JamieLogical's Live from the Breakaway 10/30 - 11/6

[JamieLogical]

Platinum truly is limited to one appetizer, which we were all aware of and why I ordered extra to share with Ted and Ed, because they were using a voucher and I was using the FAS. The servers on this ship at Cagney's, La Cucina, and Le Bistro have all been giving the same spiel that vouchers can only be use for one item from the left side of the menu, which usually has two sections for each restaurant: a soup/salad kind of section and an appetizer section, and one item from the right side of the menu, which is usually divided into a couple of sections. That part is accurate. But then they go on to say that FAS can order one item from each section on the left side of the menu and one item from the right.

 

That part is inaccurate, because with FAS, you can order as many items as you want from the left side. So this isn't an issue of servers being confused about the difference between a voucher and FAS. Literally all four specialty meals I have had this week has included a combination of people using voucher and FAS and the servers all clearly stare the difference that FAS is allowed more items from the left side of the menu. However, they still state there is a limit, which is not true.

[JamieLogical]

Yesterday was my latest start yet. I didn't make it out of my room and up to the spa until about 11:30. The jets in the thermal pool were working again, but the water was cold. Oh well, I still spent a long time in the lobster pot talking to Tom of Tom & Jane. We had a really long conversation about cruising and stuff they still needed to try before the end of this cruise.

 

 

The. I managed a full 10 minutes on the Sanarium! I was so proud of myself. The. I read my book for a while. 

 

I decided to do lunch in O'sheehan's again, since I liked the burger so much the day before. I got a couple of drinks at the bar first and talked to the new bar tender from the UK. This is her first week of her first cruise contract! That's gotta be pretty overwhelming, but she is handling it well so far.

 

 

 

My burger at O'sheehan's was just as good as the previous day. Then it was nap time already. I took my usual afternoon nap and then went to the buffet for coffee. After coffee, it was down to Mixx for a Mr. Worldwide and then up to Bliss for the solo meet-up. I met up with the usual suspects and we all chatted for a while with the guy who runs the solo events for the cruise director staff. Sounds like NCL is back in full swing with solo stuff post-COVID now. I guess they weren't offering a lot of it for a while.

 

I had texted with my brother and his girlfriend while they were on their excursion in Halifax. They weren't supposed to be back on the ship until after 7:00, so I told him just to come by O'sheehan's and find me and we could go to Shanghai Noodle Bar for dinner. It was important to do it the night we were in Halifax becauae being in port meant the casino would be closed. So it was the only night I could do dinner there without smoke from the casino wafting over.

 

So I hung out with @graphicguy and a couple other of my solo crew at O'sheehan's for a few drinks before my brother showed up. One of the bartenders made my friend Sabrina a special drink while I was there and I decided to try one as well. We called it the Booty Special, because the other day the bartender was trying to tell a woman his name while Sabrina was sitting there and the woman couldn't get it right so just started calling him Booty.

 

 

Dinner was great! Sorry I forgot to take pictures of my dumplings. I got both the steamed and fried dumplings and I liked them both. My soup wes great. It has octopus tentacles with the suction cups still on them which really grossed out my brother. You know you are siblings when you are in your 40s and 50s and still try to gross each other out at the dinner table! My entree was my favorite though. The sauce/seasoning on the shrimp and chicken was perfect. Dessert was supposed to be chocolate cake, but it more had the consistency of fudge?

 

 

 

 

After dinner I went in search of Tes, who I hadn't seen all day. When I got to Maltings and he wasn't there, I really started to worry about him, but Joy said she had seen him at Prime Meridian earlier. Ed showed up and he too hadn't seen Ted, but then Ted finally came along and we were all relieved he was alive.

 

I had promised myself I would get to Karaoke because I missed so much of it earlier in the week, so this time I really did limit myself to two drinks at Maltings and headed into Syd's.

 

Kyle wasn't there but I made a new friend named Jonathan and we had a great time singing along to songs that were all popular before he was born (he is only 32!).

 

While at Syd's, I saw they had this hard seltzer called "Pure Piranha", which I was pretty confident contained no actual piranha. I took a picture of the can so I can sue later as part of the class action lawsuit for false advertising. I had some over ice with a shot of vodka. It didn't taste like anything.

 

 

Kyle did eventually show up and I thought was coming with us to the Glow Party in Bliss when we got tired of all the Frank Sinatra at Karaoke. Don't get me wrong, the people who did Karaoke were all fantastic singers and NCL should probably hire some of them, but I think the average age of the people who got on stage was about 67.

 

We lost Kyle somehow on the way to the Glow party, but picked up my friend Sabrina who used to actually work on NCL ships: the Pride of America and the Jade. We danced a LOT. I had to run up to my room to put my hair up because I was getting pretty hot and sweaty.

