1/17/16-1/31/16 Breakaway Southern Caribbean Review

[TardisDance]

Food

 

Neither of us are foodies or big eaters, so we skipped the specialty restaurants this time. I had hoped that our sailing would have the al la carte menu, as I usually order an entrée only, occasionally a dessert.

 

 

Taste and Savor

 

Service was hit or miss, especially during lunch time. It seemed there was shift charge at 12:45. We would arrive and our waiter/waitress would end their shift and no one would replace them. It would take another 20 minutes before someone realized that no one was waiting on us.

 

The food was good for the most part but sometimes a bit on the salty side, especially the fish dishes. Menus were a bit repetitive for a 14 day. My favorite was the spaghetti carbonara. I also liked the turkey cutlet with gnocchi. I rarely ordered desert, but the chocolate volcano cake is always a favorite. There was also a chocolate Nutella pot de crème that I discovered toward the end. Very yummy!

 

 

 

During dinner service, Savor was very dim and depending on where you were seated, it was difficult to read the menus. Later, I learned from Christian at Mixx that Savor is supposed to be dim for the ambiance and Taste is supposed to be brighter. Great tip! We went to Taste only from that point forward.

 

Manhattan Room

 

On our 7th night, our roll call organized a 7th Night Toast to celebrate the fact that we wouldn’t be packing our bags and leaving the next morning. Considering this was a CruiseCritic group and 30 people were in attendance, I was surprised that the service was lacking. We all had separate tables, and most were waiting a long time for drinks and food. Burn the Floor was also performing, so it was difficult to hear anyone. Normally, I avoid the Manhatten room, because the service is slow and you need to dress up. I don’t have a problem with dressing up, but I certainly don’t like to have slow service, especially when I can get the same exact food at Taste or Savor. There’s just nothing special about it.

 

Shanghai’s

 

I only went here for one reason alone – the Singapore noodles. I love this stuff. It’s the only hot and spicy meal that I can get on the ship. My DH ordered the fried rice or chow mein noodles. Service can be inconsistent, i.e. someone in your group will be served before you and the rest of the dishes come out at different times. I’ve seen this at other Asian restaurants before, so it might just be the norm.

 

 

O’Sheehan’s

 

Service at night was slow and there would be times when our appetizers would arrive lukewarm. There’s no longer the option to order burgers medium rare without signing a waiver, so medium is the minimum. Toward the end of the cruise, they switched over to the new menu. My DH ordered the Shepherd’s pie, and he said it was so disgusting, that he could only eat a couple bites. It was instant potatoes on top of what tasted like a Sloppy Joe. There was also parmesan cheese mixed in the potatoes. I tried the Black & Blue burger. It was good, but I wish it came in a smaller size like the old menu’s burger. I also tried the chicken fajitas another night. I know some on this forum don’t like it, but I guess I’m the exception.

 

Garden Bistro Buffet

 

We only stopped here for breakfast, a late lunch one day and midnight snacks. People were often very rude during the breakfast service, and I would be constantly walked into and stepped on by the coffee station. After 14 days, I was getting pretty fed up, but it was the fastest way to get food on port days when we had early morning excursions. Coffee often ran out at one station, and on one of the last sea days, there was no more bulk half & half. There was a bowl setup with the individual cups, like the ones given in cabins.

 

One change I was happy about is that there is now food out during the late night hours. I remember the buffet closing pretty early in the evening and having to go to O’Sheehan’s. There was macaroni and cheese (my personal favorite), some cold salads, and pizza. It was great being able to stop here at 11:00 for a late night snack.

 

Uptown Bar and Grill

 

We had tried the breakfast sandwiches here on past cruises but had never had the burgers until this time around. They were very good! We discovered though that the burgers were also very large, so we ended up getting the kid burgers. The staff thought it was funny, but hey, it works for us. We ordered the custom made burgers. I got a burger with bleu cheese, cheddar, and onions. It was yummy!

[TardisDance]

Bars

 

We had the Ultimate Beverage Package and never felt like service was slow. We often went to Mixx, Maltings or Shakers. There was always excellent service. At Maltings, Leslie in particular was one of the best waitresses on the ship. We were regulars here, and she always remembered what we liked to order. She’s on her 2 month vacation now, so we look forward to seeing her again when we are back for our Bermuda cruise in September.

 

Mojito! One of my favorites

 

 

Conclusions

 

I feel like even though we did get to see at lot on a 14 day cruise, my DH and I have decided against going on longer cruises in NYC. I’m okay with a couple sea days but 5 is simply too much. We are considering a cruise out of San Juan on the Gem. We loved San Juan and like of idea of staying there for a couple days and seeing the historic district in OSJ and see the Yunque rainforest. Come on NCL.com, please release your 2017 sailings! If anyone has any advice on cruising out of San Juan, I would love to hear your thoughts.

 

Since this is my very first review, please feel free to

ask questions on anything you felt like I missed. Next time, I will try to take notes. It's definitely hard to remember the day to day on a 14 day!

[Sprasa03]

loved the review - esp. cause your cruise is one I'd like to take one day. I've been on the Gem before and like the ship but really want to see San Juan, St. Marteen and all the other islands you go to see.

I also wondered if longer than a week cruises would get boring. I LOVE to cruise but usually at the end of a week cruise I'm ready to go home.

Me and hubby are DINKS too but not active LOL so I don't see myself climbing vertically like you guys did but the rest of your excursions were really good tips.

Me and hubby may do a cruise like this in 2017 so I hope to remember your review when booking for us!

[DiamondGirl83]

Hi thanks for posting your review, I am on the same Sailing next year. I was just wondering what is the last possible disembark time? Do cabins have to be vacated by a certain time? Thanks

[KirkNC]

Thanks for your report.

[TardisDance]

Hi thanks for posting your review, I am on the same Sailing next year. I was just wondering what is the last possible disembark time? Do cabins have to be vacated by a certain time? Thanks

 

I think 11:00 was the last possible time to disembark. Cabins had to be vacated by 8:30.

[TardisDance]

loved the review - esp. cause your cruise is one I'd like to take one day. I've been on the Gem before and like the ship but really want to see San Juan, St. Marteen and all the other islands you go to see.

I also wondered if longer than a week cruises would get boring. I LOVE to cruise but usually at the end of a week cruise I'm ready to go home.

Me and hubby are DINKS too but not active LOL so I don't see myself climbing vertically like you guys did but the rest of your excursions were really good tips.

Me and hubby may do a cruise like this in 2017 so I hope to remember your review when booking for us!

 

Thanks! I think one drawback is the fact that it was a cruise out of NYC in January. It was simply too cold to go to the top decks for the first couple days down and then the last few days back. I was actually wearing my wool pea coat when taking those last couple shots of the pool area! I believe there's one being offered in November so that might be a better bet.