Striking Out to New Turf – A Joy(ful) Live – 3/18 – 3/25, Western Caribbean

[cruiseny4life]

This cruise, we opted for the dining package upgrade. Instead of two, we had four. I wasn't a huge fan of eating so many meals outside the Haven. While I enjoyed our meals, I definitely think three specialty dinners is too much when one has access to the Haven Restaurant. We opted to use one of our meals for lunch at Food Republic.

 

Food Republic. Yum!

 

 

It was so good. We used one credit for each of us, so a total of four items, then ordered an additional roll. Y'all that split one credit between you for lunch. What are you doing? Supplementing the meal with a trip to the Observation Lounge or buffet? I know we're fat, but dang, the portions in Food Republic aren't great. The rolls are good size. Nothing else is.

 

$19 for this pathetic portion of so-so pho was...well, it's robbery. If you're going a la carte, do not (repeat, DO NOT) order the pho. You will be one of the most disappointed folks in the world. Where's the bowl full of pho and noodles? There were three strips of overcooked, dry, tough meat. No meatballs. No tripe. No tendon. Just a little brisket. Like, seriously, three small strips. That's all! In no particular order (I didn't take photos of all the rolls as they were repeated):

 

Street Fries - there was about one ounce of pulled pork. Not worth $9. Maybe $5. The taste is definitely not what you'd expect. It was very good and very fresh tasting. Husband didn't like. I did!

 

Spicy Korean Fried Chicken - great taste. NO SPICE, whatsoever.

 

Peruvian Beef Skewers. Tough pieces of meat that tasted good, but the spice mixture was too thick.

 

Volcano Roll - yum, yum, yum and spicy! We had two...well I had two. He tried a couple pieces sans salmon.

 

Tiger Roll, hold the tuna as my husband dislikes most seafood. Not shrimp though!

 

Another Tiger Roll. We ordered a third, not pictured.

 

The very unfulfilling pho (also, who the hell puts mushrooms in pho???????) Most of those peppers you see made it in the pho, but I was really missing my sriracha sauce. I know it's not authentic, but I do like it.

 

Overall, Food Republic is good. Stick to sushi and you'll have a great experience. Branch out to other items and, well you'll discover some new tastes, but be disappointed with the portions.

 

We didn't order the pork belly bao. I almost did, but may be glad I didn't, as another customer told the server it was terrible when the server inquired how the food was. Terrible was the word of choice. Yikes!

[Sugar Magnolia]

21 minutes ago, cruiseny4life said:

Joy has no thermal suite!!!!!! This was our biggest concern going into the cruise. Of course we knew there was no thermal suite before booking. The itinerary is what we wanted. And, we preferred Miami to New Orleans, plus we wanted to explore a new ship and Breakaway is similar enough to our triple ridden Getaway.

 

 

 

 

Our entire sea day existence is to soak up the heat, humidity, and water of the thermal suite. Those heated ceramic loungers, that large pool with powerful jets that cause people to shriek (in delight) when it hits certain body areas, and the sauna are where we park ourselves for hours. Even resting our poor muscles on port days in the thermal suite is our desire. Well, what would Joy have that we could do?

 

There were some hints. @vacation44, really hinted hard about the Haven Sundeck on Joy. Honestly, I kind of smiled and said, "sure, I'll try it out...for like five minutes" before I retreat back to air conditioning and the enclosed Haven Courtyard. As you can see below, I did enjoy the courtyard's hot tub. All alone. On embarkation day. My husband was up on the sundeck enjoying the sun. I just figured I'd hate so enjoyed this puppy for about two hours before dinner.

 

 

Well, I won't bury the lede anymore! The Joy's Haven Sundeck is a miracle in human shipbuilding. It is perfection! Give me the sundeck over the thermal suite any, and every, day! We absolutely adored the sundeck.