 

Finally lost Sabrina and then Jonathan and I went to O'sheehan's for a late night snack. I ran into Ted again and we agreed to meet up for dinner on the last night of the cruise, but I had completely forgotten I signed up to go to Six with the solo group. Oh well, I am sure I can get that sorted out later.

 

Day's Drinks: Mimosa, Moscow Mule, Mr. Worldwide, Ginger Mojito x2, Booty Special, Getaway x2, Pure Purana & Vodka, Vodka Sour x2, Blind Russian

[laudergayle]

interesting fact.  The girl on the left is the drummer for both SIX and Burn the Floor. She’s an amazing musician.  She went by different names. She was Sarah, Anne and Katy…but after watching her on the drums you could tell it was her all three performances.

[Sthrngary]

31 minutes ago, laudergayle said:

interesting fact.  The girl on the left is the drummer for both SIX and Burn the Floor. She’s an amazing musician.  She went by different names. She was Sarah, Anne and Katy…but after watching her on the drums you could tell it was her all three performances.

I saw Burn the Floor on the NCL Getaway in November of 2019.  Up to that point, my wife and I would sit in the back row on the end for all Cruise Line Shows.  We did this because we rarely liked the show and wanted to leave without disturbing anyone. 

 

The moment that show started, it was fantastic and all I can think about was the drummer on stage.  I was a professional drummer in my teens.  I was supposed to go to college for music and changed my mind at the last minute.  Good thing.  The drummer I saw that day in that theatre was over the top.  I am sure this young woman is as good or better.  

 

At the end of the show, my wife who is even more critical than I am, gave the show a standing ovation.  As did everyone else on that theatre.  That reminded us once again that one of the main reasons we cruise NCL is the Entertainment.  

 

Cruise well and enjoy every show.

[Juncti]

6 hours ago, JamieLogical said:

 

What is the bartenders name that came up with this and what is in it? Looks pretty good. Would be funny if as long as they're on board this becomes a cruise critic drink of sorts. Anyone that sees that particular bartender and asks for the "booty special" they can know that it's from you sharing their drink over here. Could be an ongoing thing and see how long the booty legend survives just via people talking about it on here.

[Wedgie Wedgie]

Where I come from the Booty Special would be misinterpreted. 

[dbrown84]

1 hour ago, Wedgie Wedgie said:

Where I come from the Booty Special would be misinterpreted. 

Yeah, you could get slapped and dropped off at the next port if you're not careful 🤣

[JamieLogical]

Yesterday was another lazy morning followed by a trip to the spa. Being a sea day (the only one on this cruise), the spa was a little more crowded than it had been, but no issues really getting access to the things I wanted, including a heated lounger when the time came to read my book.

 

When I went back to my room, my room steward was cleaning, which was awkward. I didn't really have any place to wait in my wet bathing suit, so I just kind of loitered near the elevators and read my book some more.

 

After I got access to my room and was able to change, I headed down to check out the lunch menu at Taste and Savor. Being the only sea day, this was the only day MDR lunch was available and I was psyched to see they had the Monte Cristo Sandwich available.

 

I decided to get a drink from Mixx first and ran into Rick/Bacon. We had been calling him Bacon the whole cruise because that was his Halloween costume. He had a friend, Justin, who we called Pickle for the same reason. If you ask me, a real opportunity was missed by not having Rick wear the Pickle costume so he could be Pickle Rick, for any of you Rick & Morty fans.

 

Anyway, they invited me to join them for lunch and Justin was adventurous enough to try the Monte Cristo on my recommendation, despite not ever having had one before. He loved it.

 

After lunch it was, predictably, nap time. Took my nap, got dressed again, got coffee from the buffet, and then it was time to test the fates in the casino one last time. Still a bust. This was definitely my worst cruise ever for casino play.

 

I had a bit of a conundrum because I had promised Ted I would do dinner with him the night before, but I had also signed up to go see Six with the solo crowd. I met up with Ted at Maltings and we decided to put in an appearance at the solo gathering before Six to say goodbye to everyone, but still just get dinner and skip the show.

 

We were going to try for Cagney's without a reservation. Ted had to stop by the restroom outside of the Manhattan Room before we headed up and we ran into my stalker, Isaac, who is the assistant Matre'd for the ship. I had jokes with him all week that he was my stalker, because he seemed to be everywhere I was.

 

I asked him if there was any availability in Cagney's as he was shooting people away from the Manhattan Room which was completely full. He said he would call up and check for me and of course he was able to get us a table. So we headed up for a drink or two from Prime Meridian.

