Tallinn, Estonia - Norwegian Breakaway in Tallinn (2018)

Norwegian Breakaway is a cruise ship operated by Norwegian Cruise Line. 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. She was delivered to NCL on 25 April 2013. Following the handover, Norwegian Breakaway left the port of Bremerhaven, heading for Rotterdam. Following several inaugural events, she started her transatlantic cruise from Southampton to New York City, where the naming ceremony took place. On 12 May 2013 she headed to Bermuda to start her seven-day cruises. She is 146,600 GT in size, and has capacity for 3,963 passengers, double occupancy. The ship has a total of 1,024 staterooms and 238 suites, designed by Priestmangoode and Tillberg Design. Norwegian Breakaway is home ported at the New York Passenger Ship Terminal in Manhattan, making seven-night cruises to Bermuda (May thru Sept) and seven-night cruises to the Bahamas & Florida (October thru April). She is the largest cruise ship homeported year-round from New York City. The ship, along with her sister Norwegian Getaway, was named through a public contest; Kimberly Powell submitted the name Norwegian Breakaway, which was announced on 14 September 2011. The ship's godmothers are the New York dancing troupe The Rockettes. Onboard features include a restaurant, Ocean Blue, by Geoffrey Zakarian, and a comedy club, named Headliners, where a Second City company performs. Peter Max designed the hull art. At launch Norwegian Breakaway was the world's ninth largest cruise ship. Tallinn is the capital and largest city of Estonia. It is situated on the northern coast of the country, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland in Harju County. From the 13th century until 1918 (and briefly during the Nazi occupation of Estonia from 1941 to 1944), in languages other than Estonian, the city was known as Reval. Tallinn occupies an area of 159.2 km2 (61.5 sq mi) and has a population of 450,305. Tallinn, first mentioned in 1219, received city rights in 1248, but the earliest human settlements date back 5,000 years. The initial claim over the land was laid by the Danes in 1219, after a successful raid of Lyndanisse led by Valdemar II of Denmark, followed by a period of alternating Scandinavian and German rule. Due to its strategic location, the city became a major trade hub, especially from the 14th to the 16th century, when it grew in importance as part of the Hanseatic League. Tallinn's Old Town is one of the best preserved medieval cities in Europe and is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Tallinn is the major political, financial, cultural and educational center of Estonia. Often dubbed the Silicon Valley of Europe, it has the highest number of startups per person in Europe and is a birthplace of many international companies, including Skype. The city is to house the headquarters of the European Union's IT agency. Providing to the global cybersecurity it is the home to the NATO Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence. It is ranked as a global city and has been listed among the top 10 digital cities in the world. According to the Global Financial Centres Index Tallinn is the most competitive financial hub in Northern Europe and ranks 42nd internationally. The city was a European Capital of Culture for 2011, along with Turku in Finland.