 

After our first dinner in the Haven, we enjoyed the hot tubs on that beautiful 19th deck. It was a bit chilly and windy, but that didn't matter. We enjoyed conversation amongst each other, watched a beautiful Gulf of Mexico sunset, and watched as we passed Celebrity Apex, and a bunch of container ships. It was a lovely evening in the tub. Only two other couples came up to the sundeck for a smoke. They didn't bother us. We didn't bother them. It was beautiful!

 

(I've been told not to post his face....so he's a nice blur hiding in the hot tub.)

 

Throughout the week we wandered up to the sundeck, grabbed a cabana, and soaked up rays of the sun and lots and lots of hot tub water. NCL, can you please warm the pools up slightly? Just a degree or two. Pleeeeeeease? The only downside. The hot tubs are not really that warm. At night *such as the one pictured above, it wasn't cold, but we would have preferred a little more warm water).

 

My husband likes to wake up early, which means he was able to chair hog us a cabana. Eventually, I'd wander up to find him and we'd just relax away in the cabana for most of the day. During quiet times, we'd jump in the hot tub.

 

There were definitely some hot tub hogs! They would order a bucket of beer, then more beer, then ice, and more beer. Three hours later the loudmouths from Arkansas, Long Island, and other places would leave. I'm not angry with them as I would often sit in the hot tub for a couple hours too. I just didn't talk as loudly as I could and I sure didn't pee in the tub. I'm guessing they must have given how long they spent in the hot tubs, drinking copious amounts of crappy Bud Light and Corona. When you can order practically anything, why would you drink these? Millennials, gosh!

 

I did order a few drinks on the sundeck. All but one time it took at least twenty minutes to get the drink. Once, it took more than 45 minutes. I don't blame the servers one bit. They were working! They were working hard! Much too hard. Same with the bartenders. I know I've covered this before, so I won't go into a lot of detail, other than to say a lot of other guests were experiencing very long waits for drinks too. They were much more vocal than I, but one time my husband gave up. He left and I then drank his (ice water) with my Grey Goose. This was one of those twenty minute waits. NCL really needs to adjust staffing in the Haven, when it comes to drink service. It's quite pathetic. The only people that get their drinks in a timely manner are those that sit themselves at the bar, keeping everyone else from easily being able to order a drink. NCL...please get rid of seats at the bar (yep, I'm in a mood today, reliving my drink ordering/receiving experience).

 

Here's a good comparison of the Haven sundeck versus the main pool deck. These photos were taken on a sea day, minutes apart.

 

First, a mass of humanity:

 

 

Second, the wondrous oasis that is Haven (from a cabana):

 

 

Here's what I never, ever, like ever expected to conclude. I would sail a ship without the thermal suite, before sailing on a ship without a Haven Sundeck like this. Getaway's sundeck is nothing, compared to this. It's comfy, but there's no hot tubs up on top. It's really, really sad. Now, on a cold weather cruise, I might choose that thermal suite over the sundeck, but certainly not on a Bahamas/Caribbean/Mediterranean cruise!

 

Of course a ship with both would be even more ideal. Looking at you Bliss! @vacation44, you were so right. I LOVE the sundeck on Joy!!! The faceless husband does too.

 

As a solo traveler, I will need to find some Haven friends willing to stash me in the second bedroom. Otherwise, this thermal suite lover will have to miss the joy of the Joy.

 

[cruiseny4life]

Next up, our first "included" specialty meal. We tried out American Diner on embarkation day. Sorry, it's an option for Haven guests. Not for others. As I've mentioned before, I'm not a huge fan of the Haven Restaurant's lunch. That continues after this trip, so we always go to American Diner. I referenced the mozzarella sticks before, and their disappointing girth. But here they are again, just as a recap:

 

 

I understand the theming. It's...well, it's a "diner" feel.

 

He reported the chicken was good. It looked juicy. The cole slaw was even decent. But where's the carrot?

 

FREAKING shrimp, grits and sausage y'all!!! Sooooooooo good! I think they're the jalapeno cheddar grits used at Q. The other NCL American Diner's really need to get this on their menu. I almost made a "pay for" trip for more, but figured I could just make some at home later.

