[4] Construction of Norwegian Breakaway began on 21 September 2011, when the first piece of steel was cut at the Meyer Werft shipyard in Papenburg, Germany.

Following several inaugural events, she started her transatlantic cruise from Southampton to New York City, where the naming ceremony took place.

[5] At launch, Norwegian Breakaway was the world's ninth largest cruise ship by gross tonnage.

[12] Onboard features include a restaurant, Ocean Blue, by Geoffrey Zakarian, and a comedy club, in which a Second City company performs.

On 17 September 2013, a woman fell two decks from her exterior balcony prior to arriving in Bermuda.

[14] On 28 July 2014, a 4-year-old boy fell off his bunk and had to be evacuated by a Marine helicopter to a hospital after sustaining a head injury.

[20][25] It was also reported that the disembarkation process was "surprisingly routine", with one former passenger stating that there was "[n]o temperature check, no screenings, no questions asked, nothing", and that he "just walked away from the ship, got on a shuttle and left".