Getaway March 3-10th - Food Porn

[Joaljoe]

Hi everyone, this was our first time sailing NCL. In the past we’ve only done Carnival but wanted a change and a different experience. We loved NCL so much that we will definitely not be rushing back to Carnival for a while. I won’t be doing a long photo review as I didn’t take enough photos and probably wouldn’t have the time but I took lots of food pics and wanted to share those with you. I wish I thought to take pics of all of the menus....I have only a few but will definitely post them. 🙂

 

A quick run down, we loved the ship and everything it had to offer. We enjoyed all of the shows and comedy. The deck parties were awesome and happening. I found the staff not to be as friendly, we had a couple of rude encounters but the super nice ones made up for it. We also really enjoyed all the games/activities in the Atrium, that was one of our favourite spots to hangout. Deal or No Deal was a blast and they play it a few times throughout the week.

 

We shared an inside cabin with DS (16) and DD (18). It wasn’t too bad but I wish there was more storage, especially drawers. I could deal with a smaller washroom to have a closet with drawers. Our room Stewart seemed to be in a bad mood the first 2 days and kept her head down every time we passed her but once I striked up a convo we talked for 10 mins and she was awesome after that. She was a really nice lady actually but just seemed really unhappy which I understand. It’s hard to be away from family/friends and your home. 

 

As as for the food....it was all amazing. Nothing bad all week. Maybe it’s because it was finally something different for us over Carnival but we just really loved everything. The buffet had awesome choices every day and had themed nights like Asian, Seafood, Italian, American.... we only did breakfast in the DR once and it was great. We also did breakfast in Margaritaville a few times. People don’t know it’s complimentary. It’s a buffet style breakfast and they serve the same food as the Garden Cafe buffet. They start packing up at 9:45am sharp so make sure to get everything before that time. They also have an omelet station there. Breakfast at O’Sheehan’s was off a menu...we all enjoyed that too. 

 

In in the last 1 1/2 years hubby lost 35 lbs and I have lost 25 lbs. Before the cruise we made a plan to only eat 2 meals a day with something small like a salad or fruit as the 3rd meal. Let me tell you...that did not work!!!! LOL There was just too much goodness around us! But we did good with skipping desserts or sharing and still had our salads/fruit. Hubby did the gym everyday and I made it in a couple of times. We both ended up gaining 5lbs each over the 12 days we were gone and eating out. I feel we did well and have now lost most of it. Yay!! 😂

 

Now onto the foodies....

 

 

These two are from O’Sheehan’s. The 4 of us LOVE chicken wings and immediately knew this would be a favourite spot. We also ordered a fish and chips to share but seems as though I didn’t take a photo of that dish. We went back a couple more times during the week for wings, they were so good. 

 

Question - we saw a few people eating wings with a fork and knife.  It threw us off and we felt weird eating them with our hands. But then we saw others so we felt good again. 😂 But wouldn’t it take a long time to eat with utensils? I think I would get frustrated. How do you eat your wings?

 

[Joaljoe]

Here is the menu from first night in dining room along with food pics. The lighting was pretty bad during dinners so all photos are kinda dark....I tried to fix them up as best as I could. 🙂

 

I asked for a fruit plate as an appetizer and they had no problem bringing me one. 

Seafood Gumbo

Shrimp and Crab Cake - So good!! 

Pork Spare Ribs

grilled New York Strip Steak

Sautéed Shrimp Scampi

Veggie Burrito

And I believe that was a Strawberry Shortcake 

[tomservo]

Awesome thread! Food pics are always appreciated. Keep ‘em coming!

 

55 minutes ago, Joaljoe said:

Question - we saw a few people eating wings with a fork and knife.  It threw us off and we felt weird eating them with our hands. But then we saw others so we felt good again. 😂 But wouldn’t it take a long time to eat with utensils? I think I would get frustrated. How do you eat your wings?

 

You are 100% totally fine to eat chicken wings with your hands. I know some people do eat wings that way (I used to be one of them) but I feel the vast majority of people eats wings with their hands. Btw the only reason I ever used utensils with wings was because of mild OCD/aversion to greasy hands. Eventually I gave up because it’s too finicky and slow and wings are too tasty. 

[Joaljoe]

These are from breakfast and lunch from O’Sheehan’s. We loved this place!!

I had a smoked salmon omelet and the rest of the fam had French toast. After breaky we went up to Garden Cafe for some fruit.