 

American Diner didn't disappoint, even with the weird mozzarella sticks. It'll continue to be our embarkation day treat. We don't need all that formality the Haven gives every, single day!

[cruiseny4life]

Q Texas Smokehouse

I was a tad bit worried about this one. How good can BBQ be without smoke and flame?

 

 

We had a 5:45 PM reservation. When we entered we discovered "The Wanted" were slated to start playing at 6:30. We thought about eating quick and getting out of there, but then some friends of ours came in and sat with us. We just dealt with the music. It was tough! Lots of Jimmy Buffet, Beach Boys, Zac Brown Band, Billy Currington, and some much older songs I haven't heard.

 

I loved it! The music was great! Funny thing. I grew up in rural, central New York. About twenty minutes from where I live now. My mom loved country music and music from the 70's and 80's. I was the kind of child that hated what his mom enjoyed. Welp...after five years in Montana, I've learned to appreciate country. Not the twangy Reba country, but the proud strokes of Zac Brown Band, the lovely pipes of Caroline Jones, and a few others. The country in the middle of nowhere Gulf of Mexico was quite grand, with an added bonus of them not playing it too loudly. Just don't try to make me like music from the 70's and 80's.

 

 

FOOD!! That's why we're here. Not music.

 

First, I did try the Smoked Peach Margarita. A couple of them. So, I guess my mention above that I didn't try other bars onboard was wrong. I did try the bar here. It was a good margarita, though I was a little scared of it. Most nights that start with tequila, end with me not remembering most of the evening. I stopped myself after two, plus a cosmopolitan. Thankfully, I do remember the evening!

 

Oh, right. Food. Here we go!

 

He tried the loaded fries. I'd rate these as better than those at Food Republic, but the actual meat portion was still just...well a couple bites. Oh NCL.

 

Maple bacon deviled eggs. Yum! Very good. The filling of the eggs is better than the filling of the eggs offered as an appetizer in the Haven Restaurant. Probably more normal person, than elite out of touch Havener ingredients. Have I ever mentioned how much I hate loving the Haven?

 

We both got the Pitmaster Platter which supposedly comes with a 1/4 pound each of brisket, pork spare ribs, smoked chicken, and sausage. I'm glad I wasn't paying $32 for this. Look at those two ounce, not four ounce side cups. The portion of cornbread was ok, but it was dry and sweet. We all know real, southern cornbread ain't sweet! It's a very northern version of cornbread. Not quite Texas, here. I'd normally say not-Texas is good, but not in this case.

 

The sausages were tasty. I'd have preferred them not cut down the middle to retain the juices as they were cooked, but I'm sure they aren't as efficient to cook in that manner. The chicken was...well, it was juicy and cooked well. It had virtually no taste though. I had to load up on the sauce. The best part of BBQ is the sauces are always readily available for items that need it. Unfortunately, the pork spareribs and brisket needed a lot of sauce too.

 

Don't get me wrong. The food was good. It's about what I expected. I'm glad we tried it out. I'd probably go again, with a dining package. Not a la carte.

 

We ordered one side each. These were included. Onion rings and macaroni and cheese. They were both mediocre. Better than the buffet. Unfortunately I love mac and cheese. Give me some creamy, oven baked goodness with lots of extra sharp cheddar and noodles. I'd be in heaven. Let's just say, I was in purgatory. Not hell. Not heaven. But, it was good.

 

Take home banana pudding.

 

 

After I removed the meringue, the pudding was excellent. I wish it had some soaked in the puddin' Nilla wafers and a few more bananas, but it was good. I was surprised by how good it was. Not too sweet. Just right. Yum!

[cruiseny4life]

Next up, and our final specialty restaurant, was Teppanyaki! We love hibachi! Our last Teppanyaki meal was alright, but the rice needed extra soy sauce which the chef gladly provided to us. I know I keep whining about portions. Our hibachi meal was certainly an exception. We had plenty. Don't change NCL! Please....I'll get on my knees and kiss Frankie boy's ring as he departs to keep the portions adequate at Teppanyaki.