 

Ted had left his Platinum voucher in his room, so he had to run and go get it, so I sat at the bar and chatted with one of the bartenders I hadn't met yet. He was a riot! It was shockingly not busy so we had quite a chance to chat and he was telling me about how fun chartered cruises are and his favorite was a swingers cruise! He said he might do that cruise as a passenger someday. I asked if he had a partner to do it with and he said he could just bring anyone, they don't check for marriage certificates. Too funny!

 

After Ted got back, we headed into Cagney's. I decided to get completely different items from last time so I went with the French onion soup and the lamb chops. The soup was excellent, but the lamb was way undercooked for me. The barley risotto it was served on top of was really good though. For dessert I had the cheesecake, which was excellent.

 

 

 

After dinner I needed to cash in my casino tickets and go pack, but on the way to the casino, Ted wanted to stop by the Effy store. He used to be the one who purchased fine jewelry for all the JC Penney stores, so he was curious to see what they had. I told the salesman about my husband's obsession with the "two jaguars fighting over a donut" bracelet and he knew exactly what I was talking about and let me try it on.

 

 

Then it really was time to say goodbye to Ted and cash in my casino tickets and head to my room to pack. So sad to say goodbye to Ted! He was a great cruise friend!

 

I went back to my room and packed up most of my stuff while watching whatever movie it is that has Jack Nicholson, Diane Keaton, and Keanu Reeves. Not a great movie, but whatever. I ordered room service pizza because I still had $15 of OBC left. It was NOT good.

 

 

Day's Drinks: Mimosa x3, Getaway, Vodka Sour x3

[JamieLogical]

I didn't sleep well at all last night, stressing out about making it to JFK on time for my flight. I was relieved when we docked in NYC at 3:45am, thinking we would for sure be able to get off the ship on the early side.

 

My alarm went off at 5:45 and I hopped in the shower, finished up my packing, grabbed a cup of coffee from the buffet, then lugged my stuff down to deck 7 to try to be near the front of the line for disembarkation. When I got to 7, everything was blocked off and I didn't know where to go, but a crew member helped me out and told me to wait in Bliss Ultra Lounge.

 

When I got in there, there were already a lot of anxious people worried about missing flights. I asked if anyone was heading to JFK, since I had pre-booked an Uber for 7:45. I found a guy named Ed who had a 10:00 flight out of JFK to Hawaii and if he missed it, the next flight wasn't until tomorrow! I said he could ride with me.

 

Then there was another poor guy whose cell phone wasn't working. It said something about his sim card being changed! That seemed bad. I let him use my phone to call T Mobile, but after a long talk, he still couldn't get it working. He was worried about not being able to even hail ab Uber, but I told him he could at least catch a cab across the street.

 

Meanwhile time was ticking away. I was certain they would make some sort of an announcement at 7:00, but nothing. Then the panic really started to settle in and at 7:30, with no end in sight, I went ahead and just cancelled my pre-screduled Uber so I wouldn't get charged.

 

Finally, just after that, the announcement came that the ship was cleared to disembark and we were allowed to take some weird, snaking route through Bliss, outside, then back in through Manhattan Room, then off the ship. Ed and I made a run for it before things got too backed up at the escalators, which is always a big bottleneck at terminal. We made it out and record time and were on the curb at 7:47. I could have kept my original Uber!

 

Instead, Ed hailed a new Uber as we were passing through customs and it was pulling up as we waited to cross the street. Unfortunately, this new Uber was something like $40 more than my pre-booked one, but at least we were splitting the cost.

 

The NYC Marathon turned out to be a non-issue and we made it to the airport at 8:26. We went to Terminal 4, because that's where Ed's flight was out of and he was in a bigger hurry than I was. I took the Airtrain the one stop to Terminal 5 and got checked in and through security really fast, so then I just have sit around for a couple of hours.

 

Oh well. I am relieved to be here early and I am relieved that Ed made his flight. Hopefully I will be home in time for lunch with my husband and then to watch the Bills game!

 

These birds realized they could save the effort of flying themselves and decided to hop on a plane, I guess?

 

[graphicguy]

If you’re on board now, go to O’Sheehans Bar and ask this guy for a BOOTY SPECIAL.

 

 

Edited November 6, 2022 by graphicguy

[RocketMan275]

So, what is a booty special?

I don't need a picture, I need the ingredients.

[Sugar Magnolia]

On 11/5/2022 at 10:17 AM, JamieLogical said:

 

I had texted with my brother and his girlfriend while they were on their excursion in Halifax. They weren't supposed to be back on the ship until after 7:00, so I told him just to come by O'sheehan's and find me and we could go to Shanghai Noodle Bar for dinner. It was important to do it the night we were in Halifax becauae being in port meant the casino would be closed. So it was the only night I could do dinner there without smoke from the casino wafting over.