For lunch everyone had wings again, I tried the Sheppard’s Pie which I do recommend. Hubby and I shared the Apple Pie - it was warm and just delicious. Below are the only photos I managed to snap of their menu.

[hawkman402]

Thanks for posting.  We will be on the ship this coming Saturday.  One of our go to breakfasts on past cruises it to get the the chocolate croissants and french toast from room service.  Great for eating on a balcony before starting a day in port!

[Joaljoe]

Ok, I think I figured out how to separate the photos lol

 

on Day 2 we celebrated our daughter’s 18th birthday at the Illusionarium dinner and show. The food I felt could’ve been better with the prices we paid. They say fingerling potatoes but brought potato wedges lol Not a huge deal, just not what I was expecting. Shrimp and steak were good and they cook all the steaks rare-medium so make sure to ask if they can cook longer if that’s a deal breaker. We had a couple of vegan/vegetarian friends with us who had contacted the restaurant beforehand and they were happy to help with alternative foods. All in all, we left happy with full tummies.

And the show was AMAZING!!! Definitely recommend this show. 😊

 

Appetizer 

 

 

My steak wasn’t as red as a couple of others at the table so I was happy. I usually like mine medium so it was perfect for me. 

 

 

3 little mini desserts. I just had a bite of each.

 

NCL left a birthday card for my daughter in our room and said to give it to the host of any restaurant we’d be dining in that night. They presented her with a piece of cake 🎂. We were seated with other people, 10 of us in total. We all sang to her and shared the cake with the table. Such a nice gesture. 

 

[Joaljoe]

8 minutes ago, hawkman402 said:

Thanks for posting.  We will be on the ship this coming Saturday.  One of our go to breakfasts on past cruises it to get the the chocolate croissants and french toast from room service.  Great for eating on a balcony before starting a day in port!

 

You’re welcome. We shared an inside on this cruise but will definitely do a balcony on the next one. It wasn’t bad, but we did miss being able to sit out in the mornings or just before dinner when others are showering. I saw those chocolate croissants at buffet but resisted having them. 😂

Have an amazing cruise!! 😊

Edited March 25, 2019 by Joaljoe

[Joaljoe]

54 minutes ago, tomservo said:

Awesome thread! Food pics are always appreciated. Keep ‘em coming!

 

 

You are 100% totally fine to eat chicken wings with your hands. I know some people do eat wings that way (I used to be one of them) but I feel the vast majority of people eats wings with their hands. Btw the only reason I ever used utensils with wings was because of mild OCD/aversion to greasy hands. Eventually I gave up because it’s too finicky and slow and wings are too tasty. 

 

I’ve learned to eat wings somewhat a clean way but you’re right about the greasy/saucy fingers.

 Hubby on the other hand...sauce all over face and fingers. 😂

[tomservo]

27 minutes ago, Joaljoe said:

 

I’ve learned to eat wings somewhat a clean way but you’re right about the greasy/saucy fingers.

 Hubby on the other hand...sauce all over face and fingers. 😂

Divorceable offense in my book! 😆

[Sand and Seas]

Great pictures!   We loved the Getaway and will be back on her in the fall.

Thanks for sharing with us

[Joaljoe]

Looks like I took no pics of breakfast on Day 3. We did eat in Margaritaville on this morning. We showed up kind of late and they started packing things up while we were waiting for our omelets. I was surprised at how fast they were taking everything. But they did allow us to grab a few things quickly. 

 

For or lunch we went back to O’Sheehan’s! They had too many things we wanted to try. 😋

Today we tried the burgers. They were good but I wouldn’t rush back for them. 

 

 

Now this dessert was to die for. It’s the Brownie cheesecake. Perfect size for sharing but we did want more. LOL

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Joaljoe]

Unfortunately I did not take a photo of tonight’s DR menu but I think this was a potato soup.

 

 

Waldorf Salad

 

Baked Ziti

 

I can’t remember what this dish was called but it was full meat and DS loved it!

 

Herb Crusted Rotisserie Chicken

 

Can’t remember the name of this one either but it was an amazing Asian dish. 

[Joaljoe]

I could really go for go for one of these desserts right now! We all enjoyed them. 😊

 

 

 

[david_sobe]

Wow, everything looks so good. Presentation was excellent too

[alreadypacked]

Great food porn review--thanks for posting!!!

 

We've been on probably 20 Carnival cruises and left because of the deteriorating menu options and overall food quality. We sailed the Getaway for the first time in 2016 and were blown away by the delicious food (and better menu options than Carnival).