 

 

I already covered the drinks, so suffice it to say, I was well-lubed for the meal.

 

As the chef began preparing the meal he threw an egg on....I'll just remind everyone that my sense of humor is that of a 16 year old boy. What does the egg remind you of? Yep...that's what I thought at the table. I was laughing. No one else. Score one for immature males!

 

 

They had edamame! Getaway never did offer this.

 

 

 

 

Rice bowl number one with plenty of soy and garlic. It needed nothing extra! Way to go Sidmar, my very favorite hibachi chef.

 

Rice bowl number two dumped on my plate with steak and vegetables

 

And, shrimp added to the plate.

 

All the food was well-prepared. The steak was medium rare. Shrimp were cooked nicely, vegetables were warmed up a little bit. Why don't chefs like to cook vegetables? Does anyone actually enjoy crunchy veg? Except water chestnut. It can be crunchy.

[cruiseny4life]

I lied!

 

We went to La Cucina! Ahh the Olive Garden of the Seas. I have enjoyed La Cucina in the past. This evening was no exception, but it wasn't as grand as previous adventures.

 

I am very upset there is no more burrata cheese.It's so much better than mozzarella. There was another customer upset with no burrata. She asked for it. Then demanded it. Then spoke to the maitre d who confirmed no burrata. I had this information before dining, so knew she would be disappointed, but did listen intently in case she got her way. If she did, I knew I'd be on the burrata train too!

 

Well, I had the pear salad. No photos. I forgot. My love skipped any possible healthy options and had two pastas. That was allowed. I'm sure it'll come out of Harry's last NCL paycheck.

 

Before the pear salad, we demolished one loaf of bread, then requested another. We definitely had a carb fest. Oh, so good for this diabetic! It was worth it and I really didn't overdo it too bad. Ok, yes I did.

 

The pear salad is a nice mish mash of mesclun mix, a tiny little shred of pear, a couple chunks of walnut, a decent portion of gorgonzola, and a yummy dressing. I have no idea what dressing, but it's good.

 

Now come the photos.

 

Pasta number one (fettucinne alfredo):

 

 

Apparently I didn't take a photo of his second pasta - spaghetti carbonara. He's so happy it doesn't have peas in it!

 

Other than the afore-mentioned pho, this might have been the most disappointing dish of the entire cruise. The portion is f&ck!n pathetic. Sorry. It is. Even another table referred to it as a $4 portion of lasagna. It's on the menu for $24. Unlike Getaway's La Cucina, it wasn't that great either. The bolognese was old. The texture was stale. There wasn't nearly enough cheese. None in the layers. Just on top. The bolognese sauce didn't match the marinara sauce you see on the plate. There was no mozzarella cream sauce. Just some mozzarella and parmesan sprinkled on top. I finished it, but that's because it was a four bite lasagna. Not big bites either. Pathetic. Disgusting. Embarrassing. 

 

 

I've heard La Cucina's tenderloin is excellent. I didn't want a pizza and knew the portion of the cartoccio blah blah frutti di mare were not great, so I went with this. It was good. I knew it would be different as it has a green peppercorn sauce and blue cheese ravioli. I finished it. The meat was ok, though it was more the texture of a ribeye. The tastes were interesting. Not sure I'd put this together on a plate, but I was satisfied with my very daring meal selection. It wasn't the best filet on the boat. Personally, I think I'm spoiled as we only purchase prime grade meat from Costco. Then we use an actual cast iron pan to cook it or flame outside. So...maybe it's just me, y'all.

 

My husband got the fancy "spicy" tomato sauce shrimp and linguini. He likes pasta! This was the best dish of the evening. The portion size was even adequate with a fair number of shrimp. It is not spicy. Like everything else we encountered onboard.

