| Waves Pool Bar | ✗ | ✓ |
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 Pearl and the Breakaway 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 Pearl has a total of 3 pools and 5 hot tubs. 1 of the pools and 1 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.
Norwegian Breakaway has more pools than the Pearl and more hot tubs. There are more exclusive pools and hot tubs on the Breakaway. If you don't mind paying for exclusive access to areas in order to have less crowds, this might be a better choice.
Tired of loud kids and splashing? One of the pools are adults only on Pearl.| Norwegian Pearl | Norwegian Breakaway | |
|---|---|---|
| Total Pools | 3 | 4 |
| Pools - General Access | 1 | 2 |
| Pools - Adults Only | 1 | 1 |
| Pools - Exclusive | 1 | 1 |
| Total Hot Tubs | 5 | 10 |
| Hot Tubs - General Access | 4 | 4 |
| Hot Tubs - Adults Only | 2 | |
| Hot Tubs - Exclusive | 1 | 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. You might up paying more while on board the Pearl. Only 58% of the activities below are included in your cruise fare. On the Breakaway, 62% of the activities are included at no additional cost.
| Norwegian Pearl | Norwegian Breakaway | |
|---|---|---|
| Adult Only Relaxation Area (extra fee) | ✗ | ✓ |
| Adult Only Relaxation Area (free) | ✗ | ✓ |
| Arcade | ✓ | ✗ |
| Basketball | ✓ | ✗ |
| Bowling Alley | ✓ | ✗ |
| Casino | ✓ | ✓ |
| Cigar Bar | ✓ | ✗ |
| Climbing Wall | ✓ | ✗ |
| Comedy Club | ✗ | ✓ |
| Escape Room | ✗ | ✓ |
| Fitness Center | ✓ | ✓ |
| Horizon Park | ✗ | ✓ |
| Ice Bar | ✗ | ✓ |
| Jogging Track | ✓ | ✗ |
| Mini golf | ✗ | ✓ |
| Ropes course | ✗ | ✓ |
| 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. Typically newer ships cost more, so a cruise on Norwegian Pearl will likely be cheaper than on Norwegian Breakaway.
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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