 

In September 2018, we sailed the Getaway again (after a recent menu update) but we longed for the old menu items--the chicken parmesan, spaghetti bolognese, fried brie, pad thai, linguine with white clam sauce, the asparagus risotto, beef wellington... I could go on. It was all so delicious!

 

2018's menu had a few notables like the cordon bleu and the chicken piccata, but overall we were sadly underwhelmed. I don't cruise just for the food, but since I'm on the ship for 7 days, I want it to be good. Maybe the kitchen was just off on our sailing. It happens.

 

Glad you loved the food, though and I enjoyed your review! 

[Joaljoe]

1 hour ago, alreadypacked said:

Great food porn review--thanks for posting!!!

 

We've been on probably 20 Carnival cruises and left because of the deteriorating menu options and overall food quality. We sailed the Getaway for the first time in 2016 and were blown away by the delicious food (and better menu options than Carnival).

 

In September 2018, we sailed the Getaway again (after a recent menu update) but we longed for the old menu items--the chicken parmesan, spaghetti bolognese, fried brie, pad thai, linguine with white clam sauce, the asparagus risotto, beef wellington... I could go on. It was all so delicious!

 

2018's menu had a few notables like the cordon bleu and the chicken piccata, but overall we were sadly underwhelmed. I don't cruise just for the food, but since I'm on the ship for 7 days, I want it to be good. Maybe the kitchen was just off on our sailing. It happens.

 

Glad you loved the food, though and I enjoyed your review! 

 

I had no idea that they updated their menu. Thankfully this is all we know. And you’re right, we don’t cruise just for the food but it is a big part of the week so we want to enjoy what we’re filling our tummies with. There were still a lot of items that we wanted to try so we’re looking forward to our next NCL cruise. 😊

 

I’ll post the rest of the food pics I have tomorrow. I’ll leave you all with this beautiful sunset we had when leaving Roatan. 

[Linda the Book Lover]

Thanks for sharing the food pics. I am not a fan of sauces on meat but I just ask for them to leave it off or I choose something else. One thing I know is I never starve on NCL!  

[newmexicoNita]

18 hours ago, Joaljoe said:

Hi everyone, this was our first time sailing NCL. In the past we’ve only done Carnival but wanted a change and a different experience. We loved NCL so much that we will definitely not be rushing back to Carnival for a while. I won’t be doing a long photo review as I didn’t take enough photos and probably wouldn’t have the time but I took lots of food pics and wanted to share those with you. I wish I thought to take pics of all of the menus....I have only a few but will definitely post them. 🙂

 

A quick run down, we loved the ship and everything it had to offer. We enjoyed all of the shows and comedy. The deck parties were awesome and happening. I found the staff not to be as friendly, we had a couple of rude encounters but the super nice ones made up for it. We also really enjoyed all the games/activities in the Atrium, that was one of our favourite spots to hangout. Deal or No Deal was a blast and they play it a few times throughout the week.

 

We shared an inside cabin with DS (16) and DD (18). It wasn’t too bad but I wish there was more storage, especially drawers. I could deal with a smaller washroom to have a closet with drawers. Our room Stewart seemed to be in a bad mood the first 2 days and kept her head down every time we passed her but once I striked up a convo we talked for 10 mins and she was awesome after that. She was a really nice lady actually but just seemed really unhappy which I understand. It’s hard to be away from family/friends and your home. 

 

As as for the food....it was all amazing. Nothing bad all week. Maybe it’s because it was finally something different for us over Carnival but we just really loved everything. The buffet had awesome choices every day and had themed nights like Asian, Seafood, Italian, American.... we only did breakfast in the DR once and it was great. We also did breakfast in Margaritaville a few times. People don’t know it’s complimentary. It’s a buffet style breakfast and they serve the same food as the Garden Cafe buffet. They start packing up at 9:45am sharp so make sure to get everything before that time. They also have an omelet station there. Breakfast at O’Sheehan’s was off a menu...we all enjoyed that too. 

 

In in the last 1 1/2 years hubby lost 35 lbs and I have lost 25 lbs. Before the cruise we made a plan to only eat 2 meals a day with something small like a salad or fruit as the 3rd meal. Let me tell you...that did not work!!!! LOL There was just too much goodness around us! But we did good with skipping desserts or sharing and still had our salads/fruit. Hubby did the gym everyday and I made it in a couple of times. We both ended up gaining 5lbs each over the 12 days we were gone and eating out. I feel we did well and have now lost most of it. Yay!! 😂

 

Now onto the foodies....