 

 

We'll try La Cucina again. I will always mourn the loss of burrata and stay way far away from that lasagna. Also, NCL, could you not be like Olive Garden in one other way? Please, for the love of all that is good tasting food, salt your pasta water!!

[cruiseny4life]

And, of course the Haven Restaurant. The finest of the specialty restaurants onboard. Yep, we're spoiled rotten monsters who love the Haven. And, I probably will find something to complain about. I'm not going to share every single item we ordered, but there will be a few.

 

I will say, the Haven burger that was so good in December/January, was not good this time. I ordered it and ate half. That's all I needed. It was just, not great. Even with extra bacon, extra cheese, and extra mayo. The cheese wasn't melted. The beef had no taste. And, the burger bun fell apart, just like the buffet buns do. By the time I was halfway done, the burger had totally fallen apart. That's when I gave up.

 

 

Half of the good French Dip with grilled shrimp. The start of a theme.

 

The Haven lunch is just not great. It's almost always an appetizer and salad for me. I did try out the French Dip. My husband had it a day before me and said it was great. It was not so great for me. The jus (it's not au jus, people) didn't taste good and the meat was weird. See what I mean? It looks kind of like cat food.

 

 

Here's his cobb salad with extra bacon, extra egg, extra chicken, add grilled shrimp.

 

A lunchtime shrimp scamp with.....extra shrimp.

 

Best mushroom flatbread I've had on NCL.

 

This is actually mine, but someone stole one of the shrimp from the Israeli Cous Cous Salad.

 

Caesar salad with shrimp...Yep, it was his.

 

Green Goddess Salad. I had to request so much extra salad dressing. They try to give you only one ounce at a time. That's not doing it for me!

 

Seafood Fritto Misto - this was excellent. The whitefish was so juicy!

 

Oh Cruise Critic, why are you so random? Another cobb, without extra everything.

 

Well, that's lunch!!

 

 

Edited April 2, 2023 by cruiseny4life

[cruiseny4life]

Oftentimes on cruises I skip breakfast which saddens me as the Haven's breakfast menu is my favorite. Last cruise it's because I drank too many sweet mixers which caused my sugar to go sky high. 250 - 300 and when it's that high I'm just not hungry. This cruise...I just didn't want to go to the restaurant. I should have ordered room service, but didn't want to. I had a few breakfasts, but most of these photos are the ones my husband sent me. He doesn't normally take food photos, but he knows of my Cruise Critic obsession. Yes, it's an addiction.

 

Anyway, here's some breakfast porn:

 

This was mine. Poached Egges 'meurette on the last day, with extra bacon. I guess they were rationing the bacon on disembarkation day. I love this dish!

 

Not mine:

 

Excellent French Toast with a berry compote. Mmmmmmmm, I heard it was yummy!

 

Waffles! This was supposed to be a French Toast, but he was tired and ordered a waffle. It was just ok. Too dry, I was told.

 

Every morning we had a yummy fruit platter:

 

 

Sometimes I would order grits. Add some swiss cheese and it's alright. It really needs Velveeta to be southern and great, but hey...it works!

 

 

 

 

Can you believe I only had one, just one, Almond Croissant on the entire trip!

 

He loves Eggs Benedict...but they're not mine so they are never excellent. It makes me happy to hear mine are better! I think it's the bacon that makes mine better.

 

I tried the steak and eggs. I know it's been downgraded from filet (and I didn't request the night ahead), but the NY Strip really does look quite pathetic. It was ok, but way too thin to cook medium rare. It was medium well, at best. The bacon was yummy though and carb free!

[Sailing12Away]

1 hour ago, cruiseny4life said:

FREAKING shrimp, grits and sausage y'all!!! Sooooooooo good! I think they're the jalapeno cheddar grits used at Q. The other NCL American Diner's really need to get this on their menu. I almost made a "pay for" trip for more, but figured I could just make some at home later.

 

American Diner didn't disappoint, even with the weird mozzarella sticks. It'll continue to be our embarkation day treat. We don't need all that formality the Haven gives every, single day!

