The ship offers a wide variety of cabins, from 59 studios for solo cruisers to the 42 suites that are part of the upscale, private Haven complex at the top of the ship. The Haven includes its own restaurant and bar as well as a pool courtyard with a retractable roof for not-so-sunny days.

Gail Carpenter, a Cruise Planners — American Express Travel agent in Tampa, said she will market the ship’s features as an authentic New York experience featuring high-quality entertainment at an affordable price.

“The cabins are small, but so is New York,” she said. “I’m going to sell it as ‘Come be a New Yorker.’ ”

Carpenter said she will also focus on the summer destination: Bermuda, which typically doesn’t get shiny new ships.

Fellow Cruise Planners agent Lourdes Henesy, of Englewood, highlighted the European-style circus dinner show. “Where in New York will you find a dinner show for $30?” she asked. “It was absolutely fantastic.”

Opinions are mixed on the exterior, but there’s no mistaking Breakaway’s connection to New York City: The Peter Max-designed hull bears pop art versions of the city’s skyline and Statue of Liberty. Inside, the two-story atrium screen shows scenes from Manhattan, and the roaming Sabrett hot dog stands are meant to evoke the city’s street food. (Sheehan, a New Yorker, said he even schooled ship workers on how to assemble a proper New York hot dog.)

The company’s next ship, Norwegian Getaway, will sail year-round from Miami after it is delivered in January. While many of the new features on Breakaway will be included on the sister ship, it will have its own location-specific touches.

Breakaway also embraces the elements in a major way, adding outdoor seating to four restaurants and the blues club in a new area called The Waterfront. That concept makes more sense for Getaway, based in the sub-tropics, than a ship that will sail from Manhattan in winter months. Even in early May, the chilly weather made spending significant amounts of time outdoors uncomfortable (and made for a bracing experience on the waterslides).

Sheehan says he expects passengers to spend the cold portions of a cruise getting acquainted with the ship’s inside areas, centered around the lively decks 6-8. Most of the restaurants, shops, bars and entertainment can be found in that area, called 678 Ocean Place, or on decks 15 and 16. One warning: many of the automatic doors have a sensor that needs to be triggered with your hand — it’s not enough just to walk up to the door. On the first day of a sailing, expect to see a lot of people waving their arms as if they’re swatting at flies while trying to activate the doors.

While Breakaway boasts an impressive number of restaurants — including the new Ocean Blue by Geoffrey Zakarian and a Raw Bar from the celebrity chef — the food was generally disappointing during the inaugural two-night cruise.

At the seafood-heavy Ocean Blue, which already raised its fee from $35-$49 a person, a crispy calamari dish was decent but not extraordinary; a black sea bass entree was good, but the real standout was the marinated tomatoes. The dessert menu, however, offered (and delivered) tantalizing sweets, including apple strudel with cardamom, aged cheddar cheese, whiskey sauce and a tangy quark gelato.