 

 

These two are from O’Sheehan’s. The 4 of us LOVE chicken wings and immediately knew this would be a favourite spot. We also ordered a fish and chips to share but seems as though I didn’t take a photo of that dish. We went back a couple more times during the week for wings, they were so good. 

 

Question - we saw a few people eating wings with a fork and knife.  It threw us off and we felt weird eating them with our hands. But then we saw others so we felt good again. 😂 But wouldn’t it take a long time to eat with utensils? I think I would get frustrated. How do you eat your wings?

 

Glad you enjoyed your Getaway experience. We are not lovers of O'Sheehans but do like the fish and chips and always have wings a couple of times. In fact our first stop when we get on the ship is O'Sheehans. 

As for your room steward, I have to say and I don't know why this is, we have rarely had a really good female steward or guess they are stewardess. Our last cruise we had one who was really friendly but not very good and the worse we have ever had was on the Epic. I am sure there are some that will go above and beyond but not many. 

[tomk3212]

Oh, man, we're scheduled to sail on the Getaway 4/27 on a Transatlantic cruise.  After looking at your foodie pix I'm gonna have to limit myself to bread and water for ALL my meals for the next month get reduce my weight to a point where i can enjoy myself THOROUGHLY re: food choices on the ship...lol

 

Glad you had a good cruise!  As I said before, your food pix look AMAZING!!!

 

tomk3212

[Joaljoe]

2 hours ago, tomk3212 said:

Oh, man, we're scheduled to sail on the Getaway 4/27 on a Transatlantic cruise.  After looking at your foodie pix I'm gonna have to limit myself to bread and water for ALL my meals for the next month get reduce my weight to a point where i can enjoy myself THOROUGHLY re: food choices on the ship...lol

 

Glad you had a good cruise!  As I said before, your food pix look AMAZING!!!

 

tomk3212

 

😂😂😂 I know right! We were dieting before and now after. If We didn’t live in Canada, we’d cruise a lot more. But that could be problematic! Haha I hope you takes pics on your cruise and share when you get back! I may need new material to look at. 😊

[Joaljoe]

7 hours ago, newmexicoNita said:

Glad you enjoyed your Getaway experience. We are not lovers of O'Sheehans but do like the fish and chips and always have wings a couple of times. In fact our first stop when we get on the ship is O'Sheehans. 

As for your room steward, I have to say and I don't know why this is, we have rarely had a really good female steward or guess they are stewardess. Our last cruise we had one who was really friendly but not very good and the worse we have ever had was on the Epic. I am sure there are some that will go above and beyond but not many. 

 

I think it’ll be a tradition for us to always make this place our first stop when we get on the ship. I still would love to try their sandwiches. The cruise was too short. 😂

 

 I’ll be curious to see how our room steward is next time on a NCL ship. Although, I’ve experienced both good and bad on Carnival too. I guess not everything can be perfect on each ship. 

[Joaljoe]

Not many pics for Day 4. We must’ve been very hungry and forgot to take pics. LOL

 

But I did enjoy this chicken, salad and 2 types of Asian noodles. 

 

No dinner pics from this night but we did go for crepes. I asked them to make me a small one with just a little bit of whip cream as they do really pile it on. I then went to the hard ice cream station and got a scoop of vanilla. It was perfect. 

Also, I did notice when people asked for chocolate that they would put it inside the crepe so I asked for mine to go on top. I’m just fancy like that. 😂

 

We went up to buffet to get drinks and tea around 11:30pm and found these suckers as a late snack. We shouldn’t have but couldn’t help ourselves. lol

 

[BalconyGal]

OOMG more, more!!!  😁

[Joaljoe]

On day 5 I tried the scramble egg pizza thingie but was not a big fan. My friend really liked it but I wouldn’t get it again. I really enjoyed the bacon on this ship...not too crispy and not too soft. 

 

 

Got no lunch pics today but I’m pretty sure we all stuck with salads.

Adults opted for no desserts...I think we were all starting to feel the effects of our eating. lol

The kids went full force though.... yum!

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Joaljoe]

Menus for Cucina, Margaritaville and Le Bistro. We didn’t eat at any of these places but took pics as I walked by. Hope you can somewhat make them out. Sorry for quality.