I made the mistake of ordering grits one day for breakfast in the Haven restaurant, hoping they would somehow be similar to these.... not even close. It's all in the sauce, which obviously they didn't have for breakfast up there. If that had been an option I would have gotten it daily.

 

54 minutes ago, cruiseny4life said:

All the food was well-prepared. The steak was medium rare. Shrimp were cooked nicely, vegetables were warmed up a little bit. Why don't chefs like to cook vegetables? Does anyone actually enjoy crunchy veg? Except water chestnut. It can be crunchy.

Ha! One of the many veggies I can't stand is water chestnuts. I sit there picking them out of my chinese food every time. But other than them, I prefer my veggies raw and crunchy rather than cooked. Peppers, string beans, carrots, sno peas.... 

[cruiseny4life]

And now, dinner! A tasty meal in the Haven. We only had dinner three of seven nights here. For me, it wasn't enough. I was sad. Very sad. Too much specialty dining for me!

 

First night, the server didn't understand he wanted 11 shrimp. She thought he wanted four. Hahahaha

 

Here's the second plate to get the required number of shrimp, per evening.

 

 

He tried the lamb rib eye. It was absolutely exceptional. Like, some of the best meat I've ever tried!

 

My starter was the two piece pork belly with apples. I do love this!

 

 

Followed by a somewhat tough, but alright tasting medium prime rib and puddle of sauce.

 

The amount of silky pomme puree (fancy mashed potatoes) always perturbs me, but I deal with it since I'm not supposed to have them anyway. And yes, the night before this I had two khachupuri's (that Georgian cheese bread) - well, split them with dear mister husband.

 

And the scrumptious chocolate cake. That giant caramel hat disc went straight to the side of the plate. Why do we have to disrupt yummy food with caramel and lemon? I hate both!

 

 

Pretzel rolls? Yes, please! The only good bread (aside from La Cucina) on the entire ship! I don't understand why Norwegian can't bake good bread and rolls.

 

I think this is actually a lunch mozzarella and proscuitto salad. Even though there's no burrata, it is still yummy.

 

The double cut pork chop. Cooked medium (still weird to order pork medium) is SOOOOOOOO blazing good. Best hunk of meat I had on the ship! Seriously. Try it. It's just yum!

 

I don't have photos from our last supper as I felt it would be rude to take photos at the table with our two couple friends with us.

[cruiseny4life]

This is the correct number of shrimp for my husband's perfect shrimp cocktail. Only sometimes am I allowed to steal one. Even better, they gave him double the amount of sauce as normal on this serving!

 

[cruiseny4life]

Phew....that was a lot! I'll return for the great shore excursions and adventures we had on land! I'll leave you with one of our daily snacks.

 

[cruiseny4life]

2 hours ago, Sugar Magnolia said:

 

As a solo traveler, I will need to find some Haven friends willing to stash me in the second bedroom. Otherwise, this thermal suite lover will have to miss the joy of the Joy.

 

 

The Bliss it is! Let's go to Alaska! We can have the thermal suite, Haven sundeck, and so much more!

[cruiseny4life]

36 minutes ago, Sailing12Away said:

I made the mistake of ordering grits one day for breakfast in the Haven restaurant, hoping they would somehow be similar to these.... not even close. It's all in the sauce, which obviously they didn't have for breakfast up there. If that had been an option I would have gotten it daily.

 

Ha! One of the many veggies I can't stand is water chestnuts. I sit there picking them out of my chinese food every time. But other than them, I prefer my veggies raw and crunchy rather than cooked. Peppers, string beans, carrots, sno peas.... 

I wasn't expecting those, though I can see how you could think they would be the same. They're so good! I do like the plain ones. Just need salt, pepper, and cheese (preferably the good ole melty southern Velveeta).

 

Nothing wrong with crunchy raw ones. But if a chef is going to claim they're cooking a vegetable, then please actually cook it! I do love my snacking veggies with dip. Mmmm, now I'm hungry for some. Going to the kitchen for some carrots!