 

 

Genius. I have not yet tried Shanghai Noodle Bar because of the smoke. Thank you!

 

[JamieLogical]

3 hours ago, RocketMan275 said:

So, what is a booty special?

I don't need a picture, I need the ingredients.

 

All I know is there was melon, vodka, and no pineapple. He told me nothing else.

[ChiefMateJRK]

26 minutes ago, JamieLogical said:

 

All I know is there was melon, vodka, and no pineapple. He told me nothing else.

Vodka?  I think I'll ask for a double Goose Booty.  🤣  I'll let y'all know.....

[Seas2mountains]

@JamieLogical thank you for your excellent review! I enjoyed reading all about your experience and the photos. I especially liked you daily drink summary. 😁

[Candy Apple 12]

9 hours ago, JamieLogical said:

 

When I went back to my room, my room steward was cleaning, which was awkward. I didn't really have any place to wait in my wet bathing suit, so I just kind of loitered near the elevators and read my book some more. I’ve not been to the Breakaway spa. Aren’t there showers in the spa area? 
 

 

 

-

 

 

 

 

 

 

Day's Drinks: Mimosa x3, Getaway, Vodka Sour x3

 

8 hours ago, JamieLogical said:

 

 

 

 

Instead, Ed hailed a new Uber as we were passing through customs and it was pulling up as we waited to cross the street. Unfortunately, this new Uber was something like $40 more than my pre-booked one, but at least we were splitting the cost. I recommend just going across the street and getting a taxi instead of an Uber. Last year when we got off the Breakaway on NYC marathon Sunday, we were practically accosted by a Uber driver trying to sell us on a flat rate price to the airport. We decided to go for the cab instead, which was about $15 cheaper than the price the Uber driver had quoted. We flew out of La Guardia. 

 

The NYC Marathon turned out to be a non-issue and we made it to the airport at 8:26. We went to Terminal 4, because that's where Ed's flight was out of and he was in a bigger hurry than I was. I took the Airtrain the one stop to Terminal 5 and got checked in and through security really fast, so then I just have sit around for a couple of hours. We had no problems with the NYC marathon either. We left the ship just after 9. We did enjoy the extra hour on the ship due to the end of DST!

 

 

Edited November 6, 2022 by Candy Apple 12

[JamieLogical]

13 minutes ago, Candy Apple 12 said:

 

 

 

Yes... there are showers in the spa on the Breakaway... not sure how that would have dried my bathing suit?

 

My understanding was that LaGuardia is not usually impacted by the marathon the way JFK allegedly is, but I don't think it had much impact on JFK either. Oh well, better safe than sorry. I did not go with one of the aggressive uber drivers, btw... we ordered an uber through the app like normal.

 

[reeinaz]

@JamieLogicalit was so nice meeting you and Ted. Mr Worldwide is a definite winer. And you were spot on about the French Onion soup at Le Bistro being excellent. I ordered it the following night at the MDR and couldn't even finish it.

[Megp]

@JamieLogical It was great meeting you, @ESCARGOand @graphicguy! You all definitely helped make my first cruise fantastic!! Hope you got home in time for the Bills game 

[graphicguy]

8 hours ago, Megp said:

@JamieLogical It was great meeting you, @ESCARGOand @graphicguy! You all definitely helped make my first cruise fantastic!! Hope you got home in time for the Bills game 

Pleasure meeting all of you, too.

[JamieLogical]

@reeinaz @graphicguy @Megp @ESCARGO

 

It was a great cruise and I hope to run into all of you again on future cruises!

[ESCARGO]

17 hours ago, reeinaz said:

@JamieLogicalit was so nice meeting you and Ted. Mr Worldwide is a definite winer. And you were spot on about the French Onion soup at Le Bistro being excellent. I ordered it the following night at the MDR and couldn't even finish it.

It was great meeting you also! Hope to cruise with all of you again!

Ted

[ESCARGO]

5 hours ago, graphicguy said:

Pleasure meeting all of you, too.

Dan, It was a pleasure meeting you also! 

Ted

[ESCARGO]

3 hours ago, JamieLogical said:

@reeinaz @graphicguy @Megp @ESCARGO

 

It was a great cruise and I hope to run into all of you again on future cruises!

Jamie, It was definitely a great cruise! I am so glad I finally got to meet you! I left the ship at 9:30 am and got home right before 11:00 am! I can't wait to sail with you again! We have to keep in touch. If you still have Ed's business card please email him as I will do and we can stay in touch that way.

Ted

[Liljo22]

Is NCL back into your regular rotation or is this still just a one off?  Interested in your thoughts.