Dawn_w_twins

I think that as long as NCL has dinner time waits of up to an hour just to get a seat in a non-fee dining room, while pushing and pushing you to pay up for their specialty restaurants, then you will hear complaints about nickle and diming.

 

And you should. Those complaints are quite valid.

We were on Breakaway the week of June 23-30. It was VERY FULL. Family of 4. We ate at the buffet or non-charge dining for all meals except one special one at Cagneys. The longest we ever waited for a table at any restaurant was Taste or Savor (can't remember) where we waited 10 minutes. We never had ridiculous waits in the DR for food to come to us. In fact it was quicker than many restaurants back home. The one night we needed to make a show, the waiter was amazing about getting us food so fast we hardly had time to eat one course before the other arrived. We did eat early or late and there were some waits for people bringing huge parties and eating around 6pm ish I think - but I would expect that anywhere - The buffet was fine - one time at the height of lunch hour I had to wander a little looking for a table. It wasn't a problem getting food at the buffet at all and the one spot that got congested was the omelete station where they would assign a staff person to "direct traffic"

We also ordered room service 2x - once a pizza in the middle of the day after sightseeing when we were all too tired to think about going to find food and it was good - not spectacular, but good - and it served it's purpose famously. The other food was fine too and delivered far quicker than they estimated.

BTW, we did snack at the raw bar a couple of times and frankly, Ocean Blue always looked empty.

Also a note - total foodies may be a bit disappointed with some of the food as it is made in high volume and not really "made to order" but the food was plentiful and tasty and if you did not like something they would bring something else to replace it in a heartbeat - my hubby didn't like the lamb one night and they were falling all over themselves trying to make it up to him.

If we decide against the UBP for hubby and I but want to get the soda package for the 2 teens - do the same rules apply and I have to buy the soda one for all 4 of us?

I just don't drink enough for it to be worth it and what I do drink isn't really covered - crazy mixed fruity drinks and sweet martinis and cosmos. If I ever tried to make the UBP worth it, you'd find me asleep on a deck chair most days or falling down those glass stairs. Dh could make it pay off in Whiskey and beer on the ship days but not in the long run.

It seems that allowing this would be cheaper since I could just order alchohol drink - I tend to like to alternate a little (drink, water, drink, soda etc) so as to avoid passing out in a corner somewhere - I really don't want to buy both packages. thoughts??

Between us we have many prescription meds and insulin etc. When we travel we normally just take small baggies with the days meds in them - one for each day - usually tossed in DH's carry on. If we are NOT flying, will anyone hassle us if meds are not in the original containers? The bottles would probably fill more than a full gallon ziplock bag - this would not be condisive to efficient packing. Do they check when boarding the boat in the same way that they would going through security at the airport or is it a little more informal?

You've given me a lot to think about as we plan our first NCL cruise and trip to Bermuda. Sailing Breakaway 2 weeks after you are with our 15 yr old b/g twins. Expecting they will ditch us often and we will get to explore and enjoy some of the "adult" locations ;).

Hoping you'll have time soon after your cruise to share at least a few of the secrets you uncovered on the new ship. Looking forward to a few that will make us feel like we are "in the know" - thanks again