[Sailing12Away]

54 minutes ago, cruiseny4life said:

Pretzel rolls? Yes, please! The only good bread (aside from La Cucina) on the entire ship! I don't understand why Norwegian can't bake good bread and rolls.

 

Did you ever have the bread at Ocean Blue? Not sure what type it is, but it's very very yummy.

[laudergayle]

Yes, you got cheated on portion size.  This is ours from the Epic in February …and it was the “appetizer “ size…not an entree size.  Looks to be twice as big.  Agree it wasn’t great…dry…no cheese in between layers.  At least it had a little cheese sauce on the plate. Wouldn’t order it again.

 

[laudergayle]

My first thought was, “this is your brain on drugs”…then I remembered you were too young for that messsge!  So I put on my 16 y/o hat (borrowed it from my boys who are your age)…alas…I see it too🤣

[cruiseny4life]

15 hours ago, Sailing12Away said:

Did you ever have the bread at Ocean Blue? Not sure what type it is, but it's very very yummy.

No! Maybe I need to go have bread and dessert there. I'll add it to my list. I do appreciate scrumptious bread!! 

 

14 hours ago, laudergayle said:

Yes, you got cheated on portion size.  This is ours from the Epic in February …and it was the “appetizer “ size…not an entree size.  Looks to be twice as big.  Agree it wasn’t great…dry…no cheese in between layers.  At least it had a little cheese sauce on the plate. Wouldn’t order it again.

 

That looks more like the size of the lasagna I had on Getaway in January. Thank you for confirming my mind wasn't rotting from all the drugs! I suppose I won't be trying out the lasagna anymore. Three ships where the taste was just ok. Getaway did have the best which is why I tried it again. Alas, no more. Lots of other yummy pasta to try. That carbonara and fettucine my husband had was excellent! I always sneak a bite when he's not looking then smile as it's dripping down my beard. 

 

14 hours ago, laudergayle said:

My first thought was, “this is your brain on drugs”…then I remembered you were too young for that messsge!  So I put on my 16 y/o hat (borrowed it from my boys who are your age)…alas…I see it too🤣

Oh, I remember the "Just Say No" campaign. We had school assemblies and everything. I'm thinking GWB #1 continued Nancy's program as I'm sure it was when I was in second or third grade (at the most). I still remember the elementary cafeteria setup, with the 32" TV showing some sort of video to a room full of elementary kids. Gosh, how did those teachers do it back then??

 

I think your second thought is spot on though! 

[js]

18 hours ago, laudergayle said:

My first thought was, “this is your brain on drugs”…then I remembered you were too young for that messsge!  So I put on my 16 y/o hat (borrowed it from my boys who are your age)…alas…I see it too🤣

I'm almost 56, a mom to two adult children and a Nana and I knew what he was referring to at first try HAHAHAHAAA

[cruiseny4life]

I really don't care about status on cruise lines. We cruised because we wanted to, not for the points. But, I have to admit it was cool to advance one tier on each of our cruises. We're Gold after four cruises in the last year:

 

 

And, oh so close to being able to get on our next ship, whenever that is, as Platinum. Alas, it's not too be. I suppose we'll be satisfied with our Gold for one more cruise, then jump up to Platinum. With some of the deals out there, maybe we can just skip Platinum and hit Sapphire! We'd only need quadruple points on a twenty-one day sailing. Wonder if I can get that kind of vacation....yea, didn't think so! 

 

More to come, including Tulum, after...well when I get back to it. 

[ChiefMateJRK]

On 4/2/2023 at 11:23 AM, cruiseny4life said:

Y'all that split one credit between you for lunch. What are you doing? Supplementing the meal with a trip to the Observation Lounge or buffet?

Eating breakfast and dinner.

[ChiefMateJRK]

On 4/2/2023 at 11:23 AM, cruiseny4life said:

The very unfulfilling pho (also, who the hell puts mushrooms in pho???????) Most of those peppers you see made it in the pho, but I was really missing my sriracha sauce. I know it's not authentic, but I do like it.

I order that pho on every cruise that has a Food Republic.  I find it to be delicious.

[ceilidh1]

On 4/2/2023 at 11:23 AM, cruiseny4life said:

This cruise, we opted for the dining package upgrade. Instead of two, we had four. I wasn't a huge fan of eating so many meals outside the Haven. While I enjoyed our meals, I definitely think three specialty dinners is too much when one has access to the Haven Restaurant. We opted to use one of our meals for lunch at Food Republic.

 

Food Republic. Yum!

 

 

It was so good. We used one credit for each of us, so a total of four items, then ordered an additional roll. Y'all that split one credit between you for lunch. What are you doing? Supplementing the meal with a trip to the Observation Lounge or buffet? I know we're fat, but dang, the portions in Food Republic aren't great. The rolls are good size. Nothing else is.

 

$19 for this pathetic portion of so-so pho was...well, it's robbery. If you're going a la carte, do not (repeat, DO NOT) order the pho. You will be one of the most disappointed folks in the world. Where's the bowl full of pho and noodles? There were three strips of overcooked, dry, tough meat. No meatballs. No tripe. No tendon. Just a little brisket. Like, seriously, three small strips. That's all! In no particular order (I didn't take photos of all the rolls as they were repeated):

 

Street Fries - there was about one ounce of pulled pork. Not worth $9. Maybe $5. The taste is definitely not what you'd expect. It was very good and very fresh tasting. Husband didn't like. I did!

 

Spicy Korean Fried Chicken - great taste. NO SPICE, whatsoever.

 

Peruvian Beef Skewers. Tough pieces of meat that tasted good, but the spice mixture was too thick.

 

Volcano Roll - yum, yum, yum and spicy! We had two...well I had two. He tried a couple pieces sans salmon.

 

Tiger Roll, hold the tuna as my husband dislikes most seafood. Not shrimp though!

 

Another Tiger Roll. We ordered a third, not pictured.

 

The very unfulfilling pho (also, who the hell puts mushrooms in pho???????) Most of those peppers you see made it in the pho, but I was really missing my sriracha sauce. I know it's not authentic, but I do like it.

 

Overall, Food Republic is good. Stick to sushi and you'll have a great experience. Branch out to other items and, well you'll discover some new tastes, but be disappointed with the portions.

 

We didn't order the pork belly bao. I almost did, but may be glad I didn't, as another customer told the server it was terrible when the server inquired how the food was. Terrible was the word of choice. Yikes!

Can you remind me what you are entitled to with the specialty dining credit for Food Republic? We are on a short 5 nighter so only have one specialty dining. There are 4 of us (though one is under 12 so likely wouldn't use dining anyways) and we were originally thinking of doing Cagneys and paying for the 3rd person a la carte. Now I'm wondering if Food Republic would be a better option and using both credits for three of us?

[YVRteacher]

You can get any 4 food items when using a specialty dining credit at Food Republic.  

Edited April 4, 2023 by YVRteacher

[cruiseny4life]

14 hours ago, ceilidh1 said:

Can you remind me what you are entitled to with the specialty dining credit for Food Republic? We are on a short 5 nighter so only have one specialty dining. There are 4 of us (though one is under 12 so likely wouldn't use dining anyways) and we were originally thinking of doing Cagneys and paying for the 3rd person a la carte. Now I'm wondering if Food Republic would be a better option and using both credits for three of us?

What @YVRteacher said. We did not try to split the dining credit as we wanted more food, so just used two credits. The staff did keep asking us, "you're using two credits, right?" This kind of gave me the thought they'd rather not deal with splitting one between both of us, but I can't really offer anything more than this to the topic. 

 

When you look at Food Republic's menu, you can order any four items. This includes dessert (Sugar Pump). Anything above the four items, per dining credit, can be purchased a la carte. Our server told us he would itemize the receipt so the lowest cost item would be what we'd actually pay for.